#and wanting to come to europe...
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phoenix-is-still-here · 8 months ago
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For everyone boycotting esc this year and being upset that Israel made it to the final: let this be a lesson for any upcomming elections. Boycotting is a great medium of public protest. But if you boycott an election you have to live with what other people vote for.
Well it's all half as bad in this case - you wouldn't believe how little eurovision matters to the average person on the street - but remember this.
If you want yo have a say in the results you have to participate first.
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hyunpic · 1 year ago
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2023 year in review with hyunjin [it’s a wrap] 🎉
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notbecauseofvictories · 7 months ago
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So I'm going to Europe for what is ostensibly a Work Trip---but I'm headed there a few days early so I can see museums and tour the historical sites before I'm forced to sit in a conference room and stare at powerpoint decks. I'm very excited! I've mapped out the places I want to go, the restaurants I want to try, I've got apps and a dumb little phrasebook to help me translate (plus google if that doesn't work).
I am just.....also very nervous. And reminding myself that I am going to a city, I will have a smartphone (and if all else fails, is there any harm in playing the jovial if ugly American and asking for directions?) is not terribly comforting.
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ignatiusteto · 5 months ago
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i think sacred music in the kryn dynasty would be very cyclical and repetitive in form to symbolize the idea that life is a continuous thing (at least those who are consecuted right right) and is a cycle across lifetimes and yeah
#court rambambles#cr#critical role#kryn dynasty#finishing up my religions class and i've used the last two topics to research non-western music because hi music major western music gets#super fucking boring. and i've been having a Blast listening to classical indian music. this shit slaps. i fucking LOVE music with drones.#but since this is a religions class obvs im researching in in the context of religion so I'm doing music in hinduism and this was something#brought up in like 2 sentences not even in a paper im using a a ref and it reminded me a lot of this and idk yknow. very neat.#ive been thinking a lot about fantasy music as well. okay like using western music and medieval western European music as inspo is fine and#dandy.#but like goodness guys there are so many other amazing cultures and styles and genres of music and subdivisions within cultures and i just.#im so amazed by them. give me that microtonal music give me these awesome instruments give me these great scales and rhythms and just. yes#if anyone comes from some non western European cultures and has neat traditional/folk/classical/whatever music and they want to share it my#dms and ask boxes are/should be open and stuff. please i just like learning about music across the world#*non western-european bc yknow eastern europe has unique things too#FOLLOW ME FOR MORE POSTS LIKE THIS WHERE I RAMBLE ABOUT MUSIC AND MY INTERESTS. SOMETIMES I EVEN POST ART AND TALK ABOUT MY OCS WHOAAAA#please talk to me about music i just really like music. it's not like im majoring in it at all. is it a smart idea in this economy with adh#wellll yknow
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sanasanakun · 2 months ago
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Jimithon Mouthwashing is such a good representation of untreated, enabled NPD like it makes me want to squeeze the life out of him. I'm endlessly fascinated when watching him interact with his crew, surroundings, and himself because he's so fucking lost in his own sauce. It's insane. If I'm being real, it makes him my favorite character in the game.
