#HSM Shitstorm: Part Deux

[kismetconstellations]

🔥 + anything Zac Efron related, please & thank you :)

(You can ignore the first one. I should really read instructions all the way through before sending in asks)

No worries. You are totally fine. ^//^

Let's hope this doesn't get too inflammatory.

I'm not a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a variety of reasons, and would prefer Zac never be a part of it.

I think Zac's indie dramas are infinitely more fascinating than his mainstream comedies (they also come with the added bonus of not humiliating and disrespecting him while also objectifying him at every turn), and hope that he continues to do more of them.

Honestly, anything that keeps him out of Hollywood and away from the toxicity of the industry is all right with me.

Seeing his malnourished Baywatch physique continually held up as some sort of "ideal" upsets me to my core. All the more so, knowing just how negatively the whole experience affected him, contributing to his depression and insomnia and causing him to tear up on-camera when he was finally able to eat carbs, again.

This will come as absolutely no shock to anyone who has been following me since 2016, when the world was treated to, as I like to call them, High School Musical Shitstorm: Parts Un and Deux, but I strongly feel that Zac doesn't owe the collective High School Musical fandom any reprisals of his role as the heart and soul of the franchise. Especially when so many people who consider themselves a part of that fanbase are all too keen to minimize or outright ignore Zac and Troy's significance to the original trilogy's success, mock and deride both of them as "boring" or worse, and leave nasty comments like this--

-- on social media posts of members of the cast reuniting. (Please do not seek out or bother any of the people in the above screenshot, by the way. I don't believe that you or any of my other followers would, but it's still a necessary precaution, just in case. Please be kind, everyone. Even when others are not.) I know it's immature and petty on my end, but I don't see why people who behave this way and treat Zac's professional attempts to distance himself from this franchise with scorn and further mockery, even though his past reputation as a "tween heartthrob" still colors directors' perceptions of him, resulting in him needing to prove himself worthy nearly twenty years on, should be rewarded. I feel for the fans who crave a High School Musical reunion because it would take them back to a simpler, happier time in their lives, but the films are right there and always will be there to be revisited at any time. The past is the past for a reason, and Zac, just like anyone else, should be allowed to move on.

Zac was perfectly cast as Phillip Carlyle. There is no one else who could have brought Phillip to life as immaculately, and no actor more deserving of the career revitalization The Greatest Showman delivered tenfold. My sympathies go out to Jeremy Jordan if he legitimately did have to sing live demos of "all of Hugh's songs", as well as Phillip's, before the studio executives while recovering from a nasty bout of laryngitis. That does not, however, make him entitled to a role he never so much as considered auditioning for.

Zac, on the other hand, had already been involved with the production for four years, alluding to a potential upcoming role in a movie musical as early as 2015, and contacting studios on director Michael Gracey's behalf to assist him, Hugh, and the rest of the crew in getting the green light.

Thus, you can imagine how thoroughly it rankles me to see fans of Mr. Jordan insinuating that Zac, a legitimate triple threat, was an inferior choice made to secure the support of Zac's larger fanbase, or- even more deluded- to placate the "ego" of show business veteran Hugh Jackman, who was supposedly "threatened" by Mr. Jordan's vocal prowess.

The Greatest Showman Cast is superior to the High School Musical Cast; in terms of talent, camaraderie, and maturity. You don't see any of them making backhanded comments years later about Zac being their "worst on-screen kiss", or their "favorite scene" with Zac being one where his character was "so dumb". (Even though Troy was very obviously emotionally manipulated into believing that something was going on with Ryan and Gabriella, by Gabriella. That's such a low, douchebaggy thing to say, and my already minimal respect for Lucas Grabeel has dropped to near non-existent because of it.)

---

And, I think that's about it. Thank you so very much for asking, and I sincerely apologize a million times over for it taking me so long to post this response! I've been quite busy babysitting my niece and tending to personal affairs, and haven't had the energy to properly run this blog. But, I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things, and put more lovely things onto my followers' dashboards.

I appreciate your patience, and I hope that these answers prove to be worth the wait. ❤

[kismetconstellations]

This post has been a long-time coming, and I apologize a million times over for any concern or distress I may have caused in delaying getting it out there. 

