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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years ago

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Natalie Holt's timeline was turned upside down last fall when she landed the highly-coveted composer gig for Marvel Studios' Loki series on Disney+.

"My agent got a general call-out looking for a composer on a Marvel project," she tells SYFY WIRE during a conversation over Zoom. "So, I didn’t know what it was. It was [described as] spacey and quite epic ... I sent in my show reel and then got an interview and got sent the script and then I realized what it was for. I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ It was amazing ... Loki was already one of my favorite characters, so I was really stoked to get to give him a theme and flesh him out in this way."

***WARNING! The following contains certain plot spoilers for the first four episodes of Loki!***

Imbued with glorious purpose, Holt knew the score had to match the show's gonzo premise about the Time Variance Authority, an organization that secretly watches over and manages every single timeline across the Marvel multiverse. The proposition of such an out-there sci-fi concept inspired the composer to bring in uniquely strange sounds, courtesy of synthesizers and a theremin.

"I got my friend, Charlie Draper, to play the theremin on my pitch that I had to do," she recalls. "They gave me a scene to score, which I’m sure they gave to loads of other composers. It was the Time Theater sequence in Episode 1. The bit from where he goes up the elevator and then into the Time Theater ... I just went to town on it and I wanted to impress them and win the job and put as many unusual sounds in there and make it as unique as possible."

The end result was a weird, borderline unnatural sound that wouldn't have felt out of place in a 1950s sci-fi B-movie about big-headed alien invaders. Rather than being turned off by Holt's avant garde ideas, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige embraced them, only giving the composer a single piece of feedback: "Push it further."

Holt admits that she was slightly influenced by Thor: Ragnarok ("I loved the score for it and everything"), which wasn't afraid to lean into the wild, Jack Kirby-created ideas floating around Marvel's cosmic locales. Director Taika Waititi's colorful and bombastic set pieces were perfectly complimented by an '80s-inspired score concocted by Devo co-founder, Mark Mothersbaugh.

"To be honest, I tried not to listen to it on its own," Holt says of the Ragnarok soundtrack. "I didn’t want to be too influenced by it. I watched the film a couple of times a few years ago, so yeah, I don’t think I was heavily referencing it. But I definitely had a memory of it in my mind."

After boarding Loki last September, Holt spent the next six months (mostly in lockdown) crafting a soundtrack that would perfectly reflect the titular god of mischief played by Tom Hiddleston. One of the first things she came up with was the project's main theme — a slightly foreboding cue that pays homage to the temporal nature of the TVA, as well as the main character's flair for the dramatic. "He always does things with a lot of panache and flair, and he’s very classical in his delivery."

She describes it as an "over-the-top grand theme with these ornate flourishes" that plays nicely with Loki's Shakespearean aura. "I wanted those ornaments and grand gestures in what I was doing. Then I also wanted to reflect that slightly analog world of the TVA where everything has lots of knobs and buttons ... [I wanted to] give it that slightly grainy, faded [and] vintage-y sci-fi sound as well."

"I just wanted it to feel like it had this might and weight — like there was something almost like a requiem about it," Holt continues. "These chords that are really powerful and strident and then they’ve got this blinking [sound] over the top. I just came up with that when I was walking down the street and I hummed it into my phone. There’s a video where you can just see up my nose and I’m humming [the theme]. I came home and I played it."

As a classically-trained musician, Holt drew on her love of Mahler, Dvořák, Beethoven, Mozart, and most importantly, Wagner. A rather fitting decision, given that an actual Valkyrie (played by Tessa Thompson) exists within the confines of the MCU.

"I would say those flourishes over the top of the Loki theme are very much Wagner," Holt says. "They’re like 'Ride of the Valkyries.’ I wanted people to kind of recall those big, classical, bombastic pieces and I wanted to give that weight to Loki’s character. That was very much a conscious decision to root it in classical harmony and classical writing ... There’s a touch of the divine to the TVA. It’s in charge of everything, so that’s why those big powerful chords [are there]. I wanted people almost to be knocked off their socks when they heard it."

With the main theme in place, Holt could then play around with it in different styles, depending on the show's different narrative needs. Two prime examples are on display in the very first episode during Miss Minutes' introductory video and the flashback that reveals Loki to be the elusive D.B. Cooper.

"What was really fun was [with] each episode, I got to pull it away and do a samba version of the theme or do a kind of ‘50s sci-fi version of the theme," she explains. "I can’t say other versions of the theme because they’re in Episode 5 and 6…or like when Mobius is pruned, I did this really heartfelt and very emotional [take on the theme] when you see Loki tearing up as he’s going down in slow motion down that corridor. It was cool to have the opportunity to try out so many different styles and genres. And it was big enough to take it all. It was a big enough story."

The other side of the story speaks to the old world grandeur of Loki's royal upbringing on Asgard, a city amongst the stars that eventually found its way into Norse mythology.

"I went to a concert in London three years ago and I heard these Norwegian musicians playing in this group called the Lodestar Trio," Holt recalls. "They do a take on Bach, where they’re kind of giving it a folk-y twist … [They use] a nyckelharpa and a Hardanger fiddle — they’re two historic Norwegian folk instruments. I just remembered that sound and I was like, ‘Oh, I have to use those guys in our score.’ It seemed like the perfect thing. I was like, ‘Yes, the North/Norwegian folk instruments.’ It just felt like it was the perfect thing for his mother and Asgard and his origins."

That folk-inspired sound also helped shape the music for Sylvie (played by Sophia Di Martino), a female variant of Loki with a rather tragic past. "Obviously, we’ve seen in Episode 4 what happened to her as a child," Holt says. "I just feel like she’s so dark. She’s basically grown up living in apocalypses, so she has that Norwegian folk violin sound, but her theme is incredibly dark and menacing and also, you don’t see her. She’s just this dark figure who’s murdering people for a while."

And then there were all the core members of the TVA to contend with. As Holt mentioned above, fans recently lost Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson), may he rest in prune. We mean peace. What? Too soon? During a recent interview with SYFY WIRE, Loki head writer Michael Waldron said that he based Mobius off of Tom Hanks's dogged FBI agent Carl Hanratty in 2002's Catch Me If You Can.

"There’s this thing that he loves jet ski magazines," Holt says. "I had this character in my head and then when I saw Owen Wilson’s performance, I was like, ‘Oh, he’s actually a lot lighter and he plays it in a different way from how I’d imagined.’ But I was listening to Bon Jovi and those slightly rock-y anthemic things. ‘90s rock music for some reason was my Mobius sound palette."

Mobius is pruned on the orders of his longtime friend, Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), after learning that everyone who works for the TVA is a variant who was unceremoniously plucked out of their original timelines. A high-ranking member of the quantum-based agency, Renslayer has a theme that "is quite tied in with Mobius and it’s like a high organ," Holt adds. "It doesn’t quite know where it’s going yet. But yeah, we’ll have to see what happens with that one."

Wilson's character isn't the only person fed up with the TVA's lies. Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) also became disillusioned with the place and allowed Sylvie to escape in the most recent episode

"Hunter B-15 has this moment in Episode 4 where Sylvie shows her her past, her memories. I thought that was a really powerful moment for her," Holt says. I feel like she’s such a fighter and when she comes into the Time-Keepers and she makes that decision, like, ‘I’m switching sides,’ so her theme is more like a drum rhythm. I actually kind of sampled my voice and you can hear that with the drums. I did loads of layers of it, just like this horrible sliding sound with this driving rhythm underneath it. So, that was B-15 and then her softer side when she has her memory given back to her."

Speaking of the Time-Keepers, we finally got to meet the creators of the Sacred Timeline...or at least we thought we did. Loki and Sylvie are shocked to learn that the red-eyed guardians of reality are nothing but a trio of high-end animatronics (ones that could probably be taken out by a raging Nicolas Cage). Even before Sylvie manages to behead one of them, something definitely feels off with the Time-Keepers, which meant Holt could underscore the uncanny valley feeling in the score.

"When they walked in for their audience with the Time-Keepers, it was like this huge gravitas," she says. "But you look up and there’s something a bit wrong about them. I don’t know if you felt that or if you just totally believed. You were like, ‘Oh, this is so strange.’ I just felt like there was something a little bit off and musically, it was fun to play around with that."

Holt is only the second solo female composer to work on an MCU project, following in the footsteps of Captain Marvel's Pinar Toprak. Her involvement with Loki represents the studio's growing commitment to diversity, both in front of and behind the camera. This Friday will see the wide release of Black Widow, the first Marvel film to be helmed solely by a woman (Cate Shortland). Four months after that, Chloé Zhao's Eternals will introduce the MCU's first openly gay character into the MCU.

"I just feel like it’s an honor and a privilege to have had that chance to be the second woman to score a thing in the MCU and to be in the same league as those incredible composers like Mothersbaugh and Alan Silvestri. They're just legends," Holt says. "Another distinctive thing about [the show] is that all the heads of department are pretty much women. Marvel are showing themselves to be really progressive and supportive and encouraging. I applaud [them]. Whatever they’re doing seems to be working and people seem to be liking it as well, so that’s awesome."

Holt's score for Vol. 1 of Loki (aka Episodes 1-3) are now streaming on every music-based platform you could think of. Episodes 1-4 are available to watch on Disney+ for subscribers. Episode 5 (the show's penultimate installment) debuts on the platform this coming Wednesday, July 7.

Natalie isn't able to give up any plot spoilers for the next two episodes (no surprise there), but does tease "the use of a big choir" in one of them. "Episode 6, I’m excited for people to hear it," she concludes. "That’s all I can say."

#Natalie Holt #composer #Loki #OST

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twh-news · 3 years ago

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Loki' composer on how her MCU score reflects the main character's flair for the dramatic

By Josh Weiss

Natalie Holt's timeline was turned upside down last fall when she landed the highly-coveted composer gig for Marvel Studios' Loki series on Disney+.

