Chad/Ryan: A Rad Manifesto (High School Musical)
Title: A Rad Manifesto
Author: queenitsy
E-Mail: kidblink@queenitsy.com
Fandom: High School Musical
Pairing: Ryan Evans/Chad Danforth
Notes: Vague spoilers for both movies. Bunches of images below the cut (and they're all click-to-enlarge). A bajillion thanks to poisonivory, second_batgirl, and harmonyangel for encouragement and help, and, you know, for listening to me babble about HSM for hours on end.
Disclaimer 1: Not mine, obviously.
Disclaimer 2: I am a crazy Ryan fangirl. This might be slightly skewed towards him. Oopsie? (But I love Chad, too! Lots and lots!)
I: Intro
II: World's Fastest HSM Recap
III: Ryan and Chad
IV: High School Musical 2
V: Fic and Fandom
I: Intro
Well, you clicked the link despite the, um, awesome title graphic. Luckily, the cheese of the graphic is well in line with the cheese of High School Musical, but I suspect if you were curious enough to click you already knew that. Because unless you have been living under a rock or have never met anyone under the age of 15, you're probably aware that there's a thing in the universe called High School Musical, and if you've seen a clip or two, you probably inferred that it's the most terribly cheesetastic thing in the universe.
It is also, however, exceedingly charming. Not to mention, the second movie -- the one this manifesto is concerned with -- is off-the-scaled homoerotic. So let's get down to it!
Disney makes two kinds of movies: theatrical releases, which are generally high-budget extravaganzas (often animated!) that are usually hugely successful...and what those of us in the know call "DCOMs," short for Disney Channel Original Movies. DCOMs are generally low-budget, using kids who are pretty much already hanging out on the Disney lots (the teenage actors from their mediocre original programming), with pretty much nothing in the way of production values, plot, or script. They take up a few hours of Disney programming and are then pretty much forgotten about forever.
That was the expectation for HSM. (Heck, it was even directed by Kenny Ortega, who had one huge live action musical flop for Disney under his belt!) Its reality, on the other hand, was crazy, and not a single exec at Disney saw it coming. So HSM is really just a typical DCOM: made for about fifteen dollars, starring a couple of teenage actors no one had ever really heard of (plus one Disney Channel star -- Ashley Tisdale had already spent a season on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), with terrible singing, dancing, and acting, and a nonsensical plot. No one expected it to do anything.
But then nearly eight million people tuned in for its first broadcast...and for every encore showing. The DVD sold so well that new versions were released, and they were all best sellers. The soundtrack topped the charts. The movie and music won Emmies and Billboard's Soundtrack Album of the Year. The cast members all achieved various levels of teeny bopper stardom, ranging from Zac Efron conquering the tween- and teenage demographic and ruling it with an iron fist and floppy hair, to the albums released by Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Corbin Bleu, to the...uh...occasional guest appearances on Veronica Mars by supporting cast members Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel. Pictures of the cast members and the movie logo were plastered on to every piece of plastic that Disney could figure out how to plaster a picture to.
Thus, it's hardly surprising that the cast was brought back for a second movie. Though it was given a slightly larger budget and almost has a plot, it remains charmingly terrible. But it does have one huge advantage over the first movie: Chad and Ryan (Bleu and Grabeel) were given larger roles. And by "given larger roles" I mean "given anything to do at all," and also, "were really, really super gay together."
Hence the manfiesto! (Also hence the manifesto's title. Ryan/Chad becomes "Rad," see? And also, Chad wears a shirt that proclaims "My mom thinks I'm rad." On the other hand, the more common name smoosh is Chyan. But that's less amusingly word-like.)
Anyhoo. And with that background in mind, here is the world's shortest recap of the first HSM, so I can get on to the good stuff in the second.
II. World's Fastest HSM Recap
Troy and Gabriella (Efron and Hudgens) have a meetcute where they sing karaoke and fall in true teenage love over winter break. When school resumes, it turns out Gabi is the new student at Troy's high school! They sort of accidentally end up auditioning for the school's winter musical (a student-written show called Twinkle Towne) together. And the school proceeds to go crazy.
First, Troy is the captain of the basketball team, and their Big Game is only a couple weeks away. The team -- and especially Chad, Troy's best friend -- is worried that if he's thinking about singing and dancing* he won't be concentrating enough on the team. Second, the academic decathalon team wants Gabriella to join them, upon learning she's a bit of a genius who's won all kinds of awards at other schools. They fear that if she goes out for theater, she won't join them, and their big competition is coming up, too. And finally, Sharpay and Ryan Evans (co-presidents of the school's drama club) don't want any competition for the lead roles in the show, and they're very invested in maintaining the school's clique-iness and status quo. (Apparently, the jocks already have the most social status in the school, and if they take over drama, they'll rule everything -- and if in the process, Troy and Gabriella get together, then academic decathalon goes from drool to cool! They can't have that! Or...something.)
So first everyone conspires against them, getting Troy to claim he's not interested in the musical callbacks or in Gabriella, not knowing he's talking into a webcam and she's watching. She decides he's a jerk (he kind of is) and no longer wants anything to do with him or the show. That makes Troy sad inside, and suddenly everyone (except Sharpay and Ryan) feels bad, so they completely reverse their positions and conspire to get Troy and Gabriella back together. But now with everyone backing them, they seem unstoppable, so the Evans twins decide to stop them by getting the date of the callbacks changed so it's in conflict with the Big Game and the academic decathalon...but by working together, they manage to sabotage the electricity in the gym, release a foul smell in the decathalon lab, and cause everyone to evacuate to the auditorium just in time for callbacks. Troy and Gabi finish their audition, get the lead roles, and then get back to their various teams so everyone can win at everything. They all sing and dance about how great it is to be able to have multiple interests, everyone becomes friends, the end!
If that didn't make any sense to you, that's because it really makes no sense. But here, have High School Musical in Five Minutes, as performed by the cast (minus Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, but featuring Drew Seeley).
III. Personality Profiles -- What We Know About Ryan and Chad
As you can tell, there isn't a lot of Ryan and Chad in the first movie; they're sidekicks to Sharpay and Troy respectively. But they're my OTP and the focus of this manifesto from here on out. So let's begin with what we know about them.
