#also when i say audience and we i mean the general audience bc i kno my brothers in byler Understand n Watch The Show With Their Eyes

[frankieunscripted]

My 2025 Superbowl Halftime Show Analysis

Welcome back to my blog! I ain't forgot about y'all, and I'm still cooking up a deep dive on the Kendrick vs Drake beef (and when I say deep, I mean I'm tryna take it way back to the origin, cause y'all know this shit been simmering in a green cauldron). Anyways, here are my thoughts and ideas (an analysis, if you will) of Kendrick's 2025 Superbowl Halftime Show performance. Note that you have to have seen it in its entirety alteast once in order to take stuff away from this. Let's get this shit!

Bleachers: loading screen going up to 100 like on a video game Stage: Playstation Buttons: Square, X, Triangle, Circle • "The Great American Game" • The Superbowl = biggest American sports event, football being a literal game • The American Game as in chasing The American Dream, the game being rigged; some people have better chances than others, it ain't fair play • Not only the American dream (aka making it big out of nowhere) but just living your life in America can also be seen as "The American Game", especially with games often being connected to pure luck (if you play with dice) as opposed to skill > metaphor for the black experience in the US (ties in to FEAR. (2017) from 17 y/o Kendrick's perspective; I'mma get back to that for the record)

Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam: • SAMUEL L. JACKSON!?!?!?!? • same first name makes it even better • Samuel being one of the biggest Afro-American actors of the century. Our parents grew up watching him, we grew up watching him • usually has roles in movies dealing with racism > "No better than Samuel L on the Django" in i (2014) • previous points make him somewhat of an authority figure in the black media culture (think of Oprah as another e.g.) • Uncle Sam is usually white, a Black version of Uncle Sam is unheard of, because black people don't really represent America "like that"

Lights on bleachers say START, Kendrick starts standing on top of Buick Grand National GNX • Car his Dad drove him home in from the hospital the day he was born > car he started the Great American Game in (game as metaphor for living in America) • Album cover of latest album GNX: Kendrick leaning on the hood of the car; also Grand National Tour starting right about now (National as in USA + 2 Toronto stops, just to claim Drake's city as "part of the Nation") • "all I ever wanted was a black grand national" now he has it > making origins and wished meet your accomplishments

Tiramisu (/Bodies): • GNX album teaser. Kendrick posted that nameless snippet as a teaser for his album on a random Friday morning (morning itself is weird, bc everyone else posts during prime time/at midnight) then half an hour later we got the album. boom. no further roll out, cause he doesn't NEED to do more at that point. But Tiramisu isn't even on the album. We don't know how & when we'll get it, we don't even know what it's called. Some call it Tiramisu, others call it Bodies • Tiramisu started the album roll out > Tiramisu started the halftime show

Hood/Gang: • more people jumping out of the car than fit in it: Back in the day, the homies would just pack into a car and ride around town. No matter where you were going (the hood, the club, some other place), you'd squeeze in all of your friends into that one car > that old 90s cat shit, like when they show you a tape record and ask "whachu kno bout dis, huh?" - cultural/generational differences compared to today's generation > maybe a way of Kendrick connecting to his older audience

Colors: blue, red and white • American flag (stripes n stars) • Gang Symbolism: Bloods (red) vs Crips (blue) • Republicans vs. Democrats (> "Democrips and Rebloodicans/ red state vs. blue state/ which one you governin'?" on Hood Politics (2015) - AND THE COLORS EVEN FUCKING MATCH IN THAT LINE) • bottom line: divide, fight between 2 opposing camps that simply cannot be united (opposing views: politics)/ reconciled (bad blood & pride: gangs) • >some BBC article claimed the stage is a tictactoe field, which yeah, I see why (big field with square-shaped compartments, circles and Xs, if you don't look close enough to notice the triangle and square) = also a game and a game that only two partys can play at that (analogy between red vs blue = x vs. o), as opposed to a playstation that could be a multiplayer game

"The revolution 'bout to be televised, you picked the right time, but the wrong guy" • Drake picked the wrong opponent • Trump was watching > political "revolution", atleast a heavy statement with a clear message: blackness (*I'mma get back to that for the record) • "the right time" as in everybody will see this performance, the whole country is watching The Great American Game right now and every single one will atleast hear about it online/ at work the next day • "the wrong guy" as in Kendrick is not just some Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Usher type performer. He will try and make a point and not just give us a few hype songs

"No, no, no, no! Too loud, too reckless, too... ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!" • first of all props on SLJ for delivery without cussing, because you know he wanted to! And it might've been even more impactful with cussing • "too ghetto": This is a black halftime show. All his people (I'll say his community) jumping out that one car (that has been the dream car of many people in Kendrick's life) and squabble up as a whole have been too ghetto, too black • "do you even know how to play": aka you're doing it wrong! this is not what you should be doing, you shouldn't act this black around here

HUMBLE. & DNA.: • obviously: the American flag, but it's divided. "America tried to make it a house divided" on i (2014) referring to the House Divided Lincoln speech. Paraphrased: "America is a house divided, which cannot continue to stand divided; it will fall. It has to become either this or that in order to be secure." Lincoln meant North vs South in the slavery conflict, Kendrick put his spin on it about the black community in i, meaning the culture itself is divided (through generational trauma, gang culture, internalized racism, etc). Today we can put that extra spin onto America and the 2 parties because the colors fit so well and the last election ain't too long ago. Plus everyone was fucking devastated = divide --- Now, does him standing in the middle mean he knows how to unite them? Or is it him standing in the middle on neutral ground?, like with the gangs? Kendrick himself has ties to certain gangs and friends in gangs (Top Dawg (from his former label TDE) was a blood, but Snoop Dog is associated with the crips), but has never officially claimed to belong to any of the two • divide between gangs: July 2024 pop out concert in LA. Kendrick brought different hoods and gangs onto the stage for that concert. For us it's just westside shenanigans, but people who grew up in that environment and who live in these parts knew exactly: "okay wow, he brought some people unto the stage together who normally cannot be seen in the same hood without shots getting fired". > reincarnated (2024): "I put 100 hoods on one stage/ I'm tryna push peace in LA" This obviously doesn't mean he "solved" gang violence, but for many higher ups in the gangs that was a sign of being able to find a common denominator within hating others (people especially in the hiphop scene who disrespect the westside and Drake and his camp in general). Call it United in Beef instead of United in Grief (2022) (y'all should really pay me at this point for the educomedy I give you For Free? (2015)).

