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bless-my-demons · 10 months

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Redamancy: Chapter Six

Series Summary: What happens when your soulmate is a vampire that struggles to maintain a diet of trying not to kill you? Common sense says run for the hills, nothing is worth your life - but my heart is whispering why not, what’s there to lose?

Warnings: Physical abuse (slapping & hair grabbing) and harassment (verbal taunts) - it’s just the scene after prom dress shopping btw; protective Jasper bc this man is definitely touch her and die coded.

Notes: This came to me in a fever dream and I woke up in the middle of the night to write it, I have no regrets.

Word Count: 2005

Series Masterlist

• March 8th, 2005 • Port Angeles, Washington •

Reader

“You guys really aren’t into this, are you?” Angela says as she checks herself in the mirror with a pretty purple gown on. Jess standing on her other side in a hot pink gown with a neckline that accentuates her cleavage.

Seeing as Bella and I don’t plan on attending prom, we’ve been assigned to be the hipe crew for the other two girls as they try on dress after dress. After a certain point they all just blend together, but I try to offer encouraging words for each one.

“We really just want to go to this bookstore,” looking at me briefly she adds, “Meet you guys at the restaurant?” Bella says as we stand from our perch by the window.

“See you guys later!” I toss over my shoulder as we exit the boutique.

I stand on the porch of the store, admiring the view of the sunset as Bella finishes our excursion by paying for the book.

The bell above the door dings, “Secured the package?” I ask her excitedly and she waves the book in the air in front of her before dropping it in her bag as we leave.

“I think there’s a short cut to the restaurant this way.” Bella suggests, pointing down some narrow stairs that lead to a dark alley between a pair of buildings.

“I’m not so sure-“

“C’mon, I’m sure it’s fine.” She reassures me before taking off down the ominous path.

I sigh and follow her, but as we reach the bottom of the stairs, a group of guys walk past the other end of the alley and immediately correct their course to start walking towards us. Panicking slightly, I grab Bella’s sleeve and tug her towards a different path we passed a few feet back.

Coming out into an empty lot, “Hey! Where are you two going?” One of our pursuers questions with a drunken slur.

“Shit.” I whisper under my breath, not letting up on the grip I have on Bella’s arm.

“What’s up? It’s our girls from the dress shop!” Another behind us yells, boxing us in.

“Hey-whoa, where you going?”

“Come get a drink with us-“ One laughs.

“Yeah, hang out with us, c’mon! What’s the problem?” They taunt us, closing in.

“You’re pretty.” Another reaches to caress a strand of my hair, but I slap his hand away.

“Don’t touch us.” Bella starts panicking, flinching from their wandering hands.

“Fuck off.” I shove another one trying to invade my personal space and he returns it with a slap to my cheek that stuns me for a second.

“Cute.” A cocky one grabs her arm, yanking her from my grip. Bella responds by kicking him in the groin and he bends over in pain.

Seeing us not giving up easily, one of the drunker men grabs a handful of hair to hold me close as his drunk breath wafts over my face, “No need to be hostile, baby.” I squeeze my eyes shut and grip the wrist attached to the hand holding my hair-

But next thing I know, a familiar silver Volvo slides aggressively to a stop a few feet from us. The two figures that emerge send a wave of calm across me that nearly has me in tears from relief.

“Let her go.” Jasper’s tone leaves no room for negotiation, face set in a murderous rage.

“Fuckin’ take her bro.” Spits the piece of shit that grabbed me and shoves me into the arms of my knight in shining armor.

“Get in the car.” I hear Edward tell us with a deadly calm, Jasper's fingers running over my cheeks and throat as he inspects for injuries quickly.

I peel myself away from him as Bella moves towards the passenger side of the car, I open the door and fold the seat forward so I could climb in the back, Jasper right behind me. Once all of us are in, Edward reclaims the driver’s seat and revs the engine at the men that tried to take us before peeling out of the lot.

“Are you alright?” Jasper turns my chin towards his worried gaze with chilly fingers, it could just be the dimly lit car, but his eyes look nearly pitch black.

I hadn’t noticed I started shaking until I shook my head in response, Edward and Bella were yelling at each other in the front seat.

Jasper closed his eyes as his hand released my chin, I watched it flex in his lap as if he were trying to calm himself down.

“Are you alright?” I echo his question quietly, but he chuckles darkly.

“I would kill every single one of them without a second thought, if you so desired. I should’ve gotten there sooner, they never should’ve been able to lay a finger on you.” A cold finger pushes a curl behind my ear, the digit leaving a cooling trail across my stinging cheek from where I was slapped.

I close my eyes and whisper, “You can’t say things like that.”

“It’s true, I’m finding it incredibly difficult to not persuade my brother to turn around.”

“Jasper-“ but he cuts me off as my anxiety sky-rockets.

“Difficult, because I need to make sure you’re okay and it’s surpassing the urge to end those low-lives.” I let out the breath that was trapped at the thought of having to part with the safety of his presence.

I catch Jasper meeting his brother’s eyes in the rear-view mirror before Edward declares, “You two need to eat something-”

Bella interrupts him with a gasp, “We’re supposed to meet Ang and Jess at the restaurant!”

Swerving in and out of the late night traffic, I can tell he’s also struggling with turning back around.

Jasper

Absolutely fucking ridiculous, the rage coursing through my body has me locked tight. I don’t even know what’s prompting such a visceral reaction, she’s just a fellow classmate.

A fellow classmate whose scent has tempted me like nothing I’ve ever experienced, a fellow classmate that is gorgeous beyond comparison…

Closing my eyes, I lean my head back in my seat with my left hand perched on the head rest behind Y/n. I don’t have the control to touch her right now, to comfort her, the emotions flying around this car and roiling in my gut have me on edge; a rubber band ready to snap.

They dared to slap her, never mind them herding these girls like scared fawns, they fucking hit her. Grabbed her by her hair-a growl rumbles deep in my chest that I try to tame, but it captures Y/n’s attention. Before she can comment, we arrive at the restaurant they were supposed to meet their friends at.

Exiting my brother’s Volvo, I reach a hand in the door to assist Y/n as she climbs out from behind the folded passenger seat. Her hand is a warm anchor in mine, reminding me that she’s here and safe. She stands on the curb, looking at her small hand in mine and as much as I don’t want to, I let it slip from my grasp. I shut the door and turn to Edward as I see Bella walk towards the two girls leaving the restaurant.

“I’m going to stay out here while you guys go in.” Y/n tells Edward.

“You need something to eat.” I protest, concerned.

“I can’t exactly walk in with two upset guys and a handprint on my face.” She says, sounding exasperated. Her emotions were a scrambled mess, so I didn’t push her decision.

Grab her a burger and fries or spaghetti, if they have something simple like that. I think for Edward to pick up, he nods confirming my request before turning to follow Bella up the walkway.

Y/n wonders a few feet away to seat herself on a bench facing the street. Before I could say anything, our classmates rounded the bushes bordering the restaurant and spot us.

“Y/n! We just saw Bella with Edward walking in, do you need a ride home?” The one I assume is Jessica asks, her emotions a little more bold than the shy one standing beside her.

