#vanitas soft edits

[retracexcviii]

Sunday Moon

Hi there dear fellows and Luna lovers. Sunday is here.

Don't edit this drawing and don't post it anywhere.

This really lovely Luna was made by an artist that is active on the fandom to support Palestine.

The artist is @/cinnajer on Twitter.

[bitemevanitas]

𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝐅𝐈𝐍

𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐬 𝐍𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞 [video below edited by me]

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Vanitas x Reader

𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦: The Case Study of Vanitas

𝐓𝐖: 𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇 𝗈𝗈𝖼 𝖵𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗍𝖺𝗌 (?), 𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗌𝗂𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗆𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝖾𝗋𝗋𝗈𝗋𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖼𝖺𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗌𝗅𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝖽𝖾𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗏𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 (𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗍𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗀𝖾𝗋), 𝖿𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖼𝗁 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗌𝗅𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝖻𝗒 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝗀𝗅𝖾 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗌𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾 (𝗆𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖿𝗒, 𝗌𝗂𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝖺𝗉𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗂𝖾𝗌), not beta-read, 𝗆𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗅 𝖺𝗇𝖽 committing my undying love for Vanitas on paper (Tumblr)

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Vanitas being a chatty little cutie, Reader being head-over-heels for Vani, drastic turn as he speaks about a near-death-experience, Vanitas joking about running away, brief joke about him retiring and starting gardening (lol), fluff (or hurt/comfort??), hand-holding, hugs and kisses

𝐂𝐖: 2.6K

The night was eerily quiet as Vanitas and I wandered through the dimly lit streets of Paris. The gas lamps, their golden glow flickering against the cobblestones, painted long, wavering shadows across the road. 

Though the city never truly slept, our little corner of it felt strangely still, almost untouched by its usual fervor, as if holding its breath.

Vanitas walked ahead of me again, his coat shifting with each step, the faintest trace of mint lingering in the air around him. He had met me outside the Palais Garnier after rehearsal, as we’d agreed, greeting me with a sweeping bow so dramatic, a few passersby had stopped to stare. 

It was just like him—never content unless he was making a spectacle of himself.

Now, as he waxed philosophical about some topic I wasn’t fully paying attention to, I found myself listening more to the cadence of his voice than the meaning behind his words. 

There was an unusual lightness to it tonight—free of its usual sharp edge, tinged instead with something softer, almost.. content.

He glanced back at me, a smirk tugging at his lips, clearly expecting a reaction. I only gave him a vague nod and the ghost of a smile, not entirely invested in whatever he had said. 

Vanitas didn’t seem to mind. The moment itself, this rare, easy quiet between us, felt more significant than any words could.

He had always had a way of commanding attention, whether he sought it or not. Even earlier, when he had so theatrically declared, "Come, ma chérie! The night is ours!"—drawing amused chuckles and curious glances—I had only rolled my eyes, though I hadn’t been able to hide the slight flush of embarrassment. I had wanted to smack him then.

Now, he moved with that same effortless confidence, his presence somehow both maddening and captivating. 

His dark hair fell into his eyes as he spoke, his hands punctuating his words with careless flourishes. He was all sharp angles and reckless grace, his expression shifting constantly—always on the verge of a smirk, always looking as though he was one step ahead of everyone else.

His voice was velvet-smooth, effortlessly weaving itself into the quiet of the night. 

I watched him, the way his lips moved, the way his hands punctuated his sentences with flourishes. Vanitas always spoke as though the world were his audience, his presence larger than life.

And yet, despite his swagger, I knew there were moments when that mask slipped—moments where, just for an instant, I saw something unguarded beneath the surface. 

Tonight wasn’t one of those moments, not yet, anyway. But, the ease in his voice, the uncharacteristic softness in his movements, made my heart tighten all the same.

I loved him.

The realization of just how deeply I felt, struck me the way it always did—sudden, heavy, impossible to ignore. How could I love someone so impossibly frustrating? 

Someone who drove me to the edge of my patience, someone so smug and reckless, so self-assured—how could my heart be so full of him?

My Vanitas.

He moved with a careless ease, a boyish charm that softened the usual sharp edges of his presence. Even his name sounded like poetry, something lyrical and eternal. Despite it suggesting otherwise.

His profile was all sharp angles, the curve of his cheekbone catching the lamplight as though carved from marble. The finest marble in Paris—if not the finest in all of France.

If I had the power, I would sculpt him from marble myself, ensuring he endured for eternity. Even if that would steal the very essence of his beauty—being alive.

I could see his eyes in my mind as clearly as if they were before me—the sharpest, most luminous blue, like the place where the endless sky meets the untamed sea. 

They carried a depth that held more than just light; there were secrets buried within, shadows flickering beneath their brilliance. 

Meeting his gaze always felt like either having one’s soul laid bare, or standing at the edge of a cliff—perilous, intoxicating, and mysterious.

There may have been a time when his eyes were darker—deep, impenetrable blue, like the ocean before a storm. One he had long sailed across.

They would swallow the light, guarded and unreadable, as if the weight of the world had settled behind them too soon. The same soul lingered within both, unchanged yet different, as if the boy he once had been still watched from the depths.

The rhythm of his voice was almost mesmerizing, each word flowing into my ears like a wonderful melody I never wanted to fade.

I barely registered his words until he suddenly turned, fixing me with a knowing look.

"You’re staring," he said, his voice low.

I blinked indignantly, heat creeping up my neck. "Don’t flatter yourself."

His smirk widened. "It’s so easy to."

I rolled my eyes, picking up my pace to walk beside him. But just as I fell into step with him, he spoke again—his tone quieter this time, thoughtful in a way that sent a faint shiver down my spine.