Costumes (HUMBLE.): • Context: 2022 Half Time Show: black suits, blonde hair, "Dre Day"-Sashes. Everyone looked the exact same back then, so Kendrick would stand out more. It's him and then one intelligible mass as background dancers • individuality in unity (at least for the guys): they have different hairstyles (beanies, durags, braids, cornrows, fros, top fades, ...) It's Kendrick as the big star and then it's the culture. Every one of them looks a bit different, but they're unified by their colors and their clothes • female background dancers all look the same (all wear the same wig): I feel like that must've been intentional. Sth sth women being undermined in hiphop/the black community and especially in America rn • Kendrick's outfit: • Gloria on the front of the jacket: closing track on his latest album, tells story of how he fell in love with writing and lyricism > boasting "his pen's name" on his jacket as a way of priding himself with his lyrics and wit and knowing that that is mostly the reason people listen to him. We don't stick to Kendrick because of his fashion, his lifestyle, his instagram or sth like that. We heard of him because of his music and his storytelling and that is what we know and love him for - and he knows that as well • peakaboo (2024) on the sleeve: Song he performed in the x button of the game (I will also get back to that later on) • "Keep them away from me" backprint on his shirt: "don't lay your life in these weird n-words' hands" on tv off (2024): referring to every weird rapper/celeb in the industry right now (there's some other bar on GNX that fits, but I forgot what song it was on - I shall update if I find it) There's a video of Kendrick celebrating after the show in which he's not wearing the blue varsity jacket anymore so you can actually see the words on his back. • not a fan of the 68k Rahmaninov broche on his cap cause it's literally just a wing and you could have spend 68k better, but who am I, the man gives back all the time, let him have his stuff. There's other rappers who spend more on more atrocious shit

HUMBLE. & DNA significance: • Humble (2017) one of his biggest hits that everyone, who has ever heard of Kendrick through the mainstream (pre-May 2024 and not just through their friends), knows • DNA (2017) off the same album, deals with pride, confidence in blackness and upbringing, values: "I got loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA" (music video is Kendrick in cuffs being interrogated by a white officer > implications of racism as always), but in the end there's a beat switch, where he's out on the streets with his posse, so also blackness and hanging around outside type shenanigans can be associated with the song) • both songs are among his most played songs, especially off that album (probably also the most played album because mainstream), so that is his effort to make it more "party anthem"-y like all the other halftime shows. But he did say they chose the wrong guy for this. He won't give us maad city or Alright (again), he won't bust out Backseat Freestyle or N95 just for us to get hype, even if Uncle Sam might've hinted at that being the way to go about the Great American Game

bleachers: Warning Wrong Way • I could see the www alliteration meaning something too, idk • "warning within the game": aka hey, Sam told you not too be loud, reckless and ghetto and you continued with HUMBLE., DNA. and now euphoria - choose sth more... tame? > wrong way to play the game • or "warning outside of the game": keep doing your thing and don't switch it up now (don't become less ghetto because they told you to) wrong way to go about your blackness • or "warning about not starting to mention the beef": you better not play euphoria cause this is the Superbowl, why would you mention beef on here? That's unheard of > wrong way to deal with this platform • or "warning against Drake himself": you woke up the boogeyman and this is your warning to not make it worse than it already is right now. > Wrong way to handle your career (cause you lost the beef) and wrong rapper to challenge (cause kendrick is the boogeyman and you underestimated him)

euphoria: • why exactly that part? hype enough and pg enough probably, but with K.dot there's usually more to it. Making a point of how Drake sucks and in what ways he's different from him ("Oh you thought the money, power, fame would make you go away"-line?) • "have you ever hunt your enemy down with a pokerface": playing into the fact that kendrick never loses face. That man steps into the booth, does his thing, makes us marvel at it and goes home. Stays offline. You can't say shit that will make this guy record an aggravated insta story on the lies you've spread. As opposed to Drake who literally does the exact opposite on every level. And that mischievous smile into the camera in that moment - gold!

man at the garden: • makes me wanna cry • doesn't usually have this acapella theme, so the fact there's multiple male background singers supporting his flow to me is a brotherhood thing again • person chilling on the streetlamp as a call back to the Alright music video (2015) in which he flies through the streets and also chills on top of a streetlamp • vibing with the gang, everyone looks hood: like he's sitting at the corner store with his posse. typical black stereotype: troubled youth on the street who don't know anything but how to linger around • "keep these bums away from me" call back to the print on the back of that shirt he's wearing and the line on tv off I mentioned earlier • "did it with integrity, these boys tryna hate on me" applies to a lot (the beef, being offline all the time/ his long hiatus, the grammys), but lets apply it to the halftime show: critics say it was too black, heavy, symbolic and not party enough. he did it with integrity and now him making a clear and much needed statement isn't good enough for many critics • "I deserve it all, cause it's mine/ tell me why you deserve the greatest of all time, mf" (he said in an interview that that was the song off the album he wanted everyone to hear and really listen to and understand) > he deserves everything the last year has given him - Not Like Us being successful, being hailed as the Drakenslayer, dropping an acclaimed album, winning 5 Grammys and performing at the Superbowl