“I can get her home, we’re just waiting on my brother.” I intercept their question as Y/n tries to discreetly pull up her hood to hide her reddened cheek.

“You sure?” The quieter one finally pipes up, wanting confirmation from her friend. Considerate, but frustrating seeing as they’re wasting my alone time with her.

“I’m good Ang, I’ll see you two tomorrow.” She dismisses them with a smile and a wave. They finally peel themselves away and drive off in their car.

“How did you find us?” She asks and I turn to face her.

“You need to ice that.” I nod to the mark on her beautiful face.

“Don’t change the subject, Hale.”

“We were driving by and saw the commotion-“ but she interrupts me, her own rage bubbling to the surface.

“Don’t fucking lie to me.” She stands and closes the distance between us. “How did you know we were in Port Angeles? You’ve been gone from school the last few days.”

I gape at her, not prepared for her sudden fury. I’m at a loss for words yet again, I can’t tell her that Edward can read minds and we were watching over them ever since Alice saw them split from their friends at the dress shop in a vision.

Y/n turns to stomp away frustrated, but I reach out and softly grab her arm to stop her.

“Wait-just wait a minute, darlin’.”

She looks at me expectantly with eyebrows raised and I swear I’ve never seen a look so endearing.

“Well?” Y/n presses.

“I can’t explain-“

“You can though! It’s not hard to just-“ She’s yelling at me in frustration, but I stomp on her rant as my control slips.

“Don’t ask this from me!” I yell back, exasperated.

“Why can’t you let me in?” She says at a near-whisper after a heavy pause, stepping into my personal space.

“It’s easier this way.” I say in a clipped tone as I look away from her intense gaze, backing into the Volvo. I can’t let her in, I’ve never let anyone in. She’s human, I'm a vampire and that’ll never change - I can’t get attached. Taking her mortality so that I might never lose her will never be on the table, staying one step removed is the only way to keep her safe.

“Easier for you or for me?” She continues to press, “You saved me tonight, can’t even tell me how, and you want me to go back to being just your lunch buddy? Your classmate in History, like you didn’t swoop in and stop a group of men from doing god knows-“

I stop her rant by grabbing her biceps, “Stop.” I plead with her, unable to envision what would’ve happened without our intervention.

“Tell me, Jaz.” She asks desperately, somehow knowing I’m teetering on the edge.

My gaze frantically shifts over her face, my mouth open and closing like a damn fish out of water searching for the words. Thankfully my brother must sense my panicking thoughts because he’s exiting the restaurant, take-out box in hand as he ushers Isabella to our car.

“I got you a burger, I hope that’s alright?” Edward extends the container to her as I release her and turn away, collecting myself.

“Oh, that’s so thoughtful of you. Th-thank you very much.” She stutters, surprised Edward got her food to-go.

“Everything alright?” Isabella asks, concerned for her friend.

“Let’s go home.” Y/n says, ignoring the question and my heart plummets. I messed up this whole thing.

I open the passenger door and offer my hand for her to use to steady herself, but she promptly ignores it. Stubborn girl, I think as I climb in behind her.

#twilight #bless-my-demons #jasper hale #jasper hale x reader #jasper whitlock hale #redamancy series #twilight fanfiction #jasper hale fanfiction #jasper whitlock #female reader insert #jasper hale x female!reader #jasper hale twilight

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fancandy77 · 6 months

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So my Halloween trick (no treats) today was to get side swiped first thing this morning on my way to work. The guy tried to say it was my fault, and since it was 100% his fault, I called the cops and had them file a report. it seemed like a minor accident so the cop writes up the report and I go on to work and park in the valet parking garage that I have a space in.

Fast forward to 3:00 and the valet guys call and are like we're so sorry to inform you... and I'm thinking they're going to tell me that my car was side swiped, it's damaged etc. so i'm waiting for him to finish so I can reassure him that no, that's not their fault, it was an accident this morning, blah blah blah. Except instead of finishing up with your car has some damage, he tells me that when they were trying to move it, the fucking tire FELL OFF.

and its now stuck in their garage and could I please come do something about it. I call AAA and they;re like no can do, we don't have any trucks that will fit in a garage. try calling these 10 tow companies. All 10 of those companies are like no can do, trucks don't fit. so as you do, I have a good cry at work. everyone starts giving me their tow companies and again no can do. So I go back down to the garage and I'm like I don't know what the fuck to do. They're like try this company. and that company said probably we can, but not tonight (cuz its also fucking Halloween) Garage valet's are like no problem. have them come tomorrow after 10 am.

So i get home and call the shop that fixes my cars. They also don't have truck that will fit and they're like call your insurance agent. this is the guy who side swiped you's fault. your insurance company will handle this.

so I call, the guy on the phone is awesome. but my paid off 2005 190K miles volvo has to be totaled. (wah wah waaaahhhh) and I should call one of these companies to have it towed. mother fucker. so i spend another hour on the phone trying to get a hold of someone who might be able to come tow my car out of the freaking garage. and still no fucking luck. I'm hoping that that one company that said probably, can come tow it for me other wise, I have no fucking clue how to get it out of the garage. probably call up the car insurance company and cry at them until the figure something out for me.

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twilightinanotherlife · 1 year

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Risk & Visions

Follow up to First Day Phenomenon.

Fandom: The Twilight Saga x Life and Death

Pairing: Edythe Cullen/Bella Swan

Rating: Teen

Word count: 3,028

Summary: After witnessing Bella impossibly dodge Tyler's van, the Cullen family debate on whether or not she's a vampire and if she is an exposure risk. Alice reveals to Edythe that Bella is in danger.

January 25, 2005 (Edythe's P.O.V)

I followed the cadence of sirens as the ambulance carrying Bella drew closer to the hospital. Someone at the school had called 911 and E.M.Ts had promptly arrived to take Bella and Tyler Crowley from the scene of the accident. In my Volvo with me were Rosalie and Emmett. Each lost in their own thoughts of disbelief.

'How in the world did a human avoid that collision?' Rose's thoughts dripped with skepticism. Emmet's thoughts were similar. If he had not been there to see it, he would not have believed it either. I considered the brunette girl in the ambulance. She appeared every bit as normal as every other teen at Forks High School. Sans myself and my vampire siblings. However, the stunt she had just pulled was anything but than normal.

We arrived at Forks Community Hospital. I quickly got out of the car and entered the building. Rosalie and Emmett were right behind me. I nodded a greeting to the receptionist as I walked by her desk. My destination was Carlisle's office. I could hear him shuffling papers at his desk. Before I could knock on the door, his thoughts gave me permission to enter.

"Hello, Edythe. Rosalie. Emmett." Carlisle greeted the three of us with kind eyes. "What brings you all here?"

Rose answered him. "We wanted to speak to you before you went in to see a patient that was just brought in. Isabella Swan."

"The young woman involved in the vehicular incident at your school."

Leave it to the small-town gossip chain to spread news faster than an ambulance speeding towards the hospital.

"That's the one," Rose said, "the Swan girl could be an exposure risk."

"How so?" Carlisle asked.