"In fact," he mused, "I was just thinking.."

He trailed off, letting the words hang between us.

I frowned slightly. "Thinking about what?"

His expression remained unreadable as he turned his gaze forward again. "That we should run away."

I stopped walking.

"What?" My voice came out way sharper than I intended.

Vanitas, unbothered, continued strolling ahead. "Leave everything behind," he said simply. "None of this anymore." He turned back, flashing a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Just us."

I stared at him, a strange tightness coiling in my chest. "That’s not funny."

He shrugged. "Who said I’m joking?"

"Vanitas."

The smirk on his lips faltered a little—just for a second. He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling softly. "I nearly died today."

The words were spoken so lightly, so carelessly, that it took me a moment to process them.

My breath caught.

Then, something cold settled in my stomach. "What?"

"A strong curse-bearer," he continued, still walking. "Touch-and-go for a while, too close for comfort. Got me thinking."

I swallowed hard, forcing my feet to move again. "About what?"

His face softened a bit. "About you."

Without thinking, I reached out, my fingers brushing against his sleeve. It was the smallest touch, but he noticed. His steps slowed down, and then—so very carefully—he reached back, his fingers curling lightly around mine.

"You keep me grounded," he said quietly, his thumb ghosting over my knuckles. "When everything else feels like it’s slipping away... you remind me I’m still here."

I wanted to say something, anything, but the words wouldn’t come.

And then, just as suddenly as he had said it, Vanitas let out a sharp laugh, breaking the moment with a shake of his head. "Look at me, getting sentimental." His fingers slipped away, leaving behind only warmth.

Vanitas’s chuckle lingered in the air between us, brittle and sharp, like the crack in the ice of a glacier. I said nothing, the weight of his words still pressing against my chest.

He was deflecting. I could see it in the way his shoulders tensed, in the way his smirk came a little too quickly. But I knew better. I had always known better when it came to him.

Run away.

He said it as if it were nothing. As if the world he carried on his shoulders could simply be shrugged off. But that wasn’t Vanitas, was it?

He didn’t run. Not really. He threw himself headlong into danger, laughing in the face of it, daring the abyss to swallow him whole.

That was the Vanitas I knew. The Vanitas I loved.

And yet, here he was, speaking of escape with a quiet, wistful longing that didn’t suit him at all.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Sentimental, my foot," I muttered, nudging his arm lightly. "What’s gotten into you?"

He turned to me, his expression unreadable for a moment before he hummed, tilting his head in mock contemplation. "Maybe I’ve decided to give up the excitement of Paris," he mused. "Retire to the countryside. Live a quiet, peaceful life."

I scoffed. "Retire? You’re eightteen."

Vanitas exhaled a laugh, but then, before I could react, he turned toward me fully. His blue eyes locked onto mine, and just for a moment, there was no teasing, no playfulness—just something unreadable, something dangerously close to sincerity.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze falling over me like the edge of a blade. "What? I’m not allowed to indulge in a bit of daydreaming now and then?"

"You? Daydream?" I arched a brow. "Next, you’ll be telling me you’ve decided to give up all this"—I waved a hand vaguely at the empty streets—"and maybe take up gardening."

"Maybe I would," he murmured, "if you were there."

I felt my heart stutter.

What the hell? I didn’t know how long we stood there, suspended in the quiet night. Then, with an infuriatingly smug grin, Vanitas took a dramatic step forward, sweeping me into a sudden embrace.

I yelped, squirming against him. "Vanitas—! Are you serious??" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

He tilted his head, as if considering my question. His dark hair fell into his eyes, casting shadows across his face. "I don’t know," he admitted. "Does it matter?"

"Well, it does to me," I said, my voice sharper than I intended. "You’re not usually this—"

I stopped myself. He wasn’t what? Careless? Thoughtless? Reckless? He was all those things and more, and yet, there were moments when he showed a depth so profound—it was baffling.

This was one of those moments.

"Hey," he began, his tone dropping, taking on that velvet-smooth softness that always made my pulse quicken. His hand rose as if to brush a particularly stubborn strand of hair from my face. 

He didn’t, though. He stopped just short, his fingers hovering in the space between us. "Do you trust me?"

"Do I—" I broke off with a short laugh, incredulous. "What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one," he said, his expression utterly serious now.

I swallowed hard. "Well, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t trust you. Would I?"

"Wouldn't you?"

His question settled over me like a heavy blanket, warm and suffocating all at once. My gaze dropped to his hand, still suspended between us, and I wondered if he could feel the heat radiating from my skin. 

Ultimately, I rolled my eyes. "I think I’ve had enough of your theatrics for one night."

He leaned in then, close enough that I could feel the faint brush of his knuckles against my cheek. "You love my theatrics," he whispered, his voice low and teasing.

I hated how right he was.

"Go on," I said, stepping back and putting some distance between us. "Run away, then. See if I care."

"You do care," he said, straightening and fixing me with a knowing look. "You’d miss me so, so much."

I bristled instantly, my cheeks heating in betrayal of my composure. "I would NOT," I said, my voice sharp, though I cursed the slight waver in it.

Vanitas tilted his head, closing his eyes and smiling brightly, the corners of his eyes crinkling beautifully. "Oh, now, now," he cooed, his tone dripping with theatrical flair.

The faint flush on my cheeks deepened immediately. "Don’t you dare—"

Before I could finish my warning, his hand shot out, grasping my wrist. My heart skipped as he pulled me forward, drawing me closer in one swift motion.

