somnambulists-symposium · 2 years ago
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“If you tag for a slur that some people are triggered by, die!” yes that’s the energy we need for pride, ignoring and shaming the way other lgbt+ people may be triggered by their experiences with violence and homophobia/transphobia!
this feeds into terf rhetoric and further divides the community hope u know that so actually it IS what we need for pride thanks :) also it’s not a slur x
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tears0fsatan · 2 years ago
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hi :) may i request lucifer with “you always see good in people. even me”, mammon with “we can order pizza, watch a movie, whatever you want” and satan with “is that my shirt?”, all of them with a male!reader (possibly fluff one-shots, if it isn't too much trouble)? thank you, have a great day/night !! <3
𖥻 characters… lucifer, mammon, satan, x m!reader [separate]
𖥻 genre… a bit of angst / comfort + mainly fluff oneshots!!
𖥻 warnings… fem aligned dni, male!reader, uncouth!reader [reader stumbles over words a bit??], established relationship!!! [separate for all of them n the use of the 'bf' label], mammon picks u up!!! idc how heavy u are he is a demon our logic doesn't work with them, size difference!!! [ur a little taller than satan]
𖥻 a.n… aaa thank u for participating in my event!!! the prompts you picked are some of my personal favourites :sobs: i'm glad u picked them!!! yk that one card of satan wearing the green and purple hoodie .. yeah its that one <3... anw thank u for bein such a sweetheart i hope u enjoy this love!!!
🌐 % 3V3NT H3R3 @ __★
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▸ ❝ you always see good in people, even me. ❞ ;; lucifer
an unusual silence coated the house of lamentation, the living room in a horrible state of disarray. of course, things hadn't meant to escalate to this point, it just... sort of happened.
everyone waited with bated breath at the fury that was about to ensure, only to be more concerned when it didn't come.
the six demon brothers and you watched with a worried gaze when lucifer merely sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. he said nothing and only threw you and the brothers an annoyed look before storming off to his room.
no one said a word, frozen in place out of fear this was another one of lucifer's infamous 'test's. you had known him long enough to realise something was off about him today, something had been plaguing his mine and he was letting it affect him.
your eyes stayed glued to the spot he was last seen at before disappearing to the top of the stairs. you chewed on your bottom lip, unsure of whether to check up on him like you wanted to or give him a bit of space.
while normally, you would give him space and let him come to you when he was ready. however today, your gut was telling you to chase after him, to find out just what was bothering your boyfriend to the point he wouldn't tell off his brothers when they caused chaos.
you let out a breath, ultimately deciding to chase after him. even if he ended up ignoring you and shutting you out, at the very least you tried and showed him you cared.
you reached the top of the stairs, the dim lighting of the house of lamentation only serving in making you feel more jittery at just what could be upsetting your demon boyfriend.
you finally made it to his door, the large wooden doors seeming bigger than they ever were. you knocked a couple times in a rhythm you knew he'd be able to recognise you with, fully expecting him to not respond at all.
you waited for a few minutes, pressing your ear to the door to hear any sound of life from within. you heard nothing and was getting to leave when you heard the distinct 'click' of his lock and the creaking of his door opening.
to put it lightly, lucifer was a mess. his hair was disheveled, along with his clothes. upon closer look you noticed things you had failed to see earlier, you took note of the way his eye bags seemed darker than usual, and the way his lips appeared raw and swollen from how much he's bitten it.
he also looked tense, more so than usual. you watched as he clenched his jaw while avoiding your eyes, standing stiffly in the doorway and the dim lighting of the hallway covering his expression.
the avatar of pride let you in without a word, head tilted down so he wouldn't have to face you. you could hear his laboured breathing, almost like he was holding back tears.
"talk to me, luci." you urged gently, staying at a distant away to let him know you wouldn't force him to tell you.
then suddenly, lucifer's shoulder's released all the tension he had kept pent up. the sigh he let out sounded heavy, like something he had been keeping inside of him for a while.
the demon averted his gaze, almost as though he was hiding away from you, "you always see good in people, even me. i... i don't believe i am deserving of that." lucifer just couldn't seem to wrap his head around why such a wholesome human like yourself would love him the way you did.
you felt your breath pause, you had never would've thought such a prideful demon felt this way. you closed the distance between the two of you, cupping your hand on his cheek and peering at him the softest look you could muster.
"i don't know how many more centuries you'll spend telling yourself your sins are unforgivable, but i hope i can help you learn to forgive yourself. you may not be perfect, but i accept that part of you because it's what makes you lucifer, the avatar of pride."
you stroked your thumb across his cheekbone, holding yourself back from kissing him breathless and showing him just how much you loved him.
"there's a reason people like diavolo and your brothers respect you, you are someone worthy of respecting and more importantly, loving."