"Ohh, so you brought your homeboys with you? The old culture cheat code. Score-keeper, deduct one life!" • The "culture cheat code" = against the rules of the Great American Game • hanging around the corner on the street with the homies ("shit I'm with the homies, just riding, just ridin" The Art Of Peer Pressure (2012)) is the wrong way to play it. You should go to school, go home, do the work and be nice, calm and collected aka "white" • the culture cheat code: within the Game, we're aware of the discrepancy between certain, opposing camps. The culture cheatcode would be bringing your friends and unifying people so they stand as one and are ready to battle. If that is not allowed and gets you fined, that means you have to play the game on your own = you play against a bot, an end boss, an AI, whatever: an NPC that is the same for every game (as opposed to multiplayer where you can play against each other). That Game's end boss could be too hard to beat, everytime you try to beat the game (aka in every life you live - "reincarnated" > implying mulitple lifetimes- you lose against the Game's entity, because it's rigged and you're on your own against a boss you can't control or foresee (the industry, society, a construct, the monopoly) • "deducting 1 life" = taking one life? metaphore for gang violence, losing friends on the street just like that, because you played it wrong. Possible call back to FEAR. (2017): "I'll prolly die anonymous, I'll prolly die with promises/ I'll prolly die walkin' back home from the candy house/ I'll prolly die because these colors are standin' out/ I'll prolly die because I ain't know Demarcus was snitchin'/ I'll prolly die at these house parties - / I'll prolly die from witnesses leavin' me false accused/ I'll prolly die from thinkin' that me and your hood was cool/ Or maybe die from pressin' the line, actin' too extra/ Or maybe die because these smokers are more than desperate/ I'll prolly die from one of these bats and blue badges/ Body slammed on black and white paint, my bones snappin'/ Or maybe die from panic or die from bein' too lax/ Or die from waitin' on it, die 'cause I'm movin' too fast/ I'll prolly die tryna buy - at the apartments/ I'll prolly die tryna diffuse two homies arguin'/ I'll prolly die 'cause that's what you do when you're 17/ All worries in a hurry, I wish I controlled things"

>So many ways to die, because you went against the rules (playing the game on the street with your homies /being seen around the wrong people and falsely accused). This has been part of his life forever and part of his music since atleast fucking 2012 >"I done lost too many friends, 16 to be specific" wacced out murals (2024): could be friends in the industry being shady and turning away, or actually him mourning over "the dead homies" (2015)

peakaboo: • Now. Hold my hand cause shit is turbulent, okay? Get your tinheads out, I need you to follow me • 2018, rapper XXXTentacion dies in a shooting. Shooters still haven't been found to this day, although there were suspects. X was beefing with Drake at the time. Just a few months before his passing, X made the Helping Hand Challenge, where he basically told his fans to do something good (spread kindness, yada yada) in their environment and to post it, so he could see and repost it. Iirc, he also mentioned you should do nice things for strangers even if you don't end up posting it. Drake ripped off his challenge for the God's Plan music video (2018) and posted a similar challenge to his followers on Instagram as well, which X saw as a jab at him. The peakaboo sample in the beginning features the words "Helping Hand", which if you listen to the lyrics seems out of place, if you don't pin it to this theory • There are rumors about Drake having sent his shooters after X and basically ordering to kill him ALLEGEDLY. (We don't know shit, but Drake's name did come up in court; allegedly). If you've seen my previous "My Reasons To Hate Drake" post from May 2024 (which: y'all showed me so much love on this, thank you), then you'll know I already hinted at this even back then. (If you haven't seen it, but are interested in the beef: whatchu waiting for, dawg?) I'll spare you more details, because there IS more, but right now it's just important that you know that that's a theory that has been floating around ever since X died at 20 fucking years old. The boy was just as old as me writing this. During the beef it came up again because it's one more reason to hate Drake for and when people heard peakaboo, they spun the theory further. Kendrick had a rapper from the same area as X, Kodak Black, on his 2022 album and he apparently made some subliminal hints on the song Silent Hill. Peakaboo is also big on the whole "i got money and I got friends in the hood who will definitely gang bang and take someone out - so you better watch ya back" energy, which parodies Drake's songs shortly after X's passing, which obviously made people pipe up even more. Kendrick refers to and parodies a bunch of shit Drake said on his tracks in 2018 that can be linked to X • he performs peekaboo in the X button of the game. the X. for XXXTentacion. Shit is always intentional with this man, so for this to be a coincidence... idk man • saying "peekaboo" and him coming into frame from below is fucking hilarious • Kendrick performed the AzChike's verse (the rapper featuring on the song) and not his own, which made the rapper and his crew really happy.

"I wanna perform they favorite song, but you know they love to sue" • Drake has been tryna sue Kendrick over Not Like Us, but he doesn't want that to be the reason he doesn't play it. It's a whole can of worms I'll tackle some other post

SZA on luther and All The Stars • SZA in all red while Kendrick's wearing blue • SZA is going on tour with him, they've collabed since 2017 • SZA used to date Drake in like 2009 • All The Stars is part of the Black Panther soundtrack and one of his most acclaimed songs in the mainstream > that's why we get Uncle Sam's positive reaction • "fuck you and all your expectations/ I don't even want you congratulations. (...) Ion even like you" someone spinned that unto Drake because back when All The Stars came out, Kendrick won an award over Drake and he tried to play it cool and Kendrick was like "ugh wdym, just stfu, don't even act like you care"

"That's what I'm talking about, this is what America wants! Nice and calm. You're almost there! Now don't mess this-" • SZA as the mainstream entry for the halftime show, the things you'd expect/want on there • someone said "Oh yk sza was also there and she looked great, anyways then this happened" and I was like... she LOOKED great...? Have you HEARD her? Are you on drugs? She's out here doing her job, busting out the double string harmonies and you say "she looked pretty"? ugh. men. > That ties into it. They just hear the performance, but don't listen. They watch, but they don't look. That's why Samuel wanted that, because it's nice and calm and not dangerous. It doesn't say anything

