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royalequeenofships · 3 years

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HSMTMTS Season 3 Predictions and Character Analysis

Ricky & Nini:

Ricky and Nini have a complicated relationship. I feel like they have the whole dynamic of “right person, wrong timing” vibe. They have chemistry and a bond with each other. However, for them to grow as a couple, they really need to have character development first. Nini really needs to figure herself out and who she truly wants to be and figure out her dreams and how she wants to pursue them. We had the whole YAC arc in season 2, where she goes there because she thought it was something that she wanted, but she realized that YAC was not truly what she wanted and isn’t what makes her happy. So, she’s slowly trying to figure herself out with independence and not relying on anyone except herself. In Season 1, most of her moments were with Ricky, with only the YAC arc really showcasing her independence, but her reliance on others in season 1 and parts of season 2. For example, Kourtney was the one who submitted her application to YAC, and partially her reasons for coming back to East High were also her relationship with her friends and Miss Jenn. Also, the fact that Carlos posted her song online, and she asked Ashlyn for help to write “Ain’t see nothing.” However, in episode 11 and 12, really starts showcasing her independence and stop relying on others for her journey. She BECOMES the one other people rely on, she hypes everyone up for their performances and is really figuring herself out and blossoming like the Rose. It is a great metaphor for Nini’s journey, and the fact that she herself calls Jamie’s brother instead of other people doing it for her, really makes it more special. Gina could’ve easily called her brother and be like “Oh yeah I have this friend who’s a great songwriter, yadda yadda.” But she does it herself, which is really great. Now with Ricky. Many people would agree with the fact that he truly does need therapy. He needs to learn how to handle change, and dare I say, realizing that other people are more important in his life. Personally, I felt like Ricky was very selfish this season. Last season, he was being selfish as he broke up with Nini because he couldn’t say I love you, and once school started again, he wanted Nini back so badly, but he proved himself worthy at the final episode when he stops being Troy to give Nini a chance to perform for YAC. However, this season once he and Nini are back together again, he was being selfish and thinking of himself again. When Nini goes to YAC, all he could really think about was how HER leaving was affecting him and his relationship with her.

For example, he would ask Gina for help on HIS own relationship, and sending Nini the message of how much he missed her and wishes she would be there because HE misses her so much. And thinking that Nini came home for him and him only. Plus, he thinks that the rose song that she wrote was SPECIFICALLY related to him, and then the whole situation with Miss Jenn and his dad, in which he was only thinking about himself and his feelings, with no regards to theirs. However, in episode 10, he finally stops being selfish and really opened his eyes to his surroundings, as he helped Carlos with his song for Seb. I hope this development continues, and once he realizes that he needs to stop being selfish, and is able to handle change and mature as a person, then maybe the Rini ship can happen once again. Another thing I’ve noticed about their “angst” in season 2 was the long-distance relationship, especially in episode 3. Although, Ricky and Nini were in the same city, throughout the episode, it still felt like they were going long-distance, which was probably foreshadowing their breakup. They only communicated through their phones that episode, and even at the end, their songs for each other wasn’t sang in person, but through the phone. As for predictions on the Rini relationship, I think that if Tim only plans on 3 seasons, then Rini will probably get back together at the end of Season 3, but if he has 4 seasons planned (which I am hoping for), then Rini will probably get back together then. Now we also have to take into consideration the career of Olivia Rodrigo. We do not know if she wants to continue with HSM, and even she herself is not sure. What I think will happen is, if Olivia decides she wants to take her music career to the next level, I think a really easy way to write her out without breaking the contract, would be to have her travel to L.A. to work on her music for the summer, so that there will be reason as to why she is absent for most of the season. This will probably take 1 episode to do and Olivia can spend the rest of her time focusing on her music. However, if Olivia decides she still wants to work full time in this season, then she might stay in Salt Lake and do the musical and write some songs for Jamie, etc but personally I think Olivia would want to focus on her music more than the show, as she posts about it more on social media than the show, and even with interviews. Nini might return for the final episode when summer ends and the new school year starts, so Olivia might just be in like 2 episodes. That’s my take on Rini for now, we get back to Ricky later.

E.J. & Gina:

Portwell is literally my favourite ship of the series, and it is just amazing. I personally would not like to see any angst in their relationship next season, but honestly it is probably going to happen and here’s why. Their relationship was built really steadily and took a long time to flourish. With other couples, like Seblos, Redlyn and Kowie, they got together awfully fast, taking 2-3 episodes to truly get together. So, the angst that those couples go through gets resolved rather quickly. Seblos with their relationship gets solved within 1-2 episodes, for the whole “does he like me because im the only gay one” storyline. Redlyn has the whole “Antoine” situation (which I will get back to later) and the “Red’s future” which again, took 1 episode to resolve. And Kourtney and Howie took 1-2 episodes to resolve the whole “Howie is from North high” and “Why Howie seems weird”. The reason is because those couples got together really quickly, and therefore their angst can be easily resolved through that, and wouldn’t really take time to fix. As you can see, Rini took a while to really get together. They were childhood friends off screen and we get to see their past relationship through flashbacks in season 1, but technically they took around 10 episodes to fully get back together. They have their cute., fluffy episodes for the first 4-5 episodes of season 2, but then their angst slowly starts to build at episode 5-6. It drags on until episode 8 where they fully break up, and counting episode 9 with their take on how they’re handling the breakup, so that’s around 5 episodes worth of angst for the couple that took 10 episodes to get together. So, with Portwell, they’ve technically been building them up at the end of season 1, but we’ll truly count the buildup starting from the Quincenero episode, which is episode 5, and they had 7 episodes worth of relationship buildup. So, I think, for the first 4 episodes, we’ll see some fluff and cute moments between the two when summer starts (and hopefully some kisses cuz like please I need to see at least one), but the angst will probably start in the middle of the season. It might take like around 4-5 episodes to fix, but I truly believe that they will not break up, and it will get resolved either near the final episode or the final episode of the season. Now for the REASON of their angst. I truly think the only “angst” worthy storyline is about EJ going off the college. As I can’t think of anything else that can topple their relationship. Firstly, EJ knows about the chocolates, which makes me think that he probably knows about Gina’s past crush on Ricky. Secondly, they resolved the whole “Big Brother” situation, and EJ knows that Gina doesn’t see her in that way. And the character development of E.J. and Gina. Back in season 1, they were arrogant and straight up ambitious people, who really don’t care about how others feel, but they truly changed as people in season 1 and 2, and had their character development moments. The contrast with them and Rini is that Season 1 focused on rini’s relationship development and season 2 and maybe 3 will really focused on their CHARACTER development. For Portwell, I think that would be flipped as they already had their Character development in season 1 and 2, so we probably will see their RELATIONSHIP development in season 3. So, since they already had their character development, I think it would be pointless to have unnecessary drama about their personalities or jealousy or whatnot, since they truly developed as people. So, the only thing I can possibly think of for their angst is EJ college arc. I know that they will probably fix it, but still I’m dreading to see it as I don’t want Portwell angst anymore. ☹ (ALSO PLEASE GIVE ME A PORTWELL DUET!! I NEED IT! Also, an EJ solo)

Ricky & Gina:

Personally, I do not ship Rina. I don’t think they would make a good couple; however, I think they would be really good friends. Someone they could confide in about their issues like Gina said “Sometimes I tell you things I don’t tell anyone else” and Ricky being like “I think we do that for each other.” We didn’t really get to see Ricky and Gina resolve their issues in season 2, partly because of Ricky’s character development. I am hoping to see in season 3, Ricky working on himself and fixing up his friendship with Gina. I think something that might happen is when Gina is going through her angst with EJ, and Ricky going through his own angst with Lily, they might be able to give each other advice and on how to handle it. However, PLEASE for the love of God, do not drag the whole love triangle back, because we do not need it. Gina has truly gotten over Ricky, and Ricky never seeing Gina as someone for his romantic relationship anyways, and he really needs to work on himself more, they should not be together as a couple. However, I do hope that they amend their friendship and is able to confide in each other once more, which I think will be cool and really help with Ricky’s character development.

Ricky & Lily:

Now this one. We know they will not be endgame, and I am 90% sure of the fact that Lily does not have romantic feelings for Ricky. Sure, she might find him attractive (and I mean who can blame her, Joshua Bassett is gorgeous), but she definitely does not like him in that way. We can see it when she “confesses” to him, she said to him “I like your brown hair and brown eyes” which are all physical descriptions of him, nothing about his personality which makes sense because she barely knows him, so how could she develop feelings for someone she doesn’t know. She has also stolen the harness, so we know that there would be no way that she likes him, and at the end of season 2, we don’t even get to see her feeling guilty about doing it, because she likes him. So that definitely setting in stone on how she’s only using him and manipulating him. Now for Ricky, yes you might be thinking “oh he’s calling her, why?” But Ricky does not know what we know. He was not there when Lily was talking to Gina about their roles as Belle, he was not there when Lily was laughing at Big Red, he was not there when she had a conversation with Miss Jenn, and he was not there when she planned with Antoine and when she stole the harness. In Ricky’s eyes, the reason that she was so mean to them is because of the Menkies, and their schools were enemies and rivals for it. He doesn’t know about Lily’s evil and ambitious side, and he believes that the Menkies might have made her that way. For example, he knows that the Menkies has turned Miss Jenn into someone different and a little bit mean, so he assumed the same for Lily, and when she asked for a second chance, Ricky gave it to her as he didn’t know. I feel like for the first couple of episodes, it will show Lily and Ricky “bonding” or getting to know each other, but Lily lying about the whole situation and really planning something behind his back, but we don’t know what yet. Maybe Ricky will be like “Huh, she’s a cool person, I’m starting to like her.” But then figuring out her plan, and finding out that she stole the harness. He then will be very upset and kind of heartbroken as he gave her a chance and she was only manipulating him the whole time. Maybe then, his character development will continue to grow and he will realize that he does not need to be in a relationship right now, and that he needs to work on himself and mature as a person. And I think him and Lily’s “relationship” will be a strong pushing point that he needs.

Seb & Carlos:

Now Seblos is one of my favourite ships in the show, and I love them to bits and pieces. However, as regarding their relationship, I feel like they have already resolved all their angst in season 2, it will be hard to make up angst for them in season 3, if they ever have one. I would like to say this though, I knew there was going to be angst for them in season 2, but the way they built it up, I thought the angst would be about how Carlos’ family is really rich, and Seb can’t compare because he lives on a farm, and it might make him self-conscious. Cause that’s where it seemed to be leading in the first few episodes of Season 2 (the sled, cashmere etc.). However, they brought a completely different angst to them which I thought was pretty surprising. Personally, I think they should’ve done the “class/money” difference in season 2, and then maybe the whole “why are you with me” angst for season 3, but maybe they MIGHT switch it around for season 3, and have the whole “class/money” difference then. Although, that’s probably the only “issue” I see for them ever, cause they’re a power couple and like what other angst could there be? Maybe they’ll introduce a new love interest but I highly doubt it because they already resolved the “I choose you always” in season 2. So, hoping there’s no Seblos angst, but if they do decide to throw in one, that might be the one they’ll do.

Big Red & Ashlyn:

Again, Redlyn is one of my favourite ships and they’re just so amazing. However, their storyline is hopefully again, all fluff for season 3, but one thing I realised that they didn’t really resolve in season 2 was the whole “Antoine” storyline. After episode 7, they never really talked about it again and introduced the new angst next episode with the whole “Career” thing. I feel like Antoine will be a more recurring character in season 3, as he only got like what? 10 minutes worth of screentime this season? (Maybe even less) and especially at the end as he joined Natalie in the final scene. So maybe there will be more of him in the next season, and slowly moving in on Ashlyn and making Big Red feeling like he’s not good enough, and then maybe Redlyn will FINALLY get their “I love you” confession then, because WE NEED IT! I’m manifesting for Redlyn “I love you” next season, and I think the whole situation with Antoine would be a nice way for Ashlyn to TRULY confirm to Big Red how much she loves him and how grateful she is for him, and vice versa. (Also manifesting for more EJ and Big Red friendship moments, like maybe Big Red goes for EJ for advice for his relationship with Ashlyn, and maybe EJ confiding in Big Red for Gina as well)

Kourtney & Howie:

As for Kourtney and Howie, they’re probably still going to work at the pizza shop together and continue to bond. A plot point that I think will be very interesting is maybe Kourtney trying to convince Howie to move to East High, but Howie kind of not wanting to, because he spent like 3 years there and it’s kind of his home. That might be a nice storyline to do, or it can be the opposite, where Howie is trying to transfer to North High, but Kourtney being worried like “Is he going to North High for me? I don’t want that, what if he hates it here”, but Howie confirming that he’s going to North High because the environment for him is better there and less competitive and toxic than North High. That might be a storyline that can happen for these two. I would also like for them to have a duet as well; I think Dara’s strong voice goes well with Roman’s soft voice and it would mesh well together.

Miss Jenn & Mr. Mazarra:

Now this one is a toughie, but I have some theories. Now we know that Ricky has given Miss Jenn permission to date his dad, which is another great character development for him, as he’s handling change and seeing other people’s happiness. However, as soon as he gave her permission, Mr. Mazarra confesses his feelings for Miss Jenn, which seemingly makes her happy, as we did get to see a little smile on her face when he did. Throughout Season 2, Benjamin was really the one comforting her, and giving her courage for the Menkies. We see it through episode 8, when he helped Miss Jenn film the commercial and how he put so much effort into making her coffee and setting up a table, just so she could relax. Same goes for episode 10, when she confides in him, and he acting like a therapist to her and accepting her anxious feelings, and helping her feel calmer and better. They are both opening up to each other. And I believe Miss Jenn truly appreciates him as a colleague and a friend. Now another moment is when Ricky’s dad comes to the show with flowers, and she was talking with Mr. Mazarra at the moment. When he called out her name, she smiles awkwardly and immediate turns to Mr. Mazarra saying something along the lines up “Why we always running into him?” and very awkwardly makes his way to him and you could tell she was slightly uncomfortable, with her awkward smiles and everything. This really contrasts from episode 3, where she herself walks up to Ricky’s dad and starts up a conversation, and how now, it is the other way around. Now, the whole problem of Mr. Mazarra leaving for Caltech. He confesses his romantic feelings to Miss Jenn, and really emphasizes on how she’s the only one who is stopping him from running off the California, which I believe that she is a big part of why, but also not fully. We really get to see Mr. Mazarra bonding with a lot of the students this season as well, E.J., Ricky, etc. I feel like he truly cares for his students, and in season 3, maybe he is thinking about if he really wants to stay in Utah for his students and of course, his budding relationship with Miss Jenn. Now, there was a scene in episode 4, where he was confiding to EJ about his rejection from Caltech. And he admits to EJ how he doesn’t think about Caltech very much anymore. He’s made his peace with it. This kind of mirrors EJ’s situation about Duke. EJ didn’t get into Duke from his own accord, but rather his dad got him in. Same can be said for Mr. Mazarra, EJ’s dad made the call for him for Caltech, and he didn’t really get in from his own as well, as he said previously, He was rejected many, many times. So maybe next season will really show him and his decision of staying at East High back in the fall, or leaving for Caltech. Now moving back to Miss Jenn. Next season, I feel like will focus on her and the students more, as this season, she was a really crappy teacher, and kept pushing them due to stress and wanting them to beat her ex at the Menkies. This season, I believe that she will return to the teacher that she was in season 1, and really focusing and hyping up the kids’ talents. I would love to see that Miss Jenn come back, and really help her students. Of course, the whole love triangle debacle will probably be fixed, I can maybe see Miss Jenn going out on a date with Ricky’s dad but thinking of Mr. Mazarra the whole time, and Ricky’s dad is a good man, so he might notice something is different about her, and tells her to go for it, her relationship with Mr. Mazarra before he moves or something. Also, since in season 2, we got to see Mr. Mazarra comfort Miss Jenn a lot, maybe this season will have Miss Jenn comforting Mr. Mazarra about Caltech, and if he truly wants to leave his students. Another thing I’d like to maybe see is Mr. Mazarra singing a song for Miss Jenn. We know that Mark St. Cyr has a good voice, as we saw from the Christmas special. So, him singing to Miss Jenn even though he doesn’t like musicals that much and all that, would show a lot of character development from Season 1.

