mimmosa

[mimmosa]

I want be be as respectful as possible and I know I can’t change your mind but in defense of Gina she was all in on EJ he’s the one who told her time and time again he would make time for her but simply didn’t. She gave him an out in ep 2 that if the relationship was too much for him to handle they could cool it and HE said he could handle it all and he couldn’t live up to that. Gina knew what she wanted and wasn’t getting it from him. Ricky showed her that he was there all summer no obligation and she saw that in him and realized that’s what she wanted.

You're being respectful -- no worries!

Here is what I will say. If you want to argue that Gina was initially all in on EJ, I can agree with that. What I can't get behind is the narrative that EJ wasn't giving his all.

Yes, maybe she provided an out -- but what was he going to do? He was falling for this great girl and wanted to believe he could handle things. He was a kid being tossed an entire play that was going to be shown on national TV which he had to both direct and act in and do it all alone. Despite all that, he STILL tried his best to be there for Gina any moment he could. Accusing him of making her a "maybe" wasn't fair — just say you like someone else and let it be done. (Let's also remember camp was 2 weeks? She couldn't wait 2 weeks to be his #1 priority?)

While Ricky showed up for Gina during camp -- he wasn't always there for her. She cried over him many times and he chose Nini over her a few times as well. They were also the leads together so they had the opportunity to reherse, together. EJ was tackling an entirely different beast. (Also, AGAIN, let's remember this turn around for Ricky being there for Gina was during a 2 WEEK camp, while EJ and Gina spent all of season 2 — which was spread out over months — connecting and building something.)

At the end of the day, my problem lies with the character decimation of EJ above all else. It is so wild I literally have to ask myself why they gave him growth and didn't just continue making him an antagonist because his arc is really pathetic. He changed, he grew, he evolved, he apologized, he showed up, he did his best, and he still lost 2 girls to the same kid, walked away with nothing, still has a terrible relationship with his father, had no one really have his back and then got demoted to recurring character. That's, like, a writing issue to its core for me.

Gina didn't want to be dating someone going to college. She also has had feelings for Ricky since the beginning. Those were the reasons Portwell broke up and to narratively frame it in a way that makes EJ the bad guy truly does not make sense. I can't even wrap my head around someone not seeing it that way, that's how crazy it is to me!

[mimmosa]

I saw your answer to my ask about EJ and him learning to love someone and I wanted to say why it felt like a retcon to me. They made EJ look like a bad boyfriend in season 3 and his beahviour be the main cause of their break up. I mean, if there were only external factors for their break up, yes, you could say that he learned to love someone because he was in a healthy relationship that only ended because of external factors, not because of his fault... I really don't get why they had to make EJ the bad guy instead of using just external factors.

Ah, I see. I think we'll have to agree to disagree.

Because even when Season 3's isolated EJ, made him make strange choices at times, and had his intense schedule pull him and Gina apart, he still did so much of it all to stay with her.

Obviously, he wanted to prove something to himself (and his dad!), but he told Gina that he wanted the show to be great so that he could stay close to her. He was committed to their relationship.

So, I think EJ learned to love again — he loved Gina. Gina didn't feel the same way by the end of the season. She thought she was a maybe to EJ when he did everything he could to prove otherwise.

But I agree that the musical's external factor could have played as an excellent metaphor for school and life pulling them apart — without all of the other parts of EJ's character playing a role.

[mimmosa]

I understand where you are coming from to a degree. But the other question is did EJ ever really change? Because to me he didn’t. He was bad at communicating in season 1, S2 and he was bad at communicating in season 3. His growth in S2 was more about being a good friend and learning how to show up for people. He still never really learned how to be a good boyfriend. Gina was upset that he was confiding in Val as opposed to her she wanted to be the one he went to and he still chose NOT to. He could have asked for help from her but he chose NOT to instead he asked for help from Carlos and Val. She told him she wanted to spend just one day with him and he spent it with Miss Jenn, Putting EJ on a pedestal is just setting him up for failure. Also rina was always the plan, maybe that’s where some of the frustration comes from EJ was meant to be Gina’s first boyfriend the thing she never gets right that she keeps on pushing till she does, Tim literally said as much in an interview. Sorry I don’t want to start hardcore discourse hahahaha it just I find it so interesting how this fandom especially has such different views on these characters.

