#it’s funny to think that seb is quite conservative in some way

[ena333333]

inspired by the manga scene where bard casually showed a porn magazine cover to ciel in a bookstore and seb instantly covered the kid’s eye

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 1x10 Review

Act 2 was a great finale that capped off a great season though somewhat marred by Disney censorship. Let’s dig in!

Finally Ricky and Nini have found their way back to each other. Sweet callback to Ricky lighting Nini up with his phone as Nini does the same. Breaking Free was great though I had to keep pausing during the EJ to Ricky transition because it was so cringey. Ricky and Nini really do have the best chemistry on the show and it shines through this ep. Joshua did a great job improvising Ricky’’s confession to Nini as did Olivia reacting to it. Tim mentioned in an interview that originally Ricky was supposed to tell Nini that he thinks he kinda you knows in a callback to the premiere but on set he realized that it was too cheesy and decided to let Joshua come up with a confession based on memories of his and Olivia’s real life friendship. That was certainly the steamiest kiss we’ve yet seen on Disney + but it was well earned

 It speaks well of Tim that he recognized that his own writing wasn’t good enough and that he trusted his actors to take charge. It also goes to show how much of a difference it makes having the showrunner actually on set in Salt Lake, whether that was Tim or Disney’s decision. It’s a sharp contrast with Andi Mack where Terri the showrunner was based in LA and only rarely visited set while Michelle Manning was the producer in charge in Salt Lake, a split which I think hurt the show in some ways

That rainbow heart sign from the Mathew-Smith family was lovely. It’s great to see Seb’s family of Utah farmers being so supportive. This also confirms that Seb is out to his family, and since Miss Jenn seemed to greet Carlos’ father near the beginning of the ep it’s likely that Carlos is also out to his family

A historic first for Disney with a Seblos cheek kiss. Though of course while it’s progress it still isn’t equality. It’s not so much the Rini kisses that really drives home the inequality since they’re the main couple and were always going to kiss in the finale but rather it’s the Redlyn kiss. It’s not like Redlyn has gotten any real development nor did their story line really need a kiss so early. They got to kiss simply because they’re straight. That being said, it does once more show that the limits are looser on Disney +, we never would have gotten even a Tyrus cheek kiss on Disney Channel

Unfortunately Disney for the second ep this season released promotional photos of Seblos scenes that were cut from the episode itself. It’s not queerbaiting in the traditional sense but it is baiting the audience as they know that a lot of people are very invested in Seblos and seeing that rep on screen and Disney is willing to use that to draw in viewers while cutting the actual on screen rep down. What’s worse is that if it wasn’t for Disney itself letting us know that these scenes existed we’d never know that Seblos scenes were being cut. And of course, it’s a waste of time and money for the show to film these scenes only for them to be cut. A big complaint with Seblos this season has been their lack of development but that seems to be less on the writers who are in fact giving them more scenes then on Disney which is cutting them down to the bare minimum

It’s all shameless triangulation on Disney’s part, trying to be progressive but not so progressive as to alienate conservatives. It’s not like any homophobes are still watching the show after Seblos got together. So far it seems like the Disney censorship on HSMTMTS is coming mainly in post production like it was in Andi Mack S2 with the cut bash mitzvah scene and the edited look back which is awful but is still better than the much heavier censorship we saw in Andi Mack S3 that was coming in pre-production when things like Cyrus being able to talk about his feelings for TJ and vice versa were just never being written. Hopefully Seb being a main character in S2 means that the censorship lessens at least a bit or at the very least stays in the post production stage

In an interview done early on in the season, Tim talked about sometimes taking giant leaps and some times taking small steps in terms of the representation on the show and know we have a much better sense of what that means in practice. There was the giant leap of Seblos getting together at Homecoming and the small step of them kissing on the cheek. Afaik Tim hasn’t addressed the Seblos cheek kiss which is probably for the best and if he does I hope he has the good grace to not lie to the audience about his ability to have gotten an actual Seblos kiss approved. I do think we’ll eventually see a Seblos kiss though I think the earliest that could happen would be the S2 finale

