#this is part of the reason why I really want them to revisit jenna or lilith. so they can explore more abt who she outside of the main grou | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lilydalexf · 4 years

Photo

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Jenna Tooms

Jenna Tooms has 37 stories at Gossamer, plus you can find X-Files stories and more by her at AO3 (as misslucyjane). I've recced some of my favorites of her fics here before, including the MSR Christmas story An Acceptable Level of Happiness and the historical AU Katherine of Ireland. Big thanks to Jenna for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

Yes, definitely. I had no idea there was still an active X-Files fandom.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

For the most part, it was pretty good. I made a lot of great friends that I'm still in contact with, and I think I learned a lot (by trial and error) about how to behave online. Writing fanfic with a built-in audience did a lot for my confidence as a writer.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

Message boards at first, then mostly email mailing lists.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Writing fic made me a better writer. Fandom has introduced to a lot of amazing people.

But there were some bad feelings, mostly the vitriol directed at Doggett and Reyes, towards the end of the series that ruined the rest of it for me. I've kind of held back from getting super-involved in fandom since.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

I've always liked things like ghost stories and cryptozoology, so that drew me in at first. I think my first episode was The Host in summer reruns, as I was working Friday nights at the time and only learned about it from my dorm mates. We lived together again in an off-campus apartment a year or two later, and by then XF was on Sunday nights so that was our standing Sunday night appointment TV.

I feel old.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I knew what fanfic was, more or less, and had been writing since Star Wars: A New Hope was originally released. When I first wanted to get involved in XF fandom I went looking for other fans, and found the OBSSE (Order of the Blessed Saint Scully the Enigmatic) newsletter, which had fanfic recs. I can't remember what story it was specifically but I'm pretty sure it was by MustangSally.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

Like an ex whose good times were very, very good, but whose bad times were horrid.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

I've been involved, to various degrees, in Harry Potter, Supernatural, Doctor Who/Torchwood, MCU, and Sherlock fandoms, and dabbled in a few smaller ones.

I've also playing in a multi-fandom role-play game since 2004, that introduced me to some great fandoms and some amazing people. The game is kind of a fandom in itself, and is the only thing I've been as intensely involved in as X-Files.

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Dana Scully, Steve Rogers, Sherlock Holmes (any incarnation), Deadpool, Sansa Stark, Aang, Groot, Peter Parker, Wonder Woman. Yes, I am looking at my Funko Pops :).

I tend to like characters who are trying to do good in the world, or who stay strong in the face of adversity. I have no explanation for Deadpool except that he's Deadpool.

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

No, not really. I haven't watched the new series or any of the movies since the first one. I think of Mulder and Scully fondly, but I don't feel the need to revisit them.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

X-Files, no. If I come along something promising in a fandom I'm interested in like the MCU or Sherlock, or if something is recommended by someone whose taste I trust or written by an author I ready like, then I'll read it.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

I really liked bugs, Rachel Anton, David Hearne, Plausible Deniability, Penumbra, Terma99, and OneMillionStars, I think their pen name was? [Lilydale note: I think this is Onemillionandnine.] Some stories I liked are "Condemned to Repeat It" [Lilydale note: by Branwell], "Cherry Ripe" by Rachel Anton [Lilydale note: co-written with Laura Blaurosen], "Cadenza" (part 1, part 2) by Terma99, and "Twelve Inches" by Federal Dust. There were more but all my saved files were lost several computers ago.

[Lilydale note: try as I might, I could not find “Twelve Inches” online, not even a mention of it. However, I have a copy saved from 2003 (!!). It’s a season 8 story with the summary “In trying to understand his own feelings about women and relationships, Doggett inadvertently helps Scully understand Mulder.”].

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

Favorite X-Files fic is Draw Down the Moon, a Scully/Doggett post-canon AU.

Favorite in general is Apocalyptic Love Songs, a Supernatural Dean/Castial fic I wrote for a Big Bang challenge. I'd had the idea for a modern-day Grail quest for a long time -- originally as an XF fic, in fact -- but could never figure out how to do it until Supernatural came along.

(Because of the actions of some unscrupulous persons, all my fic on AO3 is locked to members.)

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

No, I don't see that happening.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I write a little fanfic now and then, mostly for Yuletide or other challenges that catch my eye.

I have been writing and publishing original work since 2007 with a small publisher that is now shut down. I'm now publishing independently.

Where do you get ideas for stories?

It's hard to say. Sometimes I hear a line or two of dialogue in my head and want to see where the conversation goes. Sometimes I just have a random thought of "What if..." and have to find the answer to that question.

What's the story behind your pen name?

I get bored of names easily so I've changed it a few times. I currently write fic as Misslucyjane, which is a nickname my mother calls me.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

They knew I write it, they don't know the content. I'm okay with that.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

Fanfic is at misslucyjane.me (though I haven't updated it in ages) and Archive of Our Own (as misslucyjane). Original fiction, largely M/M romance, is posted or linked at jennalynnbrown.com. I hang out on Twitter as @misslucyjane.

(Posted by Lilydale on September 22, 2020)

#new post #old school x #xfiles fanfic #xf fanfic #xf fanfic author interviews #jenna tooms

48 notes · View notes

a-kosher-dunk · 5 years

Note

May I ask about something I’ve read regarding Miriam? Is it true that she made a racist remark against Tzipporah, and that’s why she wasn’t allowed into the Promised Land? I could be totally misunderstanding something, but I do remember reading that. Thank you!

I hope you're prepared for a 2000 word answer, because this is a complicated question about a difficult passage. Content warnings for violence, non-explicit discussions of sex, and (maybe) racism.

The incident you're talking about happens in Numbers/Bamidbar 12. Here's what the text says, quoting from the translation by Everett Fox, skipping over some verses that aren’t relevant to the question, and anglicizing Fox’s spellings of names for clarity:

12:1 “Now Miriam spoke, and Aaron, against Moses on account of the Cushite wife that he had taken in marriage, for a Cushite wife he had taken.

12:2 They said: ‘Is it only, solely through Moses that YHWH speaks? Is it not also through us that he speaks?’ And YHWH heard.

12:5 And YHWH descended in a column of cloud and stood at the entrance to the Tent; he called out: ‘Aaron and Miriam!’ and the two of them went out.

12:10 When the cloud turned away from above the Tent, here: Miriam has tzaraat like snow!”

Tzaraat is usually translated as leprosy, but this is a bad translation. What you need to know is that tzaraat is an affliction sometimes caused by angering G-d and, as in this case, it can turn a person’s skin white.

If you're not confused yet, you should be, because this passage gives a lot of confusing information. Why is Moses's wife referred to as a Cushite, when before Tzipporah was called a Midianite? Why is Miriam punished while Aaron isn't? What was their problem with the "Cushite wife" in the first place? Why does the text say that Aaron and Miriam were speaking about Moses's wife, but then the rest of their dialogue is about their roles as prophets?

I'm breaking this down into a series of questions and explanations for better readability.

Question 1: Is the Cushite woman Tzipporah?

You'll notice that the "Cushite wife" isn't named. So the first question we have to answer is, are Miriam and Aaron even talking about Tzipporah? Or has Moses married another woman? (Polygamy would have been fairly normal in this place and time.)

Previously, Tzipporah was described as a Midianite, which would suggest that this is a different woman. However, today we don't know exactly where Midian was. We're not even sure that it was a place; it might have referred to a collection of tribes instead. "Cush" is generally assumed to mean modern Ethiopia, but that's not totally clear either.

It's possible that there was some overlap between Cush and Midian. Maybe the Midianites were a tribe of people living in Cush, or maybe Midian was an area in the larger territory of Cush. This might be the Bronze Age equivalent of saying "Tzipporah was from Texas" and then later saying "Tzipporah was from Houston."

Most Torah commentaries agree that this person is Tzipporah and that’s my interpretation too. For ease of discussion, I will continue referring to her as Tzipporah.

