#a message from chad (from hsm)

[haanahaki]

Thanks Chad (from HSM)

[yen-sids-tournament]

Happy Birthday U.S.A.

"American" can be impact, essence, feel, experience, message --and beyond! (positive/negative/neutral considerations welcome)

Some fine print details below

full disclosure:

we were going with individual characters but got swept up in who to pick from a story and which story of a group was better. example: we wanted to do Cory in the House for a show but ultimately remembered the mashups so...

Also yes, Donald was officially drafted in May of 1942 and 'served' for many decades (it's why the nephews were left with Scrooge). Walt Disney agreed to do a lot of WW2 propaganda and continued on into the cold war

We are aware Pocahontas (95) is not historically accurate (and not popular on this site) but we couldn't justify leaving her out and there was only so much space so we tied in Brother Bear (03) knowing it wasn't ideal but hopefully better than leaving one of the out.

Camp Rock was almost matched with HSM but for personal sour memories we did not. besides there is so much more HSM relevance than CR relevance.

Now we do expect to see some of y'all mention are animal buddies like Oliver or Lady here, they would've been 12 but we needed the "other" option. (Lady is New England and Oliver is in NYC -plus Dumbo is an American circus)

finally we have realized most of this media is pretty clustered and not the most recent, but it happened this way and we're not sure which to switch out to diversify.

and as usual: all the pics are from image searches we just collogued them together

[hiddenpxpercuts]

Hello fam! If you’d like a starter during the event for any of my muses, either message me on discord or reply to this thread! If I have a costume for them, that will also be included.

Alexander Lightwood: Himself Tyler Kennedy: Freddie Mercury Josette Saltzman: Belle from Disney  Richie Tozier: Ghostbusters Maria Vasquez: Cute Skull Wednesday Addams: Herself, aka a homicidal maniac  Maxine Mayfield: Pacman Nicholas Scratch: Pumpkin Wade Wilson: Unicorn Judith Grimes: Atom Eve Chloe Decker: Queen of Hearts Harry Hook: Pirate Ben Hargreeves: Just has on a nice suit. Marco Del Rossi: Sexy Mermaid because why not. Maxine Baker: Britney Spears Derek Hale: Clown Matthew Murdock: Daredevil ;) Victor Salazar: Greek God Eric Effioing: Hedwig Emily Fitch: Jessica Rabbit Nick Nelson: Werewolf Dean Winchester: Zombie Ambrose Spellman: Hogwarts Student Simon Spier: Sandy from Grease, Sandra Dee, not the catsuit. Yuuri Katsuki: Vampire Bat Katherine Pierce: Sugar Skull Daphne Blake: Marie Antoinette  Ravi Chakrabarti: Johnny Storm aka Fantastic Four Louise Belcher: Little Red Riding Hood. Zed Necropdopolis: Zombie William Truman: Skull Eponine Thenardier: A princess Blaine Anderson: THe Phantom, from phantom of the opera. Groot : A Rock Star Ryan Evans: Elton John Ginny Weasley: Vampire Beetlejuice (aka Kitty B.): As himself. Lily Tucker-Pritchett: Freddy Krueger Ej Caswell: Chad Danforth HSM Sebastian Matthew-Smith: A Cow Maddie Perez: Cow Girl Lillian Deville: An angel Evan Buckley: Iron Man Clare Delvins: Baby Spice Betty Rizzo: Going as herself.

[chaosang3l]

ok here are some of the dumb kayla evans-mckessie and nick danforth-evans hcs that i sent @perfectharmony at 12 am i’m posting this for the potential of @wilsonscarrie liking them lmao

these are in order of what we said and some of kj’s messages thrown in their

OMG KAYLA AND NICK ARE COUSINS

and i think they are really close and kayla tells nick that she likes carrie and she’s really nervous about it because she’s his ex and he’s like ‘girl it’s fine she def never liked me a whole lot’

because i think carrie dated him for as like a cover

and then they just talk about every thing together

and every friday or sunday they have family meals together (like taylor sharpay ryan and chad)

AND when kayla and carrie start dating he’s like aw i’m so happy for y’all but inside he’s like ‘i new she liked you’ skdjkdhcjx

and he’s after dance classes with julie he’s like ‘dad (to chad) why did you have to make me bad at dancing smh’ skhdjdxhhd

AND HE WEARS RYAN OLD FEDORAS SOMETIMES

ooh and carrie has kissed kayla once but she was still dating nick so kayla was like ‘like you but i can’t do this to nick’ and THEN after they break up carrie goes to kaylas house and sharpay and taylor are like 👀👀 you see this slsjsjhdbx

and chad would be like ‘i don’t dance what i can say’ and ryan would like push and say ‘shut up’ kshdjdh

also like i can see nick wanting ryan to give him extra dances lessons but he was so nervous that (as he said) he felt like like he was getting worse(kj’s)

or nick just bursting through the front door as he arrives home and just groan "I CAN'T DANCE!" before plopping himself on the couch and ryan and chad both pop their head in the living room while simultaneously singing "I KNOW YOU CAN (also my bad typing buddy’s)

and kayla loves her uncles with all her heart and nick loves his aunts too and they are basically just real close

AND when nick finds out taylor and chad dated he’s like ‘i cannot see that’ and ryan is like ‘neither can i buddy and i was there for it’ AAAAAAAHH

he'd be like 'MY DAD...AND MY AUNT???"(kj)

now I'm imagining him saying that in somewhere public and someone just stopping and giving him the WEIRDEST look (kj)

and they would look at old pictures from their east high days and nick would be like ‘GUYS GUYS WHAT??? WERE YALL CRAZY’

imagine them telling him just all of their stories from hsm days and him being like ‘you guys argued about dancing in song and you guys didn’t like each other!!!!!’ and kayla would do the same thing like ‘mom carrie reminds me of you on high school’

i feel like he'd be genuinely perplexed too like it doesn't fully compute at first like(kj)

kayla and nick just being like ‘you guys were iconic in high school’ to ryan and sharpay

and kaya uses some of sharpay and ryan's iconic choreography as inspiration for dirty candy (kj)

and then when kayla and nick are being fake mean they would be like ‘i wonder where all your parents talent went because it didn’t go to you’ lmao

duuuuude now i'm thinking about carrie and sharpay meeting(kj)

they would be sitting at the table eating dinner after carries redemption arc and taylor and sharpay would be like ‘*whispers* she got nicer much sooner than you did’

taylor would 100% STILL be such savage like that(kj)

but also carrie and kayla have been (i assume) best friends for a while. was carrie friends with kayla for a long time since like before the fallout with julie orrr did they grow up together like it seemed carrie and julie did? my point? did sharpay sorta mentor carrie??(kj)

i think that kayla new carrie before her and nick started dating and she introduced them to each other but idk the timeline

i love the sassy evans-mckessies and danforth-evans' SO MUCH(kj)

we basically made their whole lives so :) also these were copied directly from our messages so don’t mind any typos we also both can’t type ok and i realize this is low key chaotic ok bye that’s all

[werewolfmoviereviews]

Werewolf Movie Reviews: High School Musical 2

While it might seem strange to inaugurate a blog with a review of a sequel, I feel that HSM 2 is more of a werewolf movie than HSM, which is more of a movie with a werewolf IN it. By making Ryan’s redemption arc the emotional center of the film, the writers of HSM 2 really brought out the werewolf themes that were mostly unexplored in the first movie.

