#//like idk i think i could get more into what gina… did do- because people are really not being honest about that

[rinisbowen]

she stole a phone for an hour, she moved a phone from point a to point b, etc.

someday i may break down how that’s very much Not all that gina did…

because like if we’re going to over-exaggerate everything that all the other characters did (for example, nini only took gina’s shoes {which she shouldn’t have done, obviously, regardless of the fact she was right about the phone thing}, but it was kourtney that stole the rest)… we can at least be honest about the fact that gina did in fact do things wrong in season 1, multiple things, and even the phone thing is… kinda a bigger deal than it’s been treated as.

AND- we can also all agree that these characters have all grown and evolved since season one. and truly- isn’t that important too? we can criticize all of them, and recognize that they HAVE messed up. like gina was supposed to be the mean girl in season one, and she did in fact act like one, but we got to see the reasons why she’s that way, and we got to watch her learn to be kinder to others and form genuine connections with the people in her life.

the problem with gina in season one was never her ambition, she’s allowed to want to play the lead and focus on her own audition, etc; it was how she went about that. that part, the way she’s going about going after the lead, has obviously changed for her. gina is not 1.0 or 2.0, she’s just gina; a whole person. we can acknowledge her failings and her growth and successes. this season is her time to have the success she’s been expecting for herself since season one.

sofia said herself, gina’s not regressing this season. she may struggle to balance- finding the ways she can hold onto her friendships and give everything to her performance, but she’s not regressing. her ambition is not the problem, and it has never been the problem.

#//not directed at anyone in particular i’ve seen this take on multiple platforms many times #//not sure how i feel about even posting this… because i’ve seen some… interesting comments made… #//but i think we miss out on a lot by reducing gina’s negative actions in s1 to that #//like idk i think i could get more into what gina… did do- because people are really not being honest about that #//but i just- i know that won’t be well received whatsoever #//if i take this down in the next few hours i’m sorry i just- yeah idk

[murcielagatito]

idk how even to start this post bc wile im using miles morales as an example his actual comic race differs and this is the fault of people just straight up not understanding how race in regard to us puerto ricans works. and its all thanks to racism colorism and the depiction and representation of latinos in media

to fully understand this and how deeply we are affected we need to go alllll the way back to the beginning

its 1490whatever and cristobal colon has just discovered the americas. and on one particular island, boriken, he discovers a tribe, the tainos <3. we brought him gold and showed him kindness. and to make a long story short he fucked us over immensely. if we didnt bring meet his gold quota it was chopped off hands. he killed us he raped us he did countless atrocities. we were given a new name: puerto rico “rich port”. most americans know what happened to the many indigenous nations on the mainland but not many are taught about us the indigenous islanders. los tainos. we spanned across el caribe: jamaica, cuba, haiti, dominican republic and puerto rico (where im from!)

but dont get it twisted we didnt just roll over and take it. the very first freedom fighter, cacique (chief) hatuey fought with many other tainos to be liberated. unfortunately, he was executed in 1512 and that was that

one year later, in 1513, what imma call ‘phase two’ began. with him this time, colón brought enslaved africans to work the fields alongside tainos. its over for us. we are miserable, malnourished, and theres no escape. and as one does when youre live and work and die together, you love together. and love we did!

everyone who lived in puerto rico loved and loved and every combination possible of taino, african, and spaniard was born. and this has continued for 500 years. a caste was created. and that caste still hurts and affects us to this day. because all it was is colorism and racism. and after seeing the horrid takes about latinos in the spiderverse fandom and beyond…. well here we are now because somebodys gotta say it

but hellbaby? why did you have to add all the history stuff?because the way miles’ family was portrayed could have been awesome representation for many afrolatinos. and they fumbled big time. its not bad representation so dont twist my words. it just could have been better

the representation of latino families in hollywood has always been a bit…. stereotypical. and not just sterotypical but homogenized and caricaturized. anyone remember george lopez (the show)? when someone thinks about latinos NOW, the household names are pedro pascal, gina rodriguez, or oscar isaac. pale people!!! and then as fame works, jenna ortega and all the other pasty latina biddies are who rise to fame and household name status. everyone recognizes them ofc

but what about gina torres, laz alonso, rosie perez, judy reyes, tatyana ali, selenis leyva, amara la negra and many more? how many of these actors can you recognize from name alone? did you know theyre all afrolatino? (and did you know theyre in extemely well known movies and tv?)

how many stories in television do you know in this day and age that have afrolatino characters whose latinidad isnt ignored? i can name one off the top of my head. monse from on my block. a show revolving latinos that was relentlessly made fun of. like i get it its a comedy and its funny and fun. but latinos may as well be synonymous with getting laughed at at this point and we are soooooo fucking tired of it

it all boils down to one simple message. the erasure of black and indigenousness from the latino community. “miles is latino because his mom is latina” “miles is black and latino” its not something you can put into two separate labels. miles is a black latino. he is afrolatino. and that means a lot of things for a lot of different people but until you can understand that black people can also just be latino we will always be stuck in this horrible era of people assuming that afrolatinos cant just literally be black hispanics…

when miles morales was first announced to be the protagonist of spiderverse so many rasict ass latinos were upset. “why does an afrolatino have to be the first representation we get of a latino spiderman?” and many other things like that were said about him. “well the reason hes latino is only because of his mom” and just like that, the knowledge of the existence of black people that have been latino for centuries has gone down the drain. a new (old) misconception was brought back to the surface and popularized. and its gutwrenching and heartbreaking and horrible. black latinos exist and miles morales is afropuertoriqueño

there are so many nuances when it comes to race and latinodad that ppl just dont bother learning more about and how racism and colorism plays into it. and it has had many negative effects to how real life afrolatinos and indijenolatinos are perceived and treated. we arent asking for the impossible we’re just asking for recognition and understanding

#mi mami es afrolatina pero yo no soy #so theres obviously better people to speak on this but it gets exhausting having to pick outselves apart just so you can understand #miles morales #rio morales #jeff morales #spiderverse

[itsdappleagain]

i know csweekly is on hold now, but I still have to catch up on The Luchadora Tango Caper, so here it is!!

Season 3 is maybe my least favorite season out of any of them, but I still love it, so I'm really excited to get into this!

Notes under the cut as always and please ignore the fact that I'm a month late on this thx

NEW CASTLE!!! NEW CASTLE YAYYY

sometimes I think this whole series is Maelstrom just talking about shit for like 14 hours

cleo sympathizing with guys in skirts <3 she knows ur struggle boys

love how they slapped up a giant glowing green world map and copper sulfate burning chandeliers before they put in insulation or heat

brunt, girl, calm down. they were just doing their evil minion bagpipe job

british on british violence

that was such a cute nod when this season first dropped. haha theres been no sign of her all summer because of the hiatus you are so clever

they rlly thought they had something with the turn them against each other thing. i cant believe they thought they tvy7 rating would let shadowsan and carmen kill each other 🙄

"carmen is DEAD" (cheery tango music)

i mean it works because we know hes wrong and stupid but like

no offense but the tango dancers are animated in a way that is reminiscent of a kid manually moving their barbie dolls legs to make them walk

our girl <3

tell me why dropping 200 feet onto the top of the metal detector was more sneaky than literally anything else she could have done

ok. yes. but the fact she is robbing it does not negate the fact that she will be on the news for breaking into a bank dsjfsdghfkdsa

1021 is the number on the box- could it mean something? in a strictly doylist sense. october 21st doesn't seem to have any significant holidays...I can't find anything, might just be a random number set.

good god the "i...have his eyes." hits me like a truck every time

gina pulled it out with the voice acting in this one

she WAS a very cute baby

"another" link girl what else has there been you should be ecstatic

ayyy its the character literally everyone except spintrap-stan and amaryllis solely remember for being voiced by dante basco

i love how snarky carmen immediately gets. if he knows her name and what she looks like, obviously he's an operative, so she gets to have a little fun in immediately declining him while still gaining valuable information, almost immediately, about who he is and what his talent will be

everyone is very stretched today

this is not my favorite fight scene honestly (at least until flytrap gets here. dont even get me started on her fighting style im in love with it) because its literally just like ooh. he kicks. she dodges. wow. they really do try with the tango parallels but idk

wow!! other people can kick too??? who knew

she protected the face

cutely runs into oncoming traffic

those cars were not even slowing down girl they were just like HONK MOVE OR DIE

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS FLYTRAP MY GIRL

okay mini rant incoming i already did a post on this like a billion years ago but flytrap is one of my favorites because in my opinion she and paper star are the most dangerous villains we ever see in the show. let me. try to find that post actually

yeah here it is

flytrap is also so hot and has the same va as luz so she's just top tier. idk if the team put half the episode budget into celebrity voice actors and thats why we only got 5 episodes but you know what

love how carmen is literally stopping her attempts to get free to banter. girl. stop

shadowsan <3

love how they do not even bother showing the fight they just get their asses handed to them

why didnt they start in veracruz just asking

not the table

ok guys. you can stop with the tango thing now. its okay

that little conversation between ivy and shadowsan is so good

comrades??? sir its not the cold war

article from 17 years ago, thank you for that easy to understand slang

carmen plot armored her way out of getting her skull smashed in on that train so hard that she made maelstrom stupid

its canon both in and outside of the show that color theory is so prevalent that any sort of red at all immediately signals carmen

the colors are so beautiful in this scene. carmen doesnt have her coat or jacket on, everythings just a little desaturated as she searches

