#Think of them as Moldova's big sister

[estbela]

Moldavia(not Moldova) -> I posted about them a few times some time ago. By the way, they use all pronouns. Been thinking about a human name for her. Pretty sure her middle name would be something like Ștefana though, which leds to some ppl(especially Romania) calling them "Fane" which is sort of a diminutive of it.

(I forgot to give her a cross, but she'd def wear a cross)

[king-a-queen]

Eurovision 2023 pt. 1

pt. 2 | pt. 3

It’s this time of the year again! To honor beginning of Eurovision week here’s my opinion on this year’s songs and my ideal qualifiers at the end. No hate, just positive vibes here, feel free to disagree.

Semi-Final 1

Croatia (Let 3 – Mama ŠČ!) – You either love it or hate it. I personally love it – it’s grotesque, weird, absolutely unique and outstanding. We’ll forget most of song from this Eurovision in few years, but not this one. It shows that there’s not just one way to convey an anti-war message.

Ireland (Wild Youth – We Are One) – Not a big fan of this one. Sounds like it comes from a Disney Channel teen movie. It has a summerish, positive vibe, but that’s about it. Also, the live performance from Irish TV leaves much to be desired.

Latvia (Sudden Lights – Aijā) – At first I wasn’t a big fan of it, but right now it’s one of my faves. The vibe of this song makes me wanna lie on the floor and just become one with this song. And they’re great live performers.

Malta (The Busker – Dance (Our Own Party)) – This song feels like it’s a mix of Daði og Gagnamagnið, The Roop and SunStroke Project. It has its own charm, the staging is eventful and the lyrics are relatable. While it’s not one of my faves, it holds a special place in my heart.

Norway (Alessandra – Queen Of Kings) – Definitely one of the strongest participant this year. The song has everything that Eurovision wants: the strong vocals, the lyrics, the staging, the vibe and the powerful message. My only concern is whether it being a viral is more of an advantage or disadvantage.

Portugal (Mimicat – Ai Coração) – Amazing, vintage, burlesque vibe. Not my favorite, but I really enjoy it.

Serbia (Luke Black – Samo Mi Se Spava) – My number 1 since I’ve heard a few seconds of it on PZE recap. I love the message and the dark, mysterious vibe. It feels like it belong in a trailer of some epic, post-apocalyptic game. I regularly listen to it on repeat.

Azerbaijan (TuralTuranX – Tell Me More) – Do they have a chance? Probably not, but they still bring a great, chill vibe.

Czech Republic (Vesna –  My Sister's Crown) – My Slavic heart loves all of it – the message, different Slavic languages and folklore elements. You don’t get bored listening to it. I just feel, Vesna need to work on their live performance for it to be perfect.

Finland (Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha) – Before Finland’s NF I didn’t get the hype for this song. I found it weird, messy and chaotic. But after seeing live performance and public going absolutely crazy for it, I started to get it. Now it’s one of my favorites. What can I say, it’s crazy, it’s party.

Israel (Noa Kirel – Unicorn) – It’s a great, well-produced song and Noa is a very talented artist. I think it may be one of the dark horses of this year’s comp.

Moldova (Pasha Parfeni – Soarele şi Luna) – I love those ethnic bops. Pasha is a great performer and it sounds absolutely amazing live.

Netherlands (Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper – Burning Daylight) – It’s hard for me to judge it, as I don’t fancy songs like that. I’m not a fan, but good luck to them.

Sweden (Loreen – Tattoo) – In my opinion it’s a bit overrated entry. And before anybody comes at me, I like the song and I know it’s really good. It’s just that it’s absolutely what I expect from Sweden and Loren at Eurovision and I prefer to be surprised. But Loreen is amazing performer and I don’t think that this song would work so well if anybody else without such charisma tried to sing it.

Switzerland (Remo Forrer – Watergun) – A great anti-war ballad. I’m not a fan of ballads, but I think it’s a good one. With great staging, he can do well and I’m sure juries will appreciate it (if he qualifies that is).

My ideal qualifiers (in no particular order): Croatia, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Serbia, Czech Republic, Finland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden

[aijamisespava]

10 Eurovision 2023 Songs as...Taylor Swift Albums?

Yes. You heard that right. It was just a silly little idea that came into my head as we say goodbye to the 2023 songs (or not since a lot of them have found homes on our playlists!) and get ready for the 2024 season. It's still early (no songs, and only 2 artists have been announced), so if I do it now, it won't interfere with all the 2024 content we will be prepping for come the new year! So, I've picked 10 songs from the 2023 list and assigned them to a Taylor Swift album (solely based on my opinion, and I just choose the songs without thinking of my personal ranking).

Debut: So...the first album...the hardest one for me to come up with one for. But then, I thought that "What They Say" by Victor Vernicos from Greece kinda fits the bill. Aside from both Taylor and Victor being 16 when they released their respective pieces, "What They Say" gives me some minor "Tied Together With A Smile" vibes, which match the first album rather well.

Fearless: With a song like "Mr. Perfectly Fine" being such a sassy breakup song, I feel that the United Kingdom fits the Fearless bill here. "I Wrote A Song" by Mae Muller would fit onto Fearless perfectly. With the lyrical clapbacks (that could also work on Speak Now), it fits on an album with songs like "Mr. Perfectly Fine" or even the confessional NOT breakup song that is "You Belong With Me"

Speak Now: Speak Now is probably as close as Taylor has gotten to a rock album. With songs like "Better Than Revenge", "Haunted", and even the recently freed from the vault "Electric Touch" have these rock elements...kinda like how "Promise" by Voyager from Australia has those elements too...plus it's one of my mom's winners with her favorite Taylor album.*also taking this moment to wish Danny a speedy recovery!*

Red: I've thought of a couple of songs that would match this album. As Eurovision has as many heartbreak songs as they do love songs. And what's better than Cyprus' "Break A Broken Heart" by Andrew Lambrou for the heartbreak album? I mean, it just works! Right?

1989: I spent some time thinking about this one with it being my favorite Taylor album. And while I almost picked Finland's song, I decided to go for Käärijä's friends over in Slovenia. Joker Out's "Carpe Diem" is fun. It's parties with friends. It's perfect for big cities. What else is those? 1989.

reputation: For this one, it was probably the one that inspired this blog. I chose Serbia's "Samo Mi Se Spava" by Luke Black for reputation. Aside from the specific animal imagery that both the album and the song have (the lobster for the song and snakes for the album), the electro elements are similar to me. Plus, I've called "Samo Mi Se Spava" by villain song and people say you go into your "reputation Era" when you're in your villain era.

Lover: This one was another easy pick. Armenia's entry has the album title in the name! Brunette's "Future Lover" fits the overall theme the Lover album has of...well...love! It also qualifies because a song for your future lover can 100% count....I've written a piece to mine in my vault!

folklore: It's no Eurovision 2023 post without me mentioning Latvia's "Aijā" by Sudden Lights. While the soft rock elements would be better suited for something like Speak Now or Red, I chose folklore for one reason and one reason only. folklore is my favorite album to write to. Sudden Lights has three albums of songs, plus Aijā, plus a couple of post-Eurovision releases that are literally perfect writing music. I've tried it, and their album "Miljards vasaru" ranks up there as a favorite writing album.

evermore: Yeah...I've thought it through. And Moldova's "Soarele Si Luna" by Pasha Parfeni just gives me evermore vibes. Plus, it's kinda cool that I put my winner and my sister's winner as the sister albums. It's just cute.

Midnights: This is gonna sound like a bad joke but hear me out, The Netherlands' "Burning Daylight" by Mia and Dion would fit on Midnights. It sounds and feels reflective, which matches the theme that Midnights was trying to portray. And yeah...the title works too...

So, that's only 10 songs. If a favorite of yours didn't make it, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to assess it! In fact, I'd be willing to do a song not from 2023 if you're dying to know about one of those!

[docholligay]

GRAND FINAL RUNNING ORDER

🇦🇹 Austria | Teya & Salena - Who The Hell Is Edgar?

🇵🇹 Portugal | Mimicat - Ai Coração

🇨🇭 Switzerland | Remo Forrer - Watergun

🇵🇱 Poland | Blanka - Solo

🇷🇸 Serbia | Luke Black - Samo Mi Se Spava

🇫🇷 France: La Zarra - Évidemment

🇨🇾 Cyprus | Andrew Lambrou - Break A Broken Heart

🇪🇸 Spain: Blanca Paloma - Eaea

🇸🇪 Sweden | Loreen - Tattoo

🇦🇱 Albania | Albina & Familja Kelmendi - Duje

🇮🇹 Italy: Marco Mengoni - Due Vite

🇪🇪 Estonia | Alika - Bridges

🇫🇮 Finland | Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha

🇨🇿 Czechia | Vesna - My Sister's Crown

🇦🇺 Australia | Voyager - Promise

🇧🇪 Belgium | Gustaph - Because Of You

🇦🇲 Armenia | Brunette - Future Lover

🇲🇩 Moldova | Pasha Parfeni - Soarele şi Luna

🇺🇦 Ukraine: TVORCHI - Heart of Steel

🇳🇴 Norway | Alessandra - Queen of Kings

🇩🇪 Germany: Lord of the Lost - Blood & Glitter

🇱🇹 Lithuania | Monika Linkytė - Stay

🇮🇱 Israel | Noa Kirel - Unicorn

🇸🇮 Slovenia | Joker Out - Carpe Diem

🇭🇷 Croatia | Let 3 - Mama ŠČ!

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Mae Muller - I Wrote A Song

Thoughts:

THEY KILLED MY GIRL. Opening isn’t great for Austria, but they put Portugal in the kill spot. I know she’s not a favorite to win but COME ON.

France not winning even as an outside chance now. If I am wrong I will be delighted, but also I will let y’all vote on me liveblogging an ep of something I hate if she wins MARK THIS SPACE.

Finland’s gotta be happy with that spot, it’s about the best they could hope for given the draw.

Australia not in a great spot, I would have thought they’d be in a better spot but maybe they didn’t do well in televote, or maybe the stage is going to work different from how I think and this is gonna end up hurting Czechia more than them.

Israel’s spot is FANTASTIC, i think if she lands it they might even top 10, or better.

Croatia’s spot seems to indicate it maybe..placed really high in the televote? We won’t know until after the competition when they release numbers, I’m only going off historical stuff, but still, I’m shocked and pleased!

I’m a big fan of totally random draw run orders for the final because run order DOES make a difference, sometimes a very large one, so I don’t love that producers can set up a winners nudge. BUT, I know “euro neuro” opening pretty much killed that, so I would settle for QUARTER draws instead of half draws. spots 1-7 first quarter 8-13 second quarter 14-20 3rd quarter 21-26 fourth quarter you get it. That still leaves a lot of flexibility for the producers while semi-assigning difficult spots to win from.

EXCITED FOR SATURDAY!!!!!!!

