#the dissonance at best is funny but at worst it can feel a little manipulative

[merge-conflict]

🗣️, 🤡, 🤔 & 💝 for the lovely Val? (sorry if this is too many!)

Not too many at all tsym for asking! :3 I love answering these. 🗣️ - How do they handle public speaking? Really well! It's something Valentine had classes for growing up, which certainly helps, and she loves to talk. Her favorite type of speaking is a technical presentation, and she used to give a lot of them at work. In her eyes it's basically a free pass to get a bunch of people in a conference room so she can give a clear and concise infodump. She also is one of those people who likes to give weird dramatic monologues for fun– Abernathy's husband Mark is one of those bookish guys into theater, and they used to try and one-up each other as a game.

🤡 - What’s something dumb they’re embarrassed about?

This is such a good question, and as I was thinking about the answer I think it explains a lot about her. The short answer is: it depends on who's watching. If it's someone Important than she becomes self-conscious and embarrassed about every normal thing she does, but especially any sort of unconscious stimming behavior (humming, finger tapping, pacing). But on the other hand, Johnny shoulder surfing every waking moment of her life doesn't really bother her that much because he's a dipshit rockerboy and his opinion is at best funny and at worst not worth considering. Another more direct answer is that she hates showing any weakness unless it's part of her "ehhhh, I'm just a little guy, it's my birthday" routine she's doing to annoy someone or get attention. (Jackie taught her that one.)

🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand?

People who refuse to consider new information, or show no curiosity outside of their own bubble. Valentine spends a probably unhealthily neurotic amount of time in self-analysis and regular analysis, and she loved working CounterIntel because she got a steady stream of news and info that kept her fed. Conceptually she understands that not everyone is as comfortable with cognitive dissonance as she is, which is why people will often avoid seeking out contradictory info, but she loves the messiness of it. And how could belief stand up to choice when it comes down to it? There's a certain freedom in rejecting purity (which she has never and could never achieve) and reveling in the fact that everyone acts against their own beliefs from time to time. That this might be her counterpoint coping mechanism and not a morally correct philosophy is one of those self-reflective observations that still eludes her.

💝 - What gestures do they really appreciate? How do you get on their good side?

It's all about the little gestures! As someone prone to becoming somewhat obsessively loyal to people she gets attached to, she really appreciates all the intimacies (platonic or romantic) that are there and gone in a flash: lending her a tool before she asks for it, pre-emptively sharing food, saying something that proves they were thinking about her. It means they care enough to pay attention, and it makes her feel very taken care of. As for her "good side", that's slightly trickier. She generally tries to stand friendly with everyone, (friends are much more useful than enemies) but it would be easy for someone to overestimate her actual investment in a relationship, and I'm not sure it's fair to say someone is on her "good side" if she'd carefully manipulate them over a series of weeks to get some outcome she wanted, as long as she figured they'd never find out. She could be chuffed as all get out if you brought her lunch while she was absorbed in some problem, and she'd cheerfully carry a conversation with you and probably return the gesture, but that doesn't mean you Matter or that she really considers you her friend.

If you want to get on her actual, stupidly loyal, will get herself canned or kicked around or killed for you good side, then you need to be Interesting, Persistent, or just stick your neck out for her when you could just as easily let her hang.

#i'm sorry these got so long! #i hope i am accurately portraying how she will flirt and flatter and then immediately forget you exist #she will be your 'close friend' for a decade and then briefly lose touch and replace you #this does get harder for her after Arasaka because she has to do her dirty work herself instead of from behind a desk #and also facing down mortality when her inner circle has finally dwindled to 0 #valentine #ask meme #cyberpunk 2077 #also again thank you for asking :3

[bastart13]

This isn't something unique to Piama or even Lovestruck, but it's always so odd when the writers and artists don't feel like they've been given the same prompt.

Artist: "Flustered about spending the night together" vs writer: "They slept in the same bed"

Artist: "MC protecting Piama from attack" vs writer: "MC showing off her knife skills"

Artist: "They're caught in a wild fire" vs writer: "MC is burning a piece of paper"

Like, the art is gorgeous and the writing is so much fun so far, but it's still really funny

#lovestruck #reigning passions #piama of the spring #not art #the dissonance at best is funny but at worst it can feel a little manipulative

[tobi-smp]

you might be able to expand on this in a way that’s smarter then me, but honestly; i think technoblade apologists rely far too much on word of god for their analysis.

like, it feels like every time technoblade (the character) is analyzed in the context of the Text Itself, the fans will say “that’s not what techno intended” or “he didn’t think that when acting techno”.

this is probably because cc!techno cares so little for the the fourth wall. but as someone who analyzes techno it also annoys me. “cc!techno didn’t plan to kill anyone canonically during doomsday, cc!jack just challenged him” regardless of what your cc intends, c!techno still bombed a country and shot at other characters, and for him to think there would be no casualties in that is ridiculous.

this fourth-wall-breaking honestly gives quite a few issues like this; techno acts like killing tubbo was unimportant or even funny because “it’s minecraft” and anyone still angry at him about that is just irrational. obviously, because c!tubbo still has to live with the scarred body and the huge amount of trauma, this makes c!techno seem like a Huge Dick. but pointing that out always gets so many angry responses.

