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#and a bit of ok so we have this system in the Netherlands. is there anything that would make sense to translate it into
theputterer · 3 months
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Good Things In 2023
It’s that time of year again! Time to remember all the good things that happened in 2023. I’ve done this since 2017, and highly recommend doing this as a fun way to reflect (and to have something for future reference when you are feeling Down.)
woof ok here we go
PERSONAL
I visited two countries I haven't been to before: the Netherlands and Iceland!
The Netherlands: mostly Amsterdam but did also pop down to The Hague for a day. Did the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum, the Bloemenmarkt, a canal boat tour, the Royal Palace, the Mauritshuis.
Iceland: I was there for less than 48 hours but I saw THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!!!! they were subtler than I expected but so cool. also did the Perlan Museum and a Lava Show, which ruled.
Related: I turned 30 this year!
My dear friend Sam came to visit me in Dublin in June! The highlight of her visit was going with her to see Hozier at Malahide Castle.
Speaking of which, Hozier dropped UNREAL UNEARTH which isn't personal, per se, but is very personal to me
My sister visited me in November! We squeezed a lot in her time here, but highlights were Glendalough, the Hill of Tara, and the Galway Christmas Market.
A few aunts went on a trip to Ireland this fall and I joined them for a bit up in Donegal, as well as a day trip to Derry, which I'd not been to before.
Completely fucking forgot about this but I did write a 158k word long ROGUE ONE / FRINGE AU, ENDLESS FORMS MOST BEAUTIFUL. it was a real fuckin bitch to finish, let me tell you that
I got really into MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE over the summer (don't ask) and wrote a couple short pieces inspired by the most recent movie, DEAD RECKONING - PART ONE: LADY LAZARUS and WORTHY THE NAME OF SIR KNIGHT.
I jumped back on my bullshit in October and wrote a long, extended epilogue to my BINARY STAR SYSTEMS trilogy: TWO DESERTS. the way the series ended was always correct and good but it was fun to write this extended epilogue focusing on the fallout, the question of what it's like to live past the end of your myth.
Anything bolded below is something I particularly enjoyed and recommend. 
MOVIES
2023 movies I saw and liked:
M3GAN
KNOCK AT THE CABIN
65
BONO AND THE EDGE, A SORT OF HOMECOMING WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES
RENFIELD
THREE MUSKETEERS: D'ARTAGNAN
JOHN MULANEY: BABY J
SISU
THE LITTLE MERMAID
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER VERSE
ASTEROID CITY
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING - PART ONE
BARBIE
OPPENHEIMER
PAST LIVES
ELEMENTAL
A HAUNTING IN VENICE
CHEVALIER
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
BOTTOMS
THE ROYAL HOTEL
DREAM SCENARIO
ANATOMY OF A FALL
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES
EILEEN
NAPOLEON
GODZILLA MINUS ONE
FERRARI
2022 movies I saw and liked:
TAR
THE LOST CITY
WOMEN TALKING
TV
THE LAST OF US
PEAKY BLINDERS
BOOKS
super embarrassing how few books I read this year:
"Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires" by Douglas Rushkoff
"Donegal Folk Tales" by Joe Brennan
"Listen to the Land Speak: A Journey into the Wisdom of What Lies Beneath Us" by Manchan Magan
"Hell Bent" by Leigh Bardugo
"The Book of M" by Peng Shepherd
"The World We Make" by NK Jemisin
"The Echo Wife" by Sarah Gailey
"Daisy Jones and the Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid
"White Cat, Black Dog: Stories" by Kelly Link
"Yellowface" by RF Kuang
"Ithaca" by Claire North
"Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" by David Grann
"A Heart That Works" by Rob Delaney
"Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
"The Crying Book" by Heather Christie
"In the Dream House" by Carmen Maria Machado
"Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels, and Crooks" by Patrick Radden Keefe
"Fleabag" by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
"The Hurricane Wars" by Thea Guanzon
OTHER GOOD THINGS
*some of these things are Good as in well-written or well-made, but maybe not Good in topic.
"Eurydice" by Adrienne Su
"What Happens to a School Shooter's Sister?" by Jennifer Gonnerman for The New Yorker. A high school student murders his parents and several students at his school, and his sister is left to pick up the pieces. really powerful story on unconditional love.
"A Friend Died, Her Novel Unfinished. Could I Realize Her Vision?" by Leslie Jamison for The New Yorker. the grief of losing not only a dear friend but her art as well.
"Fuck you, I don't know?"
Werner Herzog pronounces Eeyore.
George Washington's Dream for America, an SNL sketch.
Judi Dench performs Shakespeare.
"Walking Brittany Home" by Devin Faraci for Washington Post. a really beautiful piece on death and love.
This thread on the struggle of trying to be fashionable in Ireland.
"The Return of the Marriage Plot: Why everyone is so eager for men and women to get hitched" by Rebecca Traister for The Cut.
"We Were Never Supposed to See Our Own Faces This Much" by Lola Christina Alao for Dazed Digital. on social media and personal reflection.
sunwoof
this story about Jimmy Buffett I loved
"She Wasn't Able to Get an Abortion. Now She's A Mom. Soon She'll Start Seventh Grade" by Charlotte Alter for Time. the cruelty is the point.
had a pilot named Ken yesterday and he introduced himself by saying his job is plane
"Cillian Murphy might be the star of a massive movie atm but to me he will always be the guy that showed up in the rain to our abortion rights marches"
"The 'Troubling Reverberations' at the End of OPPENHEIMER, Explained" by Bilge Ebiri for Vulture. it's an absolutely devastating ending, but the fact remains: there was no other way to end it.
this obituary for the great Sinéad O'Connor.
Kiké Hernandez returned to the Dodgers!
this behind the scenes video from the filming of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING - PART ONE where Tom Cruise's co-stars watch him drive a motorcycle off a cliff.
"How Christopher Nolan Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI" by Maria Streshinsky for Wired. good interview with Nolan, one of my favorite filmmakers / artists. (anyone who's ever read anything I've written is probably like yes, this is very obvious.)
"The Perils and Promises of Penis-Enlargement Surgery" by Ava Kofman for The New Yorker. an absolutely BONKERS but super important piece!
a new ending to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, lmao
"The Return of Ryan Gosling" by Zach Baron for GQ. really great profile writing going on here!
"LOST Illusions: The Untold Story of the Hit Show's Poisonous Culture" by Maureen Ryan for Vanity Fair. LOST is one of my favorite shows and has been super influential on my work. (again, this is probably very obvious). this piece is devastating in how it reveals the terrible racism and sexism behind the scenes of a show I have loved. important.
Henry Kissinger died this year (GOOD THINGS BABYYY) and this piece by Nick Turse, which came out in May, is a good explainer on why that's such good news: "Kissinger's Killing Fields".
"Talking With 'Swiftie Dads' at a Taylor Swift Concert" by Eileen Cartter for GQ. I thought this was very sweet.
The New York Times had an interactive feature about Connie Chung and her impact on young Chinese-American women, particularly the ones named after her. I love this video of her meeting some of them.
"Will A.I. Become the New McKinsey?" by Ted Chiang for The New Yorker. Chiang is best known as the writer of STORY OF YOUR LIFE which was adapted into ARRIVAL, so it's wise to listen to him when it comes to tech and science.
Loved this speech Mark Hamill gave about Carrie Fisher at her Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony.
Accents white people can still do.
this absolutely incredible slapstick esque unintentional comedy scene.
As always, tagging anyone who’d like to do this!
@magalis @callioope @earnestfeeling @illuminahsti @fortysevenswrites @vaderkat @leaiorganas @garethsedwards @rifle-yes @buffyrat @alittlemomentum @i-am-slain @rogue-rook
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Walk walk, walk walk, walk - and ride a bit.
Today we officially figured out how to work the transit pass system. The pass on the GVB app has a QR code. If you tap it, it goes full screen. Sounds simple but the QR code reading system on the busses is broken. The drivers (who are sealed in a soundproof COVID booth and can’t talk to us) want to see the small QR code screen on the app and then you tap on the blue space beside the QR code and it turns green. The drivers want to see it turn green. I had both of our passes on my app so had to some quick finger work to get on the tram while not holding up the line. It took the hand signals of several drivers and attendants to figure it out. This was much better than our 1985 trip where we never did figure it out.
The largest bike parking lot in the world. 4 stories tall!
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Today we went for breakfast to the famous Amsterdam Pancake Bakery. The pancakes are more like crepes than our pancakes. They tasted good though.
We then did the Rick Steves tour of the Red Light District. It was around noon so it was pretty tame. There were only a few ladies in the windows and it was not intimidating - one lady did tap on the glass but I think she wanted Colleen. We did go back again to part of the area at around 6 pm and it was a little livelier but not too crazy. Still lots of empty windows. I think that after dark it might be a bit scary there.
We learned a lot about Amsterdam’s liberal attitude to things that are “natural”. Essentially, plants that are grown in nature or activities that are natural (like sex) are all permitted. Shops are allowed to stock and sell marijuana to a limited amount. Everything is regulated and taxed. This has been the case for about 30 years. It is working - drug use in The Netherlands is about 1/2 of the USA and their jails are practically empty.
The prostitutes get regular health checks, are part of a union, have protection by paid or volunteer “bouncers”.
The “coffee shops” in Amsterdam mostly don’t sell coffee. That is a euphemism for Marijuana store. You have to ask to see the cannabis menus (the shops aren’t allowed to initiate the sale). It’s ok because the coffee was mostly disappointing - tiny little cups of espresso. It tastes good and gives a caffeine shot but doesn’t last through a whole croissant!
After after the red light district, we headed back to one of the quieter parts of town and had lunch in a nice Square. There was a band of statues silently playing.
We decided to walk back to the hotel but partway there we decided to get bikes. After a quick stop back at the hotel, we decided to go for a ride through Rembrandt Park and Vondel park. Rembrandt Park was a big forest area full of trees. There is one big road that runs across the middle of it and it had two big statues of Clifford the Big Red Dog. Vondel Park is kind of like Prince’s Island Park but way bigger. It is where “everyone” goes to hang out in the sun. We rode around and through those parks and then back to the hotel - not far.
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Then we headed back into Central Amsterdam for more fun and food. By that, I mean we walked – a lot! The plan was to find a bakery to get some quick food for tomorrow morning and then find a restaurant where we could watch people.
A note on the food here-every meal has tons of carbs. Bread (brood) is a huge staple of the diet.
We found a great spot at the intersection of two canals. We hoped to wait around until dark and the lights came on on the bridges.
After supper we wandered around waiting for it to get dark. That took a long time since sunset wasn’t till 8:50 and then they didn’t turn the bridge lights on until after 9:30. After miles of looking at every single bridge combination in the city multiple times we found the one we wanted, but it must’ve had a bulb out because it wasn’t lit up. Colleen wants to phone the mayor. I feel sorry for the poor guy who has to check every single lightbulb on all of those bridges to find out the one that’s burnt out. I have attached a picture from Google of the one we wanted to see! Once we got some bridge pictures we decided to head home. We had to walk a long way to get the tram. In total we walked 24 km, +12.7 km on the bike today! All that exercise should help us burn off all the bread!
Bridge Lights
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tsuyu-season · 3 years
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Anyone following me here that can and wants to help me with my homework for next week about the US and UK education systems?
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meichenxi · 3 years
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4, 13, 15! :)
Hey!
(for my other asks, I’m so sorry, I’m getting to them, I’m just....slow...)
4) How long have you been learning the languages you’re currently learning?
The only languages I’m currently focusing on are Chinese and Esperanto. Chinese...is a little tricky to say. I first went to China way back in February 2017, and picked up the first bits of Chinese then. At the time though I didn’t have any lessons, and when I got back to the UK I more or less forgot about Chinese for a year. I then went back to China in the summer of 2018 and learnt a little in preparation for that, but not much. My current actually-continuing-learning-Chinese-with-something-like-discipline has been going on since almost exactly this time last year - I learnt my first characters on Skritter on March the 24th, just as lockdown started!
Esperanto - I’ve been learning this for about a month and a half now :D
13) What do you think about language learning/teaching at school in your country?
One moment here exemplifies how disastrous UK language teaching is: with my A-level German teacher (that’s LEAVING SCHOOL qualifications for all you non-UK peeps), when I showed her the sentence obwohl ich das nicht hätte machen können. Now German subordinate clauses usually send the conjugated verb to the end of the sentence, so I was expecting machen können hätte. I now know that hätte is just a weird exception to this rule, but when I asked my teacher about this at the time, do you know what she said?
She said it must have been a printing error.
I hated languages at school. I HATED them. I loved languages, and I took various exams outside of school and early because I spent all of my time learning them (I know now that’s called a hyper fixation...), but I couldn’t stand language education. In the UK we have a real problem of thinking language learning is talent, because the only people who learn languages well (aside from bilinguals etc) are those that learn despite the atrocious school system, not because of the atrocious school system. And so every time I talk about languages the reaction is - wow, you’re so talented, I was never any good at languages. And I want to SCREAM!!!! It’s not that you’re not ‘good at’ languages, it’s that - really - how much French can you be expected to learn when you only get one hour a week, and it’s taught totally in English, for a maximum of three years? That’s the extent of language education in the UK. None of these ‘amazing’ linguists in Belgium or Denmark or The Netherlands or Switzerland are so good because they decided, individually, that they wanted to become polyglots - they are surrounded by language, they have (more or less) highly functional school systems, language learning is encouraged not discouraged, and there are real economic and social motivations for acquiring English and other languages. God. I cannot express enough the pure visceral hatred with which I view the language teaching system in the UK. 
15) Have you ever failed to learn a language? What one(s)? Do you know why?
I don’t think I’ve ever failed to learn a language that I’ve truly committed to learning. I’ve certainly stopped learning languages at certain points that I could have continued. But like most language learners, I think different languages serve different purposes at different points in your life - and some languages are just designed to cross your path with a fur coat and sultry gaze and then, with a smouldering look under their lashes, turn the corner and vanish from your life. 
At various points in my life I’ve dabbled with Norwegian, Icelandic, Hindi and Basque to various degrees, as well as Italian, Irish, Japanese and so on. The reason I don’t feel guilty about ‘abandoning’ them in the same way I feel guilty about letting my French or my Spanish slip is that I never really learnt them for anything apart from fun. I couldn’t even say hello in Basque now - and that’s ok, it was a delicious two weeks that has since been wiped from my memory in a wine-filled haze. 
I think the languages I most regret ‘failing’ to learn are actually dead languages that I spent some with and then haven’t continued learning, such as Latin, Old Norse and Old English. I did Latin, Old Norse, Old English, Old Irish and Medieval Welsh for a year in university, and whilst my two old Celtic languages are an absolute disaster, I was getting somewhere with the other three after the year was over - Old Norse in particular is stunningly beautiful, and by the end of it I was reading sagas with difficulty and a dictionary, but reading, not just deciphering. Quite honestly though Chinese takes up enough of my time now. I love those three - again, Old Norse in particular - enough to know that I’ll come back to them in the future when I have more time and space. 
The language that I came the closest to ‘failing’ was actually Chinese, right when I started learning before going to China for the first time. It was the most fiendishly impossible thing I had ever tried. It broke me. I genuinely cried at various points. It didn’t listen to any rules of grammar I had learnt, and the pronunciation was awful. Bear in mind as well at the time I was in probably the worst mental state of my life and had built my entire self-worth around being a language learner, writer etc - and then Chinese comes along and is just impossible, right in front of my salad. If I hadn’t gone to China, there’s no way I would have continued. The grammar frustrated me so much that I ended up throwing out the only book I had. In the end that ended up being a blessing, because I just went outside and grumpily had to communicate with everyone, whilst accepting that it was going to be awful. I sort of sulked my way to success. 
Hence why, come lockdown 1.0, I decided to go back and start learning again. I had put so much time - eight months in total in China - into learning decent pronunciation and a ‘feeling’ for the language that it seemed only right that I honour my past grumbles and actually knuckle down and learn. It’s no lie that Chinese has been entirely responsible for teaching me humility and the value of failure. 
What about you?
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hellodenisestuff · 2 years
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Kenya Sojourn
I arrived in Kenya Sept 16, 2021
It was a long slog from Hilo, Hawaii, my home to Nairobi, Kenya, but fortunately I took an overnight in Queens, New york in a comfy Hampton Inn to break the trip. I am sure my knees needed a bit of rest. It proved to be a wise decision as I slept 11 hours and felt renewed to tackle the 15 hour flight to Nairobi on Kenya Airlines.
I believe I had guardian angels in the form of my friends who helped me get the necessary requirements to get through the Kenya requirements before I could get on the flight. I am not very computer literate thus uploading and downloading and QR codes were all a mystery to me. If Wendy had not told me to get my PCR test immediately, I would not have had the results in time and if I had not had help getting my photo and passport page photographed and uploaded to the proper site etc., etc., I would not have had the requirements. As it was, they were not in the form required but were accepted. I did have a bad half hour looking up the e-visa for Kenya I had filled out, and I had no QR code for my PCR results but showed the ticket agent the emailed results and what I had for the visa and was OKed to board. Whew.
I had a seat with two vacant ones next to me of the flight so was very comfortable. International flights also feed one and give free pillows and blankets.
I also was held up after landing for not having the proper forms but after about 10 or more minutes of three people trying to get the proper form from what I had, the immigration officer finally accepted what I had, and I was stamped on through.
My taxi I had ordered on booking.com was awaiting me to sweep me off to the Karen Inn and Suites. Driving past the Nairobi National Park on the left and the encroachment of the city on the right was interesting because it seemed that the Park enveloped in smog could not long withstand the pressure of creeping industrialization. The city has grown so rapidly since the three years gone since I last saw it. The present president, Uhuru Kinyatta, has really promoted infrastructure and this is manifested in numerous warehouses and road systems to supply the many peoples of Kenya.