***WARNING! The following contains certain plot spoilers for the first four episodes of Loki!***

The other side of the story speaks to the old world grandeur of Loki's royal upbringing on Asgard, a city amongst the stars that eventually found its way into Norse mythology.

Wilson's character isn't the only person fed up with the TVA's lies. Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) also became disillusioned with the place and allowed Sylvie to escape in the most recent episode

#Loki #loki series #natalie holt #Loki spoilers #loki series spoilers #Article #Interview #SYFY #Long post

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mysdrymmumbles · 4 years ago

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The Covenant Campaigns: A Timeline

So, this is gonna cover all 9 chapters of each of the campaigns, so it’ll cover all the story for each thus far, which might be spoiler-y if you haven’t played through all four.

Three of the Covenant campaigns are connected to each other, while Ardenweald’s is a complete beast of it’s own. I threw it in for approximate times, but like who knows?

The first Maw Walker makes a choice of which covenant to go to.

Other Maw Walkers coming to the Shadowlands make their choices.

The Maw Walkers are introduced to their covenant halls, and sent to Torghast to try to save their leaders. They meet the Runecarver, and somehow fail to tell anyone that a giant ass man who can make epics is there. The Night Fae do a theatre performance of All The Shit You’ve Been Through *jazz hands*.

The venthyr meet with the Harvesters to try to pull together a unified front; it does not work. The Necrolords aid the remnants of the House of Eyes. The Kyrian aid Kleia in getting her wings and damn Ben Howell’s soul to the Maw. Devos destroys the altar and reveals she is the leader of the Forsworn.

The Night Fae go to the Maw to find Tyrande, follow her into Torghast, and bring a metric shitton of kaldorei souls back to Ardenweald who somehow don’t count toward the souls needed for sanctum upgrades because of course they don’t.

The venthyr secure Thornhill Manor for the resistance, reclaiming it under Theotar’s name and then acquire the Medallion of Desire from their frenemy, the Countess. The Necrolords acquire a necropolis. The Kyrian kill Devos and the Archon promises to reconsider her shit (she doesn’t).

The Night Fae are contacted by Bwonsamdi who is concerned that some Loa souls are going missing. It’s Mueh’zala, being an ass and making deals with the Jailer. The Winter Queen is not pleased.

The venthyr acquire the Medallion of Avarice. The Necrolords and Alexandros go to Bastion to clean up the mess the Houses of Constructs and Rituals made. Xandria makes Alexandros feel better about not being chosen for blue hell.

The Kyrian and venthyr aid Mikanikos in recovering Phaestus, Hammer of the Aeons. Mikanikos rebuilds the altar for ascendants for the kyrian and makes a crown to control the harvester medallions for the venthyr.

The Night Fae help a night warrior and his husband, who is cursed because he was helping the Maw Walker. They search for a way to break the Night Warrior mode so that Tyrande doesn’t die horribly.

The Kyrian and Necrolords team up to murder the shit out of the House of Constructs and avenge the Temple of Courage. The kyrian leave with Gharval’s heart to empower their altar, and the necrolords realize that Gharval has been working with the venthyr.

People screaming ‘Harder Daddy’ when Denathrius strangles them make things so awkward that he hides in Remornia to escape them. Everyone calls this a win. The venthyr are happy.

The drust are back on their bullshit and the Night Fae fight them off. While doing so, Ar’alon goes missing.

THE BEST BOI IS AWOKEN IN REVENDRETH. Also Kael’thas is there. The venthyr and necrolords team up to ensure the sindorei prince’s enrichment, try not to piss off the Accuser, and learn that Kel’thuzad is kicking around in Maldraxxus. No one is happy. Around the time this is going on, the Kyrian are in Revendreth with the Curator attempting to blackmail the Countess into helping them. Kleia reveals she is a body builder as she suplexes enemies left and right. The kyrian get the seal of contrition from Revendreth while the necrolords go home to wonder about how Alexandros never heard that Kel’thuzard was in his backyard.

The Night Fae kick Mueh’zala’s ass.

The kyrian go to Ardenweald for the last piece to empower their altar to make super ascendents. Pelagos is mildly traumatized by a new bestie turning into an inanimate object, but gets a cute pet out of it. In the meantime, the venthyr liberate Stonevigil Overlook from the Tithelord and then wreck his shit and get the Medallion of Envy. While that’s going on, the necrolords impersonate a lesbian skeleton, befriend a lich, and find out what Kel’thuzad has been up to (hint: it’s crime).

The Night Fae recruit Ardenweald’s best hunter to find more night warriors to talk about how to save Tyrande. The Night Fae hide as a bush. A very thin, scraggly bush. Somehow this works.

The venthyr and necrolords team up again to assault the House of Rituals. The necrolords forget that Margrave Sin’dane was one of the ones who intentionally fucked with Bastion and cheer when control of her house is returned to her. Surely nothing bad will happen with that. Kael’thas is sad he didn’t get to hit Kel’thuzad in the face with a fireball, but at least the lich is in the Maw now…with his new boss… The venthyr get the Medallion of Domination. Around this time, the Kyrian save the Temple of Humility from a forsworn attack and then go into the Maw, where they find Uther getting his ass handed to him by Lysonia, who is revealed to be batshit crazy and making pacts with Helya. Uther is saved, and he retreats from his responsibilities to think thoughts.

The Night Fae help Bwonsamdi make Mueh’zala his bitch. Vol’jin is there, but ignores all pleas to return to being the Horde’s warchief. Like people would have problems with a ghost warchief. The Night Fae go to the Maw and save a bunch of Loa and Vol’jin gets an upgrade to minor god. People wouldn’t have a problem with a minor god for a warchief either, just saying. Vol’jin please come back. We’ve effectively been left alone in a locked car.

The kyrian retake the Temple of Loyalty. Uther shows back up to tell Lysonia she’s mean, and the Archon decides to keep him around despite his active participation in taking down runes protecting the temples (which made it easier for the maldraxxi to attack in addition to the forsworn), recruiting people from the Temple of Purity and convincing them to attack their brethren in a revolution, and doing nothing to warn the other forsworn he persuaded to leave the path with his talk of keeping memories once he realized that those who didn’t want to become mawsworn were being ensnared and tortured in the Maw. But he said he’s sorry, so it’s cool.

The Nightfae kick the drust’s ass and like damned near everyone dies. What the fuck, seriously. Lady Moonberry even has a line, “Not you, too!” because people are dropping like fucking flies. It is a bad time to be a fairy. The drust are gone at least, so the whole, what, three survivors can throw a party now.

Unresolved Issues within the covenants:

Kyrian: The Archon is still serving the Jailer souls every second of every day and Ben Howell and all the innocent and good and only mildly ass-ish souls not receiving their proper judgments are still in the Maw.

Venthyr: The Medallion of Wrath has not been obtained.

Necrolord: The House of the Chosen is still on its bullshit.

Necrolord: Margrave Sin’dane should be a target for Bastion, as well?

Night Fae: Tyrande is still in the Maw.

#world of warcraft #Shadowlands timeline #an approximate anyway #this does not cover 9.1

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spellsword177 · 4 years ago

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Hogwarts Mystery Playlist 1980's Edition

If you could choose a theme song for each friend in Hogwarts what would you choose? For my part, I'm sticking with the 1980's and only one song per artist. There are so many possibilities and artists I've left out, but there are only so many spots available. What follows pulls heavily from New Wave, Pop, and Rock.

MC: "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister (1984). As leader of the rebel group, he/she needed an equally rebellious song. Rowan: "Call Me" by Blondie (1980). So many songs by Blondie had to be discarded as they were released in the 70's, but this definitely fits MC's oldest and perhaps most loyal friend. Merula: "Bad" by Michael Jackson (1987). There are many points I could have used one of Michael songs in this list, but this one fits her to a "t." Ben: "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley (1987). This song has gone through a period where its appearance was a jock on the internet, kind of like how many view Ben. Like this song still being great, Ben is still a great character and loyal friend to MC even if he can be annoying at time. Penny: "The Loco-Motion" by Kylie Minogue (1987). A bubbly song for a bubbly character. Hagrid: "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler (1984). An epic song for an epic character. Chiara: "Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton (1981). A sweet song for a sweet character Skye: "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive (1984). A bit wild like Skye. McNully: "Whip It" by DEVO (1981). Intense and to the point. Orion: "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me by Culture Club (1982). Mellow, smooth, and emotional. Bill: "Down Under" by Men at Work (1980). Adventurous. Rath: "Into the Groove" by Madonna (1985). I strongly considered "Beat It," but I can see Erika as a secret Madonna fan especially as this song can also apply to Quidditch. Tonks: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper (1983). The easiest song to place. Tulip: "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol (1983). "Rain hell from above" is so fitting. Barnaby: "Love Shack" by The B-52's (1989). Unfortunately "Rock Lobster" was released in the 70's, but this one is just fun and loveable. Ismelda: "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett (1981). Almost any song by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts would work for her. Talbott: "Rock me Amadeus" by Falco (1985). Classic, informative, and different. Andre: "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top (1983). Unfortunately, "Vogue" was a 90's song, but this one fits just nicely. Charlie: "Africa" by Toto (1982). Evocative of wild life preserves and the chorus could easily apply to Charlie's dragon obsession. Jae: "Stray Cat Strut" by Stray Cats (1981). Confident, lazy, and not abiding by the rules. Badeea: "The Look" by Roxette (1981). Innovative and upbeat. Liz: "When Doves Cry" by Prince (1984). Soulful and a bit awkward. Diego: "Lambada" by Kaoma (1989). Even though it's Brazilian Portuguese, no character best fits the exotic "forbidden dance." Fred: "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles (1986). Fun, adventurous, and deviant. George: "The Safety Dance" by Man Without Hats (1983). Almost an ironic title, but a fun song. Cedric: "Every Breath You Take" by The Police (1983). Very mainstream and seems to a great fit with how much he idolizes MC. Alanza: "Funkytown" by Lips, Inc (1980). This song barely makes the cut, but it's fun and bouncy like this new character. Beatrice: "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (1981). Confrontational and standoffish after past transgressions.