rivals duo enthusiasts make so much “techno heals and cares for dream” content, but in actuality techno wants his lore to be only funny so he says “i’m not getting tortured. that seems like a you problem.”

i’m not saying that techno isn’t nice— because he is, to ranboo and phil and niki— but because he participates is HUGELY SERIOUS topics (bombing a nation twice, tommys exile, terrorism and taking hostages, dreams torture) and then acts like he doesn’t care, it just makes him look…. Bad.

i dont really know where i was going with this. basically i just wanted to complain about how one of the most argued about characters doesn’t even seem to be serious about the serious parts of the lore.

perhaps you can somehow expand on this in a way that’s smart T_T

Honestly, techno apologism takes techno's word as absolute truth Way too often in general (both in character and out). which isn't unique to techno fans by any means, but it's particularly bothersome because it leaks out into how they talk about other characters, All The Time.

a quick example would be techno arguing that l'manberg was corrupt because tubbo was given presidency without an election. the reality of the situation was that they were in the middle of a crisis (a war that just came to an end, the death of the president with no one to take his place, and the destruction of the entire nation), so it Wasn't under normal circumstances. l'manberg would've then held elections every couple of months had they not been exploded before that could happen. (there's also the fact that nearly everyone that'd be a part of l'manberg was there and could've voiced their concerns, instead the crowd cheered. they didn't get a ballot but they still expressed their approval).

and of course things that he says about other characters being taken as word of god (him wholesale inventing the character flaw that tommy sees himself as a hero with the theseus speech despite the fact that tommy denied it right then and there. or cc!techno making the joke that tommy's only facing the consequences of his own actions, Twice.)

but more on the topic, there Is a massive tonal difference between techno's viewpoint and everyone else's, and that's completely on purpose ! but that creates some of the worst discourse this fandom has to offer Because techno involves himself in serious lore while still insisting on carrying his non-serious roleplay style.

when you take his word on it and Only his word on it it strips other characters of their nuance because he doesn't see or Care about their motivations or the context behind them. that's why it's so easy to paint the butcher army as purely evil from his perspective. Technoblade doesn't care about releasing withers on l'manberg, Technoblade doesn't care about having shot tubbo, Technoblade doesn't care that quackity is terrified of him, so why should they? why should anyone?

people refuse to see the butcher army as a response to technoblade's actions because technoblade doesn't treat his actions as if they have weight. and so quackity is taken to the fandom alter to be sacrificed as an uncomplicated villain (either alongside tubbo or while painting quackity as a manipulator who coerced the rest of the butcher army), and this Long before las nevadas was a part of the lore.

but then of course, if you look at his actions and attitude from any other perspective (minus philza) he just looks, Cold.

he's bombing l'manberg because of a failed execution and philza's house arrest but he won't even acknowledge that tubbo's execution or his destruction of l'manberg was something that he should've apologized for. he painted tommy as a dehumanizer because tommy chose to stand by his best friend, but techno is risking the lives of people who haven't wronged him without remorse because philza (his best friend) got hurt. he's angry at tommy for betraying him (to the point that he's indifferent to his literal death), when he refused to take tommy seriously over feeling betrayed with tubbo's execution and when He was the one who lied to tommy during their partnership.

he refuses to engage with other characters on an emotional level because that would suck the dumb fun out of his actions (and I don't mean dumb fun as an insult here, I love his roleplay style when it Isn't tonally dissonant from everything around it). but from the other perspective that comes across as indifference to suffering, willful ignorance, hypocrisy, or just outright cruelty.

which just isn't how his character Should be read with how its being acted, but it's the only way To read it in context.

techno wants his character to be the comic relief on the server but he still wants to involve himself with heavy lore, which would still be Possible if he was fine playing a villain (just look at jack and niki with their team rocket arc). but the problem is that he presents his character as emotionally disconnected from everyone around him outside of a select handful of people (and even then, he won't engage with certain things seriously for fear of being pulled into serious lore) while still wanting his character to be read as good (or at least lighter on the gray morality scale).

the solution to this would be a more careful implementation of techno's involvement with the lore. keeping him involved in conflicts in a way where his character doesn't bump elbows with the darkest aspects of the server. either by having him Not involved with things like doomsday or having him involved in a way where he isn't an instigator, Or by technoblade the content creator taking the L and taking his roleplay more seriously when he involves himself in serious lore.

instead we have the insistence that it's not technoblade's fault that people died when he killed them because it doesn't fit with how cc!techno wants to engage with those events.

#long post #dream smp #technoblade #c!technoblade critical #c!techno critical #tubbo #quackity #tommyinnit #I don't know if I added anything smart here #but I Did add 13 paragraphs so go team

[bradleyhartsell]

Who is Thom Galt?

Radiohead- In Rainbows 2007 (32nd of Top 100)

It’s funny how a subgroup takes an already-menial fragment of culture and erects its own tenets. Pavement fandom, for instance, is on the margins, but inside the rock intelligentsia, the band has two accepted masterpieces (Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain); yet there’s been a groundswell in the last decade or so to say you know, Wowee Zowee is actually their best work. Animal Collective, in honor of a 10-year-anniversary, had some extolling pieces written this year about their magnum opus, Merriweather Post Pavilion, but die-hards prefer Sung Tongs or Feels. Similarly, the Radiohead community seems to have dismantled the established twin gold standards of OK Computer and Kid A in favor of In Rainbows.

