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borisbubbles · 5 months

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Eurovision 2023: #22 - #21

Mild like is not a zone I prefer to rest long in, so let's make the next two a package deal so that only 20 remain going into the new year!

22. SERBIA Luke Black - "Samo mi se spava" 24th place

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Decade Ranking: 63/116 [Above Fyr og Flamme, below TBA]

Spaaaaavaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaai

But I am getting ahead of myself.

In the days leading up towards towards the rehearsals I got the feeling that Luke would only barely squeak by despite being both Serbian and reasonably well-liked by the fans. This came with the slow realization that "Samo mi se spava" is kind of cringe, oop. All memes eventually become stale, and that rate at which they age accelerates further if the music's kind of not good lol. Not everyone can have the eternal resilience of "In Corpore Sano".

So yeah, I totes understand why the Latvia stans were pissed they missed out while Luke basically passed to the Grand Final based on flag. However, many acts sucked in the semis, so I'm not bothered if one I liked (sorta) qualified over one i did not (sorta).

Not to get things twisted though, "Samo mi se spava" was serviceable for what it was, as a Melovin-lite combination of shock horror and an art major's irreverent graduation project. Once you've accustomed to the senseless krumpcrat choreo and the atonal mewling however, you just have to recognize Serbia's 2023 entry was the vanity project of an ageing emo twink . Do I enjoy it? Yes, but only as ~A Piece~ (not as "a song") and only in small enough doses. Take, a listen every four months.

All that said, there are two small things about "Samo Mi Se Spava" that I greatly enjoy.

(1) the frogmarches remain hilarious so let's enjoy that in gif form:

What a great way to finish A Piece.

(2) I merely have to think of Luke to hear "SPAAAVAAAAI" and "HELLO?! GAyME OVuh" ring through my mind in his characteristic gaywhispervoice and that ALWAYS produces a chuckle. So ultimately, while "Samo mi se spava" was admittedly not very good, it does manage to lift my spirits somewhat, and for that I'm willing to carry it to 22nd in my list!

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21. UKRAINE TVORCHI - "Heart of steel" 6th place

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Decade Ranking: 62/116 [Above Luke Black, below Kalush Orchestra]

Yeah, Tvorchi did well for themselves. Given the war and the general air of misery surrounding last year's Vidbir (unironically a contender for worst NF this year, even under the circumstances) and the fact that Ukraine picked their most disappointingly heterosexual entry yet, there was no way "Heart of Steel" could become good. Like, who does this appeal to? What sort of person listens to this edgelordian church cabal, and thinks "ah, my favourite has arrived." Just the Musk fanboys, right?

Fortunately for us, Ukraine is the one Eurovision country that always understands the assignment. What do you do when your song below par? You provide a good show at least.

and it kinda nibbled.

...

Yeah, there's no punchline. Sorry but it's NYE, i cooked the family dinner by myself and you may think it's a small step to go from roasting broccoli to roasting mediocrities, but the latter action takes up too much thinking space for a brain semi-operating on sparkling wine that is trying to weave in and out of social conversation. Jeffrey sang well, I liked the presentation and it didn't drag the more enjoyable entries around it down, what else can a one ask for? It wasn't going to get any better than what we got. Count them lucky stars, and all that.

Fourth place in the televote is a VERY stupid result (this is more in range of a 14th placer if it were any other country) but let's not end the year on a sour rant. "Heart of steel" could have been a morose drag. Instead it was moderately bemusing. Upward and onward to better things.

THE RANKING

CONGRATZ FOR MAKING THE TOP 20 to the following:

ALBANIA / ARMENIA / AUSTRALIA / AUSTRIA / AZERBAIJAN BELGIUM / CZECHIA / ESTONIA / FINLAND / FRANCE ICELAND / LITHUANIA / MALTA / MOLDOVA / POLAND PORTUGAL / SLOVENIA / SPAIN / SWEDEN / UK Some of you kind of don't deserve to~ ps: Happy New Year Everyone!!!

#Eurovision #Eurovision Song Contest #ESC #ESC 2023 #Eurovision 2023 #Liverpool 2023 #Ukraine #Heart of Steel #TVORCHI #Serbia #Luke Black #Samo mi se spava

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potatotalksculture · 1 year

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Potato Tweet: Sooooo I’ve watched ESC yesterday and, as per usual, it was an evening full of surprises.

The very first surprise was that only a few performances (Poland, Cyprus and UK) we’re, in my opinion, just bad. Every other performance varied from “meh, not so bad” (Austria) through “I don’t like it but I can see other people liking it” (Croatia, Ukrain) to “that’s really good” (Portugal, Estonia) and “amazing, I wanna hear more” (Italy, Germany). (Just to name some examples.)

Another surprise came crushing in, as Israel started getting tons of jury points. The juries are always unpredictable to me. I do not understand how do they decide about their points. But Israel wasn’t the best vocal or musical performance, the directing and visuals were meh and the song in general was meh. So what did people like? The pretty girl? Probably… (I am consciously putting the political aspect of the whole Israel aside.)

The public votes were a bit less surprising except for… Germany. They were objectively not the worst performers. They did not deserve to rank last. UK and/or Poland should have taken the last place. Germany should have been, in my humble opinion, at least somewhere in the upper half of the ranking. Is it the politics barging into the heads of juries and the public? Is it “WW2. Germany bad” and “Germany in the UE too strong? Can’t let them win ESC, too”? Like, why? Lord of the Lost was far better than the worst.

The last surprise was the winner. The massive amount of public votes awarded to Finnland and their whimsical performance have brought me joy. The final win of Sweden crushed my good mood. And it’s not because I think she was bad. She wasn’t. She was good. To me, she was ok. Not my taste. What was really good about her performance was the illusion of her lifting up the top part of the scenography during her performance. The part played over and over again during the throw backs. I though her singing was good, but not as good as Portugal or Estonia. Her consciously subsided stage presence was underwhelming, cuz I’ve seen it done oh so many times. Am I being extra critical towards her? Yes. But she has won and that is a reason to look closer at her performance.

Oh! And she only has glitter on her nails, which, in my humble opinion, should be a valid reason to not win. ESC is about glitter, pyrotechnics, disconcerting artsy sets (looking at you, Serbia) - everything that makes a show.

To finish this post/tweet of, here are some honorable mentions:

Portugal for the expression, the voice and the dress.

Italy for the PR smartness in catching the attention of straight women in their postcard and then emanating vulnerable queerness in the performance. Also for the singing.

Estonia for the amazing voice that really stood out among the mediocre set and directing.

Australia for the expression, working the camera and the guitar player who looked like a lesbian from the 80s who’s playing gigs to collect money for taking care of HIV-infected gay friends.

Norway for growing on me after every throw back. Totally not my music taste, but I’d watch it again.

Czechia for representing eastern feminism.

Spain, Moldova and Albania for connecting with their cultural heritage. I’d also love to go to a grill party with this Albanian family.

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stargazerlillian · 2 years

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“Tears in Rain” (for Yoel)

Young Notoriah faces his greatest challenge yet - easing the pain of his grieving best friend.

Serves as a written companion piece to this image.

Notoriah Virgilius Ruggaboor and Thelios Pyrell belong to @yoel-o-fellow

Content warning: Existentialist themes, mentions of death, and a whole lot of angst.

——————–

May 25th, 1428

Malshire, Moldova

There is a word for which Romanians described sadness – “tristeţe.”

But from what Notoriah remembered, that word could never fully describe the thoughts, the emotions, or the sensations that bore underneath every inch of his numbed skin one particular rainy day – the day he first witnessed Thelios Pyrell in mourning.

The sky above was overcast with deep blue tenebrous clouds. A frigid breeze was blowing from the east, sending the land into a chill. Shivery rain fell in droves, forming a half-inch layer of water around the drenched adolescents.

For the first couple of moments, there was silence, save for the lonely pattering of raindrops and the occasional sniffle from Thelios.

Notoriah leaned forward as he searched for any sign of responsiveness from the young Pagan, his head bowed and face hidden.

“Thelios?”

No response.

“Thelios? Are… are you –”

His breath caught itself in his throat as he felt Thelios’s forehead impact his sternum. The smaller boy shut his eyes tightly in a vain attempt to stifle the stream of tears flowing down his face.

A pause. Thelios swallowed dryly as he struggled to get his words out.

“S-she’s gone, Notoriah… she’s gone…”

Notoriah heaved a sigh. He brought his numbed hands up to barely hold the shivering boy, with one coming to rest on his back, and the other cupping the back of his neck.

“I know.”

Thelios uttered a loud sniffle and buried his face deeper into his older companion’s chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around Notoriah’s torso.

“She… she just… stopped breathing... I-I kept telling her to wake up… but… she couldn’t. S-she just… couldn’t…”

Notoriah sharply exhaled. Arboreah was never very fond of Notoriah, and he wasn’t very fond of her in turn. But to Thelios, she meant more than all the land that sat beneath the sky, and then some. Although he and Arboreah never really got on, Notoriah had to admit that he had never witnessed a more strongly forged bond than the one between her and Thelios. It seemed that everything he ever did, he did for her.

But she was gone. He was still here.

“I… I tried everything, Notoriah! I made every single medical potion I knew how to make, so… w-why did she not heal? Why couldn’t I make her better?”

Notoriah took a deep breath as he stroked Thelios’s head.

“That was very kind and noble of you, Thelios. I’m certain your grandmother appreciated your valiant efforts. But the fact of the matter is… sometimes things don’t really happen the way we think they will.”

“But… they always worked, Notoriah! Always! I-I-I don’t understand why they didn’t work this time!”

“Thelios –”

Notoriah’s response came to a halt as he felt Thelios pull his head away from his chest. A twinge of pain twisted through the taller boy’s stomach as he caught his first glimpse at the shorter boy’s terribly contorted face. His swollen, teary eyes were wide with what could only be described as trauma. It had to be one of the most haunting things Notoriah had ever seen.

“It… it’s all my fault, isn’t it?”

Notoriah’s eyes flared as he uttered a sharp gasp. “Thelios, how could you say that?!”

“I-I could’ve saved her if I just tried harder!”

“You did everything in your power to try to keep your grandmother alive. But death is not something that can be cured with a potion. It is not your fault, do you hear me?”

“YES IT IS! I wasn’t skilled enough to find the proper spell to help her, and now she’s dead! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!”

Notoriah’s glare grew furious. He yanked Thelios forward by his shoulders, growling the first few words of his response through grit teeth.

“Thelios… stop it. Right. Now. Look at me. There is no cure for death, do you understand that?! Nobody in all of history has ever been able to find a cure for death, and there is no way that you will be the first. Death comes for us all eventually. Your grandmother was an old woman, and as hard it is for you to hear this, it was going to happen to her sooner or later. I know you gave it your best effort, and I know you wanted to save her, but no elixir or potion or whatever is going to stop someone from dying. It is a natural process of life. Now please… stop. Blaming. Yourself. Alright? It is not. Your. Fault.”

A tense pause followed.

For what felt like the longest time, the two boys only stood there, chests heaving and eyes wide. Neither one felt like he could say anything.

Thelios’s watery eyes shifted back and forth awkwardly as he tried to avoid Notoriah’s fierce gaze only a few inches away from him. He began hyperventilating as Notoriah’s vitriolic reasoning sank in.

The future count’s expression fell instantly. His chest grew heavy.

Oh no.

“G-GET OFF ME!” Thelios shouted as he yanked himself out of Notoriah’s hold, shoving him back a few inches. “I should have known coming to you was a mistake! Serves me right for being so ‘wide-eyed’, I suppose!” he cried, turning away from the older boy.

Notoriah felt his stomach lurch. Thelios had shouted at him before, but never with so much… vitriol. He slowly reached out to touch the Pagan boy’s shoulder.

“Th-Thelios, I-I’m so sorry, I –”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Thelios screamed, slapping the older boy’s hand away. “Just… just go away! You’ve done enough!”

Notoriah took a few steps back, wringing his wrists. Perhaps he had been a little too harsh on him. He expelled a large huff of breath and covered his mouth as he pondered over what he had just done.

This wasn’t any sort of sadness Thelios was experiencing. This was grief, something entirely unfamiliar – and therefore frightening – to him.

His only family was dead.

His only home had been burned down by order of the king.

His whole faith and existence now laid in the balance.

