#it’s an absolute trainwreck of a show but if ur ever bored and want to speedrun the 5 stages of grief u should give it a try <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[lannisterdaddyissues]

you’re too niceys to me lol,, I do love steins;gate but have tragically never watched season 2 bc Kurisu not being there was too </3 (I have watched the movie and ovas though so that’s something)

ACH THIS HAS BEEN IN MY INBOX FOR 3 WEEKS KAP IM SO SORRYYYY

but it’s not being niceys when i know for a fact that u have excellent taste as a fellow DA enjoyer!! trust me when i say i handpick my mutuals for their good taste and ur at the top of the list <3

also re: steins;gate 0. i can only say that while i did thoroughly enjoy it, i enjoyed it BECAUSE it was depressing (which is not something i often find myself saying about media lmao)! while the writing in it does take a drop in quality compared to the og anime, s;g0 handles the themes of coping with loss and dealing with trauma incredibly well, possibly better than any show i’ve ever watched. honestly, i was watching it more for the grief and mourning narrative than i was for the actual steins;gate narrative lol.

ofc it’s not for everyone, especially people who don’t generally enjoy sad stories or major character death as a rule, but it was definitely a meaningful watch for me.

…though at the same time i can’t blame you at all for not watching it, bc i still haven’t watched a single episode of death note after the one where L dies 💀

[elvencantation]

blue's comic recs

@ori-flails inspired me to start making a list of these since ive been reading so many comics lately <3

self-hosted:

earthsong- my very first webcomic ever, sci-fi/fantasy? art style develops so much! the artist redid the first volume after finishing, so the second might be jarring cause its back to her older style

mias and elle- i love them so much. chaotic and fun fantasy romance

inverloch- like a fantasy epic. i miss it

ava’s demon- I HAVE BOTH VOLUMES AS PHYSICAL BOOKS I AM OBSESSED. SCIFI WITH THE MOST UNIQUE ART STYLE AND IVE ADORED WATCHING HER GROW AS AN ARTIST

spindrift- beautiful fantasy, abandoned but the art is to die for

phoenix requiem- same author as inverloch, steampunk ghost mystery?

gunnerkrigg court- magic school with lots of secrets! never finished this... in fact im pretty sure its still ongoing! a fun kinda steampunk fantasy story with lots of mythology and another one where ive loved watching the art style develop!

webtoons: (fantasy unless noted otherwise, usually transmigration, time travel or general revenge)

remarried empress

go away romeo

omniscient reader

marry my husband

my in laws are obsessed with me

i am the villain- one of my first ones!! gorgeous art and i love the characters so much

for my derelict favorite- love the mc. so satisfying and a cute slow burn

im the queen in this life- absolutely badass MC reliving her life, court intrigue and politics included

from a knight to a lady- i adore this one. literal reincarnation. enemies to lovers

wished you were dead- everyones miserable and there’s so many misunderstandings but its like a trainwreck i cant look away

perfect marriage revenge- so much drama, sort of marry my husband vibes

the reincarnation of countess diabolique- very short chapters but very pretty

obsidian bride- fantasy dating show! cute so far

i thought my time was up- god i love seeing the FL fluster the ML. cute cute but also some asshole family drama. fun and beautiful

her wish to be isekai’d- silly and fourth wall breaking but cute

as if love doesn’t exist- also sort of marry my husband vibes? with switched at birth added in

reporting for duty duchess

winter before spring- not fantasy at all, cute WLW!!!

i stole the first ranker’s soul- dungeon break video game system but this time with a female MC!!

i will live the life of a villainess- isekai’d MC AND ML???

baby tyrant- cute cute but the mc is stuck in her baby body for quite awhile so if that’s not ur thing keep scrolling

adopted by a murderous duke- just what it says on the box for now! a new one, as of updating this list

leveling up my husband to the max- got a lot of politics and a cute relationship. reincarnation

who stole the empress?

mythic item obtained- dungeons and monsters suddenly invade the real world kinda story, more based on the norse gods though than DND

my husband changes every night- oh it keeps getting better! don’t trust the title though. his hair color changes and that’s it, physically

the tyrant wants to be good- oh i love some good good time travel/reincarnation angst

every rose has a death flag- gotten a bit bored of this one but cute art

new webtoons ive gotten into!

adopted by a murderous duke’s family

paranoid mage

they wish to take away my child

katlaya rising

the reason for the twin lady’s disguise

my villainous family won’t let me be

reincarnator

what the evil dragon lives for

the fish i loved

the price is your everything

what melvin left behind

ten ways to get dumped by a tyrant

the gardener in a hunter world

the reborn young lord is an assasin

not your typical reincarnation story

onsaemiro: never changing

re:trailer trash

unnie, i like you!

