#(a better eurovision film)

[patrickblancos]

um i was tagged in a tag game for the first time in like 10+ years so thank you @flowergrenades ❤

Share 5 songs i’ve been listening to and then tag 10 people

promise - voyager

tick tick boom - sage the gemini

holding out for a hero - adam lambert cover

flowers - miley cyrus

shut up and dance - walk the moon

i’m think most people i can think of have been tagged so if you see this and you haven’t been tagged, considered yourself tagged 😊

[omar-bb]

notes & quotes from omar's live today

he wanted to release Red Light sooner but he and his team wanted to get it right

he's excited to headline at Gröna Lund - gonna be playing a new song there and at his other shows this summer!

"one of my favorite songs. i'm telling you, you will fucking choke when you hear that one. it's dark, it's dirty, it's groovy..."

"should I leak some of it? it would be fun for you to be able to sing along..."

"i hope it's fine by my team that I just leaked that"

"maybe it'll be the next single after Red Light. only maybe. I'm not promising anything"

someone asked about an Asia tour - "I cannot be live bc I'm gonna leak a lot of shit. But you wanna know something funny? This song .... it is actually a k-pop pitch song from start. it was made with k-pop in mind. it is not fully k-pop and now that i've been doing my touch on it, it is a little less k-pop but.. they actually wrote the song k-pop in mind."

teased doing a tour in the future

another "leak" - "I was actually meant to go to korea like right now or a month ago, like after the oscars ... i was supposed to go to korea. but it never happened. i was very sad. but maybe one day.

he had a scared moment where music started playing in the other room and he thought it was an unreleased song but it was just his alejandro tiktok lol

inspo for red light? "I didn't write the song ... it was a demo that got sent to me. at first ... it was a girl singing red light, and when i heard it the first time i was like yo this sounds like fucking rihanna ... i was like is this a long lost rihanna song? this is the greatest thing i've ever heard. and then i just fucking took it. i was like this is my song before rihanna takes it from me. and now it's my song."

Red Light music video when? "we shot a visualizer, so it's not a music video ... it's very beautiful. very stunning. i've never done anything like that. ... it's not a real music video. it's more visuals for the song."

will be doing red light on 25 may and also a new song

"you'll hear a whole new omar when you hear that song"

he has been replying to messages in his community on whatsapp and sms. they'll be leaking more stuff through there

new OMR Beauty product when? "....................... stay tuned"

"you will die when you see the next launch of OMR Beauty. that's all I'm saying. Next!!!"

will he start a fashion brand? "i don't really have the time for that unfortunately. ... not for now"

thinks he is not gonna bleach his hair

Someone asked red light spanish version when? and he sang a bit of it in spanish

omar backflip when? "when i'm in heaven"

is he going to act again?"i'm actually reading some scripts right now. just reading, it's not anything happening really yet, just testing the waters. we'll see, i would love to act. i actually miss acting, it was a fun time ... nothing will ever be like YR obviously, but just the thought of meeting new ppl, new friends, being together for a few weeks or a few months, and filming smth very special, that would be so much fun. ... i'm actually reading a really cool script right now" but more focusing on music right now

he has 40-50 new songs from the last year apparently??? Maybe i misunderstood this

album when? "don't know, we'll see" - he has a lot of songs and could drop an album but he wants it to be perfect so it'll be awhile

there will be red light merch this summer

he and edvin hang out sometimes

not doing Rix FM this year

there will not be 12 red light remixes lol "but maybe a few"

Eurovision 2025? "absolutely not. sorry not sorry." something about always being thrown out of the competition

he's stopped drinking coffee regularly and drinks matcha instead

someone suggested hoemars as the fandom name and he laughed lol

a lot is happening in May he says !! "y'all better eat good, sleep well" lolol

he said he might do another live next week once Red Light is out

[schildpadkneus]

I have a lot to say about Eurovision this year and not in a happy way.

Regardless of your political stances on Palestine-Israel, the behaviour of the Israeli delegation and press was absolutely disgusting.

There are several reports of the delegation filming and taking pictures of contestants without their consent.

An example is Joost Klein (Dutch entry) (seperate from the "incident" that got him disqualified as confirmed by Cornald Maas, member of Dutch delegation), who was filmed without consent by Keren Peles, who wrote the Israeli entry and was a member of their delegation. Peles put the video on her Instagram story, branded him as anti-semitic and seemed to try and provoke him by asking why he was not on stage. (Source: her instagram stories, @IsrBreaksRules on X)

I have also seen videos I am unfortunately unable to find as of right now of Bambie Thug (the Irish entry) being filmed without their consent.

This was such an issue that Nemo (Switzerland), Bambie Thug (Ireland) and Marina Satti (Greece) refused to walk in the rehearsals for the flag parade and Bambie missed their dress rehearsals entirely in an effort to get the EBU to take it seriously. (Source: Bambie Thug's instagram stories of 11 May 2024)

Kan (Israeli broadcasting network) broke the rules of conduct, this was confirmed by the ebu. An Israeli commentator spoke about Bambie Thug in such a disrespectful way (purposely using incorrect pronouns, calling them a monster) that they filed several complaints. (Source: Bambie Thug instagram stories)

Spanish journalist Juan Ma was intimidated and harrased by Israeli journalists over his pro-Palestine stance and stated he had never felt so unsafe at Eurovision after attending for 11 YEARS (Source: @juanmafdez on X). It was bad enough for the Spanish delegation to go to the EBU directly and not just complain about the incident but demand better enforced safety for press and freedom of speech. (Source: @rtve_com on X)

Even if you are on Israel's side in the Israel-Palestine war, you cannot deny this is disgusting, unprofessional and above all unacceptable behaviour. It is not anti-semitic to call that out and it is ridiculous the EBU has done so little to protect the artists and press from this poor excuse of whatever they were trying to do.

[ninadove]

fav french media? (films, books, shows, games etc)

OH I LOVE THIS QUESTION THANK YOU SO MUCH 💖

I’m sure I’ll forget a lot of things and smack my own forehead in shame afterwards, but this is what comes to mind right away:

Literature:

Anything ever written by Victor Hugo is a masterpiece. This dude was a terrible human being, but he sure knew how to write, and he contributed to major changes in the social conscience of his contemporaries on many important topics (including but not limited to the death penalty and child labour). To give you a taste, here is my favourite poem ever, which he wrote, because of course he did.

My favourite piece of literature across all categories, though, is and forever will be Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand — the story of a man who convinced himself his unusually long nose makes him monstruous. The concept sounds so silly, I know, but this play is a masterpiece and a wonderful love letter to the French language.

Which brings me to my favourite comic series: De Cape et de Crocs by Alain Ayroles and Jean-Luc Masbou! Basically a twelve-volume-long fix-it fic, disguised as a tribute to French literature. Also, a beautiful bromance.

Visual arts:

Basically everyone in France can quote at least one line from Kaamelott, a comedic (?) series derived from the Arthurian legend. It is so well researched and hilarious — until it isn’t.

I’m sure there’s like, a very obvious movie choice that will come back to me in a minute, but I was raised on Disney and Scooby-Doo, so these are clogging my brain at the moment. Just give it time.

When I was very young, I would watch TV at my grandparents’ and enjoy Les Hydronautes, an animated series about an extraterrestrial explorer documenting the Earth’s marine wildlife in an effort to learn how to better protect her own planet (Aka There Are Many Benefits To Being A Marine Biologist: The Series), as well as C’est pas sorcier, a series of very fun documentaries on a plethora of subjects, from lavender farming to volcanic eruptions.

Obviously, Miraculous gets a place on the list too! 🐞🐈‍⬛

EDIT BECAUSE I FORGOT: Fantomette the animated series! This show is single-handedly responsible for my taste for smart women with amazing hair who ride motorbikes and kick ass. It even had Egytpology as a key part of the plot.

Music:

For me Formidable by Charles Aznavour is a classic, a very cute song, and a great place to start if you want to learn French!