Everything that ever gave Thelios a sense of joy had been lost to the viciousness of time, much like his tears had lost themselves in the falling rain.

Notoriah on the other hand, was no stranger to grief and loss. He felt it when he lost his mother as a small child. He felt it when he witnessed a brutal public execution in the center of the village… with his own father as the executioner.

And yet despite this understanding, he just had to go and say things the wrong way and make his closest friend feel even worse and shut himself off from him. He clenched his eyes and teeth tightly as the heaviness of his mistake became apparent.

What had he done?

Once Notoriah looked back over to Thelios again, his back was still turned, and his arms were still tightly crossed. He could clearly tell that he was freezing from how violently he was shivering. His stomach lurched even more. He couldn’t just leave him in the cold to fend for himself like this. Something had to be done.

With some hesitation, Notoriah went completely against Thelio’s wish, and began calling out to him – this time, with gentleness.

“Thelios? Th-Thelios, please… I-I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry for yelling at you. I-I just don’t want you to blame yourself for something that wasn’t your fault.”

“How do I know you’re not just saying that?!” Thelios hissed. “And what are you still doing here?! I thought I told you to GO AWAY!”

Notoriah huffed yet again. He had to be gentler than that.

“Thelios… c-come now, Thelios… please… please look at me… I didn’t mean to shout… really I didn’t… I-I just… don’t like seeing you like this.”

“Seeing me like what?! Weak?! Is that what you’re trying to say?!”

“No, Thelios! No! That’s not what I mean at all! I just… I just lose myself sometimes because… because…”

“Because what?! Because you’re unhinged and controlling?!”

A pause. Notoriah clenched his fists by his sides and stood as straight and tall as he could.

“Because I hate when the people I love are being unkind to themselves when they don’t deserve to be!”

Thelios blinked twice. Did he hear all that right? People he loves? Did that include… him?

“You’re already in enough pain, and I don’t want you to add onto that by ruminating over what you could have or should have done! You’re not weak, Thelios! If anything, you’ve been strong for too long.”

Silence fell once more.

After a moment, Thelios finally turned his head to face Notoriah, brows no longer furrowed, and teeth no longer grit.

“Do you… do you really mean all that, Notoriah?”

Notoriah nodded. “Yes, Thelios. I mean every word. I do.”

“Am I really… someone you love? Is that… is that true?”

Another pause. Notoriah’s gaze fell to the ground for a brief second before rising back up to meet the beautiful scarlet eyes of the boy in front of him. He took a deep breath to ease his now pounding heart.

“Yes, Thelios. You are someone I love. I… I love you. I-I really love you. More than you believe. More than you know. With all that I am, I love you.”

Thelios’s eyes widened with every word. He had never heard anyone other than his grandmother say that to him. And he certainly never expected the admittedly handsome cynical boy he admired with dark hair and piercing hazel eyes to say that. He felt the lump in his throat return as he tried to process this new emotion that had now been thrown into the mix.

Notoriah slowly stretched his arms out towards the freckled boy. “Please… come here my dear friend… come back to me. I won’t harm you, I promise. I just want to help you.”

Thelios swallowed dryly. His eyes flickered frantically between Notoriah’s face and open arms. He felt so strange right now. Does he really mean what he says? Should he take this chance?

“Trust me.”

The young Pagan blinked twice again at the sound of his friend’s plea. His voice in that moment was so raspy, and yet so gentle. His arms appeared so warm and welcoming, and it did feel pretty cold standing there by himself.

He took a brief look up at the sky. Those clouds weren’t going to clear out anytime soon. Perhaps he can allow himself to be held close by Notoriah. That is what a friend was for, wasn’t it? And he did say that he loved him...

With a heavy sniffle and some hesitation, Thelios slowly stepped forward back into the taller boy’s arms, where they returned to their places on his head and neck once more.

“There, now. It’s alright,” Notoriah gently whispered, stroking the smaller boy’s cheek. “I’ve got you now. Now please, tell me… is there anything I can do to help you in this time of need? Anything at all?”

A pause.

“Can you stop my pain?”

Notoriah blinked twice in confusion. “Stop your pain? As in… completely?”

Thelios once again pushed his face deep into Notoriah’s chest, threw his arms back around him, and tightly grasped the fabric of his soaked teal camasa, pleading to him in the language of dead innocence.

“Please make it stop… please… it hurts… it hurts so much, Notoriah…”

Notoriah froze completely still, mind awash with shock and confusion as his splayed fingers tingled in the frigid open air.

While they had a history filled with warmth, curiosity, and laughter like any friendship, they also had more than a fair share of misunderstandings, arguments, and fallouts. Their last meeting ended in complete anger. Notoriah even almost drove Thelios away in his greatest time of need only a couple of minutes earlier with yet another angry outburst.

So why, after all that, did Thelios still come to Notoriah first after witnessing his grandmother’s death?

Notoriah slowly looked down at the weeping child clinging onto him once more. Thelios had pressed his face deeper into his chest. He was beginning to feel a warm wet patch forming from Thelios’s tears.

“Please, Notoriah… you’re the only one who can help… please…”

Notoriah’s breath stifled as he came to a startling realization.

Before today, Thelios had very few things to count on. He had his faith. He had his home in the forest. He had his loving grandmother. Now he had nothing left.

Nothing except his unstable friendship with Notoriah.

The future count’s heart thundered in his ears as he took one last look at the barely thirteen-year-old distraught boy tightly pressed to his breastbone. This poor, innocent, wide-eyed forest dweller’s world – the one he knew since he was a small child – had been completely destroyed within the course of a day, and Notoriah was all that was left of that world. Thelios had nobody else to turn to now.

The older boy shut his eyes tight and heaved a great sigh.

Thelios was never going to get hurt again on his watch. Ever. If any of the king’s men came to seize his friend in the coming days, they would have to go through him first. Whatever hardships they had, they worked through together. That would be no different now.

Slowly and tenderly, Notoriah wrapped his arms around Thelios’s frame, returning his embrace. He pressed the younger boy’s body snugly against his, resting his copper-haired head into the crook of his neck as a pair of hot tears finally made their way down his face.

“I’ll try, Thelios… I’ll try.”

#The Ruggaboors #My writing #Fanfiction #Other's OCs #Notoriah Virgilius Ruggaboor #Thelios Pyrell #Notoriah X Thelios #Gifts for others #YoelOFellow #Right I’m dead tired - both of looking at this and in general. Gonna go pass out now. So enjoy or whatever.✌

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deep-hearts-core · 2 years

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2015 - final

originally posted 5/25/20

France I know I really strongly disliked this back in the day, but I like it a little better now. Lisa is a great singer and the song is good. I guess the problem is that it isn't really a standout compared to the sheer volume of good songs this year - this one just doesn't hold up against the likes of Warrior, Love Injected, or A Million Voices. There were aspects of the staging I liked and aspects I disliked - it was good at the beginning but got weird later on, especially once those drummers came marching out. Could have been done a lot better.

United Kingdom In contrast to the French entry, whose biggest crime is really that it was uninteresting, this song is just plain bad. That set piece was genuinely the only good thing about it. It's a bad song, and this is only exacerbated by the poor use of backing vocals and an unsettling stage presence from the two leads. Alex is way too intense while Bianca is saccharine. Why did she keep pointing at him like that? SMH. The light-up costumes were, admittedly, kinda cool, and I appreciate the flapper aesthetic for what it is, but they didn't do anything for this train wreck of a song. Australia A solid debut in the contest! Guy's vocal power and control are just astounding, and the song is energetic and fun. Guy and his backup singers had a lot of presence and seemed to be really enjoying being up there. I liked the prop streetlights. While not one of my favorite songs out of the year this is pretty good and the 5th place was definitely justified. Austria Deserved better than what it got! I'm Yours is a good, mellow number that's decisively about platonic love. Dodo Muhrer has a pretty nice voice too and I think the simple staging really worked for this here. I did also like the flaming piano but I think that it felt kind of anticlimactic at that point in the song... if it had happened towards the end, maybe? But yeah this is actually one of my favorite host entries from the last few years.

Germany Like with Austria, this deserved better than nul points. I really enjoyed the staging of this, I thought it was pretty creative and captured the vibe of the song well. Amy Winehouse wannabe that she is, Ann Sophie still is a good singer and, for the most part, a good performer, even if she has no idea what to do with her hands onstage. Spain Edurne has trouble keeping in key, and keeps moving back and forth between vocal registers. The staging isn't necessarily bad but feels awfully over the top - although that costume change is legendary whether it's over the top or not. Performance troubles aside though I like Amanecer as a song. It feels really cinematic.

Italy Having difficulty formulating my thoughts about this one. I love Il Volo's voices. They sound really great together and alone, and are strong and stable throughout the whole thing. I think popera is nice as a concept, but it's not a genre I myself prefer. And I think the staging was kinda stagnant - definitely more could have been done with the background screen. So while this is good, it's not a personal favorite. My top 40

Latvia

Russia

Greece

Sweden

Portugal

Austria

Norway

Lithuania

Montenegro

Belgium

Ireland

Italy

Belarus

Australia

Georgia

Poland

Switzerland

Estonia

Germany

Czechia

Romania

Serbia

Denmark

Hungary

Armenia

Iceland

North Macedonia

Slovenia

Azerbaijan

Moldova

Netherlands

Malta

Spain

France

Israel

Albania

San Marino

Finland

Cyprus

United Kingdom

Austria and Poland sure were higher than I expected... hmm. Other than that this is more or less what I expected the sorter to spit out at me. This was really a toss-up between my top three, though - the last time I ranked 2015, my winner was Greece and I think I had Russia in my top 5.

Voting/intervals Y'all, they took forever to get the show started. Half of this opening sequence could have been cut or used in the interval. The "building bridges" video set to What If was cute though. I also really liked the compilation of winning moments. Austria didn't do the greatest job at hosting but they interacted a lot with the history of the contest in the interval acts and I really enjoyed that - this and the voting mishaps compilation were I think my favorite intervals of the year. Voting thoughts: 1. wow, can't believe Cyprus only got 10 points from Greece! And Greece only got 8 from Cyprus! 2. I can't with the Azeri guy saying "I'm a little bit surprised, but anyway..." at most of the Azeri results. 3. God, I feel so bad for Polina. The fact that it got bad enough that Alice felt the need to reprimand the audience... hoo. 4. Mans is so funny in the green room! He looks genuinely so surprised whenever he gets a douze, and honestly he is just vibing, he doesn't seem that nervous and is really just enjoying being there. Guy and Mans also seem to have a cute friendship, after Sweden gave douze to Australia Guy got up and gave, like, finger guns to Mans. 5. Ah, this year was "12 points from Russia go to Russia"! Iconic voting moment.

Thoughts after watching One thing that's been nagging at me during this rewatch is accessibility? How did Monika get onto the stage during the parade of flags if the only visible way up was stairs? Did the Polish delegation take a secret detour? I assume there is a separate, unseen way for artists to get from the green room to the stage and back again, but Monika is explicitly shown on the route in the middle so I really wonder about that. An analysis of disability in Eurovision might be really interesting - although I'm not the right person to write it. Yknow... I watch the show with German commentary, and even though Germany got zero points, the commentator never made it about bloc voting. All he said was that there were just too many good songs - from all over Europe. The most he said about Germany's lack of points really was, when Ireland voted, "I need to go have a word with the Irish commentary". I feel that's an example the rest of Western Europe ought to follow. I have mixed feelings on the Austrian hosting. I think the hosts were really awkward a lot of the time, especially Arabella, and some of the interval acts were either boring or cringeworthy. On the other hand, though, this is one of my favorite stage designs of the contests I've watched. All in all this was really a quality year full of amazing songs, never mind how the hosting was. I really love this year - the contestants and the music both were just awesome. And, as I've said before, I think Mans is a great winner. I like his song, but also... he really embodies what Eurovision is, theoretically, all about! He's just really happy to be there, and he's happy to participate when called upon, whether that's doing commentary, hosting, or participating in skits such as in 2017 or 2019. He really cares about the contest and, in that sense, he's one of my favorite winners as a person.

