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dreamteamfanblog · 3 years

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Tommy's volatile responses were in fact an issue, that's true. And that's why the ideal solution here is a combination of what Tommy wants and what Tubbo wants. Those kids are very different people and right now their biggest flaws are very very very different things. Tubbo's pacifism is becoming borderline complacency wheras Tommy's bravery is becoming too risky and making him a loose canon. Tubbo's afraid they couldn't handle another conflict right now so he isn't planning to enter another one ever, this will lead to them allowing Dream to do horribly fucked up things. Tommy recognizes that L'manburg needs to fight Dream back but doesn't have the foresight to realize they can't handle that conflict at the moment, this will lead to him allowing Dream to do horribly fucked up things.

But to pretend one of them is right and one is wrong just isn't correct. They both have a piece of the puzzle but are ignoring the other part. Tommy is a revolutionary, he knows they have to fight, but Tommyinnit cannot see things for how bleak they are now and so cannot recognize that they need to heal and recover and gather resources first. Tubbo is a realist, Tubbo understands things as they are in the moment and recognizes that they can't handle another fight now, however they also completely lack the visionary abilities Tommy has to recognize that they will need to fight at some point.

The absolute best solution here is what happens when you combine what they know. Tubbo knows they cannot fight now. Tommy knows they have to fight eventually. If they collaborated on this as they should be doing they would be able to recognize this fact. Tubbo would be able to keep Tommy thinking realistically in the moment, Tommy would be able to get Tubbo to see the bigger picture.

But they're NOT collaborating.

And that's Dream's fault.

I will always find Tubbo’s solution here more dangerous than Tommy’s because at least Tommy’d have them fight back while Tubbo’s going to wind up a puppet leader for Dream if they keep going with their solution, and, well, it’s better to fight and lose than to not fight at all. And as easy as it is to say that Tommy being volatile and lashing out without even listening to Tubbo’s reasoning, hasn’t Tubbo been incredibly cold and dismissive without listening to Tommy either?

Both of their plans are likely to fail if they don’t collaborate, and, well, neither of them are communicating properly. Tubbo comes into the conversation cold and blaming Tommy and Tommy immediately gets defensive and borderline hysterical which only makes Tubbo feel Tommy isn’t taking things seriously and gets Tubbo to act even more dismissive and frosty which only prompts an even more manic fiery response from Tommy. They don’t listen to each other, they barely try to get their points across in a way the other will understand. Tommy comes in rambling and panicking and scratching and clawing and fighting trying desperately to get across his point to Tubbo in a way that’s borderline impossible to understand and Tubbo responds by dismissing him and practically belittling him, just assuming this is all Tommy’s fault, reacting coldly and disbelievingly to Tommy in a way that obviously makes it hard for Tommy to listen to him. It’s a ridiculous combat of hot and cold and just gets worse as time goes on and it’s fundamentally caused by Dream’s private conversations with both of them which got them out of sync in the first place.

Neither of them are actually fucking listening to each other. Tubbo takes bits and pieces of the worst things Tommy says and ignores the rest while Tommy does the exact same goddamn thing with Tubbo. Tommy's too fiery and practically manic, Tubbo's cold and dismissive, they both keep talking down to each other and keep cherry picking what the other's say while pretending they're listening when they aren't. Again, I don't think they SHOULDN'T exile Tommy for the time being while they gather resources and figure out how to fight back. It's a good plan and it's good on Tubbo for seeing that they need to give in for the moment. However again, the part nobody's understanding here, is that they also do need to push Dream back eventually and TUBBO'S NOT GOING TO DO THAT. The ideal plan is give in now, fight later. Tubbo's plan is give in. That's it. No fight. Just give in. End of story. Tommy's plan is fight. That's it. No compromising or strategics. Just fight. End of story. They're both half right and incapable of seeing the other part of the solution and not listening to the person who has that other part. If Tubbo WAS listening he'd realize they have to fight eventually, but he doesn't because he's not actually listening to Tommy. Likewise, if TOMMY was listening, he'd realize they can't fight right now, but he doesn't, because he's not actually listening to Tubbo. They're both fucking panicking and in their panic they're not communicating because if they were communicating they'd actually be able to get shit planned and done and stop panicking.

