#would be nice if my intro post appears in the tags but no rush

[weemsday]

undefined

i’ll give you anything you want, anything you want

anything, anything, just don’t tell me no

Stop this Flame by Celeste

[novantinuum]

Is the “villain card” really a VILLAIN card- or something else?

So, I’ve been thinking a lot today about @faelapis​‘s recent post (link in reblogs so this can go in tags) discussing the corrupted Steven theory, and specifically how he pointed out how in the intro... that the camera “zooms inside Steven’s heart” when transitioning to the shot that features Big Looming Pink Fella.

And I know the fandom generally refers to threatening spreads such as these as “villain cards,” since- at the time of the intro’s release in October, all of these characters were heavily implied to be antagonistic to our main characters in some way. But after seeing the first ten episodes of SUF in full, I feel we should pause and ask ourselves-

Are any of these characters really villains?

And if not, then what IS their role in the greater story of this epilogue, and more importantly- their role featured prominently in the show’s intro?

Let’s take a quick look at the characters we’ve seen already.

_

Jasper

Thus far, Jasper has played the least antagonistic part she ever has in the entire history of Steven Universe. I’d even go so far as to consider her a shaky acquaintance of Steven’s, at this point. 

But as far as her purpose in the show goes so far, Jasper is important because she is the very first person to mash it up with Pink Mode Steven. The very first person who catches a glimpse of this new ability of his to begin with. When Steven first shifted into this state, it was because she pushed him into a situation that was both emotionally and physically compromising. Jasper is every bit as stubborn as Steven. She knows exactly how to push his buttons. It’s for this reason that I don’t think he would’ve discovered his pink state without her, without her egging him on to fight.

Steven tries his best to be very patient with everyone, and yet his frustrations with Jasper’s inability to move forward (hypocrite, much?) elicited a rather jarring rush of directed anger that- before- he generally seemed to keep bottled inward. 

I get the strong sense that he didn’t allow himself to freely and openly express these sorts of “negative” emotions at all before this encounter. 

Furthermore, Jasper slapped him in the face with the biggest call-out of his mental state ever.

Jasper: “I don’t need your help. You’re the one that needs help. You think you’ve beaten me, but you’ve never beaten me on your own. You’ve always been a fusion. You’ve always had your friends because you’re nothing without them. You think everyone needs help.”

Steven: “I – I just…”

Jasper: “But it’s only you. No one is as pitiful as you.”

Every other episode of the show so far has only gone to further showcase that this is what Steven believes about himself right now. (See: Little Graduation, especially.)

And what happened with Jasper that day... was just the beginning of his slow decline.

Bluebird Azurite

This character... also isn’t big villain material. She’s barely even a threat.

Rather, Bluebird serves as a stark reminder for Steven that there are people out there that hate him for being him. Not only that, but those who would fuse for just that reason.

To hate him together.

(I must admit, I still find the notion of Steven potentially falling apart because of a lack of self-love interesting, as much as it is heartbreaking. But I already wrote that post, so moving on-)

But she also is a reflection of how Steven is resistant to change right now.

Greg: “I mean, everyone can change, but not everyone wants to.”

Steven: “Yeah...”

He used to believe in the idea of positive change wholeheartedly, and yet... I think the passing years have led him to a place where he himself is scared of it, of the unknown, of moving on from what’s comfortable, of all the nebulous what-ifs. Which is why when Bluebird shows up, he projects his own resistance on this scenario. He doubts Bluebird’s ability to change for the better because he now doubts that for himself.

Instead, I think he fears he may be changing for the worse.

I strongly believe we’re going to see Bluebird again. I just get the sense that there’s more she can bring to the table. 

“Mean” Lapis and “Nice” Lapis

Also not villains. Just obstacles.  

Similarly to Bluebird, they seem to push that “resistance to change” theme further for Steven. Some people just... are stuck in their ways. (Thankfully though, not all of them. Thanks, Freckles. Love ya lots!) 

Since Why So Blue is focused squarely on capping Lapis’ character arc, there’s not as much Steven-related meta threads I can glean from their first appearance, truth be told. 

I think we’re likely to see more from these two, as well. If they do serve a greater role in the overarching story of SUF, it isn’t complete yet. Fingers crossed!

