#i need to make a playlist of music that is essentially just poetry being read aloud | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

talkfastromance4 · 5 years ago

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Measured in Moments--Calum Hood (Part II of The Click)

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright talkfastromance4 © All works is intellectual property of the author. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction or any part or all contents in any form is prohibited. You may not, without written expression and consent from the author, distribute works amongst other social media platforms

It’s taken me four days but I’ve finally finished part II! I didn’t plan on doing more than one part, but I enjoy this dynamic and there will probably be a few more parts following. Read The Click here and any feedback is welcome!

Word count: 7.3 k

Warnings: casual drinking, smut (female receiving oral, fingering, unprotected sex), fluff, sweetness

Song inspiration: Moonlight Serenade by Frank Sinatra and When Loving You by ASL

Author’s Note: The poem by Michael Faudet mentioned is “A Slow Pirouette” from his book ‘Cult of Two’ and is written in italics. The poem near the bottom is my own that I wrote and is titled roses&rainwater :)

donate to my ko-fi here :)

Masterlist

Enjoy! :)

• • • •

Calum has been planning his and Rose’s first date since after he left her apartment a week ago. They stayed up talking until about 1 o’clock and they would have probably talked for longer if her eyes didn’t get so heavy. He gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek as he left and when he got home, he couldn’t fall asleep because all he could think about was Rose.��

The next morning, he met her at the front counter of the CBS where he made a plan to pay for her drink and muffin, but she insisted it’s her treat. She does get a discount after all being an employee. Teresa smiled at them the whole time and gave an inconspicuous wink to Rose as she handed off the drinks.

“Then let me take you out to dinner,” Calum had insisted while they walked to campus.

“Coffee for dinner isn’t a fair trade,” she giggled, and Calum was distracted by the sound for a moment. “But I’d love to get dinner with you, Calum.”

Rose had no idea where he’s taking her, but he told her to wear something a little on the dressier side. So, she chose a simple black dress with comfortable black heels and made sure her hair was perfect. Her nerves were building and pixelating in her entire body, so to try and calm down, she turned on her music and read through her poetry book.

Aside from being her favorite, it’s a comfort object. Would it be weird if she brought it on the date with her? She glances at the clock above her sink, the second hand revolves around the face evenly; the opposite of her heart.

Why should she be nervous? They already stayed up talking until 1 a.m. the first night they met and talk throughout the whole day every day. And they are soulmates after all, but Rose has never had an experience like this with anyone before. Her friends made it look so easy.

Is Calum as nervous as she is?

On the other side of town, Calum is sprinting through his house making sure he has all the essentials. Keys, wallet, phone, credit cards, cash. Throughout his mental checklist, his eyes scan over his poetry book that’s lying on his counter. Rose’s perfume still hangs between the pages so whenever he opens it for a read, it’s like she’s with him.

When it’s finally time to leave to pick her up, he notices the slight shake in his fingers as he grabs onto the steering wheel. He takes multiple shaky breaths trying to calm himself down, but his fingers are still shaky.

He selects his favorite playlist making sure it’s loud enough so he can’t hear the speed of his racing heart. As he arrives at the CBS and her apartment, his phone vibrates three times. When he looks at the notifications on his lock screen, they’re all from the guys wishing him luck and to relax. It eases him a little, but his palms are a little sweaty as he walks inside the coffeeshop.

Teresa smiles at him in greeting as he passes, telling him to head on up to Rose. He nods in thanks then finds himself taking the steps two at a time. Just before he can knock on the door, it opens revealing Rose and he’s left even more breathless than when he arrived.

His eyes drink her in just as she does him, and soon enough they’re chuckling nervously because they’ve coincidentally dressed the same. He’s also in an all-black ensemble.

“You look beautiful,” he takes her hand in his lifting it to his lips. His brown eyes look up at her as he kisses the back of her hand, a smile spreading.

“Thank you. You look pretty incredible,” she smiles and steps closer so she can close the door behind her. He watches her with an intensity she’s never seen before and it gives her butterflies.

They hold hands while they descend the stairs and all the way to his car until he helps her climb in the SUV then shuts the door for her. The static hanging in the car is felt by them both but it’s a good form of electricity. They’re both hyper aware of the others’ emotions.

He finds a decent parking spot after the twenty-minute drive to the restaurant; it was a silent ride but wonderfully comfortable as they sat listening to his music. Calum grabs her hand for the short walk inside and opens the door for her.

“Reservation for Hood,” he tells the hostess.

Rose is peering at the restaurant while the hostess eyes up her tablet. It’s a large space with white cloths on the tables and soft lighting from the golden sconces along the maroon walls. It’s a very cozy atmosphere but Rose can tell how classy it is.

“I’m sorry, it looks like your reservation was for seven o’clock . . . an hour ago,” the hostess says apologetically.

Her tone brings Rose back to the moment at hand and Calum’s brows are furrowed in confusion.

“No, I’m pretty sure I made it for eight o’clock,” he tries to dissuade with the hostess. “Can you check again?” he rests his hand that’s not holding Rose’s on the ledge of the hostess stand, leaning forward.

Rose glances between Calum and the hostess, she can feel the awkwardness of the situation easily, just as she can feel Calum’s anxiety rise a bit higher.

“I’m sorry Mr. Hood, but the reservation shows for seven o’clock.”

“All right,” he sighs heavily, his knuckles squeeze the wood. “How long for a table?”

“Um, reservations at La Perle needs a few days’ notice,” the hostess answers awkwardly, “I can hold a table for you in three days’ time.”

“Three days?”

“That’s all right, we’ll call again. Thank you,” Rose intercedes sensing his uneasiness. She pulls Calum with her back through the front door. Calum throws a disdainful look at the hostess over his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, I could’ve sworn I made the reservation for eight--”

“It’s all right,” she smiles reassuringly and squeezes his hands. She glances across the street and spots a restaurant with a neon blue sign that’s flashing ‘OPEN’. “Let’s head over there, it doesn’t look like they take reservations.”

He turns at the spot she’s pointing to and his shoulders sink at the thought of leaving the premise of the five-star restaurant to hop across the street at what looks like a modernized mom and pop restaurant.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” she smiles and tugs on his hands walking to the corner of the sidewalk.

When the light signals for them to walk he has no choice but to half jog with her across the street. Her excitement is palpable and wearing down his own anxiety and embarrassment. She pulls open the door and it’s much louder than La Perle across the street with some little kids running past them to a table where birthday balloons are situated at.

“Hello! Just the two of you?” the hostess asks cheerily from their left.

“Um, yes,” Rose smiles holding up her two fingers.

“Booth or table?”

“Booth please.”

“Follow me.”

Rose tugs on Calum again leading him through the tables that are filled with people. Laughter and loud conversation fill their ears until they’re placed in front of a booth against the far-right wall. Eclectic pictures and decorations scatter the cobbled walls.

“Your server, Tracy, will be right with you. Enjoy!”

When Calum averts his eyes from the walls to investigate Rose’s observations, she’s absolutely beaming at him. She looks beautiful under the dim lighting and while the noise is all around them, she quiets it for him. He still feels awful for mixing up the times for dinner and wants her to know he’ll make it up to her.

“I’m so sorry about the reservation—”

“Calum, stop,” she takes his fingers in hers across the table. Her thumb rubs over the initials inked on his skin. “I promise this is okay. We can pretend we’re back in high school going to a dance and this is our dinner spot beforehand.”

He can’t help but smile at her temporary fix to the poorly timed situation on his part.

“Funny you mention dance because after dinner there’s a concert in the park that I want to take you to.”

“What kind of concert?” her eyes dance at the thought.

“A jazz one,” he grins just as their waitress, Tracy, skips to their table.

*****

After dinner, they arrive at the park where a small stage is set up in the middle of the grass. Other couples are seated on blankets or chairs and orbed lights are hung up above the audience that’s also connected to the stage.

Calum tosses the blanket he brought up in the air letting it billow down onto the grass. They sit comfortably together with his legs spread in front of him while hers are tucked underneath her just as the concert starts. Moonlight Serenade by Frank Sinatra begins with the soft trills of flutes and violins before the gentleman in the center begins to sing.

Rose sighs happily while she watches the players play but Calum is watching her. He’s transfixed by her and how she’s reacting to the song. She sways slightly in her spot on the blanket and even hears her humming along quietly.

He studies her face as if she’s a work of art, her eyelashes cast soft shadows on the roundness of her cheeks that are still slightly blushed, and her lips are the perfect shape. He’s still staring at her when the song ends, and a torrential downpour falls on everyone in attendance.

When she squeals his name, he springs into action quickly gathering the blanket and they run back to his car. He scrambles for his keys that are buried in his jacket pocket, when it’s finally unlocked, Rose jumps in while he balls the blanket into the backseat and darts to the drivers’ side.

The rain hits the car hard, falling in rivers down the windshield and their windows and they’re both laughing.

“I can’t believe this happened,” he wheezes trying to catch his breath as he turns the car on. He makes sure the heat is on full blast, so she isn’t too cold.

“Shortest concert I’ve been to,” she giggles. “We can still listen to jazz back at my place if you want.”

How could Calum say no to that? He can’t.

Thankfully, they aren’t too wet from the rain so they’re pretty much dry by the time they’re walking up the stairs to her apartment. Rose hands him a towel to dry his hair while she rubs off the leftover dampness on her arms from the raindrops.

“How’s my make-up?” she asks.

Calum blinks a few times when he pulls the towel from his hair, he smiles at the small smudges under her eyes. She looks like an adorable raccoon.

“Not bad, but c’mere,” he grins motioning her closer with his two fingers. She steps forward and he dabs the corner of the towel gently underneath her eyes to remove the excess mascara.

“Good?” she asks when he lowers the towel.

“Perfect,” he smiles then drapes the towel over one of her stools by the kitchen counter. “I think you promised me some jazz music, Rosie.”

She giggles at the nickname then pulls her phone out as she walks to her speaker. She turns it on, presses play, then her apartment echoes saxophones and trumpets. The baritone of the singers’ voice carries over to them and Calum pulls Rose into his arms.

His hand holds onto her lower back while the other is firm in her hand. Her left hand rests gently on his shoulder and he begins to dance to the beat of the song. Aside from being part of the rhythmic section of the band, he’s also been known to be the best dancer. Years of football, or soccer, has perfected his footwork.

“How are you so good at dancing? Did you take lessons?” Rose asks when he does a little quick step and it makes her giggle.

“Something like that,” he chuckles. “I played soccer for a long time while I was growing up.”

“Really? Did they call you ‘fancy feet?’”

“No, but they should have,” he chuckles then turns serious. “I really am sorry about tonight. Everything got ruined.”

“It wasn’t ruined,” she shakes her head.

“Our first date was supposed to be perfect,” he huffs in disappointment, staring out the window above her bed. It looks like a piece of art with the water running down and blending the colors of the streetlights together.

Rose scratches the hairs at the nape of his neck, it forces him to tilt his head down at her. “It was perfect, Calum, I was with you.”

The static electricity is back, and it only intensifies when they press their lips together. The smell of roses is more potent from the rain and she tastes of rainwater. It’s his new favorite thing paired with dancing with her while they kiss tenderly in her living room. The song changes to Moonlight Serenade and he smiles against her mouth.

“This is our song now,” he mumbles, swiping his tongue over her lower lip. He loves the sweet, sweet taste of her kiss.

Rose pulls him even closer, chest to chest with her fingers interlocked behind his neck. He moves his hands around her waist so he’s holding onto her tightly. Their foreheads bump together, and they share the same breath as they continue to sway on the spot.

“You’re my love song,” she whispers and kisses him once more.

*****

Calum and Rose have been on many dates since then, most of them are study dates but if they’re together that’s all that matters. They see each other every morning for breakfast and their walk to campus. It fills Rose with joy because she never had a high school sweetheart, but this is exactly how she pictured it would be.

She’s over at his house and they’re both studying for a test that counts for 25% of their grade. She’s been brewing coffee hourly while she pores over her books and notes. Calum gets distracted by her much too easily, especially when she whispers the phrases out loud.

He finds himself glancing up from his own notes, most of them are small phrases written about her anyway, to admire her. He’s read about soulmates and what it will feel like but experiencing it is vastly different than what the books say. Calum constantly has this growing need to be beside her, even if the task at hand is ‘boring’, he knows it won’t be because she makes it fun.

While it is as easy as breathing, being with her, he finds his breath is lost when they are together. When she’s working a shift downstairs, Calum sits at a table doing his homework or writing, she’ll walk by him purposefully to stroke her finger over the back of his hand.

He’d glance up at her just to see her smile wryly, as if it’s a secret that she’s touching him and watches her continue her way. She always turns back around to give him her true Rose smile; the whole ordeal leaves him excited and filled with butterflies.

Butterflies that he would love to catch and keep in a jar so that he could give them to her, but he’d need to find a jar big enough to contain them all.

“Calum, you need to be studying,” she tells him sternly without glancing up from her textbook.

He continues to watch her highlight before she shifts her gaze from the words in her book to him.

“I am studying,” he grins, his brown eyes moving over her. She blushes and shifts in her chair.

“I’m not testing you,” she murmurs.

“You are more than you know, sweetheart,” he hums under his breath and resumes to his own book.

As the night ticks on, Rose begins to yawn more and more.

“I think it’s time for you to go home, sweetheart,” he says closing his books up.

“No, no, I’m fine,” she yawns twice more, covering her mouth with her hand.

Calum stands up, presses a kiss to her forehead and lets Duke outside. When he returns, she’s passed out across her books, her arm is used as a pillow. He beams at the sight then pulls out his phone to take a photo before scooping her up in his arms.

“I got the coffee,” she sighs tiredly, lifting her head up from his shoulder.

“You’re cut off, Rosie,” he chuckles and continues down the hallway to his room.

“Am I home? How’d I get home?”

“We’re still at my place, you can spend the night.”

“I don’t want to . . . be . . . bother,” she says through a long yawn. “I’ll drive home.”