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▸ ❝ we can order pizza, watch a movie, whatever you want. ❞ ;; mammon
it was hard not to notice the way your demeanour dampened, the air in the house of lamentation was noticeably different. it wasn't like you weren't acting like your usual self, but the fact that you were teetering on the edge of a breakdown was easily picked up by the demons you lived with.
to mammon, it was like day and night. though, to be fair, you were his human. you were his human boyfriend, he had stuck by your side since day one, if anything, it would've been more concerning if he hadn't noticed.
you avoided eating dinner with the rest of the household for the second night that week, and it was taking its toll on the family. dinner was quiet, no one spoke a word and beel noticeably ate at a slower rate. even beelzebub, who often ate his brothers plates, had no desire to steal your food. mammon decided, for everyone's sake (because hell forbid he say he's worried about you), that he couldn't let you wallow in your sadness alone.
after another dull supper, the avatar of greed gathered your full untouched plate along with a glass of water (he was gonna make sure you stayed hydrated one way or another).
using some of his magic, he bursted his way through your door. you, who was previously mindlessly scrolling through your phone, flinched so harshly your phone flew out of your hand and you somehow fell off the bed. you sucked in a breath at the dull throbbing coming from the back of your head and tilted your head upwards to shoot the demon a glare.
mammon visibly held back a laugh, moving around you to set down the plate and glass of water down on your desk before going to pick you up off the floor.
you huffed as the demon picked you up by your armpits, pouting and looking away as he set you down upright on your bed. without a word, he searched for your phone, setting it down on your lap after making sure there weren't any noticeable damage to it.
he stood in front of you awkwardly, eyes dancing around your room to try and avoid relaying the words you knew he wanted to say.
"uh... i brought ya some food, an' water! cus i know ya haven't been feelin' the best lately... or whatever..." mammon tripped over his words, his fidgeting gradually increasing towards the end of his sentence.
you couldn't help but chuckle, feeling your gloomy mood brighten ever so slightly at his ministrations.
"thank you, mon, i appreciate it. is there anything else..?" you asked, setting your phone out of reach to focus all your attention on your demon. you were hoping he wouldn't bring up your lack of appearance lately, you weren't sure you would be able to answer him if he did.
mammon struggled with his words for a solid minute, mouth opening and closing with sentences that he didn't deem fit for the situation. you stayed quiet when he let out a particularly long exhale, visibly gathering his thoughts.
"just.. wanted to check up on ya. haven't seen much of ya around lately an' it's got everyone all messed up." the demon avatar of greed shrugged it off like it was nothing important, though the look on his face betrayed him.
you could tell he wanted more to say to you, he was probably finding ways to spend more time with you, to make sure you were okay under the pretense of "gotta make sure my human doesn't end up trapped in a painting or somethin'".
you watched as he silently psyched himself up, taking in a few quick breaths before speaking.
"look, kid," the demon brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck and turned his head away from you, "we could.. i don' know, order some pizza, watch a movie or somethin'? up to ya." the longer the demon talked, the quieter his voice drifted off.
you felt a smile play at your lips at the sight of a flustered mammon, it was touching, in a sense. you hadn't expected him to be so upfront about it, especially since he would usually use some absurd excuse to justify his actions.
the known tsundere was putting aside his wannabe aloofness to make sure you were feeling alright, and that was exactly what you needed.
you moved back until your back hit your pillow and pet the space beside you, "a movie sounds good, you wanna join me?"
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▸ ❝ is that my shirt? ❞ ;; satan
in the house of lamentation, a certain demon of wrath was grumbling under his breath. the demon briskly walked past the numerous paintings that hung on the walls, hoping they wouldn't say a thing to him or anyone else that walked by.
he tried his best at caving in on himself, trying to hide the article of clothing he was wearing.
it wasn't because it was a cat hoodie, or even the fact that it was merchandise of some anime, but it was because it belonged to you.
while rationally he knew there was nothing inherently embarrassing about wearing his boyfriends clothes, the thought of such public displays of affection made him feel awkward, in a sense.
it was oversized on him, the sleeves fell past his fingers and it hung off his shoulders in a way that showed off his collarbones. it felt like he was in your embrace, all warm and wrapped up in your scent. it felt so cozy that he slowly started to forget the burden of guilt weighing on his mind.
he couldn't help himself when he saw it laying unprotected on your bed, he had seen you wearing it before and he needed to see what it would look like on him.
it wasn't long until he had managed to reach his room without running into anyone, he doesn't know what he would've done if he bumped into lucifer. the demon breathed out a sigh of relief before opening the door to his safe haven, hoping he could have just a few minutes to himself to relax in your hoodie.
pushing open the door, the last thing he expected to see was you casually lounging on his bed, immersed with the book resting in your hands.