His arms were around me, his cheek pressed awkwardly to mine. His soft skin was pressed against mine, and I felt my face burn as I twisted in his hold. 

I usually had no trouble flustering him, but alas, he could easily do the same to me.

"Why, you’re adorable," he teased, his breath brushing against my ear.

I let out a strangled noise that was part growl, part squeak, squirming as I tried to push him away. "Let me go, you absolute buffoon!"

A couple passed us on the sidewalk, throwing us strange looks.

"But I like holding you," Vanitas said lightly, ignoring my protests as if they were nothing more than a breeze. His arms tightened ever so slightly, and for a fleeting moment, his tone softened. "You feel nice."

His words made my stomach flip, though I refused to acknowledge the effect they had on me. Instead, I clawed at my composure, glaring up at him with as much fire as I could muster. "You’re an insufferable, little pest."

"And yet," he said, "you’re still here. Funny how that works, isn’t it?"

His blue eyes glittered with amusement, but there was something deeper beneath the surface—a warmth that made my anger falter, even if only for a moment.

I opened my mouth to retort, but the words died in my throat when he suddenly declared, "Oh, don’t be dispirited now, I could never run away without you!"

His voice was deliberately loud, his expression ridiculously exuberant as he beamed down at me. "My poor heart would wither and die without you by my side, mon lapin!"

I froze, my jaw dropping slightly as the weight of his words registered. Then I saw the playful glint in his eye, and the mortifying nickname finally hit me.

"'Mon lapin'?" I repeated, my voice strangled with indignation.

"What about it?" he asked, grinning as though he’d just given me the highest compliment in the world.

"Cut this atrocity from your vocabulary," I hissed, my face so hot I felt like I was about to combust.

Vanitas laughed—a rich, genuine sound that made my chest tighten despite my irritation. His arms were still around me, his embrace loose now but still present. I could have pushed him away in that moment, but... I didn’t.

Instead, my shoulders sagged as the fight drained out of me. He tilted his head, his expression softening as he regarded me.

I glared at him, but the gesture lacked any real venom. My heart was still racing, and I hated how easily he could disarm me with just a few words, a touch, a look.

"You’re so very lucky I tolerate you," I said, finally allowing myself to relax against him.

"Mhm.." He chuckled, resting his chin lightly on top of my head. "I think you’ve long warmed up to me, chèrie."

"Don’t push your luck."

His arms tightened slightly, and for a moment, we stood in silence, the cool night air swirling around us. 

It was rare for Vanitas to hold still like this, to let a moment linger just for the sake of it.

"But all things considered," he said softly, his tone shifting again, "I meant what I said earlier."

I stiffened slightly. "About running away?"

"Non. About you," he clarified, his voice so quiet it almost got lost in the breeze. "You really do keep me grounded."

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tight. I wanted to say something—anything—but the words wouldn’t come.

Vanitas sighed, his breath warm against my hair. 

A quiet hum filled my chest as his warmth surrounded me. The contours of his body pressed against mine in such a way that it felt like everything else faded into the background. The softness of his coat, the way his scent lingered—minty, faintly musky—somehow it all felt like home.

I closed my eyes and let myself breathe him in. The steady rise and fall of his chest matched my own heartbeat, and the rhythm was soothing, grounding.

His arms tightened around me just a little, and I felt his fingers brush against my back, a touch so familiar, so intimate. It wasn’t urgent, not demanding. It was just... there. Solid. Real.

I leaned into him and rested my head against his shoulder—his heartbeat sounding like a quiet echo in my ear. It was steady. It was calm. It was a pulse I had learned to trust without even thinking about it.

The hug was long—timeless, in a way. There was no rush, no need to break it. In fact, I didn’t want to break it. The space between us had always been hard to navigate, but right then, it felt like we’d finally crossed a distance.

I could have stayed like this forever.

His hair brushed lightly against my cheek as I shifted slightly, and I couldn’t help but let a breath escape—long and soft, like I was letting go of something I hadn’t realized I was holding onto.

For the first time in a long time, I let myself simply exist in that moment.

My fingers curled slightly into the fabric of his coat, grounding me, keeping me there, in that place where nothing could hurt.

I had wanted this for so long. 

Yes, I had wanted to reach out, to show him how much he meant to me, but I had always been afraid. Afraid that it wouldn’t be enough, that maybe I was the one who wasn’t enough.

But then, it felt like I was breathing him in, like I was letting go of all the doubts I had kept locked up for so long.

There was no more fear of rejection. No more wondering if I’d be left standing on the edge, waiting for something that wouldn’t come. Because in that hug, with him holding me close, I knew that I wasn’t alone.

He wasn’t pulling away.

He was holding me, too, and for once, it felt like he wasn’t afraid to show it.

I wanted him to feel the same thing. I wanted him to feel as safe with me as I did with him. I wanted him to know, without words, that I was there for him. That no matter what happened, I would always be there. Even in the silence, I hoped he could feel it.

A soft shiver ran through me, and I wondered if he felt it too. But it didn’t matter. The moment was perfect, just as it was.

He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my temple. It was brief, fleeting, but it sent a warmth rushing through me that chased away the chill of the night.

I held him just a little tighter, hoping he would know I’m was not going anywhere. I hoped he felt the same certainty I was feeling that night. That this was it. This was the start of something beautiful.

I pressed my cheek against the big bow on his collar, and I felt his breath hitch slightly.

Maybe, for the first time, we’re both safe. 

And for a fleeting moment, that’s all that matters.