I had a quiet three days at the Inn set in lovely gardens. I had stayed at their Bush House Hostel a part of the Inn complex years ago but that was closed off due to Covid 19.
I spent one morning at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Nairobi Game Park Elephant Orphanage to visit with my new orphan, Rama. Right now there are 13 baby elephants, and one had to have an appointment to visit as again, due to Covid regulations, only 100 people were allowed at a time to see the babies get their bottles and wallow in the mud bath and roll in the dust. These young elephants will be moved to a larger facility when they are a certain age or stage of development and then ultimately return to the wild. The work The Trust is doing in Kenya is monumental and is responsible for the increase in elephant numbers in Kenya and the preservation of many injured and afflicted animals in the wild.
the bow legged elephant below is my adoptee, Rama.
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I had a driver that took me around both days for 30$ US a morning which I thought was a great deal. I did a minimum of shopping and was going to get a sim card so I could have coverage up in the Naboisho conservancy of the Masai Mara National Park, but my phone was locked and they cold not do it.
I was collected on Sunday by a member of the African Impact Volunteer organization to go as far as Brackenhurst Baptist Conference Center in Limuru.
one other volunteer had just arrived at the airport from Seattle Washington, Stacy,
who was about 51 years old, a beautiful, smiling, blue-eyed blonde who had retired from 33 years working for Cost Co. We connected right away. She is to also spend 6 weeks at the Naboisho Conservancy tracking big cats and entering information collected in to the computer for researchers to use for conservation work.
Brackenhurst was a marvel of old colonial splendor. It was built around 100 years ago as a golf course. It now is used as a hotel recreation center and conference enter with many individual buildings: some house the large restaurant, snack bar and gift shop, others the reception area and offices and conference rooms. There are individual hotel rooms of old stone linked together as well. And lovely grounds with picnic tables with weekenders enjoying the beauty. There were 200 species of plants there and more than 200 species of birds could be found as well.
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We had a lovely lunch dinner and breakfast and were picked up at 9 AM Monday the 20th to go to the conservancy. We acquired two more volunteers who had come in the night before. Terry, a 65 year old woman from Gibraltar who was widely travelled and so interesting and then the baby of the group Garline from the Netherlands at 29 years of age a beautiful gal. We all hit it off and had a wonderful time on the 5 or 6 hour trip to our home base at Naboisho. More on that later.
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the-busy-ghost · 3 years
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If you don't mind answering, what are some things that you really, really wish you'd see more of in depictions of medieval Scotland/Early Modern Scotland?
I absolutely don’t mind answering, thank you for asking! 
I’m told there are some better quality novels than there are tv shows and films, so there are some aspects that have been done in good novels (though I’m not so familiar with them). There are so many things though that could be done on screen:
- Chiefly I spend a lot of my time wishing that there was more attention paid to the actual geographical make-up of Scotland and its regional variety, e.t.c beyond just splitting everything into Highland/Lowland, or just portraying everyone as being part of a Clan in the Highland sense, or just sticking everyone in Edinburgh as if that was the only place where anything happened. Orkney was very different to Galloway, and the Borders were very different to the Western Isles, and Ross was different to Aberdeenshire. 
Now if this was true for the sixteenth century, it is even MORE true for the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. Between the early Middle Ages and the end of the thirteenth century, Scotland was settled by a lot of different cultures- so in the twelfth century for example, much of the country (the traditional heartland of ‘Scotia’ north of the Forth) may have spoken Gaelic but Lothian had been settled by speakers of Old English some centuries ago and their language became Scots in time, and spread north of the Forth into Fife, Angus, Aberdeenshire and elsewhere so that by the sixteenth century it was much more widely spoken and the language of government. The south-west, especially the area around the Clyde and Glasgow was a British kingdom for a long time, speaking a language not dissimilar to Old Welsh- this kingdom had (sort of) disappeared by the mid-twelfth century but the language took a while to completely disappear. Up in Orkney, Shetland, and Caithness, rather like in Iceland and the Faroes, Norse settlers had taken over and Norse culture has still left traces there today. From the fourteenth century, Scots began to take over in the Northern Isles but there was still a very clear Norse background in the sixteenth century. Meanwhile in the Western Isles, the Norse newcomers did not manage to erase Gaelic so completely as they did in the Northern Isles, but they did leave their mark on the Hebrides, to the extent that the inhabitants in the Western Isles in the in the twelfth century were descendants of both cultures- they are sometimes called Gall-Ghàidheil in Gaelic, meaning ‘foreigner Gael’. Then over the course of the twelfth century more new immigrants moved in. The ranks of the nobility were swelled by Norman, Breton, and other French settlers- unlike England, there was no ‘Norman Conquest’, and the process was more gradual, but although the French language never had the same power in Scotland as it did in thirteenth century England, these settlers left their mark on the feudal system and other aspects of Scottish society, and in turn they too were affected by the cultures they encountered in Scotland. Other smaller pockets of immigration existed- immigrants from Flanders and the Netherlands, for example, were instrumental to developing Scottish towns and improving agriculture. In the east coast burghs of Fife and Lothian you can still see some architectural elements that may have been the result of trade with the Dutch- crow-stepped gables and red pantiles for example. 
Although most of these cultures have altered and changed by the sixteenth century, the fact remains that the cultural backdrop to fourteenth or fifteenth century Scotland was a real mix- Gaelic, English, French, Norse, Flemish, British- and, perhaps, whatever it was that the elusive Picts left behind beyond their wonderful stone monuments. I have perhaps oversimplified things here but the point is that mediaeval and early modern Scotland was not a cultural monolith- something which both Scottish and foreign film-makers would do well to remember. 
There are also changes to these regions across the years- Orkney going from being a Norwegian/Danish territory to becoming part of the Scottish kingdom, or the borders which had some of the best farmland and richest abbeys in the country in the thirteenth century becoming a very militarised and rather lawless zone after the Wars of Independence. I think it would be really interesting to see that portrayed on screen.  
- Ok so that was the fundamental thing, apologies for the rant. But to go with that, more understanding of the landscape and architecture. In all fairness most tv shows and films involving Scotland, no matter how bad they are, at least have some lovely panning shots of the Highlands but there’s more to the country than Glencoe- you could really work with views like the sun on the sea from the Carrick coast or the beautiful if ruinous religious architecture- like the abbeys of Melrose or Arbroath or somewhere like Elgin Cathedral or Rosslyn Chapel or Inchmahome Priory. 
- Costuming! Again this fits into the regional thing a bit, but it’s also more general. It’s a quibble I have with almost any medieval media but especially when it comes to Scotland people get really lazy with the costuming and just slap some shortbread tin stuff together rather than putting any thought into it. 
- More traditional music! A surprising number of ballads and songs that are still popular among folk singers today are thought to have their roots in early modern if not mediaeval Scotland. And again the musical heritage of Scotland is varied depending on the culture it comes from. 
- More properly developed female characters. Even though half the historical films made about Scotland are about Mary Queen of Scots, there are almost no good depictions of historical Scotswomen- and that’s NOT because there aren’t any interesting women in Scottish history before the modern period! There are lots of fascinating women’s stories from mediaeval and early modern Scotland, and although we are often frustrated by a lack of sources, we know they were there. More importantly, even if every woman was not a Certified Bad-Ass, as a whole women in Scottish history are not invisible and we can often see them in the records, whether operating in domestic, business, religious, or political contexts. Oddly, in their quest to show how Uniquely Misogynistic and Evil the Scottish nobility were to Mary Queen of Scots or Margaret Tudor or whoever, film-makers often end up ignoring women’s stories and therefore perpetuating the sexist view of history they claim to hate. (Though, yes mediaeval and early modern Scotland WAS misogynistic- but show me a country that wasn’t. Also it was misogynistic in a slightly different way to some other countries). I could list off dozens of interesting Scotswomen who lived before 1603- even though we sometimes can’t tell that much about their inner lives from the surviving sources, it’s obvious they were of some importance. And again it fits back into the cultural variety thing, because that was not limited to Lowland, Scots-speaking noblewomen. 
- More art and literature and architecture and education and music and EVERYTHING. Scotland lost a LOT during the Reformation and due to Anglo-Scottish warfare (that’s what happens when the main centre of your kingdom is near to a border). But we know that, though it was sometimes an out of the way place, Scotland could be just as heavily tied into European cultural trends as any other northern country. And there are some beautiful surviving cultural artefacts that hint at a more vibrant past- both produced in Scotland (in the Gaelic and Scots-speaking environments) and imported from abroad. 
- Equally on that note, more focus on its connections to countries other than England.  Scotland had three universities by 1500, and yet many Scottish students still went to study abroad, especially in France, but also in England, the Low Countries, Italy, and elsewhere. An Italian humanist taught at the Abbey of Kinloss away up in Moray in the sixteenth century, and Scottish thinkers were in touch with other great minds of the day. Scots also fought abroad (see mercenaries in Sweden, or James IV’s support given to his uncle the king of Denmark, or the Garde Écossaise), and traded heavily across the North Sea (there were multiple Scots merchant colonies on the continent, not least at Veere). Scotland’s relations with Norway, Denmark, the Low Countries, the Papacy, Ireland (both as part of the kingdom of England and with individual Irish families), and other countries could be almost as important as its relationships with France and England. The eternal triangle of Scotland, England, and France, was not actually always the story- there were occasions when England and France played very little role in Scotland’s foreign affairs, let alone its domestic history.
- In particular an acknowledgement of the high quality of Scots poetry in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries wouldn’t go amiss. 
- This is one which applies to all mediaeval media- but a more varied and interesting depiction of mediaeval religion would be good. In Scotland, this was also linked to the way people saw their own history- any sixteenth century Scot would have known some of the native saints, and anyone half-educated might have heard the names of David I and St Margaret and Columba, and known where the great abbeys in the kingdom came from. 
- Actually a basic knowledge of Scottish history and legends beyond a few famous names. For example family was important in noble society- just because the stereotypical The Clans Are Gathering model is massively inaccurate, doesn’t mean that noble families in Scotland didn’t care about ancestry and kinship. But it would be great if tv shows and movies could actually think about how to portray that- and it really shows how little some of these scriptwriters know about their characters when they’re supposedly obsessed with the honour of the clan but the only piece of their country’s history they know is the name William Wallace. If you’re portraying the Douglases- even the earls of Angus who weren’t directly descended from him- the legacy of Sir James Douglas would have been a source of some pride. For actual ‘clans’, you could be dealing with some of the clans in the west of Scotland who, like some families in Ireland, claimed descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages. Some family histories got warped along the way- the Stewarts, for example, seem to have forgotten that they were descended from a Breton named Flaald by the fifteenth century and instead latched onto a story involving a character named Fleance (the one who later appears in Macbeth). As for legends- you could have a lot of fun with the different kinds of fairy belief that existed in Scotland, from the Borders (where it inspired ballads like Tam Lin) to the Highlands, or you could bring up legendary figures that are shared with other countries like King Arthur or Fionn Mac Cumhaill or Robin Hood or Hector of Troy. Sometimes the legends even cross over into real life- Thomas the Rhymer, hero of ballads and fairytales, seems to have been based on a real person who lived in the reign of Alexander III; while stories about William Wallace and Robert Bruce often became folk tales in the tradition of other greenwood outlaws like Robin Hood. 
I think it’s pretty evident that my main issues with depictions of mediaeval and early modern Scotland on tv and film are largely because it’s so utterly unlike anything I see in the historical record. I’d love to list specific details and characters I’d like to see portrayed on screen, but before we even get to that point, the whole Generic Portrait of Scotland needs to change, because it doesn’t currently feel very realistic or interesting. All I really want is for the same level of research to be done with regard to Scotland as is done for England or France or any other country- England is often portrayed inaccurately, but there’s still at least 200% more effort put in than for Scotland.
On that note though, James I’s career (or at least the early fifteenth century as a whole) has been ripe for a television adaptation for years. Also I’m personally fascinated by ordinary rural life, patterns of agriculture and landholding, e.t.c. so even just an ordinary story set in an early sixteenth century fermtoun would be cool. But I don’t really think these stories would make any sense to people if Scotland was just portrayed the way it usually is - a generic country with no culture beyond a few scraps of tartan and alcohol and Anglophobia.
Thank you for the opportunity to rant, and apologies for the screed! I couldn’t express my enthusiasm very concisely I’m afraid. I genuinely don’t mind if there’s some inaccuracies to portrayals of Scotland, but now all portrayals are exactly the same and almost wholly inaccurate so it gets frustrating.
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fourangers · 4 years
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Fate and Choices (ch.06)
Summary: When Naruto discovered who was going to be his soulmate, he jumped straight at this opportunity, looking forward to spending the rest of his life with his better half. Sasuke well…he was less eager in this regard though. NaruSasu. Soulmates tattoos. M-rated.
Chapter 05
AO3 link | ffnet link
--.--
Sasuke was checking the monthly chart about follower growth alongside the monthly expenses to boost their social media account when his brother called.
“Good morning otouto-kun. How are you doing so far by yourself, you need any help?”
“Morning. So far nothing of the tragic nature. Thanks for asking anyways.” He tilted his head to one side to steady his smartphone in between his ear and his left shoulder, while he used both hands to type on his laptop. “By the way, you met your soulmate already?”
“I did! He was waiting for me at the airport. A very fascinating individual, knowledgeable and has a keen sense of everything since he traveled across the globe, learned all different kinds of culture and society. I had a wondrous time talking with him.”
“That’s great.” Sasuke muttered.
“Also, he shares some long-distance ancestry with us! Apparently, his great-great grandmother is an Uchiha that detected that her soulmate lived in the Netherlands and migrated here. The only clue he has some Japanese genes might be the fact that he has more of an almond shaped eyes, but his hair is curly unlike ours.”
“Huh, really? Interesting.”
“We’re going to do a city tour in Amsterdam. I mentioned that I like seeing anything related to art and history, so he already programmed an entire schedule visiting Van Gogh’s museum and other great places.”
“I see that he’s not wasting one second in trying to get into your pants huh. Give me his number so I can tell him that if he ever dares to make any wrong move I’ll tear him into pieces.” Sasuke scowled, frown in his face as his fingers pressed on the buttons loudly.
He heard Itachi’s amused chuckle. “Otouto-kun, don’t worry about it. He really appears to be a kind man and I believe I’m a good judge of character. I’ll keep you and mom posted about all this, because I know you two will be nagging me no matter what.”
“Hn.” 
Even despite his current reservations, it was refreshing and odd listening to Itachi’s upbeat voice. He was glad that his older brother was acting his own age for once, since he was forced to be more mature in his teenage years to defend his own mother and protect Sasuke. So it was nice hearing Itachi’s honest excitement, proper from a young man such as him, which was the main reason Sasuke curbed most sarcastic and critical remarks, not wanting to put a damper on Itachi’s mood.
“Talking about soulmates, how did you fare with yours, by the way?”
Sasuke almost bit his own tongue, coughing dryly.
“That bad?” Itachi questioned, apprehensive.
“No, actually…” Sasuke cleared his throat. “We’re going to try and go on some dates.”
“…”
Sasuke could almost feel Itachi’s smiling on the other side of the phone. “Nii-san, your sudden silence is somehow more infuriating than your usual smartass quips.”   
“So you say. Anyways, I have to go for now. Call me if you have any questions Sasuke.”
⏤.⏤ 
Sasuke yawned, adjusting his laptop settings so it’d pair with the TV screen. Neji and his crew would be arriving soon to adjust the overall schedule and other general alignments. Nodding to himself, he went to the bathroom (those meetings tend to drag for hours), only to see Suigetsu adjusting his hair style, straightening his clothes.
“Suigetsu, what are you doing?” Sasuke deadpanned, raising an eyebrow as his friend continued to turn in all angles, trying to get the best look in front of the mirror.
“Well, Uzumaki is coming here today right? I’m sure that you already dumped him at this point of the story so he’s free for grabs! I’m definitely going to try asking him out.” 
Sasuke opened his mouth to elucidate the whole situation but they heard the receptionist’s voice so Suigetsu was first to go towards the entrance, Sasuke trailing behind. He saw Suigetsu affably shaking hands with everyone, before changing his tune when he saw Naruto. He was definitely feeling up the blond’s biceps while they greeted each other.
Sasuke frowned, stepping in with a grunt. “Naruto, Neji, everyone. It’s nice to see you all again.”
Naruto was positioned so his back was facing him, instantly turning around with an exclaim. "Oh hey, Sasuke!"
Sighing, Sasuke controlled the urge to blush witnessing how Naruto's eyes brightened up, grin widening as their gazes locked together. That dumbass looked exactly like an overexcited puppy. Neji even patted the blond head twice, before shaking Sasuke's hand. “Nice to see you again. I hope our meeting wasn’t too much of a trouble for you.”
Sasuke nodded, stepping aside to let them in as they settled in the meeting room.
“So, first things first, I’d like to present Takahashi Ayumi-san. She’s going to be Shinrei’s account manager from now on.” Neji explained, as the aforementioned woman bowed respectfully, giving Sasuke her business card.
“Is that any reason for such a change?” Sasuke exchanged their cards, bowing back at her while he glanced towards Naruto. The blond man on the other hand, didn’t look troubled nor guilty, settling some of his own fears aside.
“Naruto is our main social media manager and we’re getting new cases for him to take care of, so I thought that it’d be better for him to focus solely on his tasks.” Neji said.
“I’ll still go with you to meet any possible sponsor, or give reports to your current ones. But anything related to your social media accounts will go through Ayumi-san from now on, to organize our workflow better.” Naruto filled in the rest of the speech, also opening his laptop. “So we’re also here to make the transition go smoothly, and she’ll be up to date with the overall demands and so on. You don’t have any problem about that, right Sasuke?”