you looked up from where you sat on his bed, diverting your attention from the book to him and offered him a smile, "oh, hey- is that my hoodie?" you shamelessly eyed him, drinking up the sight of him in your clothes while taking your bottom lip in between your teeth.
you cleared your throat, a blush coating your cheeks before switching the subject, "i was, uh, waiting... for you!" you stumbled over your words as you clumsily looked away and adjusted the countless stacks of books to make space for the demon. though despite your awkward mannerisms, you were gentle in moving the books aside as to not disturb the other disheveled stacks of books that laid strewn across the bed.
in spite of his frozen state, he felt his heart skip a beat at your tenderness towards his most prized possessions. he couldn't move from where he stood, his mouth open and closed like a fish out of water, with thoughts racing a mile a minute. had he known you were in his room the entire time he would've gone to hide somewhere else.
with every quiet second passing, the avatar of wrath could feel his face grow warmer. he closed his eyes and brought his sleeve-covered hands to cover his blushing face.
satan heard, what he assumed, was an excited squeak coming from you, and it only made him feel more embarrassed. this was the worst, there was nothing more embarrassing than being caught wearing your clothes.
"it... shit, it looks really good on you, satan. keep it- i prefer the way it looks on you than it ever did me." the sound of your voice was suddenly in front of him, making the demon look up and take a step back out of surprise.
he felt the cool surface of his door on his back and let out a quiet gasp. he kept one hand covering his mouth, maybe to shield away the last bit of dignity still left in him. there was nowhere he could run, not that he wanted to anyways.
"why are you shying away? i mean it, you know." you pressed yourself against him, leaning your head down to rest your forehead on his shoulder. you littered kisses on the skin that wasn't covered by the clothing, relishing in the shaky breathes the demon released.
he felt his face flush at the compliment, this was like something straight out of his romance novels (he has his fair share of guilty pleasures alright)! he wasn't sure of how to react to such praise, it was so uncharacteristic of him to receive comments like that.
his shoulders loosened, the worry of you being upset with him taking your clothes no longer seeming like a problem. in its spot grew a mischievous side of him, if he had known this would've been your reaction to him taking your clothes without asking first, he should've done it a lot earlier.
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© 2022 TEARS0FSATAN. please don’t repost, modify or translate my works anywhere!
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desertwhisperings · 7 years ago
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A Retreating Peace: Palestine, the Hamas Charter & Israeli Expansionism
Since the Syrian Civil war heated up in the last couple of years, international attention on the political and social circumstances in Israel-Palestine has faltered. The large-scale collapse of moderate rebel forces in Syria, the sudden rise of shocking and shamelessly violent Islamist movements like ISIS, and extensive Russian and Iranian intervention in the region have all drawn regional and international attention toward Syria and Iraq, and consequently away from the Palestinian issue. This lack of attention has allowed Israel to continue its settlement building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and pursue policies that create further obstacles to long-term regional peace, with little international scrutiny.
The phrase ���out of sight out of mind’ applies well here, though the last major conflict between the Israeli’s and Palestinian’s took place in 2014 - and received significant international attention at the time - tensions have continued to rise in the area since. The situation in Israel itself has grown increasingly unstable as political and religious tensions over the last 2-3 years have continued to build. The fractious and divisive Israeli parliamentary elections of 2015, which returned the hardline Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his rightwing coalition back to power, further uncertainty regarding the Temple Mount, growing settlement activity in east Jerusalem, and what has been termed the “Intifada of the individuals” or the “Knife Intifada” - all these events have taken place within a short period of time, as international attention has slowly dissipated away, instead coalescing around Syria and the ‘Islamic State’.
The developments over the last few years have not only increased tensions between the two sides, but have also erected further barriers to an already embattled and glacial peace process. The ascendancy of the right in Israeli politics threatens to undermine its democratic culture and institutions, damage its relations with key allies, and further isolate the small Jewish state in an already hostile world. The policies being pursued by the Likud government, and its zealous coalition partners, amount to a deliberate attempt at stymying any progress towards a two state solution. Xenophobia, militarism and expansionism, though appealing to a right-wing Israeli electoral base, will lead to a perpetual state of conflict and occupation - an outcome which neither side in the conflict claims to desire. At least with the previous US administration there was marginal resistance towards the more extreme and destructive policies proposed by the Netanyahu government, following January 20th even this minor inconvenience ceased to exist, paving the way for further provocative political decisions both in Jerusalem and Washington, the newest move on Israel’s part is to demote the status of the Arabic language in the country,1 and in Washington there is talk of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,2 and more recently the US senate has written to the UN - the letter, signed by every sitting senator, including former Presidential hopeful and leftwing firebrand Bernie Sanders, accuses the body of apparently advancing an anti-Israel agenda.