"The car accident," I responded. "A van skidded across the ice in the school lot. Bella was its way. She would've been crushed between the van and her truck if she hadn't…"

"If she hadn't dived out of the way like a ninja!" Emmett enthusiastically interrupted me.

"While his version of events is puerile, it's correct," I continued. "Bella moved at incredible speeds. Too fast for a human."

"Do you believe her to be a vampire?"

"Unclear." "Impossible." Rose and I said at the same time.

"What do you mean 'unclear'?", Rosalie asked incredulously. "I could hear her heartbeat from across the cafeteria."

"Perhaps it was an illusion of sorts," I said. "We've met vampires with stranger abilities."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. Her thoughts echoed the disbelief clearly displayed on her face. Carlisle, ever aware of when his oldest daughters were about to argue, stepped in.

"We'll worry about what species she is later. In the meantime, the three of you should go to the house now. We'll have a family meeting later when I get home."

Rose and Emmett stood up from their seats, but I remained where I was.

"Actually," I said. "I think I should stay here. Bella will need a ride home since her truck was towed."

In my mind, I recalled the image of an Eagle Auto Repair & Towing tow truck pulling into the school's parking lot. Bella's truck, Tyler's van, and the unfortunate sedan would've been towed away by now.

"Fine," said Rose. "I'll call Earnest and ask him to pick us up. I'm sure Alice has already filled him in on what's happened."

Before E.M.Ts had arrived at the school, Alice had led Jessa away from the accident. There hadn't been a lot of blood, but better safe than sorry. Rose and Emmett left Carlisle's office.

"I'm going to see Ms. Swan and Mr. Crowley in urgent care," Carlisle stated. "Are you coming?"

"No. I'll stay here for now," I said.

Carlisle nodded and headed out of his office. I could hear Carlisle reach the urgent care unit just as the nurse was finishing checking Bella's vitals.

"I can take it from here, Nurse Thompson."

"Sure thing, Dr. Cullen." Nurse Thompson was a sweet, middle-aged woman. And was one of the nurses that didn't gossip about my father's sexuality. I liked her.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Swan. How are you feeling?"

"Just Bella. And like I've been telling everyone, I feel fine."

Carlisle, who's thoughts were open to me, was amused. 'She's got gumption.' I could see the room through Carlisle's eyes. He looked down at Bella's chart which he held in his hands. 'Her vitals are abnormal. Her heart rate is slow for someone her age. And her blood pressure is higher than normal, but I don't believe it's cause for concern.'

"Are you experiencing any dizziness or light headedness?"

"Fit as a fiddle, doctor," was Bella's quick response. "When can I go home?"

"There are some forms you'll have to fill out, but after that you're free to leave. The nurse's station is just down the hall. The nurse on duty can get you the forms you need."

"Thank you, Doctor Cullen."

Bella stood from the hospital bed and walked at a human pace towards the double swinging doors.

'She moves very gracefully.'

For some unknown reason, a low growl escaped from my lips.

'Easy Edythe. I only meant that she was graceful for a human. She moves as if she were one of us.'

I silently apologized and ignored the amusement that colored Carlisle's thoughts. I followed the sound of Bella's footsteps as they led her down the hall. She was light on her feet. If I didn't have such advanced hearing, I wouldn't have been able to hear her. I stood from my seat and approached Bella as she was filling out the sign out forms at the nurse's station. I cleared my throat. Bella raised her eyes to meet mine. How could a pair of eyes be so captivating?

"Oh, Edythe, I didn't expect to see you here. Did you get dragged into the back of an ambulance too?"

"No," my lips curled up in an amused smile. "I followed the ambulance in my car. I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm alright. No blood no foul," she handed the forms to the nurse. "Don't know how I'm going to get home though. Pretty sure my truck isn't very drivable at the moment. Not to mention that it's still in the school lot."

"Actually, I saw it get towed away," I told her.

"Great." Bella's voice dripped in sarcasm. "Now what am I going to do?"

"I could give you a ride home," I offered. "And I could give you the name of the auto shop."

Bella and I had walked to the front entrance. I walked ahead of her to hold the door open for her. She sent me her gratitude with a smile.

"I would appreciate that. Thank you."

I led Bella to my car and opened the passenger door for her. Then waited until she was settled before closing the door behind her. Aside from Bella's occasional directions the ride was quiet. Which was not unpleasant. While the thoughts of the people I drove by buzzed past like annoying insects, Bella's quiet mind was peaceful. The interior of my car became a temporary save haven from the unforgivable onslaught of foreign thoughts. I turned down King Richards Way. Bella's home was a small, wood paneled structure at the end of the street.

"Thanks again,” Bella said as I stopped in front of her house.

"It was no problem," I assured her. "I was happy to do it."

And I really had been. While I would've been glad to help anyone who needed it, something about being in Bella's presence made my non-beating heart swell.

"Before you go, do you have a cell or home phone?" I asked Bella. "I could give you my number and whenever you need to pick up your truck, I can give you a ride. All you have to do is call."

Bella reached into her pocket and pulled out a Motorola Razor. As she handed me the mobile device, she stopped, and a look of realization crossed her face.

"My bag!" Bella exclaimed. "I left it in the school parking lot."

"No worries. I grabbed it before following the ambulance." I reached behind the passenger seat and produced the girl's school bag. "Here you are."

"You didn't mention this earlier?"

If I had the ability to blush I would. "I, um, forgot?"

Forgetting was not something my kind was capable of doing. However, Bella's presence seemed to render my mind impotent. Her companionship was distracting. In the best possible way. Bella chuckled. Before she took the bag, I noticed a knowing smile danced on her lips. Quickly, I added my number to her contact list and handed her the cellphone.

"Thank you." Her hand rested on the door handle, ready to leave the car but I was not ready to watch her leave.

"Would you like a ride tomorrow?" The question came rushing out in an attempt to get Bella to stay just a little bit longer.

"What was that?"

"I mean, with your truck being in the shop, would it be alright if I picked you up tomorrow and gave you a ride to school?"

"I would be grateful." Bella exited the car. She leaned back down and peered in. "See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow, Bella."

She smiled and closed the car door. I waited until she was safely inside her home before pulling out of her driveway to make my own way home. After crossing the bridge over Calawah River, I headed northward until I reached the hidden driveway that led to the Cullen residence. Resting just past six primordial cedars, was a colonial style home that had been meticulously restored by Earnest. The three-story mansion had been Earnest's pride and joy the last time we resided in Forks nearly seventy years ago. As evident by the freshly painted off-white exterior and polished windows, time had not diminished my father's love for the house.

I knew my family was gathered around the dining room table before I had even entered. Of course, we never used it to dine, but it made for a good space to have family meetings. Carlisle greeted me as I took my seat by his left-hand side. He told me through his thoughts that he'd taken off from work early, but that he would be going in for the night shift. Our coven leader sat at the head of the polished oval table. To his right was his mate and husband Earnest. They were married according to vampire law, but Washington State had not yet legalized same-sex marriage. "Yet" according to Alice. For now, Carlisle and Earnest posed as partners to the Forks population. To my left was the psychic pixie herself, Alice, and always by her side was Jessamine. Across from Jessa sat Emmett and seated between Emmett and Earnest was Rosalie who jumped right into the discussion.

