#and kitty's got an axe to grind

[scaryscarecrows]

Jason doesn't know who to blame. Bruce, Joker, some combination? Bruce instilled this level of preplanning, but Joker...warped it. Ruined it. Ruined Jason.

Maybe it doesn't matter. This is all his fault, in the end.

[jgthirlwell]

2020 Year In Review

This year once again I invited some friends and colleagues to reflect on 2020

JG Thirlwell

Composer

Foetus Xordox Manorexia Steroid Maximus Venture Bros Archer

www.foetus.org

2020 was a troubling and disturbing year. I created a lot of music and experienced a lot of nights waking at 5am in a panic. I deeply missed the sacred experience of being able to see live music. In its absence of that I listened to a lot of music. It was difficult to whittle down this list but here are a lot of albums I enjoyed in 2020, in no particular order.

Le Grand Sbam Furvent (Dur Et Doux) John Elmquist’s HardArt Group I Own an Ion (900 Nurses) Roly Porter Kistvaen (Subtext) Liturgy Origin Of The Alimonies (YLYLCYN) Clark Kiri Variations (Throttle) Dai Kaht Dai Kaht I & II (Soleil Zeuhl) Chromb Le livre des merveilles (Dur Et Doux) Horse Lords The Common Task (Northern Spy) Ecker & Meultzer Carbon (Subtext) Insane Warrior Tendrils (RJ’s Electrical Connections) Jeff Parker Suite For Max Brown (International Anthem) Jacob Kirkegaard Opus Mors (Topos) Tristan Perich Drift Multiply (Nonesuch) Bec Plexus Sticklip (New Amsterdam) Vak Budo (Soleil Zeuhl) Merlin Nova BOO! (Bandcamp) The The Muscle OST (Cineola) Zombi 2020 (Relapse) Regis Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss (Downwards) Rival Consoles Articulation (Erased Tapes) Sarah Davachi Cantus, Descant (L.A.T.E.) Sufjan Stevens The Ascension (Asthmatic Kitty) Idles Ultra Mono (Partisan) Daedelus The Bittereindeers (Brainfeeder) Boris No (Bandcamp) Aksak Maboul Figures / Un peu de l’ame des bandits / Onze Danses Pour Cobattre La Migraine (Crammed) Noveller Arrow (Ba Da Bing) Felicia Atkinson Everything Evaporate (Shelter Press) Ital Tek Dream Boundary (Planet Mu) Author and Punisher Beastland (Relapse) Sparks A Steady Drip Drip Drip (BMG) Corima Amatarasu (Soleil Zeuhl) Code Orange Underneath (Roadrunner) Deerhoof Future Teenage Cave Artists /Silly Symphonies / To Be Surrounded../ Love Lore(Joyful Noise) Sote Moscels (Opal Tapes) Run The Jewels RTJ4 (Jewel Runners) Oranssi Pazuzu Mestarin Kynsi (Nuclear Blast) Master Boot Record Floppy Disk Overdrive (Metal Blade) Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith The Mosaic Of Transformation (Ghostly International) / Ears (Western Vinyl) Michael Gordon Acquanetta (Cantelope) Neom Arkana Temporis (Soleil Zeuhl) Rian Treanor Ataxia / File Under UK Metaplasm (Planet Mu) Helm Saturnalia (Alter) Ivvvo doG (Halcyon Veil) Robert Normandeau Figures (Empreintes Digitales) Ben Vida Reducing The Tempo To Zero (Shelter Press) Beatrice Dillon Workaround (Pan) Dan Deacon Mystic Familiar (Domino) Sea Oleena Weaving A Basket (Higher Plain Music) Elysian Fields Transience Of Life (Ojet) Rhapsody Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret (Magic Circle) Duma Duma (Nyege Nyege) Ulla Strauss Tumbling Towards a Wall / Seed (Bandcamp)

Honorable mentions Carl Stone Stolen Car (Unseen Worlds)  Nazar Guerilla (Hyperdub) Iwo Zaluski with the Children of Park Lane Primary School, Wembley The Remarkable Earth Making Machine (Trunk) Nahash Flowers Of The Revolution (SVBKVLT) Cindy Lee Whats Tonight To Eternity (Bandcamp) Insect Ark The Vanishing (Profound Lore) 33EMYBW Arthropods (SVBKVLT) Declan McKenna Zeroes (Tomplicated) Layma Azur Zeii (Bandcamp)

FILM TV Succession ZeroZeroZero Escape at Dannemora 1917 Small Axe : Five films by Steve McQueen Pirhanas Monos The Hater Better Call Saul

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Drew Daniel

Matmos, The Soft Pink Truth

an alphabet of 2020 recordings

Arca “KiCk i” BFTT “Intrusive / Obtrusive” clipping. “Visions of Bodies Being Burned” Duma “Duma” Eilbacher, Max “Metabolist Meter (Foster, Cottin, Caetani and a Fly)” Forbidden Colors “La Yeguada” GILA “Energy Demonstration” HiedraH Club de Baile “Bichote-K Bailable Vol. 2” Ian Power “Maintenance Hums” Jeff Carey “Index[off]” Kassel Jaeger “Meith” Laurie Anderson “Songs From the Bardo” Mukqs “Water Levels” Negativland “The World Will Decide” O’Rourke, Jim “Shutting Down Here” Perlesvaus “These Things Below with Those Above” Quicksails “Blue Rise” Rian Treanor “File Under UK Metaplasm” Slikback “///” Terminal Nation “Holocene Extinction” Ulcerate “Stare Into Death and Be Still” Various Artists “HAUS of ALTR” William Tyler “New Vanitas” Xyla “Ways” Y A S H A “Summations” :zoviet-france: “Châsse 2ᵉ”

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Sarah Lipstate  (Noveller)

With all live performances canceled, this was truly the year of demo videos and home studio recording for me. These are 10 pieces of gear that came out in 2020 that helped keep me feeling creative and inspired during lockdown. In no particular order:

EHX Oceans 12 Dual Stereo Reverb - The Oceans 12 ticks all the boxes for what I’m looking for in a great soundscaping reverb. I used the Shimmer and Reverse algorithms in conjunction a lot when I was composing music for a film score.

Chase Bliss Audio Blooper - While I don’t actually own a Blooper, I had the pleasure of borrowing one from Mike of Baranik Guitars after NAMM this year. He made an incredible Blooper-inspired guitar and I was completely charmed by them both. Chase Bliss always delivers pedals that push me creatively and the Blooper truly hits the mark.

Cooper FX Arcades - I love everything Cooper FX has released to-date so the opportunity to access those sounds in one pedal via plug-in cartridges is just awesome.

SolidGoldFX NU-33 - I was asked to do a demo of this pedal for its release and ended up being really charmed by this box’s approach to lo-fi nostalgia. I’ve used it a lot for film scoring and highly recommend adding it to your collection.