[shiftingtomydrs]

Ohh omg pleeease tell m more about the Romanov family thing! I've been thinking about scripting myself into that family for one of my drs but had no clue how to start

Okay so I just checked my script and I thought I wrote it down but appareantly i didnt or at least I cant find it anymore so bear with me with inaccuracies pls.

Alright so basically back to 1918, russian revolution. In my dr alexei, the son of czar nikolai and his sister maria, daughter of czar nikolai and my grand mother survive and take back the throne in 1920. I havent really worked that out yet but it was peaceful and yk not a big massacre. Sadly, bcs he did have the bleeder sickness (hemophilia), alexei died soon after, without any children, leaving my grandmother maria on the throne. She then married and had 4 children, my dad being the oldest. She died sometime in the 1990s, leaving my father on the throne. My mother came from a rich french family btw and married my dad in 2006. I was born in 2007, on the 18th of april. Im an only child too btw just bcs why not.

So the russian revolution was successful for two years but then in the end idk the people wanted back the monarchy i guess idk? but its not an absolute monarchy anymore, its more like a semi-constitutional monarchy, so basically the monarch doesnt have absoulte power but also is not more or less just a symbol like in the british monarchy.

Also basically the russian empire still exists, so some countries dont exist bcs theyre part of the empire or are smaller, like e.g. georgia, armenia, azerbaijan, ukraine, finland, latvia, lithuania, estonia, parts of poland, belarus, moldova (yes, i just copied a list from google) in europe and kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, uzbekistan, turkmenistan, tajikistan and alaska (also from google).

Dont come for me for the territories and shit, it was the original russian empire and im just keeping that. Im also keeping the original flag of the russian empire btw.

Also I changed that the russian economy is really good (like 2nd in the world or so) bcs russia didnt go through decades of communism and dictatorship and in general that people lead good lives basically

As for the 2nd world war, I dont know yet what happens but it could very well relate to how it happened in this reality, the non-agression pact between germany and russia and that russia kept to themselves until germany invaded them.

The ukrainian war obviously doesnt happen due to ukraine being a part of the russian empire.

I think thats mostly it, if you have questions feel free to ask them :)

(@thanossnap wasn't sure if you were going to get a notification for this so I'm just gonna tag you :) )

[onlyonewoman]

Sometimes I feel like we forget how fast the world has changed in 34 years and how we keep forgetting that it's not really about the time, but the vast gap between what was possible in 1989 and 2023. I was 6 years old and probably doing some autumn themed stuff in kindergarten November 9th 1989, like gluing leaves on a paper or drawing mushrooms. It was a Thursday and I was too young to know about the Berlin wall or the fact that there were two Germanys. After all, I lived way up north in Europe and the first news from outside my country I can truly remember seeing, was the horrible Romanian orphanages with pictures of children kept basically in cages. I knew nothing about world wars or any wars for that matter and since my parents weren't metal fans, I obviously didn't know about a German band called Scorpions either. In 1989, I didn't know that the big map of Europe in my sister's geography book was about to change completely. The 90's recession hit hard and getting new books to schools wasn't easy, when thinking about how suddenly, we had 19(!) "new" countries instead of Soviet Union, East and West Germany and Czechoslovakia. Think about it! We went from these 4 countries: - Soviet Union - East Germany - West Germany - Czechoslovakia to 18: - Armenia - Azerbaijan - Belorussia (now Belarus) - Czech Republic - Estonia - Georgia - Germany - Kazakhstan - Kirgiziya (now Kyrgyzstan) - Latvia - Lithuania - Moldavia (now Moldova), - Russia - Slovakia - Tajikistan - Turkmenistan - Ukraine - Uzbekistan And then, barely 3 years later, when I was in third grade, the Yugoslavian war started and the maps in our then new Geography books went obsolete again. 1994, Internet wasn't yet a thing and we got classmates from countries we'd never heard of, learning that there was no longer a place called Yugoslavia, but in fact 6 to add to the increasing list: - Slovenia - Croatia - Bosnia - Herzegovina - Kosovo - Macedonia For a long, long time, these 24 countries were 5 and what little a kid would know about them, came in the shape of already obsolete world altas books and tv news we were too young to understand. Suddenly, many of us got new classmates from these new places and the names of Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia especially stuck. We saw pictures from Sarajevo on the news and when we turned 12/13 and started 7th grade, our new history books had a picture of a smiling East German soldier and a smiling West German woman pouring champagne from the Berlin wall. Heavy metal wasn't popular anymore but everyone and their goldfish knew Scorpion's "Wind Of Change" from 1990: "The wind of change blows straight into the face of time Like a storm wind that will ring the freedom bell for peace of mind Let your balalaika sing what my guitar wants to say (say)

Take me (take me) to the magic of the moment On a glory night (a glory night) Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams (share their dreams) With you and me (you and me)" This is not my old ass trying to tell young people here on this hellsite about the past, but time and pace - and the dangers of taking democracy, peace and stability for granted. Never in my life had I imagined another full scaled war in Europe after the horrors of Yugoslavian wars. I TRULY believed the likes of Putin and Lukasjenko would see how pointless, reckless and just... bonkers a war in Europe would be in these times. I GENUINLY didn't think I'd be listening to news of Russian soldiers demolishing a peaceful neighbor in 2022. I NEVER anticipated a Brexit and the potential risks it means for Northern Ireland, where there's been a declared, official peace only since 2007. Well, what's the fucking point of this history rambling from a 40-year-old relic? you may ask. The answer is simple. My classmates' Sarajevo in 1994, is just an older version of your collegues, neighbors etc. coming from Ukraine 2022. That my wild hope for this atrocious genocide at least will end in another Haag Tribunal, like the one the murderers like the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. I want to see Putin and his lackeys put on trial like Slobodan Milošević, Ratko Mladić, Tihomir Blaškić and other war criminals in the Yugoslavian war. Putin is just like them and there is no forgiveness and no excuses, no reasons even remotely acceptable for his war crimes. The massacres in Butja and demolition and ransacking of Kiev is no different than the bombings of Sarajevo. The images are the same and I NEED you to understand how these types of war stems from the sick grandiosity minds of despotes living in the past, dreaming of ancient "glory" because they are small, insignificant men who can't bear the thought of being slighted. You ALSO need to understand why Europe as a whole was so wholly unprepared for this. It's because we, as every other human population on Earth, really can't bear to constantly think the worst of our neighbors. We thought the times of war on this scale were behind us, not because we're better than others - HELL NO! - but because most of us thought everyone realised there were more to lose in a war than could be gained. We didn't anticipate that for the likes of Putin, "Wind Of Change" was never a song about hope for a brighter future, but more like a song of mourning.

Putin was 38, two years younger than me when the Soviet Empire began to collaps and we overlooked his crushed dreams and need for revenge - and the price he was willing to pay himself to go for it. Volodymyr Zelenskyj is 5 years my senior, one year older than my big sister. I try picturing him in 1989 as an 11-year-old, sitting in a classroom somewhere in Ukraine at the same time as my sister did, 10 years old. How both of them in their respective language had geography lessons with suddenly obsolete maps and how what was merely a piece of information for my sister, was reality for Volodymyr. Volodymyr in 1989 had no idea he'd one day lead Ukraine through a war as horrendous as the one that would break out in Yugoslavia 3 years later.

This, my youngsters on this precious hellsite, is why you can't declare people over 25 out of touch or ignorant or unable to change as soon as we don't live up to whatever standard of Internet purity setting the mood for the day. I NEED YOU TO KNOW HOW MUCH THE WORLD HAS CHANGED! I need you to understand how difficult it is for a small human being to know which leg to stand on at times, that it's okay to be wrong and that walls will be built and torn down, old contries dying and new ones rising in their ashes in what a while later will seem like a blink of an eye. I don't have to imagine Volodymyr or my sister hearing Wind Of Change on the radio in two different countries, not knowing English well enough to understand the lyrics and definitely not knowing how much the world would change before their eyes. I don't have to, because I was there too, just a few years younger and still gluing autumn leaves on paper with my classmates in kindergarten. And at the same time, somewhere in Sarajevo, a girl who'd become my friend and classmate in 4th grade, didn't know she'd see her hometown bombed to ashes and move hundreds of miles away, learning a new, difficult language and read the same obsolete geography book as I did - with a map that didn't show her country.

I want, so bad, for you people here too young to remember this, to take a moment and realise the nothing but astonishing changes that have taken place long before any you were born and how slow the news traveled before the Internet. Don't take this as a scolding because it's absolutely NOT! This is me urging you to be more gentle with yourselves, your peers and older as well as younger people because while history does repeat itself, it rarely does it in the same place or the same pattern. Milosevic or Putin, Radic or Prigozjin - different names but still coldhearted murderers and just as Milosevic didn't get to erase Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sarajevo from the maps, there is just no alternative in any fucking world, that Putin should be allowed to erase Ukraine and it's cities and people and culture. To all of you who's first present day images from a war in the West were those from Butja and Kiev: talk to people you know who are in their 40's and older. They might be able to tell you about the Berlin wall, the Soviet Empire and how a German rock group wrote a song that would be significant for what people hoped for when I was still gluing leaves and learning the names of the months, miles and miles away from the place where people older than me were starting to literally tear a wall down. Stand with Ukraine, stand on the right side of history and don't forget how close the past is, even when times truly seem to spin faster than ever.

[luderailing]

This has been sitting in my drafts so I thought I’d post it anyway have some Moldova and Russia headcannons(?)

I have so much going through my brain and probably so many unfinished projects BUT. I was thinking about it and I absolutely love the concept that Russia is good with kids and they don’t see him as cruel,,anyway, I was thinking about it and how Russia probably cares so much for Moldova. Like treats him as if he were a little brother. Russia is the middle child and he’s only had sisters , I imagine he tries his absolute hardest to be a good big brother to Moldova because he’s never had a younger brother. Especially one as young as Moldova.

I think that even after the Soviet Union fell that Russia would still check on Moldova every now and then and spend time with him. Going back to earlier I think Russia probably feels most himself with Moldova because he’s not skiddish or scared of him. Russia can tell when someone does or doesn’t trust him, he just doesn’t let that stop him.

Yes this is also the reason Moldova and Latvia know each other, but I think they have a complicated and kind of funny relationship. I imagine it would be like a kid in junior high talking to an elementary kid so like neither of them have a filter and it just gets chaotic. Moldova will say something that little kids say and Latvia just “wow that’s nice,, are u gonna go now” and just “mhm” or “yeah ig” at everything he says because Latvia already feels like a tired babysitter

[wiltingofthewhitelily]

Can I ask what headcanons you have for Belarus and Romania as a ship? Or how do you think their personalities complement each other 👀

Ok, sweet! Here’s some RomBela hcs!

I’m using the name Vladimir (or Vlad) for Romania here, and of course, Natalya for Belarus. Also, for those who didn’t know, I’ve just recently came up with a hc that Vlad is nonbinary; they will use he/they/it pronouns (haven’t decided what neopronouns I think they’d use, though I think I like ecto/ect the most for them).