Overall Plot:

Now, I have a few theories about summer. I’ve seen a lot of people saying they will go to a camp like “Camp Rock” which I think will be very likely to happen, and they put up a musical. What I can also see happening, is like High School Musical 2, where they go to a resort for work, and then putting up a musical there for the audience as well. Or they could just stay in Utah, and just relax for the summer, and not have any musical but just a lot of original songs about their summer in general and the stuff they’re going through. If they do a musical, I don’t think that they’ll do a musical from a movie or theatre, but rather write their own musical. I think it would be a really interesting concept, it can show us more imaginative and creative concept for a musical and have more original songs for the season. I would truly love to see that.

So that’s all for the character analysis and predictions I have for Season 3, sorry if it’s long lol

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yououghtaknow · 4 years

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5, 29 and 30? Also, I read all four seasons of Skam Brighton over quarantine and it was fantastic! The changed storylines were so refreshing and I’m so excited for season 5 💛

hi!!!!! thank you so much for asking and thank you so much for reading <3.

29. which version (og + adapts) does yours most closely resemble?

hmm. well i would say skam austin, definitely, as a western english speaking remake. also with the dance team/theatre club vibes and the music aspect. also skam españa, definitely, with the centring of the girls' stories and just the beautiful friendship tone of it all, which is what i really wanted to get across. also some druck in there, with the realism and fixing the trans wrongs they did. and alistair fletcher has the drama of skam france, just as a character. what do these remakes all have in common? canon wlw. which was the main thing i wanted to write in this remake. skambr has 11 canon named wlw characters who have all played major-to-minor roles in the plot of each season, with 5 of them being members of the girl squad and three of them being mains and having wildly different experiences with their attraction to women because you can’t sum up the lgbt experience with just one person.

30. free choice! just give us some fun facts about it!

fun fact: i have never physically been in brighton. i would like to be one day, but i will most likely not get there before the series finishes.

second fun fact: i was originally planning to write a skam remake set in derry, northern ireland before i wrote skam brighton. that idea has morphed into something else that i plan to write, but it is a fun fact!!

and now. the big one.

5. what are some iconic soundtrack moments?

here we go lads, seasons 3 and 4, like promised.

season three

tw for discussion of mental illness and suicide, drug abuse and violence throughout.

trailer

WE START OFF!!!! WITH A BANGER!!! "tainted love" by soft cell. it’s an iconic 80s banger that we all know and love, about a toxic relationship, and we see a type of favourite character that is niche to me (the guy with perfectionism/parental issues who did some fucked up stuff in a piece of media who not a lot of people like). it’s jake baby. it’s about him living his life and being like “i feel like i have to run away from all of this” (a sentiment which shall be echoed later on). and jake with all of his different masks…….. i was ahead of my time.

episode one

we open with “say amen (saturday night)” by panic! at the disco which is. kind of yikes now, but the song does have the vibes i desired for the opening scene. a party-esque banger. lyrics like “i pray for the wicked on the weekend / mama, can i get another amen?” for the catholic imagery and mommy issues. also panic! is known throughout history to be an lgbt band.

then we get “get out of my head” by redlight”, just for the mental illness of it all. also it has been said that i do love a good party song with deeply depressing lyrics about the main playing in the background <3.

and then we get me ripping off druck with “idontwannabeyouanymore” by the theorist playing because i just wanted to use a piano cover of the song because silence with just instrumental is just very dynamic and mentally ill.

and then we meet eleanor with “insane” by sonny fodera and biscits, which is basically just the lyrics “girl you make me go insane” because. well. you hate to see it folks, but we gotta foreshadow the internalised ableism and the hating one woman as a treat.

and to close off a very music filled first clip, we got “drive” by halsey, a staple of tumblr culture back in the day because it is just like “all we do is think about the feelings that we hide”. literally when you are gay and alone and are just so desperate for someone to see you but also so deeply afraid of it because that means change coming <3

AND THEN!!!! we meet the love of my life ms christine love as she hums “express yourself” by madonna as she cleans the house. i wanted to give christine a lot of 80s music in her scenes, to show that she’s living in the past in regards to jake’s dad. also it’s just a good song, “you gotta make him express how he feels” is me writing any of the characters having dialogue.

AND THEN BABY!!!!!!!!!!! we get a moment i love so deeply. “mama who bore me/reprise” by the sweet signatures. an all female acapella cover of the iconic spring awakening song. this song has everything - heavy metaphor about sex, wanting your mum to tell you shit, catholic imagery, teen angst, amazing belting. we get the slow part as jake is alone and just trying to work out how to help his mum, and then get the ANGRY BANGER as jake goes out to play with his dogs to get his frustrations out, because at the end of the say, all of these characters are still kids <3

then we get “young (club mix) by jaded because i just wanted kind of boring straight party music for the bryan and rory scene.

BECAUSE THEN LGBT COMMUNITY!!!!! we get jake’s dramatic walk down the hallway as “somebody to love” by queen plays. it’s about the catholicism, it’s about the being gay, it’s about the being so fucking lonely and just wanting somebody!!!!! also the parallel between jake’s lonely scene with “somebody” playing and liz’s crowded scene with “nobody” playing…. it’s about mentally ill people being different but also the same <3

AND. NOW. THE MOMENT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR. we meet Him. the most valid theatre kid rep in the world. mr alistair thomas fletcher, who enters our lives singing “shallow” from a star is born under his breath as he washing his hands. once again, i’m ahead of my time. but also the first lines al sings are, metaphorically, him talking to jake. like “aren’t you tried trying to fill that void / or do you need more”. and then we begin a piece of foreshadowing most pleasing to me. alistair in season 3 and the recurring motif of falling, which will climax at the end of episode 10. also foreshadowing of his experiences with bipolar disorder with “in all the good times i find myself longing for change / and in the bad times i fear myself”. and we also begin the motif of jake interrupting al’s singing.

(you may be thinking, isaac tumblr user nickhealy, you’re putting a lot of thought into this. that’s because out of all of the characters, al’s the one who never really expresses himself with his words or actions - he usually expresses himself primarily through music, which is a very fun and autistic thing of me to write.)

(also, the og episode 1 bench scene did make me feel very. not good as a gay trans guy, with all the talk of penises and such. it’s just very sexy of me to change it to al talking loudly about ballet and elton john. and then we get jake up on the balcony and al down yelling up at him. because i have literally never referenced anything subtly in my life)

and we end with “how does it feel” by m-22. like: “how does it feel when your walls fall down / how does it feel when you're lost and found / how does it feel / it's the sweetest sound”. like it’s about jake meeting al, king of not being Good At Social, fletcher, and instantly being like “yes, husband material, thank you”.

episode two

(yes, this episode is titled after the gay hsm song. yes i’m a genius)

we open, as all good things do, with a fun homoerotic punk song with catholic imagery “east jesus nowhere” by green day. it’s just jake being like “i am Trying to find the instagram of a cute guy outside of church, love being a sinner”.

and now we see the beginnings of Sad Boy Jake, with “it’s ok, i wouldn’t remember me either” by crywank. we got “i am looking for an easy place / to mask my thoughts behind my face” and “i can hide from friends but i cannot hide from you” because he’s gay and he has depression.

AND THEN!!!! we get “i like you” by dandelion hands playing as he comments supportive things on the youtube video of al….. literally jacob love will see a pretty boy one time and be like “last time i had you i should have kissed you”. also his alternate name being jack valentine…. valentine and love ugh my brain is so big

AND THEN!!!!!!! slow mo time, with “bite” by troye sivan…… a gay classic, if i do say so. like it’s about jake seeing al casually walk past, being all prententious and out, and jake’s just like “please set me free and let me walk beside you” because of the gay experience of simutaneously wanting to be a person and kiss them.

and then we get “the daisy chain” by the growlers. “feeling pressure on every side” and “tired of waiting to be explained / weakest link in the daisy chain”. it’s just the vibes babe.

AND THEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! a brilliant moment in my bare a pop opera stanning career - we get jake watching a bootleg of bare 2004 as “role of a lifetime” from the show plays. literally one of the most gorgeous songs ever written, sung by matt doyle. like everything is an act when you’re pleasing everyone - which could be the tagline of skam brighton as a whole. also jake watching “see me” and beginning to tear up because he’s afraid to come out to his mother and get the same negative reaction….. and him watching “cross” and sobbing because he relates to jason so much and feels like he would also be better off dead than gay…..

BUT AFTER THAT!!! we smash cut to al as jeremy in be more chill, singing the beginning of “more than survive”. absolute king shit!!!!! also, i don’t remember if it’s mentioned in canon, but eleanor is the person who plays the squip in this production of bmc, because i am not!! subtle!! with!! my!! metaphors!!

and we return to sad boy jacob with “swear to god the devil made me do it” by the front bottoms, chosen because references to the devil and mommy issues <3

AND THEN!!!! A MOMENT OF GREAT FORESHADOWING!!! we get mister alistair fletcher practising alone in a theatre because he is dramatic, and jake walking in as he sings “broadway here i come” from smash. we got references to saints, we got hints at al’s anxiety, we got the falling motif coming back in a song explicitly about jumping off of a building, that also doubles as a song about wanting to do theatre….. also, al plays the last note wrong as a metaphor for al’s plan of suicide going well until the very end, where he ends up alive and goes home.

(side note, we also got the football team’s jackets and signature colours being black and white (straight pride flag colours babey) and then we see al in bright yellow. it also represents jake’s depression and al’s mania, the everything and the nothing of it all.)

AND THEN!!!! we get manic (in the most literal sense of the word) pixie dream boy al asking jake to dance with him to “movement” by hozier because. it’s literally just such a beautiful song. and jake is just watching al dance like “hm. no thoughts head empty just pretty boy”. also the scene itself is a reference to wicked, with jake doing an awkward and stilted dance and al taking it and turning it into something graceful (the glinda and elphie scene in dancing through life)

and then we get the return of blue neighbourhood with “youth” by troye sivan playing over a smoking montage with the boys, because they’re young, they’re gay, they’re vibing

AND THEN!!!! we get “talk” by hozier playing as the episode ends - a song that of course references orpheus and eurydice, as al also did in this clip with hadestown. it also plays over ellie talking because jake is just Ignoring her to pay attention to al. also the inherent homoeroticism of making eye contact while hozier plays

episode three

we open with “highway to hell” by ac/dc over a fun football montage of jake both playing the game and getting bored and checking out guys. it’s about the thinking he’s gonna go to hell for doing it but he literally Cannot Stop

AND THEN!!!!!! a moment. we get a performance of some of “all you wanna do” from six by al and ellie and their theatre kid friends as they rehearse for something at lunch and jake, bryan and rory watch them. ellie’s doing the whole flirty k howard thing, and not actually getting into the real feeling of the song, and the guy she’s dancing with it awkward as all fuck because he’s her cousin. so we get al stepping in and fucking going the fuck off. and we see how good of an actor al really is in this scene, as he’s legit scary. we also see ellie clearly having feelings towards al and him just being like “yep good acting! moving on!!!” because no thoughts just dance. also bryan and rory not understanding that the song is about assault and jake being genuinely concerned….. and then al and ellie’s kiss at the end as ellie “dies”..... god the real reason this show isn’t made is because i would be too powerful if i could make everyone see my theatre kid mischief.

AND ANOTHER MOMENT!!!! we get “like a prayer” by madonna playing as jake is living his life and taking some “am i gay” quizzes - the questions of which are comprised of actual am i gay quizzes i took to make the scene as legit as possible, and as a gay trans person. Did Not Like. Would Not Recommend. also jake admitting he’s gay to the quiz because he’s pissed about the concept of misgendering al….. also jake forcing himself to pick the straight options even though it’s emotionally hurting him…. and then we hear christine singing in the hallway “everyone must stand alone” because it’s jake pov at the time…..

AND SMASH CUT TO!!! fall out boy’s cover of “i wanna dance with somebody”, because at the last very gay house party “i wanna dance with somebody” played and i love a good parallel

AND THEN!!!!!! literally the hottest of all hot boy summer things, we get al and esther doing some karaoke at the house party with “don’t you want me” by the human league. (which, yes, is a glee reference.) THE LITERAL COURAGE OF THIS MAN!!!! alistair fletcher looked a closeted guy, who he has had three (3) interactions with in person, dead in the eye and was like “i know you want me”. as opposed to esther “just be her friend first and then see about anything else” montner and james “I Will Never Speak To You Again If You So Wish” cohen.

and then, because of course i did, we get “bad romance” by lady gaga playing over the next scene with the beginnings of the boy squad because it’s a gay house party and it’s a fucking banger for the ages

(also just the shift from al hot boy summer fletcher to al gay disaster fletcher with him running literally out of the house because he kissed a guy.)

“left handed kisses” by andrew bird and fiona apple plays after jake and al’s deep conversation outside. like jake’s really out here like “i don't believe everything happens for a reason” and “i don't go in for your star-crossed lovers / in the heart of a skeptic / there's a question that still hovers near” because al info dumped about his love for adaptation of romeo and juliet…. (side note, al is definitely an & juliet stan, as everyone should be, stream & juliet <3)

episode four

we open with a song i discovered when i was in a community theatre rip off version of cats, “the show” by lenka. it’s about a song about indecision in the middle of a church before confession, because jake can’t actually confess to the sins he believes to be true. it’s about the “'cause it's too much, yeah it's a lot to be something i'm not”.

And then we fade to “pink + white” by frank ocean (because mlm rights), and just like “you showed me love / glory from above / good glory, dear / it's all downhill from here” is a very al/jake line. also it’s a bop for a little football montage.

AND THEN!!!! on halloween, we get a little montage of jake dancing to “paradise by the dashboard light” by meatloaf as he makes himself a sandwich - it’s literally about just being happy and having a nice time. and also jake dancing to more old timey music because he’s going up to his parents’ old room and he’s also living in the past a little, with his childish snack and playful dancing.

(also, the phone call where al just infodumps about bare and jake’s listening and asking questions <3 it’s about the autistic love and friendship yet again)

and then we get “i’m so tired…” by lauv and troye sivan as we arrive at the very awkward ellie/jake/al pre drink, because Is Jake Not So Tired Of This Heterosexual Bullshit He Must Do.

(also, it is my personal headcanon, and therefore canon, that al convinced ellie to go with the angel and devil costumes so that he could pull up in his leo-as-romeo get up and live out his baz luhrmann esque fantasy).

AND THEN LGBT NATION!!!! we get “run away with me” by ms crj as jake and al literally run away from the party after al got misgendered and Pissed. it’s about the using romance and whimsy as an escapism from your shitty life, it’s about the being the in darkness and occasionally getting hit by the street light, it’s about the “i’ll be your sinner in secret”, it’s about the bare connotation with the “run away with me” parallels. it’s also about the song being one of the best songs ever written.