Sasuke shrugged, as everyone concentrated on discussing the rest of the procedure, covering all details. Once they finished the meeting and Neji’s team departed, Sasuke returned to his office, seeing Suigetsu’s roguish smile.
“Hey, I managed to get Uzumaki’s number. Well, obviously he still thinks it’s work related but…I’ll turn things around. I gotta tell you, I had a glimpse of a bright future when I saw him bending down to pick some paper, that’s a nice juicy butt that I haven’t seen in a while. Man, I just want to get in between that round asscheeks and thrust.”
Sasuke had enough. “Naruto and I are dating.”
Blinking, Suigetsu slackened his jaw then uttered out. “What?”
“Naruto. And I. Are dating.” Sasuke spelled out with gritted teeth.
“Again, what? He’s your soulmate, isn’t he?” Suigetsu saw how Sasuke clenched his mouth, frown in place. “I don’t get it, after all the time when you kept complaining about how the soulmate system sucks and you’ll never get together with your soulmate because it’s a waste of time and so on and so forth you’re dating him? Am I missing something?”
"It's a long story, let's just say we talked, and I'm going to try, see if it's going to work."
Suigetsu stared in awe, before snorting at last. "I knew you wouldn't last long. I mean, when you have a soulmate like that, you'd want to call first dibs. I would do that too if I were you."
"We're just dating, not having sex like some kind of horny animals." Sasuke muttered, glowering back.
"Right, as if part of the whole dating business doesn't have people fucking like horny animals." He quirked a haughty smirk, wagging his eyebrows. “Aw fuck, I was getting really turn up in asking him out! Maybe we should both try getting him on dates, and then make him choose between one of us⏤”
“Suigetsu.” 
“Right right, jeez.” Suigetsu raised his hands in mock surrender. “You don’t have to get so defensive. I won’t make any moves, whatever.”
Sasuke snorted, noticing the message ping showing Naruto asking him to go to the lobby once again. 
“So, you hungry?” Naruto beamed, while he was busy typing on his smartphone. “I asked Neji to stay for a while longer so we can go out for lunch.”
“Lunch sounds like a good idea.”
“Great! You’ll lead the way, but please don’t choose any expensive restaurant because I’m on a budget ok. Don’t pick anything weird that will make me taste shark semen or some weird shit like that.”
Sasuke smirked. “Actually, I’ve heard that in China it’s a good aphrodisiac so⏤”
“Yeah, see, that’s what I meant.” Naruto poked his arm repeatedly. “I just want to eat some Ramen for all I care.”
He ended up choosing a traditional Japanese restaurant, specialized in Teishoku (set meal). While they were waiting for the food to arrive, his curiosity got better of him so he questioned. “So, why did you and Neji ended up giving the task of managing Shinrei to Takahashi-san?”
“Hm, well…it’s something that I thought over this weekend. Now that we’re dating, that means it’s gonna be more difficult setting work and dating apart right? I don’t want to end up discussing with you over something work-related while we’re on a date, or flirt with you while we’re talking about work. Plus, I might get frustrated about having to solve some issues about Shinrei and then out of nowhere you might send something personal on LINE. It’s those things here and there that makes me afraid that it might hinder our relationship and I don’t want this to happen to us. So I talked with Neji, he suggested this solution and Ayumi-san was on board to help me out.” Naruto explained, while he adjusted the napkin in his lap. “You don’t mind that, right?”
“Not at all, I actually agree with your idea. Never expected that a usuratonkachi like you would be so thoughtful.”
Naruto rolled his eyes, then broadened a playful grin. "You know what does that mean too, right? That I'm free to send you dick pics, all to my heart's content."
"That also mean I'm free to block you once again if you step out of line."
“Aw, you wouldn’t do that, would you? Not after you accepted going on the Best Date Ever in History!”
“You’re pretty confident with your dating skills.” Sasuke shook his head in amusement. “I trust you already came up with a detailed itinerary then?”
“Maybe, but I’m gonna keep this as a surprise.” 
Sasuke stared nonchalantly towards Naruto’s cheshire smile, snorting softly. Their food soon arrived, they enjoyed the fragrant dishes in between chuckles and teasing remarks. It was hardly a chore getting in tune with Naruto, lowering his barriers. It’s been so long he felt so relaxed around someone aside from his mother and older brother.
While they were going back to Sasuke’s office, Naruto read a message, raising an eyebrow.
“Huh. You know your employee Hozuki-san? He scheduled a meeting this wednesday but he just cancelled now, telling me that he fixed whatever issue he wanted to talk about, but when I asked, he just said that it’s nothing big. That’s weird, you know anything about it?”
Sasuke smirked, but schooled his expression to a neutral one. “Yes, but don’t worry about it, usuratonkachi. I assure you that Suigetsu wasn’t asking for anything important that really needed you help.”
“Hm…” Naruto wrinkled his nose, tilting his head to one side. “You seem to know him pretty well, he’s been working in your company for a while?”
“Actually, I’ve known him since college, I decided to ask him to work with me when Nii-san and I founded our company.”
“That’s cool, how did you guys meet?”
“We used to have a lot of classes in common, and then we formed our group of friends.” Sasuke muttered, recalling his memories. “Crazy friend, but at least helped me hook up with some guys.”
Naruto stopped walking at once. 
Sasuke also halted his steps, turning around with a quirked eyebrow. 
The blond man strode menacingly, glowering. “You did what? After what happened between us?!”
Seeing the indignant expression on his face, Sasuke instantly understood that he stepped on a landmine. He began a well-rehearsed speech. “Well, technically, at that time we weren’t in a relationship and also we were just young hormonal teenagers, so officially, there’s nothing that really binds us together so…”
“What the fuck Sasuke, what did you want?” Naruto snapped back. “Some official document, registered in the government with our signatures, stamps and even some blood pact for some special effect? We didn’t have any extra-official but I thought that, well, since we were in this together…”
“If there’s any consolation the number of hook-ups is under one single digit, so can we drop this.” Sasuke snarled, tensing his shoulders.
Naruto stared back incredulously, before giving out a sardonic scoff and crossed his arms. His eyes glanced up and down towards Sasuke, growling.
“Oh, so that’s how you justify yourself by cheating on me.”
“Again, back when we were teenagers, we’ve done nothing but fooling around together.” Sasuke emphasized, annoyed. “I honestly thought that you have done the same, considering that we lost contact while in college.”
“Sure, okay, cool, thanks a lot for pointing that I’m a fucking idiot for wasting my chances while I was waiting for you like a fool.” Naruto’s voice was bitter and angry, taking Sasuke off guard from this uncharacteristic behavior. “I should have followed after the first vagina or dick available while I was in college. Hey, maybe I should do this right now, to pick up since I’m behind.”
Whatever tight control Sasuke was attempting to reign in, snapped apart as he glared towards Naruto’s rebellious face. He knotted his shirt into his fists, Naruto mirrored this movement, wrinkling the expensive fabric. He growled. “I thought we were in agreement that we're dating now. A suggestion, might I add, that you gave it to me."
"Well, that was before I discovered that you probably slept with half of the campus or where else more. So sorry if I'm not taking this piece of news all too well." Naruto said with gritted teeth.
Sasuke huffed. "I already told you, it was only under one single dig⏤"
"Who the fuck cares, one, one thousand⏤! You cheated, that's what happened!" Naruto pushed Sasuke away, throwing his hands to the air. "You know what, fuck this shit, I'm outta here!" He turned around, already stomping away from him and yelled. "Have a nice fucking day, asshole!"
Sasuke clenched his jaw, his body tensing to pursue Naruto but he dug his heels down. He better wait till Naruto would cool his head. Who’d have thought that such pleasant lunch would end up this badly?
⏤.⏤
Naruto was ignoring him.
At first, Sasuke let it slide, waiting till Naruto would bounce back and forget about what had happened. However, days had passed and after few tentative messages were sent, receiving nothing from Naruto’s end. 
On the other hand, this situation just made him mount considerable respect over Naruto. Only one week had passed and Sasuke was resisting the urge to barge in Naruto’s apartment to stop this silent treatment he’s suffering. And Naruto waited for seven years?? Sasuke resigned himself not to pressure Naruto after everything he had done in the past. 
For such an easygoing man, that dumbass could surely hold some grudge.
Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to pester Naruto, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t gatter intel from other sources.
“So…how’s Naruto lately?”
Neji stared unsurprised while Sasuke drank his beer, glancing sideways. “He’s acting all the same, cheerful, energetic and everything. Why are you asking me if you can contact him anyways?”
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. “He didn’t tell you what happened a few weeks ago?”
Neji hummed, smiling. “You know that Naruto opens himself just to you. I mean, maybe Gaara and Shikamaru occasionally, but yes. Mostly you.” Then, he sighed, pouring more beer to his cup. “Though after years working with him, I could see that beneath all that smiles, he’s angry over something. And after you asked how he was, just gave me the easiest confirmation about my suspicions.”
 “Hn.”
“I know I’m going to regret asking this…what happened?”
Rubbing his temples, Sasuke paused in contemplation before confessing. “I told him that I had some past flings back in college.”
For the record, Neji used a total of five seconds to show an incredulous expression before he mumbled. “For someone who used to be the genius back in school and have a master degree, you can be pretty stupid sometimes.”
Sasuke glared. 
“Why did you do that?” Neji asked.
“We were just chatting, I said it without really considering much. I honestly thought he wouldn’t make a big case over it.” Sasuke huffed. “And well, I thought that since we haven’t seen each other for over seven years, Naruto would have his own flings too.”
“Yes, that’s the stupid part I’m talking about. You can’t expect that everyone would do the same journey as you did.”
“I know, which is why I’m patiently waiting to amend the mistake I did. I even sent him messages, writing that I’m sorry and all the bullshit you’re expecting me to do.” 
Neji didn’t really trust Sasuke’s input. He snatched the smartphone out of Sasuke’s hand, scrolling down while he mentally shook his head. “Right. I’m only reading ‘Naruto’ ‘I can explain’ ‘stop sulking and talk to me’ ‘Naruto, it’s been five days you dumbass’ ah…I’m not finding any ‘Sorry for everything’ here. Perhaps you wrote ‘Let me grovel on your feet if it makes you happy’? Ah nope, nothing of this sort.”
Sasuke did not appreciate Neji’s sarcasm, grabbing his phone back. “It’s been more than a week and he still hasn't answered any of my messages.”
“Well…have you considered calling him?”
 ⏤.⏤ 
Usually Naruto was too lazy to answer phone calls, since most of the time it’s telemarketing or scammers trying to get his credit card. Suffice to say, he was flabbergasted seeing Sasuke’s contact buzzing on screen. 
Sighing, he stared at his smartphone, hot anger burning on his gut. He willed it down, grumbling. “What.”
“…” Sasuke bit his lower lip, mumbling. “I see you’re still angry over what we talked about a week ago.”
Naruto closed his eyes, dropping himself on the sofa as he responded. “No, not really. I was actually kind of waiting you’d talk to me.”
“Well.” 
“Yeah?”
Sasuke chugged some more beer down his throat, clearing his throat. “I don’t know what exactly I should say to make us return to the way it was. I can’t change it, it’s all part of the past.”
Naruto groaned, messing his head. “I know, I get it. It’s just⏤now I can’t get the idea that you got involved with other guys in my head. Were they one time thing? I mean…did you do it to satisfy some curiosity about how different it’d be having sex with someone who is not your soulmate? Or did you do it because you wanted a relationship with someone else? Or were you bored⏤”
“Naruto, I’m not answering any of these. It’ll only make you angrier.” Sasuke said in a quieter tone.
“That’s not fair.”     
“It is, because it’s about my life, and my life only. I’ll reveal if I want to, but you got no involvement in it.”
“How so? But before you disappeared out of nowhere, we were⏤”
“We’re just two teenage boys who had nothing definite aside from two matching tattoos. We’re going on circles, this is going nowhere.”
Naruto stomped angrily, standing up. “That’s your fucking problem, you know. You used a loophole, used the fact that we didn’t cement anything before you just disappeared out of my life. You were always such a manipulative asshole, sometimes I⏤AAAARGH! I just want to reach your fucking neck and shake you. Really hard.”
Sasuke listened to the furious inhales and exhales, and mumbled. “I will…leave you alone if you prefer⏤ ”
“Yeah, I prefer it.” Naruto paced around the room, scratching his head. “We definitely went on different paths because we had different points of view. I still believed in the soulmate system, so the wildest thing I did in college is trying to steal some statues on campus. You got disappointed with this system, so there was nothing stopping you going after some other guys.”
“Still…” Sasuke clutched his smartphone tighter. “I admit that I hurt you. And I’m sorry about that. Like I’ve said, there’s nothing that I can change about the past, aside that I promise I won’t do it again. And if there’s anything I can do to make you feel better…just ask.” 
“…HMMMMmmmmMMmmmmmm.”
Sasuke knew Naruto enough to understand that particular tone. “Anything that is not outrageous or sexual in nature, get your mind out of the gutter dumbass.”
“Not even you wearing a sailor fuku?” Naruto practically singsonged, his mind also picturing Sasuke with stilettos. 
“I’m glad that even with all the current resentment you have on me, you still have enough imagination to come up with the most ludicrous ideas.” Sasuke teased back.
“Yeah yeah. Sasuke…” Naruto raised his eyes to stare at the ceiling, his body relaxing. “I’m still not giving up with the whole date thing, ok.” 
Sasuke released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I’m glad.” 
To tell the truth, even despite some reservations and fears, Sasuke was looking forward to starting this relationship with Naruto, only to have it temporarily halted. But he’s willing to take the backseat until things would calm down if necessary.
Taken aback from Sasuke’s honesty, Naruto scratched his head. “So, you willing to wait some a little bit more? I guess I just gotta organize this new information in my head.”
“Sure.”
⏤.⏤ 
On the next day, Sasuke received a message from Naruto.
You free tonight?
Bewildered, since he originally considered that Naruto wanted more days to restart their date, he answered nevertheless.
Yes.
Ok, great. I’ll be waiting for you in the lobby from your office. I’ll be there in half an hour.
Sure.
Oh. Naruto stopped typing before sending this message. And bring your business cards. Tons of it.
Sasuke’s confusion further escalated, but he obeyed nevertheless. Naruto was waiting him with crossed arms, tapping his right foot.
“Hey.” He analyzed him, looking up and down before shrugging. “Alright, you look fine enough. But use this jacket instead.” He threw it in Sasuke's direction and he caught it with ease. 
Black eyes studied the smooth fabric, clean cuts and the tag showing that it's a renowned brand, which all points to the fact that this tuxedo jacket was pretty expensive. “Where are we going?”
“Hm?” Naruto mumbled, his gaze fixed on his smartphone.
“Where are we going?” Sasuke repeated the question. Naruto never cared for appearances whenever they went out, thoroughly ignoring all the malicious glares and whispers focused on his gaudy orange jumpsuit and loud voice. But this time he was wearing formal attire (that looked pretty good on him, actually), also ensuring Sasuke would be decent looking. 
“Yeah, I’m comparing if we’re going to be faster using uber or going to the subway. There are some points of heavy traffic, but nothing too drastic. I don’t want to ruin our clothes too since now the subway is definitely crowded so…yeah. Using uber. He’s arriving in three minutes.”
“Okay.” Sasuke waited while Naruto was still focused on the phone, muttering. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
Naruto gave him a lopsided grin. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that.”
“So. Do you intend to give me any explanation?”
“Nope.” Naruto intervened before Sasuke could further inquire. “Because I’m still angry about you.”
Then why did this dumbass go through all this effort to go out with him…Sasuke’s head was full of question marks but he expressed with a baffled glare. But that only caused Naruto to laugh in amusement, patting him on the shoulder while they entered the car.
On the course of the trip, Naruto continued to use his smartphone, not striking any kind of conversation. And as much as Sasuke valued quietness, seeing the usual blabbermouth behaving in such uncharacteristic way was unsettling to say the least. 
“…Do you intend to talk to me any time or are you going to keep on this silent treatment till the end of this date?”
Naruto snorted, rolling his eyes. “I’m still considering it. Why?”
“If you’re going to act like that, I’d rather if we cancel everything then. I’d rather be alone than submit to whatever ill-intent you have stored for me.”
“Oooooh you’re making me sound like a villain, I like it.” Naruto grinned from Sasuke’s roll of eyes. “Don’t worry about it okay. It’s gonna be a surprise, trust me.”
“…hn.”
Sasuke vaguely recognized the tall buildings and elegant architecture, noticing that the car stopped in front of a high-end hotel. Naruto stepped outside, moving his head to signalize him to do the same, as the blond man was reading some instructions on his smartphone, following the sign arrows.
They arrived in what appears to be some kind of party, he could hear a constant buzzing even behind the huge mahogany doors. There were several security bodyguards, as well as a reception desk at the entrance, so Naruto approached while they questioned his name.
“Uzumaki Naruto.”
They bowed politely, confirming his name on the list and asked. “And the gentleman behind you?”
“He’s with me. His name is Uchiha Sasuke.” 
They opened the doors, and his vision was suddenly inundated with bright lights, women wearing glittering dresses or kimonos, all men wearing formal attire. Waiters moved around smoothly carrying all kinds of tasty dishes, beverages and champagne. There was a classic ambient music echoing in the opulent room, and when he focused his eyes at the center stage, everything became clear when he read the huge banner:
Uzumaki Tsunade-sama for Tokyo’s mayor
He deadpanned back to Naruto. “Your aunt’s party? Really?”
Naruto scratched the back of his head. “I couldn’t say no, she’d kill me and you know that!”
“Fine, then why am I here too?”
“Well, even considering the current situation between us, I have to admit that you’re still pretty entertaining so I won’t get bored while we’re in this thing.” 
“Glad to be at service.” Sasuke replied sardonically.
