#sure can you say they also read the rini relationship differently sure but you would be objectively wrong ….

[frostluvrs]

i came across a group of anti rinas that think ricky and gina can’t be together for long because it stunts ricky’s growth and change and doesn’t actually help him with change like we say and whatever have that opinion but then they went on to say ricky and nini should be endgame and they can reconnect once ricky has dealt with change…. if you think the only reason they broke up is because his fear of change and that if he grows and stops fearing it they can reconnect and get back together with no problems then any point you try to make regarding rina is invalid to Me.

[trippymockingquake]

Okay HSMTMTS fans, shippers, etc.. I’m calling on all the WILDCATS!

You can like ship. You can like a character. You can hate a ship. You can hate a character. But STOP sending HATE and DEATH THREATS to the actors that play said characters. They are NOT the CHARACTER. I repeat THEY ARE NOT THE CHARACTER.

To all the PORTWELL and RINA and RINI shippers STOP going at each other’s throats. SOME of you yes SOME of you are boarder line cyber bullying others the last time I saw that was when CLEXA and BELLARKE were going at it. BELLARKE was canon in the books and CLEXA was canon in the show. If YOU, yes YOU do not like that your SHIP ended or your character left the show guess what you can do. You can write fanfiction. I do it on another blog. But also ao3, fanfiction.net, here on tumblr, or you can create your own free website for it.

I didn’t really ship anyone in the show I enjoy seblos and redlyn (not sure how it’s spelled) but portwell grew on me in season 2 in season 1 it was rina but after half the season I didn’t care anymore. I HATE Ricky with a burning passion and not because of Joshua Bassett or anything but because Ricky reminds me of myself and I do have to say it was sort of annoying that he went after someone who was in a relationship (nini). But I don’t hate Joshua. I do however have a hatred for Olivia Rodrigo and to answer why, I literally don’t know I just do, so by default I ended up disliking nini but even she grew on me. Nini not Olivia. But I’m not sending her hate mail or death threats the same with Josh. I’m literally just now getting more into other projects Sofia is in and Matt and while I too hated EJ at first for all the bad things he did I didn’t send hate or death threats to Matt. When Gina confessed her attraction to Ricky during season 2 when we got the flashback I hated that but again I didn’t send hate mail or death threats to her. When Maddox got on my nerves during this season I didn’t send horrible stuff to Saylor or Julia or Meg. I don’t know how Adrian (jet) is doing on that front or Dara for that matter. You all have got to STOP, just like YOU don’t want people messing with your mental health and sending you stuff like that YOU guys have to STOP messing with there’s and each other’s. When Falcon and the winter soldier came out the actor who plays John walker got so much hate mail and death threats because of the character he played and ultimately it started to effect him. So words do hurt and they are powerful so please be mindful. Each one of our HSMTMTS actors are young and they go through the same things some of us go through. I know this was a lot to read but PLEASE learn to separate characters and actors. And PLEASE STOP putting each other down and bullying each other. I’m not saying you can’t be mad or hurt but if you are that upset about your character leaving or a ship not going quite your way write fanfiction on wattpad, ao3, fanfiction.net, or anything because you probably aren’t alone and there are a lot of people I’m sure who would love to read it or also write but they don’t know how or how to go about it. If you have any questions on where to go with your fanfiction feel free to dm me. If you want to vent about something even if it’s about a different show or just because you want to talk to a stranger feel free to dm me. I struggle with depression on a daily so I know what it’s like to just need to vent. If you want to get what I think on characters or on why I hate some characters or try to get me to like Olivia feel free to dm me. If you’re a senior in high school and you’re concerned about your future please dm me I’ve been there and my whole job last year was to help high schoolers figure it out. I keep saying dm because I don’t know if I have my asks up to where you can do anonymous. Stay safe.

[fallindomino]

how i would have changed s2 of hsmtmts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[organic-guacamole]

I've got a lot of thoughts on this finale.

starting with the length.

27 minutes? really?