Not Like Us edging: • "it's a cultural divide" > back to the divided point I made before • "40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music" ties into the line that comes up again and again on tpab: some civil war shit from 1865 (black history) where some families were freed and allotted 40 acres and a mule, so now it's become a saying for reparations to black people. Kendrick has been playing with this saying since 2015. Now it's bigger than just music. This is a black Superbowl Halftime show, he's making it bigger than just music, he's trying to give back to the community, trying to shed light on the culture that has been dominating the world's trends but is always overlooked, underappreciated and pushed aside in their own country • "they tried to rig the game but you can't fake influence": he's got the influence and he will use it the best he can for the things he finds important, even with someone trying to sue him over a song

NOT LIKE US: • "Say Drake" and smiling into the cam mischeviously • calling out the people (PARTYNEXTDOOR, chubbs, baka, Drake) • If you thought the Grammys "A Minor" was wild, you haven't heard the 5 Pop out concert "A Minors". If you thought those were as big as it gets, you haven't heard the whole Superbowl shout "A MINORRRRRR" yet • Serena Williams, tennis star in all blue (crip affiliations) crip walking on the side as her ex (back in 2011) gets called a pedophile is wild. She once got fined at a tennis match for crip-walking, so her doing it at the superbowl is a power move for her as well • Yes, they did indeed date, and drake started beef with another rapper (Common) over her after they broke up - (drake behavior, just look at him not being able to let go of Rihanna), and apparently talked shit on social media. some say he even stalked her, but that's YouTube comments, I don't have sources yet

TV OFF: MUSTAAAARD: • necklace: capital M for Mustard • but Kendrick's necklace is a lowercase a aka A MINORRRRRR (it's actually his record label's pgLang logo, but still) • and if you put both of their necklaces together it says aM, like A MINORRRRRRRRRR • also Mustard reppin Cali fashion with his baggy jeans (BBC said they're "the baggiest jeans in the world", lol) • mustard yellow accents on his jacket cause it's Mustaaaaard! • why is he here? - giving mustard his flowers: This wouldn't have been possible without him. Mustard has been a renowned LA producer for years, but producers hardly get any recognition for their work (if you aren't Timbaland and have your own studio albums, multiple verses on other people's records you produced, you're bound to fly under the radar. Take MetroBoomin e.g. I've been listening to Metro's beats for years!, but I only found out what he looked like when I saw him live at Rolling Loud, only to forget again, until the beef kicked off last May and I saw more pics of him). Kendrick had Mustard in the Not Like Us music video and on stage for the pop out concert they had in LA in July (they played Not Like Us 5 times back to back, yall dont fucking get it). The Pop Out concert has even bigger implications for LA itself (refer back to "I put 100 hoods on one stage/ I'm tryna push peace in LA" on reincarnated), but just know that Not Like Us and in turn also Mustard who fucking made Not Like Us happen was a big part of that. Kendrick had him come up stage at the Grammys because again: those 5 grammys might've been a few less if it hadn't been for Mustard's typical LA production. This is a Westside anthem, just like TV Off, so of course Mustard must also join at the halftime show. Also aspeaking of the LA, Westside: a lot of lesser known LA rappers featured on gnx, because Kendrick wanted to give them a platform which is really sweet. At this point kendrick could've asked literally anyone for a feature. I'm sure 2Pac would spit some heat over an ouija board if he only could, but kendrick chose to support his people and the brobros from the hood

TURN THIS TV OFF: • smiles into cam, mimics remote and then Game Over flashes on the bleachers - YALL FUCK MAN, I CANT, I LOVE IT because the game is over, we can turn the tv and the playstation off now • What would've happened if we were to turn the TV off at that exact moment? We wouldn't have seen the rest of the game which... it was clear the eagles were gonna win because it was the first time a team had failed to score a single point before halftime (I know that doesn't mean anything, but still). So yeah, we wouldn't have seen the game's end. We wouldn't have seen the following commercials, so our thoughts would've been on the performance still. People usually watch the superbowls together, so turning your tv off could've resulted in some family quality time, best case scenario, we could've discussed the Halftime show more, gotten people's opinions and analysis (from the first watch ofc, thats usually not that deep)

•"Turn the TV off": the game is literally over, turn the TV off, stay away from the media, the destructive culture that has been using and oppressing Black people for ages.

MORE THOUGHTS: • breath control be crazy, HAVE YOU HEARD HIM RAP!? fucking goated. • this was for the culture. I see people not liking it because they don't get the cultural impact behind it, because they don't like heavy statements during their fun and games Halftime show, but this is just what it is: This was for the culture and it was much needed. We're gonna have to look past the "but there was no party anthem in that performance" (you clearly don't know anything about squabble up, HUMBLE., DNA., Not Like Us and TV Off, if you couldn't dance or get hype to that) "You picked the right time, but the wrong guy": he is not gonna put his principles past him and go into a whole different direction just to appeal the masses, just to get hype when that is not what he WANTS to do. • the bad game probably had many fans demotivated already, so the pre-requisits for the halftime show were perhaps a bit different from what they might have been if both team would've scored better

RECORD BREAKING SHIT:

• This Superbowl was the most watched Superbowl of all time

•The Halftime show was the most viewed Halftime show EVER. This also means Kendrick broke THE Michael Jackson's record for performing the most watch halftime show in 1993 and his performance is now the most watched event in US TV history since the fucking MOON LANDING. Do you fucking understand what that means for the country???

• The halftime show had MORE viewers than the fucking game itself, meaning many people ONLY tuned in for Kendrick Lamar and quite literally turned their TVs off after his performance.