.

.

.

𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝖻𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝖿𝖿 𝖺 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖿𝗍 𝗂 𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝖺 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖾 𝖺𝗀𝗈 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝖿𝖺𝗇𝖿𝗂𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇  𝑫𝒖𝒔𝒌 𝑻𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝑺𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝗈𝗇 𝖶𝖺𝗍𝗍𝖯𝖺𝖽, which narrates this piece in my OC, Lucille's point of view ♡´･ᴗ･`♡

𝗂 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 for myself, 𝗂𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 likely 𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗆𝖾 𝖺 𝗅𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖺 𝖿𝗂𝖼 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋, 𝗌𝗈 𝗂 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗅𝗒 𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗂𝗍 𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾, 𝗈𝗇 𝖳𝗎𝗆𝖻𝗅𝗋 ♡︎

[missnancywritesfanfic]

Heaven & Earth

Vanitas x Reader

Fluff/Comfort

Flash Fiction

A/N: I had an idea and ran with it. No editing here. Just pure brainrot.

---

Contrary to what the muses, musicians and playwrights of the new world would have you believe.

Love is a choice.

It's not chemicals. It is not magic or some godsent miracle.

Love is a choice. Every step of the way.

Loving Vanitas is not an easy task. Aside from avoiding human authorities so that you are not staked in the middle of town, it's a close second. Because there are times you will look upon his face and your heart may die slowly, just as he does.

But at the end of the day, you choose.

You chose to leave your family behind, along with your home. You chose to set roots in this pecular city of blue skies and blooming flowers. So that he would never go a day without knowing companionship.

Of course, nowadays, Noé is by his side and they work wonderfully together. You smile fondly at their bickering on the off day you return from work and they're hanging around the café. There's Dominique, Jeanne, and Luca as well. All welcome friendships that you'd have never expected along this path.

And you are grateful. Endlessly grateful that Vanitas will never be alone in grief again. He is supported. He is loved.

But there are still those off days. The low days. When you return from a long day of work, your feet aching and your body begging for the sweet embrace of your soft bed. You retire to bed alone, dosing away without a second thought. That is until sharp tapping takes you from your dreams and you find him at your window.

You stumble out of bed and unlatch the window, with a huge yawn, you open your arms to embrace him.

He's tired. Beaten up, but fortunately not drenched in blood. You can only imagine how badly Noé must look. But all you can manage your attention on is your beloved. This brilliant, broken man.

"Good evening, doctor." You give him a warm smile as always, "How was your appointment today?" He grunts as you help him slip off his jacket. There's tears in the fabric. A problem for tomorrow.

You can see how tense he is. He can barely hold it together for much longer. You simply hum and carefully slip his gloves off, can't have those pricking your already sore back.

You gently cup his face, getting a closer look at the plum colored bruise on his cheek. Your thumb brushes over, feeling grit his teeth, before avoiding it altogether. Then you pull him to you and your incredibly welcoming bed. It was already warmed by you and waiting for the two of you to return.

He can't help but follow your drowsy smile and gentle hands. The weight he kept on his shoulders fell away and the pain in his body, he embraced. Just as you welcomed him.

"Come."

You situate yourselves in your blankets. He slips his arms around you and pulls you into a warm embrace. Just as well, you forgot to close the window behind him.

With another yawn, you snuggle closer.

"Tell me everything."

[princessmarionette]

i made a kenny-themed spotify playlist if u guys are down to listen to my vaporwave, plunderphonics, and adjacent genre bullshit. spotify isn't really embedding on pc but it still looks fine on mobile so here u go

i call it.... kennywave

song list below cut

Spent Money - 회사AUTO

WIGGLECORE - FLOOR BABA

16zz - MCH Remix - Magic City Hippies, Lemon City Trio

Too Much - HONEYMOAN

Earth Worlder - 3d Blast, Wizard of Loneliness

Hey Kids - Molina, Late Varlane

~BRAIN DEATH~ - death's dynamic shroud

Breaking the Dream (Lucid Dream Edit) - Virtual Mage

Just a Staeb Ahead - Bluestaeb, Anthony Drawn

Tear in Abyss - death's dynamic shroud

Who Are We Now - Dan Mason ダン·メイソン

The ORIGINAL 道具 - VANITAS命死

I'm Coming Home - ED.

DISNEY PRINCE$$ - death's dynamic shroud

while (money>0) - aguagu11, Lapis Aoki

Weightless (Late Arcane Mix) - Soft Replica, Late Arcane

Dream Argument - death's dynamic shroud

Attracted to Light - 3d Blast

Swimming - Kero Kero Bonito

Can You Hear the Future? - Ark Patrol

Lift Off! - Bad Snacks

Infinitus - ev.exi, Rhodes Rodosu

Night Swim - Home

Nostalgic - junior state

monsoon - hauste

i tried to order songs for his character chronologically which was pretty fun. yes i thought too hard about this. also i would've added like 8 more death's dynamic shroud songs if i didn't stop myself

anyways hope u enjoy xoxo

[vanitysmoon]

@ VANITYSMOON ;; the blue moon -- a private selective and independent VANITAS from THE CASE STUDY OF VANITAS follows back from rowanberryhub

blogroll . dossier . meme . open . link . link

rules below the cut --

to do or not to do

Please DO

crossovers, aus

most anything goes ( within reason )

ask to ship! ( see 4. )

send asks! ( non-claimed/non-directed anons will be answered OOC )

One-liners, Para, Multi-para and Novella

Please DONT

Godmod - ie. control my characters

Powerplay - ie. make a character all-knowing/powerful who isnt already

Metagaming - ie. put your ooc knowledge in your character ic if they genuinely dont know

Please be aware that I am dyslexic and a slow reader…

You should not be trying to control my characters, insta-kill them, or otherwise direct how I write my character. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated, but PLEASE, if you only have negative things to say to me, don’t say them at all. Any anonymous hate to me will be ignored and deleted.

2. PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO ROLEPLAY ANY SORT OF ROLEPLAY, WITHIN REASON.

I am willing to roleplay violent and other similar themes because of the genre of the original content. However, I’d like to officially say that I will NOT roleplay any NSFW themes such as smut or overly sexual roleplays with anyone under 18 years of age. Both my muse and I are 21+. I am also selective as to whom I rp sexual themes with – though chances are, if we have a ship, you’re automatically on my OK-list.

communication

Please, if you have anything you want to talk to me about, I am here to listen. Criticism and plotting or whatever have you, I am fine with talking! I’m only semi-selective because my muses can be really finicky, so I’m sorry in advance! ADDENDUM - Please do not vague me if I have upset you. If I have blocked you or moved away from you in some way, and you would like to reach out, you can! I won't deny you an explanation if you ask. But please be mindful that I can and will block/soft block if I feel like I need to.

4. to do or not to do (ship edition)

Please DO

het, slash, polyship, crackship, rarepair, BrOTP, Queerplatonic, etc

OC x Canon, Self Insert x OC

communicate first about a potential ship

bring your headcanons to the table and communicate them

communicate ( /silly )

jokingly ask to ship ( i will take it seriously /silly )

ship with chemistry

Please DONT

no weird age gaps ( adult mortal x immortal is fine )

ABSOLUTELY no romantic ships kid/teen muses

no age-ups JUST to hard-ship

cradle robber ships ( older muse watched younger grow up, etc )

if you want to use darker material in a roleplay, please communicate with me - though if I say no, please respect that!

5. FEEL FREE TO TALK TO ME!

I really don’t bite, and if I do, its on accident. Do you need me to reply to a thread? Ask me to! Do you want to start a ship with me? Go ahead and ask! Do you want to do some crazy plot with all sorts of ins and outs and too many sub-plots to count? Fire away! I am a very amicable person, so please don’t be afraid to call me a friend! I am however, more often than not too afraid to talk to you first, so don’t be afraid to approach me! Seriously!

[vanitasheart]

Its reaally been a while guys im finally backk!! however, its not big deal

We got vanitas volume 11 with lady archiviste !! and vanoe cover for limited edition (noe being the most adorable character in the world waiting for his tarte tatin)

Vanitas is really a very soft boyfriend 🥲 i love them so much

[blossomook]

ᥪ࡚          🦋̤̜̈          ﹀﹀         ᵕ̈      𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗒          㤛༄᪶         🌼

𓄼     ﹙𝓜𓈒﹚   ⭟   blossomook says:  like or reblog!  🌻

𓂅ᅠ            🌷              ᥫ᭡             ░̤            なあ         💐

[h4nagaki]

࣪. ୧ ♡ ୨ ִ ۫ ⁎

[retracexcviii]

Sunday Moon

Hi there dear fellows and Luna lovers. And welcome to an actual full moon on Sunday Moon.

Don't edit this drawing and don't post it anywhere.

I really like this piece. And the artist knows vnc + loves Luna, so it is a wonderful mix.

The account is: @/pyonnyom on Instagram.

[neversetyoufree]

Ahh, I’ve got mixed feelings about episode 10 this time.

Luna in the beginning was glorious, and Olivier was a goddamned delight to see in motion (not to mention his VA!!)

However, I’m pretty disappointed by how they handled everything with Vanitas in the first half of the ep. Vani’s breakdown is so emotional in the manga, even on rereads, and it just didn’t quite have the same impact for me here. I think, as always, it’s partly a pacing issue, but I also think it was just a question of framing. Mochizuki really pulls out all the stops to make sure that when Noé sees Vani’s face for the first time after the “no 71” comment, it hits super hard. The panel size, the white background, the fact that it’s on a page turn, not to mention the expressiveness of the art itself: it all makes that moment super emotional. However, those aren’t things you can do in anime, and rather than using other methods that suit the medium to emphasize that moment (and the others like it), they just kinda let it fall flat.

I’m also a bit mad that we lost a bunch of the Noé observing Vani content this ep :(. We don’t see his reaction after the “I’ll kill him myself” line, and we don’t get the internal monologue of “what kind of face is that” after he sees Vanitas breaking down. They’re small moments, but each little instance like that means a lot to the progression of their relationship (especially the one after the “no. 71” line).

But then, on a positive note again, the ending was goddamn gorgeous. I do not at all approve of the cuts they made to the actual content of the scene (like Noé worrying if it’s alright to ask Vani about his past), but just in terms of the soundtrack and visuals, it’s fucking beautiful. Like, perfect enough that I can’t even bring myself to be as mad about the cuts as a probably should be :’-). If nothing else, I can say that Yuki Kaijura is a goddamn master at work, because once again, she knocked the soundtrack out of the park this ep, especially in that final Vanoé scene.

It was just fucking perfect.

Also, I do love that they did Ruthven’s reveal as a post-credits scene

[addzpdf]

ah man i love them

[mikauzoran]

The Shipping Continues

I’m still reading through the Vanitas no Carte manga to practice my Japanese, and I have some more favourite moments from Volume Four to share. ^w^

First off, Noe completely losing it when Dr. Moreau tries to touch Vanitas.

