#arosescrowwrites

[arosescrow]

you should say more. about the gregorian chants

OKAY!

So. Gregorian chants are, historically speaking, incredibly significant, as they're one of the first kinds of music to be recorded on paper in notation in Church history. A lot of modern church people really liked them in the 90s because, along with a very successful marketing campaign by the particular monks responsible for the album in the original post, they saw it as an opportunity to bring sacred rhythms back into everyday life. An awful lot of Church tradition is about being connected with the past, and the rest of it is about looking to the future, so having this tradition from the past brought into the present was likely a big selling factor.

In addition, New Age spirituality got ahold of Gregorian Chant when this album came out. No matter if you were part of the Church or even any church at all, the unique qualities of Gregorian chant (in marked contrast to pop and rock music of the day) lent themselves to meditation, and the aforementioned rhythms of the day likely also appealed to at least some of the non-Christian listeners. I don't know a lot about modern spirituality or even New Age spirituality, so if someone wants to add to this post I'd love to see it.

Now we get to the really neat part, the part that I'm actually good at and can definitively say something about. This is the part that's full of jargon (or it should be), and I'll do my best to define it all for you.

Gregorian chant, as you can find on Wikipedia, is a part of an only slightly larger category called "Western plainchant". Western in this context refers to Europe, specifically Western Europe (the area around modern England, France, Germany, and to some extent Italy). Plainchant is a kind of monophonic (with only one melodic line and no harmony or accompaniment) music that was sacred, which means that this style was never used in the secular music of the day.

Gregorian chant comes in one of three "levels of complexity" so to speak, and in one of two "styles" (this is the wrong word but I can't think of the right one right now). The levels of complexity are: 1. Syllabic. The entire chant is made up of single syllables on individual notes, with rare or no instances of movement between notes on the same syllable. The melody could move, but it would not (as a general rule) have more than one note on any given syllable. 2. Neumatic. Most of the chant is made up of single syllables stretched out between 2-4 notes, with rare or no instances of movement between notes on the same syllable lasting for more or less notes than this. 3. Mellismatic. Most of the chant is made up of single syllables stretched out between more than 4 notes, up to a single syllable being used for an entire piece (later in the period, once people started to get freaky with it). I honestly don't remember very much about the styles but here you go @effemimaniac knowledge for you!

[arosescrow]

The Jeans Metaphor

I was talking with my therapist, and she said that I should write this down. I came up with it courtesy of a conversation with an irl about dysphoria. I think it's a pretty good metaphor.

Imagine that everyone has a pair of jeans they wear out. You wear your jeans to every social event, and to every single place that isn't your room alone. Sometimes you even keep them on when you *are* alone. There's just one problem.

YOUR jeans are uncomfortable as fuck.

You don't know why, or maybe deep down you do. They're just not your style, or the fabric is itchy, or you're not okay with the way your butt looks in them. But you don't have to know why to know that, for you, wearing these jeans sucks. Maybe it's just a little, or maybe it's so bad you think you might do something drastic if you have to keep wearing these jeans. Maybe you've known your whole life that you don't like your jeans, or maybe you've just realized, or maybe you woke up today and the jeans used to be comfortable but aren't anymore. For whatever reason, whatever it looks like, your jeans are uncomfortable.

Maybe you can even make yourself wear them! Maybe you convince yourself you enjoy it, or that everyone's jeans are uncomfortable. And then, someone mentions how great wearing jeans is, and how comfortable theirs are.

SURELY they must be lying, because everyone must just be uncomfortable in their jeans, right?

Wrong. As it turns out, most people are comfortable in their jeans. Some people even shop around until they find the right pair of jeans. So you decide to try that. Maybe it takes months or years to come to terms with it. But you find a pair of jeans that feels comfortable, or less uncomfortable at least, and you start trying to wear them.

You might get comments like "but you looked so much better in the other pair of jeans!" or "you know God doesn't want you changing your pair of jeans, right?", but you feel SOOOO much better in the new jeans. And slowly but surely, you realize: *you made the right choice.*

If you liked my writing, feel free to ask for more in the tags! I'm never sure if people like my stuff or not. If you felt it was worthy of payment, you can DM me to ask for information :3 no pressure or anything though!

[arosescrow]

Spiderverse Fic Teaser

Theodore Anderson stretches out in his bed and yawns impossibly big. The episode of Kitchen Nightmares he’d fallen asleep to is no longer playing, a good sign. Finally, he thinks, a proper nap. He rolls over, checking his phone with one eye open. “FOUR PM???” he exclaims aloud. He bolts out of bed, laptop tipping haphazardly towards the edge. With a clumsy motion, he shoves it shut and back onto the mattress, muttering about being late for work.

15 minutes later, a young man in a fast food uniform with wet hair bolts down the stairs of an apartment complex onto a New Chicago street teeming with pigeons and low-income commuters. Up the stairs to a Green Line station, a transfer to the Pink Line, and Theodore is only…an hour late to his minimum wage job at Mr. Burger. If he even has his job anymore, after being late four times in the last four shifts. Sure, the others were only a matter of minutes, not hours, but he’ll have to beg his boss to let him stay.

Marsha Ellis is waiting in the break room (really a cleaning supply closet) when Theo arrives one hour and eight minutes late to work. She’s tapping one foot and her arms are crossed over her chest. “Theodore, we’ve discussed your tardiness before. It doesn’t align with the high standards the Mr. Burger corporate family desires for our storefronts. I hate to do this-”

Theo interjects. “Please, Ms. Ellis, I need the money to cover my medical bills!”

Marsha continues undeterred. “-but I’m going to have to ask you to hand in your apron and hat. Your last paycheck will be deposited into your bank account directly.”

“Ms. Ellis, I’m so sorry I’ve been late! I have an excuse, I promise. It’s not that I’m lazy.”

At this, Marsha raises an eyebrow, otherwise looking unimpressed. “Well? I’m waiting to hear this miracle excuse of yours, Theodore.”

[arosescrow]

Just please remember, nobody is alone. We all have communities. We have to survive, we have to thrive. Care for your local community. Things might get a lot harder but in four years we have another chance. Let's work to make things better now so we don't have to do all the heavy lifting later.

[arosescrow]

It is quiet and dark in my room.

Yes, it is quiet and dark, and I will listen to the quiet and stare at the darkness.

And slowly, my ears will pick up the electricity in the walls

My eyes will begin to see the little light around the blackout curtain, and the glow in the dark star that I missed taking with me when I left

And tomorrow, I will plug in my stereo and pass the nights with static and the greatest hits of the 80s on low

But for tonight, it is quiet and dark in my room, and I will listen to the quiet and stare at the darkness.

[arosescrow]

I want to be

A firework, dizzy

Sputtering across

The hazy sky

Light splashed weakly

A painting, busy

Lived without dross

The fleet moments fly