And I mean, Techno's the writer now, he's writing this like a tragedy no doubt (frickin techno with his thesus allusions, love him) for the time being, and this breakdown of communication in which both parties have a fundamental misunderstanding of the other and aren't listening in a way that could be avoided if they'd communicate properly for five seconds is just a hallmark of writing tragedy. Especially with Dream perpetuating this miscommunication.

The worst part of this is that some people don't seem to realize that Tubbo's doing a fucking awful job at communicating just as much as Tommy is. Like yeah Tubbo's talking more and he's speaking clearer than Tommy but he's not listening, I mean he interprets half the things Tommy says to an unreasonable extent (like the whole "selfish" comment or "the only thing you care about.") and half the things he says are meant to hurt Tommy and are borderline hypocritical (like "you couldn't do one thing for me!" and "If the roles were reversed I would have listened to you!") Like? Tubbo's been very cold, very dismissive, degrading, consistently places blame on Tommy for things that aren't really his fault, has continuously refused to listen to a word Tommy's said, keeps taking his words out of context and using them to hurt Tommy, just all around been awful. And that's not to say Tommy himself hasn't been a screw-up in his efforts to talk to Tubbo but Tommy's not the person who's faults everyone seems to be ignoring right now.

The person who raises their voice less often isn't necessarily the person who's right or who's actually doing a better job communicating or even who's being more fair.

#mcyt #dream smp #tommyinnit #tubbo #long post

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cosmicjoke · 4 years

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Ash and Recognizing His Innate Goodness

I’ve talked a lot about my belief that Ash was, from the very beginning, an innately good person, and that, while Eiji gave Ash something extremely special in giving him, for the first and only time in his life, the experience of what it felt like to be unconditionally love and accepted, I don’t think you can give Eiji, or anyone else in Ash’s life, credit for making him a GOOD PERSON. I think Ash just always was, it was just that his life was so hard and difficult from so early on, that he had to develop this hard, cold exterior as a way to protect himself. But it wasn’t something created in him through the kindness of others. I think the reason Eiji connected as deeply as he did with Ash is because Eiji was able to see past that armor and see Ash for who he really was. He saw how much pain Ash was in, how much it cost him to have to do the things he did, that he wasn’t some emotionless monster, and that he never was in danger of even becoming one. The one time the two of them really fought was when Eiji started to make the same mistake everyone else had made, thinking, because Ash was doing the things he was doing, it was because he was losing sight of his own humanity. The same way Shorter accuses Ash in Angel Eyes of becoming like the people who abuse him. Just like he was with Shorter, Ash is incredibly upset that Eiji would think that, and gets extremely angry, because it’s not true. It hurts Ash that Eiji could think that. That he could believe Ash could be someone who hurt others just because he can, or because he wants to. Ash isn’t killing Arthur’s men because he enjoys it, or because he wants to. He’s killing them because if he doesn’t, they’ll kill him and all of his own boys. He’s doing it because Arthur and the rest of them forced the issue by refusing to back down. Ash gets no pleasure out of what he’s doing. Just like he got no pleasure out of seducing Ricardo. It’s an act necessary to survival, and that’s all. Eiji eventually comes to understand that, and that’s the real turning point in their relationship. That Ash didn’t kill because he was a devil or a demon or a ruthless killer. That Ash didn’t kill because he was a bad guy. He killed because he had no other choice if he wanted to keep living and if he wanted to protect those he cared for.