#esc reviews

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shinypandamiracle · 1 year

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So, it's Eurovision season again and I have ✨thoughts✨ for this first semifinal

Norway: I'm really glad she passed the vote, but I'm worried for when she will have to perform at the finals. She went to high when it came time for THE high note when it is like the moment it either makes or breaks the song;

Malta: Cute, I enjoyed the song, but overall I'm not upset they didn't pass; (also Albina's curse strikes again)

Serbia: weird, yet nice? I'm not rooting for him but please, bring the weird;

Latvia: kinda forgot about it, so this one I'm neither hot nor cold;

Portugal: This one I liked! Better than 2021, on the same level as last year's entry. She had a good, powerful voice and I liked it;

Ireland: ... I thought they were trying to be like U2 on there, I don't know if they are like that even outside of esc but while the song was kinda nice, it didn't resonate that much with me;

Croatia: I don't know if I like or hate their song. I like the meaning of such satirical piece, but the music itself kinda brought me back to last year's Moldova and my family knows how much I didn't enjoy it (it was fun the first few times, but I got tired of it pretty quickly);

Switzerland: Nice song and voice, but not my taste, alas =P

Israel: I am conflicted, because while the song is good and fun, I can't help but think "why is Israel in Eurovision when it isn't Europe" (and also, you know, the fact that Russia was banned because it started a war with Ukraine last year, meanwhile Israel has been trying to wipe out Palestinians since ever). So yeah. And to paraphrase my sibling, she won the televote because she's hot.

Moldova: I like it! I can't understand a word, but I love the song and the costumes (though I am confused about the headpieces of the back up singers, is natural hair or a wig?);

Sweden: Both my sibling and I believe that she won a ticket for the final because she's THE Loreen, and while the song is good and the singer is amazing, I am rooting for other nations;

Azerbaijan: listen, I didn't know that Merry and Pippin moved to Azerbaijan after the War of the Ring, but even if I did, I am glad they didn't move to the final;

Czechia: I love it, the performance, the singers, the music, I wish I could understand the lyrics in slavic, but I believe it's a feminist anthem, a really cool one (also loved how they whipped their hair around, yes ladies! Weaponize your hair!)

Netherlands: boooooring;

Finland: oh, how glad I am he won a ticket for the Grand Final, his song is soo fun, a good note to end the night

#esc 2023

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robininthelabyrinth · 2 years

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Any eurovison takes/opinions?

When Ukraine got 400+ points, my friend and I screamed loudly enough to shake the house (and scare the cat, who was upstairs). I'm glad they won! It wasn't my favorite song, but it was light years better than Sweden or the UK - though the UK getting first place in the judging and second place in the final was hilariously unprecedented, if only because it seemed like all of UK tumblr was losing their minds over it. I would have been OK with Spain winning, that was a very appropriately Eurovision song, but I'm glad it was Ukraine! Next year in Kyiv!

(Also, seriously, the popular voting totals were amazing - every single country gave them points, only 3 didn't give them more than 10, and the lowest score they got was a 7. Everyone in Europe and Australia came together to deliver a message of Screw You Putin, and I think that's wonderful.)

My favorite song was probably Moldova, which was cruelly robbed by the professional juries - but then rewarded by the second highest popular vote tally, which just goes to show that professional juries have no taste and are undoubtedly the cause of all those ballads still being promoted. That being said, I do think they could have had a better performance, though the one they did was nice enough.

Others thoughts, in no particular order:

I didn't think Romania was that good in the semi, but the guy really pulled it out for the final...though the fact that Romania sent Spain (or perhaps more appropriately Argentina) as their act was a little odd.

Between Switzerland and Australia's anthems against toxic masculinity, Australia was better. Switzerland is a prime example of someone who got promoted almost entirely on the strength of the professional jury vote and then embarrassed because no one actually liked the song (although Marius Bear is a great name).

NORWAY WAS AMAZING. Give that wolf a banana and me an earworm; I've had it stuck in my head for days...also they should have gotten x2 as many points just for trying to eat Mika. I also really liked France and was surprised by how few votes they got.

Speaking of France, Lithuania's act was great, even though they sent France (presumably because France did not). I would pay money for a Eurovision where countries are forced to pick other countries' names out of hat and then send their best version of what they perceive to be that country's music...of course, this sort of thing would cause WWIII, but for a brief moment in time it would be amazing.

Serbia was a high concept performance art piece with a great beat and I approve. Is it a song? Eh - is a song really necessary to win a song contest?

Estonia sang the intro song of a Western TV show that would probably not be to my taste, but was a fantastic song nonetheless. I liked Poland's supporting rusalkas, there to drown anyone who tries to cross a river to get at them do you hear that Russia, and Iceland was perfectly sweet, and I really liked their commitment to both trans rights and supporting Ukraine - people were still debating if Ukraine might be disqualified for asking people to support Mariupol when Iceland also came out and said something, so good on them.

Ballads are a plague upon Europe. Yes, even the good ones. I like the good ones, but if losing them is the price to pay for getting rid of the awful ones, I'd pay it in a heartbeat.

#too busy screaming out loud to type up reactions in live time #eurovision

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queensoybean0724 · 3 years

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Succession Chapter 1 (Karl Heisenberg/female reader) Resident Evil Village fic

Here is chapter one of my new fanfic!

Title: Succession

Characters: Karl Heisenberg, female reader, OCs

Rating: PG-13 for language and intense scenes (for now, this is a slow burn, but it will get very hot and spicy in later chapters)

Summary: You discover a long lost relative from Moldova that you didn’t know existed has died and you are his sole beneficiary. You are on board a plane to collect your inheritance when your plane crashes in a village in Romania.

Author’s Notes: I do not own the characters from Resident Evil Village. This is a work of fiction. Anything remotely similar to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.

Chapter 1

The music blasted from the car speakers as you drove down the main road towards the highway. You had your phone plugged into your car stereo, your favorite Spotify playlist on shuffle. Despite the A/C being on full blast, beads of sweat formed at your brow and rolled down your temple. You adjusted the vents on either side of you, making sure the cold air directly hit your body. The song that was playing had you tapping your fingers on the steering wheel, your head bopping to the beat.

The fridge at home was close to empty and it was beyond time for you to go grocery shopping. The grocery list was secure in your purse and you were determined to stick to the items on the list and not make any frivolous purchases. Money was tight and you only had so much money left before payday next week.

The song shut off suddenly followed by your ringtone. Looking at the screen of your phone, UNKNOWN stared back at you. Probably a spam call, you thought to yourself, reaching to press the red Ignore button. Unfortunately, your finger slid at the last minute and mistakenly tapped the Accept button. You watched as the call came through and the seconds ticked off. FUCK!

“Hello?” you greeted with a hint of exasperation in your voice.

“Hello, am I speaking with Miss Y/N?” a heavily accented male voice responded.

“Yeah, this is she,” you muttered, rolling your eyes. You tried your best to avoid these calls, ignoring them and letting them go straight to voicemail. Very rarely was it followed with an actual message, which was more than fine with you.

“Miss Y/N, my name is Ron M. Dathermi. I am a lawyer residing in Chisinau, Moldova in Eastern Europe…”

You raised your eyebrows at that. Moldova? Who the hell was calling you from Moldova? Chalking it up to a scam, you were about to interrupt the man when he continued.

“...I wish I was calling under better circumstances, but I’m afraid I have some bad news. Your great uncle, Serghei Popa, has passed away from a short illness and has named you his sole beneficiary…”

You couldn’t help the amused huff that came out of your mouth. This must be some very elaborate scam.

“Umm...sorry, but I think you have the wrong person. I don’t have family from Moldova and I have never heard of this man in my whole life.” You were about to hit the End button when Mr. Dathermi continued.

“Am I speaking with Y/N, born on (your birthday) to (your father and mother’s full names) and the granddaughter of (your grandfather and grandmother on both sides of your family)?”

Your eyes widened at that. “Yeah, that’s me…” you answered.

“I know this may sound unusual, but Mr. Popa was the brother of your grandmother on your mother’s side. He was given up for adoption at birth and taken in by a Moldovan family. He did not have a spouse and had no children, and according to the genealogy report I have before me, your grandmother and your mother are both deceased. Your mother was an only child, yes? It appears to me that you are the last of his living relatives.”

You pulled off the road and into an empty parking lot. The information you were being given was a lot to handle. You didn’t have that large of a family. You were an only child and raised by your parents and both sets of grandparents. Both of your grandfathers had died before you turned 10. Both grandmothers died within 5 years of each other and your father and mother died of illnesses, cancer and pneumonia respectively, in the last year. Grief was a feeling that you knew better than anyone. You kept to yourself mostly and you didn’t have any close friends or a significant other.

“Listen,” you began, “you are correct about all of your information, but how do I know this is not some kind of scam?”

The man on the other end of the phone cleared his throat and the sound of shuffling papers met your ears. “I can imagine that this information is sudden and unusual. What I will do is send a copy of his will and a copy of the genealogy papers to your address. I encourage you to take this to your lawyer and have them look over the information. The reason I am calling is because I need you to fly to Moldova, sign these papers, and accept the monetary inheritance that he has left you.”

Your jaw dropped as you looked down at your phone. Fly to Moldova? Is this true? The only thing you knew about the country was that a foreign exchange student from high school was born and raised in Moldova. That about sums up your knowledge of the country. This seemed incredibly asinine and ridiculous. But the word that settled in your train of thought was “inheritance.” What inheritance?

“Mr...what was your name again?” you asked.

“Mr. Dathermi, but you can call me Ron,” the lawyer responded.

“Ron...umm, how much monetary inheritance are we talking about?”

More shuffling of papers was on the other side of the phone, Ron clicking his tongue as he looked through the information. “He has left you 53,806,746 Moldovan Leu...which translates to $3,000,000 in American currency.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!?!” you exclaimed before clamping your lips shut. You heard Ron chuckle. “I’m sorry, pardon my language. It’s just...wow...this sounds insane…”

“I can imagine it does,” Ron replied, “which is why I want to mail this information to you and have your attorney take a look at it so you know this is a legitimate will and testament. If you would like, I can mail the information straight to your attorney if you are still leery.”

“No, no, that’s okay,” you said, shaking your head. Your mind was whirling. None of this sounded remotely true. You felt as if you were dreaming. This felt like something that only happened in books and fairy tales...a girl who had nothing and nobody suddenly inheriting millions of dollars from an unknown distant relative. What are the odds of something like this happening in real life? You gave Ron Dathermi your home address.

“Thank you very much, Miss Y/N. I will send this as soon as possible. I’ll also include my business card so your attorney can contact me and we can iron out the details. Thank you very much, Y/N...I’ll be in touch.”

You thanked him as well and ended the call. All alone in your car in the empty parking lot, you let out an excited squeal and started hopping up and down.

You adjusted the messenger bag that was slung across your shoulder as you heard the overhead speaker call for the boarding of your flight. Taking a deep breath, you got in line, extended your ticket to the airport employee, and walked down the tarmac and into the plane.

Butterflies were fluttering in your stomach. Your hands gripped your bag tightly as the flight attendant looked at your boarding pass and pointed down the aisle to where you were to be seated. You had never flown before and your nerves were on alert. Scenes from Final Destination flashed in your head as you walked down the aisle towards your seat. Taking a deep breath and willing your body to relax, you located your seat next to the window and sat down, plopping your bag onto your lap.

The small window was close to the wing of the plane and looking beyond that was a long expanse of grass that met a vast forest. You were thankful that you had the window seat and your headphones so you could tune everything out and relax in your own little world.

Once the papers from Mr. Dathermi arrived a week prior, you immediately called the attorney that helped you with the probate and will from your parents’ deaths several months back. He was more than happy to help, knowing that you were all alone in the world after your parents had passed. Two days later, he called to inform you that all of the paperwork was, in fact, legitimate and that Mr. Serghei Popa was the brother of your grandmother. He showed you the adoption papers, confirming that your great uncle had been put up for adoption and the family that took him in had relocated to Moldova when he was two years old. He had remained in the country until his death. Your attorney contacted Mr. Dathermi, who in turn secured a round trip plane ticket in order for you to come to Moldova to finalize the paperwork and collect the inheritance.

At the thought of the money you were about to acquire, another surge of excitement flowed through you. Your parents hadn’t left you much after their death and you worked at a dead-end job that had no room for advancement and no possibility for raises. All of these recent events sounded like something out of a fairy tale.

“This is your captain speaking,” the voice sounded from the speaker above your head, “we will be departing in the next ten minutes. Please make sure your seatbelts are secured, your tray tables are up, and all electronics are off until we are at the appropriate cruising altitude. I will inform everyone as soon as the coast is clear. Thank you for flying with us and enjoy the ride.”

