#they better give gina the lead

[blacklesbothatlovestowrite]

On My Mama Pt 2

Shuri x Fem Reader, Fem Reader x OC

I'm new to the tag list and tagging so bare with me if I left anyone out just let me know and I'll add it in.

Tags: @mixedfandxms @shurislover @sweetalittleselfish-honey @desswright29

Side note: I had an idea for a fic with Jada Kingdom Reader (looks) and Shuri, maybe ShuRiri. I'm Jamaican so you know seh big tunes ah guh run. 💥 reader could be an aspiring model trying to break into music and she meets Shuri or Shuriri at an event and they decide to produce her music wanting to do a fusion between Jamaican, African and American music. And a whole lotta smut and messy, toxic shit in between. 😮‍💨

-

I be in the section dolo, baby, oh

You chose to go to the club on a Friday night, you'd been ducking Riri and Shuri for days. Expensive gifts were delivered daily, Beautiful flower arrangements, your favorite foods. Things you wanted but had no clue as to how they knew that.

Some girl you barely knew invited out out with her group of friends. You weren't very interested at first as you knew girls were catty and competitive by nature and you weren't interested in having to be on the defense all night. You'd done the trying to be a girl's girl before and it never worked out. Girls tended to be weird and you had no time nor energy for the bullshit.

Making acquaintances was the goal. You couldn't spend all your time in college doing nothing but doing work and keeping your head in the books. You wanted some fun, some irresponsibility. You were tired of being a 'good girl' someone that was a people pleaser. You had no people to please any longer. Your mother was a cheating whore and your father the star of your eyes was gone.

Your look + Outfit (with a more subtle eye look)

The club was lit. You noticed many POC students from campus. Which wasn't surprising as this club was marketed towards POC's on the low. Owned by a black couple, and ran with POC staff. It was a safe space for POC's to have fun without fear of harm.

"Y/n, I'm a little miffed. I invited you out and you out here making us all look bad." Gina says, her eyes narrowing at you playfully.

"Girl hush, she couldn't do normal if she tried. Even in casual wear with no makeup she looks hot." Nina giggles, greeting you with a hug.

"I'd kill for your looks and figure..." Gina pouts. You laugh at her. "No wonder your mom's a model. You need to follow in her footsteps, all that damn beauty."

"I'm good. Beauty and Brains is the goal. I'd rather be known for being pretty and a genius rather than pretty and an airhead hoe." You shrug and the girls look between each other in shock. "My mother isn't my favorite person so you'll never hear a compliment out of my mouth about her so it's better to not bring her up."

"Noted..." Gina muttered, clearing her throat. You could practically hear the silent judgment.

"Let's go get some drinks." Nina suggests, leading the way to the bar.

"I want a margarita." Gina calls to one of the bartenders. A pretty tall caramel skinned girl with highlighted curls and a bright smile.

Bartender

"Make that two." Nina agrees.

"I'll have whatever you think is best." You say, watching the girl eye you seductively.

"Coming right up, gorgeous." You bite your lip as she looks you over as she makes the drinks. The look she was giving you had you weak in the knees already.

"Oooh..." Gina giggles, bumping your shoulder. "She feeling you..."

"Here ya'll go." She places each drink down, before handing yours to you. "This one's new, I'm sure it tastes just as good as you look."

You fight the urge to break out in a cheesy smile. Her fingers grazing yours as you take the glass. You down the drink, eyes widening at the sweet yet potent taste that slid down your throat. You felt slightly hot as she smirked at you.

"Ok... I'll have what she's having!" Nina says, wide eyed. The bartender laughs but nods.

"Lord Ha'Mercy I'm too gay for this." Nina fans herself. You smile a genuine smile. Something you hadn't done in a very long time.

"What's your name ?" The bartender asks, as she passes Nina her drink and a hands you a refill.

"Why should I tell you?" You raise a brow, while nibbling on your bottom lip.

"Ok, Smiley it is." She licks her lip and you internally fan girl. "You have such a beautiful smile."

You're making me forget my past

"I'm Jess by the way." She adds.

"Ok, Jess by the way. Thanks for the drinks." You say, your tone playful. You grab a $20 and slide it towards her before heading to the dance floor. You wanted to let loose and have fun, and a small part of you wanted to show off for her.

You let your body sway to the beat, your head slightly tilted back as you gyrates your hips to the beat. As you danced your mind went to Shuri, the lyrics swirling in your head. Your eyes snapped open wanting to remove her from your mind.

You'd been trying to stop thinking about her. You couldn't help your attraction to her, she did something to you but you refused to go there. She was the cause of your family's downfall. She'd been with your mother. It was disgusting to even be thinking about her after that.

Your eyes locked with Jess and you put every effort into seducing her. Something that wasn't so hard since she seemed interested in you. You needed Shuri the fuck out of your head and Jess seemed like the perfect way to do that.

You were sure fucking with Riri would work two fold. Take your mind off Shuri and fuck her over at the same time. Yet you couldn't stand the fact that Riri was friends with the girl. She was bright and from what you'd heard she was by all accounts a morally good person.

The two being friends made no sense to you. How could you trust someone so messy and chaotic unless you had that in you as well? Maybe Riri was better at hiding her dirt and kept it on the low. Regardless you weren't interested in finding out.

As the song finished and you went to make your way back to the bar a familiar face stopped in front of you. She looked bothered, and you couldn't find a fuck to give.

"I see you've gotten my gifts." Riri eyes your body in the outfit she's sent you. You wore it hoping she'd see you in it because you wanted to prove a point to the duo one you knew would be relayed if the other wasn't present.

"And I see you weren't listening." You deadpan. "But if you'd like to send me stuff who am I to stop you? It's giving fan behavior, and I find that very amusing."

"Oh, so you got jokes?" Riri cracks up. She steps closer, her body almost touching yours. "You can continue acting like you don't want me but we both know you secretly like my attention. You like being chased and that's fine. Just know once you get caught, you'll have to beg for my attention."

"Your head being big clearly fits you, Williams." You say her name with malice.

"And that's not the only thing big." You can tell by her tone exactly what she's talking about but you choose not to acknowledge it.

"Well have a good rest of your night." You dismiss her before stepping around her and heading back towards the bar. You see that Nina and Gina are gone. You look around to see them with the other people they were supposed to meet up.

"So Riri's your thing?" Jess says, settling back in front of you.

"Thing?"

"Your type." She clarifies, her eyes sparkling. She had the prettiest eyes you'd seen.

"I think the only type you need to worry about is yourself." You flirt. She raises a brow.

"Word?"

"What do you say to heading home with me?" You get straight to the point, watching as she grins.

"Oh you go for what you want, huh?" She seems impressed. You simply stare at her. "We can head out right now."

She walks over to some guy and they talk for a bit before she gathers her things from under the bar and motions for you to follow her. She leads the way to her car, a black Camry with blue and black interior. Her rims are even blue and her windows tinted.

-

The next morning you're woken by Jess with her skillful tongue and you take pleasure in the fact that you're loud. She'd put you to work the whole night, and you'd returned the favor showing her exactly how much you appreciated her attention.

You sighed as you piled your straight hair into a messy bun and pulled on a oversized t-shirt and walked her to your dorm door. You yawned as you let her out and thanked her for coming over. You made a note to text her for another session as she was definitely a generous and thoughtful lover.

As you watched her leave and was about to close your door you watched in victory as Riri walked towards her dorm room. She'd left at some point in the early hours of the morning, slamming her door. You knew she was jealous and that thought sent chills of satisfaction throughout your body.

"Good morning, Williams." You said, smirking as she clenched her jaw. "Sorry about the noise. I'll try to be quieter next time."

And with that you closed the door with an enthusiastic kick. The message you'd sent very clear. Little did you know, you'd just started a war. One you wouldn't win.

-

Your day was starting to turn to shit as your RA left your dorm. Angry was an understatement. You knew someway somehow your current predicament was curtesy of Riri. You couldn't prove it but you knew it was her.

You'd been reported for having an off campus visitor spend the night. A violation that meant you lost your dorm. You were pissed. You'd already made your dorm home. Decorated it how you wanted and even saged it to clear any bad energy out. Clearly it hadn't worked.

You were being moved to another building where you'd have two roommates. The only upside being you had a room and there weren't many rules. You just hated the fact you had to share a space with people you barely knew in closer and smaller quarters.

It took you the whole day and the help of the sisters Nina and Gina. Once you'd moved into the new apartment, you noticed the apartment was huge. You looked around, steering clear of the other bedrooms not wanting to invade anyone's private spaces.

The apartment was styled nicely. By the door was a shoe rack with dope sneakers, expensive heels and slides. You could tell whoever your roommates were they came from money.

You were so exhausted you knocked out on the sofa watching some old show.

A loud sound and a cuss woke you up. As your eyes adjusted to the dark you could barely make out two figures.

"Hello?" You called out, you knew you locked the door so the two had to be your roommate. The light was switched on and you instantly jumped up, anger building in you.

"Are you fucking serious!?!?!?!" You bellow.

"Told you she'd be happy to see us." Riri wiggled her brows, bumping Shuri.

"Y...you..." You couldn't find the words to express what you were feeling.

"Chill ma, we just thought you'd like some company." Riri grins, heading for the kitchen.

"Stop antagonizing her, Ri." Shuri speaks up, her demeanor is different. You glare at the duo.

"Fuck you look so good when you're pissed." Riri chuckles, grabbing a water and taking a sip. "Adorable really."

Realizing there wasn't much you could do, you swallowed down all the things you wanted to say and headed for your room. You slammed it, locking it behind you.

They didn't know what they'd started but you were damn sure going to finish it. You started scheming.

💕

#Spotify

[blues-valentine]

HSMTMTS Final Season Spoilers:

Ricky and Gina’s first relationships (Nini/EJ) prepared them for their own trials this season.

The thing about Ricky and Gina going thought similar situations as PW and Rini is to showcase not just why they’re different but that they’ve learned from their previous relationships too.

Because that’s the whole point.

Ricky’s relationship with Nini failed not just because they outgrew each other but because Nini wanted bigger things for herself and didn’t feel like she needed Ricky to get that anymore. She herself said on the pilot that being away from Ricky actually made her come out of her shell and pursue leading roles. And Ricky wasn’t ready to accept that change so in order to protect that relationship he started to become too attached and making Nini feel pressured about balancing YAC and Ricky. He thought he had to put Nini’s dream on hold only to realize not only did it made him selfish but not a version of himself he wanted to be. This is why he corrected all of those mistakes with Gina when presented with the same issues. Not just this final season but last season as well. (X)

It was stablished last season, Ricky’s love for Gina changed what he thought he knew about love. Gina is the representation of change.

For Ricky, the idea of Gina and him growing apart and walking different directions terrified him — he has seen this before and it didn’t end with people choosing him. But he wasn’t going to be the old Ricky that would delete Instagram posts and be like “I want you to leave the movie and stay here with me” and that’s because he now knows that’s not how you love. And he isn’t going to make Gina feel guilty about living her dreams. And that’s why he was the most supportive and attentive boyfriend she could’ve asked for. And Ricky knows it could cost him losing Gina but he is ready to deal with that as long as Gina is doing what she’s meant to do.

For Gina, she was living her dreams but Ricky is also part of her dreams. Gina’s arc has never been just about finding success but finding a place to belong and she found that (with Ricky, with East High). By holding the whole movie offer from Ricky, she understood why EJ did what he did last season and I think it was a very good learning experience for her and closure for the two of them. Gina was very naive and new in her relationship with EJ and going thought that allowed her to understand other points. I feel like if she hadn’t been in a relationship with EJ first she wouldn’t have known how to handle this issue with Ricky. But as opposed to Nini, who basically told Ricky she didn’t come back for him. Gina would fight for Ricky. Because she wants both the fame and him and I’m glad they didn’t have her compromise on either of those.