Demedash Effects T-120 DLX V2 - I LOVE a good tape echo and the T-120 Deluxe V2 ranks up there with the best I’ve tried. This pedal made its way to me this Christmas and I look forward to making some beautiful sounds with it in the new year.

Hologram Electronics Microcosm - The Microcosm is one of those pedals where you should fully read the manual before diving in but once you put in that initial effort you’ve got a massively powerful tool on your hands. It does glitch like no other. Definitely worth the homework

Azzam Bells MP019 - I discovered this unique instrument through a post on Reverb’s IG page and immediately looked it up and ordered one. These experimental percussion instruments are hand-made in Italy and they’re as beautiful visually as they are sonically. I used it for bowed cymbal and daxophone sounds on a film score and it was absolutely haunting.

Echopark Dual Harmonic Boost 2 - I love the control you have over dialing in the perfect amount of grit with these dual boost circuits. I use it a lot as a textural tool when I’m laying down drones or bringing in big distorted swells. It’s one of the most versatile overdrives in my collection and I love that.

Fender Parallel Universe Series Volume II Maverick Dorado - I was smitten with the Maverick Dorado when I first saw it at NAMM. It has a lot of the specs that I look for in a guitar and the body shape with the Mystic Pine finish just blew me away. I hope that I get to use it live soon.

Polyeffects Beebo - The Beebo is one of those pedals that I genuinely feel is smarter than I am. It’s like an entire computer in one small touchscreen box. I can’t claim to have mastered using it yet but the sounds that I have managed to get out of it so far have been brilliant. I’m looking forward to spending more time with this box in 2021

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HELM 2020 REVIEW

Let's get the bad stuff out the way first, 2020 was undoubtedly an awful year. I'm still not sure how to really respond to seeing a global pandemic bring the capital to its knees and everything I love and hold dear to a grinding halt. Our government fucked it's response, putting profit before people and killing tens of thousands. The Labour Party descended into farce with the newly elected leader Sir Keith revealing himself as a bland centrist with no opposition or ideas. On a personal level it sucked not being able to travel or see my friends in different parts of the world - or even the same country - who I am starting to miss a lot. However, I was fortunate enough to get through the year with my sanity intact. Music, art and culture once again being my main positive. I think I listened to more music than I have in any year ever. I read more books than I have done since I was a teenager probably. I also re-discovered the joys of walking long distances and am extremely thankful for living near a lot of incredible green spaces: Epping Forest, Walthamstow Wetlands, Walthamstow Marshes, Wanstead Park, Wanstead Flats...

Music. My favourite albums of the year.

Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi Wetware - Flail Raspberry Bulbs - Before The Age Of Mirrors Necrot - Mortal Rope Sect - The Great Flood Private World - Aleph Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never Pyrrhon - Abcess Time CS+Kreme - Snoopy Speaker Music - Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry Drew McDowall - Agalma Regis - Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss Nazar - Guerilla Zoviet France - Russian Heterodoxical Songs (and all the ZF reissues!!) Triple Negative - God Bless the Death Drive Permission - Organised People Suffer Actress - Karma & Desire Acolytes - Stress II The Gerogerigegege - >(decrescendo) Chubby & The Gang - Speed Kills Flora Yin-Wong - Holy Palm Eiko Ishibashi - Hyakki Yagyo The The - See Without Being Seen Prurient - Casablanca Flamethrower Henning Christiansen - L’essere Umano Errabando La Voce Errabando Subdued - Over The Hills And Far Away Rian Treanor - File Under UK Metaplasm Komare - The Sense Of Hearing Shredded Nerve - Acts Of Betrayal Jesu - Terminus Autechre - SIGN Hey Colossus - Dances / Curses Sparkle Division - To Feel Embraced Mark Harwood - A Perfect Punctual Paradise Under My Own Name Still House Plants - Fast Edit The Bug & Dis Fig - In Blue Kommand - Terrorscape Haus Arafna - Asche Khthoniik Cerviiks - Æequiizoiikum Worm - Gloomlord Kraus - A Golden Brain Faceless Burial - Speciation

A shout-out to Jon Abby's AMPLIFY series on Bandcamp / Facebook, which I contributed a new piece of music to.

A shout out to the labels where most of the music I listened to seemed to come from:

The Trilogy Tapes Iron Bonehead Penultimate Press Dais La Vida Es Un Mus

Gigs. Despite live music being destroyed in 2020 I still saw a few unforgettable performances at the beginning of the year.

Graham Lambkin @ The ICA, London Puce Mary / JFK @ The Glove That Fits, London Demilich @ Finnfest, The Garage, London Container / PC World / National Unrest @ Venue MOT, London S.H.I.T / Asid / Chubby & The Gang @ Static Shock Festival, ExFed, London

Books I enjoyed. Most not published this year, but all read in 2020.

Joe Kennedy - Authentocrats David Balzer - Curationism Tom Mills - BBC: The Myth Of A Public Service Simon Morris - Consumer Guide: Special Edition Luke Turner - Out Of The Woods Various - Bad News For Labour Mike Wendling - Alt-Right Baited Area issues 1 & 2.

Film. Three good films I saw this year which I hadn't before.

Suspiria (Remake) Midsommar Cannibal Holocaust

Podcasts. I listened to a lot of these whilst walking.

We Don't Talk About The Weather Novara Media Tysky Sour & Novara FM Grounded with Louis Theroux System of Systems Red Scare loveline episodes Suite 212 NOISEXTRA Social Discipline CONTAIN

TV.

Didn't watch a huge amount and what I did was mostly trash. For some reason I rewatched both series' of This Life, a British drama from the late 90's about a group of young professionals house sharing and navigating their careers. Very cringey and has aged terribly, but it was perversely fascinating to revisit something from that time in the age of the pandemic. Following on from this I binge watched the entire series of Industry which was entertaining enough. A programme about a bunch of horny bankers with what felt like a confused ideology behind it. It seemed stuck between trying to criticise and glorify the culture around the industry, but also protect the industry itself from outside criticism by portraying anyone who may oppose as an insufferable wanker. Currently halfway through Succession which is OK. The Murdoch documentaries on the BBC were excellent and a rare respite from their descent into client journalism.

Thanks to anyone who listened to my music this year also. Best wishes to you all for 2021.

Luke Younger

http://hhelmm.com | http://alter.bandcamp.com

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Elliott Sharp

composer

1. My Nr. 1 lesson: patience. Whether it's bouncing through 30 seconds of severe turbulence at 39000 feet or slogging through 30 minutes of a interminable piece of concert music, one attribute I've tried to develop is the ability to see past the discrete and awaited ending, the exact framing of the immediate process, but put it into the context of a larger time frame. I've found that this year more than all others has demanded it. Breathing helps...