High School Musical 2 carries many plot elements and themes from High School Musical. It is a musical starring high school students who learn to be themselves despite pressure from the people around them to pretend to be someone they’re not. A theme that clearly resonates with werewolves, but where the original movie is centered on the romance of basketball star Troy and honors student Gabriella and their shared desire to branch out into musical theater, HSM 2 chooses to explore the character of the main antagonist’s twin brother and sometimes lackey, Ryan Evans.

The b-plot of HSM 2, as it were, is, in fact, a redemption arc of sorts for Ryan, who, through the power of a gay baseball-themed dance number, learns to step out of the shadow of his sister, make friends and stand up for himself and his friends. At the end of the movie he wins the coveted Star Dazzle Award, making his arc the real emotional and thematic core of the movie, despite a slightly tweaked rehash of the Troy and Gabriella plotline from HSM. At the end, Ryan is the one who is honored for his progress, successes and talent.

There’s no big werewolf transformation scene in this movie, something I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, Ryan’s story speaks for itself, and one could argue that a flashy transformation scene would distract from his story and eat into the runtime of the film. On the other hand, it would be nice to put the werewolf themes of the movie more at the forefront in unambiguous film language. We can only speculate how the inclusion of a transformation scene would have changed the movie.

Still, we’re left with a solid musical, one that all ages can enjoy. The songs are excellent, the visuals are bright and entertaining, and the cast has great chemistry, especially Ryan and his baseball rival/dancing partner Chad. It has a good message and is overall a strong, positive entry into the world of werewolf movies.

10/10

[awakenee]

hsmtmts . ep 104

july 8, 11:03 am cst

heya, so before i get into this i wanna let whoever is reading my daily rants know that i'm going to be on vacation from july 11 to july 13 i think? i'll most likely leave my laptop at home and therefore won't be able to post the episodes for those days, and even if i do bring my laptop i'm going to try to enjoy my time out lol. i'll probably just rewatch them early and schedule the posts for those days or rewatch them when i get back. on another note, ep 104 is definitely one of my top 3 favorite season one episodes, definitely excited for this one!

ohhh, kourtney's in costume crew

tbh i kind of agree with her here. for halloween i've thought more than once about dressing up like characters from a musical, but then i realise that they're just high schoolers wearing normal high school clothes. sure, some may be recognisable, but other than troy's red and white shirt and chad's iconic t-shirts with messages nothing really stands out.

that pineapple is great

ej has something on his lip, i assume from when ricky wacked him with a basketball?

"bribing some hacker" nini's an icon

LMAO THERE'S A GUY RECORDING THE WHOLE THING

i, once again, want nini's sweater

nini lowkey defending ricky

nini: summer's over. season three: well, yes, but actually no

carlos screaming

"is that a hot wing?"

argh lynne, words cannot express how much i dislike this woman

hot wing pt. 2

ricky needs therapy counter: 5

ej done effed up

"you're on, lovers!" horrible timing carlos

ricky's face combined with the camera zooming in on him is something else

ricky needs therapy counter: 6

"not a sars epidemic" about that

as someone who was in the lion king, i can say that no one walks with furniture on their head

all of these "downstage" and "upstage" are making me dizzy

seb's smile

big red has realised that theatre is a cult, and if you mess up your lines we'll feed you to the band kids

where tf is kelsi

what happened with the slow, romantic tempo of this duet

okay but hsm aside this is one of my favorite songs/covers in both seasons right next to the mob song

ash's face

you can see nini getting ready to strike

ricky, you dont barge into a rehearsal like that

miss jenn is going through her middle age crisis

SEB IS SO WHOLESOME

ouch

the emotional support coyote >>>>>

rip nini

ricky needs therapy counter: 7

the hamster

miss jenn seeing right through ricky

gina, eff off

i actually feel bad for ej

gentle reminder that portwell is now a thing

oooohhhhhh

plot twist: ej is actually jd in disguise

nini stop

"shopping! ... for a lie detector."

yeah screw tonya

uhh nini... i think tonya's a her

i relate to shiggy

i want the sad-looking bran muffin

i love nini's shoes

"oh."

my keyboard broke

yeah, ej's jd

ricky needs therapy counter: 8

ew

how can big red sleep

ricky needs therapy counter: 9

aw, poor boi

"and after everything that's been going on with n..."

ej why are you stalking her

nini didn't use a period at the end of her text, that's a good sign

i want a bestie like kourt

nini is a mood

how in hell is ricky not freezing

all i want my beloved

oh right, she gets interrupted

"slc pride" this better be foreshadowing

see? nini's not over him

ricky needs therapy counter: 10

aw, he's going to cry

RICKY, NOT THE TIME

oh my god gina

ricky, stop ditching everyone

also how long did it take for nini to get a goddamn pillow

ALL I WANT MY BELOVED

awkwarrrrrrrrrrrrd

what ive been looking for reprise >>>>>

this ending is very depressing

[thetimelordbatgirl]

....Dude, Sharpay was......WHITE- WHITE- Uma is WOC, and Sharpay was actually very much hinted at the end of HSM 3 to be on a chance of redemption via working in the drama department.

Why should Uma remain the bad guy again? I mean, I think Mal should remain the bad guy soon cause of how its hard to like her as a hero- but Uma is more of a anti-hero then a bad guy- keeping Uma the bad guy not only is unoriginal but also takes away from Film 1's message of not being like the parents- Uma is already unlike Ursula, don't keep her the bad guy just cause its the easiest way out of actually doing a decent movie.

HSM also had Chad and Taylor, two POC that were good guys- while the villains were often white but redeemed by the end- wheres Umas redemption, huh? Cause Mal got redemption at the end of D1, so wheres the excuse for Umas lack of redemption? Not that she has anything to redeem for, since she was fully right in what she believed.

Like....directors change over time- whats unfair here is the argument of Sharpay- Sharpay was white, got everything she wanted, and didn't even need magic to do so- sounds like Mal almost....