The contrasts and differences in all of those relationships needed to happen. It would’ve been too easy if Ricky and Gina were just in a perfectly honey moon stage even with all of those circumstances. And I would say they handled it gracefully and better than others would have (including PW and Nini). The thing about Ricky and Gina is not just that they both give the other something they need (stability, propose, ambition, understanding) is that PW and Rini gave up on each other too easy. Maybe because they just weren’t the right person. And if anything the season shows is that whatever happens next Ricky and Gina will find a way to make it work together and unlike Troyella (“who are not a real couple”) Ricky and Gina are.

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #hsmtmts season 4 #hsmtmts s4 #gina porter #rina #ricky bowen #ricky x gina #ej caswell #nini salazar roberts #text post

[curtsies-from-princess-ashlyn]

"I feel so seen, so understood, and so known"

There are so many great and iconic quotes between Ricky and Gina, but the one that I think encapsulates their relationship perfectly is "But with you, I feel so seen, so understood, and so known." I think you Rinas already know why, but it's worth exploring anyway (maybe there'll be some rogue non-shipper who reads this and gets it).

Ricky was the first and only character to see Gina as more than the scary new girl when she first started at EHS. Even before connecting with her in the car (1x05), he still didn't see her intensity and drive as something to be intimidated by, as everyone else did. In fact, he sees her as exceptionally talented and that her confidence is warranted, as shown in 1x06 when he says she's good at "everything else" (he also becomes her "wow" guy throughout the rest of the series). Even though he acknowledged that others thought she was scary, he never describes her as such in his own words. When he calls her out at Homecoming, he comments that everyone else believes these things about her, but he didn't include himself in that category beforehand. I also think that comment itself is showing that he sees through her half-baked ploy and that she's more than this front she's putting on. Then, their connection really takes root in the coat check scene and they both realize how much they have in common. Throughout the rest of the season and into S2, we see these glimmers of Ricky just getting Gina - when he understands that she tends to push herself beyond her limits, and when he tenderly encourages her to be vulnerable when she's getting emotional in the S2 flashback. Even in S3, we see Ricky give Gina the support and encouragement she was wanting as the lead when the rest of the cast was wrapped up in their own issues. S4 has Gina (and the audience) reflect on how Ricky was the first person who made SLC feel like home to Gina, all through him not only seeing her as she really is, but celebrating the parts of her that she was ashamed of or others found unsavory. He saw and celebrated both the edgier and softer parts of her, and when she found a healthy balance of these qualities, she let herself finally be Gina.

Likewise, Gina served as the character who saw and understood Ricky when no one else did. We see all throughout S1 that Gina was the one character who could not only empathize with what he was going through, but also is capable of helping him work through his feelings in a positive way. An incredible example of this is 1x10, when he's in the hallway and tells her about Todd. Rather than shame him for walking off stage, she successfully encourages to go back to watch the show and support the cast, even if seeing EJ as Troy is understandably bothersome. Also, a really interesting moment of understanding Ricky and Gina share in S2 is Valentine's day that I want to highlight. In 2x01, Ricky opens his gift from Nini (a skateboard), and he has a rather withdrawn response, since it reminds him of his first gift from his mom and that she's not there for Christmas. Nini clearly has sympathy for him, but she doesn't really know what to say so he quickly changes the subject. Contrast this with his scene with Gina in 2x03, where she brings up that she's missing her mom on their special holiday, reminding Ricky that the person who does understand exactly what he's experiencing with his mom is Gina. As it pertained to theater, where Ricky felt inadequate or ashamed of his inexperience, Gina saw someone who could make the show truly special because he was new to it.

This is what makes Ricky and Gina such a special and well written ship, in my opinion. Their stories are so beautifully tied to each other and they help each other become better, and they also see and celebrate the best parts of each other. There's mutual respect, understanding, and an abundance of love and appreciation for who the other truly is.

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #12daysofrina #day 3 #Rina #Ricky x Gina #Ricky Bowen #Gina Porter

[dreamnants-mis]

The newest chapter made me think about something make another analysis/essay about. Today's subject is about hair styles (and change).

Spoilers for up to Chapter 187!

Throughout this series, the concept of change has been a reoccurring one, from Gina (Unchange) to the fact the whole series began because of Andy wanting "the greatest death ever". Which is also fitting because we discovered one of the Master Rules is indeed Change. A subtle aspect of this comes from how a character's appearance changes throughout the series. For brevity, I focus more on hairstyles here.

Fuuko

Of course, we can't talk about this subject without discussing Fuuko!

Fuuko begins the series about to jump off a bridge with this hairstyle:

The hair is styled in a manner where it's evident it's much, much longer than it seems, by how it's bunched to have most of the length hidden by the jacket she's wearing. The middle bang in particular separates her eyes in a pretty striking matter. It highlights how Fuuko has closed herself off to the world out of fear of hurting people with Unluck, leading to her deciding the world is better off with her dead.

In this case, the long hair is a visual representation of Fuuko's loneliness and despair knowing she killed both her parents and hundreds of other people and hurt her friends. She can't even get it cut because she would risk someone's life.

But here is where Andy gives her a haircut, because he's Undead and therefore unable to die, without any fear, perhaps the first moment of kindness she's had in years.

This results in the short haircut we see her in throughout the 100th loop, where Fuuko steadily grows into someone that becomes the beacon of hope for the people around her, but especially Andy:

Come the 101st loop where Fuuko is now the new Union leader, her hairstyle changes again:

Her hairstyle now is actually a mix of both her appearance in the beginning of the series and the shorter haircut Andy gave her. Her bangs retain the ragged ones Andy's haircut gave her, but her hair has grown out again to the point she has to tuck her hair inside her clothes which resembles how she hid her hair in the beginning. The difference being sometimes, said hair is bunched in a manner that resembles a side plait.

However, the long hair this time isn't a symbol of Fuuko's despair but rather how she's grown into an endlessly kind and determined but also unhinged leader of Union. It's in fact implied Fuuko deliberately grew her hair out instead of simply being unable to cut it, making it more a conscious choice. Fuuko weaponizes her hair even to use Unluck to protect and help others instead of making herself an unwitting doom magnet to those she loves.

In fact, her outfit in the 101st loop actually is pretty similar to her original outfit in the early chapters, but it also symbolizes how Fuuko has changed from the suicidal shut-in we begin the series with.

Juiz

There's actually another character that has had a lot of hairstyle changes: Juiz.

Which is natural considering she was living for billions of years over countless loops. She begins looping with this hairstyle (when Juiz is all but stated to have been androgynous):

The shorter cut represents a sort of openness in Juiz when she was an emotional crybaby crying over Victor living over 2 billion years in the vacuum of space and the beginning of Earth that as we know slowly was beaten down by countless failures throughout the loops.

This leads to her hairstyle we see her through most of the series:

Juiz lacks clear bangs in her hairstyle (and its best described as a fringe instead), which may be because she's often wearing her helmet and that might have been for practical purposes. But the most striking element of it is how long her hair is. As we learn, Juiz has been trying and failing to kill God for 99 loops, and similar to how Fuuko's long hair in Chapter 1 represented her despair over her ability, Juiz's long hair could be both a symbol of her determination to keep trying but also her despair she hides over her failures that makes her become increasingly less connected to her own humanity out of desperation to succeed.

But as shown in a flashback earlier in the 100th loop, there was another instance of a hairstyle change:

AKA the moment Victor tried to cut her head off but ended up chopping off most of her hair instead. In an ironic parallel to how Andy and Fuuko's relationship began because of Andy's haircut, Juiz and Victor's partnership ended starting with an unintentional haircut. This incident also gave Victor a haircut, but I'll save that for a different section.

In this moment, Juiz looks a little more like her original style, but also with the fringe she's most commonly associated with. It does play into how Juiz sought out Remember to figure out where they went wrong but ultimately was forced to use it to seal away Victor.

So the haircut could also be a symbol of parting from the person she loved. In fact, considering this event was perhaps a major factor in the actions Juiz took in the 100th loop, it also was a point Juiz realized she was truly alone.

And now for what inspired this post from Chapter 187:

It's 101st loop Juiz time! Notably, while this Juiz looks more feminine than the androgynous Juiz, this Juiz also doesn't quite look like the Juiz we've become familiar with either, whether that be due to being much younger or another reason. Perhaps playing into what Juiz once said about reincarnation?

Regardless, this Juiz has a very short haircut and is an ever more close cut than the 1st incarnation of Juiz. But what is especially different is this Juiz has clear bangs that were absent in the hairstyle from the 100th Juiz (long-haired Juiz) but were present in the 1st incarnation of Juiz.

This shorter haircut could how this Juiz was freed from the burden of responsibility and despair the original Juiz had, and potentially a new beginning for this Juiz to finally accomplish the dream the original Juiz was unable to achieve. Perhaps this Juiz may end up a superior successor to the original by having a new interpretation of Unjustice that the original Juiz could never have achieved? Who knows?

Victor

I'd said I talk a bit about Victor earlier.

Something interesting about Victor is his hairstyle pretty much stays the same throughout the series.

Victor pretty much looks the same in the earliest loops save for being smaller and lacking the muscles we're familiar with now.

Even when he's in control of the main body in present day, his hair style is still pretty much the same.

Victor's hairstyle being the same does play into the fact he's lived for over 455 billion years and has therefore stagnated in a sense. He hasn't changed meaningfully or in any positive way in a very long time and constant failures have left him utterly nihilistic.

There's only one moment where his hairstyle changes:

When Juiz cut his hair counterattacking after his first attempt to kill her failed, it leaves a shorter cut. It's perhaps Victor at his most honest, which unfortunately means him at perhaps the height of his despair thinking the only way for Juiz to be happy is for her to die. What makes it more significant is that this haircut is when Juiz sealed him away, resulting in Andy having the hairstyle he does. So similar to Juiz, his haircut here is a symbol of parting in that this action of Juiz stabbing him with Remember and sealing him away creates Andy, who becomes the dominant personality.

Considering how the 101st loop version of Juiz from first glance already looks significantly different from how Juiz looked even in her earliest loops, will Victor also look different by the time we see him in the flesh again?

#undead unluck #uu spoilers #analysis #rem rambles

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck Week 2024

Day 5 - Favorite Arc: Intro Arc

This is without question the hardest prompt this whole week for me. I don't even have any arcs that I dislike, and you want me to pick the one that I like the most???

How am I supposed to choose between Andy and Fuuko beating Victor by learning that they can reinterpret their Rules in the Autumn Arc, the Union clashing with Under in classic shonen battle manga fashion in the Spring Arc, every Negator banding together to see Fuuko safely to the next world in the Ragnarok Arc, and Feng learning that he's a simp for Fuuko in the Hong Kong Arc??? This is a cruel question that makes me second-guess every decision I could possibly make for it!