THE ACME GANG <3333

not the finger guns and glasses wheeze hes such a loser i love him

THE FORESHADOWING TO EGYPT WITH THE PYRAMIDS ON HER LAPTOP!!!!

love how all we get of julia this season is her being pissed off and then leaving

he was such an asshole for closing her laptop why did he do that 😭

has carmen just been ignoring vile missions for the last season of the year to research her mom or

girlie is so sad about everything

ah yes, the door, the thing you wish to have opened, the best place to lean your full body against after you knock,

i'M SOrry. did you NOT attend a school for THIEVES

HSDGGDG HEY. just broke into your house. im your long lost daughter

i love how she goes DONT TOUCH ANYTHING and then immediately drags her whole arm across the wall and cabinet

also her face when she sees the masks is perfect

okay be honest how many of you have replayed carmen saying maybe mommy at least once. who. raise your hands

shes sooo buff

love how everyone is taking this so seriously and then carmen is just completely apathetic about anything thats going on

dont deadname lupe, carmen

her hair catching a gust of indoor wind for the sole purpose of making her look sick as hell in her intro card is so iconic

as ivy absolutely obliterating zack in the foreground is so fucking funny

she got that "EH EH EH." titter of "HEY NO. DONT YOU DO THAT" down scary well

devineaux strutting im sobbing. julia was doing SO well and then she got paired with devineaux AGAIN

that cab driver looks so concerned about the hulking texan in his backseat

remember when the trailer dropped and we thought those roses were for julia. good times

everyone narrowly avoiding each other as they pull in

you just know ivy smacked zack when he protested to decoy time hdsafhadsg

gotta say the "EH?" while getsuring to the trophies is fucking hilarious. obviously julia knows she wouldnt go after those but its so funny

i do love the way carmen just shrinks any time brunt appears. she is soooo traumatized

VAMOOSE EL MASKO SHES SO ACCURATREIUSDHKFSKHFD SHES EXACTLY WHAT MIDDLE AGED AMERICAN SOUTHERNERS SOUND LIKE

LUPE IS SO FUCKING COOL

devineaux showcasing his braincells for a spilt second this episode

ah, so begins the not a good time mantra

devineaux getting absolutely decimated because he thinks coach brunt thinks hes handsome is so funny

the referee watching two apparent civilians enter the ring: 🙂

carmen is so funny here. she uncuffs herself and then just leaves devineaux to die like fuck his ass he can get smooshed

carmen getting increasingly mad at devineaux while she drags him places is my favorite part of the episode

also, either carmen got stronger or devineaux had a few bouts of crazed research where he didnt eat, but she can drag him easily now as opposed to when she was struggling back at the trap in poitiers

they put this shot in the trailer and without context it just looked like carmen was standing there glaring at brunt menacingly

the cat burglar <3

worst fucking ref on the planet i love him

was carmen stopping to listen to julia's voice i would like to think so

ah the devineaux and cars gag. i mean, to be fair, it wasnt his fault this time

starts beatboxing

carmen really just dumped her whole life story on lupe thats so funny. girlie started the day preparing for a match, got her house broken into, and then ended the day learning about a global crime syndicate

they really ended s2 going THE NEXT SEASON WILL FOCUS ON CARMENS MOM and then started s3 going well actually um okay so

theres our transition sentence

lupe's yellow and blue palette btw!! cs color theory i love you

lupe is more of a mom than carlotta ever gets to be thats sad honestly

carmens little smile ough

here is a shot that very succinctly illustrates the dynamics in the coming seasons. the three at the table stand strong- always have. roundy is basically a footnote no one cares about him and then brunt...brunt is sort of on the edge. this carries over all the way into s4 when malestrom tries to drown her

oh my god i forgot about the weird halloween thing the faculty has going on this season i love it

my analysis is right in time for spooky season >:) halloween IS nearly upon us!!!

OKAY well my thoughts on the luchadora tango caper...pretty good. honestly its kind of net zero information because we introduce the premise of finding carmens mom and then immediately abandon it but it sets up um....well....it sets up....what does it set up

anyway- not my favorite episode, even though lupe is fucking awesome. i think it suffers a little from deviating from that classic caper structure and jumping around, but it does its job as an introductory episode.

until we return, sayonara, mon amigos!

#csweekly #carmen sandiego weekly #cs weekly #carmen sandiego

[27emailsicantsend]

I both love and don’t love that we’re getting secret dating Rina. Love it because hello, it’s like a fanfic coming to life! But I don’t love it because it sort of feels out of character for Gina a bit. Though I understand her reasoning, she’s emphasized in the past how much she hates liars and now she’s lying about this monumental thing. I’m curious to see how they go about them going public and I hope it’s Gina who decides she’s done with the secret dating because she wants everyone to know how happy Ricky makes her! I also hope they don’t go too long with the secret dating, but honestly I think it’s only going to be an episode or two. What are your thoughts?

So I am 1000% sure Tim is one of the rina accounts in disguise because there is no way he’s not reading ao3 late at night and stealing ideas 😂 and while I actually do love the idea of them secret dating (I wrote a whole fic about it), I can see what you mean. It’s actually the reason I was so bothered by Gina’s “nothing wrong with a friendly fib” line three episodes after her saying how much she hates liars. But someone did point out to me that that line was because she knew Ricky wasn’t actually ready to say what she needed and that was her trying to comfort him. I think this is kind of in the same vein. I think she finds lying selfish, but what she is doing is to help protect their relationship and he’s in on it… more of a selfless act.

At least in the moment she sees it that way. I agree that it will probably come back to bite both of them. Ricky will get fed up with Mack all over her and she will feel bad taking away something she knows would bring Ricky relief/happiness.

I think they could decide to tell everyone and around the same time they end up getting caught anyway so it doesn’t matter. I also trust that Tim knows rinas would be very upset if they were never publicly together so I don’t see it lasting too long either. It’s just a fun little plot device to move the storyline along in s4 but at max it probably won’t last longer than 4 eps. Like have you seen them trying to hide in the trailer? They’re so bad at it. It won’t take long for others to know.

There is the scene of them holding hands in front of Miss Jenn where people think they might be out by that scene but idk. Either they are, or they accidentally walk in holding hands, or Miss Jenn is having them rehearse a troyella scene so hand holding makes sense.

Thank you for the ask anon! ☺️

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #rina #ricky bowen #gina porter #ricky x gina #asks #send me asks #anon

[timelessbibliophile]

People think she choose Ej cause he was there is because Gina spent majority of the episodes pinning for Ricky then she suddenly likes Ej after talking to the boy at the airport. Let’s take away that tim already confirmed that both have unresolved feelings, none of friends bought that they actually like each other & put off by their relationship that’s continuing in the upcoming season . Gina family sees him as a brother figure. The writing is why people think portwell is rushed . Tim after the season finale last year said they Ej & Gina wasn’t making it , they been planning Ricky & Gina since their unexpected chemistry & acting together the dance .

Okay there are so many things to unpack here, so let's start.

"Gina spent the majority of episodes pining over Ricky". I would strongly disagree.

This is the list of episodes of season 2 (considering that you're referring to season 2 only in this ask). There are 12 episodes in season 2, "the majority of episode" implies at least 7 episodes of Gina just being sad for Ricky. If my memory works correctly, Gina definitely pushed Ricky away in episode 5, The Quinceañero, and here we are introduced to EJ's possible crush on Gina more bluntly. It had already been somewhat implied in previous episodes, but this one established EJ's interest, and even more than that, him and Gina's friendship. That's 4 episodes of Gina "pining" over Ricky. Less than half.

"She suddenly likes EJ after talking to the boy at the airport", also will disagree on this. First of all, Portwell were great friends even before any romantic feelings showed up. Gina liked EJ before, as a friend, but if we're talking about just liking, she likes him since season 1. Gina started showing interest in EJ in the Quinceañero episode, but she was more intrigued than anything. Then, we have the "Yes, And" episode where you see them laughing and working together much more than before. At this point, we know why EJ is reaching out, but Gina hadn't been so friendly before, so our eyebrows rise in curiosity for what might be going on. Then it's "The Field Trip" episode, where they literally pretend to be dating. Gina accepted being EJ's partner in the Good Morning East High show (i cant remember the name lol). Then we have the "Most Likely To" episode. You mean to tell me that after the whole couch scene you can't see that Gina clearly has feelings for EJ? She showered him in compliments and helped him regain his confidence, and be happy about his decisions. What you refer to in the ask is in the "Spring Break" episode, but that's just the episode where she realizes she has feelings for him. As the audience we understand it's only her realization moment because we already watched like 3 episodes of them getting closer and closer together and very clearly being romantically interested in each other.

"Tim already confirmed that both have unresolved feelings" what? Do you mean Ricky and Gina? I don't read Tim's interviews, so I can't say for sure he did that bc idk, but ok??? So what??? Of course they have unresolved feelings, they had a past. That doesn't mean Gina is going to run into Ricky's arms after she sees him once. It means they have feelings to resolve, that's all. Doesn't mean a Portwell breakup or anything like it.

"Non of their friends bought that they actually like each other" could you refer to specific scenes? From what I remember in the episode where both the boys and girls did sleepovers, both groups of friends were really supportive of their crushes on each other. I don't remember any moment when they doubted it.