You fastened your seatbelt and laid your head back, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Don’t be nervous…” a voice sounded next to you. You opened your eyes and looked over to see an older gentleman with wide rimmed glasses and a nice smile.

“Is it that obvious?” you asked, returning his smile.

“It’s pretty obvious,” he chuckled, “my name is Bruce Williams. I’m the air marshal on board this flight.” You told him your name and shook his hand. “Just relax,” he assured, “we’ll be flying for the next 10 hours. There are lots of movies and tv shows to watch on the screen in front of you, or you can listen to your music and read a book if you brought one.”

You patted your messenger bag. “Yeah, I have a few books to choose from. Thanks,” you smiled.

Within minutes, the plane had backed away from the tarmac, turned towards the long expanse of runway, and increased speed before leaving the ground and soaring up into the clouds.

The steady hum of the plane’s engines provided a relaxed soundtrack as you slept. It was close to early morning, according to the clock on the tv screen, but your watch was still on your regular time zone. It read early afternoon and that threw you through a loop. You had heard that jet lag could be a bitch and you wondered how bad yours would be once you landed. Bruce had passed you a pillow and blanket once you were ready to sleep and he assured you that your bag and belongings would be safe while you slept.

You were so thankful to be seated next to him. Not only was he the air marshal, but he was a really cool person as well. You two talked about movies and actually watched a couple of them on the tv screen in front of you. Bruce was kind and nice to talk to. The crinkle of crow’s feet around his eyes, his laugh, and his hair color mixed with hints of gray reminded you of your father...maybe that’s why you liked him so much.

You shifted in your seat and let out a soft yawn. Stretching your arms above your head and arching your back, you wondered how much longer it would be until you touched down in Moldova.

“You weren’t asleep that long,” Bruce murmured. You looked over to see a book in his hand and his glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom and then go back to sleep,” you replied, standing from your seat. Bruce stood up and allowed you out into the aisle. You made your way to the bathroom towards the back of the plane. The cabin was dark with little lights dotting either side of the aisle on the floor. Soft lights were shining here and there from people reading, watching the tv screen, or messing with their phones while most of the passengers were asleep.

Once in the bathroom, you did your business, flushed the toilet, and began washing your hands. The mirror in front of you showed a tired and weary version of yourself. Some of your eye makeup was smudged. You told yourself once you returned back to your seat, you’d retrieve the makeup remover wipes in your bag and do away with the dirt and oil.

Just then the plane hit an air pocket and dropped several feet, throwing you forward towards the sink and mirror. You let out a shriek as the plane quieted and went still. “God dammit,” you muttered, putting your hand over your heart, “that scared the shit out of me!”

Once out of the bathroom, you slammed the door shut and walked back to your seat. You tapped Bruce on the shoulder and he moved aside.

You lifted the window shade and looked outside. Natural light from the start of the day began to show. The plane was amongst the clouds so it was fairly cloudy and hard to see.

“How much farther do we have?” you asked Bruce. He shifted the book to his left hand and looked down at his wristwatch. “We should be there in three hours. I think we are flying over Romania right now…”

You nodded your head and thanked him, turning back to the window. The clouds gave way momentarily and provided the opportunity to see the ground below. Tall, snowy mountains came into view. You smiled and marveled at their beauty, wondering what mountain range this was. You cursed yourself for forgetting the basics from your World Geography class in high school. Hell, all you knew about Romania was that it was the setting for Dracula and the real life territory that was once owned by Elizabeth Bathory, who allegedly killed upwards of 650 maidens and bathed in their blood. You shook your head and smiled to yourself. You really did enjoy some morbid and fucked up stories.

Your train of thought stopped short when a large and spacious castle came into view. Your eyes widened and your jaw dropped. It looked like something out of a Disney movie or from ancient castles that still sat throughout Europe. The place looked like it stood on several acres of land and who knows how many square feet. What a gorgeous and breathtaking place it was. You wondered just what was inside a monstrosity like that and who was lucky enough to inhabit such a place. Maybe there were castles in Moldova that you could explore and visit while you’re conducting your business.

The castle fell out of view and not far from it stood what looked like a village. You were too high up to see any people or any traces of lights or torches. You took everything in with total awe and appreciation. It looked like a small and sleepy storybook town.

A sudden movement close to the village caught your attention. You squinted your eyes and tried to look closer, pressing your forehead to the window. What the fuck is that, you wondered. It looked like a black tree, naked of leaves or any type of growth...and it was moving. It looked to be swaying in the breeze, but the size of it looked way too sturdy for any kind of gust to move it with such fluidity. As you focused on the tree, it appeared to be growing...getting closer to the plane. Was the plane descending? Were you getting closer to Moldova?

One of the branches of the tree slowly drifted to the ground before extending long and rigid, slinging itself up into the air like a bullwhip, hitting the wing of the plane. The plane suddenly tilted as the slithering limb wrapped around the wing and broke it off. You let out a loud scream as the plane turned on its side, Bruce falling against you, squishing you to the wall. “WHAT THE FUCK??” Bruce screamed as yelps, shrieks, and screams echoed in the cabin of the plane. Dozens of people were knocked from their seats, flight attendants falling into the aisle and rolling towards the cockpit. The plane shook and quaked as it dropped several feet in a matter of seconds.

“OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!” you screamed, grabbing hold of Bruce’s arm. The air masks dropped from overhead and Bruce grabbed yours, making quick work of putting it over your face. “HOLD ON TO IT! HOLD IT OVER YOUR MOUTH, Y/N!!” he commanded, reaching for his own mask.

“THE WING OF THE PLANE HAS BEEN DAMAGED!” the pilot yelled from over the speakers, “WE ARE LOSING ALTITUDE! BRACE FOR IMPACT!” People screamed and panicked, holding on to whatever it was they could. Panic surged through your body as your fingers dug into Bruce’s arm. The plane shook as it fell. Your stomach dropped and it felt as if you were seconds from impact. You looked out the window one last time before the ground came into view and everything went black.

He leaned over the body on the metal table in the lab of his factory. He fastened the bolts with a wrench and tested the strength of the metal against the rotting flesh. A soft horn sounded in the distance along with the various turns of chains and clangs of steel against steel. He wiped the sweat off his brow and walked to his desk, looking over the blueprints and sketches he had devised the previous day.

Despite the different array of sounds, nothing could mask the loud crash that sounded off in the distance. He lifted his head, silently trying to figure out what the fuck made that noise. Leaving the body laying on the table, he exited his lab and made his way down the stairs and to the factory doors.

With a grunt, he slid the doors aside and looked off into the distance. Black smoke billowed from an area that looked to be close to the village. Other than the crows squawking and flapping their wings in retreat, everything was dead quiet. He looked off to the right just in time to see the long, spindly limbs of mold retreating back towards the earth. Karl Heisenberg’s face tightened in a disgusted grimace.

“Mother Miranda...what have you done?”

#resident evil village #resident evil village fanfic #karl heisenberg #karl heisenburg x reader #daddy heisenberg #house heisenberg #heisenberg #karl heisenberg fanfic

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sitp-recs · 3 years

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Drarry for Beginners: Muggle Draco

I started this series with two of my fave tropes (Magical Houses and 8th year) and will now close it with my other two faves. I love this concept so much - either Draco living in the Muggle world or just exploring it for the first time - that I couldn’t narrow it down to 3 recs. These 5 fics are brilliant because they present rich, creative and diverse takes, so it wouldn’t have been fair to exclude any. I hope you all enjoy these masterpieces as much as I do!

Open For Repairs by @drarrytrash (2015, M, 35k)

After the war, Draco works at a tv repair shop and Harry breaks things. feat. sad boys in jumpers and more ABBA than is probably necessary

This is such a poignant read, quiet, insightful and very atmospheric! This take where Draco works at a Muggle shop and stays under the radar is one of my favorites. Like the summary points out these boys are sad™ and connect over their loneliness, which means this is a quite melancholic fic. The pacing is great and they fall in love so naturally and gently it gives me a lump in the throat. I love the metaphor linking Draco’s mending life to the repair shop. His arc is powerful and bittersweet; the author never lets us forget about their struggles and vulnerabilities even as they go from tentative to close friends. This is a lovely story about healing and understanding, about finding solace together and welcoming new beginnings. A balm to the lonely hearts!

(Un)wanted by @aibidil (2020, E, 36k)

See also: Moldova’s Magical Tea, another fic with Muggle references by the same author

Ginny's pregnant, then she's not and Harry's single. Harry, again with no family, doesn't know what to do with this turn of events, or how to find a new life—post-war, post-Ginny, post-abortion—in which he belongs. He doesn't expect that life to include dancing to the Backstreet Boys with Hermione and Draco Malfoy. A story of finding belonging in the unexpected.

This fic blew me away - it’s such a powerful and devastating portrait of Harry’s generation, with layered characters full of hopes and struggling to find their place after the war. Harry’s arc is heartbreaking and I love how @aibidil explores his childhood issues early on. We get to see everyone’s reactions from his perspective, and I’m in awe of Hermione and Ginny’s voices. The Drarry slow burn is gentle and honest but I’m here for the way all characters come together by exploring the Muggle world, which brings not only closure but soft nostalgia - all those bonding moments are very cathartic and as a 90s kid I appreciate so much the references and old school atmosphere! A perfect “coming of age” story, delicate, complex and touching. It will make you laugh, cry, reflect on life and realize we’re not so different from these kids.

Here's The Pencil, Make It Work by @6balls (2013, M, 49k)

See also: my rec for Faint Indirections, another Muggle Draco fic by the same author

Harry thinks "Why is Malfoy working in a coffee shop in muggle London?" is a much simpler question than, "Are you going to accept that auror offer and, if you don't, what will you do?"

The coffee shop AU we deserve, only it’s so much more than that! This is a masterpiece in world building and character development, and my favorite take on Harry’s obsession with Draco. He’s clearly all over the place but still brave, kind and sympathetic, still very much Harry. All side characters have brilliant voices but I fell in love with this Draco with his free and captivating spirit. It’s really moving to see Harry inspired by him, learning all the little things about this new Malfoy and noticing all the ways in which they’re similar and different from each other. This fic has a perfect balance of bittersweet longing, sweet romance and quiet catharsis. Reading it made me realize that I love angsty post-war stories because it comforts me to know that Harry and Draco can rely on each other to help them heal and let that “mopey, brooding and tragic” persona behind. Growing up is definitely painful but there’s hope and beauty in it, and no other fic explores it better than this one!

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic (2020, E, 61k)

See also: the sequel vignette Collapsed in Love

Harry Potter, of all people, knows that life isn’t always fair. And no one gets to be happy all of the time. But surely there’s something more—something better—than a rubbish Ministry job, and a lonely old house, and that feeling that everyone out there is doing a better job of living than Harry is. And it really doesn’t seem fair that Draco Malfoy is back in Harry’s life, all of a sudden, and even though he’s wandless, and living with Muggles, and making his mother cry with his lifestyle choices, he’s happy. So what's he doing right, that Harry isn’t?

Ohh is it time to talk about my favorite fic yet again?? 😬 this breathtaking friends to lovers is a love letter to Muggle Draco and explores it beautifully! I’m obsessed with the little magical universe Tacky creates through an immersive and mundane slow burn. The plot incorporates Muggle elements very organically (the thrift shop! The church! Draco’s friends and the politics plot!). Harry’s POV is exquisite and there’s a mix of loneliness and yearning about him that make my heart ache. It’s lovely to watch him disrupt Draco’s safe bubble as they transform each other’s lives and develop feelings along the way. All the sweet pining is paid off with the gentlest get together, literally a religious experience. I couldn’t agree more with @dracoladon’s words: “There is a plot that doesn’t distract from the love story, and a love story that doesn’t distract from the achingly slow build of a soft, pining friendship, and a soft, pining friendship that doesn’t distract from Harry and Draco’s own personal character arcs.” Brace yourself for the joy of reading this journey for the first time!

Harry Potter and the Future He Doesn't Really Want, Thanks. orphaned (2016, E, 70k)

It was addictive, the feeling of Draco Malfoy telling him things in a soft voice early in the morning. Harry felt like he was taming a wild animal, or petting a cat that hated everybody else. This train existed outside of time, that was the only explanation Harry could come up with as to why Malfoy was actually having a civil conversation with him right now.