If you don’t think EJ changed, if you really do not see a growth arc with an incredible amount of depth for a Disney show from seasons 1 to 3, then there is just a core issue we will absolutely never see eye to eye on. Because I couldn’t possibly watch this show and say “EJ didn’t change.”

And by the way? Gina hurting EJ? Playing it that way narratively? That’s OKAY. Your characters — even the female ones - are allowed to hurt people and mess up and make mistakes. It wouldn’t make Gina a villain, it would just make her a … teenager.

[mimmosa]

I want be be as respectful as possible and I know I can’t change your mind but in defense of Gina she was all in on EJ he’s the one who told her time and time again he would make time for her but simply didn’t. She gave him an out in ep 2 that if the relationship was too much for him to handle they could cool it and HE said he could handle it all and he couldn’t live up to that. Gina knew what she wanted and wasn’t getting it from him. Ricky showed her that he was there all summer no obligation and she saw that in him and realized that’s what she wanted.

You're being respectful -- no worries!

Here is what I will say. If you want to argue that Gina was initially all in on EJ, I can agree with that. What I can't get behind is the narrative that EJ wasn't giving his all.

Yes, maybe she provided an out -- but what was he going to do? He was falling for this great girl and wanted to believe he could handle things. He was a kid being tossed an entire play that was going to be shown on national TV which he had to both direct and act in and do it all alone. Despite all that, he STILL tried his best to be there for Gina any moment he could. Accusing him of making her a "maybe" wasn't fair — just say you like someone else and let it be done. (Let's also remember camp was 2 weeks? She couldn't wait 2 weeks to be his #1 priority?)

While Ricky showed up for Gina during camp -- he wasn't always there for her. She cried over him many times and he chose Nini over her a few times as well. They were also the leads together so they had the opportunity to reherse, together. EJ was tackling an entirely different beast. (Also, AGAIN, let's remember this turn around for Ricky being there for Gina was during a 2 WEEK camp, while EJ and Gina spent all of season 2 — which was spread out over months — connecting and building something.)

At the end of the day, my problem lies with the character decimation of EJ above all else. It is so wild I literally have to ask myself why they gave him growth and didn't just continue making him an antagonist because his arc is really pathetic. He changed, he grew, he evolved, he apologized, he showed up, he did his best, and he still lost 2 girls to the same kid, walked away with nothing, still has a terrible relationship with his father, had no one really have his back and then got demoted to recurring character. That's, like, a writing issue to its core for me.

Gina didn't want to be dating someone going to college. She also has had feelings for Ricky since the beginning. Those were the reasons Portwell broke up and to narratively frame it in a way that makes EJ the bad guy truly does not make sense. I can't even wrap my head around someone not seeing it that way, that's how crazy it is to me!

[mimmosa]

i finally finished that song fic i had in my drafts so if any one wants to read it it’s up!

also if you do please listen to the song before or meanwhile reading!!!!

#portwell fanfiction #portwell #gina x ej #ej x gina

[mimmosa]

i think to be fair and coherent with the storylines, ricky should’ve had a troy moment singing bet on it and ej has to sing scream. like ricky turning his life around (bet on it) and ej screaming because he need to venT (scream).

there. i said it.

i also know it won’t happen and t*m will have probably given scream to ricky because.

sighs.

#portwell #ej caswell

[mimmosa]

sofia wylie looking like a literal princess🌟 drawn by me

#sofia wylie #sge agatha #sge movie #gina porter #hsmtmts

[mimmosa]

glad i’m not the only one😂

@aroundthewaygirlao3’s stories at the moment be like

[mimmosa]

I miss Portwell they deserve so much better. If Rina really has been planned since homecoming then Portwell should of never been a thing because EJ doesn’t deserve to be heartbroken twice by a girl he really likes just for Ricky to somehow win her back in his life. I am so disappointed by the way the writers treated them there are other ways to make Rina happen that don’t involve EJ getting hurt in the end for putting his heart out there and to get nothing in return.