On the Palestinian side, divisions and foreign interference have ensured that a united front against the Israeli occupation has not formed. Though some progress has been made in recent years, at the cost of further Israeli antagonism, including a move by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to secure recognition of Palestinian statehood through the UN - ultimately this was not achieved, but with unprecedented U.S co-operation the Security Council passed a landmark resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Despite small positive steps, attempts at reconciliation between the two main Palestinian political factions - Fatah and Hamas - have routinely failed over the last ten years. Pressure from foreign powers, as well as deep internal divisions and mutual distrust, mean that many power-sharing or unity governments between the two factions have collapsed within months of being set up. Negotiations were even taking place earlier this year for a new national unity government in the Palestinian territories, and again it seems as if no agreement could be formed.
Yet in an under-reported piece of news, Hamas has implemented a number of significant changes in its governing charter - addressing some of its more extreme positions, which have worried critics in the past - changes include a clear insistence that Hamas is not a multi or international force interested in regional revolution or in interfering with the affairs of other nations, that it is willing to accept a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders, and that its struggle is not religious in nature, nor aimed towards the Jewish people, but rather a struggle against the occupation, and the ideologies which drive it - colonialism and Zionism. Though some have argued - including the Israeli government - that these changes amount to little more than cosmetic adjustments, or that the new charter simply codifies a pre-existing set of positions under which Hamas has been operating for several years already. In truth, it is still too early to determine whether or not the new document will have any concrete impact upon Hamas operations, or its governance of the Gaza strip, yet these changes, genuine or not, signal growing restraint and pragmatism within the Islamist movement. Though pure speculation at this stage, the more moderate stance taken in the updated charter may reflect Hamas’ recognition that the regional turmoil sparked by the Arab Spring has altered the political reality in the Middle East, support from once stalwart allies, such as Iran and Hezbollah, no longer seems so certain, increased pressure from Egypt following the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the establishment of a hardline pro-US regime in the country, the proliferation of sectarian conflict across the region, and expanding regional and global intervention in the Near East have all impacted the Israel Palestine situation, and applied rigorous pressures upon Hamas and its role in the region. Disunity amongst the anti-Zionist consensus in the Middle East - again largely centred around the civil war in Syria, and the broader implications of the Arab Spring - has significantly weakened Hamas’ position, and ensured that it can no longer rely upon broad and united regional support in any future armed conflict with the Israeli state. Hamas is realising that the only way it can bolster its position and ensure that it remains part of any future political settlement is by adopting the two-state solution - something it has unofficially accepted for many years now - and working towards a united Palestinian consensus of what an acceptable settlement from the Palestinian perspective could look like.
Despite offering mixed signals for the passed year or so, Donald Trump and his administration have committed themselves to renewing the peace process, the Palestinian factions, though understandably skeptical, seem willing to move in a pragmatic direction, and engage in conciliatory dialogue. Israel on the other hand, under the current administration, seems to be backing away from any potential resolution, and seems unwilling to make difficult compromises for the sake of security, closure, and ultimately peace. The path being pursued by the Netanyahu government is both dangerous and unrewarding, Israel is slowly isolating itself from its friends and allies, causing alarm even amongst its supporters, and its hardline and populist measures undermine its claim to seek regional peace and prosperity with its neighbours.
1. Part of the delicate political balance that exists in the State of Israel between its 6.5 million Jewish (75%) and 1.8 million Arab (21%) citizens is that both Hebrew and Arabic are official languages in the country, with road signs, food labels, and some government services available in both languages. By demoting Arabic to a secondary language in the country, this political balance could be lost, with Israeli-Arabs feeling targeted or discriminated against by such a decision.
2. Jerusalem is held by both Israeli’s and Palestinian’s to be their one un-divided capital, neither side is willing to give up their claim to the city. Prior to the Six Day War in 1967 the city had been divided between Israel (west Jerusalem) and the Arab States (east Jerusalem), and under international law east Jerusalem still remains under occupation, despite Israeli attempts at reunifying the city under their rule. The majority of international opinion holds Jerusalem’s status to be that of corpus separatum under a 1947 UN resolution - effectively accepting the position that Jerusalem be administered as an international city under a UN supported regime - and therefore few nations recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, and none currently have their embassies based in the city. If the U.S were to move their embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it would signal a recognition on their part of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and therefore disturb the delicate political balance between the Israeli’s and Palestinian’s that ensures peace, however unlikely, still remains viable.