They heard a familiar shout. 
“Naruto!” A blond woman came rushing towards them, widening a smile. “I’m glad you arrived. Well, here he is everyone, the mastermind behind my social media campaign!”
Naruto and Sasuke were swarmed by a group of men from all ages, gazes sharp and shrewd.
“You said that Naruto-kun is your nephew right? It’s my pleasure to meet such a talented young man.” One older man approached, offering his hand. Of all the people in that circle, he appeared to be the most astute.
“Thank you, but I’ve done nothing out of ordinary.” Naruto replied, shaking hands.
“What, really? That’s my nephew alright, so humble.” Tsunade squeezed his shoulder, beaming. “You know that due to your social media strategies I could get in close contact with the younger demographic.”
“Yes, and it’s thanks to her that she’s the frontrunner in this year’s election! The first female mayor in Tokyo. We’re looking forward to seeing you ruling this city.”
“Let’s not count the eggs before they hatch, the election will only happen in the next two months.” Tsunade warned. “Also, we don’t know who might be listening to this conversation.”
“True, but it’s still very impressive.” He responded, giving a significant glance towards the blond man. “Is Naruto-kun available to help other parliaments to win some elections?”
Naruto huffed silently, though only Sasuke could pick that subtle movement. “Sorry, I work only in the private sector. Helping my aunt is due to the fact I know her political history, so I know that I’m aiding someone I trust with my life.”
“Yes, too bad right, Honda-san.” There was an indignant twitch on Tsunade’s eye, as she focused on a newer topic. “Oh, I see you brought Uchiha-kun.”
Naruto threw his arm around Sasuke’s, grinning. “Yeah, a nice date with my soulmate.” 
Sasuke quirked an eyebrow in response, but it garnered enough interest in the group.
“Oh? Your soulmate? Congratulations, I gave up trying to find mine years ago. But well, now that I’m on my 2nd divorce, I always wonder how wonderful it’d be if I got married to my soulmate.” 
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged significant glances so Sasuke stepped in. “Actually, our Uchiha clan is renowned for finding anyone’s soulmate over the centuries, and now we developed a technology to match the soulmates all over the world faster.”
“He found me using these powers, as many others, it’s an ancient knowledge only their clan possesses.” Naruto further explained, though he could see his aunt narrowing her eyes. 
“That’s really interesting. I would like to talk more about this. Here, my card.” They exchanged business cards as other people in their circle flocked around them, collecting Sasuke’s cards.
“Well…Naruto, let’s get some food for you while we get our conversation up to speed, right.” Tsunade made a face of ‘you better obey me or else’, so with a shudder, Naruto obeyed his aunt.
They walked to a more secluded place, so Naruto was first to protest. “You didn’t ask me to go to this party just so you can throw me more politicians to be his social media manager right?”
“Of course not, you really think I want to share my golden egg with everyone else?” Tsunade snorted, crossing her arms. “That Honda-san, I knew he was keeping an eye on you, I wouldn’t imagine that he’d have such audacity in asking right in front of my face, that old geezer…Anyways.” She smoothed out her glower, looking concerned towards her nephew. “Brat. I thought you were still angry over some things your soulmate had done back in college.”
Naruto glanced down, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I still am but…this party will be good for his company.”
Tsunade stared, then unceremoniously whacked the upside of his head.
“Ow! What the hell, old hag?” Naruto yowled, his hands nursing the painful spot.
“You deserved this. You really need to stop being too generous.” She harrumphed, placing her hands on her hips.
Blue eyes blinked, pointing out a bit baffled. “Um, usually people see this as a positive thing.”
“Not so positive when people use this to their advantage.” Tsunade sighed, smoothing the sides of his shoulders and squeezed them thoughtfully. “Be careful okay?”
Naruto gazed back, wordlessly nodding. Some of Tsunade’s staffers called her, so she walked away while the blond man went back to find Sasuke. He was talking with a new group of people, spotting him from afar as he whispered once Naruto positioned himself next to him. “That took a while. I thought I was supposed to entertain you, not random strangers.”
“Sorry about that, my aunt wanted to talk about some things.” Naruto shook hands with everyone in vicinity, scurrying them aside as everyone went on their own way. “Did you manage to get a lot of new contacts?”
“Yes, and even some possible businessmen that might buy some of Shinrei’s stock.” Sasuke replied, smiling in such a contented way that caused Naruto to beam in return. “Thanks for giving me this opportunity.”
“No problem, glad I could help you out.”
“It’s roughly 8 o’clock right now, I’m sure you’re dying to eat some dinner⏤” On this cue, Naruto’s stomach decided to growl. Loudly. Sasuke rolled his eyes. “There are dinner tables settled in front of the stage, I suspect they’ll call us to sit there once the food is ready.”
“Yeah, thank all gods. I’m so hungry I could eat a whole cow. But it’s probably one of the fancy shmancy restaurant, they’ll probably give me some food the size of my pinkie telling me that it’s some reinvention of Japanese cuisine.”
“Sounds like something right up my alley. You’re the one who likes to eat junk food like Ramen.” Sasuke smirked.
“Ramen is comfort food and one of the main staple of Japanese food, how dare you diss them!” Naruto grumbled, when the waiters asked them to go their respective tables, redirecting to their seats. Considering his close parentage with Tsunade, they placed him right in front of the main stage, sitting in the same table with what they could recognize that those people were very influential and powerful politicians. 
One of Tsunade’s secretary whispered something on Naruto’s ear, so he excused himself, bowing politely. In a few more minutes the room went dark and strong flashlights focused on Tsunade, who stood behind a podium.
“Hello everyone, thank you for participating in this beautiful event. I’m honored sharing this special moment with all my friends, allies, comrades. People who share this common goal with me and will bring everyone to victory. Others at some point have its fate intertwined with mine and now will help me to reach such success.” Tsunade’s voice was calm and commanding, bewitching all in vicinity. “Fate commands in many different twists and turns in our lives, making us grieve, laugh and learn. I’d like to believe that my fate has given me many obstacles to strengthen myself and grow. My late husband was the one who was interested in politics, and once he was murdered due to skirmishes with Yakuza, I inherited his will. My dearest little sister unfortunately passed away from a terrible disease but blessed me to take care of this bright young man, Naruto.” 
She turned around, arm raised as Naruto approached her, bowing to the audience as he stood next to her.
“My nephew helped me in this campaign and I’m happy to say that we have currently 65% intention for votes⏤” Tsunade read on her iPad. “And I’m the leader to win Tokyo’s election that will be held in the next two months. Thank you everyone! Here’s a reminder to everyone who is and was challenged by fate, those who are still struggling and may we bring them to a brighter future!”
She raised her glass as everyone mirrored her, chanting together.
“Uzumaki-sama for mayor!”
⏤.⏤
“Maaaannnn. No matter how many times I was forced to go to these kinds of parties, it’s awkward as fuck just keep on standing there next to my aunt, and having to put that fake smile whenever she made me talk with other politicians.” Naruto groaned, while they were walking to the subway station.
“Hm, really? You behaved pretty well considering that you're usually a spazz, usuratonkachi.” 
“One of my aunt’s secretary, Shizune-neechan gave me most tips. It was the most attention I could get since my aunt was, you know.” Naruto shrugged awkwardly. “Getting all busy being our town’s mayor and climbing in the political scheme. I mean, she raised me the best she could, but I guess it wasn’t enough.”
“I see, this is also the reason you were so fascinated being a pain in the ass and nagging me wherever I go back when we were kids.” Sasuke snorted when Naruto gave a squawk of indignation.
The blond man reconsidered and responded. “Maybe, I guess. We were the only kids with no friends back in school so I wanted to show you that I was there.”
“I suppose it worked. There wasn’t a day where I wasn’t forced to participate in your ludicrous plans of mischief.”
“It was entertaining!”
“You certainly entertained me better at the end of high school.” 
Naruto snorted. “Yeah. Good ol’ times.”
“Is reminiscing those memories good enough for you to dismiss the current anger you have on me?”
Their steps diminished to a quiet halt, Naruto turned around to gaze at his childhood friend. Under the soft glow of street light, Sasuke looked austere, solemn though his eyes shadowed some bashfulness and guilt. 
Naruto exhaled tired, muttering. “I’m still…⏤not as much as before but maybe there is some bitterness lingering. Sasuke, now I get why I couldn’t forgive you right off the bat. It’s not because you slept with other guys…”
A black eyebrow was raised and he chuckled, waving his hand in negative.
“No, it’s not what you’re thinking, I didn’t like that you got involved with other men, but it’s not the main reason. Sasuke, you didn’t give me any satisfaction when you went to college, you didn’t call me or message me something like ‘we’re over’ or ‘I want some time for myself so let’s be free to pursue other things’, so I was stuck in limbo. And, even regarding how much you don’t believe in the soulmate system, I thought that…considering that we know each other forever, you’d at least inform me.”
“I know. I regret not doing this, hurting you in the process. However, I cannot change the past, all I can promise is that I will correct my mistakes.” Sasuke promised.
Naruto nodded. “Another thing, is that what you said to me about the flaws of the soulmate system really made me change my point of view. I could tell that the fact I was angry is solely my own feelings, but another part wanted to forgive you. I wanted to analyze if this part is because you’re my soulmate or it’s also part of my own self.”
“And your conclusion would be?”
Naruto chortled, shrugging. “50/50, maybe. Sometimes leaning more to my own emotions. But I wasn’t sure. That’s why I took more than a week to talk to you.”
“And when am I going to get back to your good graces?” Sasuke wondered, and they restarted walking.
“I think I tortured you enough after tonight. I’ll be back planning the Best Date ever in History.”
Sasuke sighed in relief, a comfortable silence falling between them while they walked in the deserted street. He was guiding Naruto to the subway station, but took a detour to a darker corner that he knew no onlooker would bother them there. He stopped, staring towards the blond man.
“What?” Naruto muttered, a little unnerved from the piercing eyes.
“I’m impressed that you still hadn’t used your usual old trick of poking me on the shoulder and surprising me with a kiss.”
“I said that I’m not going to torture after tonight, but the day hasn’t turned yet. So I’m still in the angry mode.” Naruto grinned. “It’s a punishment for not being a good boy in the latest days.”
Snorting, Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Good boy? I wore this jacket you threw at me, I behaved well as your date in that party, I was exceptionally so good, that I’m sure I deserve a gold star.”
“Yeah, but I’m still smarting with the whole you cheating on me thing, that you got a demotion from childhood sweethearts to first daters. And while I was sure you were gonna get back to my good graces eventually ‘cuz I don’t hold grudges forever Sasuke, I needed some gradual steps till we’ll get to that much needed direction.”
“Fine. At least it’s over after tonight.” Sasuke concurred, smirking. “Do I at least deserve one kiss on this first date?”
Naruto peered back with increasing suspicion, then consented, giving a short kiss on his cheek.
Sasuke scoffed in derision. “Hm, I’m sure that even kids in middle school gave more significant kisses to their crushes than you just did right now.”
“Whaaa⏤wait a minute you bastar⏤” Naruto’s incoming diatribe was interrupted with Sasuke’s lips against his own, hands snaking around to grip his torso.
Naruto took a second in shock before melting in his arms, breathing out a happy sigh as he pushed forward, deepening the kiss. Surrounded by familiar senses and new ones, he explored the hard edges of Naruto’s body, scrawny arms now filling with muscular ones, though his mouth remained soft and pliant, always inviting to taste some more. When Naruto laced his hands behind his neck, tongue tracing over his lips, sliding in and wrapping with his own, Sasuke couldn’t contain the shiver in excitement, moaning. 
After countless minutes kissing, lost in their own world, they retreated for a bit, Sasuke’s taste persisted in his mouth, making him lick his lips. Moist mouth softly caressed his own, whispering.
“See? This is how you were supposed to kiss me on our first date.”
Naruto’s cheeks flamed red, but he managed to roll his eyes, disentangling himself from Sasuke. “Whatever. See you later bastard.”
He turned around ready to walk his way before a hand held his arm and spun him back to Sasuke, receiving another peck on his lips. The light touch was innocent but when Sasuke released him, his stomach fluttered when he witnessed the heated gaze and the playful smirk. 
“See you later dumbass.” Sasuke waved him, walking back to the brighter street. “I’ll be taking a bus, the subway station is on your left.”
Naruto grumbled with himself, cursing about stupid sexy assholes and the habit of making everything a competition.
He smiled all the way back to his home.
Chapter 07
⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤ 
AN: I’m sure that you guys are wondering “So Itachi’s soulmate is…” Yeah, he’s Shisui. I didn’t want to make his name a mystery, I just didn’t find a space in the dialogue for Itachi to tell Sasuke his name.
Onto good news. The story is shaping a little bit better, so my estimate is that it’ll take roughly 10 to 12 chapters long. I have all the sub-plots and main plot ready in my head, I just have to organize to sound more concise… 
I guess what’s interesting in this story is about two people who know the other one so well but has to relearn to fall in love with his other half.
The most difficult part was writing the kiss. Not the act itself but it’s just that Naruto and Sasuke are officially japanese in this era, that means that Japanese people are usually way more reserved in PDA. Sasuke, on the other hand, doesn’t care about public opinion, which was why I was more ok with him initiating, and he also waited till the street was deserted and dark and went to a corner. I researched a little and in recent years Japanese are more ok with light PDA, but generally kissing (and long deep kissing) is frowned upon. 
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totaldramafan-lauri · 5 years
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Eurovision 2019, final thoughts
So! Eurovision ended a week ago! I think it was a good show, do you?
I usually do this earlier, but I had a busy week, and couldn’t find time to sit down and type this all out. As much as I love talking about Eurovision, making these posts takes a while....I know I could just skip doing it, but I feel like the season isn’t over for me until I put all my thoughts on the final out there after the fact. It’s a habit at this point. *shrugs*
Like I said, I think this was a pretty good Eurovision. There wasn’t a whole lot to be frustrated about and a LOT to love! I’m not sure how I’d compare it to other recent contests - maaaaybe a bit better than last year? Only by virtue of having no songs I outright dreaded listening to, and a stronger top five favorites? And maybe better than two years ago, for having a winner I agree with? Not as good as 2016, though....but anyway! That’s all off the top of my head, so I’m not treating that as fact. I don’t really like comparing contests all that much.
So let’s just take a look at the final for a bit, and see how we did!
So, maybe it was because I was distracted by my liveblogging, but at first, I didn’t feel like the presentation was anything spectacular this year. The hosts were passable, but not particularly entertaining. There weren’t any moments that made me burst out laughing that weren’t exclusive to the BBC commentary I watched the two semifinals with.
But then the final happened, and WOO, I was blown away! Hoooooly crap did they go all out with the spectacle! It wasn’t the BEST I’d ever seen, but it was really fun! No matter how many times I hear people say the flag ceremony is useless padding, I can’t help but enjoy it every single time, due to all the creative ways it’s done every year. And I ADORED the intervals! The part with Mans, Conchita, Verka, and Eleni singing each other’s songs was pure flipping genius. It sounded great, too! Seriously, I DEMAND a full version of Mans’ take on “Fuego”, that was my favorite part! True, Verka showing up did make Ukraine’s absence from the contest more obvious, but that’s only a nitpick, and it was already clear that they originally did have every intention of participating...And then there was Madonna. Maybe I’m biased here because not only am I American and am used to her music, but I thought she fit in just fine with her brand of weirdness, especially with that second song she sang. What even WAS that. XD Yeah, it got pretty repetitive....but at least we got “Like A Prayer”. I like that song.
Pretty much the only thing that I didn’t care for in the final was the new way the televotes were read out. Instead of starting from the country that got the least points and working up to the one that got the most, they started with the country with the least points AT THE TIME, and working up the scoreboard. It was really jarring  and confusing, and even though it doesn’t change the results at all, I don’t see why they changed it! The old way was perfectly fine! If anything, the old way was MORE suspenseful, since we had no idea what the order was gonna be!
...But on the other hand, I guess for at least THIS year, the new system worked out OK, since using the old one would’ve meant saving Norway for last once it became obvious they had no chance of winning....b-but STILL!
On to the songs, I really did love this lineup. While it’s true that my two favorite songs of the entire show didn’t qualify for the final, that thought barely crossed my mind once I was watching it! The selection of songs was STILL really strong! With only one song I was indifferent to, it was impossible for me to NOT have a blast. And all things considered, my luck wasn’t that bad at all, since most of my favorites in the final did really well! Sure, one of them came in last place, but even THAT doesn’t bother me too much, since it’s offset by my FAVORITE favorite song winning the entire jury vote! There were definitely more hits then misses in here.
So, on to my thoughts on the results!
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So! The Netherlands finally wins again after 44 years! Do I think they earned it?
Yeah, I think they do. While it wasn’t one of MY personal favorites of the night, “Arcade” is still a really good song. Very powerful, very emotional, great chorus, and Duncan performed it well. It is true that they didn’t win either the jury vote or the televote - instead coming in third with the juries and second in the televote - but I don’t think this is a winner that many people will have a problem with. It certainly won’t be as divisive as the last two winners have been! For me, it may have seemed like an anticlimax at that very moment, but only because Sweden was my number one favorite and I had gotten my hopes up over that. I still have no problem with this winner, and there’s not much more to say on that front.
While I do agree with the Netherlands’ victory, part of me is still kinda bummed for their runner-up, Italy, who once again have been denied a win with a really good song. What’s it gonna take for Italy to win again? They’ve been sending strong entry after strong entry, and every single time, there are entries that are even stronger. It’s unfortunate. XD But coming in second is still great, and I’d say they deserve it! They actually did a bit better than I expected!
Sergey from Russia once again comes in third, which is a detail I probably find more amusing than I should...XD After how many times I said that “Scream” isn’t as good as “You Are The Only One”, it ended up getting the same result. Well, yeah, this time he didn’t win the televote, but still, third is third!