Question 2: Were Aaron and Miriam equally at fault for this situation?

In your question, you mentioned reading that it was Miriam who "made a racist remark," but as you'll notice from the passage, both Miriam and Aaron spoke. What you would miss if you only read this text in English, however, is that in Hebrew, verbs are gendered. In this case, the verb for "spoke" is gendered feminine. Normally, if you were referring to something done by both a woman and a man, you would use the masculine form of the verb.

Why doesn't that happen here? One traditional explanation is that it was Miriam who initiated the discussion. She went to Aaron first and persuaded him to join her in her complaint. Aaron has a history of acceding to what others want (see: the thing with the Golden Calf), which I think is very Hufflepuff of him. Meanwhile, Miriam has a history of taking leadership and persuading others to go along with her plans (see: convincing Pharaoh's daughter to adopt Moses, or leading the Hebrew women in a song of victory after crossing the Red Sea). So this explanation is perfectly in character. Either only Miriam said the part about Tzipporah, or both Aaron and Miriam said it, but Miriam was the instigator. A more fun explanation is that Aaron is trans and prefers feminine pronouns, but I don't know of any other passages that support that reading and in any case, that would be a subject for a different post.

Question 3: Was this about race?

First off, I'll point out that no one in this story would be considered white today. Miriam, Aaron and Moses would be considered Mizrahi Jewish or Middle Eastern by today's standards, while Tzipporah would be considered... well, again, we don't know where Midian was, but Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, or specifically Beta Israel would all be valid modern guesses.

That said, racism can absolutely exist between different people of color. Midianites and Hebrews would have seen each other as different people, if not different races. And there are lots of examples of violence flaring up between those two groups. In Genesis/Bereshit 37:28, Midianites enslave the young Joseph. In Numbers/Bamidbar 31, the Israelites launch a war against the Midianites. In a particularly violent scene from Numbers/Bamidbar 25:8, a Midianite woman and an Israelite man are killed for sleeping together.

So, it's totally plausible that Miriam was being racist. This would explain why Tzipporah’s race is highlighted twice with the repetition of the phrase “Cushite wife.” It would also explain why G-d chooses to punish Miriam specifically with tzaraat. The affliction is described as making her skin look "like snow," i.e. unnaturally white. This might be G-d's way of saying, "You think skin color matters so much? Okay. Let's see how you feel about your skin color now." Rabbi Rick Jacobs interprets the story this way, and has a very good talk about it in this podcast episode.

However, racism isn't the only explanation for what's going on here.

Question 4: Why the abrupt change of subject halfway through the complaint?

As I mentioned above, the text at first says that Miriam was speaking "on account of the Cushite wife." But then the very next line from her and Aaron is, "Is it only, solely through Moses that YHWH speaks? Is it not also through us that he speaks?” Which is a total non-sequitur. Imagine saying to your sibling, "I hate your girlfriend, and also, you’re not that special. Dad gives us special treatment too."

One explanation is that the real issue all along was the issue of leadership. Jenna Reback on an episode of the podcast Bad Jew Weekly says, “The ostensible reason that Miriam and Aaron had for talking badly about Moses wasn’t actually the root of their problem… They’re like, “Ugh, he married this Cushite woman.” And then they really get into what’s actually bothering them, which is that they should be more celebrated by people and by G-d because G-d has spoken to them too. In a way, I think this is one of the reasons that G-d is so mad at them, because they don’t actually just level their complaint… Miriam and Aaron are kind of being surreptitious and saying one thing but meaning another and talking behind closed doors…Miriam and Aaron don’t have the guts to just say it outright.”

In this reading, Miriam at first tries to hide her true intentions, possibly out of shame, or possibly to delegitimize Moses ("How can he lead us when he didn't marry a woman from our people!") before admitting to her real problem. This would explain why her punishment from G-d is harsher. Not only did she criticize her brother; she wasn't even upfront about what her criticism was!

But there's another explanation that ties these two threads together. According to commentary from Chizkuni and Rashi, Miriam spoke "on account of the Cushite wife" not to disparage her, but to help her. They interpret the repetition of “wife” to mean that while Tzipporah was being a good wife, Moses was not being a good husband. He had become too wrapped up in the responsibility of leading his people and stopped paying attention to Tzipporah. From Chizkuni’s commentary: “’Miriam and Aaron spoke out critically against Moses;’ how did either of them know that Moses had separated from his wife? They had both noted that Tzipporah no longer wore the jewelry she had been in the habit of wearing. Miriam asked Tzipporah why she no longer wore that jewelry. Tzipporah replied that it was because Miriam’s brother (Moses) did not pay any attention to her jewelry. This was a hint that he had separated from her. She told Aaron about this and they talked about that situation criticizing him.”

I should point out that the language used here is euphemistic; the implication of “separated” is that Moses and Tzipporah were no longer having sex. Tzipporah was upset about this, and Miriam was angry on her behalf. It’s kind of like that one scene in Brooklyn 99.

Let’s revisit the line, “Is it not also through us that he speaks?” According to Exodus/Shemot 6:23, Aaron was married to Elisheva. No spouse is named for Miriam in the Torah, but one midrashic tradition says that she married Caleb, a man introduced in Numbers/Bamidbar 13:6. I’ll come back to him, but for now let’s think about this setup. All three siblings are prophets. All three are married. But unlike Moses, Miriam and Aaron have remained close with their spouses, despite the challenges of leading their people. That’s why they make this point. This isn’t a challenge to Moses’s leadership; it’s a reminder that fulfilling G-d’s wishes is no excuse for neglecting human relationships.

This explanation seems random, I know. Where are Rashi and Chizkuni getting this backstory from? Turns out, there's a story about Miriam intervening in a similar situation between a wife and a husband. According to Rashi, back in Egypt when Pharaoh gave the "kill all the baby Hebrew boys" order and before baby Moses was born, Yocheved's husband Amram divorced her. Amram's argument was that if all baby boys were going to be murdered, there was no point in having more children, and therefore no point in being married. How Yocheved felt about this isn't elaborated on.

Miriam, however, was ready to fight. Rav Chanina says that Miriam “told her father: ‘Father, your decree is harsher than that of Pharaoh! He only decreed against the males, but you have decreed against both the males and the females. It is doubtful whether the decree of the wicked Pharaoh will come to pass, but you are righteous, and so your decree will be fulfilled.’ Amram immediately took back his wife.”

Keep in mind, most commentary says Miriam was only six at the time. Please picture a tiny, furious six year old girl standing up to her father and refusing to let him break their family apart. This is why I love Miriam.

Anyways, that story sets a precedent that A) Miriam is willing to intervene in extremely personal matters if she thinks it's for a good reason and B) when there’s a dispute between a husband and wife, Miriam intervenes on the wife's side. Feminist solidarity FTW.

Recap: I know that was a lot of information, so in summary, here are three possible explanations for what happens in this section.

1) Miriam spoke against Tzipporah and Moses because she was being racist about Tzipporah.

2) Miriam and Aaron resented not getting a bigger leadership role, but rather than admitting this directly, Miriam initially pretended that their problem with Moses was that he had married Tzipporah.

3) Moses was neglecting Tzipporah and Miriam tried to talk to Moses on her behalf.

Addendum: In your question, you asked if Miriam "wasn't allowed into the Promised Land" because of this incident, and at first, I was going to say no. In Numbers/Bamidbar 14:27-14:35, G-d states that because the Hebrews will not stop bickering amongst themselves and doubting their G-d, they will wander for another forty years. The generation that was enslaved in Egypt will not set foot in the Promised Land, but their children will. I always assumed Miriam was included in the category of the generation from Egypt.

However! There are three exceptions to G-d's pronouncement. One is Joshua, who doesn't matter for this discussion.

The other is Moses because G-d plays favorites. And the third person is Caleb.