"& put off their relationship that's continuing in the upcoming season" this one I just don't understand. What do you mean by this?

"Gina family sees him as a brother figure" what? No? Jamie only said that because he was overprotectively trying to get EJ away from Gina. He doesn't know EJ at all, but he didn't want Gina with anyone. Jamie said that to discourage EJ from pursuing Gina at all (which he would've succeeded at if not for Ashlyn). We also know Jamie didn't genuinely mean that because Gina asked Ashlyn why EJ would think that. She knows she doesn't see him like that, but she also knows that she hasn't told anyone that. Or else, she would have thought of Jamie right away as in "Oh, EJ talked to Jamie, that's why he thinks that." But she doesn't.

"The writing is why people think Portwell is rushed", I wonder what they think of Seblos who got together after like 1 episode 😂 Portwell has been building for a while. If we talk about only season 2, it's 7 episode of just building their relationship. If we count season 1, we have a lot more than that. The writing isn't rushed, it's just not a slow burn.

"Tim after the season finale last year said that EJ & Gina wasn't making it" again, i don't watch their interview, so i wouldn't know, but this is unlikely. I highly doubt the creator of the show would just rat out a major spoiler about season 2's favorite couple casually in an interview after the season finale. If so, please send a link to where he says that, i'd love to watch/read it.

"They been planning Ricky & Gina since their unexpected chemistry & acting together the dance" this one i think i know what you're referring to, but you might be misinterpreting their words. From what I understand Tim said Sofia and Joshua had much more chemistry than they imagined, and would do scenes together. That absolutely does not translate into Rina Endgame.

Next time try to build a better case ig

#hsmtmts #portwell #ask kitty #ej caswell #gina porter #rina #matt cornett #ej x gina #sofia wylie #i tried to be the nicest i could be about it #but honestly the ask was so over the place

[arsenicpanda]

When Riverdale gets back to the present in s7, I want Jughead to do more with teaching or something community related (maybe supervising school newspaper from 5x19?), bc his character got so much flatter after they removed his concern for his community from s4 onward. Also, if he's going to be with Tabitha, Riverdale's official guardian angel, and they're going to stay in Riverdale, I think it would be really appropriate to show him have a significant concern for the people of Riverdale as well. And, like, Jughead had such troubles as a teen, a true Troubled Youth with half or more of his episodes having the plot of a Very Special Episode of a sitcom, that I think it works best for him to be invested in kids too, and bonus points for having anything parallel his relationship with Pop but with Jughead in Pop's place, just having him live up to the name of the family he'll marry into. Like, I desperately need the set up for them taking up Pop's mantle and being Ma and Pop Tate/Jones-Tate/Tate-Jones, Riverdale's supportive parents for wayward souls, in the future. He shouldn't step on her toes in this trait, but they should be a team here because it's heartwarming and cute. It also follows up on the way his heaven featured a kid who was similar to Jughead visually thanking him for the stories he wrote and talking about how they helped him.

(Also, I would like Tabitha to have things to do that aren't just helping and taking care of other people, like let her have independent stories and be supported herself (esp by Jughead, please even things out on that front), don't just have her give and give and give endlessly.)

Also, the way they removed FP and Jughead's concern for his family and the way he struggled with his relationship with that legacy and baggage was already such a huge blow to his complexity as a character, so removing his previous concern for his community of top of that was ROUGH for his character; it really flattened him out. I know that FP leaving was out of the writers' control, they probably couldn't have gotten Gina back, and JB's actress couldn't pass for 19/20 post-time skip so they couldn't use her either without awkwardly recasting, but they could have had Jughead talk about them or imply off-screen communication or brought his grandfather in, just something, anything to keep what had previously been such a major part of his character intact. Also, it was super weird to make him a 3rd-generation alcoholic but never bring that up or have it be a point of angst or drama because a.) you'd think that'd be important and b.) it's SUCH a dark thing to write and it's weird to not acknowledge how depressing it is.

Idk, the way that Being A Writer became such a significant part of Jughead's stories starting in s4 when it was previously more of just, like, a thing he did on the side while some mystery/community thing was his main story before really bugs me because it's such a boring development. Characters who are About Writing, especially male characters who are About Writing on tv, are a dime a dozen, and one of the good things about Jughead in s1-3 was that it was an important part of his character but the writers didn't spend much or any time on it because there were better, more interesting things to do, which was a stark contrast to the way a lot of writer characters on tv become tiresome, annoying, self-contradictory circle-jerks. But then his plots started being at least partially About Writing, and it's been tiresome every time. He doesn't even barge into people's offices to argue over some mystery or harm they're doing to the community anymore, it's such a bummer because that was always so incredibly funny. (I need them to bring that back when he's a teen in the 50s again.)

And it doesn't help that every sample of his writing we've gotten has been so, so bad. Like, Riverdale writers, please throw my boy a bone and hire a talented prose writer for some excerpt(s) of his writing so I can believe he's a good writer who's honed his craft over the years, because the alternative isn't so, so sad.

#Riverdale #Jughead Jones #jabitha #I guess? #s2b Jughead who is an annoying activist teen fighting for his community by protesting and investigating #and who is making his family legacy his own and who is also desperately in love #will always be the best Jughead #I miss him SO MUCH #my thoughts on Riverdale let me show you them #tbf pretty much all of the Riverdale characters are flatter than they were in earlier seasons #like Jughead has been hit hard but at least he isn't Archie who is basically just 'I want to be my dad and make him proud' now #Betty is also a big victim here and also had her arc take the world's most boring turn and I'm not sure which of the two is worse off #but my Riverdale brainrot is Jughead-centric so of course I'm thinking about him #I could probably elaborate on this (esp the bullshit and misogynistic turn of Betty's arc like my god) but I'm not gonna do it in the notes

[shelbbswrites]

Re: your curiosity about those who don't like EJ. I personally appreciate his character and can sympathize with his plight in S3, but I might be able to give some perspective on those who are critical of him and how he handled his relationship with Gina. Obvi there are those who immaturely hate EJ for shipping reasons, but that's not representative of everyone. I think the big point that's leading to differing opinions is that EJ claims he is trying to make the show perfect to be able to stay in SLC long-term for Gina. Many people read this as a justification for not spending time with her during camp, and from his perspective, perhaps he also thought he was justified. Others see his behavior as neglectful and maybe even dismissive of Gina's desires, which were simply to create new memories at camp with her boyfriend.

From Color War on, she was constantly communicating to him that she wanted to spend time with him /now/, while they had guaranteed time together. He would promise that they would (CW, last dance), but he dropped the ball. For me, what I think was true neglect on his part was what he said after rejecting her promposal. The rejection was disappointing yet understandable, but then he said "I have a few minutes before I need to get back to work." He wasn't even going to spend the rest of the evening with her, despite dropping the ball all day long. She still gave him another chance with prom, and he was again so lost in his work that he forgot to spare one dance with her. Gina is acutely aware of how quickly life can be upended and that tomorrow is never guaranteed. This is why EJ focusing on doing xyz to have the possibility of a future with Gina before enjoying the present with her /is not/ the security she needs. Her saying she feels like a "maybe" isn't because she's doubtful of EJ's commitment or feelings for her, it's because he's making promises for the future that she knows (and even he knows) are uncertain.

Idk if you subscribe to the opinion that Gina was ridiculous for feeling neglected after 2 weeks and that if she only waited until camp was over, EJ could be more dedicated to their relationship, but I still want to address it. As Gina says in the finale, camp truly is a metaphor for everything. Gina noticing that they're having two completely different experiences all summer long signals to her that they are actually in different stages of life. The director gig is metaphorical of the new responsibilities of adulthood, and Gina recognized that his approach to securing their future together was never going to work because those responsibilities wouldn't subside once camp was over. It was best she ended things when she did rather than let the relationship crumble and hurt them more deeply in the future. People can have whatever opinion they want on the use of metaphor in this way, but it's not really a valid point to say that EJ could spend more time with her after camp. (again, this isn't directed at you, but just a response to those who are still making that point)

I hope this helped you see this other perspective a little clearer! I think if you take /both/ EJ's and Gina's perspectives into account, it's easier to see that they both made mistakes, but they also had different visions of their desires and needs. No one's the bad guy, but EJ still messed up and Gina's feelings of neglect were valid

Sorry for only getting to this message now! I know that it was sent a little while ago.

Because this ask is longer, which I appreciate, I'm going to respond to points as they come up.

EJ did say he wanted to make the show perfect to be able to stay in Salt Lake with Gina, but he never said that's the only reason he wanted it to be a great production. But I do think that Frozen, which is to be streamed on Disney+ to millions of people, is a major reason for not being able to spend time with a significant other at camp.

For most of the season, EJ is pulling the strings of the musical on his own. That's a lot of pressure and work for a teenager to shoulder. I wish that Gina (and the rest of the Wildcats! This frustration does not weigh solely on Gina's shoulders!) had offered to help EJ with the show more so they could both compromise and spend time together that way. Once EJ became the director of Frozen, there was no way EJ and Gina would have the laid-back summer of memories they originally envisioned.

EJ dropped the ball with promises he made because he was trying to pull off an impossible task predominantly on his own. I wish that the Promposal scene would have ended with Gina asking what she could do to help EJ so that they could enjoy one night together. It's just really evident to me that EJ is under immense pressure, and it was rare to see anyone acknowledge that or attempt to shoulder it with him. Instead, that scene played out as the beginning of the end of that relationship.