Very telling that Ashlyn assumes EJ is behind Ricky’s exit and not a good look on EJ’s part to not tell Miss Jenn at least that Ricky left. . Good for him though for playing to lose and giving up the role of Troy to help Nini and Ricky. Confirmation that he paid for Gina’s ticket and we got our first Hell Yeah on the show. I don’t like it but it does seem like that scene was set up for Portwell in S2; at the very least it seems like Gina may have started to feel something for EJ

Pour one out for those poor audience members having to sit through that trainwreck of a second act. You know you’re really in trouble when you have to send your choreographer out there as an understudy

I loved Big Red’s little xylophone during the intermission 

Nice to see Nini and Gina end on a friendly, supportive note. Hopefully that continues next season

Kudos to Olivia and Matt for really selling the high school theatre actors barely keeping it together on stage aspect of the performance. Nini and EJ have so little chemistry that it’s almost hard to remember that they were dating for several months

Mr Darbus’ office set looked great. Nice touch to have Miss Jenn mouthing the lyrics to Wondering off stage

Lynne really sucks. Can’t say I’d miss her if we don’t see her in S2

Will be interesting to see how Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara save their jobs

Realistically I don’t think Nini’s performance was strong enough to earn a spot at YAC; someone like Gina or Seb would have been a much more credible choice imo. Nice touch to have the Dean leave through one door and Ricky the other

Now that the season is done it’s hard to see any traces of whatever more mature direction former showrunner Oliver Goldstick wanted to go in. The whole season seems very coherent and consistent in terms of tone. We did learn from Tim and Olivia that her song All I Want was a re-shoot so maybe it was a replacement for a song or scene that was pushing the envelope more than Tim and Disney wanted

One thing that may or may not be connected is that EJ’s panic attacks from the original character breakdown made no appearance this season and who knows if we’ll ever seen EJ having panic attacks or suffering from anxiety. Disney seemingly had no trouble showing Jonah’s panic attacks on Andi Mack which is doubtless where HSMTMTS took the idea from but it’s also true that Jonah’s anxiety story line was abandoned halfway through S3 and though it’s likely just the result of bad writing it can’t be ruled out that Disney got cold feet over focusing on mental health in both Andi Mack and HSMTMTS

Looking Ahead:

One benefit of this review being so late is that we now know the spring muscial! Beauty and the Beast which seems to suggest that all future musicals will be Disney owned properties

Tim also confirmed that they will still be incorporating songs from HSM 2 and 3 into the show which will certainly help pad out the 16 extra songs they’ll be doing in S2. Having 12 eps will be a big help to the show; 10 eps just wasn’t enough to properly deal with all the characters and plots

HSMTMTS really turned out to be a delight and while I think S2 will be as well there are definitely potential issues ahead that will need to be deftly dealt with. Nini either going away to YAC and then coming back to SLC or just not going to YAC is probably going to be wrapped up in an unsatisfying manner. In all honesty this kind of plot would have worked much better if it had been saved for Nini’s senior year

Whatever plan Ashlyn is cooking up to keep Gina in SLC is also probably going to be poorly done as there’s no reason Gina’s mother would willingly leave her daughter in another state

EJ is either leaving the show after he graduates or they’re going to have to contrive some way to keep him around East High in future seasons

Seb now being a main will be interesting, if nothing else to see what Disney’s limits are. Tim has hinted at their being drama for Seblos in S2 and I hope that it serves to develop them and is not just a means to keep them apart so there can be two gay mains but no gay relationship. As an aside Tim revealed that Joe originally auditioned for EJ which is wild; it’s funny that both Joshua Rush and Joe Serafini auditioned for EJ when neither of them had any realistic chance of being cast

I have no strong feelings on the cast list for Beauty and the Beast though I do think it’s likely that either Kourtney or Gina end up playing Belle as I think having a black girl play Belle is just the type of subversion that would appeal to Tim. Miss Jenn did say that she wanted Kourtney to come speak to her over break and while Gina is a bigger character I’m not sure if Sofia’s singing is quite good enough to carry the lead in the musical while I think Dara’s definitely is 