There's so many things that point to Ash having an inherently kind and caring heart. The fact that he cares as much as he does about everyone around him, even before he really gets to know Eiji, like Griff, Skip and Shorter, and everyone in his gang. A good example of this is the fact that Ash is only working with Dino at the beginning of the story still because he needs the money in order to pay for Griff’s medical bills. Dino is Ash’s worst abuser, his longest abuser, and the last person Ash wants anything to do with. But he keeps working with him just so he can care for his big brother. He subjects himself to being around a man who raped him repeatedly as a child so he can have a way of keeping Griff safe and alive. This is the definition of self-sacrifice. This is before he ever meets Eiji. Definitely Ash was influenced by Shorter and Eiji, in terms of how he was able to open up and be outwardly softer and less harsh, but other people don’t determine for you what’s in your heart. They can’t create a capacity to care in another person. That has to be inborn. I feel like the fact Ash is as good as he is from the start of the story really proves he always had a strong, moral inclination. Really it’s in SPITE of all the horrific pain Ash has been through that he's as good as he is, because anybody with a shaky or nonexistent moral foundation, if they had gone through even a fraction of what Ash did, would have turned out viciously cruel. Yut-Lung is a good example, actually. Yut-Lung has been through similar experiences, though not entirely the same, as Ash, and he acts in ways that are entirely selfish and petty. Yut-Lung didn’t really have anyone in his life to help guide him, but even despite this, we see moments of regret and remorse in him, because he isn’t ENTIRELY without goodness. Still, he’s noticeably selfish, self-centered, petty and vengeful in a way Ash never was. Even at his lowest and most desperate moments, even when he was most alone, with no friends and no one to support him, Ash never hurt anyone who didn’t first hurt or try to hurt him, and he never hurt anyone out of spite, or jealousy, never tried to take anything away from someone just because they had it and he didn’t. Ash, from the very beginning, only ever acted out of self-defense. Even with positive influences like Shorter and Griff and Eiji, if Ash hadn't started out with having a strong, natural sense of right and wrong, given the truly massive scale of his suffering, he would have been a lot more morally corrupt from the start. The greatest tragedy of Ash, I think, is that he's really such a good person, who's been forced into such an awful, brutal existence through no fault of his own, and it's driven him to hate himself. I think the whole point of Banana Fish is to show the true damage that child abuse can cause. That it can take a good person like Ash and make him believe he's a bad person.

I think people can influence you, definitely, and can influence the way you turn out, but I also think there's an equal balance between nature versus nurture. I don't think you can create a strong moral nature in someone if it doesn't exist from the start. It’s why you can find genuinely bad people who have never experienced anything traumatic in their lives, and they still go out of their way to cause harm to others. Like basically everyone in the story who abused Ash. It’s also why you can find people who have experienced truly traumatic things, and they’re still good people deep inside, wanting to do the right thing, even if they’re also damaged and maybe don’t always understand how to go about it. Like Blanca, and of course even more so Ash himself. If that goodness DOES exist from the start, other people can nurture it and grow it and give it a safe place to express itself, and that’s what Eiji and Shorter did for Ash. But you can't give a moral conscience to someone who doesn't already have it. Kind of like you can't create talent or intelligence in someone. They have to be born with it, and then you can develop it. I just think, with everything we know about Ash, about the way he was from the start, the way he reacted to things, the things he tried to achieve, like keeping his friends and family safe, even trying to spare enemies of his, trying to break free from Dino, etc… and the things he didn’t ever care about, like money and power, the way he cared about people, the value he placed on human life, despite all the hell he'd been through, etc... it shows that he always had a good heart, he just lived in a world where if he let that show, it would get him killed. Which, the most tragic thing of all, it eventually did.

One more point to make about all of this is a parallel we see between Private Opinion and Angel Eyes. There are scenes in both stories in which Blanca and Shorter see Ash smile and laugh genuinely, in the carefree, childlike way children do, and they're both struck by how sweet and cute Ash is. Because they're seeing Ash as he really is in those moments. This sweet, adorable little boy. They’re amazed and stunned, because it’s the first time they’re actually getting to see the real Ash, and it's so at odds with the detached, uncaring facade Ash usually wears. Ash shows that part of him to them in moments of lighthearted, carefree abandon. He smiles and laughs like that around them after he's come to realize he can trust them, and that they won't hurt him.