It's a little scary to say, but watching Jimmy is like seeing a mirrored version of myself two years ago before I truly committed to treatment for my NPD. He's like a shadow. The opening line "I hope this hurts," which I believe comes from Jimmy right before the crash, is such a poignant statement. It's a simple line, but I can tell you from experience that the desire to hurt others when in a narcissistic rage is overwhelming. It's such a good line to sum up Jimmy's character in that moment. Luckily, in the real world, I had my friends and family there to catch me when I hit my lowest, even though I'd hurt them so many times. Jimmy probably could've used friends to force him into therapy (cough cough Curly cough cough)
#also I don't mean we're similar in any way when it comes to rape or SA. Please don't twist it that way at all.#I mean like in terms of the jealously resentment revenge hurting others to feel thrilled not taking responsibility not seeing flaws etc#I'm diagnosed with NPD also but pls know my experience will be different from others. We're all different people obvs.#also Jimmy has like wayyyyyyyyyy more things wrong with him not just untreated NPD lol#I would say that untreated NPD is a hell most can't describe#you barely feel anything except rage boredom and jealousy (in my case)#love is a form of ownership and control because you can't really feel it the right way#so your -person- is an object of intense obsession and also a tool for you#if that makes sense? I see that with Jimmy and Curly for sure#You want to tear others down and hurt them because it makes you feel good to put them below you#there's a constant feeling of insecurity and it drives you crazy fr#kind gestures from friends feel insulting#and oh my god achievements made by friends and family in my case feel like I've been shot like I hate when they achieve things#It's not logical obvs but that's something I instantly noticed in Jimmy so i was like .....oh brother lol#and also if they achieve something my brain needs it to somehow be tied to me or I'll make it tied to me so they can be thankful#they should always center their attention on me and if they don't I immediately resent them#these are just some of my thought processes on the matter so I can show the similarities I feel with Jimmy#the KEY DIFFERENCE is all of these thoughts I have are left in my head and not exhibited in my actions (any more. took a long time)#but he is such a nasty human with ZERO introspection that he prob never even thought about treatment#also doesn't help that the hot blonde he's friends with never did anything to help with that#idk sorry for oversharing but ahhh this game is so well written I gotta yap about it lol#also kind of a funny unrelated story to show how weird the achievement thing can be lol#my friends announced they saved up enough to go to Vietnam (their dream trip) and I was happy for them (I really was)#but of course my delusional ass immediately also took it as a threat#and I booked a month long trip to Europe a few days after so I could also announce it LMAO#that is a kind of innocent incident when compared to Jimmy but it just shows how annoying NPD can be#Jimmy mouthwashing#mouthwashing#mouthwashing game#NPD
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redwayfarers · 4 months ago
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house of grief and sunlight
fandom: wayfarer ship: cassander/aisanne characters: cassander inteus, aisanne bjornsdottir rating: gen words: 1625 note: this is my entry for @idrellegames' three year anniversary event! prompt i'd chosen is paramour - expected of me, i know - but i've hardly written about cass' bisexuality and i felt like it needed to be written about! excuse the ya-sounding title lmao i could not resist also, aisanne is a gw2 oc that i've ported to wayfarer. she lives over on @i-mybrunettelady most of the time :) divider credit
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I am tired of grief.  I don’t know if it ever goes away, but for fuck’s sake, I’m so tired of it. It’s summer, though, and a part of me feels like the sun will chase it away, if only for a day or two. Our house needs the sun right now. Grief hangs over it like a veil, and we don’t speak of it, but maybe the rays that come through our window each morning help. 
Or so I hope. Hope’s a stupid thing by and large, because every time I hope something happens it decidedly doesn’t, as if the gods above or whoever sits and watches this farce of an existence keeps laughing at me and says, “Add more!” But I can’t help but wish, in my heart of hearts, that sometimes, maybe one day in this lifespan that’s entirely too long for one guy, I don’t feel like a tossed out, crapped on kitten on the streets. 
It’s summer. That feels important to repeat to self. I am feeling a little less grief. The room around me is loud and messy and sounds jump from one place to another like rabbits, in a cacophony ruled over by the harmonious noise of music. Sanne’s the one behind the harp, golden under the candlelight, and if she was a different woman, she’d be singing in a Meissandic temple. 
She cares little for the traditional rites, though. She cares little for the chants I’d attended once or twice when I was a kid. She looked at me all confused when I told her how courtly, Vestran services happen, and said, in a strange tone, “I don’t understand how people like that.” I don’t understand either, and thank fuck I’m not a Vestran aristocrat anymore. 
Her place is telling stories of heroes and events long gone, to be a musical wayfarer. She’s doing that tonight. I was drunk when we first met here and she had to hold my hair while I was throwing up, apparently. Can’t say I remember that attractive trait about myself. I’m not drunk right now, however, sitting near the small wooden stage, taking small sips of my cider. The drink is irrelevant; she captures my attention more than any alcohol could. 
She’s radiant and shiny, half covered in shadows, which makes her golden crest stand out. The bright sheen of her golden hair disappears and reappears after the movements of her head. I can’t see her freckles clearly from here, but I can see the ink on her neck, the roundness of her full lips, an occasional yellow in the blues of her eyes when the candlelight reflects off them. I’m not blind to beauty, but there’s beauty in a way a finely made building is beautiful, and a way a person is beautiful. 