2. Books: revisiting old favorites from the realm of Thomas Pynchon and Philip K. Dick (both especially relevant), digging into John Lomax's portrait of Jelly Roll Morton, the works of Colson Whitehead, random things off of the shelf…

3. Composing: with touring off the table, I focused on that which needed to be written, some requested and commissioned, some spontaneously springing forth. Composing requires that one open the windows wide to the world, which at this moment brought in grief, terror, uncertainty, anxiety, visions of plague and pestilence and incipient fascism. Okay, now shut the window and get to work! How to process, translate, transform? The work can be a comfortable and obsessive cocoon once one learns to handle the radioactive materials and put them into the creativity reactor.

4. Beans! We have long been a fan in our house of the wide world of legumes but this year brought two stars to the front: the black bean and the red lentil. The black bean commands the lofty peaks but the seemingly infinite variations of dal surround it. Ginger, garlic, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne, onions, and olive oil form the basis then imagination builds.

5. Online teaching substituted for my canceled conduction of workshops in the Pyrenees Mountains of France. Between the participants and myself, we built a temporary but very congenial space online to share concepts and music. In addition, private lessons brought conversation and music with new friends in Germany, Italy, California, Australia, Illinois, Denmark, Pennsylvania, Spain, Florida, Brazil.

6. What started out as "stress baking" (before I even had heard of the term) soon became a frequent practice that yielded very edible results. The twins preferred the sweeter forays into banana bread and chocolate cake. I tried to find a balance between tried-and-true techniques and experiments in texture and taste with yeasted pumpernickels, multi-grains, and seed breads.

7. While not the same as performing 'live ', online gigs proved that it was possible to generate a surprising amount of adrenaline even without the pheromonal handshaking of a room filled with receptive ears. As a corollary, online recording collaborations with friends worldwide proved to be inspiring and a suitable substrate for sonic experimentation, exploration of new instruments, tunings, effects programming, structures. In these realms, shout-outs to Helene Breschand, Mike Cooper, Henry Kaiser, Tracie Morris, Mikel Banks, Dougie Bowne, Payton McDonald, Billy Martin, Colin Stetson, Jim O'Rourke, Scott Amendola, Roberto Zorzi, Jason Hoopes, Eric Mingus, Melanie Dyer, Dave Hofstra, Don McKenzie, Sergio Sorrentino, Veniero Rizzardi, Taylor Ho Bynum, Scott Fields, Bachir Attar, Karl Bruckmaier, Robbie Lee, Matthew Evan Taylor, Matteo Liberatore, Al Kaatz, David Barratt, Jessica Hallock, Kolin Zeinikov, Robbie Lee, Jeremy Nesse, James Ilgenfritz, Sergio Armaroli, Steve Piccolo, Sandy Ewen, David Weinstein, Jim Whittemore, Chris Vine, Werner Puntigam, William Schimmel.

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Daniel O’Sullivan

(Grumbling Fur, Guapo, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses, Ulver, Sunn O))), Æthenor, Laniakea, Miracle, Mothlite, and This Is Not This Heat.)

Music Richard Youngs - Ein Klein Nein Alabaster DePlume - Instrumentals Hildegard von Bingen - O Nobilissima Viriditas Francisco de Penalosa - Missa Ave Maria Peregrina Carlo Gesualdo - Responsoria 1611 Dirty Projectors - Five EPs Sonic Boom - All Things Being Equal Brother Peter Broderick - Blackberry Richard Horowitz - Eros Of Arabia Duncan Trussell Family Hour Cocteau Twins in the bath

Books/comics Alexander Tucker - Entity Reunion II Derek Jarman - Chroma Stephen Harrod Buhner - Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm The Penguin Book Of Irish Poetry - edited by Patrick Crotty The Gospel Of Ramakrishna - translated by Swami Nikhilananda Lucretius - De Rerum Natura Plotinus - Enneads Ram Dass - Grist For The Mill Lisa Brown - Phantom Twin

Other Fasting / meditation / macrodosing Walks in freshly coppiced woodland (for the smell mainly). Plants / Foraging / Growing Traditional ferments Douglas Sirk movies Mandolorian Writing songs on the piano Rediscovery of Kenneth Graham via my kids

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Karl O’Connor (Regis)

01.Wolfgang Press - Unremembered, Remembered 02. Klara Lewis - Ingrid Live at Fylkingen 03. Jesu - Terminus 04. Dave Ball - Leeds Poly Demos 1979 05. Edwin Pouncey - Rated Sav X (the Savage Pencil Skratchbook) 06. The Bug - In Blue 07. New Order - Power,Corruption and Lies ( Writing Sessions  ) 08. JG Thirlwell and Simon Steensland - Oscillospira 09. FM Einheit and Andreas Ammer - Hammerschlag 10. Thurston Moore - By The Fire 11. Body Stuff - Body Stuff 3 12. Ann M Hogan - Honeysuckle Burials 13. Rob Halford - Confess (Autobiography)

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Caleb Braaten (Sacred Bones Records)

Shirley Collins Hearts Ease Dehd Flowers Of Devotion Duma Duma Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways Green-House Six Songs for Invisible Gardens John Jeffery Passage Drew McDowall Agalma Sweeping Promises Hunger For a Way Out Colter Wall Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs Woods Strange to Explain

My Favorite 90’s Nostalgia Movie Rewatches

Colors Ghost Dog Menace II Society The Player Rounders Safe Starship Troopers Trees Lounge Vampires Waiting For Guffman

Most Culturally Bankrupt Year : 1997

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Charlie Looker

(composer, Psalm Zero, Extra Life, Seaven Teares)

Ten Things That Didn’t Happen in 2020

1.  I didn’t write a ton of new music. Don’t get me wrong, I wrote some. I always do. But mostly I focused on my new YouTube channel, essays, and on getting old recordings released. I haven’t even been working a day-job so I thought I was going to write my next Ring Cycle, but I really didn’t find Covid inspiring.

2.  Trump wasn’t re-elected. Cool.

3. I didn’t lose anyone to Covid. I am, of course, profoundly grateful for this. But I feel pretty embarrassed remembering group-texting ten friends in March, “We are all going to see a loved one die. Every single one of us. Don’t kid yourselves”. I can get hysterical, and that was somewhat irresponsible of me.

4.  No revolution happened. I don’t mean to be smug or cynical, or to belittle anyone’s participation in the protests. But, as far as I can tell, nothing happened in 2020 that promises to reduce police brutality or human suffering of any kind. We’ll see. That burning Minneapolis police station was exciting to watch at the time, if only on an aesthetic level.

5.  I have a stack of unread books I bought this year, just staring at me, with nary a crease among them. These include:

Adorno and Horkheimer, The Dialectic of Enlightenment (looks amazing, but I haven’t touched it) Marx, Grundrisse (it’s 1000 pages for fuck’s sake. Amazon also accidentally sent me two copies, and its double presence in the stack is just comical) Reza Negarestani, Intelligence and Spirit (the first 15 pages blew my mind, then my mind blew it off)

6.  I didn’t settle into living in LA. I moved here six months before Covid and I was just starting to cultivate some friendships and play shows. This was quashed and I still feel like I still live in New York. I still barely know the layout of the city here.