A few other favourites include Fanny Ardant et moi by Vincent Delerm, Le Dîner by Bénabar (extremely funny to listen to while thinking about the Diamonds’ Dance) and J’ai cherché by Amir (This one is… Borderline when it comes to grammar, but cute enough that I grin and bear it. Also, it got us an honourable ranking at the Eurovision a while back, which is rare enough to be celebrated).

ALSO. I complain too much about bad translations and poor writing (see previous bullet point) not to show you kids how it’s done with Je vole from Aladdin (a genius play on words which delves into the two significations of the verb “voler”: to fly or to steal).

Video games:

Long ago, before I discovered the wonderful world of Nintendo, I would wait patiently every month for the new issue of Toboclic. This game had everything: cute animal mascots, stories, mini-games, arts-and-crafts suggestions, catchy songs, interactive documentaries… I’m sure my parents still have the CDs somewhere, but they probably don’t run anymore, which is a shame. I miss my friends.

Thank you so much for the ask, this was so fun to write!

@dragongutsixofficial please do this too so we can compare notes! 👀💖

[cant-get-worse-than-this]

Introduction post!

Basics

Hi!!!

My name is Kesar (or any other variant of the name Caesar is fine to call me!) and I am 15. I am neurodivergent. I am an Asian-European (India and Sweden!), Hindu, and my pronouns are he/they!

Interests and Likes

I have a hyperfixation/special interest (I don't know which to use because I'm in denial about being autistic LMAO) of the Mediterranean, mostly Italy and Spain but also France, Portugal, Egypt, Greece, etc!

Languages

Due to my interest, I have taught myself Italian all on my own and I study Spanish at school since 2020, so I can speak them both at a good level.

All of the languages I speak as well as some more info on my history with them:

Swedish, I speak it every day and a bit at home

Hindi, I speak it every day at home with my family

English, I speak it here and I consume a lot of English media. Also I went to an international school for a couple of years.

Spanish, I've been learning it at school. Ever since I started learning it I've been the best in the class (this is very much a flex, I am very proud of the fact). I speak it at a very good level but I'm not close to fluent.

Italian, I am very proud of that I speak it because I learnt it all on my own using primarily music. I started learning it in 2021 but then took a LONG break for almost 2 years and in 2023 I got back on track and learnt it so well I'm almost at the same level at it as I am at Spanish hahaha

French, as I speak Spanish and Italian it wasn't that hard for me to get a grasp at French. I'm definitely not good at it and am best at written French, not spoken, but I understand enough to say I know it. Also, I can carry a conversation in French so. Yeah. I also really like Lupin.

Urdu, as I speak Hindi I understand Urdu well. Of course there are words I don't know, but since I understand so much of it and I speak it better than I speak Spanish or Italian I had to include it.

Music

My favourite song artists are Marco Mengoni and MIKA. They are my top 2. I love them so much.

I also listen to Mahmood, Måneskin, Queen, The Lonely Island, Lady Gaga, Kali Uchis, Megan Thee Stallion, Veronica Maggio, Shreya Ghoshal, and a lot more.

Apart from that I like English music from 2000 to the late 2010s. I also like Hindi music, rap (i listen to a LOT of Megan Thee Stallion, she's such a queen), Eurovision (although I am not supporting them this year due to them including Israel, Free Palestine🇵🇸), Hispanic music, Francophone music, Italian music and Swedish music. I also enjoy classical, both South Asian and European.

TV

I love TV! My favourites are dramedies. I like comedy a lot. My favourite type of show would be sitcoms because I understand them and I grew up with them and I like their humour. Here are TV shows I very, very strongly like in no particular order:

Psych, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Community, 1899, Mythic Quest, Lupin, Monk, SNL (Saturday Night Live) and probably more that I just don't remember right now.

I have also watched a lot of other things, but this is all that comes to mind.

There are films that I really like, and most of them I have watched more than a few times. Like there were literally periods when I would just keep rewatching these:

The Kung Fu Panda film series, The Hotel Transylvania film series, The Lorax (specifically the Italian dub), The Shrek film series, and once again probably many more.

Other stuff I like:

Doraemon, Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse & Across The Spiderverse, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhaan (2020), Smiley (2022), Saiki K (TV series, I haven't been able to read the manga :/), etc.

Books

Mostly I read fact books, in middle school the librarian hated me for (metaphorically) eating up all the books on ancient Egypt, but I also have a few books I really like!

I love Rick Riordan. My favourite from him is definitely The Kane Chronicles but I also like PJO. I'm TKC all the way, though.

I also like Geronimo & Thea Stilton as well as Diary of a Wimpy Kid. They give me comfort.

I have a lot of queer books I bought for the sole reason of them being queer but I haven't read them yet hahahaha. I'm almost finished with Friday I'm In Love by Camryn Garrett!

I am also reading Babel by R. F. Kuang and Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón!

Playlist time!

My Marco Mengoni playlist:

My Brad Bakshi playlist:

My Trobed playlist:

My Braddavid playlist:

My StottleMonk playlist:

My Sethon playlist:

That is all I can really come up with right now, but I will probably edit this soon! I'm not very good at stating what I like and all of that because I'm always scared I'm not telling everything or that people won't understand how I like it and stuff LMAO so don't be surprised if I take this post down :( I'm trying to get better though, so I'll keep it up!

[ferociouslycreativemystery]

Thanks for the tag @realmoftenderness!!

9 people you'd like to get to know better

Some tags of my own. Of course no pressure, but I would love to read it if you do write smth 😊 @juuret @sp-aace @sevenmilliongoldfish @samwisegamwise @a-simple-space-gay @greencloakedfae

3 non romantic duos

1. Merlin & Arthur

Shock! Horror! Blasphemy! No, but I 100% get where people are coming from making them romantic. I have begun writing out my reasons for preferring them as platonic many times before, only to not end up posting anything, but suffice it to say: it makes so much sense! Doesn't compel me though.

To elaborate a bit further, I enjoy a very particular moral and emotional dilemma in this series, namely: are you willing to sacrifice the hard-earned peace among your friends and family to find peace within yourself? Or to give that peace to others? What do you consider to be the meaning of life, and how is power able to corrupt that ideal?

This dilemma would be undermined if there wasn't any peace worth preserving to begin with, i.e. if Arthur wasn't genuinely satisfied with the status quo of his and Merlin's friendship. If their friendship is the most ideal it could be, Merlin has a greater reason to choose the reality of that before pursuing a hypothetical destiny and revealing his magic. Displacing the emotional choice onto two hypotheticals—fulfilling destiny or pursuing a romantic relationship—just isn't as compelling as a conflict to me. What's anyone waiting for then, if no one likes the status quo to begin with?

That's why I absolutely adore their platonic dynamic in canon!! Honestly this is THE story of all time.

2. Nell Jackson & Charles Devereux

Okay, he may have a slight crush on her, but that's not important. Look at these goofballs! They bring out the best and worst in each other in the most unproductive ways. Absolute chaos gremlins. Delightful.

3. Withnail & I

Disasters. Pitiful when they're sober, even worse when they're drunk. They have families. The salvation from this downward spiral is only a phone call away. But like the unemployed actors that they are, they need to perform their misery, even when their only audience are each other. It's a race to the bottom, and my guys are competing to be the one who drowns in a puddle with the most conviction. So absurd it's hilarious. Infinitely quotable. Stupendous.

A ship that might surprise others: Oh, Idk if I have one of these 😂 I tend to enjoy sticking very close to canon, so if there isn't clear romance there then I'm unlikely to ship anyone at all... Muriel x Eric in Good Omens if I have to name one, but I don't think that's particularly surprising.

Last song: currently working on an edit, but apart from that the last song I listened to for the sake of listening to music was Children of the Universe by Molly, because I am a terminal eurovision fan and love it whenever the UK sends anything remotely associated with doctor who :P

Last film: Last weekend I watched Gloria! and OH! MY! GOD! I loved it!! It's about musically trained orphans (now adult women) rehearsing to play for the pope, and their rebellion against the conductor/priest who manages the institution they're living in. The music and editing were so well put together and the story felt incredibly human and hopeful. As a fan editor it made my heart sing! Highly recommend!!