[yeetbean]

Who decided to let me on OkCupid with no sleep since 11am the previous day?

Because those messages are fucking wild. I asked someone about CHYAN. CHAD AND RYAN. FROM HSM.

How do I even exist.

[haanahaki]

Thanks Chad (from HSM)

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

The Marvel of Trelsi (Part XI)

I’m back with a bang. Real life constraints should be made illegal, so that I can spend my days squeeing over Trelsi loveliness. (The above picture! :D) In this instalment, I’m going to round up on my major problems with the central pairing of HSM, Troyella. The initial list I wrote down was much longer, but I realized that many things came under the same catgeory: arguably, the central problems with Troyella can be summarized into one. Their relationship is fundamentally unequal, hence why they have no shared passion, almost nothing in common, one-sided respect, and aren’t in love with each other. Like I said in the last post, I would have rearranged my list in retrospect. I’ve been debating upon which final problems are worth exploring for a while, because there is so much overlap, but I think this final point encapsulates another core problem in the Troyella farce. 

6- Nobody criticizes the Troyella relationship. Everyone thinks it’s the best thing since the invention of the wheel. 

If there was one thing more obnoxious than Troy Bolton being shackled to someone as unrepentantly selfish, cruel and hypocritical as Gabriella Montez, it has to be the way his peers worship this “relationship”. The message in the HSM franchise is clear: this is the ideal, and you, the viewer, will be convinced of this not only by virtue of excellent camera work, romantic music and well-timed PDA, but also by the way that East High’s world revolves around the central pairing. Whenever Troy and Gabriella perform onstage, everyone cheers, whistles, smiles, claps, jumps, has religious experiences. All competition is either explicitly shown or implied as being innately inferior to Troy and Gabriella, even though this is unlikely. Not that I think all the emotion shown during the Troyella ballads is fake; Troy in particular translates a lot of genuine emotion into his musical renditions and therefore is a captivating performer. And even when his previous love for Gabriella degenerates into mindless emotional dependency, he conceals this when performing his ballad duets with Gabriella during HSM III. So, in effect, their relationship becomes a performance. 

But Troy and Gabriella’s peers, although potentially able to perceive problems between the two, rarely react to them, let alone acknowledge them. It is only during HSM I, I believe, where Chad and Taylor show some remorse when they see the upset that their deceitful webcam stunt caused. And to their credit, both The Jocks (The Jerks) and The Brainiacs (The Maniacs) repent of their sins, realizing that Troy and Gabriella have a right to pursue their own interests in peace. This appears a more uniform approach to addressing relationship problems from an outsider’s perspective. And I often think that outsider perspectives are important in romances to instigate and even interrupt character development, and to motivate the plot. All the classic romances have commentary, help and even interference from outsiders. They do not necessarily have to be helpful-- that clearly wasn’t the case in HSM I. However, in the franchise, we are dealing with, in particular, Troy’s friends. The sheer lack of any scene in which someone asks about his relationship out of concern, instead of gushing over it like Troyella is some American version of Romeo and Juliet (and look how those two ended up!), is deeply troubling as it leads to Troy’s increasing emotional isolation. 

Let’s break this down carefully. Many of the scenes of conflict between Troy and Gabriella occur when no one else is around. In HSM I, she suddenly turns cold towards him in the corridor, but everyone else is just passing by. In HSM II, two of her cruelest moments, mocking him for wearing Italian golf shoes, and then dumping him, had no onlookers. In HSM III, Gabriella’s refusal to listen to any of Troy’s advice with regards to Stanford happens in the private of her bedroom. However, there are several scenes betraying problems in the Troyella relationship that occur with onlookers, or could potentially involve other characters, as I will demonstrate below. 

Chad Danforth

One of the most mystical things throughout the entire HSM franchise is Chad’s inability to act like a best friend towards Troy when it doesn’t particularly suit him. I have covered this in Part IV, V, VI and VII of this series. Let’s just remember that Chad is Troy’s best friend. In the man’s own words: “we have been like brothers since pre-school.” And that’s a beautiful thing. How many people have managed to remain friends with people for at least fifteen or sixteen years in a row, from childhood no less? That’s why I like Troy and Chad’s friendship-- not because it’s stellar, like his friendship with Kelsi-- but because of its tenacity as well as the genuine brotherhood between them. 

Initially, Chad is not sold on Gabriella, because in his view, she is luring Troy away from his basketball career like a Siren leading sailors to their doom. In HSM I, he says, “What spell has this elevated IQ temptress girl cast that suddenly makes you want to be in a musical?” Gabriella is getting in the way of the Grand Plan. She is an obstruction, and not just a new girl in school who has become Troy’s friend. However, it is a credit to Chad that, upon realizing the cruel effects of his webcam stunt, he appears willing to make amends for his behaviour, and we can presume from then on he approves both of Gabriella as well as her relationship with Troy. But at the end of the day, he is still Troy’s best friend. Somewhere along the line, his friendship with Troy took a back seat, whilst a blind acceptance of Troyella took centre stage, with Chad even willing to default to Gabriella’s side (she’s “already one step ahead... As usual” after bailing on Troy before prom in HSM III) whilst his own friend is clearly upset. It’s an assumption, but Chad seemed more concerned with Gabriella’s feelings in HSM II, particularly when they were watching Troy teach Sharpay golf. We can see this where Chad casts a look at Gabriella, after telling Taylor that he has “no idea who [Troy] he really is,” which could be interpreted as sympathetic. It’s quite brief. Since the scene ends here, it seems that Chad felt that Gabriella had been wronged, as well as himself. It is surely astonishing that in a friendship supposed to resemble family ties, we NEVER see a scene in which Chad asks after Troy and Gabriella’s relationship in casual conversation, even if he suspected that Troy was neglecting Gabriella. 

Even after definitely discovering that Gabriella broke up with Troy in HSM II, there is no scene where Chad tries to comfort his best friend; we know this, because later on, when Troy is lying alone, despondent in bed, he says the two following things: that the Wildcats wouldn’t come “even if I called”, and that “Chad won’t talk to me.” His best friend, so openly a fan of Troyella, won’t bury the hatchet and pick up the phone, come round and visit, try to boost Troy’s spirits. Demonstrate that their friendship is stronger than a petty quarrel motivated entirely by Chad’s own jealousy. And why is this? Because the image of Troyella, this glorious legend, becomes more important to Chad than Troy the man-- a person he never truly understood anyway. What’s ironic is that Chad never seems to demonstrate much insight into people anyway, so he can’t be that clued up on Gabriella’s character, yet he eventually treats her as though she is without blame and her word is immutable. So when Gabriella sees fit to renege on her promises to Troy over the phone in HSM III, Chad only offers the verbal equivalent of a pat on the back, although this is one of the few occasions where he does genuinely try to pick Troy off his feet, urge him not to pine and mope. But that’s offset by Chad’s lack of interest when Troy was sitting alone in the auditorium, clearly devastated by Gabriella’s departure, not to mention him pillorying Troy when the latter kept making mistakes in rehearsals. The image supersedes the man. 