7.  No brand-new buzzy musical artists burst onto the scene, that I can recall. No new hyped micro-genre of the moment. There was just no way for there to be a hot new trend. I’d say that was refreshing, but it wasn’t.

8.  Tyson’s return was not awesome. Two minute rounds, ended in a draw. I’ve been getting way into boxing this past year. This fight was a bummer. I’m looking forward to Mayweather vs Logan Paul (LOL) because we know it’s comedy ahead of time.

9.  For three weeks in July, I didn’t do a single thing other than watch street fight compilations on YouTube and Worldstar. That’s just grim.

10.  There were no school shootings in March. Apparently, this was the first March with no school shootings since 2002. Not a single 7th grader got a hand job in March either. I cannot begin to imagine what it’s like to be a kid now.

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Chuck Bettis

https://chuckbettis.com

Other People's Music released this year:

Coil "Musick to Play in the Dark" (Dais)

Duma "s/t" (Nyege Nyege Tapes) Twig Harper "External Boundless Prison/ in 4 parts EP" (self-release) I.P.Y. (Ikue Mori, Phew, YoshimiO) "I.P.Y." (Tzadik) Kill Alters "A2B2 Live Stream 11/13/2020" (self-release) Krallice "Mass Cathexis" (self-release) Lust$ickPuppy "Cosmic Brownie" (self-release) Doug McKechnie "San Francisco Moog: 1968-72" (VG+ Records) Merlin Nova "Boo!" (self-release) Omrb "Milandthriust, The Graths of Mersh" (self-release) Akio Suzuki & Aki Onda "gi n ga" (self-release) Yoth Iria "Under His Sway" (Repulsive Echo) Wetware "Flail" (Dais)

My own music released this year:

collaborations

Chatter Blip "Microcosmopolitan" (Contour Editions) Matmos "The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form" (Thrill Jockey) Reverse Bullets  "Dreampop Dsyphoria" (self-release) Snake Union "live at Roulette" (self-release) Snake Union w/ Hisham Bharoocha, Bonnie Jones, Heejin Jang, Matthew Regula "Three Arrows" (Rat Route) Thomas Dimuzio "Balance" (Gench Music) YoshimiO & Chuck Bettis  "Live at the Stone" (Living Myth)

solo Chuck Bettis "Arc of Enlghtenment"  (Living Myth) Chuck Bettis "Motion Parallax"  (Living Myth)

compilation Various Artist "Polished Turds Vol.1" (Granpa)

Music Books read this year

"Intermediary Spaces" by Eliane Radigue/Julia Eckhardt (Umland) "Ennio Morricone In His Own Words" by Ennio Morricone/Alessandro De Rosa (Oxford University Press) "Free Jazz In Japan: A Personal History" by Soejima Teruto (Public Bath Press) "Rumors of Noizu: Hijokaidan and the Road to 2nd Damascus" by Kato David Hopkins (Public Bath Press)

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Maya Hardinge

(musician / artist)

list of things i liked this year

first ever solo road trip through new mexico and Texas right before lockdown experiencing manhattan with no cars on the road . having a car to escape in to nature. (which i craved so much) walks and bike rides with friends… FRIENDS! The web site ‘workaway’ that helped me feel that there were options for escape. playing games weekly on zoom during lock down teaching yoga weekly on zoom. Witnessing and being part of the BLM protests. witnessing and being part of the demise of T sitting on my couch at 6am drinking a cup of tea, appreciating my apt. making time to meditate. halloween without tourists .

some music I’ve bought and/or enjoyed this year Elvis Perkins-Black Coat Daughter Patricia Kokett -Soi soi Henning Christiansen - OP201 Bryce Hackford- Safe Svitlana Nianio and Oleksander - Snayesh yak? rozkazhy Brannten schnure - Sommer im Pfirsichhain Killing Joke - Nighttime David Shea - Tower of mirrors Shakey - Shakey Woodford halse tapes Coil - Musick to play in the dark

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BJ Nilsen

sound artist / composer

Work 2020

Despite Covid 19 lots of things actually did happen.

In Feburary I visited the only active nuclear plant in The Nederlands as part of my "Expanded Field Recording” project together with SML. In March revisited the Acousmonium at the Elevate Festival in Graz with an additional trip deep inside the Schlossberg recording old mining trains. In March and April I did two daily recording projects “Pending and Auditory Scenes” - both of Amsterdam during lockdown. In May did my first Zoom field recording workshop with the CAMP project. In June & July  two research trips in Waldviertel, Austria with Franz Pomassl. In August recorded bells and organs in 10 different churches around Amsterdam for Jacob Lekkerkerker. In September recorded Kali Malone at the Orgelpark in Amsterdam. Performed at Heart of Noise Festival in Innsbruck and A4 in Bratislava. Also went ice-skating for first time in 20? Years. In November and December I travelled to Jeju island to record field recordings for a project by Femke Herregraven for the Gwangju Biennale, commissioned for 2021. Did lots of gardening, released two tapes “Call it Philips, Eindoven” and “Zomer 2020” with Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson. NOW! Looking forward to 2021.

http://bjnilsen.info https://soundcloud.com/bjnilsen/sets/auditory-scenes-amsterdam

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Vicki Bennett

(People Like Us)

Negativland - True False https://negativland.com/products/truefalse-cd (this came out last year but is so THIS year) Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways https://www.bobdylan.com/albums/rough-and-rowdy-ways/ The Soft Pink Truth - We from Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase https://thesoftpinktruth.bandcamp.com/album/shall-we-go-on-sinning-so-that-grace-may-increase Carl Stone - Stolen Car https://unseenworlds.bandcamp.com/album/stolen-car Porest - Sedimental Gurney https://porest.bandcamp.com/album/sedimental-gurney Matmos - The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form https://matmos.bandcamp.com/album/the-consuming-flame-open-exercises-in-group-form Domenique Dumont - Miniatures De Auto Rhythm https://antinoterecordings.bandcamp.com/album/atn044-domenique-dumont-miniatures-de-auto-rhythm The The - See Without Being Seen https://www.thethe.com/product/see-without-being-seen-cd/ Ciggy de la Noche - Hold Tight HMRC https://soundcloud.com/ciggydelanoche/hold-tight-hmrc Neil Cicierega - Mouth Dreams http://www.neilcic.com/mouthdreams/

and my details: http://peoplelikeus.org/ https://peoplelikeus-vickibennett.bandcamp.com/ pic: http://peoplelikeus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Welcome-Abroad-promo3-2-scaled.jpg