---

These two l o v e to do each other’s makeup, or just do makeup together in general. Out of the two of them, Vlad is definitely more of the makeup wearer, though. It usually goes completely all out with it—eyeliner, mascara, black lipstick, you name it. It also likes to experiment sometimes with more “edgy” styles, like fake blood and whatnot. And yes, it totally rocks the look. Natalya isn’t as extreme with her makeup as her partner, but she still looks amazing and still loves to do it with it.

The type of couple that will dress up like they’re going to a gothic fashion show when they’re really just going to McDonald’s.

Though the two may seem similar on the surface, personality-wise they’re kinda polar opposites—Vlad is a bit silly and outgoing, while Natalya is rather stoic and laidback.

However, these two obviously connect through their love of anything gothic, occult-like things, sorcery, etc. They like to read occult books together, trade/buy cards together, and even perform rituals.

They also love love love scary movies! Natalya is a little more into psychological horrors/thrillers, while Vlad loves anything to do with monsters/creatures—vampires (of course), werewolves, aliens, ghosts, etc.

And of course, I gotta include a little hc with Vlad’s sweet little brother, Aurel (Moldova) lol. I saw a hc once that Natalya is like...kind of awkward around little kids?? And I thought that was really cute?? Lol—it just kinda makes sense to me bc of her personality and the fact that she’s a youngest child, y’know? Yeah, so when she started dating Vlad, and then Aurel came into the picture, she kinda acted the same way, though over time she warmed up to the little boy. And Aurel always adored her lol and started calling her “big sister” pretty much right when her and Vlad started dating.

And ok, this isn’t really a hc but I just imagine Vlad and Natalya taking Aurel out to get ice cream or something...and then all the Karen moms around them stare at them wearing their goth clothes and shit all judgmental-like. And Vlad is probably too nervous to stare them down but Natalya just gives the moms a fucking look like, “Bitch, stop fucking staring, me and my s/o are getting our little brother ice cream so turn tf around” >:(((

---

Ok, I think that’s about it for now! I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

[qqueenofhades]

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.

[sytycdinternational]

Eurovision 2021 pre-show ranking #26 - #1

I know the rehearsals are already out but I’m not gonna take them into account for this ranking since I might as well just do a ranking of the actual broadcasted live performances then. Ideally the following songs would be part of my dream final on Saturday. #39-#25

26. VICTORIA - Growing Up Is Getting Old - Bulgaria 🇧🇬: I begrudgingly accept Victoria's decision choosing this over "imaginary friend" (she seemed to have visible troubles singing it live after all) but gosh, it’s kind of hard for me to warm up to this. "imaginary friend" figuratively moved me to another plane of existence. I do think this song has the perfect set up for some amazing staging. (2020/2021)

25. Blind Channel - Dark Side - Finland 🇫🇮: Yesss Finland, give me that darkness. I wish I could unhear the lyrics tho because it’s teetering pretty close to edge territory. Okay, I guess it has crossed that threshold long ago, but still, rock songs are a rarity on this show that I will cherish no matter their flaws. (2020/2021)

24. Hurricane - LOCO LOCO - Serbia 🇷🇸: They’ve come to slay like a tropical weather phenomenon. I can already see the shreds of their fellow competitors lining their path. (2020/2021)

23. Blas Cantó - Voy A Quedarme - Spain 🇪🇸: It took a tone-downed, more intimate acoustic version for  this me to connect with this song, but somehow it managed to flip a  switch and now I get incredibly emotional even when I listen to the  official version. I’d definitely prefer the acoustic version to be performed on the actual show though. (2020/2021)

22. Jeangu Macrooy - Birth Of A New Age - The Netherlands 🇳🇱: The lyrics feel refreshingly meaningful. It fills me with real warmth and good vibes as a whole. (2020/2021)

21. Anxhela Peristeri - Karma - Albania 🇦🇱: Albania is bringing drama and I’m living for it. Very effective revamp to make the song more memorable. (2020/2021)

20. Samanta Tina - The Moon is Rising - Latvia 🇱🇻: What’s up with that dreadful “eh EH eh EH” background track?? It’s driving me up the wall. Still, I’m floored by Samanta’s powerful vocals. It’s a pity the final misses the actual blood moon occurence, the lunar ecplise on May 26 by a few days. Oh well, it’s not like it can be seen from Europe this time anyway. (2020/2021)

19. The Roop - Discoteque - Lithuania 🇱🇹: The Roop really took their song from last year and turned it dark and in order to balance it out they changed the colors of their outfits to bright yellow. During all this some of the hypnotic qualities of “On Fire” was lost but the new song is still lots of quirky fun. (2020/2021)

18. Ana Soklič - Amen - Slovenia 🇸🇮: Simply glorious. What a woman, what a voice. The way the song develops is bombastic. (2020/2021)

17. Natalia Gordienko - SUGAR - Moldova 🇲🇩: The refrain and the rest of the song sound so mismatched to me lol. Still, the contrast between the bright sugary visuals and somewhat darkish, even sinister tone of the music is doing it for me. (2020/2021)

16. Montaigne - Technicolour - Australia 🇦🇺:  I can’t stand “Don’t Break Me”, so Montaigne doing a 180 degree turn  was well appreciated. This sounds sooo difficult to sing so total props  for that. Hope she nails it during the liveshows. (2020/2021)

15. Lesley Roy - Maps - Ireland 🇮🇪: This gives me enough energy to travel the Irish plains all on my own. Gosh, I miss travelling. (2020/2021)

14. The Black Mamba - Love Is On My Side - Portugal 🇵🇹: Never got the hype  for “Dancing in the Stars“, so if Portugal had to send a song in English  I’m glad it ended up being this one. I love Tatanka’s raspy voice and  the song just oozes style as a whole. I was surprised how bittersweet the lyrics actually are after listening more closely and that makes me like it even more. (2020/2021)

13. Måneskin - Zitti E Buoni - Italy 🇮🇹: F*CK ME UP. I have high hopes for you, Italy. Also  I’m totally over the fact that Irama was not able to perform live on  San Remo this year due to Covid-related issues and thus surrendered any  realistic chances of "La genesi del tuo colore" taking the win and  competing on ESC, I swear I am *sobs* (2020/2021)

12. Daði og Gagnamagnið - 10 Years - Iceland 🇮🇸: That bait and switch at the start kills me. I also unironically like this a lot more than “Think About Things”. (2020/2021)

11. Manizha - Russian Woman - Russia 🇷🇺:  Are my ears deceiving me? A Russian entry that is NOT an inoffensive  pop ballad in English playing it totally safe? I guess Little Big for  2020 was not an anomaly after all. I LOVE the traditional-sounding  chanting used for the chorus and the energy is infectious. (2020/2021)

10. Efendi - Mata Hari - Azerbaijan 🇦🇿: Another entry, another banger. I love her harsh pronounciation of the lyrics. (2020/2021)

9. Destiny - Je Me Casse - Malta 🇲🇹: Talk about a glow-up from last year. Malta is absolutely bringing the funk and the sass. (2020/2021)

8. Vasil - Here I Stand - North Macedonia 🇲🇰:  This song is FEELINGS and I totally feel it! Ugh, I’m such a softie for  heartfelt, breaking-down-your-emotional-walls-type of songs. (2020/2021)

7. Eden Alene - Set Me Free - Israel 🇮🇱:  The revamp catapulted this song from the very bottom of my list to this  spot. It’s little things like the inflection after “on my own” among  others that make this song such a joy to listen to. So many little  details to explore. (2020/2021)

6. Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo - Cyprus 🇨🇾:  Another year, another powerhouse of a song by Cyprus. This is my favorite by far out of the last few years though, even surpassing  “Fuego”, judging alone by the song itself. The drop literally takes my breath away. (2020/2021)

5. Albina - Tick-Tock - Croatia 🇭🇷: Who knew Croatia would deliver the catchiest beat this year? (2020/2021)

4. Stefania - Last Dance - Greece 🇬🇷:  Say hello to Dua Lipa “Physical”’s long-lost sister. And just like the  former I have the latter playing non-stop. I have yet to get sick of it.  It gets me so pumped up, I love it. (2020/2021)

3. Gjon's Tears - Tout l’Univers - Switzerland 🇨🇭: Sensitive.  Sublime. Majestic. It was like witnessing the ocean at high and low  tide. At one moment deceivingly calm, the next I’m swept away by a  riptide of thundering sounds and delicious falsetto. (2020/2021)

2. Go_A - SHUM - Ukraine 🇺🇦: I literally spasmed out in ecstatic bliss when I first listened to this. I think it was some kind of combination of Kateryna's piercing vocals that strike right through my hear, the intoxicating ethnic elements and droning bass, all delivered at an ever increasing speed that drove me into a literal ethno-rave-fuelled frenzy. (2020/2021)

1. Barbara Pravi - Voilà - France 🇫🇷: The first time I saw Barbara’s national final performance I was transfixed. I was clinging to every word escaping her lips, my heart almost stopping at each moment my ears weren't filled with her angelic voice. I was flooded with all kinds of emotions, particularly with an existential longing for something I couldn’t possibly describe.  Excellent use of monochrome lighting and costumes as well which I’m sure was supposed to emulate the feeling of black-and-white films of the past. (2020/2021)

Predicting the results:

Qualifiers #1 Semi-Final:

Australia

Azerbaijan

Cyprus

Israel 

Lithuania

Malta

Norway

Russia 

Sweden

Ukraine

Belgium

Croatia

Ireland

North Macedonia

Romania

Slovenia 

Qualifiers #2 Semi-Final:

Albania 

Bulgaria

Finland 

Greece

Iceland 

Portugal

San Marino

Serbia

Switzerland

Austria 

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Georgia 

Latvia

Moldova 

Poland

[scribeofmorpheus]

As Fate Would Have It (part 21)

Paring: WinterSoldier!Bucky x Spy!Reader

Catch Up here | Masterlist | AO3

Taglist is open. Send an ask.

Warnings: Themes of mental illness, violence... eh, some other stuff.

Note: tripple post! | Vocabulary: Snezhinka is russian for ‘Snowflake’ and  Vot der'mo  roughly translates to ‘Shit’. Also, Voroshilov is a tank named after a military general.

--

Your white tactical gear was washed out by the snowy terrain. Alexei held two unconscious guards under his shoulders by the necks. He dropped them with a loud thud.

You checked your guns clips and silencer twice before kneeling next to the facility’s baulky doors. Your knife working to remove a panel to reveal intricate wiring. You wanted to square away any doubts before charging headfirst into trouble. Unlike the last time you did something risky, you didn’t want there to be any doubt.

“Alexei,” you said, stripping wires. “I need to know something.”

Alexei sighed, his big chest deflating more than you thought possible. He knew what was coming. It was obvious. “You need to know what, Snezhinka?”

“When I was a spider—” your saliva went dry. “When I was a Blackwidow…I did things.”

Alexei huffed, warm breath mixing with the crisp air. He sniffled, “We’ve all done things.”