A part of that may steam from the disparity of The Establishment favoring context and cultural narrative, while the community cuts through the bullshit to find the best songs. OK Computer and Kid A had their respective myths built for them (the moment when solipsistic art rock became commercially viable; the moment when that same band rejected that trailblazing notion, alongside the supposed last-gasp of The Album in the wake of Napster). In Rainbows, in many ways followed suit, albeit of the band’s own making, as Radiohead helped pioneer self-released, name-your-price digital delivery method. Perhaps because that model was fairly brief, as streaming subscriptions and their algorithms became dominant (for more mythmaking, see also the comically myopic “newspaper album” that is The King of Limbs). If OK Computer is eternally a sonic alternative rock landmark, and Kid A is the signpost for intrepid career U-turn, In Rainbows gets left behind when name-your-price is draconian compared to the $9.99 Spotify everything.

Still, to the band’s community, late ‘90s sonic upheavals, new-century influence, and Napster are too-worn talking points when the community’s thesis is which songs are best. Hence the chic pick nowadays is to say In Rainbows. Of course, I’ve already played contrarian, to both The Establishment and, likely, the said community, by asserting Amnesiac is definitively Radiohead’s best work (and my former all-time favorite album; still third). But even devaluing a band’s narrative and social context, as I’m want to do, I still think, on balance, the twin purported masterpieces rate a little higher than In Rainbows, though even I have my days where it’s fluid. And regardless of these inconsequential squabbles, there’s little question of In Rainbows as one of this young century’s greatest records.

While everything about In Rainbows is resolutely Radiohead, it does mark something of a subtle departure for them. Consider that coming without the fanfare, Amnesiac expertly blended their jagged, claustrophobic rock with isolating electronics (and unfortunately, Hail to the Thief came off as a bloated, uneven imitator). With In Rainbows, the band found a way of faithfully representing this hybrid DNA in fresh, more buoyant ways. Despite comparable running times, In Rainbows feels like Radiohead’s leanest work, as the songs are open and breathe in a way divergent from the panicky restlessness they’d so well done previously. Distortion and crunchy riffs get traded in for clean, Sunday morning arpeggios (so much so that they seem to meta-name “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” after it); industrial mechanizations get replaced with billowy strings and hovering atmospherics.

That’s not to say In Rainbows is a bright springtime record—the stretch from “Nude” to “All I Need” is as sonically sobering as they’ve been, while “Videotape” is the bleakest song they’ve ever recorded. In fact, even apart from its dour soundscape, their 2007 record seems to have perfectly captured delusion, taking the character in “Karma Police” to its logical conclusion; whereas the “Karma Police” narrator is deliberately played as a product of manipulation (“Phew, for a minute there / I lost myself”), it’s not even safe to say Thom Yorke is playing a character. “Videotape,” for instance, is the most beautiful, yet heartbreaking kind of cognitive dissonance, in what could easily been seen as a suicide note: “This is my way of saying goodbye / Because I can't do it face to face…No matter what happens now / You shouldn't be afraid / Because I know today has been / The most perfect day I've ever seen.” “All I Need,” meanwhile, is equally played straight, as Yorke delicately and sincerely sings a love song, except he’s comparing himself to a “moth / Who just wants to share your light…I only stick with you / Because there are no others.” Like an insect or “an animal / Trapped in your hot car,” the feeling is genuine, even if it’s unhealthy. On “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” Thom insists he’d be “crazy not to follow…where you lead” but it’s merely a “way out,” even if it means following to the “edge / Of the earth…And fall off.”

The sonic choices faithfully score York’s being unencumbered, however deluded, with fuzzed-out, solitary bass plucks of “All I Need” leading one of the band’s most spare choruses, before piano and strings swell into a lovely power ballad (a dutiful ode to someone/thing, no matter its degrading qualities). The breeziness of the shaker and Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque arpeggio guitar (for better or worse, though it’s a lovely riff) in “Reckoner” threatens to blow away if not for Yorke’s ultra-silky falsetto, followed by piano, strings, and subdued bass line managing to ground the song, ultimately making it the heart of the album (even if it’s not the album’s best song, it’s a worthy candidate).

Conversely, Radiohead has a bad habit of putting head-scratching, out-of-place songs on its albums (“Electioneering”; “Optimistic”). “15 Step” never quite seems in league with those missteps, maybe in part because it’s unburdened as the opener, and maybe simply because it’s really good; it’s muscular, yet economical, with Yorke nailing a charged hook: “How come I end up where I started?” And apart from the comparatively jarring aggro-Aphex Twin breakbeat (especially as it’s the only song with drum machine-based percussion) and stormy atmosphere anchoring the song, the melody and its flourish still has a HSN-ready arpeggio and a repeated snippet of children cheering, both of which do hint at the core sound of In Rainbows—something naïve, carefree.