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DJ Food

Music - Type 303 - Sticky Disco / Analogue Acidbath 7" (45 Live) The British Space Group - The Ley of the Land CD (Wyrd Britain) Squarepusher - Be Up A Hello LP / Warp 10 NTS mix (Warp) dgoHn - Undesignated Proximate (Modern Love) LF58 - Alterazione LP (Astral Industries) Robert Fripp - Music For Quiet Moments series (DGM) Run The Jewels - RTJ4 (BMG) Simf Onyx - Magenta Skyline / The Unresolved 7" (Delights) Luke Vibert - Modern Rave LP (Hypercolour) JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland - Oscillospira (Ipecac) Aural Design - Looking & Seeing 7" / DL (Russian Library) Luke Vibert - Rave Hop (Hypercolour) Clipping. with Christopher Fleeger - Double Live (Sub Pop) APAT - Terry Riley's 'In C' performed on Modular Synthesizer (YouTube) Field Lines Cartographer - The Spectral Isle LP (Castles In Space) Jane Weaver - The Revolution of Super Visions single (Fire Records) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - K.G. LP (Flightless) Humanoid - Hed-Set - forthcoming on (De:tuned)

Film / TV - Inside No.9 (BBC) What We Do In The Shadows Season 2 (Netflix) Tales From The Loop (Amazon) Keith Haring - Street Art Boy (BBC) John Was Trying To Contact Aliens (Netflix) The Social Dilemma (Netflix) The Mandalorian (Season 2) (Disney+) Long Hot Summers - The Style Council documentary (Sky Arts) Zappa (Alex Winter)

Books / Comics / Magazines Confessions of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell (Profile books) The Often Wrong - Farel Dalrymple (Image Comics) Edwin Pouncey - Rated SavX (Strange Attractor Press) Jeffrey Lewis - Fuff (all issues - really late to the party on this one) Rian Hughes - XX - A Novel, Graphic (Picador) Cosey Fanni Tutti - Art, Sex, Music (Faber) Caza - Kris Kool (Passenger Press) Dan Lish - Egostrip Vol.1 Electronic Sound magazine Decorum - Jonathan Hickman & Mike Huddleston (Image) John Higgs - Stranger Than We Can Imagine Simon Halfon - Cover To Cover (Nemperor)

Very few exhibitions or shows this year for obvious reasons

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[quantumdotdot]

Marvel Masks: Earth-218, Session 1

We played the tabletop role-playing game Masks: A New Generation in an alternate version of Marvel’s Earth. This starts with stuff that we did as part of character creation, world-building, and “Session 0″ as it’s called, then going into the actual start of the narrative! I’ll be posting updates as the campaign continues.

You won’t need mechanical knowledge of the Masks system to understand it, though I definitely encourage anyone who’s interested in playing a superhero RPG, especially one involving teens, to give it a look.  I realized I’d never put this up anywhere but Twitter, and this campaign is honestly too good to keep to ourselves.

Also, shout-out to @Zhurenaissance for doing the lion's share of the initial world-building/prep; he's an incredible writer and I honestly couldn't have done it without him.

So, here ya go... Earth-218.

Cast of Characters

Shatterstar (he/him) - The Bull

Very tall (6’ 4”/6’ 5”), long red hair, about 18-19

Was actually born maybe(?) but thinks he was created in the genevats of Arize

Fought in gladiatorial combat on Mojoworld. Has 2 braids in his hair, a tradition for revolutionaries to show how many Spineless Ones he has killed

Tells people he and Rictor met by being at the same school

Billy Kaplan (he/him) - The Nova

16-17, skinny and short, wears t-shirts when not in combat

Has always been able to do small things with his powers

Recently had a back-against-the-wall moment with bullies and fought back, causing “property damage” when his powers manifested in full force

Hurt bystanders as well during the incident, which upset Billy. He found a mentor in Dr. Strange, who was training Billy to be the next Sorcerer Supreme, before Strange had his power stripped from him and stolen by some unknown assailant

Jen/Jennifer Walters (she/her) - The Transformed

Late 20s-early 30s, tall, looks ordinary

Jen is Jennifer Walters, not She-Hulk. Very important

Has been working as a lawyer/attorney in NYC, specializing in the rights of marginalized people, especially mutants

Her She-Hulk form changed dramatically post-Civil War and she is still dealing with the death of Rhodey, her boyfriend. Bruce also got killed shortly thereafter.

Tries not to transform into She-Hulk and has been hiding her emotions and grief. She is very unsure of her place in life, and looks to the kids of the team for help and support

Alex (they/them) - The Reformed

Looks 18. Looks thin, but is deceptively strong

Is a child created by Cyttorak the demon god to take over Teens totally normal human Teen, what are you talking about

“When our team first came together…”

Bull/Shatterstar: We defeated a dangerous enemy. Who or what was it?

Alex Summers. After Scott died, Alex was having a bad time, so Madelyne Pryor, Goblin Queen, convinced him to embrace his dark destiny as the Goblin Prince

Maddy has a classy black jumpsuit that shows minimal skin, whereas Alex gets a Sexy Badass Costume Change

The team fought off a bunch of goblins who had showed up at the school to claim it for the Goblin Queen

Nova/Billy: We destroyed our surroundings in the fight. Where was it? What did we destroy?

The fight was as the indoor/outdoor gym complex. Goblins took a basket hoop/pole, which was animated so that the hoop was a tongue and the backboard was a face. It blew a raspberry at the team as the goblins carted it away. The goblins also tried to take the biggest trophy from them but it ran around from them. It’s now a pet animated trophy.

Billy and Havok had a one-vs-one, Billy struggled with his shield powers, trying to shield the team and the school from Alex’s blasts, but lost control and the blasts ricocheted everywhere, collapsing several walls. Billy had to do detention to clean it up since the Xavier Institute is all about learning to take responsibility for your powers.

Maddie wasn’t happy with her Goblin Prince after looking at all the trash the goblins brought back.

Transformed/Jen: We drew attention and ire from plenty during the fight. One important person in particular now hates and fears us. Who is it?

J. Jonah Jameson now has an axe to grind against both the school and the team in particular after the mess from the goblin fight spilled out into Central Park a little bit. Not everyone listens to him, but a lot of the police and the Olds do. So that’s tough. He doesn’t have time for pictures of Spiderman now. Spider-Man has also never been confirmed to exist, he is a cryptid. JJ has hundreds of extremely blurry pictures of Spider-Man.

Reformed/Alex: We fought a terrible enemy from my old life. Who was it and what did they take from me?

Erik the Red worked with Maddy to send the goblins to the school as a smokescreen for testing Alex.

Nightmare also showed up at the school, who is this universe’s version of Toad; he’s a demon who is also part goblin. He carries a spinal hobby horse that summons a spectral horse that keeps the spine/bone ghost head.

Lower status among demons because he’s part goblin

He stole Alex’s staff from the locker room, that let them channel their powers through the staff while fighting.

Relationships

Shatterstar

Billy is your “love”.* You’ve opened up to them about the worst parts of your past.

Star saw the destruction Billy caused after standing up to the Goblin Prince and got stars in his eyes. He thinks Billy has the heart of a warrior and told him about his past in the dueling arenas, which freaks Billy out a little bit.  

Alex is your “rival”. They tried to control you at a crucial moment.

Alex knows a little bit about fighting, but they and Star come from very different schools of thought. They tried to tell Star how he should fight during the Goblin fight and Star holds a grudge against them for that.