Currently reading: Interference - Book One, a doctor who novel in the Eighth Doctor Adventures series. It's going so slooooow cause I have a lot to read for uni too, but the topic is kinda related so I actually find the themes in the book give me new ideas for how to approach my subject :) Who ever said fandom was a waste of time?!

Currently watching: I've been rewatching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries while I've been ill because good lord the charisma and chemistry of the leads are Off the Charts!

But my parents introduced me to Magpie Murders yesterday and I think I'm really gonna love that too, along with the standard murder investigation they cut to a dramatisation of the in-universe murder mystery novel that was written by the 'real life' murder victim, based on the people in his actual village—the last chapter and therefore resolution of which is missing. How fun of a story structure is that?! I love stories that play with the concept of story telling.

Currently consuming: fuckall, aka no cough drops for a change :) a cup of tea sounds nice though, might go make one of those

Currently craving: not to be ill? It's better now though, my throat no longer feels like an open wound and I've had a full night's sleep. Can't wait to regain my appetite so I can finally enjoy the chocolate bars I got but haven't felt like eating for 5 days.

[polikszena]

Do you remember that in October I was supposed to see Piqued Jacks live in London, but the concert got cancelled? Well, it happened today. And I was there. So yeah, I'm in London right now, I arrived this afternoon and will be here until Friday. I just haven't really talked about it to anyone (except my parents), because I was so damn afraid that it gets cancelled again and I didn't want to jinx it.

It was in a rather small bar in London, and there weren't many people (less than 50, I'd say), but it was such a great concert, they sounded amazing, it was totally worth the wait.

Also, the concentration of eurovision artists in the place was pretty high, because about halftime, Joker Out walked into the bar, and they were standing behind me for a while.

After there was a meet and greet as well, and I have to say that they are so sweet and so kind, and since it was a rather small crowd, they spoke to basically everyone. I met some new people during the concert as well, some other folks who came on their own and we started chatting while we were in the queue outside.

I didn't took any pictures or videos - mostly because the venue was very small and from where I was, you mostly could see the people standing in front of you, but there wasn't really anywhere else you could go. And when they ran out to the audience (which they did twice), I had better things to do than film it. But, I do have a signed CD now.

So, it was totally worth the wait, and I definitely want to go their concert again in the future. Maybe not that far from my home country, but still.

[s4pphic-sh3nan1gans]

WIP Weekend

thank you so much for the tag, @mint-ty <3 I didn't think I had that many wips to share but after looking through my notes app, there are actually quite a few things there gathering dust that I mostly forgot about 😭 sooooo here is my list, starting with the earliest:

Zame, si čisti dopamin - this is a bojere fic I started nearly a year ago now, based around the infamous tavastia 1.0 gig and Bojan both discovering and navigating his feelings for Jere. as I remember, I had one more chapter planned that I unfortunately lost motivation for, buuuut as it stands now, I guess it's kinda left on a cliffhanger? sorry 😅 but it holds a special place in my heart as I was just beginning to get very deep into my joker out hyperfixation when I started writing it hehehe

This ship of love is loaded - another bojere fic that I never finished and didn't post, this one was inspired by the release of Huhhahhei by Käärijä 😌 y'know the song's implications of fucking someone on a boat? yeah, I took that and ran with it whilst wearing my tin-foil hat and made it about bojere 😭 it's set on the 2023 eurovision pre-party boat and includes the scene of what is now the first snus proposal. ultimately, I abandoned it because I wanted to include smut but wasn't yet ready to (properly) write mlm smut for the first time back then

untitled jance fic - this is the only time thus far I've written jance (which is actually criminal tbh). it's a very short wip so I'm not entirely sure where I was going with it, but it appears to include Nace attempting to flirt... 👀

it's better if we remain a memory - now, this one is a little more obscure. it's based on the film Bojan is in (Kaj pa Ester?) that I unfortunately haven't watched (c'mon, slovenian film industry, make it available internationally, I beg of you 🙏). basically, I watched the trailer, made up a plot, and made it very very very gay. and then posted all but the final chapter before succumbing to lack of motivation again 😭

Immortalised - .......okay, I just realised I was wrong about only writing jance once, this is another time I tried to write it! this one is all about the incredible jance photoshoot by Damon Baker, exploring their relationship behind the lens. not sure why I never finished this one, if I'm honest 😅

Forgotten Nights - here, we have a bokris wip. this one was going to be a classic friends-to-lovers fic, littered with flashbacks and snippets from the past that both of them were repressing. I found that I didn't properly plan out the sequence of flashbacks though, or where I was going with it so it ended up a little messy as I was writing it and eventually I moved onto other things

a bunch of bokris "5+1 things" fic ideas I never got round to writing properly - specifically, I have 8 fics that I planned for 😭 if you want to know more about one, send me a number between 1 and 8 and I'll tell you what the 5+1 idea was :)

untitled damkris fic - finally, this is what I started most recently. it's inspired by Kris and Damon's recent trip to Ljubljana Castle, and basically they flirt and gay panic all day whilst being idiots and not realising they're both actually crushing hard on each other 😭

if you want to know more about any of these, or read a snippet from one, go ahead and drop into my ask box!!! I shall be more than happy to provide 😌

no pressure tagging (and apologies if you've already been tagged): @trips-around-the-sun @graysantimony @paperphilia @electron-road-suspect :D

[eurovision-revisited]

2000 Stockholm - Number 7 - Anna Eriksson - "Oot voimani mun"

Yes, another song from Euroviisut and this is the one that finished as runner up, only four points behind the winner. It's pure iskelmä; disco-schlager-pop in its purest form. Not only did it finish second, beating Nightwish, it went on to win the OGAE second chance contest for the year - although it is tailor-made for OGAE's tastes.

Anna Eriksson at this point had released three albums and was awarded the Finnish music industry's EMMA award for best newcomer in 1995. She's had several hit songs from these albums. She is by no means unknown, though perhaps slightly overshadowed by some of her competition at Euroviisut.

That however means nothing when you consider the strength of the song she's singing, and just how good she is at singing it. Oot voimani mun (You Are My Strength) is ageless. It would have been big in the 1970s and it would still do well at Eurovision today. It starts off with a bang and never lets up. Anna tells us just how strong she is and how that strength comes from her love. She has so much strength, this sounds like a superhero-origin schlager.

Given what song won Euroviisut and where Finland finished in the Eurovision final, what an absolute missed opportunity this song is. YLE organised one of the best national finals in Finland's history only to fall victim of the classic 50/50 jury/televote problem of something mediocre being selected when the jury and televote strongly disagree about what's good. Anna, you should have been on that stage.

Instead she only got better and went on to have even bigger iskelmä hits in Finland, with platinum selling albums and hits. In 2010, she took an abrupt perpendicular turn into singing her own more experimental non-schlager songs and then continued to receive critical acclaim and awards across the Nordic world. She's now making avant-garde, independent films by herself and, yes, still winning awards including best film at the Prague Independent Film Festival and Venice Independent Film Festival.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: EUROVISION SPECIAL 2024 (18/05/2024) - also feat. Post Malone/Morgan Wallen, Myles Smith, Gunna and... Macklemore?

For the third week on the UK Singles Chart, Sabrina Carpenter reigns at the top with “Espresso”, and it’s the one week where my two main interests of pop music and geopolitics combine: the Eurovision final. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: Israel-Palestine conflict, sex, language, Morgan Wallen

Rundown

As always, we start with our notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40 and this week, we bid farewell to… “These Walls” by Dua Lipa? Already? Yikes. Aside from that, we can bid adieu to “Feel It” by d4vd, “Outside of Love” by Becky Hill, “Type Shit” by Future, Metro Boomin, Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, “Worth It.” by RAYE, “Training Season” by Dua Lipa, “Thank You (Not So Bad)” by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tiesto, Dido and W&W, “Whatever” by Kygo and Ava Max, “Back on 74” by Jungle, and of course, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. Honestly, not much I can complain about, and I’d predict some of it ends up coming back anyway.

