#I’m glad my important posts gain traction

[donnieisaprettyboy]

heartbreaking that people only seem to like my posts that talk about issues in the queer community. don’t y’all just wanna see me thirst over arthur morgan sometimes? 😔

[dykesynthezoid]

Thinking about the frequent iwtv and wwdits comparisons but esp in the context of the past actions of certain wwdits cast members and just. Really chewing on that

[childofaura]

The localization/censorship debate and why people need to do their damn job

… I know I’ve been making too many posts for someone who’s supposed to be on break. I may have to modify it to “I won’t be engaging with anyone right now and I may just pop in once in a while to talk about issues going on”.

Because right now, this issue is pretty important and as you all know, I hate censorship or dishonest localizations. That was my big issue with Fire Emblem Engage, and you can find my post with the video from Censored Gaming here: https://childofaura.tumblr.com/post/711372254663131136/so-as-ive-been-playing-engage-with-the-japanese

ANYWHO, there has been a MASSIVE shitstorm in the anime/localization community happening the past week or two. This has actually been brewing over several years but it’s now been gaining traction. And right now I’m here to divulge it to Tumblr so people understand what’s going on. Putting a Read More because this could get lengthy.

So as far as I can reach back to see where this recent maelstrom of drama has started, it began with this recent announcement:

(Sorry, had to post the IMDB article, the official tweet doesn’t mention AI)

Now personally, I still stand firm by my AI stance, but I don’t defend official localizers. If I can make the decision, I’d go with fansubs; I’ve watched Ginga Densetsu Weed and currently am watching the OG Urusei Yatsura anime with fansubs (fansubs are charming and I appreciate the context they provide with translator notes. Yeah we all clown on the “According to keikaku” meme but it’s harmless to the overall sub).

Personal note aside, this has caused many localizers to start flipping their shit on Twitter, and somehow infamous “localizer” Jamie Marchi, the one who was responsible for the cringy and insecure “pesky patriarchal societal demands” and the infamous rewrite from “But we’re girls” to “But I don’t like girls” (which from general consensus comes off as a homophobic rewrite), catches wind of this. And she goes apeshit over people calling out her horrible line rewrites:

Constantly ignoring better suggestions, the story’s own canon, and just generally throwing a huge hissy fit over the fact that people (like me) don’t fucking like their product being tampered with.

All of this was sent to a Youtuber named Asmongold TV. I don’t know who he is, I’m not familiar with him, but apparently he’s got a pretty big following, and a big Japanese following too. Thus, this video was made:

And this caused a HUGE outreach; even people in Japan are taking notice and this is spreading like wildfire:

So now it looks like people are REALLY taking notice of this issue that’s been underlying the anime/manga community.

My thoughts on it:

This is why people who inject Western culture, slang, or politics into subtitles should have just stuck to their fucking jobs. This isn’t a general statement to all localizers because I know there’s probably a few who actually care about preserving the context of the original media, but this is what happens. You have shitty players in this game who not only ruined it for themselves, but for EVERYONE. This was self-inflicted. And I’m glad that it’s starting to spread like wildfire, because accurate translations should be expected and the norm. We shouldn’t even be here in the first place.

[goldfades]

hii!! i’ve recently became a bigger fan of the nhl and want to start writings fics and posting them on here and was wondering (since your fics are actually amazing!!!) if you had any tips on writing well / gaining traction on tumblr! anyway i just wanted to say your fanfics are great!!

hiii baby!! i’m so glad you’re getting into writing because it is actually so fun and especially NHL fandom!!!

firstly, GAIN MUTUALS!!! or just like friends cause honestly it makes everything sm more fun and they’ll reblog your stuff and vice versa, esp in the nhl fandom they’re so supportive!

TAGS TAGS TAGS!!! tags r so important. for example, if you’re writing for jack hughes — type jack hughes in the tags and then a bunch will come up (for example, jack hughes x reader, jack hughes x you, etc etc)

i feel like the only thing with writing is to just keep writing & editing. also read as much as you possibly can! read & take note of what you like and don’t like.

i hope this helps! if you need anything send me another ask or send me a message, my dms are always open 🫶🏼

[calismediadiary]

You get a podcast! You get a podcast! Media Blog Post #4

In the year of 2024, I’ve seen that anyone who could possibly have a podcast has a podcast. If I’m being honest I’ve already had two, and my own opinion on podcasts make sense to me on why and how everyone else has one. 

My first podcast was my senior project, our requirements were to have 30 hours working on any topic, a mentor who can sign off on these hours along with a ten page research paper. I went to the topic of teenage mental health and its relation with social media. 

It was mostly to serve as a self service and to have something I knew I could talk about for hours. In reality, this podcast may have been my own excuse to hear myself talk, and I don’t think this is only my excuse. I had always believed that podcasts were meant to be serious, NPR, news, or politics. While those definitely still exist and flourish, podcasting has been changed and we can link this to direct events.

 Covid-19 changed the regular way of life and because of this people began searching for both more media to consume and also a medium away from being “online.” Which adds an audience to a growing medium and therefore giving individuals immense opportunity for success. 

However, where I think we saw the biggest surge of podcasts, at least the podcast being marketed to me was during the SAG Strike. After actors were no longer able to market their work and being able to work in general I noticed many people shifted to their own podcasts or a podcast appearance. Which is in fact a lot easier (from my experience). 