* (Note: Shatterstar is still dating Julio, the "love" is a mechanical thing for Shatterstar's class. Billy is the only one he's opened up to on the team.)

Billy

You hang out all the time with Jen to blow off steam.

They bonded over baking cookies. Billy tries to bribe the other kids to be friends with him by sharing cookies. He once walked in on Jen hurling a stand mixer through the wall after getting frustrated, and now Jen calms down by watching Billy bake in the giant Xavier Institute kitchen. He learned how to bake at a young age by peering over the counter top on a step-stool when his bubbe was baking.

You once hurt Alex when you lost control of your powers.

Billy thinks that he hurt Alex during the goblin fight by making some that had poison spit lose their poison and accidentally hit Alex. Obviously, Alex is fine, but Billy still feels extremely guilty about all of it.

Jen

Shatterstar comforted me when I was at my lowest.

Star reassured Jen when she was about to Get Angry and hulk out after the Goblin fight. She was trying to stay calm and not lose her head after avoiding her ugly emotions and it hadn't been going well. Shatterstar helped by reassuring her that she had helped them and that she had a place with them on the team.

Laura / X-23 / Wolverine knew me before I changed.

Laura knew Jen from before, and fought her in a 1v1. Jen defeated her then, but ever since Civil War ended, Jen hasn’t been the same. Laura has faith in her that she can become the Jen she once knew again, so they can have a rematch and Laura can win fair and square this time, and so tries to encourage her. Laura maintains she could have defeated Jen if she had to though. Jen lets her think so.

Alex

I’ve earned the trust of Billy, and I follow their example of what a hero should be.

Alex wandered by when Billy was serving detention for the destruction he caused to the athletics facility. Billy had Alex help him clean up while they talked, and Alex looks up to Billy as an inspiration of what good guys are.

I did something terrible to Jen once. I hope they can forgive me one day

Jen was having trouble sleeping once, and Alex was a little low on energy, so they selfishly drained Jen, forcing her to go to sleep but leaving her feeling worse than it was. They feel terrible about it.

The Story, So Far...

It is the third and final day of the Super-Human Law seminar hosted by Jen at the Charles Xavier Institute for Mutant Academics and Outreach, located smack dab in the middle of Central Park, NYC. Once Jen has concluded her final topic and wrap-up on “Know Your Rights: How to Talk to the Police As a Mutant,” headmaster Kitty Pryde walks up on the stage and thanks Jen, calling for a round of applause. Jen looks visibly awkward. Kitty also brought up Claudette and Nicole St. Croix, the “Monet Twins” and the self-dubbed school cheerleading squad. They’ve composed a song with call and response that the whole school takes part in to see her off:

“Teacher and Students Yes-sir-eee We have a lot of fun Cuz’ Teacher and Students are We! Though our time is ending We learned a lot you see! We’ll never turn a frown Cuz Teacher and Students are We!”

The normally zoned out and distant Claudette transforms into a carefree girl for the duration of their choreographed song and dance. As soon as it ends, Nicole explains that she and Claudette wanted to show their thanks on behalf of both them and the entire school. The entire time, Jen was a bit tuned out, checking her phone and generally not loving being the center of this particular brand of awkward attention. Once the thanks are said and the dance number is over, Claudette folds back in on herself, only to be shuffled off the stage by her twin-caretaker.

After that, Kitty gestures to Jen to take a seat, and uses the opportunity of the assembly of 6th-12th graders to introduce the new transfer student Ginny Wayword. As she tries to introduce Ginny to the school, a loud thumping starts off-panel. Kitty keeps going with the introductions and a wide smile, but sweat starts to stream down the side of her face. The thumping gets louder, and eventually turns into vampires arriving by bursting through a wall in a cloud of bats. When the bat cloud disappears, it reveals a vampire lord with a group of hungry, feral vampires who reveal they are here for “Jubilation Lee” and demand that the school hands her over. Kitty tells Junior Squad to get in formation while she sizes up the situation and the rest of the students flee the assembly hall.

Meanwhile, Shatterstar has been running behind rapidly-emptying chairs, because he knows a threat when he sees one. Without waiting for the rest of the team, he leaps into action, stabbing the vampire lord with both blades. Rictor had asked him not to bring his swords to the assembly, so we get a flashback of him sitting at the assembly while his swords poke into the person next to him, and the person behind him tries to look around their hilts in vain. Shatterstar is smug in his knowledge that he was indeed right about bringing them along.

Star sinks his swords deep into the chest of the vampire lord, but it doesn’t work--vampires can’t be hurt by normal swords. The vampire laughs at Star mockingly: “Foolish mortal, swords cannot hurt me!” Star marks the condition Insecure because he’s just been laughed at by this vampire he tried to take down, and is locked in combat as he tries to free his swords.

While Star is in the fray with the vampire, Billy sees all the students trying to flee the assembly through the single door (the vampires broke through the wall with the other ones) and decides to shield them to make sure they can get out safely. Caveat being the team won’t be able to escape easily.

Alex finally arrives late with a piece of toast in their mouth, confused at why everyone’s leaving and assuming that means Jen’s speech is over. They try to clamber up to the stage with toast in their mouth after making their way through the swarm of students, asking Jen and Kitty what’s going on. They keep nervously talking through what they should do to combat the vampires while Kitty phases through her School Principal blazer, knee-length skirt, and hose, revealing her Shadowcat uniform under this weird ice skating costume version of Business Formal. Kitty tells Alex to get in formation as they continue to talk, but while they’ve been talking, the feral vampires have crept up on Alex. Alex tries to defend Jen and Kitty, and fails, and the vampires almost let Alex’s secret slip before they use their powers to drain some energy from the surrounding vampires.

With Alex, Shatterstar, and Billy occupied, Jen takes a second to assess the situation, realizing that the best way to end this conflict quickly is to give the vampire lord what he wants, or talk to him, which is gonna be a little tricky given that Shatterstar is currently grappling/being grappled by him.

Star takes a moment to roll backwards, regretfully leaving his swords stuck through the vampire lord’s Armani blouse for the time being, and asks what he wants with Jubilation Lee, and using that as an opportunity to assess the situation. He remembers from watching Buffy that wood can kill vampires, so he takes a particularly-splintery piece of wood and tries to stab it through the vampire’s heart. The vampire reads his move, and dodges with preternatural speed in a cloud of bats, reappearing behind Shatterstar as he was about to strike. The vampire lord hoists Shatterstar up by the collar, and, testing his weight, feels how light he is. The vamp gets curious and hurls Shatterstar as far and as hard as he can, smashing Star up against the part of the wall that’s still standing.

Star lands face-first, and his white eye lands against the wall, flaring up and glowing white as Star slides down the wall like a splatted bug. His powers go haywire from the blow, tearing open the fabric of reality as he falls like a knife cutting through a screen. The edges of reality splay open, revealing that Star has inadvertently opened an extradimensional portal into Limbo, where there are demons in jerseys playing basketball, a la the Mon-stars from Space Jam. Star is dazed, laying down on the ground beneath this tableau.

