#i ship the portwell friendship so hard

[aroundthewaygirlao3]

I saw your post about how you would have Portwell get back together, and I wanted to know how you would write the story in case they don't get back together and Gina stays with Ricky (which will most likely happen). What would you do with both EJ and Gina's personal arcs, their friendship and friendships with other characters (existing already in the show and also your own original characters), and EJ's love life (won't ask about Gina's for obv reasons)?

I'll be honest... I have a hard time envisioning any kind of satisfying arc for Gina if she stays with Ricky. And I KNOW people will think that's me being a bitter shipper, but it's not. I just don't see how they compliment each other long term. Ricky needs to learn to grow for HIMSELF, not for Nini or Gina, so the idea that he would somehow be ready for a life in New York or LA (which he expressly says he doesn't want in the S3 finale) BECAUSE of Gina feels a little toxic. I want him to have growth independent of his romantic pairing. And while Gina's arc is about learning to trust, I don't want her compromising what she wants for him. They just don't seem compatible to me long term, and so I don't really know where I'd have Gina go if she remains in that pairing. And while in the end, I would love it if Portwell gets back together, I'm also ok if Gina ends up with a new love interest or no love interest at all. I just don't want her and Ricky to magically "fix" each other, because there are REAL issues there that I don't have faith that they'll address because they're just going to make R*na the centerpiece.

Overall, I want the core friendships back that made the first two seasons feel like my own theater kid experience. I want to see Carlos and Gina together, and Ashlyn and EJ. I want to get away from the 'ship wars' the third season fed and focus on the rest of their lives, too.

And for EJ, all I really want is someone to acknowledge how hard he worked over the summer and how unsupported he was. Ideally in my mind, it would be Gina because a lot of what happened with them was just poor communication from them both and I KNOW they're capable of better, but I would also appreciate it from Ashlyn or Carlos.

I don't mean to be a downer, LOL! But yeah, I'm not sure I can figure out how to work within arcs that I don't feel make sense for these characters without some MAJOR ret-con or deus ex machina type resolutions.

[cannonball5]

Why fans of HSMTMTS might like Anime: An essay

With the final season less than a month away I decided to introduce something that just might help fill the empty space it leaves behind, anime. Now there’s some who may think that anime is all about screaming and yelling in Japanese, and there are certainly shows that fall into that category, but anime is so wide reaching that there are shows about just about every topic you can imagine. There are action anime, horror anime, romance anime, and everything in between. Also if you think anime is too nerdy I’d remind you that the majority of this fandom practically salivates over a show about high schoolers performing various Disney songs, so be careful about those stones in your glass house.

Now as a Rina I know that a good portion of shippers here love a ship that’s all about subtext and the thing is most anime ONLY have subtext when it comes to ships. One of the most popular anime in the world right now is My Hero Academia, the show has an ensemble cast of interesting and memorable characters, and more ships than the US Navy. Almost every character is shipped with almost every other character, but it’s a superhero anime so romance takes a backseat so, with a few exceptions, almost every romantic relationship comes down to subtext.

Do you like crackships? Anime’s got more than you can handle. There are shows with little to no romance at all and still have rabid shipping fan bases. Some examples are Haikyu a sports anime about high school volleyball, which is about hard work, determination, camaraderie, and friendship, has so much shipping going on it’s insane. There’s also Blue Lock, a soccer anime, where a bunch of high school boys are locked in a high tech building as they all try to become the best soccer player in the world. So many ships.

Do you not like subtext and prefer to be told who’s going to get together? We got those too. My Dress Up Darling, a confident girl who really wants to get into cosplay is assisted by a shy quiet boy who’s really good at sewing and they fall for each other. Spy X Family, a super spy is tasked with creating a fake family to get close to a target, adopts a little girl and marries a woman with secrets of their own. Love After World Domination, the leader of a Power Rangers-like team falls in love with an enemy general and they cover up their dates with monster attacks so no one finds out.

Fair Warning: Anime ship wars can get INTENSE. They can make the Rina-Portwell-Rini discourse seem like a water ballon fight in comparison. So be cautious.

If you really just like music, anime usually have several opening sequences and closing sequences over the course of their show, with music done by really good Japanese bands. If you’re just interested in that you can easily find them on YouTube, but the show themselves usually have really good background music as well (I recommend a song called ‘You Say Run’ from My Hero Academia if you don’t believe me.

Seriously, I can almost guarantee there is a show out there that will peak your interest. That said anime can get REALLY weird just by the nature of there being so much of it (there’s literally an anime coming out about a guy who dies getting crushed by a vending machine only to be reincarnated as vending machine in a fantasy world) so if you find it’s not your cup of tea that’s fine, this isn’t to pressure anyone into watching anime (maybe it is a little bit). I know it hurts losing something that’s dear to you, so I’m just hoping someone maybe can find something to fill the void left behind.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading my ramblings. Obviously the anime I’ve mentioned are pretty good starter anime if your interest has been peaked. Some additional ones, Fairy Tail, Black Clover, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Hopefully some people will mention some other anime in the comments or in their reblogs. Feel free to ask questions I’ll do my best to answer them.

Also if you want something a little more western I highly recommend ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ on Prime. It’s based on anime but is a wholly western creation.

[fallindomino]

hsmtmts ep 8 THOUGHTS

omg so much to say sgrjfjfkkf

okay so ej and gina are legit carrying the show for me rn oh my god i love how when ej said “do u know what it feels like to have ur whole life planned out for u” gina was just like not rlly and then ej IMMEDIATELY asked her abt her experience and like it wasn’t like gina was being his therapist cause then they were just hyping each other up lmao now that i’m typing this out it sounds like basic friend things but the bar is in the floor considering some of the other relationships on this show *cough* rini *cough*

anyways ughhhh i love them sm and then when he put his duke sweater on top of him like a blanket 😭😭😭 god idec if they don’t date i just love their relationship sm

also another cool thing that maybe seemed kinda small but was huge to me, in like the end montage ej says to his dad “im not going to duke” not “i don’t want to go to duke” or “i don’t think i should go to duke” he just straight up said that he’s not going and honestly i found that language so great bc it leaves no room for a drawn out argument and its so loyal to his convo w gina abt how he felt he had no control over his life bc that was him taking control of his destiny and his future and when did ej become my fave character omllll

also kinda loved the big red and ashlyn conflict in this ep like ashlyn wasn’t hearing what big red really wanted bc she was so busy spouting motivational poster garbage and i think it really speaks to the societal expectation that you’re supposed to keep wanting to “climb the ladder” otherwise ur a failure but big red was clear to ashlyn in saying that wasn’t what he wanted and he showed how what she said made him feel insecure about how she saw him and then in the end she wears the salt lake pizzas shirt to show that she understands his dream

i really liked how at the end of the ep howie just walked away and didn’t try to kiss kourtney after his song bc that’s such a tired cliche and kourtney was rlly sticking to her guns about feeling betrayed even tho u could tell the song affected her and the advice kourtney’s mom gave her was rlly good so i hope kourtney and howie work out

im glad rini broke up cause now ricky can maybe go and be his own person cause for the entire series he’s been chasing nini and i’m glad he at least showed some self awareness when he said he didn’t like who he was becoming. honestly the tree house scene did a really good job of portraying how they are total opposites; nini likes taking risks and ricky likes feeling safe. and i think honestly despite how much of the fandom doesn’t like them tgt they could work out if ricky found his own dream or his own goals. cause the career test said he had no marketable skills or wtv bc the musical was seemingly the first thing he ever really felt passionate abt and he joined bc of nini so i think if he starts trying things out on his own then he can fully develop into his own person.

also in the teaser for ep 9 are we supposed to know who that dude talking to gina at the airport is? cause i have zero clue lmao

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 3x05 Review

The Real Campers of Shallow Lake was a funny ep that unfortunately showcased some of HSMTMTS’ biggest flaws. Let’s dig in!