Their relationship felt so disconnected from basically the second that EJ found out he would be the show's director. There was no way for them to line back up and be in sync because every time EJ tried (bringing her flowers, their moment during Love Is an Open Door, etc.), it felt like they were in two different phases of what they needed from the relationship and the summer.

Which is NOT a bad story point. I think it tracks that EJ and Gina would be pulled apart — EVENTUALLY — by circumstance and time and school.

So, with what we see and how hard EJ tries, I don't understand why Gina would think EJ sees her as a "maybe." I still think it would have played better if she said that to EJ and then RICKY told Gina that she was never a "maybe" TO HIM. That balance to the sentiment would have worked a lot better TO ME than Gina saying it to Ricky.

I certainly don't think it's ridiculous for Gina to feel the way she feels during a two-week camp. Her emotions are valid, as are EJ's. I understand her perspective, and I understand his perspective.

I hope I addressed everything. If not, I'll answer any more asks. I like analyzing this story with these characters.

#hsmtmts #portwell #ej caswell #gina porter #shelbbsanswers

[homemade-ghosts]

any theories? the obvious answer is maybe gina finds out they can bring dates/finds out ej was lying (for whatever reason. i’m genuinely curious as to why he lied unless it’s to do a promposal himself which would still make me mad if i was gina like go by yourself atp bc you ruined the night just to prompose in the morning?). or metaphorically it means their book/story is getting closed. or maybe their relationship is left open or open ended by the end of this ep (which i hope not if That leak is real bc gina is about to get SLANDERED by Them if so)? to try to think of it in a positive way i can’t really think of any way the emoji can be positive besides the “they’re open ended” way so? idk what do u think. or i just thought of another one maybe it means everything between them finally left out in the open? can be positive or negative ig

I'm not sure Gina would even think to check the camp guide/rulebook & see if "No dates to Camp Prom" is in it because, in order for her to do that, she'd have to first suspect that EJ doesn't want to go with her and what reason does she really have to believe that her own boyfriend wouldn't want to take her to a dance? Unless, maybe Val (or Maddox?) makes an offhand comment early in the ep, like, "So, are you & EJ coordinating your outfits for tonight?" and Gina goes, "That'd be pretty pointless, since we can't actually go as each other's dates." Val stares at her, confused. "What do you mean?" "You know, the whole 'rule' about no dates to Prom. How it's, like, a tradition..." Val's expression grows sad, almost pitiful, "...Gina, that's not a rule." "It has to be because EJ said--" and Val pulls out the rulebook all CITs have to read, cover-to-cover, flips to the section on rules for Camp Prom and shows her that there is, in fact, no rule about not bringing a date.

If EJ did lie though, it would have to because he wanted to breakup with Gina, but he didn't have the courage to actually do it, so he used the "no dates" rule as an out. This doesn't really match up with EJ's mindset in the ep though, since we see him kiss her & say that a perfect musical is how he stays in SLC with her (& while I don't agree with his approach, since Gina literally tells him that this isn't about the musical and that she just wants to spend the day together and try to win Color War with him and he decides to completely ignore that in favor what he thinks is best, I do believe he was being sincere). Something definitely would have had to happen mid-day for EJ to do a complete 180 and we were given no indication of that.

& While I do think their chapter is ending this episode, there are several closed book emojis that would better represent that than this open one does, so I don't think that's what Sam is referencing here. I've seen a lot of people saying that it's "close the book before it turns to tragedy" (a reference to Ricky's breakup/accepting the breakup song from s2) and I love that, but I think it's a bit of a stretch.

I really can't see their story being left "open-ended", the resignation on both their faces during the fireworks scene says, to me at least, that they both know this is the end. Also, I can't watch any more of Gina consistently putting in all the effort into their relationship while EJ does nothing but leave her feeling unappreciated and rejected. I need it to be over. (& yeah, I agree, I already know #they will come for her for the [redacted] even if pw is broken up by then, but I don't want to make it any easier for them).

My first thought was pretty much what you mentioned in the last part of your ask, because when I see an emoji of a literal open book, I think of the phrase "I'm an open book." which is to be completely honest about yourself, no holds barred & I could potentially see that being a reference to their breakup. Both of them have sort of been avoiding all the reasons they don't work up, until this point (EJ by diving into work & refusing to apologize, address or explain why he lied/hid things from Gina. & Gina by repeatedly giving EJ the benefit of the doubt and trying to ignore how little effort he puts in, hoping things will be different if she just keeps trying). Maybe their breakup is when they're finally honest with themselves & each other? Open book, no more secrets or silent suffering. Gina realizes she deserves better and EJ realizes that he...I don't know, doesn't know how to be a good boyfriend/partner and doesn't have the time to devote to being one? That he isn't the right person for Gina? (that was me looking for an alternative to "EJ realizes that he's an asshole", which is what I really wanted to say lol). Then, with everything out into the open, they realize just how disconnected & incompatible they really are.

My other theory is a boring one, but I'll include it anyway: a book typically represents school/work/learning, so maybe EJ nearly stands Gina up because, despite knowing how excited she was for Camp Prom, he was busy working on musical stuff. (& when Gina is rightfully upset because not only did her boyfriend reject her promposal, but she had to stand around watching all these cute couples while her boyfriend was nowhere to be seen, EJ could be like, "This musical is more important than some stupid dance, Gina.”) I'd say EJ doesn't even show up to Prom at all, but there's a BTS pic of Matt, Josh & Frankie all in their 70s-inspired Prom outfits, so he’s definitely there at some point.

I saw someone on Twitter say that Gina "reads" EJ (as in calls him out for being an absolute garbage boyfriend) but my personal favorite is someone else suggesting that Gina throws a literal book at EJ lmao 😭

#anti portwell #hsmtmts #hsmtmts s3 #anon #asks

[organic-guacamole]

Hsmtmts: Season 3: Episode 2 Reaction

hold on...did EJ pack his East high morning news cup to go with to camp in the woods? cuz 1. what? 2. ???

are they just gonna mention disney+ every episode 🤡

"they would never call the show that" STOP IT THE 4TH 5TH AND 6TH WALLS ARE BROKEN (hexagon shaped room)

portwell is already too domestic for my taste sorry. he made tea(?) for her and everything...like he knew she'd be there...🤨

oh no why did she do that after he mentioned ricky UGHHHH I CANT DO THIS AGAIN

Maddox is... something

as I've been saying since 2x10, CARLOSXRICKY AKA "BROS" FRIENDSHIP FTW

Anna should've been with Gary and I will stand by that 😤

Ricky and Jet. Bowet, if you will.

I love Kourtney. even if this phone withdrawal thing is kinda ridiculous BECAUSE WE GET TO ONOW MORE ABOUT KOURTNEY WITHOUT NINI AROUND TO MAKE IT ABOUT HER!

Gina says she wants a lead role and that makes her Gina 1.0 again? how?

oh she's getting a solo song.

"not the old me, 2.0 me, no the real me's about to shine" that's actually really nice, why does she have to be defined by arbitrary divisions in her personality?

also why is this song like another mid episode music video. I forgot the word to describe them, but it literally cut away from the episode to have her singing into the camera. unless this is part of the in-show show? this season is confusing me with all the inception and self awareness whatever 😭

everything about this is so abrupt ???

twinsies 😐

Ricky....you're embarrassing me.

WHY IS HE LIKE THIS AND WHY DO I LOVE HIM?

when did Nini turn 17? wasn't she 16 last season? or was that season 1? which still wouldn't make sense because it hasn't been a canon year since season 1 yet so even if her birthday was in the summer she wouldn't be almost 18...

caswen.

FRIENDS? ENEMIES? LOVERS? LOOKS AT CAMERA

atp Ricky just needs to choose between EJ and Jet and because isn't it obvious?

Ashlyn is much more like season 1 Ashlyn here and I love it. like clapping when miss Jenn sang at the read through, "actually EJ's my cousin" "I don't wanna talk about EJ do you wanna talk about EJ?" vibes

oo a Maddox interview. she is definitely an acquired taste for me and that feels so wrong to type...

idk if I said it on Tumblr but I told that discord people that I feel like Jet broke up with a partner he wanted to go to camp with and that's why he's all moody/sulky/emo™

what are the ages of this camp? 13 year olds going to camp with 18 year olds? I'm sorry but I'm picturing my mother looking at the flyer for this and exploding because a co-ed camp with children and adults???

Woahh Nini's British accent. I just got transported to season 1.

why are they holding hands.

did I just join a cult

NO HES SINGING

I just stood up and ran around my room the embarrassment was too much

Dewey is funny omg. imagine Jet is actually allergic to chlorine and he's just like "therapy!"

how did Jet get in with the screen though? nvm just realized you could lie to them about having any

I cannot believe Ricky chose to wear that outfit.

the girl that sang after Gina was so good actually...does she ever get a name?

awww Emmy is so adorable, I feel bad for her that she thinks she's gotta be like Gina or whatever now

I feel like I should be talking about the Nini and Marvin scene but...