A creative premise, wonderfully executed! This is a great read; all characters are charming and well established - I’m in love with Luna and Pansy! - and the dialogue is fun and engaging. Basically Harry keeps dreaming about a weird future where he and Draco are together and after that they start crossing paths again and again - but they’re not friends, they’re nothing really, just very confused and aware of each other. I love how their dynamics develop from there; Harry learns about Draco’s sentence away from magic and notices the ways he’s changed. The mundane tone gives me warm fuzzy feels and the diversity of Muggle settings creates a lovely atmosphere! “This is such a fucking bad idea / Let’s do it anyway” describes this love story to a T. I chose it to balance all the hardcore angst that came before, so make sure to have a go at this comfort meal after reading the rest!

#drarry for beginners #Muggle Draco

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qqueenofhades · 3 years

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Modern AU Heartrender Husbands gives me the vibes of like they'll watch eurovision bc Fedyor wanted to and Ivan only begrudgingly agreed but in the end it's him who's standing really close to the TV with a bottle of beer loudly criticising the jury vote

Anon, your Mind. As 100% ever, I am so very easy to enable. As before, this is set in Phantom!Verse, and serves as a sequel of sorts to this (and as a further prequel to PEL).

Brighton Beach, 2014

It’s their first spring in their new home – they arrived in America in August 2013 and got this place, fittingly, right around Orthodox Christmas in January 2014 – and that means many things to them. Their apartment is in a formerly rent-controlled brownstone tenement right off the boardwalk, but prior to their arrival, it was occupied for fifty years by an old bat from Krasnodar Krai who apparently never, ever, threw anything away. (Fedyor is too scared to ask if she actually died in this apartment and her mummified corpse is lurking at the bottom of all the junk.) That is why he and Ivan were able to afford it, at least, but now that the weather is warmer, they have been spending all day cleaning, hauling boxes of crap to the dumpster, and trying in vain to get the smell of pickled cabbage out of the kitchen. It looks exactly like your Great Aunt Masha’s house, the one that traumatized you as a child and has never left your nightmares since. Home sweet home.

The upside is that the location is great, the apartment is surprisingly spacious and lovely – a big bedroom, a bathroom with two sinks and a deep claw-footed tub, a living room with high windows that let in lots of light, original crown molding and hardwood floors – and if it was located in the really chic parts of Brooklyn and inhabited by a tech-startup hipster rather than a Russian émigré spinster with definite hoarding tendencies, it would rent for some astronomical monthly sum. Fedyor has a three-ring binder full of paint swatches, sketches, furniture samples, and other plans to give it a total overhaul (he’s thinking a nice pale green for the living room?) But the one thing that spring definitely means is Eurovision, and it is just the ticket to relax from their grueling schedule of throwing boxes of junk away and hoping they don’t stumble upon a withered hand in a glass jar. He likes America and he’s excited for their new life, for all that they had no choice but to leave Russia in a hurry, but Eurovision is Eurovision.

Actually watching it, of course, is easier said than done. For one thing, Fedyor can’t find a blasted station that is airing it, when he could have just switched on the TV and found it right away back home. For another, Ivan is deeply dubious of the whole endeavor, having watched five minutes of it once when he was eighteen and turning it off in disgust, never to return. Fedyor spends a lot of time wheedling him to give it another chance. “Come on, Vanya. It’s fun!”

“It is a lot of homosexuals gyrating in leather to very bad music,” Ivan snaps. “They look ridiculous. And sound even worse.”

Fedyor glances at them – the fact that they’re sitting on the couch, he’s on Ivan’s lap with his legs draped over Ivan’s thigh, and Ivan’s arms wrapped around his waist – and coughs. “I’m not sure how to break this to you, darling,” he says, “but you are also a homosexual.”

“Maybe, but you would never catch me dead up there.”

“Of course not.” Fedyor rolls his eyes. “You might actually have to smile.”

Ivan makes a scoffing noise. Then he notices the full-on puppy-dog face that Fedyor is now giving him, and says, “Oh no. Oh no, Fedya. Do not look at me like that.”

“Why not?” Fedyor shamelessly snuggles closer. “Is it working?”

The predictable outcome is that Ivan grudgingly agrees to watch it with him, though they’re on American time now and Eurovision Song Contest 2014, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, is six hours ahead of them. Ivan thinks that it’s stupid to sit down and watch a lot of gyrating homosexuals in the middle of the day, when there’s still so much work to do, and tries to demand that they just watch the recording later. Fedyor says this is nonsense, you simply cannot watch a recording of Eurovision, and after a lot of investigation, finds the online streaming channel on his laptop and hooks it up to the TV so they can watch it there. Then he prepares his popcorn, his alcoholic beverages, and his glitter glasses, corrals his recalcitrant husband, and readies himself to experience pure joy. No wonder Ivan doesn’t get it.

However, the effect is both swift and remarkable. By the end of the first semi-final, Ivan is put out about the fact that Russia came seventh in the popular vote but was knocked down to eleven by the jury (this is evidence of an anti-Russian conspiracy, according to him) and when only Moldova, a tiny no-name non-EU former Soviet state, deigns to award them the full twelve points, he is openly incredulous. “Moldova?! That is all we get?! MOLDOVA?!”

“Well,” Fedyor says delicately. “There is that little situation in Ukraine, so I’m afraid we are not that popular right now.”

“That is bullshit,” Ivan grouses. “This is a song contest. The Tolmachevy Sisters are not Vladimir Putin. I am sure they have worked very hard to be here.”

Fedyor glances at him and wisely decides not to say anything. He is likewise a little peeved when the Russian contestants get booed by the Danish audience, but Ivan looks like he’s about to leap through the screen and throttle every single one of them. He thrusts out a hand. “Give me a drink, Fedya. I need it to suffer this indignity.”

Fedyor cracks the lid off a cold one and hands it over – there is the Brighton Bazaar just a few blocks away, stocked with Russian goods, so they are spared the ordeal of drinking Yankee beer – and Ivan takes a long slug. He thinks they can skip watching the second semi-final two nights later, since Russia isn’t in it, but Fedyor puts it on anyway. They both like Austria and “Rise Like a Phoenix,” sung by the bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst (there have been a few dumb comments about her from the usual suspects), but Ivan hits a fist on the arm of the sofa. “She was not better than the Russian girls,” he says loyally. “I still think that they should be the ones to win.”

“Right, well,” Fedyor says. “I think the only ones less likely to win are the Brits, and they never win, so we might be waiting a while.”

The grand finale, on May tenth, is an inadvertently hysterical exercise. They get up early and put on the pregame show, like the Americans do with their bewildering fixation on the Super Bowl, and Ivan gets even more furious when the Tolmachevy Sisters are booed again. “Are they not supposed to love everyone at this glitter bacchanalia? So much for the Scandinavians being tolerant and accepting people! The song is nice! They are nice girls! What is wrong with them?!”

“Come over here and give me a cuddle, Vanya,” Fedyor suggests. “Otherwise you will blow a blood vessel long before the show starts.”

Ivan growls like an escaped tiger from the zoo, but consents to sit down next to Fedyor. They both drink copiously once the festivities get underway, singing along loudly (and not that melodiously) to the various entries, Fedyor’s arm draped around Ivan’s neck as he sits on his lap and critically judges the acts before the official results pop up. Once again, the only twelve-point awards Russia gets are from former Soviet countries (Azerbaijan and Belarus) and Ivan looks like he’s going to have a conniption before Fedyor kisses him and he gets distracted for the next three minutes. “This is disgraceful,” he mutters, when they break away. “Not you, Fedya. Just the horrible way they have clearly rigged this show against us.”

“You know,” Fedyor says. “That’s Eurovision. You declare war on your neighbors when they don’t give you twelve points. Now they have the EU, they’re not supposed to fight anymore, this is the only way they can get all those old rivalries out. Just be glad that Australia isn’t in this year. You might have really blown a gasket.”

“Australia?!” Ivan shifts Fedyor to a more comfortable position on his lap and grabs for his third bottle of beer. “AUSTRALIA IS NOT IN EUROPE! It is not even anywhere NEAR Europe! WHY DOES AUSTRALIA GET TO BE IN EUROVISION!?!”

Fedyor laughs out loud. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Ivan says. “But this is still the stupidest thing I have ever seen.”

“Shh.” Fedyor nuzzles him. “Just give in, Vanya. Just give in.”

Ivan consents to turn his grumbling down to a simmer, and is somewhat mollified that Russia comes in sixth overall, which is better than even Fedyor thought they were going to do. Austria takes the champion’s crown, they can both agree that Conchita Wurst deserves it, and get up and dance around their still-junk-cluttered living room as she gives her bravissima performance. A few things have been thrown during the judging, but they can’t add much to the existing mess, and in Brighton Beach, “damage caused to the apartment because Russia got shafted during Eurovision finals” might actually be a legitimate excuse. As he leans against Ivan’s chest and grins into his neck, Fedyor has to admit that this place may just feel like home yet.

#ivan x fedyor #heartrender husbands #fivan #pel asks #henchmen deserve happiness too okay #anonymous #ask #fivan ff

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cosettefauchelevente · 2 years

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esc 2022 semi final 1 thoughts

the camera work throughout was awful. why so many wide-shots? the hosts came across like kid's shows hosts, and her dress was ugly. however, we did at least get to witness mika and his amazing language skills!

the opening show looked like the stage version of the lion king. I think rai took notes from love love peace peace.

mixed feelings on the postcards. the drones looked a png. but I enjoy seeing italy's famous sites from different angles. and I did think the origin story of how the drone came to be was cute, I liked the pinnochio reference.

albania: awful staging, she shouted more than she sang, too sexual. it's a shame bc it had potential. 4/10

latvia: they bought pussy to eurovision. "instead of meat, I eat veggies and pussies" is my new favourite lyric, am vegetarian now. should have opened instead of albania. 10/10

lithuania: she might be the only person a bowl haircut looks good on. old-fashioned french music is a genre I sometimes enjoy. bad staging though. 6/10.

switzerland: nice staging, but extremely boring song. I almost fell asleep. I think marius himself got bored. most interesting thing was the hand movements borrowed from gjon's tears. 3/10. it gets less than albania bc at least I felt something during albania's performance

slovenia: this is last in the betting odds for some reason. I really liked it! unfortunately the camerawork was atrocious during this, but I loved the disco ball and the keyboardist's energy. 9/10

ukraine: a lot of people didn't like it, but I enjoyed the blend of rap with folk music. I think Epic Flute Guy saved it for a lot of people. the choreo was a bit awkward at times though. I wonder if the main singer could see out of his hat at all. 8/10

bulgaria: måneskin look different this year. did damiano david forget to dry his hair before going on stage? sounded like arena rock. 7/10, it grew on me after a while

the netherlands: the singer looked like a white, female bilal hassani to me somehow. very pretty girl, i adore her hair. the song had indie playlist created by spotify vibes. she was obviously nervous, but I think that actually suited the song. 7/10

moldova: this was deliciously bonkers. it had everything eurovision is about. folk music, meme potential, even a the ramones reference. I need them in the final. 9/10.

portugal: I liked the instrumental at the start, but didn't like when she started singing. sounded better when the other singer joined in. 6/10

croatia: chill, but not my favourite. 6/10

denmark: the singer was meh to me, but I lived for the drummer. she should marry me. 8/10, it gains points for drummer girl

austria: terrible vocals, okay song. 5/10

iceland: I didn't like it as much as their previous few entries, but I did like the old west theme. would have preferred ja ja ding dong though. 7/10

greece: good singing and staging, but the song is boring for me. 6/10

norway: 🐺🍌🐺🍌🐺🍌 I'm ready to join the wolf-banana cult. out of this year's "weird" songs, this had the best stage. this will be memed the most this year, I think. 7/10.

armenia: the staging looked like it was made of toilet paper, sorry 💀 she has a strong voice though. there was almost a huge mishap when the stage turned though (could the audience see her????). 6/10, didn't care for it particularly, but it wasn't the worst.

#esc 2022 #eurovision

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kn-rainbowblood · 2 years

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Managed to see Eurovision live!

It was the early afternoon show so we didn't have actual voting and Måneskin weren't on stage ( :((( ) which we were highkey pissed about until they explained Damiano hurt his leg (which they could've explained BEFORE announcing Måneskin and sending different performers in playback on stage to rehearse the staging, but you know). On another note, I found out you can feel the warmth of vertical flamethrowers despite being pretty far away from them.