What does Chad see in Troyella? I’m not really sure, given that he bills himself as the hard, unsentimental type. Clearly that isn’t the case, given his admiring and supportive smile in the wings during HSM III when Troy is performing “I Just Wanna Be With You”. I suppose, deep down, Chad has a very simple philosophy: if it makes Troy happy, then he won’t interfere. Deep down, Chad can be a true, supportive friend when he wishes to be. But with such good intentions comes the requirement of regular concern and support, which Chad simply does not provide, even when faced with staggering evidence of problems in the Troyella relationship. It’s outrageous that we are never shown Chad’s reaction upon discovering, somehow, that contrary to following his “man up” advice, Troy had gunned up his engine and driven off to California, 1053 miles by himself, seemingly without telling anyone. As I said in my Questions for HSM III series, I can’t see his parents allowing him to go, and I couldn’t see Chad being too happy either, given that he just told Troy to get over the situation not long beforehand. But because we are supposed to see the entire series wrapped up with a shiny bow, no one questions the appearance of the Golden Couple, and everything goes right in the end. Chad applauds and silently approves. 

Meanwhile, he could be constantly there for Troy with a pat on the back, some brotherly advice and concern when Troy demonstrated an increasing inability to think for himself. As Troy’s best friend, Chad should know him better than anyone, and demonstrate deep concern when he sees his best friend twiddling his thumbs alone and staring listlessly into space at school, or collapsing onto his bed, his voice heavy and lifeless. In the Troy-Chad dynamic, Chad is often the motivational partner who can spur Troy to action. This is shown at the beginning of HSM III, where Troy leaves Chad to rally the team so they are motivated to win. Whilst Troy clearly internalizes a lot of his anxiety, by HSM III, the toll of being with Gabriella showed a great deal, and Chad should have been right next to Troy in those auditorium seats, doing what he could to lift Troy’s spirits. Chad should have been alarmed to see Troy wandering around without meaning or purpose on the rooftops, staring at Gabriella’s empty locker, sitting in silence instead of engaging in normal social interaction, because these are all signs of the kind of pervasive sadness that can develop into withdrawal and even depression if left unchecked. He has, after all, known the guy for over a decade, and should be aware of what to do. Instead, he’s chatting with Taylor, and it’s Kelsi, whom Troy has not even known for two years, who knows JUST how to comfort him with a hug and a smile. The irony.

There’s simply no excuse for Chad’s neglect of Troy at crucial moments, despite being fully aware that he is witnessing problems right before his eyes. 

The same goes for the Wildcats. I won’t analyse them individually, but they are supposed to be Troy’s friends. We don’t see any scene where they decide to rally around Troy when he’s clearly hurting after the breakups in HSM II and HSM III. None of them ask where he’d been in HSM III, and why he didn’t show up for prom. No one is remotely interested when he’s struggling with Gabriella’s absence. The image supersedes the man each time. And why is this so ironic? Because the HSM series is supposed to represent breaking the status quo, the hierarchised world of East High that keeps all students trapped in their specific social group, and raises hell for anyone brave enough to challenge such normativity. But actually, what the Wildcats do is ditch one status quo (social prejudice) to replace it with another (Troyella worship). And this status quo ends up being equally poisonous to the social and moral atmosphere, given that it encourages the unhealthy view that “perfect” romances exist (they certainly do not), and means that all flaws are routinely ignored. In this case, it is Troy who is emotionally isolated time and time again, as the Wildcats appear to side with Gabriella more. I base this conclusion on the fact that, as I stated earlier, the Wildcats refused to visit Troy after Gabriella quit Lava Springs, and it is implied that Troy sensed their bitterness towards him, even though they were presumably still speaking with him at that point. “Maybe my friends are right. Maybe I am turning into a jerk with new shoes.” Given the Wildcats’ underhand methods of displaying their displeasure, perhaps Troy had heard them, or suspected they were muttering behind his back. The Wildcats all want their special piece of Troyella cake, want to experience the magic like they’re watching Disney. Troy, their friend and captain, is of secondary importance. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bolton

Now, the fact that Mr and Mrs Bolton are never shown to express concerns over Troy’s rapid deterioration throughout the movie series is not to be assumed as based on a lack of concern for their son at all. Despite notable criticisms of Mr. Bolton’s behaviour, many of which are valid, at the end of the day, Mr. Bolton has his son’s back 100%. So it is mystifying that he is never shown to have questioned Troy’s relationship with Gabriella. Why? Because in HSM I, we know that he is willing to demonstrate his disapproval of Gabriella outright, even based on the flimsiest evidence. “You haven’t missed practice in three years. That girl shows up--” And yes, even though he eventually approves of TROY’S singing ambitions (and learns to refer to Gabriella by her given name), it is clear that his son comes first. So much so that even in HSM II, it appears that he relents on the scholarship pressure when it becomes clear that Troy is really suffering an identity crisis and is genuinely upset.

I don’t think he comprehends the full scale of that upset, because the advice he gives is helpful, but strangely insufficient. In the whole dialogue exchange, it is clear that Mr. Bolton can’t comprehend Troy’s internal conflict. When Troy essentially tells him that the Wildcats don’t want to speak with him, Mr. Bolton just laughs it off, instead of asking why and showing some concern. When Troy tells him that Gabriella quit (and dumped him), he makes no response. He’s certainly concerned, of course, but doesn’t comment on that exact event. I have to assume this is the first time that Troy told his father about the situation between him and Gabriella, which implies that Troy had kept it a secret. But when Mr. Bolton notes that Troy has been in his room for the last couple of days, that leads me to believe that perhaps he didn’t check on him for a while, possibly believing that Troy would get over whatever it was that was bothering him. Again, this is NOT based on a lack of concern, but let’s get back to why Mr. Bolton’s advice to Troy is insufficient. 

[Mr Bolton] “You know what? I’ve known this kid for a long, long time. And I got a lot of faith in him. He looks a lot like you. I’m absolutely sure he’s going to figure out the right thing to do.”