Since creating my Fanfiction.net account in May of 2009, and this Tumblr account in August of 2011, I have been, primarily, a member of the High School Musical fandom. The vast majority of my blog’s contents, including my first few posts, were images and gifs of High School Musical characters. This franchise, and, more specifically, two of its characters, have been a major part of not only my online presence, but my life, itself, for over a decade. Just last year, if you had asked me, I would have said that I saw myself sticking around and maintaining my place in this fandom, however small it is, for the long haul. 

But, if there is one constant in life that any of us can rely on, it’s that everything changes. 

I first began to seriously question my place in the High School Musical fandom back in 2016, when a certain fiasco pertaining to the first film’s televised ten year anniversary special, happened. The disgusting sense of immaturity and entitlement that lead to select individuals attacking the character of a troubled and real person over his absence at the reunion for a- let’s be honest, folks, subpar, at best- fictional Disney Channel Original Movie, had me feeling very much at odds with myself and the community claiming to love these films and the people involved with their creation. When these attacks escalated in vitriol and hostility, some people even taking to their Twitter accounts to call for this person’s death, thanks to an outright libelous article that maliciously twisted his words to make him seem ungrateful for the film that, in essence, launched his career, I found myself sickened to the core to have anything in common with people who would conduct themselves in such an outrageous manner. 

A real human being’s livelihood and well-being should never come in second place to a piece of fiction, however great of an impact this piece of fiction may have had on its audience. I firmly stand by this sentiment. 

Though very rattled by these incidents, I continued to create fanmade content for the High School Musical series and the characters and ship I love which hailed from it. At some point down the line, however, the joy and excitement I once derived from creating this content just... withered away. I would be too crippled by anxiety and my vast insecurities regarding my storytelling abilities to type a single sentence. I’d spend days, weeks, questioning my interpretations of these characters and their relationships, and relentlessly beating myself up in my mind for being “wrong” about everything. Seeking out other people’s fanmade content brought me no joy and only deepened my apprehension, because I was the only one actively creating content for my ship, and had been for years. 

Perhaps the timing was a factor. I was still reeling from the recent passing of my cat and best friend of nineteen years, as well as the untimely death of my pet turtle. Or, perhaps I am much too sensitive and thin-skinned to handle the backlash that comes with touting unpopular opinions, and people misinterpreting the intentions of my posts. In any case, the happiness, the magic, the spark, was gone for me. 

Then, in late January of this year, I saw The Greatest Showman in theaters. I left the cinema, that night, more ebullient than I had been in months. I fell in love with the film’s soundtrack, and, though I initially resisted, a historically inaccurate but wonderful ship involving the whimsical though morally ambiguous lead and his business partner. It was much to my pleasant surprise when I sought out the fandom for both this film, and the ship that won my heart, and found it to be an overwhelmingly positive place, teeming with love for the actors, the writers, the choreographers, any and every person who had a part to play in making this movie happen. My stories were getting a wholly unprecedented warm reception, gifs that I made were receiving note counts beyond anything I ever anticipated, and I no longer dreaded members of the fandom stopping by my inbox for a chat. 

So much of the healing process involves letting go of things that no longer bring you joy or fulfillment, that no longer encourage your growth, and instead weigh you down and leave you swamped, stifled, and lost at sea. 

I know it was jarring for many of you, but, after much hard and painful deliberation, I made the choice to change my URL after five years of being boltonevans and proudly wearing my affiliation with the HSM fandom and series on my sleeve for all to see. 

As much love as I still have, and will always have for Ryan Evans, Troy Bolton, and their beautiful, wholesome, healthy, and tragically under-appreciated relationship, and as much as I hate leaving a work I poured so much time, and love, and so much of myself into, I think it’s time to close the book on that chapter in my life. 

I will always hold great love in my heart for the High School Musical series for bringing so many wonderful, incredible people who wound up becoming so very precious to me, into my life. And, maybe, in the future, I might find myself returning to at least give After the dream the conclusion it deserves. But, for the time being, I think it’s for the best that I let this go.  

The HSM content will remain on my blog, and I will still accept and answer questions pertaining to the films and characters, but this is my quiet resignation from the fandom as a whole. 

Thank you to every single person who supported my work, and made me feel as though I was making a difference. If it weren’t for you guys, I never would have stuck it out as long as I did. I hope that, even if you don’t follow me into my new fandom, the trails you walk bring you joy, growth, and fulfillment.