The wires sparked and your fingers gained a burn mark, “I know. But I did something and I think I’m responsible for…your eye. And I think you’ve known this since before we met.”

The door opened and you stood to face Alexei. Guards on the other end of the corridor raised their weapons. You fired two precise shots. The silencer as quiet as a mouse. The guards dropped to the floor not as quietly.

“I gave them the research. For their super soldier project. Kathy said—”

“She wasn’t delusional,” Alexei said in confirmation. “It is as you think. The boy she spoke of was me.”

You narrowed your eyes to focus on his facial twitches, “And you don’t blame me? I gave them what they needed to experiment on you. I’m resp—”

“You’re not responsible,” he moved into the warmth of the facility, dragging the guards that were at his feet with him. “We are products of our makers. But that does not mean that is all we can ever be. You made choices. Those choices affected my choices. And now they will affect someone else’s. We are all dominoes falling blindly.”

“Why did you lie?” You worked on the inner-door, trying to keep a poker face.

“Because I know you,” Alexi began setting the C4 charges. “If I told you the truth, you’d blame yourself.” He took a long and deep inhale. “Truth is, I requested to be your recruiter. I wanted to meet the woman who…” His jaw worked over and he exhaled. “You were not what I expected. I realised, in that bar in Moldova, that we are all lost children looking for direction.”

The door began cranking open, slower than the first one.

“How do you not hate me?” You were confounded.

Alexei shrugged, “This Voroshilov you are risking your life to save, he has done terrible things…unspeakable things, no?”

You hesitated to answer and Alexei took that to mean you didn’t have the heart to.

“But you still want to save him?” Alexei cocked his head to the side. You nodded. He smiled, “It’s the same for me. You are my partner. I go where you go, Snezhinka. ”

Except you can’t go where I go , you thought. You turned to look at your ageless face reflected in a reflective surface.

The door ground to a halt once it opened fully. Your fingers reached for anything to fumble with. In that moment you felt an ache for the photograph Bucky—the Winter Soldier—had taken from you in Paris. You wanted to look at Sal’s young face. At Steve’s big, goofy grin and terrible posture. At Annie’s flirtatious wink and Hal’s perpetual scowl. At you and Bucky immortalised in a simpler time.

You let out a breath and were surprised to hear the shudder in your voice. “Promise me something, big guy.” You held your chin high to look over Alexei’s face one more time. To memorise every edge and curve, dip and line, spot and wrinkle. “If I don’t make it to the extraction point—”

“Don’t speak nonsense!” Alexei frowned.

You patted his chest affectionately, like a big sister reassuring her younger brother there were no spiders under his bed anymore.

“If I don’t make it…Don’t come back for me.” You waited to see if he’d argue against your order.

Alexei’s eyes fogged over as he let his chin fall, “The plan is to get the two of you somewhere secure until you can knock his bell straight.”

You chuckled at his improper use of the phrase, “Swear to me, Alexei. Swear you will find another partner. Swear to me that you will give them an annoyingly on-the-nose nickname and buy them two bottles of vodka on the first day.” You moved your hand from his chest to his cheek, patting it twice. “Swear to me you will shave more often.”

He laughed weakly, “I won’t have to. You’ll be there to set my ass straight. Now, let’s go save your boyfriend, da?”

You stepped away from the giant Russian, “No, Alexei. I’m going in alone this time. You’ve set the charges. I can handle the rest. Just hand me the detonator. Wait by the snowmobiles. If I don’t make it out, you’ll know.”

He started swearing in the mother tongue.

You yanked his jacket and shouted, “It’s best it stays this way!”

Alexei grumbled, but he could see the conviction in your eyes. He couldn’t fight against you this time. He conceded and handed you the detonator. Then he unloaded his clip and handed it to you.

“Just in case.” He pulled the hammer and the bullet in the chamber popped out. He caught it and took your much smaller hand in his. Placing the bullet on your palm as if it were a treasure. “I don’t own anything except this jacket and it’s too big for you, will only slow you down.” He feigned a laugh. “There is a saying where I come from, ‘there is no first and the is no last bullet.’” He scratched his eyebrow with his free hand. “No, that’s—Nevermind that. I’m trying to say this isn’t goodbye.”

You balled your fist around the bullet. “I’ll keep this safe.”

“Keep it until you don’t need to anymore, da?”

You nodded and walked into the elevator. As you pushed the button for basement, Alexei shouted: “Carter!”

“What?” Your heart started racing as the doors of the heavy elevator started retracting.

“In the bar, you asked me who we were. I never met them all. But I know who signed our checks—” Alexei had to squat and tilt his head so you could see his face is the small crack between the doors. “Her name is Carter.”

“Carter,” you whispered. You’d seen that name at the museum. It had been attached to an image of a beautiful woman’s newspaper cut-out on Steve’s compass flashed in your mind. “Oh…That Carter.”

The doors closed. The elevator started heading down. You had the strangest sense of Déjà vu. And then you remembered the heist to steal the serum from the military compound.

“Right,” you checked and rechecked your gun again. The doors opened to show several tactically clad men pointing submachine guns at the elevators entrance. “Showtime.”

The two gunshot wounds in your back stung, but not nearly as hot as the flamethrower burn on your arm. You had barricaded the door into the cryo-lab. The banging of soldiers going unheard due to the rapid pulse of your heart.

Bucky was in one of these pods, you could feel it. Home wasn’t a hopeless dream anymore. It was becoming real—tangible.

You felt hopeful for the first time in a long time. Granted the situation wasn’t ideal, but you didn’t fucking care anymore. Hope was hope.

Your feet dragged slower than your body wanted to move, the blood loss made your stomach swirl. It was like being seasick on land.

A flutter of air left your mouth. Your heart skipped what felt like a hundred beats. Everything went quiet and for a moment you wondered if you were actually alive or if all this was some elaborate lie. Then your heart knocked against your chest harder than it had in a long time and you knew it was real.

There he was, cold and unmoving and trapped behind glass, but alive. You laughed, hobbling to get to the cryo-pods.

You disengaged the cryo sequence and waited. When the cold air turned to moisture on the chamber’s glass, Bucky screamed awake. Startled, you took two steps back.

“Gaaahhh,” Bucky fell out of the chamber. You tried to break his fall but you were too weak. You fell together. He shuddered over you, scrambling for purchase.

“Bucky,” You reached out to him and he recoiled. His mind as in a state of confusion and panic. This wasn’t the soft Bucky you’ resurrected in the safe house in Paris and it wasn’t the trained killer you’d fought bloody. This was the man in-between. Half broken and half patchwork. “Hey, Bucky listen to me! We don’t have much time, I have to get us out of here.”

“N—no!” He swung his arms like he was fighting ghosts. “Whe—where…Hhnnnggg!” He braced his head.

You held out your hand, “Come with me and I’ll explain everything.”

His head craned up and then down, fingers holding onto his ears till they turned red. “Arrrghhh! Don’t. Make. Me…Kill them…arggghh!”

You rushed to his side and forced him to look at you, “Soldier! I need you to snap out of this. There’s men coming for us on the other side of that door.” You yanked him hard, ignoring the fact that his breathing was wild and erratic. “I don’t care which version of you I’m dealing with, I just need you to get your shit in order long enough for us to get out of here!”

He removed his fingers from his ears and reached out to trace the outline of your jaw, “S—safe…harbour.”

You gasped, choking on air. You looked into his thunderous eyes, too frantic to tell which version of him had said those words.

Hope was blooming brighter and you whispered like a prayer, “Bucky?”

He dropped to his knees and groaned. “Make it stop!”

“I will. I promise baby, I promise I will. But first,” You slinked your smaller frame under his shoulder and heaved. You held back a whimper as you felt blood rush out of your back. “Get up, baby.”

Bucky steeled his legs, his weight not as heavy on your frame. He eyed you in strangely, with a glint of disconnect. The looked was wiped away by another grunt of pain. His eyes squeezed shut as you directed him towards the door that led to the secondary elevator.

You pressed the call button but nothing happened. “No, no, no.” You slammed the button three times and kicked it once for good measure.

“Lockdown,” Bucky answered. His voice cold one moment then shivering when he stammered: “H—how do I know that? What is happening to me?”

“I don’t know,” you answered truthfully. “But we can’t go back the way I came.” You hitched him higher onto your shoulder to take a second to stretch. “You must know another way.”

“I—I don’t…”

“Think!” You snapped at him.

“I don’t know!” He shouted back. Louder than you’d ever heard him shout before. Your instinct told you to move away from him, your heart was tired of this game of ‘is he or isn’t he the man you love?’

His eyes went large, as if he wanted to apologise and then he said: “Below. There’s an abandoned storage facility.”

You were about to question how he knew that when the door you’d barricaded indented, “How do we access it?”

“Maintenance access,” he nudged towards a grate with a turn wheel.

You set him down and pried it open.

The lower level smelled of damp and what could only be wet rat. Bucky had quieted down now. You moved slower due to the poor lighting from the flare.

Bucky suddenly flinched and you set him down.

“Hold on, I’’ll try and find the exit hatch,” you tucked a loose strand of long, sweaty hair behind his ear. “All the years I dreamed of you, you never had long hair. Now I’ll probably only ever dream about you with long hair.”

Bucky’s eye twitched, a slight discomfort from how intimate you were being. You were hurt by his reaction. You swallowed and apologised then turned to look for the door hatch he’d told you about.

“Do you know what this place is?” You asked as you scanned the room.

He replied clearly, “Old cryo storage.”

“Any others like you down here?” You jigged something you thought was a lever. It budged and let out a putrid gas. You quickly sealed it back up as you gaged.

“We don’t keep them here.”

“We?” You froze. The flare slipped from your fingers. You knew. Somehow, the entire time, you knew it had been too easy.

You pressed your lips tightly, sniffling back disappointment; heartbreak. “You’re not him, are you?”

There was no reply. You back was tingling from exposure. Self-preservation dictated you look your enemy in the eye. Defeat killed any last morsel of fight in you.

You pulled the detonator out from your pocket, “This was a trap.” It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway.

“Da.”

You turned around slowly to face him. One last question left to ask. “Do you know me?” Tears splattered on the metal floor.

The Winter Soldier’s eyes went small and then impartial, a thought working its way in his brain. He reached for something that you couldn’t see. It looked like the edge of a paper. When his hand dropped back to his side, his head was lifted higher. “No.”

“Then…” you licked your lips. “If I can’t save you, we’ll just have to burn together.”

You pressed the detonator. The sound of explosions going off above you. Dust shaking from old pipes. Water burst out of the stone wall, a blown pipe undoubtedly. Then parts of the ceiling began to cave in. A metal beam came crashing down above your head. A flicker of emotion ghosted Bucky’s face and he lunged to pull you back.

The two of you collided on the floor. You head hitting it hard. Fake stars blotted out your vision. And then you saw them again. Pink petals raining down in the dark. The smell of peach blossoms in the air.