Goodness, I miss them too. they really did deserve better. they were just...so perfect. for being a teenage couple on tv on a disney show, you know? but like...they were so cute, and honestly, the heart eyes every time they looked at each other was magical.

honestly? i've learned over the years to not always trust every word that comes out of a showrunner's mouth, or that they'll treat my favorite characters/ship write. I've been burned too many times. a lot of them will bend truths and sort of stretch things done in the past to make it work for the narrative they're trying to create in the present. obviously not all of them are like that, but that tends to feel like the general vibe of a lot of showrunners. say whatever you need to say to make the majority happy and keep them watching your show, even if it alienates others.

also...how soon did they know that Olivia was gonna leave the show? i doubt they knew during the filming of s1 since she didn't really start taking off in her music until s1 was released (i'm pretty sure). and it definitely felt like the plan was to always make Rini endgame, no matter what else happened. and then they gave Portwell all of these beautiful scenes through s2, after setting up their rivals to friends to lovers arc so wonderfully, showing the both of them moving on from past relationships and focusing on themselves and finding that companionship and understanding in each other that they weren't finding anywhere else. something that wasn't intended as romance, in their eyes, but they were both happy to let it go there when the realizations hit them.

i really feel for EJ too, having two girlfriends that both ended up with Ricky in the end, proving to him, in his mind, that he's not good enough to have these two girls that he thought were amazing stick around or come back. that there's something he's lacking if he loses two girls to the same guy within the span of roughly a year, a guy that both girls already had some degree of history with.

if EJ is gonna be in s4, I need the writers to treat him better, like honestly. i will write his storyline if I have to. let the boy have a meltdown finally, or something, because of all the pressure he's always under (he should have had one in s3 and i will stand by that). let him find friends who will support him unconditionally and stand by him (like yeah, the wildcats are great, but they were all constantly bagging on ej during s3 [if i remember correctly, I've only seen it once] while he was trying to direct a show he didn't want to direct in the first place and it really didn't sit right with me). let him find a girlfriend WHO WILL STICK AROUND LONGER THAN A FEW MONTHS (as much as i love gina and portwell, my boy deserves some happiness too)

all in all. i love EJ the most. Gina is wonderful and amazing. Portwell will always have my heart. as much as i wish they hadn't broken them up, couldn't they have at least given them a better ending than that? like honestly. they all deserved better.

[mimmosa]

hi! just wanted to say it’s cool that you’re a portwell / kathony fan bc i’ve been in both those fandoms as well and never seen anyone else with the overlap bsjdksks. i came over here from twitter but i recognized ur account from my pw tumblr days 🤍

oh hiiiii

yes😅 i was not really involved in hsmtmts in between seasons but i do get attached a bit when a new one comes out and i remembered how much i’d liked them in s2 and had great expectation for them in s3 until i watched episode 2 that i knew it was going downhill😂🥴 like it’s funny they all said that the ending was going to be unexpected because we could see from a mile away they were setting them up for a breakup🤷🏻‍♀️ i do wish (as i’ve said on an other post) that at least the show would have been fairer with them and their relationship but oh well

[mimmosa]

the withdrawal from not having any update to read from @aroundthewaygirlao3 kicked in

[mimmosa]

this didn’t age very well🫣🫠🥴

Am I the only one worried that if Gina chooses Ricky, the writers will destroy EJ's development to justify her choice?

[mimmosa]

i always forget to post here🫣 poster fanart cor my newest current obsession ❤️‍🔥

#the school for good and evil #sofia wylie #sge agatha #sophie #sophia anne caruso #kerry washington #clarissa dovey #lady lesso #charlizeafrica #michelle yeoh #tedros pendragon #agatha x tedros #jamie flatters #kit young #rafal #netflix #soman chainani #book fanart

[mimmosa]

Nuevo Verano

 

la luna se refleja en mis uñas mordidas

todas las estrellas están juntas en mi bebida

la guitarra suena un poco mal

pero no importa porque es verano

y además últimamente estoy hablando

me gusta hablar contigo

 

the moon reflects on my bitten nails

all of the stars are together in my drink

the guitar sounds a bit out of tune

but it doesn’t matter because it’s summer

and besides, lately I’ve been talking

 I like talking to you

 

 

 

 

In truth, Gina had been harboring these feelings for almost a month and a half now.  The whole Ricky fiasco and almost leaving but then not quite had left her feeling a little emotionally drained, so she was ready to just give her mind a break and avoid any kind of strong feelings for a while. The thing about her feelings for EJ though, was that she hadn’t been able to dodge them because she hadn’t seen them coming until she was already in too deep. His way of showing up, even at the beginning when it was just a friendly acquaintance at best, had quietly grown on her until it had nestled deep within her.