I'm not asking for a 2 hour episode but cmon, at least give us something closer to 40 minutes.

next, the characters

the characters just didn't feel like themselves, especially portwell.

all season long we saw how much potential they had, how well communicated they were, how good they were at being a proper, healthy couple, and now they just can't talk to each other?

it doesn't feel like them.

portwell had arguably the best set up of all the other ships, they showed us how good they had the potential to be only to throw in a cheap plot to wrap it up? I would understand that they want some angst to make the ending all the more satisfying, but this was pathetic.

there I said it.

of all the ways to add drama in a ship, don't use the one that completely contradicts their entire development.

paired with the length of the episode, it seemed even more poorly written.

here I made a lovely, handy dandy homemade graph to represent how I see portwell's storyline:

as i said before, we saw the build up being nearly perfect. they peaked during episodes 9-11 because they just had the chemistry, the communication, and the most potential to be the endgame couple.

they just got eachother.

then we get Jamie popping in for 10 seconds and erasing a lot of that, only for mediator Ashlyn to jump in and solve their problems.

then there's the "kiss".

I know that Sofia is underage and that even if she/her legal guardians consent to the kiss, the writers can still decide not to show it, but still. In my opinion, if you're not going to show the kiss, then don't bother.

there are other ways to establish a relationship that would work better in this situation. Of course if they get together they'll have to kiss sometime, but one way they could postpone it is by having Gina be a bit more reluctant to give away her first kiss like that. it could also show how accomodating EJ is.

I like to think that Gina is very meticulous when making decisions so she'll probably want to be very sure of the relationship before giving him her first kiss. perhaps she'd stick to cheek kisses until she's ready, and then she kisses him and he's surprised.

that would've been, in my opinion, a sufficient way to hold off the kiss while still wrapping up portwell until season 3 when Sofia would be 18 (assuming they get picked up for S3 this summer then start filming fall-winter. Sofia will be 18 in January).

as my friend @rtcosley (idk why it's not letting me tag them, so their page is linked) said,

"They created like 10 plots

And instead of wrapping it up

They added 4 more"

there's just so much more they could've done...it's the season finale for crying out loud.

I get that seblos already had (what I assume is) their storyline for the season, the fight and resolution. Ignoring the fact that that only lasted for 2 episodes and didn't have anything to do with what we were expecting, (i.e.the financial differences between their families, as mentioned in episode 1, the fact that everyone treats seb like he's stupid, this being carlos' first show and the drama that the stress of that caused, etc.), seblos had to purpose this episode than to stand next to eachother and be gay.

I get that they're not part of the core four or anything, but the poster for season 2 has all of them, as opposed to season 1 just being the core four.

They deserved better, just like redlyn and kowie.

redlyn's arc was pretty early in the season compared to the other ships. they had Ashlyn confessing her insecurities in episode 3, antoine stirring the pot of confusion and causing a bit of distance between them briefly, and then big red confessing his goals and plans for the future in episode 8 and for the rest of it, we just see them getting closer and more comfortable with each other and caring about each other more and more.

they had a good arc together.

but that's just it. I wanted to see them have their own arcs. but then again, this show can't seem to balance multiple storylines. I think it is possible, but not when they keep adding new characters that don't contribute anything much to the story(more on that later).

kowie's storyline is... confusing.

I really like their dynamic, how carefree and happy Kourtney gets around him, how she's remaining true to herself and managing a million and one things, plus a relationship in her own without losing herself to it all.

but the main issue I have is that the entire development was never shown.

we went from strangers, to coworkers, to friends that flirt, to lovers that text constantly and went on numerous dates (and Howie met her mother at some point). but all of that, was off screen.

it's like the writers made every episode with them in it kind of thrown in at a new stage of relationship progression and said "here, accept this, no questions asked because we don't have answers"

I just wish we could've seen more of howie trying to get in her good side again after episode 7 because it seems like that's when a lot of it happened.

I appreciate the Rini scene in this episode, seems to be the very end of them, for good this time.

i'm happy about that.

Ricky especially deserves to be free for a while to focus on his development, and Nini has the chance now to really shine through her talents and make a name for herself.

The Rini storyline is the only one I'm fully satisfied with.

now, that being said;

what the heck are they trying to pull with Lily and Ricky rn???

just like that.

after lily being the villain this whole season, they're just gonna not redeem her and then have her confess her feelings to Ricky, a guy she barely knows and only talked to to harass and intimidate, and for him to reject her publicly then call her afterwards?

please I hope it's just to say "you dropped something, here it is and never contact me again, thanks." /hj

speaking of the villains, this season was promoted as the season of rivalry between North and East High right? so why did that plot idea only progress in about 3 out if 12 episodes?

we got Zackey Roy in there for a few episodes then he disappeared, Lily just caused Gina to stay true to her friends in episode 2 and 7 and then basically did nothing else?

this is what I mean by the new characters providing nothing to the show.

the writers can't manage having so many characters and plots at once so they start so many promising arcs, only to kick them aside later on.

we already know that the first half of the season felt like filler episodes, so I think they could've cut those down to leave room for the more important plots to take root, rather than have them pop up and get rushed at the end of the season.

all that, and they just add 4 more plots at the end of the season.

this post sounds very negative looking back...but if I'm being honest with myself, I'm just very very disappointed.