The most important reveal tonight was Ricky admitting that he has a crush on Gina which was caught on camera and will no doubt come up again. I’m sure Rina shippers loved this ep and in fairness they did have great chemistry during their duet

Of course, we’re perilously close to an emotional cheating story line as Ricky has for the past several eps been toeing the line of appropriateness in his interactions with Gina, Gina is now using Ricky to get payback at EJ for his keeping secrets, and Ricky’s feelings are becoming so obvious that EJ has already noticed and other characters have started to notice 

The Disney plus instagram account posted about the Rina/Portwell love triangle and while there were some comments supporting the ships the most liked comments were complaints about the love triangle being a recycled S1 plot and being unnecessary and poorly done. I think those kind of comments are closer to how the casual audience is reacting to this plot as compared to the more ship dominated discourse in the online fandom

And no one can deny that this is a recycled plot line. Hell even the Ricky and EJ slap scene was an almost beat for beat redo of their passing the basketball scene back in S1. Not to mention the fact that it’s obvious that this love triangle is going to end the exact same way with Ricky stealing EJ’s girlfriend for the second time in less than a year! It’s not surprising that most of the audience wouldn’t enjoy seeing this play out when it’s been done before and there’s no real suspense

At least back in S1 Ricky could somewhat justify his actions in that he had known and loved Nini for a long time and EJ was a pretty bad dude. Now though he has no excuse. He’s known Gina for less than a year, they never dated and were just flirting for a few weeks before Gina had to move, he got back together with Nini, had 5 eps of negative interactions with Gina to start off S2, didn’t talk to Gina during the final 7 eps of S2, broke up with Nini and a couple months later started dating Lily, broke up with Lily in 3x01, and only started his friendship anew with Gina in 3x02 which was less than a week ago in universe, and now here we are. Real the first time as tragedy the second time as farce vibes

When laid out it this story looks like an unplanned mess because it is an unplanned mess. It’s not Tim’s fault that the original couple this show was built around is now irrevocably gone but there’s no excuse for such sloppiness. As I’ve said before if Tim wanted to explore either Rina or Portwell then he should have just picked one and not done the other. If he was so desperate for a love triangle then he could have just introduced a new character for that purpose

I guess the only thing I’m hoping to see come from this debacle is someone, anyone, confronting Ricky and telling him he needs to back off. I doubt it will happen of course since even though Ricky and EJ are both main characters some main characters are more equal than others

I was chatting with a friend about EJ’s future and how they think it’s looking likely that he’ll be written off in S4 and I agree. At best he might appear for a few eps. It’s hard to see him and Gina having scenes after they inevitably break up this season, there’s no realistic way he’d still be friends with Ricky, and they already have a built in escape hatch with his dad’s St. Louis school

It looks like we were bamboozled by the D23 website listing EJ’s name as Eric James when it is unfortunately Elton John. It’s a very lame reveal and shatters what little realism is left in this show. There’s no way a rich white dude like Cash Caswell would wake up one day in Utah in George W Bush’s first term which was so Republican that they gave Bush 71% of the vote in 2004 which was his highest percentage in any state and name his son Elton John

Also it was depressing to see Carlos not knowing Cash’s name since he was one of the few characters actually there for his presentation back in S2. Whether the writers just forgot or didn’t care is for the reader to decide 

We finally got the Jet and Maddox sibling reveal. It makes sense that Ricky is so shocked, they really look nothing alike and it’s surprising that the show decided to make them full siblings instead of step siblings. Still they’re an interesting duo and Adrian has the strongest voice of the male cast in my opinion. Very interesting that they’re hinting at homophobia with Jet having outed Maddox to their parents

Nice to see them exploring anxiety with Kourtney, it was part of EJ’s original character pitch before S1 but was dropped likely on Disney’s insistence 

The Carlos and Ricky friendship is really quite lovely to see

Ricky and Jet are also nice to see as Ricky slowly chips away at Jet’s walls

That Rina leaker had claimed that a main female character would come out as Bi this ep which obviously didn’t happen. They’re clearly setting up something with Ashlyn and even had Maddox ineptly tell Ashlyn that she has a crush on Val. I hope that Disney doesn’t censor wherever Tim wants to take this story

Ricky’s line about being ready to be hated by America was darkly funny and meta and I wonder how Joshua felt when he first read that line

Looking Ahead:

I hope EJ called Miss Jenn to try and salvage things

Jet being expelled from his school is interesting in that could be a contrived set up to get him to East High but that seems like a stretch to send a kid two states over for high school. And we know that Tim is ruthless when it comes to disposing of characters

I’m glad to see such open rep with Maddox but I can’t help but wonder if they’re only able to go so far with her story as well as introduce heavier family issues and homophobia only because there’s no intention of her being seen again after S3. Perhaps most worryingly is that Seb basically being written off seems to have been the price for the new lgbtq characters in S3. We know he’s back for S4 and it seems that Ashlyn will come out as bisexual by the end of this season so that means S4 will have three lgbtq main characters. Will Disney allow a fourth?

They’re really upping the hints that the kids will get famous as a result of this documentary which is a disastrous idea. It’s odd to know that even as I’m typing these lines here in Meta Manor that the S4 scripts which very well could destroy the series are being written

My last question of the night is what exactly is Tim planning for the rest of the series. I’m sure he has lots of ideas but does he have any good ones left?

Until next week Wildcats

[countessofravenclaw]

Okay, loved the episode. Now some rambly thoughts...

They still haven't addressed who is paying for the camp or if Ricky is even registered, and we know he needs to since Dewey had that list when he was talking to Jet. Ricky is also still car thief

I am so glad EJ told Gina about the director thing and didn't hide it. Communication everyone. DCLA, take notes.

Their morning was so cute

I liked Gina's song, but I would have cut the spelling part out

EJ having a rough start as a director can only be foreshadowing about this being his true calling. Ms. Jen will be so proud, trust the process.

Carlos finally calling Ricky's massive good luck at school out. YES!!

I cringed very hard when Ej did the Miss Jenn thing...

"Enemies? Lovers?" l see you, Richard. At least Ricky and EJ are not on the warpath and are actually friends... at this point. Please don't ruin that too. Bromances are my favorite thing in the whole world.

I know Val's comment about Nini will probably be paraded as proof that Ej is switching girlfriends too fast, but lets apply some math. Nini and Ej broke up probably about a month into the school year, so in the middle of September probably and he and Gina got together when there probably were only like 3 weeks of school left so in the middle/end of May. So that is over 8 months of him being single. Can't say the same about Ricky, can we? (Okay that was my one Portwell vs Rina comment. Moving on...)

The mashups were cute, but I maybe rather just get the full songs. I really would have liked to get the full version of what time is it for example.