#Wizarding World #Hogwarts Mystery #Character Playlist #1980's Music

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captainscanadian · 4 years ago

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Love Me Blue | Bucky Barnes x Reader (Janmashtami)

My Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Summary: When you were younger, you had always dreamed of falling in love with someone who would love you like Lord Krishna loved Radha. A dream that once felt as though it was silly no longer felt that way.

Word Count: 4400+

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Tamilian!Hindu!Reader

Warnings: MINIMAL TAMIL SONG LYRICS (I’m more than happy to translate!) & TAMIL CULTURE, References to Hinduism, PTSD, Insomnia, Endgame References.

A/N: This is my entry for @bucky-smiles‘s 3K Diversity Writing Challenge! My prompt was to write a fic with a Hindu reader. I decided to write this fic with a Tamilian reader because I am Tamilian. I was born in Sri Lanka and my mother’s side of the family are Hindu. Although I consider myself an agnostic theist, I do enjoy reading the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. I hope everyone had a wonderful Janmashtami. Along with Lord Krishna himself, it’s also @jalapenobarnes‘ birthday this weekend so please go shower Saran with all the love. This one’s for you, my chellam! <3 Pics are off of Pinterest!

Bucky Barnes watched curiously as he sat cross-legged on the tiled floor of your living quarters, splashing a handful of water on the bright green banana leaf that you had laid out in front of him.

Even though your apartment had a designated dining room with an oak wood table and chairs, he wondered why you preferred to be eating on the living room floor. Not to mention the way you had chosen to serve him on a banana leaf than a plate.

As much as he found it bizarre, he was also curious about the traditions that you seemed to follow. Not just through the way you ate your meals, but also the way you honored your dead best friend and the way you had filled your apartment with idols and paintings of your Hindu God. It came as a surprise to him that someone as young and well-educated as yourself could even hold onto the traditions that you had been raised with despite having settled away from your home for years.

Bucky had been surprised to find that as the decades had progressed, traditions had evolved with the emergence of a post-modern society. The way people had practiced religion had also evolved with time, but the way you practiced yours seemed to be the same as the way his own mother had practiced hers back in the day.

You did not conform to modern life for the sake of it, and he found that inspiring. The old Bucky who had always been fascinated by all that science had to offer would probably disagree with you. But having lived a whole century as one of HYDRA’s science experiments made him wish that he could return to the pre-modern society that he had been born into. He hated confirming with the status quo as much as the next guy, but seeing you made him realize that he did not need to force himself to confirm either. He could be himself, as long as he could figure out who exactly he was meant to be.

“According to my grandmother, eating off of a banana leaf is a lot more healthier than eating off of a plate. Apparently the nutrients in the leaf can mix with the food.” You explained to him as you served him some of the rice, careful not to overcrowd the banana leaf. You knew that he was unfamiliar with the dishes, but also appreciated that he was willing to try out a new cuisine at this witching hour. “She said that it’s good for the immune system, prevents intestinal ulcers, skin diseases… soothes the stomach, helps with digestion and prevents kidney stones.”

He nodded, understandably. “Right…” He agreed, not having the heart to tell you that the super soldier serum in his body ensured that his cells would constantly regenerate and prevent him from falling ill. Nevertheless, he found your endearment quite refreshing. You really did treat him like he was Sergeant James Barnes of the 107th and not the Winter Soldier, and he was grateful for that.

“We’re used to eating off of the leaf during special occasions or when we have guests.” You added. “There’s a Buddhist and Hindu philosophy... Atithi Devo Bhava. It literally means that the guests must be given the same respect as you would give to your Gods. And since you’re my guest tonight, you get the banana leaf.”

“I’m no God, Y/N.” Bucky clarified, sighing as he ran his metal hand through his greasy hair. “I’m a human being, a brainwashed assassin, a weapon of destruction who brought so much pain in people’s lives. I don’t deserve to be treated with so much respect.”

“Bucky…” You frowned at his words before shaking your head. “As the one who spent most of my life studying the life of Sergeant James Barnes of the 107th, I beg to differ. I know that you have a lot of internalized guilt about those days and I don’t blame you for that. But you can’t let the Winter Soldier define who you are. You’re more than who you used to be when you were brainwashed. It wasn’t who you were.”

“To be honest, I don’t even think I know who I am anymore…” He admitted, a truth that he hadn’t told anyone else at the compound but felt that he could trust you with.. “But I know for sure that I don’t deserve to be respected like you respect your God.”

“You should let me be the judge of that. My concept of God is actually quite different from the Abrahamic religions that you happen to be familiar with.” You protested with a soft chuckle, crossing your legs to sit across from him. “My grandmother once told me that Lord Krishna… being the God of love and compassion, he’s always present in one’s heart. Wherever there’s love, he’s always there. If there’s love in your heart, he’s there. And that makes you just as Godly as anyone else.”

“I’m the world’s longest prisoner of war who spent most of my life imprisoned in a cryofreezer. There’s nothing Godly about the life that I’ve had to live.” He shook his head. “If anything, I’m a symbol of pain and suffering.”

“Well, Lord Krishna was born in prison.” You remarked. “His life was meant to be filled with so much love… It started on Janmashtami, in a prison cell where his parents were locked up by his own maternal uncle. Even in all that pain and suffering, the betrayal that Lord Krishna’s parents had to face… they were blessed with a child who was the incarnate of the supreme God himself. All that pain and suffering led to some kind of reward, and I’m sure you’ll get yours in due time. Sri Krishna never discriminates, and he forgives those who are truly remorseful of their sins. He’s the God of compassion after all.”

Bucky could not help but chuckle softly at your words. For every word of self-hatred that came out of his mouth, you had your own rebuttal that was rooted in your faith. He was left with no choice but to accept his defeat and give in to being treated as your guest for the night. It was the least he could do other than make use of that computer he had been given to catch up with the world by looking up Lord Krishna. “So, what’s on the menu for tonight?”

“Okay!” You exclaimed, pointing to the rice dish that you had placed in the center of the leaf. “Ven pongal, basically made from rice and yellow lentils. It’s also got some peppercorns, cumin, turmeric, ginger, curry leaves and cashews that I fried in some clarified butter. That’s why it smells so good. Don’t worry about the spices though. This is probably the mildest dish I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

Bucky nodded as he looked up at you. “Do you make this often?”

“It’s a traditional breakfast food in South India, but it also makes for the ultimate comfort food when I’m missing home.” You replied with a shrug of your shoulders before grabbing the bowl of sambar and pouring it over the rice. “Now this might be a little spicy for you. But it’s the side dish of all side dishes. Sambar, basically a mixed vegetable stew with lentils and spices. Great with most South Indian breakfast foods.”

“And what about the rest?” He asked as he eyed the remainder of the delicacies that you had laid out before him. He could not deny that the warm aroma that wafted up his nostrils made them much more appetizing. Despite it being past midnight, he was starved.

“Medhu vada… deep fried lentil fritters, coconut chutney to dip ‘em in… and kesari, dessert made from semolina.” You pointed to the items as you placed them on the banana leaf. “I hope you don’t mind eating with your hand. We don’t really use utensils and I kind of forgot to pick some up. If it makes you feel any better, the right hand is commonly used to eat so…” You motioned towards his hand. “Dig in?”

He raised his eyebrow at your words. “I guess that was very convenient for me.” He joked before looking down at the food and back at you. “Aren’t you going to eat with me?”

You chuckled softly before shrugging at his question. “It’s alright, Bucky. I can eat after you. It’s not polite to eat before the guest.”

“Y/N, come on… you just said that you made all of this food because you were feeling homesick. I can’t eat all of this without you.” He clarified with a smile.

You looked down at your lap in embarrassment as you felt your cheeks heat up. “I kind of only bought one banana leaf because I thought I would be the one eating all of this food.” You told him, shamelessly. “I didn't think I would have company, not that I don’t want you here or anything. I invited you to eat but�� my grandmother says it’s rude to eat right out of the serving bowls if you’re going to be serving the food to someone else. I don’t mind waiting until you’re done and helping myself to your leftovers.”

A part of him could not believe how bound you were to your grandmother’s words, especially when it came to your dining etiquette. Despite the fact that your grandmother had been someone to hold you back from your potential, he admired that you still respected her enough to follow through with the culture that she had taught you.

“Fine, then if you don’t mind…” He reached down to grab a dollop of the pongal and sambar with his thumb and two fingers, carefully holding his hand up towards your mouth. “Let me at least feed you.”

Your eyes grew wide at his gesture and you found your cheeks heating up in embarrassment once again. “Um…” You gulped, not knowing how to react to that. A part of you wanted to accept his offer, but the pitter patter against your heart mimicked the rain against your window and caused you to become very nervous.

As much as you had denied it when you were around the rest of the team, you knew that you did have a slight crush on Sergeant James Barnes of the 107th Infantry Regiment when you had first watched through the archival footage from the war. After all, who wouldn’t. At that time, you had believed that he was dead so it didn’t mean much. But now he was very much alive and sitting right before you. He was certainly a good looking man who’s smile could light up the world, and unbeknownst to you he had just lit up yours.

You had spent years studying his life, along with the rest of The Howling Commandos, in the name of academic curiosity. But you could not deny that now seeing him in person changed how you really felt about this man. Not many people who studied historical figures had the chance to see them face to face. But this had happened to you twice now, and it still felt surreal. Bucky Barnes really was sitting on the floor of your living quarters, about to feed you a bite of your most favourite South Indian comfort food. What kind of idiot would you be not to accept it?

You accepted the bite of food that Bucky had offered you, bringing your hand over to cover your mouth as you chewed. Your lips curling into a small smile as your eyes glazed over, you looked down at your lap.