I think what's important to remember is that, as horrific as the abuse Ash suffered is, and honestly, it’s about as bad as it can possibly get, it never defined WHO Ash was.

The abuse he suffered destroyed his life. Absolutely. It ruined his life. It changed, irrevocably, the course and direction of where he ended up. It changed and affected the way Ash interacted with people and situations. It altered and affected the way he behaved. It forced him to harden himself, to become harsh and blunt, to cut himself off in order to survive, to push people away because he couldn’t trust them, and because he was thrust, through no fault of his own, into a desperate, cruel world of violence which made him dangerous to be around. It damaged him in permanent, irreparable ways, emotionally and mentally. Caused him to develop dangerously low self-esteem and other, deeply unhealthy habits and ways of thinking. It made him hate himself, made him think of himself as worthless and not deserving of love. It caused him painful and overwhelming stress and anxiety, and forced him to live in a constant state of fear and uncertainty, leaving him unable to ever relax, unable to stop, unable to be himself, unable to be a boy, unable to just LIVE. It affected and changed and dictated every aspect of his life.

But the one thing it never changed, the one thing it never altered, was who Ash was fundamentally inside himself. The abuse destroyed his life, but it never destroyed HIM.

Despite it all, Ash never stopped being a good person.

This is so vitally important to the story, I think. To realize this about the story. Ash's abuse didn't turn him into an abuser. It didn't make him a bad person. Ash says to Foxx, right before Foxx rapes him, that he can do whatever he wants to him, because it doesn't matter, because Ash's mind and spirit are his own. He's telling Foxx that no matter how badly you treat me, no matter how hard you try to make me like you, I never will be. I'll never be as ugly as you are. Ash never lost himself, despite the sickening hell he suffered, and I think that's exactly in line with the message of Banana Fish. That even if you've suffered trauma that's destroyed your life, it doesn't mean that trauma defines who you are. It doesn't mean that trauma has destroyed you, or made you a worthless person. That your trauma isn't WHO you are. It's something you've been through, maybe even something you can never move past, but it doesn't mean that's all you are as a person. It doesn't mean that's what you are as a person. That bad things happening to you don’t make you a bad person. They may affect the way you act, the way you behave, the decisions you make, but it doesn’t change what’s in your heart. And Ash’s heart was always golden.

#Banana Fish #Ash Lynx #Meta

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bananafishmetas · 4 years

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Ash and Recognizing His Innate Goodness

I think what's important to remember is that, as horrific as the abuse Ash suffered is, and honestly, it’s about as bad as it can possibly get, it never defined WHO Ash was.

But the one thing it never changed, the one thing it never altered, was who Ash was fundamentally inside himself. The abuse destroyed his life, but it never destroyed HIM.

Despite it all, Ash never stopped being a good person.

#Banana Fish #Ash Lynx #Meta

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eliseopdahl · 7 years

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Do you really think it is okay to grab her by the pussy?

// In this text I am referring to normalizing of physical sexual harassment, specifically in nightlife, but please remember that public and private sexual harassment is just as important, and we should all fight it, as for some people it is a daily war and a reality//

Do you remember when the dancefloor was a place where you could have fun with your friends, and dance till your feet couldn’t take it anymore? When did the dancefloor turn into place where you would need to be careful about what you wear, how you dance, and most importantly, avoid any kind of eye contact? Why does it have to be like this? When was that accepted, and why are we still accepting it? And who allowed this change to come into place? Should I accept that a person (any person, regardless if I know this him/her or not) touch me without my consent? No! I refuse, and will never accept that anyone makes me feel uncomfortable just because this has become a part of a normal night out, and neither should anyone else.