I love this show so much and I really expected better for the season finale, especially if they don't know if it's getting renewed or not.

given the IMDB ratings of this episode so far, I don't have very high expectations for the renewal, but I'm still hopeful because this show is a great thing, one of the best things that happened to me over the course of this quarantine. I've become so attached to this show, the cast and the friends I made through it, that I don't know what I would do if it just ends like this. writing these reviews and posts about this season has been so fun for me to do and thinking that this may be the very last one is a painful thought.

I'm sorry if you were expecting this post to be as light-hearted as my other posts about the episodes, I just had a lot to say about this episode in particular.

all my episode posts are tagged with "#guac's episode text blocks :)" in case you wanna read through and reminisce the simpler times🥲

[thekrawra]

ok so I read your thoughts on ep8 rini/rina and while I agree on most of it, one bit I didn't. yes Ricky was supportive of nini going, but did you see his face when she mentioned it was in Denver? that soft "oh"? I guess you could chalk it up to the fact that Ricky is not good at change and this is a big one, but I don't think he's quite over nini yet. would love to hear your thoughts?

hi!

so a lot of my thoughts on all of it are based entirely on interpretation. there’s so few facts that we have about the situation, that the scene can be read a million and one different ways depending on the viewers interpretation of plantonic/romantic relationships, personal preferences and experiences, and general character.

to me: ricky reads as a character who while generally encouraging to the people he cares about, goes to great lengths to keep his important people close to him.

a lot of this thought comes from how ricky reacts to changes and people leaving him.

look at his parents: he’s supportive of his dad, but his dad is the one that’s staying. he’s less supportive of his mom/has a harder time coming to grasp with the situation, probably mainly because she’s leaving.

he doesn’t always necessarily support nini. sure he does a lot of the time, but there’s been a few points where he doesn’t necessarily back nini. part of which lies in 100% crashing the musical to try and get back with her.

this is kind of important to my reading of the scene because it’s one of the moments that we really see ricky act outrigtly selfish. nini wasn’t necessarily wrong when she said “if you really cared about me, you’d let someone who wants to play this part play it.”

ricky wasn’t exactly being noble auditioning for the musical and it was pointed out a few times in the first episode that he didn’t really love musicals. it’s pretty much fact that he auditioned solely to impress/try and talk to nini with the hopes of getting back together with her. so it’s safe to say while yes he 100% supported her and thought she’d get the role of gabriella, he was also willing to act somewhat selfishly in an attempt to stay close to her. and even after he’s thinking of quitting: he stays to impress nini. and sure he’s grown from that point, but it doesn’t change that we’ve been told that until episode three, maybe even episode 4 we really didn’t get many hints that he was really in the musical for a reason other than nini.

in episode eight, all we see is support. sure there’s the small little “oh” and the moment of hesitation, but he doesn’t even consider suggesting maybe she wouldn’t go/or seem to upset that she might. he’s not happy about it i don’t think, but he’s also not as distressed as it would seem he should be? based on what we know about ricky, it just seems more likely that he’s have a response closer aligning to kourtney’s — initially upset and needing a bit to wrap his head around it, but eventually accepting and supporting it because it’s best for her. it just seems like it should have taken him a bit longer to get there. and i think a few episodes ago it would have gone down like that.

so that leaves me with how i read the scene: while he might not be “over” nini necessarily (i do think there’s some lingering feelings and in general they are very close so he’s not necessarily over her) but i do think he’s been able to move on somewhat — at least in regards to where he was at the start of the series.

the read i get from ricky’s actions knowing what we do about him, was part of the reason he felt so determined to get nini back was because she was a) who he turned to for advice and b) one of the major pillars in his life — he didn’t have much else, he had nini, his parents and big red. so with his mom gone, losing nini would have been a huge hit. so he was clinging to her and trying to win her back. now he has the musical, and some other friends, so he doesn’t necessarily need her as much as he once did. the general reminiscent feel of this episode kind of added to that for me. and the fact that at this point, ricky and nini both have very different wants and needs.

so yeah, i think ricky’s moved on somewhat, even if he’s no consciously aware he has. i think nini is the same. but that’s just how i see it. with the information we have, literally it all could mean anything and the only people who really know anything are the writers.

this got fairly long and really rambly but i hope some of it kinda makes sense...thanks for the ask though!