Dr. Moreau was just asking Vanitas if he could extract one of Vanitas’s eyes to study it, and Noe has had enough.

Vanitas says, “Hey. What are you doing? Stop it.” because Noe is going to blow their cover to which Noe replies, “I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. Dr. Moreau, I’ve got a mountain’s worth of things I want to say to you, but...calling people by a number like you’ve been doing with your ‘Number Six-Nine, Number Six-Nine’...cut it the hell out!!!”

I like that Noe just drops all pretense of politeness here and snaps. ^.^

A side note on Dr. Moreau: I really love the allusion to the 1896 book by H. G. Wells: The Island of Doctor Moreau. (Have people heard of it before? ^.^;) It’s about a mad scientist who’s made these hybrid human-animal creatures on this island that the narrator gets shipwrecked on. My favourite character is the pink sloth creature. It’s an interesting book, and I always love when contemporary fiction references classic fiction. The references make me happy. ^w^ It’s like finding Easter eggs.

This is another great scene. Vanitas was about ready to give up, but Noe inspired him to keep trying. Actually, what happened was Vanitas was going to have everyone leave and seal the room until the monster consumed itself and disappeared on its own because there was no way for them to get the cursed one out of the monster in order to purify them. Noe convinced Vanitas to jump into the monster’s void-like maw in order to perhaps save the cursed one from inside of the monster.

Only, they didn’t know that that was going to work. For all they knew, they were going to their deaths. Instead of letting Noe go in on his own (because Noe wasn’t giving up, and he was going whether Vanitas went or not), Vanitas decided to go with Noe, knowing that it could be a suicide mission. It’s kind of romantic in a twisted way that Vanitas picked possibly dying with Noe instead of letting Noe go alone and then sealing up the room to let the monster eat itself out of existence.

But what I really like about this scene is the dialogue!

Vanitas: That’s the cursed one who created “Predator”. (The kanji says “shadow figure”/“silhouette”/“shadow monk”, but the furigana reads “puredatouuru”.)

Noe: It’s okay. We can win.

Vanitas: Ha. “So long as we’re together”?

This is a callback to a scene in Volume 3:

Here, Vanitas has just asked if Noe can win against Roland (I’m guessing that’s how you spell his name. In katakana, it’s “rooran”. I’m guessing that’s the French name “Roland”). Noe says, “I don’t know...but we can win. So long as we’re together.”

A note on my translation: That’s not literally what Noe says, but that’s the vibe. In Japanese, it’s “oretachi nara”. Literally, that means “so long as it’s us”. The emphasis is on “tachi”. “Ore” would just mean “me”. “Tachi” makes it plural, so Noe is emphasizing that so long as it’s him and Vanitas, they can win. It feels more natural in English for me to translate that as “so long as we’re together”. 

I love the above scene of Vanitas and Noe laughing together after having pulled it off and narrowly escaped death. I also love Roland looking on in awe at a vampire and a human laughing together. 

You can tell he ships it. This is his “and then a shipper was born” moment.

Above is another great scene. Amelia comes in to give Vanitas a message, and Noe is still sleeping. He’s just fallen out of bed with a loud crash.

Amelia: Noe-san?!

Vanitas: Oh, so he’s fallen out of bed again?

Amelia: Uh... Is this...really okay?

Noe: *soft, breathy snore*

Vanitas: Hey. Don’t get close to him. He’ll turn you into a body pillow.

I love the implication that Vanitas knows this fact from personal experience. How else would he know that Noe latches onto and snuggles anything and anyone within reach when he’s asleep? Vanitas has definitely gotten snuggled before, and I want fan art. XD

Honorable Mentions from Volume Four:

This scene. I won’t translate it word for word, but Vanitas is getting worked up because Noe refuses to take one of the Chasseurs hostage. Vanitas says that if Noe doesn’t like Vanitas’s way of doing things, he can just go because Vanitas doesn’t want to be around people with Noe’s soft way of thinking. Vanitas is afraid that if he spends time with people like Noe, Vanitas will eventually go soft too, and then he’ll end up dead.

I really love the depth of Vanitas’s character. Sensei has done an excellent job with him in particular (though, all of the characters are wonderful). His psychology is fascinating. He’s obviously been through a great deal, and he’s adapted in order to survive. He’s scared of letting people in because being the way he is and being a loner is what’s kept him alive and safe up until this point.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how Noe slowly chips away at the walls Vanitas has built around himself. ^w^

This is my other honorable mention. After Noe and Vanitas escape from the catacombs, Vanitas collapses next to Noe and slumps against Noe’s back. It’s really precious.

He closes his eyes and sighs, “I’m tired”. I love the trust and vulnerability here. Vanitas obviously feels safe enough around Noe to let his guard down. ^.^

My Love Letter to Yen Press:

Once again, if you’re interested in reading Vanitas no Carte, you can get it in English from Yen Press. I really love this publisher because they do an excellent job of staying true to the original text. When I was in high school and couldn’t read manga raw yet (either because I couldn’t get my hands on it or my reading level wasn’t sufficient for what I wanted to read), Yen Press was my favourite because I felt like I could trust them to translate the manga how I would myself.