RYAN
Though it isn't as blatant in the first movie as the second, the Evans twins are obscenely rich. We know this from the first movie, where they have their own accompaniment for auditions, as well as fancy costumes and choreography. It's also clear that Ryan is theater-crazy: he sings, dances, and acts. And does all quite well, actually. (Okay, well, the actor -- Lucas Grabeel -- does; presumably that means Ryan does as well.)
Ryan and Sharpay are extremely close. They're twins, as close as anyone can tell; they're referred to as twins in the junior novel series, though not the movies themselves. They seem to do just about everything together, though most of it centers on Sharpay. (This is made more clear in the beginning of the second movie.) Ryan is perpetually in his sister's shadow, and doesn't seem to have a lot of other friends or interests.
Oh, and he's gay.
Yeah, yeah, subtext, not canon, but here's the basic rundown on why I (and pretty much anyone with eyes) think that. A lot of these reasons invoke stereotypes -- but many of them are the same stereotypes that were used to code characters as gay in the celluloid closet era of Hollywood (and let's face it, Disney is still stuck in that era). And, as close as anyone can tell, these were all choices made intentionally either by the actor or director.
1) Ryan does not dress like the rest of the East High boys. No jeans or t-shirts; he wears button-down shirts and slacks in bright, happy colors (including pink, Ryan wears a lot of pink). A lot of his clothes have sparkles. (The actor refers to them as "looking like they came from Cher's wardrobe.")
2) Ryan's hats. Hats are not generally associated with being queer to the best of my knowledge; in the first movie they seem to just be part of his fairly flamboyant wardrobe. But in the second movie, we meet his father...and it becomes clear that Ryan always wears his hats at a jaunty angle, and his father is constantly straightening them. Metaphor? Possibly. The more you watch the movie, the more likely that seems.
3) Ryan loves musical theater. Like, a lot. He's a male dancer and a choreographer. I'm just sayin'.
4) Ryan is super-close to his mom. This is demonstrated in the second movie.
5) Ryan loves Ashton Kutcher in a non-heterosexual kind of way. That's largely in line delivery, but upon seeing that Troy and Gabriella have made call backs, Sharpay suggests they're being punked, and Ryan declares happily, "Maybe I'll get to meet Ashton!"
6) Ryan is the only male character who doesn't have a token love interest or consistent female dance partner. In numbers, he's usually paired off with his sister; but when she's interested in Troy or one of the other guys and he's left on his own, he switches female dance partners with whoever's nearby. Everyone else has an implied female interest, Ryan does not.
7) The entire second movie is a big gay love story with Ryan in the lead.
In short: Ryan is unapologetically flamboyant. And awesome.
CHAD
Chad Danforth is a man of mystery, in that what we know about him is limited, even after the second movie. The biggest trait his character seems to possess is a love of basketball. Like, a really, really intense love. But he's also a generally sports-centric guy; he plays baseball and runs track, too.
He wants to buy a car for the purpose of taking out "a hottie" on a "proper date." The line, however, is delivered...well...It's at least as gay as Ryan's line about Ashton. I have never heard a less convincing attempt at heterosexuality.
His mother loves Phantom of the Opera, has seen it on Broadway 27 times, and keeps a picture of Michael Crawford in their refrigerator. ("Not on it. In it. It's one of her crazy diet things!") As a result, he is pretty anti-musical theater.
He wears t-shirts with wacky slogans on them. ("Warning: Do Not Read This T-Shirt," "I majored in summer vacation," "I come with my own background music," for example.) The actor (Corbin Bleu) actually brainstormed most of these himself.
He's known Troy since preschool.
He has an unconvincing crush on Taylor McKessie, the head of the scholastic decathalon club (and by the second movie, Gabriella's BFF). More on why that crush is so unconvincing in the next section.
And that is the sum total of our knowledge of Chad Danforth.
So...then...why do I ship 'em? Because the second movie makes it clear that they are VERY IN LOVE.
IV: High School Musical 2: Electric Boogaloo
So. I'm going to go through the second movie and point out all the moments that show how Chad and Ryan become boyfriends, and why I love them. I'm going to go heavy on the character moments and light on the plot, but if you want a full (and hilarious!) recap of what actually happens, you should check out poisonivory's recaps: part one and part two.
Okay. So. The movie begins with the kids counting down to summer vacation. When the bell rings, a dance number (creatively titled "Summertime") breaks out. The upshot of the song itself is that everyone is excited to get away from school, that Troy and Gabriella would like to gaze longingly into each other's eyes for awhile, and that Chad kind of wishes he were a male cheerleader.
Then there's some awkward exposition: most of the kids need summer jobs. In fact, the only two who don't are the Evans twins. According to them, when it's summer, "Everything changes." And now Sharpay has decided she wants Troy as a status symbol (he is, apparently, "the primo boy at East High," she says, and Ryan completely scopes him and agrees, because Ryan is gay gay gay). Later that afternoon, Troy gets a mysterious phone call. (At the suggestion that it might be Gabriella, Chad gets this facial expression, the first of many indications that Chad has more-than-friendly feelings for Troy, feelings which will eventually lead indirectly to him and Ryan hooking up. I'm not making this up, seriously.)
Now we cut to the Evans twins at their family getaway: a country club called Lava Springs, which it turns out their parents actually own. Every summer, Lava Springs has a major talent show, and every summer Sharpay (oh, and Ryan, but mostly Sharpay) wins. Ryan does want the award, though -- he covets it adorably while Sharpay exposits. From there, we go into a mildly trippy dance number where Sharpay sings about how awesome she is, and where Ryan, uh... is gayer than Elton John. During half the number -- the half that is, presumably, Sharpay's hallucination -- he plays piano for her. At a bright pink piano positioned in the swimming pool. While wearing a white and pink tuxedo.
However, Sharpay's moment is ruined when she discovers that all of her high school classmates have been hired as junior staff members for the summer -- so while she gets Troy right where she wants him (her goal, and the reason for his mysterious phone call earlier), Gabriella is right there with him. She goes to see her mother and tries to convince her to fire them all, but her mother refuses and we get some Ryan tummy when he does yoga with their mom. Awww. So Sharpay vows to find a way to get rid of the non-Troy staff members, and Ryan meditates with his mom.