The best performance was for sure Moldova's, the energy was insane, they made everyone jump and dance and every time they came up in the final summary we started again.

Some performers were WAY better seen live than on tv, I thought the amount of ballads would make it a bit more boring but it really didn't, and I ended up crying like a fountain absolutely out of nowhere while listening to Australia.

I felt my voice break completely during Brividi, it just gave up lol And Spain was next so I couldn't even catch a break!

I was sitting next to the most enthusiastic British women ever, they made watching the UK space man even more enjoyable.

The temperature dropped ten degrees every time Switzerland was mentioned or seen, you could feel the public really didn't like him.

On the other hand people went wild for Serbia, and I've seen Mika clap every time she was on stage or in the summary so it wasn't just us lol

Norway was extremely fun but not as engaging as Moldova, weirdly enough, live it had a really different energy. Still really good though!

The Icelandic performers were all wearing trans pride t shirts and one of them had a trans flag on her shoulders, which was very nice to see. Apparently they had more freedom with their clothes during rehearsal, and although most performers had the same dress they wore on stage (like Australia) some didn't (Lithuania had a really pretty white dress).

Mika was dressed like a buzzurro. I'm not sorry. I am sorry about finding it attractive.

Cattelan was Cattelan and I couldn't wait to see tumblr reacting to the floating space head.

The extra performances were so, so good. Laura Pausini's medley was a great way to start the show and made the girl next to me go wild, the Domenico Modugno tribute was an incredibly soft moment and Gigliola Cinquetti was so delicate and so clearly happy to be there it was a pleasure to see.

Mika's medleyyyyyy baby! I love that this level of theatrics isn't just for Eurovision, he has it in his concerts as well. I've seen a giant inflatable heart pop out of his piano before lol The running and jumping around was also on brand. I think I heard a surprisingly low amount of people singing along to Grace Kelly, but I couldn't know for sure because I was singing louder than any of them.

It was an amazing experience, and I liked so many songs more than I thought I would. We might definitely try again next time it comes to an affordable country.

I got a t shirt :>

#sunny blabbers #eurovision #eurovision 2022 #esc 2022 #we also walked basically all of turin on foot #and now my feet are killing me

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crystal-methionine · 3 years

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The Post-Eurovision ranking and comments from an American that nobody asked for:

1. Switzerland 🇨🇭 Gjon’s Tears - Tout l’univers: I absolutely was enamored by this song, its artistry, and the artist. He can really sing and one of my early favorites from this year. So happy for him to get in the top 3 bc it was well deserved. 100/10

2. Italy 🇮🇹 Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni: Deserved winners. As queer as you can get and I am here for it. Another early favorite of mine constantly fighting with Switzerland for the top spot. 100/10

3. Iceland 🇮🇸 Dadi og Gagnamagnid - 10 Years: A beautiful song dedicated to his wife and deserved Top 5 for sure. Last year’s song would have won hands down so I’m bummed he couldn’t win the first one for Iceland but brilliant song and I hope the group stays together to produce more music. 99/10

4. Bulgaria 🇧🇬 Victoria - Growing Up Is Getting Old: Eurovision fandom will forever say Imaginary Friend or Ugly Cry was the better song to send, but I don’t think they would have won the contest either. This year was strong, and I personally think Growing Up was a perfect choice from Victoria. It deserved top 10 so I was pissed that it came 11th on the night and received so few televotes. 97/10

5. Ukraine 🇺🇦 Go_A - SHUM: To all y’all who said this wouldn’t qualify when the new version came out, eat those words hun. This was a masterpiece, and the live performances just elevated it further. Honestly, Kateryna could step on me, and I would let her. Who doesn’t love an ethnic modern fusion rave? 95/10

6. Serbia 🇷🇸 Hurricane - Loco Loco: I honestly have to say when it came out, it was never breaking my top 20, but here we are. This group of gals is amazing. The choreo, hairography, and the still great vocals won my gay ass over. They served and deserved top 10 in my eye. 90/10

7. Greece 🇬🇷 Stefania - Last Dance: Much like Serbia, I kinda dismissed this as a top 10 song at first, but after many listens and then the live shows, it was one of the best songs this year. Last year’s song was nowhere near a qualifier for me, and then I thought they had a good chance of being top 5 this year. Amazing improvement and can’t wait to see what comes next from Stefania. 80/10

8. Malta 🇲🇹 Destiny - Je me casse: Not going to lie, the studio definitely did more for me. It was up with Italy and Switzerland for winner contention until the live shows. Don’t get me wrong, Destiny is still amazing live, and the song is a deserved top 5 song. However, the costume and staging just really didn’t add to the song and I think detracted a bit. Her song last year was also much better in my opinion. 75/10

9. San Marino 🇸🇲 Senhit ft Flo Rida - Adrenalina: Oh boy this was a party, and the fact Flo Rida actually was there made it even better. The staging and costuming was absolutely camp, and I was here for it. This was definitely not underrated by fans beforehand, but the jury and televote were beyond robberies in my opinion. Granted I know the backing vocals were carrying the chorus a lot so in terms of vocals, I can see where this song got dinged, but this should have been San Marino’s best ever result at Eurovision, and it wasn’t so I’m mad. 60/10

10. France 🇫🇷 Barbara Pravi - Voila: The new Edith Piaf and probably one of the most representative of the country’s culture for a song. A definite deserved runner up on the night but for me 10th place. I loved the staging, the costume, the emotions. It was all right for Eurovision and me. 50/10

11. Cyprus 🇨🇾 Elena Tsingarou - El Diablo: Come through Cyprus with another female pop banger. I’d say if the formula ain’t broke don’t fix it, but wasn’t really enough to crack top 10 this year. Another early favorite of mine this year but soon got eclipsed. Still going to be listening to El Diablo for a while. 49/10

12. Russia 🇷🇺 Manizha - Russian Woman: I can’t lie that at first, this song was absolutely trash to me but quickly rose the ranks and became one of my faves. Same thing happened last year with Uno. We also always love a good female empowerment moment with the native language thrown in. Manizha is a girlboss without the gaslighting and a true queen. Deserved top 10 the night of. 40/10

13. Lithuania 🇱🇹 The Roop - Discoteque: An earworm for first listen and was top 10 for a while for me but like Cyprus, lost out to some others. No doubt this is a deserved top 10 the night of. 35/10

14. Croatia 🇭🇷 Albina - Tick Tock: The first song to get me pressed on it’s placement. Deserved to be in the final over both Israel and Norway (please come for me I don’t care). They freakin rocked that stage during the semis and the song is absolutely a bop. Albina deserved better. 30/10

15. Sweden 🇸🇪 Tusse - Voices: A beautiful song by an amazing artist. Sure the lyrics were a bit cliche Eurovision but guess what...it’s Eurovision. I can hear the voices. Keep carrying on Tusse. 25/10

16. Albania 🇦🇱 Anxehla Peristeri - Karma: This song grew on me a lot. I liked it but wasn’t a don’t skip for a while on my playlist. The live performance changed it for me. She slayed and the staging was everything for Miss Thing. Also native language brownie points. 24/10

17. Finland 🇫🇮 Blind Channel - Darkside: Before you come for me for having this at 17th, keep reading. I’m not a big fan of the lyrics but the song is absolutely fantastic. This style of music isn’t something I pull out on a playlist often, but I had my middle fingers up for this one (and pointed at Germany but we’ll discuss later). Deserved top 10 as they rocked it on stage. 20/10

18. The Netherlands 🇳🇱 Jeangu Macrooy - Birth of a New Age: I absolutely do not understand the hate for this song. I was also a huge fan of Grow last year so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised for being generally alone again. The fact it got 0 points in the televote and only 11 in the jury is not surprising but extremely disappointing to me. This song is a masterpiece much like the ones ranked above it. Jeangu, you are amazing and deserved so much better than this. 20/10

19. Belgium 🇧🇪 Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place: Fantastic song but fantastic artists. Always here for a dark pop moment. Gonna go get my own Johnny Cash T-shirt. 15/10

20. Spain 🇪🇸 Blas Cantó - Voy a Quedarme: Such a heartfelt ballad. I enjoyed it quite a bit and don’t understand the hate it has. Didn’t deserve 0 points in the televote. 14/10

21. Denmark 🇩🇰 Fyr og Flamme - Øve Os På Hinanden: Look we all know this song is cheesy but it’s the cheesiest Velveeta queso loco so it’s ranked so high in my opinion. This is a nod to the whacky and weird Eurovision I love. It’s always in my head and I always find myself dancing along. Deserved to be in the final over two of the songs in Semi 2. 13/10

22. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Efendi - Mata Hari: As far as the song goes, it’s enjoyable, but the stage show was a hot mess in my opinion. The choreo looked a mess and the different sheer legging configurations on the backup dancers was not the correct fashion choice in my opinion as I was distracted by the thought of why are they all different. Did deserve their spot in the final though. 12/10

23. Moldova 🇲🇩 Natalia Gordienko - Sugar: The studio version of this song is a heavily replayed one on my playlist bc of the drop and dance-ability of the song. However the downfall of the song was it’s live performance. The staging was fine and the choreo was great but those attempted sexy whisper vocals were not the choice to go with. I don’t want to sugar-coat this 😝 so they were terrible. Glad she made it but I felt her position in the final was one of just pure luck. 11/10

24. UK 🇬🇧 James Newman - Embers: The nul points was a huge ass oof. This song isn’t bad but I can see where people didn’t vote for it bc it’s not super memorable in terms of who all was participating this year. I like the song and always sing and dance along. 10/10

25. Israel 🇮🇱 Eden Alene - Set Me Free: This is how to do a revamp and be successful. Eden is a fantastic artist who can clearly sing, but the live performance was not all that sans the whistle tones. Yet the whistle tones aside, the song is lacking a lot. When looking back at the songs available, this one should not have been the selected one. I was always on the fence with this one and still am. 9.5/10

26. Czechia 🇨🇿 Benny Cristo - Omaga: The live definitely hurt this song in the first minute and a half. The second half was absolutely what should have happened in terms of vocals. Still like the song and listen to it often. 9.25/10

27. Ireland 🇮🇪 Leslie Roy - Maps: This song was a victim of a super strong bloodbath and shoddy staging ideas. The song is arresting and a bop. Leslie’s gruff voice mixed with the modernized Irish sounds is a match made. The staging of this song that required Leslie to run along with the beat and the distracting and constantly changing bits of the performance we’re definitely it’s downfall. It didn’t deserve last place in Semi 1 though. 9.25/10

28. Portugal 🇵🇹 The Black Mamba - Love Is On My Side: I am the first to admit that while I don’t like the song, it deserved the final. The staging and atmosphere elevated the song. 9/10

29. Austria 🇦🇹 Vincent Bueno - Amen: In the battle of the Amens, this one wins solely based on the classy and amazing staging. Don’t get me wrong, Slovenia’s was also elevating but this one did it better. 8.5/10

30. Australia 🇦🇺 Montaigne - Technicolor: This song is a fantastic one for studio. The live since the Sydney Mardi Gras performance has been rough and didn’t necessarily improve. I feel bad bc I do really love this song but it definitely didn’t deserve to qualify. This being said, I love Montaigne, and Don’t Break Me was my runner up last year, and I still listen to it as my anthem when I’m feeling down. I wish I could rank this higher but I can’t. 8.5/10

31. Romania 🇷🇴 Roxen - Amnesia: This song is great in the studio but it got old real fast for me and I don’t know why. This mixed with the poor vocals and the bizarre costume:stage combo was really what did this in and got this low in my ranking. 8.25/10

32. Slovenia 🇸🇮 Ana Soklic - Amen: The loser of the Amen battle, but just barely. The song and vocals are better in my opinion but the whole package was just barely edged out in the end. 8/10

33. Latvia 🇱🇻 Samanta Tīna - Moon Is Rising: Look, this song is nowhere near as good as last years. The queeeeeen sashayed away with that annoying trap beat. 8/10

34. North Macedonia 🇲🇰 Vasil - Here I Stand: Leave it to the gays for bringing musical theatre to Eurovision. The song honestly isn’t that special or memorable but he’s higher up bc his stage and voice are amazing. 7/10

35. Norway 🇳🇴 Tix - Fallen Angel: A great message on mental health outside of the song and Tix seems like a quality fella but I do not like the song. I preferred it in Norwegian. And this low ranking is not at all influenced over him beating out Keiino (but maybe a slight bit tho). 5/10

36. Estonia 🇪🇪 Uku Suviste - The Lucky One: While this was 1000% better than last years entry, it still was relatively boring. The stage was equally as boring so sorry Estonia, but you didn’t make the mark. 4.5/10

37. Poland 🇵🇱 Rafael - The Ride: This throwback to the 80s was a bad one. The attempt at a one hit wonder vibe really hurt it along with the artist’s terrible vocals. Also half the time, he was behind the pyro and relying on backup vocals. 4/10

38. Georgia 🇬🇪 Tornike Kipiani - You: You really should not have to wait so long for the more upbeat rock ending of this. If it was that last 30 seconds for 3 minutes, it would be much better. A definite step back from last year. 1/10

39. Germany 🇩🇪 Jendrick - I Don’t Feel Hate: Jendrick might not feel hate but I do bc that is all I feel when this song comes on. 0.5/10

#Eurovision #Eurovision 2021 #top 39 eurovision #my opinion

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anotherescsite · 3 years

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The Eurovision Song Contest we had to have

The journey from Tel Aviv to Rotterdam was an unexpectedly long one. Who knew that when Duncan Lawrence raised the trophy in May 2019 that another Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final would not take place for another 736 days? Having to wait such a long time between two Eurovision (excluding 2 x Junior contests) was excruciating, soul destroying and plainly depressing. And just like that, Eurovision 2021 has come and has now gone.

