#fallen london cosplay contest

[the-dye-stained-socialite]

A Moment with Her Royal Highness, The Captivating Princess ~

Hello delicious Friends! Here's my entry for the Fallen London Cosplay Contest, hosted by @failbettergames ! I think my favorite part was sneaking in as many little refrences to stories as I could!

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 50.26 - Balliol, Ox vs King’s, LDN

For the second week in a row we have an Oxbridge college taking on a London college. I really would like to put together a searchable database of all the University Challenge matches so that I could come up with ludicrously niche stats about things like how many times such a sequence has occurred before. There are a few people on Twitter who have that sort of dataset for football and they come up with the most marvelously trivial coincidences (see links)

Disregarding any insights that may or may not have arisen from the analysis of such a spreadsheet, Balliol came into this quarter final having scraped past Clare College Cambridge (a satisfying triple C) in a low scoring first round match, before beating an impressive St John’s in a much improved round two performance. Like Imperial, whose Captain Kohn used the extended gap between recordings to get mentally swole, Balliol appear to have got some serious practice in. King’s, meanwhile won a pair of low scoring matches, though they did so convincingly, and it will be interesting to see how they stack up against a resurgent Balliol.

I’ve also come to a conclusion about what to call the name of the quarter final format. If you read last week’s review you’ll know I had some qualms about the use of the term double elimination since the rest of the tournament doesn’t follow those rules, so I reckon single stage double elimination double qualification just about covers it (SSDEDQ). If none of this makes any sense to you then go and heck out last week’s post, which may (or may not) help you.

Anyway, that’s enough talk of double S ded Q (as it would surely be referred to), here’s your first starter for ten (brief aside here to mention VCM’s closer on tonight’s OC, in which she said that a Michael Portillo show would be replacing The Challenge, because she may have surpassed herself in the bad jokes (are they jokes) stakes with her worst one ever)

Balliol captain O’Connor is repping a set of dungarees in a move I, as a recent purchaser of dungarees, respect to the highest degree. He just about manages to avoid the ‘minion cosplay’ combo (which I have fallen accidental victim to) of yellow jumper and blue dungs, with a sea-green set of overalls. No one else is wearing dungarees, and it shows, as O’Connor takes the opening starter with I. A religious set of bonuses gave them fifteen points, but the captain dropped five of those with a neg next time out.

This was picked up by a lackadaisical Triggs, leaning back relaxedly in his chair, but King’s could only manage one bonus on Irish sports stadiums. Another from Triggs gave them the lead - perhaps dungarees don’t make as much of a difference as I insinuated earlier on - which they extended with one more on crystallography.

Both sides miss the picture starter, but O’Connor picks up the replacement. Scholefield then becomes the first non-Triggs/O’Connor contestant with a correct buzz, an impressive one of planetary nebulas. She looks rightly pleased with herself.

A strong night for Triggs continues on the next starter, before we have what feels like a very early music question, which no one recognises. Its the Everly Brothers, and Triggs is the only one to guess, with an apologetic ‘Mamas and the Papas?’. When the bonuses come, Balliol struggle with them too. I wonder how long it will be before a simpering Daily Mail article comes out about how young people have no respect for the cultural history of the west (apart from all the ones about statues I mean).

There was a video on the #UniversityChallenge hashtag last week of a guy filming the TV as a question about Rosewood was read out. He kept repeating ‘rosewood’, ‘rosewood’, ‘rosewood’, ever more exasperatedly as the team struggled to get it, and when they guessed mahogany he grunted out ‘idiots!’. I’m always amazed by how annoyed people get at the contestants for not knowing certain things, when they know quite a lot about a lot of other things. 

Going into the music round the scores were tied at 55 each, but Balliol took the match by the scruff of the neck and would score 90 points before King’s won another buzzer race. Actually, thats not true, they did win one, but they were wrong, and only succeeded in losing five points.

With the game lost, King’s restore a bit of respect, and three starters in a row almost lets them creep into three figures.