I knew Adrien was a good singer but I'm actually tearing up and getting goosbumps at jet's audition.

the camp is already so short and she's wasting time to sleep on the cast list?

what is up with these people and trying to give up their relationships first thing

"I'm not thrown" was that a- a CALLBACK TO SEASON 1 AUDITIONS? I CJOKED ON MY RICE

before I started writing fanfics to post online, I always wondered how these people could have writer's block and then suddenly write a song so amazing... I literally wrote 1100 words last night at 1am because I got inspiration...it's real

Kourtney!! yes!! I'm so excited to see a Kourtney centered plot line now, even if it is kinda her early S2 one about believing n herself and whatnot.

I'm sorry but Ricky in this episode is really just him flirting with Gina, Jet and EJ, in that order.

I desperately need to know what Carlos erased on the cast list. like more than anything I need to know if he erased his own name or Ricky's. he erased around the middle of the page so maybe they got a lesser role and he doesn't want that?

anyways, I liked the audition song medley and nini's song(shocker), so see y'all next week...

#guac's episode text blocks :) #hsmtmts #hsmtmts s3 #hsmtmts season 3 #ej caswell #ricky bowen #gina porter #carlos rodriguez #ashlyn caswell #kourtney greene #nini salazar roberts #jet hsmtmts #maddox hsmtmts #val hsmtmts

[insomniactalks]

So apparently Licky’s think that we don’t want Ricky happy when we say he needs therapy or help before getting a girlfriend. And that we are saying people in therapy can’t love but that’s not the case. We literally only want the best for Ricky. What is so wrong about learning to love yourself and help yourself heal before putting those issues on another person? If you don’t love yourself and you aren’t in the right mindset, how tf are you supposed to learn to love someone else and help them with their problems if you can’t even fix your own? It would be different if this stuff happened while he was with someone (and it did and look how that turned out). We wouldn’t say “oh he has issues break up with the person”. The situation is different since he’s single. I personally would want to make sure I am mentally ready before getting into a relationship or at least in a better mindset then when the situation first happened. Do people just not want to work on themselves nowadays? Do they just always rely on other people, is that how it is? Of course there is nothing wrong with getting help but while you’re telling people about your constant problems, as time goes on you should try to figure out how to help yourself too cause soon the person you tell all your problems too will start to feel super burnt out. I know that from personal experience. Everyone and I mean everyone comes to me about their problems and in the beginning I did what I could to help but as time progressed and they kept coming at me with the same problem it got tiring and I felt like I could never vent to them because they seem to be having it worse than me. Or I felt like they weren’t listening. So again I ask, what is so wrong about helping yourself before getting into a nice relationship? Is self love and self care a bad thing nowadays? At least Ej tried to change his mindset and ways before actually pursuing Gina.

I'm pretty sure you meant Gicky so I'll take it as that LOL😂 I don't think anyone actually ships Lily and Ricky. I think the problem lies with some ppl "shipping" Ricky with therapy which defeats the purpose of what most PWs want for him. We just want Ricky to be mentally and emotionally prepared for his next relationship and properly heal from his previous breakup w/ Nini. He's not there yet by S2 finale, but he'll maybe get closer to that in S3. Many of S3's official promo stuff has Ricky with his guitar more than ever. 😂 I think he'll continue to find comfort and healing in his own music this season (and maybe even find it kind of therapeutic in its own way?)🤔 He does seem to get placed next to or near Jet a few times which also makes me think he's somehow a part of Ricky's arc in S3. Idk...wonder what Tim's hiding from Ricky's storyline this season. 😙 Last thing anon, don't be afraid to set boundaries with the people in your life. If you can't vent to others, you shouldn't have to listen to everyone else's problems all the time.😊

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s3 #hsmtmts speculation #hsmtmts jet #ricky bowen #gina porter #ej caswell #portwell #nini salazar roberts #hsmtmts lily #tim federle #ricky bowen meta #kinda? #thanks anon!

[hisfearlesshaz]

hii!! i’m the american anon that wants to move to italy! thank you so much for your input! i saw that you’ve also lived in the Netherlands and that’s a place i’ve also been recently considering as well!! could you tell me a bit about what it’s like to live there? i’ve heard that there’s a bit of a housing shortage as well in Amsterdam recently! do you think it’s difficult to get a job there if you aren’t from there? i also love how people seem to bike everywhere!! i’ve been studying italian for a few weeks because it’s definitely still one of my top choices. my plan is to move to the uk, then eventually make my way over to italy or the netherlands. i feel like that would be a little bit easier for me. did you like living in italy or the netherlands better? i think there will always be cons about every country you go to, but i think i would take the cons of italy, the netherlands, and the uk over the cons of the united states any day lol. thank you!!!! ❤️

Hi!! Glad to help hahah :)))

So! I actually lived in Belgium, not the Netherlands, but I LOVED it. Best six months of my life and I’m not even joking hahaha. I’ve been to the Netherlands and it’s basically the same except for the size because Belgium is reeeeally small. About the size of Maryland but with double the population. The train sister is quite good so you can reach every “big” city in 1h (there are like 3 big cities, so it’s not that hard really hahaha). I lived in Ghent which is in Flanders so they speak Flemish and Dutch (they’re kinda similar but don’t tell anyone I said that) and some also speak French. The weird thing about Belgium is that they have three official languages (French, Dutch, German) depending on the region but as I said to Gina it doesn’t really matter as everyone speaks English. Can’t have a damn private conversation in public ever even though you’re in a foreign country 😂

Belgium is like the less cool sister of the Netherlands but I think it’s very underrated!!!!! They’re very open and welcoming and progressive. Everyone bikes there as well 😂 you have to pay attention because bikes RULE and if you’re on foot you have to stop to let them through (which is absurd to me, being Italian, bc here you see a few bikes and THEY stop lol). Anyway the housing “crisis” is common in both countries, I think. Maybe a bit better in Belgium? Not sure though, sorry 🤷

As for job opportunities, I think it’s easier than in other places (now I’m talking about both countries). They’re very international, and obv it depends on what kind of job you’re looking for an show qualified you are but overall I think there’s a good job offer (my professor once told me that the province I was in had an employment rate of 80% in people aged 20-60). Again, idk anything specific about the Netherlands but I know more than one person that moved there and found a job quite easily compared to Italy.

Now! Moving on to Italy ;))

I can’t say I want to keep living here, honestly. The south is left behind, work is hard to find unless you’re somewhat specialised, the cost of living is levitating and the government sucks. However, we have a history of unstable governments so who knows how long it will last hahah

There are some new awful waves of homo/transphobia and hate crimes + being an ex fascist country that never truly went away completely. However it’s full of people that fucking hate fascists and nazis and manifest their disapproval regarding right wing parties (that are currently governing) and policies. I have to admit that I’m not that much into politics because I’m tiiiiiired of it being always the same shit if not worse and I think this is a widespread feeling (less and less people care and vote so this obviously makes everything get worse 💀).

The transportation is good only in big cities and between them, really. I lived 50km away from uni and it took me TWO HOURS with at least two different means of transportation. Now that I live in the city, though, I can go wherever I want very easily even though I’m in the outskirts. Milan (which is where I live and study haha) is beautiful, but very busy and definitely not the most beautiful city in the country. I like living here though, you have everything you need and more + the cultural scene is quite active and there are always events of any kind. I have to say it’s a bit more clean than, for example, Rome. It’s called the economical capital of Italy so as you can imagine finding a job here is easier than in other places. Many people from the south actually migrate up north to have better job opportunities (which means that the south keeps lagging behind etc etc and it SUCKS because the south is sooo beautiful and the living conditions could be so much better if we had a good government that knew how to handle stuff to use the resources we have ☹️).

So, Milan is good for work and stuff but people are definì less welcoming than the rest of Italy. Everyone is always busy lol. However (it’s fucking sad to say but it’s true) I’m pretty sure that since you’re American and not from somewhere in Africa, South America or Asia.. people would treat better. There’s still this kind of myth about the American dream, you know? I think it’s the remains of our ancestors migrating to America to have better life opportunities (only to be treated as garbage like they threat immigrants here 💀 sometimes I can’t believe how fucking stupid and plainly ignorant some people can be).

I think I also have to mention that Italian bureaucracy is fucking awful. Like. For real. The worst thing ever. It takes ages for the smallest, stupidest things, you still need to do a lot of stuff in person and not online and in general it doesn’t work really well. I have no idea how it works in the rest of the world but I know that it’s been like 9 months since a relative of mine passed away and we’re still waiting for the succession to be done. To make another example: to have the passport you have to take an appointment and the first free slots are usually after at least three months. Then you need to go to that specific place which must be in your province of residence and it takes like 10 mins to sign the docs and let them take them your fingerprints and THEN you wait like two more weeks for it to be ready to be picked up. I swear it’s so!!!!! Frustrating!!!!!!

Now that I read back what I wrote I realised that it doesn’t sound really positive 😂🥲 maybe it’s bc as I said I want to move so I tend to take into consideration all those things that make me wanna go abroad.. Anyway in conclusion I kinda agree with the other anon that messaged Gina. It’s a beautiful place but more like for holidays than for living. In my opinion.

I think that going to the UK is obviously a good choice, but I’m not sure it’s gonna be that easy to go live in the continent afterwards, after the brexit mess and all that. It’s fucked up, really. It was sooo easy before that :((

I think the best option (but, like, I’m no one to tell you what’s best, obviously jdjdjs) is would be to go the the Netherlands or Belgium and from there moving wherever you want. I think it would be way easier since they’re parte of the UE etc. + as I said like ten times they’re very very nice places to live in :))

This has gotten very very long and I’m sorry haha 😅 can you tell I have something to do that I really don’t want to do? Anyway if you have more questions or other stuff you’re curious about feel free to ask!!!