After the jagged, Hail to the Thief-seeming “Bodysnatchers,” In Rainbows settles into being the best possible version of Red Hot Chili Peppers singles if they were both ondes Martenot-forward and Ayn Rand scholars. It’s even likely those two songs give the album the muscle it needs to keep from evaporating into the sleepiness that doomed The King of Limbs. In fact, In Rainbows does err a couple of times with “Faust Arp” (among Yorke’s least compelling performances, as he fails to meet the music’s heightened airs) and “House of Cards” dozing off, the latter with the unique distinction of joining “Electioneering” and “Optimistic” as conspicuous black marks while still being completely on-brand for the album in question. If “Electioneering” and “Optimistic” are unnecessary throwbacks to a rock period they sonically outgrew, then the longest song on In Rainbows is doubly a drag, with a lifeless hook underscoring Yorke’s overproduced vocals (“Forget about your house of cards / And I’ll do mine”), even as its clean arpeggio saunters around a thoughtful string arrangement, not unlike the vastly superior “Reckoner.”

I’ve argued that sequencing redeems In Rainbows, as “House of Cards” being the penultimate song quickly would sink this album closer to the hit-and-miss Hail to the Thief. Instead, the record concludes with its two best songs, “Jigsaw Falling into Place” and “Videotape.” The fingerpicked acoustic riff and Phil Selway’s racing drums chase each other on “Jigsaw,” as York offers a stunning performance—first speak-singing right in your ear before wonderfully opening up on the second “The beat goes round and round.” Interestingly, Yorke plainly sets a will-they-won’t-they in a club, which feels so apart from the edge-of-the-world, lambs-to-slaughter pathos he commonly evokes. Most successfully, the infectious energy of the song makes it feel like the congenial successor to “Idioteque.”

Moreover, In Rainbows is Yorke’s most immediate and beautiful performance. No song here is garbling or digitizing his voice; in fact, the worst song is the one oversaturating his voice in echo effect. Yorke’s elegant register is the connective tissue to so many of these songs, like the stellar “Nude,” when he snakes alongside Colin Greenwood’s sultry bass line before delivering an enshrined vocal take on par with the end of “Life in a Glasshouse” and “It’s gonna be a glorious day” from “Lucky”: “You’ll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking.” You don’t realize how much Yorke relies on his angel hair falsetto during the album until he pulls you aside to talk to you during the opening verse of “Jigsaw”; and then, in one of his most intimate performances, Yorke sings right into your ear on “Videotape,” so much so that you can hear the P-sound popping in the mic when he says “pearly gates.” With no “Fitter Happier,” no instrumentals, no digitized dystopia, it’s fitting that In Rainbows is the band’s warmest album to date.

That’s not to discount Radiohead at their most paranoid and icy; the satellite-beamed anxiety of OK Computer can still be more thrilling (and equally contemplative); Kid A (mostly) feels exotic, as if from some dystopian planet; Amnesiac is equally mysterious, except its predecessor’s interstellar relay gets subsumed by a technocratic Dante’s Inferno. The allusions here aren’t nearly as arresting—an Atlas Shrugged-versed Chili Peppers is comparatively tame—but In Rainbows is the most direct, distilled version of what makes Radiohead great. It’s also the album that finds the oft-cagey and anarchist songwriting recalling some faux-peace, as if coasting off laudanum drips, thus making the record’s narrative point of view the band’s most nuanced. And when projecting to Radiohead’s aforementioned community, perhaps grassroots support for In Rainbows is simply due to it’s being the band’s most “chill” album to put on while hitting a bowl.

When reviewing the album, Pitchfork had a joke of name-your-own-score. But I bypassed that contrivance by snagging an In Rainbowstorrent. I listened to my music the way I always had. And while a fickle and temperamental culture quickly buried In Rainbows’ meta-narrative, it’s reassuring to know there’s still a niche community more interested in textual greatness than contextual machinations.

#Radiohead #In Rainbows #ok computer #Kid A #amnesiac #hail to the thief #pavement #Animal Collective #red hot chili peppers #ayn rand #atlas shrugged #Aphex Twin #dante #inferno #Thom Yorke

[musicallyy-inclined]

2017 Year End Ranked (90 - 81)

Yay for more list! I’m not sure I’ll actually get this done by New Years at the rate, but I’ll try my best. Anyway, today’s list is mostly songs that suck, but never really made an impact on my year, with a couple notable exceptions. Also, fair warning, there are a lot of rap/trap/hip-hop songs here. Since I don’t listen to rap, I’ve tried my best to give a fair review, I don’t have a lot of feeling towards most of these songs. 

Anyway, here’s 90-81 after the page break!