Anyway. Back with the other characters, they've just been informed that they're expected to do actual work at their summer jobs, and are less than pleased, because I guess they thought they'd spend the summer...uh...chillin' out max and relaxin' all cool**? There's a mediocre dance number here, which is only noteworthy because Chad mimes giving Troy a blowjob. It was nearly impossible to cap, but is kind of hilarious.
Plottiness, in as much as there's a plot: Troy and Gabi try to frolic happily, but Sharpay keeps breaking it up. When Ryan and Sharpay are spying, they discover that Troy and Gabriella have decided to participate in the summer talent show. (This is also when we find out that Sharpay and Ryan have code names: hers is Golden Throat and his is Jazz Square. As he said in the first movie, "everyone loves a good jazz square, it's a crowd favorite!"). Not wanting that to happen, Sharpay sets about seducing Troy: she brings him to a round of golf with her family, where he's supposed to caddy but Ryan ends up doing it; she brings him to dinner with her family (much to Ryan's annoyance) while Chad is their waiter; and she decides to include him in the big performance she and Ryan have been planning.
About that: this is a scene cut from the broadcast of the movie (I'd guess for the express purpose of having a bonus scene on the DVD). It's a number where Sharpay is a princess trying to turn an enchanted fish back into her prince boyfriend. Ryan is supposed to play both the fish and then the prince (wearing, uh...this), but of course, Sharpay wants Troy to be her prince. Ryan is really, really not pleased about this. So here is his amazing bitchface:
So where is all of this going? You see, the more time Sharpay and Troy spend together, the more Troy is a dick to his friends (especially Chad...oh, and Gabriella, I guess, though she doesn't seem nearly as upset about it) and the more Sharpay blows off Ryan. Chad and Ryan are both feeling betrayed, sad, and lonely. You may be able to guess where this is leading.
Gabriella sees that Ryan is alone, and invites him to come hang out at the staff baseball game. Upon arriving, she unveils her fiendish plan. Troy is obviously no longer interested in doing the talent show with them, but Gabi still thinks it'll be fun. She wants everyone to do it together, but her friends rebel, pointing out that they can't do the show without Troy; they don't know anything about putting a show together. (Because I guess Troy was going to write, produce, and choreograph the whole thing?) Gabriella points out that, while they can't put together a show, Ryan certainly knows how, and cajoles him into agreeing to do it for them, if everyone will agree to be in it.
But Chad is a hold out, because, you see, he doesn't dance. So this dialogue goes down:
Chad: If you want to play ball, grab a mitt, but I don't dance.
Ryan: You don't think dancing takes some game? [smirk, smirk]
So then Ryan decides to play in the game instead of watching, and steps in as the captain of the opposing team. He and Chad do a bat-toss to decide who gets home field advantage, and Ryan wins, pretty much spelling out who's on top.
He then runs out to pitch. And strike up the music, because here comes the best sequence ever. The premise is that Ryan claims that if he can dance and play baseball, surely Chad can play baseball and dance, right? Because that's how that works. So cue the dance number, in which Ryan proceeds to kick some baseball ass, in what is truly the gayest thing I've seen since Newsies. The dance mostly consists of Chad and Ryan sharing meaningful looks, while Ryan pitches. (I wasn't kidding about him being on top.) Then they dance at one another provocatively, and sing lyrics which make no sense, but boy, are they gay. I'm not posting the whole thing, because it's pretty long and repetitive, but it does feature Ryan challenging Chad to "Take [his] best shot, just hit it!" before declaring he'll "Show you how I swing." Also, don't forget, he encourages Chad to, "Slide home, you score swinging on the dance floor." Or perhaps he could, "Lean back, tuck it in, take a chance."
Aaaaand, at the end of the number, Chad slides into home and Ryan collapses on him, coming thiiiiisclose to shoving his face in Chad's crotch. Seriously it's...
You know what, just have a Youtube link. Seriously, click it; the caps are great and all, but don't even come close to the insane homoeroticism of the dance number.
Okay, but hang on -- it gets gayer. Because after the game ends, Ryan picks himself up from the dirt and starts to walk away dejectedly. Chad calls after him: "Evans! I'm not saying I'm going to dance in the show...but if I did...what would you have me do?" and aside from the open invitation in that, there's the look on Ryan's face. It goes from dejected to surprised to smug to "wow, I am so getting some in the locker room" smoothly, probably the best twenty seconds of acting in the movie.
BUT WAIT, IT GETS GAYER.
Because when we next see Chad and Ryan, they're chilling out post-game, chatting and eating some fries. Ryan explains that he played on a little league team that, uh, won the Little League World Series. Chad stares at him in awe.
Oh, and did I mention that Ryan and Chad have traded clothing?
Yeah. Look at the picture evidence:
What's odd is that no one mentions it. There's no explanation, no comment, nothing. (Well, no, one of the girls comments, "Nice shirt, Ryan!" in the background.) So...we are to conclude what? That the actors accidentally traded shirts and no one in wardrobe noticed, and the director decided not to retake it***? Or...it was done intentionally to show, uh...it's a metaphor for...it's... People trade clothes all the time when...
Oh, screw it. They're gay for each other. They traded clothes when they hooked up in the locker room, either because it's adorable, or to let their friends know, or something. There's no way it could have happened by accident, and no explanation is given, and, well, given the insane amount of sexual tension in the dance number beforehand, my explanation just makes the most sense.
So plot nonsense: Ryan choreographs something for the staff members, Sharpay finds out and they get in a fight, Sharpay gets staff members (except Troy!) banned from performing. Realizing this, Gabriella tells her off, quits her job, and breaks up with Troy because he is, seriously, such a douchebag. Once Troy finally works out what's going on, he has an awesomely hilarious dance number (it's unrelated to Chad and Ryan, but have a youtube link anyway, because...heeheehee****). Realizing he doesn't want everyone to hate him forever, Troy decides not to do the show with Sharpay after all, and apologizes to his friends, leading to a lovely scene wherein he and Chad make up, and Chad introduces him to his new boyfriend. It's mildly awkward all around, but all parties seem to be okay with it.
Then there's wacky scheming to get Troy and Gabriella back together. Everyone forgives everyone, Ryan gets the Star Dazzle Award at Sharpay's request, and after the show ends, everyone frolics outside for awhile. (Chad is wearing a shirt proclaiming, "He did it." I certainly hope that's a reference to Ryan winning the talent show! Such cute boyfriends!)