However, after much deliberation, I realized that for me, there's only one answer that I could definitively be satisfied with, and one that I think deserves a lot more love than it gets: the introduction

When I say the introduction, I don't just mean the first couple of chapters in Shinjuku, I mean everything leading up to Andy and Fuuko officially becoming seated members of the Union. From their meeting in chapter 1 right up until Juiz challenges Fuuko to work her way up the ranks to become the First Seat of the Roundtable, I consider that entire span to be the first major arc

This is because this is the prologue to Fuuko's development and every single plot beat to follow; from believing herself to be unworthy of living, to realizing that life is worth living, to resolving to make life better for others, the journey of Fuuko's life begins here. Unlearning the lie she believes, learning the truth that she needs to understand, to gaining the confidence to spread that truth, none of that happens without first meeting Andy, then Gina, then Juiz

I really hate to sound like a hipster, but whereas other people had a tough time getting into UU when it started because they felt chapter 1 was too rough, I mean no exaggeration when I say that I fell in love with it instantly. It really did feel like I was the only one who knew it was going to be great all along, and while I'm ecstatic to see that I was right, there's a little bit of a bitter taste mixed in there considering that to this day I see people dismissing its origin

Both fans and haters alike talk about the introduction as if it's this arduous hurdle, something so unlike what comes later that they wish it weren't even there, but to me (and I hope more people reading this than I'm giving credit for), that "rough patch" is an absolute necessity. It is simply unskippable! To appreciate how far Fuuko and Andy come over the course of the narrative, you need to understand where they started, not just as individuals, but as a couple! Everything that Undead Unluck is, was, or will be can be summed up from the events of chapter 1, and the immediately following chapters set up the dynamic of the entire story to come

Without that arc, if somehow Tozuka had skipped straight to Spoil and started in media res, I don't know how attached I would have been to the story. But that's not what happened; instead, I turned every page with wrapt attention, engaged with every single panel, desperate to know what was coming next. And four years later, that feeling has not faded

Every Saturday night I go to bed like it's Christmas Eve; "Undead Unluck tomorrow!" I wake up, roll over, grab my tablet and just start reading the moment it gets uploaded. Everything else in Jump I read in chronological order, but UU? That cannot wait! I need to know what happens ASAP!

All of that excitement, all of that joy, all of that love was inspired by chapter 1 and reinforced by the arc that followed. Other arcs reached incredible highs that I never could have seen coming back then, and nearly all of them are much more refined by nature of Tozuka's growing experience, but the sheer wonder that I could feel being sparked in me from the very beginning? The feeling of the fire continuing to burn is completely different from the feeling of its ignition, no matter how much more brightly it shines

Perhaps future arcs will find a way to overturn this opinion; maybe the final arc will be so spectacular and such a perfect culmination of everything that came before that I can't imagine the story ending any other way, but for now, the beginning that so readily convinced me to follow this series and allowed me to feel so spectacular for so long has to be the one that I consider my favorite

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #uuweek2024 #uu spoilers

[aceredshirt13]

Era-Adjusted TGAA Character Heights (via Basic Math and Attempted Guesswork)

Unlike the mainline AA games, most of the characters in TGAA aren't given heights - and the heights that are given to characters are completely insane. Granted, there's been plenty of argument about whether some characters in modern AA should have the heights as listed - whether some characters should be taller, or shorter, based on vibes and other things. However. None of them are as insane as Nuri simply REFUSING to acknowledge how much shorter the average Japanese man was in the 1890s as compared to now - and some of the British characters are a touch on the tall side as well. Without further ado, let's look at the canon heights, the real-life averages, and my altered heights as a result, as well as a small number of heights of characters not canonically given them that I just threw in to amuse myself.

(This whole post isn't an in-depth mathematical analysis or anything. It's just all in good fun. And to imagine how much more entertaining some of the height differences between characters, especially across countries, would/should be. Yes, I'm talking about the Dance of Deduction.)

(Also, fair warning, this post is quite long.)

Canon Heights

As an American, I cannot mentally picture heights using centimeters alone, so I had to plug all these into a centimeters-to-feet-and-inches converter. Thus, I have included both the original heights as given by Nuri, and their heights in feet and inches, rounded to the nearest half-inch, for your international viewing pleasure.

Ryunosuke - 168 cm (5’6”)

Kazuma - 174 cm (5’8.5”)

Hosonaga - 178 cm (5’10”)

Susato - 153 cm (5’)

Herlock - 183 cm (6’)

Barok - 192 cm (6’3.5”)

Stronghart - 196 cm (6’5”)

Gina - 160 cm (5’3”)

Iris - 120 cm (3’11”)

Lead-Up

(Feel free to skip all this if you’re not interested in how I came up with this. I don’t blame you lol)

Since average height is generally determined by birth year, for the purpose of this height chart, we’re operating by my assumption that TGAA Chronicles is set in the years of 1898-1899 (since it’s mentioned that the Great Exhibition is supposed to be the last hurrah of the nineteenth century, which suggests that it is almost but not quite 1900, and what better year to fit that description than the year literally right before 1900?). Yes, those dates are inconsistent with some aspects of actual history, such as Soseki’s period of study in Britain (which took place from 1900-1903), among other things like when Krakatoa erupted, when Darwin received the Copley medal, and when the Great Exhibition was actually held, but considering Menimemo and Gotts have portable instant cameras when those weren’t invented until the 1960s, and color photographs are inexplicably so easily available that they can be used day-of for crime scene photos (like that of Mason Milverton), I think dates are the least of our worries in whatever out-there alternate universe this takes place in. What this means is that Ryunosuke and Kazuma’s birth year can be assumed to be 1875, Susato’s to be 1882, Barok’s to be 1866, Herlock’s to be 1865, Hosonaga’s to be 1869, Gina’s to be in 1881, and Stronghart’s to be in 1846. (We already know Iris was born in 1889.)

For most of these adjusted heights, what I’m doing is taking the average modern height in both countries, and finding the difference between that and the Meiji/Victorian era height averages. Back then, the average height was 5’3” for Japanese male students born in 1875, 5’2” for Japanese male students born in 1869 (assuming Hosonaga attended university), 5’ for Japanese women born in 1882, and roughly 5’5.5” for British men born in 1865-66, as well as 1846. I could not for the life of me find any charts with specific dates giving height averages for adult women in the Victorian Era, but did find a post claiming the average female height in the era as a whole was 5’2”, so that’s what I’m going with for lack of a better option. And based on some recent height measurements listed on Wikipedia that cover a reasonable portion of the adult population, the current average adult height is 171.8 cm (5’7.5”) for Japanese men, 158.6 cm (5’2.5”) for Japanese women, 175.3 cm (5’9”) for English men, and 161.9 cm (5’3.5”) for English women (the averages in question only pertained to England and not the rest of the UK). This puts Herlock as tall, Barok as very tall, Stronghart as absurdly tall, and Susato and Gina as short and a bit short, respectively, when based on modern heights, as we can assume was perhaps Nuri’s metric. So these calculations are pretty easy: we just subtract 2.5 inches from Susato’s height (the difference between the current average of 5’2.5” and the past average of 5’), 5.5 inches from Hosonaga’s height, 3.5 inches from the heights of Herlock, Barok, and Stronghart, and 1.5 inches from Gina’s height.

But, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t include the heights of Japanese men born in Ryu and Kazuma’s year. Well, that’s because I had a slightly more fun way of determining that. You see, when Ryunosuke first climbs out of that suitcase he was shoved in on the SS Burya, Kazuma makes fun of him for being short - to the point that he suggests he’s barely even a real man. Now, aside from this being an honestly pretty mean thing to say, when compared to modern average heights for Japanese men, it’s also a little bit unreasonable as an insult. Being just an inch and a half shorter than average hardly warrants such a comment, especially from Kazuma, who would be only an inch taller than average. So I had to think that realistically, Ryu would be shorter than that. In order for Ryu to be considered short he’d have to fall well under it, while still having Kazuma be at least slightly taller than average. As a result, five inches have been chopped off both of their heights. So without further ado…

Era-Adjusted Heights

Once again, I am American, so I didn’t really know how to calculate this very well in centimeters. As a result, everything I’ve done has been knocked off in inches, then converted and rounded to the nearest half-centimeter.

Ryunosuke - 5’1” (155 cm)

Kazuma - 5’3.5” (161.5 cm)

Hosonaga - 5’4.5” (164 cm)

Susato - 4’7.5” (141 cm)

Herlock - 5’8.5” (174 cm)

Barok - 6’ (183 cm)

Stronghart - 6’1.5” (186.5 cm)

Gina - 5’1.5” (156 cm)

Iris - 3’11” (120 cm)

Only Iris’s height remains the same here because for one, it is remarkably difficult to find the average height of young Victorian girls, and two, kids grow at wildly different paces. She’s still far shorter than everyone else currently, so I suspect it’s just fine.

Heights I Guesstimated

Since none of these characters are given canon heights, for the sake of my sanity, these are not all individually calculated with each character’s birth year, and are thus just gained from comparisons with the adjusted heights of those other characters in the game.

From rough comparisons with Ryu and Barok in in-game photos:

Yujin - 5’3” (160 cm): Completely average dude.

Jigoku - 5’7” (170 cm): Pretty damn tall for his era, but not Stronghart/van Zieks tall for his era.

Klint - 6’1” (185.5 cm): The only man who could easily look Stronghart in the eye. Nice.

Gregson - 5’11” (180.5 cm): Didn’t realize he was this tall until I saw he was barely shorter than Barok.

From models in credits roughly compared to characters with adjusted canon heights (limited this to reasonably major characters):

Rei - 4’7” (139.5 cm): She’s just a teensy bit shorter than Susato.

Soseki - 4’6” (139.5 cm): I compared him to Hosonaga for this but the important thing is, HE’S SHORTER THAN SUSATO AND REI?? At first I thought he was the same height as Rei but then I remembered from a Twitter post discussing Soseki height that he looked taller because of his geta and IT’S TRUE IT’S LIKE AN EXTRA INCH. (For the record, I’d have given Soseki his real-life height, but I never managed to find it. I don’t imagine he was quite this short, however.)

Albert - 5’1” (155 cm): Oh my God, I didn’t know he was this much shorter than Barok. This is life-changing information. He’s 4.5 inches shorter than average. He’s way shorter than me.

Courtney - 5’10 (178 cm): Wow, she’s tall. More so than most of the men. Technically her model looks slightly taller compared to Gina than this, but it looks like she might be wearing heels when Gina is not, so I knocked her down a half-inch.

Maria - 5’1” (155 cm): Since her head is slightly tilted down in her base model, it looks like she’s probably about Gina’s height - but she’s also wearing heels like her mom, so I knocked her down a half-inch.

McGilded - 4’8.5” (143.5 cm) : I wouldn’t say he’s a major character, per se, but did want to include him here because he’s one of the only characters whose height is talked about - he’s described as short even by the Japanese characters, enough so that his coat doesn’t even fit Gina. So I compared him to Herlock’s model height, and yeah, that sure tracks!

From absolutely nothing but height averages and the vibes I got, since they were not present in credits nor in any photos next to characters with established heights, but are important enough that they deserve heights anyway:

Genshin - 5’3” (160 cm): If we say that Genshin was 35 at the time of his death, then Genshin was born 21 years before Kazuma, so he would probably be slightly shorter than him given the upward trend of height over time. Completely average height for his country and era, just like Yujin. Extremely funny next to Klint’s tall ass, though.

Lady Baskerville - 5’7” (170 cm): I just thought it would be fun if she were pretty tall for her era. I want Iris to be tall. I NEED Iris to be tall. Because, listen, it would be super funny if the combined height of her huge parents meant she outgrew Herlock as an adult.

Fun Comparisons

Herlock legally cannot perform a dance of deduction with anyone that comes up higher than his ears.

Barok somehow towers over Ryu and Susato even more than he did before. If he was walking while looking straight ahead, he might not even see them. He probably could see Kazuma, but he also probably doesn’t want to.

You thought BAROK was tall compared to these three? Honey, you’ve got another storm (maelstrom?) coming.

Definitely never occurred to me how tall Gregson was until I looked at the picture of him with the van Zieks brothers again. Pretty good height to give Gina the head pats she deserves.

Definitely had NO idea Albert was THIS short. Perfect height for Barok to just use his hair as a face pillow after a long day of university studying.

the tall bestie and the two guys whose lives he’s going to ruin

Nuri is a coward for not letting us have a ten-inch height difference between the pretty boy prosecutor and dead dilftective duo.