(and then we get the wedding, which, before i get into the song, is a reference to So Many Things. we got west side story with the fake wedding and first kiss, we got hadestown with al making the wedding rings from nature (a la wedding song), we got bare with wedding bells and the dream wedding, and in the scene, we get some vineyard scene from spring awakening vibes, with the discussion of the future and religion and philosophy…… quite literally i love art so much)

and then. ladies. a piece of writing written in Peak tender tumblr. al and jake have the kiss of their wedding to “pink in the night” by mitski. it’s literally about the “i know i kissed you before but / i didn’t do it right / can i try again?” of it all. like jake love voice “i glow pink in the night in my room / i’ve been blossoming alone over you”. the repression, the pining…………. i am such a talented man.

and then we end with a doctor who reference, with al saying “run”, taking jake’s hand and the two of them running out of the church as “run away with me” comes back in. it’s literally about al taking jake out of his dull life and helping him find his own happiness. it’s also about the inherent autistic culture of relating to aliens.

episode five

WE! OPEN! WITH! a song about being gay and falling in love with someone immediately after meeting them - “share your address” by ben platt. a bop for the ages. it makes me so happy, it’s a great “early stages of a relationship honeymoon stage” montage song.

(also, i just really love the detail i put in about al’s binder, because the cuddle scene with david and matteo in druck did make me worried because david was wearing his binder. like i understand why he wore it for the actor’s comfort but just the thought of sleeping in a binder…… terrible. awful. pain beyond my wildest dreams.)

(also also, al saying he couldn’t get on hormones because of “problems with his heart” is a lie, because he means because of his mental health, which is based on personal experience babey)

and then we get an iconic skam song: “talk show host” by radiohead plays as jake sits in the back of a drama club meeting, isolating himself. it’s literally about the “i want to be someone else or i’ll explode” of it all.

and then we get “rock and roll” by led zeppelin as jake walks his dogs - just because it seems like the kind of song jake would like and it just vibed with the whole scene.

(also, the clip where jake texts al at the beginning of it and then asks bree about her family….. literally i’m so good at foreshadowing)

AND THEN!!!!! WE GET THE ICONIC!!! “involuntary teenage rebel” by clout from grandma’s closet plays as we get a jake solo slow mo. literally they were right when they said “they say i'm a teenage rebel / but i'm really just afraid of how i come across to others / and it bothers me when i look weak”. like that’s just another skam statement line babey. also it’s genuinely such a good song and literally helped inspire me to do more songwriting…. stream it

and then we get “heaven” by avicii, chosen purely for the title being “heaven” because christianity centric season.

AND THEN!!!!! we get jake asking al to come save him from the shitty party, and al says “wait for me, i’m coming”, an obvious hadestown reference, and when he arrives, he’s singing the “la la la la la la la”s from the show. it’s because the party - where bryan, rory and ellie are - is, in al’s mind, hell, and he’s going to save jake from it.

and then, because, as mentioned, the way al express his true feelings is through Music, we get al trying to comfort jake by playing him a song - “you matter to me” from waitress (put a pin in waitress, i’ll get back to it later). the inherent homosexuality in “come out of hiding i’m right here beside you / and i’ll stay there as long as you’ll let me”. also it’s just about mattering to someone. like, for the first time in his life, jake has someone who’s saying “i love you, you matter, i will be here for you” and he just needed that So Much.

episode six

AND WE SMASH CUT IMMEDIATELY TO!!! “london boy” by taylor swift, a campy and beautiful bop!!!! because al Is from london and he Is a boy!!! (also, fun fact, i was going to make al be from ireland originally, but then someone in the skambr discord said this song should be used in a scene, and i was like “okay, fuck it, london time”)

(also, you can subtly see al’s mania in the london boy scene, with him coming up with quick ideas, clearly having very low anxiety through the past few episodes, and just taking off his shoes and going for a walk in a park in november…..)

and then we get “landslide” by fleetwood mac as jake lies in his dead dad’s bed. it’s really about the “can the child within my heart rise above? / can i sail through the changing ocean tides?” and about the grieving as a child and your mental health getting worse while you’re still so young and you feel like the world’s on your shoulders and you’re both an adult and a child at once……

and then……. we get “class of 2013” by mitski after christine has her breakdown and jake packs his things to run away. it’s about both of them dealing with their grief by pretending it never happened and having all of that build up inside of them until they can’t take it anymore. And i see the lyrics of “mom i’m tired / can i sleep in your house tonight?” in this specific situation as jake being tired of his father’s constant presence and he just wants to be in a house with his mother the way he remembered her before his father died.

(and, sidenote, this is one of the saddest scenes i’ve ever written, in my opinion…...with jake being like “she’s so crazy, but i’m nothing like her” because he’s in denial of his own mental health issues and al seeing him saying that as “oh, he’ll see that i’m crazy too and want to leave”...... and al says his final goodbye to jake, using his full name, because he assumes jake will never want to speak to him again, but jake has no idea……..)

(also, jake parroting bryan’s words of “gay marriage is legal, so everything is fine” in the pride clip……. God. and the way jake’s internalised homophobia and ableism manifests in the same harmful way….)

and then we get “don’t threaten me with a good time” by panic! At the disco as they boy squad rolls up to the party in the park. it’s just a party song. no deeper meaning lads.

and then we get jake in the bathroom having a little breakdown (as a treat) to “Give me novacaine” by green day. it’s just about the using alcohol and drugs to cope with your poor mental health because you have no other quick way to make it all better. It’s about about jake trying both to numb himself and to force himself to feel something, but neither one of those things give him the results he wants.

episode seven

we open with another iconic and beautiful song: “life in italics” by clout from grandma’s closet babey. like jake love voice “all these troubles on my mind i’ve been lonely / building walls running from the old me”. thank you clout for literally writing some of the best lgbt music.

AND THEN!!!!!!! a scene that brings me much joy. “gotta go my own way” from high school musical 2 plays in the other room as jake has a religious breakdown in a literal (storage) closet. and then al leaves the group chat and blocks jake…. like jake voice “another colour turns to grey / and it's just too hard to watch it all / slowly fade away”

and then we get “hello!” by role model as jake goes for a depressed jog and he sees bree out drinking with some random people. like “i never really talk much, keep it inside / to find someone who cares is getting harder to find / we should be dancing in the sun / it's hard when everything is numb”.

(also, at the end of that clip, we briefly shift from jake’s pov to al’s, as we see al filming in the park and he films jake running away…… do i know what this means metaphorically? not really. do i vibe hard with it? oh hell yeah)

AND THEN!!!! after jake and sandy have their beautiful conversation, we get “under pressure” by queen and david bowie, another older song, this time expressing jake’s joy as he finds some small solace with his younger self. it’s also just about the inherent homosexuality of the song and of sitting on the beach, eating chips with your best friend.

episode eight

WE BEGIN!!!! with a youtube video of ellie and al singing “wallflower” from we are the tigers. i chose this basically because i wanted to get more of a vibe of what their relationship is/was across, and also because i love the song (stream we are the tigers original off broadway cast recording). it’s also about the dynamic of the song being “shy introvert vs outgoing extrovert being very toxic friends”, and also about the ellie supporting al stuff, because she has canonically been there for him for years, just not in a very good way. also i wanted to write representation for the “had a very intense friendship with a girl pre-transition and then had a dramatic friend break up and now i’m a guy and feel disconnected from the whole thing, although it was quite homoerotic at the time” people. this scene also marked the beginning of my purely self indulgent musical number scenes, and be warned, this may the the first, but it is by no means the last.

and then it’s very music lite for the rest of the episode, until al returns, and jake’s like “hey, maybe you should stop talking to your toxic friend” and al responds by beginning to make out with him as “fuck time” by green day starts to play. the COMEDY of jake being like “seriously, i think--” and then all you hear is “OOH BABY BABY IT’S FUCK TIME”. skam brighton is a comedy show.

and then we get al “communicates through music and theatre references” fletcher beginning to sign the ASL translation of the bridge of “word of your body (reprise)” from spring awakening with jake - which is another Very tragic show - and al also literally says the line “and so you should”. and al responding to jake jokingly calling him insane by shutting him up with another kiss….. oh ladies.

episode nine

WE! OPEN! WITH! “love shack” by the b-52s as jake wakes up and sees james and al just having some Fun making breakfast in the kitchen. it’s just some boys being boys and having bants.

and then we get jake using al’s love language of music and singing “those magic changes” from grease, singing along to the jordan fisher and aaron tveit version because that song did assist in my gay awakening.

(also, al stanning female doctor pomatter in waitress and james stanning waitress as someone from an abusive household….. my mind.)

and now. we begin The Big Bad Clip. “why didn’t you stop me” by mitski plays over the beginning of jake and al’s london adventure. it’s literally about looking back on the scene as it happens in a montage and al being like “why didn’t you stop me from doing that”..... god.

(also, jake and al go to see waitress, which Has been played before, and it’s foreshadowing for how their relationship ends. jenna and jim’s relationship - the main couple of waitress - begins with them cheating on their parents and falling in love quickly in secret, but they know it’s not healthy for them to keep the relationship going, so agree to end things and part ways as friends who wish nothing but the best for each other.)

and then we get “oops! I did it again” by britney spears glee cast version, because it’s just really Sexy and Fun. also just the mentally ill experience of “oops! i did a manic episode again!”.

and then we cut between a piano version of “last night on earth” by green day, as jake sits alone in the hotel room, and “true trans soul rebel” by against me! as al walks down the streets of london, in a split pov, and then we see al having a full meltdown/breakdown in the middle of victoria station. like al voice in this scene “another night you wish you could forge, / making yourself up as you go along / who’s gonna take you home tonight? / does god bless your transsexual heart?”.

and then we get legit “last night on earth” by green day as jake walks away after ellie yells at him. just because it vibes so much.

episode ten

we open with “mystery of love” by sufjan stevens as jake walks down to al’s house, because it’s just a vibey song, and while i hate cmb//yn with the fury of a thousand suns, it Is a song written for mlm.

and then we get “better alone” by lykke li as jake researches al’s various diagnoses. and it’s just like “nobody wants to be the one to walk away / nobody wants to see the truth, then let it in, run away / nobody wants to know the ways they don't love you right” and then “i’m better alone than lonely”..... mr love

and then we get “let it be” by the beatles, a Very nostalgic old fashioned song with catholic themes and just big comforting and recovery vibes…. jake confessing his real feelings to the priest and then reuniting with christine in the church and hugging her tightly and they both agree on working on getting better…..

and then we get to the talent show, where we see the end of ellie singing “on my own” from les mis - as jake did at the beginning of season one. is this foreshadowing? is it a coincidence? i honestly don’t know. i just chose it because basic theatre girl song.

AND!!!!! THEN!!!!!! we get the song that acts as al’s suicide note: “the goodbye song” by joe iconis (writer of be more chill and “broadway here i come” from smash). we get the return of the falling motif with “i’m flying away” and the lines that really act as what al imagines to be his final goodbye to everyone he knows, as everyone he knows and loves is in that building: “i'd stay if i could / but the universe won't let me / so please be good / and don't you forget me”, and then al turns the “aahs” at the end of the song from a catchy crowd pleaser ending to a long, painful scream as the audience slowly stops clapping, until the room is silent, and then he bows a la the emcee at the end of cabaret (a bow which is often viewed as a metaphor for the character’s death). it’s literally just al having a breakdown on stage, but he rolls a nat 20 on his performance check, and the audience are like “this is very good performance art”

we then get a flashback to “broadway here i come” because. i am a king of foreshadowing.

and then we get “wait for me” from hadestown (obc version) as jake runs to find al, and it’s about the role reversal of jake running to save al from something worse than al saving him for bryan. it’s about the repetition of “wait for me, i’m coming” because of the fear of “what if i get there too late?”

episode eleven

“a better son/daughter” by rilo kiley plays as jake looks through al’s two tumblr blogs - and the song simultaneously a very al and jake song. with the descriptions of depression and dealing with a mother with mental illness at the start, which are very jake, but then the lines “and sometimes when you're on, you're really fucking on / and your friends they sing along and they love you. / but the lows are so extreme that the good seems fucking cheap” are just the base character description for al.

and then we get “the archer” by taylor swift as jake goes into the school again…. like he has been the archer and he has been the prey, in regards to being gay (with him helping in outing sandy and being outed himself).....

(also, fun fact about the episode, it was originally written to be from al’s point of view, but then i decided against it and had to rewrite it, which is why there’s only 4 clips instead of the usual 5 or 6)

and then, lgbts, we get “the predatory wasp of the palisades is out to get us!” by sufjan stevens as jake walks his dogs out on the beach and al goes to the beach to write his emo poetry…… also, fun fact, al’s poetry is the first time i’ve ever written poetry/lyrics that weren’t about me, which is very fun.

and then!!!! at the beginning of the final clip, we got “footloose” by kenny loggins, the iconic bop from the film of the same name. just because it slaps and it’s a fun time.

(we also get some Foreshadowing with al referencing rent in this scene)

and then. transgender nation. we get “midnight radio” from hedwig and the angry inch playing over al and jake’s having fun and being dumb kids montage.

i know riverdale made this song a meme, but it HITS. it’s about the al referencing origin of love in the cuddle clip, al saying “i laugh because i will cry if i don’t”, it’s about the “for the misfits and losers” and the “hold onto each other”. it’s literally about jake finding community and also wholeness and happiness in himself.

(also, jake talking about all the little soulmates and the fact that he believes that the boy and girl squads are all his soulmates in different ways…… and bree actually paying attention and showing some vulnerability at that point because she loves her friends so much!!!!!!!!!!)

season four

tw for discussion of sexual assault/rape, alcohol abuse and abortion throughout

trailer

lgbt community. we begins with the regrettes' cover of "don't stop me now" by queen because a) i think it's fun when women and b) it's about bree's mania that we've already seen throughout the seasons, this time from her perspective, and it's simultaneously a Fun Time and a Foreboding time.

episode one

we open with "hail mary, gentle woman" by the cathedral singers, which is literally just the prayer "hail mary", but a song. i chose this because catholic, women, and church time babey. also because it was always one of my favourite hymns growing up (because, in case you couldn't tell from half of the mains being raised catholic and lowkey fucked up because of it, i was raised catholic)

and then we SMASH CUT to "r u mine?" by arctic monkeys, a sad british teen staple, as we see bree wake up in josh's bed for the first time and take the "walk of shame" to get to church. it's about the "i go crazy 'cause here isn't where i wanna be", introducing the Mental Illness, bree's want to get out of where she's from and go to a good uni, and her literally not wanting to be in some strange guy's bed in one line. am I reading too much into this? hell yeah. but it's my show, so i can read as much as i want!!!! (also "satisfaction feels like a distant memory" is both about her depressive states and josh not being able to make her orgasm <3)

AND THEN!!!!!!!!!! we get "all i really want" by alanis morissette, the beginning of my season 4/jlp parallel hyperfixation. it's about bree kinning frankie healy and "do i stress you out?" being her @ audrey. and just bree voice "it would knock me to the floor if i wasn't there already / if only i could hunt the hunter". it's just a perfect teen angst song and it's perfectly grungy and brianna-y.

AND THEN!!!!! we get "kiwi" by harry styles playing as bree slow mos by herself down the street. it's about the just hot girl energy of the song and also the romanticization of unhealthy behaviour because that's bree, baby!!!! also we get more of the word "crazy" because of bree's internalised ableism, and we also get the chorus of "i'm having your baby, it's none of your business", foreshadowing her unplanned pregnancy done by josh, who we saw in the last scene.