the worst villainess

monster princess of the snowy mountain

to whom it no longer concerns

returned by the king

you can’t kill me

the one who parried death

even when im dead

changing the genre from angst to heartwarming

webtoons that are whole ass novels in their own right: (AWAN)

castle swimmer - adorable fantasy mlm with amazing worldbuilding

suitor armor - this is starting to stress me out but i love all the characters so much aaaaa

morgana and oz - so cute so cute!

eternal nocturnal - amazing kinda urban fantasy romance

wintercicle

in the bleak midwinter - scifi soulmate kinda post-apocalyptic?

star children

lore olympus - if you don tknow what this is im surprised. greek mythology retelling with lots of trauma and fascinating storylines

blood reverie - so much happens in this one. theres a hot vampire ML tho

sable curse - i love this so much!! read like a legit fantasy novel

a spell for a smith - cute cute fluffy fantasy romance

PETS- sci-fi wlw slow burn

your throne- haven’t caught up with this yet but it’s a fascinating story with two female mcs who have some amazing character growth and are badasses in their own ways (also yes i ship them)

the touch of sunlight- a cute one shot story with like ten chapters

empyrea- might have been abandoned, gorgeous art style, steampunk mystery

made of stardust

the princess’s jewels- starts out as a beautiful reverse harem, then becomes badass

death head’s deal- episodic amazing. will make you cry

like wind on a dry branch- historical fantasy with a very very slow burn and an amazing side cast

cute episodic webtoons:

finding fiends- funny cryptid youtuber who's friends with mothman

grand ma- a new mythological creature each episode!

crow time- just cute things about crows, a few stories that last longer than one chapter

how to be a dragon- mostly one shots, like crow time

finished webtoons: (all AWAN)

muted- god this one’s a masterpiece, GL, maybe its time for my own reread i love this one sm

spells from hell- god i love this one!! kinda modern wuxia-esque. it is daily pass now for some reason but i highly recommend it

unholy blood- vampire mystery thriller with a dash of romance? its amazing

night owls and summer skies- wlw camp romance

shadow prophet- very weird but cool kinda dystopian sci-fi. unique and beautiful art style

siren’s lament- same creator as eaternal nocturnal, so gorgeous art obvi

always human- a cute scifi wlw story

tricked into becoming the heroines stepmother- cute transmigration with a side of romance

saving a mercenary unit from bankruptcy- more historical- and transmigration is a known phenomenon in this series!

eaternal nocturnal- oh my god its over what will i do now?? gorgeous modern fantasy romance

webtoons i’ve fallen behind on but are still amazing: (also all awan)

subzero

stray souls

the croaking

diamond dive

the sweetness of salt

covenant

found on mangahasu:

finished:

solo leveling- finished, the ultimate OP main character saves the world with amazing supporting cast, dungeon break system

monstrous duke- finished, AWAN, one of my favorites, i adore the MC's new family. strong enough to protect her from the monsters who birthed her

the admiral's monstrous wife- AWAN, kinda romance, a dash of best revenge is living well, and so much cool worldbuilding

angel of the golden aura- very cinderella, tropey evil sister in the most fun of ways (imho)

she no longer wields her sword- transmigrated into the body of another person in the same universe, kinda like into the light once again but less politics and more romance

I've Become A True Villainess- isekai, green hair mc!! very sweet and caring ML too i love their dynamic. fascinating world-building

still updating:

cheating men must die- THE BEST. every arc is another revenge transmigration story i. am. obsessed.

the beginning after the end- i feel like this might be abandoned? on hiatus? hasn’t been updated in forever but it’s basically a high fantasy novel. literal reincarnation. as in reborn into a rando in another universe. but with all memories intact. AWAN, also i love all the other charcters so much and the art is so pretty

who made me a princess- just finished, starts out rough character dynamic wise, has some really dramatic bits but it turns out really intricate and wholesome and i love it sm

master villainess the invincible- god i love this one i want it to update so baddddd. wuxia and there's a cute romance too!

the villainess is a marionette- beautiful unique art style, transmigration, deliciously badass and manipulative MC

millionaire divorcee- lovely and sweet sort of ‘a life well lived is the best revenge’ kinda story. also so much pretty jewelry wow

untouchable lady- time travel squared, gorgeous art and wow so much angst it's delicious. last time i checked the translations weren't so good so im hoping its better now, ive been waiting to come back to this one

death is the only ending for the villainess- transmigration into a video game with, in my opinion, too many restrictions. svsss vibes in that way but its a fantasy AWAN romance video game

into the light once again- reincarnation, AWAN, wholesome and so damn pretty. i keep drooling over the intricate outfits