[hellreads]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kim Taehyung | V & Reader Characters: Kim Taehyung | V, Reader Additional Tags: Smut, Fluff, Light Angst Series: Part 2 of Effervescence

Summary:

Just like the fizz of a cola on a hot summer’s day, your encounter with Taehyung is short but sparkly sweet.

OR

Getting married in three months, you and your girls attend Ultra Miami to cap your single life, a final hurrah of some sort. What you didn’t expect is meeting a beguiling boy with a boxy smile who gives you a festival you’ll forever reminisce.

“Ephemeral love are like flowers in valleys, but everlasting love are like mountains.” ~ Arthy V. 

reading this second part of effervescence made me feel so many things but mostly sadness, despite MC and Taehyung spending a few days together it felt like a lifetime, it was like a meeting of two souls lost in this realm eventually finding each other because they were once intertwined in another life though not in this one, not anymore, because this is proof that we can’t always have the people we want in our lives, even if the feeling is mutual, even if you spend days even years together if it isn’t meant to be, it will never happen.

[SPOILERS AHEAD vv minimal, hopefully]

immersing into this one put me on a rollercoaster ride, the type of ride you wish would never end no matter how it makes you dizzy and intoxicated with every spin it puts you through, starting off with her girlfriends (to have my favorite celebrities as my BFFs here was a treat, each personality reminded me of certain roles they portrayed in dramas which was cute) bidding her goodbye to tend to their duties as they leave her to enjoy the festival on her own before she closes the chapter of her life as a single woman, because in three months she’ll be marrying “the love of her life”.

as soon as Taehyung entered the picture Aphrodite by RINI immediately played on loop in my head (the playlist/music recommendation is lovely tho *chef’s kiss* especially Lover’s Fire by Franco it’s so divine and will give you all the feels) he was a man on a mission, whipped as soon as he saw her having fun with her friends he came up to her with all the courage he mustered, it was now or never, it was an opportunity for them to get to know each other and maybe earn her affection and in return he’ll worship her, a goddess that came to him when he least expects it. I enjoyed every moment they spent together and made me forget she was getting married soon, everything felt like magic making me overlook her current situation, in my eyes and my heart they were meant to meet each other and learn a thing or two about each other and about life.

not wanting to spoil much of the beautiful moments the pair shared let me just share my thoughts about the stuff you can pick up here, first of all, let yourself get lost in the moment, do not overthink things, I know this is hard for people like me in particular because I overthink things making me lose every single second where I could’ve been enjoying stuff I might regret later but it’s better than thinking for the rest of my life of the what-ifs? secondly, age is just a number, it doesn’t matter when you’re in love, let go and let love in, the Noona romance theme here is something I enjoyed, though I think I am very much like her who'd rather fall for or date an Oppa rather than a boy years younger than me because even a year younger scares me, I have this mentality that I should date men at least a year older than me (I think the biggest age gap was seven years tho) because I always associated maturity with age and I had to learn the hard way, also,  I wanna be babied so I date older men but have this need to be on top and take control, anyway age and maturity isn’t really a thing that’s my point, do not let people judge you for the age difference, you’re the one in love and committing not them, their opinions shouldn’t matter. thirdly, life can be very unfair, no, life is truly unfair letting you meet people you never thought you’d change your life drastically in so many ways, even if it means sinning for a bit... in this case do I condemn her for letting go a bit? no, even if it was technically cheating, what if Taehyung was the one for her at least in one of her lives and this was a reunion of sorts before finally moving on??? and lastly “There are some secrets that we think we're keeping, but those secrets are actually keeping us. - Frank Warren” ~ “But some secrets are too delicious not to share. - Suzanne Collins” I think these sayings about secrets explain themselves well and if you read the whole story you’ll understand them much better.