“You don’t have a car,” he chortles setting her on the edge of his bed. “I wouldn’t let you drive even if you did. You don’t even have your eyes open.”

“Yeah I do,” she sighs while he grabs some old shorts and a t-shirt for her from his closet.

“Really?” he leans down in front of her, clothes in hand.

“Mhm.”

“Then what am I doing right now?”

“Smiling. You’re always smiling.”

“Because you always make me smile.”

“Aha! I was right,” she tries to focus on him through her heavy lids. He laughs at her cuteness and attempt to prove that she’s awake.

“I have clothes here for you to sleep in. I’m going to get Duke and some water bottles, okay?” he kisses her forehead. She sways from the touch.

With Duke and two bottles in his arms, he finds Rose curled against his pillow and he’s floored at how natural it is to see her in his bed, in his clothes, in his life. He sets Duke on the bottom of the bed and changes into his own sleepwear in his closet then joins Rose.

She cuddles into him immediately, sighing quietly. He counts the seconds in between her breaths and he’s fast asleep in moments.

The next morning, he makes her coffee and pancakes and syrup filled kisses are exchanged throughout the whole meal. Their first sleepover wasn’t planned, but it was a success nonetheless and opened the door for many nights of staying over.

****

It’s the start of their holiday break, exams and last-minute papers are finally over and done with. To celebrate, Calum is making Rose a pasta dish at her apartment while she drinks the second dirty Shirley that he made her.

She’s sat on one of the barstools, cheek in hand, admiring the way his shoulders flex and roll while he chops up some greens to put in the sauce. Her eyes move with the motion of his arm as he grabs his own beer, then her eyes watch his lips touch the lip of the bottle.

How is she enchanted by the simplest tasks he does?

“You’re drooling,” he interrupts her thoughts.

Rose sits up straight, instinctively wiping her mouth then glares at him.

“I am not,” she pouts then takes a hearty sip of her cocktail. The sweet cherry juice and bite of the vodka and sprite tickles her taste buds as Calum laughs. He scrapes the greens into the pot with the knife then moves in front of her across the counter.

He leans on his forearms, beer bottle in between his hands, while he stares at her with those brown eyes that make her even weaker now that she’s been drinking. He bites down on his lower lip as he reaches his hand up, his thumb swipes on her bottom lip.

“You are drooling, Rosie. I don’t blame you, I’m a hot chef,” he smiles, eyes twinkling.

“Can I kiss the chef, or do I have to wait until after dinner?”

“Mmm,” he pretends to think it over while inching closer to her across the countertop. She moves with him, his hand cups her cheek and their noses bump together. “I’ll allow it.”

When their lips touch, she can’t help but sigh at the softness and his tongue is quick to slip into her mouth so he can taste more of the cherries from her drink. Rose cards her fingers in his thick hair, nails rubbing at his scalp while his thumb caresses her cheek.

Her oven lets out a loud beep, breaking their kiss to announce that it’s heated for the garlic bread. Calum and Rose are heated as well, she gives him three more quick kisses before he resumes his culinary duties and she resumes her admiration.

“So, there’s a party tomorrow night and the guys are going to be there,” he says while they’re eating at the counter. Rose has her legs across his knees, his hand rests comfortably on top of them while he eats.

“I sense an ‘and’ coming,” she smiles twirling her fork in the noodles.

“And I was wondering if you’d want to come and meet them,” he finishes.

Rose lowers her noodle filled fork to look his way, he has a soft smile and hope in his eyes.

“Really? You want me to meet them?” she asks, excitedly leaning closer to him.

“Yeah. I talk about you all the time and if I don’t bring you with me tomorrow then they might literally kill me.”

“I can’t have that,” she shakes her head and laughs. “I’d love to meet them.”

****

Calum can tell Rose is nervous in the way she keeps chewing on her lower lip. She’s bouncing around her apartment gathering her things and Calum watches her fondly until she stops at her dresser to slide on some bracelets. He uses that as an opportunity to stand behind her, she jumps when she turns around and sees him right there.

“Hey, you’ll chew your lip right off and what will I kiss, then, hm?” he asks massaging her lip carefully with his thumb.

“What if they think I’m weird?” she’s pouting now, eyes full of worry.

“They like weird,” he grins then takes her hand to kiss her fingers. “It’s going to be fine. You’re my girl and they’re going to love you.”

When they arrive at the party hand in hand (Rose has a death grip on him) he weaves her through the other people in attendance. He spots the boys near the back of the bar where the couches are, and he points. He feels her suck in a breath and he kisses her temple.

“Cal!” they all shout as the couple gets closer.

The three Australian men stand from their seats giving him hugs and handshakes while Rose cowers behind his back. She’s finding comfort in the coolness of Calum’s leather jacket until he pulls her forward, hand still firm in hers.

“Guys, this is Rose,” Calum introduces, his smile proud as he gazes at her. “Rosie, these are the guys, Michael, Luke and Ashton.”

The use of her nickname calms her down a little and then all three of his best friends give her warm hugs, too. She says a quiet hello back as they all settle down onto the couch again. Calum orders their drinks and she’s hoping the alcohol will give her a confidence boost.

Rose finds herself liking Calum’s three best friends the more they talk and joke with Calum. She even notices that all their accents get a little more pronounced the more they talk with each other and share stories. She laughs the loudest when Calum and Ashton join in a banter together.

She chimes in when she can, but otherwise she just loves watching Calum interact with them. It’s a side of him she’s never seen until now, but she loves it. She can see how much he loves them.

“So, Rose,” Ashton starts, a pompous yet teasing tone to his voice, “is it true that Calum messed up your first date?”

“I’m gonna kill you mate,” Calum threatens and Rose giggles, squeezing his arm.

“He didn’t mess it up. It went a little off course but how we met was like that, too. He did steal my book and all,” she teases and pinches his cheek.

“You stole mine, too,” he chuckles leaning into her, his eyes darting between her lips and eyes. “Amongst other things you stole.”

Rose’s stomach flips and all she can do in response is smile. He kisses her quickly just as a woman’s voice breaks apart their moment.

“Sorry I’m late guys, work was killer. Oh! Is this Rose? Cal, she’s gorgeous! Hi, I’m Ruby.”

Rose takes Ruby’s outstretched hand, a little taken aback at her energy but appreciative at the same time for it. Ruby is Ashton’s soulmate and Rose can see exactly how perfect they are for each other.

“Rose. Nice to meet you,” Rose smiles kindly.

“Hey Rube,” Calum grins.

“I’m stealing your girl so I can get to know her better. We’ll be back, boys,” Ruby announces pulling Rose off the couch. She blows a kiss to Ashton who is used to her antics by now.

“Be nice!” Calum calls watching them head to the bar.

“I’m always nice!” Ruby shouts back then gives Rose a warm smile. “I’m so happy we finally get to meet. I remember Calum talking about you before you even met the first time, he was so in love with your poetry book.”

“It’s not my own poetry book, but I wrote in it sometimes,” Rose shrugs.

“It’s yours,” Ruby nods affirmatively then flags down the bartender. “Two lemon shots please, you like those right?”

“Yeah, I love them,” Rose smiles.

After the girls took their shots, Rose is feeling even more comfortable with Calum’s friends. Soon enough, she’s cracking jokes and singing along to the music that’s playing. Calum is elated that his best friend soulmates and his true love soulmate are getting along so well. He doesn’t even try to be inconspicuous as he kisses her in front of all these people, especially his friends.

*****

The rain pours consistently against her building, it sounds like large handfuls of rice hitting the glass of her windows. It’s a calming sound that almost mimics the ocean waves while she and Calum are atop her bed reading their poetry books. It’s a quiet night in and while she’s getting lost in the words on her page, a loud crack of thunder erupts outside causing Rose to jump and drop her book.

“It’s just thunder baby,” Calum grins at her and she glares at him.

“I hate thunderstorms.”

“Let me read to you, c’mere,” he shifts on her bed and she scoots closer to him.

From shoulder to feet, they’re touching, and she listens aptly to the low rasp of his voice. Through the rain it sounds even more sultry than normal and makes goosebumps form on her skin. While he reads Michael Faudet’s poem, she takes his hand in hers.

‘You took my hand in yours.’

While he reads of the author commentating on his lover’s actions, Rose follows along perfectly.

‘Guiding my fingers beneath the hem of your panties.’

Calum swallows harshly as she drags his hand beneath the hem of her cotton shorts, leading his fingers between her legs. When he touches her, they both stop. They both turn their heads and stare into each other’s eyes.

“Keep going,” she blinks at him innocently while her fingers are making his do the opposite of innocent.

Calum turns back to the page.

“’Showing me exactly how you want to be touched— ‘” she makes his fingers circle around her clit and his breath catches. “’—like a ballerina in the spotlight doing a slow pirouette.’”

He tosses the book away as soon as he finishes the last word of the poem, his mouth on hers while his fingers dance between her legs. Thunder rumbles and Rose squeaks when he teases his finger inside her opening.

He shifts his weight removing his hand so she’s in between his thighs. When he deepens the kiss by slipping his tongue in her mouth, Rose moves her hands over his shoulders and down to his waist. She places her hands under his shirt to glide over the soft, warm skin of his back. Her actions make his shirt ride up.

“What’re you tryin’ to do?” he teases playfully, teeth pulling on her lower lip.

“Take this off,” she huffs, and he pulls back to look in her eyes. She tugs on his shirt again.

Calum leans back on his knees and she follows him into a sitting position as if an invisible string has them connected. Rose watches him tug his shirt off. The movement tousles his hair slightly; he licks his lips moving forward but Rose stops him with her hand on his chest.

“What--?”

“Shh,” she hushes. Her eyes drink him in; his dark tattoos and smooth skin over his tight muscles that she can’t help but run her hands over.

Calum watches her with growing lust. He’s getting drunk off the way she’s looking at him and the way her hands feel that are now on his waist.

“How are you real?” she whispers, eyes looking up at him and he smiles.

His eyes lower to her lips before darting back to her eyes. “I was just thinking the same thing. Want to join me in the no shirt party?” but his fingers are already working on the buttons of her pajama shirt. She helps him by undoing the last buttons on the bottom, then pulls her arms out of the sleeves. Calum tosses the fabric to the end of the bed.

His eyes devour her, and it makes Rose’s belly burn insatiably until his mouth is on her neck, suckling and kissing the skin. His hand cups her left breast right away, his thumb stroking over her nipple before he removes his lips from her neck so he can suckle on the other breast. She sighs in his ear as his tongue flicks the hardened bud.

“Mm,” she moans quietly, and she falls back against her pillows, his mouth still attached to her breast as he falls with her.

He shifts his head over to the other one now, his thumb now brushing the underside as his mouth sucks on this breast. She’s plump and perfect in his hand and mouth. He releases her breast with a pop before kissing the space between her breasts and back up to her lips.

“Was that okay?” he asks around her mouth, the chain of his necklace knocks against her collarbone. The contrast of his warm mouth and cool bite of the chain electrifies her.

“Mhm, felt good,” she smiles scratching her nails down his sideburns.

They continue kissing, his hand travels down her waist and over her hip so he can pull her leg up over his waist, he wants her as close as possible. When he places his lips on her neck again, she huffs into his hair while he makes a mark. He’s surprised that she’s leading his hand in between her legs again.

Calum’s hesitant at first, not wanting to cross any lines, so he keeps his hand there while he kisses on her neck. It isn’t until she starts rubbing herself with his hand that he begins to circle his fingers over her core.

“Can I?” he asks trailing his fingers back under her cotton shorts and the waistline of her panties.

“Mmm, yes,” she exhales, and it makes him shiver.

His fingers slide between her folds until he finds her clit. Her body jolts at his touch and he grins against her neck feeling how wet she is. He rubs slow circles against her clit and Rose gyrates her hips with his motions, her breath becoming more ragged.

He wants to see her face, so he lifts his head up to gaze at her and she’s so beautiful. She’s biting her lip even as it trembles, her thighs trembling as well with his motions.

“You’re so pretty, baby,” he sighs and teases her hole with the tip of his finger just like before. Rose releases her lip from her teeth with a gasp, her body exhales. “Does that feel good?”

“Yes, yes,” she practically whines, eyes clenched shut and Calum teases her again, adding a bit more of his finger this time.

“D’you want more?”

Her fingers are in his hair now as she nods, forcing her eyes open to look at him. “Please, Cal, I want more.”

He inserts his finger slowly, feeling how snug she is and pumps his finger halfway a few times to gather her arousal. Once his finger is nice and slick, he pushes in all the way and she’s gasping, pulling on his hair. He rests his forehead onto hers, watching her mouth open and close soundlessly as he rotates his finger inside of her.

She’s warm and soft, and he can only imagine what she’d feel like around his dick.

He slips his other finger in as well and she cries out his name. Rose is rocking her hips against his hand as he slides and scissors his fingers in and out at the perfect speed, curling and swirling them each time.

“Ooh, I’m almost . . . don’t stop, please,” she begs breathlessly, and Calum obeys.

He feels her about to cum, the satisfying squelch of his fingers thrusting in and out of her is increasing as her orgasm approaches.

“So warm, baby,” he breathes, and he feels her clench around his fingers. “So pretty when you moan for me, am I making you feel good? Yeah? You almost there, for me? C’mon, I can feel you. . ..”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” she chants and holds him tightly against her chest as she comes.

He feels her body go rigid in pleasure, short gasps burst from her lips and he watches her come undone hungrily. When her body relaxes and her legs fall away, he stops his movements and removes his fingers slowly. He examines them in the lowlight, glistening with her juices and with his eyes locked on hers, he inserts them in his mouth.

It’s the perfect mixture of salty and sweet, his ocean and rose girl.

To his surprise, Rose pulls his fingers from his mouth and without batting an eye, slips them between her own lips. He feels her tongue swirl up and around his fingers, licking herself off him.

“Shit, that’s so hot,” he grunts. With his fingers still suctioned between her lips, she wiggles out of her shorts and underwear, tossing them to the side. “I have an idea.”