Jigoku IS tall for his era. Just not if you’re a massive evil white man.

Source Charts

Basically the only height chart about Japan I can find anywhere. I’ve assumed that the student height is college students, and thus hope I am correct.

I used a different chart than this to get the height averages of the people in Herlock and Barok’s birth years, since this is ever so slightly different and much more general, but I can’t find that one anymore and this one is pretty close to what I determined, so I’ll at the very least include it.

The only one I could find that went back far enough to include Stronghart. Even if it just gave me the same number anyway.

No idea if this is even true, but it is literally the only information I could find about the height of Victorian women.

And that’s it! Hope you enjoyed, because I spent way too much time on this, and feel free to use these heights for whatever if you want. If you didn’t enjoy, well, too bad, because I (mostly) did.

#red randomness #ace attorney #the great ace attorney #100 and up neat #ryunosuke naruhodo #susato mikotoba #kazuma asogi #herlock sholmes #barok van zieks #gina lestrade #satoru hosonaga #mael stronghart #yujin mikotoba #tobias gregson #seishiro jigoku #klint van zieks #rei membami #soseki natsume #albert harebrayne #maria gorey #magnus mcgilded #genshin asogi #lady baskerville #iris wilson #this post is a long time coming #god knows i've complained about the implausibility of some character heights to my friends and family for months now #so this post is for ME. I’M using it #i'm not actually mad at nuri lol #the great ace attorney spoilers

[rinaisloved]

Can I just say that when Rini happened in s1 and Portwell happened in s2 I just moved on and went on with my life. Yet all I see are people so upset about Rina they just can’t seem to let go. I mean I could have also complained about the writing of the show considering Rini getting together destroyed any individual character development they had in season 1 and EJ randomly liking Gina halfway through the season made no sense with no lead up. Yet I decided to wait out and see how the ships progressed.

I don’t understand the constant need for people to try to discuss why Rina wasn’t supposed to happen, it only happened because Olivia left, etc… Like I’m sorry to say but does it really matter at the end of the day? You can voice your opinion to make yourself feel better all you want but it isn’t going to change the fact that Rina did happen. In the end it’ll just remain an opinion, not some concrete fact only you’ve discovered. I’m sorry that your ship was collateral damage in the process but I’ve also suffered through Gina moving away for Rini to get together and Rina not interacting at all in 2b for Portwell to get a chance. Not to mention 3 seasons of forced chemistry between Rini and Portwell with unsubstantial forgetful scenes.

Real fan service would’ve been giving Rini a long distance relationship so we’d have to see the whole change story once again with another potential breakup. Or keeping PW together in s4 just for us to go through the same themes of not being on the same page as a high school graduate versus junior. Because let’s be honest that’s the most obvious trope for teen shows it was basically inevitable for those two. Only difference is it would have been more than 2 weeks.

Rinas were called delusional all along and honestly some other shippers were pretty smug/rude about their ships becoming canon and Rina not. People would say we’re reaching but at the end we clearly saw the lead up so we’re not surprised Rina happened.

TLDR: It’s time for Rina to get their chance. If you think your ship is superior just trust it’ll prove itself. Thats really all you can do. That’s what I did.

#already ranting #hsmtmts #ricky x gina #rina #rina hsmtmts #high school musical the series #so tired #sorry for the rant #portwell #Rini

[froggycl0wn]

Gnosia Characters as Pokemon Trainers

I’v been thinking for a while about which types of Pokemon would be used by Gnosia characters. This is mainly based on my personal impressions. Order of the characters is totally random. THIS MAY AND WILL CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS FOR GNOSIA.

First of all, I think that Setsu would be using fighting types, just because their past as a soldier. For some reason I see them with the ones like Machamp or Lucario. 

Raqio would definitely be the psychic-type trainer. They could also use some fairy-types, according to their fancy sense of style, but I think that psychic type (according to some events) would fit them much better. Alakazam or even Mewtwo (if we include legendaries) would be a cool match for them.

Next is Stella. Well, I thought about grass/fairy type for her. Grass type just because the Plastic Flower event and fairy type... I dunno, she reminds me of Gardevoir a bit, maybe that’s the case.

Next one is Shigemichi. Dunno, he’s just electric/bug type for me. There’s no more to explain, it’s just an impression. I think he would look cool with Vikavolt or even Magnemite if we include just electric type.

Sha-ming could be either fighting type or ground/rock for me. Similar to Shigi’s case, pure impression. I’d see him with Gliscor or Krookodile. 

Jonas could use steel or poison types. Steel, because of, well, the thing attached to his arm, and poison, because... well, I just claim that he’s.. let’s put it in kind words, a connoisseur of alcoholic beverages, which TECHNICALLY is poisoning an organism. He’d look cool with Magearna or Seviper 

Yuriko is definitely Dark/Ghost user and I do not want any discussion about that. I can only imagine her ordering Gengar to use Dream Eater on basically anyone who would cross her. 

Otome is easy to link as a water type. Like, come on, she’s a damn whale. Tbh any fish pokemon would fit her good. 

Remnan.. poor boy, I’d give him ghost type, just because how traumatized his character is. The perfect partner for him imo would be Mimikyu.

SQ, the bimbo queen. Come on, we can all agree that she’d definitely use pure fairy type. Florges, Togepi, Alcremie, anything cute would fit her as a good partner.

Next one is Comet. Well, according to her place of origin, which is high in lethality planet, the poison type would probably be the best. According to her.. slimy thing, her main pokemon would be Muk.

Chipie. Well, Chipie is a cat person (literally and figuratively). He could be friend with any cat pokemon, but the main type would be normal in my opinion.

Kukrushka. Technically I could give her a fairy type, but some traumatic event called KUKRUSHKA INCIDENT leads me to give her a dark type. I think that she could use Zoroark or Sableye.

The last one, but definitely not the least, is Gina. Technically, she’s a space traffic controller, I could give her for example a steel type, but I have no clue what specific Pokemon she could have as a partner.

That’s all for the main cast I believe. You can share your thoughts about the idea.

#gnosia #pokemon #pokemon trainer

[rlnacore]

I've seen a lot of people assuming that Ricky having feelings for Gina this season means he's going to actively attempt to sabotage her relationship with EJ, kinda like in season 1- but has anyone considered that maybe this time he'll take a step back? Josh said that Ricky is more emotionally mature this season which only leads me to believe that he'll react to the situation differently than he did in the first season. So here's how I think this season and the love triangle will play out:

Ricky and Gina will score Anna and Kristoff, meaning they'll be playing love interests, and Ricky will realise he has feelings for Gina but opt to take a step back and not interfere with her relationship with EJ (seeing how happy he is). At the same time, Gina will be spending less time with EJ due to his time consuming responsibilities (between directing and being a counselor) and more time with Ricky, through which she'll realise that she's not as over him as she thought she was. EJ will notice that there is clearly more to their relationship than he'd realised and make more of an effort not to act impulsively the way he did in s1, but probably try to spend more time with Gina & maybe change the show around a little to put some distance between Ricky and Gina (maybe cutting the final kiss or smth). Rina will have a big moment at the camp prom, forcing everyone involved to make big decisions.

The season will end with EJ and Gina both deciding to part ways amicably and stay friends (not necessarily just because of Ricky. I'm sure the fact that EJ is moving into a new stage of his life will play a part in the breakup .) Ricky and Gina finally having a conversation about everything that's gone down between them, Ricky will apologise for all the hurt he caused her, she'll acknowledge those feelings never went away and the two of them will agree that maybe when the time is right, they could give being together a real shot (right time is s4 btw).

In conclusion:

RINA ENDGAME IS INEVITABLE AND THE SOONER WE ACCEPT IT, THE BETTER

#hsmtmts #gina porter #ricky bowen #ej caswell #ricky x gina #gina x ricky #rina #portwell #ej x gina #gina x ej #but all in all #rina being the s3 endgame #because honestly that's the only way this is gonna end 🤷🏾‍♀️

[27emailsicantsend]

Carlos Rodriguez for the ask!

Got A LOT of requests for my cutie, Carlos- so here you go everyone! :)

Favorite thing about them: His wit and sass. He literally had me in tears laughing throughout season 3 and there are so many times his sass just works in the scene. He’s an absolute diva and he knows it, but his bluntness with the characters keeps the drama moving along. I would give anything to have a girls night where Carlos and I wear face masks, eat chocolate, and discuss our friends relationships. You couldn’t tell me that wouldn’t be the best night ever.

Least favorite thing about them: His sass/diva persona is a double-edged sword. There are a lot of times he comes across harsh or selfish when he wants his way. Determination is a great thing, but putting your friends needs below it (like the co-choreographer debocal), will leave you lonely and sad. I know he has big dreams, but sometimes he puts his needs first at others expense and it can come across as egotistical. I think this is a root to a lot of the Seblos issues- Carlos only reads how he interprets situations as correct, rather than putting himself in the other person’s shoes.

Favorite line(s):

“Broadway?”

“Ah! I’ve been slapped!”

“It’s freaking Norway, Ricky”

It’s not a line, but his face in 1x08 when he’s rehearsing with EJ is ICONIC

“Ok but if it’s not about me, then who?”

“But does that mean you’re going to let the next girl go without even trying?”

“I’m gay and Mexican- this IS my inside voice!”

“You can’t just Zefron your way through auditions this time”

“I don’t think he’s slept or spoken in the past 24 hours… there’s a high chance he’s a Babadook”

“We’re doing the first read-through before I’ve had my third cup of coffee…. Oh, Ricky and Gina are 100% missing” (say it again louder Carlos this was so real of you)

“Because the key to any great reality show is the 3 B’s: bombshells, betrayals and BLEEP slaps” *gasps*

“I think I broke the children”

“Remember, Ricky, you have unresolved feelings for Gina”… “Gina, what’s your motivation?” Gina: I don’t want to get started “Yes, AND you’re angry at your boyfriend and using your ex-boyfriend to get under his skin. Basically, have fun torturing EJ” Gina: I can do that 😈

“Jilted ex suits you bro… oh no. I said ‘bro’ and now you’re gonna reveal something”

-bonus: “Sorry. I’m adjusting to being called ‘bro’”

“I didn’t come to make friends” “It cut me off! I said, ‘I didn’t come to make friends, I came to be a star!” Ricky: yeah, that’s not any better

OTP: Seblos ❤️

nOTP: EJ and Carlos

brOTP: Carlos and Ricky, Kourtney, and Miss Jenn… but if I had to pick one, probably Kourtney

Something I expect from them season 4 (if applicable): I think the situation of Carlos at camp is going to get confused by Seb of Carlos cheating again. I think Seb will think the relationship is over (“we were on a break!”… if you know what I’m quoting, you’re the best), so he will date someone else. This will parallel the r*ni fight in S1, which gets us the Seblos song.

Random Headcanon: even if this never happens in S4, it is my personal HC that as a thank you for s2, Carlos helps Ricky write a song for Gina.

Unpopular Opinion: I don’t even know if this actually is unpopular, but I could see it being that way so I am putting it here. His line to Gina about “look around, there’s not really a lot of me here” has bothered me since it happened. I think things like being from multiple minorities is really important to address in shows like this, so I’m glad it was brought up. However, I think his timing/tone for bringing it up was bad because it read more as “my problems are bigger than yours!” rather than, “hey I get what it feels like to be lonely and how important choreography makes me feel like I stand out/have purpose”. Instead Carlos seemed defensive and was like “I have problems too!” So this caused Gina to cower and let him lead the dance number. He didn’t even say thank you or try to encourage her to still help him, he just was like “ok great!” And seemed like he was happy he got his way. IDK I guess this goes back to my disliked trait for him, because Gina in that moment probably just needed a friend and somebody to show her she didn’t have to suffer alone, but instead Carlos flipped the situation back on him and it seemed guilt-trippy. I wish they would have brought up his struggles in a different context or had him use a different tone/dialogue in that scene that didn’t paint him like that, is all.