Remember the midrash I mentioned earlier about Caleb being Miriam’s husband? Well, if we take that as true, that implies that Miriam would have been allowed to enter the Promised Land with him. Especially since the other exception to G-d’s declaration is Moses, her brother. They’re supposed to settle in the land and raise families who will never have to suffer under slavery. Doesn’t make much sense for G-d to deliberately break up a family.

But let’s go back to Moses. Because guess what? He messes up. In Numbers/Bamidbar 20, G-d instructs Moses to summon water from a boulder by speaking to it. Instead, Moses strikes the boulder with his staff. G-d’s response is, “Because you did not have trust in me … you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I am giving them!” And with that, Moses is barred from entering the Promised Land.

From this we know that G-d can and will revoke Promised Land privileges for certain offenses. The incident with Tzipporah may have been one such offense. Maybe that is why Miriam doesn’t make it to the Promised Land, and why she is the first of her siblings to die.

There’s a lot that I didn’t cover. Sefaria lists 77 commentaries just on the first sentence of Numbers/Bamidbar 12. If you want to read more about this passage, I’ve linked some of my sources in the post and listed two others below.

Miriam in the Desert with Alicia Jo Rabins: a video discussing, among other things, popular interpretations of Numbers/Bamidbar 12

Sefaria: an all-purpose encyclopedia of Jewish texts and commentary

#miriam #tzipporah #d'var torah #divrei torah #my posts #behaalotecha #irreverent torah #asks

178 notes · View notes

fanficcritiques · 5 years

Text

‘My Inner Life’ - Fanfic Commentary Part 1

Sometime in the late 90′s, early 00′s, the internet was graced with a Legend of Zelda fanfic that would become the stuff of infamous legend. A fanfic largely serving the purpose of the author’s wish fulfillment indulgence, its reputation of having contained things like “tiger sex” and a possible watersports kink continue to precede it even to this day, some 20-odd years later.

As with a lot of online fan media and history, this story has long captured my attention and imagination. It’s difficult to say why exactly, as I don’t believe there is anything in this story that makes it especially unique in today’s landscape of fics, nor is there anything I find especially outrageous (at least by modern day standards). I suspect it’s due to the fact that said fic actually has a lot of potential and, therefore, becomes a draw for inspiration in its own way.

Recently I chose to revisit this fic, somewhat in the spirit of ‘MSTing’ (a sort of commentary style that endeavors to be mocking in the spirit of humor). However, I wanted to approach this commentary with a more balanced view, no derisiveness, and overall, as if I was leaving editor’s notes for how the story might be improved. I believe we’ve moved past the era of making fun of fan works and insulting their creators, and for good reason, but I don’t think that means we can’t continue to study and comment on them.

Before I continue on with the commentary I wanted to make it clear that this story has a special place in my heart, that I have endeavored to show both respect and consideration for the work itself and the author behind it in the notes I’ve made along the way. I realize there are elements of the ridiculous about this fic, but my goal is to show respect in my constructive criticism and I would appreciate that anyone who comments along does the same.

I want to also add that I haven’t focused too much on spelling, grammar, or general construction errors this time around. This commentary focuses more on the plot, characterization, dialogue, things of that nature.

So, without further ado...My Inner Life Part 1, prologue and author’s notes. My commentary is in italics and parentheses.

Author’s notes: Hello. Thanks for choosing to read my story. As you might know I have become a major Zelda fan in the last year. Ever since I played OoT I have grown a fond interest in Link. I started to notice that after I got really into it, I found that I have a strange gift. A gift to Lucid Dream. I started having dreams about Hyrule, and about Link. In a Lucid Dream you can control your dreams. The dreams became very real, kinda like a second life, and almost every night I would have another. Starting from where the last left off. Even to this day I still have them. I find that they help me get through life. I know this may sound queer, but for me the dreams sure help me out. I have shared this story with many other people and so far all has liked it. Now as you read this it is told from my perspective or first person view.

(Some people choose to criticize LinksQueen for not understanding what lucid dreaming is, but given my own research, I think she’s actually right; lucid dreaming is, simply, an awareness while dreaming that one is, in fact, dreaming, and may be able to gain some control over the events that take place. It’s entirely possible she could return to her subconscious every night and make up this story as she went along. However, my theory has always been that some measure of self awareness dictated she needed to have a scapegoat of sorts to explain away the weirdness of what happens in this story. With the blame of a ‘dream’ -albeit one she can control- being to blame for what goes on here, responsibility falls from her shoulders. No, it doesn’t particularly make sense, but I feel that’s probably where she was coming from)

You will find that it is very detailed since I remember it all very clearly to this day. The story takes place after OoT. Nothing after that ever happens. No Majora's Mask. No LttP, or even Oracle of Ages and Seasons. And there is no love relation between Link and Zelda, Link and Ruto, Link and Malon or Link and Saria. Because of my feelings about Link, the person that he gets involved with in this story is myself or actually is my persona. A persona is for those of you who need to know, a representation of ones personality, or in dictionary terms is, (Persona) n. In biology, same as person. So for all you future readers, this story is based on Jenna, a char that is a representation of my personality.

(Again, she’s gotten a lot of flack over the years for this note of choosing to ignore Link’s possible chemistry with the flanking female characters, but I don’t think this is worth criticizing her for. It’s her fanfic, she has the right to disregard, rewrite what she pleases. Why else does fanfic exist if not for that purpose? I also don’t think it’s worth coming after her for writing herself a self-insert, wish fulfillment fantasy character to live vicariously through. Fanfic exists for a reason. It’s more...how this placeholder is written that deserves some amount of further inspection, but we’ll get to that in a moment)

But if you think this might be too queer then you shouldn't read this. THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF STORY FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DISLIKE, OR CANNOT HANDLE SUCH MATERAL AS THE CONTEXT OF THIS STORY. But if you seriously believe you can handle the content of this story, then read on. If your squeamish about sex, then you should not read this, since this story is a REAL LEMON and there is a lot of that, heavily detailed. (Between Link and I that is) Especially during the bonding ceremony. There is also some blood content and strong adult language. So if that’s too much then you should turn back now.

(Responsible and thoughtful of her to put warnings, though I do believe she should’ve also warned for the slight watersports kink that happens in said Bonding Ceremony. It might have saved her some trouble along the road, anyway, as it wouldn’t have come as an interesting surprise to the reader in later chapters. Maybe she didn’t want to spoil it? But anyway, I’m putting one now; urine drinking happens- and no, I’m not being intentionally judgmental about it, I know there are real, consenting adults out there who enjoy that sort of play and as long as one is being safe I don’t think it deserves any ridiculing, but it IS the sort of thing that I would consider ‘not everyone’s cup of tea’ and worth warning about in advance)

Now I have not finished it as of yet. I have to catch up, since the last dream I had was just after Link and I had the blessing ceremony for our twins.(Our 3rd and 4th kids) Right now there is about 100-150 pgs worth. I'm expecting it to reach at least 300-350 probably even more. I will try to up date as often as possible. I hope that some of you like this. I do not mind sharing it. But please understand that this is very PRECIOUS to me, as well as Link. So like I said, if the content of this story sounds, too queer to you, TURN BACK NOW! But to all who wish to continue, happy reading. Thanks,

~*~ Link’s Queen ~*~

Rated R for strong adult language, sex, violence and blood content.