“Okay,” she whispers removing her mouth from his digits.

She kisses the pads delicately before he stretches down and grabs his book. He hands it to her and scoots lower on the bed, smirking while he kisses down her belly. “Open up,” he tells her and as she opens the book, he spreads her legs. “Read to me.”

Her head is swimming with the erotic act that he’s doing but she does as he says and starts to read. Calum starts off slow with soft kisses on the inside of her thighs because he’s listening to the way her voice shakes. When she turns the page, he fully dives in with his mouth suctioning to her folds and Rose gasps. Her voice shakes more, and her legs are quick to follow while Calum creates his own poem with his tongue and lips.

He eats her out slowly and with intense care. He nips and sucks in just the right formation. Rose stops reading and starts moaning, her body curves upward in pleasure. Calum’s palm is flat on her belly while the other is hooked around her thigh to keep her body open for him. He hums against her as he feels her stomach tighten and he licks at her faster, she sucks in a breath and holds it while she basks in her orgasm.

Calum is hypnotized by the rise and fall of her breasts as she gathers her breath, he tongues at her lazily before removing his mouth. With the shadows on her face from the rain falling down her windows, it looks like she’s been crying, but he knows it would be tears of pleasure if it were real.

Rose drags him back up her body, her mouth hot and urgent on his.

“I want you,” she sighs into his mouth, her hand cups the bulge under his sweatpants.

“I want you too,” he nibbles on her lip. They’re both scrambling to remove the last article of clothing he’s wearing, and she reaches into her drawer pulling out a condom.

Noses touching, eyes locked, he pushes himself inside her, both moaning at the intense feeling of the stretch. Their breath is hot as he settles his hips against hers. He fills her completely then pulls back so he can create a steady rhythm and to hopefully hear her moans again.

Rose moans instantly, her fingers trailing up and down his back while he rocks her world. Her head tilts back and he uses the opportunity to kiss on her sweet neck, she tastes like roses and rainwater. Their heads become dizzy as his thrusts become faster and faster.

Sequentially, she screams his name just as the thunder rumbles loudly and as he’s reached his own high. It shakes the framework of the building and when he collapses on top of her, neither one can tell if the thunder or their lovemaking shook the world.

****

The next morning, Calum woke Rose up with breakfast in bed complete with French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a glass of orange juice. Rose is amazed at his gesture and they share the breakfast together while exchanging small pillow talk.

“You really are a great chef,” she compliments as they finish the last bite.

“Thank you,” he grins then discards the plates onto her nightstand. When he turns back around, he captures her lips in a sweet, syrupy kiss that he quickly deepens and makes her heart race. “Care to join me for a shower?”

“Yes please,” she smiles on his lips and kisses him once more. “Why don’t you go get it started, I’ll be in in a minute.”

“Don’t be too long, Rosie.”

Rose is left a little stunned as he slips from the bed and walks to her bathroom completely naked. He’s perfect from every angle. When the bathroom door closes, she scrambles for her black notebook and writes furiously on the page before skipping into the bathroom to join a wet Calum under the stream of warm water.

Since the night they shared together, Rose has been itching to share what she wrote in her notebook but it’s not that common for soulmates to use the ‘L’ word. The logic behind the reasoning does make sense, but if you’re soulmates there’s really no need to say those three little words.

Those three little words that are only written about and acted out in movies. Those three little words hold a different kind of weight, a different form of finality in the construct of soulmates. It’s been eating away at her for the last three days on whether she should just show him the poem.

Calum has tried to get what’s bothering her out of her, but Rose is stubborn and tells him it’s nothing. Calum is stubborn too but he’s more stubborn in a quieter version. He watches her actions, pinpoints her voice when it gets too high and notices how often her eyes glance to her book beside her bed.

She’s shown him her poetry in there before, but he hasn’t seen her write in it lately. While she’s fixing her make-up in the bathroom before going on a double date with Ashton and Ruby, Calum breaks his own moral code of privacy and opens her book. He flips through it until he gets to the last page she wrote in; he won’t look at anything else.

He begins to read:

‘Dancing in the moonlight while floorboards creak and hearts race, a moment frozen in time measured through the saxophone notes and rain patters against the windows. The smell of roses in her hair while rainwater grows their love right before their eyes in the palm of their hands it blooms and flourishes, growing, growing, growing.’

He’s speechless. This is clearly about their first date but that was nearly nine months ago, and she wrote the ‘L’ word. Does she want to say it to him? Did she know on their first date that she felt that precise word for him?

His mind is racing because even Ashton and Ruby haven’t said the ‘L’ word to each other. But he and Rose aren’t like them, what they feel and the connection they have runs deeper than the normal soulmate scenario. He felt it the first time their pinkies touched. He felt it when he looks in her eyes.

The door opens and Rose steps out, gasping when she sees what’s in his hands. Instead of anger for going through it, she feels embarrassment that he found it. She feels more naked and vulnerable under his gaze. Her throat is dry, but she still wants to try and rectify her slip up.

“I can explain,” she starts, fingers twisting together in nerves. Calum stares at her. “I wrote that the first night we slept together, it was just words in my mind that I needed to get out and I—”

Calum drops her book to the bed and gathers her in his arms in one swoop, one heartbeat of time. He kisses her with everything he has in him, her lips taste like cherries and she smells like roses and rainwater. His favorite smell. Rose gasps into the kiss but kisses him back with fervor, she untangles her fingers and clutches onto his leather jacket.

“You don’t have to explain, sweetheart,” he murmurs.

“I don’t?”

“No, because I’ve been thinking and feeling the same thing.”

“You have?” she gulps, staring up at him under her long lashes.

“Yes, silly girl,” he grins cupping her cheeks in his hands. His eyes never stray from hers and his voice doesn’t falter, “I love you, too.”

Rose smiles as she feels a new kind of warmth grow inside her, it’s a glowing type of warm that she knows won’t fade in time. It hovers inside her and she feels as if it’s waiting to latch onto something.

“I love you,” she tells him and that warm glow bursts out of her and right into Calum. She swears she saw it and the way he gasps makes her think he saw it too or is feeling it now inside him.

“Did you feel that?” he asks, his eyes widening, and she can see that glow burning inside his irises.

“I still feel it,” she nods sliding her hand up his stomach and onto his chest. “But I feel it in here,” she presses her hand right over his heart.

“I do too. Loving you is easy to do.”

They kiss and revel in this newfound feeling from saying those three words, it’s as if their kisses are sealing an unspoken vow to say them as much as they can. They were fifteen minutes late to dinner but when Calum traced ‘I ♡ U’ on the back of her hand, she decides that fifteen minutes was well worth it.

• • • •

Taglist: @galcalirwin @cashtonasff5sos @thecurlsofgod @myloverboyash @rotten-kandy @tea4sykes @jannimoeller3 @loveroflrh @iovehemmings @cxddlyash @princesslrh @here-for-the-uproars @katiaw2 @g-l-pierce @fairyintheglass @gosh-im-short @banditocth @dezzym17 @koalacal @lukeisbaby @spicycal @mysticalhood @thesubtweeter @wastedheartcth @atlcalm @itjustkindahappenedreally @calumance @babylon-corgis @thew0rldneedsmcreycghurt @lanternlover2 @istaywithmyjonas @calteahood @sarcastically-defensive17 @allier59 @calumhoodaf @frontmanash @philthepegacorn @mantlereid @lukedorkyhemmings @addietagglikesbands @kikixfandoms @sanrioluke @mayve-hems @morguelth @haikucal @thatscooibaby @meghanrose05 @idontneedanyone

#calum hood oneshot #calum hood fluff #calum hood smut #calum hood fanfic #calum 5sos #calum smut #calum fluff #soulmate!au #soulmate!calum #5sos writing #5sos fanfi

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stygiantarot · 5 years ago

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Modern Divination Methods

(originally taught in The Alexandria Archives on 4/9/2020)

Divination is most certainly one of the oldest practices of witchcraft. Reading omens, trancing for prophecy/scrying, and using tools to read symbols or patterns have all been used in some form for practically as long as society has existed. Many people are familiar with the mainstream ones: Tarot, runes, tea leaves, scrying, etc. Last time I went over some more unusual methods. Today, in light of the current global situation having many person’s stuck in limited spaces with limited supplies, I thought we could touch on some modern methods. Most require nothing more than what you already have at your fingertips!

We will explore in some detail:

Shufflemancy: divination using randomized songs

Stichomancy: divination using passages in a volume of writing

Traffic omens: Modernizing weather style omen reading using things like cars, stoplights, types of buildings passed, etc.

We’ll also touch on a couple other ideas you might try expanding on:

Online Randomizer: Think like the old web extension Stumble upon or even those websites that give you random quotes, images, names, etc.

Social Media Image Scrying: using a collection of images online to select a particular one for interpretation.

~~~~~~~

Shufflemancy

Many of you have probably heard of this method, likely even tried it! Shufflemancy is the method of divination that uses a platform or application to randomize a selection/playlist of songs for interpretation. You can either just hit the shuffle button once and go with that initial song or you can incorporate a more personalized experience by having the querent choose a number of skips to hit. It can also be tailored by using specific playlists you’ve compiled or certain genre options on applications like Spotify or Pandora.

You can expand on this with applications like Youtube to include videos. It’s my fantasy that platforms like Netflix or Hulu will come up with a “randomizer” or shuffle type option someday. It would be such a blast to play a random video and then use that for divination!

It’s important to take into account both the lyrics and the melody/mood of the music when your selection is being interpreted. If you aren’t sure if you’d be comfortable with that initially, I recommend building a “beginner’s” sort of playlist that is filled with songs you know very well and have personal feelings about. It makes the interpretation that much easier. Much like using a Tarot or Oracle deck that has art styles or characters you’re familiar with. You may also incorporate the visuals of a music video if there is one for the song. Shufflemancy usually works better for more expansive readings rather than just yes/no questions. Although you can sometimes get that sort of immediately “positive” or “negative” impression from many songs, assuming it doesn’t have both!  

This method is a therapeutic way to delve into some modern divination. The emotional and cathartic aspect can be soothing for both the reader and the querent. Not to mention the connection it builds as you share music between you. A feel good way to practice some divination with no physical tools beyond some technology access.

~~~~~~~

Stichomancy

This method of divination, sometimes called bibliomancy, uses a book or similar volume of writing to select passages from to interpret. Most people use the page number as the way to select, telling the querent to select a number between the first and last page (and what the highest number possible is). But there are intuitive methods as well. Using the physical shuffling of pages until it feels right to stop rather than a selected number. I find the latter method more useful when reading for myself and the former method more cooperative when I’m reading for others.

Like with shufflemancy, stichomancy is much affected by your personalizing of the tool. Use books you love! Use books that have specific genres for specific queries (a romance book for a relationship reading?). Use anthologies (short story or poetry collections) to get a variety of styles and language to work with.    

You can also use books that are more visual, like my headstone symbolism book pictured above. It makes the reading more akin to Tarot, but you can use captions to help expand on the interpretation. Practice trial and error with multiple books until you feel comfortable and confident that the results are accurate enough. The books I have in the photo I shared are the five I’m comfortable using in regular readings. I play with others for myself or specific queries for friends or family but often I’m not comfortable adding them to my regular repertoire. I have a series of dimestore style paperback mysteries that love to give readings for a dear friend but are useless in accuracy for anyone else. Books have personalities- if you didn’t already know that this method will teach you that fact quickly. You can also create your own specific stichomancy book using a notebook with numbered short passages and poems of that have significance to you. It can be an enriching process to collect all the passages to add to your own book and you can give them more specific and more easily remembered associations when compiling them yourself. Do remember to give proper credit/sourcing to all your collected passages though! 

You don’t need the largest book possible to be effective with this method of divination. “Desperation” and “Chilling Ghost Short Stories” are my thickest books, but honestly I’ve gotten more insightful readings from my two slim fairy tale volumes. It’s truly a method you make your own. I have friends who prefer to exclusively use books of poetry rather than fictional prose. That is good too!

A note: don’t feel like you need to have a physical book- I’ve had some success with ebooks! It can be trickier to do the flip-through for sure, but not impossible. 

 ~~~~~~~

Traffic Omens

I was probably about 8 years old when I first played the “If, Then” game. “If this next light turns green before we reach it, then I’ll get McDonalds for lunch.” A simple and almost childish game of course. But essentially, traffic omens. I expanded on it as I got older to include seeing certain makes and colors of cars during my commute. Or a certain number of common buildings like churches or banks. A type of architecture or statues featuring certain things. It can be as common or uncommon as your needs require.

This is a method that’s a little trickier to lay out for others in step-by-step ways because it is omen based and therefore requires you to select what works for your specific area/region, what type of commute based omens you feel comfortable noticing, what meanings they have for you, etc. And since this is omen-based, it isn’t exactly ideal for actively standard divination reading. It’s more ideal for a passive style, or personal predictions in your own life.

You can build a system that works for you and could predict luck in a career, prosperity in the home, or a new friend. I recommend starting a journal of the sort of “omens” you notice on your commute. Follow up with a short blurb about how your day went and how you felt. Then you can refer back to it and create the personal system from there. You can vary the more common with uncommon omens- just remember to ascribe the appropriate association. Seeing a certain number of bank buildings can be good for meaning an increase in general finances but you’d likely want something more uncommon like an usual make and model of a single car for snagging a dream job. You can also create variations for when you’re walking during your day instead of commuting! 

 A bit more involved but something interesting to experiment with in our modern society. And keep a bit of that childlike wonder!