Now, there’s piano music and a clarinet to fool you into thinking that this is a pivotal point for Troy, and his father has just delivered a motivational speech. But actually, what’s the message here? After hearing that his son’s girlfriend broke up with him, and his friends won’t talk to him, what Mr. Bolton advises as a solution could be summarized at best as “You’ll figure it out.” But clearly that’s not the case. By his own admission, his son has been lying in bed for days, won’t eat food, hasn’t received any social calls and seems unresponsive to any encouragement. This is not the kind of person who seems ready to figure it out. HERE is where Mr. Bolton could have shown a strong, fatherly presence and advised Troy on how to navigate his next step, instead of chucking down a photo of Troy dressed in East High colours (thus referring to the dreaded Pedestal and perhaps causing Troy to throw back his head in exhaustion as though he has heard this lecture before), and leaving him to his own devices. Furthermore, Mr. Bolton makes absolutely no mention of Troy and Gabriella’s breakup, and we know from HSM III, that he will ask after Gabriella. Earlier on in the film, he shared an amusing anecdote about Troy’s devotion to Gabriella: “You know whenever she calls, he just, blushes.” So he knows the relationship means a lot to his son. And yet no comment about her quitting? No comfort? No asking why? 

Again, please don’t assume that Mr. Bolton doesn’t care. He does care. But perhaps he too has too much faith in Troyella to fully appreciate the extent of damage that Gabriella is causing. Not to mention, of course, that Troy internalizes so much anxiety and rarely confides this, except very often to the wrong people, like Chad and Gabriella. His faith in Troyella seems predicated upon his faith in Troy’s decisions, without necessarily evaluating whether those decisions are good decisions. So if Troy is with Gabriella, and she apparently makes him happy, then he approves of Troyella. The problem is what has to happen for Mr. Bolton to realize that Troyella is a problem? This is why we HAD to see his reaction to his only son driving off into the hinterland for a girl who had just reneged on her commitments. I think that would be a sufficient breaking point, because unlike many other characters, Mr. Bolton has more loyalty to his son than to Gabriella, and would somehow draw a line. We needed to see Mr. Bolton, with his good old-fashioned, masculine reasoning, tell his son a few hard truths about being in a relationship and show some concern about Troy’s increasing despondency. Being Mr. Bolton, he may not have tackled this in the most constructive way, but as a father, he sure as hell would have tried at some point. 

Which brings me to Mrs. Bolton, who is woefully underused throughout. Mrs. Bolton is an admirable matriarchal figure who keeps everything in order with calmness and style. She is surrounded by men, but she’s the one keeping them in line. They can be in charge on the court, but she’s in charge in the house. “Woah, woah, woah. Can we all redirect this energy by bringing in the groceries?” To which the people say “Yes, Mrs. Bolton.” Her will be done. This lady is not someone to be crossed. Her love for her husband and son is enjoyable to watch (take note, Troyella fans; the Boltons have a PROPER relationship), and she appears to treat Chad like a son too, if the prom suit scene is anything to go by. “Aw, you did good!” She does relent sometimes, like at the beginning of HSM I where father and son are in the middle of shooting hoops. But throughout, she very clearly wants the best for Troy, and Troy appears to have a much easier relationship with his mother than his father: he can persuade her easier. 

Again, referring to HSM I, he manages to convince her to let him shoot one more basket before heading to the kids party. Given this obvious affection, it is inexplicable that nothing was made of Mrs. Bolton’s visible surprise, dismay and disappointment when the fragments she heard of Troy’s conversation with Gabriella in HSM III. Indeed, the film almost treats her reaction as an aside. Having been, presumably, the first parent to see Troy’s prom suit, having been gushing and proud of him, having been eager to see Gabriella wear the ordered corsage, having seen her son almost giddy with excitement for the first time in possibly WEEKS, WHY does Mrs. Bolton all but disappear from our screens when Troy is at his lowest, only to reappear when everything is seemingly going well again? Because out of the two parents, Mrs. Bolton would have more constructive advice for her son’s relationship problems; women and mothers often tend to be more intuitive in that sense. Obviously, Mrs. Bolton would have discovered that Gabriella wasn’t turning up for prom, and whilst Mrs. Bolton evidently approves of Gabriella (although isn’t fooled by her-- that “Hi Gabriella” kind of sounded like “I know what you’re up to/I know you’re up there/You can’t fool me”), her son comes first. She would be right there, trying to comfort him and perhaps offering him some help. Perhaps, were she even more intuitive, she might be asking questions about the kind of girl who builds up their boyfriend only to drop kick him at the last minute. She might connect the dots between Troy’s lifelessness for the past couple of weeks, to his excitement at seeing Gabriella, to his despondency when Gabriella disappoints him for the nth time. We don’t know. But the airbrushing of Mrs. Bolton except when it comes to dancing in the crowd is shameful and inexplicable, making the Bolton’s seem like unconcerned parents when clearly they are concerned. It’s just not possible that they wouldn’t be. 

Ryan Evans

Another inexplicable example comes from Ryan Evans, who is either very forgiving or a diplomat. Remember that the biggest howler in HSM II came when Gabriella twists Ryan round her little finger, buoying him with flirty compliments in an attempt to humiliate Troy. Because Ryan is an honourable and decent person, he has no intention to carry through with this plan, hence why he extends a friendly welcome to Troy and passes on a compliment from his father. But this does place Ryan in the prime position of seeing a glaring problem in their relationship; that Gabriella is willing to manipulate and punish Troy. If you watch this scene carefully, you can see Ryan’s initial confusion which melts into awkwardness when he catches Gabriella’s expression and sees something akin to coldness and vindictiveness there, directed towards Troy. Furthermore, he hears the awkward silences and realizes something is up that he finds embarrassing. However, Ryan’s general reaction is that they will both sort whatever it is out themselves; he looks like he’s dodged a bullet when he makes his hasty and awkward exit. This is fair enough. But it seems far too light, given Troy’s expression, plainly betraying hurt and jealousy and humiliation, is plain for all to see. Then again, Ryan tried his best to diffuse the situation and ended up being cut off, so when he runs out of ideas, he leaves. 