•Kendrick was the first rapper to ever perform solo at the Superbowl, the first one to ever play a disstrack at the superbowl (two in actuality), the first rapper to ever win a grammy for a disstrack (5, count 'em!), and the first rapper to ever win 5 grammys for a single song (previously only Up, Up, and Away (1968) by The 5th Dimension won 5, and 3 other songs won 4 grammys, but none of them in the genre of hiphop, because it hasn't been mainstream for "that" long).

•Kendrick broke the record for Monthly Listeners on Spotify for a rap artist. We got 11 more months to go in this year and this year is already insane for him and if you take 2024 into account, shit just gets wilder. I remember saying hiphop is back in May last year and it truly is.

AND WITH THAT I'll let you rewatch this banger of a performance again. Lawd knows I was already on my 6th rewatch in the first 24 hours. Please comment about literally ANYTHING that comes to mind, hit me up about details, ask away if there's more to explain and please also school me if I'm wrong (but be nice about it!).

I love interacting with y'all on here, so yeah: gimme your thoughts, while I hide away after I literally forgot about this blog lmao

[bylertruther]

do you ever think about the fact that throughout the entirety of stranger things we’ve always seen mike practically shout his love for will from the rooftops by throwing his everything into believing, protecting, and helping will no matter the stakes, and how a majority of byler moments are initiated by him, and how will has always loved him back quietly despite being the one canonically confirmed to be in love, and how will is almost always on the viewer’s right in iconic byler moments but in season four we find him on the left in what used to be mike’s spot because their “roles” have switched AND when we’re taken out of the viewer’s pov and put in jonathan’s pov we see jonathan Come To A Realization here because while mike has always made it clear how special will is to him and how different their relationship is, will has always managed to keep the true depth of his feelings a little closer to his chest and it’s only when he publicly takes up that support role that mike has played for him previously that the audience is purposely made to realize, too, how romantic it truly is, because coming from mike everyone might have thought it was his usual overzealous theatrics but when the same tenderness and earnest love comes from will they realize oh. this is... this is actually something more. this is how they are this is mike and will like nothing has changed and no time has passed but it’s now that we realize just what it is, and now that will is starting to slowly but surely come out from this curtain he’s hid behind his whole life and voice that yes he loves mike of course he does he’s always loved him and loves him in precisely the way that mike expresses he needs to be loved there is simply NO conceivable way that they can come out of this hellish slow burn miscommunication trope not in full acknowledgement and eager acceptance of this love they have for each other and have always had and always will !!!!!!!!

[bagofspoons]

POST SESSION 1 DLDND CHARACTER THOUGHTS

holy SHIT y’all the hiatus is over w a long ass session to start us off. i passed out so hard post session but now. i have things to say abt peoples characters and im going to say them. plus an added pronoun check for my own memory. this is a long post so ill pop it all under da cut. tldr at the end 2

IZZY | ALASTRELLE (they/he)

i LIKE THEM. i like them. i was very eyes emoji at their intro and im rly excited to see a druid. i have a feelin that theres a lot more 2 alastrelle than meets the eye but im not rly sure what. we got an insight check that he seems to know more than hes letting on... but like. idk. i have a feelin that theyre more like... they know stuff but not in a malicious way? mayb im bein 2 optimistic and alastrelle is just waiting 2 absolutely decimate every1. they DID heal ma’el tho so like... i think they do not want this. they seem kind. i want 2 know more.

CADILLAC | R-D 2.04 (pronouns unknown - seems to vary)

everybody is so mean 2 me image. r-d is rly. look. i love them but i also hate them. he’s so fuckin funny but also.... gestures broadly at the last hour of the session. she seems 2 b tha only character built 4 outright combat. at least from what weve seen. it seems like a lot of the others went 4 classes that cld offer support (from my limited knowledge of the classes themselves plus dnd) whereas cadillac built (literally) a beast. she seems really cool and had some rly amazing moments first session. designated antagonist im super interested to see how every1 is going 2 interact w the person who drew 1st blood!! also tha character we got the most backstory 4 session 1. kinda dont blame it for the murders but. i dont want any pcs to die T_T

NOX | DOCTOR (PALL’OR) REMAEDI (he/him, okay with they)

HE’S COOL... the outfit is very wizardly but we know hes a cleric. am i right when i look at the ref art and see that hes purple. he is purple. he also shotgunned an unmentioned vial (WHY DID NO 1 ASK ABOUT THAT AUAUEUEGEUGH) and the rice and meat. chuggin ig. seems like... cautious? mayb suspicious but remarkably chill. well. i say chill. again. gestures at the last hour or so of the session. LUV the weapon design. would luv 2 see it do some more damage (see “r-d is built for combat” above. terrifyink). i want 2 know more abt his eyepatch and stitches and general deal. do we think hes an unethical doctor guys. would he kill u for like. fun.

CERIN | EIWN (she/her)

pretty lady. fllushed emoji. i love her design a lot its rly cool. i assumed she was druid bc of it but idk if pep would have allowed class double ups? plus cerin is bein v secretive... possibly monk? eye dee kay im rly just guessin at this point. shes so funny 2 the bit w the shelter being her height and alastrelle tryin 2 fix it secretly was great. i dont have much 2 say abt her yet but i think she will turn out to b EXTREMELY interesting. i kno 4 a fact cerin will say smth and then the dash will explode w how much we love eiwn.

RIVER | MA’EL(VAR) (he/him)

IS HE NORMAL??? squints. i dunno... intro was. suspicious. i did like him tryin 2 explain stuff to r-d that was kinda funny. he seems to b like... relatively level headed? i struggled to get a read on his personality except like... suspicious of others but wants 2 cooperate. clearly doesnt want 2 b here el oh el. HE DID ALMOST DIE 2 TIMES WITH NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING EL EM AY OH. i wonder how hes gonna react to that.