Song I associate with them: The King by Conan Gray, Hand on Mine Megan and Liz, and I know it’s from the show (I’m trying to avoid songs from the show for this ask) but since he doesn’t sing it I’ll use it. But I think of him every time I listen to Born to be Brave; his talk with Mozzarella Stick and him being lifted by the whole crowd is burned into my brain so I see it whenever I listen to that song

Favorite picture of them:

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #carlos rodriguez #seblos #seb #asks #character asks #anon

[jimblejamblewritings]

luck be a (leading) lady | part 10.

[Posted 2022.09.29]

Summary: Y/N has always been a background character. That’s just life for some folks isn’t it? But what if she’s determined to not just be another member in the ensemble? What if someone helps her step into the spotlight in her own special way?

Warnings for the Series: a teeny bit of angst but mainly fluff, slow burn 

Pairing: ricky bowen x black!reader

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: I’m thinking 3 or 4 parts left after this. It won’t go much further in the story than when Ricky and the reader actually get together.

A/N II: My writing style in this isn’t my favorite but I never realized how hard it would be to do hsmtmts as a series fic. I still love the plot though so I’m going to see it through but serious thank you to all the readers that enjoy this story because I’m honestly not sure about my own writing here. 

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

“What’s this?” you asked in the morning when you left Honeycomb to see Ricky at the door with a cherry popsicle from the food hall. 

“They don’t have smoothies here and I’m pretty sure the nearest McDonald’s is twenty miles from here.” 

You sighed. “I’m guessing I’m not Anna or Elsa.” 

“Sorry.”

“What did you get?”

“Kristoff,” he said, not quite looking at you. 

“Really?!” 

Ricky stood at the door for a moment after you ran back inside. You came out with an instant camera around your neck. Taking Ricky’s hand, you practically pulled him towards the cast list. Yep, there you were as the ensemble. But Kristoff was a big deal. Ricky gladly let you move him to stand next to the cast list so you could take a picture. You turned after feeling a tap on your shoulder. 

“Morning, Val,” you said quietly.  

“I know casting directors don’t have to justify their choices but I feel like I should explain.”

“You don’t have to. I know I’m shy but I’ve been in the professional program since I was nine, I’m used to not getting parts. Just wasn’t for me. Or it was but someone was better. I can never remember how Bennet says that phrase.” 

“Well, I love the attitude. But, no, this one I do. You were honestly one of my considerations for Anna or Elsa but paired with Gina and your voice is too light to be Elsa. And you both are amazing dancers but you played Clara s—”

“Playing the lead cost me the lead?” You asked in confusion. 

“No. Well, yes. But I want to use your ballet in the show. So you couldn’t be Anna. You did bring your ballet stuff like all the years before right?” 

“I have a sneaking suspicion I’m playing a personified snowflake.”

Val clicked her teeth while giving you finger guns before walking away. You had to laugh. You turned back to Ricky to take another picture. Gina and Kourtney were dragged into your picture. They all smiled largely. You handed each of them a polaroid that they held like a porcelain doll. Ricky took your camera from you. 

“I heard Val. You need a picture too, Prima.” 

“What’s Y/N doing?” Ashlyn asked. “It says we’re both ensemble.”

“Is it playing a person?” Carlos asked, still salty he was Olaf after being Lumiere.

“A snowflake,” you answered. 

Ricky held up the camera. “A very special snowflake… That came out…”

“Just take the picture, Ricky.” 

You were fighting everything in you not to laugh. He handed you the picture and your camera back. You agreed to show him around the camp while waiting for the hours to pass until the campfire. He had seen the entire camp by lunch time. Instead of eating in the food hall, you and Ricky ate on the pier of the lake. 

“So why is it called Shallow Lake if this giant thing exists?” He asked as he took a bite of his sandwich. 

“It used to be a lot bigger than this way before it became a camp. It’s also not nearly as deep as it looks. Almost everyone can touch the bottom, you might need to be on your tippy toes but still… Hey, you don’t mind if Gina and Jett join our log, do you?” 

“No but wouldn’t Gina be with EJ?”

“He’s working on the script tonight cause of the read-through tomorrow. It’s kind of eating up all his time so I told Gina to just hang out with us and try to forget about it for a bit.” 

“Well, I’m totally fine with them joining.” 

You both started to head back to your cabins to get stuff for the campfire. It was supposed to be a night to sleep out in the woods so you advised Ricky to bring a sleeping bag or find a tent buddy. The two of you met back up at the actual site. You went to your favorite log right in front of the fire. The large brooding presence behind you was clearly Jett. Without looking, you handed him a blanket. 

“You could try to look a bit more enthusiastic… Hanns.” 

Jett just sighed. 

“That’s a big deal! Ricky, please tell Jett playing Hanns is a big deal.” 

Jett didn’t really seem to care if the message came from someone other than you. You decided to drop the matter for now. Ricky was pleasantly surprised when you sat in between him and Gina. He honestly thought you would sit by Jett. He didn’t know what was going on between you two but Ricky wasn’t sure if you even lit up that much with him and Gina. 

“This is Maddie’s favorite time,” you said as you dropped your head onto Ricky’s shoulder. 

Maddox gave you a smile before turning her attention to the other campers. You weren’t kidding about this being her favorite night. She loved scaring people with the story of the woman in the woods: Susan Fine of Shallow Lake. Despite hearing the song that started the story, you still tapped your foot as EJ and Maddox sang it. EJ disappeared back into his tent as soon as it finished. Maddox stood up to walk around while speaking, she felt it really enhanced the story. You listened intently so she would always have someone to look at in case she felt the others weren’t paying attention. 

“And what Susan Fine when she wandered out here by herself?” 

“Corbin Bleu’s helicopter?” Jett half asked, half stated. It earned a light round of laughter from the others. 

Maddox stumbled over her next lines. “N-no. She was out in the woods for so long that she never came home. And it was so long ago that she still roams to this day lost, hungry, and angry.” 

“You guys, am I Susan Fine?” 

“You are pretty angry dude,” Ricky joined in on the joking. “Like all the time.” 

The laughter died when Maddox got visibly upset. Her scary story time was turning more into campfire laughter than anything. She stormed off, making you and Jett look at each other. You tilted your head but Jett just looked away. With scary story time effectively over, everyone started to retreat to their tents. You stayed at the fire with Ricky while Gina and Jett both left the log. 

“We have all the stuff for s'mores. Gadget kind of stormed off before handing them out. You want some?” 

“Sure but first I promised Carlos I’d help him scare Kourtney.” 

“Well, I will be here, eating a s’more and acting like I know nothing.”

Ricky patted you on the shoulder before walking off. You weren’t sure how they were going to scare Kourtney but you were positive it was going to be elaborate. It must have worked according to the screaming you heard minutes later. Ricky came bounding back in a fit of laughter. He accepted a s’more and dropped back down on the log. 

“Wow, it’s quiet without everyone out here,” he said as he reached for a bottle of water. 

“Yeah, a little too quiet.”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared?” 

You rolled your eyes. “Oh, you wish, Ricky. I just meant usually you can hear the other campers doing stuff. I guess everyone called it in early tonight.”

“Or Susan Fine got them.”

“I’ve been hearing that story for seven years in a row. You can’t scare me with it.” 

“Are you sure you’re not scared? Because my heart is racing.” 

Ricky grabbed your hand and placed it flat against his chest. You felt his slightly fast heartbeat underneath your palm. After a few moments, you pulled away with a scoff. He wasn’t going to prank you like he and Carlos just pranked Kourtney. You refused to get scared. Ricky smiled as you bit into another s’more. This was the first proper alone time he had with you in a while. And while it wasn’t the park and milkshakes, this was definitely just as good as Midnight McDonald’s. 

“You’ve got some chocolate right… Here, I’ll get it.” Ricky’s thumb gently wiped at the corner of your mouth. 

“This is why I don’t eat these often. That and Jett refuses to even look at marshmallows. How do you hate marshmallows?” 

Ricky’s hand faltered. Right, Jett was a thing. Potentially? You looked up at the sky after finishing your last s’more. Ricky looked up for a little bit before looking back at you. 

“What if we slept out here? I think I’ve only slept under the stars twice in all my years of camp.”

“Why not?” 

The two of you grabbed sleeping bags from your tent and went back to the campfire area. Sleeping under the stars proved more peaceful than either of you thought because you didn’t wake up until you heard singing. 

“Is that Sharpay?” you asked a bit groggily. 

Ricky sat up straight. “Sharpay song… Carlos’ voice. I think we might have missed something important.” 

“Well as long as we aren’t late to rehearsal, I think we’ll live. Speaking of which, we don’t have much time to get ready.” 

You both jumped out of the sleeping bags and began the brief walk back to the main camp area. While you were changing into proper clothes after taking a shower, Maddox was lovely enough to tell you that Carlos’ singing was because they were trying to impress Corbin Bleu. Well, the plan was to impress Corbin Bleu. His helicopter hadn’t arrived at the time they thought it would. You couldn’t care less about that and were actually kind of glad that you slept in. 

The more you thought about the documentary, the more it sounded like a bad idea. If you had only looked closer at the release forms but you assumed it was the typical release forms for when Camp Shallow Lake wanted to film campers for promotional videos. Your goal with the documentary was to not bring much attention to yourself. If you were in it then you were in it. But you wouldn’t go out of your way to garner Corbin or his cameraman’s attention. There were enough stars at camp who could do that. 

“You clean up nicely, Mr. Bowen,” you said as you entered The Barn. 

“Back at ya.” 

“What is Val having us do?”

“Stretch and a compliment circle. I think we got the compliment part out of the way.” 

“We are such overachievers.” You started to stretch properly. 

The stretching circle could have been comforting if it wasn’t for the fact EJ was circling you all like a hawk while he read the script over and over again. You weren’t sure why he was so nervous. This might have been his first time directing but it wasn’t like the cast was full of newbies. If he thought this was hard, he should see a week of classes with the Guppy Troupe. Eventually— and hopefully soon— he would get over the perfectionist director persona he seemed to have randomly adopted. 

Corbin and his cameraman came marching through the doors. You weren’t sure how it was possible that they had more enthusiasm in the morning than the entire cast combined. He started walking past each of you one by one. You snickered when it looked like Ricky tried to get a hug that was rejected when Corbin didn’t even pay attention. He gently pushed you but that didn’t stop you from snickering again. As you all gathered in the friendship circle to give light back massages, you looked over to where Corbin and his camera guy were talking. The camera dude gave you weird vibes. You weren’t sure why he just seemed odd. Corbin was kind of weird too, though. Maybe that was Hollywood for you? 

He had some odd advice to try and pull emotions out of people. At one point he suggested that Kourtney and Gina use their real life to inspire. The idea itself made perfect sense except the example he gave was asking if they both liked the same guy. You and Ricky laughed off to the side. Gina and Kourtney had completely different tastes in men. Also how pretentious of Corbin to assume they both liked the same boy, what if it was a girl? Not with those two but he didn’t know them to know that. You laughed even harder when it was suggested that Carlos was the guy. His face deadpanned. 

“Yes, that’s me. The notorious womanizer of the group. Somehow pulling all the ladies I show no interest in.” 

The cameraman— Channing— turned the camera away from the two girls and focused on you and Ricky since you two had been laughing. He got an extra tight shot to really highlight that you were resting your head on Ricky’s shoulder. As an ensemble member, you didn’t need to look at the script for lines. If you guys weren’t singing then you weren’t speaking. So there wasn’t much else to do but just listen to everyone else. Ricky held up a hand slightly. 