Cactus Steven

Dear goodness, this creature is completely innocent. Poor baby. XD

This poor fella plays the role of being a physical embodiment of- at the time of Prickly Pair- Steven’s mental state, and pushing the lad to repress his turbulent emotions even further.

Throughout SUF so far, Steven has become consumed by negative self-talk, (”I used to be helpful, but the Gems don't need me anymore”), a stark reluctance to let anyone see the evidence of his mental instability, and explosive anger he cannot gain a handle on. 

And as his mirror, Cactus Steven: 

Repeats things Steven says, spilling all of that negative self-talk and the reasons why he doesn’t want to approach the Gems about his issues.

Is shoved away under a box, representing Steven’s emotional repression.

Warps into a monstrous form, explosive anger brimming at the surface.

Notably, Cactus Steven only fights in direct response to what others lay on him. He is not overtly antagonistic until Steven himself makes the first strike. Later, while the Gems are attempting to fight him back, he desperately tries pushing them away... much like Steven has been all season.

Cactus Steven: “Just... get... OUT!”

Furthermore, Steven creates him. He creates this monster. He’s the reason he becomes so messed up in the first place. That has to feel pretty awful, especially when he’s doubting his ability to be helpful nowadays. He tried to nurture this creature, and look where that got him? This furthers the narrative idea mentioned earlier, of Steven perhaps fearing that he’s now changing for the worse.

Finally, by by the end of this episode, it seems worryingly as if Steven’s reluctance to open up about his problems has solidified.

Pearl: “Is there anything you need to talk about...?”

Steven: “...I think I’ve said enough.”

_

To wrap...

We don’t yet know what role White Diamond will play, but it’s probable that it’ll be something that strongly impacts Steven in a personal way. And at this point in the show, I’m doubtful she’ll suddenly heel-turn back into villainy.  

With all this in mind, my current theory is that... 

These characters are not on this title sequence card as ‘villains’ at all, but rather, each serve as important ‘road markers’ on the path towards the eventual climax of SUF.

Meaning, Steven’s encounters with each of them will influence his way of thinking in a way that leads him further down the road towards eventual corruption. Or whatever else is waiting for him at the end.

And the camera specifically “zooms into Steven’s heart” because these characters, standing in front of that monster, represent the moments that lead him into that state. 

What we’re seeing here is a visual record of the burden he carries inside him.

[jarienn972]

Debt of Honor (intro)

Okay, this might be cheating a little on the Inktober Whump prompts, but it fit perfectly in to day 10 - Held at Gunpoint.  I originally posted this a little over a year ago and the full short story can be found on Tumblr, AO3 or FF.net.  It’s mostly a little CaptainCharming piece that’s set roughly post 5B.  I’m going to tag @killian-whump on this one because I found the whole Whumptober prompt list on her page and I know she’ll appreciate this.  I have a few ideas for some of the future prompts too...

"Any idea what this thing is that we're following?" Killian asked as David abruptly pulled his old Ford pickup truck off the side of the road, veering onto the muddy berm and splashing through one of the deep puddles formed by the morning's rainstorm.

"Not really sure," David replied as he slammed the gearshift into park, "but it headed off that way." He pointed at a narrow footpath through a thicket of old growth oak and pine forest. "This is as far as we can follow it on the road. We'll have to take it on foot from here."

Wonderful, Killian thought. Trudging through the woods at the edge of town chasing god knows what. Just another typical Tuesday morning is Storybrooke… A giant creature with fangs that were probably sharper than his hook comes barreling through the center of town terrorizing the citizens and he's daft enough to volunteer to drive it out of town.

As they both climbed out of the truck, David drew his weapon from his holster.

"No one has ever seen this beast before?" Killian wondered, feeling a bit unprepared as he hadn't had the foresight to bring a cutlass with him to breakfast.

"Nope," David stated. "This is a new one. To me, it looked kind of like a really big mountain lion."

"Mountain lion? Do they grow to the size of small horses around here because the creature I saw was a lot bigger than a mountain lion?"

"I just said it looked like a mountain lion. All I know is it seemed to be some sort of really big cat."

"Big cat….Wonderful…," Killian sighed. "Don't suppose you have a spare weapon on you? I seem to have been caught slightly unarmed. Don't think my hook will serve as much of a deterrent to a giant cat."

"Yeah – I keep a sword stashed behind the seat. You know, just in case."