~~~~~~~

Online Randomizer

Did you ever play with the web extension “Stumble Upon” back when it existed? The idea was that you installed it in whatever web browser you happened to be using and then clicked it to get directed to an entirely random website. Though it’s intention was obviously to curb boredom, it is definitely something interesting to try as a divination tool. Stumble Upon no longer exists (as far as I know), however there are similar extensions or webpages that let you do the same thing (this one comes to mind: https://theuselessweb.com). There is also options like Wikipedia’s “random article” ability that works along the same lines. This method is similar to stichomancy in that you’ll likely be working with text a lot of the time. But be aware of the medium you’re working with- a webpage is more than just a page in a book. What is its purpose? How well is it designed? What sort of visuals does it use? What emotional impressions do you get from it? It can start simple, but you can see the options are there for expanding an interpretation pretty elaborately. And again, a number of clicks can be incorporated if you like.

~~~~~~~

Multi-Image Scrying (Social Media Image Scrying)   

It’s hard for me to come up with a concise name for this. But it’s possible you’ve come across persons doing this on various platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, etc. There is a selection of images in a format similar to a moldboard to view. The reader has a querent select an image that stands out to them and builds a reading based on the selection. Similar to a random draw from a Tarot or Oracle card with symbolism and art imagery lending itself to the interpretation. This can be great to try if you are into color symbolism or can easily see how certain artwork evokes certain emotions. Similar to what websites like Buzzfeed or the astro.com color chart quiz is! Almost like an alternative horoscope based on visual selections you are drawn to.

Be sure to ethically collect images for something like this if you plan on offering it to others. There are many websites that have royalty free images you can use for projects like this. Or you can even use ones you have yourself! These don’t have to be high art photographs, simple ones on your phone can absolutely work. The biggest goal is to make sure they are varied so a large amount of interpretation is possible.

There is a version of this using face down Tarot (or oracle) cards as well. You take a photo (or have video) of them face down and then have your querent select one at random without either of you knowing what it is. Then once you flip it over you can giving a reading based on that. It’s not especially different from a standard long distance Tarot reading except it can be used on a mass scale. For example, I’ve done this for my business Facebook or Instagram where I have a grid of numbered face down cards. Then I put the meanings of each card in the comments so someone can select the card before reading the comments and get a low-tech daily reading without an app.

~~~~~~~

Even though many of these methods evoke playful games of childhood, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have potential as a valid form of divination. Many forms of divination in the past started as games or ways to pass time before they were built into the forms of divination we know today. A modern technique may seem “sillier” to traditionalists but just like younger generations are proving the further reaching use of modern technology to previous generations; it is time to prove the modern forms of divination as valid to the traditionalists!

#divination #stichomancy #shufflemancy #types of divination #witchblr #TAA #fortune telling #witchcraft class #witchcraft 101 #modern divination #modern witchcraft #witchy #modern omens

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alas-poor-cesario · 4 years ago

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Creator Tag meme

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, playlists, meta, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I was tagged by @skatingthinandice

Five Favourite Things I Made This Year:

So I write mostly fanfiction, and poetry but this year for NaNoWriMo I delved into writing some essays too!

The first I want to mention is my pet project So sure as a bird, Flying high above for the Cirque du Freak fandom. I wrote this with the goal of bringing folk music and sea shanties back into the minds of people. I realised that people aren’t really taught them as children like I was, but that they’re making a comeback with bands like the Dreadnoughts and The Longest Johns. It’s something I’m passionate about and really happy I started doing that.

Wrong Way on a One Way Street is a Breaking Bad fanfiction I wrote as part of NaNoWriMo to explore the use of colour and how it’s central to the show and changing the mood and tone. This was my first Breaking Bad piece and possibly my only one, and if it is then I am really happy with it and glad I actually shared it.

They’re the only two I have links to unfortunately - the other things are being worked on and rejigged. I’m really sorry I couldn’t link more, but this has been a bit of an odd year for me creating-wise where I started some projects, finished less and got even fewer still to a point where I’d be able to share them.

There’ll be a brief description below:

First up is the essay on Darth Maul. It’s currently sitting at 13k words and I think it loses track around the 7k mark and I just need to kind of work it back into being relevant to the original idea or rewording the introduction. It’s essentially a comprehensive look at how Darth Maul is responsible for a lot of what happens in the Star Wars universe, and a deep dive into his character.

I finally finished a poetry collection! I just need to actually sort out the cover image and then I’ll start being able to sell copies if anyone’s interested! I’m working on setting up a ko-fi unless there’s any better websites for this sort of thing. This was definitely one of my favourite things to work on this year, and to complete and the test poem collection I published is the same. I made this thing, this physical thing that I can hold in my hands and it’s of my writing and I get to share it with the world.

The third thing is another one of those essays I worked on for NaNoWriMo. I went back and had a look at three books I read as a kid, comparing them and looking at how they present horror and gore. I also looked at the ways they interacted with LGBTQ+ themes. I really want to polish this one up properly and be able to post it somewhere at some point

Anyone who wants to do this consider yourself tagged! Brain (and tumblr) aren’t cooperating for tags right now

#cesario-talks #text

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harryseyebrows · 5 years ago

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Fine Line - Track-by-track rating

I’m in the mood to start shit. So here it is. My comprehensive album rating list. Rating subcategories should be self-explanatory, but I’m judging based on lyrics, how listen-able the song is overall, how interesting it is in terms of JUST sound, and crafting/production/my perceived idea of how well done the entire song is in terms of all the elements combined. Think about the effort that Liam put into his album vs. the effort Harry put into SOTT. What was written and created with intent and what was created maybe more for the sake of creating. Then, I did ACTUAL MATH and came up with an overall score out of ten. Read with caution and yell at me if you feel the need.

Golden:

Lyrics - 7/10

“I know that you’re scared because I’m so open” is fantastic and it’s great to see him literally being more open with his songwriting, but he loses some points for the general repetitive nature and more common turns of phrase.

General listen-ability - 10/10

It’s an easy song to listen to, whether you’re putting it on for background noise, listening while driving, or listening specifically with the intent of paying attention and enjoying.

Sonic intrigue - 8/10

The slower beginning and then the slam into the guitars and drums is great. It flows nicely and has a good pace/rhythm.

Crafting - 9/10

Overall: 34/40 = 8.5/10

Watermelon Sugar:

Lyrics - 6/10

Nothing particularly thrilling. It’s a generally fun song with some lyrics that are suggestive but not overtly so. Good to know that he’s enthusiastic about oral, but again, it’s not his finest lyrical work.

General listen-ability - 8/10

Another more easy listening track. Good for any time. A fun, sexy little bop.

Sonic intrigue - 7/10

The horns and bass line save this song from otherwise being a bit lackluster in terms of production, and make it interesting in a subtle, understated way that’s very enjoyable.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 29/40 = 7.3/10

Adore You:

Lyrics - 7/10

Kinda cliche and corny; “I get so lost inside your eyes”. Otherwise, very fun and leans heavily into a more pop lens. Makes up for it with “You don’t have to say you love me / You don’t have to say nothing / You don’t have to say you’re mine” and the “Oh honey”s.

General listen-ability - 10/10

I want to listen to this song all day every day. There has to be something in the soundwaves that’s brainwashing me. Can’t stop won’t stop.

Sonic intrigue - 9/10

At first glance (listen) it’s a very basic sort of pop song. But the more you listen, you realize that it’s rooted in a more funk-style guitar lick and utilizes synths in a way that doesn’t come off as too manufactured or ‘fake’. It’s layered; you find more and more complexity with each spin.

Crafting - 9/10

Overall: 35/40 = 8.8/10

Lights Up:

Lyrics - 8/10

The lyrical structure, if you look at it on paper, could easily be read as some type of poetry. The song opens with a question: ‘What do you mean?’ and then proceeds to offer fragments of sentences that aren’t necessarily connected, but somehow offer a cohesive picture — a message that’s still a little unclear but offers multiple interpretations in meaning.

General listen-ability - 9/10

It’s fun and boppy but also surprisingly mellow. For me personally, the tempo and bass mean that it can be hit or miss in terms of how/when I want to listen to it, but for the most part, I don’t skip it. This might also have to do with it being the first song we heard from him since HS1, and I might have overkilled it a bit.

Sonic intrigue - 8/10

It’s hard to not compare this song to his work on HS1, for the reasons above. HS1 was definitely more rock-oriented; more bare bones production and an ode to the more classic methods of music making ie singer, guitar, bass, and drums. Whereas with this song, it was essentially a complete 180 in style and production, with a little flair of R&B style music while maintaining his classic air of whimsy in both the lyrics and his less-frequently-used breathy head voice. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that it’s a Harry Styles song.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 33/40 = 8.3/10

Cherry:

Lyrics - 8/10

One of Harry’s many talents is his ability to project tone with the combination of how he sings/emotes with his voice with the lyrics he’s singing. This song is no exception. It’s a sadder, more melancholic song, where he’s expressing some less-than-pleasant feelings, and you’re not only getting that from the words he’s singing, but HOW he’s singing it. It allows the listening to feel and empathize. It’s something he’s very masterful at. (See: the opposite would be something like Adore You, which under the guise of a more upbeat song, the lyrics are actually kind of sad and grovel-y)

General listen-ability - 7/10

I respect his artistic vision and the choice to include the voice note but as part of a general playlist, it can come off a little odd and out of place. Otherwise it’s very palatable. It just makes me sad, so I don’t often intentionally put it on to listen.

Sonic intrigue - 7/10

I liken this to a FTDT style song. Very raw. More singer-songwriter than pop. Some very lovely guitar playing and it’s nice hearing him sing in a register that’s been essentially neglected up until this album. But for the most part, I don’t think it’s his most interesting work. Very typical singer-songwriter guitar type song.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 30/40 = 7.5/10

Falling:

Lyrics - 7/10

I enjoy and appreciate his honesty, and perhaps there’s something to be said about the lack of flowery turns of phrase, but I just don’t feel like this is his most clever work. Again, great to see him being so honest, but it sounds like the extended version of If I Could Fly.

General listen-ability - 6/10

I can’t allow this to randomly come on shuffle without putting myself at risk of a depressive spiral. That’s where he loses points.

Sonic intrigue - 7/10

Every album has one, and this is it. The Basic Song. So widely palatable that it’s...boring. Shoot me, I know.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 28/40 = 7/10

To Be So Lonely:

Lyrics - 9/10

Currently, with just HS1 and Fine Line under his belt, THIS song is his lyrical Magnum Opus. It’s honest. It showcases an intriguing narrative. It’s clever. It’s fun. It’s a little sad. This is Harry and his amalgamation of musical influences mixed up in a bowl, poured into a pan, and baked into a perfect cake with frosting flowers.

General listen-ability - 8/10

This is another one of those songs that you can have on in the background and it fits into whatever you’re doing, or you put it on specifically to scream ‘arrogant son of a bitch’ back at him. It’s versatile.

Sonic intrigue - 10/10

The production on this song is clean but also a little rough around the edges, and I think it was done intentionally. You can hear the buzz of guitar and bass strings. There are peaks and troughs of volume. It has a sneaky little swinging beat that makes it impossible to not bop your head along with it. Again, it’s INTERESTING.

Crafting - 10/10

Overall: 37/40 = 9.3/10

She:

Lyrics - 8/10

I’m afraid to say anything negative about this song because I don’t want to be executed, but here goes. I think it offers a fun, interesting narrative on the first few listens. It’s a story; a little fantastical and sultry. But for me, it feels a bit like Woman 2.0

General listen-ability - 7/10

I have to be in the right mood to put it on specifically, so otherwise, it’s one that I won’t necessarily skip, but I prefer to have it on when I want to listen to slower music. Also kudos to Mitchell but the guitar wank at the end is just a little on the long side.

Sonic intrigue - 8/10

This is definitely a stylistic callback to the overall sound of HS1, and for that reason, I think it offers a nice bit of continuity.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 31/40 = 7.8/10

Sunflower Vol. 6:

Lyrics - 9/10

The story! The atmosphere! The pure, unbridled joy it offers! KISS IN THE KITCHEN LIKE IT’S A DANCEFLOOR!!!! I’m offended at how cute this song is. More men need to write songs like this.

General listen-ability - 9/10

This song instantly puts me in a happier mood. I don’t feel like a car ride is complete without listening to it at least once. It’s textural. I love it.

Sonic intrigue - 9/10

The backwards audio in the beginning. The weird bass. The vocal layering. The nonsense ad libs at the end!!!! FUN!!!!

Crafting - 10/10

Overall: 37/40 = 9.3/10

Canyon Moon:

Lyrics - 8/10

This song is deceptive — underneath the cheery, more jovial sound, it actually has some more echo-y melancholy notes — the ‘So hard to leave it / that’s what I always do’ and ‘I’m going home’s. It’s about reminiscing but still moving forward. Reflecting!!

General listen-ability - 9/10

Could easily fit in on a romcom soundtrack, and I mean that in the best way.

Sonic intrigue - 7/10

If I didn’t know that he specifically sought out Joni Mitchell’s dulcimers for this, it would feel just like any other upbeat guitar song, but I DO know his process behind it, so his score gets bumped a bit.

Crafting - 9/10

Overall: 33/40 = 8.3/10

Treat People With Kindness:

Lyrics - 7/10

Ohhh Harry Styles. He just wants people to be nice to each other! And maybe be a utopian society cult leader. It’s okay. We love him anyway. This song is full of idealisms; perhaps it’s a toe-dip into social commentary. Perhaps it’s a reflection of his own life, on dealing with friendships and loss and the overall nature of being a person. Who knows! It’s a batshit extravaganza in the best way.

General listen-ability - 8/10

If you can listen to this song without wanting to dance...you have a problem.

Sonic intrigue - 9/10

This song is all over the place but in a very thoughtful, cohesive way. It would not be the same if he sang the chorus; half of what makes it so charming is that he doesn’t, and instead, he sounds like some sort of unhinged ring-leader at the end, demanding ‘one more time’ and screaming. UNHINGED BUT MAKE IT JOYFUL.

Crafting - 9/10

Overall: 33/40 = 8.3/10

Fine Line:

Lyrics - 9/10

This song doesn’t have many lines, but the ones that do exist, are all purposeful and pack an incredible punch. It would be a disservice to him to try and pick a ‘best’ one, but ‘Put a price on emotion / I’m looking for something to buy’ and ‘my hand’s at risk / I’ll fold’ are up there as two of my favorite things he’s ever written. The repetitiveness of ‘we’ll be a fine line’ can be a little grating, but I find that to be entirely dependent on my mood, and not any fault of his own.