Billy, seeing Star in trouble, leaves the barrier where it is and sneaks over to try to help Star up. He tells Star what happened and asks if he can help, to which Star replies, confused: “Space…. Jam?” Once he comes to a bit, he tells Billy that he’s fine, and that Billy needs to go help the others while Star recovers.

The Vampire Lord, having finished with Star, turns to Jen and Kitty, finally introduces himself as “Alexandre Francois Bourgeois, Lord of the Vampires, head of the Bourgeois Clan,” and once again demands that they give her Jubilation Lee as he advances on them with his vampire legion. Alex sees this and tries to provoke one group of the vampires into a chase using themselves as the bait of a “tasty snack,” while Billy distracts the others by levitating and rattling chairs threateningly.

Alex’s plan fails though, and the vampires follow them, but not the way they wanted. Alex nervously tries to use their “Aw, gosh” demeanor to fend the vampires off, but it’s no use. We end as the vampires advance on Alex, saying they smell more like predator than prey, and taunting their attempts to appear as a normal mortal teen. Alex nervously replies "I'm not ugly, Arnold."

Final Thoughts

We didn't get to play too much because we did a lot of world-building, but overall I'd say Marvel Masks is a rousing success and I look forward to playing it again with the crew of awesome players I was lucky enough to have!

[writer59january13]

Donald Trump must be permanently barred and furloughed from Whitehouse

While figuratively (yet electronically) rifling thru bajillion documents, I came across one written four plus years ago and slightly modified today January ninth two thousand and twenty one at approximately 9:42 PM, when Hillary Clinton Democratic contestant chose Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate and former forty second first lady got thoroughly thrashed during debates with he who must NOT be named.

Little did yours truly (me) intimate what horrific state of affairs the forty fifth president would wreak (his latest gig desecrating sacred government enclaves housed within Capitol Hill), although keen political prognosticators foresaw calamity plain as day. If only said metaphorical crystal ball gazers ominous premonition heeded and/or brave soul(s) with chutzpah (think yours truly) raised a ruckus to oust the newly anointed commander in chief.

Hindsight always 20/20!

Egg gads, I ham aghast,

(and turning green with disgust)

at increasing popularity

witnessed by Donald Trump,

hence aye aerate thoughts,

how ass a nine his banal, demoniacal,

egomaniacal, fanatical, guttural, and hurtful

culling frightening insight, where

portentous Portuguese Man 'o War debacle

doth crowdsource, Flickr, Snapchat,

Twitter and indeed long foster

my plenti full overactive imagination

to induce writhing expressions of fearfulness

proportionate burst of haughtiness)

while he doth stump

would animate mine rear

i.e. rather noxious flatulence

expelled from outward doppelganger of rump

pull stilts skin cuz this chap haint Noah fan,

but wood vouchsafe

tub be a Jimmy Neutron

n Spongebob Squarepants

Ark n saw wing enemy against

da dull don dat does pumps

swaggering bravado with fist swelling ego

analogous to his body infected

with severe case of mumps

that brazen denizen hurling

and spewing volcanic fiery spittle

with incense against others –

to him mere lumps

of protoplasm heckled as inferior to himself

boasts as proof of favoritism,

that enervating, fawning,

gabbling feverish arrogant mania for him jumps

higher than expected,

while he commits faux paws which bumps

his ratings higher, he gleefully endorses

pandemonium toward gloating gumps

shun from the uproarious querulous

and populous madding crowd

regarding return of native son.

Throughout launch of his campaign,

banally, devilishly, and fiendishly

character assassinating those opposed to his views -

inducing me to harrumph and dump faith

in humanity, wondering what ruse

smart democratic pol mongers can conjure up

while pacing in soft shoes

woeful sentiments sans his attempt did render

competitors to drop out in ones n twos

whom he purportedly considers apostates,

and heathens cons heed Make America Great use

all manner of bullying

(determination whose occipital pupils

coalescing into searing

grape nut size wrath poisonous daggers)

forcibly silencing any jeers

when necessary plagiarizing neo Nazi playbook -

with trophy wife eliciting "who cares"

attitude closing in on pinteresting

for United States chess board foursquare,

which deliberate intent

to foment n wrought prostrate -

music to those hoteliers billion dollar ears

sans defeated apprenticing contestants

hearing sobbing tears

with vitriolic violent bilious

inducing jabs of his will full brittle spears

reputations of personalities

(men and women politicians

his especial flavor of scathing,

scandalous, scabrous sordidness

spewed squeamishly to grab

by the figurative crotch (ala Michael Jackson)

the hello kitty 2016 presidential election),

whether liberal, conservative,

heterosexual or queers

thus tis find this muddling middle-aged mwm

abject psychic fractal shears.

The following poetic addendum composed way buff fore this (in my mind) atrocious, cretaceous, enormous, ferocious, garrulous, hellacious, indecorous, malicious nemesis, pernicious, querulous, rapacious, specious, tedious, unrighteous, vicious, dangerous demon must BE STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS ASAP!

DONALD TRUMP – RE: DUCKS --

this portion dashed off

(while driving an open white hearse slay

so many months back before sale him

slotted the most coveted

Casino biggest win -

before the political imbroglio

much more upsetting than today

Axe the old don

A trump peter n piper

of incredulous hellish crud - be gone

With the ha airbrushed pompous arse

so the Macy jackal hound doth run

After public outcry yelps

for his hide and proletarian discord won.

Donald Duck Trump ™!$ - a pompous ass

makes war with his big brass

knuckles and bucket of crass

maligns vis a vis character assassination

with soundcloud of broken glass

inciting banal deathly

hallowed expletives toward lass

sees – especially Fox Television

news anchor woman Megyn Kelly

inducing said personality

to bear the brunt of brutish mass

of vitriolic n vile insults

from incriminating verbal pass

so…ex post facto

viz mine NO VOTE from me

thus this digital screed to disallow him

to accept the oath of office,

cuz he will hurrahs

from such a snooty arrogant

simian with sass.

I van a try to describe while sitting on me rump

How he oh bomb in lee rages with gnashing teeth

while back a slump

blasting Democratic nomination as a sham –

from special interest bro and sis turn pump

he, the epitomy of crass bloviation,

a malignant lump

whose rants sans presidential outcome

a sham rocking red bull

in a China shop with his millions beds this,

that and another woman to bareback jump

disseminating gene pool –

Obama null lee birthing

more quackers and additionally doth hump

the mass media as some foolhardy charade

and caricature of a frazzled grump

this arboreal clothed ape

erecting taj mahal phallic symbol

where players dump

and gamble away hard earn cash

for his (hmm... mew zing) hello kitty,

as if that cachet to grind and bump

lambasting with that maniacal leering pout while hair rum runs rampant with red bulls

in a china shop atop his bulbous aerosol

sprayed heady measly shaped

ulterior motive aimed his sights

to become pastor of muppets

dis eased cranial hologram

of a cretaceous, facetious and insidious mump.