AGAIN AS A FINAL WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS HEAVY SEX, ABULT LANGUAGE AND TALKS ABOUT MY PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH LINK. THIS STORY IS BASED ON DREAMS, DREAMS ABOUT MY LIFE WITH HIM. IF YOU FIND THE CONTENT OF THIS STORY TO BE OFFENSEVE, QUEER, OR PLAIN OUT OFF THE WALL, THEN DO NOT READ ON!!!!!!! I HAVE GOTTEN WAY TO MANY FLAMES ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS STORY WHEN I HAVE PLACED SEVERAL WARNINGS!!!! I WILL NOT ACCECPT ANY MORE FLAMES, RAMBLINGS, CUSSING OR EXCESSIVE LASHING OUT ABOUT THE CHAR JENNA, OR REVIEWS ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS STORY, EXCESSIVE LASHING OUT, VICIOUS ATTACKS AGAINST MY PERSONALITY, OR NON-MATURE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISIM!!! ANY REVIEWS SUBMITTED THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THE ABOUVE GUIDLINES, WILL BE DELETED IMMEDIATELY! THESE WARNINGS ARE NOT THERE TO LOOK PRETTY, THE AUTHORS PLACE WARNINGS FOR A REASON!!! IT IS TO TELL YOU WHAT THE CONTENT OF THE STORY IS SO THAT IF THE READER FINDS THE CONTENT OF THE STORY OFFENSIVE, THEY WILL NOT READ ON!!! MANY AUTHORS HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT UNWANTED, EXCESSIVE, VIOLENT AND JUST PLAIN NASTY REVIEWS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED BY READERS ABOUT THEIR STORIES, CAUSING FANFICTION TO GRANT AUTHORS THE ABILITY TO DELETE UNWANTED REVIEWS AND BLOCK CERTAIN READERS!! I WILL SAY THIS FOR MYSELF AND FOR ALL AUTHORS ON FANFICTION. NO AUTHOR TWISTS YOUR ARM OR HOLDS YOU AT GUN POINT OR FORCES YOU IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM TO READ THEIR STORIES!! ALL READERS HAVE THE RIGHT NOT TO READ A CERTAIN STORY!!! IT IS YOUR RESOPONSIBILITY TO READ THE WARNINGS AND DECIDE FOR YOUSELF IF THE CONTENT OF THE STORY IS OFFENSIVE TO YOU, AND TO MAKE THE CHOICE TO READ ON OR NOT!!! AND IT ALSO IS THE READERS RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY ON HOW THEY HANDLE THENSELVES WHEN LEAVING A REVIEW FOR AN AUTHOR!! LEAVING A REVIEW THAT IS VIOLENT IN NATURE ONLY MAKES YOU THE READER LOOK BAD, AND IS VERY IMMATURE. IF ALL US HERE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ADULTS, WELL THEN, LETS CONDUCTIVE OURSELVES LIKE ADULTS AND NOT LIKE LITTLE KIDS! I ONLY EXPECT THE VIOLENT LASHING OUT AND VICIOUS ATTACKS TO COME FROM TEENANGERS, NOT ADULTS! IF YOU PEOPLE REALLY ARE ADULTS THAT ARE CONDUCTING YOURSELVES IN THE MANORS I DECRIBED ABOVE, YOU PEOPLE REALLY ARE SCARING ME!

IT’S A DAMN SHAME TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE ADULTS OUT THERE WHO CANNOT CONDUCTIVE THEMSELVES IN THE SIMPLEST MANORS THEIR PARENTS HAVE TAUGHT THEM! ALSO LEAVING MALICIOUS REVIEWS IS ALSO A SIGN OF LOW SELF-ESTEEM. IF ALL YOU PEOPLE KNOW HOW DO IS ATTACK SOMEONE VICIOUSLY, IT’S A SIGN OF SELFISHNESS AND NO RESPECT FOR ONES-SELF! I SUGGEST TO ALL READERS WHO ARE THINKING ABOUT LEAVING A MALICIOUS REVIEW FOR ME, PLEASE GET A HOBBY AND LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR ANGER, BECAUSE YOUR ONLY HURTING YOURSELF, NOT ME! ALSO LEAVING A NASTY REVIEW ONLY MAKES YOU LOOK STUPID, NOT ME!

I FIND IT VERY RIDICULOUS THAT I HAD TO LEAVE A WARNING THIS LONG, BUT IT IS BECAUSE OF THE VERY IMMATURE READERS THAT HAVE SUBMITTED NASTY CHILDISH REVIEWS!

AGAIN, PLEASE READ THE ABOVE CONTEXT BEFORE READING ON!!!!

(It’s at this point that Link’s Queen obviously reached the end of her patience with scathing reviews and felt her only line of defense was putting yet another note about the content of the story, albeit a rather didactic one...entirely in caps lock. But I get it, I do, and I think she does have a good point in that the plot and themes of the story are made clear from the outset -apart from the watersports, mind, but I already addressed that- and that there is nothing about this particular fanfic that warrants cruelty in the comments. Of course, this was published during a less conscientious time for the internet, a time when I also was in the infancy of my writing and received reviews of similar ilk lmao. It still doesn’t make it okay, nor does it make any of the threats or insults that came after okay either, but that’s kind of why I’m writing this commentary now)

Furthermore, I have realized that this story needs some heavy grammar corrections, and that the plot needs some work. Also under the advisement of my friend who had just recently completed two literature classes, has stated the reasons why people had classified Jenna as a “Mary Sue” char and labeled her as “flat”. She has come to the conclusion that most people do not know or understand Jenna’s history, so she has advised me to create an origin story to explain about her history before she met Link. That way she will become more rounded and give people a reason to care about her. It was never in my intentions to create Jenna as a “Mary Sue” char or to make her conceited, because I’m not really like that. Jenna is a persona char, one that resembles my personality while this story is being told from her perspective. This story is not something that I pulled out of my head like my drawings, it came from my dreams. So I understand that revising this story is going to be hard work and will take time. Since this story is being told in the exact, or close to exact order it happened in the dreams, changing how fast Link and Jenna marry isn’t going to be easy. Even changing how fast they have sex and revising the Lemon parts also won’t be so easy to do. But I’m currently in the process of revising this story, also I have received a college grammar book from my friend and I will be investing in a Beta-Reader. I’m also considering taking to literature classes at JC to help boost my writing skills. But now I say this, if you people, the reviewers really have the intentions to help me, them please do it positively and like a mature adult. I’m telling you that it is a proven fact that negative motivation NEVER motivates someone to change. It never has and it never will. I’m pretty sure your parents have taught you that people only respond to positive motivation and not negative.

(We’ll start with the beginning of this paragraph. I don’t think the issue with Jenna, as a character, was ever that she was conceited. In fact, she might have been more well-rounded and interesting if she had been conceited; moreover, I think the weakness in her as an OC is that she doesn’t really have much of a personality to speak of at all. Jenna is defined by her relationship with Link, some attributes that are thrown out as afterthoughts within the dialogue and have no real bearing on the plot (at some point she is characterized as “spiritual” though we are never given any evidence, before or after, that correlates to her being a particularly spiritual person at all). She is a traveling merchant when the story begins, though that fails to carry over anything worth noting. She’s an orphan and has been without her parents for a good bit of her childhood- again, this fails to provide any character attributes, issues or consequences at all, much less anything that affects the story in any real way apart from giving her some sympathy from the King and leading him to more or less adopt her, at least when she’s in Hyrule. A backstory means very little if it has no effect on the development of the plot or character.

She also mentions the dreams here again, cementing my aforementioned theory in the line “this story is not something that I pulled out of my head like my drawings, it came from my dreams” as dreams, here, are being used as an excuse for why the story is the way it is and why it cannot, apparently, be easily changed. But again, I would assert that the main issue is not really in how fast Link and Jenna have sex and get married, but rather in the lack of character Jenna has, the lack of insight given to the reader about why Link and Jenna like each other, why that lead to them falling in love. I understand that this story is wish fulfillment first and foremost and in such a fantasy story it’s a given that the placeholder character will win the heart of their affections, but not providing any real relationship growth or insight can leave readers feeling out in the cold, so to speak. We don’t know Jenna as a character, we don’t know why she and Link should fall in love so completely. We need to see it.

But anyway, good on her at the time for wanting to better herself with further education, I hope she was able to achieve that.)