I will surrender my position as empress - remarried empress vibes. love it so satisfying

villainess’s stationary shop- cute and sweet and the MC gains a coterie of adorable children defenders, but yes also revenge

my unexpected marriage- kind of a “the best revenge is living well” story. very sweet very pretty unique art style. starts a bit dark

the perks of being an s class transmigrator- one of my faves! very fun video game mechanic and wonderful art and i love our mc. some great humor too

The Reincarnated Assassin Is A Genius Swordsman- actual reincarnation into another family, also i love the weird kinda sort of sidekick. evil? maybe? either way its funny

divorcee’s dessert cafe- another cute one

author of my own destiny- author falls into her own book!

vengeful weapon, tears of poison- kinda what it says on the box

how to live at the max level- OP MC falls into a video game but this time it’s a girl! fun and lighthearted

no more nice sis- revenge that turns into cute romance honestly

with vengeance, sincerely your broken saintess- lots of plots and intrigue in this one, i love it

the newbie is too strong- another dungeon break one, OP MC with adorable animal? monster? companions

the villainess turns the hourglass- both revenge is best served cold and the best revenge is living well

my farm by the palace- super sweet and wholesome i love it

the duchess’ fifty tea recipes- finished, super cute, transmigration addressed, romance?

the soulless duchess

all hail lady blanche- gets slow in the middle, then gets cool and starts kinda breaking the fourth wall. revenge and kinda video game dynamic

the doctor is out- forgot about this one, time travel, its cute!

villainess' reprisal boutique- revenge for her mother this time! mostly kinda fantasy royal school stuff, if that makes any sense

please marry me again- time travel, so fluffy and precious and satisfying

karina’s last days- AWAN, slow burn romance

the villainess’s daughter- reminds me a bit of monstrous duke

the princess in the attic- AWAN, revenge, oof this one is a bit dark but it’s got its light and i do love it

red hot revenge- lot of politics in this one! and some slow slow burn. abandoned cause it was stressing me out

solo max-level newbie- kinda like solo leveling, but more merciless MC and just as cool a supporting cast

self-made lady- fantasy transmigration with video game mechanics

carrier falcon princess- bit weird, i feel like it hasnt updated in awhile, but fascinating premise. MC spends a very large chunk of the story as a bird

another typical fantasy romance- just started this but i already love it!! most wholesome green flag forest power couple!

[poptod]

Congrats for finishing ur exams! Hope u have time for relaxing in summer :) if u take ficreqs & this is topic ur comfortable writing for I'll have an ask: Kenny having/going thru some body image issues (it came to my mind when in season 2 he was going out w/Dylan he was fussing w/his shirt & being like is it too tight etc.)

Notes: thank u!! honestly its kinda nice to b able to project my own eating disorders on a fictional character lmao. thats twisted as fuck of me. warnings: eating disorders, homophobia, the whole rundown lmao. the reader in this is kind of dumb as fuck but well-informed so do with that what you will WC: 1.4k

+

It happened over the summer.

No one else noticed, but you did. He stopped wearing his big shirts, and the smaller ones now hung over his frame in wrinkles too big for his body. His jaw strengthened, his eyes steely, and his words remained sweet, if not awkward, as ever.

You've talked to him a couple times, but never for long, and his interactions with teenagers as popular as you are are limited and uncomfortable. On his part, he doesn't really know you personally––only as a sort of monarch to a high school. This image of you leaves him stuttering as you trap him against the lockers, surrounded by the silence of a vacant school.

"Wh - what are you –"

"Quiet," you say, glancing up to meet his frantic gaze.

The heat of his stomach moving with rough breaths warms your hands, sliding up his shirt to pull away the fabric and reveal the bare skin. His ribs are showing. From experience you know they didn't use to, but you can't deny the excitement that rushes through you at the sight of his thin waist unobstructed by clothing.

"How'd you lose weight?" You ask, withdrawing your hands from his midsection while keeping him stuck between lockers and you. You had never claimed to be anything but straightforward, almost violently so.

He shifts his weight on his feet, shoulders tensing till they reach his ears.

"Why do you care? You don't even know me," he says with a glare focused on the floor beside you.

"Your name is Khaleel but everyone calls you Kenny because people are dickbags, and you're always hanging out with that Larry kid. And I know for a fact you weren't this skinny," you say, tugging the belt of his loose pants to peer down.

"Don't," he grits out, and he writhes in your grasp, attempting to escape.

Seeing his discomfort, you withdraw your hand once more, and look him in the eye.

"I've seen things like this before," you say, boring into the soul behind his own eyes. "I've been this thing before. Tell me how you did it."

"I..." he pauses, searching your expression for any give in your request, before he gives up with a sigh. "I stopped eating meals for a week."

"Why?" You ask in a much softer tone than your previous, your fingers brushing over his unsteady hands.

