#arsonposts

Static—Hanna Barbera Miku cannot conceptualize of herself if she is not being observed and adored by others. She sees nothing wrong with being defined by others; rather, it is the lack of others crowding around her to define her that is her curse. She hasn’t even realized that this is a problem that might need addressing.

Spoken For—Unlike Miku, Rhythm Heaven Teto can conceptualize of herself independent from others, but she is not able to conceptualize of who exactly that independent self is in any concrete way. For one, she feels increasingly estranged from her self off-stage as her fame skyrockets—she is rapidly transformed into an image in the eyes of many. For second, her life is meticulously controlled by whatever idol agency she works for, allotting her very little time to engage with her off-stage self. She doesn’t want to be this anymore, but she can’t conceptualize of what she does want to be.

Human—Miki, a robot in the text of the song, exists outside of humanity, starts from a different place from Hanna Barbera Miku or Rhythm Heaven Teto. She is not human, but wants to be, and is wrestling what that exactly means. She approaches the situation from the outside looking in. Because of this, she is able to neutrally observable the social conventions that come bundled with common ideas of “being human.” She contrasts being human with her robotic directives, what tempo she, as a machine, is meant to follow—what her creator wanted out of her—and how that differs from the expectations placed on humans. She is able to conceptualize of what she is and what she is meant to be, AS WELL AS being able to concretely imagine what she wants to be, unlike Teto.

Ego Renegade Boy—Len, a trans man, has already recognized before the song that he was deeply unhappy as a woman. His family, however, never accepting him who HE defines HIMSELF as, charges him with the murder of their “perfect daughter” and constantly talking about how they’re “[keeping] her in their thoughts.” More accurately, they are keeping the IMAGE of their daughter in their hearts, as Len goes to great lengths to point out that his family never tried to understand what he was really going through emotionally, nor to engage with him in the present. They’d really rather him be dead or miserable, yet still fulfill their expectations of who they think he should be, than be happy as a man.