Whenever a person casually walks past me in the club and let their hands slip over my hips I cannot and will never let that go unnoticed. The last time this happened I took that filthy hand of his off my body, squeezed it enough for him to give me one of those looks that was supposed to make me feel guilty for hurting him. (Because I am always the bad guy who speaks up when this happens). Then I asked; “Would you touch me like that if we were in the bus or in the supermarket?” No, he said. “Of course not! That is different.” So, I asked him; “How come is that any different from touching me in the bus? You took the liberty to touch me, it does not matter where we are!”

I know that it will not make much of a difference by telling one guy off for doing this, but someone must start doing it, don’t you agree? One person came over to me after noticing the conversation with this person, and when I told about what had happened, he asked me “Why do you even bother to talk to these guys? Why don’t you just ignore it and enjoy the night?” I didn’t even know where to start, because why in the world would anyone question the reason for someone standing up for themselves? If we let these kinds of things happen, because we accept that this is just how things are nowadays, then we will basically contribute for this to be a normality.

I have friends that have told me stories about horrible things that have happened to them, and I will tell you about one of them.

Imagine you have a night off, and you want to have a time out from all the stress in your everyday life, so you decide to go out with your friends to dance and have fun. The bar is quite crowded and the music is loud, but you are determined this will be a good night because you are positive like that. Your friends are a few meters in front of you in the thigh crowd, and you desperately try to catch up with them.

Suddenly you feel something. Someone is grabbing your private area, with a very strong grip, but only for a second. You quickly turn around to check where it comes from, but you cannot see anyone . Everyone seems to be having a great time with their friends and loved ones, and you stand there all alone feeling robbed. Someone has just touched you is a highly inappropriate way, and absolutely nobody is bothered about it.

Then you see him. He is standing a few meters away now, looking at you with the creepiest expression you can ever imagine. It almost seems like he is enjoying it, the way you are standing there hopeless and desperate. You walk over to him, asking him why in the world he would do that. He looks down on you with the darkest eyes, scoffs and say with a smirk; “What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything”, before he turns around and walk away. You stand there speachless feeling like the smallest person in the worlds, and he gets away with it without any consequences or distress.

Why? Because this is something totally normal that you should expect any day. You did after all choose to wear a short skirt, so who can blame him really, right?

I am of course fully aware that the society has evolved over the past decades (in relation to this case; in dance style and sexuality), and that most people in the typical club are dancing closer and tighter than they did in the 1950s, however I that is not an excuse for anyone to touch, grab, squeeze or have any inappropriate physical contact with someone, unless this is initiated by both parts. I can of course dance with another person, thigh and close, and I would never judge anyone that choose to do so, as it is a perfectly natural urge. My point is the situations where the contact is not initiated by both parts, where one person takes the liberty to do whatever he or she wants.

We cannot, and should never accept that someone oversteps into your comfort zone. You are the only one who knows where your limits go. Never listen to anyone that tells you to just brush it off and forget it. We should never be told “Relax, that is just what you have to exepct. Maye you shouldn’t wear that skift if you don’t want to be touched.” What I wear or what I do is never an invitation for you or anyone else to do whatever they feel like, and this is the most ridiculous excuse I hear. Come on people, can we not pull ourselves together? Ask yourself, are you really that sexually frustrated that you can’t resist the urge to overstep into another person’s comfort zone and privacy? It is one of the most fundamental and basic norms.

I am sick of being told that I should calm down and relax. How do you expect me to relax, and just stand in the corner watching my own friends be molested and litterally grabbed by the pussy? It is horrifing that so many people think this is okay. I know that not all people have the guts to acctually speak up, so therefore I feel a strong resonsibility to do so when these things happen to me. I would see it as a very selfish act if you choose to ignore these things if you have the guts to speak up, as you have the opportunity to help other people in the future that does not have the guts, if you stand up for yourself. We need to teach each other that we do not accept the abuser to be vicitmised, we are not the one who should feel bad about ourselves. You are never wrong for standing up for yourself and never let anyone make you feel dirty or cheap. The thought of that the abuser could do this to my own innocent little sister makes my stomack turn, and I will therefore always stand up for myself and everyone else to change this.