"I hate how I look," he admits in a broken voice, eyes tinted red as tears form on the edges. "I'm sick of being unattractive and unwanted. I just wanted to be appealing to someone, for once."

"You're wanted," you say, beginning with a much-needed assurance. "High school is absolute ass and everything that happens in it has nearly no affect on your life. You're going to grow up, and you're going to find cities full of people who want to kiss you. The effects of purposeful starvation on your body and mind are not worth this temporary conformity to the American beauty standard."

Now he just looks confused. You sigh, exasperated by kids who don't seem to get your line of thinking pertaining to society and its expectations of adults and teenagers.

"This is such a small part of your life that can be so deeply enjoyed if you do it right. Don't ruin it with this," you say, and your own voice cracks, strained by the tension stuck in your throat. "You're never going to be skinny enough for this disease. Not even if you're ten pounds."

These words––they're all birthed by what you wish someone had told you. What would've stopped you from doing this to yourself.

The tears long building round his eyes fall at last, creating streams down his cheeks that he covers up by hiding his face in his hands. He falls into you, leaning his weight on your body, and hiding his face (which is still hidden in his hands) in the crook of your neck. Knuckles of his fingers dig into the sensitive skin there, but it is no hard task to ignore it.

You wrap your arms around the boy, holding him tight to you and running your fingers through his hair. Chest to chest, hips to hips, legs nearly stepping over one another. Muffled sobs wrack his weakened shoulders.

"I know," you whisper. It's all the sound you can manage. "It's alright. I know."

"I just wanna be wanted," he chokes out, shifting to hide himself deeper in your touch.

"You already are," you say in a hum, turning to kiss his temple.

"No," he says, shaking his head. "No, no, my parents don't even want me. No one does."

"What do you mean your parents don't want you?" You ask as a deep concern settles itself within you.

He won't pull away, and as much as you want to see his expressions, you know he needs your touch more than anything in this moment.

"I haven't seen them in weeks, they won't let me back into the house. I don't know what I did wrong. I don't..." he trails off as a new burst of tears shivers throughout his body, weakening his already frail limbs.

"They kicked you out?" You ask.

"... yeah," he says, sniffing.

His hands finally leave his tear-covered face, and he wraps them around you as tight and close as he can, shifting his head to the side to truly lie on your shoulder, with his nose nudging your neck. His hands cling to the back of your shirt, nails almost digging into your back as his tears soak your shoulder.

"Adults aren't infallible," you say, your own words now muffled as your chin rests on the crest of his head. "One day they'll realize their mistake, and they'll want you more than anything."

He goes quiet for a while, still sniffling, before he says in a trembling voice, "but I want to be desired now. I don't understand why no one wants me."

"I actually know for a fact that someone in the school very much wants you," you say without hesitation. You can't be the only one who sees how sweet this guy is.

"Really?" He sniffs and pulls away, but his hands linger on your waist. "Who?"

Your mind pulls a blank before it hits you like a trainwreck––it's you. You're the one that wants him. Maybe you are the only one to see him at all, and that realization leaves you stumped. Could you so plainly tell him? Would that be taking advantage of him in his state?

Whatever, you think, still staring blankly ahead as Kenny awaits your answer. This guy needs a pick-me-up.

"It's... me," you say in your most awkward voice since middle school. You cringe inwardly. It's like you're giving him bad news.

His mouth falls open, and he stares at you like you're the only thing to look at in the whole world.

"With..." he jabs himself in the chest with his own finger as he points to himself, ".. me?"

"That is what I just said, yes," you say, nodding.

He tries to stutter out a sentence, something along the lines of why, and you hardly want to hear what he has to say. None of it is going to be true. It's all muck about him not being worth it, and as he grows more frantic, you know you have to calm him down yourself.

Your eyes shut and you lean in blindly, having memorized his face from lunches spent staring at him from a table across the room. Lips mould to his and the words fizzle out, devolving into soft whines as the tail end of his sobbing dies out, suffocated by his first kiss.

He leans into you once more, resting his unsure hands gingerly upon your shoulders. You take his wrists, never parting from his lips as you pull him nearer, till his elbows rest on your shoulders and he holds you closer than before. When his hands tangle into your hair unprompted, you hum, fall, and pin him back against the lockers.

"Hey!"

Someone is shouting at you from down the hallway. You sigh and part from him, turning with a blasé look to meet one of the teachers.

"No making out in the hallway," she scolds but says nothing more, continuing to walk into the next room.

You turn back to Kenny and he's bright red, looking horrified with himself.

"Oh my God," he whispers out as his hands shake ever so slightly.

"It's alright," you murmur, too close to him to stand anything else. You kiss his forehead before you continue, "it's not a big deal. It's alright."

You pull away, looking him in the eye as you say, "come to my house?"

He hesitates.