and ofc my favorite bits will be shared, I cannot stop my effervescent heart for Kim Taehyung, sigh what are the odds that she would meet a young and handsome man months before her big day, a young man full of life and energy that will change her life for a few days, I adored the way they got along so easily as if they’ve known each other for a long time, he felt like home, it’s impossible not to be whisked away, because despite MC’s honesty about her relationship and upcoming marriage it wasn’t enough for the kid to back down, he clearly wants her and that made my heart jump way too many times but also hurt because this is just temporary, he’s just temporary, he will only remain a memory of Miami, every scene felt like it was pulled from some cheesy/romantic/heartbreaking drama where the male and female lead will never be together because time said so, because circumstance said so, because fate said so, the attraction, the dancing, the drinking, the piggyback rides, the tickling, the elevator ride, the push and pull with reckless abandon giving in only if for one night, the way Taehyung made her feel affected me so much it’s more than lust, the way he wants to take her, steal her, persuade her into choosing him, I was glad it was more than one night but was it really something to be glad about when you know the end will eventually take away this borrowed precious moment? nevertheless, they made every moment count, it was just them nobody else (the smut is proof that they just let go, 0 fucks given, as much as I wanna detail everything I want you to read it without any ideas on the things he’s done to her, all I can say is he’s a very generous lover, a pleaser who pays attention to every detail *wink*wink*).

then comes the part where they had to go back to reality, back to his idol life, back to the arms of her lover, I cried during their last night where he gave up sleep just to commit to memory every single thing about her, making sure he’ll never forget (tho I wondered if he had the same images on his phone as well?) his last favor, his uncontrollable tears, his genuine question it hit me like a tonne of bricks it was a sad conversation filled with so much emotion if I could change things for them I would, but that was their goodbye, the souvenir she left reminded me so much of her girl Sunny, I also noticed the maturity of both characters and how they handle love and relationships, Taehyung is obviously youthful, full of life, would risk it all, likes people easily but I think him falling in love was genuine, does it feel rushed? maybe? but I do know he did love her even if he only met her, after all, a lot of young people fall hard and fast, MC is obviously wise beyond her years, more cautious, guarded, though it was never clear if she only said those words out of pity or not I do believe she loved or at least cared for him, he’s the boy that gave color to her life, a color she never thought would make life beautiful, a bright color she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life, she may not be wise for engaging in an ephemeral affair with the boy but she did know it was just a passing love affair and that she’ll choose Joongki over and over, the other half that makes her whole.

ahhh thank you for this wonderful piece Fringe, I know some of my thoughts/interpretations may be wild or too much but everything you write just puts me in a trance where so many thoughts surround me and I have to get all of this out, thank you for writing again, for sharing with us your works, ily! | 🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒

[onestowatch]

RINI on “Bedtime Story,” Sensual R&B, and Making the Perfect Chicken Adobo [Q&A]

RINI makes R&B sound effortless. The up-and-coming Melbourne artist makes the sort of effervescent music perfectly apt to soundtrack sunset-soaked drives along the coast and late-night inhibitions. This sentiment comes to life in the sensual “Bedtime Story.”

Taking a cue from more PG-13 after hour events than the moralistic teachings of childhood tales, “Bedtime Story” is an intoxicating slowburn. RINI captures the scintillating tip-toe, the excitement of that first night, while still making sure to respect his partner’s boundaries and desires. 

“I was trying to say that I am ready for this girl, but at the same time, I don’t want to force anything. But knowing that she was on the same page and she’s liking the mood, it was time for me to make my move and make her feel good," says RINI on the underlying inspiration behind the new track. We stan a healthy representation of physical intimacy in R&B, especially when it sounds this good.

While RINI sounds undeniably polished in “Bedtime Story,” the Melbourne artist has made leaps and bounds since originally going from busking on the street to penning a deal with Warner Records. We had the chance to catch up with RINI via e-mail to chat about his new single, go-to lockdown meal, and growing up in the Philippines.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

My earliest musical memory would probably be the time when my mum would play my dad’s old CDs of all Michael Jackson’s music/music videos. Mum would put them CD’s on and I would watch Michael perform and dance on TV and copy all his moves.

How would you describe your music without using any genre terms?

I’d say my music is sultry, smooth, sensual, like velvet and dreamy.

You emigrated from the Philippines to Australia as a kid. How did both your upbringing and the Australia music scene inform both you and your music?

Growing up in the Philippines definitely opened a lot of musical pathways for me. Back in elementary school, I remember sometimes my classmates would bring their guitars and jam over lunch times. I didn’t know how to play back then so I just watched, but that sort of sparked my interest in playing the guitar, so I started learning it. My dad would always play music on the big-ass sound system we had in the living room ,so all our neighbours could hear it loud and clear and he’d always be putting on some Bon Jovi, Queen, Aerosmith bops and all these other slow rock jams. He also had musical instruments that he’s collected over the years from working on a ship. They’d just be sitting in the storage, so I picked the guitar up and got my cousins to teach me how to play chords. 