I am still waiting someone to Call Ej Eric

The casting is pretty given. And if Rivky is Kristoff which seems likely since he was the third on the list, then be it. He actually did well at the auditions this time.

I don't know do I ship Ricky and Jet or is it just Big bro, little bro dynamic. But either way, I am loving it.

I would have really wanted to see when EJ and Gina went swimming, but oh well.

Nini's storyline was funny, and I am how that they established a little bit of the background. And I also like that they normalize the ways same-gender couples have children since they can't have them the normal way.

Nini's song was super good. I am 18 and going to college soon, and I am scared of what will be coming so the song was so relatable.

Sad that we need to wait until next week to hear the casting. Cortney, Gina and Ricky are given, but I am curious about the others.

Maddox is a bit odd, but I am looking forward to what was up with the red vines? (you can tell I am a starkid person)

Ricky/Ej pillow fight. Please don't ruin this friendship. Please, please, please?

CARLOS WHAT DID YOU DO? Contrary to the popular belief, I don't think it has anything to do with Rina, since why on earth would Carlos do that? It was either about himself or maybe Jet, since Carlos doesn't like him.

Lats comment... I didn't see a coat check area at the barn... just saying...

[differentlyweird]

Okay so as a former Rini, and a Portwell Stan I have to get this out in the open. Here’s what I think of the three main ships in the show so far.

1. Rini breaking up for good was honestly the best thing for both characters. Of course their journey throughout season one is very important, especially they way it ended. It showed that Ricky had grown and changed and is now able to express his emotions. if I’m being honest I thought that they were going to be endgame but looking back their development from the very first episode to when they break up it is very prominent both individually and together that they wanted different things and were faced with different opportunities. In the end they needed to let go because they were holding each other back from the people they were growing into.We see the chemistry, love,and friendship these two have. We see them grow and change constantly, unfortunately they just grew apart while on their individual journeys but I don’t feel as though their storyline wasn’t finished. I feel very happy about where they currently are.

2. Rina - in preparation for season three I went back and watched season one and two back to back. I can admit where the building for this ship began in season one. It’s had a steady growth and even though it’s been rocky you can see where Ricky and Gina are growing and changing. You can also see the different highs and lows of their relationship, and I will admit I definitely see the potential and the appeal in this couple. You see their understanding of each other and their respective situations. As well as an understanding of each other as outsiders. I think their friendship is beautiful and their connection is deep.Usually I go for ships like this one. These are usually the ones that I want to watch and root for but for some reason I don’t want to do that in this case. I just feel that with where the characters are I don’t think that they would fit well in a long-term relationship not to say that they wouldn’t fit well in a relationship at all it’s just that I don’t see longevity. Again this is new for me because typically I do root for couples like this. I just feel like they’re never on the same page in terms of the feelings for each other romantically. I’ll admit I shipped them in season one but I just feel like they are hurting each other more in the process of their friendship knowing that they have feelings for each other but never on the same page.

Portwell - like I said I usually root for ships like rina,

So when I started shipping portwell it was all very new to me. You don’t really see the antagonists (i’m referring to EJ and Gina in season one, also antagonist is used very very loosely) end up together much less grow and open up to each other. I have loved Gina from the start but I hated EJ in season 1. Then in season 2 we see Gina learning to trust people and EJ doing better after atoning for his wrongdoings. They have this very natural easy-going dynamic even from season one when they didn’t like each other and just wanted to get the leads in the play. They have been a team since season one and in season two we see their friendship start to blossom. It was really refreshing to see a storyline done like this because usually we see 1/2 of the ex antagonist either end up with one of the main protagonist or just end up dropping their “partner in crime”. So to see EJ and Gina not only improve in all aspects of their character but to become friends who understands a part of each other that is really hard to explain and understand to anyone else. I feel that they provided kindness, softness, and acceptance that for a lot of relationships that we see in TV shows and movies it’s not framed that way. Usually we see relationships that are hard. Ones that you have to fight through obstacles and pain to obtain. I liked the fact that with portwell it just flowed naturally. It shows that there are different dynamics to relationships they don’t have to involve hardships . Now I’m not crazy I love angst, pinning, and a slowburn as much as the next person. However, that’s not the only way to write an engaging successful couple. Just because theoretically EJ and Gina would have this easy time getting together doesn’t mean that they couldn’t face obstacles and angst and still end up together. It doesn’t mean that they’re boring Just that not every relationship is like that it’s realistic and generally speaking I wish we saw more of it in media.I don’t know they just intrigue me a lot more because their feelings are so pure and their journeys are not typical to what your usual protagonist are like. They have an edge and a past, leading them to be more interesting in their transformations . I think with who the characters are and what they’ve been through portwell feels like a soft love that they both deserve.I know they’re probably going to break up and that Rina is going to be endgame. I just wish that we could’ve seen more of EJ and Gina‘s relationship and development as a couple before that happened. I think they have the potential to be a great long term couple of the show. I think they’re special, maybe it’s because I’m not a teenager anymore but I think that soft relationships like this deserve a chance. But hey sometimes that’s just the way things are and if you ship rina and are happy then who am I to rain on your parade? To my fellow portwell shippers yes they could’ve been done better but at least they were canon for a little bit and we always have Ao3.

[use-your-imagination98]

If I was writing HSMTMTS S3

So, we know the drama kids go to theater camp:

Have the theater camp be run by Ashlyn and EJ’s grandmother: Penny Caswell  

This would lead to Caswell Family Drama

which would lead to introducing the grandfather: George Caswell 

We already know that George and Penny met at Duke. George was going to be a lawyer and Penny was studying theater. Penny got pregnant her senior year with Cash. She lost her chance at being a Broadway star to stay home and raise Cash (and eventually Dennis)

George bought the camp for Penny to shut up her complaints that he got to be this big shot lawyer and she never got to follow her dreams. George doesn’t understand/like musicals/theater.

George is close with Ashlyn, while Penny is close with EJ. Penny doesn’t mind that EJ is still exploring life, while George is furious that EJ isn’t going to Duke. Penny internally sees a lot of herself in Ashlyn and therefore pushes her extremely hard.

When Ash and EJ introduce Gina and Big Red, it’s Big Red who Penny doesn’t like. She thinks he is below Ashlyn’s standards and spends all summer trying to set Ashlyn up with another boy at the camp who has huge dreams. 

Gina, for the first time in her life, is settled and happy. She helps EJ discover what he wants in life and helps EJ and Ashlyn with their family troubles.

Enter Ricky... He brings Lily along with him to summer theater camp. Lily puts on a fake front, but Gina senses that she is being fake. 

Soon, an instagram account is created and begins bullying the East High Drama kids: Putting a pig’s nose on a pic of Ashlyn, a DUNCE cap on a pic of Seb, etc. One picture is revealed during each episode starting with 2 and ending with 7/8. All these pictures were taken at camp. So, the instagram has to be run by someone there. Gina, Kourtney, Big Red, and Carlos are the loudest voices telling Ricky that its Lily. But Ricky continues to defend her. 