"I'll make you something to eat. You don't have to eat a lot," you offer.

"... yeah," he says, and nods, looking up to meet your eye. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

[johannesviii]

Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2007

18 to 19 years old. Things were slowly starting to get better and better.

15 honorable mentions, but this is still only a top 10. What an incredible, amazing year for music. My favorite hit song for the entire decade is in there! I think everyone already knows what that is because I am, in fact, extremely predictable.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will be stuff in French. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

Second to third year of my History studies. Met a great guy. So great, in fact, that I married him in 2019 because we’re still living together 13 years later. Got my first summer job but spent my first pay on driving lessons, because, again, I needed to get out of my parents’ appartment and knowing how to drive would be good to find a job. I had a much better access to internet. I still had great grades. Things were getting much better.

I stopped making my personal lists of favorite songs that year, and I had an mp3 player, which really opened a world of possibilities even if you could only put something like 40 songs on it, at best.

I was still reading Rock Mag a lot. As you can see, the biggest controversy at the time was what was emo and what wasn’t.

We were alright.

As far as non-elligible songs go, well there’s I Still Remember by Bloc Party (and the fact I can’t put it on the list is a heartbreak and a half) and basically everything from Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails. Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation all had pretty good albums too.

Here’s a metric ton of honorable mentions first!

Snow (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - Perfectly pleasant song.

D.A.N.C.E (Justice) - Never understood why this was so popular. Still good.

Love is Gone (David Guetta) - Heyyyy another repetitive dance track, perfect.

Miracle (Cascada), Smack That (Akon), Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol), SexyBack (Justin Timberlake) and Say It Right (Nelly Furtado & Timbaland) - Still elligible songs for that year. Still great songs. Still not making the list.

Butterfly (Superbus) - I didn’t like this band, but I liked that song.

Thanks for the Memories (Fall Out Boy) - Same here basically.

Who Knew (Pink) - Not her best, but not her worst by a mile either.

Walk It Out (Unk) - Stayed in my head for days, I swear. I have no idea what the general opinion about it is nowadays. Maybe that’s a humiliating pick and I genuinely have no idea.

Crank That (Soulja Boy) - I do, however, know that the fact this very nearly made the list IS hilarious.

Alive (Mondotek) - Laugh all you want about the tektonik phenomenon, this is still a banger and a half.

Sound of Freedom (Bob Sinclar & Cutee B) - Not as good as Rock This Party. That’s the only thing I can say against it.

Umbrella (Rihanna) - This is an edit because holy shit I forgot Umbrella. It very nearly made the list too. Sorry.

And now, possibly one of the best top tens yet.

10 - This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race (Fall Out Boy)

US: #32 / FR: #71

Almost everyone got the lyrics wrong. The title is way too long. I really don’t like this band of pretentious idiots; if you’re gonna be pretentious at least write about something more grand and epic than your own navel, and go all out (more on that later). Nobody ever really cared about their supposed feud with Panic! At The Disco. And, to make matters even worse, the singer looked exactly like the terrible ex I had punched in the face the previous year.

This is still a damn good song and it’s on the list instead of any of the honorable mentions.

RIP me.

9 - How To Save A Life (The Fray)

US: #24 / FR: Not on the list

You already know I loved The Fray. This song could have apparently also made the previous list but it’s on this one instead. It was overplayed. I still loved it.

8 - U + Ur Hand (Pink)

US: #29 / FR: Not on the list

In 2002, I bought Pink’s Missundaztood album and as you might remember this was the second album I ever bought in my life, right before the gigantic trainwreck that highschool was.

The fact that about five years (that felt like twelve) later, Pink was on the other side of that trainwreck, back in my earphones, just as energetic and fun as she was before, was nothing short of heartwarming.

7 - Je Suis Un Homme (Zazie)

US: Not on the list / FR: #43

I’m not gonna beat around the bush. This song is terrifying.

Here’s a translation. Yeah, it’s about humanity destroying the Earth and itself in various ways, and it’s preachy, but holy shit, how can something be so bleak, so scary and still so catchy. It’s a mystery.

6 - Double Je (Christophe Willem)

US: Not on the list / FR: #2

When I first heard this song, I genuinely thought that was also Zazie and I was like oh wow, she’s learned to have fun again after that bleak, bleak song.

But no. She only wrote it, and it’s sung by this guy. It’s relatable as hell (”When I grow up it’s gonna be easy, I’ll finally know what I am”, “Who’s fault is it? / I’m something and its opposite / Double me”). The fact that a guy had this kind of voice and that a ton of people loved it (enough for him to win a big talent show and make this the second biggest song of the year!) also did wonders for my dysphoria, by the way.