Moving to Australia gave me a chance to experience something different. Musically, I was exposed to a lot of R&B music here in Australia because the friends that I hung out with listened to a lot of hip-hop and R&B music. I was introduced to a whole new culture, but will always have the influence that I had been given when I was young, and I think that shows a lot in my music – an old soul with a new sound.

You got your start busking on the streets of Melbourne. What’s the greatest thing you took away from that time in your life?

Busking on the streets of Melbourne was a very significant time of my musical growth. I decided to busk on the streets because I wanted to make extra money for myself, so I could buy music production gear and also it was just the best way I could improve my confidence. I also gained a lot of followers from busking and gigging opportunities as well. The greatest thing I took from it would probably be that we need to work for what we want and be willing to try something new and different once in a while, learn to step out of your comfort zone.

Australia isn’t particularly known for R&B, but you make it sound so effortless. What drew you to R&B in particular?

The way R&B made me feel was something I have loved for so long. I feel like R&B is so flexible in a way. You can make a song that has sad lyrics sound a little more calming and joyful rather than down and depressing. The groove of R&B music is also very pleasing to my ears, makes me want to dance.

You now find yourself in LA. Beyond the ongoing lockdown, how did you find the transition?

Moving to LA for me was a little difficult, but also a good thing. Difficult because being so far away from my family is something I’ve never really experienced like that, but it’s also great because I’ve learned to be more independent, and I find myself being more motivated knowing that I’m doing music as an actual career and being away from home gives me the drive to work harder. LA is very different from Melbourne in terms of culture and also time. I feel like when I’m in LA everything moves so quick and you really have to keep pushing yourself, which I don’t have a problem with.

Shifting gears, what was your favorite bedtime story growing up?

Unfortunately, my parents never told me any bedtime stories haha, so I wouldn’t know one. I also haven’t spent a lot of time reading books, which is something I want to do more often now, but it’s because I spent a lot of time playing computer games when I was younger. Nothing else really mattered back in those days, I had too many territories to protect in San Andreas.

Guessing your latest single, “Bedtime Story,” has a far less PG origin story? Mind sharing some of the inspiration behind your new single?

Yes, I basically wrote the song that way because I was in that situation with a girl. I was sitting at a certain point in the relationship where I was basically ready to take it to the next level physically without being forcing about it. That’s why the song sounds exciting and fun.

What’s your go-to meal? Break us down the recipe. Need some serious recipe inspiration while stuck on lockdown.

Chicken Adobo is the way to go. Shout outs to my Filipinos out there. Just get some chicken and marinate it in soy sauce and garlic, leave it for a couple hours. Put it in the pan to cook, add some water and the rest of the marinade sauce then some salt, pepper and a couple of bay leaves then let it be for half an hour til the chicken’s tender. Put some vinegar, cook for another five and then you’re good to go.

What’s next for RINI?

I’m excited for the next coming months leading up to my album release and right now my new single (“Bedtime Story”) with the music video. We’ve also got a couple other singles to watch out for. It’s going to be different, but I can ensure everyone who listens to RINI will enjoy the album. Once this Coronavirus is over, I would love to go all around the world and play this album live.

Who are your Ones To Watch? 

Yes! Right now I have Olivia Dean, an artist from the U.K. Love her music and her vibe. Another one’s Dijon, his song “Skin” really got me and I think he’d be fire.

Listen to “Bedtime Story” below:

[actualltr4sh]

basics what’s your name ➔ zarina do you have a nickname ➔ z, mostly, rini for my family or if we’re super close do you have a middle name ➔ ujana [ooh-jah-nah] do you like your name ➔ i used to hate it but it’s pretty cool now do people often mispronounce your name ➔ meh sometimes do you like the meaning of your name ➔ my first and middle translates to ‘golden child’ so yes when is your birthday ➔ the 15th of january how old are you ➔ a miserable 22 do you like your age ➔ miserable 22, she said what’s your zodiac sign ➔ capricorn