“There’s no drama between any of us. We’re all just really good friends.” 

EJ agreed. “This is a pretty drama-free zone.” 

Corbin gave a forced smile. “Okay let’s just move on. You were at Kristoff’s part.” 

“Hey, my ice,” Ricky read. He poked your cheek. “That’s you.” 

“That’s me.” You did spirit fingers, making the others chuckle. Val had let everyone know the extra role you were taking to really make the show next level. 

“Kristoff picks up his bag of ice while Anna and Hans are oblivious,” Val read the stage directions. 

Gina picked up. “I’m sorry, so sorry… Jett’s line is next.” 

You lifted your head from Ricky’s shoulder. “He’s not here?” 

With a sigh you got up from your chair. Channing kept the camera on Ricky who just kept watching you. Maddox grabbed your arm before you left the doors. 

“Why do you still try with him?” 

“Maddie…”

“Go, fine, go find him.” 

You looked around the entire camp multiple times. Either he was actually lost or was oddly good at evading you every step of the way. But it wasn’t in Jett’s nature to avoid you. He might’ve ignored you but that was after you sat next to him. He never got up to leave and he never purposely tried to make you leave. So where the hell was he? You gave up looking but told Dewey who was going to call someone. Stomping your way down a small hill, you found Ricky and Gina practicing lines. Wow, you didn’t realize you had taken up that much time looking for Jett.

“Y/N!” Gina called out, holding up a piece of paper. 

Ricky tried to grab it from her but she stepped out of the way in time to hand you the paper. The words Ricky’s Bucket List were plastered at the top. The first idea that immediately caught your attention was hug a celebrity. 

“Is this why y—”

“Gina already laughed at me on your behalf.” 

“I wasn’t going to laugh… Say yes to something that scares you?” 

“Was agreeing to date Lily not scary enough?” Gina asked. 

“Will you two leave me alone?”

You linked arms with Gina. “Come on, G, let’s go find a space rock so Ricky can complete his dream of walking on the moon. 

She threw her head back in a fit of laughter as the two of you left Ricky to keep practicing his script. It was important to get ready for movie night anyway. You were glad to have missed the rest of rehearsal with Corbin and Channing. You tried to fill Gina in on all the details of how everything worked at camp including movie night and which popcorn flavor was worth it. The movie was supposed to be High School Musical 3 but apparently Gina had asked Val to change it. 

“I’m not trying to say anything to anyone but I think you could help Kourt,” Gina said as you kept walking. “I think it’s anxiety maybe.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for her but asking Val to put on her comfort movie was a great idea.” 

To make sure Kourtney felt comfortable, you and Gina left Ricky and EJ to share a blanket and shared with her instead. Of course, Gina still took the side that put her next to her boyfriend. Kourtney seemed to feel calmer as she ate popcorn and watched Camp Rock. Almost all your attention was on the movie. The rest of it was thinking about your individual rehearsal with Val tomorrow. It was necessary that she and EJ split responsibilities to get the show done in time. That meant you needed private time to figure out what she wanted from you as a snowflake/ice block. 

All you knew of Val’s plan so far was that you would be there for Kourtney’s Let It Go number to help with the magical effects and then you were doing a little bit of Carlos’ In Summer and then dancing with Ricky because Kristoff’s entire personality was that he loved his reindeer and ice. It wasn’t nearly as intense as ballets at the Saltwater, especially the upcoming one, but you were still nervous all the same.

Ricky left movie night a bit early, not feeling up for watching the mini talent show afterwards. He wanted to be up early to work on lines and enjoy more of the nature side of camp. The boy nearly jumped out of his skin when he opened the door to the cabin and saw Jett laying in bed while reading a book. 

“You’re back?” 

“Look, I already got a lecture from Val. I don’t need one from you.” 

“We were counting on you dude. Y/N spent the entire day looking for you.” 

“She always does that, it’s kind of our thing I guess.” 

Ricky scoffed. “That’s a bit messed up to do to someone who cares about you. I get it grumpy sunshine is like your thing but you could’ve even tried to tell her you weren’t gonna be there instead of wasting everyone’s time.” 

Jett closed his book and propped his head up on his hand. “Just a question. Are you actually upset because I took off or does this somehow have to do with Y/N?” 

“Whatever.”

“Great comeback.” Jett went back to his reading.

Ricky ignored him for the rest of the night. It continued into the morning, even when Jett reluctantly stood next to him as they walked to The Barn. You weren’t there yet, probably listening to the music and trying to figure out a dance to it. It wasn’t like you were really needed until lunch. This morning was supposed to be Kristoff and Anna work mainly. Ricky took a seat in one of the chairs set up in the middle of the room. Carlos, Val, and EJ were standing in front of everyone with creepy smiles and a posterboard presentation on a stand.

(part 11)

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#hsmtmts fic #hsmtmts #ricky bowen x reader

[mickeytheticklee]

Jealousy tickles

Pairing: Ler!Gina Porter x Lee!Reader

Summary: You throw a surprise for Gina after a bad night of jealousy

Warnings: Tickling, raspberries, bad flirting?, hsmtmts spoilers if you care about that, writing this I realize there's no mention of Ricky Bowen

An: Based on the one episode where Ricky decorates Gina's trailer

Having a girlfriend makes you do weird things, such as suddenly being an expert on arts and crafts on a Tuesday afternoon.

“Wait Gi I'm not finished.", You say, although Gina enters her trailer. You would stop her from entering but you were too busy setting up streamers and making sure it didn't drop. Sure enough when Gina opened the door it fell again, but with dozens of failed attempts you gave up. But one streamer doesn't matter when you decorated a whole banner, got her a gift basket with all her favorite goodies, and a Build a Bear stuffed animal clothed as a cheerleader in less than three hours. Gina was flabbergasted, not believing the surprise you left in her trailer. It was as if you were throwing a birthday party, even if both of your birthdays landed during second semester. Before seizing a splurge of kisses or a hug you fix one minor detail to your plan.

“Wait!", You say, putting your hand up. You grabbed the red and white confetti from the couch and swooshed it in the air. Yes it made a big mess but it didn't matter, since there's people to clean up the mess. “Okay now I'm finished."

With much energy Gina gave you a big hug. The ones that she loves you a bit too hard that it sucks your soul out. You've gotten better at holding her whenever she leans foward in hugs. Usually when she does your masculine strength can barely hold on and you almost fall over. But not this time. Secretly in your mind you give yourself props for that.

“You did all this?? How??", Gina asks, looking around at her trailer filled with treats. She's never been happier in her entire life. Plus this was perfect timing as she's been having a tiring day from filming scene to scene on HSM4 with costar Mack.

“It took two days, bribery, and some advice from Ashlyn but I made it happen.", You say, smiling at Gina. Preparation was WORK, but it was worth it to see a billion dollar smile from Gina. In one day you were on a mission to get Gina's favorites from the mall and set them up into a basket. As for the cute bear in a red cheerleading outfit you had a friend from Build A Bear to give you a discount (not because you were friends but because your girlfriend is a movie star). As far as the trailer you told your plan to Ashlyn, the only person that knows about you and Gina from an accidental make out in the bathroom during Halloween. She liked it, although complained that it was missing something. That anyone who was dating Gina needed to go big or go home.

Coming from the person who lived with Gina for awhile, you can trust her word.

“You're such a surprise everyday y/n, but why?", Gina asks, having her hands on the back of your neck. She had on a cheerleader outfit on with her hair straightened with a ponytail, such a look that you absolutely love. Gina has been flaunting the hell out of her cheerleading outfits that it had put you in such a lee mood. Which makes you rewind that you set this surprise up from you seeing Gina share a tickle moment with Mack.

“I wanted to apologize for being a dick with Mack and being a downer during the whole. It wasn't me.", You say, apologizing for what happened last night. You two sit down on the couch, discussing of what came from the small gathering at Ashlyn's house.

“I can't be mad, Kourtney was sort of pushing it with the ship questions between me and Mack.", Gina says, holding your hand. A couple of days ago there was a celebration of Gina being the lead role of HSM4, the reunion. As everyone was dancing to hsm songs and eating pizza from Biggie's pizzeria the main event was Mack coming. He came with stacks of Apple cider for everyone to enjoy, all while wearing the matching purple and blue bracelet as Gina. Suddenly that small detail had the party questioning if there was a secret relationship with Gina.

She's in a secret relationship, just not with him.

Thru numerous denies everyone was suspecting that they were a thing. Even though the evidence in question was being in a movie with him and matching bracelets they had to make for a scene. Yet she was wearing the headphones you gifted her and her lipstick being smack dab in the middle of your neck, in the open. Same shade and all. Yet the small photo that Kourtney took of them made them viral in less than twenty minutes, and now suddenly people were asking questions and making ship names for them. MaGi, seriously?

“I know, but I haven't been much of a supportive girlfriend since you've been casted. I'm proud of you for taking this opportunity and that after school you'll go to new Zealand and be a pretty princess.", You say, grazing Gina's chin. Gina giggles, her nose scrunching while looking at you. “I sort of...been jealous of you and Mack. I mean I know we're supposed to have a secret relationship because of the documentary and hiding that you aren't such a mean bisexual but I thought maybe someone could've gotten the hint. Excluding Ashlyn because she's nosy. But I'm sorry, I should've never acted that way."

You were waiting for a response from Gina's big brown eye stare. She stares trying to copy your habit of wandering in her eyes and just smiling. When she stops she leans in for a soft kiss. Feeling the small spark you both kiss again. “I accept your apology, and I understand. Having to idolize Mack and making a movie with him people have seemed to be more delusional than me. But I promise once this musical and movie are over we'll hangout more and hopefully they'll get the hint that we're dating. But Mack is America's puppy, you're my puppy.", Gina says, patting your head. You weren't ever sure if your friends will get the hint of you and Gina dating. They'll still bring up the Mack cutout even if she was wearing your sweatshirt.

“Also...there's a lot of things that I wouldn't do to Mack that I'd do to you.", She says, her tone getting slightly lower while making intense eye contact with you. You make intense eye contact back, almost wanting to break it by how wide your smile was getting. You thought Gina's flirt was another chance to kiss you, but sometimes you never know what she's thinking.

“And what is it?", You saying, leaning closer trying to close the hint with a kiss. As you get closer Gina doesn't budge, but she does smirk. “Why don't I tickle you and find out.", Gina says, not even giving you a five second head start and tickling you. You were laughing with your head back over Gina's probing to your side.

“GIGIGIGI!!", You say, already laughing and barely getting any strength out to release her hand from the grips on your side. Although you say her name in hopes for her to stop you make no effort to push the tickles away. In fact you tried to get in a comfortable position on the couch to get your giggles in from Gina. Even if most of the tickles were done sneaking in Gina's bed at night a small brown couch in the trailer will do. Your laughter melts on the couch, letting your body vibe with the giggles and scribbling of Gina's fingers to your tummy.

“I forgot you haven't been tickled for four days, no wonder why you've been a bit jealous.", She says, teasing you. Still laughing upon the tickles you cover your face in embarrassment. You can sense the pink rising from your cheeks. “SHUTUPUPHAHAHA!!", You say, reacting to the pokes and deep thumb massaging on your side, inching close to your ribs. You were laying down, being surprised that your limbs were under control from the wild tickling. But that's the power of Gina's tickling, to where everything else is calm but your still screeching and wheezing until it stops.

“Shut up? Make me. Use that masculine strength of yours to get me to stop.", She teases you once again. You always brag about being strong and calling it masculine energy by holding the door for Gina or opening the car door her. Yet Gina adores your high pitched laughs whenever her finger squeezes through your armpit. “STOPHAGAHAHAHA!!!", You laugh, trying to use that energy but instead to Gina unlimited access to tickle your armpits and neck.