"We need to keep an eye on the girl. If anyone else saw what she did today, it could risk exposure."

"No one saw anything Rose," I responded calmly. "Everyone simply thinks that Bella was extremely lucky." Perhaps it was juvenile to emphasize "Bella", but I did anyway. All while ignoring the smirks from Alice and Jessa.

"Besides," Alice interrupted Rosalie. "Spying on Bella won't work. She'll sense whoever we send and run. Trust me, that won't be a good thing." Images of Bella running from shadowy figures flashed across Alice's and my mind. I didn't know who was after Bella, but I got the sense from Alice's vision that they were dangerous.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Rose asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Emmett jumped in. "You can't be serious? Did you not see how fast that girl moved?" He replayed the incident in his mind. Though in his overactive imagination Bella was doing a lot of back flips.

"Sweet pea, I agree with Emmett," Jessamine spoke up. I felt her cringe inward as she said, 'agree with Emmett.' "We can't do nothing."

"We are going to do something. Just not yet. It's not the right time, but it will be soon."

'Soon' didn't really narrow it down for immortal creatures. 'Soon' could be within the next decade or two.

Carlisle, knowing it was a fruitless effort to try and convince Alice to elaborate, moved on to the next topic. "Perhaps it would be best if we moved on to a new discussion. Where do we all stand on the human vs vampire debate?"

"Emmett said that she moved with incredible speed," Earnest said. "And Jessa told me earlier about the girl's agility. Surely, Bella must be a vampire."

"Not likely," Rose said. "She had a heartbeat. We could all hear it." My other siblings and myself nodded in agreement.

Carlisle nodded his head as well. "The girl did have a beating heart, but it was much slower than it should be." Carlisle recalled to his mind Bella's medical chart from earlier today. "Miss Swan had a heart rate of around forty beats a minute. Which is low, but it is still considered normal. Especially in athletes."

"If she is athletically trained then that could explain her agility." Earnest said.

"But not her speed," Emmet continued for him. "I'm telling you; no human could've moved that fast. She moved like one of us."

"Edythe had biology with Bella," Jessamine said. "Anything to add?"

My thoughts wandered back to biology class. I replayed every time our fingers touched as we passed the microscope between each other. Her touch had been . . . warm. Though she didn't radiate the same warmth that the humans around us had. And she certainly didn't have the same burning touch possessed by our wolf friends in La Push. The closest I could compare it to was the touch of another vampire. Because we all had the same ice-cold skin all vampires felt warm to one another. Yet, Bella's touch had been different. I could feel the warmth of human blood pulsing beneath her fingertips providing heat to Bella's otherwise cooled skin.

"She was warm," I answered Jessa.

"Human warm or vampire 'warm'," Emmett raised his fingers to air quote warm.

"Both? I know that doesn't help."

"You think?" Rosalie was steadily becoming annoyed. "This conversation is going nowhere." My first sister stood up from her place at the table and squeezed Em's shoulder. A clear indication that she wished for him to follow. She was right. We could all, quite literally, debate this all night. But the truth of the matter is none of us knew what to make of Isabella Swan.

Emmett and Rosalie retired to their bedroom for the evening. As did Carlisle and Earnest so that they could spend time together before Carlisle had to return to the hospital. Jessamine retreated to her study. From her thoughts, I gathered that she was going to do some research. She was the most concerned about what Bella was and whether or not it endangered the safety of our family. I myself climbed the stairs to the third floor where my room was.

My dwelling is behind the last door down the hall and faces south. Like the entire south facing wall of the house, my wall had been replaced by glass. Which gave me spectacular views of the Sol Duc River and the Olympic Mountain range. The unfortunate downside to my room was that it was directly above Rose's and Emmett's room. I closed my door behind me and settled into the black leather sofa that rested against the east wall. Digging my iPod Shuffle out of my pocket, I placed the headphones in my ears and drowned out the sound of Emmett's and Rosalie's nightly activities. The music device was new to the market only having been released two weeks ago. Of course, thanks to Alice, the family had stock in Apple Inc. and got early access to the product. My psychic sister was adamant that the iPod Shuffle was going to be very popular over the next few years.

Speak of the devil. Alice didn't bother to knock on the door. She already knew that I heard her approaching and knew that I would invite her in. Alice sat down on the thick golden carpet, parallel to where I was stretched out on my sofa. She leaned her head back against my wall of CDs. I turned down the volume of my media player and removed one of the earbuds. Alice's thoughts were a tangled web, so either she was hiding something from me, or she had not yet decided what to focus on. Finally, her mind calmed and the image of Bella sitting in the school cafeteria and eating food was clear in her mind's eye.

"Does this mean you believe her to be human?"

"I don't know." Alice confessed. "Bella is very difficult to see. Most of my visions of her are cloudy. The ones that are clear are unfinished. Like, there's a decision that has yet to be made."

"What can you see?"

Alice's smile lit up her face. "Bella is going to be my best friend." She showed me a vision of her and Bella giggling over a topic of conversation that had yet to unfold. I could sense Alice's anticipation and excitement behind the vision.

"The only other clear vision is of, well, you saw it earlier."

Indeed, I had. I could easily recall the image of a terrified Bella running from an unknown threat.

"She is in danger. Isn't she?"

Alice nodded her head yes. "Though in danger from whom or what, I don't know. I suppose only time will tell."

Alice was a relatively patient person, but not having the answers to this particular problem was bothering her a great deal. With nothing more to say, Alice wished me good night and took her leave. I returned the earbud to its rightful place and turned the volume back up. I closed my eyes and was, for once in my endless existence, grateful for my inability to sleep and therefore dream. Because if I could, my subconscious would have haunted me with nightmares of Bella suffering amongst the shadows.

#twilight #life and death #twilight au #life and death crossover #the twilight saga #twilight fanfiction #edythe cullen #bella swan #vampire hybrid bella #edythe x bella #bella x edythe #carlisle cullen #rosalie hale #alice cullen #the cullens #my au #my fanfiction

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cappuccinopoweredsprite · 3 months

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Hiii :D

📅 - Favorite time of year?

📺 - Top 5 TV shows

✏ - Random fact about yourself

🚘 - Dream car(s)?

For the ask game please <3

Hello again :DDD

📅 - That transition period between spring and summer in May/June, when it's warm but not take-off-your-skin hot yet, and prime pollen season is mostly over already.

📺 -

Gravity Falls

The Owl House

Firefly

Amphibia

Motorcity

✏ - like nerf guns, i have accumulated quite the stockpile of hot wheels over time. unlike nerf guns, collecting hot wheels is very much an ongoing hobby on my part.

🚘 - ohohohohohoohoho there are so many (in various stages of realism)...... but a ranked top 5(ish) shall be enough for this question.

Volvo 850 R (station wagon, manual transmission, ideally dark green, ideally black interior) - the car I usually mention when asked this. an "ultimate dream car" if you will.