Final Score: Balliol, Ox 145 - 95 King’s, LDN

A surprisingly low scoring match, with flashes of brilliance from both teams. But both will need to do better if they are to win their next matches and move onto the next stage of the gruelling SS DED Q format.

If you want to read about the SS DED Qs from 2015-16, you can do so on Patreon, where I’ve been writing retro review for that series. Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next week

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=16447756&fan_landing=true

[blamebrampton]

Eurovision 2018 final

And now, 12 hours after the rest of the world, and startlingly unspoiled, I hit the finals! I’ve not been recapping the touristy bits in the ‘postcards’, but if you’re thinking about visiting Lisbon, or Portugal in general, get to it; it’s utterly gorgeous. I’m hoping for somewhere in the top 10 for Jess, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Denmark win. They won’t. It’ll be someone awful, I just know it.

We open with fado music and it is pretty bloody splendid: melodic twanging steel strings and a heart-rending woman’s voice singing a song that is almost certainly of woe but resilience (my Portuguese is terrible). There are no unattractive people in this broadcast, it should be mentioned. Yet another reason to visit!

Another hot fado female vocalist, this time with drummers. She sounds more political, but again, I have no idea. I do know that Portugal is a country that has an amazing tradition of vocalists and narrative music, and I think we are seeing it shown well tonight. I like this a lot better than the usual blather from presenters. Though I like the women, they are admirably quick at moving things along.

And now some local DJs. Look, it was never going to stay glorious. Flags go past. There are many. We are welcomed to the grand final and the crowd goes wild. Hello contestants, I’m thrilled you get a moment in the sun before the horror of the contest descends. They are all smiling and lovely and I hope they all go on to have happy lives. Denmark are actually amusing! Bless their hairy hipster hearts!

You know, I can honestly say that everyone I’ve heard in this final can actually sing and on that basis alone, 2018 is already a good year.

The presenters are back. NCIS is dressed like a Goth prom queen, Blondie is wearing a beaded shower curtain, Saintly is cosplaying a tall Kylie Minogue (I loathe the fact I need to specify Kylies these days) and Little One has come dressed as an entrant from Greece. I actually know all their names now, but they’re longer, so it’s nicknames for me, I’m afraid.

I’m not going to repeat performance notes from the semi finals, but if you’ve missed every other piece of Eurovision commentary, a. Well done! b. What the hell are you doing here? c. I’ll let you know if anything new happens.

Ukraine, Melovin, Under the Ladder. Now I’m not focusing on the madness of the staging, I can mention that he and his backing singers are selling the hell out of this one. I like it a lot better the second time around, and the vocals are tight. It’s still a totally nuts Dracula moment, but if it wins I will not be at all upset.

Spain, Amaia y Alfred, Tu Cancion. Arena full of people holding up their lit phones. Young people singing to each other from opposite sides of the stage. It’s all very sweet. Now they are holding hands. Now they are hugging. Keep it nice, kids, you’ve got two minutes to go. They are lovely, but so wholesome that I feel listening to this song represents 100% of my daily intake of Vitamin C and roughage. Nice climbing crescendos and key change towards the end. Big lights, earnest singing into each other’s faces… this is a song that speaks of carefully studied microphone angles and breath mints. Bless.

Slovenia, Lea Sirk, Hvala, ne! This is the one that stuck with me since I last saw it, but more for the snappiness of the staging and performances than for the song itself. They are enormously charismatic and the choreography is very well put out there. She changes it up tonight and tells them to stop the music and has the audience sing the refrain with her, which I really liked and thought much more successful than the fake cut in the semis, even if the chap in the audience the camera cut to was clearly wondering what the hell was happening and whether he had accidentally eaten the wrong brownies before he headed out tonight. I’m keen on these girls and hope they do well!

Lithuania, Ieva Zasimauskaite, When We’re Old. Sweet whispering song girl is back. She remains sweet and whispery. She and Joanna Newsome would make a lovely duet. Her voice is genuinely delightful, though there is a little more assist in the reverb than she needs: makes it all sound a bit more Jared Leto than is optimal. But I quibble, she is a delight. Her husband comes to join her at the end again and she seems deeply moved. Bodes well for their future.  