#omg sorry if the formatting is weird i had to write it in the notes bc being on the app it doesn’t automatically save the draft hahahah #hope this helps at least a little bit?? hopefully it’s the lind of information you were looking for haha 😅😅

[rinisbowen]

glad we can agree that ricky bowen isn’t toxic like some like to make him out to be. i feel like he’s judged way too harshly in this fandom and gets the blame for things he doesn’t really do

hi! thanks for this tbh anon <3 it's always nice to see someone agrees with me here. i'm usually just talking and then maybe someone will resonate with it or maybe not.

but honestly it drives me up a wall anon, because you're absolutely right. he's judged incredibly harshly in a way that even characters set up as antagonists initially aren't and haven't been. sometimes it's a josh thing, sometimes it's a nini thing or a gina thing, sometimes it’s a ship thing... but the result is the same. he's a teenage boy who's going through quite a lot of stuff- and he's a good person at the end of the day.

i think people need to remember that as per tim's own statements, the show is about good people being generally good to each other. these are all good kids. and they mess up sometimes too, but they're a theatre family, for better and for worse.

it's potentially main character syndrome in some senses, arguably, where the fact we focus on a main character more (in this case ricky and nini, who do get more focus than the others) means that chances are if they're interacting with a less primary character they're going to be dealing with something related to the primary character... that is what contributes to the ricky's a terrible friend thing. like 'ricky's a horrible friend to big red' no he isn't- he's just the main character. also he does repeatedly support big red so idk what that's about truly.

all these narratives- ricky's a terrible friend to the wildcats, ej should punch ricky for what he did to gina (i see it in fic mostly, but i also have seen it in this fandom more broadly too. maybe someday i'll write about my dislike for the romanticization of violence in fandom), ricky's a toxic person, ricky should've helped this person with their problems even though they're not close and they didn't tell him about those problems so he had no way of knowing, ricky should've done this that and the other thing, etc... it just doesn't accurately portray the story that's being told on this show.

--

also bc it's somewhat adjacent to this topic- if people could stop doing the 'i only ship ricky with therapy' thing i'd love that please and thanks. i can rant for so long about this but it needs to end- it should've never started to begin with. if someone wants me to talk about it i will but- idk if i need to start anything rn haha

#ricky bowen #hsmtmts #hsmtmts: ricky bowen #answered #anonymous #in defense of ricky bowen #violence tw #//just a mention but y'know #//there's a way to advocate for him spending some time single that doesn't stigmatize mental health issues

[sweetshopshawtyjr]

Big mouth season 5 analysis and season 6 takes spoilers

- ite I love missy’s arc it might’ve been ugly but part of growing up is learning how to properly process hate

- hoping we get more into that “hooligans” situation in next season

- Lola is toxic holy hell and I blame her mother but what she put jay through this season is unacceptable

- jay my boy you are a soldier be happy with Matthew

- I do not think Aiden has gone quietly into the night and he may be a problem going forward

- Devon please leave Devin alonnnnnnne

- Andrew boy am I proud of this guy. The season started off shakey for him but he’s really grown as a person and I’m happy he was there for jay after three Charles Lu situation and also for not outing Charles

- Leah and Val was a nice arc idk about Val’s true intentions yet but one thing I am proud of leah for is trusting herself and reminding herself that it was no one’s business but her and Val’s

- bringing me to nick dude was an asshole this season with no to blame but himself I think that this new year and heading into high school is a chance at a breath of fresh air for him

- Charles be honest with yourself and especially with Gina! If she can’t accept you for who you are that’s her problem but cheating on her definitely gives her the right to leave your ass where you are

- Jessi okay it definitely was mean of jessi and Ali to usurp missy’s project like that.

- I do not blame samira for being jealous however taunting jessi and giving Ali that ultimatum was not cool

- I do hope Ali and jessi can explore this relationship in the future but I feel like Ali and Samira are gonna patch things up

- I can understand a little of jessi’s feelings about having seeing her dad go off and start a “new” family but she’s gotta understand she’ll always be her dads daughter and that her parents are not getting back together I do think she’ll love that baby with all her heart though

I think that covers all of season 5s major events

So onto my season 6 theories

- missy and her cousin become really close, maybe missy spends a summer down in Atlanta with them but I can see them hanging out and them getting to understand missy a lot more

- missy and her dad but heads a lot more. This is gonna be a big one of course missy’s parents have done their best to teach missy the history of black people but I think it’s obvious her dad leans towards a “respectable negro” kind of black person and that hooligans comment was definitely a loaded word. I think missy is gonna Inquire about that and wonder why he thinks so lowly of her cool cousins. But at the same time question her cousins opinion of her father

- also I’ll have to go back and watch but I don’t remember missy talking much about her moms side of the family that could definitely be interesting seeing how she interacts with her white side of the family versus her black side of the family

- did missy like the weed she smoked? No one asked her how it made her feel just kinda wigged out about it and how is taking that first puff going to affect her will we see her smoke again or is that it for her

- I think season 6 will focus heavily on familial relationships I already went into missy’s family I think jay and Nicks family’s are gonna be intertwined yet separately work through their own shit. To two people who seem to understand nick the most are Leah and Judd, they have no problem calling him on his shit (see Leah calling him a spoiled brat and Judd telling him off about his jessi accusation etc.) but they always have his back (see the past seasons nipple situation with Leah and Judd saved him from the avalanche) they let him make his own mistakes and criticize him because they’ve been through it they know how it is. Nick won’t get mad with Leah cause that’s his sister but we see him stand up to Judd and I think when he hits his growth spurt it might come to blows it happens with brothers.

- I also think Leah’s perception Judd and nicks relationship as well as her own relationship with them is gonna make Val reevaluate how he interacts with his brothers and might even make him apologize. I feel like jay would benefit from this but Kurt’s gonna reject it. It’s always been Kurt and Val and now it’s just Kurt, that’s gonna hurt him as the middle child

- Matthew is gonna come out to his siblings. I feel like it’s a logical next step in his character development as he’s already come out to both parents and I would hope they accept him and his mother can see how ridiculous she’s being

- Andrew is gonna have to face his cousin and let her know they gotta stop with the weird shit. It’s in the past and they should forget it happened. I think Andrew will also talk with his uncle and figure out just why he feels the need to spite his father so much and maybe help them both work out their fathers passing in a healthy manner

- something bad is gonna happen to Lola’s mom. She might die or end up in the hospital or jail but something life changing is gonna happen and Lola is gonna feel at her lowest because her mom is the only family she’s ever known and she’s gonna have to learn that sometimes the family you’re given isn’t the family that deserves you and she’s gonna find that she can make familial ties with anyone in the world

-I also wanna see the family structure of character like Devon and charles Lu what do they go to when they go home that influences there decisions like going behind Gina’s back with jay or running back to Devin

#big mouth

[fallindomino]

how i would have changed s2 of hsmtmts

obvious disclaimer but im not a screenwriter or anyth so im not claiming what i want is best, this is just for fun lololol

okay so first of all nini would still have dropped out of yac but she wouldn’t have gone back to east, she would have transferred to north bc she was too ashamed to tell anyone she left at first and maybe she still wants to explore who she is away from ricky and the others

nini could join north’s batb and this way maybe we could have some playful rivalry with lily and nini and more scenes with antoine shdhdjdj also it could have been a great opportunity to flesh out lily’s character so those scenes where she reaches out to ricky and her confession at the end of the season actually make sense lol

speaking of ricky ,,, i think he should have left the play at some point hear me out. he only joined in the first place because of nini and barely wanted to do it at all once he realized he wasn’t gonna be able to perform with her. he could have joined crew and been a manager with natalie or smth considering he rlly does see the theater gang as a second family. also this would leave so much room for ej and ricky development and bants since ej joined the av club and began to pursue film. they could have some convos where idk ricky asks ej how he figured out what he wanted to do after duke didn’t work out and ricky could actually develop some interests that arent the play or nini ,,, maybe fucking art club i mean he did p good on that centerpiece for carlos’ quinceañera.

with ricky not being the beast anymore i think seb should take his place that would be soooo good. and since seb isn’t chip anymore carlos won’t make those snide comments about chip being a small unimportant role and we can just cut that whole fight bc it was dumb and bad. we could still have seb being insecure that carlos is only dating him bc there aren’t really any other gay guys at school. in a heartbeat is great and i did like ricky being supportive in the background it was kinda funny too idk dhdjdjfj

ooh i almost forgot abt rini ahshdj okay so i still think they should break up. but in my version there’s no ricky pulling an ej 1.0 and deleting comments off of nini’s insta, cause with ricky in art club and nini at north trying to figure out what she wants i think one of them would realize that they’re going in different directions and only got back tgt because they made each other feel safe cause what they had was familiar. this could be triggered by ricky mentioning smth abt nini at yac and then nini breaks down and tells him that she dropped out and is at north and doesn’t know where she’s going. and then they can both realize they aren’t good for each other rn and have a less tragic mutual break up.

honestly i really liked the scene of nini taking charge after miss jenn freaked out cause with the character detail of nini giving every person in the cast of productions she’s in a thank you note she just seems really like someone who is suited to lifting others up. this could still be explored at north, maybe she could help lily through her issues that were briefly implied in ep 11 and nini realizes she wants to be a drama teacher and encourage kids to go off book and put themselves into their acting, something she couldn’t have at yac.