5 - Ta Meuf (Faf Larage)

US: Not on the list / FR: #19

This is a song applying the most obnoxious rap and hip hop clichés about gangsters (and guys in general) to a woman, and she ends up terrorising all the guys and they’re realising these clichés might, in fact, be really toxic.

It’s a great song about gender roles usually seen in this kind of music and instead of being preachy, it’s hilarious, and well-written (I mean, it’s Faf Larage, it’s a given, but still). Check it out.

4 - Relax Take It Easy (Mika)

US: Not on the list / FR: #12

All hail the new king of pop. He was here to stay and what a breath of fresh air he was. This was very much his year in Europe as soon as the album Life In Cartoon Motion dropped.

My significant other absolutely loved this album and we listened to it wayyyy, way too much, and even with all the radio overplay AND the overplay when we were together, I still can’t get enough of this album.

3 - Love Today (Mika)

US: Not on the list / FR: #39

Here he is again!

If this was any other year this would top the list very easily. What were the US even thinking back then to not let this guy chart. Why isn’t Mika a huge star over there too. What is your problem guys. Do you have something against fun or what.

Anyway, here’s possibly the best comment on the music video:

I mean. You’re not wrong.

2 - What I’ve Done (Linkin Park)

US: #38 / FR: Not on the list

Aaaaaaand they’re back. And they’re once again topping my list. Lord have mercy on me. I loved them so much.

This was the first step into their modern sound, less raw, more U2. A couple of years later, when Lacuna Coil released Shallow Life, I used to joke that Lacuna Coil was trying to sound more and more like Linkin Park, that Linkin Park was trying to sound more and more like U2, and that U2 was trying to sound more and more like boring garbage and. I mean. I wasn’t wrong there.

My absolute favorite part of the song is at 2:24, when the music calms down a bit and the lyrics go “I start again / And whatever pain may come / Today this ends / I’m forgiving what I’ve done” and then the guitar explodes again. So powerful. Love it.

And now you’re probably thinking “so... Linkin Park was back, and with such a top quality song and it’s NOT your #1? After you put a Linkin Park song or a Linkin Park remix at #1 for three years in a row in 2002, 2003 AND 2004? What’s going on, Jo? Are you okay?”

Oh I’m more than okay. Friends and enemies, here comes the absolute best hit song of the entire decade and possibly of my entire life so far.

You probably already know what it is.

1 - Welcome to the Black Parade (My Chemical Romance)

US: #59 / FR: Not on the list (shame on you French charts)

I know I keep complaining about stuff I love not charting, or charting but not high enough to make any year-end list, but... How was this even allowed to chart. Why and how did it end up on the US year-end list when so many more radio-friendly hits I loved couldn’t even scratch the hot 100.

I’m not complaining at all. I’m just baffled.

Play the first note on a piano and I’m already a wreck. Heck, I’m pretty sure everyone from my generation is. It was basically our very own Bohemian Rhapsody. It still is. Where do I even start.

Oh. I know. Look at this page from a 2006 Rock Mag, it’s gold.

Yep, they highlighted The Open Door by Evanescence and praised it, and were like “this is very risky and ambitious and we’re not sure you’re gonna like this” for The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. Hilarious in hindsight.

A few months later, the same magazine was desesperately using double pages to interview them because everyone adored the album.

So in case you’ve never listened to it (I’m... not even sure why I’m doing this since I’m pretty sure even people who don’t like this type of music have tried to out of sheer curiosity), it’s a concept album about a guy (...possibly. I mean there’s a lot of trans and/or nonbinary hints in the lyrics and did you really NEED to make all of this more relatable? What the hell guys) dying of cancer, remembering all the good and the bad things that happened in his life, and since his fondest memory is seeing a marching band once as a child, death arrives in the form of a marching band. He then settles some scores with his friends and family, says his goodbyes, and... and doesn’t die in the end. He ends up surviving the whole ordeal, and the last song, Famous Last Words, is one the most incredible things I’ve ever heard. It’s so propulsive, uplifting and motivating. “I am not afraid to keep on living / I am not afraid to walk this world alone”. Holy. Shit. Sadly, it’s not elligible.

Welcome to the Black Parade is basically the centerpiece of the album, as you already know or might have guessed, but here’s the thing. It also works out of context because there’s already an entire narrative arc within this one song. It’s larger than life. It’s about death and the meaning of existence. It basically contains all the stages of grief, and the conclusion it reaches is that this guy will be remembered and therefore, he will transcend death. It’s full of rage and passion and triumph. There’s key changes. There’s tempo changes. There’s everything. It’s a rock opera in a single song. I put it on my mp3 player immediately after listening to the album, and it’s still on my mp3 player today. I never, ever removed it. I listened to it countless times and every single time, it feels like rewatching one of my favorite movies.