As the title says, it is The Eurovision Song Contest we had to have. It is a bold statement and I considered it for a day before putting it there. In reflection the song contest in Rotterdam was a wonderful event for many reasons which I’d like to discuss a bit. So this may take a while, but bear with me and hopefully, I’ll make it worth your while.

THE HOSTS

Four hosts was two too many, but let’s talk about them. Chantal is beautiful and the most professional of the foursome. Jan was the token male and while his performance was contained to a very small potion, it was nevertheless, fine. Edsilia was much more chilled than I expected and provided a warm presence amongst these people. Nikkie was probably the most down to earth of them all, possibly the most personable, but also somehow cold.

In actually effect, while there were four of them, they worked. No one took a lite load but they each had an equal presence in the show. As many other people have mentioned, everyone would have preferred more Edsilia and Nikkie to Jan and Chantal, but I’m not terribly fussed. They were all well practiced and very on point for the event and as a viewer I was pleased by this.

THE STAGE

Like most Eurovision stages, they do not look like anything unless you turn on the lights. That was definitely the case for this one. The lights were on, the stage sparkled, and the stage was alive in every way that it was asked. The screens provided everything that were needed for each of the songs and other performances. The transparent screen in the middle of the venue added so much to some of the performances and was the masterstroke that made some of them visually exciting.

There was one thing about the stage that felt like they were reminiscing stages of the Dutch past. I felt a hint of the Amsterdam 1970 stage on the sides. I don’t think it was a co-incidence, but I liked the fact that the paid homage like that. Everything else was state of the art.

POSTCARDS

The postcard films were well put together to present a place in the Netherlands, a tiny house structure with items that belong or relate to the act coming up and then a green screen appearance of the act in the tiny house.

While the postcard as a whole were well put together and cleverly created, I felt I missed out on seeing more of the Netherlands because they were focused more on what was coming and less with the airport, the canal, the lighthouse, the field, the tulips and whatever else was presented. So it’s only a small thing in a small film, but I wanted more of a Netherlands tourism experience in the films.

THE INTERVAL ACTS

It’s a funny thing about this year’s interval acts, and to be completely honest, I happy about it. If you asked a fan about Eurovision 2014, people will say that they remember ‘Love love peace peace’ and Justin Timberlake. In 1994, people remember ‘Riverdance’. In Tel Aviv, there was Madonna. I like that the intervals this year did not overshadow the entrants to the song contest. They were a time filler, a light refreshment and then it was over. For the most part well performed, entertaining and gone before you know it

I recall there was something about water in the first semi final, there was a dancer and a bike in the second, the former winners sang on Rotterdam buildings and some unifying song and dance. Nikkie did some little films about losing, and behaviour in the green room during voting. All were quality performances that were well constructed, organised and presented. They held the viewers attention while we waited for the votes to commence/announcement of the qualifiers and because they were each engaging, they seemed to go quickly.

THE OUTCOME

In most cases, things went as expected in the semi finals. Fans were disappointed with Croatia not qualifying, but I don’t think the betting had them qualifying. Romania was expected to qualify, but Roxen could not sing the song and move at the same time. Ireland suffered the same fate with an impressive staging. Semi final 2 went as expected as well; maybe Austria was expected to get through in place of Albania; i disagree.

The results/placings in the final were a bit of a surprise to me, but there was one certainty for me and that was that Italy deserved their win. There is a very simple reason for it’s success too. It’s not that it was a loud song or that the song was outlandish, or the way they were dressed. The reason that Italy won was that the performance of the song was a natural performance. I’m sure there was choreography of movement, but they were not outside of what they usually do. There was no gimmick, no dance routine, no green screen to worry about, no spinning diamond or large gimmick hanging from the roof of the stadium. It is also why the French entry was such a success and for a lesser part Iceland and Ukraine. Finland and Portugal also presented an entry that was in essence what was expected for that type of song.

Switzerland was a vast success in my eyes. They rolled the dice and they came up on top with the juries. Switzerland have rolled out a prop in the past to highlight a song, but this year they added lighting and camera work to add to the tension of the entry and it worked. Gjon looked a bit clumsy at times, but it was excellent captivating three minutes.

There were some countries that were dependent on a large prop. Some were there to attract votes as they went with the song while others to distract from it. Russia and Cyprus had several well placed props that worked well and were relevant to the song. Greece had a large invisible prop that made what was a good song appear like a joke entry. Malta had a prop that didn’t make sense to the entry being performed. Bulgaria’s rock was both inspirational and strange to me. Moldova’s revolving diamond worked for her also, but it was just a surface to perform choreography on.

I want to spend a moment of praise on Serbia and Belgium that had very different performances, but appropriately performed. Serbia took their sexy manic, hair choreographed selves all over the stage gyrating and moving like they had drunk 15 cups of coffee. Belgium, on the other hand, was very intense and sedate in their presentation mainly because most of them were playing instruments that were unmovable.

Of the countries that retained their choreography from a national final, other than Iceland, was Lithuania. They had varied it only very little from the national final and in their case, the performance was crazy perfection to match the theme of the song. I was disappointed with Norway, Azerbaijan and Sweden for retaining almost identical choreography to their songs from the film clip/national final, but I wasn’t a big fan of either song in the final. They seemed tired in appearance and in formatting. Azerbaijan needs a further slap for submitting their 2020 song with a new name.

I feel some disappointment for a few of the entrants. I’m going to start with the United Kingdom. Poor James Newman. He had a thumping good song that fans liked. There was enthusiasm from the fans that the UK would do better this year and they did worse. What I find astounding is he does not appear to be a shy person, yet he allowed someone in the United Kingdom delegation to produce that choreography, that outfit and those props for that song. To my ear, James sounded sad and dejected in the final and I was unbelievably disappointed that they didn’t score something from somewhere.

I’m disappointed for San Marino too. Senhit has showed she is a class act and has spent the last year enthusiastically covering Eurovision songs. But at the song contest, she appeared to be a forgotten entrant. Even with the addition of Flo Rida did not give the song some cred. I have a recurring image of Senhit’s shoulders slump and physically shrink on hearing that her efforts accounted for 50 points.

I’m also disappointed for the Netherlands. They most likely did not want to host again and it is a sad curse that countries that host usually end near the bottom of the scoreboard (excluding Super Sweden). But to score so terribly for what was a gloriously performed entry was unconscionable. I praise the Netherlands for choosing such a wonderful cultural performance for the stage.

At the bottom end, Spain and Germany had very different entries, performed with contrasting enthusiasm and it got them both a very low level of support. Spain had the most tired song that was boring as all hell and the presentation of the entry gave the audience nothing in return but a large grey beach ball in the sky. Back to the drawing board? Germany was destined to fail in March. The charisma and fun of their film was completely missing from the staging and it was never going to go well.

Albania had the misfortune of being ignored, given a terribly bad draw for the second year straight and not given anywhere near the appropriate amount of votes required. Anxhela gave a good stylish and appropriate performance. She was on-point vocally and in her performance on stage.

Israel, on the other hand, was a spectacle. The song was kind of meh, performed with a lot of choreography to distract from it. She did a whistle note; so? I’m sure she had to get noticed somehow with her t-shirt dress, her nude illusion reveal and the headdress she stole from reigning RuPaul Drag race winner, Symone. (Did she not no know where she was coming and who would be watching? Picked that up immediately)

IN CONCLUSION

There is one other things that I have not mentioned so far and it only occurred to me after re-reading some of the above comments. The Dutch were very time conscious. They said they were keeping the final under four hours and they pulled it in and got it done. In my opinion, it was a Eurovision that was very breezy, and very light experience because while the experience of Eurovision was 8 hours of your week watching the shows, this year did not seem like an ordeal. I felt that the shows progressed quickly without fuss or propaganda. As a package it came together well across the board.

It was a good Eurovision year and had something to cater for the taste of everyone. Some songs were not suited to everyone, but that happens. Below is how I saw this years song’s after the three shows and believe me I have changed it a few times before settling on this list. Looking at it, I want to move them around again.

So that’s it. Next year it will be somewhere in Italy; maybe Turin, maybe Rome, Milan or Bologna. It won’t matter. Feel free to comment, complain, debate. I’m happy to back myself and for you to convince me otherwise. I haven’t got anything else to do. : )

#esc #eurovision #2021 #Rotterdam #The Netherlands #The Eurovision Song Contest we had to have

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pierreslittleredblog · 3 years

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Inside the Eastern Bloc: A Brief History Of The Ex-USSR

“All victories inevitably come at a cost.” ‑ Mikhaïl Gorbachev, HBO Chernobyl

Nikola Tesla Boulevard on a summer evening, Serbia - Photo Source: Pierre (PLRB)

A Tale Of Winners & Losers

Nothing feels more hopeless than a self-destructing world around you. We often forget how easy we have it, snuggled in our cocoons of excessive love and smothering. Sometimes, we need to be remembered who we are and where we come from. Not too long ago did our grandparents struggled and fought for their basic needs. Of course, now, with our technology, we don’t even have to worry about the basic survival priorities of the past. With the simple click of a button, we can have everything delivered to our doorstep without even raising an arm.

Ah, doesn’t it feel good to taste the sweet fruits of our capitalistic labor? Isn’t it great to be the “winners” of today’s world? Sometimes, we tend to forget that our victories come at a great cost. Sometimes, we forget to humanize our enemies. They too can love, laugh, cry and fear. They too, are humans like us.

Propaganda poster of Yuri Gagarin - Photo Source: @soviet.propaganda on Instagram

Watch Out For The Communist!

Let me ask you a question: How many times have you heard the word “communist” on the news? My guess of your answer is quite a few times. Although rare, sometimes it is used simply to describe the people that identify with the socialist Marxist-Leninist ideology. Most of the time though, it is used as a pure and simple insult. An insult that describes everything we don’t understand, fear, and dislike.

This exact description though is exactly what our grandparents were told about the red flag-carrying “commies” over in the eastern bloc. When the canons of wars tear through the skies, governments tend to create a sense of unity within their population to, somehow, justify the war on a national scale. They dehumanize their enemies and convince us that we must fear the others, and win this war at all cost (as they did with Vietnam).

But when we don’t even know who our enemies are, how can we fully grasp what’s at stake?

Propaganda poster of Lenin’s revolution - Photo Source: @comrade_quotes on Instagram

Rise Up, Comrade!

Before getting into the modern Soviet Union (the 1970s-1990s), let’s focus on the beginning. If you went over to the former republics of the Soviet Union in 2021, you would notice how terrible everything looks. Potholes, crumbling buildings, outdated trolleybuses, and subway cars, beaten up Lada’s plowing through knee-deep puddles under the unimpressed look of the driver’s face.