Having just witnessed a very ugly side to the girl who, just moments before, was praising him to the heavens and assaulting him with sweet smiles, why does Ryan (and Kelsi) think the solution to Troy and Gabriella’s later breakup is a musical reunion between the two? I mean, I commend him for trying his best in this regard, and I suspect that his aims were simply to create a pleasant surprise for Troy, whom he perceived to be having a hard time. These are honourable aims. But I just can’t comprehend his lack of criticism for Gabriella’s crystal clear manipulation. Not only does he see Gabriella’s vindictive behaviour in this scene, later on, he is STILL hanging out with her! Because Ryan is not given much relevant dialogue apart from either pandering to Sharpay, or engaging in that silly macho contest with Chad, or saying a few things here and there later on, we don’t know whether Ryan addressed the issue of the LAUGHABLY obvious tension and discomfort between the alleged Golden Couple. Most likely he thought they would patch things up. Of course the fact that he gives Gabriella a hug is based on being friendly, not upon being Don Quixote. As I write this, perhaps there IS a reason. Gabriella went out of her way to speak with him (for the first time), and at this point, Troy had not yet done so. Furthermore, the circumstances that Gabriella created, made things awkward for Ryan, whereas Gabriella continued to show him (ostensible) friendship. Furthermore, Gabriella was actually the reason for his popularity with the Wildcats, whereas beforehand, it is implied that they may have mocked him. So he is actually grateful to her on that count. As a result, he thinks that they couldn’t sort whatever “it” was out, so I’ll cook up something nice and maybe that will fix it. He has no hard feelings towards Troy, he has no hard feelings towards Gabriella (even though she clearly used him), all he needs to do is write a nice song, get Kelsi to play it and everyone’s a winner. It’s an extremely naiive, although clearly well-meaning approach. I certainly wouldn’t criticize him for it, given that he still possesses some measure of awkwardness and is keen not to draw negative attention to himself. He is also keen to stay on good terms with everyone, even jocks who may or may not have treated him as a laughing stock. So he isn’t going to rock the boat. Perhaps he is a diplomat. In HSM III, he’s impressed with Troy and Gabriella’s performance, and ends up congratulating the both of them. There’s no hard feelings. Like everyone else, he has no criticism for Gabriella upping and leaving for California. Unlike almost everyone else, he does show Troy support, so he obviously isn’t as immune to the problems in the relationship as are so many others. But when they all appear to get back together in the end, he approves on TWO occasions, despite the breakups occurring in similar circumstances. The musical will fix it! :D *shakes head* 

So there you have it, folks. Six concrete reasons why Troyella is a horrible central pairing. Granted, there are many offshoot reasons that I considered, such as the poor communication, lack of realistic aims, Troy’s immunity to Gabriella’s faults that I could have added into the series, but I think that many of those are already covered throughout the piece. We have a couple who are supposed to share an interest, but don’t. A couple who are supposed to have at least a few significant other things in common, but don’t. A couple who are supposed to respect each other equally, but don’t. A couple who are supposed to be in love with each other, but aren’t. A couple who are supposed to be equal, but aren’t. A couple who should have at least fostered some objective outside perspectives, but don’t. A couple that leaves Troy Bolton, the most likeable character of the lot, broken, diminished, full of self-doubt and lonelier than ever before, whilst Gabriella gets into her Freshman Honours Program and has a bright future ahead of her. By the way, have you noticed that I haven’t criticized any character for not attending to Gabriella’s emotional needs throughout this movie? Because she rarely ever seems upset when her relationship takes a downturn. She might shed a few compulsory tears, mope around at home and pull a few sad faces, but she’s right as rain not long afterwards. Watch the latter half of HSM III if you don’t believe me. Not long after dumping Troy over the phone, she is SMILING, people. Clearly, her mental well-being is in NO danger. Furthermore, she NEVER shows one hint of remorse about what her actions do to Troy, and neither does anyone in the movie series tell her, because they all believe that Gabriella is beyond reproach. 

Troyella is therefore illogical, untenable, disturbing, almost immoral, and a direct affront to everything this movie is supposed to stand for. 

Guess who thinks this relationship is perfect and so romantic?

:D Oh dear. 

I weep. I really do. 

We will dissect Kelsi’s romantic interests in the next installment, including analysis of why she latches onto Troyella with such blind fervour, and what this means. 

More analysis upcoming. 

[mondfahrt]

HSM Fic Recs

This is a Rec List for thealpacalypse who asked me for High School Musical fics. Also, kind of an apology or something because I started it with talking about Corbin Bleu and hats. Now, bear in mind, I basically only read HSM fics for Chad/Ryan.

Have fun! (These are not in any particular order.)

1. Boy Disease by ElvenSorceress Wordcount: 72255 Summary: A conversation in the locker room leads Chad to a realization. One he intends to do something about. 

Why I liked this: It’s long. Okay, that’s a stupid reason, maybe, but I love longfics. Characters get to develop and it’s just a good way to spend a weekend. I also really liked the way Chad and Ryan became close here, and even though Troy behaves kind of stupid here sometimes, it’s (in my opinion) a very believable stupid if you can sympathise with a teenager.

2. Status Quo by ElvenSorceress Wordcount: 8030 Summary: Chad does not have a secret obsession, but Ryan has always been on his mind. - A character study of Chad Danforth, his denial and subsequent journey of discovering identity. Includes all canon and beyond.

Why I liked this: I loooove good character studies. This is a good character study. I also tend to get bored when a fic is following canon to closely but this one manages it very well, I think. Probably because it isn’t too long and the style is enjoyable.

3. You have noticed by 898700 (ghostwriter) Wordcount: 6610 Summary: You have noticed there is somebody special in your son's mind.

Why I liked this: So. Normally, I tend to stay away from Second Person POV. And from Outsider POV. But this one. This one. Is kind of great and kind of heartbreaking and kind of funny and I just knew this one had to be on this list the moment you asked me.

4. medium-sized american hearts by propernoun Wordcount: 1344 Summary:  Gabriella forwards an essay-long message from Chad. Ryan knows that this is probably all Taylor’s doing. It doesn’t really say much; that, more than anything, makes him uncomfortable.

Why I liked this: Okay, so remember when we talked about High School AUs and then you realised - well, it’s High School Musical? Next Best Thing: College AUs. Or rather: future fic. I love future fics and this one makes my heart melt a little. It’s short and bittersweet and it leaves a lot to your imagination.

5. Long Distance by foolishgames Wordcount: 5025 Summary: A thousand miles away, Ryan Evans might be the best friend Chad's got.

Why I liked this: Another College Future Fic thingy! I love Chad’s POV in general but this one is especially nicely written and manages to give you “omg Chad Danforth you’re so oblivious” vibes at the same time. Also: Tom. You’ll get it when you read about him.

6. The Other Side of You by paperclipbitch Wordcount: 43145 Summary: “I’m not big on the whole… twinkling thing.”

Why I liked this: This is what HSM3 would have been if it had been gay. That should tell you everything, but it also has a really cute scene between Chad and Troy when Chad’s coming out, the girls are fantastic, and it’s more than just a getting together kind of fic. (Warning, though: you’ll want to shake some of the characters sometimes. Or a lot of the time. But well, like I said, it’s a lot like an actual movie.)