So everyone is friends, everything ends happily, and presumably, Chad and Ryan become the cutest couple at East High. Because while, yeah, yeah, there's a story about Troy and Gabriella and staying true to yourself and whatever, the far more compelling story is about how Ryan and Chad become friends and also boyfriends. The movie is goofy and terrible, but thanks to those two it's also quite enjoyable and they're just so lovable I can't help but want them to live happily ever after.
V. The Couple
The second movie brings Ryan and Chad together. The question is, why are they such a good couple?
My view is basically this: Chad and Ryan are both people whose identities are almost entirely wrapped up in their relationships to other people -- specifically to one person each. They are known primarily for being Troy's Best Friend and Sharpay's Twin Brother. In the first movie, that's pretty much all they are. They both get built up in the second -- especially Ryan -- but mostly because the people they're dependent on ditch them.
Basically, Chad and Ryan both feel happy and stable when they have a second half, a person who they can depend on and who will always make them priority number one. And maybe Sharpay and Troy were able to do this at one point, but Troy's been changing -- Gabriella has usurped Chad's spot as the person most important to him -- and Sharpay is incredibly self-centered. She may adore Ryan, but she doesn't always think about him, or how she might be hurting him.
But upon finding each other, Ryan and Chad have someone who is a kindred spirit: someone who wants to be the most important relationship, and is willing to make someone the most important in return. So maybe they'll end up a tad bit codependent -- but they'll always be able to depend on each other.
That said, they're mismatched in a lot of ways. Everyone at East High seems to be well off, but Ryan is really, incredibly rich. We know little about Chad's family, except that he's responsible for paying for his own car*****, which seems to imply they're probably pretty much middle class, around the same level as Gabi and Troy (who are both obviously living very comfortably, but not nearly as lavishly as the Evanses). There's also the interracial aspect of the relationship, though this is never mentioned in canon, so whether or not it's a potential problem for them or the people in their lives is a big question mark. On top of that, we know Chad's no fan of musical theater, and Ryan is, in a big way. It's definitely more important to him than sports; he can play baseball and clearly used to, but just as clearly doesn't anymore, but does do a lot of theater.
So what's fascinating is that these are boys with a lot of potential to clash, who under other circumstances might genuinely hate each other. (Chad certainly hates Sharpay.) The first movie demonstrates that under normal circumstances, they would never even interact, what with being in vastly different cliques. But instead, we see them thrown together, we see them fall for each other, and we see that they have the potential to overcome all of their differences. Chad and Ryan can become a couple who love each other deeply, rely on each other totally, and enjoy one another's company whether they're competing at baseball or just hanging out.
VI. Fic and Fandom
So that's the couple. Now let's explore what people do with them, shall we? That brings us to the fandom -- and specifically, the fanfic. And, given how incredibly blatant they were in the movie, it's no surprise that, oh, ten minutes or so after it first aired there were already two LJ communities dedicated to them. As for what's in the fic? Well, you've got some of everything -- fluff, angst, everything from hand-holding to smut, first-time fics, get-together fics, established-couple fics. The uniting factor, however, is loads -- and loads, and loads -- of sexual tension. If UST is your thing, Chad/Ryan is the pairing for you.
And so here you go: recs of varying lengths and genres, a whole list of my favorites. These are in no particular order, except for wherever I happened to find them in my bookmarks. For multichapter fics, if there was no index posted, I linked to the most recent chapter, as those tend to include links to previous chapters.
Sartorial, by poisonivory: Super-short, fluff, hints of smut. (Bonus, check out her brand-new fic, A Proper Date.)
Extra Innings (Universe) by kelbebop and phoebenpiper: Long! A connected universe that contains a handful of fics, including single- and multiple-chapter fics. Especially check out "Fever."
Of Peruvian Hats and Peppermint Kisses by magickalmolly: Ryan and Chad on winter vacation. Check out more of Molly's stuff, too.
Waltz by rageprufrock: Perpetually unfinished, but I hold out hopes it will be someday! Fantastic Ryan!voice.
Oblivious by coffeewordangel: Some delightful, delicious smut, and fluffy to boot
Ambush, by alethia: Hilarious fluff! Ryan's going to have to kill someone.
Imperfection by versatiloquence: A drabble response, which is a lovely snapshot of Ryan.
Friends of Normal by amelia_kay: Excellent fluff. Ryan has never been normal, anyway.
The Other Side of You by paperclipbitch: A WIP that hasn't been updated in awhile, alas. It sort of fuses bits of HSM2 into the time frame after the first movie in a way that makes, you know, mildly more sense than the second movie actually does.
Boy Disease by elvensorceress: a fic that is full of UST that will make you explode. Srsly. It's my favorite in-progress fic at the moment.
Muscle Memory by lielabell: Smutty fluff that makes me a very happy girl indeed.
A Promising Start by crumbfreebread: written in response to a community challenge, this is fluff in which Ryan crushes on the wrong basketball player entirely, much to Chad's annoyance.
And that's all just the beginning! On LJ, I highly recommend you check out idontdance and chyanxlove. It's a busy little fandom, so you can expect lots of great things in the future.
So there you have it. Chad and Ryan: they are totes boyfriends, for realsies.
* Interestingly, Efron's voice was dubbed over by Drew Seeley in all of the songs, and wow, Zef (as the cool kids call him) can't dance, like, at all. At least not here; he does a very nice job in Hairspray, where he had a real director, a vocal coach, and dance training bootcamp. Anyway.
** They do spend most of their days shootin' b-ball outside of the...uh...pool. At the country club.
*** Well, okay, fine. Director Kenny Ortega allegedly once claimed that a character who had not been wearing a hat suddenly had one because it represented the dream-like state he'd entered at the movie's end. So it's entirely possible that the clothes-swap is meant to symbolize their newly-developed friendship and understanding of one another. It’s still really gay, though.
**** Also, have the Chinese version! And the Eye of the Tiger version! There are more, just keep looking at them. It never stops being hilarious.
***** Maybe, kind of? Zeke says his parents are matching what he makes over the summer for college, and Chad says, "Me, too, I'm saving for a car." So, um, what? His parents are matching what he makes for his car? He's saving for a car and college? Unclear, HSM writers!