Killian raised an eyebrow in amusement as the prince grinned. Leaning into the truck, he found the sword and scabbard wrapped in a slightly threadbare striped towel on the floorboard behind the bench seat. He quickly unwrapped it and flung the towel onto the seat as he tucked the scabbard under his left arm to hold it securely while he pulled the blade free.

"Always good to be prepared," Killian smiled as he tossed the scabbard onto the seat with the towel and pushed the door closed.

"Okay – let's go find this thing," David said as he closed the driver's side door and walked around the front of the truck, eyeing the muddy path ahead of them that led deep into the dark forest. Thankfully, the earlier heavy rain had tapered off to a drizzle which, while still annoying, at least meant that the creature's footprints weren't being washed away, leaving them a trail of distinct impressions to follow. Both men had an uneasy feeling as they tracked the beast but each knew that the animal clearly needed to be subdued before it harmed someone and they'd tasked themselves with that responsibility.

Nearly twenty minutes later and about a mile off of the road, they realized the trail had abruptly ended in a grassy clearing. Without a word spoken between them, they exchanged looks that communicated exactly what each was thinking – where the hell did it go? Surrounded by low brush and towering trees, there were a multitude of places where the beast could be lying in wait so they knew choosing wrong could be fatal. Killian was to the right of David and he turned slowly away from the prince, scanning the foliage before him for any sign of movement. David, on the left flank, gave the bushes on his side the same scrutiny – that is until a low, guttural growl froze them both in their tracks and drew their attention toward a cluster of oak trees to their north.

And to a pair of glowing fiery orbs stating back at them.

"Bloody hell…," Killian muttered, raising the sword as the creature ventured out of the cover of the trees and padded toward them. The huge feline with a coat the deepest shade of obsidian glared at them and as it snarled, bared its fangs – each four or five inches in length and dripping saliva. As he finally got a good view of the animal, David thought it reminded him of a panther – but where had a panther come from in the woods of Maine? "Any ideas, mate?" Killian asked as his own mind was drawing comparisons to a very different fearsome creature he had unfortunately stared down. He just hoped that this one didn't sprout additional heads.

"How do you say 'stop or I'll shoot' to an animal?" David asked as he raised the gun and lined up his sights as the creature continued its aggressive motion toward them. "Nice kitty…"

"Nice kitty?" Killian couldn't believe that David had just said that, but he was less concerned about the prince's poor choice of words than he was of the fact that the feline was still coming toward them, seemingly ready to devour one or both of them for its breakfast. "I don't think we're going to be able to reason with it," he stated, unable to divert his eyes from the beast which was now less than a hundred feet in front of them and not the least deterred by their weapons.

"I really don't want to do this but…," David pulled back on the trigger, firing a single shot toward the creature. He didn't know if a lone bullet would bring it down, but he sure hoped it would at least slow it down or stop its advances before those razor sharp fangs tore them both apart.

Only what happened next was something that neither of them could have imagined, nor would they have believed if someone had tried to tell them this tale.

The bullet David fired never reached its intended target. Instead of striking the menacing animal, the projectile suddenly halted in mid-air, hovering in front of them for what seemed like an eternity before it regained its velocity – and a new trajectory.

One aimed directly at Killian.

By the time either could mentally register what was happening, there was no time to shout a warning. No time to try to dive out of the way. Killian's only recourse was to twist his torso just enough to his right so that the bullet tore into his left shoulder instead of striking him mid-chest. The searing hot bullet ripped into his flesh, radiating pain across his chest and down the length of his arm. His brain seemed to react in slow motion as the reality that he'd just been shot sunk in and he staggered back a step. He let the sword fall to the earth as his hand instinctively covered the wound.

"Hook!" David shouted as he watched his friend and soon to be son in law drop to his knees and then tumble to the wet grass while clutching tightly to his injured left shoulder. He still couldn't fathom what he'd just witnessed: the bullet stopping in mid-flight then changing direction. Only magic could have done that, but as he shook his head to try to clear the fog of confusion and disbelief, the stark reality of their situation set in. His eyes darted around the clearing searching for any sign of the beast, certain that it was ready to pounce during this moment of vulnerability, but it was nowhere to be found. David fully expected it to attack as Killian lay bleeding on the rain soaked ground, but the assault never came, as though the creature had simply vanished.