General listen-ability - 8/10

I put this on when I want to disassociate. Not ideal for when I’m driving down the highway, but what can you do.

Sonic intrigue - 10/10

One of the most, if not THE most, beautiful pieces of music he’s ever put out. Nothing more or less can be said.

Crafting - 10/10

Overall: 37/40 = 9.3/10

#this took me a long time to finish so you better appreciate it

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tinkdw · 7 years ago

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Mixtapes are Romantic

We all know it, everyone who recognises a trope knows it. @margarittet and I just wanted to catalogue a few obvious ones in one place to put this to rest.

So what is a trope?

It’s an agreed-upon narrative, an archetypal, recognisable reading of a story or situation, a kind of narrative stereotype. Tvtropes says “tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations”.

So essentially a trope is a way for a writer to tell the audience something, something important that they want to get across without saying blatantly out loud... yet. They have pay off but in the mean time it’s a means to convey the authors INTENT and for the audience to be prepared when the pay off happens without being surprised.

Examples of tropes in Supernatural:

- The cough of death. If you just cough once on screen, you’re gonna die (or at the very least it’s showing there’s a BIG health issue at hand) eg. Karen. It’s not like coughing irl. This is a long running laughed about trope in hospital dramas, you come in with an unknown cancerous tumour that should definitely kill you, you are cured and live! BUT the guy in the bed next to you who thought he was just there for a check up coughs once and he’s the one who dies.

- Love nostalgia songs. Dean singing along to “can’t fight this feeling” as a romantic link to Jo with lyrics “what started out as friendship has grown stronger”. Dean later singing along to “all outta love” as a romantic link to Cas after his death where he now feels huge guilt with lyrics “I’m so lost without you, I know you were right believing for so long, what am I without you, it cant be too late to say that I was so wrong”.

- Redemption = Death. As soon as “bad guy” Crowley saved Cas in 12x12 and seemed on a path to bettering himself/redemption. DEAD. It’s a standard semi-villain trope, eg. Darth Vader.

- Sadness Tropes. Depression, lack of sense of belonging etc. When Cas in early season 11 had a meltdown the flashbacks are a PTSD trope. It’s thus clear his depression is going to have a key role in the story. It led directly to saying yes to Lucifer after this was exposed further by Ambriel, but the earlier meltdown is the set up trope.

- Longing looks and held gazes. Need I say more.

- The male gaze. The 8x07 gaze trope as Cas exits the bathroom and Dean has a full body and face reaction.

- Star crossed lovers. Lovers who are told they cannot be together. Usually due to fate, duty, family, cultural norms, or, for example sacred oaths... something will always be in the way, until it isn’t or they die.

These are standard tropes of storytelling, they pay off. The trope is there to show us the author’s intent to do so. So mixtapes, what do they tell us?

Let’s set the scene with what I believe is the most succinct quote below:

“Maybe I need some kind of a gesture. You know, something that says we’re moving forward without having to talk about it...” “A mixtape?”

1. High Fidelity - of course is the place to start, Rob making Laura a mixtape to show how he feels (romantic love of course).

“the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do’s and don’ts. First of all, you’re using someone else’s poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.”

2. Bring it On - This is my favourite, cos hey, I grew up with this movie :) So Cliff gives Torrance a mixtape to show he’s crushing on her and I shit you not the lyrics repeated over and over again are “you’re what I need!”:

“Cliff makes Torrance a mixtape that even by 2000 standards would have been outdated technology, to say nothing of the fact that all these characters would have been listening to their music in MP3 form in just a few months. Still, in movies and in real life, mixtapes have special properties, and this one gives Torrance the drive to push through the final leg of the story. It’s a lot more romantic than, say, giving someone a thumbdrive” - People Magazine

“Even by 2000 standards”. Yep 17 YEARS later it’s even better, especially when the recipient doesn't even have a tape player in their car so it’s literally JUST a trope for the trope’s sake. They could have given Cas any excuse to talk to Dean, he could have asked for his phone to be charged, his car to be fixed to get Dean out of his room, whatever, it could have been a borrowed tape that was clearly Dean’s and not a gift. Anyway he didn’t even need an excuse, he could have just gone to talk to him as buddies/brothers would after the heated exchange earlier, they’ve talked in his room before, there was no plot narrative NEED for the gift of a romantic trope mixtape (of crotch rock music that is already associated with love interests, Jo saying that’s how men think they get into her panties and John/Mary) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3. Friends - 8x11 The one with Ross’s step forward.

Ross says: “Maybe I need some kind of a gesture. You know, something that says we're moving forward without having to talk about it.”

Rachel & Phoebe tell Ross to give her a mixtape ;)

4. Friends - Monica & Chandler and Chandler & Janice. A mixtape is seen as a romantic gesture twice in one episode. It’s undeniably romantic.

5. Family Guy - 4x08. Stewie comically makes a mixtape for his crush (the babysitter) because it’s such a recognisable trope.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy - I keep seeing this used as an anti argument and it’s kinda hilarious as there’s one instance of it as a platonic parent-child gift but everything else around it is 100% romantic and it’s use is overtly romantic for the protagonist. It’s a platonic sandwich (starlord-mom) between two bits of romantic bread (mom-dad and Starlord-Gamorrah). It represents the love of his mom for his dad, her gift is a legacy of that love that she then gifts to her child. Starlord then in GotG 2 uses it to woo Gamorrah, thus reinstating the original romantic meaning of the mixtape and it’s music in the movie.

7. No Strings Attached - As Adam’s feelings becomes more obviously romantic, he’s jealous of others and wants to take it to the next level, he gifts her a mixCD because it’s 2011 and a mixtape would be so outdated and too obvious a cliché for even this tacky romcom.... uhhhh ;)

Emma: “Adam, did you make me a period mix?” Friend: “That’s so romantic!”

*Tink stares into the camera*

8. Cuban Fury - Bruce makes Julia a mixtape to show her how he feels (hint, it’s romatic, shocker I know!), he is kind and respectful of her. This is directly compared with Drew who also is vying for her attentions but does so in a sleazy and patronising way. The mixtape represents his romantic feelings and the time, thought and effort that went into making it, showcasing him as a caring person who cares for her in particular.

So yeah, mixtapes are romantic. They’re consistently romantic and used as a “moving this relationship to the next level, trying to tell you how I feel without saying it out loud” trope.

It’s so weird that they’d use a romance trope here though right? There’s been no reason to read the two of them as written as a love story for 9 years. It’s so out of the blue! No-one has noticed this before now! I’M SHOCKED AT THIS UNFORSEEN TURN OF EVENTS.

If only there were other indications that this was just a part of the consistent theme between Dean and Cas, that it felt like the author intent in season 12 was to show us “you know, something that says we’re moving forward without having to talk about it”...oh wait ;)

I feel like this is enough, there’s no need to flog a dead horse after all. It’s a romance trope. Some lovely people did send me more though so they’re below the cut :)

- https://youtu.be/b-Uztuhzedc - mixtape puppet musical, I didn’t know I needed this til I saw it :p - Nick & Norah’s infinite playlist - Not another teen movie - The perks of being a wallflower - Juno - Without a Paddle - The secret life of Walter Mitty - Boogie Nights

#mixtape #the fucking mixtape #spn 12x19 meta #destiel #destiel meta #tinks meta #spn 12x19 #Im still not over this #clearly #but it was a lot of fun putting these together and remembering old movies I love from years ago!#thank you to everyone who sent me your additions!!!

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miss-pyrrha-nikos-isms · 7 years ago

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Getting to know the Writer

Thank you to @braith-eisen-isms and @zsweber-studios for the tags!

1. Short stories, novels, or poems?

I’ve been informed when I turn my hand to poetry it’s not bad at all. Sadly, I think otherwise.

Truthfully, the most of what I write is campaign notes, world-building, NPC and character backstories and downtime. I’ve helped building three different worlds thus far, one medieval low fantasy, one extrememly high fantasy, and one somewhere in between. And one Sci-fi universe. Although, admittedly, I had an absolute blast with that.

When I do turn my hand to proper writing, it’s typically RP responses that are grossly overdue and short fics. I’m massively guilty of what I call ‘consequence free writing’ wherein I’ll create a scenario, I’ll let a problem or scene develop, and then I’ll end it after the scene’s climax.

Actions don’t have consequences if you’re a character in one of my fics ^_^

2. What genre do you prefer reading?

I’m a dolt for Fantasy in it’s many many shapes and forms. I’ve been known to pick up a a Sci-fi or Dystopian novel once in a blue moon. There’s even some poetry and epics on my bookshelf. If the paranormal, magical, other-worldly, bizarre or otherwise fantastical make an appearance, I am all over that.

And, of course, some writing manuals. Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ is an actual god send.

3. What genre do you prefer writing?

I write what I read. Admittedly, RP-wise, I have been writing a surprising amount of romance as of late. I’ve turned my hand to horror before, but I fear it didn’t go overly well.

4. Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

I can have a beautiful plot lined up, full of intricacy and clever twists, and my lead character will take one look at it and simply decide otherwise. They have minds of their own. I just sort of set up the world, create the character, their motivation and turn them loose.

5. What music do you listen to while writing?

It really depends on the genre. Like almost everyone, the LOTR soundtrack features heavily in my playlist. There’s some translated anime soundtracks thanks to Lie and Lee, Nate Wants to Battle and Amalee. The Swedish Orchestra have done some beautiful work with gaming soundtracks, particularly Bloodbourne and Witcher.

6. Fave books/movies?

Ohhhhhhh buddy. I’ll save us all and limit myself to 5 recent books.

Mistborn- Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson’s character breathe. They are truly marvellous. His world is a vast one, his story gorgeously compelling and holy hell those twists.

A Darker Shade of Magic/ A Gathering of Shadows- V. E. Schwab

I adore Delilah as a protagonist. Schwab doesn’t pull punches and try and make his protagonists completely likeable. They are flawed human beings and that gets them into just as much trouble as their abilities get them out of. Kell and Lila serve as each other’s muse and devil, even when half a world away.

Terry Pratchett- The Night’s Watch

The Discworld never fails to enthral me with it’s wit and charm. Pratchett’s characters are both caricatures and subtle developed individuals. Everyone has at least one character in Discworld they simply adore. Vimes is definitely one of mine.

The Once and Future King- T. H. White

This collection of Arthurian tales will forever remain on my bookshelf. It has earned it’s place there time and time again.

The Last Wish- Andrzej Sapkowski

I heard the books where darker than the game. I am currently in the middle of finding out. Sapkowski’s world is a brilliant example of a grimdark world down without the depressing overlay. There are glimpses of nobility, of love and companionship. One just has to be careful those traits don’t get you killed.

7. Any current WIPs?

Every single RP thread I’m working on. The worlds are constantly expanding with more lore and epic-tier backstory.

8. If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Leather leggings are a must. Likely a vintage cartoon T-Shirt or a block colour top with a loose denim shirt as a cover and ankle boots.

Unless we’re LRP-ing- Then it’s the corset, gyspy-top, long boots and Hunting coat ensemble. Two swords, a small hand hammer, holy symbol around the neck, more potions than possibly needed and a hipflask (essential). An outfit I love way too much.

9. Create a character description for yourself:

(More of a NPC description, but ho hum)

‘Away with the fairies’. She had frequently been described as such, and now she seeks to emulate it. Tall, but with far too much of a sweet palette to be lithe. She has a smile like a breeze. Perpetually there, and many don’t realize it’s presence until it’s gone. A mane of curls bounce as she talks animatedly.

10. Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

I may steal a series of conflicting traits from a person, but I won’t steal their full being.

11. Are you kill-happy with characters?

Oh gods no. I will put them through hell, and possibly their worst nightmares, but I will rarely kill them. All too often, that would be a kindness.

12. Dream job?

A librarian, or a lighting apprentice for a theatre. I’ve always been fascinated by the backstage of the theatre. The special effects and everything else. I can’t be onstage for the life of me, but I would happily delve into the secrets of the backstage arts.

If I could write LRP plot for a living I would love to, but a girl’s gotta eat.

13. Coffee or tea while writing?

I’m with Braith. Hot chocolate wins.

14. Slow or fast writer?

I make the tortoise look like Usian Bolt.

15. Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

Everywhere. I carry a notebook everywhere I go. Sometimes it’s a great collection of ideas, sometimes it’s just one well-wrought sentence.

16. If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

Oh dang, which one? I’ll assume person preference.

Probably one I helped make. If I forced to pick, Asyre, particularly in the City of Larchenette. A city risen from the sea, sourced around a fragment of the legendary Sun Crystal. It was one of the first places I ever created and sentimentality holds a lot.

Not to mention, at some point a dragon washes up on shore, with a merfolk, and half a dozen others.

17. Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche?

Favourite- ‘Two characters sparring, one partner pins another to a wall, intense few seconds, both character start making out.’

Least favourite- ‘My biggest flaw is I’m clumsy/My power makes me heartless.’ Get OUT of my novel with that nonsense. I will fully rage-quit a story over this type of writing.

18. Fave places to write?

I tend to write best in an environment where something is going on. A coffee shop, a library, a bar, there’s a lot of options.

19. Fave scenes to write?

Descriptive, or ones where I can work in some foreshadowing.

20. Most productive time of day for writing?

Whenever the feeling strikes. Normally when I’m in the middle of something.

21. Reason for writing:

“For a teller of tales will never die- not while there are still people willing to listen.” Stories speak to something primal and universal. In every culture, we have narratives for entertaining, narratives for warning and ones written in tribute or commemeration. I find it speaks to me on that level. Hearing a compliment after I bear my soul, or put my best effort into writing somethingfulfils me in a way nothing else does.

To make things easier, and to quote a wise green haired man once upon a time, I am a writer “because there is nothing in this world I would rather be.”