Switzerland came in fourth, their best result since the early 90s and their first top ten finish since 2005. That’s a BIG DEAL! And I’m honestly not surprised, given all the love their entry received before the contest. A song has gotta be REALLY AWESOME for people to pay attention to Switzerland, and this one managed it! It’s a fun song that the audience loved, and I believe it’ll be hard to top this for a while. With this result, ZiBBZ have been avenged.
Rounding out the top five is Norway, who won the televote this year! I know that a lot of people hate on the juries, but they ARE there for a reason, even if their decisions can be....er, questionable....One of those being not giving Norway NEARLY enough points. But sure enough, just as I called, the public LOVED them, and saved them, pushing them to fifth place! This made me really happy, since, like a lot of people, they were one of my favorites! I loved their entry! So, seeing them win half the vote, even if it wasn’t enough for an overall victory, was still really satisfying to watch! Just like with Russia in 2016, I chose to take away from this “Yay, they won HALF THE VOTE!” instead of “DANG JURIES RUIN EVERYTHING”. As a huge fan of the song, seeing it do as well as it did, and knowing that I wasn’t in the minority for once with loving it was a treat!
Which brings us to Sweden, my favorite and also the juries’ favorite, who finished in sixth. This and the success of Austria last year really has me thinking that the juries must LOVE their gospel pop...(popel?) Maaaan, I really thought they could’ve had it! They really got my hopes up....but nope, sixth. Still good, but I thought they could’ve at LEAST come in the top five! But when it comes down to it, I like the top five we got, so...sixth it is. Sweden’s song was my absolute favorite of the night and I flipped out when they won the jury vote by two points. XD I was REALLY REALLY hoping for them to win! If they did it, they would’ve tied Ireland’s record! But it wasn’t meant  to be, as the public wasn’t in love with them as I expected. Too bad! Still a good result for an amazing song! I love it to bits, and rooting for it was a real ride! ^^
Finishing in seventh is yet another one of my favorites, Azerbaijan! Not complaining about that result for them at all! Good song, good staging, and it made an impact! See what I mean about my favorite songs doing well? THREE of them placed in the top ten!
Then there’s North Macedonia....which is the first result I kinda don’t agree with. Yes, it was a sweet, inspirational song, but I really don’t think it should’ve done...that well....? I’m sorry, that’s just how I feel. I don’t think the song was THAT good, even in terms of piano ballads I liked Israel’s more....seeing how well Macedonia did with the juries was the biggest shock of the night, I’d say. Especially considering Macedonia normally have AWFUL luck at Eurovision. I’m happy they achieved their highest result ever, don’t get me wrong, but really don’t think this should’ve been the song to do that. This placing higher than their 2012 song baffles me. XD
Australia came ninth, which gets them back in the top ten but isn’t nearly as high as I expected! They seemed to be a huge hit, to the point where I thought they possibly had a chance of WINNING! Now, I didn’t AGREE with that popularity - I think the song is just alright, and the only reason it got so much attention was because it had the best staging of the show bar none, still great but this is a SONG contest - but regardless, that’s how it felt. So, I was seriously relieved when it wasn’t as much as I thought. Still a good result, and it doesn’t feel undeserved at all! Dodged a bullet there! XD
And rounding out the top ten is Iceland, another fan favorite, giving them their highest result of the 2010s, as I predicted! Well, to be specific, I predicted it’d either do that OR crash and burn live, which it thankfully didn’t. XD I respect Iceland’s entry more than I actually LIKE it, but I still like it a fair bit, and I’m happy to see it do well. It’s not the kind of music that Eurovision fans normally like, so I wasn’t expecting it to do SUPER well, so tenth is about right for it. Especially after that final performance, where it seemed like the lead singer went off beat in the second verse...Cool to see them rise above that.
Then there’s the rest of the results, which I’ll go through a bit quicker: the Czech Republic coming in eleventh doesn’t surprise me. If their performance was enough to get someone like me, who used to be indifferent to the song, to start liking it, than it’s a pretty dang good performance. Can the country keep this up? Denmark in twelfth....hmmm, that’s higher than I expected, but I’m not complaining. And Slovenia, who had the ONE song in the final that I don’t particularly care about, placed thirteenth....not exactly sure what happened there, but I’m CLEARLY in the minority, so ignore me.
But why did Slovenia do better than France!? Why didn’t France do better!? C’mon, what happened!? It was such a good song, so deep, so meaningful....I liked it, and I thought for SURE more people would vote for it....but eh. Still not a COMPLETE flop, and that’s what matters.
Cyprus and Malta did about as well as I expected them to, but I wanted Malta to do a bit better. I liked their song and staging a lot. But, eh, going first has its disadvantages, one of which being that ANYONE has a chance to overshadow you. And Cyprus, fun song but PLEASE don’t pull this again next year...we want variety!
Serbia was one I really liked, but yeah, I didn’t expect it to do super well, so I’m not surprised at their result. Still a good song. Albania actually did a little better than I thought, since being a more surprise qualifier to me meant that I expected them to place towards the bottom! So even this, even 18th, is better than that! Don’t get me wrong, I still liked them, but I considered them a lost cause, pretty much. Estonia was another one I wanted to do better, but am not surprised at their result. Good song, but the staging was on the blander side. In this contest, you needed to stand out a bit more.
San Marino, my friend’s favorite, placed in 20th, which is still their best result ever! Not only that, but they did pretty dang well in the televotes! Woo! Nothing to complain about there! Would’ve been cool to see them do even better, but eh, that would’ve taken a miracle. XD Greece....eh, about what I expected. This was a strong final, so “good, but not great” songs fell short. Spain, I REALLY thought would do better, considering how much FUN that song was.....dunno what happened there. The performance was great, too! But, well, guess it’s just another year for Spain. A real shame....they deserved more. They were WAY underrated.
Another one that was underrated was Israel. True, not everyone likes that kind of music, but the man could SING! Just based on that, he deserved more than what he got!
Germany....getting nul from the televote, only being saved from last place by the juries? Yeah, that’s about what I expected. I actually predicted they could possibly be last, and I didn’t even dislike their song! I liked it! It had good lyrics! But yeah, a song like that being performed so early was a death sentence, doomed to be lost in the shuffle.
And finally, we come to the bottom two....and wouldn’t ya know it, they’re my other two favorites. Yeah, my top five consisted of three top ten finishes, and these two. What a split.....
Though to be fair, yeah, Belarus’ song was NOT for everyone. I love it for how catchy and fun it is, but if you think it’s annoying, that’s fine. Heck, I was surprised it even managed to qualify for the final. I thought it was doomed. XD I wouldn’t be surprised if it only barely managed to squeak through. So, I was happy enough just having it there in the final, so having it flop like this? It’s fine.
The UK, on the other hand....
.....I swear, this only happened BECAUSE it’s the UK. It’s gotta be that.
That, or the fact that they stuck it between Iceland and Norway. Because dangit, “Bigger Than Us”. Was. A. Good. Dang. Song. FIGHT ME. (please don’t fight me) It was a powerful song! It was grand! It was....well, BIG! And the singer had a REALLY good voice! He SOLD it! The only reason I can think of for people to not like it was if they think the lyrics are cheesy? But that’s part of the appeal!! And it is NOT the worst offender of that!
The UK coming in last is my biggest complaint with the results, but overall, there’s not much TO complain about here! I think most of the results are good! This year saw countries that are often overlooked in Eurovision doing the best they’ve done in years! And my favorite almost flipping won! And I agree with the actual winner, and....overall, it was satisfying!
So....that’s all I gotta say. I had a lot of fun with Eurovision 2019, but it’s now time for me to look away.
See you next year in the Netherlands!
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saint-yaint · 5 years
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Petrichor Chapter 3: Turbulence
*notes*
D.I.R.E system= Digital Information Relay Entity system (cuz dire situations are happening, hurrah for puns) a secured communications system that runs on a ethernet or LAN Aegis= a shield with a gorgon head that has been held by Athena and Zeus in Greek Mythos AFW= Amsterdam Fashion Week
I don't how many hours passed on the flight, I was sleep for the whole duration, no dreaming though. My body was light and my mind was empty, my brain actually turned off something so rare. I hope it happens again soon, this is the numbness I want to feel again. Eileen woke me up, she was adjusting my pillow and wiping my face.I was drooling again, I appreciated the fact she cares about me. I am certain that I known Eileen for ten years, but has she known me longer than I remember? I can only feel that I was hungry. That isn't the bulk of my concerns, I need to get myself ready for this operation, but first this fashion show, Greta and Hilde will be there to meet us. It has been so long damn long since I have seen them. I missed them so much! It was about an hour to two hours before this plane landed, we reviewed our hotel reservations, press badges for the fashion week itinerary, and secured routes to provide for the clients thanks to Lana. Eileen had gotten us something to eat after we put up all of our files, luckily time passed fast so we quickly ate in silence, then braced for landing. Turbulence is the most annoying thing the world but it faded. It's been about a year and a half since I've been in the Netherlands, it may not be Milan or Paris but I prefer not going to fashion shows there, the crowd is annoying and too prissy for me. We went through the airport checks as per usual, I scanned the airport to see if the hounds would be here. Eileen called someone she calls Foxy, I think it may be one of her modeling friends from the way there are talking. Her modeling roots and international upbringing made her the perfect candidate for this work and allowed her to excel at it. She was a spy for a decades,it is just funny that she followed in both of her parents' footsteps in one fell swoop. She hung up the phone and continued to walk with me many fashion forward people was wandering and conversing in with each other exiting the terminals, so we aren't out of place, still looking around we walked out of Schiphol Airport, without incident. There was a black Bentley Mulsanne with the driver waiting for us to go to our hotel, Eileen confirmed that this is our designated driver and we proceeded to greet him.
"Good day ladies, may I get your luggage please?" We gave him our bags and we gave him a generous tip before he put the bags in the car. "Ladies thank you so much"
"Sir you are welcome" Eileen replied with that winning smile of hers she opened the rear passenger side door and got in.
"Thanks a lot" I nodded and got in through the rear with Eileen.
"So Eileen, will we be meeting Greta and Hilde at the at the show or the hotel?" I turned to her, inquiring.
"We are all meeting at the hotel, I have someone that is going to meet with us as well. Also I will inform you that Cesaro came early from Switzerland, he is at the hotel right now and he will meet us when we get there, Lana will be there via secured satellite. We meet in 25th floor Imperial suite that's our HQ from now on and since the bulk of the press, design teams, and models will be staying there." Eileen explains
"So there's enough chaos for us to keep an eye on the clients, have meetings, and we all will be in spread out rooms to blend in. And who will be meeting with us? I contacted the Sirens to be on standby here, they are each modeling in the first three runway shows today, per my insistence. I would like them in the meeting since the hounds will be here, I want to keep them around to throw them off track and stall them for a while." I suggest this to Eileen, she knows about them and what they do. She paused and shook her head in agreement.
"They do need to be in the meeting. I will send them the pictures and the meeting tonight will go over our intel, Cesaro and Lana's building overview, our weapon procurement alongside disposal procedures with Thierry and Gossamer,and finally the Sirens will discuss with us of how they will hinder, and possibly disable the Shield." Eileen's reassured me but herself as well.
The driver gets in and starts up the car, Eileen and I shared glances, nods, and simply typed on our phones. The various chirping and chiming of our phones formed a conversation of their own, not of emotions and words but of bits and bytes, 1's and 0's, and digital play of tit-for-tat. My fingers became sore so I took a break put my phone in it's holster and simply leaned my head against the window and stared at the passing scenery. Blurry, colorful, stop-and-go, and forever changing; it's like life, well more my life, never able be able to stop and smell the roses but just merely rushing, sometimes abruptly halting but being disconnected from the world around me. Eileen I wonder what she feels in this life? Her life has been fast paced and adventurous all her life, is she totally unaffected but aware. She a woman steadfast and unwavering, but she took her time to be vulnerable and extraordinarily human. I have met her family before, yes they are well off but other than that they are normal, triplet girls and a husband. The girls go to boarding school they are about 16, her husband is a hedge fund manager, they are often busy but Eileen told me she doesn't mind the fact that she spends more time at work than with her husband, she even said she prefers it. I feel the car slow, I rise from my daze and did a tiny stretch, Eileen and I got out the car. The driver handed over our bags to hotel workers, they put the bags on an ornate gold trolley. We tipped the workers, they followed Eileen and I to the check in desk and got our room keys. Retrieving our bags from the workers we go to down to a gold mirrored corridor towards the elevators. We got in and I saw Reigns at the check in with Ambrose and Rollins in tow, as I reached for the elevator buttons to our rooms. I frantically pressed the close door button and started pawing at the numbered circles, Eileen looked concerned, turning to me leaning down.
"What in the fucking hell are you doing?! Tell me what the absolute fuck just happened?" Eileen cursed me in a hushed tone
"Eileen the Shield is here in the hotel, they are staying here!" I ranted to her "I had to hurry up and close this damn elevator to make sure they don't see me! I can't have them hanging around me and I damn sure that I can't have them knowing our connection to the clients."
Eileen promptly picked up the phone calling everyone, me included I quickly picked up my phone and joined the satellite conference call "Everyone, this is Eileen. We need to bump up this meeting. Griselda just saw the Shield here in the building." curses and groans from everyone filled the our ears "We are all going to have to meet now! Thierry and Gossamer listen to me. Bring the stuff now, waiting isn't a luxury for us anymore."
"Got you" Thierry and Gossamer confirmed in unison and hung up
"I will find out what rooms they are staying in, most likely they are under aliases. The hotel photo scans identification cards and passports so I will run matches before they wipe the system of their identities." Lana rushed these words "I will also fortify everyone's devices,including the clients too just in case, I'll get on that now!"
The elevator was 13th floor twelve more to go.
"Hey Beverley are you there, it's Griselda."
"Yes doll, I'm here" she's already practice her infamous coo
"Have you decided how to divide up and subdue the hounds?"
"Of course, Oracle and Dervish will be at the meeting as well. We will talk at the meeting."
"Ok got it, see you soon." Bev hung up too. Ten more floors to go.
"Hilde I ne-" she cut me off saying what I was thinking.
"Find a way to make sure Thierry and Goss can get everything in here without detection. I am already on it. See you later toodles!" she moves a million miles an hour, a true crunchtime crusader.
"Greta, use the names that Lana finds to track their movements, especially if they are going to the shows, so the Sirens can know to cut them off. Also I do know that Rollins is carrying a black credit or debit card with him, if his name is on it or not I do not know, but he has to have it on him."
"Got it, I will look up info on my way to the meeting and I will relay info at the meeting. TTYL chief." she is off the phone now too.
"Hey Foxy, It's Eileen since you are a V.I.P could you send us the lists of the fashion show guests? Is it possible?" Five more floors to go now
A woman's unfamiliar voice chimes on the phone "I can get the copies of that to you, I know the show directors so they will be more than willing to give it to me,I'll meet you now they all should be sending me the data before the meeting is over. Foxy out"
"Cesaro, get more men to secure the Imperial suite. I am going to contact the clients and tell them that the hounds are staying here and that we are preparing the suite for them now."
"Understood. I'm on it now"
Now was everyone was off the phone we were at the Imperial suite, Eileen was visibly annoyed, she was used to being ahead of the game a woman on the leading edge, and using that edge to cut down her competition. I swipe the keycard and walked in the room, murmurs, clacking, shuffling and digital beeps. Waves and short 'heys' and 'hellos' filled the air, but couldn't travel through the thick atmosphere. Finding an empty chair to sit in and Eileen sat down too arms crossed waved at the woman named Foxy, the beautiful Alicia Fox supermodel extraordinare and now I know she is too a spy,since Kiwi can call on her help so easily.
I stand up and began speaking " Ok everyone, since we are in a code blue I will ask everyone to use the D.I.R.E system, and planning will be done there, thank you for help everyone now let's being" I sat back down opening my computer, and saw everyone do likewise, Eileen already taught Alicia about the D.I.R.E system so we are prepared.
{D.I.R.E system is active://: system security level:HIGH (REINFORCED)}
Tovarisch: Ok, the abrupt change of plans has really fucked all of us over but please all data operators please relay your findings.
ravishing_lana: Well I have found that Ambrose is under the alias Jon Moxely and Rollins is under the alias Tyler Black. Reigns is not going by any assumed name, the reason isn't found. Also after my team analyzed the CCTV recordings around the building, Rusev has pointed that Ambrose is the sniper, Rollins is the doctor, and Reigns is their combat specialist.
GG.Greta.no.re: I have found they used these aliases in New York while boarding a plane for Amsterdam in first class from LaGuardia to Schiphol, these names were also checked in Schiphol Airport, as well as getting elite guest passes for AFW. The black credit card is registered to Tyler Black,used once in LaGuardia for a purchase of $32.86 for 2 breakfast platters and a purchase for $1587.45 for the AFW guest passes.
Foxy~Roxy: I can confirm since these three have elite passes they are automatically on the list for every show throughout the week, it doesn't mean you go to just the shows but the after parties too. My friend and event coordinator Jinder Mahal gave me all of the list and if we look it over they may have done it to get near Angela Kallo, she has an elite pass but has asked Jinder to put her as a V.I.P for the Atelier Monsoon fashion show on the 16th. They might try to use her to get to your clients, Saldana's niece is the new lead designer so they will watch out for your client to be there for his family.
Tovarisch: Thank you. Sharpshooters and combat operators please relay information.
Angel.Thierry: I have talked to some smaller Belarusian wanna be hot shots ,they had robbed a gang earlier this month. They had many Kalashnikov Concern AK models mainly from AK-5 to AK-102. They wanted to sell for dirt cheap so we picked them up and went for it. Most are barely used.