Your muscles were numb. Like you’d left them under a running tap in the middle of winter. Your jaw felt frozen shut, pent up energy screaming for release against unresponsive muscles.

“Jesus Christ,” a man said in disbelief. “She hasn’t aged a day.”

“Neither have we,” a darker voice said, gruff and afraid.

“How long has she been on ice?” The sound of machines filled the room. When there was no answer to the man’s question, he asked again, “How long, Buck?”

The other man’s voice went softer, “Almost forty years.”

Bucky? You wondered. Who’s Bucky?

[hetaliareposts]

Latvia In The Manga

Latvia has appeared in multiple strips, dating back to the main story line of the webcomic. He makes his debut in Hetare 4: Pact of Steel in a few brief shots that include him and Estonia trembling from behind a wall, the two of them being awaken after Lithuania wakes up yelling from his dream about Poland, and them trembling again as Russia reads Poland's letter. He also appears in Hetare 5: Lietuvis!! where Russia becomes fascinated over a facet pipe and Latvia is ecstatic at the the fact that water flows through it. When Latvia plays with the facet, an uncomfortable blank stare forms on Russia's face. The following panel shows a baffled Germany as he watches from his window He later makes a brief cameo with Russia and the other two Baltics when they arrive at Germany's house for a meeting. After a few strange occurrences, Russia begins to smash holes in Germany's ceiling. The damage causes it to crumble and Japan falls through and lands on top of Latvia, leaving Estonia and Lithuania to yell out his name in panic.

In Comic Diary 4, Estonia decides that he'll stop calling out Latvia's name when something bad happens but when something hits Latvia in the head, he ends up yelling out his name in mid-sentence. In the strip, Let's go take a look at Estonia, Latvia has a small cameo where he is shown playing with a sheep in the background and Estonia later finds Latvia's head stuck inside the sheep's mouth and yells out his name in distress. In the strip, Truly Just a Scribble Comic, Russia takes notice of Latvia's constant shaking. He grabs a hold of him and Latvia begins to tremble enough that his soul gains wings and escapes his body. In Soviets, both Latvia and Estonia praise Lithuania highly but the second he leaves to meet up with Poland, the air between the two men becomes antipathetic. In The Violent Sve of Northern Europe Takes a Mighty Swing! Latvia is delighted to see Finland arrive after he and Sweden fled Denmark's home. When Sweden decides to take him and Estonia with him and Finland back home, Latvia anxiously says they would have to ask for Poland's approval. In the end, Sweden later gains partial custody over him and Estonia, but only due to Poland getting "stranger anxiety."

Latvia is often seen in strips focusing on Sealand. In It's Sealand! Latvia stabs Sealand in the shoulder with a lily of the valley but apologizes and the two later become friends. Latvia decides to be a big brother figure towards Sealand and gives him advice on how to grow as a country. However Latvia eventually breaks down in tears but thanks him after Sealand cheers up by saying they're both work hard to get stronger. In With Sealand!, he often sends distressing calls to Latvia throughout the strip when something doesn't go right. This strip was republished in volume 3 the name, Keep Moving!! March Forward, Sealand! In The Principality of Wy & the Mysterious Sealand, Latvia hears the news that Wy has declared independence from Australia and knowing that Sealand has mostly likely already heard the news, he decides to call him to check up on him. Thinking he would be crying over it, he is relieved to know the two micronations have become friends. This strip was republished in volume 4 under the name, Keep on moving!! March Forward, Sealand!

Latvia appears in all volumes except for the fifth one, however most of his appearances end up comprising of brief and small cameos. In volume 1, he makes a small appearance in Meeting of the World where Belarus has a nice against his back.He makes his official debut in the strip A Natural Rags-to-Riches Story, where he is living at Russia's house with the other two Baltics. When Latvia says something he shouldn't have towards Russia, Estonia walks out nervously, stating he's going to make some tea. In the following panels, Russia asks where his coat is and Latvia chimes in saying he donated it to musuem, saying it looked like "a priceless artifact". Latvia however begins to tremble and apologize profusely after Russia tells him that he was still wearing the coat regularly and bought it recently. In the strip Squished, Russia begins to press down on Latvia's head and asks why Latvia appeared so short, to which he replies he would be 10 centimeters taller if he didn't press down on his head so much. In the following scene, Latvia states he hates living with Russia and would much rather rely on Germany instead while Lithuania refuses, thinking he is way too scary. In a change of conversation, they talk about dinner and each want a different meal. In the last panel, Latvia agrees with Lithuania and Estonia that they are too different to be considered "The Three Baltic States". These two strips were combined in Chapter 2: Power Ranger Allied Forces. In volume 2 Latvia makes a brief appearance in the strip, Unrequited Love, showing a panel of the numerous faces that lived in Russia's house. In Don't Think Too Much Into It, Latvia says he would like to have a sibling to which Estonia and Lithuania give him odd looks.. Both these strips were combined within the Russia's Big and Little Sister chapter. In volumes 3 and 4, Latvia appears in a reprinted versions of With Sealand! and The Principality of Wy & the Mysterious Sealand. Latvia is also mentioned by Estonia as part of the Choir Club on a part-time basis and their club is frequently targeted by the Soviet Union Club (which Russia is the only member of) in the strip, Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!! In volume 6, Latvia appears appears in two republished strips, the first being The Nordic Five +α, where Lithuania and Latvia over-hear Estonia wanting to join to the Nordics to Finland. Latvia notes they can't be the Baltic Trio without him but Estonia however states nervously that even if he pulls out, the two could still get by as the Baltic Duo, an idea that Finland thinks won't end well.In the strip A Call for Russia, Russia apologizes for calling the Baltics over so late at night and asks if the three of them had any requests for him that he could fulfill for them. While the other two Baltics have nothing to ask for, Latvia chimes in asking if he could finally have other friends besides Russia like America. Later in the strip, Estonia watches Latvia closely, noting that Latvia can't work hard without a carrot and stick approach. Both these strips were originally published in Comic Birz in March and June 2013 respectively.

In Hetalia: World☆Stars, he has appeared in a few short chapters. In Chapter 63, his first in the series, Estonia is concerned over Latvia's workload however he says that he doesn't mind, replying that medicine and pounding iron is interesting to him and works as his stress relief. Latvia continues on saying that he also plays solo chess as he works. Estonia however replies that it sounds like bragging to him while his inner voice says "That's terrible but good luck." In chapters 93 through 96 where Latvia drifts off into a daydream about bunnies (one of which turns muscular) every time Estonia brags about being grouped in the Nordic group for sports events. Estonia confronts him about this, saying he always goes into a "weird state" whenever he talks about the Nordics. Latvia replies rather nervously and teary-eyed that he tends to escape reality when the topic comes up as he feels that Estonia is tired of being a Baltic country. Estonia is surprised by this and he apologizes, saying it was far from true and only wants to join the Nordics because he wishes to possess the charms of his "cute Baltic side and cool Nordic side." In Chapter 96, Latvia begs Lithuania to step in and stop Estonia's constant chatter about the Nordics but Estonia replies that Latvia's overacting. Lithuania refuses to take sides, replying they were supposed to be a trio and had been falling apart as of late. He proposes they need to be more united just as they did when they declared independence from Russia. However during the flashback, as much as they agreed they were done with Russia, the group was divided on how to go about it with Latvia not mentally ready to leave right away while Estonia chooses to stick with his plan of gradually gaining rights and seizing full authority. The flashback leaves Lithuania unwell and is shown clutching Estonia and Latvia's shoulders roughly. In Chapter 237 and Chapter 238, Latvia and Moldova are the only ones visiting Russia for New Years because of a bad snow storm. Latvia originally didn't want to come but feared the worst would happened if he didn't go. He also picked up Moldova on the way there, calling him "a strange creature".While deciding on what to do for fun, Russia feels going for a swim in the cold weather is the best option. Latvia tries to get out of it by saying it would be too harsh on Moldova. However once Moldova finishes off a quick snack, he says it's not a big deal and announcing that he's going home, leaving Latvia alone with Russia.

Latvia has also appeared in several Kitayume Hetalia holiday events, mostly in small and brief cameos. In Halloween 2006 Comic, Latvia anxiously wonders where Lithuania and Poland are while Estonia replies that Russia went over to meet up with them.In the 2010 Christmas event, Latvia is requested to send a photograph to Finland during their livestream. After he sends the photograph, he slips and falls and Estonia yells out his name in distress. Latvia insists he's doing okay but is upset he dirtied his favorite hoodie. He warns himself to be more careful but is cut off mid-sentence when Parallel France rushes out of the shadows towards him.[49] During the Halloween 2011 event, Latvia arrives at America's Halloween party with the rest of the Baltics, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, dressed in Alice in Wonderland-themed costumes. Later in the event, Latvia is seen shaking on Russia's shoulders when Denmark asks if he's going to put Latvia down before greeting everyone.In an extra comic posted on Himaruya's blog before the event, Latvia has to work the next day and tries to leave but Estonia and Lithuania, who are still partying, keep him from doing so. In the Christmas 2011 event, Estonia is seen briefly riding Mochi!America (who has morphed into a horse-like creature) and saying he will visit Latvia and see his Christmas tree. As Estonia rides off, Latvia thinks he'll bake some cookies for him this year. In the 2013 Halloween event, Latvia runs into Lithuania after being chased by a cat. Latvia says Poland said he was having fun, but adds he was in a corner with tears in his eyes as well. The two men decide to relocate him together and bid farewell to Greece.[54] At the end of the comic, Latvia is seen carrying around a bucket full of screams that others can munch on and is later seen eating several screams himself. Sealand however questions if it's safe to eat as the one Latvia is holding is still twitching.

(This was originally taken from the Hetalia Wiki, I give no credit to myself for writing this but if anyone was interested I might do more!)

[nyaheum]

My Eurovision 2019 Ranking

Info: I grouped some lower places together, simply because I really dislike some songs and have no strong opinion on some others. This is basically five groups of songs I didn’t like or don’t care about too much and then a top sixteen ranking.

41 to 34) Songs I really, really don’t like at all.

Germany [S!sters - Sister] - This song actually isn’t that bad. It’s alright. I’m just mad that it won the national contest, because we had two much better songs competing - or at least I thought they were much better. I also think it’s a bit weird that they call themselves ‘Sisters’ even though they’ve only known each other for a few months (if I remember correctly)

Czech Republic [Lake Malawi - Friend Of A Friend] - I’m sure there’s a lot of people who really like this song, because they usually like the music that’s on the radio and such. I really dislike this song. It annoys me so much. I also dislike his talking-part a lot...also the high pitched voice in the chorus? I just really dislike everything about this, honestly. (Especially considering I loved Mikolas’ song last year.) The video is kinda cool, but that doesn’t matter live.