I’m not close-minded, I NEVER have been. I have always been open to other people’s thoughts and opinions, its when its done in an inappropriate manner that I turn my nose at it and look away. People have to understand that when you’re an adult, you need to conduct yourself like one and learn how to address other people like one. You cannot just act childish when you come across something that you DO NOT approve of, you’re only making yourself look bad and that can affect you later on in life. Acting childish and ranting and raving is something I’d expect a little kid would do when he doesn’t get his way. When an adult acts childish over stupid things, that’s looked down upon, and considered to be unhealthy. I have seen far too many reviews left for me where the reviewers are just ranting and raving like little kids over this story because they do not like it. It is only making them look stupid and is very unhealthy. I fear that these people have some serious emotional problems if they get that upset over a story. People in control of their emotions and have also obtained some sort of common sense, NEVER let little things get them all riled up. It is very sad when one that is supposed to be an adult, cannot handle them like one. I was NEVER angry with the reviewers not liking the story, it’s how they handled themselves when leaving me the reviews. Getting riled up, ranting and raving, screaming and spitting nails over this story is what has caused me to get upset, not the fact that they didn’t like it.

Also as a side note, I NEVER physically hurt ANYONE with this story. I got one reviewer that said. “Oh God please stop writing, your hurting everyone.” Now I want to know where I physically touched that person. I want to know how I’m twisting anyone’s arms to read this. I have never done anything of the sort in any way, shape or form and I DO NOT appreciate being accused of that! If you’re emotionally hurt over this, its your fault not mine. I’m sorry if it did, but I have placed several warnings describing the content of this story and if you know what it contains and you do not like this type of material, then why are you reading it? I do not appreciate getting accused for other people’s actions. It is your choice as the reader to read the content of this story and it is not my fault if it upsets you when you knew from the gecko what it contained. So please DO NOT flame me about it.

I also feel like a schoolteacher teaching a bunch of little kids. And I find that this really wasn’t necessary and shouldn’t have had to come to this, but it is very hard when your reviewers have forgotten how to conduct themselves like adults.

If you honestly think that being malicious is a good thing and that you’re not wrong in doing so, well then your blinded by your own selfish pride. People with common sense learn how to take responsibility for themselves and are able to admit when their wrong. I have found that many of the reviewers that have left me malicious reviews honestly believe that its appropriate behavior for an adult. When it really is that they are too self-absorbed in themselves to admit their wrong. Again that results from selfish pride. One to scared to admit in front of others that they just might be wrong. Also, how can any of you hold any right to call Jenna conceited when in reality, your contradicting yourself by being conceited as well? Being conceited is again selfish pride and being self-absorbed. And yes, it is and always will be a fact that most of the reviewers have been conceited and very contradictive. Please DO NOT leave me a review that only contradicts what you are trying to preach. You should in reality, take your own advice.

Again I find it very ridiculous that this had to be as long as it is, but it is due to the fact that people not conducting themselves appropriately. Also if I do receive any more malicious reviews, with screaming, spitting nails or ranting and raving over this story because you do not like it then are to self-absorbed to admit that acting like that is wrong, well then you have proven my point! All of this is very self-explanatory!

Now PLEASE DO NOT READ ON if you DO NOT plan on leaving me a review appropriately!

(She more or less repeats points she already made here, but again, I agree. The summary and numerous warnings should have clued people in to the fact that this was going to be a fantasy, wish fulfillment, placeholder type story and to expect the kind of thing that goes on therein. It also shouldn’t have given anyone free reign to be cruel or leave threatening reviews, etc)

Prologue

Dreams come in many forms. Some good, some bad, some very realistic, even ones that feels very real. A dream may come to us from happy events, or even stem from bad events in our lives. Some come to us as a pleasure dream and some come as nightmares. Some become vague memories after time, while some stay very rich in our minds. This is a story about a dream that I had. A dream that became more dreams. A dream that would end one night then resumes the next. It became like a second life. Ever since I became a Zelda fan, I grew an interest in Link. I thought of him as the perfect man. One that you could not find of this world. I thought of him as a man that should have been. The more that he attracted my attention the more I became more attracted to him. I felt like there was a connection between him and me. Then he became a part of me, and after that I fell deeply in love with him.

I know that may sound queer to you but love is a mysterious thing and should not be taken lightly. Love is a very strong emotion, an emotion that should be treasured. Love comes from the heart, but when it takes hold, it’s got you. I quite don't understand it myself, but I do know that when I first laid my eyes upon Link I fell in love with him. My heart just told me it was right. Told me he was the one, the one I had been searching for. Ever since then I have felt that it was destiny that has brought me to him. Even in my mind it feels the same. I don't consider myself any different from anyone else. Though I have love for someone that is not really there, he will always remain very real to me inside my heart and in my mind. Even to this day I still love him. He has kept me very happy. He has made me happy when I was sad. He has made me feel stronger about myself. He has even taken care of me in ways that no one else can. Even though I have feelings for him, I'm not any different from the rest of you. I will always hold him close to me in my heart. He is still on my mind and I still have dreams. The connection stills remains strong, and the dreams very real.

I lived an entire life with Link in Hyrule. All stemming from a series of dreams. Dreams that I want to have. Dreams that I make happen. From the first day I met him, to the birth of our first child, to even the days when Link and I prepared our family in the event that Gannon should return. This book is based on my inner life. A second life lived in a far away land in another time line in another dimension. A tale of love, passion, despair and hope. I enjoyed my inner life. I looked forward to going to sleep to it every night. And I look forward to ones that will come, because LOVE WILL NEVER DIE.

(Again, this is one of the points of the story that the writer gets a lot of flack for, but I think it’s pretty harmless to project on a fictional character and use their likeness to fill a sense of loneliness. Nothing wrong with it, and I’m not here to judge. I think we all probably did something similar at a point in our lives- I used to privately pretend Legolas was my boyfriend when I was like 10 or 11, so yknow, glass houses!!!)

#my inner life #linksqueen #jenna silverblade #legend of zelda

3 notes · View notes

theclaravoyant · 5 years

Note

pride asks: yellow?

Thanks for the ask! This got a bit long lol I am feeling Wholesome Emotions after having my ass seriously kicked by anxiety and depression for the last little while so I went a little OTT with it. I hope it helps somebody out there.

Yellow: How did you feel when you came out to yourself? Were you happy you were gay/bi etc… or were you scared or other?

That’s an interesting question, because the first time i ‘came out to myself’ it was a veeeeeery slow burn. I wasn’t particularly scared or ashamed of it, but I was very much on my own figuring it all out.

One of the many emotions involved was of course anxiety. There was a lot of research, thought, overthought, and doubt. For example, I actually didn’t realise at first, but the earliest point in my questioning stage was actually during a time when my loneliness and craving for love and a romantic future (partly from society, partly because that’s something I believe I genuinely want for myself) seemed so impossible to achieve. I felt very lonely and couldn’t figure out why. I used to get genuine anxiety seeing people holding hands because it felt so despairingly impossible. My environment wasn’t particularly hostile toward lgbt+ people, but nor were they visible and available either. It just didn’t occur to me for a long time.

I didn’t really realise that’s what it was until later. The first moment I realised I might like girls was kind of funny, actually - see I’ve never been a very jealous person, but I thought damn Jenna Coleman looks Good. But I don’t want her clothes, I don’t actually really like that sort of style (Clara Oswald’s sort of vintage style) on myself. I don’t want to be her. I just think she’s fiiiine. After that point I started id’ing as bi because I thought, hey, looks like I like women.

(Then there was a bit more humour bc shortly after it was like, oh dang i really do, clara u know what a gay person is how tf did it take you so long)

During that period I started building my self confidence. For example I kind of had to ‘practice’ liking women - like verbally, openly, even if only to myself. I had to practice thinking, writing, saying, tagging etc etc things about how beautiful and hot women can be rather than just like, they look nice. I started noticing that some of the things I was thinking/saying were a) not how others thought about women and b) sometimes similar to what my friends said about men. I’m also not very sexual so it was hard to figure out that way as well because it wasn’t about kissing or that fiery passion that make the differences a little more obvious.