Gina call out Lily at one of the campfire sing-a-longs and Lily acts all dumb and hurt. Ricky and Gina argue (#Rina angst). Big Red breaks them apart and pulls Ricky aside. Red tries to reason with Ricky and explain why everyone thinks its Lily. Ricky blows up at Red and complains that the reason he’s team Lily is because ever since Big Red started dating Ashlyn, he’s changed and doesn’t have time for Ricky. Big Red goes off (#Redky angst)

Howie, seeing how Lily’s lies are pulling the friend group apart, pulls Kourtney aside and admits Lily stole the harness and he knew about it. Kourtney fumes. Breaks up with Howie and we get a girl bonding moment with her and Gina and Ashlyn. Kourtney shifts focus on making costumes for the camp’s summer musicale. Her costume prowess impresses Penny and Penny offers Kourtney a job at Caswell Camp anytime she would like one and writes her a letter of recommendation to Kourtney’s top college. 

After Lily posted the Seb picture with a DUNCE cap on him, Seb confides in Carlos that he is dyslexic and learning is hard for him and when people put him down or call him stupid, it really hurts. Carlos decides that he comes from money and decides (with Seb’s permission) to hire Seb an amazing tutor to help him with school.

So, to recap: Ricky is fighting with EVERYONE, EJ is fighting with his grandpa, Ashlyn with her grandma, EVERYONE but Lily is mad at Ricky, Howie and Kourtney are on the outs but Queen Kourtney is thriving elsewhere.

As for Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara, Mr. M took the California Job and Miss Jenn is trying to make it work with Mike, but with every passing day she regrets it. She talks to Penny about her troubles. Penny explains her story with George and Miss Jenn realizes she wants Mr. Mazzara, that she is forcing herself to work in Mike’s life, but her and Ben just click. 

CUTE COUPLE MOMENTS:

3x05: It’s the 4th of July and this episode contains the Seblos talk about Seb having dyslexia. In this episode, Seb confides in Carlos and Carlos decides he will do any activity that Seb wants to do that day. At night, during the fireworks, Carlos had EJ and Big Red spell out “I LOVE YOU SEB” in fireworks. Seb says ILY2 and they kiss under the fireworks.

3x08: Big Red is fed up with Penny trying to push Ashlyn closer to the camp guy and during a conversation with Ashlyn, he gets super short and testy. Ashlyn puts it together that Red is worried again that he’s not enough for her and tells her grandma to back off. She loves Big Red. It dawns on her what she just admitted and plans to tell Big Red under the star light (since lights are their thing). She drags him to a midnight picnic under the stars and they say their ILYs.

Portwell are cute all season. EJ defends his relationship with Gina to his grandfather pretty early in the season. They are full of fluff all season... until 3x12. EJ decides to go to Penn State (or any out of Utah college) for communications and videography. And Gina (once again) gets the rug pulled out from under her, and confused about what that means for her and EJ.

After her talk with Penny in 3x10, Miss Jenn misses the beginning of the camp musicale in 3x11 and flies to California to confess her feelings for Mr. Mazzara. They finally kiss and Mr. M admits California isn’t for him. He’s more of a Utah guy anyway.

Howie tries all summer to get Kourtney’s forgiveness, but she just won’t budge. During the camp musicale he sings another AMAZING ballad and says an impromptu speech about how in awe he is of her and how he screwed up. Kourtney is touched and agrees to start again but he has to gain her trust back.

George and Penny have a sweet moment in 3x11 or 3x12 after he watches Ashlyn and EJ sing and starts to see what Penny sees in the musical/theater stuff.

Ricky, being on the rocks with all his friends, starts to wonder if they were right about Lily. He steals her phone while she’s taking a swim in the lake and sees that she truly is the one behind the horrible pictures of his friends. He confronts her the morning of the musicale and they break up. Throughout the musicale he makes amends with the gang, especially a really sweet Big Red/Ricky moment. Then, the season ends with Ricky looking for Gina to apologize after the show, and she's sitting in the dark, alone by the lake. He notices she’s crying and she admits she doesn’t know what her and EJ’s future is going to be. He sits besides her and wraps an arm around her. SEASON ENDS.

Musical Moments:

The East High Drama Club does another Instagram video but this time to “What Time is It”

a Miss Jenn/Penny duet (HSM’s Ms Darbus and HSMTMTS’s Ms Darbus)

a Kourtney/Ashlyn/Gina acoustic friendship song after Kourtney is hurt by Howie

George singing to Penny as a surprise after he understands her love of musicals for the first time

of course a bunch of others, but that all depends on what musical they do.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I liked season 2, but it wasn’t cohesive. Plots were dropped and the core of the characters and friendships were lost or forgotten. I feel like although the characters would be going through individual drama, all their drama is connected and plots aren’t dropped the next episode. Also, I’m neither a Portwell or a Rina, I ship more of Gina and happiness so I tried to give both Portwells and Rinas stuff they would enjoy.

P.S. NiNi is in California writing/recording music. I don’t think Olivia is likely coming back so I had all this in mind without NiNi being on the show.

NEW CAST:

Alyson Reed as Penny Caswell (uhhh hello! Having the OG Ms Darbus apart of HSMTMTS would be perfect!)

Jon Lindstrom as George Caswell (you guys probably don’t know him but he’s a goooood actor, works for ABC who is owned by Disney, and can sing)

[fangirlproblcms]

So it’s me again, after looking at your edits and I think your friend Fran’s edits I think I realized what I’ve been missing out on. When I was watching the show I just didn’t see Portwell’s chemistry but after binging you twos edits I see that I’ve really been blind. I never hated PW btw. I did think they were cute. But my friends just really turned me away from Rina so I think I finally see what y’all see. And I when you said that you didn’t mind the ship but hated the shippers I didn’t understand but now I do and I’m once again sorry for their toxic behavior. You have a new PW blossoming and tell you friend that you guys have amazing work!

You don’t have to be sorry 💙 Also thank you for the compliments 🥹 Fran and i work so hard on each edit and mostly she’s the first one to see the raw drafts of my edits before i post them like i cant post them without her approval of it being good 🤣 Welcome to the family new Portwell baby 💙💙 Honestly this ship gives me so much comfort and gave me so many great friendships 💙 Sometimes when i’m deep in my thoughts i cry happy tears thinking of how beautiful Portwell is. They are like my babies i’d like to protect them from any harm 🥹

[organic-guacamole]

episode 210 here we go

awww seb doing the intro

congratulations to milky white and her baby chocolate milk😌

seb is so funny

but seriously, clean up that milk fast or else it will smell so bad in there....

was that Lauryn just randomly doing cartwheels? idk any theatre kids irl but that seems like it's a common thing...

is it just me or has ms Jenn been getting more harsh to Ricky and Seb mainly-

like what did they do to her

no because I actually snorted with laughter at the "you came back" WHAT IS THAT VOICE-

AND THE MASK OMG

yeah so my throat hurts now

I'm dying over here

KOURTNEY'S FACE

SAME GIRL SAME

Ricky's fake death got the whole place in tears /s

he looks like an asthmatic walrus

Seb's on piano, I love

we all know if he was the beast we'd all actually be crying✋

ok but I listen to Julia's version of home on Spotify when I want to cry-

right so gimme a second

is Ricky scratching his face.....while he's dying?