90. That's What I Like – Bruno Mars

I would guess that this is probably my most controversial opinion in this whole list, but I can't stand this song. It's not that it sounds awful or was overplayed (although it was, but so were songs much higher on this list). It's just that this song is one of the sleaziest things to make waves on pop radio this year. Also Bonner Bolton (more on that later). Anyway, the main premise of this song is that Bruno is giving this girl all kinds of fancy things. Which seems harmless right? Nope, because there is a condition behind his gifts, that being that the girl in questions must “pop” and “drop” it for him. Yup, Bruno's basically paying for sex here, or at least headed very quickly in that direction. Now, at this point, it's still not awful right? Stripper anthems are common, so why hate this one in particular? It's the chorus that reveals why Mars is willing to drop this much money on this girl. See, he's not feeding her lobster and champagne because he's trying to satisfy her. It's because that's what HE likes. So basically, he's telling this girl to come perform for him and she'll get lots of nice stuff, but not because she's special or anything, just because that's what he happens to be doing. The girl is basically an afterthought in yet another braggadocios power trip.  And while songs like Uptown Funk pull of the bragging, this falls so so flat. The framing is just straight up bad. And Bruno sounds like the worst time of player. So yeah, this song is nowhere near as good as people think it is and I'm not sure why it's getting a free pass. Also, Bonner Bolton did a “dance” to this on DWTS and it was the most sexist thing I've ever seen on the show. Shame on Sharna, but with this song to work with, I'm not surprised.

89 Juju On That Beat (TZ Anthem) - Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall

This song is real bad, no question, but I can't bring myself to hate it enough to put it on my worst list. I mostly just feel bad for these two kids because someone told them that this was good idea. And yeah, I think most of what needs to be said about this song has already been said. The beat is a rip off, these kids sound awful and the lyrics suck. But let's look at some of these lyrics, because they are so bad they make me laugh. First, they insult “you” and “your daddy”, a great way to get started. Next, they try to rhyme “else” and “fun”, which like in what universe? Also, they make up a word, comparings. Which should mean comparision, but why use the word that's already there? So yeah, this is so bad it's funny, which is why it's not lower.

88. T-Shirt - Migos

Oh Migos. I thought Bad and Boujee was the first Hot 100 they had, but apparently they made a song called “Fight Night” at some point in 2013, so I guess I was aware of that. But yeah, I think that this song is my least favorite of the ones they released this year. It's just a choppy stilted mess, and I don't like the way it sounds. And that's basically my whole opinion on this one. These next few write-ups will be pretty short mostly because I don't really care about this style of music.

87. Bank Account – 21 Savage

Oh yes, the great song where 21 Savage shows that he can indeed count to 8. And actually, I don't mind the beat on this one. At least the piano sounds good, although it's kind of drowned out. But 21 Savage sounds so bad here. He's just completely uninterested in anything that he is saying. And it's repetitive also, so that's two strikes. And yeah, that's all I have to say about this. It's just kind of there and I'm not sure why anyone likes this or cares about it.

86. Rake it Up – Yo Gotti ft. Nicki Minaj

Time for forgettable trap song #3 in a row. But this one has Nicki Minaj, so that's at least different. Not that she's any good here, because I don't get her flow on this song at all. Also, trying rhyming different words, then maybe I'll give your verse a chance. And Yo Gotti sucks too. Another song where the chorus is a repetitive mess. Why this is appealing I will never understand. And yeah, this is another stripper anthem, and it does okay at being that I guess? Idk really. Also the menstruation reference really ruins the song for me. Not sure why that was necessary.  

85. Bad Things – Machine Gun Kelly ft. Camila Cabello

LOL, I think I'm just now realizing how bad this song actually is after seeing Camila succeed with Havana, a song she sounds great on. But yeah, it's real bad. First, Camila sounds one bad note away from a voice crack the entire song, and the range of this song is way too much for her to handle. Oh and she doesn't sell it at all. Although Fifth Harmony released some pretty sexual songs, they were never the “bad girls” and Camila's only other solo song at this point was a duet with freaking Shawn Mendes aka Vanilla boy. So she doesn't sound convincing at all. And MGK just sucks, plain and simple. He is not a good rapper and probably shouldn't even try anymore. His flow is very plodding and notD appealing at all. I guess he sells it better than Camila, but he sounds worse. The instrumentation of this song is it's only saving grace and has always been the best part, even when I tolerated it. It sounds like Pachabel's Canon, which is a good sample is that's what they were going for. But everything else is awful, and that's why this song ends up here.

84. Caroline - Amine

Ummm, so again I don't have much to say about this song. It's also has a kind of beat and delivery, which seems to be a commonality here. As for the actual performance, Amine sounds okay, but the content is very confusing. First, I don't like songs that use specific names, especially when they try to generalize them to a greater audience. Also, it seems like the girl here might be interested in a genuine relationship and getting to know each other, which is a noble thought. But Amine just wants to get on with it, and makes it quite clear what “it” is. So that's a dissonance which I'm not particularly fond of. But yeah, not good overall.

83. Magnolia – Playboi Carti

Um so this song didn't seem relevant at all to me. I at least remembered most of the other songs charting in the top 30 or so for a significant amount of time. And look at this chart run, I guess this did too, but it's just so unmemorable. I think that the part of this song that annoys me the most is the rhyming scheme. Something about the “op” and “ock” sound irritates me for some reason. Also, the beat just kind of sounds like a one measure loop. But other than that, this song is completely forgettable.

82. Slippery – Migos ft. Gucci Mane

Didn't take long for Migos to show up again, and with another song that I don't really care about. The flow on this is a little better than on T-shirt, so that's why this is higher, but I still am not super into the random words that seem to make up most of the bars here. The beat is kind of weird too, I'm not sure if I like it or hate it. Either way, this is annoying and I still don't really like Migos.