As for our gains, we see some notable boosts for “The Door” by Teddy Swims at #58, “Love Me JeJe” by Tems at #45, “As it Was” by Harry Styles at #33 (yep, it’s still around), “Saturn” by SZA at #32 and “Slow it Down” by Benson Boone at #16. Sure, that doesn’t seem like a lot, but this is quite a busy week so naturally, the gains are minimal, and there are no returns, but a bunch of new songs.

And in our top five this week on the UK Singles Chart, we have “Too Sweet” by Hozier at #5, Shaboozey at #4 with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, Tommy Richman shooting up to #3 with “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”, and a star-studded debut right at #2, with Post Malone and Morgan Wallen on “I Had Some Help”. “Espresso” of course is at #1 but more on Post and Morgan later… for now, let’s discuss the biggest night of the year when it comes to gay people representing war criminals in a competition to see who wrote and performed the better track: the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest 2024

Naturally, I end up talking about this every year, and this Eurovision was particularly controversial - at least amongst the very online, though very much also amongst the Eurovision fans who have protested some rulings by the European Broadcasting Union and their chairman in relation to the participation of Israel amidst the ongoing invasion of Gaza, as well as the disqualification of the Dutch participant for being aggressive towards a camerawoman, allegedly, though apparently there wasn’t any violence, he didn’t want to be filmed - it’s a bit of hearsay involved. I’m not here to discuss that though, I’m not a gossip blog - even if that last episode about the Kendrick-Drake beef might have teetered on it. Instead, I’ll focus on the music presented this year at Malmo, Sweden, and its impact on the UK charts, which remains relatively uncontroversial. Our entry, “Dizzy” by Olly Alexander of Years & Years, returns to #48 after peaking at #42 earlier this year - kind of embarrassing it couldn’t land in the top 40, especially since there are several other Eurovision songs in that region - though not many - this very week. A muted Eurovision year for sure when it comes to its tangible impact on the charts, but also just a messy overall Eurovision year, here’s me ignoring the vast majority of that and telling you all these songs kind of sucked.

#67 - “Doomsday Blue” - Bambie Thug

REPRESENTING: Ireland

Ireland sent a non-binary witch to Eurovision. If that isn’t woke going too far, I don’t know what it is. Jokes aside, it was a very theatric performance that gained traction simply for being weird, out there, extraordinary and camp, as well as having a soundtrack that, to many people I’m sure, was listenable. The performance, the staging, the camera work, it was all amazing. This alt-metal joint produced by Tylr Rydyr fell into what many heavier acts do at Eurovision: try and fit everything in the short time they have allocated. Norway fantastically avoided this by making a slower and more dramatic, maybe even epic, track but that cost them any chance of winning so from Ireland - and Croatia, we’ll get to it - we have some vaguely industrial mess and yes, I know the dynamic shifting between the two “modes” is most of the point, but I’m sorry, I just can’t stand this. It’s not a good metal song because it fails to reach any catharsis in its refusal to progress upon itself, and it’s not a good pop song simply because it refuses to construct itself as such. It’s not awful, at least by an objective standpoint, but apart from a pretty solid bridge where Mx. Thug devolves into the screeching noise of the outro, the song just teeters into different ideas without gaining a tight grip on any of them, and it’s probably a result more so of ESC limitations than Bambie Thug’s artistic intent, which makes it all the more frustrating.

#37 - “Europapa” - Joost

INTENDED TO REPRESENT: The Netherlands

My favourite Eurovision songs were Czechia, the Netherlands, Norway and Greece. Greece did okay, Norway… made the final at least, Czechia didn’t and the Netherlands were disqualified from performing. Just my luck, hey? Maybe I should stop making endorsements. Regardless, I still really like the Dutch entry, performed by Joost Klein and produced by Tantu Beats and Paul Elstak. It frames itself as a bit of a meme but it’s really one of the few entries that connects to the contest’s theme this year of uniting by music, narrating a story of an orphan travelling Europe getting the chance to prove himself, a story that has its origins in Joost himself losing his parents at a young age and now attempting to prove himself at Eurovision, which of course, sadly didn’t occur and makes the song even more bittersweet than it already was. There’s an even harsher dissonance at play, but outside of the context, it’s just an undeniable Eurodance jam. He even goes for the exact cheesy rap flow every Eurodance rent-a-rapper would use, and the nonsense chorus and vocal chop over the delightfully predictable happy hardcore pianos and synths are just a cherry on top, especially before it sprinkles into the messy instrumental outro. The fact that the lyrics are personal and cleverly written, with a reference to a Stromae song that is also about lacking a father figure, as well as a sample of a classic Dutch film, adds that little speck of intimate detail that makes a goofy song like this hit the right note. It’s fantastic, it’s a damn shame it couldn’t be performed at the final.

#36 - “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” - Baby Lasagna

REPRESENTING: Croatia

This one should be easy to ring off, because it is incredibly one-note. A self-produced Neue Deutsche Harte record from Croatia with goofy lyrics and an impassioned yet somewhat restricted performance that I feel is a bit tied up in the grinding, danceable nature of its unmoving instrumentation that it can’t have nearly as fun as it should. The chorus is a bit self-serious as well, and whilst tonal clash is definitely not stranger to Eurovision, and can be implemented well like with “Europapa”, it’s only when the goofiness comes as a direct result of the more serious backstory or they’re inseparable, and given this barely constructs a full song out of just repeating yourself, it feels half-baked.

#18 - “The Code” - Nemo

REPRESENTING: Switzerland

This one I don’t really like either, and I’ll admit that it’s purely because it’s not my favourite brand of camp: the operatic performance is bombastic and impressive, sure, but it just annoys me. The breathing especially from Nemo, it feels a bit much, if there is a limitation for that in Eurovision. I should mention, probably, that this is the winner for Eurovision this year, and Nemo is another non-binary individual from Switzerland, but they also rap so that’s like five woke points detracted. Their performance once again is impressive but comes from a very Disney-esque school of theatrics and I’ve never been able to relate too well to lyrics about triumphantly finding yourself, mostly because it’s a lot messier of a process than this streamlined breakbeat over soaring strings would have you believe. You would clearly be able to tell that Nemo is one of six producers (the others are Lasse Nymann, Benjamin Alasu, Tom Oehler, Wojciech Kostrzewa and NYLAN) and that’s far from a bad thing: it sounds epic. I absolutely understand why it won, it’s got the energy, the bombast, the straight-up talent, it’s just far from my thing. I think I just watch Eurovision for the politics and Graham Norton at this point, so the songs that’ll hit closer to home are those that try for subtlety, which we honestly didn’t get a lot of this year.

New Entries

#70 - “Miles on It” - Kane Brown and Marshmello

Produced by Digital Farm Animals, Earwulf, Connor McDonough and Marshmello

We really don’t have to do this, guys. If we’re going to actually import some country from Stateside, let’s stick to their biggest and brightest. I’ll take Luke Combs, I’ll take Morgan Wallen and I’ll take Zach Bryan and then some. Kane Brown making yet another half-hearted pop pivot - if you can even call it a pivot at this point - with a slowly fading Marshmello at the helm does not need to be included in the shipment. Given how many fully competent producers are here, I question what Melloboy even did, apart from maybe the grating, ugly processed guitar in the drop because that sounds straight out of his playbook. The snap intro sounds more like Loud Luxury’s “Body” than it does anything even resembling country and I don’t think the decidedly unsubtle lyrics from Kane Brown here as he elbows you asking if you know what it means, or the tropical house wank vaguely pretending to be in any way related to Nashville, is going to make for a fitting sex song separately, let alone together. I’m usually one that complains about songs being too short but this one loses steam a minute and a half in, and just ends up embarrassing for Kane Brown and… more of the same garbage for Marshmello. At least “Body Like a Back Road” had the kindness to keep it more relaxed.