Slovenia [Zala Kralj & Gasper Santl - Sebi] - This will sound weird, but the music video looks like those russian meme-y ones. Apart from that, there’s not enough happening here for me. It’s straight up boring. Usually, I’m into songs sung in the native language, but...I guess this song has a message, but I don’t get it because I don’t speak Slovene, and therefore I’m left with a pretty boring song where I can’t even concentrate on the lyrics.

Denmark [Leonora - Love Is Forever] - First of all: why is she partly singing in French? (Language of love, and she’s also saying some stuff in other languages, I know - but still). Second of all: the way she’s looking at the camera for the first thirty seconds is making me incredibly uncomfortable. Third of all: It’s a pretty boring love song. Meh. The only thing I like is the fact that she’s sitting there next to a guy AND a girl, but I might just be interpreting a bit too much into that.

Moldova [Anna Odobescu - Stay] - This is the kind of song I’d turn off the radio for. The music video also has this very weird slow motion thing going on which is very distracting and very ridiculous. It makes no sense too - I’m speaking about the guy who leaves his turned on car here. What’s up with him. Oh, and the song is a break-up song, oh no. Her vocals are pretty nice, although there’s some parts near the end where she sounds very weird and I really dislike that.

Lithuania [Jurij Veklenko - Run With The Lions] - On the one hand, the song it pretty interesting. In theory. On the other hand, I really don’t like his voice? It sounds pretty strained on the high parts. And, after the chorus is over for the first time, I feel like the song loses it’s appeal. The first time, the pitch changes are interesting, but the second time, they just seem a bit...meh. I also don’t want to run with lions, as they tend to be kinda dangerous, but thank you anyway, Jurij.

North Macedonia [Tamara Todevska - Proud] - Listen, the message of the song is definitely something good. Doesn’t change the fact that I dislike the song though. There’s not a lot happening and I feel compared to the ‘epicness’ of the music, her voice is a bit...uninteresting. Don’t get me wrong, she has a good, strong voice, but I feel like it doesn’t really fit with the instrumental. I like the music video, because there’s definitely a lot of different women shown, but I’m unsure how she wants to show this live on stage. (The wind blowing is also a bit much for me.).

Montenegro [D mol - Heaven] - Nothing Montenegro does will ever be as good as Slavko in 2017 - other than that, it’s a love song. Yay. It’s pretty boring. I don’t really hate it, which is why it’s right at the bottom of this category, but I also can’t get myself to like it. Usually, I really love string instruments in modern songs, but the cello in this...sounds off to me. (I’m no musician, so I wouldn’t know for sure, but I personally just dislike it here).

33 and 32) Songs I dislike, but not passionately.

San Marino [Serhat - Say Na Na Na] - I’m always here for San Marino doing weird shit, but this is weird in all the wrong ways. Serhat and his accent are creeping me out, honestly. I also feel like he’s twenty years older than any woman in this video. I also feel like this song had potential, but it just straight up vanished sometime during the creative process. The lyrics are weird too, but I don’t hate it. I can listen to it...once.

Norway [KEiiNO - Spirit In The Sky] - Usually, this would be the kind of song I’d at least put in my Top 20, but there’s something about it I dislike. I can’t even pinpoint exactly what it is, I’m just not here for it.

31 to 26) Songs I don’t care about, in a negative way.

United Kingdom [Michael Rice - Bigger Than Us] - Oh, UK. Back with the generic songs I cannot like because I’m not a big fan of generic songs. It’s alright - his voice is nice, even though it feels like it’s lacking a bit during the chorus? It just sounds like the Instrumental is overpowering him a bit live. At this point, I have also seen the “#ScotlandIsNow”-Ad ten times and am fed up with the UK.

Serbia [Nevena Bozovic - Kruna] - It’s a ballad. Yay. Ballads are boring, I feel like everyone who isn’t the Jury can agree on that. She has a nice voice, which is why I don’t really mind the song - but I wouldn’t add it to my Spotify-Playlist.

Estonia [Victor Crone - Storm] - It’s a guy with medium length hair and a guitar! Hide your sons and daugthers! But in all seriousness, I don’t care about this song either. It’s something I’d hear in the radio and wouldn’t skip, but I would think “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind it to be over now, thanks.”. 

Latvia [Carousel - That Night] - She sounds like a german actress whose name I can’t remember right now, that’s all I can think about. Well, apart from the fact that the songs feels pretty generic. To be honest, it sounds a bit like Eurovision 2014 (except for France, Armenia, Iceland (y’all, Pollapönk was so good) and Poland). Yeah.

Sweden [John Kundvik - Too Late For Love] - I like the Gospel-thing he has going on, but I don’t like the song itself. I’m just not a fan of songs where the pre-chorus is slower than the rest of the song when they immediately continue singing in the chorus? It’s weird to describe, but a lot of songs do this and I basically dislike all of them.

Croatia [Roko - The Dream] - I actually don’t like this song at all. But I love his goddamn wings, so I tolerate it. I’m a huge supporter of weird Eurovision and this is definitely what I needed this year. We always need someone in a weird costume. (Like vampire-opera-man from Romania in 2013.)

25 to 21) Songs I don’t care about, period.

Finland [Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman - Look Away] - I’m all here for the meme, but nothing more. The stage performance looks really cool, but I couldn’t care less about the song. There’s not much happening, and the drop is...lacking, at best.

Belgium [Eliot - Wake Up] - Catch me scroll through my phone during the whole duration of this song. It’s a good background noise, but I don’t particularly like it. I’m also still bitter Belgium didn’t win in 2015; they haven’t made it up to me yet when it comes to songs, and this one definitely doesn’t help either.

Austria [PAENDA - Limits] - There’s literally only one things I can say about this whole song: meh. (No, really, I have no feelings towards this song.)

Netherlands [Duncan Laurence - Arcade] - I like the floating-naked-underwater-aesthetic, but I don’t think he can do this live on stage... Song wise, I don’t really care - it’s somewhat nice - I like the start of the chorus, the short ‘boom’-moment, but that’s pretty much it.

Israel [Kobi Marimi - Home] - Okay, I’ll admit it’s hard to follow chicken dances and an absolute party on stage. But I don’t think a very slow song is the right choice. I definitely like his voice and he reminds me of someone so much, but I can’t think of the name. Generally, it’s pretty nice, but I wouldn’t vote for it.

20 to 17) Songs that are alright, but nothing more.

Belarus [ZENA - Like It] - It’s modern with a very very slight traditional touch, which I like, but the song doesn’t really go further for me. I feel like it should qualify for the final, but shouldn’t place high. At least it’s something modern...

Poland [Tulia - Fire of Love (Pali sie)] - It’s a bit weird, but I like it, I guess. I’m not sure if I like it, to be honest. I need to hear this one live. Depending on the live performance, this one could go up a few places or down a lot. It’s borderline annoying me, so it’s pretty hard actually judging this. I like the general sound of the song though. (There’s something about this music video that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, but I don’t know what it is. Might just me being me.)

Georgia [Oto Nemsadze - Sul tsin iare] - He looks so grim, oh my god. I really like his voice, which is why he’s in this category, because I don’t really like the song all that much. It’s alright, definitely, and it might warm up to me - this type of song usually does - but currently I’m undecided.

Ireland [Sarah McTernan - 22] - It’s definitely alright. I mean, it’s still a love song, but most songs are, and at least this one has some things happening. The chorus is pretty catchy, although I was waiting for a bit more after the build-up.

16) Romania [Ester Peony - On A Sunday] - That music video is so confusing - when I first saw snippets from it, I thought it was a stage performance. The song itself is confusing me too - it’s weird, so I like it (like most songs from Romania, tbh) but it’s nearly a bit too much for me? I need to see this live, but so far, I’m optimistic about this one. 

15) Greece [Katerine Duska - Better Love] - I’m so here for the aesthetic. I really like her voice, it has this slight twang to it that I really like. I like that it’s very obvious outside of the chorus, but absent during the chorus. It gives the song in itself a nice contrast. Generally, it’s not exciting enough for my Top 10, but I definitely like it.

14) Albania [Jonida Maliqi - Ktheju tokes] - She’s singing in her native language, which is always a big plus for me. The song is a bit creepy and it has something I always call “ancient”, because I can’t describe it better. It sounds like they might’ve sung it a while back, only with a modern twist. Which means I automatically like it. (It’s also giving me strong 1944 (the song) vibes, just putting this out there.)

13) Azerbaijan [Chingiz - Truth] - And here we have our second guy floating through the water. I’m noticing a theme here. Both video and song are really weird for me here, and I cannot quite place why I like this, but I do. I’m pretty sure this will drop a bit once I hear it live though - I feel like it will be hard to not be overpowered by the music with the high voice he’s singing in during the chorus. He might surprise me though, so I’m placing the song here.

12) Hungary [Joci Pápai - Az én apám] - I was really happy when I heard he’d return, and although I actually prefer his first Eurovision song to this one, this is by no means bad. It’s actually pretty good, I definitely enjoy it. Bonus points for native language yet again; also, his voice is amazing, but I knew that already. I really like the whistling part in this.

11) Cyprus [Tamta - Replay] - Cyprus realized that they did something right last year and are sending another fun party song. I liked Fuego more than this one, although they sound pretty similar. The beat in this is pretty great though. (I feel like the thing I really liked about Fuego was Eleni’s hair, a department in which Tamta can’t compete, but...oh well. She looks so good for 38 btw.) 

TOP 10

10) Spain [Miki - La Venda] - Another fun song! You might notice I prefer these over the ballads a lot. This song really feels like summer - it basically sounds like Spain. I really like this for no deep reason - it’s just fun to listen to. Spain also deserves some love in Eurovision.

9) Switzerland [Luca Hänni - She Got Me] - Okay, so, as a German, I know who Luca Hänni is. He’s the only singer I’ve heard something about before the competition. And I wasn’t expecting anything. But hey, our boy grew up, didn’t he? I like this song quite a bit, for some reason. I feel like it’s been on the radio over here before and I’ve been conditioned to like it, but I can live with that. I also like his suit. I want it. (I’m also a sucker for dance sequences, so if they put that into the live performance, I might even move this up a bit. I’m sold.).

8) Portugal [Conan Osiris - Telemóveis] - Portugal thought: "Okay, we had a very heartfelt, serious song with minimal stage performance. We don’t want that anymore.” So they glued some spoons on a guys face, put him and his platonic male friend into feather suits and made them dance. As I said, I’m fully here for weird Eurovision, and I love traditional-ish songs, so I’m very into this. I actually really like the song, all jokes aside. This might actually be one of my Top Three stage performances. I just hope they qualify so I can see them in all their glory in the final. (Them and all their silverware.)

7) Australia [Kate Miller-Heidke - Zero Gravity] - I have complicated feelings towards this song. It’s very clearly inspired by Estonias song last year - only that they made it more modern. I actually really enjoy the first two minutes of the song. If it was just that, I would’ve been inclined to put it in my Top Three. But then there’s the last minute. It’s way too many different voices and different music at once. I feel like it doesn’t quite fit. I’m still hoping they’ll fix that part for the semi-finals, because I really can’t stand it. 