appearance what’s your hair colour ➔ blackity black is your current hair colour your natural hair colour ➔ ish, the ends are still red do you dye your hair ➔ i have once do you have natural highlights ➔ nope when was the last time you had a haircut ➔ chileeee maybe like a year what length is your hair right now ➔ maybe... the middle of my neck? do you have straight, wavy or curly hair ➔ nigger curls do you have frizzy hair ➔ not really do you use a curling iron ➔ nope do you use a hair straightener ➔ nope do you braid your hair ➔ its normally braided yeah what’s your eye colour ➔ dark brown. like almost black do your eyes change colour ➔ nope do you wear contacts ➔ heck no if so, do you use colour contacts or regular contacts ➔ heck no, she said! do you wear glasses ➔ yep do you have naturally long eyelashes ➔ not really do you wear braces ➔ i donut do you have dimples ➔ nope do you have moles ➔ a few do you have outstanding cheekbones ➔ lmfao not really. i dont think so. maybe? do you have freckles ➔ no but i love them :( do you have piercings ➔ quite a few do you have tattoos ➔ too many lmao do you wear make up ➔ nope, too confusing do you paint your nails ➔ sometimes! do you wear jewelry ➔ a few bracelets and a necklace i never take off are you happy with your height ➔ its average. i dont complain lmao

personality would you consider yourself outgoing or shy ➔ i used to be outgoing but im very very shy now are you sarcastic  ➔ incredibly what’s your biggest fear ➔ i just recently realized i was afraid of heights what’s your guilty pleasure ➔ ... iiiii dont know honestly are you religious ➔ ish do you get easily along with people ➔ typically do you cry easily ➔ ...typically lmfao

school do you go to middle school ➔ what do you go to high school ➔ WAT do you go to a private school ➔ no lmao are you home schooled ➔ im in college have you graduated from school ➔ give me FOUR MONTHS what grade are you in ➔ my last semester of undergrad!! have you skipped a grade ➔ nope have you been held back a grade ➔ nope have you ever failed a class  ➔ indeed i have have you been sent to the principals office ➔ not.. that i remember lmao have you skipped school ➔ absolutely lmfaooo i be OUTTA THERE have you cheated on a test ➔ ab. so. lute. ly.

family do you live with your biological parents ➔ nope do you get along with your parents ➔ mom? depends. dad? yes do you tell your parents everything ➔ i used to tell my dad everything, my mom no do you have strict parents ➔ mom was back in the day do you have siblings ➔ 5 are you the oldest ➔ 5/6 are you in the middle ➔ kinda are you the youngest ➔ mostly are all of your grandparents still alive ➔ nope

friendships do you have a best friend ➔ doesnt feel like it but i say i do do you have more than 10 friends ➔ hell no lmfao do you have at least 2 friends you can trust with your life ➔ maybe one do you have a lot of guy friends, a lot of girl friends or equal girl and guy friends ➔ i dont have many friends at all LMAO do you text with your friends a lot ➔ i use my phone to check the time

relationships what’s your relationship status ➔ single have you ever been in love ➔ yes do you believe in love at first sight ➔ sure. why not lmao have you ever been in a relationship ➔ yep have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ not to my knowledge lmao have you ever been asked out on a date ➔ yeah i have have you ever been kissed ➔ indeed have you ever made out with someone ➔ indeed have you ever been cheated on ➔ maybe this one time but it was a technicality have you ever been proposed to ➔ no lmao whoa do you want to get married ➔ if i ever open my heart again yes lmao do you want kids ➔ maybe

country where were you born ➔ detroit, michigan where do you live right now ➔ buttfuck, ohio have you ever been out of the country ➔ canada do you prefer country or city ➔ city me, pls do you like sightseeing ➔ sure! is one or more of your parents from another country ➔ my dad’s from antigua what places would you like to visit  ➔ antigua! lol are you fluent in more than one language ➔ hell naw what languages can you speak ➔ english

health do you have any allergies ➔ nope are you lactose intolerant ➔ as fuck have you had surgery ➔ nope have you had stitches ➔ nope have you broken a bone ➔ nope has someone close to you died of a disease ➔ nope do you exercise a lot  ➔ nope lmfao

experiences have you ever had a near death experience ➔ a few actually have you ever been on a plane ➔  indeed have you ever had an allnighter ➔ absolutely have you ever been to school/work after a sleepless night ➔ yep lmao have you ever been in a physical fight ➔ eeeh kinda have you ever been to a wedding ➔ i think maybe two have you ever been to a funeral ➔ yep have you ever lived in a different country ➔ nope have you ever been drunk ➔ man LMAO have you ever been trick or treating ➔ yep have you ever been in a school play ➔ i used to do costumes! have you ever been to a camp ➔ nope have you ever driven a car ➔  i literally just started driving like a month ago lmao