 

So here she was again, afraid to put herself out there a second time after she swore off feeling this kind of way ever again, or at least until much much later. It didn’t matter that everyone could see – and some had even told her in words – that EJ was as much if not more enamored with her, for now Gina was content to just keep enjoying this kind of friendly flirty banter with the senior.

 

School had finished and they were all getting ready for the summer. Gina was especially excited as it was the first summer in years she was staying in the same place with her friends, so even if it was for that, this summer already held lots of promises for her.

 

They’d already started off the break with a party hosted by Ashlyn – no surprise there. She’d helped decorate the backyard with the string lights and set out a couple of tables with bowls of any and all kind of food plus some chairs strewn around the garden.

She’d hung out with Carlos, Seb and then with EJ for most of then night, soda in a disposable cup and just enjoying a party at the end of the school year that, for once, didn’t mean goodbye.

 

At the end of it all, in a quite unexpected turn of events, EJ had picked the guitar to strum a semblance of a tune, the guitar very much out of tune but it didn’t matter, because it was fun, and because the way EJ eyes shone when he looked at her made all the stars in the night dim out.

 

esta noche estoy contenta pero poco, no mucho

aunque hable contigo no consigo verte nunca y

mis amigos me quieren matar

pero supongo que me da igual

y además últimamente estoy hablando

hablando con todo el mundo

me gusta el mundo

 

 

 

EJ’s dad has been breathing down his neck and going on and on about how he needs to make a decision about his future, as if he hasn’t already decided he’s going to University of Utah, the one he actually got in on his own, where he’s going to take up different classes to discover what he’s actually passionate about, even though she might already have an idea, because she knows him. Gina has witnessed how much EJ has struggled with this decision and coming to terms with his new reality, how the pressure has almost made him crumble and how he still has almost no confidence in his capability outside of his father’s expectations. Both her and Ashlyn have been by his side all these months to remind him that he’s so much more than what anybody expects of his future, and that his value is not measured by any of it. It’s still an ongoing journey, but these days she can see a bit of the burden lifting from his shoulders, and she’s so proud that he’s made this decision on his own. She’s also secretly glad that she has him near for another year.

first of all, song title and lyrics by amaia romero, i don’t own anything

second of all this is kind of a oneshot song fic in progress but it’s just me testing waters bc i prefer reading to writing fics but there aren’t many new ones so idk i just have some songs that i would love for them to be turned into a songfic, so i might just try giving it a go. this one has kind of a rough outline done, but as i said, not much of a writer so it might just stay here as a drafty tumblr post or i might finish it

#portwell #portwell fanfiction

[mimmosa]

yes

Were EJ and Gina in Love?

This was supposed to be a reblog to @hattathehattxr, but it got unwieldy — and, yes, I know I talk about this a lot (and write therapeutic fanfics) but I keep on thinking about all the ways that this could have gone. Tldr: I’m fine that the writers wanted to end PW and start R*na. I could probably be very happy for the other couple and watch the show just fine. I am just completely miffed at the choice of events in S3 that got them to that conclusion.

Theory Answer: Yes

My theory is that EJ and Gina are/were in love, but just weren’t ready for the demands of the “real world”. EJ needed to figure out his future (outside of Gina) and Gina needed someone who could be present in her current life. We see this because of the way they look at each other at the start of S3 and the expectations of a future they both seem to have. EJ was “all in” (trusting in their relationship even though he did see the interactions between R/G) and Gina was wanting these perfect moments together (framed as “love” and time with someone she cared about). Their break up wasn’t for a lack of desire or a lack of wanting to commit to each other. Their break up was because Gina didn’t see an immediate future for them based on S3 camp events. Gina saw an EJ who, when having responsibilities outside of her world, she wouldn’t be a priority or didn’t fit in her high school framework. This, unfortunately, translates to EJ as him not fitting in her life. Plus, EJ was written into a corner - he couldn’t offer her any assurances of the future and he couldn’t go back in time to make up for being absent during camp moments now that he realized what they meant to her and he certainly couldn’t go back to being in high school.