Would you want to teach your present or future daughters and sons that they should have to accept to be touched and grabbed against their will? I refuse to tell my little sister that it is perfectly fine to be grabbed by the pussy, because “this is just how it is”. It’s about time we take responsibility for what is happening every day instead of trivializing and normalizing these issues. It’s as if people can do whatever they feel like as, because you canot be charged for touching another person at the dancefloor. A person that is harrassed should not feel bad for reacting, and nobody should be the judge of which degree you are harassed. If you feel unforfortable, it is more than enough, and should under no circumstances be tolerated.

We cannot solve a problem by ignoring its existence.

- Elise Opdahl Knutsen

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deborahdeshoftim5779 · 7 years

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The Marvel of Trelsi (Part XI)

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

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

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

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

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

Chad Danforth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. and Mrs. Bolton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ryan Evans

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

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

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

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

Guess who thinks this relationship is perfect and so romantic?

:D Oh dear.

I weep. I really do.

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

More analysis upcoming.

#Trelsi #OTP #Playmakers #TroyBolton #KelsiNielsen #FinallyFinishedWithTroyella #I'mOffToWashMyHands #LiterallySaveTroyBoltonFromGabriellaMontez #Wildcats #Deb'sAnalysis #Kelsi'sRoseTintedGlasses #Iweep

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kendrixtermina · 7 years

Text

Extra Typology Vol #2 - 2. Lunar Type Basics

The Lunar type according to Campling. Pardon my commentary, tis is gonna be a complainy entry. .

kind & spontaneous, independent & creative, sometimes naive

small bird-like movements

like fun stuff, bright primary colors (*frantically hides glittery nail polish collection*)

changing moods come & go

highly subjective perception, with a tendency to assign equal validity to most perceptions (Possible parallels to IxxP and/or Oldham’s “Idiosyncratic”)

worldview is a medley of fact & own interpretations/imagination, tend to live in their minds

highly intuitive (in the “creative” “Natural as opposed to rigorous intelligence” kind of way, not the mbti sense, but, this is a very defining characteristic. Personally as a 5 I try to restrain the inner woo woo or at least relegate it to playtime but its there.)

related: may surprise others with sudden insights but may lack the ability to explain the path of thought/logic (though the author doesn’t differentiate between internal & external reasons for that, ie, “intuitive leap/gut feeling” vs. “hard to extrovert thought processes”, in the later case the person would have the logic & just have trouble with the explaining itself.)

may spin off into a private phantasy while explaining

idiosyncracies as “uniqueness” & independence, odd clothes, an expression of putting creativity into everything they do (potential overlap with 4 here. This is indeed something others notice more about me than I do, like I try but I don’t necessary see the sucess or creativity in it because it’s just me doing my thing?)

Prone to confusion & stubborness, may appreciate the guidance of a wise friend (Guilty of the former, though i would NOT agree with the latter at all, like, no thank you and if you’re gonna talk down to me you can eff off. Not just if thats Js thinking they know what ppl need again or something but I can’t speak for everyone, I might be an odd one out because of my 8 fix. A lot of this could also be analogous to tert Si, and ive already told socionics to f*** off regarding babysitters.)

more interested in being understood than in ‘love’ per se (YES though these are not wholly unrelated things)

Can be nervous & overwhelmed when put in the center of attention, can react by being giddy, blunt or blurtey

may act senselessly or out of stubbornness or seem to worry about unlikely far-fetched things (again the other book explained “stubborn” behavior better & the author is not the ultimate judge of what a necessary worry is; That said that still is a depiction of what the auther appearance of it often is)

may neglect to attent to everyday life issues & find them overwhelming (^^° Can’t deny this one)

playful in nature, might spend a long time engrossed in a hobby or preoccupation (Check.)