You don’t wanna fuck buildings, do you? And if you do, what the actual fuck is wrong with you?
Others are looking at her too. That doesn’t matter, because it’s my bed who she comes to tonight. Or is it me coming to hers? Not fucking important. 
These feelings are new. For most of my life, interest like this fell to men. Part of me wonders if I’m just that desperate for any kind of tenderness in my life that my head would start making up attraction; but the way this feels can’t be anything but a solid fucking reality. Women were always beautiful the way buildings were, but now they’re flesh and bone and soul and personality and there’s something so weirdly appealing about that that it catches me off guard. 
Not all women are your mother, you dumb fuck. 
I know, but women have never been.. This. I think about Sanne when she’s away. I watch her practice for the performances, mesmerized. There’s peace and blood rushing to my face when we’re laughing in bed, or making lunch, or eating, or just existing in the same space. My insides get all twisted up, like I’m a kid again crushing on older Wayfarers. It’s like Senna again, and I simply forgot how it feels like to be crushing on someone this bad. 
Nothing will ever happen between us, however. It would be so crappy to prey on a widow’s feelings. She rarely speaks of her dead husband, but he’s not even that cold as far as dead people go; maybe a little more than us Wayfarers, but not by much. Our living together is a result of loneliness, desperation, not a desire to find a partner again. But I was dumb enough to pretend I didn't see it. 
She’s cooking, some days after her performance. Sun is shining through the window, leaving her figure in semi-shadows and catching on the ends of her shiny, metallic hair. She’s not as glamorous as she was at the show; right here is a Sanne that’s more down to earth, more solid, dressed comfortably, not worried about how she’s perceived. I’m folding clothes nearby and doing a half-assed job of it, too. It’s hard to concentrate some days over the deafening noise of all this fucking attraction confusion business. 
Every so often she turns back to look at me with a strange smile on her face. “That’s what I wore to Kiaran’s funeral,” she says suddenly. I jerk and drop my gaze to the dress in my hands. Sunlight washes away its dark color in places. There are little holes in it that I want to sew shut, but I don’t have her consent to. She’s weirdly sentimental about it. 
My Spire didn’t have a funeral, and us survivors only have ashes as funerary garb. 
“What’s this stain again?” I ask, raising the dress and jerking my head in the direction of the big, grayish blob on the skirt. “I keep forgetting!” 
She sighs and throws a full, peeled onion at me. It hits me right in the forehead and the poor plant, already under threat, pricks my eyes. “You’re horrible,” I say in mock offense. “You don’t want your dress to stink, do you?” 
“I’m not burying anyone anytime soon,” she says lowly, in a tone that implies I’m hitting a boundary. I wince and put the dress down, careful of the location of the onion. 
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I approach, gently placing the vegetable on the table. She gives me a hard look. “I shouldn’t have joked about the dress. It means a lot to you and I tend to joke around, right, about the things that I’m sensitive about so people don’t attack me for it first? Offense is the best defense kinda thing? And I forget that sometimes - a lot of the time - people don’t function the way my fucked up head does?”
Shut up, Cassander. You’re making it worse.
Something tightens my throat, like hands choking me from the inside out. I grip the table and swallow thickly. My stomach twists up, and the smell and feel of onion fills the kitchen and I can only focus on the dents in the dark wood beneath my fingers and the uneven pattern freckles of my hand. 
“Cassander,” Sanne says. Her tone is too much for me to analyze right now, try as I might. “Cass.” 
“What?” 
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?” 
“Picking at your scar. Stop it.” 
I lower my hand from my face and grip the edges of my tunic. The edges of my braid - I need to take care of those ugly fucking ends one of these days - tickles my hand. You’re scaring people. Enjoy your lifetime of solitude, whether you’re actually into women or not. Who would want someone as shaky and deranged as you are? 
Vestra should’ve killed you, if you were so determined to go back. 
“I’m sorry,” I murmur to my feet. 
“I’m not angry. If you pushed, I would’ve been, greatly so. But you didn’t. Stop shaking like a leaf.” There’s something in her tone that feels like cold water to the face. I breathe out and blink away a small selection of tears. Saltiest one always drops first! I’m imagining a little tear race now, little tear spectators cheering the racers on, tear savants testing the levels of salt in each one. The thought makes me giggle and I bury my head in my hands as I laugh. 