#68 - “Take a Bite” - beabadoobee

Produced by Rick Rubin and Jacob Bugden

So this new beabadoobee song is about finding peace and comfort in toxic or negative situations that are simply the norm, feeling like you have to repeat behaviours that may be unhealthy or unwieldy, with an introspective chorus where she wonders why she’s stuck in that cycle, never truly finding an answer but she still wants to do it over and over again in spite of her ambitions. It’s a great conceit for a song that’s convincingly sold by beabadoobee’s constantly uncertain, softer tone often buried by the production, which is my main issue with this track: Rick Rubin’s on the boards, which means the dreamy gaze of these guitars doesn’t shine nearly as well as it should, and the overdubs feel a bit… random? It’s hard to describe, but despite the chaotic tone of the song, I think it would benefit from being more refined and less scrappy, primarily because that is an absolutely killer chorus even if, like much of the rest of the song, it’s pure worship of 90s and 2000s adult alternative. That’s a genre I miss being on the charts though, I love all that kind of stuff, so I’m fully happy with this being here. I wish there was either a poppier or crunchier sound to it - feels a bit weird lodged between the two extremes, and the fact the guitar doesn’t get to really roar in the bridge does bother me - but as a song, still fantastically written and infectious. Even if I doubt it’ll stick around, I hope more of this sound is coming, because if this is close to being great, I imagine what beabadoobee has left might just reach that.

#64 - “on one tonight” - Gunna

Produced by Kenny Stuntin and Nash Beats

We actually have two Gunna songs. His most recent album One of Wun debuted at #4 on the albums chart and took that week it was out to grow on me. I was initially very lukewarm on it but a few surprisingly impactful experiences with the album - namely, being sleep deprived and trying to use it force me to sleep - have allowed me to gain a respect for it. Sadly, my favourite tracks haven’t debuted, at least not in the top 75 - “hakuna matata” is in the top 100. What we do have still isn’t bad, and definitely contributes to the semi-motivational oceanic feeling of the record overall. In fact, I will say the album is better experienced as a whole due to the seamless tracklist sequencing and overall mood that carries on way more effectively when spread out across 20 tracks. Without each other, sole songs can definitely feel a bit empty, and this is absolutely a great example since it’s only one and a half minutes. Its watery Dirty South beat is slick, Gunna is surprisingly focused in his rags-to-riches story that involves a cute little melodic hook towards the end of his one verse, as well as some genuine lines about staying independent and keeping a relationship with God to stay motivated. It’s a real bite-size example of what I liked about the Gunna album, but not too impressive as a sole piece.

#55 - “one of wun” - Gunna

Produced by Kenny Stuntin, Byrd and ProdByQue

Yup, two consecutive Gunnas, and I hate to say it but it’s more of the same, as the title track is one of my least favourites here, mostly because it tries to be a “banger” with its unmoving, frankly quite dull trap beat and cheap percussion that falters when it comes to replicating the wavy atmosphere of much of the rest of the album. Gunna is still fun here declaring that he’s not a lil-bitty shrimp but I’ve never been anything but repulsed by his brand of sex bars, and they’re not exactly anything fancier here, so it’s just a bit of a dud. Sorry. Wish I could talk about some of my preferred tracks at length but I’ll just shout out my favourites, those being the opener “collage”, “whatsapp (wassam)”, “treesh”, “conscience”, “let it breathe” featuring Roddy Richh and the very genuine closer “be careful what you wish for”.

#51 - “HIND’S HALL” - Macklemore

Produced by Macklemore

I do feel pretty damn good about how the Israeli entry to Eurovision failed to chart but raising funds for the United Nations relief agency in Palestine can take Macklemore of all people nearly in the top 50 with a very non-commercial song. It may seem petty but hey, I’d rather be petty on the side of freedom, and I’ve been caring about Palestine’s independence long before the recent war in Gaza - you can check my coverage of Israeli Eurovision entries from even just last year - so part of me is really happy that this song exists and is charting. In fact, all of me is, and I’m surprised that Macklemore has taken such a public and assertive stance on this considering he’s mostly a comedic rapper, whose political statements I remember most being 1.) the time he wore an antisemitic costume because he thought he was Humpty Hump, and 2.) the time that he thought he was gay because he liked drawing. I’m hyperbolising those events, obviously, they’re both just mismanagements of genuinely good intentions, but that’s kind of been what Macklemore is defined by, at least to me, and “HIND’S HALL” is a much more focused attempt at expressing those feelings in a cohesive way. I still don’t like it.

The idea to sample a respected Lebanese Arab singer is clever, but the beat is droning and aggressive in a very old-school rap way, which means it can get on the nerves easily if the guy over it is struggling to keep compelling - see Eminem’s “Mosh”. I agree with the vast majority of what Macklemore says about white supremacy and I absolutely agree that Palestine should be free - and I think he makes a very good point not many are doing in comparing Israel’s treatment of Gazans to police brutality in the USA, even if he doesn’t really expand on that, and makes it more about himself than it probably should be. That’s the main issue with this song for me, and it’s clear even in Macklemore’s delivery, which can be aggressive and gritty, clipping in the mix, but can also just sound goofy, especially in the intro where the rhyme schemes are a bit dragged out. Otherwise, whilst I have no problem with the vast majority of his lyrics, some nitpicks get to me in a way they wouldn’t if it weren’t for the unavoidable corniness of Macklemore and a song that teeters on obnoxious, mostly through the TikTok references, the idea that white supremacy wasn’t on blast until Macklemore made this song, the random Drake mention that feels attention-grabbing, the plea not to vote for Biden as if a good third party exists and the other option isn’t going to make Gaza worse and embolden white supremacy domestically, and most annoyingly for me, “You can pay off Meta, but you can’t pay off me!”… You’re fucking Macklemore! As much as I really don’t like the song, I do recommend it. Stream it, buy it, give the lyrics a read, there’s not much art being made about this in the public eye and even what we are being given is by imperfect allies (if there is such thing as a perfect ally), it should give us the opportunity to raise money and awareness by the suffering by those on the ground, corniness be damned. I have a lot of respect to Macklemore for trying this out and what he does, even if I don’t like it, is way more impactful than anything I could even try. It’s free Palestine until the colonisation and murder stops, and my hope is that eventually, it will, though the suffering faced in that excruciating timespan may not even balance the eventual freedom when so many who struggled won’t get to live a second of it.

#41 - “360” - Charli XCX

Produced by A.G. Cook and Cirkut

I think I’m supposed to know who, well, any of the women in this music video are. Regardless, it had a bit of a viral moment and helped propel Charli’s newest single from her upcoming Brat album to nearly reach the top 40. Here, the Eurodance keys are placed alongside a demanding electroclash beat that makes it sound a lot darker than they would in a more upbeat, party-friendly context, and this is really an example of A.G. Cook taking elements of electronic dance music and either blending them with different ideas or taking them so far out of context that they emit an entirely different idea than would be otherwise intended. It’s a brilliant idea, especially with the vaguely Jersey club percussion effects in the chorus and that weedy 2000s synths-- did she shout out Sewerlsvt? No? Okay, thank God. Uh, swiftly moving past that, I think this is a very effective way of balancing the carefree and paranoid elements of showbiz together into a relatively ugly yet still accessible and catchy, even hypnotic, tune with a cute little reference to her producer in the second verse and hooks out the wazoo. This is more lowkey perhaps than what the album’s title and cover would imply, but for me, its brattiness is much more charming than in “Von dutch”. Also, apparently there’s a remix with Robyn and Yung Lean coming which is insane and I desperately need to hear that.