Best hit song of 2007 by a mile. Best hit song of the decade, hands down, and now that the 2010s are over, I’m pretty confident in saying nothing has topped it so far. I’d say “fight me” if I thought this was a controversial opinion, but it’s not even that controversial.

And that feels damn right.

Next up: Is... is this a list with actual filler? Are you telling us there was ONE mediocre year for music in the 2000s? Sounds fake but okay

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2010: 35 - 31

35. KEiiNO - “Spirit in the sky” Norway 2019

During the preshow I posited that "Spearwhil”  would be the Rasmussen but as it turned out-

I HEAR YOU CALLING ME AT NIGHT

No, Tom NOT NOW!!! I’m in the middle of my sentence. 🙄 Wait your turn Anyway, it turned out that ‘the Rasmussen’ really ought to be called ‘the KEiiNO’. Observe this Michal-esque rise up the scoreboard:

OutSzpak’ing Spzak. 😍 Let’s be honest though, it was-

I HEAR YOU CALLING ME AT NI-

- COMPLETELY DESERVED TOO.  Fred was especially great, who delivered EPIC yoik solo that I am sure won KEiiNO the televote on the spot. 😍

This particularly pleases me because I was worried Tom & Alexandra (who are both very good performers) would take the spotlight away from Fred, but no did the weakest link pre-show turned not only turn out to be the strongest one, but he was arguable the single strongest performer of finale night. SO PROUD OF THEM ANGELS. 😍 Let us all sing along

*cough* I said, “let us all sing along”

... 

(k Tom, now is ur cue)

I HEAR YOU CALLING ME AT NIIIIIGHT

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ARE DANCING

HÅ LA HEI LOI LÅ

A lot of the criticism from KEiiNO comes from your typical value-seekers who can only enjoy themselves in public if their shallow trash comes coated in a thick layer of novelty gimmicks and Deep Meaning, so they don’t have to admit to others and themselves than they tune in to have fun, like everyone else. There’s nothing wrong with novelty gimmicks & the like, but applying that standard to everything is taking it a tad too far. Sometimes, simplicity is key and that’s exactly what KEiiNO were: unpretentious, highly-addictive EDM adorned with epic yoiking. 😍 

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34. Gianluca - “Tomorrow” Malta 2013

"Tomorrow” is, to use Gianluca’s own words, a curious delight: I always, always, always forget about it. Then I rewatch 2013 as I do at least once per year, and each time it’s like a Céline Dion song IT’S ALL COMING BACK TO ME and I’m in love again. 😍 “Tomorrow” is such a clever twist of the typical love song by telling the story from the THIRD PERSON PERSPECTIVE by an all-knowing narrator. It’s world’s merriest audiobook. 😍

Naturally, this works because Gianluca has TONS of charisma. He’s one of the most magnetic humans ever on a Eurovision Stage? 

It’s hard to believe that he ages like the rest of us, I’d assume he was birthed fully formed and clothed, at age thirteen, in whatever rests at the end of a Neverlandian rainbow. 

“Tomorrow” could’ve so easily been one of those “Annoyingly Positive songs”, but because he’s so relentlessly jolly, Gianluca injects “Tomorrow” with limitless happy energy, enough to melt the polar icecaps. I am happy that I don’t revisit Gianluca between watches, as I do with others, because each time I rediscover him it’s like finding a four-leaf-clover. 🍀

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33. Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulov - “Samo shampioni” Bulgaria 2013

IMA LI MLADI? IMA LI LYUDI? TSYALO SELO DOIDE PEITE NE SE BOITE

Let us continue with one of the most glorious trainwrecks EVER in Eurovision. 😍 Of course, this being the GOD-tier the severity of wreckage (aka the Sennek Factor) is even higher than normal. In the case of “Samo shampioni” the messiness began DURING THE PRESELECTIONS. 😍 Okay you may not remember or know this backstory, so allow me to enlighten you:

Okay, so *initially* BNT selected Elitsa & Stoyan and for some reason decided to hold an NF: They introduced: first a terrible rapbomination, second a boring ethnoballad (think Iriao + percussion) and then pulled out an experimental fusion of ethnic bagpipes, polyphonic singing and dubstep, which Elitsa openly pointed as her favourite. 😍 Obviously, the audience had to choose for the latter? NOPE The audience chose the iriao-esque ballad 😍 and in one of the most hilariously open displays of riggage, LESS THAN A DAY AFTER THE NF (and after Elitsa allegedly threw a huge backstage temper tantrum threatening to withdraw LMFAO), BNT produced a statement that was all like “well. we can’t send “Kismet”. 🤓 You see... it has come under our attention that... the songwriter from Argentina (lmao) can’t agree to the copyright terms we demanded of him 🤓but that’s fine because it means we can send “SAMO SHAMPIONI” instead 😊‘ <3333333333333333333333456789 who the fuck is Christer Björkman, fucking NOBODY that’s who. And of course, once “Samo Shampioni” finally got to Malmö it was an utter disaster. 😍 I say "disaster” in the best meaning of the word though. I LOVE when countries showcase their musical traditions, but Elitsa and Stoyan do it so aggressively, BLASTING the unassuming viewer with loud af bagpipe noises, following it up with a menuet of polyphony, a clarion of “AAAAAAAAAAAA-YUUUU” and a finale of dubstep and mayumaniacal percussion. “Samo Sampioni” was loud, abrasive, a clamour of ethnic noise but by the same token such a catchy, infectuous, delightful fucking BOP. No surprise it got jurypwned but it was well worth the effort. 😍