2005/06 Ford GT (white with dark blue stripes, BBS wheels, painted brake calipers, no optional stereo) - the "dream supercar"

Volkswagen Golf Alltrack by Innovative Motorsports / Kia Stinger GT / Volvo V60 Polestar - the "dream daily driver." To elaborate on the first mentioned, there is a speed shop in the USA that specializes in yanking the engine and drivetrain from a 2017+ Audi RS3 and slamming them into a Mk7 VW Golf. And, reportedly, they do the unassuming Alltrack wagons too - which is insanely cool if you ask me. The other two are, let's say, more realistic alternatives.

Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato - it's just cool, man (gender neutral). Offroad Lambo. Factory offroad Lambo supercar. Sure, the Porsche 911 Dakar might be a better car but this one is cooler.

Koenigsegg Gemera - the "poster car." Actually owning it is reserved for the wildest of dreams, but it is what I'd call the greatest car ever. And that was even before Koenigsegg engineers looked at the Gemera, looked at the 5-liter engine of their other hypercar, and went "we could fit that."

✨ Thank you for the ask and the infodumping opprtunity ✨

#haha. me when car.#sorry for writing a book. it will happen again.#ask tag #car things #waywardwizzard

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lindsaywesker · 6 months

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Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day.

Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday.

Lobsters urinate out of their faces.

In the 1930s, the USA printed $100,000 bills.

The average person listens to 25 songs a day.

Obesity is now a bigger killer than malnutrition.

Mild hearing loss between the ages of 40 and 69 triples the risk of falling over.

LiFi is 100 times faster than WiFi and uses light instead of radio frequencies.

Not being able to control your negative thoughts is also a warning sign of depression.

‘Tom and Jerry’ was British slang term in the 1800s, meaning ‘to fight and cause trouble.’

Before sleeping, 90% of your mind begins to imagine stuff you'd like to happen. (So true!!)

The world’s deserts receive enough solar energy in six hours to power the world for a year.

Legalising same sex marriage in the US decreased the number of men enrolling in the Catholic priesthood.

Anhedonia is the word for that feeling when you cannot find joy in the things that usually bring you joy.

Human muscles are limited by our brain. We actually have the strength to move cars and boulders.

During the reign of Edward III (1327-77), the citizens of Norwich had to pay the king 24 herring pies a year.

In ‘Terminator 2’, Schwarzenegger was paid $15 million. It means, for each word he spoke, he earned $21,429!

Not a single engineer survived off the Titanic; they stayed on board to keep the power on so others could escape.

Introversion is strongly associated with creativity and intelligence. 75% of people with IQs over 160 are introverts.

The sons of Hitler's nephew all agreed that they would never marry or have children in order to kill Hitler's bloodline.

80% of people keep their feelings to themselves because they believe it's hard for others to understand their pain.

"They call me ‘stupid’ for smoking marijuana, but they call the creator of the atomic bomb ‘intelligent’." (Bob Marley)

Michael Caine first saw Shakira Beikish on television in a coffee ad back in 1977. They have now been married for over 46 years.

The best friendships tend to be those in which you can be openly weird and/or sarcastic without the other person taking offense.

Depression is the most common disability in women. About 25% of all women will experience severe depression at some point in their lives.

In the Philippines, the common greeting ‘tao po’ is a shortened version of an older phrase that means ‘I am human and not a demon’.

According to a new paper, disco balls can be useful in observing the sun. The authors even suggest that, “every observatory needs a disco ball.”

As some mammals can absorb oxygen through their intestines, scientists are considering the possibility of ‘anal ventilation’ in humans in the future.

Things unique to each person, which could be used for biometric authentication and verification include: fingerprint, voice pattern, iris and retina, toe print, ear, teeth, anus.

USA Today has hired a reporter to write exclusively about Taylor Swift. To prove that he’s capable of being objective, he said that there are three Taylor Swift songs that “he can’t stand.”

On June 21st, 2005, a 12-year-old Ethiopian girl, who had been abducted and beaten by several men, was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off her captors.

In the 1970s, North Korea ordered 1000 Volvos from Sweden in a deal worth $70 million. After delivering the vehicles, North Korea never paid for the cars, resulting in the largest car theft in human history.

A device invented for men in the 1880s set off an alarm if an erection was detected. It was only tried by five men, one of whom quickly gave it up because he got tired of being woken seven times in two hours.

‘Blue zones’ are areas of the world where people live a particularly long time. They have been studied to see what lifestyles may lead to a long and healthy life. However, new evidence suggests they are simply areas with higher levels of clerical errors and pension fraud.

At 3.00 a.m. one night in 1988, Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole called a local studio and said he needed to record something immediately. He pleaded with the engineer: "Please, can I come in? I have an idea." Kamakawiwo'ole recorded his iconic version of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ in one take. The song has been used in numerous film soundtracks, including ’50 First Dates’ and is the longest-leading No. 1 hit on any of the Billboard song charts, having spent 358 weeks on top of the World Digital Songs chart.

Okay, that’s enough information for one day. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

#mixcloud #mi soul #dj #music #new blog #lockdown #coronavirus #books #weekend #democracy

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osrphotography · 11 months

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(Ex-)Birkenhead Transport № 19 [Volvo B6FA/CWI "Hunter"] seen at the Hamilton Classic Car Museum. (2022)

New to BT, it was sold to Classic Coaches of Wainuiomata (c. 2005) and was converted to a movan* by c. 200x. Curiously, unlike a lot of movans it has remained pretty original and still wears the base BT livery.

The B6FA was a derivative of the B54 and sported a front mounted engine on a step entrance body. The B6 name would be revived in the 90s for the B6R/B6RLE/B6BLE.

* The Omnibus Society of New Zealand chooses to use the term movan as opposed to housebus because they see them as mobile campervans.

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sunflxwerelfgirl · 2 years

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🤍☀️🌼

#2005 volvo #Volvo #Volvo s80 #boho #that girl #hippie #grunge #used car

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bornitereads · 9 months

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Twilight - Stephanie Meyer

Twilight series book 1

Reread: Jul 2023

Twilight is fully one of my indulgent pleasure reads. I really do enjoy the vampire lore Meyer made. It's so fun and interesting, it is fully what keeps me coming back. It the story that trips me up, and I think it trips most people, is the story. You really can't think about it too hard otherwise you start going "wait what the fuck?" all the time. Well maybe not all the time. But they story does have its moments. I actually don't mind Twilight as much, it's like second last for me in the series. It's the only one where Bella's human friends are not annoying so there's that haha. My favourite part is the fucking khaki skirt scene. Ever since it was pointed out to me. I die every time I read it. Like KHAKI?! For a skirt?? And Edward with a fucking Volvo lmao. Anyways had a good time reading it like usual. It's funnier when you kind of read like a joke and not a serious novel.