Key S3 Structural Problem: Two Weeks of Camp

The problem is that they created such an artificial set-up for it to end in the two weeks of S3 that the break up served absolutely no one - not Gina, not EJ, not PW fans, and honestly not even R*na.

Possible Solution: EJ and Gina should have dated canonically for 2 months

They didn’t need to show it, but they should have suggested that EJ and Gina dated for 2 months before camp. He took her to prom; she saw him graduate. (The narrative reason I think they didn’t do that is because they wanted “Camp Prom” to be more meaningful and have the option of a more meaningful future Prom. If so, maybe she couldn’t go to his prom. In Everyday of Our Lives, I had her have a cold. In How Deep Is Your Love, she went but it was awkward and she didn’t have a good time because she only knew EJ. They should have stated that they didn’t go together or that it was their first prom together in the promposal for extra significance.) The reason they should have had them date for two months is to give them a sense of their own time (and give fans the canonical satisfaction of a romance that reflected their S2 arc - even if we didn’t get the satisfaction of seeing it).

Camp could have then been many possible things. Maybe they already decided it was a summer romance or a last hurrah because EJ had to do post-high school stuff (further fueled by not having time as a director and trying to get out of leadership school) and Gina was still at East High for two more years.

Maybe they wanted camp to be a “test”, but the writers made it seem like they started dating at the start of camp and that felt incredibly…off? What exactly was being tested? How long have they dated? Seemed like they transitioned from friends to lovers fine, but both had pretty high (and differing) expectations for a relationship that supposedly just started. Gina literally got to sum it up as “five minutes” (which I wish they hadn’t done because it feels kind of offensive, relationships aren’t always about the amount of time and we saw their feelings develop before they even started dating).

Additional Issue: Rehashing S1 and 1.0 Themes, Characters as Caricatures,

It also didn’t help that writers went for the miscommunication trope and the 1.0 versions of their characters too. I think this was to heighten the “drama” but the cost was S2 growth. Not only were there some pretty cruel antics, the characters sometimes felt like caricatures - Gina as “girl who has never had a boyfriend but is figuring out what she needs” and EJ as “distracted guy too invested in a future with the girlfriend and not enough in their present”. Plus, narratively it gave us the sense that they forgot they had been friends first? The antics made it feel like S2 never happened, that EJ and Gina could have gotten together after S1. That Gina didn’t give EJ the benefit of the doubt that he was going to tell her about the letter (because she observes him in S2 as someone who tries and fails a lot) or, honestly, bring it up to him directly (because Gina can be straight forward) seemed out of character. That EJ - who we saw buy her a plane ticket, pick her up at the airport, get her flowers when she got her lead role, and is repeatedly shown as understanding how incredible she is time and time again, including very visibly at the start of Camp Prom - made her feel not a priority and him missing that last dance is plot convenience and character assassination. Maybe everyone is asking him last minute things before Opening Night and he gets distracted by that and forgets or the dance is messing things up for the show and he’s running around trying to fix things. Him telling Maddox a dance is important and then walking away…?

That S3 ends with R*na is also why the rehashing is so problematic. We all know that Gina had a really tough time with liking Ricky in S1. In S2, we saw her incredibly pained by those events that she would want to leave the first stable place that she had in years. The onus was on the writers to have Ricky prove out to her that he was worth a second look/chance. Being a good friend is great, but it’s also the bare minimum. Not telling her about his crush while she’s still in a relationship with his friend is called not being an a-hole. It is 2022. Can we not aim for more than this? Can Ricky - who we know is adverse to change and speaking up until it is absolutely necessary and sometimes too late (looking at you, Nini and Lily) - not have been changed enough to even just ask her out in the jump cut?