“I’m not angry with you,” she repeats, gentler than before. Her voice is still as steely, though. “Go finish the laundry while I make lunch.”
Without a word, I retreat to my location at the corner of the room, where still wet clothes wait to be sorted and hung to dry. I put the dress to the side and continue sorting through the clothes; sometimes, I look at her, her back turned to me, and the shaking of my hands grows for a split second. 
I try my best not to cry. Better save that energy for the worst of the shitshow that I know is yet to come.
I’ve forgotten that this is a house of grief and no sunlight can fix it. And I’ve walked over her grief in the same way I would walk over my own, but where I’m used to it, she isn’t. And even when we go to the same bed that night, seemingly forgetting what happened, and even when the sun rises the morning after, this is still a place where two grieving people decided to seek comfort because being broken together is somehow better than being broken alone. 
No summer nor new kinds of sex can fix the holes in your heart. 
I am tired of grief.  I don’t know if it ever goes away, but for fuck’s everloving and everlasting sake, I’m so tired of it.
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schnaf · 17 days ago
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23 days until gaon's 23nd birthday
day 4 - jungsu-hyung ♥
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magicalgirlmascot · 3 months ago
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Bomonga is a hunter who lives in a cabin coming down to town every season like an omen of change and also unwillingly doubles as the local cryptid all the kids want to take blurry pictures of much to his fucking chagrin. can a man just enlarge himself to the size of a trex and chill with his head in the pine treetops ffs
Bomonga: it's so annoying. Every other week I get some damn teenager or another trying to track me back to my place. They've never succeeded but it's the principle of the thing.
Norik: maybe this would be less of an issue if you came out of the woods more than twice a year
Bomonga: no
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sukibenders · 9 months ago
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Looking back at Girl Meets World, it will forever irritate me especially for how they handled/treated Angela. Oh this show really hated black women because how do you not only 1.) describe her, one of (correct me if I'm wrong) only few black and MAIN characters of the og show, as a "concept" 2.) have characters show obvious disgust at the small mention of her name 3.) depict her as a homewrecker for a new relationship that, really, shouldn't have ever happened 4.) have her old friends treat her like dirt and her old lover like she is the root of his problems, when there was nothing but positive love there 5.) reuse all the concepts from said previous love story just to elevate the new ship with a yte woman and 6.) compare her to Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest hurricanes that caused significant numbers of death, harm, misplacement, and trauma to people, largely of whom were black? Mind you, all these points I mentioned were toward the only main black character of the OG show before the spinoff, and the only, from what I can remember, black female character of the spinoff who didn't even stay long. Not even getting into the racist drama with some of the members on set, but you cannot look me in the eye and tell me that the way the show handled Angela, her story, and her relationship with the other characters + Shawn wasn't fucking disrespectful, you can't because I won't believe you.
#boy meets world#girl meets world#like this show had so many issues (from its depiction of autism to religious intolerance to supporting grooming)#but this was a whole other level#it was especially hurtful as a young black girl to see growing bc i really tried to like this show with its lacking diversity#but coming from watching bmw to this a show from the 90s that depicted a black character better than a 2010s show- u get my point#and its so wrong bc it depicts angela as being the one to end the relationship when all she said in bmw how she#didn't want to see her leaving as a goodbye and there was ambiguous hope for the future#also shoving shawn to be with maya's mom was really unnecessary#not only bc of how it depicted being raised in a single parent household so negatively#but that the only way to solve maya's problems was for her...to have a dad? like that really isn't how it works#i blissfully live in the delulu where angela and shawn came back together once she left europe and he eventually married her#after they graduated college and have a beautiful family together#shawn x angela#don't even get me started on how whenever there was a guest cameo it was met audience applause and happy reactions#but when it was for angela: crickets 😬#back to maya- i feel like it would have been better for her story if shawn didn't marry her mother (and was with angela) and u would see her#hope and wish for the opposite to where it nearly consumes her only to finally be sat down and informed that#even if shawn isn't with your mom he'll still be in your life as a father figure no matter what#i personally feel like that would've been better#but this is largely just s rant so forgive the structure of it al