PEP | MIYM (she/her, okay with they)

MIYM MY FUCKIN BELOVED. kenku AND a bard? plus card themed LDFKJ. alto WISHES he could. the resume made me laugh sm and she generally just seems so nice... i like that she’s immediately forming more positive relationships w tha others... probably intentional on pep’s part as a filler character for the pair offs. i was wondering why they were getting such an outright dmpc and was wondering if she was gonna get killed early... i was real newvous. its cool tho. i like her a lot. very glad miym explained the whole premise 2. thank u from da audience i was a little like WHAT THE HELL. but in a good way

TL;DR - I LIKE THEM ALL. i think theres a LOT of things we havent touched (obvs. it was 1 session) but a lot of seeds and references to things wer made i think. also it looks like we got a lot of elves lol. im generally just rly excited 2 see them play again and having consensual and established pvp will make things VERY interesting. i wonder what the symbols on the like... bracelets/necklaces are 4. and what happens when someone dies.... do they both go to zero/make death saves? i guess we will see....

[todaytomorrowgiraff]

hello! i was scrolling thru the frenrey tag and i saw ur post abt frenrey fics and read thru some comments and i just wanted to try to clear this up bc like it could be bad? someone replied w a threat abt if ppl wrote frenrey as predatory they'd kill them, and while yeah joke threatening is rlly fucking awful especially towards ppl u don't kno, i just wanted to ask why like instead of going a bit more into it u just left the possibility that writing mlm relationships as predatory wasn't an actual issue and was just something "uncomfortable?" it's definitely uncomfortable, it's been a real issue w ppl who rn't mlm writing or making that a common trope. it's been damaging to their community. of course addressing that you don't want threats on your posts is a good thing and boundaries are good to set, i don't blame you for telling them to leave you alone about that, i just got a generally bad vibe from the rest of the reply. sorry, this was a long thing to read and i hope it doesn't mess up your day too horribly.

Ok, so I didn’t answer the person because I make a point of only debating with people who actually tries to debate with me. Why would I answer a person who only wanted their opinion heard and threatened people in the process? I’m too old for that shit. You on the other hand pose a valid question and I feel like this can be a good learning opportunity for you younger people on tumblr. 

I want to start out with that I’m saying this as a queer person who has read fanfics and been in fandoms for 20 years. And as a person who’s job it is to teach about literature and story telling structures. I’ve studied this shit.

So lets talk tropes. Most of you already know why certain tropes are harmful for certain groups. In the case of the predatory gay it’s harmful when used in main stream media because it helps paint the picture of gay and queer people as dangerous and predatory. 

So why is it different when the same tropes are used in fan fiction? Shouldn’t that also be bad? Not necessarily. Now the big difference here is context. This is something I feel lot of people who only learn about these kinds of things in online settings fail to see. When it comes to tropes in storytelling context is everything. Lets look at the context of HLVRAI fan fiction. It is written by singular people for free, not giant companies making money of stereotypes. It’s written in a community that is largely made up of queer people (honestly I’ve yet to find a cis het person in any of the servers I’m in XD). Lastly frenrey is a queer relationship which means all the fanfics written with this ship has queer representation. 

Now as you see, the context here (independent writer who writes for free in a community largely made up of queer people with only queer representation) is very different from when the same trope is featured in main stream media (Big companies making money and reaching a diverse audience and often featuring very little queer representation). The trope in the fanfic setting will not harm in the same way it would in the main stream setting. It won't teach people that queer people are predatory because the people reading it are either queer themselves or have seen enough different representations on other fanfics to know this is not the case. Therefor the trope in this context is at worse upsetting or uncomfortable for someone reading it. Which is why tags exists. 

You also have to take into consideration that fan fic writers don’t create these character, they interpret them from the source material. Benrey in the show is acting kinda predatory at times. He flirts kind of aggressively with Gordon who clearly shows it makes him uncomfortable. Now does this make HLVRAI bad because they use this trope? No, again we have to see to the context. This is a friend group (which contains several queer people) who improvises a story on the fly. The way they act is how they usually act and joke with each other. 

So if people chooses to use this aspect of Benrey’s character in their writing they’re also not just making up a predatory gay character from scratch, they’re interpreting the source material. 

I hope this little rant might help to widen the perspective for some folks of tropes in media. Just because a trope is bad in one context, doesn’t mean it is in another. You have to see the wider picture in this, it’s not a black or white issue. 

TLDR: When we consume any type of media we always have to be aware of in what context it has been made and how we consume it. Trope that are harmful in main stream media does not necessarily have to have the same harmful impact when written in fan fiction. 

[kob131]

https://kaedeichinose.tumblr.com/post/613795649532624896/hey-about-that-rwby-rewrite-of-yours-i-remember

hey about that r/wby rewrite of yours, I remember you saying you didn’t kill Jaune off but just nuked his plot lines. What did you replace Jaunedice with?

So you destroyed the one well written part of Volume 1.

Congrats. you literally could not fuck up any worse.

that mightve been an older concept i was working with but i dont talk about my ideas all that frequently so im not surprised. i know i did used to think this but ultimately [cocks gun] its for the best. i did overhaul his plotline a bit so hes not shitty though

Place your bets.

first of all during his first meeting with pyrrha hes not fucking rude and physically aggressive for no reason. he does butt in on the conversation but only continues bc pyrrha engages with him. instead of being put off by her fame (YOU KNO, THE THING HE DOES THAT PYRRHA EXPICITLY SAID HE DIDNT DO. THAT THING.) he gets boastful and goes “well im sure i could totally keep up with her” which is misplaced confidence but she appreciates the spirit

*CRACK!*

... Wow, how did you break things THAT bad?