By: Baron Von Ivan Mal N. Ya.

[djinmer4]

AU^4 (Evil Verse)

This also was part of an idea I had.  In the 9997 universe, when Belasco realizes that he was (is) Kurt Wagner, Kurt’s personality comes out on top and he tries to redeem himself.  What if it had gone the other way around?  So this is an AU of the Belasco!verse that @mikeellee and I are writing, which is an AU of Earth X, which is an AU of canon 616 universe.

I was going to have the big reveal to Kitty at the end, but this was getting long and I’ve got work tomorrow.  So that’ll be in the next part.

Belasco was contemplating the most recent news from the material plane went he felt the telltale change in pressure from a teleport.  Irritated, he cast his senses out, seeking who would dare trespass in his domain.  To his surprise, he didn’t feel any sort of magic power at all, not even the slippery feeling from a shielded magic user.  Not one of the other Lords of Limbo challenging him then, nor a sorcerer from the material plane.  Had some lost innocent wandered in by accident again?  Those were always fun.  Sometimes he even let them go, after a very long time.  

Rising to his feet, he began to search his halls.  To his surprise, there was no evidence of the intruder.  No random bystander knocking about the corridors, no damage to any of the furnishings.  A quick trip revealed nothing amiss in the library or the treasury, the two most obvious targets.  Yet there was something, a fragrance in the air or a sense of being watched that warned him that the intruder is still here.  “I know you’re here,” he announced to what appeared to be thin air.  “Come out, child, and I’ll make this easy on you.”

Only silence.  This was starting to get fun.  First he banished all the lower demons present in his estate.  While he wasn’t too concerned about them being killed, either by the intruder or by his own hand, he didn’t want this person using them to escape.  “Are you still there?”  The feeling of being watched sharpened.

After another quick round in person, he started sectioning off the different parts of his castle.  Then he vanished them, dissolving them back into the Chaos that made up Limbo, until nothing but the main parts, such as the throne room, were left.  Still nothing, but now he was starting to get a sense of what direction the person was in.

Now how were they keeping away from him?  Were they there, merely invisible?  Several quick slashes with his axe disproved that, even if they had avoided being hit, they would not have avoided the shock wave.  Were they in the air or the shadows?  Changing the air to a sulfurous mix only caused a brief sensation of retreat, flooding the area with light brought no change at all.  Had the person switched into another dimension?  The Ruler of Limbo caused the very substance of the world to waver, but nothing popped out.

There was only one remaining possibility he could think of . . . but she had died decades ago.  It was at that moment he felt someone grab his ankle and he started to sink into the stone floor.  Then the floor solidified, shattering muscle and bone.  Before he could recover, he felt something slide through his back, slipping through the ribs into his heart.

“I-I did it!”  It really was her!  He’d have recognized that voice anywhere!  But she had been stone; how had King Britain brought her back to life?  For a second, the joy in her voice made him contemplate letting her bask in her victory, letting her think she’d won for once.  But no, this was an opportunity too good to be missed.

It was the work of seconds to reform himself.  “Nice try,” he laughed.  “But within this place I am immune from death.”

Kitty Pryde (the same outfit, the same face, the same eyes, the same soul, oh how long has it been since he had seen her) simply gritted her teeth and adjusted her grip on her sword.  “We’ll see about that.”  Then she charged to attack.

Three swift blows that he deflected, falling back to give himself more room to swing.  Then a strike to the left slipped past his guard, cutting a shallow wound on his bicep.  He teleported behind her striking her in the back (flat side only) before she could turn around, but she simply phased to let the axe pass through her.  Then she was back on the attack again.

This time he managed to lock her sword with his blade.  A quick shove knocked her off her feet and she was left sprawling on the floor.  Belasco raised his axe to knock her out, but by the time he had struck, Kitty had phased again.  But this time, she had her arm raised, and her sword, intangible, had gone straight through his weapon and into his trachea.  She gave a brief smirk to the Demon Lord then rolled away.  Once she was free of the axe, she let go of the sword, which abruptly materialized while still embedded in his throat.  Severed arteries spurted blood into the air, and several vertebrae shattered.

But healing took no longer than it did the first time.  “Stop this foolishness girl.  You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“Third time’s the charm.”  He had to give her credit.  Most people, even experienced swordsmen would have been tired by now.  Shadowcat was ready to keep going, although he noticed that the smile on her face had been replaced with a frown.  One more time, that was all she had left in her he suspected.

More thrusts, less swinging this time.  Less defense as well, simply letting his blows phase through her rather than blocking or dodging.  She feinted left twice, then before he could raise his weapon into position, she drove her sword forward and up- straight into his right eye.

Alright, that actually hurt, he thought as he felt the point of her blade grind against the back of his skull.  Enough was enough.  This time when he reformed, he didn’t give her the chance to go on the offensive again.  One swift blow broke her arm and knocked her sword away from her.  Rather than surrender though, she reached for a device on her waist; the ruler of Limbo recognized it as a portal maker.  “You can’t leave yet!”  A quick reversal, then the gadget was smashed into pieces and the X-Man was pressing her smarting arm into her chest.  Now she looked worried.  She started to phase into the floor, but he pulled her up with his tail, suppressing her ability.

She started to kick out at him, trying to get away.  Ignoring the blows, he concentrated, then conjured a necklace from the substance of Limbo.  It sat high on her throat, like a choker or a torc (or a slave collar).  More importantly, it was set with several crystals that would prevent her from using her ability.  Only when he was certain that she couldn’t get away he let her go.  

She stayed on the ground for a moment, probably trying to phase through the floor.  “What have you done?” she asked.

He went and picked up the sword she had been using.  Glowing blue blade with cross supports, black grip with a skull on the pommel.  “The Soul Sword!  Well, now I am impressed.”  He turned back to his would-be assassin.  “An artificial portal maker to get you in and out, the one weapon that everyone knows can harm me, wielded by a master swordswoman who has the ability to travel through the any wall or lock.  This was very well thought out.”  Belasco briefly considered severing the link between woman and sword then dismissed it.  Instead he encased the sword in more crystal.  That should stop Kitty from being able to use it, but keeping the link would prevent anyone else from claiming it as well.

He extended his hand to the young girl on the ground.  She recoiled back, as if retreating from a venomous snake.  Undeterred, he simply scooped her up cradling her in his one arm as if she were a doll.   “Shh, it’s alright,” the villain said. “You’re doing beautifully and I’m so proud of you. But that’s enough now. It was cruel of them to make you fight me - you could never have won. It’s not your fault.”

She hit out at him, disregarding her broken arm.  He ignored everything she threw at him.  Finally, exhausted, she fell limp and let him carry her.  It wasn’t over though.  He was sure she was planning her next escape attempt.

Let her plot away.  He had never thought he would ever see her again.  Now that he had her back, he wasn’t going to let her go for the world.