For some reason, eating from this man’s hand had made you miss your father quite so much. Seven years it had been since he had passed away. You never even got to say goodbye, the last time you had spoken on the phone being an argument that you had ended abruptly by hanging up on him. Had you known what was going to happen just hours later, you would have done things differently. You would have cherished the last moments you got to share with your father. Hell, you would have even prevented him from dying the way he did. But it was all too late now.

Perhaps you suffered from internalized guilt just as much as the super soldier who sat before you, for you did feel partially responsible for your father’s death. Being an agent who was meant to save the world and all, you couldn’t even manage to save your own father. While this did once make you doubt your skills as an agent, you could not deny that you would give anything to be able to do right by the man who had raised you to be anything more than a typical Indian farm girl. But for now, all you had to do was exist for the sake of existing and accept the position that you had been given. Do the right thing, just as your father had taught you.

When you had been five years old, your grandmother had told you the story of how Lord Krishna was married to more than sixteen thousand women. She had told you that he married every woman who loved him. He loved them back just as much too, being the God of love after all. But the woman he loved the most, he hadn’t even been married to her. Radha Rani was the love of his life. She was his soulmate. Despite not being married, their love for each other was so pure and eternal.

It was then you told your father, in your childish little voice, “Appa, I want someone to love me like Lord Krishna loved Radha.”

Now as you swallowed the bite that Bucky Barnes had fed you, you couldn't help but look over his broad shoulders. Up on the wall behind him you had hung one of the many paintings of Radha and Krishna that you owned. But in that particular one, Radha and Krishna were affectionately gazing into each other’s eyes while feeding each other.

It didn’t seem like a sign to you then, but you prayed for some things to be made clearer in due time. After all, you were going to be here for a while. If Lord Krishna was really going to bless you with the kind of love that makes you blue after all of that pain and suffering, then you might as well accept it like you had just accepted that bite of food from Bucky.

“Tell me the truth, Bucky.” You looked over at the man who sat next to you on the couch, his legs crossed as he leaned against the armrest. “Why are you even up at this hour?”

Bucky Barnes looked over at you and let out a sigh, not knowing if lying to you about his insomnia would sell. After all, you seemed to know him better than he knew himself despite the fact that you had met just yesterday. While he feared that admitting the truth would cause you to become weary of him, he knew better than to lie to the woman who was in a position of authority. He had to be transparent with you, mainly because he didn’t have the heart to lie to you.

“I can’t sleep.” He admitted, biting down on his bottom lip as he sat up straight, his elbows resting against his thighs as he covered his face with his hands. “I haven’t slept properly in a while, ever since I moved into the compound really. Every night I go to bed at a reasonable time. But I still end up waking up at this strange hour because of some nightmare.”

Leaning over to rest your hand on his shoulder, you wanted to give him a squeeze. But you were quick to realize that his left shoulder was vibranium, so instead you moved your hand to rub his back. “Have you talked to Sam about it?”

Not that you would assume that his friendship with Sam was anything like his friendship with Steve. As someone who had your own demons, you knew that it was not that easy to confide in someone about something like this. But you were well aware that Sam had some experience offering support groups to veterans who suffered from PTSD during his time working at the VA back in DC. He seemed to be much more equipped to handle something like this than you were, no doubt about that. But since you were now the boss around here, you knew that something needed to be done to address the mental health of your heroes.

Bucky shook his head. “He’s always been weary of me, Y/N. I don’t think I should worry him about this. The last thing I want is for anyone to think that the Winter Soldier is still in me when he’s not.”

“Sam can be an asshole at times… but he means well. He cares a lot about his friends, and that includes you and me.” You admitted. “But I know what you mean. What you’re going through, it’s not easy. You’ve had to deal with a lifetime’s worth of torture under HYDRA, along with the whole thing with the blip. The world has changed so much that it’s not all that easy to keep up with anymore.”

He looked up at you and frowned. “I feel so lost, you know? Like I don’t know where I should start. I’ve missed out on seventy years of… life. The life that I knew before the war is gone and the life that I had since then… is full of torture and bloodshed. I’m just lost in the midst of it all.”

“Bucky, you do know that… if you ever want to talk about anything that has to do with history or what happened in the world during those seventy years, you can just talk to me about it, right? I may have a Master’s degree on The Howling Commandos but I do know a thing or two about what happened in the world after the war.” You offered, finally cracking a smile. “I can definitely help you out with catching up with times.”

He chuckled softly at your words. “Is that how you and Steve… became friends?”

You felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment at the mention of Captain America, a man whom you had respected and aided in the recovery of until Natasha had decided to set the two of you up on a date. It was a brief fling while the two of you had worked together in DC. But once you had realized it wasn’t going to work, you had ended things amicably. While you had remained friends and you had helped him catch up with the world, things had changed so much around you.

“Yeah, I guess.” You admitted with a shrug. “He needed someone to catch him up to the world and Fury realized that he hired a history major. I think it worked out for all of us.” Looking back now, you only felt blessed to have known Steve Rogers. He was not only an inspiration, but also one of your closest friends. “And that’s why I’m offering to help.”

“But how could you help me, Y/N?” He asked. “What can you possibly do to help me come to terms with who I am?”

“Well, I had Steve read through the Internet a lot and make a list of all the things he wanted to try… like Thai food and Sherlock Holmes. I know that you’re not going on any missions right now. You’re just hanging around the compound and trying to kill time, right? I’d say… make use of the computers we have here, learn as much as you can. We can talk about it. But don’t ever think that you’re alone in this.”

The Internet was a great place to start learning, right? Surely, Bucky had been apprehensive about taking that step. But he needed to be given a little push. Thankfully, he now had you for that. “I guess I can do that.” He gave in, for he was starting to get bored of the facility’s gym.

“There is something that needs to be done about your nightmares though.” You pointed out. “This compound needs an on-site therapist. I need one. You need one. Wanda needs one. We all need one after all this crap that we’ve had to deal with.” You made a mental note to make some calls in the morning, but for now you knew that your attention should be on the super soldier. “But right now, you really need to get some sleep.”

Bucky shook his head in defeat. “I can’t seem to fall asleep in my bed, Y/N. Believe me, I’ve tried… for many nights. I guess I just have to suck it up and kill time until the morning.”

You raised your eyebrow at his words before crossing your arms against your chest. “What? Do you need me to sing you a lullaby or something?” You asked him, teasingly.

He laughed at your question before shaking his head. “As if that’s ever going to work on me…”

“Is that a challenge, Sergeant Barnes?”

Bucky Barnes had no clue how it even happened. Just twenty-four hours ago, the two of you had been strangers who had nothing in common except for the fact that you both shared a past that had been perfectly entwined somehow. But now you were sitting against the headboard of his queen sized bed in the living quarters adjacent to yours, his head resting against your lap as he shut his eyes.

Your soft hands running through his silky dark hair, you sang the words that you had pretty much memorized by now. It was a lullaby that your grandmother had sung to you when you were younger, written about how Lord Krishna himself had fallen asleep after a long day of playing around his village.

Ayarpadi Maaligaiyil

Thaai Madiyil Kandrinai Pol

Maaya Kannan Thoongugindraan, Thaalelo

Ayarpadi Maaligaiyil

Thaai Madiyil Kandrinai Pol

Maaya Kannan Thoongugindraan, Thaalelo

Avan Vaai Niraiya Mannai Undu

Mandalathai Kaattiya Pin

Oiveduthu Thoongugindraan, Aaraaro

Ayarpadi Maaligaiyil

Thaai Madiyil Kandrinai Pol

Maaya Kannan Thoongugindraan, Thaalelo

Pinnalitta Gopiyarin Kannathile Kannam Ittu

Mannavan Pol Leelai Seidhaan Thaalelo

Pinnalitta Gopiyarin Kannathile Kannam Ittu

Mannavan Pol Leelai Seidhaan Thaalelo

Andha Mandhirathil Avar Uranga

Mayakkathile Ivan Uranga

Mandalame Urangudhammaa Aaraaro

Ayarpadi Maaligaiyil

Thaai Madiyil Kandrinai Pol

Maaya Kannan Thoongugindraan, Thaalelo

Bucky Barnes had no clue how it even happened. But as he listened to the melody of your lullaby, he had drifted off into a deep slumber. When he woke up the next day, he found that you were gone. But he knew that you were the one to thank for helping him sleep after many months of waking up from nightmares.

As the weeks went by, you and Bucky had become quite close. As most of the team were gone for days at a time because of their respective missions, the two of you often found yourselves being the only ones remaining at the compound. Despite your loneliness, you somehow found comfort in each other.

Your free time was usually spent cooking up a storm in the common kitchen, and Bucky found himself frequently joining you for your meals. He had taken quite the liking to South Indian cuisine, but he had also kept his promise of making you a completely vegetarian Wakandan meal - something that he apparently prepared by video-calling the Queen Mother of Wakanda herself and asking her for recipes.

“Does this mean you have diplomatic immunity? Being the adoptive child of Queen Ramonda and all…” You had joked. “They call you the White Wolf, don’t they?”

“Did you ever have to use your diplomatic immunity?” He had asked you mockingly. “Being the daughter of an Indian diplomat after all.”

“Bucky, could you please give Queen Ramonda my regards? Let her know that Agent Y/L/N, the daughter of Ambassador Y/L/N, sends her regards and thanks the royal family for all of their help.” You hadn’t been all that familiar with the Wakandan royal family during the reign of King T’Chaka, but it was only after his death did you have the chance to work closely with them. After all, you understood the pain that they had been dealing with all too well.

Bucky was not familiar with why you seemed to know them so well. He had just assumed it must be because of your career in diplomacy before you became an agent. He did not think much of it though, at least not until he had told Shuri that you gave their family your regards.

While the truth behind your relationship with the Wakandan royal family had certainly shaken him to his core, he did not make it known that he knew about it. After all, it was a huge part of your own personal life and you were just his boss. He did not feel the need to let you know that he knew something about you that you might not have wanted you to know. But instead, he continued to learn more about you and the culture that you were raised in.