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worstloki · 10 months ago
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Loki surveilling the skyline of New York from the top of Stark Tower and clocking that his favorite paired set of buildings are gone. sad
#everyone wants thor and loki to have visited earth a bunch of times and obviously they wouldn't be too invested in earth politics#but i think the concept of much time passing between visits should be taken advantage of#like what if one of them missed seeing the statue of liberty on their past 3 visits and now that's 'suddenly' a famous historic landmark#Loki like wow I sure hope that restaurant in the Soviet Union is still around!#and Natasha's head whips around so fast like you mean Russia or one of the surrounding countries that used to be part of the USSR#Loki: uhm. well. what's the difference#Natasha: here is a map of the countries does this help#Loki: it does not help but thank you for trying#Thor: what do you mean Rome is gone???? Rome was HUGE?????#Tony: well it's been a few centuries since then Europe is very different now#Thor: (visibly distressed) so the the sweet effeminate men enjoy the streets no more??#Tony: ...I don't keep track of foreign border laws about that#Thor shows up after 3 years and there's a new president and he's very confused through the entire meeting#brodinsons being so detached from the political scene but being so used to realm politics they come to correct conclusions about things#even though the timeline and how long things stay the same on midgard still messes with them#Loki: at least Egypt is still around#Thor: China also#Brodinsons visiting New Zealand(Aotearoa)/Australia/various British mandate islands before the British formally showed up#returning 2 centuries later and 'the gene pool has altered drastically' 'must've been a war'#well it's either that or since Asgard seems spared of colorism they treat all humans as the same and don't notice. which might be worse#on the colonisation and liberation side of things
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svtskneecaps · 2 months ago
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yea once again i am really hoping it's not a full blown server, i sincerely do not think qstudios is ready for that kind of undertaking and ngl i'm not either. like as much as i go fucking wild for the multilingual communications, even if by some miracle they completely fixed the legal side of things there's some other stuff that's raising some red flags for me so uh.......
.......can i rant about time zones i just want to rant about time zones i've been sitting on this for like half a year and getting more and more like ??!?!?!!?!?!!!?!!?!!!?!!?!!?
like first of all there have been europeans since the fucking first day of the server and yet very rarely were events scheduled at euro-friendly times and when they WERE it felt like it was because the french fans beat the studio into doing it, which they obviously should not have to do and it would have been SO easy to just hold a couple events at euro friendly times instead yknow trade it off like shared custody because we have the update accounts and if it's on a weekend some americans can just wake up before noon and still catch it live. it would have been so easy i don't get why the euro fans had to fight so hard for this.
secondly why in the fuck would you invite people to a server that is entirely about collaboration without making sure there would be people online during their usual hours and YES this is about the koreans, why in god's name would that not be included as a consideration? the only reason yd interacted with as many people as she did was because she fucked up her sleep schedule like that shouldn't be a requirement. i can think of a couple "blue sky" (i.e. idealistic with no regard for real feasibility) solutions, like "invite a few people from an existing language that stream in that time frame" or "invite another language group in that rough time zone", but honestly i'm flabbergasted. did we not consider this or did we just decide we didn't care?? there's a fucking half day difference between the prioritized server timezone and korea. sorry, but it's a multicultural server; you can't prioritize america forever, even if the server owner is from there
third and less importantly but why in god's name was pepito going to be given a european admin. most of pepito's parents don't come online before midnight in europe. that's fucking insane. that was doomed to fail from the beginning. obviously this is small potatoes in terms of pepito but what the fuck was that. who fucking signed off on that.