Austria, Cesar Sampson, Nobody But You. I resent Cesar’s bad T-shirt more than in the semis, because he is a hot young man and we should be allowed to enjoy him in all his loveliness and that plasticky bit is very distracting. The backing vocals in this track are probably the best in the whole contest, and he has a beautiful voice that I hope to hear more of. In a perfect world, John Legend writes a better version of La La Land in which this chap and his best friend come to LA to pursue their dreams and both succeed without hurting each other. It’s actually a decent song, it just sounds like a lot of other decent songs. But his performance is something very special.

Estonia, Elina Necheyava, La forza. She is lovely, her frock is lovely, her voice is lovely, this song is not going to win. Which is a shame, because I would like to see the ECS back in Tallinn. If they had a European Frock Contest, this would be douze points from everyone.

Norway, Alexander Rybak, That’s How You Write A Song. He is a super chap and I hope he does win Eurovision twice, but if he does it with this song, I will be looking at the countries that vote for it with thinly veiled disdain. This is the sort of song that would have had Paula Abdul dancing with an animated cat in the 1980s. But I will say that it is lovely to have him back so that Nigel Kennedy will finally have to give up any idea that he’s the hot young man with the violin. The crown, which was never really Nigel’s, is clearly Alexander’s.

Portugal, Claudia Pasqoal, O Jardim. Pink hair gets an extra 10 points from me to start with. Sounds like London Grammar, in both tune and delivery, but since I love them, that’s fine. Her frock is a nice wrap-around black number with thigh split. She’s joined on stage by a woman who looks a bit like Kirsten Stewart, and the two of them are in fact much cooler than practically everyone else in the stadium. That was a nice soft song that you would wrap up a big night or start a romance with and I liked it a lot. I want to see it in the top five, but not winning, because it’s too expensive to do this two years in a row!

The presenters make a knowing reference to the queerness of Eurovision and it comes off as an inside joke not an arch piece of commentary, and this is the point at which I accept that I have fallen for their charms and will never be free of this annual horror.

United Kingdom, SuRie, Storm. We’ve done something unusual this year and sent someone good. It won’t help, but it’s a pleasant change. More pink hair, with a sort of Annie Lennox hair and jumpsuit arrangement. I hate to say this, but this song is actually pretty damned good. What the hell? We’re usually awful. The staging is admirably simple and the performance is a cracker, and there is some fuckwit invading the stage to shout something and WELL DONE YOU, YOUNG WOMAN, you held that together amazingly! She is in fact bringing it even more strongly, even though the incident clearly affected her. How amazing is she! ‘Some absolute cockhead’ is the Australian boy commentator’s description of the stage invader and he is 100% on the money.

They skip to the green room with Little One while they deal with the stage invader situation and she is talking to vampire boy from the Ukraine who offers to bite her neck and talks about his personal brand. If he doesn’t have 100,000 followers on Instagram and a YouTube ‘presence’, I will be very surprised.

Back to the show!

Serbia, Sanja Ilic & Balkanika, Nova Deca. This song remains as OTT and epic as in the semis with costumes and wailing mysticism that puts me in mind of nothing so much as one of those epic episodes of Xena that your girlfriends used to trot out in the 90s to talk about when lesbian subtext becomes text. It’s classic Eurovision and if it wins I will be thrilled.

Germany, Michael Schulte, You Let Me Walk Alone. It’s apparently a song to his father, who died when he was young, and it’s got a hell of a dose of the Ed Sheerans, from the hair to the singing style. It’s saved from the annoying side of the Sheerans by the personal message, which comes through strongly. Though it’s a little unfair in the ‘you will never know, because you let me walk this road alone’, unless his father took his own life. Just saying. Exactly the right mix of sentiment and ten-year-old newness that could win, thanks to a very strong performance.

Albania, Eugent Bushpepa, Mall. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this song in the semis and I am still surprised about it now. It’s everything I would usually mock, including a safe 80s chord sequence and handclapping, but it somehow works superbly and he looks a little nervous, yet has an actually superior classic rock voice, instead of the standard ‘thinks is great, is OK’ frontman. I think the dungaree drummer, who has done both of his straps up tonight, has won me over.