Just.Goss: The Colombians are going to be going to take a private jet here and back to Cali, they will be on a private airstrip when they return so being armed is no problem. So we have some airport employees willing to turn a blind eye to us and allow use storage hangers and to leave no problem, we will use back entrances to store and load the stuff. I also have our personal weapons and armor here with us. So please stock up.
hil.de: We will using back stairwells, freight elevators ,and fire exits as travel points to move the clients and any supplies. We will also access housekeeping to ambush the hounds if need be.
A.C: Roving snipers will be patrolling the aforementioned stairwells. Static snipers on adjacent rooftops as we move on our planned route to the airport immediately after the meeting. I will be here with my guards to secure in and outside the suite.
Tovarisch: Ok last but not least honeypots we know they will be at AFW and you have decided to split your efforts to stall and disable the Shield so please explain.
Bev..Hills: I will be going after Rollins, since Tovarisch's encounter we know he is flirty and is playful, his personality is something I can handle, I can get close enough to subdue him. :)
o.r.a.c.l.e: I will go after Ambrose, snipers have sharp eyes but if I keep him focused on me long enough he will not have time to move before we move.
drvsh: I am a high level krav maga and taekwondo practioner, I am the most suited to take Reigns out if need be, I will be at the Atelier Monsoon as the leading model so I will be seen up front and center. I will have eyes on all of the guests there during my cycles .
Tovarisch: I will be exclusive helping conduct the deal between the clients and Kallo, so I will be with them from when they arrive here and they touch down and everything is wired to our accounts.
Moderator_Kiwi: Ok seeing as everything has been arranged, the revised mission plans have been sent out. And we will be ending this conversation.
| operation: anti_ageis//opstatus:ACTIVE|
{D.I.R.E system://: status:OFF}
@adriennegabriella @superrezzy00 @ruderickrude @writinglionqueen
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crispsevans · 5 years
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2018 in review.
Here’s my year in review. It’s been a tough one. I know, you shouldn’t blame a system that mankind came up with to keep track on time for all of this, but it just happened to happen in 2018.
January: My year started off in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, where my former roommate and I went to for New Year’s last year. When we came back home a lot of not so nice surprises waited for me which led to a mental breakdown in...
February: Probably one of the worst months of my 2018. I spent hours and days of locking myself up and cry and feeling empty, just like I did all those years ago. I knew it was time for a change and since we had to move out of our flat anyway, I took a step back and instead of looking for a new place for myself, I made the decision to go back home to get healthy again. I looked for an open therapy spot and arranged everything to go back home to my dad’s house.
March: Saying goodbye to Cologne wasn’t very easy for me at all. Packing all my stuff, I realized I’d be leaving with way more stuff than what I have moved in with. I packed up 17 huge boxes and tons of bags and suitcases filled with my life and it took us three days to get everything back into my old hometown and into my old bedroom. Thanks to my boss at this point, because he was such a big help, really!
April: Back in my hometown, I felt relieved. So much pain was just gone in a snap and I felt so much better now that the weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt a lot more free than I have in the 7 months before and my anxiety slowed and stripped down, which was a nice change. But I kept being dumb and made some stupid mistakes which led to bad things in the following months.
May: Being a wedding photographer, I only took on very few weddings this year which meant financially I was basically ruined. I haven’t thought about this too much, but I thought I should take care of myself and my health first, since I overworked myself in 2017. Well, not my best idea, let me tell you. I should’ve worked a way out to stabilized both, my health and my finances. Instead, I didn’t and a huge mess was waiting for me by the end of the year. But for now, in May I had my very first wedding of the season and it was a very good and beautiful one. I won new friends and clients through this and in general that day was one of the happiest of my 2018. Shoutout to Patrick for sticking with me that day.
June: Shot my second wedding of the year in June and it was so interesting and also made friends again through it. Amazing, really. And then I went to London, the only place in the world that makes me feel home and secure and happy. I went there with two friends to actually see Ed Sheeran in Wembley. Hell, what a day that was. We stood like 6th row and it was phenomenal. Probably a day I’ll never forget - EVER. Also we were staying in this really nice AirBnb and the hosts name was also Kate which was very funny. On my last day in London, I had a few hours for myself and walked through the city as I always do. My feet brought me to the V&A, my happy place in my happy place. It’s a place where I can think and get my mind off all the bad things that surround me. I was getting inspired by paintings and pieces of fashion - I’ve seen it all a billion times but it keeps inspiring me every time. I was very sad when I picked up my suitcase and made my way to Heathrow to catch my flight. 
July: Probably the month I have the least memories off, because barely anything happened. I just tried to survive with the growing feeling of emptiness and numbness. I probably annoyed all of my friends with my moodswings, I mean I even annoyed myself with it. Shot my third and originally my last wedding of the season and it was meh, but thanks Tascha for making it a great day anyway and we found this really good Italian restaurant near where I live - we need to go there again. Never thought Spaghetti Aglio e Olio can taste THIS GOOD.
August: Favourite month of the year and also my birthday month. August is not necessarily my favourite month because it is my birthday month, but it marks summer for me and I’m a summer person. To me, it has the most beautiful days of the year and I can’t get enough of it. I like the number 8 as well... so yeah.  My August started with a visit to Vienna, where I saw a whole bunch of my friends who did their best to make me feel better (looking at ya @promisedmistake and @uneven-odds ), even though I had a moment, where I kinda fell apart, but I guess that happens. I cherish those days very much, because they were also a big part of the best days of my year. Spending the days by the pool, getting a sunburn, turning like really brown afterwards... having a birthday party for my friend we were all staying with... be reckless for some time, having tons of laughs with those great people, eating good food and some great pizza, drinking delicious drinks, watching “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” and just simply having a good time. When I headed back my anxiety hit me really hard again, because I actually left a letter to my father before i left saying many things about myself that are very true to the core but that I have never managed to tell him. He tried to talk to me about it, but then again anxiety hit me so hard that I ran away and we haven’t talked about it ever since.  My birthday came up on August 14th and it was a pretty boring day. Didn’t really celebrate it at all, also was reminded on my real friends who really thought of me that day and how they treated me and wished me a happy birthday. It’s not necessarily the fact they remember your birthday, but to me it’s also the way someone wishes you a happy birthday that shows you how important you are to them.  I also met one of my wedding couples from 2015 (or 2016???) again, because they were expecting a baby! AHHHH! We had always planned to see each other again but we never made it due to our busy schedules and then it finally worked. It was a beautiful summer evening and to be honest, I took many of my favourite images during that photoshoot. The rest of August was pretty calm, started to work in a the pub again more often and well...
September: A game changer month for me in many ways. It was so stressful but so inspiring and a good month for me with a few bad days in between, but that’s just the way life should be, right? I started September with working and then I actually flew to GREECE (yes GREEEEEECE!!!!!) to shoot my last wedding of the season. Okay, I was second shooting it but seriously - best wedding of my entire career. Not only because it was beautifully planned and decorated, but this wedding felt like a freaking friends wedding where I just happened to be. It didn’t feel like work for just one second. Everyone was so kind and so nice and caring, the food was incredible and the photographer girl I went with is probably one of my closer friends now, because we learned so much about each other in those 3 days, insane. What an experience. I also flew business class for the first time and I’m a bit sad that I’m so broke, because that experience was just AWESOME. Luckily, I didn’t have to pay for any of that. I got paid instead. What a dream. When I came back from Greece, everything felt like a dream, because I still couldn’t believe it. I went back working in the pub and then the event I had been waiting for the whole year took place - photokina. Seeing all my amazing colleagues in one place was a very good thing for me and something I needed so bad. Listening to very inspiring talks (Christian Anderl, WHAT A GUY) and seeing my one and only Nadia again was so refreshing and healthy for me, I don’t think these people know how good this was for me and how much I needed it. I spent three days straight on this fair and looked at new gear, tested out new lenses and listened to many inspiring people, as well as shopped some new stuff for my business. I also met some people again that I literally haven’t seen IN YEARS and that was also one of the best days I’ve spent this year. Seeing Lynn and Jan was really something that lit up my mood by a 1000.  What else happened in September? I captured a christening by the end of the month, I went to see my favourite football club (YES FOOTBALL, NOT AMERICAN FOOTBALL OK) in the stadium and something happened I never thought would happen - my love for this one stupid person finally started to freaking FADE. 
October: I don’t like October very much until the 8th, because the 7th is a very ... memorable day for me, where I always feel very bad. Coincidentally the two men I have shared the biggest love for in my life actually were born on this freaking day. Like there were only two.. AND BOTH OF THEM WERE BORN ON OCTOBER 7th ... two years apart from each other but seriously, PLEASE. So that day didn’t turn out to be very well, I spent it in bed and I tried to sleep through it as much as possible. October 9th marks a very life changing day for me, as on Oct 9th in 2006 my little brother was born. I was 12 years old back then and spent the day in an amusement park. I got the news when I came back home in the evening. This year, he turned 12 himself and it’s ridiculous how fast time flies, because I feel nothing like 24, I still feel the same like when I was 14 and yet I can see time run when I look at my brother. He eventually grew taller than me this year and his voice lowered down by an octave already. Like how is this happening.  Other than that, October was a pretty boring month but it opened up the more or less catastrophe in my life that I created myself in April this year. Great. 
November: Even though November isn’t far away time wise, I barely remember what happened in that month, because I actually just lived from day to day, trying to survive. It was a bad month, a really bad one. The only light in that month was probably that I went to see the Mamma Mia Musical.
December: Wow, I don’t even know where this month went. It was shorter than ever before. For the first time in years I actually made biscuits again, like german christmas biscuits. I tried to bring up the christmas mood, but well. Didn’t really work out that much. I ordered a new phone, because my old one is actually dying. And I started to go to the cinema more often again. A real plus side. My anxiety level is probably around 90 of 100 and I am scared of what 2019 holds up for me - like literally. But my number one favourite memory of December and probably also of 2019 is seeing my best friend again after two years. We rarely talk, but she is still my best friend, because I know she’s there when I need her - always.
So in general, I had some pretty good memories this year. I went to see a lot of movies in the cinema, I made some new friends, I went to Greece for a wedding, I lost my love for photography at some point and gained it back at another one, I had a ton of bad days this year, so many that I just stopped to count them and it all felt like a huge blurry mess. 
Thank you 2018 for teaching me and showing me the life I don’t want to have, but I am not strong enough yet to change. 
Just keep swimming.
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borisbubbles · 6 years
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12. DENMARK
Rasmussen - “Higher ground” 9th place
youtube
Ok, so somehow, in a contest with a nautical theme, the one song which *literally* started with the line “Ships in the making, bound for a distant shore” never got to open any of the live shows??? ¿¿Que??
So, Denmark. Quite possible the opposite of my previous entry, yet its greatness is just as challenging to put into words? As much as “Taboo” was a inaccessible conglomeration of every possible fucking staging trick, so simple was “Higher Ground” It is a great song, but I find it hard to explain why. It is just so much fun? 
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It’s like a chapter of the Edda Saga come to life, with its Old Norse chanting, banner-swaying and feigned-drunken slrrrrring uv wrrrrds creating a truly immersive atmosphere. (I love all things Norse, so I was never NOT going to stan this) I love how one of the backings looks like precisely like Conchita Wurst’s long-lost sister. I dunno, Higher Ground just shines on its own, without the need of convoluted gimmicks (tho still bless Malta’s souls for burying “Taboo” under them for no other reason than it (barely) fitting within their ad-funded budget <3). 
So it’s of no surprise that this ended up the Michał of the year, yes?
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As you are well aware of, Eurovision is in a continuous process of ‘reinventing itself’, which is code for ‘rejecting its Euroschlager roots in favour of increasedly pallid Ultratop50 knock-offs’, like guuuuurls you can do better than that. Think of an entry in this year that was actually *original*. I come up with... “O Jardim”, “Mercy” and maybe “Hvala, ne!”? Congratz 3/43.  This shocking display of self-loathing creates a power vacuum for the few -for some godforsaken reason- critically panned Euroschlager anthems which *do* make it into Eurovision proper. As the only entry in this year (out of 43) which can be described as “classic eurovision schlager”, “Higher Ground was always going to attract a lot of attention. Add in a few clear-as-crystal references to Game of Thrones (Rasmussen is literally Tormund + guyliner and a weave), a ubiquitous Viking tone and just general dramatic badassery, you’ve found yourself an audience’s fave and the bane for any jury chairperson’s existence. 
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This is the long explanation why “Higher ground” is actually a great entry. It is the only entrant, in a year so widely praised as the “first serious contest in years”, that actually feels traditionally Eurovision.  For a brief moment, we are hooked up on pure Classic Eurovision, the term often used to describe the time when “Eurovision Songs Were Still Good”. 
And yes, it is highly ironic (and tragic) that the one entry that reminds many of that very murkily defined time period venerated by the critics, is also one that was critically panned by crappy self-important jurors. Would it that jurors had any self-awareness (I’m pretty shocked the EBU were able to find 43 rooms big enough to house the jurors and their egos), but oh well.
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I suppose this is where I address the Melofestivalen shit, yes?
So, the jist of it is this: Two Swedes write “Higher Ground” for Melodifestivalen and get brutally rejected by Christer for reasons I can only guess, as HG was far better than anything in Melfest this year.. (Christer = Melfest’s Jeff Probst). 
Considering that Denmark has a herstory of recycling past Swedish trends- omg reminder that the 1986 Danish entry was a frame-by-frame carbon copy of the 1985 Swedish entry 😂,  please enjoy the pictorial evidence I have provided in support of this statement
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 ps: I love that the Danish entry was called “You are full of lies” so unselfaware, so meta, so Denmark <3 
but I digress. Anyway,
Considering that Denmark has a herstory of recycling past Swedish trends, they of course picked up the "Higher ground”, put it in DMGP, substituted the Swedish singer with a Danish one and voila! The melfest reject wins DMGP with his fingers up the nose, cementing his place amongst the canon as an audience darling, and YES scoring significantly better than Ingrosso in the televote 😍The discrepancy shown by televote wasn’t as hilar as “Colour of your life” rising from last to sixth with one sudden stroke (given that Sweden had a higher combined score than Denmark somehow 🙄) but whatever, the ending was perfect because much like the Edda, this Viking Saga also ended with the evil trickster getting swallowed by the World’s Serpent. Sorry, Christer, should’ve taken the LEEP LAKYU WERBWND; FRR HIYRRRR GRWWWWWWND!!!!!
RANKING SO FAR:
12. Denmark (Rasmussen - “Higher ground”)
13. Malta (Christabelle - “Taboo”)
14. Cyprus (Eleni Foureira - “Fuego”)
15. United Kingdom (SuRie - “Storm”)
16. Serbia (Balkanika - “Nova Deca”)
17. Portugal (Cláudia Pascoal - “O jardim”)
18. The Netherlands (Waylon - “Outlaw in ‘em”)
19. Ukraine (MÉLOVIN - “Under the ladder”)
20. Macedonia (Eye Cue - “Lost and Found”)
21. San Marino (Jessika ft. Jenifer Brening - “Who We Are”)
22. Sweden (Benjamin Ingrosso - “Dance You Off”)
23. Austria (Cesár Sampson - “Nobody but you”)
24. Latvia (Laura Rizzotto - “Funny girl”)
25. Azerbaijan (AISEL - “X my heart”)
26. Israel (Netta - “Toy”)
27. Norway (Alexander Rybak  - “That’s how you write a song”)
28. Montenegro (Vanja Radovanovic - “Inje”)
29. Armenia (Sevak Khanagyan - “Qami”)
30. Poland (Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer - “Light me up”)
31. Greece (Yianna Terzi - “Oniro mou”)
32. Georgia (Iriao - “For you”)
33. Belgium (Sennek - “A matter of time”)
34. Italy (Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro - “Non mi avete fatto niente)
35. Romania (The Humans - “Goodbye”)
36. Ireland (Ryan O'Shaughnessy - “Together”)
37. Croatia (Franka - “Crazy”)
38. Belarus (ALEKSEEV - “Forever”)
39. Russia (Julia Samoylova - “I Won’t Break”)
40. Spain (Amaia & Alfred - “Tu canción”)
41. Iceland (Ari Ólafsson - “Our choice”)
42. Australia (Jessica Mauboy - “We Got Love”)
43. Czech Republic (Mikolas Josef - “Lie to me”)
FOOTNOTES
1. I couldn’t really fit it into the narrative, but the actual reason why Rasmussen is only 12th and not higher is because I found the act kind of visually underwhelming. (the snow at the end is particularly sad) Like I said, the song is great and I often have it on loop, but the act is a bit too small for a stage that big.
2. That said, “Higher Ground” is by far the song I’ve listened to the most often this season, which bodes well for any future positive morphs when I rewatch this year in the distant future.
3. Rasmussen bombing with the jury probably has more to do with the lack of gimmicks than the genre of the song. Like I said, the song pretty much carries itself, so if you stop to ponder and list all the things great about it, it all boils down to “the song is catchy and fun”, which is not what juries look at (juries love intricate acts, layered complexity and technical finesse, none of which are particular strengths of this entry)
4. Yes, I think it’s MASSIVELY hypocritical to glom onto songs such as “A Matter of time” under the pretence of “It’s a good song” when yeah it was, but everything else was shit and then subsequently ignore “Higher Ground” for being “only a good song”. wtf.  
5. While I do enjoy trashing the juries on a regular basis, be aware that during the actual Jury Era of this show, none of the juries were professional. In fact, when I rewatched 1978 and 1985, both times the hosts were ADAMANT to remind the audience that the juries were in fact NOT professionals, but 10 randomly selected civilians (Celeb and non-Celeb) with no direct ties to the music industry whatsoever. This is precisely why entries such as Riva, Bucks Fizz and Toto Cotugno managed to win a ’jury vote’ with a comfortable lead lmfao imagine that happening now. Anyway, the bottom line is that today’s “five professionals” jury system fucking sucks and has to be swallowed by Jörmundgandr also. 