"belle i-" *flop*

round of applause to Ashlyn for trying to make Ricky's earthworm seizure look less.... yknow

Kourtney's just dying there

WAIT IS THAT NATALIE

did she really just disappear for 9 episodes just to come back and stare dramatically into the camera

WAIT SCRATCH THAT SHES HERE TO MURDER ASHLYN AND RICKY

oh so Ricky's wearing a gay shirt now too

so that's the real reason why Rini broke up, see y'all next season when Gini and caswen become canon /j

wait that was a long intro scene-

what was that look Carlos-

TALK TO MY BOY OR ELSE

carlos' run is so funny to me

therapist Ashlyn to the rescue

"that is...super" son you good?

ms Jenn call Benjamin, he would willingly put his loved ones on a rocket and blast them into Venus for you....

maybe

"I don't want you kids to be disappointed" girl you do realise you're the one that's most invested in this?

"a smooth opening night" wasn't there just 1 show though-

like their opening night was closing night too

"I think I was Troy at one point" PLEASE THATS THE MOST ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE SEASON 1 FINALE

me Jenn looks like a serial killer during that clap and I'm lowkey scared for zacky

"I have notes"

oo if you're taking suggestions, lemme get my list

"mother is freaking out" uhhhhhh

right....'mother"

"is everyone sitting down?"

*looks around awkwardly*

*big red slowly sits*

"no..."

please seb was the only one sitting-

does that mean Carlos looked at Seb as soon as he walked in and assumed that everyone else was sitting too or am I a seblos clown🤡

"is this about the transformation"

WOW MAYBE OT IS RICKY

WOW HES A DETECTIVE FOR FIGURING THAT OUT SO QUICK🤩

YO WHY IS NATALIE HERE-

she just shows up when it's convenient? is she gonna be at the sleepover too?

Seb's heavy swallow after Carlos shouts at him makes me so sad

"I never learned how to lie but I figure if I keep my mouth closed, I can't tell the truth" *nods and smiles at Nini when she asks*

why are they casually standing up all over the pizza shop, just sit at a big table and talk instead of blocking passageways and blocking off at least 6 tables-

"how about I invite myself" WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS FEEL THE NEED TO INVITE THEMSELVES TO ASHLYN'S HOUSE-

YOU CAN ASK BUT JUST FORCE YOUR WAY IN?

so Cash Caswell has a bigger house than... Dennis Caswell.... who would've thought

ah yes there's the good old EJ 1.0

Nini: "boys vs girls"

Gina: *looks devastated and glances longingly at EJ*

way to be inconspicuous

"but north high should be" *cracks her knuckles in the most uncomfortable way*

good for Ashlyn for getting more confident though

oo bossy big red

"i get bossy around the power tools"

is that why Ashlyn was holding up the drill in episode 8 orrrr 🤠

oh

Lily, leave him alone please

she's literally not blinking, is that what makes her creepy?

the diss at big red and his face afterwards is priceless

isn't that similar to what Gina's mom said to her in season 1? hmmmm

but seriously please don't try to redeem lily, let us have a character to hate, or to love because they're evil.

not everyone's a good guy.

"im not liked here and I don't know what to do"

let antoine finish his salad and it'll fix everything

"hug emoji" *gags*

y'all realize Lily's literally 14?

why is she calling a 16/17 year old from another school for personal advice-

"he gets weird around tools"

I shouldn't be laughing so hard

"deja vu maybe?" awkward silence

I'm dying here I love EJ so so so so much

"where's seb"

*cuts to seb being held hostage hoping that they'd notice he's missing and go look for him*

"don't ask"

"oh ok"

"100% real faux fur" as you should queen

sponsored by target

Kourtney is singlehandedly saving the entire show.

Seb making finger guns make me happier than it should

why is this kinda making me want to have a co-ed sleepover with my non-existent theatre friends

YES YOU DO NEED TO TALK/SING TO SEB CARLOS THANK YOU FOR KNOWING THAT

wait what-

you haven't talked to him all WEEK-

Carlos are you stupid /hj

Benjamin is so adorable I can't

he turned around to come back for her instead of going home. you're "what do you want Jenn🙄X act isn't fooling anyone Benjamin 🙃

10101

1+4+16= 21st?

they placed 21st?

or do I just not remember how to convert to base ten

GIRL DON'T BE RUDE TO HIM, HE'S GONNA SAVE YALL

no ms Jenn, the kids are not eccentric 35 year olds.

aww sebby

is he thinking that Carlos is only with him cuz he's the only other openly gay guy at school-

son you are a perfect little bean don't put yourself down

yes they all ship portwell as they should.

they'll be throwing risotto at the wedding.

not the chocolates. stop there are no chocolates. please stop I'm dying.

Gina you don't have to explain yourself to her

it was a misunderstanding and it's in the past

why is Ashlyn still laughing-

exactly it wasn't a big deal please just move on Nini

Kourtney really be out here saving everything

WHY IS ASHLYN STILL LAUGHING

why do I feel like when Gina finally told Ash about it, she didn't think it was that funny but wanted to feel included in the inside joke so now she brings it up randomly to show that she's in on it....I totally don't do that...

"idk, the farmer type" oh son...

Ashlyn and big red are just spilling the secrets back and forth huh?

OOO EJ AND GINA SITTING IN A TREE K-I-S-S-I-

cmon guys don't look at me like that-

"she is the best" and "we're buddies" don't sound right together

"pretty boy" "sweet boy" best ways to describe EJ

I love him.

and aw he's scared of rejection so he'll hold back just to keep her happy and not awkward how sweet

is Ricky wondering if letting her go(literally his song from last episode) was the best thing he did for Nini because he doesn't feel like it now? hmmm this is getting good

why is everyone so invested in Kourtney and Howie's relationship

PACK UP THE LAZY RICKY THING

oh yes Benji, that's exactly what she's doing

she couldn't follow her dream or whatever so now she's using the kids to gain some of the success she craves. why else would she have that massive hsm poster with her name on it in huge letters in her office.

just casually grab his hand with both your hands and stare at him creepily 🥰

ship jennzzara y'all

the first bump was a missed opportunity to do the baymax "falalala" as a reference to the fact that they watched big hero six while committing arson✋

wait so big red and EJ just left Ricky in the basement and now Ricky invited Carlos when they're supposed to be at the stage?

help no Ricky looks like he's about to tell Carlos he likes him (I know it's about writing the song for seb but still, look at his body language and tell me it doesn't look like that)

Ricky is so mature about this, he really just wants Nini to be happy even though he's hurting-

baby you deserve love, maybe Nini isn't the one for you but don't say you don't deserve it

why does he keep adding bro to the end like he doesn't know how to address Carlos

PLEASE CARLOS HAVING TO ADDRESS THE BRO THING

"let's write a song when we have like 45 minutes to get to the place and help our friends possibly win $50000 at the show in 2 weeks"

"can you hit a high C?"

"that's like the bottom of my range"

why am I laughing

this is so cool to see friendship interactions that we don't normally get to see

Nini why are you being like this-

Gina did nothing wrong??

I saw that, EJ and Gina being the only ones going in the same direction👀

right so obviously Kourtney's waiting until after the menkies to get back with Howie just in case he really is just using her as a way in to east high... obviously... right?