#12 - “Stargazing” - Myles Smith

Produced by Peter Fenn

I had no idea who this guy was until just a few weeks earlier and now we’re giving him a free top 20 hit. Sure… man, we’re really back in 2013 pop, aren’t we? This doesn’t directly sample or interpolate anything, but it sure felt derivative and looking back towards a monogenre we ditched back in 2015. It mixes the stomp rock of that time with the dance-pop of that time in a blend that could potentially be interesting if this wasn’t just something that Avicii did back in the day, and by keeping the fake claps, anthemic choruses, ugly vocal processing and wooshing sound effects but not the commitment to electronic sounds, it ends up sounding less like an attempt to warp genres together like Avicii was doing and instead just a mangled attempt to manufacture a pop version of what Hozier and Noah Kahan are already doing to great success without dumbing themselves down. Also, the mix is just terrible, that lifeless yet still inexplicably propulsive kick drum frightens me. This’ll probably be a hit but God, it’s not deserving of it. Next.

#2 - “I Had Some Help” - Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen

Produced by Charlie Handsome, Hoskins and Louis Bell

To anyone surprised that Post Malone is able to pull the streaming and radio numbers he has in the past week for this single… to quote a great post on the Pulse forums, “he had some help.” It’s not fair to say it’s all Morgan though - after all, he’s not a massive pull globally. The song has genuinely latched on pretty well and had an amazing couple first days, it could still stick around, and I honestly think that sometimes a song’s success can be explained pretty simply: it’s just good enough. There’s a lot you CAN hate about this, especially given Post Malone’s origins in rap that I’ve already seen start discourse about this single, and Morgan Wallen as a presence is always going to turn people off… but this is just a driving-down-main country pop-rock sing-a-long, and I feel that’s really difficult to mess up. The drums don’t sound that organic, even if they are - they could very well fit in a synthpop tune as well - but Post has never been one for organic instrumentation, more so an immersive blend between the acoustic guitars he’s familiar with and soundscapes that prefer synthbeds, strings and trap percussion, so this is considerably more organic for the guy, who warbles through the verses and pre-choruses that are probably about a breakup but… does it matter? Once the drum fills into the undeniable chorus that really only has one flaw in that it might be too wordy, but is otherwise an anthemic ode to teamwork more than anything else, I could not care less about what the song is actually about. The fiddle that backs Morgan Wallen is a nice touch, even if a bit on-the-nose that designate that he’s the country singer on the track, and the chorus sounds perfectly written based on both artists’ catalogue. I can see right through this in terms of it being a slight reinvention of Post’s image, a clear attempt at being a surefire hit, but the song backing it all up has too much genuine chemistry and is way too well constructed for that opaqueness to ever get to me. Especially with that chorus, God, it’s a great chorus.

Conclusion

Best of the Week goes to Joost here for “Europapa”, with Charli XCX grabbing the Honourable Mention for “360” though, again, those Post Malone and beabadoobee songs are pretty damn good. As for the worst, it should be pretty damn clear which two tracks are there, but it’s a toss-up to who gets what. I think Kane Brown and Marshmello get Worst of the Week on the pure egregiousness of “Miles on It”, but Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” might just sound worse and takes the Dishonourable Mention. That was a heavy few weeks but hopefully things will calm down, for now - thank you for reading, rest in peace to Steve Albini, free Palestine and I’ll see you next week!

[pvffinsdaisies]

Random and specific questions to help develop your OC :)

What is your character’s favourite colour of highlighter to use?

Does your character know their exact height?

If your character were a Beyoncé song, which Beyoncé song would they be?

Is your character more partial to a gonk or to a gnome?

How many ABBA vinyls does your character own? If the answer is 0, fix that mistake immediately.

Could your character go on a 10 hour long rant about the importance of a hairbrush?

Which Olympic (or Paralympic) sport (past or present. Winter or summer) has your character never heard of before?

If they were a mr man character would they be mr grumpy or mr tickle? No other answers accepted.

Does your character own any moomin mugs? Do they plan to get one or more?

Has your character ever owned a “Pink Sands” scented candle?

Does you character use hand lotion every single day?

In 5 words or less, what are your character’s opinions on ikea?

Is your character’s mother currently in possession of a bucket hat?

What do you mean you’ve never considered whether or not your character’s mother has a bucket hat?

Has your character ever visited Canada? If they live in Canada, have they ever visited Poland?

How many Hindu gods can they name off the top of their head?

What is your muse’s favourite Taylor Swift era?

Has your character ever locked themself in the bathroom and cried whilst listening to any song from Eurovision 2016?

Does your character own a highland cow? If yes, what is it called? If no, what would they call a highland cow if they had one?

Has your character ever been on tumblr? If they have I feel so very sorry for them.

What is the 5th option that comes up when you search “Barbie” & your characters birth year. Do you feel as though this barbie resonates with your character?

How many times have they streamed “22” by Taylor Swift in the past month?

Is your character from the city of “Tromsø” in Norway? Would they ever move there?

Do they prefer red or green apples?

How do they pronounce scone? Do they pronounce it the correct way (rhyming with “bone”) or are they a heathen who pronounces it like it rhymes with “gone”

Does your character believe in life after love?

Does your character believe that Pierce Brosnan’s singing improved the Mamma Mia film or make it worse?

Which Bratz doll is your character’s favourite?

What do your character’s slippers look like?

As a form of torture, your character is forced to read a 900 page book of their most despised genre, what genre are they reading?

Has your character ever performed a dramatic and soulful duet of “Breaking Free” from high school musical with their best friend?

Is your character more of a slug or a snail? Neither is not an option.

Does your character actually know all of the phonetic alphabet? Do they use it?

Does your character prefer the sims 2, the sims 3 or the sims 4?

Has your character ever crocheted or knitted a tiny Loch Ness Monster?

Does your character prefer to write with black or blue ink?

Is your character’s favourite African flag that of seychelles? If not they need better taste.

Has your character ever competed in the Commonwealth Games?

Has your character visited the county Pyeongchang in the last 5 years?

Does your character find the concept of pineapple on pizza more or less horrific than the concept of banana on pizza?

Is your character an avid listener of the Rolling Stones?

What is the most embarrassing song your character has cried to?

Does your character have strong opinions on eggs? Please do not share them if they do.

Is your character good at telling their left from their right?

Has your character ever owned exactly 3 gold fish at the same time?

[funkopersonal]

@lucrezianoin

For some reason tumblr was glitching out (as shown above) and i couldn't post a response to your last message. Here's my final answer: again "I will parse" means I will read. and "if" again doesn't say I meant to respond again. out of the sources you provided only the instragram posts were even valid. The posts about barbie being annoyed about KAN's ribbing is an overreaction at best. All eurovision commentators make jokes and connections, last year the american host made some weird jokes exactly the same. They quite literally were describing it as it is. The instagram posts filming europapa and bambie were out of line, but not enough to get israel disqualified. and honestly, yes i didn't care about this conversation, because nothing would come out of it. You're not going to get the delegation of Israel removed, and we aren't going to geat the delegation of, let's say, Ireland, removed. The situation by then was not able to be changed. So yeah, I didn't care enough. I have exams, I'm a student, I have better things to do than to debate the actions of people i will never know, with people i don't know

[schildpadkneus]

Several artists have now spoken out about how Eurovision was not quite as fun as they make it seem, to put it lightly.

EBU, where is your fucking zero tolerance policy when it comes to protecting the artists?

In light of Joost Klein's incident, S10 (Netherlands 2022) has spoken up about her experience at Eurovision. She stated that she did have fun and she wanted to be there but it took a toll on her because it was 2 weeks of very long days, everyone wanting something from her and her boundaries being overstepped. Backstage really wasn't a pleasant experience.

This year seemed to be particularly bad with the bad behaviour of the Israeli delegation and the politics of Israel being allowed to compete in the first place.

A bunch of artists started speaking out as soon as they were safe from EBU's censorship, but even before that we got snippets of what was going on, even if you put the Joost incident to the side.

The EBU did not do anything to protect artists from the Israeli delegation filming them without their consent. It took 3 artists refusing to walk the flag parade (Ireland, Switzerland, Greece) for them to even take it seriously.

They did nothing about the Israeli commentator breaking rules of conduct by calling Bambie Thug (Ireland) a monster and refusing to use the right pronouns (they are nonbinary and use they/them).