Info: Little, Brown and Company; 2005

#twilight #stephanie meyer #twilight series #fiction #fantasy #vampire fiction #vampires

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a-solitary-sea-rover-backup · 2 months

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youtube

Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06: Melbourne In-Port Race

#VOR 2005 #Volvo Ocean Race #VOR #Youtube

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channelxl · 2 years

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reeleições 2022 (2022)

volvo comunidade (2021)

tv volvo (dezembro de 2021)

tv volvo (2015)

manutenção técnica (2015)

tv volvo (2014)

volvo de vidro (2006 - 2007)

volvo 45 cachaças (2005)

tv volvo - pós-chamada (1988)

tv volvo - fim de ano (dezembro de 1987)

volvo 10 cachaças (1975)

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sheetmusiclibrarypdf · 1 year

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Libertango (partitura Piano Solo) - Astor Piazzolla

https://vimeo.com/469843019

Libertango (Piano Solo) - Astor Piazzolla sheet music (partitura)

Libertango es una composición del compositor de tango Astor Piazzolla, grabada y publicada en 1974 en Milán. El título es un acrónimo que fusiona 'Libertad' (español para 'libertad') y 'tango', que simboliza la ruptura de Piazzolla del tango clásico al tango nuevo. Astor Piazzolla grabó y publicó Libertango en 1974 en Milán, simbolizando su ruptura del tango clásico al tango nuevo (ver más abajo los detalles de la grabación). El violonchelista YoYo Ma tocó Libertango en su álbum de 1997 Soul of the Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla. Fue presentado por el guitarrista Al Di Meola en su álbum de 2000 The Grande Passion. En 2002, Libertango apareció en el segundo álbum de Bond del cuarteto de cuerdas clásico australiano / británico, 'Shine'. En 2017, apareció en el álbum colaborativo en vivo de la pianista de jazz japonesa Hiromi y el arpista colombiano Edmar Castaneda, grabado en Montreal. Si bien Libertango nació como una pieza instrumental, en 1990 el poeta uruguayo Horacio Ferrer incorporó una letra en idioma español basada en el tema de la libertad. Según la base de datos de interpretación de All Music Guide, la composición ha aparecido en más de 500 lanzamientos separados. La canción de Grace Jones I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) usa la misma música, al igual que la canción 'Jungle Tango' de Jazz Mandolin Project, la canción 'Moi je suis tango' de Guy Marchand y la canción Hívlak de Kati Kovács. En 1997, la música folklórica irlandesa Sharon Shannon grabó una versión de I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) de Grace Jones para su tercer álbum, Each Little Thing. Con la voz de sesión de Kirsty MacColl, también apareció en 2001 en The One and Only, un álbum recopilatorio lanzado después de su muerte. Shannon relanzó la grabación como la canción principal de su compilación de 2005. La cantante y compositora cubanoamericana Luisa Maria Güell agregó letras al tema del título 'Libertango' y las grabó para su álbum Una de 2007. Una versión más reciente en español de la letra de Libertango pertenece a la cantante, letrista y compositora argentina Lilí Gardés, quien describe la soledad de la vida en la ciudad. Esta versión fue aprobada por Edizione Cursi/Pagani SRL, y formó parte del espectáculo Zombitango. En la serie de anime Prince of Tennis, Atobe Keigo y Sanada Genichirou asistieron a una interpretación de esta canción. Lo usaron más tarde para marcar el ritmo de su partido de dobles. En el fandom estos personajes son conocidos como la 'Pareja de Tango'. Libertango fue la música de fondo en el anuncio de Tarot para el sedán ejecutivo compacto S60 de Volvo. La música se utilizó en la película Frantic (1988) de Roman Polanski, así como en la película Le Pont du Nord (1981) de Jacques Rivette.

Astor Piazzolla

Astor Piazzolla (11 de marzo de 1921-4 de julio de 1992) fue un compositor, bandoneonista y arreglista argentino de tango. Sus obras revolucionaron el tango tradicional en un nuevo estilo denominado Nuevo tango, incorporando elementos del jazz y la música clásica. Bandoneonista virtuoso, interpretó regularmente sus propias composiciones con una variedad de conjuntos. En 1992, el crítico musical estadounidense Stephen Holden describió a Piazzolla como 'el compositor de música de tango más importante del mundo'. Después de dejar la orquesta de Troilo en la década de 1940, Piazzolla dirigió numerosos conjuntos, comenzando con la Orquesta de 1946, el Octeto Buenos Aires de 1955, el 'Primer Quinteto' de 1960, el Conjunto 9 de 1971 ('Noneto'), el 'Segundo Quinteto' de 1978 y el 1989. Nuevo Sexteto de Tango. Además de aportar composiciones y arreglos originales, en todos ellos fue director y bandoneonista. También grabó el álbum Summit (Reunión Cumbre) con el saxofonista barítono de jazz Gerry Mulligan. Sus numerosas composiciones incluyen obras orquestales como el Concierto para bandoneón, orquesta, cuerdas y percusión, Doble concierto para bandoneón y guitarra, Tres tangos sinfónicos y Concierto de Nácar para 9 tanguistas y orquesta, piezas para guitarra clásica solista – las Cinco Piezas ( 1980), así como composiciones en forma de canción que aún hoy son muy conocidas por el gran público de su país, como 'Balada para un loco' y Adiós Nonino (dedicada a su padre), que grabó muchas veces con diferentes músicos y conjuntos. Los biógrafos estiman que Piazzolla escribió unas 3.000 piezas y grabó unas 500. En 1984 se presentó con su Quinteto Tango Nuevo en West-Berlin, Alemania y para televisión en Utrecht, Holanda. En el verano de 1985 actuó en el Almeida Theatre de Londres durante una semana. El 6 de septiembre de 1987, su quinteto dio un concierto en el Central Park de Nueva York, que fue grabado y, en 1994, lanzado en formato de disco compacto como The Central Park Concert.

Read the full article

#partitionmusicale #partitura #piano #score #sheetmusic

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voodoochili · 1 year

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My Favorite Albums of 2022

The story of the 2020s–the years keep getting harder, the music keeps getting better. There's nothing I get more pleasure from these days than exploring the vast universe of new music that we are so lucky to be able to access with just a few keystrokes. Keeping up with everything can be overwhelming, but it's so so rewarding.

Here are my favorite albums from a very deep year–there's probably a smaller gap between my #1 and my #25 than ever before. But unranked lists are for cowards!

Check the bottom for the full list and a Spotify playlist with selections from every album.

Onward we go!

10. Fievel Is Glauque - Flaming Swords: Perhaps no album released in 2022 was as jam-packed with seemingly contradictory musical ideas as Flaming Swords. Fievel Is Glauque songwriter/bandleader Zach Phillips aims for sensory overload, cramming complex chords, modal key changes, free jazz freakouts, and hyperactive drum beats into his miniature prog-pop masterpieces. Nearly each one of these 18 songs has a moment of unexpected virtuosity, whether in the composition or the performance. The song that best represents the album’s messy ideal is “Save The Premonition,” a one-minute forty-six second sprint through moments of harmonic inspiration, never settling down for more than a measure at a time.

From my description, it might seem like Flaming Swords is a difficult listen, but though it takes some time to get used to the hyperactivity, these songs are targeted missiles aimed directly towards the pleasure centers of the brain, with sonorous saxophones and liquid keyboards augmenting the dulcet Francophone tones of lead singer Ma Clément. This is pop music filtered through a prism, separating the traditional elements of sound into their essences and reconstituting it into something entirely new.