When I was little, you couldn’t trust the people who were dubbing anime into English. They did ridiculous things to sanitize anime for kids’ consumption like editing out all of the cigarettes and guns. They changed dialogue so that characters who had been hinted at being queer in the original were no longer queer in the English dub. They did silly things to localize the anime like changing onigiri into donuts and whitewashing the characters. That was my main motivation for teaching myself Japanese. I wanted to be able to tell for myself what was actually being said and going on. Yen Press was one of the companies I could trust to be faithful to the original in their translations until I was able to read the original on my own, so I’m sure they’ve done a fabulous job with Vanitas no Carte, if you’re interested in checking it out. ^.^

Okay. That’s it for me for now. Do you guys like me talking about my favourite scenes? ^.^; I know my Ladybug followers are probably like, “What is she on about?” XD Thank you for indulging me.

[softredribbon-kins]

Hello !

Welcome to the blog !

All info will be under

the cut ! 💛 🌸

Please read before requesting ! 🌸

Check out my fun lil pronouns page !

I’m also @dokidokilc-aesthetics !

🌸 What I Do !

- Moodboards

- Stimboards

- Icons (Regular, Pride + Matching)

• I only do square shaped icons

- Character Color-Dropped Pride Flags

- DNI Banners

* Please remember to be specific with all of these ! *

🌸 Rules !

- Please say the character and the source they’re from ! It’s helpful for me !

- Please be patient ! I promise I’ll get to your request soon enough !

- I have the right to refuse/delete requests !

- I would appreciate credit if you repost or use my edits please !

- This is a kin based blog, so please tell me if you don’t want the kin tags on your request ! Otherwise I will put them automatically ! (You are allowed to request even if it isn’t a kin !)

- You can request sources that aren’t listed, it’s just more unlikely I’ll do them !

🌸 Sources !

(Ones in bold are selective)

* Ace Attorney (All Games)

* Alien Stage

* Amphibia

* Any Type of RPG Horror Game

* Arcane

* Bandori (Bang Dream)

* Bee and Puppycat

* Bluey

* Card Captor Sakura

* Catherine: Full Body

* Chainsaw Man

* Cookie Run Ovenbreak/Kingdom

* D4DJ

* Danganronpa (All Games)

* Date A Live

* Dead By Daylight

* Deltarune

* Dislyte

* Doki Doki Literature Club

* Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (YT Series + TV Show)

* ENA

* Faith: The Unholy Trinity

* Five Nights at Freddy’s (All Games)

* Genshin Impact

* Gravity Falls

* Guilty Gear

* Haikyuu!!

* Helltaker

* Higurashi No Naku Koro ni (Higurashi: When They Cry)

* Honkai: Star Rail

* HuniePop

* I Love Amy

* Kakegurui/Kakegurui Twin

* Komi-San Wa Komyushou Desu (Komi Can’t Communicate)

* Life Is Strange (All Games)

* Little Witch Academia

* Love & Deepspace

* Metal Family

* Monster High/Rainbow High/OMG Dolls/Lalaloopsy/Ever After High

* Monster Prom/Camp

* Moomins/Moominvalley

* My Singing Monsters

* NANA

* Needy Streamer Overload

* Obey Me!

* Oshi No Ko

* Overwatch

* Pretty Cure (Precure)

* Project Sekai

* Puella Magi Madoka Magica

* Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

* Regular Show

* Resident Evil (All Games)

* Revue Starlight

* Saiki K (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K)

* Sailor Moon

* Silent Hill (1-4)

* Sk8: The Infinity

* Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise

* Soul Eater

* Splatoon (All Games)

* Spooky Month

* Spy X Family

* Strawberry Shortcake Series

* Sucker for Love: First Date

* Talentless Nana

* The Amazing Digital Circus

* The Bad Guys

* The Last Of Us (Game + TV Show)

* The Quintessential Quintuplets

* Turning Red

* Twisted Wonderland

* Vanitas No Carte (The Case Study of Vanitas)

* Vocaloid/Utauloid

* Welcome Home Puppet Show

* Wonder Egg Priority

🌸 DNI !

- Basic DNI Criteria

- LGBT-Phobic

- Zoophiles

- Terf/Radfem/Trans Exclusionists

- Gender Skeptic/Critical

- MAP/NOMAP/Pedo

- Proship/Proshipper + supporters/neutral on it

- Aro/Ace exclusionists

- Proana/any pro ED

- Fact Kin

- Anti Neopronouns + Xenogenders

- Ship IRL people

- Anti-Agere/Sexualize Agere

🌸 Tags !

🌸 Your happiness is really important to me, you know! • request accepted

🌸 Ehehe, sorry… • request denied

🌸 Ready to walk home? • chatting

🌸 Don’t let me distract you from having fun with everyone! • promo

🌸 Cupcakes speak to my creative tummy~ • for me

🌸 You know I wouldn't lie to you, never ever! • questions

🌸 *icons, *pride icons, *moodboard, *stimboard, *chara flag, *dni banner

🌸 Credits !

Blog where I get dividers from !

Strawberrycore Sayori Reply Icons

Halloween Sayori Reply Icons

Soft Pink Strawberry Sayori Reply Icons

Strawberry Themed Sayori Layouts

Halloween Sayori Icon

Pink Sayori DNI Banner with Strawberries

Strawberry Sayori Icon

[kaleidoedits]

Masterlist of Sources, Whitelists, & Blacklists

Mod Kotoko

Sources: Danganronpa, YTTD, Disney media (all unless otherwise stated), SDV/Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, NITW, ATLA/LOK, Demon Slayer, BNHA, Koe no Katachi, Pokemon, Mario media, Undertale/Deltarune, & Lalaloopsy. Anything I haven’t listed feel free to request for & I’ll let you know whether I will do it! (Probably won’t do MCYT since I would have to use fanart & I only want to use official art.)