CARLOS

OK ITS COMING GET READY YALL

Why is portwell so awkward all of a sudden

OMG EJ

OMG GINA SAY YES or not, do what you want.

the way she doubts that EJ would genuinely ask so she has to make sure it's not Ashlyn behind it

OH

THE "NOT THAT I KNOW OF"

LIKE WHAT GINA SAID TO JACK ABOUT EJ BEING HER BOYFRIEND

GUYS THEY'RE SOULMATES

I want risotto now please

THEY'RE SO SWEET AND ADORABLY AWKWARD ITS LIKEEK LITTLE KIDS

OOOOOOO what is this place that seblos is in, looks fancy....and secluded

oh wait no Ricky's just standing there

wait is it the bomb shelter

it looks so good what

HSKAGSJAGAJAGWISGSKAUASBWKSVAIWBAISBQKSHIQBWOABWOABDOQBZIQBAIAQBSIWBQISVQKSIANSGOQBSAISBKASBKWBAIABQOSBBSJAHAJAVAJSBAJHSKAHSJAHAJAJAAJAHHHHHHHH

@youranxiousnerd ARE YOU OK?

CUZ IM NOT OK

LOOK AT SEBBY'S FACE

LOOK AT HOW ADORABLE IT IS

THE LYRICS ARE KILLING ME

SEBLOS IS KILLING ME

I AM DEAD

PLEASE SEND HELP

I like to imagine that Frankie and Joe practiced this in their apartment and just had a blast with it.

or maybe that Frankie practiced in secret like what Joe did for the climb

OH THE SUITS

THATS WHERE THAT CLIP IN THE PROMO WAS FROM

AWWW SEBBY'S SO CUTE

HE'S A LITTLE MARSHMALLOW

they're still so awkward with the dance I cant

let's appreciate Frankie's voice though

this episode really was made just for the seblos and portwell stans and you gotta love it

BIG RED GET OUT

WHY DOES HE ALWAYS DO THIS

Seb's little "yeah" IS ADORABLE

you can't tell me that wouldn't have been the best time for them to say I love you....IF FREAKIN BIG RED WASN'T THERE

ok but wait Ricky needs more hugs like that, look at his face

the boy needs love

"bro" please don't let Ricky and Carlos go back to not talking because their friendship is amazing

EJ laughing at Ricky sounding like a cat coughing up a furball is so funny to me

RICKY'S FLOP GETS ME EVERYTIME

I knew it was too good to be true

ok so Ricky's dead, next in line please

this episode was so short but I love it so much. this is what I signed up for for season 2✋

[mcutaylivia]

Okay so this might be controversial (or at the least an unpopular opinion?) I wish/hope they'll give us a EJ and Nina/Nini talking scene.

Like it doesn't have to be about anything big (I feel like they tried doing that when he told her about Duke but due to the fact she was rushing to catch her train the conversation fell flat).

Like I'm pretty sure they were friends (still are obv) before they were dating. And the fact that they were literally dating?? Like yeah he was only a rebound to her and just a 'summer thing' but two people don't just get together without the solid base of friendship right?

Probably just me but I feel like there was no real closure (At least to us viewers). Sure, you could count him getting of the stage to give Ricky the role of Troy and also their very messy breakup scene but there's no scene where it suggests everything is okay now and there was no hard feelings at all.

I know they obviously don't have feelings for each other or any hard feelings(He was always just meant to be a rebound and sadly, a plot device at first) or resentment but it'd be nice if they showed us more of their friendship and also showing that the two of them can still be really good friends after everything that happened.

+Bonus (and ignroe this if you don't ship Portwell?): If he admits that he likes Gina to Nina and asks for her advice/ Nina tells him about the breakup with Ricky or just anything random you know???!!

So basically: I just want EJ & Nina friendship.

Did I wrote a whole ass post just for that? Yes. Yes I did.

[rickyandgina]

This episode really hurt me. I had a heaviness on my chest this morning and I was really sad going into work. I experienced a range of emotions today. I just want to know why Matt said a while back that Portwell would be platonic and that he would have a rivalry with Ricky. Like are they lying to us, deleting a bunch of scenes or rewriting stuff? I predicted him asking her out but I was really upset because I thought Ricky didn’t look jealous enough. I know he looked conflicted a little bit but I thought he was still hung up on the mention of Nini. I’m here for the long haul but that episode hit me hard. Rinis and Portwells call us Rina shippers delusional and seeing things that aren’t there and today was the first time I thought maybe I was. But I’m enjoying other people being so positive and hopeful. I’m like the captain of the titanic, I’m going down with my ship. I just want second chances (2x12) to be about Rina so badly 😭 and if not, I’m going to continue to be hopeful for season 3. Rina is the best aspect of this Mickey Mouse show.

oh no! don't feel upset by the episode!!! Honestly, the whole Matt thing? I think he was trying to throw off the viewers... why he would just lie though I can't really answer lol. Regarding the Ricky and Nini stuff I think it's realistic that he would still be hung up on Nini I mean they had been a huge part of each other for what... 11 years or so? I think it would be a disservice for Ricky to get over her so quickly, he needs time to heal from their breakup and he is doing a lot of growth during this time. It's a big part of his journey this season and he is only going to come out better in the end. Rinis and Portwells are always going to be negative towards Rina, I mean we are the ship that is constantly on the bottom- but if you view that in a slowburn light then there really is no competition? Ricky and Gina have been shown to have a depth that none of the other relationships in the show have. Tim doesn't give us cues for no reason, it is clear to me that Ricky was conflicted and confused about Portwell and their development. I mean he has been so involved with himself and Nini that he hasn't looked around and seen that Gina has started to become close to someone else. I think this is going to be huge shift for Ricky regarding his relationship with Gina. There has to be an aha moment that pushes the plot foward, although subtle I think this was it. Right now Ricky is working through his breakup with Nini and we've seen a huge shift already from last episode to this one, I think it's just a matter of time that he accepts what happened between them two. This obviously opens up the door for him to have an open and honest discussion in the last episode for him and Gina. I mean I can't fathom Ricky and Gina not having a conversation this season- like a real one. We haven't gotten that between the two yet and the whole season has been leading up to it. 2a wasn't just a series of coincidental moments of longing stares and tension that you could cut with a knife for no reason. Gina was in her pining era and when she thought that Ricky chose Nini over her and never really liked her back she got scared and hurt so she turned to someone else. As we know though, it's not so black and white. For Ricky Gina was never an option, as far as he knew she was leaving that night. So for the finale don't worry- that title screams Rina. "I never do anything the first time"? We will get to see those two right their wrongs from opening night- even if nothing romantic happens, which isn't what Rina shippers want right now, they will be able to have a mutual understanding of one another and rebuild their friendship from last season. It gives them a chance to build a relationship on trust and truth which is so much more important then them getting together this season. Portwell needs to happen right now for Rina to happen later, just like rini last season. Love triangle is almost 100 percent confirmed for next season, we just have to have patience for Rina.