9. Caracara - New Preoccupations: Philadelphia emo band Caracara isn’t afraid to mine the “embarrassing” sounds of the past in its search for catharsis. If you told the 2005 version of me that one of my favorite albums of 2022 would crib from bands like Snow Patrol or Relient K, I would’ve told you to buzz off before cranking up the volume on “Stay Fly” by Three 6 Mafia. But New Preoccupations won me over with its aching sincerity, its full-throated realization of the melancholy behind mundane moments (“I was listening to the Dirty Projectors in a Volvo by the freeway funeral pyre,” singer Sean Gill exhorts in highlight track “Colorglut”), and some powerhouse performances by the band. Producer (and Memory Music label head) Will Yip keeps things interesting, finding a guitar sound that would’ve fit nicely into WPLJ’s Hot Adult Contemporary lineup in the mid-90s and adding contemporary touches like programmed drums and rolling pianos. My favorite moments on New Preoccupations happen when the band grows tired of midtempo rockers and goes balls to the wall. They bust the door down early on the dissociative anthem “Hyacinth,” and put a bow on the proceedings with the achingly raw “Monoculture”: “I’M FINALLY FREE TO LET GO.”

8. Cash Cobain & Chow Lee - 2 SLIZZY 2 SEXY (Deluxe): 2 Live Crew changed the game in the late 80s by combining the compulsively danceable Miami bass sound with some of the raunchiest songs known to man. Luther Campbell and crew were so gleefully horned-up that they changed America’s copyright laws forever. Nearly 40 years later, NYC duo Cash Cobain and Chow Lee are bravely following in 2 Live Crew’s footsteps, providing a fresh spin on the dominant dance music of their region (in this case, Jersey/Philly club) to further their noble mission to make the horniest music of all time. So yes, Cash and Chow are sex-crazed to the point of obsession, but they’re making some genuinely game-changing shit. Cash is one of the best producers on the planet, a master of flipping a familiar sample into something fresh and unrecognizable. He saves his best beats for himself, from the ethereal and speaker-slamming J. Holiday flip on, um, “JHOLIDAY,” to the audacious Stevie Wonder sample on “SLIZZY LIKE,” to the absolutely beautiful “FREAK OF DI WEEK.” Cash and Chow combine their otherworldly instrumentals with an energy that mirrors teenagers at their first sleepovers after learning all the curse words, bouncing off each other in a competition over who can be the most out-of-pocket (Chow usually wins that competition). Don’t sleep on the deluxe edition, which brings even more brilliant beats and shamelessly lowers the bar X-rated bars even further, inviting some of the best rappers in the Tri-State area to meet them on their libidinous level.

7. Cloakroom - Dissolution Wave: Cloakroom exists on the bleeding edge between shoegaze and stoner metal, overwhelming with punishing soundscapes and entrancing with spectral melodies. Their 2022 album Dissolution Wave is lean and mean, clocking in at 39 minutes (Cloakroom hadn’t previously made an album shorter than 60 minutes), delivering a confident complement of space-age rockers. No album this year was better synthesizing such an intense beauty, its crushing walls of sound enhancing the heartfelt songwriting. On a few songs, including the midtempo “A Force At Play” (featuring keys from Matt Talbott from Cloakroom’s stylistic influence Hum) and the devastating countrified ballad “Doubts,” the band proves that they don’t need fuzz to make a major emotional impact. My favorite headphones album of the year.

6. billy woods - Aethiopes: billy woods is an astonishing wordsmith, crafting bars that can collapse hundreds of years of traumatic history into a single couplet. He’s at his best when he’s shining a light on the grimiest aspects of our society, and our society is grimy enough for multiple albums per year, all of them good, usually created in tandem with a producer. Aethiopes, produced in full by underground hero Preservation, is woods’ grimiest and greatest yet, packed with an array of industrial instrumentals that grind like the gears of a lurching, lumbering, ill-intentioned contraption.

The beat for “Wharves” clinks and clacks like a skeleton playing its own ribcage like a xylophone, a fitting backdrop for woods' story that touches on cannibalistic tribes and the Atlantic slave trade. “Heavy Water” invites Breeze Brewin and El-P to tag team an unbearably tense slice of boom-bap, as woods calls himself “the multiverse Benzino.” “No Hard Feelings” swirls with detuned woodwinds and ethereal synths, sounding like the warmup anthem for a closer on Hell's favorite baseball team, providing a bed for woods to show out in his trademark style–he rhymes with escalating intensity, his booming voice rising along with the music. The tension built in the first three quarters of the album dissipates with the final run of soul-samplers, but those outwardly gorgeous songs contain some of woods’s ugliest bars. From “Remorseless”: “Three rooms filled with Incan treasure/Still strangled the king cause it's now or never/It's a freedom in admitting it's not gonna get better.”

5. Naima Bock - Giant Palm: Naima Bock’s Giant Palm gleams like a greenhouse during golden hour, organic and synthetic elements operating in harmony to create an album unlike any I’ve heard before. The album is a spiritual successor to Mort Garson’s horticultural synth music and Vashti Bunyan’s insular, pastoral ballads, with strains of folk from Brazil and England mixed in for good measure. Created in collaboration with co-producer/arranger Joel Burton, the former Goat Girl bassist’s solo debut is structured like the tree of its title, a variety of frilled fronds emanating from a knotty heart–in this case, everything stems from Bock’s endless wonder at the marvels of our natural world, which she expresses through plaintive, immersive, and unpredictable ballads. Some of my favorite moments: the psychedelically eerie call-and-response that begins “Every Morning”; the whimsically bluesy piano in “Instrumental”; the dissonant waltz that undergirds the haunting “Campervan”; and the beautiful harmonies that adorn the Portuguese-language bossa nova ballad “O Morro,” which ends the album on a nostalgic note.

4. Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You: Big Thief is in a special kind of creative groove right now. Frontwoman Adrienne Lenker has a seemingly bottomless arsenal of amazing songs, and her band has the adventurous mindset, telepathic chemistry, and ace musicianship to execute any of her ideas. The natural next step for a band on this kind of run: dropping a double album to show off the breadth of what they can do. The unwieldily-titled Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You fits that bill, packing in some of their best songs while pushing their sound forward. You want classic Big Thief ballads? They’ve got them, including the immaculate “Change” and plaintive “No Reason.” Prefer the hard-rocking side of the band that they perfected on 2019’s Two Hands? Take “Little Things” or the cathartic “Love Love Love.” They even unveil some new tricks, like the trip-hoppy “Blurred View” and the minimal Magnetic Fields-meets-Springsteen experiment “Wake Me Up To Drive.” My favorites on here, though, channel what the music critic Greil Marcus called “The Old Weird America,” an energy that powers the cosmic hoedown “Spud Infinity,” the slinky and percussive “Time Escaping,” and the joyous, countrified “Red Moon.”

3. Earl Sweatshirt - SICK!: Earl Sweatshirt has been famous since he was sixteen years old, something that must feel particularly strange to the self-professed introvert. On his latest album SICK!, the now-28-year-old rapper seems to open up, inspired by his newfound fatherhood and embracing his role as the leader of a rising wave of left-of-center lyricists. The song sketches that populated 2018’s Some Rap Songs have (mostly) been replaced by fuller statements, its grainy, drumless loops giving way to slicker sounds.