7. Tipping the Kinsey Scale by foolishgames Wordcount: 10283 Summary: Chad is straight. No, really. Ryan is not straight, and this doesn’t bother Chad at all. No, really.

Why I liked this: It’s awkward. Okay, so maybe, that sounds strange. But it captures teenage awkwardness, and the awkwardness of discovering your sexuality/sexual identity really well.

8. Prompts From Without by Tonko Wordcount: 10480 Summary: One of Chad's U of A teammates is an idiot, and Sharpay spills some beans.

Why I liked this: Aaaand another college fic. Sharpay is well written (and nice) in this one, so are the OCs, even though some of them use homophobic and racist language (Warning!). It’s all a bit cliché but it’s HSM after all. I really enjoyed how this story has no “omg I’m gay!” freak-out, not a lot of pining, no wondering if the other person likes them back. It left me with a good feeling, like sometimes things just click into place and are good.

9. Rehearsals by foolishgames Wordcount: 18511 Summary:  When Ryan convinces Chad to dance in the Fall Musicale, things change between them. Featuring: Scheming, singing, dancing, cunning plans, wacky misunderstandings, small girls in leotards, one thousand elephants, boykissing, banter, musical reconciliation, and something resembling a plot.

Why I liked this: I love stories with supportive friends ♥ All of the friends here are supportive. Good. Plus, it’s a nice pace, and just enough drama.

[paceunknown]

high school musical, often abbreviated “hsm”,

is quite literally one of the best musicals ever released. it draws on old, often overused tropes that any audience would recognise and be able to identify with (chance meeting/running away at midnight - cinderella; main characters on opposite sides of the tracks - romeo and juliet; etc). said tropes tug on memories and expectations that make the movie interesting enough to want to see through to the end but aren’t boring and predictable enough to steer one away, as the plot itself can play out in a multitude of ways with the promise of a cute and happy ending still present. 

troy bolton’s characterisation is the one of the driving forces behind why the franchise as a whole is so successful and you can fight me on it. he’s just… so nice, so thoughtful, his character breaks all the stereotypes and makes you love him and therefore the whole movie because you’re rooting for him to open his eyes and be himself. he’s the typical jock, yes, number one star player with narrow, one-track minded friends and a pushy dad, and that’s how he’s introduced in the exposition. but that’s quickly broken during the countdown to midnight scene where he’s honest with gabriella about having enjoyed singing and how he’s genuinely, earnestly interested in keeping in contact (and absolutely solidified when he does everything in his power to ask for gabriella’s forgiveness). completely off trope, he’s nervous and awkward with her instead of cocky as expected, and we immediately understand that troy is a lot nicer and conflicted than we’d originally thought; when we see him back at east high laughing at chad’s dig at sharpay it’s confusing, as it should be, since he’s been established as a Good Guy™, but it makes sense because we also know he has an image to uphold (see: “why are you whispering?”). further, though gabriella coerces his love for music out of him, troy ultimately comes to the conclusion for himself. she made the joke about auditioning, but it was him who lingered on the poster, let the idea of singing influence his basketball practice, hid at the back of the theater, and decided to do the callback. that’s something we don’t usually see in these kinds of love stories: the boy didn’t need the girl to be his end-all-be-all savior—all she did was give him that little push which he used to make his own decisions.

and while we’re on the topic, let’s talk about troy and gabriella’s relationship that has set my standards high since 2006. first of all, even though gabriella is sweet and soft spoken, she doesn’t take any shit (“nice penmanship” blew my eight year old mind; when she came for sharpay in hsm 2 I lost it). from the jump she’s interested in troy, clearly, but she doesn’t go all goo-goo over him like I’m sure he’s used to: running away to find her mom at the party, basically ignoring him to find her classes, not being so willing to accept it when taylor revealed the webcam thing was plotted. it’s not something that’s been unseen, but it’s definitely out the norm to see the nerdy girl not let the cute jock engulf her life. in fact, it’s pretty much the opposite way around: troy asks for her number, troy risks getting in trouble to call her in class, troy is the one off his game when gabriella stops speaking to him whereas gabriella’s sad but she keeps on keepin on. this role reversal is key in not only further establishing how much he’s unlike his stereotype but cementing hsm’s Groundbreaking Originality. on this as well, it ends up being troy who convinces gabriella to do the callback (both times, pretty much) which again breaks the stereotype. also, they’re just so fucking cute together it makes me wanna die?? it’s natural cuteness (probably because zac and vanessa had that real life chemistry but), not “these are our love interests and they’re supposed to be in love” cuteness. they’re goofy together (practice room with kelsi, detention when they’re humming breaking free, when they're on the court together), honest with each other (rooftop garden, scene after darbus’ class), genuinely care for one another (gabriella’s pushiness to get troy to do what he enjoys and not what’s expected of him, troy’s understanding of gabriella’s stage fright and taking the first verse of breaking free/telling her to just look at him). their entire existences don’t become all about each other, which is so incredibly refreshing, but we still get to see their relationship happen over the course of something longer than a three-minute song. and it’s apparent that they aren’t even technically dating/haven’t had That talk yet by the looks on their faces when troy kisses gabriella’s cheek after breaking free. that’s what really gets to me: we were supposed to assume they were together but ,, they weren’t! and that’s due to good world building and character progression! are y'all hearing me the ENTIRE MOVIE we #thought but they were still in the beginning stages of their relationship! when has any romcom ever! talk about slow burn I LOVE that their relationship actually grew and wasn’t just written to have happened spontaneously WHEW BOY okay.

let me also discuss the whole webcam incident. what troy said was dumb and inexcusable, definitely, but the fact that both sides realised what they did was wrong and conspired to fix it not even for their personal gain (the upcoming game, the decathlon) but because they genuinely cared about their friends’ happiness and even helped to devise this ridiculously complex plan to help get their friends to the callback!! everyone changed, it wasn’t just troy and gabriella. even though troy still struggled internally with his love for singing all the way up until the end of the last movie, it was never a thing where their friends continued to conspire against them or they had to keep proving their worthiness to be on stage. they realised their friends were more important and that was it, and that’s such a beautiful message and, again, one you don’t see too often: typically the leads have to be together in secret, or run off together, or only one or two of their close friends accept them. like I said! Groundbreaking Originality!