In a sense I can see that podcasts are filling in where talk shows are dying. More recently, I’ve seen trending videos have top comments saying “This would have gotten you on Ellen 10 years ago” and this is so true. Ellen was once where these micro-trending people would have their spotlight, whereas now there are too many places you can trend and too many people trending. Which is why podcasting is able to have such a power, there are significantly less demands and configurations to make it happen AND anyone can make it happen if they have an audience. 

In addition to these big name podcasts, influencer podcasts, and celebrity podcasts, there's another I would like to focus on. And maybe this is a stretch, but there is a bizarre amount of people who carry microphones around asking people questions or hosting a “podcast on the street” or “matching two strangers” where even though they aren’t the main focus they are using these conversations as the content. 

However, the point of these series isn’t to enter the podcasting realm. Instead the change in podcasting has, in a sense, created a new format for social media: clipping, in hopes to get a viral 30 second clip. 

I’ve even had podcasts clips come on my for you page where they are talking about something that may gain a lot of traction they may note, “I know this is gonna get clipped like crazy.” Which is interesting because they aren’t even the ones (in this example) making these clips for viral content, but rather a different account is, yet they are still marketing for them. 

Overall, podcasts are no longer my preconceived notion of a literary aspect, it's now just another practice of social media and how to best exist online. The never ending demand for content and run out of ideas have been cured for people of importance when they go into podcasting. With YouTube “dying” regular youtubers are forced to compete with million dollar budgets when in fact their persona makes them famous and they can do half the work. Yet, in a more positive sense, it is adding back into this casual aspect of social media. Now that many YouTube videos are productions in itself, podcasts seem to be the lowest brow possible for internet personalities at the moment and I’m glad there is an effort to seek their own authenticity and agenda. 

[gurugirl]

https://www.tumblr.com/gurugirl/719863542426255360/the-poll-is-crushing-my-dreams-i-want-mcc-harry

i COMPLETELY understand where you’re coming from with the reblog thing, COMPLETELY. i also create content on here, and my fics that get a lot of reblogs do very well, and my fics that don’t get very many reblogs don’t do very well which can be discouraging as a writer when you spend so much time on fics (whether it’s 3k words or 20k words). there are so many other components that go into it too (creating the concept, creating the plot, engaging with the audience, incorporating requests, etc). REBLOGS ARE IMPORTANT!

however, i can see why ppl may think the response was abrasive because they may not understand the importance of reblogs for writers to gain more traction. tone-attitude can also be misconstrued through text as well! i feel very lucky because everyone that’s interacted with my posts have been so kind an appreciative :D

Yeah I still just don’t think the response I gave deserved to be told to get over myself. I wasn’t that abrasive. But you’re right. Tone is hard to convey sometimes.

And that’s the nature of tumblr. Reblogging means more reach + more possible chance of likes, feedback, and other reblogs.

And I’m so glad you have positive interactions with all your posts. 99% of mine are positive as well. I love my followers and I’m glad they’re here.

Xoxo

[srininow]

Turing.com Review: How Good Is Turing For Remote Software Jobs? Should You Apply?

"I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to work and experience the remote culture. I gave it a try and here I am working in one of the best companies with a perfect work-life balance"

Turing.com is a technology company that helps remote developers find quality software jobs at some of the top US companies and startups. The platform has gained a lot of traction over the past few years as a lot of remote developers from countries like India, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, Croatia, Mexico and more have successfully grabbed jobs at reputed Silicon Valley companies. The company claims over a million developers have signed up to its platform so far and the number is growing with each passing day. Now the question is should you join Turing to get remote software jobs?

A lot of developers and internal Turing members have shared their reviews about the company on various platforms. You can totally read them and make an informed decision about Turing company. But I think out of those reviews, the review posted by Vinay Nair, a front-end developer with Turing, gives us a balanced view of the company. He has talked about both the pros and cons of Turing.com in a detailed post. I am reproducing what he wrote on Quora here so that you can read that too. Here's what he wrote.

"My experience with Turing.com has been awesome! I have been working with Turing.com for the past few months now and today I am here to share my personal experience. With the pandemic hit hard, I was looking for a job that offers complete remote work as my parents are senior citizens. You would ask why not go for freelancing? The thing is I wanted stability which I am never gonna get if I work as a freelancer.

I applied for the job through LinkedIn and a few days later I got a call. I researched about the company and how it works. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to work and experience the remote culture. I gave it a try and here I am working in one of the best companies with a perfect work-life balance.

Here are a few points that I would like to mention as to why I applied:

Turing.com offers U.S. opportunities: Turing provides Silicon Valley/American jobs to developers. All the jobs are work from home in nature and long-term, personally, this was very attractive to me.

Turing's salary is usually higher than the market range: Because the clients are US companies it usually offers better than market average salaries to developers from around the world.

Faster onboarding: My onboarding happened surprisingly quickly, I was onboarded within a month of applying, although your mileage might vary.

Better work-life balance: Turing.com offers flexible work hours, rather than rigid timetables. I overlap about 4 hours with the U.S. timezone and spend 4 hours during the day according to my convenience. This gives me time to catch up on my reading or play soccer, help out at home, etc.