Gina giggles, loving to tickle you. “Want me to stop? Okay, I will.", She says, not tickling you anymore. Of course she even knows that won't be possible so she circles your palm with her finger. Within a minute you were pouting and clinging onto Gina, wondering when you'll get tickles back. “I was kidding...", You say whining to Gina. Yet Gina can't go one week without teasing you, even if afterwards you get tortured and you feel better.

“You want me to tickle you? Recite the Mark and Spark theme song.", Gina says, insisting you do that as a reward of possible tickles. As much as Gina obsesses over that show you haven't seen a lick of yet. You tried to sing the melody from the times Jet made fun of Gina for liking such a childish show. Once your mind was able to work you had half of the song memorized, with a few mumbles in between. But it was enough to satisfy Gina.

“Okay lay down so I can tickle you.", She says, pushing you back down and using her one hand to scribble your tummy. The other was holding your hand, still lightly grazing your palm with her thumb. You were giggling, looking at Gina and loving these tickles. You took your hands and scrunched them around Gina's face, wanting her to get closer for a kiss. With each small kiss and little pecks trailing off to your jawline and chin became a very unexpected neck raspberry. “HAHAHAHAHAHA!!", You say, bursting into a fit of giggles. It's surprising that such a thing would make you laugh this hard, since this is Gina's first time ever doing it.

“Wait, that was kind of fun.", Gina says, loving the reaction you gave. You were laughing about it, nodding but being too tongue tied in your giggles to respond back. “NONONOGINAHAHAHHW!!", You say until your words get cut off my laughter again of another neck raspberry from Gina. Since you two been dating she's loves to tickle you. But it's only ever soft tickles while you two are cuddling and watching a movie. You love your soft tickles but you wanted to be challenged and get tortured by Gina. She's been procrastinating on her research because of school and extracurricular activities, but you were good up to now about her not knowing the secret of raspberries.

Still Gina was tickling your tummy, having her hands either on the sweatshirt you were wearing or the bare skin exposed from wiggling around too much. You were still laughing, unable to think of a sneaky comeback that'll make Gina tickle you more. “IHAHHAHAHHAHAHNN", You laugh, still hating how your brain can barely form words from Gina having her fingers around your neck and pinching your thighs. You were gasping for any sense of words but it gets tangled in your loud, bubbly laughter. “Let me give you a break before something happens.", Gina says, giving you some water from her backpack to give to you. Even when hydrated you were still whining about feeling empty without your tickles.

“I'll tickle you tonight during our HSM marathon. But for right now let's go before Kourtney goes on a hunt to find me.", Gina says, helping you up and making sure your sweatshirt isn't too wrinkled. By this time practice would've been over and everyone heads down the block for pizza. She fixes your collar with stars in her eyes, giving you one last kiss before you're not allowed to be five feet near each other. “Thank you for this surprise."

“Anything for my superstar."

#random ass short fic bc I'm stressed #i would've done tickltober but I've been so busy 😭😭 #i hate stopping by once a month then dipping #tickling #tickle fic #gina porter #hsmtmts

[blues-valentine]

Do you think that the show retconned Gina's character/took away her agency by making it appear as if Ricky was the reason why she joined the musical?

No. And this is such a random take because the show made it clear that Gina joined because she wanted to find a propose that connects her to something other than ambition and success. And this is what Ricky has represented for Gina all along. They just spelled it out for you. Ricky is the reason Gina found community in theater.

What we learn about Gina on Season 1 is that she is a highly ambitious girl which motivation is often to win and be the lead. We can asume she joined stuff like those not just because she enjoyed it and was good at it but her approach to it was to win and being the main focus, not to form a community. And this is her mother’s influence who used to tell her is not worth it if she isn’t number one at it. We saw on Season 1 she had a lot of medals/trophies from dancing competitions but it wasn’t something that made her feel fulfilled. There’s a reason she was so touched by the medal she was given by the drama club for winning the clues game during the thanksgiving episode (a medal you can also see on Gina’s room on Season 4). In the scene from 406 is very clear that her issue is that she lacked an emotional propose after being yet again moved to another school. She’s back at square one. Adopting another personality to protect herself from forming attachments. She met Ricky, found him intriguing and decided to join something she probably would’ve joined eventually for the sake of it or not consider at all. Gina has been the lead of shows probably all of her life. Her joining “for Ricky” wasn’t much about him but what he represents for her since.

Ricky made her enjoy theater but not just as an activity she can be better than others but as a place she can find a community and where she can allow herself to be just Gina. And that has been real about their connection since the start of the show. It doesn’t take away from her agency or her ability to be goal focused and ambitious, it just gives her reasons to find the things she has been looking for all of her life, stability and a place to connect. A place to call home. Because she desires both. She wants to be successful but she also needs constants and people she can be vulnerable with. I am sure Ricky will now become her source of calm and groundedness when things get overwhelming.

This is also the reason Gina connected with the role of Bailey. She was imagining Ricky because he is the person that made her connect and feel seen not just in theater but as herself. Had she not met Ricky, she’ll probably still see theater in a very individualistic way instead of team work. The 406 plot just made it more tangible. Also, we need to stop thinking women doing things for “love” is a negative. Especially when it comes to Gina as a character who’s entire arc has been about finding people to connect with.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts season 4 #hsmtmts s4 #rina #gina porter #ricky bowen #ricky x gina #ask

[homemade-ghosts]

What do you think ricky and gina get from eachother that they don't get from anyone else?

Warning: This is about to be one very long post (and I’m only vaguely sorry about that lol)

Ricky & Gina have a foundation of deep, mutual understanding that allows them to feel comfortable and safe with one another in a way they themselves have acknowledged no one else can. 

When Ricky leaves the musical because Nini accuses him of not taking it seriously, of wasting everyone’s time, of taking up space that should belong to someone else, someone who really cares, it’s Gina who convinces him to come back. In their very first on-screen conversation, no less. Of course, we can’t really blame Nini for operating on the assumption that Ricky doesn’t care about the musical because, by his own admission, Ricky only joined the musical to get her back. Nini doesn’t understand that it’s become something more to him now. Ricky, insecure about being completely out of his element with all of this musical theatre stuff, heads to somewhere he feels comfortable, in his element: the skatepark. It’s there that Gina finds him and reassures him that being an outsider to the theatre is not a weakness, like Nini had implied, but a strength. He brings a new perspective, keeps “everyone on their toes” and brings his own “style” to the role, a realness that no one inside the sphere of drama/theatre possibly could. It is only then that Ricky comes back and fights to prove he deserves his part in the show. Well, fights to prove it to Nini, Gina already knows he deserves it. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that this first interaction between Ricky & Gina was not Gina trying to get Ricky to rejoin the musical out of the goodness of her heart. She overhears Ricky, after he quit, saying that, if he comes back, Nini will probably leave the show. Gina wants the lead, she wants to play Gabriella, so she manipulates Ricky into staying in the hopes that, when he comes back, Nini will quit and Gina (the understudy) can take Nini’s place. Even though Gina’s intentions weren’t honorable, there is still a level of understanding there. After all, in order to successfully manipulate someone, you have to know what they need to hear, you have to understand them.

So, Ricky & Gina understand each other at the skatepark, but it’s under false pretenses. It’s not until Homecoming, a few episodes later, that this understanding becomes genuine. Real. Ricky is back in the show, but Nini still hasn’t left. Gina’s plan didn’t work. So, she comes up with another plan (albeit, a half-baked one): go to the homecoming dance with EJ, Nini’s ex, in hopes that Nini will...see them together and get so upset she’ll quit the show? Yeah, even Gina knows this probably won’t work. I think she mostly goes because, having moved around so much, she’s likely never been to a school dance before, much less with a date (a fake one, but still) and she wanted that quintessential high school experience. Anyway, Nini isn’t even at the dance. Ricky, however, is. Here’s where everything changes. He waits for EJ to leave, slides into the seat next to Gina and, in effort to look out for her in the same way she looked out for him episodes before, tells her, “You can do better than EJ. That guy’s bad news.” When she strikes a nerve with the response, “You’re not exactly one to give relationship advice and when I want your opinion, I’ll ask.” He fires back by telling her that he thought she was classier than this, that she’s too ambitious for her own good, which heavily implies, to me at least, that he sees what Gina is doing here. He gets why she came with EJ: to parade their fake relationship in front of Nini. His comment hits way too close to home though and, on Red’s insistence, he finds Gina at the coat check area outside the dance to apologize. He admits that who she hangs out with, or doesn’t hang out with, isn’t any of his business. He shouldn’t have involved himself. When Gina asks why he did, we get the first verbal acknowledgment of the understanding that these two characters share. Ricky says, “Good question, I don’t know. It’s like, I’m an outsider to the theatre stuff, right? And you’re, like, an outsider to East High. I thought we sort of, like, got each other.” It feels as though there might be a small, barely recognizable hint of jealousy in his words, but more than anything, I think he is trying to remind her that he sees who she is and what she needs (he genuinely thinks, at this point, that EJ is not a good guy and that Gina deserves better) just as much as she saw who he is and what he needed at the skatepark that night. Following this moment, it’s established that they might have even more in common with each other than they already think. Ricky tells Gina he’s sorry for what he said, that his world and home life has been “a little upside down” and Gina commiserates, telling him he isn’t the only one with home drama -- but she doesn’t say it in a way that makes Ricky feel selfish or implies one of their problems is bigger than the other's. Her eyes soften, she gives him the briefest of smiles. There it is again: that connection, that understanding. 

Pulled up in front of Gina’s house after Ricky gave her a ride home from the dance, Ricky thanks her. “You’re the reason I stayed with the show.” That night at the skatepark, he says, she set him straight. The facade, the manipulation, dropped the moment Ricky followed Gina out of Homecoming, but you can still see the remorse on Gina’s face. We can see how sorry she is, how she regrets her motives that night -- but, she realizes, she wasn’t lying. “I meant what I said,” she turns back to tell him, before she opens the car door to head inside, “that night at the skatepark, about you having your own style. I don’t even think I knew how much I meant it when I said it.” Then, after a night of just...getting each other, of laughing in the car, of “thank you”s, of talking about how much theatre, and the safe space it creates, means to both of them, Gina kisses Ricky on the cheek. Their faces linger, inches apart from one another. For the first (but certainly not the last) time, we see their emotional closeness manifest into a physical closeness. We see just how much this means to Gina, to feel seen in a way that allows her to drop her guard, to be vulnerable. Ricky made her feels safe, unjudged, not scary...and because of Ricky, Gina isn’t so much a new version of herself as she is all of herself.

Fast-forward to season 2 (I could keep talking about their relationship in season 1, believe me, but I’ve gotta move this post along or I’ll be writing it for a week and, next thing you know, a simple ask will become a 20-page research paper that no one asked for lol). Their relationship is a little strained and a lot confusing (at least for Gina, we don’t get Ricky’s POV, but I have faith that his perspective is coming, in a big way, in the upcoming eps of season 3). Gina came into Ricky’s life and helped him realize that change, though scary, is not actually something to be afraid of. He was learning to accept his parents separation, the fact that his mom had a new boyfriend, to embrace and feel confident in his newfound role as a “theatre kid” and to move on from Nini (he completely stop pursuing her after his night with Gina at Homecoming). He was moving on from the past, toward his future. All of that growth came crashing down, however, when Gina moved. When Ricky watched her leave at that Thanksgiving party, tears in his eyes, change, once again, became something that hurts, not heals. So, with Gina (his catalyst for change) gone, Ricky regressed. He clung to Nini because she was familiar, she reminded him of what life was like when they were together the first time around, when his parents were happy, when life was easier and everything was the same, nothing changed. 