Tags- @cody-baxter-isms, @churchboy42, @and-his-name-is-rouge-crimson, and anyone else who wants to give it a whirl!

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musicmixtapes · 6 years ago

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June 6, 2018 Mix

Hey everyone,I haven't been as timely with the mixes as usual because it's summer and there's way more distraction, but I love finding old music and making it new again and I really feel that this week with some of the selections.

Spotify Playlist 1. Where Did Your Truth Go? by Girl Skin - Listen carefully especially in the beginning to the laughing conversation, the city sounds etc, its such an interesting layering behind the simple guitar and piano. The words are very philosophy based around conformity in society and wearing a mask to fit in. 2. Dancing In The Moonlight (It's Caught Me In Its Spotlight) by Thin Lizzy - A classic that I will always sing and dance to, but I listened to this because I first heard the Alt-J slowed down version (featured on a previous Music Mix) and wanted to hear the original which is amazing in its own right. 3. Africa by Weezer - I was so excited when I saw that Weezer took on this icon of a song originally done by artist 'Toto' and I was definitely impressed by their garage rock take of it, although some portions still remained true to its 80s original which I loved as well. 4. Shake Your Lonely by Twin Peaks - When they sang in beautiful harmony "I know I'll be the only girl to shake your lonely heart" well, I really felt that on a relatable level. The chilled out indie folk vibes I get from this is so beach and summer feels, love the horns featured too. 5. Cigarette by Marika Hackman - I felt like I was listening to this in a small dimly lit bar with Marika sitting on a stool with this song. It just gives you those feelings and I love the minor chord progressions that go on throughout, especially the line "lit a cigarette and gave it a kiss" it's just very perfect. 6. Night And Day by Fred Astaire - The story behind my discovery of this song is me listening to Beatles Sirius XM in the car and hearing Ringo Starr do his version of this classic and then them playing Astaire's croony lulling version right after. And obviously I fell in love with the jazzy vintage vibes, especially the trumpet. 7. I Won't Hurt You by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - I treat this song as a spoken poem because it's so beautiful that I think it needs to be read while being listened to simultaneously. It's essentially about the speaker wanting someone to appreciate and love them because they feel dissociated from the world. Also there's the sound of a heartbeat throughout the entire song which is amazing. 8. One Day Like This by Elbow - Shout out to my girl Devlin for showing me this brilliant gem that I had never heard of before the other day! I love this one, it takes you through a relationship going through tumultuous times but one party wanting to just forget about it and move on to a better time. But the truth is that life isn't like this, all the speaker wants is just one beautiful day to appreciate love. 9. Thirteen Sad Farewells by Stu Larsen - I've definitely been getting back into the folk genre recently, I think that the lyrics here are so story-like, so they're very easy to follow, but they definitely make you think as well. I'm not sure what the significance behind 13 is, but perhaps alluding to the unluckiness of the number and his bad luck in relationships and that he has no more goodbyes after that. 10. Gold Dust Woman by Fleetwood Mac - I guess I'm putting some iconic songs on this mix, but icons deserve to be recognized every once in awhile too, not just obscure weird songs. Then again, this song is pretty edgy what with it's clear meaning of a woman who frequently does cocaine and how it affects her and her visions. The woman this song is about will never change her ways and it does note bode well for people to love her because they will become broken. 11. I Want To Break Free by Queen - Happy Pride Month! Had to include a song that celebrates people who quite literally need to break out of the typical and express who they really are. Mercury was one of the first male singers/icons to come out, especially for the time period in which Queen was performing, it was quite bold. This song you will sing along to whether you like it or not. 12. U + Ur Hand by P!nk - This. Song. It means everything to me and whenever I get nervous to go out to a party where I know people will be judging me or thinking that I'm there for them, I listen to this. P!nk knows what's up and the fact that she is leaving a man who has wronged her and treated her badly with his hand to soothe himself, makes me feel like I can do the same. 13. Make Out In My Car (Sufjan Version) by Moses Sumney - A super simple song that is sung by Sufjan? I'm not really surprised, but I am so in love with this little tune that should be in an independent movie. The sentiment that the speaker doesn't want to sleep with the love interest, but simply just kiss is SO romantic and slow going and sweet. 14. Beige by Yoke Lore - A song about wanting to see someone's bad parts, the realest part of a person, what's going on inside of them rather than what they portray to the world. That is a beautiful sentiment. Also this is an interesting music genre cross over because it begins as a folky song but then becomes kind of electro-folk? I love it, it's pretty original. 15. Ya Ya Ya by You Won't - People getting together over having shared issues with their parents? Sounds like it would make an interesting song, and it totally does in this one. This gave me serious Father John Misty vibes with the interesting chord choices and simple voice with cool words sprinkled in. This was released a couple years ago, but they're a seemingly unknown band so they deserve the hype. 16. Poem by U.S. Girls - You might think this was an 80s song if I didn't tell you otherwise. U.S. Girls are very individualistic, with their electro-indie-pop tunes and their obvious affection for poetry, which drew me into them, because I also am a huge poetry fan/poet myself. Kind of reminds me of some Imogen Heap songs so if you're into that, definitely listen to the rest of this album. 17. Jmy Attendais Pas by Clea Vincent - Another electro-pop song, except more fun because it's in French! I actually translated the lyric page so I could see exactly what the song was about and I highly recommend you do the same if you don't speak fluent French because the sentiments are so sweet in addition to it being such a fun song anyway. 18. Halloween Party by Soda Club - My friend Maeve's cousins' partner is the drummer in this saxophone driven dream pop band which is currently on a tour in which they are playing songs from their EP and also some other fun tunes! They are amazing live, but I specifically connected with this song and how the speaker repeats the phrase "who am I supposed to be?" to take it further than it just being about a costume on Halloween, but goes into the existential sense which I love. 19. Ruin Your Night by Sorcha Richardson - Everyone needs to have this in their feels/alternative/driving playlist because everything about it is the quintessential alternative song that belongs in your life. I love the message driven feeling to this song that the speaker is bad for the love interest and knows it, but will pursue the love anyway and ruin things. 20. All These Things That I Have Done by The Killers - This is in no way an underrated song and is generally hyped up enough, but I feel like I got away from it for awhile and was focused on a lot of other songs by The Killers and kind of forgot about this one. The buildup of this song is everything, like the fact that it starts with one sound and becomes a whole chorus of people singing by the bridge part of the song. Amazing. Iconic. Hope you enjoyed this week's mix! I'll probably have 1-2 more mixes out before I embark on my journey to France for my poetry course! Stay tuned in and rock on Xoxo,

Julia

#music #newmusic #goodmusic #piano music #rock #indierock #rocknroll #altrock #classicrock #classic #vintage #good vibes #bedroompop #dreampop #song #playlist #Mixtape

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aconissa · 7 years ago

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Honestly, I'm so impressed. It might be an enormously dumb question, but how do you manage to read so much? For someone who claims to love books, I hardly manage to read anything aside from uni stuff (I study English), except some books during the holidays. I would like to change that more than anything, but I'm not sure how...

it’s not dumb! honestly this is a new development for me, I’ve never been able to consistently read this much before and I used to have periods where I’d struggle to finish a book for weeks if not months. I had to work at it, especially when I was studying, so here’s some things that I found helpful:

find the state in which you can concentrate best. for me it’s when I have music playing that isn’t too disruptive, like instrumental music or just soft songs that I know well and thus won’t be distracted by. it’s also worth trying recorded nature sounds like this storm playlist by spotify, or the sounds produced by the tide app, which has the added benefit of controlling your phone use for a designed period so you can avoid distraction (also great for getting uni work done!)

give yourself reasonable goals because then you’ll feel really good when you achieve them, rather than feeling frustrated and stressed about meeting a deadline. this can be a big yearly goal (like mine of reading 80 books in 2018), or just little goals like finishing a certain book by the end of the week/month or being up to x number of pages by a certain date. it also helps to give yourself an average number of pages to read by the end of each day, because then you can pace yourself and get a book finished more systematically (and when it’s a really enjoyable book and you finish it faster, all the better!)

join goodreads! I’m annoyed it took me so long to get on there but it’s thanks to that website that I managed to read so much last year. you can set up a reading challenge for the year, categorise books, get interesting recommendations and read reviews on books you want to read next. I particularly like checking the ‘top shelves’ of each book, which essentially means the genres that users have categorised a book as, because it makes it easier to know what you’re diving into (and also you can often see if there’s gay characters in it, if the blurb is too vague to work it out). my goodreads profile is here so you can get acquainted with how it’s set up, and feel free to friend me if you get on there!

if you’re on tumblr a lot and you like fiddling with your theme, it can also help to make yourself a ‘books of 2018’ page. there you can post and rate each book as you read it, and it feels really satisfying to look at when you’re done. I’ve been doing it each year since 2015, and although I haven’t gotten around to making this year’s page yet, here’s my 2017 one to give you an idea of what I mean

since you’re studying literature, I’d also recommend reading books recreationally that are a bit different to your course. it can really help to have a bit of a break from uni books, no matter how much you may love your course. so if you’re doing a lot of classic lit then try to read some more contemporary novels, or if you’re reading loads of books written by straight white men then try some writing by women, queer people, and people of colour. it can just feel like a bit of a relief to have a book to lose yourself in which doesn’t remind you too much of uni. I try to alternate with genres and styles a lot, so often I’ll be reading a whole bunch of books at once but a few will be non-fiction, some modern fiction, a novella, some poetry, a play, a classic, etc. that may not work for you if you’re struggling to finish a book at all, but since I sometimes have trouble concentrating and have a very over-active mind, it helps to be able to switch between books when I feel the need to

#recs #anon #ask

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samwisethewitch · 4 years ago

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Practicing Witchcraft in Secret

I love things that are traditionally “witchy.” I love dressing candles with herbs. I love setting things on fire. I love making poppets and charms. But not everyone is able to be so obvious in their craft. For various reasons, some witches choose to be secretive about their magical practice.

Why Would You Want to Keep It a Secret?

Historically, witches kept their practice a secret because it wasn’t safe to be open about their beliefs. In the late middle ages, the Catholic Church began to actively persecute witchcraft, herbal medicine, and folk spirituality with the publication of “witch hunting guides” like the Malleus Maleficarum. This witch hunting fervor would continue even after the Protestant Reformation, with some of the most famous witch hunts (such as the Salem trials) carried out by Protestants.

It is important to remember that the witch hunts were political at their heart and that very few of the people executed for witchcraft were what we would recognize today as witches. They were mostly women, poor folks, or members of ethnic or religious minorities. But even so, the danger of being accused of witchcraft and/or devil worship drove many medieval witches, herbalists, and pagans to hide their practice.

The United States experienced a modern witch hunt of sorts in the 1980s with the “Satanic Panic.” We still don’t entirely understand what caused this cultural phenomenon, but what we do know is that it resulted in widespread paranoia about devil worship. Anything that could be misconstrued as “satanic” was shunned or outright persecuted, from Dungeons & Dragons to heavy metal music to nature-based religions like Wicca — and, yes, witchcraft. People who had been comfortably open about their spirituality suddenly found themselves practicing behind closed doors. If you’re over 30, you may remember this. If you’re under 30, the Satanic Panic probably shaped how your parents view witchcraft and paganism, and they may still be grossly misinformed as a result.

Even today, a lot of witches choose to keep their practice a secret because it would be unsafe or uncomfortable to go public. Many witches have family members, friends, or coworkers who would be uncomfortable if they knew about their witchcraft, and may even choose to end the relationship because of it. Some witches live in culturally Christian areas where it might be harder for them to get jobs or make friends if they were openly self-identifying as a witch. Some of us live in places where an outdoor ritual could get the cops called on us, or have missionaries showing up to save our souls.

On the other hand, some witches just like privacy. You may feel like your spirituality is nobody’s business but yours, and for that reason you may prefer to do witchcraft in a way that is more subtle and secretive. Desire for privacy is a perfectly valid reason to stay “in the broom closet.”

There are also some magical traditions that require members to swear a vow of secrecy and to keep the group’s secrets. However, these traditions usually require an in-person initiation, so I won’t be discussing them here.

Inconspicuous Witchcraft

If you haven’t read my posts about magical journaling and kitchen magic, I highly recommend you check them out. Those are two forms of magic that are very easy to practice discretely.

No matter what your reason for keeping your practice a secret, here are a few tips for making magic without drawing attention.

Use scented candles. Candle magic is one of the easiest and most versatile forms of spellwork, and all it requires is a candle and your intention. Scented candles are perfect for undercover witches because, rather than adding herbs and oils, you can simply buy a scent that matches your intention. (For example, a vanilla candle is great for love, while a pumpkin spice scent will attract wealth.) Plus, they’re so commonplace that no one will think twice about seeing one in your bedroom or on your desk at work. If you’re a purist and want to make sure you’re using real plant materials, you can get all natural candles scented with essential oils — but lots of witches use artificial scents and get good results, so don’t feel like you have to go with the more expensive option.

Diffuse essential oils. Essential oils contain the concentrated essence of a plant, which makes them a must-have tool for witches. Essential oils are also extremely popular right now, both for holistic healing and for aromatherapy, so you definitely won’t attract any negative attention for using them. You can get a good essential oil diffuser for under $20 online. Some brands overcharge for their oils, but you can find good quality oils for under $10. When choosing an essential oil, look at the magical correspondences for the plant it is made from. You can diffuse oils to infuse your space with their energy, similar to the way you would use incense.

Enchant your perfume. You can choose a perfume to match your intention or make your own custom perfume by mixing essential oils in a carrier oil. Focus on your intention as you spray the perfume, letting it infuse your energy field with magic. You can also buy magical perfume blends from witch-owned businesses online or on Etsy.

Learn shufflemancy. “Shufflemancy” is a modern form of divination that is done by putting a playlist on shuffle — whatever song plays first contains an intuitive message for you, either in the lyrics or in how it makes you feel. You can find playlists specifically made for divination by Googling “shufflemancy playlist,” or you can make your own by compiling a playlist of songs from different genres that deal with different topics. Just be sure to keep it diverse — if your playlist only has love songs on it, you might not get very helpful messages if you have a question about your career.