Long-term remote software jobs: Something I mentioned earlier also, that stability was super important to me but I did not want to go to the office in the middle of a pandemic. So this was a real clincher for me.

Cons: The only downside that I could think of was probably that the company has scaled very quickly (I read recently that they’ve become a Unicorn) and hence are experiencing growing pains. Although I did not personally experience it I have heard some people have complained about some challenges they faced during the process. But it always seemed to me that these are pretty standard start-up troubles and I was willing to overlook and still give it a shot. I’m really glad I did."

I hope this article has given you some clarity about Turing.com. Let me know in the comment section what you think about it.

[astrobyoph]

hi!!

first off, congrats on reaching 100 followers; im glad to see your blog is gaining more traction! second, thank you again for taking the time and energy to do this reading as well. i read your other posts and honestly got frustrated for you. the time and effort you put into your readings is evident, and it's unfortunate to see some don't read the instructions you also took time to write out

anyways, omg your description was really cute 🥺💞 it was a bit unexpected bc i feel that im not a very affectionate person (or just that i show it less in public). so, it's interesting that he might be! hand holding is one of my fave ways to show affection, so i got really happy reading that LOL the borderline possessive made me laugh bc tbh,, im not opposed (oops) 😭 trust and freedom is important to me though, so hopefully it won't be too much LMAO

take care and good luck with your upcoming classes!

Hey!!!! Thank you so much for being so kind omg :( LOL same its ok who doesnt love a hand holding boderline posessive man anyways, and you're very welcome! Thank you so much too i'm looking forward to my classes again. Sending u lovee <3

[eldritch-obscuritea]

Liu’s Story Rewrite/Rework

Hi all! I’ve been thinking about this for a bit, and I’ve decided that I’d like to do a rewrite/rework of Liu’s story. Most versions I’ve found are a little lacking in detail, and I especially want to highlight his struggles with Dissociative Identity Disorder in a way that’s more accurate. So far I’m still working out the details, but we’ll see how it shakes out! It’ll probably be rather different from most versions of the story(ies) out there, so be warned. 

In terms of the work itself, I’m thinking to do a goodol’ fashioned story in writing, but depending on my whims I may use scenes as drawing practice. I may even end up turning it into a comic, who knows? Certainly not me :P

Just as a note, this story is gonna be part awareness piece, and part self-expression piece. I think that DID awareness is really important, especially considering the amount of misinformation out there. As such, this isn’t gonna really be a conventional serial killer creepypasta, most of the horror will come from Liu trying to navigate his admittedly very messed up life. The self-expression is gonna come into play since I’ll be drawing from my own experiences of discovering a diagnosis of DID, as well as spending time in an inpatient facility. 

I really don’t expect this to gain any traction with the rest of the fandom, but this is more for my own satisfaction than anything else. If you’re down for that, I’m glad to have you along for the ride! I’ll be posting the story in short segments on this blog, with the name The Fog In The Morning. Cheerio!

[what-even-is-thiss]

I just saw your post on straight couple diversity and I love you soo much. Im a cis ace woman and there is nothing I'd love more than for it to be socially acceptable to wear a tux instead of a dress when I get married. Interracial couples too is important to me as Im mixed race and it sometimes feels like both of my 'races' would rather go with someone their own race than a mixed person.

I made that post a long time ago but I’m happy that it’s gaining traction again. I’m glad I could make you feel heard even if only a little bit

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 15/05/2021 (Coldplay, J. Cole, Trippie Redd & Playboi Carti)

I’m awful at predicting this chart, I really am, but most of that is probably down to how I only make vague predictions at the end of each episode without even considering most releases that’ll actually chart. Let’s just say I didn’t expect nine new arrivals this week. At the top, however, little has changed as the absolutely huge “Body” by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne with a remix featuring whoever the hell is spending its second week at #1. The rest of the chart, however, gets a bit more interesting. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

The biggest story to effect the chart this week is of course 2021’s BRIT Awards happening this Tuesday, which I’m sure boosted a lot of songs during the mid-week. I also actually covered the awards show on that day if you’re curious, with some of my observations, predictions and opinions. We can very clear see – or hear, for that matter – the impact of the BRIT Awards in this week’s chart, as it did cause a lot of gains and new arrivals that shook up the chart right in the middle of the tracking week. Firstly, we do have some drop-outs from the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, only one of them, “Paradise” by MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy, being all that important given it was a top five hit but we do have a handful that lasted five or more weeks or peaked in the top 40, like “Medicine” by James Arthur flopping embarrassingly, “Addicted” by Jorja Smith dropping out to prepare for the rebound next week given her album release and “Solid” by Young Stoner Life, Young Thug and Gunna featuring Drake.