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32. Nadav Guedj - “Golden boy” Israel 2015

Welcome to the Dicedrome, ladies and gentlemen: Introducing the man who put Israel back on the map after four straight NQs. But Nadav is more than just a Hebrew Tom Dice. 

For starters, “Golden boy” is also the first time we were ever subjected to Doron Medalie (and also Imri Ziv but lol Imri), who is at his BEST here (apart from that moment when he brusquely shoved Cesár out of the way as if he were Krisse Salminen lmfao 😍): “Golden boy” has everything I could want in an uptempo party song: Drama, catchy rhythm, limitless fun, chanting, dancing and an absolutely ridiculous premise: sixteen year old boy gets wasted after fruitlessly flirting with all sorts of femfolk on his first night out. Yes, THIS

is sixteen years old. 😍 But what I mostly love about “Golden boy” is the humour. Intentional humour is really hard to get right and “Golden boy” NAILS it for me. From self-deprecating one-liners, to that choreography to b-roll material like the sound effect of beer being pourn as Nadav gets further into the song, to of course the epic finale of “THREE MINUTES! BYE :selfie”. 😍

A wild ride which, as serendipity demands, is topped off by Nadav kicking off a strong Israeli streak that indeed ENDS up with Israel winning the contest (with a worse Doron composition :-/) and him showing us around in Tel Aviv. Funny how life works sometimes, huh? 

OKAY GOTTA GO  THREE PARAGRAPHS BYEBYE

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31. Jessy Matador - “Allez ola olé” France 2010

Did you know “Matador” is Eurospeak for “SLAYER”?  😉

Speaking of EPIC party songs, I was looking “Allez Ola Olé” up for my usual ranking purposes and this song.. is one of the most successful Eurovision songs EVER? I am not surprised, because “Allez olla olé” OWNS, but at the same time random 12th placers becoming massive off-season hits <3

(yes I am aware it’s because it was the French “Waka Waka” but that’s even more hilar, actually. What on earth is it doing in Eurovision <3)

Anyway, “Allez ola olé” definitely DESERVES all praise it can get. ETERNAL THORN IN THE SIDE OF THE EUROVISION ELITISTS <3 it is of course the anti-Proud, being all rhythm and no story, literally having no purpose other than making people dance (which I LOVE doing to “Allez Ola Olé”... within the confines of my bedroom, with the curtains closed because I have the dancing skills of drunk JarJar Binks) and honestly, what a spectacle. 😍

It features, in order of ascending awesomeness, male twerking (gender equality <3)

witty references to sex (which I don’t mind here because it’s clearly consentual, and therefore, healthy, ICKOLAS)

“Je sens le truc monter/..😏 ALLEEEEZ 😱”. 

DAM BA DAM BA DAM BA DAM DAM

A fucking HAKA????? (btw, the female backing doing a salute is also lowkey great <3)

Actually, TWO HAKA’S????

This song may not have relevant meaning but my weave flew all the way to French Polynesia. “Allez, ola, olé” is nothing less than fucking AWESOME. 

In this update, we pay our final respects to Norway, Malta and France: Read more about them below:

NORWAY

I don’t feel like this chart reflects my true feelings on Norway, because I like them a LOT more than what their average implies. They’re largely just dragged down by a few bad entries in the first half of the decade. Norway in the second half of this decade has shown a lot of promise and they are on my list of countries that I expect to win in the upcoming decade. 

MALTA

Malta are a very average Eurovision country imo. As you can see, they very often select songs that are not worth giving a fuck about, but conversely the few times that they do, they’re usually excellent happy-go-lucky gems. I could see them winning if they find that rare 1-in-50 entry (by one of their jesc winners preferably), but only if they keep internally selecting their entrant because lmao MES(s)C <3

FRANCE

This is a really good chart for France and roughly what I expected. Not my favourite country but solidly upper tier. France really have reinvented themselves post 2016 and are reaping the rewards with generally higher results. I hope it gets topped off with another win soon. They deserve it.