81. Treat You Better – Shawn Mendes

Ah, Shawn Mendes, or Vanilla Boy, as I called him earlier. I honestly like most of his music, but this is kind of awful in two main ways. First, the lyrics are pretty manipulative and whiny. Secondly, when Shawn tries to emote, his enunciation goes out the door and unlike someone like Ariana, he doesn't sound good enough to make up for it. I honestly don't have a ton to say about this song other than it's a typical “nice guy” anthem. WAIT, I just had an idea. Shawn Mendes should get with Daya, whose just looking for a good boy. lol. Anyway, this might make my worst list for last year, so if it does I'll go into more depth about it there. We'll see.

#year end ranked #hot 100 ranked #2017 #bruno mars #migos #21 savage #yo gotti #nicki minaj #camila cabello #machine gun kelly #amine #gucci mane #shawn mendes #Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall #playboi carti

[oumakokichi]

Can you analyse the post-execution dialogue with Ouma? The one where Ouma called Saihara a dumbass and was into some kind of madness mantra? Would it also be okay if you could analyse the dialogue between Saihara and Ouma during that scene because Ouma became quite distant after that and said that this whole thing became boring after Saihara told me Ouma is all alone? Do you think this somewhat hurt Ouma? I know it was a charade to bring them together, but I do think it affected him a bit.

Of course, anon! That scene is one of the best (and most painful) in the entire game, and understanding Ouma’s motivations and the subtext behind what he’s actually saying is crucial to understanding his behavior in the chapter to come.

I’ll be referencing the full translation of Ouma’s speech in Chapter 4, so please check it out here! A very huge thanks to @basedmoniwa​ for taking the time to translate all of it!

As with a lot of things that Ouma says, this will require a lot of in-depth analysis and some guesswork to fill in the blanks, but for now consider this my attempt at a sort of “Oumaspeak-to-English” translation. This will get very long.

So we start off just after Gonta’s execution, with the group devastated and Ouma incredibly quiet for a change:

Harukawa:Hey, Ouma… why don’t you talk?What is “the secret of the outside world”?I will not be able to understand unless I know about it,I’m not sure if I can accept it, though.

Shirogane:I-I, also, cannot accept it as it is!Ouma-kun! What’s “the secret of the outside world”!?What is the secret you told Gonta-kun that drove him that far!?

Ouma:………………………………………………

I’ve mentioned it before, but while Maki is asking for genuine purposes, it’s obvious on a reread that Tsumugi is testing the waters here. Gonta is dead and she no longer has to worry about what he either did or didn’t know, and that leaves her the remaining problem of Ouma: she’s obviously fairly certain that he’s on the mastermind’s side, but if he were to reveal a huge secret or crucial information to the rest of the group, he’d become a huge thorn in her side.

I don’t doubt for one second that she would have killed him herself in Chapter 5 had he said anything that indicated he was actually against the mastermind and the killing game.

Being found out by the mastermind is one of Ouma’s primary things to avoid, so of course, when they keep asking him for information, he switches tactics.

Momota:Ouma… If you’re seriously thinking about Gonta,then for his sake, explain all of it to everyone—

Ouma:I don’t want to…

Saihara:…Eh?

Ouma:I said I don’t want to! Dumbass!

We have what I would consider a note of genuine hesitation for a split second, and then he instantly leaps right back into playing the villain. For Gonta’s sake, and for the group’s sake, because after everything he had to do to stay alive in Chapter 4, getting killed without being able to stop the killing game would be literally the worst-case scenario to Ouma’s plans. So he decides to pull out all the stops, and if he’s going to be hated anyway, then he wants to be really, thoroughly despised.

Ouma:Ahahahahahahaha!Did you all seriously believe in such an act!?So stupid!There’s no way I’d cry for someone like Gonta!

Shirogane:I-It was all fake…?

Ouma:Look, if I said the truth there,Gonta most likely would have gotten mad and acted violently.Since it would interfere with the progress of the game if that were to happen,I lied and calmed him down.…Well? There’s a time and place to use lies, right?

His plan of putting the mastermind at ease and making them think his entire display of emotion earlier in the trial was a ruse is clearly working, because Tsumugi seems deeply relieved. If Ouma didn’t actually care about Gonta at all, then she can trust that he’s actually as cruel and chaotic as she thought initially.

This is all nice and fine for the mastermind, but of course the others want a good explanation for Ouma’s words and emotional outbursts earlier. They want to know why he would possibly think it was okay to act like he was sad over his death, only to turn around and act like this the moment the execution is finished. And Ouma has a perfect explanation in place:

Saihara:The truth… Tell us.Why did you do such a thing to Gonta-kun!?

Ouma:Why obviously, because it’s more entertaining in this way!

Saihara:…Eh?

Ouma:I stirred up Gontabecause I thought it would make the game exciting.Let’s think through this carefully, from the very beginning.If I was gonna act “in order to save everyone”,just like Gonta did,there would no reason for me to betray Gonta in the middle of it.Try to comprehend at least this much.