France, Madame Monsieur, Mercy. It’s political! And about refugees. And my French isn’t good enough to follow it entirely, but she is all the children, her name is Mercy and she is fleeing war and is alive and she needs our help. It’s actually a cracker of a tune, and the Jean-Paul Gaultier outfits are the classiest of the evening. Far too attractive for this shindig.

Czech Republic, Mikolas Josef, Lie to Me. I think what troubles me most about this song is that I keep expecting Will Smith to appear. Much as in the semis. They are perfectly good, it is just not my cup of tea. Nice little flip at the end, and the dancing is excellent. Bless em.

Denmark, Rasmussen, Higher Ground. I’m putting this out there: I think I want these guys to win. But it’s entirely based on the fact they are singing about pacifist vikings and I have mentally built them up into a rejection of toxic masculinity in favour of human decency and manliness meaning things like facing your fears and having integrity, which I can get behind. If there is a MeToo/Weinstein moment for any of these chaps, I’m coming after them with an axe. I do like a Wailing Medjeval Epic though.

Australia, Jessica Mauboy, We Got Love. Jess is gorgeous and she loves a crowd, which is good because the crowd loves her. Every lovely thing I said about her in the semis remains true. Alas, it also remains true that this song could be better. But it’s grown on me. We may be powerless to bring down the US government, and its lesser evils the UK and Australian governments, but we’ve got love and regular elections, and New Zealand, and it will be OK in the end. She’s a champion and I hope she makes the top five!

Saintly and Blondie are back mocking social media and rightly so.

Now NCIS is eulogising the first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, Lys Assia, who died at the age of 94 in March. For five seconds. There’s efficient and there’s cold, ladies.

Finland, Saara Aalto, Monsters. This is the other song I want to win, though I have to confess I wouldn’t mind if the UK won, after SuRie’s amazing turn. But Saara’s voice fills the stadium and sails up and down the scale. Still with the Annie Lennox Bondage Backup Dancers, which makes two tributes to Scotland’s finest Oscar winner in the one show. I’m slightly less convinced by the song the second time round, but the performance is great. Her backwards death dive at the end is a cracker!

Bulgaria, Equinox, Bones. This song remains all about the girl’s Heey-yays for me and nothing has changed. It’s another one that is very good, just not for me. Cup of tea time! Good lighting at the end. T2’s Turkish Apple is definitely the right tea for tonight!

Moldova, DoReDoS, My Lucky Day. Kids, I am all for polyamory, but it should be based on mutual communication, not sneaking about. It turns out well for them, though, and it’s a fun song.

Little One is here with the audience and everyone is Very Drunk. I think she is trying to pick up a tall British girl, and I like her even more.

Sweden, Benjamin Ingrosso, Dance You Off. This is a favourite with the punters but not with me. Soz, Ben.

Hungary, AWS, Viszlát Nyár. It’s the lovely Lordi Lite lads and while I respect his vocal cords for surviving the sustained abuse, I am skipping through this one as it’s getting late here and there are hours of judging to go.

Israel, Netta, Toy. The Aussie commentators have mentioned that she would have broken a stage invader and I think this true. She looks as though she would have enjoyed it, too. I feel you, Netta. The chicken bits are a bit distracting, but she sells the hell out of this and it’s bright and bouncy. Another one I won’t mind winning. Also, more pink hair. I was clearly two years ahead of the curve on that one.

The Netherlands, Waylon, Outlaw in ’Em. Apparently, Waylon is cool with people who don’t really like country. Which is good news. I do like country if it’s Johnny Cash or Dolly Parton, but yeah, on this one we’re just going to have to quietly share a beer and talk about something else, Waylon. You’re a good chap and your band is excellent, so if you win I won’t be upset, even if I still don’t like this song. It’s just my taste rather than there being anything objectively bad about it. Hang on: turns out the band are the dancers. They are going off and taking the piss in epic quantities and I like it quite a bit more after that.