Additional Issue: Break Up Speech - Confusing Messaging and Shifting Perspectives

You can argue that with “maybe” usage, Gina was referring to how she felt about herself with EJ’s lack of plan and his actions during camp, but I would argue that Gina was also upset and angry about the last dance and the entirety of camp being disappointing to what she envisioned for herself and EJ (re: Gina and the Trouble With Rom-Coms). Camp Prom is the second-to-last-day of camp (conveniently, for drama, the day before opening night). At that point, the last dance = last straw = last chance, etc. etc. She argued that she was working towards their future, but she was actively pressed about present-day moments of camp specifically and about all the moments she had foreseen them having at the start of camp. She looked back to see camp as a (failed) picture of their possible future and then wanted to “jump ahead” to an ending she had determined for the both of them.

I say it time and time again. I am glad that the writers chose for Gina to be a voice and advocate for herself. And I think the choice for her to be the one to speak up was solid and in character, but the more I think about how that scene happened and the word choice, the more I think it was important for Gina to not only acknowledge herself and her needs, but also that she saw and appreciated what EJ had been trying to do. I wrote Flashbacks and Echoes (Gina recovering/processing from her break up with EJ) as a request. In it, EJ is significant for Gina and she still has to sort through the ending of her first relationship. So while we don’t see it, I think she did take that time before the jump cut to figure out her feelings and come to terms with it ending (I’m not sure what she was going to apologize for that EJ gave her a pass on). However, it was really challenging to write because throughout it, I could only convince myself that it was remotely feasible because Gina could only really understand/see her side of the story and she didn’t fully understand the scope of what EJ went through that summer and her role in his actions. In this version of events, Gina thinks EJ got “what he wanted”, which was that the show did really well and that it was trending in Brazil. That somewhere along the way, the show’s success meant more to him and was the source of his future than she did, because she hadn’t been a priority. While the audience - if we are supposed to believe that he is in love with her - is supposed to see that she’s always been the throughline. EJ could have discovered himself anywhere, including leadership school, but he wanted to stay in Salt Lake for her. But he not only lost the girl, but didn’t even gain his dad’s support and respect. (And the writers didn’t think it necessary for anyone else to tell him he did a good job. Re: Elton John Caswell wanted to feel like enough.)

In I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss, the follow up fanfic I wrote to Flashbacks and Echoes, I dig a bit deeper into the above. And in this AU it takes Gina a solid ten years until she realizes that her younger self wasn’t exactly wrong, but only working within her limited scope. In this I bring up that the “maybe” speech was different for EJ. In that, he understood her meaning, but he couldn’t help but hear in her words that he wasn’t going to be enough. There’s what he’s trying to do - which is to just stay in Salt Lake, figuring out a future, and be with her - and then she builds on that with him being essentially outside of high school now and how she can’t see him doing all these high school things that might be dumb but are important to her.

This last framework is significant because while I think it was unfair of EJ to mention Ricky, I don’t think it was unwarranted when Gina brings up Ricky’s Bucket List as a major activity that summer. We see some nice moments of Ricky’s bucket list (which honestly I think they spent too much time on but main character I guess), but we see dumb ones too like him eating 3 pizzas the day of Camp Prom *and* the day before Opening Night. Do we blame EJ for not participating if he has to put on a whole musical for an international streaming documentary (which later became a live stream)? The show tried really hard to make it seem that Gina didn’t emotionally cheat on EJ (and I’m not saying she did, I thoroughly think she did see Ricky as just a friend until she had the emotional freedom/space to think of him as more), but the show also consciously made her spend time with Ricky in a way that undercut/made up for EJ not being there. EJ’s mentioning Ricky wasn’t great, but he wasn’t exactly wrong - she mentioned two things that were specifically about Ricky that somehow was about EJ missing camp because he was too busy having “a different summer”. The jump cut only added to this because it twisted the “maybe” speech into a “yes” speech.

I don’t think these speeches should have been connected. I think the most beautiful thing they could have done for R*na was to just show how nice it was that Gina could forgive him and he could grow and how unentangled they were from Gina’s relationship with EJ. I’m not sure if an apology from Ricky was warranted because Gina’s S1 (S2 flashback) speech to him was just bad timing and she thought she was going to leave so had nothing to lose. They had such a wonderful opportunity to give Ricky growth and change. Maybe if they wanted to play on those words of “yes” and “maybe” - it should have been from him using those words. There could still have been a kiss at the end of it all if they had played their cards right and I honestly would have respected it.