The Internet was a great place when it came to catching up with the world. He had read just about everything he could get his hands on, from history to literature and science. While he tried to keep up with how much the world had changed, he had also read as much as he could about your religion.

He often joined you on your visits to the temple in the city after noticing that you made it a habit to go there every Friday. When Janmashtami came around, Bucky had offered to help you paint footprints from your front door to your shrine of Lord Krishna.

According to your grandmother, the tradition of painting baby footprints was done believing that Lord Krishna would follow them and enter your home. You had been doing that every single year on Janmashtami for as long as you could remember. But that year, you just knew. It was the first year that Krishna had entered your home for real.

#3kdiversity #aj writes #love me blue #janmashtami #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x desi!reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes series

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barryallenis · 4 years ago

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Season 4 was good. Not great, but good. My criticisms are only in regards to the double wedding, not getting any of the black characters' pov's (especially from the bride, Iris) on the Nazi invasion from Earth X, Iris having to coddle Fe during that time and coddle CS during her botched bachelorette party and being forced to make her maid of honor, Wally left, and westallen being OOC with each other when handling Ralph. I was ready to quit the show fully due to the overuse of a new character.

I agree with these criticisms! No matter how “good” I consider a season obviously it will always deserve criticisms as well. I think being able to have these in-depth discussions about it help us separate out the good and bad so we can better understand some of our more intrinsic feeling about it/why we still want to watch it despite the flaws that sometimes feel overwhemling and just like, generally consume media more constructivly.

Like, I’ve always liked season 4. Even more so than season 3, which I feel is often a gold standard (no pun intended) to many in terms of westallen. And I honestly had to sit with it for a while and figure out ... why? Why the season that had no journalistic Iris arch (until the end)? Why the season that gave westallen that HORRIBLE double wedding? Why the one where Barry is literally thrown in jail the episode after said wedding? Why the one where Iris was forced to be strong despite her missing fiance and coddle several white women on days that were suppose to be about HER?

But I think for me it comes down to the overall outcome of the season. Which, again, to me, showed a deeper ingraining of westallen as the backbone of the show than we’d ever gotten before, and honestly, have gotten since.

To me, often times in season 3, Barry and Iris’s relationship felt like a plot device. After spending 2 season building it up (albeit, further in the background), season 3 sent their relationship into overdrive. And it wasn’t really in a way that developed it further into a central theme of the show, but moreso as a plot device to up the “drama” around the Savitar plotline.

Show wise, I get it. I get wanting to make the stakes higher around Iris’s impending death with a relationship, then a move-in, then a proposal, etc. But personally, I felt like it was a departure from recognizing the core importance of westallen to the show as a whole. It felt almost as if they were insinuating that even after 2 seasons spent with Iris’s character, after 2 seasons watching Barry love her romanically and not, we wouldn’t have cared as much about Iris’s death if they hadn’t built up westallen’s romantic relationship like they did. As if we didn’t already see Iris’s value as an individual and to the show.

Now I recognize this may be a bit of a harsh read, and don’t get me wrong, there are GREAT moments in season 3. But I think it was this overall feel that season 3 left me with that stopped it from being a favorite despite having many moments I loved.

Season 4 on the other hand, used westallen in a different and, in my opinion, less exploitative, way. Most notably I think of 2 of the biggest quotes to come out of that season. “We’re The Flash” and “You’re my lightning rod Iris.” Those quotes don’t feed into a plot device. They really have nothing to do with DeVoe or any other specific plotline of the season (sure the lightning rod line gave way for Iris’s nuke idea but Enter Flashtime was such a stand alone episode, it didn’t, to me, feel like a plot device) These lines were used for the development of Westallen in their own right. Serving no purpose than to further cement their imporance in the series.

Season 5 Westallen as parents, again, had good moments and bad moments. Overall it didn’t really leave me with a strong or adapted feeling towards their relationship. It left them with after effects from Nora, for sure. But I don’t know that I’d say even Nora really further developed them into the shows backbone nor conversely, did it feel like their relationship specifically was purely being used for a plot device. I’ll say I appreciated Barry’s unwavering support of Iris (though I wish it had been developed more. Ergo: I didn’t feel like it generally gave us much new information - we knew how much Barry supported Iris unconditional, it would have been far more interesting to delve into the ramifications of Iris being left to raise Nora alone and what that did to her (oo I’m getting riled up about how future!Iris deserved more respect)). Also, I appreciated their fight at the end of the season. That I do feel like was a good episode that fleshed out Barry and Iris in a way we hadn’t seen before. Therefore, bringing something new into their relationship (even if not all of it was good!)

Then we’ve got season 6 which was ... almost too sparce to comment on. I still have faith we will get an epic reunion, but time will tell. Other than that, I mean, liberation was a truely iconic episode that highlighted Barry and Iris’s connection. It touched on things they had already developed (that barry and Iris will find each other regardless of timeline or dimension) in a way that naturally influenced the plot. That connection wasn’t planted in earlier seasons just so it could be used in this storyline several years later. And for that reason it felt more earned from the natural progression of their relationship throughout the show, rather than like it was created specifically to fit this season 6 narrative.

And I think that’s really what I appreciate so much about season 4. The whole point of ingraining those themes deeper into the core of the show is that they are withstanding. Those developments aren’t things that fade with a plotline or a season. And it’s that base that is then there to carry the show through some of it’s bigger failings in seasons 5 & 6. Mainly, Iris’s role as an openly declared equal part of the Flash title and not a side character, kept them afloat, at least in my mind, throughout a lot of those, often Iris related, failings of show.

Does it excuse those failings? Absolutely not. They should still SHOW those themes more than they do and not just expect us to hold on to them in the subtext. But, while I wish I didn’t have to, that is what I do. Knowing that Iris is established as being equally essential to the show as Barry. Knowing their connection is as boundless and superhuman as it is deeply and beautifully human. That gets me through those moments where those features aren’t highlighted like they should be.

And I think most of those features were strongly established in season 4.

#westallen #time vault #anyways these are just MY personal opinions #absolutely no one has to view it this was #anyway thanks for reading my word vomit!!!

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sal2724 · 4 years ago

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Guru Poornima

What is Guru Purnima and when it is celebrated?

Guru Purnima (Poornima) is also known as Vyasa Purnima marks the birthday of Ved Vyasa. It is a tradition dedicated to all the spiritual and academic Gurus, who are evolved or enlightened humans, ready to share their wisdom with very little or no monetary expectation, based on Karma Yoga. It is celebrated as a festival in India, Nepal and Bhutan by the Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.

It is celebrated on the full moon of hindu month of Ashadha (June-July).

You all must be thinking that if it is to mark someone’s birthday, it should have one fix day. I always wondered this since childhood but got no answer except that earlier people doesn’t use to remember dates but the significance of day. So yes significance of Ved Vyasa Ji’s birthday was full moon of ashadha.

Every year it falls on different day. In 2020 it’s on July 5th i.e., today.

Significance of Guru Purnima

Guru or teacher has always been considered akin to a God in the Hindu culture. Guru Purnima or Vyasa Purnima is the day to celebrate and pay our gratitude to our Gurus. This Sanskrit word literally translates to ‘the one who frees us of ignorance’.

Guru Purnima honours Ved Vyasa, known as one of the most honoured Gurus of ancient India. Senior Ayurvedic consultant Dr Vishakha Mahindroo says, “Veda Vyasa, structured the four Vedas, composed the epic of the Mahabharata, created the foundation for the many Puranas and the vast encyclopedias of Hindu sacred lore. Guru Purnima represents the date on which Lord Shiva as the Adi Guru or original guru taught the seven rishis who were the seers of the Vedas. In the Yoga Sutras, Ishvara as Pranava or Om is said to be the Adi Guru of Yoga. Lord Buddha was said to have delivered his first sermon on this day at Sarnath, reflecting the power of this sacred time.”

IMPORTANCE OF THIS DAY

Guru Purnima is celebrated to honour our teachers who dedicate their life to remove darkness from our minds.

I have read somewhere that “Teachers are like a candle, it consumes itself to light the way of others.”

In India teachers are placed equal to god.

There is a very popular shloka in Sanskrit:

“गुरुर्ब्रह्मा ग्रुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः । गुरुः साक्षात् परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः ॥“

This shloka means:

Guru Brahma - Guru is Brahma, who is the Lord of Creation, also called as Generator, Guru Vishnu means Guru is Vishnu (Vishnu is the Lord who is called organizer), Guru Devo Maheshwarah means Guru is the Maheshwara (Shiva or the destroyer), Guru Sakshat Parabrahma means Parbrahma viz. the supreme god or almighty.

Remarkable and ancient stories about Student-Teacher bond:

1) Dronacharya- Arjun

Serving as a teacher for the royal prince, Dronacharya found that Arjun was an extraordinary student. Starting from the first test, Dronacharya saw immense determination and focus in him that he predicted that one day he will become a great warrior. Seeing such immense talent in Arjun, Dronacharya bestowed him with special wisdom of the Devshastras and the mystical bow of Brahma. Dronacharya was so fond of Arjuna that he promised him that he will make him the greatest in the whole world but then once he encountered Eklavya who had the ability to beat Arjun but he believed Dronacharya as his teacher so in order to keep his promise to Arjun, Dronacharya asked Eklavya to cut his thumb and give to him as Guru dakshina (Fees) and Eklavya sacrificed his thumb happily for his guru.

2) Sandipani- Krishna, Balrama

Sandipani was the teacher of Lord Krishna and Balrama. Both the brothers along with their friend Sudama went to study at Guru Sandipani’s Ashram. After the completion of their studies, they asked him to name his Gurudakshina. Sandipani asked Lord Krishna to restore his son lost in ocean at Prabhas. Both the brothers went in search of his lost son. When they reach Prabhas, they found that his son had been taken hostage by the demon Shankhasur beaneath the ocean. They saved Sandipani’s son from the demon and handed over to him.