AND THEN!!!!! we get "chandelier" by sia as bree and the girls have a fun party moment, but bree is still Fucked Up mentally by seeing annabell and also men being creepy. it's about the using alcohol and drugs to push away your feelings because you have a lot of trauma and have internalised ableism and have no idea how to get the help you need without being vulnerable, which terrifies you so So much. also we see that bree forgot to take her meds in this scene, which i couldn't explicitly say in the scene because spoilers, but it's a fun thing.

then we get dodie's cover of "when the party's over" by billie eilish because i like the soft piano vibes of it as bree walks home after the party, because we always see bree as "the party girl", but the party's over now and we see her petting her cat, making sure her brother's home safe, taking off all her makeup and pretty clothes, completely non sexualised, and just getting into bed to sleep because she's just So Tired. also it's about bree pretending she's happy on her own, but she's Not, she has a lot of self loathing and deeply loves her friends more than anything. also a bree/rori moment with "call me friend but keep me closer".

episode two

we open with an audition sequence!!!!! because i'm a theatre kid and love a good audition sequence!!!!

we get rori singing "sexy" from mean girls, because it's a very rori show (pink aesthetic, fun female characters, a funny time), and because it's a very maureen from rent song. also rori is just a very funny person and also has a sick high belt in my mind. also it's about her learning to like the way she looks, slowly but surely. it's also a song about changing who you are, which is a very skam brighton theme.

and then we get al singing "vienna" by billy joel, but the shortened version they did in smash, but he also plays the piano like ben platt in the politician because he's a basic white theatre boy. it's also just a beautiful song about growing up and maturing, and also "if you're so smart, then tell me why are you still so afraid?" is a very bree line.

(also, the part where josh calls milo his "kid cousin" and then bree's like "yeah, milo's the same age as me" but josh ignores it…… creepy!!!!! bad!!!!!! also, side note, milo is canonically genderfluid and uses different pronouns depending on the day, which is why they change throughout the season.)

and then!!!! we get annabell singing "hallelujah" by leonard cohen, which is just a stunning song, we all know this. it's a song about faith and doubt and it's also a parallel to rori's happy go lucky song, which annabell's being slow and sad instead. also they're jewish and gay and lovely. and then the jeff buckley cover plays over the next scene because it's Good.

and then we get "feel it still" by portugal. the man as the girl squad text. it's just a fun song and the line "i'm a rebel just for kicks" is great from brianna "rebel girl by bikini kill" holland.

and then, swiftie nation, we get “new romantics” by taylor swift as bree agrees to go out with josh because she’s being self destructive. like the fact that she says yes to him as the line “we’re all bored / we’re all so tired of everything” plays say it all. and just the whole song is very bree core, as a whole, also it’s a really fucking good song. i am a 1989 (deluxe) stan.

and then we fade away with “vienna” by billy joel because it is such a good song god bless <3

episode three

WE!! OPEN!! WITH!!! “tik tok” by ke$ha because it is genuinely one of the best songs of our generation, and also it’s just a very shopping centre song. i don’t know why but it Is.

AND THEN!!!!!!!!! we get genuinely one of my favourite songs that i’ve been waiting to find the right scene for ever since i first heard it. “dog bite” by stella bridie is just genuinely a stunning song that really Gets bree’s character as a whole, especially the first lines “putting on lipstick in the bathroom at the doctor’s / i got a party after this blood test”..... the whole Need to be perform feminity whilst doing something as simple as going to the doctor’s as bree draws herself and tries to make herself look perfect because she believes her only self worth comes from her body and just….. the vibes. immaculate.

and then we get “ophelia” by marika hackman, another beautiful song, as we see bree self destructively look through all of the cyber bullying that’s happened to her in the past as a way of emotional self harm. it’s just a genuinely depressing scene with a good song underscoring it.

but then we cut to rori and brianna out for a jog together - because both have issues with their self image, but also because they’re friends and like to do things together - as “it’s nice to have a friend” by taylor swift plays. it is a very homoerotic song, with a lot of childhood friends to lovers vibes, which is kind of what we’re going for here. they are both very deeply sad but also it is nice to have a friend and have someone there for you when you find out the cast list of the musical you auditioned for and you can hug them…….

and then!!!!! we get “...ready for it?” by taylor swift as we get another party sequence because it’s a fucking banger and also brianna is Very reputation as a person, which will be shown with some other taylor songs throughout the season. also it’s kind of a “are you ready for it?” for the Deeply Sad scene that follows the fun party sequence, because this is skam brighton, and i will always write scenes of people being sad outside/after parties.

episode four

we begin with “harlem” by new politics as bree, annabell and dean hang out at the shopping centre and fuck around in clarie’s. it’s about a funky song and about the recurring line of “like you, like me, like everybody else” of the three of them all having their mental illnesses in common and bree simultaneously feeling happy that she can be open about it, and deeply uncomfortable that she has to be open about it.

and then we get “crush on you” by elijah who as bree scrolls through instagram and looks at two pictures - one of annabell and one of rori and nick, and when she likes the picture of rori and nick, she literally taps over nick’s face so that she can just look at rori <3 it’s about the bree being a bicon.

and then we get the theatre club watching rent as a fun time!!!! we get tune up #1 and voicemail #1, just iconic numbers. we get theatre kid supreme al knowing all of the words, cool guy james doing his air guitar, and when the line “let her be a lesbian” is sung, we get annabell cheering and rori awkwardly looking away because she has internalised homophobia.

(side note, one of my favourite aspects of this season is that it’s a subversion of the past three, where we’ve seen sandy, liz and jake deal with their internalised struggles with their sexualities, but with bree and rori, rori’s the one dealing with her sexuality, while bree is in love with her quietly)

AND THEN!!!!! we open clip 5 with the iconic skam verse song “call your girlfriend” by robyn as the girl squad show up at a house party and bree and rori have a homoerotic moment

and then!!!!!!!!!!!! a moment of skamverse wlw solidarity, “blush” by rhiza plays as rori and bree kiss in the bathroom. a) because it’s a good song and b) because the whole “she's just a friend, you know, but sometimes yeah i wanna kiss her, uhm but that's just 'cause she's cute right? that don't make me gay, it's not like i like other girls like i only like her, i mean no, i'm not gay, right?” part is really summing up what rori’s going through in this scene. also the song is just a bree song.

episode five

WE OPEN WITH!!!!!! an iconic moment, if i may say so myself. an iconic wlw song, “boyfriend” by marika hackman, plays over bree and nick out partying. like it opens with the lyrics: “i've got your boyfriend on my mind / i think he knows you stayed with me last night” and then we get “it's fine 'cause i am just a girl / ‘it doesn't count’”. i mean. come on.

we then get a snippet of “rent” from rent in a rehearsal, with the lines: “how do you leave the past behind / when it keep finding ways to get to your heart” and “how can you connect in an age / where strangers, landlords, lovers / your own blood cells betray / what binds the fabric together / when the raging, shifting winds of change / keep ripping away”, which all really relate to brianna with her trying to bury her past traumas and and how she struggles to connect and also struggles with change - and the reference to fabric in the line when she’s the person who does the costumes for the show.

and then we get “pynk” by janelle monae as bree and annabell go charity shopping together and have a nice time. It’s just a fun wlw song and i like it. also it’s boppy and happy and kind of dreamy to show how their relationship is very on the surface and not as deep as it once was and they’re not really going to get that back so it’s just really awkward.

AND THEN!!!! we get bree panicking because she’s getting creepy messages from josh so she runs to hang out with the girl squad and works on her drawing of them, focusing on rori as “head over feet” by alanis morissette plays. this is kind of a contrast to “pynk”, with it being a song that uses real instruments as opposed to the more electro feel of “pynk” to represent the two different relationships. also the lyrics “you treat me like i'm a princess / i'm not used to liking that” and “you've already won me over in spite of me / and don't be alarmed if i fall head over feet / and don't be surprised if i love you for all that you are / i couldn't help it / it's all your fault” are just Incredibly rori/brianna.

and then we get “hand solo (acoustic)” by marika hackman as we get a brief scene of bree masturbating to some not very healthy p*rn. i was hesitant to include this scene, out of fear of over-sexualising bree as a bisexual girl of colour, but then i thought i had to include the scene from a non-sexual stand point - to show how bree uses sex, even in her own mind when she’s alone, as a self destructive thing, and to show that masturbation is a normal thing to do, but also it’s a hint that bree’s state is getting a bit more manic than usual, so she’s getting more hypersexual. also for the catholic guilt of her stopping and looking up to see the cross above her bed.

when then get ortopilot’s cover of “basketcase” by green day, which is more of an acoustic version of the song. the song itself is just a Very mental illness song and just has a lot of vibes of guilt with it, and the beat of the song is very quick and manic in itself.

we then get “every breath you take” by the police playing over bree and josh’s Scary text conversation in the fish n chip shop, because it’s a creepy stalker song with Pleasant Music over it, which is kind of the Vibe i was going for with josh. also, the season came out around the same time as skames season 3, and seeing the parallels between josh and miquel, with josh being very emotionally distant and miquel being very emotionally close, but both of them having the same goal in mind and end result was very interesting to me. also both of them being very creepy old guys who should stay away from teenagers <3

but then. oh but then. we get a moment that is genuinely one of my favourites. we get the broadway cast version of “forgiven” by alanis morissette, another one of my favourite songs. i chose the broadway version because i prefer the quieter orchestration and the build up to the chorus instead of going all in on it so quickly. i chose this song because bree does parallel frankie from jlp, yes, but she also parallels mj in the fact that she’s repressing her trauma from being sexually harassed and assaulted by adult men ever since she was a child. and the song itself is very beautiful and bree core, with lyrics such as “my brothers, they never went blind for what they did / but i may as well have / in the name of the father, the skeptic and the son / i have one more stupid question” and “we all had our reasons to be there / we all had a thing or two to learn / we all needed something to cling to / so we did”. we also see bree seeking refuge in a church after being harassed by josh, because religion is the place where she genuinely feels safest, but she also doesn’t feel safe, as a bisexual woman in the catholic church, but she also knows in her heart that she is loved by god.

episode six

WE! OPEN! WITH! “motion sickness” by ms phoebe bridgers plays as bree wakes up at liz’s house the next morning - a song literally about a shitty older man - and then bree is literally sick in the bathroom, claiming she has food poisoning from the strange fish they got last night because she couldn’t go to their usual place out of fear. but, in reality, this is morning sickness from her pregnancy, because she had sex with josh for the first time 6 weeks prior.

and then we get a scene of bree in a manic state rapidly working on costumes as “my body’s made of crushed little stars” by mitski plays. this scene is directly inspired by me in what i believe to be a manic episode staying up until 5am writing because i thought that if i stopped i would forget everything that i was thinking and never write anything good again. fun times. but also just the fast pace of the song and the very depressing lyrics and the whole “i’m not doing anything” playing over bree doing So Many Things…..

we then get a lot of silence because it’s Emotion Time, but then!!!! we get a moment very pleasing to be, “unprodigal daughter” by alanis morissette playing as bree goes to buy a pregnancy test. the song itself is just one of my favourites, and it’s also about bree kinning ms frankie healy (having a “perfect” white older brother, having an intense relationship with your mother, being artistic and into english, being bisexual and just really cool), but it’s also a song about choice and the singer choosing herself and who she wants to be and having hope for the future and wanting to run away. also the line “i’d invite you but i’m busy being oppressed” once again being used in regards to a young bisexual girl of colour….. genuinely one of my favourite lines ever written. the power it has.

and then. bree finds out she’s pregnant via the tests. and “oh no!” by marina begins to play, because skam brighton is a comedy show, but also skam brighton is a show for depressed british-ish teenagers. bree copes with this Really Fucked News by deciding to go and get wasted because that’s her favourite method of dissociation. also the song is just very bree as a whole, with the wanting to change and the “i'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy” after her making fun of her cousin’s pregnancy in the first episode.

and then we get “bubblegum bitch” also by marina as bree goes out to drink. it’s there to represent how bree is trying to force herself to get into her familiar role of the fun bitchy party girl, but it’s not working because she’s just really fucked, but she’s trying her best.

BIG TW FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT

and then “you are going to hate this” by the frights plays as josh and bree dance together, and we see josh giving her more and more drinks, getting her purposefully drunk as she gives into it, wanting the release being drunk gives her, not realising that he could be doing something bad to her because she’s so distracted by a) the alcohol and b) the fact that she’s fucking pregnant and doesn’t know what to do about it.

and then we get “seventeen” by sharon van etten as josh begins to assault brianna. i first heard this song in sex education, where it played as a group of girls supported their best friend after she was sexually harrassed on the bus, and i wanted to use it here as kind of a parallel to that, but also as a reminder than bree is seventeen years old, a child, and josh knows this, purposefully got her drunk and is assaulting her, because he is a disgusting human being.

episode seven

we open with “interlude iii” by tessa violet, as bree wakes up and leaves josh’s bed again, a parallel to the first clip of the season, but this time we saw the before that presumably happened. it’s just a really pretty song that vibes with the lonely emptiness of the scene.

and then we get “the ballad of mona lisa” by panic! at the disco as bree walks into school. it’s just a really vibey bree song, and the whole “i’d pay to see you frown” line is just about the always masking around people and never showing your real emotions.

we then get “out tonight” from rent, but the movie version, purely because i just prefer the music production on that version. it just slaps. also, i just used this scene to talk about my love for my interpretation of mimi marquez. she’s just a teenager with a lot of problems who needs proper professional medical help, very much like bree. also, i have always seen “out tonight” as mimi having a manic episode and using the number as a distraction from her actual problems (literally what bree is doing) and i love her. (also the scene of bree watching the scene from the movie and having gay panic is just an Iconic moment)

we then get “funeral” by phoebe bridgers as bree lies in bed, deeply depressed and barely able to move. it’s just about a beautiful and deeply sad song. like all of the lines just vibe really hard with bree and the deep loneliness and emptiness of the song, and the underlying panic really outline bree’s actual emotional state.

and we end with the titular song of the episode, “will i?” from rent. i chose this song because, despite it being very repetitive, it’s always been deeply meaningful to me. and the only lines being “will i lose my dignity / will someone care / will i wake tomorrow / from this nightmare?” playing after bree talked about having to deal with her pregnancy, and following the dream imagery used in funeral, because all of the music Is connected…….. quite genuinely one of my favourite moments, because it’s so understated

episode eight

we begin the music of this episode with “everything i own” by the front bottoms - just a really fucking sad song for a really fucking sad time in bree’s life. with like like “just try to appreciate what you got while you got it” and “sometimes i don't feel like singing / i don't really like these songs / sometimes i don't feel like dancing / dj please, don't turn the beat on / let's keep it quiet, keep me honest, keep me true” just really vibing with her.

and then we get “even my dog” by kathryn gallagher, another one of my personal favourite songs, as bree walks through the hospital. first of all, kathryn gallagher’s character in jagged little pill, bella, does parallel bree quite a lot - being from a poor family, being talented at art, being slut-shamed by her school and dealing with the trauma of being sexually assaulted. the song itself has lyrics describing depression, with lines like “i don’t know how i’m gonna get better / i just know that i’m supposed to / i don’t know how i’m gonna get better / but i’ll tell you i’m good ‘til i believe it too” and “everybody wants me to be happy / everybody wants me to be” and “i can feel it / the life i knew before you / it’s beautiful to be so naive” which i feel just Really fit bree and her situation

then we get a little bit of “musetta’s waltz” played by james, because it’s a rent thing, and rori sings a bit of “over the moon” because it’s a maureen song and i just wanted to include it for a little bit of fun in the hell week

and then. oh and then. we get the funeral scene from rent and “i’ll cover you (reprise)” performed by milo and everyone else. the reason i chose this song is because a) it’s one of the most beautiful and heart wrenching songs in musical theatre canon, and b) i wanted to use the imagery of a funeral to show bree quietly making the decision in her head to go through with the abortion, even though she has many doubts. and the line “a new lease you were, my love / on life” is about the baby bree might have had may be being her ticket to a new life, the way she was for her mother, but bree knows that’s not what she wants and not what she can handle right now. and the moment bree finally break is the climax of the song, the moment death is said out in the open “when your heart has expired”. she hears that, is struck by the reality of what she wants to do, and just runs because it’s a lot for any person, let alone a seventeen year old, to handle.