Sources & Further Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_(2015%E2%80%932016)
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-israeli-relations-take-turn-for-the-worse-a-1145297.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/07/israeli-ministers-back-proposed-law-demoting-arabic-language
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/100-senators-sign-letter-u-n-equal-treatment-israel/
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-f-brown/bernie-sanders-throws-palestinians-under-bus
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/23/us-abstention-allows-un-to-demand-end-to-israeli-settlements
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/fatah-hands-over-hamas-abbas-vision-to-end-split-and-warning.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/01/hamas-new-charter-palestine-israel-1967-borders
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-mahmoud-abbas-israel-palestine-peace-deal-a7716306.html
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deadcactuswalking · 6 years ago
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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 10th March 2019
Top 10
We have the same #1 from last week, specifically “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi, hanging onto the top this week for a second stint at the top.
“Giant” by Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man is also not moving at number-two.
Mabel is up two spots to number-three with “Don’t Call Me Up”.
Ariana Grande’s “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” is currently at number-four, down one position from last week.
There’s another song from Ariana down only one space from last week at number-five, this one being “7 rings”. Both of these tracks aren’t falling fast enough, by the way.
The most interesting story of this week in pop music is the return of the Jonas Brothers and their impact on the charts. In the US, they debuted at #1, which kind of perplexes me to be completely honest, but they’re also at number-six here, so there must be some hole in the public’s consumption of music worldwide that the Jonas bros are filling I suppose. If you’re interested in stats, their last charting song in the top 40 here was in 2008, with “Burnin’ Up”, and this is actually their highest charting song ever in the UK, being their fourth top 40 but first ever top 10. Congratulations... I guess?
“Dancing with a Stranger” by Sam Smith and Normani is down a spot to number-seven.
Tom Walker’s “Just You and I” is up two spaces to number-eight.
P!nk’s “Walk Me Home” surprisingly doesn’t falter off the debut despite lack of a video, only dropping a single space to number-nine.
Oh, and NSG’s “Options” featuring Tion Wayne is down three spots to #10.
Climbers
We have exactly two, both in the top 20. “Please Me” by Cardi B and Bruno Mars moves up seven positions probably thanks to the video, to #13, whilst YNW Melly enjoys his first ever top 20 hit whilst incarcerated and on trial for double murder, as “Murder on My Mind” slips up 11 spaces to #20.
Fallers
We have a lot more of these, although it’s still relatively dry in this area too. “Wow.” by Post Malone continues its gradual fall, down five to #19, “Going Bad” by Meek Mill and Drake is down seven to #23, joining “Advice” by Cadet and Deno Driz down six to #24, “Kitchen Kings” by D-Block Europe is down seven to #26, “Shotgun” by George Ezra is down five to #31, “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande is down six to #36, and that’s it, it seems.
Dropouts
Thanks to streaming cuts, two long-running chart hits have dropped out as they always do because of these arbitrary UK chart rules: “Play” by Jax Jones featuring Years & Years is out from #22 and “Lost Without You” by Freya Ridings is out from #25. Otherwise, we just have a few natural dropouts, with “Promises” by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith dropping out from the return last week at #37, “Undecided” by Chris Brown dropping out from #38 (Good riddance) and the sad loss of “Black” by Dave from #40, although there’s no questioning it’ll rebound at a much higher position once the album impacts – which, by the way, you should check out. It’s called PSYCHODRAMA and it’s fantastic.
Returning Entries
“Leave a Light On” by Tom Walker is back at #37. Please go away.
NEW ARRIVALS
#34 – “Don’t Feel Like Crying” – Sigrid
Produced by Oscar Holter – Currently charting at #15 in Scotland
So, I like Sigrid quite a bit, actually. I had a really negative reaction to “Strangers” more than a year ago when it first debuted on the charts but that opinion has waned with time, although it’s still probably one of the worst she’s released, especially on the album Sucker Punch, which I admit I haven’t finished but contains some pretty great UK synthpop, especially the title track, which is awesome and I’m quite sad that didn’t turn out to be the hit from the record, but instead we’ve got the second top 40 hit from young Norwegian singer and BBC’s “Sound of 2018”, which seems to be the token break-up hit on the record (Although there’s probably more songs on the topic throughout), and honestly, it’s pretty epic. I love the orchestral strings that start the track off, they step the fine line between classical-tinged and more electronic sounds by having that synth harmonising with it and the unnatural sound of the slick, polished pop song. The chorus, despite a somewhat concerning falsetto, is catchy and anthemic, and especially in the second verse, it’s such an effective kiss-off, despite being really clean and inoffensive. Similarly to “Sucker Punch”, it’s just Sigrid doing what she knows best: singing some cool synthpop songs (With a rock edge that I appreciate) that she only co-wrote, with enough indie cred in the interesting vocal mannerisms and 808s to seep through what I would usually see as manufactured and boring. Yeah, this is pretty good, even though I feel it could be improved by being less repetitive and more developed, since it’s two and a half minutes long and I feel it needs a proper bridge instead of an admittedly weak post-chorus. Next.