Quite sure that his gun would be useless if the beast returned, David re-holstered it as he rushed across the clearing to check on the severity of Killian's wound. Crouching down next to him, David could clearly see that the pirate's fingers were already slick and stained with blood.

"What the hell just happened?" Killian wondered as he rolled onto his back, blades of damp grass and dirt clinging to the side of his face, his right sleeve and down his right side of his dark denim jeans. He instantly regretted changing position as a blinding, burning spasm hit.

"I honestly don't know," David replied.

"Where did that thing go?"

"No idea. It just vanished, but right now, let's see how much damage that bullet did." Reluctantly, Killian withdrew his blood drenched hand so David would have a clearer view of the wound.

"How bad does it appear to be?" Killian wondered as the prince peeled back layers of leather and cloth to locate the entrance wound.

"All I'm seeing is a lot of blood," David told him. "I need to see if there is an exit wound. Think you can sit up?"

"Aye," Killian nodded as David extended his hand to help him into a seated position. The answer was quickly evident as he noted the concerned look on the prince's face. "By your expression, I'm surmising that the bullet is still somewhere in my shoulder?"

"Unfortunately," David sighed. "A through and through would have been cleaner, but there's no exit wound and no way to know the bullet's position. We'll have to worry about it shifting."

"Then let's get back to town so Emma can heal it."

"It's a long walk back to the truck," David reminded him. "Think you'll be able to make it?"

"Unless you know of a better way, I don't think I have much of a choice, mate," Killian stated as David helped him to his feet, his stance already shaky. David stooped to retrieve the sword once he was sure the pirate was steady enough. He drew the flat of the blade across his thigh to wipe the debris and moisture from it, then had a thought to fish his cell phone from his jacket pocket only to be disappointed that there was no available signal this far from town.

"No signal to call for help," David said as he tucked the phone back into his pocket. "Look's like we're on our own. Let's get going before that thing comes back."

"Agreed," Killian stated as he took his first uneasy step toward the road and David's waiting truck. The prince followed warily behind, keeping his eyes peeled for a potential ambush that thankfully never came.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 19th May 2019 (Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber, Skepta)

This episode is a day late. Sorry for that but due to conflicts with my personal schedule often I have to rush the episodes and I was much too busy to finish this in on time. I know that’s pretty much verbatim what I wrote on Twitter but the new Singles Chart is already out so I want to get this as quick as possible. I can tell you for a fact we’ve got a lot of good stuff coming next week I want to talk about so I’m not promising you a great episode here. Most of what I say will be completely obsolete actually so I’ve decided to ditch the Top 10, Climbers and Fallers entirely, making this a guaranteed shortest episode ever. This was already written so it pains me to do so but I feel like it’d be a tad pointless telling you this info when I’m planning to get the next episode out quite literally tomorrow or at least on Sunday, because there’s going to be a different chart review within the next week, and it’s already freely available on the Internet. It would be redundant to make my already redundant job here anymore redundant... I’ve lost myself. Let’s run through Dropouts and such.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

“M.E.N. II” by Bugzy Malone is out after one week from the debut at #34, while elsewhere we have mostly expected dropouts, nothing surprising. “Sweet but Psycho” by Ava Max is finally out from #36, “Boy with Luv” by BTS featuring Halsey is out from #37 because who expected a K-pop song to last more than a few weeks in the Top 40? “Pretty Shining People” by George Ezra is also out from #39, whilst “Disaster” by Dave featuring J Hus has its streaming cuts and is out from #40. Now there are no returning entries but a massive amount of new arrivals. Let’s go.

NEW ARRIVALS

#39 – “Late Night Feelings” – Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li