6. ’Eurovision used to be good before’ is such a weird statement, yet I hear it all the time in relation to the contest (by people of my age group????) Like... what exact years are you refering to, cuz like... the 2000s were trash and I can’t honestly think of a decade as consistently good as the 2010s lol? We haven’t had a weak year since 2012!! (but of course, most of the people I’ve talked about this in person have, by their own admission, not seen a year since 2010 so how would they know lol)
7. If we assume that 'Eurovision used to be good before’ refers to the time when Eurovision was song-centric, that doesn’t make a lick of sense either? If you’re old enough to remember the late 1960s your taste is probably irreconcilable with mine anyway. And yes, while it took until #London1977 before we finally got a ‘gimmicky’ year, this also made for one of the most watchable, consistently fun contests ever, -even to this day- while “song-centric” years like 74; 75 and 78 are grueling to sit through nowadays unless you have the taste of the average Söngvakeppnin voter. Gimmicks were a part of ESC even during the Chanson Era, as the language barrier was a massive hurdle for any song not sung in French. And true, the “gimmicks” then weren’t more than “performing barefoot” or “having a key change”, but good lord it’s the sixties, flat, boring French Chansons dominated and only because everyone fucking understood French, SO GRASPING AT STRAWS HERE.
 8. The funny thing is that Denmark didn’t copy Kikki Danielsson’s evergreen once, but twice. 😂 “Hallo Hallo” (DK1990) was just a repackaged “Du er fuld af løgn“ (DK1986), which as I said, was itself just a slightly different “Bra Vibrationer” (SW1985). It’s seriously some Bra Vibraception shit.
9. I will never stop shitting on Melfest 2018. It was pure Tropical House Torture and yes, Rasmussen > literally everything in that, including the entries I actually like (which were... Jessica Anderson, Ida Redig and... um... Edvard Blom? Rolandz? Margaret? Samir and Viktor???? *gunshot*) 😂/🙄@ rescinding their roots for 2014′s musical fade. Pray that Christer never discovers reggaeton - though who am I kidding, it will dominate ESC selections in 2020, bank on it.
10. Now that I’ve mentioned them, one of “Higher Grounds” songwriters (Niklas Arn) actually was the bass player for Rolandz (who were my second faves in the finale by fucking default). Robbed twice, both in Melfest and outside of it, smfh.
11. Oh and I think “Higher Ground” in the hands of Sweden, absolutely would’ve been guaranteed top five (watch how most of these “professional” jurors suddenly would *like* it because, you know, Melfest Winner) and that’s all the humiliation I need. That said, I doubt “Higher Ground” ever would have actually won Melfest (it has the Heartbreak Hotel “dominates televote, gets screwed over by juries” label stamped all over it) but oh well, that’s just because Melfest SUCKS and the “International Juries” are a fucking farce. So it worked out for the better that “Higher Ground” was in fact not in Melfest, I think. 
12. Rasmussen is actually the first Danish ESC contestant since Emmelie de Forest that I’ve liked. Gratz? 
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Salkantay Trek / Rainbow Mountain After Thoughts
I was going to make a video but basically since i have been back in Colombia i have been extremely tired and then i got the flu. I haven’t really had much of a voice for 3 days and it still isn’t great, and i often have coughing fits so i give up lol and will just go back to the old school typing way. 
So... Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu 
1st.... It was the most difficult thing i have done ... ever. And yes for the people that know...I did walk the Camino de Santiago which took me around 3 weeks across ~500km. The Camino was hard and i was in pain every single day. Salkantay was a whole different game. The high altitude really effected my muscle stamina especially on the up hill stints. I was always at the back of the pack. 
* guess i should explain the pack i was in. There was 10 of us ( well level with the guide) 2 women from USA,  A couple form Denmark, a couple and another guy from The Netherlands, A woman from England, A guy from Australia and me and our Guide, Wayna. I was the 2nd oldest. Most of the were on the good side of 25 years old :/  
Ok back to it. 
So i was always at the back going up hill, especially, when it was on a super steep incline. The others just seemed to not slow down at all and not be effected by the lack of oxygen 4000+ meters above sea level. I would try to keep up with them but they just powered ahead. I would arrive 5 mins or more after them at stopping points dripping in sweat and they would be all laughing away eating snack looking like that were on a stroll in a park. Super helpful in the endless mental battle that is hiking. 
When we went down hill i was usually in the middle of the pack, i could descend faster then some. It became quite painful going down hill as it was pretty steep and my knees were taking a hammering. But i can push through pain ( thanks to the camino) doesn’t really stop me much. Also, the help of gravity pulling me down was awesome. On flat ground i was usually at the front, but i was having to really walk super fast. I didn’t really enjoy the group speed. They were trying to break some sort of time record for completing each day. Every day Wayna would give us an estimate of how long it usually takes groups to finish the section and they would be like we can do it in half. I definitely am a slow walker and prefer to plod along at my own pace then be forced to rush at a super fast pace. I could barely even enjoy the view of where we were as i was so worried about my feet placement (especially downhill) and i would have to risk stopping to look around and enjoy it or take a photo and then try to walk faster to make up for the lost time of stopping.  
I won’t go into the specific of the hike like for each day. The food was pretty good, and they fed us really well. I got alone well with pretty much everyone, but like didn’t really connect with anyone specifically. My shared a room every night with the chick from England and we chatted nicely at night, but it didn’t turn into some amazing connection through a hard experience, because i feel like she skipped up the mountain lol. I don’t generally think of myself as an unfit person, because generally my every day life is fairly active. However, my lifestyle in colombia is prettt sedentary. Just because I don’t have money to go places, i dont feel super safe just walking around the neighbourhood and my apartment is so small everything is with 10ms of my bed. On a good day i can maybe get 5000 steps if i purposely go out of my way to do more steps, but normal is around 2500 steps. Compare that to the, on average ,35,000 steps a day i was doing on the hike it was a big jump. That could be a major factor to while i was struggling a lot. I was exercising 30 mins 3-4 times a week to increase my heart fitness but obviously the step count matters more. I also think the basically lifestyle of the Danish and Dutch people gave them a huge advantage. They all rode their bikes to work everyday. Just the leg strength would have been extremely helpful. Advantage Europeans. 
Anyways, when We finished my knees were so done especially after the 2000+ steps to get up to machu picchu and then walk around the city. It was super impressive and i dont know how the heck they can build stuff like that back when there was no real machines helping. I would not want to lug rocks up there. 
There are 2 mountain options that you can climb to get like a more overall view of the city. One is a shorter, scarier walk that takes 45 mins and the other is like 2 hours up and 2 hours down. You have to pay extra.... but you have to pay like months in advance. No one mentioned that maybe you will be tired or have sore knees after the 5 day walk... and so most of us had purchased the extra ( including me) but not one of us did it. Everyones’ knees were done and couldn’t not mentally fathom walking up a mountain purely to get a better view of the ruins. Now,  that i think of it... i don’t know why i wanted to do that. it was only $USD 25 so not a huge loss to take. 
Most of us took the bus back down from the mountain as 1900 steps down didn’t sound nice. I totally fell asleep on the bus down ( it was only 20 mins) then we just hung around the town, Agua Calientes, until it was time to get our train back to (some place) and then we got a van to our hotels in Cusco. 
The train was an interesting 1.5 hours. There was some random dudes doing dances in crazy masks and then there was a fashion parade of clothes made from alpaca wool. I assume the fashion parade was so people could see the clothes and then buy them. 
When i got back to my hotel, i had a really long hot shower and then passed out. I had to check out of my hotel the next morning at 9am and then move to another hotel as that first one was with the package of my hike. I had a full days break and then i was going up Rainbow mountain. Was a bit of drama before that happened. I got to my new hotel at like 11am and they didn’t have my reservation. I had it printed out and they didn’t know what to do. PS these convos i had were all in spanish as they didn’t know spanish well. They seemed to have a paper system and me booking online didn’t seem to carry over. Luckily they had a room available, so i just took that. We then had to renegotiate the price as they thought the price i paid on the internet was to cheap and i was like well that was the point, it was a deal with my airline ticket. Anyways we made an agreement we were both happy with and i went into the room. I lay on the bed for a very long time not moving and then went to find food. Found a good vego restaurant and had a massive veggie burger and chips and orange juice. It filled me up for like 15 hours. I didn’t eat again until 6 am the next day when i was on my way up to Rainbow mountain. 
So, my hotel room was a bit of a boom. When traveling in a hiking pack you basically need to empty it to get access to everything. I was planning to washing some of my socks and stuff just because i could. I normally do it in the shower with me... but as i was saddened to find out... there wasn’t really hot water at the hotel. Which was some what disappointing as the temperature outside at night is -5 meaning the pipes are gonna be freezing making the normal water super freezing. There was some sort of electronic thing at the top of the shower head which i guess was like an electric heating contraption that was heat the water as it passes through. I felt like it was a bit unsafe have electricity flowing and having water pass through the gadget. It was on and was live. I found that out the hard way when i was fiddling with it drying to make it work when i got a little electric shock. To be totally honest... when i turned it off at the wall there was a difference in temperature from freezing to ... mildly freezing. I am use to cold showers here in colombia but this was a whole different level. I just quickly soaped up my body and rinsed of before i got frost bite and then layered up and got into my bed. I didn’t wash anything as i thought i would be to cold for anything to dry. 
So the next morning i wake up at 3am as my pick up time was between 3:30 - 4am to start the 2 hour drive to breakfast and then another hour drive to the start of the walk to the summit of rainbow mountain. So i go out of my room at 3:30am and walk to the road where they are gonna pick me up. I wait and wait... a few people are stumbling back from the clubs. It was super light in the street so it wasn’t really scary or anything. Heaps of people are out and about because a lot of hikes leave super early. One guy stumbled along on the other side of the street and was trying to open a door for maybe 15 mins and ended up napping against the wall. Was a bit entertaining to watch him. It got to 4am and i was like ok these people are late. I went back inside and started chatting to the lady and asked her if she could call and find out where they were. She called and they said 5 mins. Then she asked me if i was checking out and i’m like no i have one more day.. she says on the book there is someone checking into the room after a bit of back and fourth... we came to the conclusion that i had to get my stuff out as i only had it for one night. At that moment the guide rang the door bell for me to come out. I quickly rang back into the room and shoved all my stuff into my pack and then gave it to the lady who would hold on to it for me until i got back that afternoon. Then the whole 2 hours to breakfast i was thinking how the heck i am gonna get a hotel, and having not internet on my phone didn’t help. 
We got to breakfast, which was a weird soup thing with meat and then fruit. I just had a couple cups of hot tea as my throat was killing me and some bread with some sort of honey / caramel spread. We drove the next hour and arrived at start of the walk. It took us maybe an hour and a half to get to the summit and again i was struggling. We were only a group of 6 including the guide and it was a bit of a slower pace. But again i was struggling with the altitude. This time we went up to around 5200m and it is crazy how little energy your muscles have. It is really amazing how the mountain just naturally has different colours. When i got to the top i kinda of collapsed on the ground and just sat looking out on to the other snow capped mountains. A black dog came up to me and sat next to me and rested his head on my legs. It was a bit cute. Also was very warm. It was freezing up the top. Any natural water that would have been flowing had frozen along the path. It was also super windy so that made it super icy cold. We stayed up the top probably for almost an hour, just looking around and then taking photos. We walked back down and then started the drive back to the restaurant where we would have lunch . Along the way kids would run along into the street and up to the car. The guide would give out extra snacks ( oreos and fruit) that we hadn’t eaten. The kids were super excited. Its crazy the small little kids that just run around free in the paddocks of the mountains, no parents in sight. The helicopter parents would be having a freak out. 
Lunch was fairly basic again i ended up just having rice and some water. I slept most of the 2 hours back to Cusco. There was no head rest so it was a slumped head bench backwards over the back of the chair, my neck was sore for a few days after. 
When i got back to Cusco i headed to Starbucks and bought a drink and then got the wifi and searched around for a hotel in the same street for a reasonable price but one that would guarantee me scolding hot water and a heater in my room. As it was my last chance for a hot shower for the next 3 months i wanted it to be definite. I found one for like $70 bucks in the same street and checked in. Again i had to come to an agreement with the reception as they thought the website quoted to cheap, these internet sites need to be better at giving discounts that the hotels will actual honor. I moved my stuff in after i checked in and then had an extremely long shower, hot water is so amazing and really makes washing your hair a pleasure instead of a mental challenge. I went back to the same vego restaurant and then snuggled into bed ready to leave the next day. 
The hotel had the added bonus of a free buffet breakfast. I checked out at 9am and then grazed in the buffet until it finished at 9:30am. I then sat in the sun at the main plaza and there was a big parade for some reason. Went to starbucks again and had my last chocolate frappe for 3 months even though my sore throat was not advising it. Headed back to the hotel and picked up my bags then waited for my transport to the airport. 
Overall the trip was a good experience. Definitely not relaxing or like super fun. But it gave me some amazing chances to see nature at it bets. I would not advise doing the salkantay trek for older people as a lot of people were struggling with altitude and had to take horses ( which cost more money). You can just catch a train or bus to Machu Picchu if you want to see it. Which does seem more logical but the experience you get in the mountains is pretty amazing. 
I have 1 more week free and then i start the 2 week teacher prep before the students start at school. I am hoping my cold is gone within the next few days, i have been eating a lot of raw garlic which helps but my diet is not the best so the process is pretty slow. I’ll upload some pics on here of the mountains. 
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27th November 2017
Our alarm went off at 0700. We planned to get up, have breakfast and leave by 0730. We laid in bed until around 0715 and then the mad rush began... We got dressed, brushed our teeth and packed the van up as fast as we could. We checked out, got our deposit back and drove the 3 minutes to the marina. We parked in the South side part (the only car park) and walked 5 minutes to the North side.  It took us about 10 minutes to find out where the North side was though. There were hardly any signs or people around to help. We went further South thinking it was North...
We got caught up in a traffic jam of people getting off a cruise ship. We were almost forced to have our photo taken but after a few attempts of saying “We're not with the cruise!”, they finally got the jist.
We walked around all the tours trying to find ours. I spotted a blonde girl with a top on which seemed to say something with an S. That was better than nothing so far. I walked over and the top said 'Summertime'. Wahoo. We're not being left behind!
Steve and I introduced ourselves and handed our forms in. We were the only ones who were capable of signing them properly apparently, so she was helping everyone re-do theirs. She finally introduced herself as 'Georgia', from Leicester, England. She seemed to be around my age so I was certain we would get along fine.
Our boat was a small-ish one, our group was 16 including us both, excluding Captain Jack (Aussie) and Deckhand Georgia. 
Our group consisted of a family of three from England – Mum, Dad and Son. Dan (son) was in his late 20's who completed his year visa to Oz 7 years ago. He's here again showing Mum and Dad his favourite parts. I think they were from Bolton (they had funny accents, ignoring words like 'the'). Mum and Dad don't live in England any more though, they moved to Portugal and do a B&B thing. Dan still lives in England.
An Irish couple, 28 & 29 years old. Engaged to be married next May, on a 3 week holiday to Australia. We got on the best with these two – stuck with them basically the whole time! A lone traveller, early 20's from the Netherlands. We had to share a 'room' with Hannah, she was alright.  
2 French girls. They were absolutely lovely even though we didn't really talk much to them. Very easy going, always went last for everything including getting food. Generally really happy, nice people.
3 German couples – all female friends, all in pairs and neither of them knew each other. All backpackers who ended up being the best of friends and some of the worst people to be a on 2 day 1 night boat trip with. Unfortunately, they booked Summertime for the same reason as us. It has a reputation of 'no backpackers' and all the backpackers picked it! They were just very young and very hyper. A particularly annoying girl was called Lisa. She had to have the attention all the time. She's a vegetarian so had different meals and what not. She asked several times for soy milk but she never told them beforehand about not being able to drink normal milk, so they never managed to get some in. She made a massive fuss about not being able to drink tea or coffee black because it gives her a bad stomach (she has black tea after about 3 hours).
So, we all boarded the vessel, sat down and went through all the safety bits and bobs, itinerary and everything else that needed to be said. We weren't allowed to bring our own bags onto this trip, they provided us all with a tote bag to use. This is because of bed bugs. We weren't allowed to bring shampoo or conditioner either because apparently that ruins the reef. No red wine due to it staining either. Other than that, we were all good to go. Steve and I had 5 cans of apple cider each which I doubt will even get used but better to be prepared.
The boat was a medium sized boat, fairly old (70 years old I think) and was quite limited to space. There were benches either side which everyone sat on. Downstairs were where our rooms were and it was pretty much an open area. Bunks all around the outside with a main table in the middle and the two toilets. Steve and I shared a double top bunk and there was a single below us for Hannah. There was a little door/curtain to close it off but there were gaps in the top and bottom so lights and sounds would still get through. The same for everyone. When I say double bunk, it was slightly bigger than a single bunk. I’d describe it as a single bunk for someone with a large rear end, perfect for me! 
We were told we could only have a 60 second shower as there's limited water on a boat and should it run out, the trip gets cancelled and back to Abell Point Marina we go. Pretty straight forward and understanding.
We set off for what ended up being a 4 hour journey to the Whitsunday Islands. We had tea and coffee with biscuits to start with which was great as Steve and I were starving. I was able to take my seasickness tablets too as I was advised the boat was fairly wobbly. I was dreading it but so far so good, no paper bags at the ready.
We had an early lunch around 1200. Lunch was a roll with ham/beef/cheese and salad. It was fairly boring and there wasn't enough for everyone to have a second. They did bring out wraps which helped so that was better than nothing.