and then we get the girl squad picking bree off the ground, quite literally, and helping her go to the doctor, all of them together, as “sign of the times” by harry styles played. all of the girls are involved, organising rides and where to go and comforting bree, and al’s staying behind, doing ground control at the rehearsal, because al and bree are siblings and they love each other god damn it. ans the song itself is just. simply epic. and the lines “you look pretty good down here / but you ain't really good” really get to where bree is in regards to her self image and it’s about her finally opening up and accepting help and doing what’s right and good for her, not being self destructive or doing things for someone else.

episode nine

we open with a slowed down piano cover of “knee socks” by the arctic monkeys, simply because i liked the sound of it and it’s a quintessential sad british time, but it’s also about girls being pretty.

and then we get one of my favourite songs from rent being sung by bree, “without you”. it’s a genuinely beautiful song about addiction and the struggles that people can go through with it. the song has a double meaning to bree, as she’s been struggling with her alcohol abuse problems recently and going clean, but the song is also about bree imagining life without her hypothetical child. “but i die / without you” is how bree is seeing it, still thinking she’ll be rejected by her mother, and partially by god, if she goes through with it, but the song goes on. she knows the world will go on without her child, but she’s unsure of how she’s going to be after the child is gone. (we also see james come in and sing too, as he plays roger, but him singing is also a reference to him dealing with his own addiction, as mentioned before in this season, to nicotine).

we then get “you gotta be" by des'ree playing as we go from bree getting herself together after josh gets fired to bree and her mother sitting together and watching ladybird. i wanted ladybird to be playing because it’s a very bree movie, in my opinion, and the “give me a number” scene playing is a really good feel, for me, of what it’s like to be a working class child and feeling the need to pay back your parents, which is something bree also feels immensely. and the song has lyrics such as “challenge what the future holds / try and keep your head up to the sky / lovers, they may cause you tears / go ahead release your fears” and “stand up and be counted / don't be ashamed to cry” and “you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger / you gotta be cool, you gotta be calm / you gotta stay together / all i know, all i know, love will save the day”, which just really vibe with where bree is in this scene, trying to figure out all the things she has to be and can be and the whole thing about standing up is just very bree, because, despite us seeing her insecurities and weaknesses, she’s always been a confident person

and then we get a scene that i wrote just to make myself cry. bree gets her hair cut by her mother after deeply connecting to her as “slipping through my fingers” by abba plays. it’s a song about a mother watching her daughter grow up and trying to stay close to her despite her always growing and changing, which is how i see audrey. she’s a woman full of love and she will do anything to support her daughter and make her happy, and it took bree until now to see it. and then we see bree’s hair literally slipping through audrey’s fingers, because haircuts are often used as a way to regain control over one’s life, and i’ve used bree’s hair throughout this season as a way to represent her trauma. when she gets morning sickness, she throws up in her hair. josh pulls on her hair when he assaults her. her cutting her hair off is a metaphor for her cutting off her trauma, but then from the hair cutting we transition to:

the abortion clinic, where “soon you’ll get better” by taylor swift and the chicks is playing. a song where a daughter sings to her mother to get better, and we see a mother supporting her daughter as she gets ready to go through surgery. the song itself, though, feels more about bree’s mental health than her physical state. she knows that through this surgery, she will ultimately end up better, but it’s going to take a lot of time.

and then as bree and audrey sit at home, they watch another movie: this time “grease”, representing bree’s desire to get back to her younger, happier self.

and then. we get “wake up” by alanis morrissette as bree gets ready for the rally in support of sexual assault survivors. a song, when used in the jlp musical, is used to talk about how it’s easier to not stand up and speak out against sexual assault. with the line “it’s so much easier not to / and what goes around never comes around to you” being used in regards to the cishet abled white man who will never get back all of the harm he puts out into the world, but we see bree reclaiming the song and her own body, putting on makeup in a way that makes her happy and marching out to the streets as it plays, focusing on her and only her

episode ten

WE OPEN WITH!!!! a moment most pleasing to me - “i did something bad” by taylor swift playing as the girl squad slow mo down the street together, a united front. i chose this song because it’s literally about society saying a woman did something bad, but she doesn’t give a fuck and wishes that she could do it again, which is how bree feels about fucking up a rapist’s life. also, once again, bree rolling a nat 20 on her deception roll as she gets proof of josh having the pictures of her on his phone by pretending to be the manic pixie damsel in distress josh wanted….. and we also get josh using the term “witch hunt”, the same phrase bryan used when he went off on bree, to show that they’re both the same character archetype, but in different flavours (bryan coming in asshole jock and josh coming in adult man incel).

(note: i also wanted to include the girl squad in this scene, because in the og when noora when to go meet nikolai on her own i was just. So Scared for her because she had No One. also, fun fact, i included the fact that the squad call nick “nickolai” as a nickname in season 2 so maybe there would be a theory that he would be nikolai, but i was just playing 4d chess with myself and he’s just a nice guy)

and then we get “seasons of love” from rent, which is, yes, a basic theatre song, but you can’t deny how good it is. and the whole “minute” thing in it lining up with the “minute by minute” iconic skam speech, and we get annabell on the big soloist lines because they’re the person who also heard the “minute by minute” speech before from the same place as bree, because it was said in their group therapy…. and it also parallels “i’ll cover you (reprise)” with them all standing in a line, but this time bree stays because it’s about love and being supported by your friends and not being sure if you’re okay, but knowing there’s always a safe place for you to go where you’re loved.

(also, we get a throwback joke of sandy, once again, being surprised by how strangely sexual all of these musicals are. i love her so so much)

and then!!!!! we end the episode with rori and bree confessing their feelings for each other and kissing for real for the first time, and it ends with “dress” by taylor swift playing. literally just the most homoerotic song, and the whole “i don’t want you like a best friend” line…… they deserve to be in love with each other and i have been building up to them finally admitting it for four seasons. literally the longest slow burn i’ve ever written.

episode eleven

WE! OPEN! WITH! “watch you sleep” by girl in red, a song i discovered in 2018 and wanted to save for a good moment, and then the whole “do you listen to girl in red” thing exploded, so. (james from derry girls voice) i support wlw, though i myself am not wlw. also it’s just a really sweet song that i like a lot. and we’ve seen bree wake up a lot at the beginning of episodes, and we see her wake up from a nightmare this time, and she calms down instantly when she realises she’s home and with rori…..

and then we get a moment MOST PLEASING to me!!!! we have canon swiftie alistair fletcher streaming “daylight” by taylor swift in the bathroom as bree and rori wait for him to be done. and then they start to dance together to it, with them referencing rent before they start dancing, and rori begins to sing along because rori, as a character, has such “lover” energy. and we get rori singing “i once believed love would be black and white”, which is a reference to her and james’s relationship, with her thinking it would be simple and easy, and then “i once believed love would be burning red”, with her and nick’s quick, passionate relationship “but it’s golden like daylight” and we see her and bree together, calm, best friends who are now lovers, no big dramatics, no fireworks, just two people who care so deeply about each other, holding each other, having seen each other at their worst and still adoring them with every part of their being. and we get the “you’re so pretty”, “no, you”, “no, us” exchange, which is just saying “stop comparing yourself to other girls, just be in love with them and yourself”

and then we get “number one fan” by muna, which is just a really fun boppy song, and just big bree core. with lines like “so i heard the bad news / nobody likes me and i'm gonna die alone / in my bedroom / looking at strangers on my telephone / well, wouldn't you? / wouldn't you like if i believed those words?” is showing her development, going from believing all of the bad shit people say about her, both online and to her face, and standing up for herself and believing in herself

(fun fact, there was originally a clip in this episode where we see bree going to the police about josh, but as i was getting closer to publishing it, i thought “fuck that, i’m not giving them any screentime”, and just gave bree some fun exposition about reporting josh to his school)

so we get “icu” by phoebe bridgers as bree’s walking down the street, just vibing, very happy because she just got her rapist expelled from his university. we get lines like: “and i get this feeling / whenever i feel good / it'll be the last time” which vibes with my perception and bree and her relationship with her mental health, which is currently, in the episode, in a good place because of goos things happening, but she knows that it’s going to come back down eventually, but she’s prepared for it now, she’s not as scared of herself anymore

then we get al’s film of the rehearsal process - which is, once again, him using art and music as a way of expressing his love - as “heroes” by david bowie plays. this is a direct reference to “the perks of being a wallflower”, a very inspiring piece of media to me, writing wise. the film that al makes is just a love letter to being teenagers and making art and noise in a world where people are constantly telling you to shut up.

and then, following two deeply philosophical speeches i wrote at 3am one night, we get the last 15 minutes of act one of a musical because it’s my show!!!!!! and if i want to have a character yell about love and then sing a song i can!!!!!

we begin with “la vie boheme”, the iconic act one closer of rent. quite genuinely, this song has the same meaning here as it does in rent, only with the added layer of “this is the last clip, so we’re just all having a fun happy ending” on it, so i’m just gonna be talking about my favourite fun parts of it.

we got al and bree sharing a laugh as al sings “not to mention, of course / hating dear old mom and dad”; we got al high-fiving jake as he talks about “fruits”, because they’re both gay; we got one of my favourite lines: “to being an us for once instead of a them”; we got milo and bree messing around because i love their friendship; we got bree and nick singing a verse together; we got al making it canon that mark cohen gets pegged with the “mucho masturbation” line; we get rori making eye contact with bree while she kisses another girl, because we love a call your girlfriend reference and we love her character development; we get james finally perfecting “musetta’s waltz”

and then we get “i should tell you”, a song i hated upon first watch of rent, but now i love it so so much. while james and bree are singing it together as roger and mimi, bree is very much dedicating the song to rori, because it’s a song about being scared of starting a relationship but doing it anyway because you’re learning to trust the other person. we also see audrey and patrick in the audience, both so happy and supportive of their children, because i love them so much. i love all of the parents, but audrey is definitely my personal favourite so fa.

and then!!!! we begin “la vie boheme b”, literally one of the biggest bangers of musical theatre history.

we get rori singing the first fast verse, literally raising a middle finger to the idea of perfection and eating disorders, because while those ideas may be a part of her life, she’s happy to say “fuck you” to them; we get nick voguing to the camera as he sings his fast verse, goofing around like usual; and then we get milo yelling out their verse to the audience, serious, because they genuinely believe in the words they’re saying

then we get the cast all yelling out their lgbt identity in the form of a reclaimed slur. i also changed this part of the show because there’s two terms referring to lesbians in the song and i wanted to a reference just for bisexual people.

then we begin to shift all focus away from bree and her story, beginning to move onto nick, as he and james dance together as al yells out the title line of the episode: “the opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation”. and i decided to edit the closing monologue because i felt that it placed too much focus on roger and mimi’s romance and wanted to end the season with a focus on revolution and positive social change, ending with the line: “the riot goes on and on and on and on…”

and then we end the season with the line “we will now take a short intermission” as nick looks into the camera, because it’s time for a break between seasons babey!

and that’s another well over 10k essay on my music choices!!!!! also, as of writing this, i have officially finished production on skambr season 5!!!! i’m way ahead of schedule, which is really good for me, and the trailer will be coming out in about a month’s time!!!! until then, thank you for reading my infodump <3

#skam brighton #skam brighton spoilers #isaac speaks #tw rape mention

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wtf-am-i-drawing · 5 years

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About Your Favourite Songs

here you go @ralbaclaw

1. Your current favourite song: Grace Kelly by Mika, or Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira

2. A song from a genre you don’t usually listen to: can’t think of anything tbh

3. A song that motivates you to study: nothing ever motivates me to study, but I guess I do listen to a lot of Hozier when I study (it’s relaxing)

4. A song that reminds you of one of your favourite fictional characters: idk many soundtracks come to mind

5. A song that reminds you of your crush: i don’t have a crush so i wouldn’t know how to answer

6. A song that best describes your personality or aesthetic: maybe Boy by Little Mix?

7. A song that reminds you of your childhood: any Disney Channel movie original song (or honestly, the Sakura opening).

8. A song that makes you want to cry: oh where do i begin. Good Enough by Little Mix always gets me, and sometimes Little Me too (god, the Salute album was great), also like last songs from groups make me sad, like Don’t Say You Love Me by Fifth Harmony, Lonely by Sistar makes me sad (but mostly because of the last line, ‘with time, everything will be forgotten, and so will you, and that’s what’s really sad’ damn you Dasom), Beyoncé’s Heaven can be tough sometimes too.

9. A favourite song that’s a cover of another song: idk if it’s my fave, but I really like Who’s Loving You, covered by Little Mix, and Solji’s (from EXID) cover of Dream Lover (i still need to find the original song)

10. A song that helped you through a difficult time in your life: Little Me by Little Mix (it’s a great song, okay)

11. Your favourite instrumental song: I guess Light of the Seven from Game of Thrones, and idk if it counts but I love the instrumental of NIght Rather Than Day by EXID

12. A song from the year you were born: Don’t Let Go by En Vogue

13. Your favourite Disney song: how the fuck (Amigas Cheetahs) am I supposed (Amigas Cheetahs) to choose???? (actually I also really love the songs from Aladdin, and more recently, Coco)

14. A song from your favourite musical: I can like musicals, but I don’t follow it as a genre, so I wouldn’t know, but Empty Chairs And Empty Tables (i think) from Les Mis always makes me feel things (also I Want It All and I Don’t Dance from hsm are the bopiest bops)

15. A song that sends chills down your spine: “Love On The Brain (Rihana)” honestly, same, but also Love Me Or Leave Me by Little Mix, Solji’s Dream Lover, and probably more than that.

16. A song that you love to dance to: EXID’s Lady, Shakira’s Addicted To You, Little Mix’s Salute, many more.

17. A song that you can’t help but sing along: A Whole New World

18. A song you’ve discovered this year (not necessarily from this year): Ma Peau Aime by Alma (honestly I listened to the whole album, but this was my fave)

19. A song a friend has recommended to you and you’ve ended up loving: Arde by Aitana

20. A song from your favourite film: my 2 favourite movies don’t really have a soundtrack that stands out

21. A song from your favourite TV series: my favourite TV series don’t really have songs, except instrumental intros, which are fun but that’s it, so I’ll say Every Heart by BoA cus not long ago I found out she sings the Japanese version of Inuyasha’s ending, and I freaking loved that as a child

22. A song that lasts over 7 min: I guess La Llorona by Ángela Aguilar

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somuchanemoia · 6 years

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11 Questions

Hiya, everyone! I am finally back to posting on my blog more after the busy week and I am finally catching up on my tags! Woohoo!

Thank you to the lovely @yuuricutesuki for tagging me!

1. If you were given a one-minute ad-slot during the Super Bowl that you couldn’t sell, what would you fill it with?

Uhm...I’ve never actually thought about this before and it’s a good question. Hmm...probably a slideshow demonstrating the beautiful existence of our Lord and savior Viktor Nikiforov. I’d have Joey (@yuuris-piano) do the music for it too. You know. Just a giant one-minute ad of Viktor Nikiforov’s face.

2. what problem did you think was going to be common in ‘grown-up’ life as a kid? was it actually a problem or just a misconception?