May act unexpectedly angry or hostile when overwhelmed/threatened; This however is usually a momentary thing that should not be mistaken for a long-term communication, same with other blurted out thoughts. (Yes. Ne-Fe and 5 doesn’t help with this ^^°)

easily becomes dissapointed or negative but also able to focus in a crisis

can however also exhibit a pollyanna-like resilient quality comingout of things with less obvious scars & positive, disarming charm (this would be more of a Solar trait in the other book resolving the seeming contradiction with the above)

Loves to tell others about ideas, thought I wouldn’t necessarily agree with the author’s attention that this is only to get attention/validation < - like a factor/dynamic like that is surely in place & sometimes positive feedback really makes my day, though I do not believe your life should be oriened toward seeking that at all, (Inferior fe is a thing, 4s do lowkey desire validation, 5s want to be useful, 4w3s want admiration but again thats all just human) but the assertion that I don’t actually care about ideas for their own sake makes me wanna go 8 on this mofo,

it’s kinda something that makes me mad like this idea that intellectual stuff has no value/end of its own is just an “excuse” or “justification” or interpersonal motivations like showing off or getting your way. (Look at your own nose, ppl, why do you think everyone’s always showing off?) Of course its hard for humans to be wholly objective but trying anyways is worth it and should be seen as noble, not phony

Author would argue that the Lunar bid for indepenc is actually a farce & that we’re actually highly dependent like some brat... (in contrast to the other book who thought some of the others could learn from our tolerance for alone time) but isn’t it true of all humans that they have both tough & vulnerable sides? No denying that we can be rather lacking in the lifeskills department & thus end up relying on others sometimes, but again doesn’t make sense to apply a SJ idea of “adulthood” here. There are various kinds of independence.

Something the author definitely gets wrong is saying that Lunars make a lot of “I think, I feel “ etc. first person statements and that this is somehow a sign of utter selfishness & spoiled immaturity. That is demonstrably wrong, like, it’s not just me saying it -

Studies have, in fact, shown that this way of speaking is usually a symptom of having less confidence, the very opposite of arrogance, everyone regardless of type tends to talk like this when they’re deferring & then turning around and going “I i i all you do is think about yourself” is just harmful & can even be an abuse tactic - a person’s already deferring & the feedback you give them is “arrogant”? That’s gonna do a number on someone’s self-esteem.

Putting aside that Ji types mbti wise just naturally use a lot of “I” statements cognitive function wise. The mbti article attributed it to those Ti folks wanting to know just who the idea came from (without drawing a bridge to how Fi folks do it too & generally tell things as flowing subjective narratives) but as far as my experience goes these speech patterns are rather unconscious & automatic to the point that the person may not be aware of it untill it’s pointed out - they just talk & that comes out.

I can’t speak for everyone and I’m sure there’s some arrogant IPs that want you to know that they figured it all out, because there’s assholes or every type but most are gonna be rather self-critical & humble.When I speak this way as deliberate choice, I usually mean to do the opposite - to say that I’m quite aware that this is just my opinion. If anything is “self-absorbed”, it’s stating your opinion like it’s the Divine Voice Of God, like, “It is this way because i say so.”

I get that it’s a potential ground for misunderstanding one should be aware of, but, judging someone for that & immediately assuming that they all without exception “live in an inward-looking cocoon of self-obsession” seems just plain biased.

Also I’d hardly consider something like this a feature of ‘essence’, for what good these distinctions do.

Like, I think my thoughts & when I try to express it it goes through certain filters & alghorithms that produce the specific speech or text that may be misunderstood as something different by people and just be one of many ways that same thing can be phrased -

and those patterns are surely a part of or characteristic of me in some way but the more fundamental part should be what’s beaneath these algorithms & filters trying to do the expressing.

#12gram #essence type #planetary body type #typology #extraTypology #lunar type

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