Then I started to realise/decide (and that’s very important, there was a lot of deciding to change my labels etc and getting myself to be okay with being wrong or going back if things changed) that my bi label was holding onto attraction to men because it was expected not because it was something I actually felt. Then I moved into the gay/lesbian space and sat there pretty comfortably. It took a long time, like literally years, so there wasn’t really a “moment” I came out to myself or something like that. There was a bit of fear but mostly of being incorrect or of what others would think than about the sexuality itself. Mostly it was actually quite nice, finding what I was feeling and how my cravings for love etc were still able to be satisfied just in a different way. It was a little scary doing it on my own (my environment being neutral-to-supportive was kind of fortunate, but didn’t go out of its way), but I found a lot of community both online and irl through my self exploration. I’m so inspired by the way so many lgbt+ people own it and that has genuinely been so helpful. I also most importantly learnt to trust myself and my feelings more.

That part of it made it much easier when it came to questioning my gender as well. I initially questioned whether or not I was trans (binary, ftm) because I thought while I was doing this whole questioning thing I might as well, but it ended up being a pretty clear no to me. I didn’t revisit it for a while after that, but as I found community and started meeting and learning about nonbinary people/identities, I sort of went, “that sounds right, what if that’s me?” And it was 236598165x faster to just go “ok what if it is? you’re nonbinary. if you figure out you’re not later that’s okay, just change. does it feel good now, does it feel right?”, and probably in large part because of the journey I’d been through with my sexuality as well I was able to just go “okay, you’re nonbinary then”

Of course I don’t think I’ll ever fully escape things like doubt and fear of judgement. eg I still feel weird using words with a lot of Meaning(TM) like lesbian and queer. I also still feel a HUGE amount of frustration at the thought that coming out as nonbinary is likely to be waaaaaay less successful/accepted than coming out as gay, especially because of how much I want to come out. I kind of feel annoyed at myself about it sometimes too, but one thing I’ve really learnt over this part of the journey is that it’s not about other people. I would love to get the courage to come out to more people but for now it’s about me and that’s okay. At the very least it helps me understand and explain some of my experiences in the world that were leaving me feeling lost and confused - sometimes more than I realised - before. Even if the only person I can explain them to is myself.

Overall if I may get a little sappy with it, to conclude: I’ve found myself in a place, in an identity, despite a world that hid the door from me for quite a long time. Some people are chased away from that door with pitchforks, and I’m fortunate that wasn’t me, but a lot of people in the same situation as myself might have just walked right on past lost in the crowds. Side note: My particular journey I think is one of the reasons why the whole ~born this way~ kind of rhetoric grates on me a bit. I think without the boldness to make choices a lot of us would never have realised, would never have come out, whether or not we had a biological impulse to do so because we never would have discovered or named what that biological impulse is. I have discovered my intuition as well over this journey and I have found a community I feel deeply bonded to, and for all the doubting and the psychological (and sometimes physical) fuckery we get put through, that has been a very powerful positive influence in my life.

LGBT+ asks

#labels #lgbt #lgbt+#ask me stuff #coming out #about me #just-a-funny-little-brain

2 notes · View notes

charly-ra · 4 years

Text

KoMarketing’s Favorite Posts and Articles from 2019

While 2019 will go down in our books as our 11th straight year of organizational growth, it was not without challenges. The digital marketing world continues to evolve and put pressure on organizations to deliver more, learn more, and react more quickly than ever before, oftentimes with fewer resources and time to adapt.

You can never stop learning and sharing.

The first core value of our organization is to “acquire and share knowledge”. We do this through a range of tactics including twice monthly team trainings, collaborative monthly planning for client programs, and group email distributions sharing articles and resources of value for both individual and organizational impact.

As the year draws to a close and we reflect on all the things we have done this year, it’s also nice to reflect on what we have learned as well. Here are some of the articles and blog posts our team members have shared and discovered throughout the year. These resources helped to improve program performance, improve tactics, and drive professional growth.

Casie Gillette

Complex Search-Results Pages Change Search Behavior: The Pinball Pattern

This was by far one of the most interesting articles I read this year. Search results have changed and as a result, so has user behavior. Searchers are no longer looking left to right then down the page — they are pin-balling all over! Really fantastic read and look at how Google is changing search behavior.

How Much of Google’s Search Traffic is Left for Anyone But Themselves?

Rand Fishkin at Sparktoro analyzed SERPs to determine how much traffic Google was giving to themselves. The answer…a lot! In fact, only 42% of organic clicks are going to third party sites. It shows us just how difficult it is becoming to compete in Google when Google is hogging the majority of traffic.

Andrea Cruz

Less than half of Google Searches now result in a click

During 2019 we learned that most searches are answered without users having to go to websites and therefore made marketers really hone in on-SERP SEO strategies. While experienced digital marketers saw this trend coming in the past few years, it was a reminder to evaluate current/future SEO and Paid strategies and how these complement each other

Reach more of the right customers with phrase match and broad match modifiers

Google announced that 15% of all searches seen on a day are new and in order to reach users with new queries, it was necessary to modify Google Ads broad match modifier and phrase match keywords to also match queries that share the same meaning as the keyword.

This generated a large uproar in the advertising community as there’s hesitation about Google’s ability to understand the searchers’ intent and the impact on performance, which made advertisers focus on negative keywords, scripts, automated rules and keyword evaluation.

Google is expanding when it shows ads to “people in targeted locations”

This change, in a nutshell, meant that when you are asked if you can target a particular location exclusively on Google Ads, the answer is no. Google changed the “People in your targeted locations” option to “People in or regularly in your targeted locations.”

The change in location settings meant that Google Ads advertisers are now having to take extra steps by adding negative locations to alleviate the impact.

Anastasia Warren

3 Ways to Kick Your Micromanaging Habit for Good

This post from Harvard Business Review breaks down actionable ways to quit micromanaging, and start instilling trust in your team. From weekly check-ins to proper amounts to delegate, this article breaks down how to empower your team and free you up for more strategic projects.

15 Essential Tips to Increase Your Organic Reach on Facebook

Organic Facebook reach continued to be a challenge for marketers across industries in 2019. This article shares 15 ways to increase organic reach, including creative, post formats, and user-generated content.

Kristen Vaughn & Ryan Young

We Analyzed 5 Million Google Search Results: Here’s What We Learned About Organic Click Through Rate

From Kristen: We saw several big search updates occur throughout the year including BERT, Broad Core Algorithm Updates, the June 2019 Update and more. As the search landscape continues to evolve, so must our SEO strategies. With this in mind, having the research and data to support the SEO best practices you are deploying is absolutely essential to the success of campaigns.

To help with this, Brian Dean at Backlinko conducted several extensive and valuable studies throughout 2019. One of which included an analysis of 5 million Google search results that looked at how factors like title tag length, sentiment and meta descriptions impact organic CTR.

Beyond simply validating the SEO best practices that you currently have in place, findings from this analysis will also help encourage other team members and/or clients to prioritize these initiatives.

From Ryan: As SEOs, we strive to improve positions in search results, and oftentimes, we wonder exactly how much impact moving up (or down) a few positions might have on traffic. Brian Dean’s article was a key reference point for me in 2019, as it provided a snapshot of CTR trends by ranking position, as well as findings on the SEO elements that can impact positioning. I strongly encourage giving this a read!

Jenna Bessemer

12 Reasons Your SEO Traffic is Plateauing and How to Fix It

This article covers some really great points about why SEO traffic may not be growing at the rate you want and actionable tips for how to fix each problem. It’s pretty short and sweet, but it will spark at least a couple of ideas about how to keep growing traffic if a site happens to be plateauing.

20 Ways to Speed Up Your Website and Improve Conversion in 2019

This post from CrazyEgg is rather technical and very in-depth, but is a good resource for evaluating why site speed matters and strategies for fixing it. It includes a couple of stats and visuals about how site speed negatively impacts site conversions that are great for client presentations, too.