3) Pashurama- Bishma

Parshuram took vow of never teaching to the Kshatriyas. He was never against the caste but due to the Adharmic path of Kshatriyas in which they keep themselves busy in enjoyments, drinks and women. But, Parshuram taught Bhishma, even though he was a Kshatriya because Bhishma was not a tyrant and was a follower of moral Dharma. Morover, Parshuram was a Rishi and the incarnation of God, he could easily see that Bhishma was not an ordinary man, thus Parshuram liked him, broke his vow and accepted him as his pupil and taught him.

4) Vishwamitra- Rama

Rama along with his brothers received their education from the royal teachers under the guidance of Vasishta. By the time Vishwamitra approached King Dasaratha ot take Rama and Lakshman along with him, who taught them mantras ‘Bala’ and ‘Atibalas’ to ward off hunger and thirst.

How to celebrate Guru Poornima?

Guru Purnima is usually celebrated by worshipping and expressing gratitude to the Gods who are like our Gurus. In monasteries and ashrams, disciples offer prayers in the honour of their teachers. Dr Vishakha suggests what to do on Guru Purnima, “On this day, one should dedicate oneself to following the guru’s principle and teachings and put them into practice. Guru Purnima has the importance of Vishnu puja attached to it. 'Vishnu Sahatranam' also known as the thousand names of Lord Vishnu should be recited on this day. Be in sync with self and channelise your energies on this auspicious day.”

IMPORTANT TEACHERS OF MY LIFE

According to me, our own life is our best teacher.

“Forget what hurt you, but never forget what taught you.” ~Unknown

So let’s take a moment and appreciate what our lives taught us. Right from the beginning as a child we are told what we can do and what we cannot. But a child’s mind is curious and often when we are not told the reason why we can or cannot do certain things, we do them anyway. Sometimes we get hurt and sometimes that makes us happy. But at the end it is a lesson in itself.

Living in a society, we are surrounded by people of different walks of life. We interact with people on a daily basis and knowingly or unknowingly each lesson teaches us something. We might not remember what we studied in school but we’ll always remember what life taught us.

Very often, life throws unexpected circumstances at us. Sometimes we don’t even want those situations in our lives and we end up questioning ourselves that ‘why only me?’ But at the end of it we know that those circumstances teach us endless lessons; lessons about ourselves, lessons about others, lesson about our hidden abilities and talents and most importantly ways to deal & even overcome such circumstances for future.

We never have to face the same problem twice.

Always follow your intuition. Listen to your inner voice. It knows you better than anyone else.

#guru purnima #teacher #life #lifeisbeautiful #lifeteachings #love #blog #writer #inspiration #followme #life quotes #mustread #advertising

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idairsauthor · 4 years ago

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WOF reread 2020: Fnaa hits the Fan at the Craoibh Oir

So, I eventually got this out of my system, but for a long time I really enjoyed writing episodes in which a fancy affair goes horribly wrong. When you send a shriia and her apprentice into a dinner party for rich people, of course shit’s gonna happen. Rereading this now gave me a lot of feelings, of many different kinds.

So as I have said before, I’m not an outliner. When first writing something, I typically don’t see more than a couple moves ahead in terms of plotting. I can go back later and tie things together better (and TC benefits from multiple revisions over time, including the post-Better To Burn revision in which I retconned what was necessary to retcon about Keanrih’s backstory); but often subplots and whatnot emerge more or less spontaneously. What I am, though I say it myself, good at is taking these unexpected plot points and weaving them into the rich tapestry so that you eventually get a good payoff from them. Mielen’s pregnancy is a perfect example of that. Initially Mielen was introduced, mainly, for character development and exposition; because she and Theamh are old friends, we find out some more about Theamh’s life before the Order through her, and we also get to find out more about Lilea’s extraordinary abilities (which are less flashy and easy to demonstrate than Theamh’s). And of course she’s important as one of the dots that Theamh connects as she realizes that all the mothers this is happening to are apparently wealthy. But the dinner party chapters reward you for slogging through all that with the epic scene of Mielen’s mother Geraine calling scrainnte on Delth in the middle of Ulnach’s dinner party.

When I first wrote this I was mainly interested in the possibiltiies of this dramatic eruption of the real social through the veneer of fake sociality created by the dinner party. Geraine asks her friends to act like a community instead of just a club, and for everyone there who understands the value of community--a group which now includes Theamh, because she’s in the Order--the collective failure to come through for Geraine is sickening and shameful. Ulnach and the rest of the guests, however, care more about preserving politeness and manners and a kind of sinister solidarity according to which people with money each agree to pretend that the others are virtuous.

Now, of course, it is not lost on me that scrainnte is used, the only two times we really see it being used in WOF, to do exactly what the #metoo movement tried to do: to create accountability for men who engage in sexual behavior which is obviously harmful but which is difficult to address legally. In the case of Istria’s father, of course, he’s violating a direct commandment from Idair and also breaking the law; but Varen won’t allow the law into her house, so Istria turns to scrainnte because that’s accessible to her and the law isn’t. But with Delth, it would obviously be very difficult to prosecute him. Mindforcing is illegal, but difficult to prove especially months after the fact. Because it was the result of mindforcing, Delth’s rape of Mielen involved no violence and she did not openly resist him, which means there’s no material evidence that she didn’t consent. However, everyone in Theamh’s culture understands that people can be mindforced into having sex and that this is wrong; and scrainnte is a tool that communities use to deal with bad actors whose crimes are widely known but who can’t be legally punished.

All of which makes Ulnach’s refusal to hear Geraine even more despicable. Geraine appeals to her as a woman and a mother--”If it were your daughter you would do the same”--but Ulnach is only thinking about how much she wants this disruption to end. She’s so worried about maintaining her social position, so afraid of being unmasked as “country”--like Geraine, she’s the first in her line to get ‘off the dirt’--that she turns on her best friend. Mielen grew up with Theamh and Theamh was at one point affianced to Geraine’s son Edraw. This is an important friendship that Ulnach has blown up here. But of course she blames Theamh, the “walking social catastrophe,” for accidentally introducing this ugly truth into her world instead of herself for betraying a true and sustaining relationship for the fool’s gold of popularity.

At the end of that chapter, Theamh and Aine have this conversation:

“These are your people?” she demanded. “This is where you come from?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Your father trades with na Fir mac Lir and your mother won’t answer a townswoman,” she said. “Your people are blaspheming, exploiting, self-gratifying cowards with no sense of compassion or community.”

“Well, you didn’t catch them at their best.”

“That’s what you brought me there to learn.”

“I wouldn’t put it that way, but...”

“This is what wealth does to people.”

“In my experience, yes.”

She stood in thought for a moment.

“Dhiaoc?”

“Yes, Aine?”

“Were you a foster-child?”

I smiled, not without sadness. “No, Aine. I have Athi’s coloring and Mathi’s face. I’m theirs all right.”

The young are harsh. In the nearly 3 decades since I wrote this novel, my relationship with my mother has mellowed out. But what’s going on with this pandemic has really given this conversation a sharper point for me. All of this having people over for drinks during a pandemic...my mother’s doing this because all her friends are doing it and she doesn’t want to be left out of it, because this fake sociality is more important to her than doing what her community actually needs, which is social distancing. Granted, she now has some mild cognitive impairment as a result of these mini-strokes we didn’t know she was having, which is yet ANOTHER reason why she should be vigilant about her exposure to the coronavirus...but this is not new behavior. This whole erosion of community spirit in pandemic America is more visible amongst the non-college-educated; but many of the vilest ‘protest’ groups are being banrkolled and encouraged by wealthy groups and families like the DeVos family in Michigan. My mother was raised Catholic and has always done volunteer work amongst those she sees as less fortunate; but that has not given her the sense of community which is so obviously missing in this scene, and which would perhaps inspire her to modify her behavior in order to protect her own household and the health of her friends.

#wof #taken child #personal

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stevecanmakeanythingnerdy · 5 years ago

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Battle #7

Kajagoogoo : White Feathers ( Side 1 )

Vs.

The Figgs: Banda Macho ( Side 2 )

Kajagoogoo : White Feathers ( Side 1 )

Formed in Leighton Buzzard in 1978, the band were originally known as Art Nouveau, a four-piece avant-garde group. Once a new lead singer was chosen by audition, the name of the group was then changed to Kajagoogoo, coined phonetically from a baby's first sounds, 'Ga Ga Goo Goo'. Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran fame, helped produce their first single, and a hit was born. That single of course was “Too Shy”. It’s the biggest achievement of the band and the reason they were signed to EMI. Ironically it kind of makes them a one hit wonder and often they are mistaken for Duran Duran. “White Feathers” is a club tune in nature, danceable, electric. I mean they did name the album after it, so....there’s that. “Lies and Promises” is very Devo-esque with its fast BPMs and high brow rhythms. Quick and succinct lyrics help you to get The Sweaty. Vocals in the round fill the next tune which could easily be a Vapors outtake.

“Magician Man” has just the right amount of magic to hold your attention. Definitely new wave class of 1983. The last tune is an instrumental, named, well...“Kajagoogoo”. It is surprisingly complex as arranged. No revealing nature of what a Kajagoogoo is per se, but it IS spelled out for you, literally. It is totally worth noting that “hair” is mentioned and thanked in the liner notes. Overall it’s 80s new wave so you know what to expect.