Sylvester Belt (Lithuania) and Gåte (Norway) have both spoken up about how it was not as fun as it is made to look. Sylvester even went as far as to call it traumatic and Gåte nearly withdrew.

The general consensus is that many artists this year felt like they were put in this political position because the EBU allowed Israel to compete, which is completely unreasonable because that is not their job and the opposite of what the EBU claims Eurovision is about.

Now the elephant in the room: I think Joost should have been punished for what he did and considering we don't know what happened, we can't confidently say his disqualification was an inappropriate punishment. You lot would have reacted very differently if he wasn't a crowd favourite and it was, say, Dons from Lithuania who did it and got disqualified. (I'm just trying to make a point don't read too much into it)

Putting aside how the disrespect towards his boundaries from the EBU could have been a direct trigger for Joost's actions, by taking so long to respond they did irreperable damage to his reputation. They allowed rumours to brew and now there are hundreds if not thousands of people convinced he beat a woman and using it as a weapon against him.

I am so glad the EBU is finally being criticized, I have not even TOUCHED how their apolitical stance seems to exist out of only political moves. Disallowing certain songs is understandable, banning flags and censoring artists and audience and editing applause over boos is manipulative and to an extent propaganda. That is everything but apolitical.

Several delegations and even the European Commision have been confirmed to want a few words with the EBU and I hope they will finally change for the better.

[ominousmotion]

Thank you for the tag @sparkly-skies 💕

9 people you’d like to get to know better!

3 Ships: Ghost x soap in call of duty all 6 of the blind channel guys polyamory and you know what fuck it more cod shit (and polyamory) task force 141 all those boys need a fucking hug especially soap rip

First Ship: i basically only read x oc fan fic untill a couple of years ago but if i had to guess it was probably rose and the tenth doctor

Last Song: Undertow by archetypes collide absolutely fell in love with them after seeing them with wcar and allegedly became their #3 listener in the world after a month of listening so yeah there very good and the guys are very nice and funny

Last film: I think it was into the spiderverse cuz the new one is on Netflix now so i was catching up and never actually ended up watching the new one

Currently reading: fan fic always but specifically call of duty fanfic truly everytime i try to consistently stuff in other fandoms i keep coming back to cod especially with how mw3 ended i need fix it fics

Currently watching: at this point if im watching tv just assume its critical role related so ive been keeping up with their 3 campaign and i started watching candela obscura the circle of needle and threat also by critical role its quite good

Currently consuming: fucking haribo (i fully typed put hasbro and to google the actual name 😅) gummy brears they are the shit like ive been buying a pack once a week which is very bad for my cavity but they are so good

Currently craving: a huge but like the kind of hugs that olli gives where its soft warm and firm and makes you feel comforted and like surrounded and like you want to ask to be squeezed bc you just kown it would like totally reset your sympathetic nervous system and you can just relax into it and feel safe an warm

Im tagging: @jupiter-balls @askeataiho @there-is-just-me-myself-and-i @man-made-misery @because-its-eurovision @concretenoah @deathblacksmoke @transmutethegold

if youve done this or just dont want to do it feel free to ignore me 💕

[snazzynacho]

Behind Closed Doors

Bojan Cvjetićanin x fem!reader

masterlist

Chapter One:

A/N: Apologies if I got some of the timeline wrong I'm trying lol. I used Käärijä and his real name Jere interchangeably so if you get confused that's why. Also when they're talking they're obviously talking Finnish irl but I only know some sentences so just pretend 🥴 (Definitions of Finnish words I may use are at the end of the chapter) I still don't know whether to turn this fanfic into a Bojan x reader x Käärijä...help me pls, comment below (I am deranged for them both I'm not sorry)

Being one of Käärijä's dancers for Eurovision 2023 was the best job you could ask for. You and Käärijä, or should I say, Jere, grew up together and have been through thick and thin. Nonetheless, you are still just as close as you were when you were younger.

To say you and Jere were friends would be an understatement. Best friends, sometimes slightly more if you had too much alcohol...It seemed either way Jere would always be the protective one, constantly looking out for you and prioritising your needs (and everyone else's) rather than his own. You would tell him that he had a habit of doing that, yet he would simply shrug it off.

You had the chance to meet a couple of the other contestants before arriving in Liverpool at a pre-party, specifically two nights ago at the Nordic Party, but unfortunately, or fortunately, you cannot remember a single thing from it. Thank you Finnish drinking culture! (Seriously, drink responsibly.)

Currently, the turquoise carpet was happening and Käärijä had finished his short interview which was the cue for you and the other three dancers to join him on the small make-shift stage to pose for the camera.

As soon as he saw you his eyes lit up, finding someone he was familiar with amongst the chaos of not only the carpet event but later on in the entire competition was comforting, and with having to mostly talk English (which he wasn't hugely knowledgeable on) in interviews and with the competitors, only made it more difficult. Despite this he had you and that's the only thing that mattered, and doing well in his performances, of course. You knowing slightly more English helped too...

Embracing you in a side hug was his way of showing he cared for you, for now, words are for later. While you hugged you turned to each other and smiled, both still not believing that you were in this together, at Eurovision!  At this, the camera took its last snap of you two like that. You could certainly foresee it being featured in a video titled "Fave moments of Käärijä and Y/n" or something along those lines.

Once you all began making your way to the carpet your nerves kicked in, something which Jere picked up on and whispered you some words of comfort making you struggle to shake the fuzzy feeling he gave you. Now is not the time to fixate on whether you have feelings for your best friend...

You all moved along the carpet, which consisted of talking to fans and more posing for different cameras.  While Käärijä was distracted with a fan you and the dancers decided to have a mini 'Cha Cha Cha dance moment' in the middle of the carpet for the cameraman to film. He was shifting his attention to you when he heard loud cheering. seeing you leading the dancers at the front, Cha cha cha-ing away, as he does. A laugh escaped you as you noticed him giggling at you out the corner of your eye so you dragged him by the arm to join in before embarrassment kicked in.

"You're already trying to replace me?!" Jere joked as he brought his hands on his hips.

"Maybe. I think I'll make a great Käärijä."

"I think you'll be more of a Juoppo, or better, Kalsarikänni" He teased back resulting in you playfully punching his chest, huffing, crossing your arms and facing away from him. From the corner of your eye, you thought you noticed him gazing at you for a little longer than normal but you brushed it off...

Of course, the cameras couldn't get enough of this. Another moment to add to that video!

****

After the carpet event, a few contestants were at a small bar table nearby, wanting to meet some other contestants.

You all had been there for around twenty minutes and the dancers had already left to get another drink leaving you and Käärijä to enjoy the last of your drinks together before planning on joining conversations with fellow opponents around you when a band had come over to the bar t order drinks.

"I think that's the guy I saw at the party!" Jere turned to you with a glimmer in his eye before waving and catching the man in question's attention. You followed his gaze and your heart skipped a beat. He had a black sequined flowing shirt on that made him sparkle in the light and complimented his dark blond locks, and you had to admit, he was nice to look at. Most importantly he was very familiar. Had you seen him at the party? You couldn't quite remember...

You hadn't had time to think about anything else as you noticed the man striding over, forcing you to take a sharp breath in, primarily because you were worried you were going to make a fool of yourself which left you to also mentally curse Jere for putting you in these ridiculous neon pink outfits and blinding white fake teeth and orange tan that gave uncanny valley to anyone who looked at you for longer than five seconds.

"Hey, I'm Bojan, singer of the Slovenian act, 'Joker Out'...We saw each other at the party!" He smiled at you both as you started to just about recognise him from the first time you and Jere met him at the party.

"Yes yes, Joker-man!" Jere joked in remembrance, making Bojan laugh and at that moment you thought you were dreaming. Hearing his voice again without the loud party music was nice but hearing his laugh? That was heavenly.

Jere finally (officially) introduced you to him. "This is Y/n, remember?" The man shook your hand. Your nerves were slightly eased when none of your fake tan left any marking on him, although they came right back as he spoke. Now you knew he was not only hot but had a pleasant voice too. All you had left was to hear his singing voice...