For me, it was making friends as a grown-up. Like honestly, how does that happen? Like, I was the kid who hardly ever made friends until I was in high school and even then it was a struggle. I’m a sophomore in college and still haven’t made friends. Like I get that you do the same thing, but like I don’t like enough people in my lectures to actually talk to them. And I feel weird going out by myself so I just awkwardly sit and do homework and do dumb stuff by myself on friday night. So, I can say that it is still a problem?? I dunno.

3. which fictional character would you want to be your sidekick?

Well...it depends on the mission. In real life, I feel like Yuuri would make an awesome person to have as a sidekick because he would get me really well and would just be chill with it. If I’m looking to get into trouble, I’d probably bring Lance McClain with me. If I was going anywhere where Fergalicious was playing, Chris is gonna be my sidekick. If I’m gonna go meet someone for the first time, I’m bringing Will Solace with me.

Can like...all of my fictional favorites be my sidekicks because I need them all.

4. In your opinion, what will finally break the internet?

One of three things:

Footage of the Viktuuri wedding if we ever get it. ‘Nough said.

Klance being confirmed

J.K. Rowling writing another Harry Potter series because I really need a marauders prequel goddamnit!!!!

5. When was the last time you wished you could throw down a smoke bomb and disappear?

Everyday of my life...

Last time I saw my ex in public. I went to go get hair dye to do my hair and she apparently had started working there and we had that whole awkward “i’m gonna pretend I have no idea who the frick you are” thing going on on my side and the awkward flirting on her part. It was just one those moments when your like “oh please let the aliens beam me up now to save me from this monstrosity.”

6. what’s something you did ironically so many times that it just became a part of your personality?

Hmm...I dunno if this counts, but I sigh a lot. Sometimes I sigh without even realizing I’m sighing and now I’m just the one who automatically is sighing over everything.

7. do you believe in ghosts? if yes, do you have a personal/favourite ghost story?

Hell yeah! I’m a big believer in the paranormal and I’m actually kind of sensitive to it, to say the least.

So, I actually have a few personal experiences, but my most recent experience was a few months ago. I was out driving at night trying to get my 2-year-old brother to sleep since my mom wasn’t feeling well and since I live in a smaller town, the streets were mostly empty. I had driven downtown and was on my way driving back when I saw something dart off into the road. So I slowed down and was really paying attention since we didn’t have street lights on the road. It was a weird occurence since I was driving between two housing developments that were surrounded by high walls on either side of me so it’s not like there would be an animal that ran out into the middle of the street and it was after midnight and my town shuts down at 10.

And then I saw someone standing in the middle of the road in all black. They had their arms spread and were waiting for me to hit them. I swerved as much as I could on the road as I slammed on the breaks, trying to avoid hitting the person and I felt the car hit something. I’ve been in a car accident before and I know what impact feels like and I swear that I hit something.

I got the car to stop and I pulled over, because I was freaking the fuck out. My brother was asleep in the car and we were both okay, but I really thought I hit someone. Since I was by myself, I didn’t get out of the car, but I did call a friend’s dad (since my dad has epilispey and can’t drive) and he, his wife and my friend, and his brother drove the 30 seconds to where I was from their house.

There was nobody there. I didn’t hit anything. There was no damage to the car. There was no way anyone could have ran from the scene since the road was surrounded by walls that couldn’t have been climbed easily.

None of us, have any idea of what happened.

8. when/if you talk to yourself (out loud or otherwise), do you use ‘we’, ‘I’, or ‘you’ to address yourself?

Usually it’s a combination of all three. It depends on the context. I tend to lean more towards ‘you’ or ‘I’ but I often use ‘we’ too. For isntance, when I’m psyching myself up, I tend to use ‘you’ or ‘we’ but I generally use ‘I’ when I am trying to get myself to focus.

9. what’s your ultimate desert island book?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ uhhhhhhhh....Island of the Blue Dolphins? I dunno.

10. what’s something you do that’ll almost always lift your mood?

Putting on You Only Live Once and dancing. Nothing lifts your mood like the most motivational song ever. Forget Eye of th Tiger or It’s My Turn Now! You Only Live Once is so freaking positive and it makes me feel like I can get through anything. Believe it or not, when I’m in a really bad depression slump, it’s a song that helps get me moving even if it doesn’t stop the episode.

Also, watching Adam Rippon skate because lets be honest he is goals for all of us.

Or looking at pictures of my OTPs.

11. compliment yourself!

I’m so not good at complimenting myself, but I’ll try.

Uhm...Sam, you have a not shitty taste in music. It’s not that bad. You have a few questionable tastes, but mostly it’s pretty awesome.

I’m not gonna tag a lot of people because I’m catching up on tags, but I will be tagging: @endlesscloudsoftime, @callmeasses and @iwritebetterthanispeak as well as whoever else wants to do this.

My 11 Questions for you:

1. Which fictional character would be the most borning to meet in real life?

2. What problem or situation did TV / movies make you think would be common, but when you grew up you found out it wasn’t? (i’m lowkey taking a jab at hsm because thanks Disney for making me think high school would be awesome)

3. What would be on the gag reel of your life?

4. What does “infinite” mean to you?

5. If your life was a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?

6. What item would be your top choice to make into a horcrux?

7. Who would play you in a movie about your life?

8. Most relatable scene from any book/movie/anime/etc.?

9. If you were shrunk down and somehow got stuck in a blender, how would you get out?

10. Would you count manga as a piece of literature? Why or why not?

11. compliment yourself. (joey, you’re just to freaking good to at making up questions).

#tagged #porkcutletbowltrash #yuuricuteski

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deborahdeshoftim5779 · 7 years

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Troy Bolton: Things We Ought To Know (HSM I)

I've had a writing epiphany: I need to begin where the story actually begins. Without delving into mundane details, I have been struggling with one of my Trelsi fics, because I was dead set on beguinning it during the latter half of HSM III, simply because I had envisioned plenty of great scenes for that period. The problem was, I couldn't make things gel together, and all I had was a bunch of great scenes bridged together by pointless conversations that did nothing to advance the plot or increase dramatic tension. For someone who drinks writing advice like a fish, I definitely can neglect the basics! Start where the story actually starts, and there needs to be dramatic tension and stakes from the first chapter. I think I've fallen too much on the "It's just fanfiction" excuse, which is inexcusable, because I want to tell a good story, which means good writing, and I'm currently writing original works, too. What's the point if I give myself reasons to slack off?

Having come to this grand epiphany, I've significantly sped up my writing process, and made it easier to write the synopsis. Furthermore, I was worried about repeating myself when I wrote other stories which would also be set during the latter half of HSM III, but here's the thing: those stories ended up having something to say during that period. So I could transfer my scenes there, and therefore cut the flab from the big one. And to be honest, the only reason my "major" Trelsi fic was even major was because I'd added a whole load of flab to the beginning before getting to the middle part. I literally could not figure out why the middle was better conceptualized in my head than the beginning, before I realized that the middle actually WAS the beginning. So now I don't have to worry about repeating myself, because I'm dealing with different time-frames. I had always suspected this story would be better off beginning after graduation, but I'd read another Trelsi story with a similar starting point and thought I might be copying. That's ridiculous, as my story is completely different, as it should be.

Anyway, why is this relevant? I'm currently rewatching HSM I in my beloved Google Play. Ever since realizing that Dropbox allows you to save and back up Screenshots, I've been hitting the Print Screen button like a maniac all through my favourite movies and TV shows. I like having visual images available when writing. And this is actually helpful for HSM, because I'm British and therefore relatively unfamiliar with the American school system and other things. I once spent an entire lunchtime reading about American roads because I needed this information for the scene where Troy insanely drives 1053 miles to see Gabriella. Another piece of great writing advice I read recently was that all fiction writers should read nonfiction. Truth is stranger than fiction, and this can help spark new ideas and provide necessary research that maintains reality in fiction. I have NO patience for writers or screenwriters who don't take the time to research the topic they're handling.

Why is HSM I important? It demonstrates the reason for Troy's attachment to Gabriella and to his illusions. If you want to detach Troy from Gabriella, you first have to understand how and why he became attached in the first place. Troy strikes me as idealistic, particularly when it comes to romance. You have to experience the twinkling lights, the innocence, the romantic music, the shy laughter and their final performance before watching it unravel and wondering why Troy wants to be trapped under the wreckage.

This is why I am updating huge chunks of my story, cutting out loads of unnecessary flab that I'd previously considered good/attractive, but serves no purpose whatsoever. I realized that I need to focus on TROY's evolution, his goals and his final redemption, when he is emancipated from his relationship with Gabriella. That's the whole purpose. (Other than him being with Kelsi). So I rewrote the summary to reflect this. So HSM I makes for important referencing material-- more so than HSM II, because if the story begins in HSM III or later, then the damage sown in HSM II was already done. But knowing how it all started will increase Troy's emotional conflict and pain later on. And emotional pain and conflict make good stories.

There are so many interesting things about Troy Bolton in HSM I that have nothing to do with Gabriella. For example, the rooftop garden scene is not memorable because Gabriella was invited there; if you watch carefully at the end, you will see that they run out of things to say to each other, and stare awkwardly in different directions. That already demonstrates that despite their obvious attraction to each other and one mutual interest, they don't have much else in common. No, this scene interests me because it shows how desperately Troy craves solitude, and even enjoys it. It shows that Troy isn't fully comfortable around his friends, not because they aren't his friends (although their behaviour certainly suggests this sometimes), but because they don't understand him enough. Note that he says of his rooftop hideout: "which means that my buddies don't even know it exists." He doesn't make any distinction between his regular buddies, and Chad, who has been his best friend since childhood. I'm a huge fan of Troy and Chad's friendship, but you can't ignore the significance here.

Interestingly, Troy does actually share many nerdy memories with Chad; in HSM III, we find out that the two used to play in Troy's treehouse and visit Riley's Salvage, pretending to be spies and superheroes. Chad says "I was a much better superhero than you were"; so maybe Troy was telling the truth when he said the red cape in his treehouse belonged to his friend. Why does Chad not know about the rooftop gardens (until it was convenient for the plot in HSM I)? I think it's because Troy does share many interests with Chad and when they're hanging out, they're not retreating from the world. They're being a part of it, considering themselves as brothers-in-arms. The big difference between them is that Troy is "The Basketball Guy", the one whose actions affect the "entire school" and who must lead his team to victory, presumably every time. Chad enables and encourages this pressure, whilst also becoming resentful when he feels Troy enjoys too many perks, too much praise, too many advantages. A further reason is that revealing the rooftop gardens would mean revealing his friendship with the Science Club, which is social heresy in Chad's book.

There are many other things that build a picture of Troy's life outside of Gabriella in HSM I.

[Gabriella] "Well you sound like you've done a lot of singing too!"

[Troy] "Yeah, my showerhead is very impressed with me."

Again, this picture of him singing in the shower demonstrates the freedom he experiences when alone. Although he admits this to a girl that he's just met, which is significant, he downplays it. I initially believed this was because of his dorkiness, but maybe it's because he's modest about his talents and because he actually does enjoy singing in the shower, or takes it seriously. But ever conscious of this new girl who has sprung out of nowhere, he thinks that coming off as a dork will work better. He certainly seemed more interested and impressed by her experience singing in Church choirs and encouraged the notion of her having a solo career. Perhaps he isn't confident enough in his singing, even when clearly capable at it, and would never allow himself to dream outside the "Hoops Dude/Playmaker" box. The screenwriters could have explored all of this at the beginning, instead of giving the impression that only Gabriella awoke his interest in the Performing Arts.

Here's the thing: that whole beginning sequence is utterly forgettable. Sure, they kept each other's numbers, but their meeting could equally have had no effect whatsoever, had they either not kept in contact, or been too far away to get to know each other well enough. Meanwhile, information about Troy singing in the shower and his enjoyment of performing could have been triggered by a more meaningful meeting. Might I suggest one? His meeting Kelsi, 35 minutes later into the film lead to longlasting repercussions, all of them positive, for both characters. As I will explain in my Trelsi series (it IS coming), if the screenwriters wanted a more romantic beginning, this scene would have worked far better for several reasons. Firstly, it's not coincidental. Sorry, but I dislike coincidences. I still can't decide whether Troy intended to become friends with Kelsi, but he definitely made an active decision to help her pick up her manuscripts and to build her confidence after seeing Sharpay tear it down. Secondly, Troy and Kelsi clicked right away, whereas Gabriella just wandered off after their supposedly romantic first meeting without even saying goodbye, perhaps a sign of her subsequent behaviour towards Troy. Thirdly, meeting Troy made Kelsi open up (with enthusiasm) and brought about a change in her character, whereas Troy and Gabriella simply chatted about their singing experiences and agreed that karaoke was fun. Fourthly, meeting Kelsi led directly to Troy realizing his newfound interest in singing-- please note this scene could have happened with or without Troy meeting Gabriella. Fifthly, as I have said before, Troy's reaction to hearing Kelsi's song was far more profound than his reaction to singing "The Start of Something New".

Just saying.

By the way, Gabriella completely misinterprets the need for Troy's rooftop hideout.

[Gabriella] "So this is your private hideout?"

Sounds innocuous, but later on she says:

[Gabriella] "You pretty much have the school wired, don't you, Troy? Seems to me like everyone on campus wants to be your friend."

She thinks that he gets the rooftop gardens thanks to his status, that he gets anything he wants and that the world is in his hands. This might explain her lack of patience with him in HSM II, and her willingness to believe that he's wearing Italian golf shoes to show off, rather than because they were given to him. Perhaps there even might be some longing in her voice; she was previously the school's "freaky math girl" and would love to be popular and admired instead. She gets this without any struggle whatsoever, mostly thanks to Troy and Taylor. So even Gabriella doesn't understand Troy on the spot. Is that a crime? No. And certainly later on in this scene, Gabriella demonstrates that she knows Troy better than his friends. But again, it's worth pointing out that the "Playmaker" scene demonstrated instant understanding between two people. On the other hand, Gabriella eventually proves to be just as (deliberately) ignorant of Troy and his feelings as everyone else around him. Again, just saying.

What other interesting facts about Troy are revealed? "Unless we lose." This demonstrates that despite the adulation heaped on Troy's head, he's no longer interesting if he can't deliver for East High. This fits in well with Coach Bolton's later claim that "what you do affects not only this team, but the entire school." Remember even Principal Matsui expects Troy to get the team "whipped into shape". If Troy loses, the whole school has lost. If Troy can't focus on each and every game, then he's letting down the whole school. If you view these two lines of dialogue together, you get a sense of the overwhelming pressure that Troy, at this point only sixteen/seventeen, faces every day of the basketball season. It's insane to put that kind of pressure on a kid's head, particularly when he's so sensitive and doesn't have a picture of his own future, as he proved in HSM III. "Unless we lose," means that Troy has faced the consequences of losing many times. How do we know this? Later on, Coach Bolton says that the "West High Knights have knocked us out of the Playoffs three years running." Now although he later says that everyone must given 110% to the game, you have to take into consideration his later words directed only at Troy: "And without you completely focussed, we're not going to win..." Losing is not simply a part of life for Troy Bolton. It's failure, it's disappointing his team, his school, his Principal... his Coach AND father. And he's faced this several times. When he says "Unless we lose", he smiles in resignation and shrugs as though it's not a big deal, but we know that it is-- not just because it hurts Troy to lose, but because he shoulders everyone's hopes and expectations.

Small wonder that he doesn't "see my life as a ball game anymore" later on?