When you come to witness this spectacle in person, it is easy to assume that the Soviets must’ve had it rough back in the day, and boy you would’ve been right. Once the Tsars were no more, the new Soviet party lead by the revolutionist Vladimir Lenin promised a bright and equal future turned on the workers and the equal distribution of their labor. However, this promise wouldn’t be easy to achieve. What followed afterward were decades and decades of purges, wars, hard work, and brutal leadership by our good ol’ friend Comrade Stalin. Some argue about Uncle Joe’s good intentions, but this is not what I want to focus on. Here I want to talk about the last soviet’s aspirations and dreams, the ones our western leaders promised to crush for our freedom.

Haludovo Palace of Kirk, Croatia - Photo Source: @socmod on Instagram

For The Happiness Of All Mankind

The 1970s was a great time to be a Soviet. If you were a citizen, you would’ve been able to move into brand new apartments, get a stable job in any industry you wish, get all the food you can eat, obtain the diploma you wanted, have access to healthcare, you would even be able to get a brand new Lada, and all for free! Yes, you’ve read that right: for free.

Communism in the Soviet Union wasn’t about a totalitarian regime and oppressing its citizens (as the western propaganda wants us to believe), it was about universal free access to one’s every need. Now of course there were some questionable policies such as limited free speech and limited access to the outside world beyond the iron curtain (however more and more freedoms were given to the Soviets in the 1980s with the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev into office). The Soviet Union wasn’t lacking behind in technology either, in fact, it was the world’s second industrial and military superpower back in its heyday! They even sent the world’s first man into space.

This is what the real Soviet Union was about: unity and comradeship. They truly had a will to build a greater future for humanity and like us today, they had reached such a level of comfort that a bright future was taken for granted by everybody in the USSR.

However, this candor belief in a great future would suddenly come to a brutal end.

Edge of the Chernobyl Red Forest, Ukraine - Photo Source: Pierre (PLRB)

Porridge With A Side Of Radiation

It’s April 26th, 1986. In a small town of the Ukrainian SSR, citizens are eating breakfast and preparing for yet another routine day. Children are headed to school and parents, to work. Some of them could notice smoke coming out of the industrial site nearby, and others had heard rumors about a possible roof fire that started in the night.

However, nobody seemingly cared as everybody went on with their day none the wiser. At the same time on the other side of town, ambulances are flying in one by one into the general hospital, carrying firefighters from the smoking site. Nurses run outside and discover men with unusual burns, screaming in pain. Nobody knew what was happening and they all tried to assist them to the best of their knowledge. The citizens didn’t know it yet, but only 3 kilometers away from their homes, the worst nuclear disaster that mankind would ever experience had happened.

Today, this event is simply known as “Chernobyl”. Of course, back then, they had no clue about what was actually happening, and Soviet bureaucracy would immensely delay the travel of information up to the top state officials. It took them a full 3 days before they evacuated the town of Pripyat, and on the same occasion, creating the famous 30 km exclusion zone (which is still in place today). Of course, by then, it was already too late. Most of the citizens had already received a fatal dose of radiation that would affect their descendants for generations, and make their land uninhabitable for hundreds of years.

This event was a true shifting point for the USSR, as the Soviet leader Gorbachev took the opportunity for the first time in Soviet history, to be as transparent as possible with its citizens and to the world. He finally admitted that the Soviet Union is about to crash.

Palace of Yugoslavia, Serbia - Photo Source: Pierre (PLRB)

A Russian Traitor

Gorbachev told the shocking truth to its citizens. The country’s banks are empty, and for years the Union was living off the reserves accumulated in the past decades. The Soviet Union wasn’t producing anymore, and instead, became buyers. The self-sustaining system they had built before was no longer in place and everybody would have to brace for the rough years coming ahead.

This news naturally came as a true shock for the entire population, and suddenly all hopes of a bright future were lost. The citizens learned that the good years are over, and from now on, they should expect misery and poverty. The Cold War and the Afghanistan War had ruined the country’s economy, the former leader Leonid Brezhnev had lost the leadership with his lazy ways and had become too comfortable in his spending.

However, amid all this chaos and confusion, not a single second did anybody think the Soviet Union would simply collapse and disappear. They truly believed in the strong and powerful nation they had built in the past 69 years, and never imagined one second that it would come to an end. They thought they would simply fight through the rough years and rise again as they had done in the past century.

One politician though had another idea of how things would turn out. Boris Yeltsin, a man rejected by the Soviet party for having ideas too far away from the communist ideology, was grooming republics for their independence and made deals with the Americans without the knowledge of Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Party. This is how bad the bureaucracy had gotten. They became so out of touch with their own reality that on December 8th, 1991 the Belovezha Accords were signed by Yeltsin and two other figureheads (without the knowledge of Gorbachev), essentially ending the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Soviet mosaic bus stop in Kalmykia, Russia - Photo Source: @realbaldandbankrupt on Instagram

Shock Therapy

It’s Christmas Day, 1991, and the Americans have won. The Soviet Union, which they had fought for decades to end, finally ceased to exist. The dreams that were built, the futures seemingly so bright that was promised to its citizens, all disappeared on that one fateful night. What was a great victory for one side of the world, was a terrible event for the other. They had lost their nation, their future, their security.

They had now entered a decade of banditry, crime, and chaos. They were living through what we now refer to as “Shock Therapy”. The shift from communism to capitalism was so brutal that there were no more police to ensure safety. No more government to tell you what you can and cannot do. No more authority existed which left space for anarchy. The now ex-Soviet citizens were promised better times with the arrival of democracy but were only betrayed by the incompetence of their new leader that only brought them crime and misery.

Deteriorating children’s playground, Moldova - Photo Source: @kuca_ky_ky on Instagram

Crumbling Streets & Broken Dreams

Nowadays, the cities of the former Soviet Union seem to be nothing else than vast jungles of crumbling concrete. The brutalist blocks that were once the pride of a powerful nation, are now nothing but the symbol of a lost past and broken dreams. Elders remember the good days when they lived in a stable country, and the youth, forever and ever seduced with the exotic lifestyle of the Americans, see no future in their country and only dream about moving to the sunny beaches of California.

Ironically, the ex-Soviet generation fancies the lifestyle of those who caused their end, but we cannot blame them either. They truly don’t have much of a future in the former eastern bloc, and their old enemies seem to thrive more than ever now that their 20th-century nemesis had been eliminated for good. In the victories we win, we forget to remember the fate of our opposing forces.

On the surface, it may only seem like we are ending a powerful and evil regime, but underneath the surface, we fail to consider that we are also ending the peace and unity that existed in the nation.

We must recognize that we are not only ending a government but also all the hopes and dreams attached to it and that sometimes, we must put humanity first and political interests second.

The Genex Tower of Belgrade, Serbia - Photo Source: Pierre (PLRB)

A Word For The End

Thank you for reading my blog post about what I’ve retained from my trip to the former USSR. Please note that this is not meant to take a political side, but only to focus on the human aspect of the events. Either you’re a communist or a capitalist, everybody deserves a future and secure access to food, housing, education, and healthcare.

I have seen and met people who were deeply saddened by what they went through, and by the loss of their native country. Please remember that the government doesn’t always represent the population. A nation is 1% leaders, 99% normal people trying to make it in the world just like you and me.

If you are interested in learning more about the former Soviet world, I invite you to check out the YouTuber “Bald and Bankrupt”, which explores former USSR republics. He is the one that inspired my trip to the Ukraine last month.

If you are into music, I suggest you check out “Sovietwave”, which is a musical genre based on the nostalgia of the dreams and aspirations that the soviet people once had.

Thank you for reading and have a good day.

До свидания!

#ussr #sovietunion #russia #history #communism #socialist #soviet

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doolkat · 3 years

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overall review of eurovision this year? i can tell you hated moldova and switzerland and said maneskin looks like the type of group to do drugs (which is... weird) but other than that what did you actually like

Good question anon! Also wow people really still read my esc posts from may.. huhu bit embrassing looking back at some of my reactions but I was in the moment ahahah. plus they are justified in my eyes pftt

Maybe I expressed myself too strongly on some things so they came off as very negative.Oops well I got a change to clean that all up now.

I didnt hate maneskin tbh I just dont get the hype.

Only one I truely hated was Moldova lmao cuz the song was geniuely so bad it shouldnt been in finale at all.

Switzerland was bad to me cuz of extreme sensory over load and I dont like french language. Idk I guess I dont have romantic ear but I honestly just dont like the language.

Also I enjoyed almost all songs besides the ones u mentioned!

Personal favorite song and unpopular af opinion is that I enjoyed Australias song technicolor. Also I somehow enjoyed Azerbaijan mata hari, idk it was catchy af!

I felt emotinal connection to Australias song and Azerbaijan was just catchy and kinda funny to me. Idk why it reminded me of Floppa lmaoo

Best stage performance with intresting song to me was Ukraine!Really cool visual and dance. SONG SLAPS WITCH ENERGY

Cool movie like performance and touching entry was by Norway to me.

Finland had some good emo rock song imo. I liked it much more than Italy actully maybe I dont like Italy that much cuz Im bitter that Finland didnt get super high place lol.(Im half finnish so I stand by my finnish emo rock boys)

Lithuania my fellow baltics friend did good performance too this year. I enjoyed their funny performance. If u want some thing funny check Germany and Lithuania. Germany seems kinda like troll entry this year. Lithuanias song was good plus it was funny too kinda.

Speaking of funny DENMARK! they didnt do very good but I loved their song and its catchy af and doesnt take itself too seriously plus if u read the lyrics its a NONSENSE. xd

Hosts this year - absolute ass. My least favorite part about esc this year. Nikkitutorials was there.. yeah but I feel like the hosts didnt make any funny comments and I felt like all the songs came on so so fast cuz there werent really any breaks. My ass had Hard time fully focusing on all songs because of that. I think some people can relate to that. I dont know if I didnt understand the jokes but the host imo didnt have any connection with the audience or viewers. Too many of them anyways to me. I missed Jon Olan Sand too.

Visuals and performances-

very cool and OVERWHELMING. I had at least 3 moments where my head hurted a bit. Could be cuz of the visuals itself being so flashy or just how eyes couldnt catch a break cuz the pauses this year were nonexistant or very very short so for my brain and eyes it was hard to progress. Nothing too Crazy happend on stage tho this time. Giant finger and Greece performance.

Greece performance was pretty cool btw. viusally at least. The song imo was alwful. lol

Voting - AS usual with few suprises. Our estonian host told us in begging of esc that fortune tellers say Italy will win.. and then quess what. So that was kinda boring maybe thats also why I cant seem to like their song. I wish the fortune tellers would be wrong sometime or I wouldnt know but our host Marko Reikop literally always tells us who fortune tellers will think will win so yeah. That always comes AS dissapointment if they are right.

Opinion on Italy : Typical rock stars who happen to bisexual so tumblr and other lgbt communities can pump them up but this time the song happens to be good. Thats what I think please dont take this AS offence but the hype is so overrated like yeah their good and HOT but like we get it.I havent seen this much hype over a winner in a while I dont know why they are so different from every other winner. I just feel like some of this is queerbiting.. idk some thing about lgbt community going so Crazy about bisexual performing is Crazy to me. I just dont get it. IT was good song tho ill give them that but not that much better than other songs in contest.

Over all it was good eurovision imo! I dont rember having this much songs that I liked and saved in my playlist in many years.

I liked the songs and performances I feel like lot of them were high quitaly this year with expection of few countries. The crowd was really seemed to enjoy esc and everyone here on tumblr and on esc reaction communities really seemed in the element! Which made me more hyped and excited to watch esc. IT was very enjoyable event to enjoy with other people from all over the world this year and everyone felt connectef after the pandemic! Thats whats best about it this year imo. Every really seemed to. enjoy themselves and I did too. Eurovision is connecting people and everyone was happy to have it back after last year it didnt happen.!

I dont know anon if u wanted me to do review on all the countries performances too. If yes please do let me know. U can be anonmyous. Illl gladly tell and can even make different post about it.

I know my Italy comment probaly is controversial but I just wanted to get it out.

Thanks for the ask! 💓IT was nice reflecting back on esc!!

#eurovision #eurovision 2021 #esc 2021 #dool answers #dooltalks #why did I wrote so. much omg #OK SORRY ANON IF THIS IS SO LONG TO READ I GOT BIT TOO EXCITED #I made in nold the most important stuff of over all tho.

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