I’d say it’s very likely EJ ends up either as the beast or as Gaston since he’s in what should be his last semester. And if Gina also gets a big role it would make it easier to play with Portwell in S2. If EJ is the beast I could see Seb getting Gaston in another subversion of expectations. Regardless I think with Seb now being a main and with Joe having one of the strongest voices in the cast that he’ll play an important role

Until next season Wildcats

[barnesxplum-blog]

Imagine being close friends with Seb for 2 years now, but also in love with him. U don’t think he likes u back, so u decide to get urself drunk to confess to him so that he rejects u in the morn. But thing is, he does like u back and is desperately tryin to get u to understand that despite u being in ur drunk denial. If u can, a lotta fluff would be hella cool, xx!

Sorry this took so long @blueskiesbleakeyes! I love this idea, I hope I did it justice :)

Warnings: None (please let me know if there should be some!!)

not my gif!

If hell was a place on Earth it would be here, in this bar, right where you were, engulfing you in it’s hot and merciless flames.

Fine. Perhaps that was a tad melodramatic.

You were sat slumped in the bar stool, twirling the umbrella around in your cocktail glass with a forlorn expression plastered on your face.

You almost regretted accepting Sebastian’s last minute invitation to come here, but the look in his eyes almost dragged the word “yes” out of your mouth against your will. 

No one could really say no to Sebastian and not feel terrible for it for at least 3 business days afterwards. Come on. The guy was an unruly puppy confined within in a grown man’s body.

So here you sat, reluctantly watching him smile politely and converse with a group of attractive ladies, all vying for his attention, asking about how he gets into his metal arm and whether he would grow his hair out again. 

“How original.” you thought, surprising yourself at how bitter you sounded.

You rolled your eyes as one particularly pretty girl giggled at Sebastian, (who really wasn’t doing anything funny, in your opinion) and gripped his upper arm, getting a good feel of his toned bicep.

Sickening.

You had even reached the point where you had to mentally repeat in a chant like fashion: 

“He isn’t yours, Y/N. He is not your boyfriend” 

You couldn’t exactly blame her for turning up the charm. Being friends with Sebastian didn’t make you blind to his attractiveness. He was definitely hot, talented, kind, funny and sweet... you knew this and you could see why it would be difficult to resist his charms. What stung the most is that he either refused to accept that he had all of these features, or didn’t believe it at all, forever shrugging off compliments and burying his head in his hands whenever fans or interviewers would flirt with him.

In fact, in recent weeks you’d found yourself in quite the predicament.

You returned your focus to the illuminated display of liquor behind the bar, and asked for a bottle of the strongest stuff they had.

It all started around a month ago. Sebastian was over at your apartment and the two of you had made some homemade pizzas together, of course, not without a small food fight ensuing, since the two of you had a combined mental age that equated to 12 years.

You were both covered in flour, smearing tomato sauce on each other’s cheeks every five minutes. Each time you did so, you would swear it would be the last time you did it, but betrayed your promise within seconds, just to attack the other with food items again. It was all very juvenile, but at the same time, you wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

His flour-y smile and little yelps every time you attacked him made the sticky feeling that lingered on your face feel a lot less irritating and uncomfortable, and more of a reminder of how much you loved to spend time with him. 

After consuming a substantial amount of pizza and ice cream, Seb decided he was far too full and sleepy to make the journey back to his own home, which was only a 15 minute walk from yours, sounding a lot like someone who was at least 20 years older than he was, which you made sure to tease him about.

“Well, when you get to my age, maybe you’ll be more aware of the importance of conserving one’s energy,” He retorted, half yawning in the middle of his sentence.

Even you were feeling drowsy from the mammoth amount of food you had eaten, so you admitted defeat and drifted off into a joint food coma on your couch.

You awoke early the next morning to see light filtering through the the blinds on your window, warming your skin, and illuminating both of your legs, tangled in the single, patchwork  blanket you used for the night that honestly didn't do much to cover you. Seb was a proud blanket thief. 