Derek Edmond

America’s DIY Phone Farmers

It is unfortunate but a fair percentage of waste and fraud can be found in digital marketing; the advertising side in particular. Marketers need to be on the lookout for ways the system can work against them and their marketing budgets. Motherboard’s look at how ordinary Americans are using armies of phones to generate cash through ad fraud is one such example and an interesting in-depth read.

Brands vs Ads

Aaron Wall’s SEO Book was one of the original publications I read to learn SEO but unfortunately have drifted away from it as other priorities came into focus throughout the years. It was great to revisit and read this take on Google’s dominance across markets and examples of how the search engine applies tactics to increase revenue and beat out competitors in their own organic search engine results.

KoMarketing Top Posts from 2019

KoMarketing had a pretty good digital marketing year as well, exceeding lead generation goals while driving over 380K visits from all traffic sources. Along the way we published over 200 content marketing assets and acquired hundreds of links from some amazing publications, including Digiday, Unbounce, and Search Engine Journal to name a few.

Here is a look at our top blog posts from 2019, based on traffic from all sources.

5 Essential Daily SEO Tasks for B2B Marketing in 2019

15 Actionable Takeaways from #MozCon 2019

21 PPC Lead Generation Tools for More High-Quality Leads

B2B Social Media Strategies for 2019

5 Types of Social Media Content that Drives B2B Results

10 Tips To Successfully Manage Your Company Page On LinkedIn

10 Examples of B2B Companies Using Social Media Successfully

SERP Features in 2019: The Complete Guide

10 Marketing Automation Trends That Will Shape 2019

Five Crucial Tips for a Successful Boost Post on Facebook

Final Thoughts

We’re incredibly fortunate to work in industries where so many professionals and organizations take on big questions, offer insights, and share their professional experiences. It makes each day – and each year – that much more exciting and rewarding.

Thanks goes out to all the authors, publishers, and marketing teams that were a part of the above articles and content. It’s great work and we’re better marketing professionals because of your contributions. We hoped you enjoyed some of our contributions as well!

What resources are in your bookmarks that were developed from the past year? Connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn to let us know.

Happy New Year and wishing you all the best in 2020 and beyond!

Our Favorite Posts & Articles from 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012

from http://bit.ly/2Q9izD5

#Digital Marketing

0 notes

busstophustle-blog · 6 years

Text

Favorites: Songs & Albums of 2017

FAVORITE SONGS

youtube

Jorja Smith and Preditah – On My Mind

It should be somewhat established that I love UK garage and tend to celebrate any quality tune that carries the style’s polyrhythms, driving tempo and yearning R&B vocal sensibility. Great garage tunes have an anthemic quality to them, and “On My Mind” is no different. When Jorja hits the chorus, this song just jumps to a higher gear: “I finally found what went wrong,” she belts, leaving listeners longing for closure until she finishes the thought with a bittersweet tang: “I finally found the wrong in you.” It’s a break-up anthem that urges you to move to the beat of independence and dance away the pain.

youtube

Big K.R.I.T. – Get Away

I was hooked from the hook: “I gotta get away from that bullshit that they on.” Maybe this song resonated with me instantly because I operate best when I have a chip on my shoulder, and it seems that KRIT does too.

Up until 4eva is a Mighty Long Time, I found it hard trying to make a case for KRIT as one of the greats of this era because I struggled to point to a project that shined from start to finish. Thankfully, with his latest album, he’s cemented the best work yet to justify why he deserves far more recognition alongside contemporaries like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole for what he’s accomplished over the years.

KRIT approaches hip-hop with a soulful touch often missing from today’s sonic landscape. In the case of “Get Away,” KRIT builds around Bettye Crutcher’s “Sleepy People,” building a mood around her lyric “we’re forced to ride around on a merry go round.” Just like with “Country Shit” or “Sookie Now” before it, “Get Away” immediately drops you into his booming thinking man’s music. This is KRIT’s victory lap at the end of a stellar disc one, placing material braggadocio alongside spiritual closeness – verse two boasts “pull up, woofers still quaking, let it be known that I made it” along with “Boobie Miles under lights hater, this God given.”

This is the other song that never feels like it’s long enough. There have been a few times this year where I’ve ridden home listening to this song on repeat all the way to the gate. For me, there’s something undeniably touching in this song.

youtube

Reva DeVito – After Tonight (B. Bravo Rework)

Hands down, this is the song on this list most likely to get me on the dance floor. This re-work is actually a remix of sorts from B. Bravo, the other half of DeVito’s group Umii, which updates “Rose Gold” from her The Move EP by swapping bright keys in place of a heavy break beat. Reva’s output can often work from a place of soft, lightly illuminated seduction; however, B. Bravo’s re-work adds a breezy quality that made this a summer tune I continued to revisit through the warmer months of 2017.

It has all the things I love about Reva DeVito: a singalong quality to the melodies, a laid-back delivery with stacked harmonies, a joyful instrumental. She’s not the type of artist that blows you away on first listen, but there’s a je ne said quoi that makes her songs worth repeat listens.

youtube

Goldlink – Crew (feat. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy)

It’s the mood. Goldlink has a distinctive delivery ever since he first hit the scene rapping over house beats and I gained recognition of his name by way of Soulection. Everything comes together on this song. Think of how well this beat pairs three completely different lyrical approaches – Brent Faiyaz’s star-making hook, Goldlink’s signature freneticism tailored to seductive double-time sultriness, and Shy Glizzy’s gangster closing, complete with “ain’t nothing wrong with fake asses.”

“Don’t act like I’m your man, you just a fan,” counters Faiyaz in a compellingly effective, completely dismissive tone. Every time I watch this clip, I wish I were as cool as those two.

youtube

Mahalia – Sober

I ran across this song thanks to a Berlin-based YouTube music channel COLORS. Part live performance and part fashion show, each clip typically presents a musician or band performing in front of a colored green screen, often providing a hue complementing their stylish wardrobe.

In Mahalia’s case, her performance of “Sober” paired her red head-to-toe – bandana, one-piece romper with pleated pants, puffer jacket, Puma suedes – with a soft blue background.

“What ever happened to the time that we spent sober?” she asks before jumping into the second chorus. An extended take on the reasons love came to an end, Mahalia delivers a clearly enunciated performance that perfectly sits in the pocket of the beat.

Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry

I’ll come clean – I was a Demi Lovato hater before this song. But my roommates can also tell you that I made them sit through the entirety of her YouTube documentary when I was under the spell of this song.

For a singer worth as much potential money to management and labels as Demi Lovato, there’s no fucking way “Sorry Not Sorry” was some midnight miracle, an instance of catching lightning in a bottle. I’d bet this was written by committee, demoed by a highly competent vocalist then methodically taught to Demi. But even with those mechanisms in mind, I still can appreciate a really well crafted song from time to time. Plus I’m always a sucker for gospel keys, which is probably why Logic’s “Black Spiderman” floored me too.

Jessie Ware – Midnight (Goldie Epic Remix)

Let me start by saying I love the original version of “Midnight.” I’d say it’s arguably the best written pop single Jessie Ware has ever released. Yes, “Say You Love Me” is best known, but I’ve always felt that was a song that was chasing a hit more than something that truly captured Ware’s artistic sensibility.

With that point in mind, here’s why I prefer Goldie’s glorious remix: “Midnight” plays by pop convention then finishes; Goldie’s remix builds and builds and builds, elevating Ware’s chorus to something more driving and immediate.

Electronic music doesn’t tend to make tracks that are seven and a half minutes long any more, yet Goldie created a song deserving of every second of its run time. He revisits his original theme for five minutes before turning the song on its head and taking a dark turn. Listening to her talk about the remix with Mista Jam, she mentioned the collaboration like it was a dream come true.

“I basically wanted to be a dance vocalist – that’s how I started,” she shares. “My husband and I fell in love over jungle, so why not get Goldie to make you feel like you’re on a jungle track, and feel like Jenna G? Why not?”