Learn bibliomancy. This divination method is similar to shufflemancy, but much older. Bibliomancy is done by asking your question while holding a book, focusing on your question while connecting with the book’s energy, and then opening it to a random page. There is a long, long tradition within Christianity of doing this with the Bible — if you feel connected to a certain sacred text, you could use it for bibliomancy. You could also use a book of poetry, a novel, or even a dictionary. However, I think it’s important to use a book you feel a connection to, rather than something randomly grabbed off the shelf.

Use Pinterest and Spotify as manifestation tools. You may have heard of vision boards, a tool used to manifest something by creating a detailed collection of images that match your intention. Pinterest boards are already essentially virtual vision boards, and creating one with focused intent can be a spell by itself. Likewise, you can use Spotify playlists for manifestation. To do this, create a playlist of songs that match your intention (songs about money or love, for example) and listen to it while meditating on your desired outcome.

Choose your outfits with intention. You can pick clothes based on color correspondences (see this post for a guide to color magic), the material they are made from (a wool sweater vs. a cotton T-shirt), or some other symbolism. For example, if you want to feel empowered, you might wear leopard print to channel the energy of a fierce predator.

Enchant a piece of jewelry for a specific purpose. You can choose your jewelry based on the correspondence of the metal or gemstones it is made from, make your own piece, or use whatever you already have on hand. You can enchant this jewelry by passing it over the flame of a candle or through the vapor of an essential oil diffuser. State what purpose you want this charm to serve, either out loud or in your mind. Wear this jewelry whenever you need to tap into that energy, and make sure to cleanse it often.

Create magical art. If you want to manifest something, draw or paint a picture of it. You don’t have to be a skilled artist — what matters is that you are taking your mental image of what you want and bringing it into the physical world. Fold up the picture and keep it in your pillow, or in some other special place. Likewise, if you want to banish something, draw or paint a picture of it and then rip it into little pieces and throw it out. This ritual allows you to purge yourself of the negative emotions tied to the thing you are banishing.

Take a magical bath. We rarely have more privacy than when we’re in the tub. Taking a bath is already a ritual of sorts, and it’s easy to add magic. You can, of course, make magical bath salts by mixing essential oils into Epsom salt, but you can also create bath spells with household objects. For example, a bath with salt and vinegar will clear up nasty energy, while adding milk to your bath will attract love and abundance.

Practicing in secret does not have to mean a less deep or well-rounded practice. There are lots of magical acts that can be done subtly or kept private. The suggestions in this post are by no means exhaustive, and I hope they will give you some ideas for other ways to fill your life with undercover magic.

Resources:

“Introduction” from The Malleus Maleficarum at http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org

The Fat Feminist Witch podcast, “Episode 34 — Witches, Midwives, and Doulas”

“Most witches are women, because witch hunts were all about persecuting the powerless” by Bridget Marshall for The Conversation

New World Witchery podcast, “Episode 118 — The Satanic Panic”

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leonbloder · 4 years ago

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There’s A Crack In Everything

I'm going to nerd out a bit about music if that's okay with everyone. Actually, I have no idea whether you think it's a good idea or not because you are reading this, and I'm writing it hours before you do so.

Let's assume then that you have nodded in assent, and I'll move forward. I feel better now, so that's something.

I've been listening to my Essential Leonard Cohen playlist a bit and it's been serving as some inspiration in moments when I've needed it. If you aren't familiar with Leonard Cohen, you probably are and you just don't know it.

Several of his songs have been reworked by artists who made them into big hits. Rod Stewart had a hit with Downtown Train, and Cohen's song Hallelujah has been covered by Rufus Wainright and a host of other people as well.

But it's his song Anthem that has been speaking to me lately. Incidentally, Anthem was recently masterfully covered by Father John Misty (Josh Tillman) in an EP he released this month, you should check it out.

But back to the song itself. Here are the lyrics that stood out for me when I was listening to it yesterday:

The birds they sang

At the break of day

Start again

I heard them say

Don't dwell on what

Has passed away

Or what is yet to be

Yeah the wars they will

Be fought again

The holy dove

She will be caught again

Bought and sold

And bought again

The dove is never free

Ring the bells (ring the bells) that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything)

That's how the light gets in...

By now, you have probably deduced that I find a lot of inspiration from poetry and song lyrics (which is also poetry).

Honestly, there's so much in these lyrics to talk about... but I'm going to zero in on two lines, the first of which is this one:

"Don't dwell on what/ Has passed away/ Or what is yet to be..."

I've been grieving the loss of a lot of things lately. I'm sure that many of you have been doing the same. Grief can make people do strange things. It can lead to anger or bitterness. It can cause us to withdraw. And for some of us, it can drive us to do more and more--to stay busy at all costs.

That line of the song reminds me of Isaiah 43:19 where the prophet speaks the words of the Lord and says, "Forget the former things... See, I'm about to do a new thing!" We are exhorted to trust that God redeems what has been lost, and is already at work in the future--we don't have to worry.

The second line is the one at the very end:

"Forget your perfect offering/ There is a crack in everything/ That's how the light gets in..."

There's an idea that so many of us have about following Jesus being something that you can only truly do when you have our faith all figured out... when we know more... when we get to a more stable place in our lives.

But the song reminds us that we need to forget that perfect offering--it's not ever going to happen. But it's in our imperfections and weakness that God shows up and "makes us strong" as the Apostle Paul asserted.

So know this today... you might be feeling broken and not at all ready to follow Jesus where Jesus might be leading you. You might feel like you haven't got the faith to take another step. You've been shattered by loss, angered by grief, hollowed out by focusing so much on what will never be the same again.

This is when you need to follow Jesus the most. There are cracks in your armor, that much is certain. But it's the cracks that let the light of Christ shine into you and through you.

In your weakness, you are made strong.

May this give you courage and hope for today and every day. And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.

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dellgirl · 5 years ago

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Suicide Prevention Kit

Thank you to The Mighty for providing me with a list of items to go in a Suicide Prevention Kit (via email) Please share. I may have to make one of these.

Here they are:

1. A Suicide Prevention Plan So You’re Safe Anywhere You Go

A suicide prevention or safety plan may be the most important item to have in your kit. Typically a safety plan includes a list of numbers you can call in a crisis, some coping strategies and ways you can distract yourself when you’re feeling suicidal. The best part of the plan? You fill it out yourself so it’s tailored to your needs exactly.

2. Photos of Friends and Family to Remind You You’re Loved

It’s no secret that part of being human is needing connection. When you’re struggling with suicidal thoughts, it can be helpful to have a visual reminder of the important people in your life. We recommend tucking a few important photos in your suicide prevention kit.

3. Art Supplies to Help You Express Your Feelings Without Words

Sometimes you can’t find the words to express what you’re feeling inside. In times like these, expressing yourself creatively can help. Whatever medium you choose, whether it be colored pencils, finger paint, crayons or watercolor, let yourself channel everything onto the page.

4. A Candle to Remind You of the Light in the Midst of Darkness

Candles can provide warmth and comfort when you’re struggling — especially if the candle was given to you by a loved one. Pick a candle in your favorite scent, light it and focus on breathing the scent in and out. This technique may help ground you in difficult moments.

5. Books (or a Library Card!) to Visit a Different World for a While

If you’re tired of the situation you’re in currently, you’re not alone. It’s OK to take a break from your world by diving into a fictional world for a little while. Keep a few books in your suicide prevention kit if reading helps you cope. If you need to read something that directly addresses the suicidal feelings you’re experiencing, try out Matt Haig’s book, “Reasons to Stay Alive.”

6. Your Favorite Chocolate for Something Sweet to Look Forward To

In “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” Professor Lupin offers Harry a piece of chocolate after a run-in with a dementor, a creature author J.K. Rowling used in the books to symbolize depression. Though more research needs to be done, some studies suggest dark chocolate can positively affect mood. If you struggle with depression or suicidal thoughts, take a page from Lupin’s handbook and keep a bit of chocolate in your kit.

7. A Journal to Get Your Thoughts Out on Paper

Ever need to just dump everything out on paper? Studies have shown that consistent journaling can benefit depressive symptoms over time. Put a blank journal in your suicide prevention kit, and when you’re feeling suicidal, open it up. Try to write out what your feeling — without paying attention to grammar or style. Just get it all out, it might help you feel a little better.

8. A Gratitude List to Remember What You’re Thankful For

When you’re feeling dissatisfied with your life — and feeling suicidal as a result — sometimes it can help to list out things you’re grateful for. Even when gratitude is the last thing you think you can feel, listing out small things we can overlook like “running water” or “my pet” or “the way it feels when I exhale,” can remind us there are things we appreciate deep down.

9. Tokens From Nature to Remind You of the Beauty in the World

Reminders of how beautiful nature is can be helpful when we are feeling low. What’s your favorite natural setting to be in? Near mountains? By the sea? Choose an object from your favorite location and save it for times you need to be reminded there is still beauty in the world.

10. Essential Oils to Help You Breathe Easier

Essential oils can soothe our senses with their pleasant aromas. Invest in a bottle of a scent you like and spray it on your skin or pillow to calm yourself down in mentally intense moments. We recommend lavender because it’s known to have a calming effect.

11. A Blanket or Sleep Mask to Help You Rest

Feeling depressed or suicidal can sap your energy quickly. Give your body the rest it needs by keeping comforting objects in your suicide prevention kit like warm blankets and pillows. Maybe throw in an eye mask too if you have difficulty falling asleep.

12. Music for When You Need a Distraction

Similar to expressing yourself through art, listening to music can provide comfort without needing to say a word. Find out what type of music soothes you most — is it loud, pulsing beats or meditative tunes? — and create a playlist for the times you’re struggling the most. Have your list written down or create a playlist in Spotify so it’s handy anywhere you go.

13. Poetry to Give You the Strength to Keep Going

The words of our favorite writers can bring us comfort when we can’t see the light. For anyone who needs to be reminded to keep fighting for life, check out Dylan Thomas’ famous poem, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.”

14. Exercise Equipment for When You Need to Channel Your Energy Physically

If you enjoy exercising to get out your frustrations and re-center, you might consider having an exercise object in your kit. For some that might mean a yoga mat, for others, it might mean some free weights. Whatever you choose, lean into the physical sensations of exercise. If you’re not feeling up for rigorous exercise, perhaps resting in child’s pose on a yoga mat can offer some much-needed rest.

15. Letters From Others (or Yourself) to Help You Stay Strong

We all need to be reminded from time to time that our loved ones care about us. Saving birthday cards, letters or notes from friends and family can come in handy in dark moments. Some people may also benefit from reading letters they write to themselves.

16. A Spiritual Text or Object to Make You Feel Connected to Something Bigger

If you are religious or have a faith practice, a religious object or text can help in times you’re really struggling. Whether you turn to prayer, words that give you hope or meditation, having a spiritual practice can help you re-center and focus on connecting with something bigger than yourself.

17. Something to Remind You That ‘You Matter’

When you’re feeling suicidal, it can be so hard to remember your worth. If you’re looking for an item to put in your suicide prevention kit, why not pick something that literally reminds you that “you matter”?

18. A Stuffed Animal to Provide Emotional Comfort

When we’re feeling suicidal, sometimes we just need a hug. If you’re alone, having a comforting stuffed animal can provide the emotional comfort we need to get through a difficult moment.

#WorldSuicidePreventionDay #SuicidePreventionKit

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listeningtoaustin-blog · 7 years ago

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Mobility: How People Get Around Austin

Introduction:

Our group wanted to focus on the tangible aspects of mobility. Our main questions were: How do people get around Austin? and How do people listen to the sounds of these ways of moving? Due to the larger scope of this project we decided to have a slight focus on how University of Texas students interact with different forms of mobility. Within our project you can see ways of listening, aspects of sociability or lack thereof, and hints of power relations.

Walking - Amanda Micek

https://soundcloud.com/user-154760991/march4ourlives

Sounds were ever present at the March for our Lives protest in Austin. Drums, chants, personal conversations, birds chirping, and footsteps were just a portion of sounds I heard while marching. To further explore these sounds, how people listen, walking as a form of mobility, and political mobility, I engaged in a participant-observation investigation.

Most listening was reactionary. Pauses in speeches signified a time to clap, one person clapped; the people around them would hear and join in, one person would start a chant; others heard and joined in. However, I also noticed a bodily listening which will be discussed later.

The protest marked a clash between different forms of mobility. In our society we have dedicated spaces for certain forms of mobility. The sky is for planes, the streets are for cars, etc. However, walking dominated the streets and stopped car owners were quite frustrated. Additionally, a frustrated man talking with an airline on the phone can be heard in the recording.

Mobility is quite vital. We all have places we need to get to whether it be from the couch to the fridge or from an apartment to class. However, mobility is not just about getting from one place to the next. At the protest people were not walking to simply advance to a new location. They were making a statement with their form of mobility. Walking through the streets forced others to listen.

A portion of the listening taking place at the race and protest was bodily. As Kapchan describes in Body, all sounds are vibrations, but our human ears can detect only a small range of these vibrations. That is where our body can step in to listen to what the ear cannot. Listening with the body goes beyond active listening and becomes a listening act.

Listening to and with the body was used by the interviewed runners in order to make sure everything was healthy and going well. At the protest listening with the body occured in a similar way--for some people--to the Sufi. During Sufi poetry reading, some participants would “jerk, swoon, scream” (Kapchan 35). This happened to some participants when people were giving speeches and something particularly resonated with them.

Running - Amanda Micek

https://soundcloud.com/user-154760991/run

Upon getting to the race, there is music playing as people stretch and cluster together for brief conversations. The soundscape is composed of chatter, old pop music, and the occasional bird call. When the racers have all lined up a deathly silence falls on the scene as the runners wait in anticipation. Everything is frozen until a single sound--the pop of a gun--proclaims that the time has begun. The runners react to sound, but do not acknowledge it. The gun goes off and bodies lurch forward, but heads do not turn and only I seem surprised by the intensity of the sound. As people start to cross the finish line, the majority of those in front do not seem to respond to my congratulatory cheers while those towards the ends do.