#32 – “Bally” – Swarmz featuring Tion Wayne
Produced by DABEATFREAKZ
Apparently this is a returning entry according to the BBC, and so is “Don’t Feel Like Crying”, but they also think Swae Lee isn’t on “Sunflower” with Post Malone so you know, it’s not exactly like they’re the most reliable in their top 40 countdowns they have available on their Radio One website. Anyway, this is Swarmz, a UK rapper from the same irk as all the faux-reggae-influenced British hip hop artists that break through nearly every week now, sometimes twice, with a slightly bigger name as a feature, in this case Tion Wayne, who also features on a top 10 hit right now by NSG (Making this his second top 40 hit and obviously Swarmz’s first). It sounds really similar to “Options” actually, with a blunt piano-lead beat, almost reggaeton or dancehall percussion as well as a deep 808 drowning out everything else, except, in this case, the piano is completely or at least partially off-beat for the intro and outro due to how washed out the percussion and claps are. The mix is okay, but Swarmz’s autotune especially is pretty muddy, with the multi-layering making the song especially cluttered but I do love his verse and chorus actually, since he has so much charisma and he’s pretty funny and exciting due to his happy delivery despite dark lyrics about shooting people. Maybe it’s because of the BlocBoy JB level of stuttering in the hook or his elongated syllables, but something about this dude is hilarious. Tion Wayne is okay here too (I especially like his pre-chorus), and the beat is decent enough for both of them once it really gets started, so to be honest, I can’t really complain about this one too much, it has a cool almost afrobeat swing to it and I quite like it. Maybe it’s just because I’ve heard so much of this trash that any slightly better forms of this style of British hip hop amazes me, but at least I’ve started to see the reason for this co-existing with people like Dave and people like Loyle Carner; there is some quality to be found in faux-dancehall-gangsta-rap, sometimes.
#18 – “How it Is” – Roddy Ricch, Yxng Bane and Chip featuring the Plug
Produced by SpeakerBangerz
Okay, let’s name off everyone here, starting with probably the most well-known. Yxng Bane is perhaps the most recognisable here as he’s a rapper from East London who is one of the few of the rappers in this style who know how to have a pop sensibility and still be decent, but honestly when he charts his songs are painfully and pathetically bad. His song “Vroom” is probably even worse than I dubbed it in retrospect. This is his fourth Top 40 hit and second top 20. Chip is definitely the artist with the biggest (And probably best) discography here, and can be seen as more of a legacy act in recent years, being one of the few UK rappers to have connections with the US hip-hop scene that aren’t forced, probably because he used to be on T.I.’s record label. He’s collaborated with people like Emeli Sandé, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Keri Hilson, Stormzy, Elton John and even Big Shaq (No, the last two are not on the same track, although that would be interesting to say the least), and 16 UK Top 40s under his belt, including 10 Top 20s and a number-one hit, although this is his first hit since 2013. Roddy Ricch is an American rapper heavily affiliated with Meek Mill and somehow Marshmello, who seems to be gaining buzz for his trap-rap mixtapes recently. This is his first ever charting song in the UK. The Plug is seemingly a collective that pulls everything together, we’ve seen another collaboration between UK and US rappers initiated by the Plug end up on the chart before, making this their second hit. The song itself isn’t as interesting as any of these backstories if you’re wondering, its piano melody is nice and I like the ambience it builds until Roddy Ricch comes in with the beat and drowns out whatever was there, sounding like a slightly less watered-down version of Young Thug than, say, Lil Baby, but still a shameless rip-off with not near enough quirkiness to make it work. Chip’s verse is mixed awfully and he sounds pretty bad with that autotune anyway. I may as well add that every single verse goes on for a few too many bars to make this song in any way tolerable, and that it’s nearly five freaking minutes, with only three verses but an incessant repetition of the hook. Yxng Bane doesn’t add anything but for once he doesn’t really subtract anything. I actually kind of like the distorted vocals he pulls off. Otherwise, this is gutter trash. Let’s talk about the Jonas Brothers.
#6 – “Sucker” – Jonas Brothers
Produced by Frank Dukes and Louis Bell – Currently charting at #1 in the US and Canada
I’ve never heard a Jonas Brothers song before this, and I’m frankly not going to bother researching a Disney-grown boy band that probably didn’t even make interesting enough music to commentate on despite most probable lack of quality. I have heard some stuff they’ve done outside of this project, with Nick Jonas having two boring solo hits that aren’t much to speak of, Joe Jonas being the frontman of the band DNCE, who had two excellent hits over here, with “Cake by the Ocean” and the funky Nicki Minaj featuring “Kissing Strangers”, and not going to lie, has probably aged the best out of the brothers, musically and in appearance. Sorry, I’ll try to keep it professional – Kevin Jonas, well, I’m sure he existed too, but he didn’t really make music, he just went into either acting or off the face of the Earth until they made their return. Well, I can’t really discern their voices from each other, but I can tell that the shaky falsetto comes from Nick, and the bland, dime-a-dozen production comes from producers Frank Dukes and Louis Bell, both of which known for their aggressively pointless and emotionless, manufactured instrumentals, especially the guitars here, which are so watery and gross. I like the melodies here and I’d be lying to say it wasn’t catchy, especially the whistling in the post-chorus, but there’s nothing really of interest to speak of here, other than the striking similarity to “Feel it Still” by Portugal. The Man, and in response, I see it, but I don’t care.