skills how many languages are you fluent in ➔ uno lmao have you ever read a book in another language ➔ no can you roll your tongue ➔ i guess can you braid hair ➔ barely can you do a handstand ➔ i haven’t tried in like years and i dont think it’s a good idea lmao

habits do you crack your knuckles ➔ absolutely do you bite your nails ➔ nope do you bite your lips ➔ not really

favourites what’s your favourite movie ➔ UGH SO HARD today i’ll say bring it on what’s your favourite tv show ➔ grey’s anatomy what’s your favourite book ➔ ALSO SO HARD maybe eleanor & park?? what’s your favourite song ➔ soooo many, west savannah / isaiah rashad is one of them what’s your favourite colour ➔ black what’s your favourite animal ➔ owls what’s your favourite season ➔ fall!!

this or that summer or winter ➔ winter honestly. day or night ➔ night cats or dogs ➔ dogs rain or shine ➔ rain coffee or tea ➔ coffeeeee reading or writing ➔ i need writing to survive humorous or serious ➔ humorous brown or blue eyes ➔ brown single or group dates ➔ single texts or calls ➔ texts  driving or walking ➔ driving is more convenient lmao

last last phone call ➔ the doctor lmao last text ➔ jas last song you listened to ➔ i just need love / mac ayres last thing you ate ➔ a sandwich last thing you drank ➔ water last purchase ➔ the sandwich lmao last time you cleaned your room ➔ sunday, actually! last time you’ve been on a date ➔ oh god.. maybe sometime in july

[thekrawra]

in response to saying that ricky doesn't need nini as much because it won't be the end of his world if he leaves: you can make that exact argument for gina leaving too. ricky is worried about her because she's obviously distraught about transferring again, but he hasn't indicated at all that personally would be upset if she left (although i'm sure he would be). even when nini said she couldn't imagine being in her position, ricky's response was in the context of the musical. "all that work she

put into her role for nothing.“ and on top of that, he’s all cuddled up with nini, flirting with her, and working on their relationship while gina is awol. again, i’m not saying he wouldn’t care if gina moved. i’m just saying it’s not really comparable or fair to use it as a point against rini when he really isn’t showing much concern for himself over gina’s transfer but rather just doesn’t want her to be upset about it. similarly with nini, he obviously has some feelings about concerns about her application to YAC, but he’s putting that aside to support her first and foremost. i don’t think it’s really comparable with his parents because contextually that’s just so different. ricky doesn’t want to lose the people he cares about, but there’s also a huge difference in being pissed at his mom for essentially becoming negligent, supporting gina’s feelings about having to switch schools, and supporting nini’s ambition

there’s a lot of good points here and i 100% see where you are coming from. i don’t think he feels like it would be the end of the world if gina leaves, and his worry comes more from the fact that she isn’t leaving because she wants too so that sucks. 

and i agree that the thing with his parents is different, it’s just one of the only canonical examples we have of ricky’s responses to people leaving, so a lot of my interpretation of the character is built upon those ideas and responses. 

everything you said makes absolute sense. i think the gina worry, is less of a point against ricky and nini in regards to him being worried, as it is comparable as far as each characters ultimate desires go. to me, at the very least part of nini wants to go, while gina very obviously doesn’t. i think both of them are good friends to ricky, and he’s ultimately going to support them with whatever they want. and i’m not going to lie: those desires to colour how i perceive and ship characters. 

i think both of them are good friends to ricky, and he’s ultimately going to support them with whatever they want. 

i can honestly say that its a lot of personal character preference and my own experiences with my platonic and romantic relationships that effect how i’m deciding to connect all those facts together and the story i’m reading into it. it’s 100% biased towards my own ideas of how i personally like stories to play out. for me that’s ricky and gina. for others its ricky and nini. both are super valid ships and there are plenty of ways of interpreting the events that lead to both of them being great ships: it’s really just about what you prefer.  

to me, the entire interaction between ricky and nini felt like friends reminiscing, very good friends. but friends. to others, it probably reads as super romantic and with lots of tension and build up. i personally feel like we haven’t seen the positive side of ricky and nini being romantically involved yet, but have been exposed to a lot of the negative affects that came with it which is why i personally don’t ship them – that’s not to say that everyone should feel or see things that way. that’s just what i get from the show. 

thanks for sharing your opinions though! it was a really interesting read!