In a reality show clearly meant for entertainment and providing the audience exactly the kind of plot, themes, and characters that they want every single time, Ouma’s awareness of the broadcast (backed up here, as I’ve mentioned in a few other posts) means that he knows he’s an actor and he knows that he stands the best chance of slipping under the mastermind’s radar if he intentionally kicks his own entertainment value all the way up.

It’s things like this that really incline me to believe he was a comedian or a performer in the real world before, because this level of quick-thinking on his feet and knowing how and when to give an audience exactly what they want is such an essential part of his character. He’s extremely aware of the fact that people will like his character on the show better if he plays the role of a character who adds immense conflict and entertainment simultaneously, and it has the added benefit of keeping the other members of the group out of his business and presumably a little more united in their hatred of him.

Saihara:Th-then, for what reason did Gonta—

Ouma:Nishishi… Nishishishishi…I don’t give a damn about such foolish things!Purely, I’m just enjoying this suspicion gamefrom the bottom of my heart!

Despite everything that Ouma has done up until now, Saihara has clearly always tried to pay him some benefit of the doubt. Members like Maki and Momota clearly thought he was beyond reasoning with long before this, but as a detective and as someone relatively sure that Ouma was hiding something underneath that facade of his, Saihara never truly doubted before this that Ouma must have had somewhat justified reasons for acting the way that he did.

But Ouma is intent at this point on cutting ties entirely. While I think there’s definitely a part of him that wants Saihara to surpass all his expectations and use his detective’s reasoning and intuition to piece together why Ouma is like this and what he truly wants to do, his logic and reasoning says it’s never going to happen. And that it’s best if it never happens.

In order to push Saihara and the rest of the group away almost entirely, this is the first time Ouma has ever flat-out stated without beating around the bush that he loves the killing game. People can read into it however they want, but I’m firm in my belief that it’s a lie. If he genuinely loved the killing game, he had a thousand opportunities before this to lead them all astray or betray them or kill them himself. But he knows that if he lies here, it’s not like the group or the mastermind will ever see through those lies anyway.

Saihara (Monologue):After saying that, Ouma-kun smiled eerily.The moment I saw that smile,only one word came into my mind…Malice.Yes, the aura emanating from all over his body,was of pure malice.

Ouma:Behold, I’m the “evil supreme leader”,whose personality is corrupted.The more you guys suffer,It’s just so funny to me, I can’t help it.People experiencing pure suffering makes me happy!There are people like that in this world, too!There are people like me,who spread malice for no reason!

It’s interesting that the key word in this entire part should be “malice,” of all things. If Ouma were truly enjoying the killing game or human suffering half as much as he said, then you would think the aura he’d be giving off would be considerably…happier. After all, characters like Junko, who truly do live for the despair and suffering of others, are 100% ecstatic from the bottom of their hearts when they see it. “Despair-inducingly happy,” as Junko always says. And yet Ouma just feels…malicious.

In my opinion, you don’t get bitter or malicious without having something in particular to hate. And if Ouma didn’t hate the killing game, hate the necessity of lying and manipulating, and even hate himself, then his feeling “malicious” would make absolutely no sense in this context.

Something else very worth noting is that he specifically says his “personality is corrupted.” We have mountains of evidence at this point that Ouma knows his talent and memories are fake, and this just keeps adding to it. Why put his own talent in such a sarcastic context with quotation marks if he didn’t think it was the cruelest sort of irony? Why mention flat-out that his personality is “corrupted” if he didn’t notice the dissonance between his memories pre-game and in-game, and if he didn’t know that he was supposed to actually be a force of SHSL Despair.

If you instead look at this from the viewpoint that Ouma knows all these things, and that he loathes that he has to embrace this kind of role to beat the mastermind at their own game, this entire part of his speech feels…extremely self-deprecating.

He mentions that there are “people like that in this world, too,” and I still can’t help but think this is a barbed jab at the audience. He knows neither the innocent members of the group, nor the mastermind, nor the audience watching outside the game are going to realize that he’s making fun of them, so he can’t help but throw in a bitter indication that by acting cruel and as if the suffering of others was just pure entertainment, he is actually acting just like the audience.

Harukawa:Well then, did you sacrifice Iruma and Gontajust for your own happiness?

Ouma:Is there something wrong with that?Even you, Harumaki-chan, didn’t you kill for money?

Maki’s remark clearly doesn’t sit well with him. Ouma states several times throughout ndrv3 that he doesn’t like or trust murderers, and he only outed Maki’s identity as the SHSL Assassin in the first place because he clearly thought it wrong that she should hide such a dangerous and potentially lethal talent from the rest of them.

He also tacks on the “Harumaki” at the end because of course he’s perceptive enough to know that it’s a nickname only reserved for close friends, and that using it here will only provoke her and the whole group into hating him more.

Ouma:Nishishi… As I thought, Harumaki-chan,that angry face of yours suits you better.Well anyway, you all believe in each other too much.At the very least, you should have watched me a bit more suspiciously.Ahahahaha! If you did, then both Iruma-chan and Gontawouldn’t have died for nothing!

Clearly, he’s getting carried away with his speech now. He’s spewing venom out however he can now, and while he’s still working with the intention of getting them all to hate him more and severing ties with all the rest of them completely, this is also deliberate provocation to try and get someone to run at him.