The Figgs: Banda Macho ( Side 2 )

The Figgs are a rock ‘n’ roll band formed in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1987. Originally known as The Sonic Undertone. I was introduced to this band by way of a fellow musician and contributing columnist named Mike Falloon (Kung Fu Monkeys, Egghead, Go Metric ‘zine), for a music fanzine I used to run. He would always gloat about them and finally I asked him to make me a mixtape of some of their greatest hits. He did not disappoint and I was hooked instantly. A large portion of those tunes came from this very album. 1996’s “Banda Macho” was the band’s lone release on Capitol Records, but perhaps their most important album as it gained them a lot of attention and wider fan base. The album’s second Side starts off with “Choker” - a fast back beater that kills and thrills. “Reject” quickly comes on it’s heels with a good, bouncy bass line and tight, no fooling around attitudes. Another quick rocker is “Red Bank Queen” where the vocals follow the hook. The Figgs slow their roll, but just for a second with “This Copy’s Mine”, followed immediately by “Another View”. It’s a real power pop gem ala The Smoking Popes. Up next with it’s amazing pop sensibilities is “Dandruff (you’ve got a lot of friends)”. This seems like a good contender for having staying power on the set list. Love the bitter lyrics and cowbell fever!! A pick to click for sure! “Powder King” is another mod-like quality tune. Honestly, there isn’t a piss take on the whole platter. “Kiss off Baby” has a B side quality that only a music fan could love. Screaming rock leads with nods to all the standards and practices here. Finally they end with the standard 90’s joke tune “Every Night”. It’s purposely sloppy and off key, but they’re forgiven for the other 8 quality bangers. Largely because you know they had to put effort into this to intentionally sound bad. This band is not capable of sucking...unless it’s in stereo (#seewhatididthere) (in case you didn’t seewhatididthere, “sucking in stereo” is the title of another Figgs album, also great). Basically Mr. Falloon did not disappoint and his unselfish goal of creating a new Figgs fan was successful. This band is a real workhorse too. Almost double the output and all of it absolutely quality craftsmanship. The Real Kids meets The Jam, meets power pop ‘79 vibe stands the test of time too, as this slab is nearly 25 people! The mastering suffers a bit because of so many tracks per side, but hey...when you’re a hit machine you have to belt that $#!+ Out!! 2 Petes, 1 Mike, and 1 Guy = two and a half minute Figgs pop masterpieces. Amazing and highly recommended by the RRW staff.

In today’s epic battle Kaja Googoo’d some White Feathers and burned 109 calories over 5 songs and 17 minutes. They burned 21.80 calories per song and 6.41 calories per minute. 12 out of 15 possible stars were earned. Meanwhile camp Figgs were a Banda Macho dudes who burned 147 calories over 23 minutes and an impressive 9 (!) songs. They burned 16.33 calories per song and 6.39 calories per minute. 20 out of 27 possible stars were earned. But unfortunately not enough to beat Kajagoogoo who takes the cake today!

Kajagoogoo : “Too Shy”

https://youtu.be/rkpG4XApJ28

#Randomrecordworkoutseasonseven

#Randomrecordworkout

#randomrecordworkout #randomrecordworkout7 #vinyl #80s #80s music #records #80's music #90s music #90s #kajagoogoo #the figgs #power pop #new wave #vinyl collection

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valeriemperez · 7 years ago

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Run, Iris, Run! Tati, what I loved about tonight’s ⚡️ episode is it solidified the fact that B+I are a partnership. They, are TF. There is no ⚡️without Iris West-Allen. Equally, there is no Thinker without Marlize. I’m really looking forward to both Power couples epic showdown. Although I loved seeing Jay and Jesse, I felt Wally’s absence. I think mystery girl is being trained by Jay. The WA scenes were cute, but I’m a butthead and have a problem with Joecile getting it in more than WA *RME*

I totally agree with you about the episode. We saw Barry be Iris’ strength in 4.10 and now Iris was Barry’s in 4.15. As much as that was true of Marlize and Devoe, they’re falling apart now and that will be their (or at least Clifford’s) downfall. With you on missing Wally and on “mystery girl,” lol. But I will say I find Joe and Cecile adorable, and they have more time/less stress than our babies. Who are totally due for a second honeymoon by the end of the season!

I think #ABiggerWorldForIris sounds like a trend that could be used more than once in the future.

Yes! And for now we’re using it daily, so keep on sending ideas to the writers.

ok. next time Dawn shows up we HAVE to make some progress on her story, it's starting to drag out a little too long now. I'm starting to think it's definitely Season 5 material though. also it seems to me like she knows of Caitlin and Harry as bad guys, based on her reaction to them

My guess is she knows Cait as a bad guy, KF, whereas she only knows Harry by reputation because he was gone by the time she was old enough to notice. (Probably retired on E2, lol, not dead. Unless she’s from the far future after Barry and Iris moved there.)

yes, i know there's an age difference, but i'm telling you, i wouldn't mind them hooking up Caitlin and Wells.

They’re both adults well past their high school/college years, and I wouldn’t mind either!

Tati do you think the flash fandom, not including the racists and misogynsts because the obviously are incredibly aggressive, but the general flash fandom including wa stans can sometimes be a bit too aggressive and one-sided in their opinions? All my accounts are completely devoted to wa but I do care about all the other characters and sometimes feel scared to voice my support or opinion on them because I'll get backlash for focusing on things outside of comic canon

This is absolutely true of not only The Flash fandom, but any passionate fandom that has prominent ships. The more people engage with the material, the more more extreme their views become. And how do people most easily engage? Through ships, whether it’s loving one canon or fanon ship and brooking no opposition or hating a female character so much that you need to remove her from her ship and her narrative.

I totally encourage you to post about the other characters that you care about, though. Use their tags and I’m sure you’ll find fellow fans. If someone gives you shit for enjoying other stuff? Mute them.

I was thinking the other day about how Cisco really hasn't had much to do this season, too. And then I remembered that we haven't seen Cynthia for quite some time now or even heard mention of her. Do you think it's because the actress booked another show? Or have the writers just forgotten that Cynthia and Cisco are a thing?

I think the lack of Cynthia is primarily due to Jessica’s availability, but that’s no reason not to give Cisco a storyline outside of her. If I could trade Ralph for Cisco and Wally working together to stop Devoe and training when Barry’s busy, oh boy, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

do you think this is a good sign that this episode was the first of the season that AJK had nothing to do with?

It’s a very good sign. Though to be fair, Andrew’s name was removed from the Executive Producer position (he’s now only in “developed by”) after 4.08, so we don’t know exactly which episode is the last one he influenced. We just know they were filming 4.11 when he was suspended, and therefore we can assume they had written no more than 4.14.

Dawn's face at the end made it seem like she wasn't all that excited about meeting Caitlin (and Harry). So I wonder if Caitlin goes full Killer Frost again somewhere down the line and all Dawn knows her as is a villain? (Which would promptly send Caitlin into paranoia again. And that would be kind of repetitive considering the focus they put on her redemption arc, but these writers love themselves a good redux-storyline.)

This was my first thought, as well. If not that, then the fact is merely meant to throw us off when really it’s just her getting serious because the plan is coming together.

I actually really got the feeling that killer frost is gonna turn evil and work with devoe or something and since defeating devoe is probably the reason she’s here dawn knows Caitlin can’t be trusted... actually I was wondering if the reason they made Caitlin not remember what KF is doing isn’t because she’s actually already working with devoe ( like they mentionned someone giving tips to devoe or something) also the genuine smile she gets after Ralph/Cisco versus this scene isn’t a coincidence

I could see that. It would suck if she had already turned against them, though, so I’m hoping it’s a future/alternate thing.

#the flash #dawn allen #eboniangelvibez #anonymous #tatiana's thoughts #more asks under the cut #long post for ts

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blamebrampton · 6 years ago

Text

Eurovision 2018, Semi Final 2

I’m watching on replay and it’s getting late, so this is going to be as swift as possible. We open with a gorgeous montage and I really do feel like going to Lisboa after this week, were I not broke as a broke thing. The women are back and they look great. The NCIS one has come in an assassin’s cocktail dress, the saintly one is dressed like a tasteful wedding cake, the blonde has come over all black swan and the little one has picked up on last semi final’s sci fi villains theme and is cosplaying Servalan. They are doing nautical allusions again and I will continue to ignore them wherever possible. And also their jokes. They are lovely people, but I am here for the singing.

1. Norway, Alexander Rybak, That’s How You Write A Song. He’s back! With the air fiddle this time. In fact, a raft of air instruments that are animated in. Look, he’s still cute as a button and charismatic as a puppy, but this song is reminding me of Cliff Richard and that is not something I wish to be reminded of. It’s no Fairytale. ACTUAL violin has just appeared! About bloody time. He nearly transcends the song, but the song is well meh. Watch it win now. Backing dancers exist and are perfectly fine. Let’s move on.

2. Romania, The Humans, Goodbye. White dress, drink. No, it was a fakeout, the lead singer is wearing purple. She’s surrounded by band members in white with creepy white masks. And mannequins in in gimp suits, also with creepy white masks. I’ve got a real Bonnie Tyler vibe here, which is at least a step up from the last song. BIG power chords into the main body of the song. She’s exhorting the mannequins to live their best life and I cannot bear to break it to her. White dress girl is back, she’s the cellist and I respect a band with a cellist. BIG HERO NOTES! ooh, her purple frock has matching shorts. Nice. Song was OK, band was great.

3. Serbia, Sanja Ilic and Balkanika, Nova Deca. Pipes and wailing vocal intro and I am sold already. If I was up this morning, this would have had my vote. Soz, kids. Three girls wailing mystically with a man looming behind Rasputinly. Seriously, his whole outfit is mad monk. Big Taiko style drums with an enthusiastic man beating away — erm, on the drums — and now some dance beats to lift it. I have to say that I would love this on the club floor late at night when you want something a bit slower and trippier. The girls’ outfits are sort of earth goddess meets debutante. I’m not going to lie, I flipping loved this one.

4. San Marino, Jessika, featuring Jenifer Brening, Who We Are. Lead singer in a lacy red frock over undies. Two human girl dancers and a set of robot dancers. Look, Ive seen worse. Jenny B has just stonked out down the walkway rapping determinedly and it’s all … fine. It’s a perfectly fine song and there will be some young folks who love it. A robot is holding up body positivity messages, actually, the poor wee thing just dropped it, but now he’s holding hands with the singer. It’s a bit community centre talent night, but they’re enormously likeable and I wish them well.