okay now ej ,,, so like i said in ricky’s section, more bants between them cause i feel like friendships kinda fell by the wayside due to all the relationships so more friendship !!!! also the scene where ej tells his dad he’s not going to duke shouldn’t have been an ending scene, it should have been fleshed out with his dad pushing back saying how he pulled all these strings to get him in and ej saying he doesn’t wanna go if his own hard work couldn’t get him there. and also more scenes of ej doing av club things !!! and realizing he rlly likes film and wants to do it OMG IT WOULD BE SO COOL IF HE BROKE THE FOURTH WALL AND ASKED THE DOCUMENTARY CREW ABT THE FILM INDUSTRY god i would love that. the only scene we rlly got of ej doing film things was at the quinceañera which made me kinda sad. uhhh also i just wanted to specifically mention how ej got mr mazzara that job at cal tech bc it really showed how he wanted to be there for people not just for gina, who he had a crush on, but for mr mazzara who supported him outside of romance, so i wanna keep that for sure.

gina !!! okay so i mostly liked her arc in this season, the only changes i would make would be to flesh it out a teeny bit (god this hypothetical s2 would have to be like 22 eps at least shdjdjdjfj) anyways besides ashlyn singing home to get gina to stay i think there should be a scene where they actually talk in her room abt how gina feels safer when shes on the run (second chance reference ilysm) hhhh and also a scene of her and carlos actually working out compromises for their choreo cause i liked that bit of development too and fleshing that out would make gina an even better foil for lily, who felt a need to hog the spotlight like gina used to. with gina’s own arc fleshed out her character would feel more whole independently from romance and portwell would be even more rewarding than it is in the current s2. the only thing i would really change abt portwell is that they would kiss !!! in the finale but thats bc im biased.

ashlyn should have gotten a more fleshed out storyline about being insecure about not being a good enough belle or the typical belle. there were some throwaway lines when north did their typical dramatics but the only two real scenes that showed it were when ash talked to big red about it and when she was telling nini she wanted to do a run in “home” bc lily did it. ashlyn should get more screen time where she has to grapple with the reasons she doesn’t feel good enough and big red can still support her but also gina too bc i would like more roommate besties interaction.

kourtney could still date howie, that harry potter shit was cute but there needs to be smth else for kourtney’s arc. idk she’s still into fashion so maybe she could be out here trying to create her own line or smth? this doesn’t have to be resolved in s2 like making a wholeass line takes time and she could work on it into a potential s3. kourtney just didnt get much outside of howie and the stuff at the beginning of the season where she said nini inspired her to be independent and that's why she got a job was just dropped?? so i think that fashion could fill that for her if she’s still dating howie cause like having her whole arc just be the pizza place kinda overlaps w big red’s mini arc abt how he wasn’t settling for hospitality, its what he wants to do with his life.

ik what ur thinking. anna, even if you added more episodes, where would u find the room to add all these plotlines?? well first we cut (most of) the seblos fight, so thats some time saved. honestly most of the time that we r going to gain is going to be from cutting ms jenn’s time. things like ms jenn’s and nini’s car ride would get cut, but mostly all of ms jenn’s romances would get cut down. considering she’s the teacher and isn’t actually a character with an arc how does she have THREE love interests this season?? like all of the weird tension between her and zack can be cut, like just some short scenes of them being competitive can stay. all of the stuff with ricky’s dad can go bye bye we don’t need it. i did like her w mr mazzara so most of that can stay i just didn’t like how he said he would give up cal tech for her, ew no that would be gone.

the MENKIES !!!! this is the last thing im gonna address cause in a perfect world every character would get a long fleshed out arc but then the season would be waaay too long and also im mostly trying to work within material the show gave so this is mostly made up of “realistic” deviations from what actually happened. lol idk what that even means it just makes sense to me. but anyways!! uhhh bro idk i thought them dropping the menkies was funny but it also made the finale really BAD lmao. in this finale, seb is the beast, east still had to deal w the fact that they’re underfunded compared to north but no one is injured, lily is less of a poorly written character and maybe ppl are even rooting for her, and wow i just realized i never actually said what role i think nini should have in north’s show. OOH she could be student director instead of lily cause lily both being in the play while also directing was weird considering omg i just checked and according to her wiki page shes a FRESHMAN?? and they let her be student director? lol hell nah. okay so with all that in mind ,,, the menkies should have been the season cliffhanger instead of portwell. east and north should both be nominated, both schools perform at the menkies, and then the award winner is about to be announced and THATS when it cuts to natalie and the end of the season.

one, this actually gives more tension for a summer s3 as we would be waiting to see the consequences of whichever school won. also i bet people would be wondering if nini’s gonna be transferring back to east or staying at north. people would also prob wonder if ej would be getting the scholarship if east won and what that would mean for his interest in film.

lmao that got longggg and idk if anyone’s even gonna read this but it was fun to do :D

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #anna edition 😎 #nini salazar roberts #ricky bowen #ricky x therapy #i forgot abt that oml #ehh that could be an s3 thing shdjdjf #ej caswell #ashlyn caswell #gina porter #portwell #rini #kourtney greene #hsmtmts lily #seb matthew smith #carlos rodriguez #seblos #more friendship !!!! theater is all abt being in a tight knit community anyways #lets put some focus on that too

[27emailsicantsend]

never seen a more paranoid group of ppl than rinas did u see some worried about this new character played by kylie… i don’t remember her last name. i guess worried they’re going to replace sofia bc of the magazines description of her and worried they’re going to put her with ricky or a love triangle? idk i could end up being wrong but from tim’s interviews it seems the love triangles at least involving ricky and gina are over and i just can’t see it. at most she’ll try to be like sharpay with troy but it seems like she’s going to be a tiara (hsm3). and gina is very clearly the main girl she was the center the whole time in d23? here is what the magazine said and how kylie described her (what makes me think she’ll be a tiara more than anything)

I mean, I get the paranoia and fear. All we’ve seen so far from the main crew is the death sentence from end of season getting together. When it becomes a pattern (more than once), it can be concerning. However, I think that’s where rinas need to hold tight and trust what tim is saying. He has made a lot of effort to (without 100% spoiling) say rina is endgame. He’s said they were the plan, that the ricky/gina/ej love triangle is put to bed, and nini is gone. We know lily was terrible too but as ej said “we don’t speak about her”. I know so many people who don’t want to admit it (and that’s ok) but ultimately r*ni and p*rtwell were plot devices at the end of the day. Those ships were devices to move arcs, character development, and the story forward. If you take what tim has said about planning rina from the beginning and watch the way the show has gone, it was always supposed to be rina. All of their problems were supposed to happen so we could see them overcome those obstacles and eventually get together. The obstacles have been means to an end (the “end” being rina).

I think you’re spot on that kylie is a tiara character. We have to remember not every character is going to go through the exact same storyline as the play they are doing. There also might be overlap (for example, in s3 we saw Ashlyn and Kourt both take on “Elsa” type roles… wandering until they found what they were looking for and “letting go” of their past/fears). The show (hsmtmts) is supposed to be somewhat perpendicular to the play they are doing that season. NOT an exact parallel. Gina was originally supposed to be the “sharpay” in s1, right and nini gabriella? That was the expectation. But we know hsmtmts is the play with a twist. In s1, our expectations were twisted when rina had the car scene and we saw that gina was actually Gabriella. If anything, nini was probably sharpay. But since we don’t really have a “sharpay” type character s4 (maybe carlos), we need someone to have a Tiara. What a better way to defy expectations than to give the Gabriella of the show, Gina, a little understudy who tries to knock her out under her feet? Gina has been working for the spotlight, is a dancer, and is the “queen bee” of the show. All things Kylie used to describe her character. It would make sense for Gina to have someone pretend to be her best friend/lookalike and turn out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, because that throws our expectation on it’s head. It puts Gina’s arc to the test too. We saw her achieve balance at camp, but can she do that this season? Can she keep herself from reverting to 1.0 or 2.0? What a brilliant way of show writing on tim’s part because we can see if those changes from camp stay permanent outside of it.