Ireland, Ryan O’Shaugnessey, Together. Apparently China cut the broadcast of this one due to the gay backup dancers and Eurovision cut their contract in response. Well done, Eurovision! This song remains sweet and beautifully performed, with the backup dancers really carrying the whole show. But there’s not a lot to it aside from the lovely staging.

Cyprus, Eleni Fouriera, Fuego. Another one I will not be surprised if it wins. Spectacular combination of song and performance, with fabulous backing dancers/singers (again, the best combo set). If Beyonce came to Eurovision in disguise, this would be her performance, and I am reading the whole thing as a tribute to Queen Bey, which is pretty easy given that practically every aspect of it references her. She is nervous as hell at the end, but the performance was stonkingly good.

Italy, Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro, Non me avete fatto niente. Written in response to the bombing in Manchester, this is a strongly serious track from a country that can often be flippant at Eurovision and in the first thirty seconds we see the passionate political engagement that explains the entirety of Italian politics. It’s a strong piece and well performed, including wailing hero notes  towards the end and overlays in the various languages of Europe declaring defiance to terrorism. I think it might be in with a shot.

Presenters have had a costume change. NCIS is Morticia Addams, Blondie is Meryl Streep circa 1988, Saintly is Sophia Loren circa 1968 and Little One has come as a Glomesh handbag. Oh, holy moly, it’s recap time before the votes. We learn that SuRie was invited to perform again and has decided not to. Bless her toughness! I am fast forwarding through this as life is too short.

Blondie’s cleavage is plunging to her belly button and I am just impressed by the amount of double-sided tape holding that outfit together. The interval act is local musicians, who are splendid, but I need to get a few things done while I listen, so you go and download it from the official site. Worth your time!

Another recap, more fast forwarding. Australia’s commentary team are doubling as the royal wedding commentators and I think I might actually catch that on SBS as it would be a bit of a giggle. It’s Australia’s multicultural channel and I love it because it’s full of international films and news, but I have an American friend who refers to it as ‘That channel where your government gives you free soft porn.’ Mate, it’s Swedish film and you just need to expand your horizons!

Blondie is with the audience and she has found some Irish people who are delightful. And now they are doing Portuguese pop culture things that go over my head, and recapping Junior Eurovsion, which is like Senior Eurovision, but with more sedate images and sober contestants. The Junior winner sings a little of last year’s Senior winner, which is apparently a new condition for entry into Lisbon as every man and his dog as been trotting it out. Saintly presenter might be a little drunk, you know.

NCIS and Little One are in the Green Room, introducing Salvador Sobral, last year’s winner, and he’s looking a bit healthier, which is good! Still as fey as ever, but find your schtick and stick with it, I say. Lovely new song, you should download it, too, as I need to put a load of dishes on, so won’t be describing it. Ah, he’s had a heart transplant. Excellent! That is good news!

He’s joined by the legendary Caetano Veloso and they (Caetano for the most part) sing last year’s winning song and it’s quite lovely. Salvador is visibly moved by the whole thing. Where is his sister? Apparently he’s been slagging off some of the other songs and it’s caused an upset, but seriously, Sir Terry Wogan made a career out of that and there are thousands if not millions of us who do it on an amateur basis, so why should he miss out?

Little One has some fans pretending to do some last-minute voting, and she has been the hardest working presenter. I hope that tall British girl she was chatting up earlier has a cold bottle of gin and a big cake for the two of them later tonight, she’s earned it!

Jon Ola Sand says votes are ready to go! Jury votes first.

Ukraine first: 8 The Netherlands, 10 Israel, 12 France.

Azerbaijan, 8 Hungary, 10 Serbia, 12 to Albania.

They are FLYING through this.

Belarus, 8 Norway, 10 Austria, Australia is nowhere at the moment, 12 to Cyprus!

San Marino, 8 Sweden, 10 Germany, 12 to Israel. He’s chattier than the others.

The Netherlands, 8 Sweden, 10 Austria, 12 Germany.

FYR Macedonia, 8 Serbia, 10 Cyprus, 12 ESTONIA! YAY

Malta, 8 France, 10 Italy, 12 Cyprus, which is starting to pull ahead. Australia still nowhere.