5. Denmark, Rasmussen, Higher Ground. Sudden plunge into darkness. Faint mystic chord as of pipes over water. Dry smoke. Backlit bearded man standing on a ramp. Square sails and more bearded men. Yes, we have hit peak Viking for the night and there is chanting and stomping and more beard pomade than is probably safe in an environment with pyro. We’re singing about men laying down their swords and making their mark and it’s all very Scandirevival, but I have to confess I rather like it and they can all bloody well sing. I have a nose full of North Sea wind and my cheeks feel windbitten at the end of this song, Oh, look, a white flag of peace. Sure. Key change! Snorri Sturluson would love these guys. The boy Aussie commentator has just said they remind him of when Durmstrang walked into the Hall in Harry Potter and he is right on the money. Definitely a contender.

6. Russia, Julia Samoylova, I Won’t Break. Set design is from the cousin of whoever did Estonia, so it’s nice to have two iceberg singers in the one contest. Super dancers: ballet this time, with Russian technique, which is always lovely to see. Look, I disagree with her politics and her country, and the song’s another meh one, but I wish her well. Moving on.

7. Moldova, DoReDoS, My Lucky Day. They have brought a whole miniseries in the staging of this song. She’s seeing blue suit, but red suit behind his back. Now she and red suit are official, but blue suit is getting some on the side. Lots of comedy from the dancers in the background, who are working within a white box set. It’s silly, it’s saucy. it’s a lot of fun. It would absolutely be the theme song of a sex comedy from 1959 starring Sophia Loren.

8. The Netherlands, Waylon, Outlaw in ’Em. Steel string guitar, pulsing lights and wailing vocals. I’m sorry, I’m allergic to wailing dead dog country that uses gun metaphors, They’re very talented, just not my thing. I’m sure he’ll make a fortune in America and good luck to him.

Short presenter is down with the audience and why?

9. Australia, Jessica Mauboy, We’ve Got Love. Cards on the table, I love Jess. She is a super lovely person as well as a great singer. I don’t the song is quite as good as Dami’s Sound of Silence, but she can perform like a goddess. She is bringing her inner Beyonce with the hair and squats, and selling the lyrics, which are basically, ‘don’t give up, we’ve got love’ and look, sure, but this is a country that numbers Sia, Nick Cave and Kate Miller Heidke among its leading lyricists and I just feel we could have done better for our Jess. But she is putting it all out there, and getting the crowd in on side. The drapey bit on her minidress is a bit distracting, but who gives a proverbial, she’s a champ and she should definitely go through to the finals.No matter how absurd it is that we are there.

10. Georgia, Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao, For You. My first question is whether that is actually the group’s name or if they added a little descriptor for the booking agent once and it’s stuck. It matters not. Lovely quiet jazz piano opening, then classical vocals soaring over the top, dry ice already, and a chanting backing vocal that is somewhere between Gregorian monks and Il Divo, but entirely pleasant to listen to. The vocals are very tight and the arrangement intelligently spare and restrained in parts to show off the voices. I approve! There is a lot of eyebrow emoting, but I don’t mind that in a dark Eastern European man, it’s like queueing if you’re British or buying sausage sandwiches at hardware shops on weekends if you’re Australian. That was a good three minutes for me, I hope they get through!

11. Poland, Gromee, featuring Lucas Meijer, Light Me Up. They are wearing ridiculous hats. More Pharrel than Devo, but the sort of hat that will stand in for a personality when you’re young and nervous. Fair enough, some of them look about 14. Good performers, strong backing vocals and the sort of winning stage performance I would have loved the first 250 times I saw it. It’s not your fault I am old and jaded, Gromee, but I am. There is pyro, there is hand dancing, he is dancing with the audience, he is counting. It’s all fine. OK, bye.

12. Malta, Christabelle, Taboo. She is standing inside four big screens and now a heart is glowing against her black dress. People writhe on her screens and the world spins out from her hands. She is singing about the need to respect and support each other in a world that can be hard and cruel. I… I really like her. I’m not sure whether I also like the song or if I just find her so committed to it that I think I like it, but it doesn’t really matter. There’s a real dancer inside the screens now, and Christabelle loves us all. I love you too, Christabelle. I would totally invite you to my barbecue with Jess.

13. Hungary, AWS, Vislát Nyár. Going for the risky Lordi without masks vote, they drum their way in and then launch straight into rich, angry, headbanging lyrics that are upset about something but my knowledge of Finno-Ugric languages begins and ends with a song about little piggies. Another performance with sincerity rather than just polish, though, and that counts. CROWD SURFING GUITARIST! He’s been returned safely, bless you lovely Eurovision crowd. Angry shouting, epic pyro, lots of drumming. There we go.

14. Latvia, Laura Rizzotto, Funny Girl. Another red lace minidress, with a train this time. Actually, it’s more a shorts dress. A playsuit with train. She looks lovely whatever it is. Her song is apparently about a girl who just a wee bit of a stalker. You know you can tell a chap you like him and not just hang around waiting for him to notice you, yes? Some nice bits of tricky tempo and big hair singing. It’s not my cup of tea, but it is well brewed.

15. Sweden, Benjamin Ingrosso, Dance You Off. Brief moment to mention it is bloody freezing in Sydney tonight, for the first time in forever. This is another very polished performance from a skilled performer and it’s doing nothing for me. Might go and find a blanket for my wee toesies.

16. Montenegro, Vanja Radonovic, Inje. Man at piano, women in background, intense man in front, who is Vanja. He is upset. Possibly because some bastard has bedazzled the crap out of his suit. Nice vocals in the ballad, though. The girls are striding, the piano is staying still, which is as it should be. Ooh! The girls are playing statues. Nice. There is a lot of emoting, but the girls’ costumes and facial expressions make it a little unfortunately close to ‘help us, we have been enslaved by vampires and need you to stake us to free our souls’. Lighting and key change, but otherwise much as before. The girls are still suffering. It’s probably a complex retelling of current politics.

17. Slovenia, Lea Sirk, Helva, Nei. She has pink hair so I like her already. Backing dancers are muscular and fast, I like them, too. Do not bother any of these women or they will make you regret it almost immediately. Her frock is another curtain over undies number, but with more plastic than most others. Who can explain it, who can tell you why? Their music cuts out at one point and they get the audience to clap their beat and I am not certain that was real, but it was nicely handled. Confirmation that was a faux error on the music. Whatevs. As no-one says anymore.

18. Ukraine, Melovin, Under the Ladder. Before I hear a word, I learn he likes horses, David Bowie and Verka Serduchka, so we’re basically friends now. He opens the song in a crypt, which opens up in a cheerfully cheesy Hammer Horror way. He’s dressed like an old-school vampire and the crypt is really the inside of a giant piano at the top of a set of stairs. Clearly Dead or Alive were 30 years too early for this chap, but I am glad YouTube will let him experience them. As everyone guessed, he is back up the stairs to play the piano, soulfully. And now the stairs are on fire, and there’s random pyro everywhere. Of course there is. Vampires love fire. At least dress your backing singers as avenging villagers, who have finally arrived to free the girls from Montenegro.

And we are done! Voting is about to open. I am fast forwarding through this bit because life is too short. ESCLOPEDIA IS BACK! Hello bearded man! More clips from past songs, and an allegation that there is a link between Eurovision and fashion. That is A LIE. You know, Portugal, you’re no Sweden and the women are no Petra and Mans, but I respect that you have kept these interval bits short and cool.

I spoke too soon. Presenters are back with costume changes. NCIS is in a short blue cocktail dress, Blondie is in a pink line dancing dress, Saintly is wearing a costume from my Grade Two Tap exam and the little one is cosplaying Severus Snape. They are doing dance moves from Eurovisions past. The Little One is actually pretty funny, but you will have to download it as I am not up to describing that much physical comedy. There is a Riverdance moment. Which I believe is obligatory for every third Eurpovision.

They run through the acts again, and Denmark’s lead singer has brows you could crack nuts on. Walnuts. Not the other kind. Though he looks as though he would be against toxic masculinity, so perhaps that would also be OK.

Votes are closed. We are touring through Portugal. It is very lovely. The acts are ding the bits that have preceded every song and coming out through their doors and visiting locations and generally cocking a lot of it up, bless them. They look as though they are having fun.

Little presenter has just turned up at the Aussie table and is handing out pastéis de nata a la Oprah and Jess looks as though she is in heaven. Custard really is that good.

Saintly presenter is talking about Eurovision’s role in Portuguese politics! 1974, the year Sweden won with Waterloo, was the year that the Portuguese entry was chosen to be the signal for a revolution. It was played on the radio in the early morning as a signal to take to the streets and by the end of the day there were carnations in gun barrels.True story.

Black swan presenter has found British fans and I think they may have been on the drink, but they say lovely things about Portugal (and Jess), so well done, kids!

Bridal cake presenter is introducing the tracks from France, Germany and Italy and Little One is with them. The French performers are cute as, and sing last years’ winning song in French. Suck ups. But lovely voice. Ooh, NCIS has taken over with Germany. who looks a little like Josh Widdicombe. He’s doing a ukulele cover of Fly on the Wings of Love and I confess I liked it. The entry is nice, too. Look forward to the full version in the finals. And now it’s Little One again with Italy, who really look 100% drunk. But they have spectacular hair. And do a chorus of Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, ‘Volare! Oh-oh. Cantare, oh wo-oh-oh’ They are SO VERY drunk. Or just exhausted after sitting through 17 hours of this.

Jon Ola Sand says the votes are in. Thank Zeus!

The winners are: Serbia! Fair enough. Moldova! Excellent. They were hilarious. Hungary, because all those Norwegian Death Metal fans were there for you. Ukraine, sure. Sweden. Really? Look, you’re a lovely country. Australia! YAY JESS! Norway, meh. Soz Sasha. I love your country. Denmark, which is entirely fair. Slovenia, which is good news. Last spot goes to The Netherlands, which is fine, the country and western people need something. That’s it till Sunday morning, Which will probably be Sunday night, let’s be honest.

#eurovision #eurovision 2018

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