Speaking of Drake, he also provides the singular returning entry as “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby is proving to be the actual hit from that three-pack from March, coming back to #65. Scaling down the chart, we also have some notable losses, songs that dropped at least five spots on this week’s chart. Those that fell include “Your Power” by Billie Eilish dropping harshly to #15 off of the debut, as well as “Your Love (9PM)” by ATB, Topic and A7S at #18, “Confetti” by Little Mix to #21 off of the return (with Saweetie, the artist quite literally solely the reason it’s had this second wind, still bizarrely left without a credit by the UK Singles Chart), “My Head & My Heart” by Ava Max at #27, “Titanium” by Dave at #31, “Wellerman” by Nathan Evans and remixed by 220 KID and Billen Ted (yes, THEY’RE credited) at #36, “Patience” by KSI featuring YUNGBLUD and Polo G at #42, “Heartbreak Anniversary” by Giveon at #44, “We’re Good” by Dua Lipa at #47, “Way Too Long” by Nathan Dawe, Anne-Marie and MoStack at #49, “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK at #51, “Beautiful Mistakes” by Maroon 5 and Megan Thee Stallion at #55, “Don’t Play” by Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals at #56, “Calling My Phone” by Lil Tjay and 6LACK at #59, “Commitment Issues” by Central Cee at #67, “You” by Regard, Troye Sivan and Tate McRae at #69, “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd at #70, “Hold On” by Justin Bieber getting ACR’d at #71, “Streets” by Doja Cat at #73 and finally, “6 for 6” by Central Cee at #75.

Filling up the room for those losses, however, are the gains, always a tad more interesting, as the songs that rose at least five spots on this week’s chart – or make their first appearance in the top 40, 20 or 10 – are usually having the BRITs to thank to some capacity. The climbers include “Summer 91 (Looking Back)” giving Noizu his first top 40 hit at #31 (and I’ll admit, the song is growing on me), Griff also getting her first with “Black Hole” at #35 thanks to her win and performance at the BRITs, “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI rebounding to #13 thanks to that once-again uncredited remix with Miley Cyrus and finally, entering the top 10 for the first time is “Anywhere Away from Here” by Rag’n’Bone Man and P!nk at #9, getting the boost from a perfect trifecta of gains: Rag’n’Bone Man released his album on Friday then on Tuesday had the closing performance of this song at the BRIT Awards with additional vocals from the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS choir, who are also now appearing on a new release of the song the day after, prompting a whole lot of sales, of which I assume and hope are going to charity. It’s Rag’n’Bone Man’s third top 10 hit, P!nk’s 21st(!) and interestingly enough, the NHS choir’s second top 10 hit as they had the Christmas #1 back in 2015. With all of that out of the way, I suppose it’s time to get to our varied array of new arrivals.

NEW ARRIVALS

#74 – “Dick” – Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat

Produced by Nius and SoFLY

This week is kind of a weird week if that wasn’t immediately obvious as our new arrivals are kind of all over the place, starting with... well, I think I could say less about the song than the title does. Starboi3 is this SoundCloud rapper from New Jersey who made a song with Doja back in 2019 – I assume she was more accessible for features back then –and it didn’t blow up at all, really, giving Starboi3 some additional traction but not until 2020, in which Doja Cat got her #1 hit and TikTok picked up this explicit single as a new sound. Sadly – or thankfully – the song was never released officially onto streaming until very recently, meaning, surely, the hype’s over by now? The answer to that is no, as it’s climbing up charts in both the UK and the Bubbling Under in the US... so there’s got to be something good about this song, right? Well, no. Not at all. Of course, that is subjective, but I do question your sanity if you’re honestly enjoying this unlikeable nobody shout “Dick!” over a basic, no-melody trap instrumental with heavy 808s not too dissimilar to drill, before going into a beyond basic chorus and verse about, well, you can guess, with rhymes sounding either like an awful freestyle or a kid with a rhyming dictionary. “She not with him tonight, she not with Jim tonight”? Of course, that’s in the post-chorus because if there’s one thing this song needs, it’s a freaking post-chorus. I also don’t think Starboi3 realises that making her scream for her parents is quite the opposite of sexy – or even raunchy and mindless, as it’s actually just creepy and terrifying. Speaking of terrifying, Doja Cat is here and not even she can add a less basic flow with a verse that just ends up going in one ear and out the other, even if I do like the seductive backing vocals that at least try to make this not a slow, joyless slog. However, I do NOT like the Pickle Rick reference. To be fair, this was 2019, but also to be fair, never reference that again, I am begging you. This is a disaster on all fronts and probably one of the worst tracks I’ve had to review in this series. Good start!

#64 – “Freaks” – Surf Curse

Produced by Surf Curse

This new song is actually even older, being released initially as a deep cut from this Nevada duo’s 2013 album. As you’ll probably tell, this is charting off of people streaming after hearing the song on TikTok and, I mean, at least the song’s actually good this time, careening off of a clearly surf-inspired clean riff surrounded by some basic drumming and a good bassline. It’s not great as it does feel increasingly basic as I said, almost like one of those local bands that don’t get much national attention or traction but do play some gigs and get some love at those places, to the point where it’s kind of big if they play shows outside of their region... which makes sense because that is exactly what they are. This is just some band from Reno but here it is charting on the UK Singles Chart and while it’s here, I should say whilst there’s not much here to discuss given how minimal it is, Nick Rattigan’s vocals are fittingly desperate for the theme of social alienation and particularly rejection as it’s pretty obvious he’s aiming venom at himself for a bad break-up, although given the sound and tone of the song, probably his first, with that double meaning of the mantra in the outro, “I won’t wake up this time”, potentially being a crushing line for someone in similar circumstances. That’s not me, exactly, so this doesn’t hit, but I’m glad that Machine Gun Kelly song from last week got replaced with some actually decent alternative rock on the chart. I hope this does well.