Georgia, 8 Austria, 10 Estonia, 12 Sweden, who take the lead. Meh.

Spain 8 Austria, 10, Israel, 12 Cyprus. UK still on 0, which is for once entirely unfair.

Austria, 8 Sweden, 10 Germany, 12 Israel, who pop in front. It’s a big battle tonight!

Denmark, 8 Austria, 10 Australia, THANK YOU! 12 to Germany.

UK, 8 Bulgaria, 10 Israel, She cracks onto Jon Ola and I respect that, 12 Austria. Not a sausage to Oz, you bastards.

Sweden, 8 Australia, 10 Austria, 12 Cyprus.

Latvia, 8 Estonia, 10 France, 12 Sweden.

Albania, 8 Bulgaria, 10 Cyprus, 12 Italy!

Croatia, 8 Moldova, 10 Israel, 12 Lithuania. The UK has 4, which is not enough, but there we go.

Ireland, 8 Germany, 10 Bulgaria, 12 Cyprus. Nothing for Oz. I’m reading this as a protest against Peter Dutton’s appalling treatment of refugees.

Romania, 8 The Netherlands, 10 Spain, 12 Austria.

Czech Republic, 8 Sweden, 10 Ireland (nice!), 12 Israel.

Iceland 8 Israel, 10 Albania, 12 Austria. Denmark is down on 7, alas.

Moldova 8 Bulgaria, 10 Israel, 12 Estonia!

Belgium, 8 Sweden, 10 The Netherlands, 12 Austria, which is terrific given how good his voice is!

Norway, 8 Austria, 10 Sweden, 12 Germany.

France, 8 Germany, 10 Australia, Merci!, 12 Israel. They and Austria are creeping ahead.

Italy, 8 Denmark, 10 Germany, 12 Norway.

Australia, 8 Estonia, 10 Germany, and Ricardo Gonzales’s Aussie Portuguese accent is a cracker. 12 to Sweden and FUCK YOU ALL the Australian jury. This is how we get Turnbull and Dutton.

Estonia, 8 Cyprus, 10 Lithuania, 12 Austria.

Serbia, 8 Italy, 10 Germany, 12 Sweden.

Cyprus, 8 Italy, 10 Moldova, 12 Sweden and you are all clearly drunk. The jury votes are all over the shop.

Armenia, 8 Israel, 10 Moldova, 12 Sweden.

Bulgaria, 8 Czech Republic, 10 Lithuania, 12 Austria.

Greece, 8 Sweden, 10 Moldova, 12 Cyprus. I typed that 30 seconds before she said it. No need for correction.

Hungary, 8 Austria, 10 Albania, 12 Denmark! YAY! The Vikings go off! They are chuffed.

Montenegro, 8 Moldova, 10 Albania, 12 Serbia. Big surprise!

Germany, 8 Ireland, 10 Austria, 12 Sweden because they are all drunk. But Austria is still ahead!

Finland, 8 Sweden, 1o Bulgaria, 12 Israel.

Russia, 8 Israel, 10 Sweden, 12 Moldova; look, they were fun.

Switzerland, 8 Lithuania, 10 Estonia, 12 Germany.

Israel, 8 UK THANKS, 10 Sweden, 12 Austria.

Poland, 8 The Netherlands, 10 Germany, 12 Austria.

Lithuania, 8 Sweden, 10 France, 12 Austria.

Slovenia, 8 Cyprus, 10 Austria, 12 Sweden.

Portugal, 8 Austria, 10 Albania, 12 ESTONIA! Oh, Portugal, you are so delightfully odd. I love you guys.

That’s it for juries, but we have the popular votes to go. Australia currently in 12th, Denmark and UK nowhere, which is cruel on both counts. Austria in first place, which I think is down to a great performance. Sweden second, probs down to the drink. The Israel song is third, which I think will go up with the popular vote.

Jon Ola Sand is back. He says the public votes are exciting. Here we go! They are reading them out from lowest to highest.