[aquariusshadow]

Live!Blogging HSMTMTS s2x6

okay fiiiiiiiiinally ive been waiting all day to watch this.

so from what i've seen...i'm tentatively predicting that my new main ships will be portwell and ricky/therapy

lesssss goooooo

--

not if you liked them back kourt *wink wink* then its hard for you to see if they like you

oh north high again

i keep forgetting about this storyline

'village idiot'

idk why that made me laugh im sorry

omg imagine a legit group chat with seb and ej tho

someone write a chatfic about this please

portwell sitting next to eachother hehehe

'friendship' *gina looks at ricky* oh boy

asdlfjalhsdfjasdf

"im waiting for a sign" *camera pans to the exit sign*

so everyone that predicted the rose getting a song yall deserve your money's worth

ricky you fought for her to get in the show yet you cant let nini focus on her song for the show

wtf

i need to back this up

ive never done this before actually backing up an episode during a liveblog

"i can't believe you're finally back in the show yet you're spending saturday without me"

RICKY

SIR

MR SIR

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT

she needs to focus

you need to focus

so miss jenn and ricky's dad are finally going on a date

aight

big red and nini convooooooo yesss

i do like kourt and howie's banter

JHLDJAFHLDSJFSDVBXMNSLDHLA

ricky: hey G

gina: *ignores*

ej: *smooth* may i have this exercise

see ricky you cant expect gina to always be there when you treat her the way you have been

poor carlos

hah remember what i said at the beginning of this? thats all i gotta say hehe with kourt and howie

............did

did ricky

spam her literal paragraphs of text

when she has told him she needs to focus

and ricky's freaking out over nini not liking hawaiian pizza

........

this is the type of clinginess that really does turn me off

especially back in highschool

ricky honey you really need some help

man poor ashlynn

ashlynn is going to kill it as belle because she's gonna be sooooooo genuine whereas im sure lily's gonna come off as very superficial in the part

look at ej's concerned expression when gina's struggling in the exercise

the one thing i do like about miss jenn's date so far is i think this is a nice way of getting to know both of the characters more

awwwww the date went well

RICKY

WHAT

SIR

i mean that was kinda funny ngl

BUT

oooooooooooo thats a great answer ej

"i'd ask him if he'd ever love anyone after belle"

but...did gaston ever truly love belle tho

ricky :(

he really doesnt like change does he

im glad the show is trying to address this

awwwww the gina and ashlynn heart to heart

i do love their friendship

omg she confessed her feelings for ricky

she actually did it

this entire time

he knew

and he still

this entireeeeeee tiiiiiiiime

the only excuse he has is that somehow he got it in his mind that he either thought gina moved on from him or ricky interpreted gina's confession as a friendship thing

but still

good lord ricky you need to calm it with the clingy

even nini isnt feelin it

.............

meanwhile lily is still spying

interesting i thought kourt was a gryffindor--although i can see her being a gryffindor/hufflepuff combo hehe

but ravenclaw works too!!!

yessssss ashlynn sing your heart out

and this is why she's going to be an amazing belle

i hate seeing gina in this much pain

yea kourt you be honest!!!

i love herrrrrr

howie drumrolled before her confession

thats really cute

hahaha

i love straightforward stuff like this

the harry potter geekiness <3

i really hope ricky's dad realizes somethings off now since he and miss jenn ended things because of ricky

aight nini lets hear the rose song

so........basically everything i said and thought about rini as a relationship

nini's song confirms it

confirm what a lot of people have been saying about rini

also this song is amazing <3

WE LOVE NINI DECIDING TO LIVE FOR HERSELF

olivia's soprano range <3

yea rip rini next episode

--

Alright, so. I ship Ricky with Therapy (Rickerapy) and Gina with Happiness (Hapina). That’s my final stance for a while. I’m very curious on where they take Portwell. If Rina’s gonna happen then...I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it? Like I still enjoy the idea of Rina, and it’ll be a lot better than Rini (I think) but...no guy is worth that much pain and heartache Gina’s dealing with. 

I guess if Ricky ends up working through his fear of change, learns better communication skills, and accepts/confronts his own feelings a lot better and treats Gina like the amazing person she is and makes it up to her then maaaaaaaaaaybe I’ll be on board with Rina in the end.

But yea, I’m definitely vibing more with Portwell rn.

Also, Nini deciding to live for herself. It’s such a good peak for her arc this semester I’m pretty happy.

Finally, while I’m giving Ricky a lot of shit, as I said in my previous live!blog--I still like his character and everything is very consistent with what we’ve seen from season 1. If anything, I’m really excited to see his arc come to a head and what comes after!

(someone plz write a seb and ej friendship chat!fic)

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x07 Review

The Field Trip was a campy ep that recaptured some of the charm of S1. Let’s dig in!

S2 has often struggled with taking itself too seriously but finally we got some good campy fun that reminded me of why S1 was so great. North High finally come into their own as villains. The Howie reveal was very well done, poor Kourtney inadvertently being the source of the leaks. I can’t tell if Antoine’s accent is bad on purpose or not but he was funny tonight when he dragged Big Red and I loved how forward he was with Ashlyn. It’s good that the trio of new characters finally feel like they’re part of a larger plot rather than being somewhat random additions to the cast.

Lily continues to act like she’s on Glee which is exactly the right energy for the role. The stick to the stuff you know line was great as was Seb’s bop to the top retort. North High clearly won the dance off though Gina being in a skirt limited her. Lily was doing it with bad intentions but she was absolutely right that the rose song was a dig at Ricky and didn’t fit the musical and that they’d be disqualified for performing it. Miss Jenn should have already known they’d be disqualified for adding it and Ricky should have already been able to tell that the song was about him. I think it’s more and more likely that Lily is the party crasher who Ricky re-evaluates in 2x12 and she could well be the unexpected face time call he gets in 2x10.  

It took 7 eps but we finally got an ep where Gina wasn’t upset over Ricky and thank god for that; the constant angst was sucking the life out of her plot. Of course, the reason she wasn’t going through it is because she was spending her time with EJ. I think this ep should put to rest any notion of Portwell just being platonic. Some people are still clinging to Matt’s interview where he refers to EJ and Gina as friends but he was clearly being misleading, even if nothing else happens it’s clear that Gina is not just a friend to EJ. I’ve seen people try and claim that Gina and EJ are like siblings with each other or that they’re practically related because Gina is roommates with EJ’s cousin as if there’s some sort of Westermarck effect by proxy but family members don’t pretend to be dating. 

The morning show was a lot of fun and the fake dating was cute. In contrast to the last time they fake dated back in 1x05 we can see how much happier and more comfortable they are with each other now. Notably they had EJ circle back to it well after it happened which led to Gina’s line about everything going back to normal which is a tell that everything has not gone back to normal for them. We can see EJ’s inherent goofiness shining through with the Risotto inside joke they now have. Much like Joshaya on GMW there are valid reasons to not go ahead with the ship, although Portwell doesn’t have the creepiness or borderline illegality of Joshaya, but the chemistry between the characters is real and can’t be ignored. 

Rini hurtles towards a breakup which could come as soon as next ep. Hard to tell if Ricky was in denial or just too stupid to understand the songs meaning. I'd prefer the former since a 17 year old would have to lack basic comprehension skills to not understand that the lyrics were a thinly veiled attack on him.

Nini trying to claim it was just a song at the end was disingenuous, she didn’t want Ricky to hear it for a reason. Her deciding to use her given name Nina for her music account is obviously meant to symbolize her independence from Ricky since he first gave her that nickname back in the first grade. However, it makes Ricky seem like some malign influence on her basically her entire life when it’s not like he forced her to go by Nini or prevented her from going back to Nina during the 10 odd years of their friendship/relationship together.

Miss Jenn and Zachie were fun but such a risk on his part to steal the mask, that’s trespassing and theft and a sure disqualification not to mention the very real risk of being criminally charged. The door is now closed on Jike and Jachie and the path for Jazarra is open.

Rouge Grand was funny but I hope this Redlyn angst isn’t dragged out too long. 

Mob song wasn’t good, the skrillex beat drop was not needed. Around You was good though. I just noticed that Tim abandoned, or was forced to by covid, his plan to have 3 songs per ep instead of 2 which is for the best I think. 