The said blanket thief was clutching you to his chest in a tight, but comfortable grip, making small snuffling noises in his sleep, his hair unruly and slowly returning back to its natural curly state, freeing itself from its gelled back prison. 

He looked like an angel, in the golden sunlight with his skin glowing, and his lips parted slightly. You almost wanted to take a picture of him looking like this, but you restrained yourself, not wanting to risk him catching you and having to live down the teasing and embarrassment.

You didn’t know what came over you, but you felt a strong instinct to nuzzle into his chest, taking in his natural scent- faintly of his day-old cologne and rain.

You smiled, basking in this rare moment of affection, wanting to enjoy it before it came to its inevitable end, and you were just friends once again. You felt a pang of sadness, just at the thought.

Looking up slowly, you dared to sneak another glance at him. You jumped, noticing his eyes were already partly open, the blue irises focused intently on you in a sleepy gaze.

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards into a juvenile grin, and his eyes fluttered closed once more, so his long, dark lashes fanned out almost touching his cheeks below.

“Five more minutes, Y/N” he sighed, planting a chaste kiss on your temple, before falling asleep again.

Back in the present moment, you were seriously drunk, having downed countless shots on an empty stomach. The world was spinning. There were now four identical bartenders all mixing the same drink before you.

You raised your arm, despite this.

One more couldn’t hurt, could it?

You only wanted to forget ever wanting your best friend as anything more than a friend. You felt silly for even thinking that could Sebastian see you as anything other than his little, non-famous platonic sidekick.

Especially when beautiful and talented women were prone to throwing themselves at him at every opportunity. You didn’t stand a chance.

“Y/N, enough,” you heard a soft voice through the mayhem of the bar, as karaoke was starting up. His favourite.

Sebastian gripped your hand in his, softly peeling you off of the bar stool. His eyebrows shot up as they usually do when he’s even mildly surprised, when your knees completely buckled under your own body weight.

He gripped you more firmly so you didn’t fall to the floor. 

“How much did you drink?” 

“Enough to allow me to tell you this,” you hiccuped.

It was now or never. At least your inhibitions we’re out of the way for now, and you wouldn’t even remember this, come morning time.

He furrowed his brow as you took his hand and led him with great difficulty to a more quiet corner of the room.

“Sebastian, I love you.” You blurted, holding his shoulders and staring deeply into his eyes.

He broke out into a chuckle and patted your shoulder.

“Love you too, Y/N” he replied, rolling his eyes. “Now let’s get you home”

As he escorted you outside towards his car, you began to resist him with all of your strength, which when comparing to Sebastian, was not much.

“No! I mean..I mean I love you!”

This made Sebastian finally stop in his tracks, and look sideways at you.

“I mean I’m in love with you. Like holding hands and kissing kinda love. And maybe even having s-“

“Y/N stop,” he whispered, cutting you off.

it was like the blood in your body had run cold, and your heart plummeted from your chest to somewhere in your lower abdomen. He continued to escort you to his parked car behind the bar.

It was almost unbelievable how stupid you felt.

“I knew it!” Tears pricked your eyes, and you felt your cheeks growing hot and red.

“I knew you’d never love me back. Especially when women with big boobs and pretty faces are always smiling at you” 

“You don’t know what you’re saying, Y/N” he persisted, opening his car door for you.

“I do! I just told you- I. Love. You.” 

“No...” he replied, breaking every last piece of hope you had stored in your heart.

He sighed, as you sat in the passenger seat of his car, and he helped fasten your seatbelt while a tear rolled down your cheek.

Everything seemed to be a blur of darkness and engine noises for a while. You could see Seb’s outline, a portrait of stress hunched over the wheel, his hands gripping the leather tightly. You wondered whether his hands would leave visible marks in the material, from how his knuckles had turned white with strain. The last thing you remember was him carrying you into your apartment before it all went completely dark.

You awoke with a throbbing headache, and fragmented memories of last night and how you even made it to your bed.

Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately for you, you managed to recall, in astounding detail, every minute of you confessing and then getting shut down.

“Fuck!” You sighed loudly, rolling over.