Author: queenitsy
E-Mail: kidblink@queenitsy.com
Fandom: High School Musical
Pairing: Ryan Evans/Chad Danforth
Notes: Vague spoilers for both movies. Bunches of images below the cut (and they're all click-to-enlarge). A bajillion thanks to poisonivory, second_batgirl, and harmonyangel for encouragement and help, and, you know, for listening to me babble about HSM for hours on end.
Disclaimer 1: Not mine, obviously.
Disclaimer 2: I am a crazy Ryan fangirl. This might be slightly skewed towards him. Oopsie? (But I love Chad, too! Lots and lots!)
I: Intro
II: World's Fastest HSM Recap
III: Ryan and Chad
IV: High School Musical 2
V: Fic and Fandom
I: Intro
Well, you clicked the link despite the, um, awesome title graphic. Luckily, the cheese of the graphic is well in line with the cheese of High School Musical, but I suspect if you were curious enough to click you already knew that. Because unless you have been living under a rock or have never met anyone under the age of 15, you're probably aware that there's a thing in the universe called High School Musical, and if you've seen a clip or two, you probably inferred that it's the most terribly cheesetastic thing in the universe.
It is also, however, exceedingly charming. Not to mention, the second movie -- the one this manifesto is concerned with -- is off-the-scaled homoerotic. So let's get down to it!
Disney makes two kinds of movies: theatrical releases, which are generally high-budget extravaganzas (often animated!) that are usually hugely successful...and what those of us in the know call "DCOMs," short for Disney Channel Original Movies. DCOMs are generally low-budget, using kids who are pretty much already hanging out on the Disney lots (the teenage actors from their mediocre original programming), with pretty much nothing in the way of production values, plot, or script. They take up a few hours of Disney programming and are then pretty much forgotten about forever.
That was the expectation for HSM. (Heck, it was even directed by Kenny Ortega, who had one huge live action musical flop for Disney under his belt!) Its reality, on the other hand, was crazy, and not a single exec at Disney saw it coming. So HSM is really just a typical DCOM: made for about fifteen dollars, starring a couple of teenage actors no one had ever really heard of (plus one Disney Channel star -- Ashley Tisdale had already spent a season on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), with terrible singing, dancing, and acting, and a nonsensical plot. No one expected it to do anything.
But then nearly eight million people tuned in for its first broadcast...and for every encore showing. The DVD sold so well that new versions were released, and they were all best sellers. The soundtrack topped the charts. The movie and music won Emmies and Billboard's Soundtrack Album of the Year. The cast members all achieved various levels of teeny bopper stardom, ranging from Zac Efron conquering the tween- and teenage demographic and ruling it with an iron fist and floppy hair, to the albums released by Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Corbin Bleu, to the...uh...occasional guest appearances on Veronica Mars by supporting cast members Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel. Pictures of the cast members and the movie logo were plastered on to every piece of plastic that Disney could figure out how to plaster a picture to.
Thus, it's hardly surprising that the cast was brought back for a second movie. Though it was given a slightly larger budget and almost has a plot, it remains charmingly terrible. But it does have one huge advantage over the first movie: Chad and Ryan (Bleu and Grabeel) were given larger roles. And by "given larger roles" I mean "given anything to do at all," and also, "were really, really super gay together."
Hence the manfiesto! (Also hence the manifesto's title. Ryan/Chad becomes "Rad," see? And also, Chad wears a shirt that proclaims "My mom thinks I'm rad." On the other hand, the more common name smoosh is Chyan. But that's less amusingly word-like.)
Anyhoo. And with that background in mind, here is the world's shortest recap of the first HSM, so I can get on to the good stuff in the second.
II. World's Fastest HSM Recap
Troy and Gabriella (Efron and Hudgens) have a meetcute where they sing karaoke and fall in true teenage love over winter break. When school resumes, it turns out Gabi is the new student at Troy's high school! They sort of accidentally end up auditioning for the school's winter musical (a student-written show called Twinkle Towne) together. And the school proceeds to go crazy.
First, Troy is the captain of the basketball team, and their Big Game is only a couple weeks away. The team -- and especially Chad, Troy's best friend -- is worried that if he's thinking about singing and dancing* he won't be concentrating enough on the team. Second, the academic decathalon team wants Gabriella to join them, upon learning she's a bit of a genius who's won all kinds of awards at other schools. They fear that if she goes out for theater, she won't join them, and their big competition is coming up, too. And finally, Sharpay and Ryan Evans (co-presidents of the school's drama club) don't want any competition for the lead roles in the show, and they're very invested in maintaining the school's clique-iness and status quo. (Apparently, the jocks already have the most social status in the school, and if they take over drama, they'll rule everything -- and if in the process, Troy and Gabriella get together, then academic decathalon goes from drool to cool! They can't have that! Or...something.)
So first everyone conspires against them, getting Troy to claim he's not interested in the musical callbacks or in Gabriella, not knowing he's talking into a webcam and she's watching. She decides he's a jerk (he kind of is) and no longer wants anything to do with him or the show. That makes Troy sad inside, and suddenly everyone (except Sharpay and Ryan) feels bad, so they completely reverse their positions and conspire to get Troy and Gabriella back together. But now with everyone backing them, they seem unstoppable, so the Evans twins decide to stop them by getting the date of the callbacks changed so it's in conflict with the Big Game and the academic decathalon...but by working together, they manage to sabotage the electricity in the gym, release a foul smell in the decathalon lab, and cause everyone to evacuate to the auditorium just in time for callbacks. Troy and Gabi finish their audition, get the lead roles, and then get back to their various teams so everyone can win at everything. They all sing and dance about how great it is to be able to have multiple interests, everyone becomes friends, the end!
If that didn't make any sense to you, that's because it really makes no sense. But here, have High School Musical in Five Minutes, as performed by the cast (minus Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, but featuring Drew Seeley).
III. Personality Profiles -- What We Know About Ryan and Chad
As you can tell, there isn't a lot of Ryan and Chad in the first movie; they're sidekicks to Sharpay and Troy respectively. But they're my OTP and the focus of this manifesto from here on out. So let's begin with what we know about them.