Conclusion
Not much here was outright bad except the obvious stinker, so Worst of the Week goes to the Plug, Roddy Ricch, Yxng Bane and Chip for “How it Is”, while Best of the Week probably goes to Sigrid for “Don’t Feel Like Crying”, although I feel like I should mention that I do like “Bally”, so Honourable Mention goes to Swarmz and Tion Wayne for making British faux-dancehall hip hop interesting for a brief three minutes. See you next time!
e
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giveuselife-blog · 8 years ago
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five Motives the Apple Search Engine Could Show up Ultimately
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five Motives the Apple Search Engine Could Show up Ultimately
Around nine months ago, Fb officially introduced its new social Search engine to the public. With that statement, now four tech juggernauts have already got their very own search engines like google. Google with its extensively-popular “Google”, Microsoft with “Bing”, Yahoo with “Yahoo!” and last but no longer least, Facebook with its newly-announced “Graph Seek”.
however what approximately Apple, the agency that in the monetary year of 2012 made more income than even Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Fb combined? Does this Cupertino-based totally tech large have any plan to observe Fb’s footsteps to launch its personal Search engine within the near destiny?
How the Rumors Began?
Definitely, the rumors approximately Apple’s Seek engine have emerge as old news in tech international. As a rely of reality, many well-known tech information portals from TechCrunch, Mashable and different sites, consisting of analyst Gene Munster believed that Apple’s personal Search engine changed into inside the making and could update Google Search on iOS. In the meantime, the writers at Forbes have been also sincerely vocal regarding this problem.
The signal of Apple putting off Google Seek from iOS changed into regarded publicly when Apple determined to deprive Google Maps on iOS 6 and update it with its selfmade Apple Maps, which unluckily then have become a huge flop for Apple.
Although Google Maps then made it returned again on iOS 6 inside the form of app on iTunes, many humans believed that this will be the first sign that Apple Seek is heading to iOS whenever soon. Lamentably, we in no way heard about the life of Apple’s Search engine ever seeing that.
However the rumors had been raised again from the dead whilst Apple reportedly employed Bill Stasior, an Amazon’s executive who had years of experience in Seek engine international. He turned into assigned with the aid of Apple to address the improvement of SIRI. And at the beginning of this yr, we also noticed Fb introduce its state-of-the-art Graph Search to the sector (of Fb).
So the query is, with Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Fb having their personal search engines like google, will Apple become the following tech massive to enroll in these Large Four in the Search engine enterprise? What factors with the intention to make Apple confident to build its very own Seek engine for iOS customers?
1. Apple Ought to Have a Long time Earnings Machine
Okay, to start with, by means of liberating its very own Seek engine, Apple can subsequently have a full manage over its Seek engine’s traffic and the most importantly, the advertising and marketing bucks, now not Google anymore. So absolute confidence that Apple will enjoy the incoming traffic all over iOS environment, which then may be channeled by Apple to its advertising partners or other departments that for sure will “print” extra cash for Apple.
And this indicates, in the Long term future, Apple will sooner or later have a miles extra promising Earnings Machine than just promoting products or iTunes contents, much like what Google already has these days on its Search engine.
2. SIRI = Apple’s Secret Weapon
Allow’s not forget approximately SIRI, Apple’s maximum trusted personal assistant on iOS. SIRI made its first debut on iOS Around 2 years ago. In that lengthy time-frame, this shrewd knowledge navigator has been amassing a whole lot of users’ voice looking records thru the iOS devices from everywhere in the world.
SIRI would possibly appearance inferior in its first debut, but if Apple May want to improve this selection a good deal even in addition, especially when you consider that SIRI has been taken over by Bill Stasior, then it wouldn’t be so sudden if one day, SIRI could be one of the most powerful weapons that Apple Should use to accumulate extra customers’ facts to improve its Seek engine in the future, much like what Google has been doing within the past few years.
three. Developing iOS environment = The home for the Apple Search Engine
The alternative factor so that it will probably bring greater guts for Apple to do away with Google Seek from iOS is the truth that Apple has been promoting extraordinary amounts of iOS gadgets for the reason that first iPhone changed into delivered to this international 6 years ago.