6) Armenia [Srbuk - Walking Out] - This song is the kind of music I usually listen to in my free time, so I obviously like it. I’m also really into the aesthetic. I just feel like the chorus could’ve used a bit more drama. Especially a different “drop” - they already did the pause before it, they might as well commit to it fully. Otherwise, I really like this. (And damn, those trumpets(?) were made for me.)

5) Malta [Michela - Chameleon] - I really have a soft spot for Malta. I’m just really glad to have a real party song among ballads and sad songs. I might be influenced by the music video here because I really like lyrics on screen by default, but we’ll see how this song sounds live. Depending on that, it might move down. (I feel like this will either do really well or really bad though.)

4) Russia  [Sergey Lazarev - Scream] - Okay, I loved his song back in 2016, so I am, again, biased, but I like it. It’s not quite as catchy as some of his other songs, but his voice sounds really good in this. I also really hope they will incorporate the imagery from the music video into the live performance, because it’s really nice.

3)  France [Bilal Hassani - Roi] - At first, I didn’t like this song at all, but it really warmed up to me. He has a nice voice - I only hope he can fully show it live, because I already felt that the music video version sounded a lot better than the live version I saw. But the chorus of this song is stuck in my head. I also love the mixture of English and French - especially because it’s full sentences in both languages, and not only single words. (I can’t stand that.). I’m probably biased here because I speak French, so I understand everything (as opposed to the Slovene song for example) but...damn, I really like this song. (It took me really long to realize that his hair was a wig, by the way. I just thought he naturally had Jeffree Star hair.)  

2) Iceland [Hatari - Hatrið mun sigra] - I can’t really explain myself here. This song is absolute madness and I’d be surprised if it survived through the semi-final. But they might surprise us and do what Lordi did before them. Honestly, it’s really refreshing Eurovision-wise and I’m so here for the Icelandic-metal-screaming. And yes, it’s another aesthetic-thing here. I just can’t help myself. (I’m also hearing “Aufstehen” in the end and I’m just wondering if that means “Stand up” in Icelandic...)

1) Italy [Mahmood - Soldi] - Honestly, Mahmood has no contest for me. This song is everything I ever wanted and more. It’s way too good for Eurovision, if that makes sense. There’s just nothing that bothers me about this song. The chorus sounds so incredibly good and the live vocals I heard from him sound so stable? I really hope they won’t do Italy dirty like they did with Occidentali’s Karma. This song is just way too good to go to waste on lower places. Did I mention I absolutely love this song? Oh, and native language bonus, of course! As if I could love this song any more.

[liluwrites]

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇸🇰🇲🇩🇧🇦?

england 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 : ever made a mistake you really regret?

Oof, I have made so many mistakes, I probably can’t even remember them all 😂 The first one that comes to mind is when I was in year 10, I signed up for an after-school maths club thinking it was like, extra support for ppl who find maths hard (like me). Turns out it was an extended maths course with extra hard maths 😱 I did get a qualification out of it, but that caused me two years of unnecessary suffering lmao

slovakia 🇸🇰: how many languages can you speak?

I love languages, but English is the only language I speak fluently. I have an A Level qualification in French and I also studied Spanish for several years, so I speak those decently. I also know basic Makaton sign language bc I spent two weeks this summer working at a camp for children with disabilities, and I know a bit of BSL too. I rlly want to get fluent in more languages in the future!

moldova 🇲🇩 : do you have a sister?

Nope, but I do have a brother! He’s two years older than me and he’s pretty chill

bosnia 🇧🇦 : last time you cried?

Ngl, I cry at everything lmao. I cried today bc of an argument with my dad (it’s all good now tho c:) but tbh I’m super sensitive so crying is no big deal for me 😂

[eurosong]

Undo my ESC ‘19 (semi-final two)

Good morning, folks, and welcome to part two of Undo my ESC, the feature where I look at the year’s songs and make a change – as small as altering a minor detail like a lyric or a small staging decision, or as big as going for a completely different national final song! Again, it’s just my opinion and is often delivered in jest. Generally speaking, there are fewer things that need drastic changing in this semi-final, but there are always exceptions...

Armenia: When I first heard this song, I was a bit non-plussed. Cut to a few days later, and there was a constant stream of “walking out, aooooo” in my head. I fear that it’s a song that takes a while to win people over – and that it doesn’t help matters that it’s difficult to completely understand what Srbuk is singing. I’d be tempted to shift the verses into Armenian.

Ireland: I was underwhelmed initially by this effort, but it ended up charming me with its low-key nostalgia. It seems like Björkman has done his level best to kill of Ireland’s chances, and RTÉ have done the rest with the garish, Liechtenstein comics meet 50s Americana staging. I’d change this to something a bit more low-key and elegant.

Moldova: As if to detox from 2 years of crazy staging and outlandish songs, Moldova have sent something incredibly dull and beige, which now they’re trying to cover up by using a decade-old Ukrainian gimmick. There were better songs in their national final, particularly “Sub pămint,” a rocky-folky effort with a lot more to hold my interest than “Stay.”

Switzerland: The Swiss were another country to abandon their national final – no real surprise after the years of mediocre entries it produced. I’d take Stones, Apollo and even Last of our kind over the cringeworthy, self-satisfied Justin Timberlake meets Despacito meets Fuego infernal blend that was “She got me.” I’m going to have a laugh with this one and have it so that Switzerland accept “Sister”, which would have been a passable Swiss entry, instead of rejecting it and having it end up in Germany where it screwed a perfectly good national final.

Latvia: Latvia, like its northern neighbour, Estonia, have gone from having one of the most promising and avant-garde national finals to one that has lost its shine, albeit not só much as Eesti Laul did. Credit where credit is due, they picked by far the best of a lacklustre bunch for me – a lovely, understated, saudadic effort. I wouldn’t change much about it at all.

Romania: Whilst it seemed that almost everybody and their mongoose wanted either the creepy poperatics of Laura “No to marriage equality” Bretan or fueclone #382 from Bella Santiago, by far the song that intrigued me the most was “On a Sunday.” I’m glad this delectable and dark tune won and couldn’t be happier for Ester, who was such a lovely person when we met. What I would change, if I could, would be the bizarre voting system that led to her victory – I’d have had her win by a clear margin in the public vote so as not to be the unfair recipient of hate for the way her song was elected winner. I’d also ensure the oddities on stage with her, pretending to play instruments, were relegated far out of view!

Denmark: Speaking of unpopular opinions, I also didn’t think much of “League of light”, a song so dull that the fact that it incorporated Greenlandic still didn’t quit its beigeness. I found the nicest song of the night to have been “Love is forever”, though I would replace the song’s English lyrics with Danish ones, teach Leonora how not to stare into the viewer’s soul and cause an existential crisis, and trim some of the tweeest excesses away such as the sashaying on the top of that massive chair.

Sweden: Another year, another edition of Melodifestivalen where the all-powerful juries have a real fear of anyone without the Y chromosone representing Sweden. “Too late for love”, at least, breaks the chain of self-satisfied boys singing empty pop songs. Instead, we have a barely soulful soul song sung by a more mature man. I would have gone for “Torn” or “Not with me” any day, though.

Austria: Austria’s labyrinthine internal selection came up with a little-known electro artist and I didn’t have the highest expectations, but I was intrigued. It ended up being an unexpected highlight, a true pearl of emotion and exquisite vocals. I don’t know what PÆNDA’s staging will be, but at the minute, I wouldn’t change anything except for her pronunciation of you as “Hugh/hue”!

Croatia: Oh, Croatia. Returning to a national final after Serbia and Montenegro did last year, and having enjoyed Beovizija and Montevizija respectively, I had hopes. Maybe not high hopes, but medium hopes. It was a collection of dated songs, bizarre songs, and then the eventual winner was both bizarre and dated: a screaming angel shrieking out a maudlin ballad that would have been dated even in the early 90s. I don’t have much of a horse in this race – I think my personal favourite was “Tebi pripadam”, which was harmless but pleasant, but I might go for the colourful “Brutalero” as the most likely to make an impact in Tel Aviv.

Malta: Malta bringing something interesting to ESC is one of the Four Horsemen of the Europocalypse, but before the other three come, I’m living for it. I worry how well a young balladeer with static performances will adapt to the sass and sizzle of Chameleon, but for the moment, I wouldn’t change anything other than remove the letters that overshadow the wild and colourful MV.

Lithuania: Lithuania’s NF is another for which life is too short to follow, especially since it takes the best part of 3 months to come up with – well, songs like this. One wonders how something can be both weird and dull, but this is, in turns. As pretty much the majority of folk rewriting this, I guess I would opt for “Light on” instead, though I’d be tempted by the quirky fun of “Mažulė.”

Russia: I can’t begrudge Sergej’s return to try to win after he found himself losing at the juries’ hand in 2016. I won’t even join those criticising him for not bringing another “banger” and instead returning with something a bit more solemn and musically complex. It’s not in my favourites but there’s not much I’d change, other than make the tune a little less repetitive.

Albania: Albania had another good Festival i Këngës – one of my favourite NFs in keeping an orchestra and maintaining national language throughout. My pick of all the songs to win was Ktheju tokës, and I wouldn’t change a thing about this powerful cri de cœur, except, perhaps, change it so that the second verse had different lyrics and was not just a repeat of the initial verse.

Norway: One of the absolute scandals of the season for me. In the red corner, we had one of the best composers to have represented Norway in the past 20 years with a sweeping, moving, classical tune, “En livredd mann”. In the blooo corner, we had a “what if Aqua moved to the woods, discovered they had animal spirits, thought they could joik and created this forgotten b-side in 1998?” Somehow, the latter won, but I feel the former really ought to have.

Netherlands: Though I cannot understand the fuss about this compared to other downtempo songs that I see being forgotten at best, slated at worst, it’s a decent track. I’d change the video so that it didn’t hinge so dramatically on gratuitous nudity, so that we could see who’s praising this for the music and who’s just in for a good looking lad’s bare arse.

Macedonia: It’s a nice, sincere effort from Macedonia – it feels a bit of a step back from me from the experimentation in the past two entries, but at the same time, I think it has a better chance of doing well than them. Not sure what I would change, other than the video. It’s very melodramatic and reminds me of an even more extra version of Bebe’s “Ella”; no small achievement given how extra that is.

Azerbaijan: I’m no great fan of AZ at this contest, but for the second time in 3 years (let’s try to forget the disaster that was “Delete my heart”), they’ve brought a decent song with some local character. My change would be to forget about the overproduced official music track and go instead for the delightfully understated unplugged performance, where Çingiz’ voice and the poignancy of the text come to the fore.

And the automatic qualifiers of this semi:

Germany: Because of my mischievious change for Switzerland, Germany would be free of the non-sisters perversely called Sisters and would have dodged the hole that they keep falling into – including unexperienced wild card artists in the national final that folk vote for out of sympathy, landing them in or near the bottom for several years, except last year, the one time they didn’t. There were plenty of good songs in the German national final, making the choice of S!!$Ŧ4ZZZ! even more perverse. I really enjoyed “The day I loved you most”, but, despite a somewhat dodgy live, I’d have to give the nod instead to the atmospheric, brooding “Surprise.”