9 to Australia. Fuck the lot of you. Unless that’s a protest against Australian refugee policy and black deaths in custody, in which case, fair enough. 18 to Portugal and Spain 21 Sweden YES! Good! Sorry, I mean, Oh well. 23 Slovenia 23 Finland Rude. Should have been more. 25 UK Very rude! Should have been lots more! 32 The Netherlands 58 Albania A joke. The people are morons. 59 France Ripped off. 62 Ireland 65 Hungary 66 Bulgaria 71 Austria NO!!!! WOE!! Sorry, mate. You were triff. 75 Serbia Should have been more. 84 Norway 91 Lithuania 102 Estonia 115 Moldova 119 Ukraine Fair, they deserved some points for that show. 136 Germany Surprised it wasn’t more, he’s rather good. 180 Denmark I’m good with that one. They are stoked. 215 Czech Republic 249 Italy and they are also thrilled. 253 Cyprus I think she is both heartbroken at not winning and thrilled at not bankrupting a Cypriot TV station with the cost. ISRAEL HAS WON! (though I missed how many popular points they got. More than 253)

(This will be a tiny bit awkward if the whole Iran war thing kicks off. Maybe this will be the kick up the bum that Netanyahu needs to pull his head in. I would very much like my friends in Israel to have fewer things to worry about, so not starting wars seems like an excellent idea.)

Netta is thrilled, the ladies are a little drunk, Jessica Mauboy has snuck off to party with the Irish mob and fingers crossed Mr Austria’s phone is already running hot with people who want to put that glorious voice with better songs. But keep the backing singers. They were ace. Netta sings us out and we are DONE for another year. Goodnight, Eurovision. Why can’t I quit you?

[xbooksandtea]

92 Question Tag

Tagged by @thespiritualmultinerd​ - thank you! :)

 THE LAST: 1. Drink: Water (boring, I know) 2. Phone call: I talked to my aunt about a job I'm applying for 3. Text message: "as far as faces can be considered hot", answering the question whether I thought a picture of Harley Quinn from the PS4 game was hot 4. Song you listened to: Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas - the Comic Con Version 5. Time you cried: I cry pretty often, but last time was probably while reading Magnus Chase Hammer of Thor. That's my new favourite book. Words cannot describe how much I love it.

HAVE YOU: 6. Dated someone twice: Yes, very big mistake if this is referring to dating the same person twice 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: Hmm... it depends on my mood actually whether I regret it or would do it again. Currently, I'm regretting it, but that could change within a few hours so it's not that big of a deal 8. Been cheated on: Several times 9. Lost someone special: My grandpa died last year. I also lost some close friends, they aren't dead but they kinda cut me off. 10. Been depressed: I am diagnosed with depression, so yeah 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: I only throw up after eating paprika. Funny is, I once ate paprika then drank and threw up. So basically yes, but I never threw up from drinking only alkohol.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12. Black 13. Purple 14. Orange

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. Made new friends: I guess :) I'm also back in touch with a few old friends, which feels pretty amazing! 16. Fallen out of love: No 17. Laughed until you cried: Yes! :) 18. Found out someone was talking about you: Yeah but she always does that so *shrugs* I don't care anymore. 19. Met someone who changed you: I cut someone off who changed me in a negative way, does that count, too? 20. Found out who your friends are: No but they confirmed it (sorry for having to steal your answer here @thespiritualmultinerd) 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Yes

GENERAL: 22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: I have like 5 and I know every one of them 23. Do you have any pets: I had three guinea pigs once. Loved them. They passed away some time ago though. 24. Do you want to change your name: I never really thought about that, so no I guess?  25. What did you do for your last Birthday: Had a party with a few friends. I now have pink handcuffs and Draco's wand 26. What time did you wake up: around 9:50 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Reading the Percy Jackson / Kane Chronicles Crossover 28. Name something you can’t wait for: Sophie and I going to London!! Also the next Magnus Chase book 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: Yesterday evening before I went upstairs 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: Get rid of my depression and/or make myself more motivated to do stuff somehow 31. What are you listening to right now: Nothing because Youtube won't load... *cries* 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Surprisingly, no 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: An old classmate of mine I keep seeing when I go to the city 34. Most visited Website: tumblr