#qsmp#ok this i might have to tag#qsmp neg#small potatoes but holy FUCK has this been bugging me for fucking ever#block game brainrot#shut up vic#i try not to be negative but qstudios what the fuck was that#sincerely time zones are a huge fucking blind spot which is BAD when they want this to encompass the world#shocker but when your server encompasses the world you can't cater to fucking america constantly#i get that it's quackity's main audience but the server was made up of WAY MORE than quackity's audience#that was the fucking point of it. i do not understand.#they HAD the fucking update accounts. why not schedule a few events for europe.#americans could either wake up early or catch the vod. the way EUROPE HAD TO#fucking TRADE CUSTODY HOW HARD IS IT#ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and biases on the table i live in the USA so#anyway. this is the hater in me coming out in honor of election night#i'll try not to do it again#actually if this is me being a hater i got one more thing#DON'T LEAVE PEOPLE OUT OF GROUP ART PIECES IN PURG//ATORY TEAMS#i make a point not to reblog red team art that doesn't include everyone who logged in#AND I EXPECT THE SAME FOR EVERY TEAM#(the one exception is green team members that may have joined later i don't require them in other team group shots obv)#(as in after the green team was dissolved and split)#anyway that was bugging me too#so. uh. anyway. / end hater arc or whatever#sorry to be so negative i am an american it is november 5th god help us#qsmp crit#forgot one
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pynkhues · 6 days ago
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Sophie, have you watched Nosferatu, yet? The topic of gothic heroines resurfaced and with it the comparison of Loustat to Orlok and Ellen. would love to read a meta/review from you of it wrt IWTV.
I haven't yet, anon! It's been a pretty hectic start to the year with my sister and nephews staying with me, so I haven't made it to the cinema this week (hoping to get there on Tuesday, although I might be wrangled into taking the boys to see Sonic 3 instead of getting to see literally anything else, haha). I was wondering this morning if something had happened with the gothic heroine interpretation though because my Byronic hero post has been getting a lot of attention in the last 24 hours. I'll try and see Nosferatu soon though - I'm seeing a lot about it, and I have a few friends who are actually gothic horror authors and they've all hated it, which has actually made me extra curious, haha.
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iheartbookbran · 3 months ago
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I feel like with this whole Liam Payne situation and the resurgence of 1D content (which I’ll be lying if I said I haven’t been enjoying) it’s easy to forget what a real tragedy this is—because obviously I don’t know any of these men personally nor will I ever, but the 5 of them where still incredibly important to me in a very dark and yet very formative period of my life, and they deserve that recognition on my part at least. Growing up I very rarely thought about how the 1D members were very close in age with me, only a couple of years older, yet while I was living the last years of my childhood protected by my parents, they were literally plucked from their homes, overworked to the bone and thrown to the wolves.
Liam became an abuser and an addict, there’s no denying that, but it’s very hard for me to think that the boy I used to eagerly watch videos of everyday when I was a teen started off that way—and this isn’t me trying to put my nostalgia above the pain of his victims at all, I’m just pointing out how the cycle of abuse perpetuated by the industry can only end up ruining lives. Liam’s life absolutely did not have to end the way it did. Ultimately Maya Henry and the rest of his victims don’t deserve to be blamed for this, they should receive nothing but compassion and empathy from us, and so should Liam’s family, especially his son.
I think I will, bearing that in mind, allow myself to mourn Liam, and the girl I used to be and that he was such a huge part of. I can never be that girl again, I’ve lost and gained too much over the years to ever be her again.
I will also allow myself to mourn the rest of the 1D boys too, because while I don’t want anything bad to ever happen to them, they aren’t those boys anymore, the pedestal they used to occupy no longer exists in my heart, but a part of my love for them will always be there.
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mamawasatesttube · 4 months ago
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kancer should've joined kon's rogues gallery tbh
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chiropteracupola · 1 year ago
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The love of the Wanderer is to wanderers.
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pineapplefulfillseveryneed · 7 months ago
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Sparks tour 2023 part 4: TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht (june 14, 2023)
Show number 4 out of 5! I'll be putting more photos in this one than I've done for previous writeups as we were in a much better spot :D (I might post some of them in separate posts later on.)
@dinkydiamond and me arrived at the venue super early for this one as it was the only show with general admission, which meant... queuing time! <3 Despite the added stress and additional logistics to think about with queuing, it also added such a sense of normalcy and it was so nice to just hang out with fellow fans for a couple of hours before the show ^_^ (Looking at you, @parts-of-me-unravelling!)