Conclusion - Because this is long and I don’t know how to end these thoughts and I have probably said all these things a million times at this point (sorry tumblr fam)

A couple with such a clear and thoughtful arc to getting together should have a clear and thoughtful ending. I’m not even talking about it being happy? If they’re better off as friends, then maybe they’re awkward as a couple. If it’s just a summer romance, then give them the benefit of that framework and let them live a little - to take that second chance and say that they actually lived it. To some degree, I think the writers liked not having to pick a lane because “messy” and “drama”, but I just keep on thinking “at what cost?” And the cost is always that S2 Portwell glow up that they wrote - Portwell could be endgame and I’ll still be mad. I also just really think it’s so important to see a healthy first relationship portrayed (even if it’s just for a little while and maybe because it’s just for a little while - re: What I love about Portwell is that it was a healthy relationship… ).

So I end on this bittersweet summary: Yes, they were in love and they never got a chance to say it to each other. They’ll probably give it over to R*na in S4 and I don’t really care. S3 gave just enough to see two people who really did love each other. There was so much hope and - even when it faltered - a lot of trust. I’m just sad that the decision was to undermine all that growth for conclusions that could have ended in so many ways. In S2, PW had a miscommunication element before the kiss, both Gina and EJ have to speak up and take chances. He asks her out. Then after the misinformation moment, Gina speaks up. This resulted in them both getting each other onto the same page. And I think, in the end, I just really wanted that for these characters, to be able to leave that page on the same footing.

[mimmosa]

song prompts for possible portwell fics (if anyone wants to volunteer themselves 👀 they would probably do a better work than i would even though i have some drafts for ideas so please feel free to take these - i much prefer reading than writing the fics anyway😅🫣)

• the story of us - taylor swift: i actually listened to this song omw to work the other day and had like a vision of how fitting i felt it was for their story, though obviously me being a sucker for happy endings i would end the fic with a portwell rekindling but, that’s just the hopeless romantic in me🫣

• enchanted - taylor swift: no but imagine an ej pov in his pining era, maybe at carlos quinceañera or after

• nuevo verano - amaia: she a spanish singer/songwriter and this song is everything for a fluffy falling in love fic so i’ll just leave it here but the song is so simple it’s actually heartwarming the portrait of falling in love in such a simple way.

• steal my girl - one directon: ej in his simp era for his girl like do i need to say more???

•paper rings - taylor swift: what can i say taylor has a song for literally any fic prompt so

OH OH OH almost forgot stat stay stay by miss americana aswell COME ONNNNN like what if ej had actually had the space to fight back?!

i’m putting this (begging) out here in case any of the marvellous fic writers we have want to take a chance!

#portwell #portwell fanfiction #writing prompt #fic prompt #ej caswell #gina porter #ej x gina #gina x ej

[mimmosa]

Once again putting Ej emotions ahead of gina’s . Ej father not liking his plan to do nothing for a year isn’t surprising. It’s trying to insinuate that Gina is somehow pathetic cause she admitted wasn’t over him like people have been claiming and they most likely did it that cause Ricky thought she was over him . Pretty sure the trailer told her about his feelings not Carlos or Ricky. You are mad when they’ve been building to this all season like the plot was the same as the play . The outrage is very hilarious

Well, you’re missing my point. Yes, I am upset at the treatment of EJs character but that’s separate from Gina and Ricky … who I wanted to have a better payoff.

“I wouldn’t have stopped fighting for us” and the chocolates, and all those things that made her feelings for him clear. And then her crying over him for multiple episodes. I am putting Gina’s feelings above Ricky’s, not EJs above Gina’s. Gina deserved a speech. She deserved Ricky letting HER know she wasn’t a maybe. That he’s been scared to jump into something new but that’s exactly what he needs and it’s her. That he likes her. Wants her. Chooses her. That’s what I wanted for Gina.

Ricky doesn’t need to hear he’s the choice. He is always the choice. And if the show went that way, it wouldn’t have had to stronghold this weird narrative that Gina wasn’t EJs first choice. Because she always was … she just wanted Ricky more. And that’s okay, but tell it that way, then.

The meta approach of this show is fantastic but don’t get so lost in it you forget to honor the grounded story you’re telling in exchange for parallels of the show within a show. There has to be consistency or you’re flailing.