RYAN
Though it isn't as blatant in the first movie as the second, the Evans twins are obscenely rich. We know this from the first movie, where they have their own accompaniment for auditions, as well as fancy costumes and choreography. It's also clear that Ryan is theater-crazy: he sings, dances, and acts. And does all quite well, actually. (Okay, well, the actor -- Lucas Grabeel -- does; presumably that means Ryan does as well.)
Ryan and Sharpay are extremely close. They're twins, as close as anyone can tell; they're referred to as twins in the junior novel series, though not the movies themselves. They seem to do just about everything together, though most of it centers on Sharpay. (This is made more clear in the beginning of the second movie.) Ryan is perpetually in his sister's shadow, and doesn't seem to have a lot of other friends or interests.
Oh, and he's gay.
Yeah, yeah, subtext, not canon, but here's the basic rundown on why I (and pretty much anyone with eyes) think that. A lot of these reasons invoke stereotypes -- but many of them are the same stereotypes that were used to code characters as gay in the celluloid closet era of Hollywood (and let's face it, Disney is still stuck in that era). And, as close as anyone can tell, these were all choices made intentionally either by the actor or director.
1) Ryan does not dress like the rest of the East High boys. No jeans or t-shirts; he wears button-down shirts and slacks in bright, happy colors (including pink, Ryan wears a lot of pink). A lot of his clothes have sparkles. (The actor refers to them as "looking like they came from Cher's wardrobe.")
2) Ryan's hats. Hats are not generally associated with being queer to the best of my knowledge; in the first movie they seem to just be part of his fairly flamboyant wardrobe. But in the second movie, we meet his father...and it becomes clear that Ryan always wears his hats at a jaunty angle, and his father is constantly straightening them. Metaphor? Possibly. The more you watch the movie, the more likely that seems.
3) Ryan loves musical theater. Like, a lot. He's a male dancer and a choreographer. I'm just sayin'.
4) Ryan is super-close to his mom. This is demonstrated in the second movie.
5) Ryan loves Ashton Kutcher in a non-heterosexual kind of way. That's largely in line delivery, but upon seeing that Troy and Gabriella have made call backs, Sharpay suggests they're being punked, and Ryan declares happily, "Maybe I'll get to meet Ashton!"
6) Ryan is the only male character who doesn't have a token love interest or consistent female dance partner. In numbers, he's usually paired off with his sister; but when she's interested in Troy or one of the other guys and he's left on his own, he switches female dance partners with whoever's nearby. Everyone else has an implied female interest, Ryan does not.
7) The entire second movie is a big gay love story with Ryan in the lead.
In short: Ryan is unapologetically flamboyant. And awesome.
CHAD
Chad Danforth is a man of mystery, in that what we know about him is limited, even after the second movie. The biggest trait his character seems to possess is a love of basketball. Like, a really, really intense love. But he's also a generally sports-centric guy; he plays baseball and runs track, too.
He wants to buy a car for the purpose of taking out "a hottie" on a "proper date." The line, however, is delivered...well...It's at least as gay as Ryan's line about Ashton. I have never heard a less convincing attempt at heterosexuality.
His mother loves Phantom of the Opera, has seen it on Broadway 27 times, and keeps a picture of Michael Crawford in their refrigerator. ("Not on it. In it. It's one of her crazy diet things!") As a result, he is pretty anti-musical theater.
He wears t-shirts with wacky slogans on them. ("Warning: Do Not Read This T-Shirt," "I majored in summer vacation," "I come with my own background music," for example.) The actor (Corbin Bleu) actually brainstormed most of these himself.
He's known Troy since preschool.
He has an unconvincing crush on Taylor McKessie, the head of the scholastic decathalon club (and by the second movie, Gabriella's BFF). More on why that crush is so unconvincing in the next section.
And that is the sum total of our knowledge of Chad Danforth.
So...then...why do I ship 'em? Because the second movie makes it clear that they are VERY IN LOVE.
IV: High School Musical 2: Electric Boogaloo
So. I'm going to go through the second movie and point out all the moments that show how Chad and Ryan become boyfriends, and why I love them. I'm going to go heavy on the character moments and light on the plot, but if you want a full (and hilarious!) recap of what actually happens, you should check out poisonivory's recaps: part one and part two.
Okay. So. The movie begins with the kids counting down to summer vacation. When the bell rings, a dance number (creatively titled "Summertime") breaks out. The upshot of the song itself is that everyone is excited to get away from school, that Troy and Gabriella would like to gaze longingly into each other's eyes for awhile, and that Chad kind of wishes he were a male cheerleader.
Then there's some awkward exposition: most of the kids need summer jobs. In fact, the only two who don't are the Evans twins. According to them, when it's summer, "Everything changes." And now Sharpay has decided she wants Troy as a status symbol (he is, apparently, "the primo boy at East High," she says, and Ryan completely scopes him and agrees, because Ryan is gay gay gay). Later that afternoon, Troy gets a mysterious phone call. (At the suggestion that it might be Gabriella, Chad gets this facial expression, the first of many indications that Chad has more-than-friendly feelings for Troy, feelings which will eventually lead indirectly to him and Ryan hooking up. I'm not making this up, seriously.)
Now we cut to the Evans twins at their family getaway: a country club called Lava Springs, which it turns out their parents actually own. Every summer, Lava Springs has a major talent show, and every summer Sharpay (oh, and Ryan, but mostly Sharpay) wins. Ryan does want the award, though -- he covets it adorably while Sharpay exposits. From there, we go into a mildly trippy dance number where Sharpay sings about how awesome she is, and where Ryan, uh... is gayer than Elton John. During half the number -- the half that is, presumably, Sharpay's hallucination -- he plays piano for her. At a bright pink piano positioned in the swimming pool. While wearing a white and pink tuxedo.
However, Sharpay's moment is ruined when she discovers that all of her high school classmates have been hired as junior staff members for the summer -- so while she gets Troy right where she wants him (her goal, and the reason for his mysterious phone call earlier), Gabriella is right there with him. She goes to see her mother and tries to convince her to fire them all, but her mother refuses and we get some Ryan tummy when he does yoga with their mom. Awww. So Sharpay vows to find a way to get rid of the non-Troy staff members, and Ryan meditates with his mom.