Produced by Mark Ronson and Picard Brothers – Peaked at #5 in Belgium

Remember Mark Ronson? Of course you do, he’s everywhere behind the scenes as a writer and producer, but after “Uptown Funk!”, he seems to appear on the charts spontaneously when you don’t expect it and I had no idea that he’d show up today with this single of all tracks that have been released from his upcoming album of the same name. He seems to have made a proper comeback as a solo or lead act with “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” featuring Miley Cyrus, a worldwide smash, and his Silk City project with Diplo at the same time. Ronson appears to have kept the disco theme going on with this single featuring indie pop singer Lykke Li, who I’ve not heard much of outside her album last year and that song she did with Drake on So Far Gone; I’m excited to hear more from her though, what I have listened to seems promising. This is Ronson’s eleventh UK Top 40 hit as a credited artist and Lykke Li’s first ever charting song above her previous peak of #126, and it’s pretty okay. Lykke Li has one of my favourite voices in pop, so I’m glad her light falsetto tones within the chorus are reflected perfectly in the soft keys and relaxed instrumentation, with a 70s-influenced disco groove that I can really get into. The guitars are slick, even if they’re buried in the mix to make room for Lykke Li and the cloudy synths. I feel it doesn’t develop enough due to this actually, despite how funky the bassline is here, the percussion is somewhat stiff and while I like it, it feels like an inauthentic attempt at replicating this type of disco, and the repetitive backing vocals in the bridge are unnecessary in my opinion. The bridge that is essentially just the pre-chorus with the disco instrumentation replaced with heavy 808s is really cool, but there’s not enough of a climax after that. It just seems very... grey, if that makes sense. Very fitting for the album cover, but this isn’t for me, especially with the annoying “On and on” looped vocal introduced as a post-chorus, it gets on my nerves.

#35 – “Motorola” – Da Beatfreakz featuring Swarmz, Deno and Dappy

Produced by Da Beatfreakz

More UK faux-grime faux-dancehall hip hop, I see – except this is probably one of the best groups of these types of artists you could have, minus maybe a Tion Wayne or Hardy Caprio. Seriously, the names confuse me too. You may be familiar with Da Beatfreakz from their producer tag which appeared on Swarmz’s hit “Bally” – a song I actually loved, so that’s a good sign. Deno is Deno Driz’s new moniker, he had a pretty big hit with “Advice” which sadly peaked after the rapper collaborating with Deno on that song Cadet’s untimely death. Dappy, meanwhile, has more of a legacy after being in some group called N-Dubz in the 2000s; none of that stuff is good, honestly, all of their hits are pretty awful, but Dappy has grown a lot since and he’s actually competent now. This is Swarmz and Deno Driz’s second Top 40 hit, Da Beatfreakz’s first as a credited artist, and Dappy’s eleventh as a solo act. How does this track stack up then? Well, the beat is more tropical nonsense that sounds just like “Bally”, with an almost identical intro, but once that bass hits, the song actually picks up some menace and steam. The chorus is... interesting. It doesn’t have any of the charm that “Bally” had in its hook, which was killer, mostly because of the lack of a catchy melody. Deno sounds really good with his youthful 16-year-old voice on this beat, though, and I won’t say I don’t get a kick out of the vocoder added to Swarmz’s (admittedly pathetic, lazy and awful) verse, as well as the distant “skrrt, skrrt” ad-libs. Dappy is pretty cool, but I wish he did more with his flow, as he has the longest verse, and it gets pretty repetitive, but the mini-skit between the flow switches is actually pretty cool, albeit making the verse as a whole feel janky. Dappy and Deno adding ad-libs to the final chorus does make it feel a bit fuller and while I’m starting to feel Swarmz was a fluke, Dappy and Deno add a lot to this, which I didn’t expect, so I’m not going to be complaining if this ends up an urban hit – but it won’t, because it’s a posse cut that’s not even three minutes and is credited to the producer. I see these tracks all the time and they go nowhere.

#34 – “Falling like the Stars” – James Arthur

Produced by Bradley Spence and Alex Beitzke

Okay, I have a question. Why do we keep James Arthur on the charts again? His voice is gruelling, his instrumentation and production is consistently as generic as possible, with his sloppy singer-songwriter material never being engaging, unique or interesting. After his X Factor win, he had brief success, sure, but after rehab and a homophobic scandal, he came back and why are we letting him on? Everything he’s released since has been worthless chart filler made to appease radio, without any soul put into it, and whenever soul appears to shine in his vocals he sounds like Lewis Capaldi choking on a TARDIS. Don’t get me started on his squealing falsetto either. I’d argue Capaldi took his place until now but they have the same exact issues with me, I can’t stand either of them. That aside, this is his twelfth Top 40 single in the UK, and it’s the same crap. It’s got a more upbeat acoustic guitar jamble this time but Arthur is speaking pure clichés like this woman being the ocean carrying him home, and while this does feel sincere, it’s only due to how strained the voice is and not because the content deserves it. There’s a piano chord every few bars as well just so you notice that this isn’t just a cover of “Wonderwall” by your local aspiring guitarist, and incredibly fake strings that just sound painfully synthetic. Skip this, in fact, I’ll follow my own advice. I only listened to half of this song, so if it gets worse past the drowned out trap percussion in the bridge, tell me. Actually, don’t. Save me the pain.