#60 – “One Day” – Lovejoy

Produced by Cameron Nesbitt

“One Day” is the biggest track from new English rock band Lovejoy’s debut EP, Are You Alright?, and whilst I was planning on not mentioning the fact that the band is fronted by Minecraft YouTuber Wilbur Soot, that is the only reason it’s charting – and he’s charted with “Your New Boyfriend” a couple months back, a song that I actually kind of liked. It’s also immediately obvious in the writing that this comes from an Internet personality, with some not-so-well-woven detail and increasingly gratuitous self-awareness that eventually cycles back and ends up as seeming like they have none at all... okay, like most indie bands but that’s beside the point. This happens to be Wilbur’s least favourite song on the release – one that I haven’t listened to because even if I’m not too old for mindless pop music, Minecraft YouTuber alt-rock may be where I draw the line – and I can completely understand the distaste for this given that it starts with the line, “Why’d you have to kill my cat?” I also have some qualms with the song sonically as it may be the most derivative rock single I’ve heard on this series, given how obviously it rips from indie rock bands of the 2000s, with an oddly clean mix that doesn’t exactly fit the obvious stream-of-consciousness lyrics and Wilbur’s erratic delivery. Also, there’s a whole lot of trumpet on this song, which I guess is a surprise, but that doesn’t make up for a drummer who can clearly play very well but has to chaotically play over a song with practically no groove. I do like that second chorus in how it builds up to a somewhat anti-climactic guitar solo but as a full song I do not really get the appeal of this that I don’t get out of other post-punk revival bands from decades back who are still pumping out music. This isn’t bad – I swear, don’t dox me – but I just want something more compelling from this. I will always be glad regardless of the quality that we have more rock on the chart, though, even if this’ll be gone by next week.

#57 – “It’s a sin” – Years & Years and Elton John

Produced by Stuart Price and the Pet Shop Boys

One of my favourite performance from the BRIT Awards this year was Olly Alexander of Years & Years sharing the stage with the iconic Elton John to cover Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s a Sin” which had renewed interest from last year as it was the namesake for a hit TV series about HIV/AIDS, for which this fittingly played a role and has kind of been recontextualised as a gay anthem, which makes complete sense if you look at its lyrics about the Church telling Neil Tennant “how to be”. It’s also one of the Pet Shop Boys’ most camp and theatrical songs, so giving it to Years & Years and Elton John to cover for the BRIT Awards make all too much sense. No, they’re not able to live up to the theatricality of the original, especially if Alexander’s vocals are going to be this clearly manipulated at points, but with Elton John’s piano laying a perfect foundation for the rising intensity of the track, we do get a sense of that original melodrama, with the synth-work and house groove coming in before Elton John’s voice, sounding smokier and wiser with age, and in my opinion, more compelling as a vocalist, especially if they’re both going to sell this song with the most convicted of deliveries. I don’t think a cover could ever live up to that original iconic track but if anyone’s going to get close, it’s Elton John. Expect this to rise next week.

#50 – “Never Left” – Lil Tecca

Produced by ThankYouWill, Taz Taylor and Cxdy

I’ll always be annoyed that Lil Tecca blew up as a rapper instead of a producer, as I don’t think this guy has any likeability or charisma about his flow, cadence or delivery, and that’s only after you get over how dry and whiny his voice can get. However, he can make some great and incredibly infectious beats for other rappers, including a song I see becoming a hit soon in SoFaygo’s “Knock Knock”, which I will bet on at least making the Billboard Hot 100 if not the UK Singles Chart. It’s unbelievably catchy. With that said, Tecca is here in the form of some SoundCloud raps over a boring synth pluck and vaguely tropical Internet Money trap beat, sounding and flowing way too much like Gunna for his own benefit, or Gunna’s benefit, if we’re honest, as this shows how easily he can be replaced. I usually don’t write off this type of rap and will absolutely defend it, but this song isn’t even catchy or unique. I mean, I don’t like “Ransom” either but at least it was kind of fun and I still know the lines in the chorus a couple years later. I’ll forget all about this by next week if it doesn’t stick around. At least he shouts out Chief Keef. God, I hope he charts sometime, that’d be funny.

#45 – “All I Know So Far” – P!nk

Produced by Greg Kurstin

So, P!nk is back but not with a studio album, rather an upcoming live album in which the two new, original songs are about or featuring her daughter. This is the second single from said album and is probably coasting off her appearance at the BRITs in terms of a relatively high chart debut. I’ve never been that big a fan of P!nk but she has her classics, none of which are in the past 15 years but that’s beside the point. This single in particular is an acoustic ballad dedicated to her daughter in which P!nk provides a rapid intensity alongside pretty great-sounding acoustic guitars, pounding drums and strings that sells the content about empowering yourself, with some nice lyrical detail about always being yourself, basically, which would come off as cliché and preachy if it weren’t for some oddly specific lyrics in those verses and the chorus that basically just tell her daughter that despite the fact the world will constantly try to crack down on her and everything she does much like life does to anyone but especially women, she should stand up for herself and what she believes in. However, none of that cuts deep when she’s being raised by a millionaire, huh? There’s little Hell to be put through when you’re born with a silver spoon, huh, Willow? Regardless, this isn’t a bad pop song and its content isn’t as misguided as it is just sang by the wrong singer, although I’d find it hard to get a singer with as much rasp and wisdom in the mainstream to sell this as convincingly as P!nk does – vocally, not lyrically. This is a couple steps above that last single, “Cover Me in Sunshine” at least, which was just insidious. Next.