Thing is, Troy loves basketball. It wouldn't make sense for him to choose it (and announce it first) in HSM III otherwise. His eyes light up whenever he sees a hoop. One of the first advantages of the job at Lava Springs was basketball: "We got a hoop out back..." He takes any opportunity to work on his free throws at home. His bedroom, often representative of a character, is filled with basketball memorabilia, all collected of his own accord. Basketball is a source of bonding between him and his father-- sometimes the only way they can communicate. Basketball is what he shares in common with his best friend. He enjoys sports on the whole. You can see the genuine delight when he wins in HSM I and HSM III. It's not the game that he doesn't like, but the unnecessary adulation, the pressure, the insistence upon him being everyone's superhero when, as he quite reasonably stated, "there's twelve people on this team, not just me." He might not be as passionate about it as Chad, because he definitely sees his identity as being more varied than just being a basketball player. Chad's future is easy: "Hoops all the way!" But he certainly is invested in it.

I'm just rewatching Gabriella and Taylor's conversation about the Scholastic Decathlon right now. It's ironic that Gabriella is the voice of reason here, stating that Taylor should get to know Troy before making judgements about him. Calling someone a "particular sub-species" just because they play basketball is absurdly unfair. Taylor is bubbly and fun and intelligent, but intensely prejudiced and relies heavily on her preconceptions of other people. Furthermore, she expects other people to accept her judgements, hence why she constantly tells Gabriella what to think about her relationship during HSM II. (Gabriella (apparently later) forgets that she ever told Taylor to be more open-minded and decides to just swallow whatever Taylor feeds her).

Anyway, what's interesting about this scene is the cheerleaders in hysterics over Troy's looks. What's even more interesting is that Troy is not in the slightest bit interested in any cheerleader, and for most of the movie, doesn't appear to acknowledge their existence. This is a marvellous feat, given that they presumably sit at his lunchtable with the basketball folks. You can see this right before "Stick To The Status Quo". Troy has a notable flaw of ignoring people when he's engrossed in something, like during HSM II when he was showing the Redhawk player how to hold a golf club and ignored Chad and Jason. They found this insulting. Apparently, Troy's lack of interest in any single cheerleader (some of whom must surely have thrown themselves at him) does not insult them, judging by their giggling. And does this interest die down after Troy begins dating Gabriella? I don't think so. At the beginning of HSM III, as Troy is wading his way through dancers at his house, Martha and another cheerleader congratulate him. So I guess he's still their hero.

This is very interesting to me; because I ship Troy and Kelsi together, I have to work around his complete blindness to any other girl, which canonically includes Kelsi. I wrote loads of notes about what Troy's taste in Gabriella said about his romantic tastes, and then applied these to Kelsi, and then had to think up scenario's where he might notice Kelsi more. It was challenging, but stimulating, because I realized that this would actually make their romance better. Why? Because it falls perfectly in line with the first song of Kelsi's that Troy ever heard: "It's hard to believe, that I couldn't see, that you were always right beside me."

Again, just saying. The unexpectedness of meeting Kelsi, plus Troy's reaction to hearing her song and his ability to connect to it instantly speak volumes. No scene of such emotional intensity exists between Troy and Gabriella before perhaps their performance of Breaking Free.

Okay, back to Troy Bolton.

By the way, I've noted before that during HSM I, Kelsi wasn't in Troy's homeroom class. By HSM II, she's there, her desk directly to his left and she gives him a quick hug after the bell goes! (CUTE!) I'm still waiting for an explanation.

When Troy tells Chad that he's off to do homework instead of, *gasp*, practicing during free period and directing his team, the audience is supposed to take this as an excuse. Of course, Troy was using homework as a diversion. However, later on in the movie, we see Troy spending what I presume is a free period to check out some books in the library and take notes. Chad, on the other hand, is tailing him and filling his head with all kinds of nonsensical threats and meaningless anecdotes. This does demonstrate that Troy is, outside of basketball, a conscientious student. Chad* is not, and proud of this. He boasts about having been behind on homework since preschool, an untenable position for someone hoping to attend college. I understand that in the American college system, you spend the first year studying all the basic subjects to build credits. I've already discussed the importance of Troy hanging out with the Science Club, unnecessary if he doesn't care about academics. He also won a scholarship to Berkeley, impossible without having sufficient credits and having performed exceptionally well. In HSM III, he is seen holding a thick textbook which I think says "Literature" on it. Of course, by that point, Gabriella probably watched over his studies like a hawk; she orders him to "come on" so they can do homework. But I don't think Troy slacked off at other subjects (even though he is rarely ever seen carrying a bag, or holding books and pens!). It does counter the accusation that he simply sat around waiting for privileges, as his friends and girlfriend so insultingly assume during HSM II.

There are many other things I'd like to know about Troy Bolton, but the final thing I want to note here is his modesty. Like I've said before, he doesn't even know arrogance, let alone display it. Can he be inconsiderate? Yes. He put several members of his class into detention just because he wanted to speak with Gabriella, when he could simply have waited until they were dismissed. He can forget things that are important, be late, have a tunnel vision with regards to unreasonable goals, as well as ignoring sensible advice to attain said goals. But is he ever arrogant? Not that I can think of. During the first scene between him and Gabriella, he tells her she has an "amazing voice". He then repeats this to Ms Darbus, not even mentioning that his own voice is pretty good too. When Ms Darbus offers him (and Gabriella) a callback audition, Gabriella is delighted, he is astonished. On the rooftop garden, Gabriella says "You're a cool guy, Troy. But not for the reasons your friends think." Troy's reaction isn't even bashful; he genuinely appears astonished by this revelation, that his quirky, dorky character is a positive thing, and not something he should hide from others. That there are people who appreciate him without making him conform to their expectations, like (ostensibly) Gabriella. You can see him contemplating her words there, not even seeming to notice her until she thanks him for showing her the place. Later on, he gives his Game Ball away to Kelsi, whom most people either don't know or don't notice, and lets everyone cheer for her after the basketball game, which is what they actually came to see. It's actions like these which make me love Troy Bolton and enjoy writing about him.

More musings upcoming.

*FOOTNOTE-- Interestingly, Chad won a scholarship to the U of A, which would have been impossible had he done no homework. Is it fair to assume that he buckled up and studied hard? Did Taylor, a conscientious student, have a hand in this change? If so, this would prove her a good influence on him, and beg the question of why they may have split up after graduating. I'm still infuriated by this.

#TroyBolton #ILOVEHim!#TroyBoltonIsAwesome #Trelsi #OTP #Playmakers #AmWriting #Deb'sAnalysis #IMightContinueThis #WritingProgress #GabriellaMontez #ChadDanforth #OffToBed

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pluviophile-bookworm · 4 years

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I just saw the HSMTMTS season finale and I have some things to say

Well, it’s mostly about moments that left me speechless or made me cry, but well, I’ll try to put it to words. I’m writing this from memory so I hope I don’t miss anything.

Carlos as Chad might just be even weirder than EJ as Chad - but I kinda like it. Although Chad without the big bouncy hair... is that even really Chad?

I feel like Mr. Mazzara isn’t telling us something about his background. To put it in Big Red’s words “You know a lot about technical theatre for a STEM teacher”. Although, you know, Big Red’s one to talk - that scene in the credits was... well, I’ll get to it later.

Nini’s face when she saw EJ as Troy... that was more shocking than she could take in the situation she was in. I was going to say maybe Ricky didn’t quite think it through what it would be like for her, but then he did try to let her know. But if we’ve learnt something from Ms. Darbus, it’s that there’s no phones in the theatre.

Ashlyn as Ms. Darbus performing Wondering and Big Red’s giant smile when he looks at her give me life. I’m just kinda sad we didn’t get to see the whole thing. But it was for an important reason, so...

Speaking of that, Ricky's mum has no right to talk about commitment. Not after bringing both her...( husband? Ex-husband? Are they even officially divorced yet? I forgot.) and her boyfriend to her son’s first ever show. But Ricky said it all much better than I could.

Watching this scene, when she said “Not all couples are meant to be together”, I was like, does this have anything to do with Ricky and Nini? After seeing the whole episode, I still don’t quite know the answer to that question.

Can I just say that Seb’s family is the best? All of them being there to support him, the posters, the enthusiasm... if anybody in that audience had something not-so-positive to say about him playing Sharpay... well, they could try, but if I were them I wouldn’t dare in the presence of the Seb Protection Squad. Not that anyone’s saying anything anyway. But Seb’s performance of Bop to the Top is another musical number I hoped I’d get to see in all its glory.

Kourtney calling what Ricky did “sweet in a really dumb way” is quite an accurate description. That’s our boy - what they call “dumb of ass, pure of heart” - in the best way possible. Also, we do realise he’s doing all of this because of Nini, don’t we? It was because of her that he ever auditioned, and it’s because of her that he stepped back when he felt like he couldn’t be the best leading man for her. Honestly, I didn’t know who to ship with whom, and I still don’t quite know, but Ricky just loves Nini so much - in a way that’s not just about romantic love, you know. Theirs is deeper than that.

As EJ and Nini stepped out on stage for Breaking Free, I felt like they weren’t just acting their lines - they were living them. Like Nini was secretly telling EJ “this doesn’t feel right, I can’t do it, it’s too much”, and EJ was trying to calm her down and help her focus. And then the whole “remember kindergarten” thing... I saw what you did there, Mr. Wonderstudy. And getting the tickets for Gina to come back... I had my doubts about this one in the beginning, but he might just turn out to be a new favourite of mine. His heart is in the right place after all.

Ricky and Nini’s chemistry is just unbelievable. Unbelievable, I say. You have no idea how I cried throughout the whole song. I don’t know how Josh and Olivia do it, or how the casting directors did it, but something brought them both together and it’s their chemistry that’s selling it all in my humble opinion. That and the insane talent of everyone else in this out-of-this-world cast, I just love them so much. I don’t think we as a fandom fully appreciate how lucky we are to be able to witness all these amazing people shine.

Ricky and Nini’s mirroring reactions to what just played out on stage was solid proof that it was just as much a “wow” moment for them as it was for us - or at least for me.Tell me if you felt that way about it too.

“We’re all in this together” has always been a really special song to me and, I suppose, everyone else who grew up with HSM, but this rendition really had something extra special about it. It’s just one of those things that have what the French call je ne sais quoi... and giving Miss Jenn her moment with the apple line - sure, there are things more important than “a line about a piece of fruit”, but that was a lovely way to express their love and gratitude to her for being their teacher.

“Big Red the third”... so it’s a family thing? Now I really want to know more about it. And I just love his parents’ reaction to his vital participation in the show. Seriously, most parents in this series are just so wholesome and cool, and then there are Ricky’s... i prefer not to talk about it.

The mystery of the flowers was resolved in the loveliest way possible, and then... why did Kourtney have to appear right at that moment?

Can we talk about that moment in Nini’s dressing room? This is how to say “I love you”. I don’t know what exactly gave Ricky whatever he needed in order to say it after all this time, but he did say it and I’d be lying if I tried to pretend like I didn’t cry right at that moment.

That was just about the biggest damn kiss since Shirbert in AWAE 3x10. And how many were there, actually? And the gifts... how lovely. But seriously, why does Kourtney have to be such a moment killer? I love her anyway.

Is Ash thinking what I’m thinking she’s thinking? Is Gina staying at her place? Is Gina staying anywhere? I need to know. But with everything that happened in this episode, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes.

Miss Jenn and Mr. Mezzara started the fire... I don’t like where this is going.

So we established that Gina might just be staying... but Nini cannot leave now, can she? I feel like this might turn into HSM3 and I don’t quite like it.

Now, about that credits scene... that was... something. I can’t say I expected it, but I’d be lying if I say it was totally unexpected. And then, when Ashlyn came in, it reminded me quite a bit of that post-credits scene with Sharpay and Zeke in the original movie... except way, way better. And seriously, I cannot wait for the second season, but I’m willing to wait as long as it takes after this wonderful finale - whatever it might cost me.

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deborahdeshoftim5779 · 7 years

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The Marvel of Trelsi (Part VIII)

Now it’s time to look at the romantic potential of Trelsi. As stated in my Introduction, I still have the following questions to answer:

Question- Friendship, Romance or Both? What’s their dynamic? What would attract the both of them? What are their flaws? How would these flaws work together?

Question- Why is Trelsi a superior potential romantic ship to Troyella? (Oh, I’m going to have a field day with THAT one!) Why is Trelsi so poorly appreciated as a potential romantic ship?

On second thoughts, I’m going to flip that round. I think it makes more sense that we understand what’s wrong with canon before discussing the benefits of Trelsi, which is a non-canonical ship. That’s a more objective and honest approach. Once we have a picture of all the problems that present themselves, I can demonstrate how Trelsi is a superior fit. I’ve been planning these posts in my head and on paper for over two weeks now, but with regards to writing Trelsi fiction and the notes I wrote then, this is MONTHS worth of thinking coming to fruition. I’m daunted by the task of exploring the Trelsi romance, and I might well come back to this in a year’s time and find my analysis defective. We shall see.

Why has it taken eight posts to get to the romance part? I believe in starting from canonical resources; and what we receive in canon is friendship. Second of all, the Trelsi friendship should never be underestimated, and should be appreciated in its own right. Thirdly, for a relationship to make sense, it needs to be built on something more tangible and long-lasting than mere attraction and sexual tension. Once we understand the foundations of Troy and Kelsi’s relationship, that is to say their wonderful friendship, what it means, why it works and why it is important, then this makes for a solid base when considering romance. It also reduces the influence of my bias throughout the series, so the reader can make up their own mind. After all, for many fans, their friendship is so good that it’s just sufficient, and I certainly wouldn’t disagree with them. Fun fact: I was first a platonic shipper of Trelsi before being persuaded by the romantic potential.

As you know, I go into a LOT of detail. I will reiterate things I have said before; some readers may have seen material in previous posts as leading up to this part.

Question- So, what’s wrong with the central canonical pairing, Troyella?

After all, it is by far the more popular ship in the fandom, with the vast majority of fanfiction dedicated to the romance between Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. Take a look at the HSM fandom on fanfiction.net to see proof of this. By contrast, if you put in a filter for Trelsi fanfiction, you only get 42 results-- and some of them don’t even feature the Trelsi pairing! Trelsi is, of course, a non-canonical pairing, is considered “unconventional” by many in the fandom (more on that later) and is generally not very much appreciated beyond the scope of friendship; even those who value the friendship barely pay any attention to it when writing, mostly considering Kelsi a device by which to promote Troyella and ignoring her true genius and value to the fandom. Furthermore, the official storyline is compelling enough: East High’s Primo Boy discovers a love for the Performing Arts through a chance meeting with a Pretty Nerd. As I’ve said before, I really wanted to ship Troyella back in the day. What could possibly be wrong?

I’m so glad you’ve asked. :D I’ve liked and disliked my fair share of ships from various fandoms. Some I consider meh. Troyella for me is indisputably one of the worst ships I’ve encountered in a while. Does this contradict my post on Troy Bolton, whom I consider to be my absolute favourite character? Absolutely not; my problem is entirely to do with Gabriella Montez, who was designed as the deuteragonist, and who was supposed to represent good moral values, was supposed to have real passions and understandable conflict, but instead turned out as a monstrosity dressed up in angel’s clothing. It truly beggars belief. So when I ask, “What’s wrong with Troyella?”, what I’m really asking is why is Gabriella such a poor romantic partner for Troy and such a poor representation of the movie. My reasons as follows.

1- Troy and Gabriella do not share a passion for the Performing Arts.

The movie narrative tells us that Troy and Gabriella found common ground in singing/performing. We are to infer from this that such a shared passion is what develops their romance throughout the canonical movies. But in every movie, Gabriella abandons the musical or show due to circumstances that often have very little to do with Theatre.