When the doors opened some people made a run for it after their ticket was scanned which cracked me up - okay, running it is then! XD The hall doesn't have the best design as there were steps going down leading to the floor, and the last step was very easy to miss which led to multiple people falling... (The sound of it still haunts me to this very day.) The person in front of me had a fall which was probably the only reason I myself didn't end up on the floor. But, me and Sarah had both made it in one piece and reached exactly where we'd aimed to be: front row at the bannister, in front of Ron's keyboard! :D HELL YEAH! I'd been so nervous about it because this was the ONE standing show! (An absolutely massive consolation was that we'd always have Brussels if we wouldn't have made it. But we did it!) It almost felt scary to be so close. But also extremely exciting, it kind of felt like I'd never been up close before! Hello, Ron's keyboard - so nice to see you :D What we also spotted was that there was a small plastic figurine sitting on Stevie's drums:
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(Very zoomed in photo, but look at that little dude.)
We were having some nice conversations with our show-neighbours and then it was time for...
Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer
I was super excited, now we could sing along and vibe from the front row :D Get a load of big Sparks fan enthusiasm in your face, sir! Part of the things he said on stage at every show was how divided the response to him was, that some considered him the best opening act since Queen whereas others wished he would get off the stage and that he hoped we'd fall into the former category, and this audience was largely really having an amazing time, which I was very happy about! Mr.B remarked "much better than Paris!", which cracked me up. It also honestly was in a way reassuring that he said that as the legend of that Paris show from the previous night had spread far and wide, nothing will ever be Paris but Utrecht also had a lot of love to give :) It was so much fun to sing along to Mr.B's set and to cheer him on from the front! :D
Sparks
Lost my shit when they came on! I mean, when does a person not (it's Sparks!), but woo this is up close! There they are! :D I'll say it again, I love their outfits so much! And ahh finally able to admire Ron's shoes properly! (I've also mentioned that before, but seeing Ron wearing Jordans was a dream of mine for sure. And now I could actually see the shoes :D) Ron was grinning so much throughout So May We Start which was amazing! Russell's jump was excellent which he followed up by skipping around Ron right in front of us. The show was ON <3 (There didn't seem to be an awful lot of space on the stage for Russell to safely skip around/stand in front of Ron's keyboard as the stage wasn't very deep, so this was really nice!) When Russell sang "the authors are here and they're a little vain, a little vain" he stood behind Ron as he did every night, but it was so sweet to see it from the spot we were standing in. (I've shared a photo of it in this post, but I'll put it below as well because I love them.)
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We were just bouncing and singing and dancing the entire time - everything was so beautiful and fun to see up close while having a proper outlet for our energy as well :) I'll not mention every single song as I've done that before. Plus anyone who's seen a show knows how special this tour is, and everyone who knows me will know I really am dancing and jumping and singing to everything with the biggest smile, so I'll stick to the things that stood out the most.
Have a shot of Ron's shoes before I continue typing the rest, because let's just admire the shoes:
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Beaver O'Lindy was an obvious highlight because the more I think about it, the more it's clear that this song really has it all, but shouting B-E-A V-E-R right back at them where they could see it was just THE BEST!
I was going to capture It Doesn't Have To Be That Way because it's so special and seeing it up close was truly everything - it doesn't matter how many times you hear that song live, it just hits so hard! So I was standing there with my big eyes, camera out, looking at Russell, and Ron, singing along, being totally in awe and very moved by it, Sarah no doubt doing the same thing, and.. Russell noticed this and we got some "I'll pay for it, I'll pay for it" in our direction! THANK YOU T^T! <3 They for sure know how special this song is. Another very important note on the performance of this song: instead of singing "it doesn't have to be that way", Russell mostly sang "it doesn't have to be this way" throughout the song! So we got a rendition that was a little different! (Footage.)
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I just about exploded when Balls started and hoped my response would make it really clear how epic I think Balls is and how much I love it, and how much I loved that they decided to play it on this tour :) We must have stood out as Russell came to stand relatively close to us (as much as the size of the stage allowed it) and sang it in our direction for a bit!! (THIS WAS THE BEST) After the song I said to Sarah I felt very tempted to shout "I LOVE BALLS!!" but that I had decided against it XD which we then giggled about and our giggling might actually have been audible to Ron sdjgjhsdfjh
During Shopping Mall Of Love it seemed like Russell was occasionally looking at us vibing and we also got a "YEAH" from Ron which was amazing! The Toughest Girl In Town got dedicated to Sandy and I have never seen them dedicate a song to anyone before. (I don't know who she is, but I really hope she's well.) One of the best things about seeing this song up close was that we now could actually hear the tambourine for the first time, which definitely added to the experience :)
Escalator and Russell's dance had been one of my ultimate favourite things at all of the shows, and we did a little synced up Escalator dance back at Russell. He noticed and smiled! <3 10/10 moment. I love that song so much and Russell's dancing is everything to me. Our enthusiasm during We Go Dancing didn't go unnoticed either as we were jumping and pumping our arms into the air at the appropriate moments :>
When Music That You Can Dance To started I let out some ungodly scream as I am still incapable of being normal about it (it doesn't matter how many times I hear it live - it is one of the live songs of all time). I had been beaming the entire show already anyway but if it's possible to smile even harder, that's when it would've happened. Being up close we now noticed Ron sang along to the lines "perhaps a little jazz", and Sarah said he also sang along to "a souvenir tonight"!