#32 – “Miss the Rage” – Trippie Redd featuring Playboi Carti

Produced by Loesoe

Okay, so all of our last three new arrivals are in the top 40 and we start with... o-okay, well, it’s 2021, anything can and will chart and I should know this by now, but it’s still surprising to see a song by these two guys debut so high, especially since Whole Lotta Red produced absolutely no charting hits in the UK outside of “@ MEH”, which doesn’t really count. This is Trippie’s highest-charting song ever in the UK that isn’t fronted by KSI, so I guess streaming must have been that good – also, the charts are still weak. For what it’s worth, I do like both Trippie and Carti to their respective extents, and I am aware that this is only as big as it was because of the hype from the leak, which also featured Mario Judah, and that in itself was a big song but it took years for Carti’s feature to be cleared by the label, as is infamously true for much of Carti’s work and even his last official collaboration with Trippie that was actually deleted after release. I’m still hoping on an official release for his verse on Yung Lean’s “Yayo”, but whilst we have this instead, I might as well talk about it and... Well, let me explain to you what I see as the appeal of these two rappers. That appeal is, mostly, that they don’t rap even though they both very much can. Trippie yells, moans, growls, screams and spends most of his work singing in his typical raspy, venomous voice, whilst Playboi Cart spits and coughs his way through substance-less ad-libs to the point where any actual wordplay or lyrical detail gets you excited for that brief moment. In this song, Trippie and Carti don’t eschew the typical role of a rapper and both just... rap normally, which would not be a complaint if they weren’t so bland in that role, which is the whole point of their unique, phlegm-filled deliveries in the first place. As a result, this song just ends up feeling empty, even if this awfully-mixed, bass-boosted beat with some lovely distorted video-game synths and hardly audible trap skitters does go incredibly hard. Don’t get me wrong: this is still catchy and Trippie flows very well over a beat that sounds made for him and Carti. Hell, Carti has grown on me so much recently that my fondness for this might just be me eating anything he releases up. With that said, he’s the worst part of the song as his baby-voice style emphasises how lacking this song is in just anything. I do like the wordplay at the tail-end of the verse as, yes, that happens, perhaps not as iconic as some of his other oddly profound or clever lines on his last record but at least it’s something. At least this is some interesting American trap, unlike...

#25 – “i n t e r l u d e” – J. Cole

Produced by J. Cole, Tommy Parker and T-Minus

The pandemic has affected the music industry to the point where big-name rappers release album interludes as lead singles. Said album has songs shorter than this interlude, with most of its dull filler feeling like additional interludes, quite unbefitting for such a big and hyped-up album from Cole which frankly is just another boring addition to an already consistently dull catalogue. I’m just not interested in what Cole has to say because he’s never been likeable and I feel like there’s better rappers that bridge the gap between old and new like how Cole sees himself as doing, the “MIDDLE CHILD”, perhaps, like, you know, Drake? If we want to go for a more direct comparison from lesser-known rappers, the direct comparison I use for this new record is Aminé’s latest, also made up of a variation of trap bangers featuring massive, charting names versus introspective, conscious lyrics, yet Aminé is an interesting character with quotable lyrics that aren’t embarrassing, knows how to write an actual hook and whilst he also brings on both classic and modern features, he’s never out-done by them, creating an actual bridge rather than just some guy who thinks he can write his own role in the industry and culture without his own music backing his case. Unfortunately for me, it works – every freaking time – largely because of his continually loyal fanbase but also a general public interest in the guy that I do not understand, especially when more than a decade into his career, he’s still pushing out mediocre projects. He cuts his album’s length by a ton and still ends up with a bloated record. I barely need to talk about the track itself, right? Even if it has as much structure and effort put into it as his normal songs do, it’s labelled quite literally as an interlude. Sigh, well, in this interlude, Jermaine raps over a drowned-out soul sample and admittedly, sticks to the topic of reminiscing on where he came from, the violence in Fayetteville, a similar violence of which was what killed Nipsey Hussle, who he compares amongst Pimp C and Jesus as they all died at 33. Cole himself is 36 so I guess for once he doesn’t think he’s Jesus. It took him a while to realise.

#12 – “Higher Power” – Coldplay

Produced by Max Martin, Oscar Holter and Bill Rahko

I assumed this would debut at #3 until the BRIT Awards performance gave it a boost to debut at the top but I guess everyone else had the same opinion of that awful opening performance as I did, because here it is at #12. Well, that doesn’t matter, right? Coldplay’s last album similarly underperformed... but at least that time, they had a genuinely ambitious album for once in their careers with some genuine experimentation and themes I did not expect to come out of Coldplay. It was a better album but not an accessible one, with its only pop single being a bittersweet anti-war anthem which trivialises bombing in the Middle East to onomatopoeia. It’s a great song but it wasn’t going anywhere, so it’s no surprise that their next lead single is a soulless synth-pop track produced by Max Martin. Admittedly, the synth tone in the intro is kind of unique in all its nasal 80s nostalgia, but, man, I thought we moved past just rehashing for a hit, Coldplay. This is pretty obviously just a crap attempt at being “Blinding Lights” which trades in its machine-gun loco-motive drum pattern for one that is a lot more stiff, and its iconic, memorable lyrics for a forgettable set of love-struck laziness. Oh, yeah, and Chris Martin is far from the Weeknd both in the studio and live at the BRIT Awards – seriously, dude sounded half-alive. This isn’t offensive, just a bore that is clearly a desperate label move ready for when they can tour again, and if their last record proved anything it was that Coldplay seemed like they were finally above that.