Up until now, Apple has bought greater than 600 million gadgets of iOS devices in the whole world. And the number Could also be a lot larger if it is blended with the more moderen models of iPhone, iPod Contact, iPad and iPad mini, plus with other Apple merchandise. Properly, that’s plenty, proper? it’s like the populace of 1 large u . S . A ..
four. Apple Search Included with iTunes Contents
Are you able to believe that if Apple finally launches a superbly usable Search engine that may provide accurate and rapid outcomes to the customers, plus can deeply combine the looking results with the contents to be had on iTunes, like apps, books, tune, films or Television collection, there may be a Big hazard that every one the customers in the huge iOS surroundings will start looking Apple Search as a much extra dependable Search engine than Google.
Furthermore, if Apple Should enhance its Seek engine to grow to be much quicker and extra correct than earlier than, it would not be so unexpected if one day, the ones users might be more comfortable of the use of Apple Search on iOS devices than Google due to the fact besides they are already secure with the Apple surroundings and offerings, additionally they have invested plenty on iTunes.
And if Apple can take the advantage of having a massive iOS surroundings to pressure or even force all the iOS customers to use Apple Seek, then slowly but positive, the emblem of Apple Seek will start becoming as huge as Google – of direction simplest in Apple ecosystem, now not in the whole world.
five. Specialists Will Assist improve the Apple Seek Engine
Apple can also hire many tech engineers or even geniuses that are Properly-skilled in this Search engine global to make certain that Apple Seek or something it will likely be called, can deliver correct effects and extraordinary enjoy to the users. And that is what topics lots.
And if Apple is involved its Seek engine can be some other huge failure much like Apple Maps, then Apple can just hire ex-personnel from Google or Amazon, similar to what they already did currently to Help Apple fix the chaos on iOS Maps and SIRI.
Given that Apple has a lot of coins to spend from its Large fat financial institution account, then it is not gonna be very difficult for Apple to rent the right human beings to develop its Seek engine. Despite the fact that Apple Seek will no longer be as remarkable as Google (virtually), specifically in terms of searching outcomes and overall performance (sincerely), however at the least, it’s nonetheless flawlessly usable for iOS users. Moreover, Apple Search will simply improve over the time.
The Barriers
Well, this is not going to be an smooth adventure for Apple because Apple manifestly is not an expert on this industry. When it comes to internet Seek engine, most people will reflect onconsideration on “Google”, no longer Yahoo or Bing. it’s just like the brand of “iPad” that is insanely famous and ridiculously makes many non-tech-savvy users name all pills as iPad.
Google is the end result of never finishing developments for many a few years on account that 1997. So Google has been Round on this industry considering like – for all time. that is some thing that can not be achieved over night time. And Apple is aware of that. Apple isn’t always silly, right?
it is impossible if Apple wants to repeat the equal exact mistake much like whilst it launched Apple Maps on iOS 6. Let’s accept the truth – Apple Maps became a massive flop that had cost Apple its credibility and integrity across the tech community (whats up, that rhymes!).
Therefore, Apple can also need to take the shortcut that allows you to get the task achieved. And that is via acquiring the existing Search engine organisation and turning it into a greater set up and precise searching product in Apple’s “Midas fingers”, much like what Apple have finished to iTunes, SIRI and different obtained products.
After that, Apple ought to additionally shake fingers with Wikipedia, Yahoo Answers, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Thesaurus and other Large statistics database web sites across the internet, that allows you to make sure that its Seek engine is Properly armed to compete with Yahoo, Bing and the most importantly, Google.
The Final Decision
however Tim Cook dinner have to also keep in mind that Apple shouldn’t launch its Search engine too early much like what it did with Apple Maps. it’s certainly obvious that Apple does not need to be thrown once more with rotten tomatoes for the second time by the complete tech network. Therefore, Apple Search must be rolled out after it is perfectly usable for human being, not “Alien”.
no longer to mention, so one can avoid any other humiliation just like what already happened on Apple Maps and SIRI, Apple need to willingly put the label “beta” on its Search engine name. Although this flow is absolutely in opposition to Steve Jobs’ philosophy, that is surely critical to Let human beings recognise that Apple Seek remains within the early degree, so things like insects and mistakes will be familiar to peer.
Conclusion
Bottom line, even supposing many human beings are still skeptical with the rumors about Apple making its own Search engine, then we ought to keep in mind that a yr ago, Apple just kicked Google Maps and YouTube app out from iOS 6. And that changed into a truely big Choice.
So if Apple dared to eliminate such big programs like Google Maps, YouTube app, then don’t ever be amazed if within the destiny, Apple could do the equal element to Google Seek engine or maybe all of Google apps and offerings from iOS.
Furthermore, killing all of Google apps from Apple gadgets can be considered as Steve Jobs’ well-known “thermonuclear struggle” in opposition to Android, which now is towards Google too.
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