David Dallas – R U (feat. Lukan Raisey, KidSeb, and Trey Bond)

I’m a lifetime David Dallas fan. I crossed over after listening to his Rose Tint album a few too many times, and have eagerly anticipated subsequent releases ever since. He remains one of my favorite rappers, because he’s clearly a student of the game and has no problem putting his life on wax rather than chasing lyrical trends.

Hood Country Club, his first album in four years, is darker and more politically charged than his previous output, but “R U” is a posse cut of sorts that slows things down. Posing a basic question -- are you down? -- Dallas and his guests revisit a topic known well in hip-hop thanks to anthems like 50 Cent’s “21 Questions” -- will fans and family still ride with them through thick and thin?

Unlike some of his contemporaries, David Dallas has never struggled to seem genuine when getting introspective -- how many other rappers could pull off a musical accomplishment as tender as “Spend a Lifetime”?

DKVPZ – Bonde de Neo Soul

DKVPZ’s Soulection White Label EP is one of the strongest in the LA collective’s freEP series, which now covers over 20 sets.

The playful plinks of keys serve as stabilizers, maintaining harmonic focus against the incessant momentum of the track’s drums. Sango’s distinct production output helped introduce me to baile funk’s sound. This duo comes straight from Brazil, showcasing just how universal the “sound of tomorrow” has come to be.

Joyce Wrice – Good Morning (Swarvy Redeux)

I think it’s those lazy keys that do it for me. They float from one chord to the next, yet they never get too out of pace thanks to the simple, grounded bassline.

The original version plays directly into that throwback nostalgia younger millennials are eating up right now. The Swarvy Redeux helps strip things back a bit, which brings forth the lyrics more.

A friend of mine says I have an alter ego, who I’ve named baeisha. Baeisha likes music like this, those R&B tales of longing. I guess it fits a part of my persona. I love that idea of being swept off my feet.

FAVORITE ALBUMS

Big K.R.I.T. – 4eva is a Mighty Long Time

This one was a long time coming from Meridian, Mississippi’s young Krizzle.

To get you caught up: Big KRIT first made waves in 2011 with his acclaimed mixtape KRIT Wuz Here. Ever since, critics and fans alike have claimed he’s this generation’s torchbearer for the countrified, Third Coast sound of southern rap often best personified by the output of Outkast and UGK. Following a series of acclaimed mixtapes, he was signed to Def Jam, releasing Live from the Underground (2012) and Cadillactica (2014). Both albums received some critical praise, but the numbers never quite followed. It seemed KRIT was destined to be an also-ran, a major label cautionary tale. He left Def Jam mid 2016, and 4eva is a Mighty Long Time is his first full-length since that departure.

It’s a gargantuan return, and the most consistent release of his career thus far. 4eva’s 22 songs can seem like a lot to take in, but thankfully he’s split his material across two 11 song sets, labeled “Big KRIT” and “Justin Scott.” Side one is that candy paint riding music, full of charisma and trunk-rattling beats. Disc 2 is intended to drop the KRIT artifice, and features some incredibly vulnerable bars.

Still hungry. Still striving. Still Krizzle. My favorite album of the year.

Jaimie Branch – Fly or Die

“I’ve never been very good at playing what I’m supposed to play. I’ve never been very good at doing what I’m supposed ot do or saying what I’m supposed to say. I can only do what I’feel at that moment”

Thanks to JazzTimes for this one. Their profile mentioned a new free jazz trumpeter making waves out in Brooklyn, and as I read on I came across a photo of a trumpeter on the bandstand rocking a cocked fitted and a White Sox jersey. From there, I found Fly or Die’s EPK on YouTube. I’d ordered the album on vinyl before bed that night.

Fly or Die does mark Branch’s recorded debut as a leader, but that fact can be a bit of a misnomer. She’s been gigging for a decade, and recently moved from her native Chicago out to New York. Despite her new scenery, this album is Chicago through and through, featuring players she met in the city’s avant jazz scene. Her quartet shakes up traditional instrumentation, with her group calling for trumpet, cello, bass and drums. Special appearances include a guitarist and two cornet players.

There’s a raw feeling to this album that had me listening on repeat for close to a week. Maybe it’s the fact that jazz carries this academic sheen nowadays, but I’ve never been much of a fan of how clean much of today’s jazz sounds. Yes – great engineers and recording techniques will want a clean, separated experience – it showcases the depth of compassion for the material – luscious recordings show mastery of the craft and techniques to capture it – yadda yadda. For instance, the drums on here carry a rugged quality I wish I heard more often on jazz recordings.

I’ve been drawn not only to the musicianship of jazz but the brazen attitude inherent in its practice. There’s something quite bold about studying a tradition for years to throw that all away and create in the moment. I was reminded of jazz being a transgressive act as I listened through to Fly or Die, and it made me hope this record was a signal of things to come for the scene.

Nicole Atkins – Goodnight Rhonda Lee

Like Lila Downes’ Make America America Again before it, I was drawn to this album because I spend way too much time on the Allmusic site. This cover caught my attention when it was highlighted as editor’s pick, so I took a listen and was intrigued enough to tab the album for a few months until I finally picked it up on CD.

Nicole Atkins’ voice has a vocal power that often lies dormant, but in songs like “Listen Up” and “Sleepwalking,” that force pops out with surprising emotion. I’d say her voice at times is akin to Carole King, and this album certainly honors the warm AM radio / singer-songwriter tunes that dominated the 70s.

Mac Ayres – Drive Slow

Have you ever been absolutely entranced by an album, found something you can’t quite explain but it kept you hitting replay when you got to the end of the album because it just felt too soon to say goodbye? Maybe it was me feeling a need to get away from the Bay for a bit, and relishing the chance to be trapped on a bus with strangers in close proximity, that made me so open to something new. Maybe it was how easily digestible this whole project is, blue-eyed soul melded with that Dilla-esque woozy boom bap.

When I stopped into the Last Bookstore in LA, I was at a loss for what to pick up until I took a look at the staff picks on my way out, and saw a book with a cover that was drawn to look like a mixtape. It was Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately, a poetry book by Alicia Cook. I read the dedication, which was for anyone who’s ever loved someone struggling with addiction, closed the book, and headed for the counter. I’d found what I was looking for.

As we headed back up I-5 on the Megabus, I bought an overpriced pen at a truck stop along with some unhealthy snacks I so adore on road trips. With my chore coat on, I had space for everything in those numerous, deep pockets – beef jerky, soda, chips, sour candy, pen, notebook, MP3 player, poetry book. I’d read some, then write a bit, then read more.

Something about Cook’s words and Ayres’ songs touched me in a way I’ll never forget. She sparked the inspiration to tell of it all – to speak on the pain, the indecision, the awkwardness, the great joy and inspiration, and the subsequent loneliness of what it meant to be me at that moment in time. Drive Slow provided a warm pool to float in those thoughts void of judgment. I played the album sequentially, then shuffled it, repeating the process until we got back to the Bay.

I guess in that sense, this pick has more to do with what this album meant to me this year than the supposed “merits” of its songcraft, etc. But I’ve been over that line of thinking. Often, our taste defies logic -- as it should -- and that’s precisely why music is so beautiful.

Yussef Kamaal – Black Focus

I really enjoy what’s been happening with jazz overseas, particularly the brand of jazz that’s often co-signed by Jazz Re:freshed and EZH Magazine (formerly Jazz Standard). Out of that new crop flew Yussef Kamaal, who, after only one album, may already be done, at least in their original formation.

Like with Fly or Die, Black Focus sported a jazz outline but felt like a fresh take on an idiom that sometimes loves to idolize its greats a bit too much. Jazz isn’t a time capsule, though some fans treat it like nothing that existed past the inception of jazz fusion is worth any merit; it’s an ever-evolving art form that often incorporates elements of other musical traditions into its framework to play with a different set of building blocks. The interplay of these two is seamless, which is one way jazz can really shine. It’s a pleasure to hear musicians locked in, whether it’s live or on record.

1 note · View note