The beats on SICK! are spectacular, from Theravada’s sorrowful and operatic “Tabula Rasa,” to The Alchemist’s menacing and cinematic “Old Friend,” to the multiple soundscapes crafted by Black Noi$e (especially the jazzy closer “Fire In The Hole”). Earl doesn’t rhyme over the instrumentals as much as he inhabits them, his resigned sigh painting contours and filling negative space, and effortlessly unfurling assonant and tangled bars like (from “Tabula Rasa”): “The calcium on my teeth fade/Streets are blazed with the anger complacency and deceit create/Ice sheet break, I couldn't weave weight/All I could say to the times that I couldn't freeze-frame, bleak fate.”

2. Makaya McCraven - In These Times: Producer, drummer, composer, and bandleader Makaya McCraven creates his albums like a mad scientist, laying down hundreds of hours of improvised live sessions and piecing them together to create wholly unique compositions. His music thrives on the moments of brief inspiration that come from a group of brilliant musicians playing together, creating an indelible atmosphere by stretching out and looping sections to form a new groove. Inspired by the legendary output CTI Records in the early ‘70s (home to George Benson, Hubert Laws, Bob James, and many others), McCraven curates a sound that combines the smoother side of fusion with complex, odd-meter rhythms. His percussion work is usually unflashy*, providing a bedrock for his collaborators to express themselves to the fullest. “So Ubuji” finds McCraven laying down a boom-bap style drum pattern as vibraphonist Joel Ross and harpist Brandee Younger elevate the song to the stratosphere, while the tangled polyrhythms of “High Fives” benefits from the virtuosic guitar playing of Jeff Parker. The album climaxes with penultimate track “The Knew Untitled,” a devastating composition that begins with swirling piano-led chaos before guitarist Matt Gold lays down one of the best guitar solos of this young decade. The most transportive and mesmerizing album released in 2022.

*with a notable exception coming on the thrilling “This Place That Place"

1. They Hate Change - Finally, New: They Hate Change (Vonne and Dre, both of whom rap and produce) operate with supreme confidence, creating a singular sonic blend informed, but not defined, by their omnivorous musical influences. Vonne and Dre are both great emcees–Vonne has a style that occupies the unlikely convergence between Big Boi, Ish Butler of Digable Planets/Shabazz Palaces, and Sonny Cheeba of Camp Lo, while Dre's drawling rhymes evoke both E-40 and Pimp C. Though they're clearly in love with hip-hop, the two Tampa natives are equally obsessed with dance music of all stripes, and Finally, New explores the unexpected connections between UK breakbeats and Florida’s club tradition, incorporating notes of Miami bass and Tampa jook alongside UK garage and DnB. The result is an album built for both head-nodding and ass-shaking. It's in constant motion even when it slows down, the two rappers brashly projecting an attitude that makes their flexing hit as hard as their evisceration of societal norms. A key track is “Some Days I Hate My Voice,” a defiant missive from Vonne that explores the nonbinary emcee’s inherent contradictions: “Some days I hate my voice, some days I feel like I'm the Metratron/Some days I'm basic, some days I'm dolled up like pageant debutantе.” I waffled for a long time about what to put at number one. I listened to hundreds of albums this year, and adored many of them, but for the top spot on this year’s list, I decided to just go with the album that sounded the freshest. Bursting with invention and bracing in its fearless experimentation, Finally, New is like nothing I’ve ever heard.

The rest of the list (playlist HERE): 11. 454 - Fast Trax 3 12. Bad Bunny - Un Verano Sin Ti 13. Asake - Mr. Money With The Vibe 14. Duval Timothy - Meeting With A Judas Tree 15. Animal Collective - Time Skiffs 16. DaBoii - Can’t Tame Us 17. The Soft Pink Truth - Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This? 18. Obongjayar - Some Nights I Dream Of Doors 19. Sessa - Estrela Acesa 20. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers 21. Babyface Ray - FACE/MOB 22. Ron Trent - What Do The Stars Say To You 23. Hagan - Textures 24. WizKid - More Love, Less Ego 25. Smino - Luv 4 Rent 26. SZA - SOS 27. Duke Deuce - CRUNKSTAR 28. Alex G - God Save The Animals 29. Cate Le Bon - Pompeii 30. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom - Reset 31. Arctic Monkeys - The Car 32. PLOSIVS - PLOSIVS 33. Real Lies - Lad Ash 34. Rema - Rave & Roses 35. Drakeo The Ruler - Keep The Truth Alive 36. Beth Orton - Weather Alive 37. Tony Shhnow - Reflexions/Plug Motivation 38. Rosalía - MOTOMAMI 39. Beyonce - RENAISSANCE 40. Shabason & Krgovich - At Scaramouche 41. $ilkMoney - I Don’t Give a F*ck About This Rap Sh*t… 42. Quelle Chris - DEATHFAME 43. Dazegxd - vKISS 44. Phelimuncasi - Ama Gogela 45. Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn - Pigments 46. Björk - Fossora 47. Roedelius & Tim Story - 4 Hands 48. Valee - VACABULAREE 49. NBA YoungBoy - 3800 Degrees 50. Toro Y Moi - MAHAL 51. Ethel Cain - Preacher’s Daughter 52. Brent Faiyaz - WASTELAND 53. Boldy James - Fair Exchange No Robbery (w/ Nicholas Craven)/ Mr. Ten08 (w/ Futurewave) 54. quinn - quinn 55. Rachika Nayar - Heaven Come Crashing 56. Junior Boys - Waiting Game 57. Friendship - Love The Stranger 58. Saba - Few Good Things 59. Silvana Estrada - Marchita 60. Rauw Alejandro - SATURNO 61. Ralfy The Plug - Skateboard P (Deluxe)/Pastor Ralfy 2 (Deluxe) 62. Sudan Archives - Natural Black Prom Queen 63. Kikagaku Moyo - Kumoyo Island 64. Young Slo-Be - Southeast 65. Death’s Dynamic Shroud - Darklife 66. Mr. Fingers - Around The Sun Pt. 1 67. RealYungPhil - Dr. Philvinci 68. CEO Trayle - HH5 69. Lil Poppa - HEAVY IS THE HEAD 70. Los - Kareem From New Orleans, Vol. 2 71. Fred Again - Actual Life 3 72. Gunna - DS4EVER 73. The Comet Is Coming - Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam 74. Ka - Language Arts/Woeful Studies 75. The Beths - Experts In A Dying Field

NOTE: This albums list could’ve gone on for at least another 75, and rest assured it would’ve included your favorite album from 2022! But I’ll make a special shout out to albums that just missed the cut: Luna Li, Nu Genea, Tears For Fears, Bartees Strange, Shawny Binladen, Little Simz, Oso Oso, Hikaru Utada, MAVI, BONES, Central Cee, BlueBucksClan, and Jay Worthy, Larry June & LNDN Drugs. Songs from those albums are included in my Spotify playlist.

#they hate change #makaya mccraven #earl sweatshirt #billy woods #big thief #naima bock #cloakroom #cash cobain #chow lee #caracara #fievel is glauque #454 #duval timothy #Spotify

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