now onto the music. I was listening to the rent soundtrack a few weeks ago and recently bopped the hsm soundtrack, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of the former. not because of content, obviously, but the range of styles and a lot of the styles themselves were reminiscent. the hsm soundtrack wasn’t your typical disney musical, it wasn’t all bubblegum and legato and, just, old school disney. it’s like rent, it’s new and fast-paced and used fuckin guitars and one song literally made a beat using basketballs like bro. so many different influences went into the music. hsm was ahead of its time, at least where made-for-children musicals were concerned, and it’s success musically has been copied so many times but never to the same level, there can never be another musical like hsm. it’s just impossible. you had your typical musical theater-esque tunes, you had your modern tunes, you had your ballads, you had a little bit of everything, everyone can find at least one song they like because there wasn’t a strict motif being followed (like rent wow). not only that, but the songs are BOPS and I’m genuinely not being biased. there aren’t many songs that can hold the test of time, especially not songs from musicals, ESPECIALLY not when those songs were everywhere due to the massive commercial success of said musical (prime example: frozen) and the fact that hsm’s music can still be enjoyed with just as much fervor as it was 11 years ago speaks volumes. not to hate on 2 and 3 because I would die for those movies too, but out of all three soundtracks, the first is the one most would pick for replayability (that’s not a word I know but it works). there’s just something effortlessly timeless about it, catchy but not annoyingly so, nostalgic but not saddening, something that forces you not to hit skip and just belt out the lyrics. I’ll skip you are the music in me (reprise) all day but let what I’ve been looking for (reprise) come on. I just wanna be with you could catch that swift next but my finger will never come near that button when breaking free is on. it’s like the second two movies worked too hard to continue to capitalise off the commercial success (for example, hsm 2 made sure to have multiple easy-to-learn dances because of the reaction to we’re all in this together) whereas the first movie didn’t have anything it clung to or had ties to so it was free to just exist. please don’t get me wrong: the entire trilogy owns my ass, music and storyline alike, but the first one just has a special touch musically.

I could quite possibly go on forever but moral of the story: high school musical is a masterpiece, deserved a grammy, deserved an oscar, deserved a golden globe, deserved a vma, deserved a brit award, deserved a people’s choice, deserved an AMA, deserved a much music award, deserved an ARIA, deserved a SAG award, deserved a critics’ choice, deserved an emmy, deserved five stars on imdb and a 100% on rotten tomatoes,

[destressjournal]

DCOM Rankings #69: High School Musical 2

Officially the most popular DCOM of all time. Or at least the most views by far on its premiere. I was fangirling so hard with my friends while watching this and it really brought me back.

So...what do I think of this movie now? Is it just as enjoyable now as it was back then...?

FUCK YES. Oh my god this movie is just so much fun!! Most of the songs are happy and upbeat, it’s clear the entire cast is just having a blast, and it’s just THE summer movie, as far as DCOMS go. Now the question is, do I think HSM2 is better than the first one...? And it’s a bit of a complicated answer.

-I will just say right off the bat that the songs in 2 are MUCH better! That I think most people can agree on. I don’t think there’s a song in this movie that isn’t at least an 8/10. In the first movie there were a few 7’s or 6’s. And the songs in 2 get stuck in my head a LOT more! I should totally do a ranking of high school musical songs one day.

- you can tell the overall quality of the movie is much better than the first. It’s bigger and grander and more filled with group numbers. And the setting is so gosh darn beautiful, my god I could stare at it all day. If that really is shot in location in New Mexico, it’s breathtaking...

- plot wise.....I think the first movie is still a teeny bit better, and it has a slightly better message in my opinion. Watching 2 as an adult, I actually am a little on Sharpay’s side, in that it is actually important to make some investment in your future, and her connections have really helped Troy out with college scholarships (did I mention that college ain’t cheap??) even if it was for devious reasons. And she saved Troy from getting fired from his job. And at the end when she finally comes around and accepts the other wildcats in the show, they fucking backstab her by changing the number!! I was a little mad then and I’m even more mad now. I get that she has been very manipulative to troy but I don’t think she deserved to be cut out of the show entirely! Just having her sing with the others at the end without the backstabbing would have been fine with me. Cuz now I don’t believe her when she’s all fine with everything at the end.

- the characters are pretty much the same. The story is kind of the same as the first, but this time it’s Troy having to choose between his friends and his future. So it is slightly different! Another reviewer did point out that Gabriella has no development in this movie and wow it’s so true! This movie is totally about Troy and not about Troy and Gabriella like in the first. And I liked that both of them were in the same boat in the first movie. The only characters that get development are Troy, sharpay, and Ryan a little. Chad....a teeny bit. I think he had more of a sexual awakening than anything.

-Ugh you can just grab the sexual tension between chad and Ryan during the I don’t dance bit. It was amazing! I really like how the creators actually tried to get them together but Disney was all NO GAYS back then. Now they’re finally starting to embrace it. So please make an HSM sequel about these two okay please thank you.

-so was the breakup between Gabriella and Troy justified? Ehhh I mean they’ve only been dating for like 6 months and they’re what 16-17 years old? And both have different ideas about the future. High school relationships don’t tend to last for these specific reasons. Gabriella just wanted to have fun this summer and Troy was so worried about his future that he let sharpay manipulate him. But also he was making good connections with some basketball college pros. Shit like this actually happens. So I’m honestly not TOO surprised that she thought that it was time to go, but my god she didn’t have to quit her job! Like, girl!! Priorities!!

-I have nothing to say about the acting other than that it’s good and it’s always been good! Like no complaints here! Everyone in this franchise is so talanted! I heard that zac efron didn’t actually sing in the first movie but he did in the second. I think I can hear the difference when I listen to both soundtracks.

Overall, I think HSM 2 is better than 1 in a lot of ways, but I still think the original is still SLIGHTLY better in terms of story, plot, message, and character development. The 2nd movie is just a good time with even better music, and isn’t meant to be taken AS seriously. It’s not that I don’t absolutely love it though, like this is an automatic A+ from me! It’s going to go right under the original!

Okay, next movie is another sequel! 2007 was the year of DCOM sequels for sure! I forgot if this one is better than the original so I guess I’ll have to find out!

[fucksony]

hewwo

Opening Credits: somebody to love by justin bieberWaking Up: i need a girl by trey songzFirst Day At School: selfish by *nsyncFalling In Love: thats my best friend by tokyo vanityFight Song: its a small world by disney artists Breaking Up: hair by little mixLife’s OK: hawaiian roller coaster ride by lilo n stitch (bop)Getting Back Together: my happy ending by avril lavigneWedding: wannabe by spice girlsBirth of Child: a girl worth fighting for by mulanFinal Battle: whatta man by salt-n-pepa / en vogueDeath Scene: i dont dance by chad n ryan hsm...Funeral Song: rock star by hannah montanaEnd Credits: gods plan by drakemessage me ‘hey’ for ur life story built from my shuffled spotify library 🎶

[haanahaki]

Thanks Chad (from HAM)

[haanahaki]

Thanks Chad (from HSM)