The obvious two characters most likely to do this are either Maki or Momota, and Ouma is clearly counting here on Maki’s cold composure coming through. So of course, Momota runs at him and tries to punch him, except unlike earlier in the chapter, Ouma is expecting it this time and not only dodges it but counters it mercilessly.

Ouma:Ah, sorry… I only planned to dodge that,but I accidentally countered instead.

Saihara:Momota-kun!

Momota:You, you bastard…!

Ouma:By the way, Momota-chan…I wonder if this is my imagination.It feels like… your punch’s speed dropped, compared to before?

Momota:…Ugh!!

Ouma:Could it be that… Momota-chanis also hiding something from us?

Momota trying to hide his condition from the rest of the group is only going to land him in a world of trouble the more he tries to keep it up (as it inevitably does in Chapter 5), so while he’s already off antagonizing all of them, Ouma decides to get it out of the way and force Momota to somewhat come clean about the whole coughing blood issue.

He’s seen it happening all through Chapter 3 before this when Momota was claiming he just wanted to avoid the occult student council, and no one had thought to pressure Momota for a real answer, so he’s forcing that particular lie to come to an end. Takes a liar to know a liar, and this also backs up the idea that Ouma actually does hate lies and deception.

Harukawa:Just now, that was… Momota said that he hates violence, physical battles, and other such things;You shouldn’t have countered back…

Ouma:Ahaha, did you believe in such a lie!?

Harukawa:………………………………………………You really want to be killed… Don’t you!?

Ouma:Oh? You’re finally getting on board with my provocations?Are you going to say “this one’s for Momota-chan” next?

Saihara:No, don’t do it, Harukawa-san!

Ouma:That’s right, Momota-chanisn’t man enough for Harukawa-chan to snap over on.Just look at him, he’s so lame.He’s just all bark, but in the end, he can’t do a thing.Well, even if you’re the “Super High School Level Astronaut”,you’re merely at the level of a trainee—

Saihara (Monologue):Ouma-kun never finishedsaying his provocation to the end.Everyone else ran towards Momota-kun at once.

Even though both the antagonizing and the punch was actually for Momota’s own good in the end, it’s clear to see that Ouma really, truly is just throwing himself into the villain role here. He’s hating every minute of it, and he wants them to hate him too. The fact that he’s being, in his own opinion, pretty transparent here, and that no one can see through it in the least, is leaving him simply…bitter.

And then there’s the fact that where his own lies are received with universal hatred, Momota’s lie is received with concern and universal acceptance, and Ouma noticeably falters in his facade, just a little bit.

Ouma:Hey, why is everyoneworrying over such a lame person—

Saihara:You’re the one who’s lame… Ouma-kun.

Ouma:…Eh?

Saihara:Momota-kun always has people gathering around him,but as for you, there’s no one.You’re… meant to be that kind of guy.

This is without a doubt, the first time anyone has truly struck back at Ouma. And most importantly of all, it’s Saihara. Saihara, who he’s constantly teased and left a trail of breadcrumbs to follow, who he’s subtly guided through each trial and obstacle that’s occurred. Saihara, who before this was one of the only people in the group besides Gonta who ever believed that Ouma was perhaps not as horrible as he made himself out to be.

And now Gonta’s dead, and Saihara for the first time outright says something worse than “I hate you.” He just says that Ouma is pathetic, basically. That he’s not worth responding to, and that he’ll always be alone.

Ouma:Ahaha! What’s with that talk?Even if you make friends, that wouldn’t make the game more exciting or—………………………………………………Aah, this is getting boring.Somehow, the excitement became less intense.I don’t care anymore…But I’ll just say this…… Because I’ll be the one to win this game.

Ouma can’t manage to throw himself back into the role the way he was doing before. Saihara’s words hit too close to home, and that’s pretty plain to see, considering no one and nothing else in the entire game has ever actually made him falter this badly before.

Ouma has distanced himself from everyone, believed firmly that it was best to work alone rather than with the others because he can’t really trust anyone but himself, and also, to a large degree, believed that he is a horrible person for thinking and doing these things. Hearing from the one person who he constantly found “entertaining” and “amusing” that he’s meant to be alone and that he’ll never be understood, Ouma just becomes…tired.

He’s already achieved his main objectives in dispelling the mastermind’s suspicions and in getting the group to hate him, but there’s no more fun or catharsis in it for him. He goes quiet and blank for a long time, and then says perhaps the most straightforward line in his entire speech.

And what the rest of the group interprets as an ominous line about him being willing to “win the game” via killing, or even being the mastermind himself, Ouma clearly intends as his own declaration of war. He cut all ties with everyone, and this is what it took, so he’s going to go through to the end with trying to put a stop to the killing game.

This was very, very long and very, very fun to interpret and explain. Thank you so much for asking, anon! I hope by providing this kind of analysis to it, more people can come to understand Ouma a little better in Chapter 4 and 5!

#ndr3 #drv3 #new danganronpa v3 #kokichi ouma #ouma kokichi #ndrv3 spoilers // #my meta #okay to reblog #chapter 4 hurts me so much every single time i go back to it #anyway here's kokichiohma's oumaspeak-to-english translation attempt #anonymous