#22 – “Greaze Mode” – Skepta featuring Nafe Smallz

Produced by Skepta

Nothing’s been great so far. Nothing’s even been all that good, mostly underwhelming or downright awful. So after all those new arrivals, I know who’s never going to disappoint me: Skepta. I love this dude, especially his more recent work that’s been influenced by trap, but he is or was largely a grime artist back in the day. He’s probably the biggest British rapper stateside due to cosigns and collaborations with Drake, Kanye and A$AP Rocky. I’ve only briefly heard of Nafe Smallz from another Top 40 hit he had here with Gunna, but I remember not liking him all too much so I’m wary of his contribution but with a Skepta beat under him, I’m sure it can’t be terrible. He released a double A-side single from his upcoming album, Ignorance is Bliss, and whilst the other song, “Bullet from a Gun”, barely missed the Top 40 at #42, “Greaze Mode” is Skepta’s twelth Top 40 hit and Nafe Smallz’s second, and while I definitely think this is a safe lead single, I’m not exactly saying it’s bad... except it is. Skepta’s delivery and charisma has always been painfully blunt, straightforward and aggressive, but here it sounds lazy and due to bad vocal mixing, I wouldn’t blame you if you forgot he was on this song. The beat has an eerie synth that doesn’t really click with me at all, with a nice sub-bass but it’s pretty much just any old trap beat, despite the brief flute-like flashes of cute synths and a haunting sub-bass. Nafe Smallz’s hook is really the weak link here, though, he has even worse vocal mixing and it is a painful performance, drenched in pointless reverb and autotune that succeeds in covering up nothing, with no wit or flow to his lyrics or content at all. He keeps the same flow for his whole verse and hook and it feels monotonous. This is a severe disappointment from Skepta, I’m sorry, but Nafe Smallz isn’t the only awful part about this. It’s also down to the beat, mixing and Skepta’s first verse (The third verse is remarkably more interesting), and, yeah, this fails on all regards.

#1 – “I Don’t Care” – Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber

Produced by Max Martin, Shellback and Fred Gibson – Peaked at #1 in too many countries to list

“I Don’t Care”. What a fitting title for the lead single off of Ed Sheeran’s next album, No. 6 Collaborations Project, which I guess is some kind of mixtape where every song has a different rapper or featured singer on it? I don’t care enough to go into specifics, but this song reeks of not bothering with any detail. Sheeran didn’t produce this track at all as he usually does and he and Bieber have no chemistry, mostly because they both sound identical as they’re ripped of any unique tones they had to their voice in the first place. The song is about being at a party he doesn’t want to  be at, but still being there because his girlfriend is there. Okay, cool, I don’t care, because he doesn’t make me believe it, especially with that pathetic falsetto “ooh-ooh” in the chorus, Jesus Christ, that’s so forced and unnecessary. The sloppy tropical beat straight out of 2016 has a painful vocal sample that really doesn’t fit in at this party of a song, except if this song is a party, then no one has got anything to say except, “Pass me another drink”, and “You’ve had enough”, your baby’s in the bathroom with some other dude who isn’t Ronald Weasley’s dad or looking like the Jonas Brothers if they were homeless, yet still isn’t one seventy-eighth as wealthy, and you’re stuck there crooning in manufactured autotune to someone who isn’t listening, and a DJ that’s playing Joy Division. It’s that depressing.

Conclusion

We know what’s coming next week: Tyler. But for now, what’s good? What’s bad? Well, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber take Worst of the Week for being absolutely worthless with “I Don’t Care”, whilst Dishonourable Mention is tied, going to both James Arthur and Skepta for “Falling Like the Stars” and “Greaze Mode” featuring Nafe Smallz. Best of the Week goes to... I’m seriously giving Best of the Week to Dappy?! Okay, well, he, Swarmz, Deno and Da Beatfreakz get Best of the Week for “Motorola”, and that song’s barely a 6 or 7/10, so I think we can call this a pretty pitiful week. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more pop music ramblings and Top 20 rankings, and I’ll see you next week!