#rina #hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #ricky bowen #gina porter #ricky x gina #asks #anon #send me asks #hsm3 #tiara gold #sharpay evans #s4 #high school musical

[cherryblossomriot]

i had a dream the other day that was basically a dinluke cowboy au and it has been HAUNTING me, so just allow me to deposit it upon you like my subconscious drop kicked it onto me:

Luke is a disabled veteran who has returned from war one hand lighter and several scars heavier. When he returns, his family, who are heavily involved in the politics/military of this fictional land, don’t understand his now jaded and melancholic view of both the world, but also the ideologies that they so strongly believe in, leading him to constantly feel like an outcast even among the people that he so dearly loves. They’re all passionate and strong-willed, but they still don’t understand, not his struggles with mental health or his new perspective, and it just makes things worse and worse and worse. Anakin is a general, and though he��s seen the gruesomeness of war firsthand, he’s also become desensitized to it and has anger-management issues, so he often almost finds a sort of refuge within the chaos of battle, so he clearly cannot even fathom the emotions and trauma that Luke is trying to sort through, much less know how to deal with them properly. Padme is a senator and cares deeply about the crimes and seemingly senseless violence occurring during the war, but she’s also a politician and knows how to play the long game, so when Luke comes to her, he leaves feeling misunderstood and pushed aside. Leia is the only one who seemingly understands, as the pair of them have a deep, intrinsic bond, but she doesn’t fully grasp Luke’s moods and doesn’t handle his breakdowns and flashbacks well. So everyone feels a little upset, a little unsettled, and a lot like they don’t understand why and how Luke has changed, which leads to Luke feeling more and more out of place within his own family. The war ends relatively soon after Luke’s return, which leads to parades which leads to awards which leads to balls and banquets, all of which Luke is forced to attend, his heart dragging but his head held high, because he’s an Amidala-Skywalker goddammit, and we have a certain responsibility and image to maintain to the public and everyone who endured so much. So Luke has to sit there through awards and boasts of glory and mentions of battle scars and it goes on and on and on, and he has to smile and bear it and accept the medal that they’re giving him because he did such a great service to his country and-he has a panic attack. A nasty one that leads to him having to flee from a ballroom, and outside to the gardens. Once he’s there, he realizes that he doesn’t want to go back in. At all. So he runs away. He just picks a direction and goes, stealing a car on the way (this is a modern au but also fictional countries because I don’t want to get into real politics, hooo boy no siree). In the middle of nowhere, he gets caught in a storm and basically crashes his car and passes out. 

But when he wakes up! That’s when the fun begins. 

He’s in this cozy sort of bedroom, and this hot guy is fast asleep in the chair beside his bed, and is that a little kid in his lap? Anyway, the hot guy wakes up, introduces himself as Din Djarin in the softest, most attractive voice Luke has ever heard with his own two ears, and doesn’t ask him where he’s from or what he was doing driving in the middle of bumfuck nowhere at 3 in the morning, so Luke is obligated to have a lil crush on him, even though he’s not sure about the kid. So he asks, and Din introduces him to his son Grogu, who waves at him and signs hello, because, as Din explains, he doesn’t speak much, and the foster system wasn’t too kind to him, so he’s got a little bit of trauma to work through. And Luke just, instantly falls in love with this soft dad and his cute little son who can shift his features from the biggest, most pleading puppy eyes ever to the face of a demented gremlin who will try to eat the frog he caught in the backyard, no matter how slimy it is, or how hard it tries to wriggle out of his hands. Din tells Luke that he can stay for however long he needs, because Luke’s kinda injured from his accident, and anyway, once he’s healed up, they always could use another hand on the farm. So Luke stays, and he meets all of Din’s other farm hands (and shitty friends). There’s Boba, who doesn’t talk much, but when he does it’s always something slightly ominous and menacing, and Luke thinks that his name sounds familiar...hey wasn’t he on the news for robbing a couple banks a few years back?...no, surely not..., Fennec, who speaks even less than Boba, and manages to be far, far more intimidating, but also helps Luke with his prosthetic and gives him fun little tips that always sound more like she’s cut off a lot more limbs than she’s lost. Cara Dune (who is not gina carano but i digress) is also there, and she’s just constantly a harbinger of chaos, but will babysit Grogu whenever Din wants to brood and stare longingly into the distance (or at Luke who’s also brooding as the sun sets but shhh). Bo-Katan and the gang are there, and while Bo-Katan grumbles about how the old ranch boss had different/better methods on how to run things, she still follows Din’s lead and helps him with the finances and taxes. They all take to Luke like a wildfire, because Luke is a sunshine boy who can make friends with literally anyone and somehow manages to make Din not only smile but laugh, but also because they can tell he’s got a lot of trauma and pain bubbling just under the surface, and they all silently but collectively agreed a long time ago that they are the patron saints of troubled and lost souls. 

When Luke gets better and starts to help out, he’s constantly upset with himself because he used to help out at his aunt and uncle’s farm in the summers when he was a kid, and he knows how to do this stuff, but his prosthetic is really throwing him off and his body has sustained a lot of other injuries that make doing manual labor a much more different experience than it used to be, but everyone is really patient with him and helps him out, especially Din. At one point, Din is so nice that Luke just loses it, because he doesn’t understand how Din can be so kind and so patient, and care about him so much, and kind of calls himself broken and useless in front of Din, and Din gets super protective and grabs his hands (real and prosthetic) and tells him that he’s not broken or useless, and you’re so sweet and wonderful, and can’t you see? Ever since you’ve been here, everyone’s been so much happier, so much lighter. You’ve brought something precious to us, but most of all to me. And they’re standing really close and for a second Luke thinks Din is going to kiss him, but instead, Luke realizes that he’s crying, and Din just wraps his arms around him and holds him.

After that, time sort of blurs, marked by things like Grogu climbing into Luke’s bed because he sensed that he was having a nightmare, and Din waking up to find the pair of them coloring in a serene silence, Luke getting the hang of ranch life and his prosthetic and dealing with his panic attacks and flashbacks as they come, and Din enduring relentless badgering from his friends because hey, if you don’t marry Luke, I will and Fennec, you’re a lesbian and that doesn’t matter, it’ll be a marriage of twink and butch solidarity. And all the while, Din and Luke are spinning closer and closer towards each other, two suns hurtling in their orbit to the other with an inescapable certainty. 

When it finally happens, they’ve just gotten back from one of those cowboy dances (idk what they’re called...hoedowns? yeah okay) (and yes, I wanted to hit all of the cliches in the book, thank you very much), and Grogu’s fallen fast asleep on Luke’s shoulder. After they tuck him up all snug in his bed, they head out to the porch, because it’s raining outside, and the steady thrum of water droplets splattering on the roof and on the grass is the most soothing sound Luke has ever heard (aside from Din’s voice), and he’s a little too afraid to go to sleep and ruin his perfect night with a nightmare. They stand there for a while, silence binding them together, shoulders brushing every now and then, hesitant and questioning. Luke thinks about how Din had asked him to dance earlier, his lips tilted in a teasing, but achingly soft smile, and how his heart had pounded a tattoo to the shape of his ribs when they’d pushed up so close together, the fast, rowdy dances of the beginning of the night having faded to something lasting, something meaningful. Luke remembers the ball he’d run away from, how the dancing had been cold, almost jeering in a way, and Luke realizes how far he’s come, how different it is here. And suddenly, there isn’t a question in his mind anymore. He turns toward Din, who turns toward him, and when he leans forward, Din breathes an uncertain “Luke-”, but he doesn’t get to finish the thought. Luke kisses him, and he kisses back, and it’s just them. There are hands in hair and noses nudged together, and at some point, they move, without either of them releasing the other, into the house and into Din’s bedroom. Buttons are unbuttoned, and whole stretches of skin are kissed, and when it’s over, they curl up together, Din tucking his head into the crook of Luke’s neck and falling asleep there. 

When they wake up, Luke explains why he came here, why he ran away, all the while Din looks at him with his beautiful dark eyes and runs his hands through Luke’s hair, which is catching the sunlight filtering in through the window and making him look like he has a halo, all the while never once condemning him for keeping it a secret this whole time. After he’s finished, he expects some sort of shocked reaction-after all, his family’s pretty famous, but all Din does is kiss him and ask, “Wait, so you have a twin?” 

It’s so unexpected that Luke throws his head back and bursts into uncontrollable, and very contagious peals of laughter, and when he’s finally able to breathe again, he kisses Din’s forehead and murmurs, “I love you.” 

Din, who has been touch starved and lonely for years (no time for relationships when you’ve got a business to run and a toddler to raise), tears up and kisses him, too overwhelmed for words. But Luke understands.  

And then Grogu pushes his way into the room holding up a box of Frosted Flakes above his head and shaking it, as if to say, I’d like to eat now, please. 

Din and Luke stifle their smiles into the other’s shoulder, and when they get up, Luke can’t help but think that he’s finally where he belongs.

----

It takes approximately .5 seconds for all the others to figure out they’re together now, and Cara and Bo-Katan (of all people) start cheering immediately, to Din and Luke’s shock. Boba and Fennec grumble and begrudgingly hand over a huge wad of cash each to Cara and Bo-Katan because they thought it would take them at least another two weeks to get together. Din’s very done with his friends at this point, but he takes one look at Luke’s flustered but smiling face and decides he won’t kill them all this time. 

And if everyone thought Luke was a lot of excitement for a humble ranch in the middle of nowhere, then they are in no way, shape, or form, prepared for when his very angry twin sister shows up with a himbo with a shit-eating grin and his 7 foot tall best friend she hired to track her brother down. 

(needless to say, Boba punches Han within two minutes of interaction).

#dinluke #dinluke headcanon #dinluke fic #skydalorian #luke skywalker #din djaren #bo-katan kryze #fennec shand #leia organa #they just love each other a lot #and i am but a conduit of that love #Han takes one look at Boba and decides it's his life mission to just annoy the shit out of him #he stays away from fennec though #she's very scary #and she has no time for his dumbass #leia is even more angry and hard to deal with than she usually would be #because not only has her twin brother been missing for like four months #but she has had to deal with han thee peak dumbass solo for at least a week and its driving her insane #Chewwy fits right in #he hangs out with fennec and they go out and shoot cans together #leia hears that luke and din are together now #and she's like #you saw one (1) dilf and couldn't help yourself could you #and din's like #what's a dilf???? #and luke is like #it means you're very hot #and leia rolls her eyes