Conclusion

Well, that’s our week – again, a questionable one at best and kind of a bad one at worst. Either way, this is a strange array of songs and I do like how the UK Singles Chart subverts everything you’d expect of it so often that chaos becomes the trend, even if not all of it is any good. I guess Best of the Week goes to “Freaks” by Surf Curse, with an Honourable Mention to Elton John’s cover of “It’s a sin” with Years & Years. Surprisingly enough, J. Cole actually doesn’t get Worst of the Week as the album gets a lot worse than that interlude, so he gets a Dishonourable Mention alongside Starboi3’s “Dick” being crowned Worst of the Week, and honestly probably Worst of the Year so far, not that I’m keeping track of that. Here’s this week’s top 10:

What’s coming next week? More J. Cole, Olivia Rodrigo’s newest single and probably – and hopefully – some album tracks from Jorja Smith and Nicki Minaj. For now, though, thanks for reading. It’s a big week next week, and I’ll see you then!

[juicysanaa]

Def not me trying to get over my shyness and talk to you

Ik this is very late but I remember one time you reblogged a post about interaction on Tumblr and that really stuck w me, as a writer too there's nothing worse than putting a lot of effort into something only for it to barely gain any traction. I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't let that get to you, I think you're a great writer and honestly your Bakugo angst fic is one of my faves!! (+ plus your shitposts dropkick the air right out of my lungs) <3

Im glad it did, I haven't been on tumblr for even half a year but I've realized how important interacting is, and try to do it as often as I can (while avoiding 18+ pages ofc bc I am a minor) to support other content creators. And thankfully, my posts get more interaction than I could ask for (though, the like to reblog ratio is still pretty shit ngl) and I am genuinely thankful for every note i get on posts even if its 60-100 on a post i worked hard on, I'm just glad ppl read it. And thank you, and im glad you liked the fic, the positive feedback I got from it was so unexpected and makes my heart burst when I think of it💖💖 (and im glad you enjoy the shit posts bc I think of a lot of dumb shit and its nice to see others enjoy it😭💖)

[reneejuliet]

Hello.

I am so glad you’re here.

Okay, so.

Over countless years, I've thought about blogs. Wanted one, tried one. And failed spectacularly, each and every time. It started in the days of Xanga and Livejournal, if I'm going to timestamp myself like that. I would make an account on each website (and there are more than just those two, as well, but hell if I can remember them) ONLY after waiting what felt like a lifetime to even start one because I didn't want to be that person to jump on a bandwagon so fast. 

I'd make one or two or, at most, a handful of posts, before never using it again. I'd lose interest, or I wouldn't have time - for 13 years, I worked a minimum of two jobs at a time. And my blog would never gain any traction. Granted, I wasn't putting much effort in and even to this day, I don't fully understand or grasp just how to use hashtags since they didn't even exist back when this all started. But my special little brain just felt so spent, wondering why I was even putting any effort in if no one was going to read it. Why speak if no one is listening? And you know what I've finally decided?

Because you never know who is listening - who might need you to speak for them.

By no means do I think myself eloquent. By absolute no means do I think I am even deserving to be a voice for someone else, let alone capable of such. All I do know is that I have been that person. I have lurked blogs and accounts and read other people's words and heard their voices even when nothing but silence greeted them in return. And these strangers have helped me in a way. It's easier to relate to someone else's sentiments than to summon your own, sometimes. It's easier to confront your own feelings if you know you aren't the only one. It's easier to believe you can overcome your struggles when you find out that another person already has. And, sometimes, just hearing someone say they believe in you is all you really need. Even if they don't know you, and you don't know them. But to have that in front of you, any time to need to come back to it and reaffirm it, is such a relief.

If I can, I want to be that for someone. Anyone. Maybe even no one. At least I'll have tried. I'm irrationally afraid of failure - always have been. I doubt I'll ever overcome it completely, but you know what? Little steps are nothing to sneeze at. One success can outweigh tens of failures.

One good day can be enough to carry you through a year's worth of bad. This, I know from experience.

So I'm going to blog, I guess, is what I'm getting at. It won't be every day - adulthood certainly doesn't leave nearly enough time. And it won't be amazing, or heartfelt, or even important most days. I'll share stupid things, or funny memes, or writings I've come across. I'd also like to tease some of my own writings - which absolutely terrifies me, but hey. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm also going to talk about some of my struggles, just in case anyone is out there that needs to hear it. Anxiety. Depression. Insecurities. Self-harm. By all means, if these are triggering for you, please don't read those posts. I'll preface each one with what it contains, just in case. But, again, I know what it's like to be the reader on the other side of the blog that needed those words. Needed to hear it said because my brain couldn’t put it together on its own, needed to know I wasn't alone. So. Maybe no one will read it - a lot of people will definitely not even care. And that's okay. Because I did. I still do.