We arrived at Tongue Point, Whitsunday Islands around 1200. We had to leave the main boat and get into a tender to the shore. Steve and I went in the first 8 and waited on the beach for the rest. We had a short 5-10 minute hike up to the main lookout. The walk was easy, it was just absolutely boiling hot. I hadn't realised that Steve and I (mainly I) had got very burnt on the boat on the way out here. I was bright red and everyone was mentioning it to me. I was caked in sun cream, I was leaving it on thick so I looked like a right tit as it was.
There were loads of different tour groups around. You had to make sure you kept an eye on your deckhand otherwise you could easily get mixed up. We finally reached the top of the lookout point and the view was incredible. It actually seemed unreal... You see these sort of views used as photo shop backgrounds. When people stood there for a photo in front of the view, it looked like they had a different background and they were cut out!
It was a bright blue/turquoise ocean with swirls of sand islands going through it. I will never, ever forget the view. I believe it's rated as the worlds second most beautiful/amazing beach.
There were a lot of people at the lookout. It was a one-way system so once you moved on, you were done. Our group were finished after about 15 minutes looking out. We did the walk back down and then we were able to go onto the beach!
The walk to the beach only took 5 minutes. The sand was a fine white sand, soft and squeaky. Exactly like Maya Bay in Thailand. The sand went on for miles and the water was clear as anything. We had an hour and 15 minutes to play with so Steve and I put our wet suits on and went straight into the water. I was still really quite burnt so my wet suit stayed on for that as well as the marine stingers.
The water was lovely but didn't go further than your thighs. No matter how much you walked out, it stayed at the same level. We quickly realised that we shared the water with hundreds of stingrays. You saw big, dark, round circles sitting still until you got close, then they disappeared quickly. Some stayed very still which is how we realised what they were. I filmed some on the GoPro.
We stayed in the water for a while before getting out to do photos. We took photos by a big white log which is allegedly famous. Steve assisted the girls in a pyramid by being at the bottom with Bryan (the male part of the Irish couple).
We all met up at our meeting point at 1515. That meant it was time to leave Whitehaven Beach. What an incredible spot. A memory of a lifetime that. We all got into the tender and back on the boat, starving I may add! We had snacks being cooked for us, tea, coffee and cookies were there already. The German backpackers were kind of like vultures, flies around sh*t, you get my gist.
Steve went and showered so I went downstairs to do the same. The waves were coming in thick and fast so I ended up panicking about being sick and running upstairs. I panicked so much that I smashed my head on the hatch and slipping over into the small rail. Luckily, I didn't go overboard although I was about 1cm off. Everyone ran over to me and made sure I was ok and that I wasn't going to still end up in the water. I was fine, just panicked. I decided against a shower, for now.
We all sat on the boat chilling, listening to music before we left. Our snacks were mini sausage rolls, spring rolls and mini pies. Steve and I loved the mini pies! We ended up setting sail off to the spot for sunset and sleep. The sunset was absolutely beautiful. I took some good photos.
We anchored up in still water, luckily. I thought about going to shower loads of times but couldn't bring myself to go downstairs. I got up and forced myself down whilst the water was calm. I panicked straight away for no reason at all. I have 'muscle memory' in my mind but I'm not sure if that's correct. My body remembers things from before and automatically panics regardless of whether I need too. I'm weird though.
I showered and got dressed fast. That wasn't just because of the '60 second shower rule' either. I still felt mank though, my hair had been in the sea and I couldn't wash or condition it. Bleh. Hopefully I won't have too many dreadlocks tomorrow.
I went upstairs and waited for dinner, like everyone else. Steve and I started chatting to Dan about his first year. He worked on a cotton farm! Stuff that for a laugh! We got talking more and more to Bryan and his Mrs too. Steve, Bryan and Dan cracked open their beers and I waited for dinner first. We had only a roll plus small snacks today so having a beer wasn't going to help, I'm a lightweight as it is.
We did wait for hours for dinner mind you. It was dished up around 2000. We had BBQ chicken, mushroom pasta bake (I picked out every single mushroom), Greek salad and garlic bread. I didn't really like the chicken as the skin/fat was still left on it. I gave mine to Steve. The pasta bake was mostly mushrooms. The Greek salad was nice (we picked out the olives) and the garlic bread was the best part. I had 2 bits! Steve had seconds but as I said, I'm so picky so I don't get very far with trips that provide food.
We continued chilling out and Steve seemed to be getting through our beers quite fast, keeping up with Bryan. Around 2100, we went downstairs and sat around the table with dessert. Chocolate cheesecake. I definitely had some of that whereas Steve didn't!
We all went through the photos from the day and went through tomorrow's itinerary. We had to be up for breakfast at 0630!! I'm going to need a good holiday after these 4 weeks of holiday! Pfft.
I got myself into bed afterwards. It was 2130 and I was knackered. The sea and sun take it out of you, although I really don't need any excuse for going to bed. That's my happy place, I'm there 90% of my day! Steve stayed up with the Irish couple and played Uno. They were all drunk.
I didn't get to sleep. The noise of everyone playing and drinking kept me up, as well as the lights. It was going to be a long night... 
Steve came in after about an hour. He said he felt 7/10 drunk but ask him now and he says that he's fine!
We fell asleep straight away but we were woken up at 2330 by Hannah.
Hannah must've had a nightmare because she was screaming 'HELP ME HELP ME'. Automatically, I got up straight away to help her. When she finally woke up out of it, she said she was fine. I heard Dan wake up next door and asked if everything was ok. I told him she was fine and that it was a bad dream. Hannah said she dreamt that the walls were coming in on her and she was about to drown. You can't blame her, anyone who's claustrophobic would struggle being where we were. Tiny little rooms and beds that didn't fit a pillow down flat. We were under water and heard the splashing next to us. It was weird. Steve and I said that's enough for boat trips.
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Germany and Low are firmly in transition, but can they get it right before Euro 2020?
Twice the sound of Kernkraft 400’s electro-hit “Zombie Nation” rang out of the speakers at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion on Friday night. Thanks to Serge Gnabry and Toni Kroos, Germany’s new goal music had arrived but beyond the beats lay a spluttering, twitchy Germany performance.
“This is not the way we want to play,” Joachim Low said afterward. That much was obvious, but how Germany do want to play is not so clear.
Low’s latest rebuild — one that some observers feel should be happening without him — has seen him change assistant coach, enforce retirement on Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng, and move away from the possession-based style of play that won them the World Cup in Brazil. And yet, their display in Friday’s 4-2 defeat to Netherlands was confusing.
– Nicol: Imagine how good Dutch could be with “proper” No.9 – Replay: Stream Germany vs. Netherlands on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
In the first half, Germany had less of the ball, sat a little deeper and looked to be explosive in transition. For the most part, it worked. One of Low’s key changes in his latest rebuild is to make Germany faster, something a front three of Marco Reus, Timo Werner and Gnabry proved they could execute. Gnabry, the man Low says will always play, still looks the most dangerous player in a Germany shirt and in the first half, he made the difference.
But the reactive nature of Germany’s first-half performance didn’t appear to be the plan. Low suggested afterwards that a bit more access to the ball and a little less running would have been desirable. Both Joshua Kimmich and Nico Schulz talked about not having enough control, while Reus was keen to stress how much of what happened had been avoidable. In any case, the respect Germany showed the Dutch at home in the first 45 minutes was telling; even Virgil van Dijk admitted he was a bit surprised.
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Joachim Low is still in charge of this Germany side, for better or for worse, but they still look muddled and messy as they prepare for Euro 2020.
Indeed, a host of errors and general passivity hid whatever Germany’s plan in the second half might have been. Germany continually gave the ball away, notably while trying to move forward.
So what is this Germany side supposed to look like?
Victory against Netherlands earlier in the year prompted much belief that Germany had turned a corner. Kroos even said before this game in Hamburg that for a team with a new faces, a new system and a new style, Germany had pushed on quite a bit. On this evidence, they don’t know even where they’re going yet let alone where to turn. This Germany team isn’t as far along as the hype suggested, and the Dutch looked further down the track to becoming a force.
The attack is supposed to be the strong point of this team, but Low’s inability to get the best out of an in-form Werner or Reus, currently loving his club football, is concerning. The eventual return from injury of Leroy Sane will obviously be welcomed but this defeat was not about Manchester City star’s absence. It was about the lack of impact from the front three and, in the midst of this confusion, Low threw on Kai Havertz in the hope he would make something happen. Havertz is the playmaker that can add more balance to this side and he must not be forgotten in Low’s pursuit of pace.
Playing Kimmich in midfield might allow for moments of genius, such as the assist for the opening goal, but it does leave Germany weaker at right-back. With holding midfield hardly a position short of options (see Emre Can or Ilkay Gundogan), placing Kimmich in that role is even more confusing.
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Germany is a work in progress in every area of the pitch. They switched their style of play midway through Friday’s clash with the Dutch and completely fell apart.
Then there’s the defensive unit. Jonathan Tah had an unfortunate night (scoring an own goal) and is clearly still a work in progress. Schulz has all of the positives of an attacking wing-back, but sadly also most of the negatives. Niklas Sule must be disappointed that the two strongest aspects of his game, his strength and his relative speed, were not strengths at all against a Dutch team that’s further ahead in their own rebuild.
Low will rightfully take the blame for this. The move to transitional football has not yet clicked and the in-game adjustment back to a possession-based style of play wasn’t promising either. Germany are not a team in balance yet, which is perhaps understandable given all that has happened in the wake of the World Cup debacle. Nevertheless, there are good enough players in this team to perform better than they did against Netherlands.
As for whether or not Low is the right man to get this team there is no longer a question. The DFB failed to plan for his successor five years ago or, at the latest, after the Euros in France in 2016, which has allowed this sense of stasis to take root.
Maybe that has now changed, and those who make such crucial decisions are putting a road map in place for the national team. In the meantime, the embattled manager must make sure he gets this team back in some kind of shape. They appear unlikely to challenge for the Euro 2020 title this time, and that’s ok, but Low must find a way to turn the ship around soon.
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the-bi-man-cometh · 7 years
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WARNING: medical / legal drug use / emetophobia / airplanes / food? Sorry, I'm on mobile, so no *read more* break. Please skip this if you think it might trigger you. I normally wouldn't post something like this without a read more, but I need some advice and I'm hoping some of my followers can help me. Because I travelled overseas, my medication usage got really messed up. I normally take Gabapentin every morning and night and Lexapro every night. With the time change, that got messed up, so I decided to wait for nighttime in the Netherlands to take it rather than nighttime in the US. That was a huge mistake. In addition to that, I still had (have?) some Xanax in my system from the plane ride. It's possible that I may have taken more than usual, or maybe less. My therapists couldn't remember how much I was supposed to take, so I guessed and took one pill. When we landed here, and for a little while after, I was very tired, so I took a nap in the lobby of the hotel. Not uncommon after taking Xanax and staying awake on an overnight flight. After that nap, though, everything got worse. I was tired and almost passed out/threw up from standing for too long. So I went back to the hotel and slept for 3 hours. Apparently that wasn't enough. I went out for dinner, and after eating a little bit, I suddenly felt so sick in a way that I don't know how to describe. I begged my parents to take me back to the hotel as soon as possible. That's when we realized I hadn't taken my medicine as usual, so I took it as soon as I felt well enough to sit up and swallow pills. Once I felt somewhat better physically, I started to have an anxiety attack about nothing in particular. The whole point of that story is: don't mess with your medication or it will kick your ass hard. I felt more sick than I probably ever have in my life, and I can't even describe it. Does anyone else have any experience with this? It's the next morning now, and I'm wondering if I'll be ok today. My stomach isn't loving the coffee I put in it, but I suppose that could just be the lack of food. How long does it take for the withdrawal to go away after you take your medicine again? I really don't want to miss any more of this trip.
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mexicaneurolover · 5 years
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Eurovision 1978 my top 20
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Hello, and welcome to another episode of my ESC top series, as we go now to April 22, 1978 when the 23rd edition was held in Paris, France after Marie Myriam’s win in London last year. 20 countries took part, Turkey and Denmark returned to the contest, and Denmark made their return after 12 years. Also this was the first contest hosted by two people and also we had the first nul point result with the current system, which I will tell you later who it was. Israel won the contest for the first time with Izhar Cohen & Alphabeta singing A-Ba-Ni-Bi. Ans now let’s review the songs.
1st Place: ISRAEL/Izhar Cohen & Alphabeta-Ah-Ba-Ni-Bi (Real Placing: 1st-157 points)
Oh this one is an excellent song, also Nurit Hirsh again conducts the orchestra here. The music is so disco and I love it, they sing so well and the song is very catchy, I can sing to it even I don’t understand Hebrew. IMO a deserved winner and one of the best songs Israel has sent to the contest.  
2nd Place: LUXEMBOURG/Baccara-Parlez-vous français? (Real Placing: 7th-73 points) 
Bonjour, je ne parlez français but this song is wonderful, they are such amazing singers and the performance is magical, the song is very disco and, even this isn’t as good as Yes sir, I can boogie, this has it’s own charm and certainly stood out in quite a dull year. OLÉ BACCARA. 
3rd Place: GERMANY/Ireen Sheer-Feuer (Real Placing: 6th-84 points) 
Before Eleni’s Fuego, there’s Ireen with Feuer, and... I’M SO IN LOVE WITH THIS ONE, the music is crazy and amazing, she’s a wonderful singer and this is miles better than her 1974 song. What a strong song and entry, certainly deserved better in 1978. 
4th Place: BELGIUM/Jean Vallée-L’amour ça fait chanter la vie (Real Placing: 2nd-125 points) 
Awww this is so charming!! I think it’s better than his 1970 song. His voice is full of feelings and I’m in love with the music. At first I thought this was quite boring but I started liking it after many listens, so magical and I think it’s a deserved runner up, but there are 3 songs I like more. 
5th Place: MONACO/Caline & Olivier Toussaint-Les jardins de Monaco (Real Placing: 4th-107 points) 
Also this one is amazing, I love their voices and the music is brilliant, those violins are superb and the chorus is so catchy, certainly a deserved 4th place and this was the last top place for Monaco :( 
6th Place: SWITZERLAND/Carole Vinci-Vivre (Real Placing: =9th-65 points)
The music on this one is very beautiful, and Carole’s voice is charming and strong for this song, this song is very nice and the orchestra makes this one wonderful. 
7th Place: FINLAND/Seija Simola-Anna rakkaudelle tilaisuus (Real Placing: =18th-2 points) 
Seija’s voice makes this song very special and powerful, this is such a cute ballad and the music is very lovely, the last part of the song is amazing and I’m in love with this particular one. 
8th Place: IRELAND/Colm C.T. Wilkinson-Born to sing (Real Placing: 5th-86 points)
I absolutely love this entry, his voice is very strong and I can relate to the lyrics somehow, the music is so great and his energy on stage is contagious and what a performance he delivered that night. 
9th Place: NORWAY/Jahn Teigen-Mil etter mil (Real Placing: 20th-0 points/last)
Our first nul pointer under the 12 points system, and what an undeserved one, I’m mad about this one, but I must admit that the studio version is miles better than the live version. Jahn’s performance is hilarious and makes me smile, what a song this one. 
10th Place: FRANCE/Joël Prévost-Il y aura toujours des violons (Real Placing: 3rd-119 points)
This is lovely somehow, maybe a bit boring but the singer’s voice is perfect and the performance has such a French charm, such an enjoyable song and again, France delivers quality on this one. 
11th Place: THE NETHERLANDS/Harmony-’T is OK (Real Placing: 13th-37 points) 
I LIKE THIS ONE A LOT, this is very good, the music is perfect and their performance makes me so happy, but the clothes are a problem here. Anyway, a good little entry. 
12th Place: DENMARK/Mabel-Boom Boom (Real Placing: 16th-13 points)
The music is so lovely and charming, this entry makes me happy and it’s so nice, I love their voices, they are appropriate for this song. I like it so much. 
13th Place: SWEDEN/Björn Skifs-Det blir alltid värre framåt natten (Real Placing: 14th-26 points) 
This is a nice song, his voice is so wonderful but I think this wasn’t the best choice for ESC, maybe Miss Decibel may have been a better choice. The music although is great. 
14th Place: UNITED KINGDOM/Co-Co-The Bad old Days (Real Placing: 11th-61 points)
The music on the chorus is quite bad, or maybe was the orchestra but something sounded off, their voices are good and the song was good, but I think I like more other songs. Also, what’s with their clothes?
15th Place: ITALY/Ricchi e Poveri-Questo amore (Real Placing: 12th-53 points) 
Their voices here sound awful, the song certainly was one of the best of the night but the performance was mediocre. The music is very good and the lyrics are nice though, also, I like more another song from them called Será porque te amo. 
16th Place: SPAIN/José Vélez-Bailemos un vals (Real Placing: =9th-65 points) 
I kinda like this one... but I hate so much the music and the lyrics aren’t so good, anyway his voice is good and his smile is contagious. Maybe the backing singers are the problem here.
17th Place: GREECE/Tania Tsanaklidou-Charlie Chaplin (Real Placing: 8th-66 points) 
I have a problem with her voice and the music isn’t very good either, not one of Greece’s best entries IMO, but certainly stands in a quite weak year. 
18th Place: AUSTRIA/Springtime-Mrs. Caroline Robinson (Real Placing: 15th-14 points)
The music on this one makes me feel so bored, but their voices are good. The song overall is average but far from bad. 
19th Place: TURKEY/Nilüfer & Nazar-Sevince (Real Placing: =18th-2 points)
This one is forgettable and the voices of the female singers are annoying in the chorus, also the music is quite bad. 
20th Place: PORTUGAL/Gemini-Dai li dou (Real Placing: 17th-5 points) 
This song is so annoying and repetitive, I can’t stand this one. Certainly one of Portugal’s worst entries ever. 
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