Consider the first movie; quite apart from the fact that Troy was (quite obviously) being deceived and exploited by his friends, his outburst should not have led Gabriella to so quickly abandon the Winter Musical. Why? Because out of the two of them, it was Gabriella, who overcame her nerves and ran into the auditorium FIRST, begging for an audition. She did NOT expect Troy to join her-- watch her surprised pleasure when he unwillingly and shyly puts himself forward. Furthermore, Gabriella was crushed when Ms Darbus refused her (them) an audition, and then delighted when Ms Darbus finally granted her (them) a callback. Regardless of how Gabriella felt about Troy ditching her, it seems implausible that she would completely give up on something she had intended to try herself. Remember that this was a HUGE DEAL for Gabriella, who suffers from stage fright (curiously shown only twice in the entire movie series-- in HSM II and III, it’s like she never had it). Remember that she came to the auditions by herself, clearly interested in trying out after all. She wasn’t looking for Troy, or expecting him to accompany her. It doesn’t make sense that she’d go to all this trouble herself and then sing (wail) a whole song about “when there was me and you”. Am I taking things too seriously by expecting some consistency here?

In HSM II, Gabriella quits because Sharpay banned Employee involvement in Lava Springs’ talent show. I’ve raged about HSM II here (Part 1) and here (Part 2), I’ve even done analysis on Gabriella’s astounding hypocrisy here and then had to get blood pressure meds from my doctor, who’s also treating me for episodes of psychotic rage caused by HSM II and HSM III. Again, SHE begged (manipulated) Ryan into putting in hard work and time for the Show. I know this might be a stretch, but given how Gabriella’s outburst against Sharpay subdued the latter, and assuming a strong intention to continue with the show, Gabriella would have been a true hero of the story had she, and not Troy, persuaded Sharpay to reverse her decision. After all, Mr. Fulton was willing to sidestep Sharpay in admitting the Wildcats to Lava Springs by speaking to Sharpay’s mother. And Sharpay appears not to have the power to revoke her mother’s decisions. If Gabriella REALLY cared about performing, she would have taken action to secure her dream, instead of yelling at Sharpay and then storming off in high dudgeon. Guess who does take action? Troy, who despite being hounded and pushed and manipulated by Sharpay, still has EVERY INTENTION of performing in the Talent Show. As we already know, Gabriella’s return was the result of Kelsi and Ryan’s planning, as well as Taylor having to DRAG her back to reunite with the boy she supposedly loves.

In the third movie (and if you can stomach my rage, please see Questions for HSM III Part VII and Part VIII for more information), Gabriella quits the musical to attend Stanford’s Freshman Honors Program. Now, like I said in the footnotes for my last Marvel of Trelsi post, this is only the second act showing real initiative from Gabriella in the ENTIRE film franchise. One of the few things I like about Gabriella, aside from her friendship with Taylor-- but that’s mostly because of Taylor!-- is how she takes her studies seriously. Minus the silly giggling when she gets sums/equations correct*, she is absolutely right to pursue her studies, and being in an environment with like-minded people is good for her. The problem is, of course, that PRIOR to this event, Gabriella had insisted that everyone take part in the musical. Forgive me once again for expecting some consistency here, but I assumed this command to involve herself. We later learn that she commanded everyone to participate whilst knowing that she might be accepted for the Freshman Honors Program. She gets accepted and leaves, presumably without letting the entire class know: ([Ms Darbus] “As SOME of you may know, Miss Montez is no longer available to us.”) The capital emphasis is my own. Who are the “some”? I make an educated guess that Taylor most likely knows, and she may have told Chad, maybe Martha. Ms Darbus knows.

Who’s missing from that list? Her boyfriend, who had no idea she left until, presumably, she stopped showing up for class, cleaned out her locker (when did she get time to do this without being seen?), presumably stopped answering his calls (because it’s only a couple of days later when Mr. Bolton asks whether Troy has heard from Gabriella) and has a “For Sale” sign in front of her house. I have made an assumption that Kelsi was not told (see footnote number 1 on this hyperlink), simply on the basis of Gabriella’s penchant for quitting abruptly when things aren’t going her way, leaving others to pick up the pieces. I assume Ryan wasn’t told, as Gabriella only interacts with him when he’s putting in work on her behalf. Later on, Gabriella dumps Troy over the phone and decides she isn’t turning up to prom, THE MUSICAL or graduation despite having promised to do so. A Gabriella Montez who was PASSIONATE about performing would have 1)- said that everyone should do the musical, 2)- but pointed out that she might not be there the entire time thanks to Stanford’s Freshman Honors Program, 3)- given everyone advance notice of her departure, 4)- let Ms Darbus know that she would still return to perform, so that Ms Darbus didn’t have to stay up after school hours rebalancing her play instead of working on other things teachers have to do, 5)- kept in regular contact with Troy and asked him about the musical (instead, she discussed the geniuses at Stanford and the food), 6)- scheduled her flight back to Albuquerque to perform in said musical.

The real Gabriella Montez does none of these things.

So what does this imply? If we look at Troy by contrast, who bends over backwards to try and keep everyone happy, despite being initially UNWILLING in EVERY movie to perform, to the point of sacrificing his own sleep, comfort and safety just to pull off every show, we see the following actions: 1)- match interference in HSM I, 2)- giving Sharpay an ultimatum to allow Employee involvement in HSM II, 3)- the worst of them all, driving 1 053 miles to bring Gabriella back so he can perform in HSM III. Every time, Troy is willing to put himself on the line to pursue his passion. Gabriella, by contrast, is not. Despite the increasing hurdles that Troy faces from friends and foes alike, he NEVER gives up. Once he’s made a promise, he keeps it, which is why he agreed to sing with Sharpay after all, despite all her atrocious behaviour towards him. By contrast, Gabriella quits based on behaviour that is nowhere near as inconvenient and destructive as that shown to Troy-- more importantly, based on behaviour that is nowhere near as atrocious as her own. I was rewatching some of HSM II yesterday, and Troy’s face when he thinks Gabriella is more interested in Ryan just reminds you of how cruel she can be. More on that later. The bottom line is, that the Troyella relationship was supposed to be grounded in a shared passion for performing, but we clearly have an imbalance; Troy’s commitment is complete. Gabriella’s is heavily conditional.

Remember that Troy decides to pursue Theatre after graduating. Gabriella does not. Had Theatre been a part of Gabriella’s identity as it is for Troy, then she would have incorporated it into her future somehow. So if their performances together are continually jeopardized by Gabriella’s whimsical refusals to participate unless tempted with undue credit and silly waltzing, and if only one of them can foresee a future in which they pursue the Performing Arts DESPITE the fact that we’re supposed to view their relationship as being built upon this shared interest, then the case for Troyella is based on sand.

2- Outside of music, Troy and Gabriella have almost nothing in common.

Gabriella doesn’t understand Troy’s love of trees. “And what is it with you and trees?”, she asks him as though speaking to a kid. Bear in mind that they’ve been dating for ALL of Junior Year, all the summer and presumably all of the Winter semester. She doesn’t understand why he likes to hide away from the world, even though, by all accounts, she should. “So, another top-secret hiding place?” She doesn’t understand his sense of humour, sometimes even taking offence to harmless/sarcastic comments: (HSM I) [Troy] “By the way, I missed practice, so if I get kicked off the team, it should be on your conscience.” [Gabriella] “Hey, I wasn’t the one who told you to--”, before Troy tells her it’s a joke. In HSM III: [Troy- treehouse] “You’re the second girl I’ve ever had up here.” [Gabriella glares at him and gives him an aggressive nudge], [Troy] “The first was my mom!”. When Troy tries to show her a golf course in HSM II, she tells him “I don’t play golf”, which is harmless enough. But given that she should have known by then that her boyfriend was on the school’s Golf Team, it would have reflected better on their relationship had Gabriella taken an interest in his golfing, whether she liked it or not. Particularly since Gabriella was later bitter that Troy didn’t ask HER opinion on the much-derided “Italian golf shoes”. If she doesn’t play golf, why does she care?

To be fair, Gabriella clearly enjoys shooting hoops with Troy. In fact, I still like that scene in HSM I, minus her inability to take a joke and her once again rubbing her academic brilliance in his face: “...In the same day, I invented the space shuttle and microwave popcorn...” I know this was supposed to come off as funny, but it was bordering on obnoxious for me, particularly if you view this in conjunction with all of Gabriella’s other objectionable behaviour. Gabriella clearly likes basketball, so that’s something they share in common. She comes to support Troy for his games, shows sympathy when the game in HSM III wasn’t going well, and is supportive and even genuinely affectionate when he wins. In HSM II, she does like baseball, even criticizing Troy for forgetting to come! And Gabriella does appreciate Troy showing her his hideouts (HSM III- “Well, I’m honoured. This place is so cool.”), because they remind her of kindergarten.** We can assume that they shared the rooftop hideout many times, that Troy often came round Gabriella’s house in the evening with pizza, and that they liked using that swing/hammock thing in her garden. So clearly, Gabriella is willing to spend time with Troy. Furthermore, Troy DOES propose some activities which he and Gabriella could do: “we could go the movies, download music-- oh, and I’m definitely teaching you a twisted flip on the skateboard.” Obviously, they would go on dates; I’m assuming from HSM II and III that they would watch movies and/or eat pizza and chocolate-covered strawberries.

However, given the gulf between them in what is supposed to represent their primary interest, I don’t get the impression that even shooting hoops, dates or skateboarding mean they have a lot in common, either. They certainly don’t have anything in common that they don’t share with anyone else. After all, Gabriella is friends with Chad, Jason, Zeke and the rest of the East High basketball team. And since Troy had the audacity to break down social walls in East High, we’re told the skater dudes like talking to the basketball/cool people, so it’s not like she was missing out. In fact, when Troy proposed skateboarding, she quickly assumed she would fail at it, joking about her First Aid practice to “patch myself up afterwards!” Do they have a similar taste in movies and music? Maybe. It wouldn’t really make a difference. Couples do have differences in their tastes and hobbies, but 1)- they do make an attempt to take an interest in each other’s tastes and hobbies, 2)- they do have very strong things in common that go beyond everyday activities-- things like shared values, shared passions and shared outlooks. Troy and Gabriella don’t have any of these. I don’t get the impression that Gabriella understands Troy as a person, and so considers many of his interests weird. Despite loving kindergarten, she teases Troy for having a “pirate’s wheel”, a robot and a Batman/Superman cloak in his treehouse, despite having called the place “so cool” not moments beforehand!

The biggest indicator that they have little in common is the stilted and awkward nature of their conversations. It seems the formula for a good Troyella conversation includes: 1)- Gabriella whinging about things that aren’t actually problems, 2)- Troy encouraging/flattering Gabriella, 3)- Troy discussing his problems, 4)- Gabriella taking brief note of his own issues, then reverting the conversation back to herself repeatedly, 5)- Troy making one of his dorky jokes, 6)- Gabriella indulging this with a condescending giggle, 7)- Troy trying to reason with Gabriella and failing miserably. A proper conversation is reciprocal, covers a wide range of subject matter and when considering a novel or play, adds or reveals something about each character. I don’t feel any sense of progression or evolution as a result of Troy and Gabriella’s conversations, because they are largely oriented around Gabriella and often involve her refusing to see any point of view other than her own. Here are just some examples:

HSM II

[Troy] “It’s been wild, you know? I can’t believe how things are working out here!”

What Gabriella COULD have said: “I understand,” or “Can I come watch your game?”.

What Gabriella ACTUALLY said: “So I see. Italian golf shoes, new clothes, golf carts. It’s crazy stuff-- hard to keep track of, I bet.”

HSM III

[Troy] “I haven’t told anyone this, but I’ve had offers from other colleges. I’m really listening.”

What Gabriella COULD have said: “Wow, that’s great! Which colleges? Are you still thinking about Juilliard?...”***

What Gabriella ACTUALLY said: “I get it, Troy. I still have decisions to make too.” This is AFTER he told her that she was fortunate enough to have chosen Stanford. (And he’s so lovely and too damn forgiving that he doesn’t ask her why she laughed at him for potentially getting into Juilliard).

If Gabriella can’t even listen to Troy’s point of view, engage with his concerns and discuss things other than herself, then clearly they have very little in common. It all starts mentally; once a couple are mentally in sync, then they find common interests physically.

We will discuss more in upcoming posts. Don’t worry, I will discuss Trelsi in due course! :D

TO BE CONTINUED

(*FOOTNOTE-- I can sympathise with Gabriella feeling isolated by being seen as the “freaky math girl”. But might that have anything to do with her obnoxiously smug giggles whenever she gets a sum right? Remember in HSM I: “shouldn’t the second equation read sixteen over pi?” I completely agree with Sharpay rolling her eyes there; Gabriella’s smile has an “I’m so clever” vibe about it. Don’t get me wrong; I am fully supportive of Gabriella’s academic brilliance. I sometimes got teased for being good at some subjects in schools. But REAL nerds don’t behave like this. We might be pleased at being proved right about something, but we don’t start grinning as though we’ve solved the Middle East crisis. I guess this is a far lesser gripe about Gabriella, though).

(**FOOTNOTE-- Did Gabriella lose her father whilst she was either in kindergarten, or not long after? Her continuous emotional attachment to this time explains her carefree attitude, nostalgia and even her immaturity. Or perhaps, she was just beginning to make friends in kindergarten and then had to move shortly afterwards, thus losing any potential of building a long lasting friendship, such as she has with Taylor. Certainly, some of Gabriella’s behaviour suggests an attachment to childhood innocence and freedom; she runs in corridors, runs in a SCIENCE LAB (which every good scientist knows NOT to do), loves playing/dancing in the rain. Like a child, she only thinks of herself and her needs/wants. She expects everything to be perfect for her and throws childish tantrums when things don’t go her way. I’m not being mean here-- just stating facts. These are just some interesting observations about Gabriella that could have been explored).

(***FOOTNOTE-- It was disgraceful for Chad to laugh at Troy for getting accepted to Juilliard. However, I must give him credit for at least taking an interest or recognizing this as a possibility in Troy’s future later when they go to the junkyard. (By the way, it appears they didn’t lock up, like they were told). I know that Chad’s response was dismissive, but hey-- at least he tried. He has his ways of being a good friend, even if he says insensitive or selfish or mean things along the way. Even though Gabriella says, “I get it, Troy”, in a way that was intended to be sympathetic, but almost came across as impatient, she NEVER asks Troy about Juilliard again in the entire movie. She just looks at him during the graduation ceremony when he might be chosen for the scholarship. There are two key opportunities when she could have done so. 1)- you will notice the Juilliard booklet sitting near the windshield of Troy’s truck; when Troy’s truck came to a shuddering halt, they didn’t appear to be engaged in any conversation. Given that they had just come back from school, Gabriella could have asked him about his thoughts on Juilliard. Instead, she laughed at his truck after she had just gotten a free ride home. 2)- When they are in her garden, she could have made enquiries about Juilliard and his thoughts, given that the subject was their respective futures, AND that not long beforehand, Gabriella had insisted that he admit to his love for performing! “Why is that SO HARD for you to admit?” she said. But later on, she turns the conversation back to her and Stanford, instead of being consistent and encouraging the possibility of him attending Juilliard!)

#Trelsi #OTP #TroyBolton #KelsiNielsen #Playmakers #LiterallyTroyandKelsiForever #TroyellaAnalysis #WhyTroyellaSucks #ToBeContinued #WhyDon'tPeopleLoveTrelsi #I'mSadAsHell #ButMyLoveForTrelsiContinues!

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