As you did so, you realised you were in your pyjamas. You definitely were not sober enough last night to change into your PJs and stow away your heels so neatly by your bedroom door. You narrowed your eyes in confusion, but also partly due to the migraine coming on.

As if on cue, your door flung open, and a shirtless, wild haired Sebastian burst into your room, his eyes wide.

“What happened? I heard you swear” he said breathlessly, his toned chest rising and falling rapidly.

 You screamed helplessly and jumped out of bed, your duvet still wrapped around your waist

“What are you doing here?” You yelled.

“I stayed on the couch because I didn’t want you to be alone” he explained “you could have choked on your own vomit or something”

You calmed down instantly. Well, at least he wasn’t completely scared off from last nights conversation.

“My clothes,” you mumbled sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.

“You looked uncomfortable in your dress.” He shrugged, seemingly unfazed by having to strip you down and dress you again.

“Here, I’ll get you some water and painkillers,” he motioned for you to follow him into the kitchen/ living room space.

As you gulped down the pills you watched him tidy up your house for a while, before deciding to speak.

“I’m sorry about what I said”

His body visibly tensed, and he turned to you, his eyes unreadable.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

 “I made it weird. You obviously only see me as a friend and I’d like to keep you as one, only if you’d let me of course” you said, though your nerves got the better of you and it all came out as one convoluted sentence.

He regarded you for what felt like an eternity. His blue eyes, scanning over your face. Almost as if he was mapping you and memorising all of your features. What scared you the most is that his lips were still. His usual goofy smile was nowhere to be seen.

A serious Sebastian is one you hadn’t had much experience with within your friendship, and that was something you loved about him. He was always laughing, cheerful and poking fun at somebody or something. But now, he seemed so severe. It scared you.

 You rubbed your thighs with your palms nervously. Thank god the medicine was kicking in, otherwise there would be no way you’d be able to face the pain of the headache coupled with Seb turning you down twice in 24 hours.

“I don’t blame you if you can’t look at me the same, Seb. And I-“ You added.

“You weren’t listening to me last night,” he blurted out of the blue, cutting you off.

He padded towards you in his mismatched socks and stopped until he was mere inches from your face.

“And I wanted to make sure of something, too.” He sighed “It breaks my heart to imagine you think I can’t look at you the same”

You shook your head and placed a reassuring hand on his arm for him to continue. You could have sworn you saw his eyes glisten a bit from tears.

“Y/N...I wanted to make sure you’d remember everything I say to you. I’ve loved being your friend for the past couple of years, don’t get me wrong” he was now wringing his hands, his face flushed and his eyes darting from your face to the floor.

“But I’ve come to realise, it’s not enough. I can’t hold you, and know that you’re not mine. Not completely. It sounds cliche, but I feel empty every time we’re apart. I try to fill the void but, honestly, no one will compare”

“Every time I see you, my heart feels so fucking full.” He continued, now the smile was starting to appear on his face.

“I just want to grab you and never let go, but I felt so selfish. I felt like I was throwing our friendship away, Y/N” 

By now your jaw had completely dropped. You didn’t even care what you looked like at this point with your bedhead, dark circles and chapped lips from dehydration. All you wanted to know is if what you were hearing was correct.

“You have no idea how much I wanted to kiss you last night, but I knew you wouldn’t remember it” He whispered, leaning closer to you now. “I want you- us- remember it” He whispered.

In one swift motion, his hand was cradling the back of your head and his eyes were staring down at you, his lips parted. He kissed you deeply, wrapping his other arm around your waist and pulling you impossibly close to his bare chest. You could almost hear his heart beating excitedly beneath his ribcage, threatening to burst out

When he released you, his beautiful, stupid smile was back. He almost looked embarrassed at how much he was grinning.

“Sorry it took this long” he whispered, grabbing your hand and placing a kiss on your knuckles sweetly. 

“I suppose it was worth the wait.” You retorted, shooting him a wry smile.

He cocked his head to the side, taking you in for a while.

“Next time I undress you, you’re gonna be able to recall every second of it,” he winked at you.