LAST QUESTIONS

35. Mole/s: I have many, but one is directly underneath my navel and kinda looks like a piercing

36. Mark/s: A burn scar on my left thumb where I was almost-fainting while straightening a cosplay with a hot iron, some up my tighs

37. Childhood dream: I always wanted to be an author, a dream that stayed with me until today

38. Haircolor: brownish black because I'm too lazy to re-dye it - my natural colour is a weird shade of brown

39. Long or short hair: short

40. Do you have a crush on someone: ALEX FIERRO FROM MAGNUS CHASE

41. What do you like about yourself: That I've grown to accept my appearance and became more positive about myself during the last few months

42. Piercings: One in each earlobe

43. Bloodtype: I don’t know

44. Nickname: Some people online call me Nico but most people just go by my real name

45. Relationship status: CRUSHING ON ALEX FIERRO but single.

46. Zodiac: Cancer

47. Pronouns: Hmmm... I'm okay with any pronouns, but I prefer she or he. I don't really care, just use what you feel most comfortable with

48. Favorite TV Show: Supernatural probably, but Merlin was amazing as well

49. Tattoos: I kinda want a small quote or something on my wrist or ankle

50. Right or left hand: Right

51. Surgery: Had one for hernia when I was younger, but I will have another one on Wednesday - for getting a tooth that doesn't seem to want to come out of the flesh into the right place. I'll be fully conscious while they cut my fucking jaw open. I'm scared for my life.

52. Hair dyed in different color: Black ^^

53. Sport: Riding but I generally don't like sports (I'm a couch potato)

55. Vacation (this year): London in a few weeks - I haven't been on vacation for years and I am pretty excited!

56. Pair of trainers: black fake Chucks

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: Pancakes and chocolate 58. Drinking: water, lemon soda, grapefruit-flavoured beer, vodka 59. I’m about to: Start writing a thing for a contest that is due this week... oops 61. Waiting for: Magnus Chase Ship of the Dead 62. Want: For Magnus Chase and Alex Fierro to hook the fuck up 63. Get married: Maybe... 64. Career: Author, hopefully

WHICH IS BETTER 65. Hugs or kisses: Both! Can I have both please? 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes :) 67. Shorter or taller: Shorter 68. Older or younger: Younger 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: Arms 71. Sensitive or loud: Depends on the situation and my mood! :) 72. Hook up or relationship: Hmm, that depends on my mood as well 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant because I like to stay out of trouble

HAVE YOU EVER: 74. Kissed a stranger: No but wanted to, especially when I'm drunk 75. Drank hard liquor: Yup yup 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: I only use contact lenses for cosplay and I don't have glasses, so no 77. Turned someone down: No because nobody is ever into me 78. Sex in the first date: Nope, only made out (we've known each other for a few years though so that's fine) 79. Broken someone’s heart: I don't think so...? 80. Had your heart broken: Yeah 81. Been arrested: Nope 82. Cried when someone died: I cry everytime someone close to me dies 83. Fallen for a friend: Questioning

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. Yourself: Sometimes 85. Miracles: Tough one... I sometimes hope for miracles, but I don't think I really believe in them 86. Love at first sight: I believe in attraction at first sight or bond at first meeting, but love is something that needs to grow over time for me 87. Santa Claus: ... *cries* 88. Kiss on the first date: Sure why not 89. Angels: No, but I wouldn't mind if the Supernatural angels existed

OTHER:

90. Current best friends name: "Current" sounds so harsh... Sophie, she's been by my side for many years and I hope she stays there for many more 91. Eyecolor: Brown, sometimes green depending on the light, sometimes honey-coloured. I like them. 92. Favorite movie: HARRY POTTER

tagging: @many-fandoms-many-tears, @jdragon122, @kreativ-phase, @meetmeatgrimmauldplace, @magicalmischel, @sammy-spirit-winchester

[the-dye-stained-socialite]

i FULLY intend to submit multiple entries if time cooperates btw