Interviewing three runners:

Since the recording is of you, did you perceive any sounds differently in the moment compared to hearing the recording when you were finished with the race?

Jennifer: I didn’t hear the birds when I was running. I saw them but I didn’t hear them.

What do you hear during a race?

Andrew: I hear the gun then I zone out, footsteps, crowd yelling--but you really can’t hear it you can only see it, footsteps, sometimes I can hear someone behind me, breathing, birds, sometimes deer, constant storm of footsteps, cheering, hi fives.

Jesse: Breathing, footsteps, heartbeat, self produced sounds, competitors, squirrel, bird, water. I can only hear nature during about the first third of the race.

Jennifer: Runners footsteps, breathing, birds, music in one ear, horn, talking and laughing.

What sounds are unique to a race setting?

Andrew: Everything sounds different when you’re running. Probably because I’m running faster than the speed of sound.

Jesse: The little bells that are at the end of the race and that are sometimes at water stations. I’m not really sure what they are but I’ve only heard them at running events.

Jennifer: My heavy breathing, the run playlist I made that I only listen to during races, and the starting horn.

What kind of atmosphere do these sounds create?

Andrew: Peaceful, especially when I’m alone.

Jesse: Inspiring, because you’re suffering because you don’t want to run or it’s hot or whatever and then people start cheering and then you feel like you’ve got this.

Jennifer: A festive one because of the laughter and vocal encouragement.

What information do you gain from these sounds?

Andrew: You gain information about yourself. I always tell people if you need to figure something out go on a long run.

Jesse: They tell me how I’m doing in the race. I can listen to my body to see if I’m doing fine or pushing too hard. They also serve as comparison because I can see how my sounds are versus how other people sound.

Jennifer: They tell me if I need to move over or if I need to slow down because my heart rate is too high.

Is there a sound or sounds that elicit specific responses?

Andrew: When someone is cheering really loud you can feel the emotion. You go faster, push. Jesse: I size people up based on how they sound. If someone is breathing heavy and has slow footsteps I don’t worry, but if they sound healthy then I push myself to beat them. Jennifer: Footsteps or voices make me move to the right to allow others to pass.

Do you listen differently before, during, and after the race? Andrew: Yes.

Jesse: Oh yeah.

Jennifer: Yes.

How?

Andrew: Before the race everything is blocked out and I get nervous and pray. Everything just sounds like white noise. Like for example mom was right next to me at the beginning of one of my races cheering for me and I couldn’t hear her. Then during the race it’s a bunch of internal listening like listening to your heart and your breathing. After about a hundred yards or so then I can start to hear my surroundings again but it still sounds different. Then when you finish it’s like a return to normalcy.

Jesse: In the beginning I’m more alert and as the race progresses you get stressed and your senses are dulled. Hearing is really not necessary so those senses start shutting down. It’s a slow, consistent degradation process. I’m tuning out the external sounds and listening more to my body like my heart and breathing. Then when I’m done my hearing starts to come back. After about five minutes it’s back to normal.

Jennifer: Before they say the pledge so I’m listening to that, then I’m listening to internal sounds when running, and then afterwards it’s a party atmosphere where I’m mostly listening to others.

What do the sounds of the race tell you about the city or the people as a whole?

Andrew: When you run in the city you can feel the inspiration and you feel connected to the people. There’s a sense of we did this together, a sense of camaraderie.

Jesse: Tells you how healthy the city is. There are so many more people in Austin running [compared to San Antonio]. There’s even more people just there to watch.

Jennifer: Different from San Antonio in that its louder, there's more people. You can tell lots of people like to run in Austin. The people in Austin are faster in comparison to San Antonio.

While observing the race, it seemed like listening was all but absent. As the interviews suggest, this was not the case. The runners may be focused on internal sounds, but each person had a fruitful, and quite unique, sonic experience.

Austin Metro Rail - Sergio Gonzalez

https://soundcloud.com/user-625913536/the-road-to-mlk

The sounds of a train are very distinct; the chugging of the engines, the whistle, the bells that ring as the train crossing gate comes down. The Metro Rail in Austin, which connects downtown Austin to Leander, Texas (approximately 25 miles), defies the sonic norms of trains. While awaiting the train, I recorded the decibel levels at both the Downtown Station (A popular spot as most passengers on the train are professionals working in downtown Austin) and the Martin Luther King station.

At the downtown station, while the rail waits until its scheduled departure time, the average decibel level was 73.1 dB, with a peak of 80.6 dB. The stop was fairly empty as passengers were able to enter the awaiting train. In order to enter the train, the passenger must press the door open button on the door, which would be followed by the door opening and several warning beeps. The beeps of the door opening were very audible, yet they did not register at all on the decibel meter. Many passengers seemed to be unaware of the beeping, as most people continued to look straight ahead and did not react to the beeps in any way, while only a few passengers would look up upon passing the doorway to see a blinking light that was in sync with the beeping. At the Martin Luther King station, the average decibel level recorded was 75.2 dB, with a peak of 82.4 dB.

The Austin Rail experience is a solitary one. As mentioned, the Downtown station was essentially empty as people went directly into the train. Most passengers wore headphones, limiting the passengers ability to communicate, which contributed to the silence of the rail. The fact that most passengers wore headphones may be a reason as to why most passengers were unreactive to the beeps of the door opening. Being on the rail, it seemed very quiet, almost as if we were in a library. Most passengers, once they found their seat, took out their phone to entertain themselves while on the rail. Some took out a book to read, and only a few had their laptop out for work. While the rail was moving, the average decibel level was 83.2 dB. As quiet as the rail seemed to be, there were still a multitude of noises that could be heard, including: the sound of the rail moving along the tracks (I would compare this noise to the sound inside of a car as you are driving), some light talking, and, as stops approached, there would be the familiar voice of Austin’s metro system (The same male voice as the Metro bus system) alerting passengers of the upcoming stop.

In the case of the rail system, most noises serve as some sort of signal. The bells of train crossing gate signal that a train is approaching or passing by; the beeps as the door is opening signal that the door is opening; the male voice of Austin’s metro system signal which particular stop is upcoming. These sounds are crucial, as Tom Price notes,“a person may be ‘listening for’ or ‘listening out for’ a particular sound, meaning that they are alert to and endeavoring to hear it,” (Rice, 99). Waiting for a particular sound/signal is known as anticipatory listening, which seemed to be the primary mode of listening on the rail. The act of anticipatory listening gives sounds a new meaning for the listener. Pedestrians and drivers had to listen out for the bells to stop chiming to be able to cross the street; Incoming passengers had to listen for the end of the beeping to enter the rail; departing passengers had to listen out for the voice of the metro system call out the stops.

Austin Cap Metro - Bryan Ramirez

On our focus of mobility I decided to take my focus on buses. Our group as a whole decided to take a focus on how people around campus travel. For this, I decided to record decibel levels in the buses that I ride throughout the week and also ask bus drivers how they feel about the sounds of the buses since they’re the ones on it the most.

For bus one I got 79 db, for bus two I got 77db and for bus three I got 77db. For all three I got relatively reasonable levels. Just for clarity, all of the buses have a constant hum that is always going on.

When I asked the bus driver that I see the most she said that when she starts her shift the hum bothers her, but as she goes on throughout her shift the noise doesn’t bother her as much.

Small Q&A I had with the driver

Does the sound of the bus bother you

Her response: “No they’re just traffic sounds”

Does the hum of the engine being loud bother you?

Her response: “After a few hours into my shift I don’t really notice it”

Are there any other sounds on the bus that ever grab your attention?

Her response: “Most of the time it is quiet on the bus”

After that I began observing people that were riding the bus and the cues that people always moved to. If they were going to a specific area they would listen for the bus announcing the street that was coming up, but people almost always looked toward the sound of the bus doors opening. Looking at it from another perspective, I took a look at the sound of a bus stop, and most of the time the sound hovers around the 50 db mark unless a car passes by.

After looking at this I went back to the Bijsterveld reading and couldn’t help but look at how they talked about the kinds of people experiencing fatigue on the job in textile mills because of the loud noises and wonder if the constant droning of the buses has an effect on the drivers and passengers.

https://soundcloud.com/user-118853568/busnoisemp3

Cycling - Swanand Rakhade

https://soundcloud.com/user-154760991/project-recording

Cycling represents a very mechanical, yet organic method of transportation. It is mechanical in the sense that cyclists use machinery and gears to move, in much of the same way that drivers use a car, a very mechanical way of transportation. However, cycling differs from cars and other mechanical forms of transportation in that it is very organic, meaning that cyclists rely on themselves to travel. The energy used to move a cyclist and a bike forward are derived from the cyclist, and not from fuel or electric energy sources. Because it is mechanical, cycling is a much faster device of mobility than is walking, while still being efficient and economic.

The mechanical aspect of cycling is heard in sounds of the wheels and the gears. The contact of the wheels with the ground produces a sound upon acceleration. The gears click rhythmically in response to pedal movement. There is another sharp click when gears are changed. Squeezing the brakes causes sound to be produced between the brake pads and the edge of the wheels. The bike also responds to the cyclist and to the environment. Pressure placed on the seat or handlebars when the cyclist shifts positions or moves results in squeaks and creaks if the bike is older or in bad shape. Improperly greased chains create noise to let the cyclist know that something is wrong. A loud pop from the tires may even be heard sometimes if the cyclist rides over a sharp nail in the road.

The organic nature of cycling can also be heard by the cyclist in the sounds that a body makes when exercising. A cyclist’s breathing gets heavier and louder as the ride progresses due to exertion and fatigue. The heartbeat of a cyclist rises beyond the resting heart rate and if high enough, may even be heard internally by the cyclist. The way the body responds to cycling makes clear that the cyclist is very involved and responsible for motion, emphasizing the organic nature of cycling as a way of transportation. The bike is also distinguished from other mechanical forms of mobility because a bike does not produce the “outrageous noisiness of the motor” (Bijsterveld 97).

The sounds of cycling in the community serve to identify cyclists and bikes as methods of transportation. The clicks of a bike can be heard by pedestrians very clearly, and often serve as an alert to people that a cyclist is incoming. This can be aided by horns or bells as well. The sounds that distinguish a bike relate to the role that cyclists have in an urban environment. Cycling is both mechanical and organic, therefore cyclists should not ride on the sidewalk, nor should they be considered equal to cars. As a result of the unique nature of cyclists, cities have responded by enforcing city-wide bike lanes that give cyclists their own space for their unique form of transportation.

Cars - Jacobi

https://soundcloud.com/user-154760991/congress-bridge-soc

To study the use of cars in Austin, I chose to focus on four specific areas/roads: Interstate 35, Congress (the street and bridge) and Mopac (Loop 1). I chose these because they are practically the veins of the city of Austin.

The best place to start for any discussion of vehicle usage in Austin would definitely be traffic. The differences between the traffic on I-35 and Mopac were really interesting. Both shared the usual noises of running cars, blinkers (or possibly just the tick-tocks we associate with the blinking) and the overwhelming hums of multiple 18-wheelers. One thing that was distinctly different about the roadways was the use of horns. I-35 had a noticeably higher frequency of horns, which was not very surprising when thinking about the differences in the type of commuters that use that specific highway. In terms of access, I-35 connects the major cities of San Antonio, Dallas and Austin while Mopac primarily serves just Austin. This may also be the source of the general discontent that most of the I-35 commuters shared.

I chose to focus on Congress Avenue for quite a few reasons: the capitol, which is simultaneously a sight for tourists and locals; the bridge, which is also a common sight for tourist and locals, but is distinct in the fact that it connects the South Austin to Downtown/North Austin; the various business (restaurants, clubs, hotels, etc.), which aid in the overall attraction to the city of Austin. The noises here ranged from amazingly loud to amazingly quiet, depending on the day and the time. During SXSW, music could be heard along many parts of Congress Avenue, even though it’s not the road that runs along Zilker Park. Standing on the bridge on a Monday night, the sounds of nature (birds, water, windflow) were really predominant. These sounds were pretty evenly mixed with a steady flow of automobile traffic. At one point in my field recordings, a car with a very loud engine made its way down the bridge, disrupting the normal flow of sounds (see sound recording). The people who were out were visibly aware of the car and its noise. A lot of heads and bodies turned to see where the noise originated before turning back to resume their activities. Something I also noticed was the increase of quiet, fuel efficient cars on Congress compared to Mopac or I-35. This really made a difference in the overall ambience of the area.

I think the piece that best ties into this one would be Thompson’s Noise and Modern Culture. It specifically mentions a Noise Abatement Questionnaire from the 1930’s that lists cars with motors as the number one grievance from the people of New York. It’s interesting that the noises of cars was an issue then and is still a concern of many Austinites. Thompson’s piece offers a very detailed and thorough history on how noise has been perceived as modernization occurs. His work could be a reference as to what we should expect to see as we become more and more modern.

Conclusion: Our group, mobility, put together an acoustemology on different forms of transportation seen around Austin. In a large, growing city, mobility through these forms is necessary and needs to accommodate people of multiple sociocultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, in a city of this size, the sounds we have studied are almost always present in the soundscape. From the bikes that zoom around campus to the traffic on I-35, our lives revolve around how we progress from one place to the next.

Bibliography:

Kapchan, Deborah. “Body.” Keywords in Sound, edited by David Novak and Matt Sakakeeny, Duke University Press, 2015, pp. 33–44.

“Listening.” Keywords in Sound, by Tom Rice, Duke University Press, 2015, pp. 99–111. Bijsterveld, Karin. 2008. Instruments of Torture: Traffic Noise as UncivilizedBehavior.In Mechanical Sound: Technology, Culture, and Public Problems of Noise in the TwentiethCentury,92-136. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.[pp. 92-110]

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