Anyway. Back with the other characters, they've just been informed that they're expected to do actual work at their summer jobs, and are less than pleased, because I guess they thought they'd spend the summer...uh...chillin' out max and relaxin' all cool**? There's a mediocre dance number here, which is only noteworthy because Chad mimes giving Troy a blowjob. It was nearly impossible to cap, but is kind of hilarious.
Plottiness, in as much as there's a plot: Troy and Gabi try to frolic happily, but Sharpay keeps breaking it up. When Ryan and Sharpay are spying, they discover that Troy and Gabriella have decided to participate in the summer talent show. (This is also when we find out that Sharpay and Ryan have code names: hers is Golden Throat and his is Jazz Square. As he said in the first movie, "everyone loves a good jazz square, it's a crowd favorite!"). Not wanting that to happen, Sharpay sets about seducing Troy: she brings him to a round of golf with her family, where he's supposed to caddy but Ryan ends up doing it; she brings him to dinner with her family (much to Ryan's annoyance) while Chad is their waiter; and she decides to include him in the big performance she and Ryan have been planning.
About that: this is a scene cut from the broadcast of the movie (I'd guess for the express purpose of having a bonus scene on the DVD). It's a number where Sharpay is a princess trying to turn an enchanted fish back into her prince boyfriend. Ryan is supposed to play both the fish and then the prince (wearing, uh...this), but of course, Sharpay wants Troy to be her prince. Ryan is really, really not pleased about this. So here is his amazing bitchface:
So where is all of this going? You see, the more time Sharpay and Troy spend together, the more Troy is a dick to his friends (especially Chad...oh, and Gabriella, I guess, though she doesn't seem nearly as upset about it) and the more Sharpay blows off Ryan. Chad and Ryan are both feeling betrayed, sad, and lonely. You may be able to guess where this is leading.
Gabriella sees that Ryan is alone, and invites him to come hang out at the staff baseball game. Upon arriving, she unveils her fiendish plan. Troy is obviously no longer interested in doing the talent show with them, but Gabi still thinks it'll be fun. She wants everyone to do it together, but her friends rebel, pointing out that they can't do the show without Troy; they don't know anything about putting a show together. (Because I guess Troy was going to write, produce, and choreograph the whole thing?) Gabriella points out that, while they can't put together a show, Ryan certainly knows how, and cajoles him into agreeing to do it for them, if everyone will agree to be in it.
But Chad is a hold out, because, you see, he doesn't dance. So this dialogue goes down:
Chad: If you want to play ball, grab a mitt, but I don't dance.
Ryan: You don't think dancing takes some game? [smirk, smirk]
So then Ryan decides to play in the game instead of watching, and steps in as the captain of the opposing team. He and Chad do a bat-toss to decide who gets home field advantage, and Ryan wins, pretty much spelling out who's on top.
He then runs out to pitch. And strike up the music, because here comes the best sequence ever. The premise is that Ryan claims that if he can dance and play baseball, surely Chad can play baseball and dance, right? Because that's how that works. So cue the dance number, in which Ryan proceeds to kick some baseball ass, in what is truly the gayest thing I've seen since Newsies. The dance mostly consists of Chad and Ryan sharing meaningful looks, while Ryan pitches. (I wasn't kidding about him being on top.) Then they dance at one another provocatively, and sing lyrics which make no sense, but boy, are they gay. I'm not posting the whole thing, because it's pretty long and repetitive, but it does feature Ryan challenging Chad to "Take [his] best shot, just hit it!" before declaring he'll "Show you how I swing." Also, don't forget, he encourages Chad to, "Slide home, you score swinging on the dance floor." Or perhaps he could, "Lean back, tuck it in, take a chance."
Aaaaand, at the end of the number, Chad slides into home and Ryan collapses on him, coming thiiiiisclose to shoving his face in Chad's crotch. Seriously it's...
You know what, just have a Youtube link. Seriously, click it; the caps are great and all, but don't even come close to the insane homoeroticism of the dance number.
Okay, but hang on -- it gets gayer. Because after the game ends, Ryan picks himself up from the dirt and starts to walk away dejectedly. Chad calls after him: "Evans! I'm not saying I'm going to dance in the show...but if I did...what would you have me do?" and aside from the open invitation in that, there's the look on Ryan's face. It goes from dejected to surprised to smug to "wow, I am so getting some in the locker room" smoothly, probably the best twenty seconds of acting in the movie.
BUT WAIT, IT GETS GAYER.
Because when we next see Chad and Ryan, they're chilling out post-game, chatting and eating some fries. Ryan explains that he played on a little league team that, uh, won the Little League World Series. Chad stares at him in awe.
Oh, and did I mention that Ryan and Chad have traded clothing?
Yeah. Look at the picture evidence:
What's odd is that no one mentions it. There's no explanation, no comment, nothing. (Well, no, one of the girls comments, "Nice shirt, Ryan!" in the background.) So...we are to conclude what? That the actors accidentally traded shirts and no one in wardrobe noticed, and the director decided not to retake it***? Or...it was done intentionally to show, uh...it's a metaphor for...it's... People trade clothes all the time when...
Oh, screw it. They're gay for each other. They traded clothes when they hooked up in the locker room, either because it's adorable, or to let their friends know, or something. There's no way it could have happened by accident, and no explanation is given, and, well, given the insane amount of sexual tension in the dance number beforehand, my explanation just makes the most sense.
So plot nonsense: Ryan choreographs something for the staff members, Sharpay finds out and they get in a fight, Sharpay gets staff members (except Troy!) banned from performing. Realizing this, Gabriella tells her off, quits her job, and breaks up with Troy because he is, seriously, such a douchebag. Once Troy finally works out what's going on, he has an awesomely hilarious dance number (it's unrelated to Chad and Ryan, but have a youtube link anyway, because...heeheehee****). Realizing he doesn't want everyone to hate him forever, Troy decides not to do the show with Sharpay after all, and apologizes to his friends, leading to a lovely scene wherein he and Chad make up, and Chad introduces him to his new boyfriend. It's mildly awkward all around, but all parties seem to be okay with it.
Then there's wacky scheming to get Troy and Gabriella back together. Everyone forgives everyone, Ryan gets the Star Dazzle Award at Sharpay's request, and after the show ends, everyone frolics outside for awhile. (Chad is wearing a shirt proclaiming, "He did it." I certainly hope that's a reference to Ryan winning the talent show! Such cute boyfriends!)