Looking Ahead:

Looks like next week will be a big one for Portwell and EJ in general. We get Gaston, career day with EJ’s dad, and then EJ hanging with Gina and helping her knit which is very domestic. I’d bet if you showed that clip of them knitting to someone who had never seen the show  they’d assume the character were dating. So it looks like Mr. Caswell has bought EJ’s way into Duke which is no longer EJ’s dream, if it ever was.

As I said last week, there’s a clear path forward for Portwell to get together in the season finale and next ep will probably take a big step towards making it happen. We have the chemistry, we’ve gotten moments between them, and we know EJ’s feelings, we just need Gina to recognize her budding feelings for EJ. I think Gina running into Jack at the airport in 2x09 will help her clear her head on what she wants and a part of that will be whether she still wants to try and be with Ricky or does she want to take a chance with EJ.

Obviously S3 will almost certainly leave Portwell in the dust in order to do Rina for a bit which will piss off a lot of fans but Tim’s screwed himself over here; there’s really no way that this series ends without a large chunk of the audience being bitterly disappointed over who’s endgame. Love triangles are a done to death trope but they typically involve some minor characters who can written off once the triangle is over, not main characters who have to be in every ep no matter what. 

More Redlyn angst next week as well as the wildcats being benched for a week due to trespassing at North High. 

A lot of people think that the show is having Nini get into songwriting because of Olivia’s success but the scripts would have been written before she released Driver’s License and shot to stardom. She’s also still contracted for two more seasons though she’d clearly leave before that if Disney would let her. 

The Rini treehouse scene could well be the breakup, gotta go my own way would fit well if that’s the case. This is another area where Tim needs to tread carefully. He can’t have Rini hate each other or avoid each other for the remaining 20 odd eps of the series but also can’t fully close the door on them since he’ll almost certainly have Rini be endgame as they graduate from East High at the end of S4. 

At this point it seems pretty unrealistic that East High would win the Menkies but this is a tv show so who knows. There’s one big song left that would work for some of the couples they, Something There, which could work for Portwell, Howell, or Rina so we’ll see if we get it.

2x07 marks the last of the clips we saw in the original S2 trailer so we’re largely flying blind now.

Until next week wildcats. 

[realrollypratt]

17, 27, 28, 30

Thank you anon! I just answered 28 in the previous ask but let’s do the others! 😊

17. Characters that you ship and can’t imagine to be friends: so this one kinda confuses me a little, is it like, characters that I can see together romantically but could never be friends? That’s how I’m reading it, and I gotta say it’s hard because most ships I’m really invested in have a relationship rooted in friendship.

While I was typing this out I was thinking about Darklina and how I ship them mostly for the UST and enemies to lovers (hatesex!) trope so now that they are full on enemies I can’t see them going back to friends. But also I could see it if it was well executed? I don’t think the franchise goes in that direction (but I know nothing, I haven’t read the books), but they could pull a Regina with The Darkling and give him a redemption arc. It could be done. Darklina could be very similar to Swan Queen (and heh, I have a type!!!).

There’s one ship I guess I actually have a hard time picturing as just friends and it’s Michael/Maria from Roswell. I mean, they try that in season 3? And it doesn’t work out so well? They just end up being so awkward around each other (and pining, honestly). I feel if they were to break up for good they could get to a point where they can tolerate being around each other and make small talk, but never be friends. Also, that’s a completely ridiculous theory to begin with because they are soulmates who belong together so… yeah.

27. Ship that you expected to ship before reading/watching franchise and you do: well most recently Portwell!!! It’s been exploding on my dash lately and I got really curious what it was all about (and the kinda ship war between Portwell and Rina was also a factor). During season one I gotta admit I was confused because EJ and Gina barely interact on a significant level but by the end of season two I was 👀👀👀. What I did not expect was for them to be so cute and wholesome! Anyway, I regret nothing and I support Portwell 100%.

30. Favourite canon ship: (*whispers* Dasey is canon) 👀

But okay for the sake of ships with an actual romantic storyline on screen, it has to be Spuffy (Buffy/Spike from btvs). I did say I have a type…

[aamirmitchell]

B, C and Z (The Z being more nuance on what you said about Jolivia earlier plz) (Oh and I am asking about HSMTMTS)

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

hm... i don't think i actually have one? sorry, lol.

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will (be nice)

portwell is really uncomfy to me. or redky (i know know y'all, i'm sorry, I really don't see it.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged)

i believe you're talking about the post (like maybe just) before this reblog? um, basically i mean just that. every time one of them posts a song or a pic, a really big chunk of the comments are about j*livia. um, every single youtube video with the cast, or just joshua, or just olivia, the comments are continuously about j*livia. um, especially saying really weird things like "their vibe is so off now :(", or "they're so awkward now :/", or "josh really broke olivia's heart, look at her, she's so depressed"... it's just weird! and inappropriate! they're costars, and she's a minor, and it's weird. people can't just pathologize olivia, or joshua, or their relationship (i mean relationship not romantically). i keep seeing it and i think it's really rude and invasive, and it makes it hard to enjoy a video or their songs... because j*livias make EVERYTHING they do about j*livia.

anywho, sorry if that sounded harsh. thanks for stopping by. 🤞🏼✨

Edit: this isn't about all of them, a lot of them are like kids or only think of them as a friendSHIp so yeah... i feel like i should say this because i'm definitely not directing this at them. ok. bye.

[rkrispyt]

I'm sorry, in love?

She had a crush - seemingly her first real one and/or one that she attempted to act on. Which for her was such a big deal - I feel like it's gonna be a whole other journey to see Gina getting to a place where she feels and understands and openly admits to being in love...

I don't think we've ever known a Gina Porter that falls so easily. Sure, in the first season she didn't have the baggage that she does now after how things with Ricky went down, so she was braver about it, but even in the height of my R*na shipping I would never use the L word to describe what she felt for him.

There's this great meme that's gone around recently that says "the disrespect is the closure". One thing I, at the time a hardcore R*na shipper, LOVED and hooted and hollered and cheered for this season was in 2.05 when Gina seemed to realize that and set a hard boundary with Ricky.

After that, she seemed to do what we all have to at some point in an unreciprocated situation: make your own closure.

She moved on from him. On her own. And that's why I'm baffled that people think there needs to be any conversation with Ricky for her to put it behind her. Maybe for him to feel at peace with it once he truly grasps how he treated her and her feelings. Definitely for them to have a chance at a friendship again (or more, if they decide to go that route in the future).

But for Gina to move on? Nope. She's already done that. She's healed. And she had her friends there to support her while she did it. And I feel like we saw her realize one day that she'd moved past that sad place she started in and was over Ricky. I mean, wasn't that the entire point of the airport episode and Jack?

Obviously just my thoughts on it all but as someone who was never ever looking at the R*na of it all with EJ colored glasses (someone who in fact was incredibly anti-Portwell going into season two!), I don't think I imagined all that?

why is it always rina "is unfair to gina because ricky treats her like shit" but never portwell "is unfair to ej because gina is in love with ricky"????

Because she’s not??? Ricky is literally the furthest thing from Gina’s mind. She moved on a long time ago when she fell for EJ. I don’t know where you’ve been for the past 6 episodes… but Gina was completely unbothered by the chocolates in 2x10, 2x11, and 2x12.