‘he’s rude and physically aggressive’ he wasn't physically aggressive in the original, he was just rude. Which makes sense as he’s SUPPOSE to be macho and suppose to be wrong. That’s uh, kind of why it’s funny when he gets pushed around. And why the fuck would Jaune think he would be able to catch up to Pyrrha, his whole shtick is that he’s not confident and he feels a need to stand out and stand on his own. Yeah he could be lying to himself but you don’t say that here and considering your best, you probably wouldn’t think of that.

pyrrha doesnt actively seek him out to partner with she just hears hi mscreaming and helps bc shes just nice and doesnt realy mind teaming up with whoever anyway.

... SO the exact same thing in canon just more telling and less showing. Because Pyrrha by using her spear to save Jaune locked herself into being his partner but she still helped him because she’s nice.

he actually tries VERY hard in school to catch up but still falls flat so instead of some prick who doesnt try and doesnt want help but still wants to be good hes actually trying VERY hard and only doesnt ask for help bc hes a cheater.

...

So canon again. Except that you removed one of his similarities to Ruby and robbed the show of a connection between characters, which interests so many people...just to get to the same point which would still be bitched at because you guys don’t care about what actually happens in the show.

at the end of the arc he comes clean to nora and ren also bc he realizes hes putting them in danger so ultimately weather or not he continues to attend is up to the rest of the team to decide. so he can be friends with them before he fucking dies and have screen time and interactions with them. ultimately theyre fine with hi mstaying and offer to help train him bc ren appreciates that he genuinely does want to help people (which aligns with his own interests) and nora has Abandonment Issues so shes definately not throwing a friend out the window. 

... How the fuck did he put them in danger? They’re the strong ones and Jaune never acts in a way that endangers anyone but himself.

All you did was add in bullshit in an already bare bones Volume.

the dance arc doesnt fucking happen bc weiss told him to fuck off after the ice angel thing in v1 and he respected that bc hes not psychotic 

And yet you don’t say anything about Neptune being demanded he be beaten up by Weiss.

This shit is why I say you fuckers are sexist: you only give a shit in very narrow circumstances.

overall just more interaction with everyone in general so it feels like it fucking matters when i nuke him so pyrrha can be a real character 

... So you’re going to give a character you screech at if he exists for more than a second more screentime?

Yeah sure.

Also let me go ahead and address this bullshit ‘it’s better for Jaune to die than Pyrrha!’-

A. Jaune would get creamed in the first second of arrival or you’d have to make him a Mary Sue.

B. He’d still wouldn’t have the build up with Cinder that Pyrrha did as she was chosen to be a maiden.

C. It still wouldn't mean anything because instead of the strongest student dying, either the weakest student or a Mary Sue wearing his skin is dying so who cares?

D. Instead of having a character who has a moderately strong but necessary drawback semblance without extensive power to overbalance the team, we now have someone far stronger than any of the heroes who would either kill the tension or repeatedly need to be removed from the picture.

And E. What would this actually accomplish? No one besides people with murderboners towards Jaune suggests this change and they are so fringe they wouldn’t be a viable target to get emotional about. This isn’t a fix to the show, this is a demand for pandering to yourself. This would satisfy no one but yourselves....if even that because Pyrrha would still focus on Jaune and you’d throw a bitch fit there or remove him entirely for your own bigoted reasons, which would break the show for a vast majority of the audience.

This is why rewrites of RWBY do not work. You people do not consider the intricates of the show and instead of fixing small problems with small solutions, you take a sledgehammer to the whole thing and declare yourself a master writer just as the rumble crushes you.

Stop pretending that you have the experience, the talent, or the drive let alone the discipline to even attempt a fanfiction of this, let alone an actual show.

[hqolympia]

chicago’s very own 𝐎𝐋𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄 has been spotted on madison avenue driving a chevrolet corvette z06 , welcome ! your resemblance to 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒊𝒏 is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 birthday bash . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 , but being 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆 might help you . i think being a 𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊 explains that .  3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 ,  𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 . 

hi ,  peachy !  my  name’s  char  &  that  smile  of  yours  is  making  my  heart  melt !  🥺 allow  me  to  introduce  u  to  my  fren  over  here !

full name :  olympia  giselle  hargrove

nickname :  oly ,  pia  (tho, the latter one is reserved for her grandmother)

date of birth :  may  22nd , 1997  (23) 

birth place :  chicago , il

sexual orientation : pansexual

occupation :  competitive diver

labels :  the  crimson  /  the  icarian

𝐢.  𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

one :  picture a little girl with bright blue eyes, pigtails bouncing with every step she takes as a grin makes its way upon her face . she seems happy ---- and in the moment she truly is, despite the fact that the people she needs the most, her parents, are a few thousand miles away and aren’t here to see olympia say her first words or take her first step. she is too young to understand --- honestly, too young to even think about the reasons why they left her.

two :  she is a little bit older now, a full-on eleven years old --- taller, thinner and, most importantly, rowdier. she has quite a few friends, although they all seem to be having picnics with their barbie dolls and sleepovers dedicated to watching princess movies whereas olympia wants to run around and jump all over the place. the girls just don’t seem to match her energy, the boys aren’t exactly welcoming towards her, having this stupid, “ew, but you’re a girl!” mindset. she just wants to find something for herself, something that will keep her interested for longer than three hours ---- that something turned out to be diving.

three :  it’s a few years later, and now she’s standing at the 10m platform. it’s her last dive, and she needs to get it exactly right to win the gold medal. olympia would honestly be lying if she said her legs weren’t shaking because of how nervous she was --- but there’s a camera right in front of her face, therefore she has to keep it together. she turns around, takes one last breath, and then she’s up in the air. fifteen seconds later she’s fully submerged into water ----- and fifteen minutes later she has tears coming out of her eyes. she did it. she’s the world champion now.