So everyone is friends, everything ends happily, and presumably, Chad and Ryan become the cutest couple at East High. Because while, yeah, yeah, there's a story about Troy and Gabriella and staying true to yourself and whatever, the far more compelling story is about how Ryan and Chad become friends and also boyfriends. The movie is goofy and terrible, but thanks to those two it's also quite enjoyable and they're just so lovable I can't help but want them to live happily ever after.
V. The Couple
The second movie brings Ryan and Chad together. The question is, why are they such a good couple?
My view is basically this: Chad and Ryan are both people whose identities are almost entirely wrapped up in their relationships to other people -- specifically to one person each. They are known primarily for being Troy's Best Friend and Sharpay's Twin Brother. In the first movie, that's pretty much all they are. They both get built up in the second -- especially Ryan -- but mostly because the people they're dependent on ditch them.
Basically, Chad and Ryan both feel happy and stable when they have a second half, a person who they can depend on and who will always make them priority number one. And maybe Sharpay and Troy were able to do this at one point, but Troy's been changing -- Gabriella has usurped Chad's spot as the person most important to him -- and Sharpay is incredibly self-centered. She may adore Ryan, but she doesn't always think about him, or how she might be hurting him.
But upon finding each other, Ryan and Chad have someone who is a kindred spirit: someone who wants to be the most important relationship, and is willing to make someone the most important in return. So maybe they'll end up a tad bit codependent -- but they'll always be able to depend on each other.
That said, they're mismatched in a lot of ways. Everyone at East High seems to be well off, but Ryan is really, incredibly rich. We know little about Chad's family, except that he's responsible for paying for his own car*****, which seems to imply they're probably pretty much middle class, around the same level as Gabi and Troy (who are both obviously living very comfortably, but not nearly as lavishly as the Evanses). There's also the interracial aspect of the relationship, though this is never mentioned in canon, so whether or not it's a potential problem for them or the people in their lives is a big question mark. On top of that, we know Chad's no fan of musical theater, and Ryan is, in a big way. It's definitely more important to him than sports; he can play baseball and clearly used to, but just as clearly doesn't anymore, but does do a lot of theater.
So what's fascinating is that these are boys with a lot of potential to clash, who under other circumstances might genuinely hate each other. (Chad certainly hates Sharpay.) The first movie demonstrates that under normal circumstances, they would never even interact, what with being in vastly different cliques. But instead, we see them thrown together, we see them fall for each other, and we see that they have the potential to overcome all of their differences. Chad and Ryan can become a couple who love each other deeply, rely on each other totally, and enjoy one another's company whether they're competing at baseball or just hanging out.
VI. Fic and Fandom
So that's the couple. Now let's explore what people do with them, shall we? That brings us to the fandom -- and specifically, the fanfic. And, given how incredibly blatant they were in the movie, it's no surprise that, oh, ten minutes or so after it first aired there were already two LJ communities dedicated to them. As for what's in the fic? Well, you've got some of everything -- fluff, angst, everything from hand-holding to smut, first-time fics, get-together fics, established-couple fics. The uniting factor, however, is loads -- and loads, and loads -- of sexual tension. If UST is your thing, Chad/Ryan is the pairing for you.
And so here you go: recs of varying lengths and genres, a whole list of my favorites. These are in no particular order, except for wherever I happened to find them in my bookmarks. For multichapter fics, if there was no index posted, I linked to the most recent chapter, as those tend to include links to previous chapters.
Sartorial, by poisonivory: Super-short, fluff, hints of smut. (Bonus, check out her brand-new fic, A Proper Date.)
Extra Innings (Universe) by kelbebop and phoebenpiper: Long! A connected universe that contains a handful of fics, including single- and multiple-chapter fics. Especially check out "Fever."
Of Peruvian Hats and Peppermint Kisses by magickalmolly: Ryan and Chad on winter vacation. Check out more of Molly's stuff, too.
Waltz by rageprufrock: Perpetually unfinished, but I hold out hopes it will be someday! Fantastic Ryan!voice.
Oblivious by coffeewordangel: Some delightful, delicious smut, and fluffy to boot
Ambush, by alethia: Hilarious fluff! Ryan's going to have to kill someone.
Imperfection by versatiloquence: A drabble response, which is a lovely snapshot of Ryan.
Friends of Normal by amelia_kay: Excellent fluff. Ryan has never been normal, anyway.
The Other Side of You by paperclipbitch: A WIP that hasn't been updated in awhile, alas. It sort of fuses bits of HSM2 into the time frame after the first movie in a way that makes, you know, mildly more sense than the second movie actually does.
Boy Disease by elvensorceress: a fic that is full of UST that will make you explode. Srsly. It's my favorite in-progress fic at the moment.
Muscle Memory by lielabell: Smutty fluff that makes me a very happy girl indeed.
A Promising Start by crumbfreebread: written in response to a community challenge, this is fluff in which Ryan crushes on the wrong basketball player entirely, much to Chad's annoyance.
And that's all just the beginning! On LJ, I highly recommend you check out idontdance and chyanxlove. It's a busy little fandom, so you can expect lots of great things in the future.
So there you have it. Chad and Ryan: they are totes boyfriends, for realsies.
* Interestingly, Efron's voice was dubbed over by Drew Seeley in all of the songs, and wow, Zef (as the cool kids call him) can't dance, like, at all. At least not here; he does a very nice job in Hairspray, where he had a real director, a vocal coach, and dance training bootcamp. Anyway.
** They do spend most of their days shootin' b-ball outside of the...uh...pool. At the country club.
*** Well, okay, fine. Director Kenny Ortega allegedly once claimed that a character who had not been wearing a hat suddenly had one because it represented the dream-like state he'd entered at the movie's end. So it's entirely possible that the clothes-swap is meant to symbolize their newly-developed friendship and understanding of one another. It’s still really gay, though.
**** Also, have the Chinese version! And the Eye of the Tiger version! There are more, just keep looking at them. It never stops being hilarious.
***** Maybe, kind of? Zeke says his parents are matching what he makes over the summer for college, and Chad says, "Me, too, I'm saving for a car." So, um, what? His parents are matching what he makes for his car? He's saving for a car and college? Unclear, HSM writers!