Ricky thought he would never see Gina again and, by the time she came back, he had already gotten back together with Nini. Now there was tension. Ricky tried to soften their relationship, to make it seem more friendly, not because he & Gina were ever really just friends, but because he was trying desperately to hold onto what he had with Nini, to repeat the past so he wouldn’t have to face the future. He couldn’t do that if he let himself see Gina as a romantic option again. This made Gina question if Ricky ever really liked her, romantically, in the first place. Was he just being friendly this whole time? Even with all this strangeness between them, it’s Ricky who Gina goes to when she misses her mom. They’ve talked about their moms before, both absent in their own ways, both making their respective children wish for more. So Gina knows, no matter what else is going on, Ricky will understand her. “I get that, missing your mom.” he reassures, and it’s like Gina lets out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding in. Here comes the relief, the comfort, of being understood. “I knew you would.” she smiles, “Sorry, there’s just some things I tell you that I don’t really tell anyone else.” Ricky agrees, “Yeah, no, I think we do that for each other.” He takes a half step closer to her after he says it and, just like that night in Big Red’s car after homecoming, that emotional closeness has manifested itself into a physical one. Ricky really means it, when he agrees that they tell each other things they don’t tell anyone else, too. I mean, Nini, Ricky’s actual girlfriend, didn’t even know he had moved from his childhood home into the apartment he and Gina were now standing in. In contrast, Ricky had not only told Gina that he had moved, but gave her his address too. He, unconsciously or not, knew Nini wouldn’t understand why it hurt to move away from the only home he had ever known. After all, Nini had actively chosen to move away from her childhood home to attend YAC in another state. Even when Nini decided to move back to SLC later that season, she had two loving parents who were in a happy marriage to come home to. Ricky & Gina were both being raised by single parents, both missing the mothers they had not wanted to leave. & Gina knew exactly what it was like to move somewhere unfamiliar and have to turn a house into a home (not only because she has moved around so much in general, but because she had also recently moved into Ashlyn’s house and, although she was grateful to Ash, it did not feel like a home to her). Gina knew Ricky would understand what she was going through. She was right. Ricky knew Gina would understand what he was going through. He was right. Even when Ricky had a girlfriend, Gina was still his person.

Now on to season 3 (or what we’ve seen of it so far). Ricky, having broken up with Nini last season and learned to embrace the change he once rebelled against, is finally free (song title reference intended). Gina is now dating EJ (having gotten together last season once she realized Ricky was no longer an option, romantically. Much the same way that Ricky got back together with Nini in s1 once Gina had moved away and was, say it with me here: no longer an option). 

EJ is trying. He brings Gina congratulatory flowers when she gets cast as Anna in Frozen (the flowers look like weeds, but it’s the thought that counts) yet he doesn’t understand what a big deal this is for Gina, that this is something she’s wanted for seasons now. He tells her he knew she’d get the lead, which is meant to be a sweet complement, but comes off as if he thinks her being cast as Anna was a given. He doesn’t acknowledge or understand how hard she worked to get here. He can’t even let her fully celebrate this big win because, soon after giving her the flowers, he completely zones her out. The excitement fades from Gina’s face as she realizes all EJ can think about is his own success (or lack thereof) regarding directing the musical. Ashlyn, Gina’s supposed best friend who, having lived with her for the better part of last school year, should get how much finally getting the lead means to Gina...but she doesn’t. Ashlyn gets cast in the ensemble and starts spiraling, thinking about why she didn’t get the lead and trying to find someone (or something) to blame for that. Gina sacrificed her solo to audition with Ashlyn (& Kourtney) last semester, which is what helped Ash land the lead of Belle. Gina was nothing but congratulatory and supportive of her surrogate sister then, unfortunately, Ashlyn can’t/doesn’t really return the favor. After coming to terms with her own place in the show, Ashlyn does tell Gina she deserves the role, but it's too little too late. Ricky is the only person who understands what a big deal Anna is for Gina, not only because Troy was a big deal for him in season 1, but because he could see how hard Gina worked for it. Earnestly, he tells her, “I’m proud of you.” while shining his flashlight on her like a makeshift spotlight (not sure if this bit was intentional, but it’s interesting how Gina tells EJ that she’s had to deal with years of being “almost in the spotlight, but not quite.” and that night, Ricky gives her her very own spotlight). Ricky doesn’t make it about himself. He lets Gina bask in her own success. He lets it be about her. She laughs it off, but they both know she needed it and that he meant it.

When Gina tells EJ her mom is moving back to Salt Lake, he can’t even pretend to be truly happy for her because, once again, he’s too busy thinking about himself (this time, about how he might have to move away -- a fact which he actively chooses to hide from Gina, despite him being the first person she told about her big news). We don’t get Ricky’s reaction to finding out that Gina’s mom has moved back (maybe we will in an upcoming ep?) but I couldn’t help but think that Ricky would understand how much it means for Gina to have her mom back in her life, physically. Just like he understood last Valentine’s Day. Not only was EJ too preoccupied to celebrate, but even if he wasn’t, I don’t think he would understand what a big deal this is. EJ has a parent who is consistently present in his life, to an overbearing and controlling degree, and he seems to want to be out from under his father’s thumb. He actively wishes his dad had a smaller presence in his life and I don’t think he could relate to Gina actually wanting to live with and spend time with her mom.

Ricky is in awe of Gina. Her confidence and talent and her belief & understanding of him inspires him to be better. In season 1, he left the show twice because he didn't believe he was a good enough leading man for Nini, he thought he was ruining her big moment and, if we're being honest, because leaving was the easier thing to do. Now, Ricky gets it. He sees how important it is to show up for the people he loves and, instead of leaving, he puts in the work. He offers to sing "Love is an Open Door" with Gina so she'll get a chance to impress Corbin (and, tbh, just because he just wants to sing with her. Somebody tell that boy he's literally playing her romantic lead and he's about to get a duet of his very own, because I don't think he knows). He goes off to practice his lines once he sees how amazing Gina is in her role. He puts in the work to be there for her. He doesn't leave when things get difficult because he understands the best way to show how much he cares is to "show up and stick around."

In the end, it comes down to this: Ricky loved Nini, I’m not here to argue otherwise. Gina wants to love EJ (Alexa, play “I wanna love you, but I don’t” by Ben Platt) but what good is love, or the pursuit of it, when there’s no understanding? What is love if you are not truly seen by the person who loves you? Ricky and Gina understand each other, they see each other and, in time, I’m confident they’ll realize they love each other, too.

#take a shot every time i say some form of the word 'understand' #i tried to condense this but then i gave up i'm sorry it's so long #ricky x gina #hsmtmts #rina #gina porter #ricky bowen #asks

[timelessbibliophile]

even though camp is only two weeks, gina couldn't wait another day for ej and wanted to skip ahead instead

cue the time-jump, her crush from three years ago finally goes in for the kiss and we're supposed to be all oooh ahh heart eyes over it

can you live with this concept because I can't justify portwell being destroyed at this cost 🫠

It was SO LAZY.

So I was a rina in s1, I liked rini better, but rina was good, ngl, and I would feel so disrespected with how they did rina this season.

I understand they didn't know if they would get renewed, but it just made no sense. Gina had to wait LITERALLY 2 DAYS to get EJ's attention back fully. And he wasn't even """gone""" in the first place, he was just very stressed and busy,but he still made time to get her flowers after getting the lead, and finding time to be with her, even if it's just a couple minutes. He was really trying. I understand being mad about not having his full attention but gosh she just needed to be patient, and TALK ABOUT IT. Remember communication? What you did in the couch that one time he came over? Yeah.

And don't even get me started with the rina final scene, it doesn't make any sense. Ig the point of it was "Gina was taking ej as her rebound bc ricky didn't pay any attention, but now that he's available again ej's out of the picture and she was always in love with ricky" and honestly, that scene was a whole bunch of nothing. Gina was excited about EJ saying the word love one month ago, math isn't mathing here.

I would be mad they didn't give them proper time to SHOW Gina had feelings again. You mean to tell me in the span of 2 weeks, Gina forgave ricky, became his friend again, and also fell back in love with him? Interesting, i dont think feelings actually work like that irl but go off ig

#hsmtmts #portwell #anti rina #this is such an anti rina post jdjsdjjs #the tag was truly deserved #ej caswell #gina porter #hsmtmts spoilers

[heartsgallery]

my heart’s far, far away…

random post about a random scene because it’s 2 am and i just remembered and i still get left breathless every time i just think about it. let’s talk about one of my absolutely favorites rina scenes on the show: my heart’s far, far away.

this might be, at least to me, the most heartbreaking on the show by a landslide. but it’s so beautifully tragic and so carefully crafted that it makes it so perfect.

the whole season leads to this moment, and specially ep 6: the moment gina lets ricky go. like i said, their s2 storyline slowly builds to this moment but in ep 6 before we even have seen the flashback scene the meaning and the tone of this scene gets marked: ashlyn asks gina “what is your heart telling you?”. gina, who’s been talking about non stop about how she doesn’t know where ricky stands, before even thinking of herself, looks at him and responds: “i don’t know”. with this set up, we now know one pivotal fact. ricky’s IS gina’s heart. he’s not in her heart, or has her heart. he is the whole heart. ricky, the outsider who had her back. ricky, the first boy she ever liked. ricky, the guy who finally made the girl who’s always on the move want to stay. it’s not a crazy idea to think that he became her heart and guide during the whole s1 and then she leaves and ricky gets back to nini, and everything in gina’s life suddenly gets messy (not to say gina’s whole life revolves around ricky but it is interesting to see how both characters arcs go through their personal hardest moments when they’re not together, not even friends). it’s such beautiful and heartbreaking concept in the context we’re standing that i could literally start crying right now

and then, with all the cards laying in the table, now we know about gina’s confession, she closes the door to ricky: “nini’s back and he’s so happy now. what there’s to talk about?”. that’s probably the moment gina gives up on ricky for good, or at least the first she tells it to herself. now we have to find a way to make ricky “”know”” about it. then here comes my favorite scene ever

now i can’t think of a song that could fit ricky and gina’s individual and relationship arc until s2 better. these are the lyrics that start to be sung when ricky enters the room and gina sees him:

- oh but yes then, as my life has been altered

- once it can change again

“so what changed?” “let me guess, just when you’re getting use to things changing, they change again” “i don’t know, something’s different” “everything was the same every day, nothing changed” and i could goooo on for days but i don’t need to explain myself and ricky and gina being two sides of the same coin when it comes to change, and twin flames, and a lot more, right now

- nothing lasts, nothing holds all of me

“there’s no point on calling me anymore is it?” “the disappearing gina act” “i’m a change-of-scene”

- my heart’s far, far away

AND RICKY IN THE BACKGROUND LITERALLY WALKS AWAY. LIKE LITERALLY. EXPLICITLY. and not only walks away from the room, but from this point of the season, he completely walks away from her life. this is their LAST moment of the season. you can put a finger on it and exactly say this was the moment gina let her heart go. what was her heart telling her? her heart was just far away. i literally don’t think i’m making any sense right now but when i tell you this scene makes me insane. i was so angry when we didn’t get more scenes after this but looking back, let me admit this was the perfect perfect closure for the arc they built for them in s2. and specially because it left the door open for so much more. because it never implies that ricky ever stopped being her heart, he just went far away from now. and now, the second that it get close again, it’s inevitable that every feeling comes back because they never disappeared. the show told us that.

i feel CRAZY right now but i just love this scene so much i started rambling nonsense at some point 😭

#rina #ricky x gina #im sorry i just started saying nonsense at some point #but this scene means EVERYTHING to me #when i get my hands on the 206 script i will be unstoppable #i could be reading too much into it as always obviously #but some things are just explicitly there #and thats why rina will always be the ship with the most depth in the show #thats it