After When Do I Get To Sing “My Way” there was so much applause that Russell shielded his face for a bit <3 (Audience knew how to party :D)
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^ Photos from during Gee, That Was Fun :) We got a little wave from Russell when they left the stage before the encore :D
Before the band intro Russell said how they always have fun playing in the Netherlands and he ended up wondering out loud if they'd played any other cities than Amsterdam and Utrecht. My mind completely blanked (despite having BEEN at a show in a different city myself!) and no one else in the audience seemed to have an answer either XD Russell then said “No. I think it's only the two cities that we've done. Or…maybe some other. I don't know.” (I really appreciated the way he said that.) He later on came back to this and said they were informed they had also played in Hilversum way way back in the dark ages, "that's the Netherlands right? We bet you never heard of it before”. (I was cracking up as I've lived close to it most of my life and it's also where all TV and radio gets recorded so actually a lot of people *will* have heard of it XD)
Ron was applauding everyone with a big smile during the band introductions which was awesome :D Russell used the words “over yonder” in his introduction of Ron! (!!!!! OVER YONDER - can't believe I got to hear him say that in in person with my own ears! Yeah, more things I am normal about. Russell says words, brain go brrr) One of our friends in the front row joined the band in bowing to Ron, so we joined in as well. Ron smiled but gestured that it was a little bit much so I quickly went back to clapping.
During All That when Russell sang “hey help me out I can't find my left shoe” he actually lifted up his left foot to illustrate the lyrics! (I love him)
@parts-of-me-unravelling has also written about this in her write up but I am going to write about it as well because it was great :) Before the audience photo Eli sat down on the stage and Stevie then sat down with him and they sat there smiling for a bit - I've been enjoying their friendship so much throughout the tour! When the audience photo was about to be taken Eli dove down onto the stage, and honestly this is one of my favourite audience photos from the tour (and maybe ever), and we're in it!
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Someone in the audience had made a poster which was passed on to the front and Ron was the one to reach out and take it! (First time I witnessed Ron taking a gift :D) He had to lean over quite far to grab it though which looked a bit risky and Russell half-grabbed Ron's jacket just to be sure. I don't think I saw what was on the poster but Ron showed it to Russell (see @part-of-me-unravelling's post) and then signed if that person wanted their poster back, but they signed he should keep it. It was a sweet moment and they were smiling so much ^^ Me and Sarah had also brought letters and Russell came over to collect them :) Mine was small so I jumped onto the banister, poking out my tongue and going “hng”, while looking Russell straight in the face (... I am so graceful) to avoid him having to lean over too far. (Here's a video someone took of All That, the band intro and the audience photo.) Things had been so very nice :)
~
I'd missed A Love Story on the setlist as we hadn't realised yet some songs had no longer been on the setlist since the UK and I had really looked forward to hearing it at the front. Eaten By The Monster Of Love had also gone but for the rest the setlist had remained the same utterly incredible setlist.
We hung out with @parts-of-me-unravelling for a bit after the show which was great. Also I could finally buy merch now! (My bag had been too full when in the UK and it haunts me to this very day that I wasn't able to get the poster that was exclusively sold at the RAH.) I got a Latte shirt and the socks ^^ I also bought one of Mr.B's CD's, had a little chat and told him that we'd see him again in Brussels. He was cool with taking a photo. I was a total dork. Luckily he is a very nice man and fellow Sparks fan, he gets these things :)
(A playlist of the footage I made during this show can be found here.)
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