Italy: This song and its artist are utter perfection to me. I wouldn’t change a single second. Unfortunately, Eurovision’s rather arbitrary 3 minute rule means that I would have to excise several seconds from the original. Mahmood’s actual solution seems to have been getting rid of the repetition of “[sai già] come va, come va, come va”, which for me sounds odd and wrecks the flow. I’d instead probably remove the “non ho tempo per chiarire, perché solo ora so cosa sei” line. It’d still be a change I wouldn’t ideally make, but I feel it’d be a bit less abrupt.

UK: The UK came onto the scene this year with a massive fanfare about a new format where YOU DECIDE in song duels which version of a song was better. Except, as it transpired, You the Punter didn’t decide – a dubiously qualified trio of “““experts””” did instead. The whole element of intrigue of the new format – finding out which version of a song is best – was taken away from the viewer and in doing so, all they got to decide between was 3 songs, 1 version of each. In the process, they eliminated the best version of “Bigger than us” – opting for the bombastic, X factor winner version by Michael Rice instead of the low-key but likeable country version by Holly Tandy. I’d have picked that instead. I’d have also not gone for that stupid format and instead tried to find at least 6 decent songs instead of 2 versions of 3 mediocre ones.

BONUS ROUND!

Ukraine: When I was doing SF1, I forgot that another country should have entered that semi who were under my imaginary purview. I’m talking Ukraine, of course, whose broadcasters instigated the scandal of the year by humiliating its artists with political questions on live TV, and then basically forced the winner to nót represent Ukraine by giving her a scandalous contact that didn’t offer any help with the financial burden of going to Israel and putting on a show, would shackle her to patently unreasonable terms, forbade her from speaking out of turn or improvising on stage, and threatened her with massive fines for the slightest unauthorised change.  Part of me really wants to say that I’d deal with the mess by ensuring that Tayanna (who should have won in 2018 with Lelja) wouldn’t withdraw, thus leading to the inclusion of Maruv at the last minute who ended up winning. But no – a bigger wrong must be righted and, even though her bizarre burlesque is not to my taste, I would have undone poor Maruv’s poor treatment and let her go to ESC with “Siren song” like the majority of voters wanted.

[tvwriteups]

Notes as they happened.  I might do more general commentary later. (Might also not.)

France, Italy, and Spain in the last group. Hmm.

I watched the SFs on my laptop. I’m watching the grand final on a large screen TV with surround sound.

Malta

Well, getting the party started. I don’t think she’s a particularly strong singer.

Albania

A much, much, much better performance here than in the SF.

My only criticism is her walk to the front of the stage - needed more direction for that. It kind of felt like she did that too casually.

Czech Republic

This song just bores me.

I give them credit for vibrant colors.

But I take that away because I hate camera tricks. I’m more annoyed the second time around.

Germany

I’m expecting this to suck.

Not sure “I’m tired” are the best words to start with.

I don’t like the start but...it kind of gets better. The bridge of the song is awkward.

Ugh, the “sister” part is awful. The music builds to try to make this song more dramatic but...

I mean, not Lithuania-bad but almost. I haven’t heard four of the songs but I’m already predicting this for last.

Russia

I really don’t like this song at all. It tries too hard.

It doesn’t help that all I’m thinking of is when Sergey competed last time.

I wonder how many people watching this right now are thinking the same thing.

Denmark

Is it makeup or is she not getting enough sleep? Not as fun as the first time.

San Marino

Says a lot about this year that this is a middle-of-the-pack song.

I actually love that these guys love being here. They’re having fun.

North Macedonia

I’m just not a fan of this song. It gets repetitive very quickly. (I can’t believe that’s a criticism I’m lobbing at it after watching the “na na na” song.)

She does better with the belting than the lower register stuff.

Sweden

He started really well. I was loving his voice. But...

I don’t know. I like parts of the song but not altogether? It just kind of gets too busy for me at the end.

Slovenia

I really like the chorus of the song. It’s weird that it holds my attention for how little is happening on the stage.

Cyprus

Either they’re better in the final or this just plays different on a big screen.

You know, I think it’s that I don’t like it being played sexy. I think it would’ve worked better for me if it was played for “fun.”

The Netherlands

I hate the staging so much. Would’ve worked better with him standing at a microphone. Does he not have stage presence? Is that why he has to hide behind a piano that they don’t even show him mime-playing?

Light ball of randomness. Not really a fan of sad songs winning...if this wins.

Greece

This song feels like someone Frankensteined pieces of three different songs together. This song is weird, the presentation weirder but it’s holding my attention.

I’m laughing.

Those ribbons. Those strong, indifferent ribbons.

Israel

Don’t care for the video screen presentation.

Don’t care for the song.

Is the crowd singing along?

Bored.

That ending is just weird to me.

Norway

Ha ha!

Seriously, no way this guy is straight.

This is the most Eurovision song of the year. The beat carries the song and the singers just go for it. It’s admirable. I love them!

UK

Even your postcard is lame.

Not sure that light is even synced right.

I don’t like his voice on the verses.

Swedish guy took the better song for himself. So repetitive.

One of the backing singers has more charisma.

This is as bad as the Belgian entry.

Gosh, North Macedonia chick’s eyes look weary.

Serhat is a dentist?!

Iceland

I don’t understand how something can be this weird and not hold my attention.

Estonia

I hate the chorus.

Oops, camerawork.

So many leather jackets this year.

I hate the visual effects.

Belarus

They really brought the dancers.

I spent this second watch more or less watching the dancers. More enjoyable that way.

Azerbaijan

Crowd likes this for some reason.

Hate the lyrics.

This vocalizing part is ... ugh, effects.

France

This was a lot better than I was expecting. Good performance. (Granted, I had low expectations.)

Italy

You sure got the crappiest location for your dance.  Yeah, shipping container port.

I can’t really follow the song. It’s not bad. It’s just very different.

Sincere.

Kind of reminds me of that time Hungary sent that domestic violence song.

Not sure it’s a one-listen song.

Serbia

I forgot this song had made it through.

She can’t go near an MRI machine.

Switzerland

Crowd just roared for this one.

Oh, this is also a very Eurovision song.

There’s nothing about their dancing that’s remotely dirty.

I don’t really think he’s all that compelling dancing in isolation. He needs those backing dancers to make him look good

Australia

Time for this weirdness.

Can’t wait to see the discrepancy between jury votes and televoting.

I still hate this. The only part of this song I like is the bridge.

Maybe I’d be more impressed if I didn’t know someone who sings opera.

Spain

I love that Spain is trying.

This is a good performance.

This song is too fast though.

Former Eurovision Contestants

Conchita Wurst performing “Heroes”

I adore Mans but I think I prefer Conchita singing his song.

Mans performing Fuego; not a fan of this rendition

Eleni gets “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” (or whatever the hell it is)

There’s more dirty dancing here than the Swiss song.

Verka gets “Toy”

The gold and silver lame!

Those backing dancers in those outfits really make this act for me.

I think this was a good way of getting these songs back in while not feeling too familiar and repetitive.

Hallelujah!

This year:

No really good song.

No outstanding voice.

No ridiculously charismatic performer.

Madonna Interview:

Awkward interview with Madonna.

Madonna totally comes off like a mom.

I mean that mom when you’re a pre-teen and you’re trying to distance yourself.

The Idan Raichel Project

Just not my kind of music

Eh.

Cuervo interview

Guy don’t know what ESC is

They need to cut this interview before he backs himself into a corner

The mentalist again

This has to be rehearsed. Seriously.

Netta

Not into this.

Now I understand bringing in Madonna

Norway made me smile the most. I’d vote for Norway.

I think the crowd really loved Switzerland.

Madonna’s Performance:

I’m so used to Madonna lip-syncing so this is weird for me.

I’m underwhelmed by Madonna.  First time I’ve ever written that in my life.

This is why she lip-syncs. But, like, why the eye-patch? That can’t be good for the depth perception.

And now they’re closing voting.

I don’t think pre-recorded Gal Gadot should qualify as having Gal Gadot on your show.

Does Gal Godot need lighting this soft?

Jan Ola Sand

I wonder if Russia hacked the televoting.

Juries

Portugal gives 12 points to the Netherlands

Azerbaijan -> Russia

Malta goes for Italy

North Macedonia -> Italy (this one surprised me)

San Marino -> Italy

Nederlands -> Sweden

Montenegro -> Serbia (duh)

Estonia ->r Sweden

Poland -> Australia 

Norway (Alex Rybak) -> Czech Republic? Really?

Spain -> Sweden

Austria -> North Macedonia

UK -> North Macedonia

Italy -> Denmark

Albania -> North Macedonia

Hungary -> Czech Republic

Moldova -> North Macedonia

Ireland -> Sweden

Belarus -> Israel

Armenia (Aram! He has way more Personality here than when he performed.) -> Sweden

Romania -> Australia

Cyprus -> Greece and cue the groaning

Green room

Back to juries:

Australia (Not the old Asian lady) -> Sweden (Another reason why I want Australia kicked out)

Russia -> Azerbaijan (duh)

Germany -> Italy. Oh good.

Can’t wait to see how many public votes Iceland gets.

Belgium -> Italy

Sweden (Eric Saade) -> Netherlands

Croatia -> Italy

Lithuania -> the Netherlands

Serbia -> North Macedonia

Iceland -> Sweden

Georgia -> Czech Republic

Greece -> Cyprus. Boos. LOL

Latvia -> the Netherlands

Czech Republic -> Sweden

Denmark (Rasmussen) -> Sweden

France -> The Netherlands

Finland -> Sweden

Switzerland -> North Macedonia

Slovenia -> Czech Republic

Israel -> the Netherlands

How do juries work? Is there lobbying that goes on behind the scenes? Are people just happy that FYROM got a real name now? Is the singer just a really nice and lovely person who built up a lot of goodwill the first time she competed? Was the jury presentation THAT MUCH BETTER than either performance I saw?

Now time for public vote where we see Norway cleanup LOL

I actually want Sweden to win because Petra.

This show feels so long.

Sweden green room.  More Jan Ola Sand

Reverse order points:

Oh, this is different reveal order. Usually they did least to most.

Ouch UK.  Ouch!

Predicted that with Germany! I’d rather be UK in last with getting at least 3 public votes than finishing where Germany did with ZERO from the public.

Norway gets 291 points!!!  In the lead!!!

Iceland with 186 points!

France gets 38 points.

Russia got 244 points and the lead.

Switzerland got 212 points

Czech Republic got 7 points ...... totally opposite the jury. muahahaha

Australia 131 points

Azerbaijan gets 100

Italy gets 253 and the lead

Netherlands 261 points and the lead.

North Macedonia 58 points. Not surprising.

Sweden 93