"Yes! I remember!" Bojan eagerly replied. You noticed a tinge of redness appear on his cheeks and hoped he was just feeling hot, as he physically does anyway, and not because of a recollection of something embarrassing at the party (that you still could not remember any major details of...) Deep down you knew the latter was probably true yet tried to keep yourself calm and collected.

"Good to see you again," You lied, wishing you were saying the right thing. What if you had done something stupid and now you're saying it's good to see him again? What if this isn't good?! Is it good? It must be. He is being nice to you after all...

Your thoughts were interrupted as the rest of Joker Out came over and once again said how great the party was...Even they had memories of it and they weren't even invited!

Leaving you and Bojan alone, Käärijä and the other boys began steering away, closer to a table by some other contestants the boys wanted to introduce Käärijä to.

"Hey, remember that drinking game we played at the party? That was fun..." Bojan trailed off, speaking of a moment that must have happened at the party.

"Oh...yeah! That was so fun!" You lied again, having no idea what he was talking about. Oh god, what if you had kissed him and not remembered...

Almost like an angel, Jere began walking back over with two drinks in hand, clearly seeing what you needed. Or he was sabotaging you because at this point you were ready to leave your Finnish roots behind and vow never to drink again, seeing the circumstances.

Before leaving to join the others Bojan leaned over and whispered into your ear.  "You don't remember anything at all, do you?" At that, he simply walked away, leaving you standing there even more confused...and concerned.

"Smooth." Jere had obviously heard the last of your conversation with Bojan and sent a smug smile your way.

You weren't sure but had Jere sensed the tension or were you going crazy?  Guilt was filling you up now. How could you not remember the Nordic party? You Nordics are known for liking a drink but not remembering anything, at all, is a new low even for you. Even in Käärijä's view. That hasn't happened since you were a teenager, he would know.

You felt like Jere was not telling you something or maybe he thought you had remembered what happened already... Again, you had no time to think, which was a typical thing lately much to your hatred, because a young woman around your age approached you. "Hi, I'm Alessandra! You're Y/n, right? I saw you at the Nordic party!" She smiled. Ah, yes, the party you barely could remember. As if you needed any more reminding.

"Hi! Good to see you again." You could lie for the whole world at this rate.

Alessandra introduced you and brought you over to the table where Joker Out and Käärijä were as well as the last few people who were at the bar; Luke Black who was representing Serbia and Alika who was representing Estonia. You got along well with them and you all decided to plan a get-together where tomorrow you'd all hang out at a café nearby and everyone was so excited about it! You were too, but, after that interesting interaction with Bojan, you were nervous to say the least.

As time passed the bar became quieter and quieter as they began leaving to go site-seeing, and back at the hotel, the day turned into night.

Even though you were sad to do so, even with Jere protesting otherwise, you both knew you leaving him to have an early night was for the best. To him, he assumed you were tired but you knew the only way you could escape from all the confusing and slightly flirty looks from Jere and Bojan was the comfort of your hotel room which was overwhelming at this point.

Taking a nice hot bath would surely do the trick of ridding your mind of not only them but also the stress of the competition...Until you had a vision, of yourself in a sauna. Kaarija's sauna. A pleasant steaming sauna with two other figures sat close to you. Bojan and Jere. Then it vanished away like a dream.

What was that supposed to mean?

****

While you clambered into bed for the night in your hotel room you tried to rest but something was keeping you awake, or someone, orrather two people. That bath did nothing but further confuse you!

Maybe watching Joker Out's interview from the carpet event would (worsen) help you... At that, you flipped over to your right side where your bedside table was and grabbed your phone, opened Youtube and the first thing to come up was the video in question. Seems like even your phone knows something's up.

The first was the official interview by the two hosts of the Turquoise Carpet. It opened with the usual questions like "How are you finding it all?" and "Do you like Liverpool?"    Although, as the interview progressed it built up to "Have you been anywhere you like?"

The band responded with site-seeing places like The Cavern Club where The Beatles performed but to you, the most important place was the Nordic Party..."Okay, that wasn't too bad," you thought to yourself.

The next video was by one of the reporters who was one of many along the Turquoise carpet and you thought it couldn't get any worse...but it did. The question that stuck out the most to you was "Which contestant would you rather get stuck in a sauna with?" which caused the band to erupt in laughter.

Luckily, while the video was being recorded earlier that day, you and Käärijä and the other dancers were further along or had left the carpet by then, otherwise, the answer they gave would have probably provoked anyone within reach to ask you about: "I think I've already done that already..."  Bojan hesitated yet finished the sentence; "...with two people here already..."

He then had the cheek to mutter under his breath: "Someone close to Käärijä." Bojansmirked and the rest of the band giggled. If you weren't slick you wouldn't have caught it but it looked like Jan said something under his breath to Bojan...something that looked to be your name.

So, in conclusion, that 'vision' you had in the bath was in fact, a memory.

Well, fuck.

****

A/N:

Juoppo = drunkard.

Kalsarikänni = getting drunk in your underwear at home. (I still find it so funny they have a  word for this...I love Finnish😭)

ALSO THE DRAMA, GUYS, THE DRAMAAAA!!!

Please reblog if you enjoyed! Thanks!

[thesmilingfish]

I was thinking about some of the gifs that I reblogged and how for a period of my life I saw a lot more movies in the theater than I do now. I thought maybe it was just my imagination so I decided to check myself and randomly chose 1990 as a starting point, then did checked the Wikipedia list for movie releases and then did every ten years to see the results.

1980 - 4

1990 - 45

2000 - 11

2010 - 3

2020 - 0

My memory, of course, could be faulty so I tried to err on the side of caution. It's not like I even saw all of the biggest movies that came out in 1990 or that those movies are better than movies now. Maybe it was because of my age and the group of friends I had at the time. Maybe it was because I lived in a place that had a lot of movie theaters, including an independent 'art' house so I had more options. It could have been the cost of going to the movies was more affordable at the time. (I went pretty much every Friday night to the movies and out to dinner with friends afterwards.)

Weirdly, looking at the list of 1990 movies some of them I never watched again, even though I enjoyed myself at the time. A lot of them I have no idea why I even went to see them in first place, but it was probably because it was what was playing and we wanted to go to the movies so we found something we could all agree on. I do know the only reason I saw Ghost was because my boss made me. We went to the movies together sometimes but he complained that I was a film snob and didn't watch hit movies as a result. Around two minutes into the movie I slipped him a piece of paper naming the murderer and later I almost got attacked by a couple of women for laughing inappropriately. The credits sequence, I believe done by Mike Jittlov, is still my favorite part of the movie even though I've never watch it again.

Below the cut, are the list of movies. Just because.

1980 The Nude Bomb The Empire Strikes Back My Bodyguard Phantasm (!!! way too young to have seen this)

1990 Flashback The Hunt for Red October The Handmaid’s Tale Lord of the Flies Nuns on the Run Cry-Baby I Love You To Death Miami Blues Bird on a Wire Back to the Future Part III Total Recall Dick Tracy Gremlins 2: The New Batch Die Hard 2 Ghost Arachnophobia Navy SEALs Young Guns II Air America Flatliners Pump Up the Volume Darkman Men at Work The Witches Hardware State of Grace Pacific Heights Texasville Henry & June Memphie Belle Tune in Tomorrow Jacob’s Ladder Vincent & Theo The Krays Home Alone Rescuer’s Down Under Dances With Wolves Misery Cyrano de Bergerac The Grifters The Rookie Edward Scissorhands Mermaids The Field Hamlet

2000 Pitch Black The Ninth Gate High Fidelity Mission: Impossible 2 X-Men Hollow Man Charlie’s Angels Quills Vertical Limit O Brother, Where Art Thou? Shadow of the Vampire

2010 The Ghost Writer Iron Man 2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

2020 - STREAMING Extraction Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga The Old Guard Greyhound Enola Holmes Wonder Woman 1984