Besides, this is all what I even made this tumblr account for in the first place. It’s about time I followed through.

Anyway, if you've made it this far: hello. My name is Renee. I am reneejuliet. I'm so glad you're here; it's so wonderful to meet you.

[tenacious-scripturient]

As someone who’s trying to build up the confidence to share their writing (and maybe start a writeblr, I haven’t decided yet), I have to ask, how do you get the word out about your writing? What are the best ways to bring people’s attention to your blog? (Sorry that this is so out of the blue and worded EXTREMELY poorly, but I’m just looking for advice.)

hey hey hey, no worries at all! i’m just glad i’m someone you can turn to and ask for help, and i’m happy to give it my best shot!

it’s really awesome that, despite low confidence, you’re feeling up to sharing your writing with the community, and that’s a great thing! i totally understand that. i also have some advice for gaining followers as a writeblr! this list has some aspects of that on here, but this is more in-depth and detailed.

of course, i’m in no way an expert, but here are what i believe to be the most critical things to know:

1. interact with the community

this is probably the most important thing to keep in mind as you navigate the waters of writeblr. it isn’t super important when you have more followers and mutuals, but it’s crucial at the beginning.

when you start off, you’re essentially alone. but you can interact and communicate with other writeblrs so you’re not, and this can help you gain traction! i started by following writeblrs that intrigued me and asking them to be on their taglists for most things, but especially tag games. those helped me to make a name for myself on tumblr and have fun in the process!

talking with others in the community gives you the final push you need to start gaining followers, and you gain some awesome writeblr friends, too! i know i have.

2. reblog, reblog, reblog!

the saying “an eye for an eye” is usually true in most cases, but especially here on writeblr and other creative blrs. unless you give attention to other writeblrs, they’ll never you the time of day. kindness and generosity is super important!!

when you reblog and comment on other people’s original posts, they feel appreciated and loved! even adding a little comment like “i loved this!” in the tags can make someone’s day. so of course they’ll be more inclined to do the same to you!

reblogging can spread word of something quickly, so this is really important to note!

3. post about your WIP

how is anyone going to know about your WIP if you don’t make a single post about it? truth is, they won’t.

post a bunch of stuff! be your biggest supporter and reblog those incredible posts about your worldbuilding, story, and characters! do it! your work is amazing and so are you!

but, as much as you want to post about your WIP, don’t overwhelm them, especially with things like memes, characters, and miniscule worldbuilding facts. people usually don’t have the same knowledge of your story as you do, and can easily get lost. plus, who wants to see the same thing on their dash over and over again?

that’s not to say you can’t post memes and character intros, but not too much. i’ve seen too many writeblrs constantly posting some weird character facts whose name i’ve never even read... more than 15 times a day. not even joking. yeah, that’s kind of a turn off. sorry.

4. bring something unique to the table

now, doing this can be really hard, but if you can pull it off, followers will come flocking to you like birds. well, maybe not completely unique, but at least something rare.

for example, there’s a great writing advice blog i know of that has TONS of followers because those blogs are so rare and the advice is so good!

there are a lot of ways you can be unique—the blog’s content, the genre you write, or maybe something completely different.

5. join contests and raffles

this one is kind of a strange one, but trust me—it helps. when i was much smaller, only about 100 followers, i entered a contest where my WIP was to be advertised on someone’s writeblr and won. i’m pretty sure this boosted my count by quite a bit and kept it secure.

along with that, it’s tons of fun and you can win some cool stuff! it can be a contest for anything—moodboards, art, maybe even having a song written for you... (not naming anything but i’m awfully close to 1.5k) so yeah. do that.

and that’s all i have! i hope this helped in some way, but as always, take this with a grain of salt! if anyone has any other ideas, feel free to reblog with said ideas.

[mayakern]

Hi! I wanted to say thanks for just... drawing people with double-chins. I'm fat and while plus-size positivity is gaining traction, so many plus-size models/characters have otherwise "thin" faces. Seeing your art -- seeing girls loving girls with double chins -- makes me feel like crying in the best way possible.

yeah! i’ve had a double chin and a fat face for most of my life and i used to try to hide it in photos and i’d feel such a disconnect between feeling positive about my image in photos vs. in real life. over the past two years i’ve been working really hard to love my double chin and it’s been really important in my journey of self love and i’m glad to have my art be slowly catching up!

i don’t usually post selfies on tumblr anymore but i’ll post some of the pictures of me learning to love my double chin in the hopes that it will help some of you.

[askaliceprewett]

Hi there, I just came across your post about accessibility and ASL, and I wanted to let you know how fantastic I thought it was. I'm going to college in the fall to be sign language interpreter for those exact same reasons, so it was really amazing to see someone else express that too.

Hello! Thank you for your kind words! I actually wrote that post in 2017 (crazy, right?) and lately it’s been gaining new traction for whatever reason. I’m actually going into my freshman year of university this fall to study ASL-English Interpretation. I’m super excited. I’m glad you liked the post, I make sure all of my own and my sister’s videos have captions and I try to help where I can with other rp-ers. I think it’s super important and I’m glad others have thought the same!