four : it’s exactly a year later, and a lot has changed. olympia finds herself in the sunny city of rio de janeiro where she’s come to compete in her first olympic games --- which is exactly what she’s always been meant to do, judging by the name her parents gave her. except this time she’s nervous for an entirely different reason --- she’s now a successful athlete, this season’s leader and the one to watch out for. she’s the reigning world champion, for god’s sake, so she has to prove every single person out there she didn’t win on an accident. a lot of things seem to be going wrong; from oly flubbing her first dive to her coach coming up to her before her final one to say that her parents have showed up at the arena. eventually she finds herself in the same exact position as she did back in Russia ---- her palms are sweating, her legs are shaking, but there’s no turning back. the only way is down, so she has to dive one way or another. a jump, two somersaults, a twist ----- she’s back in the pool, and as she immediately drowns in the roar coming from the audience, tears start coming out of her eyes. she did it again. she’s lived up to her name.

five :  ever since she got back home, her life has completely changed. interview after interview, a campaign after a photoshoot, an event after the other ---- all of that mixed in with her training routine has it ups and downs. her schedule keeps her busy yet there’s something missing. she’s looking everywhere in the hopes of finding that missing piece, and at some point she feels like she’s found it in the face of a stranger who ends up in her bed that night. it brings her a sense of serenity, that lasts a few weeks ---- but olympia knows it’s all too good to be true, and it’s proven to be that way as she stumbles upon a certain page on a random night. it doesn’t seem real at first, but when she spots a tattoo on the girl’s ribcage, a realization hits her ---- she’s plastered all over porn sites, and that particular video featuring her has generated a few million views in a span of two months. she doesn’t remember the night at first due to her drunken state, but she recognizes her bedroom, particularly a personalized louis vuitton gym bag sitting in the corner. details like that help her piece the night together, and from that point on there’s nothing but fear of it all coming out and ruining her career.

𝐢𝐢.  𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀

basically ! this intro is all over the place so here are some bullet points to get u up to speed !

oly was born in chicago but grew up and spent most of her time in toronto with her grandmother, since her parents were setting up their business overseas. they were coming by to visit her maybe once or twice a year, so she isn’t as close with them.

she is a competitive diver (a quite decorated one bc .... why wouldn’t she be 🥺🥺🥺)  representing canada bc of her upbringing despite the fact that she now lives in new york (she moved here in 2017, after the rio olympics)

astrology wise, she is a gemini sun cancer rising .... so sorry to all of u for this

her placements mean that she is quite creative, capricious and may appear manic sometimes --- but really she is just downright STUPID bc she is always trying to get her ass into trouble. like, you can’t even imagine how many times her coach had to drag her out of the mess she got herself into ... 

she is very much about having sympathy for others and helping them and whatnot, but unbeknownst to her, these tendencies can be explained by the “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” mindset. she has to keep her act straight, so getting onto someone’s bad side isn’t in the cards for her --- god knows what kind of shit she may end up in now that she’s a part of ... this world of glamour and fame, u kno?

olympia also really loves to talk, preach, argue --- just do whatever to be heard

in her free time (the time when she doesn’t feel like wreaking havoc tbh) she usually cooks deserts (vegan banana pudding? blackberry sorbet? key lime cheesecake? u want it, u got it!), reads books (painted veil by somerset is her ultimate FAV) and ... drives around town whilst listening to some cheesy music 🥺 

other than that her usual routine consists of training, clubbing and messing shit up due to the chaotic stupid personality !

𝐢𝐢𝐢.  𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

i promise this intro won’t be that long ... after this ! 🤠🤠🤠these are just the few ideas i can get off the top of my head so ... there’s always room for brainstorming ! :-)

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐃 / close friends --- everybody needs some sort of a support system in their life, and oly is no exception to this rule. she’s never really had a big family, therefore she’s always surrounded herself with people in the hopes of filling the empty space in her heart. and honestly, if it wasn’t for these people, she would’ve quit diving right after winning the olympics, moved to the suburbs of toronto and just lived a quiet life --- but the pride for her friends just gives her enough motivation to move further and become better.

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 / best friend --- we all have that someone who’s impossibly close to us; who we cannot imagine our lives without. the bond is so crucial to them both parties that it feels as if there’s never been a moment without each other. the general public and tabloids, though, feel as if there’s more going on and will not stop nagging them about the details.

𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃 / friends drifted apart / exes --- as weird as it is, oly is very much a yolo person. in addition to that, she has a ton of love and devotion for every single person she’s ever had in her life no matter what happened between them or what caused them to drift apart. though, her ever-changing nature is known to drive people away which, tbh, happens to be a blessing and a curse -- it helps oly sort of “filter” through her circle of friends, but then again, if someone enters her life, they leave and undeniable impact on it. therefore, she misses whoever left her life more than they could ever imagine.

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔 / rival (?) --- olympia isn’t perfect in any way, shape or form. she knows that, but most importantly, the public knows that and will not stop critiquing every little thing that she does. this person, though, is the exact opposite - the public LOVES them to the point where even olympia’s parents would probably say things like “ugh, i wish you could be more like that!”. this makes the relationship between the two quite ... strained. because as much as olympia may love them as a person, there’s always this lingering sense of jealousy that just enables her petty side.

𝐢𝐯. 𝐎𝐎𝐂

ok so ! if you’ve reached this part of my intro ... i cannot thank u enough bc this ?? this is long as HECK but i wanted to actually try and describe the kind of muse i envision in my head. i love u all a latte & if u feel like plotting w/ my dumb kid, leave a like on this post or feel free to mssg me on discord under futurenostalgias#1692 🤠sidenote tho: i’ll probably get to the mssgs in a few hours seeing as i have a few assignments to complete and i’m sorta braindead ... love u , cannot wait to write w/ u ! xoxo ur friendly neighborhood trash char