Whitelist: All Danganronpa (exceptions in blacklist), Encanto, Deltarune, Ducktales, Gummi Bears, Pokemon, Nintendo Girls, Sanrio, Kawaii, Soft Kidcore, Pastel, & Color Themed edits!

Blacklist: Real people/Live-Action (Puppets do not count as live-action to me aka they are allowed), NSFW (obv), Shipping Edits, Haiji Towa, Izuru Kamukura, Imagery Involving Harm to Toys, & Heavy Gore

Mod Fukase

Sources: Vocaloid/Synthv/Utau, Pokemon, Nintendo, Toilet Bound Hanako Kun, Vanitas no Carte, Genshin Impact, Cells at Work, various anime, unlisted

Whitelist: Miku, Len, Hanako, Gen 3 Pokemon/Characters, Red, Blue, Light Academia

Blacklist: Tsukasa, KAITO, Allister (pkmn), Cottagecore, Dark Academia

Mod Jethuey

Sources: ducktales , little nightmares , fnaf , eddsworld , the owl house , hilda , batim , animal crossing , gravity falls , a hat in time , deltarune , the walten files , cookie run kingdom , amphibia , other disney medias [ unless otherwise stated ] , hollow knight , cuphead , and more !!

Whitelist:  everyone from ducktales , mono , six , fnaf animatronics , the main four in eddsworld , hilda n twig , frida , david , bendy , alice angel , boris , sophie n jack walten , felix kranken , hat kid , the conductor , spacecore , arcade / glitch / circus core , soft / cute core , light / dark academia , horror elements , branded stuffed animals , etc

Blacklist:  dangonranpa , real life people , mcyt / dsmp , live action , ships , gore , nsfw , jjba , arcane , genshin

Mod Oliver

Sources: Vocaloid, Pokémon, MHA, Vanitas no Carte, Nintendo, TBHK, Sanrio, A Silent Voice, Aggrestsuko and others!

Whitelist: Pokemon, Vanitas, Retsuko, Hanako, Yashiro, Cinnamoroll, Badtz Maru

Blacklist: Allister from pokémon, KAITO, real people, harry potter, DSMP

Mod Mirabel

Sources: DDLC, most musical theatre, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Danganronpa, Jellycat stuffed animals, Beanie Babies, Build-a-Bears, ALW’s Cinderella

Whitelist: Sing 2, MLP Equestria Girls, Encanto, Heathers the Musical, Mean Girls the Musical, ALW’s Cinderella, Inside Out, Jellycats!

Blacklist: MCYT, anything heavily NSFW, anything Minecraft or Roblox related, Twilight, Falsettos, or The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!

Mod Epsilon

Sources: red vs blue, fnaf, steven universe, stardew valley, subnautica, cells at work, doki doki literature club, pokemon, minecraft, children’s cartoons, carebears, figurines, indie games like WIRELAND, therapy with dr albert krueger, purrfect apawcalypse, T-gochi!, or any other game played by manlybadasshero. 

Whitelist: pastels, lovecore, alternative fashion, harujuku and related fashion, any puppetry or extreme costuming like clowns, sesame street, yo gaba gaba. adventure time, undertale, anime in general, vocaloids and other ai celebrities, cookie run, kakegurui, webkinz, sanrio, devilman crybaby, ruby gloom

Greylist (mutuals only): mcyt, attack on titan, marvel/dc, mha, ocs for popular content, fan generation of pokemon

Blacklist: gore, self harm, abuse, racist characters or charicatures, characters being depicted as “crazy” or after being triggered, disordered eating, extreme sickness or v*miting, triggering content, cosplay, happy tree friends, hitalia, real people/actors, naruto edits specifically gaara, smashed animatronics, springtrap/malhare/william in general, director leonard church, uncredited fan art

Mod Yuri

Sources: DDLC, most musical theatre, My Little Pony, Super Why, Peppa Pig, Wonder Pets, Doc McStuffins, Peg + Cat, Danganronpa, most Disney and/or Pixar

Whitelist: Sing 2, MLP Equestria Girls, Encanto, Heathers the Musical, Mean Girls the Musical, Danganronpa (especially Toko Fukawa and Komaru Naegi), Sayori, Natsuki, Monika, Hamilton, Inside Out

Blacklist: DSMP, anything heavily NSFW, anything Minecraft or Roblox related, Twilight, Falsettos, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and please be careful/minimal with requesting real people.

Mod Kotori

Sources: love live, bandori, tbhk, genshin, ddlc, mha, yttd, fnaf, komi cant communicate, vocaloid, danganronpa, any non-blacklisted source

Whitelist: yashiro nene, kou minamoto, reki and langa, miya chinen, ran mitake, gorou, softcore, cutecore, spacecore, etc etc

Blacklist: midori/“the real sou hiyori”, haji towa, hisoka, adam (sk8), mineta minoru, real people, dsmp, jjba, any heavy nsfw source

[misschastel]

I'm kinda disappeared AAAA SO SORRY, MY HEALTH JUST SUCK

BUT!

At the first days of may i will get a new graphic tablet, so i can start again for daily colorings (kinda??)

If you want to ask something now♥️

Will color:

Pandora Hearts

Vanitas no Carte

Black Clover

Magi

Orient

Demon slayer

Also you can ask a precise style to me. I started to do simple pastel colorings too for relax, so nothing complicated as my usual colorings but something soft like this:

My usual coloring - a simple one in peach shades/+edited version with pastel filter (usually do cherry but!! I love the fruit colors)

Have a nice day owo/

[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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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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