#joost was robbed

[clowny-lau]

Twelve points go to.. the Netherlands!

[rvr-kat]

I don't see how he was being childish and disrespectful as some comments suggest. Do you think any other competing country would be given a chance to opt out of answering a controversial question?

[blatantlyhidden]

what if i told you i'm drawing goth joost what then

[ohmywildheart]

I never want to re-live these past two days. It's been horrible, I'm glad this is over. I hope next year is better.

[yanderepuck]

When Joost goes "I love you all" I believe him

[mistray-art]

Two of the pages I did for the Plan Nine comic, based off the songs Die With Your Shades On and The Preacher from the upcoming album The Long-Lost Songs.

I wasn't joking about the motorcycle.

[solaraurora]

Epica is back in the studio for Epica 9! let's go! 🤩

[rcvandenboogaard]

De ondergang van de strijder voor het ongehoorde woord is een waarschuwing voor premier Schoof

‘Vrije gedachten’ – ik wist niet eens wat het waren, voordat de term opdook in een brief van een deel van het personeel van de omroep ‘Ongehoord Nederland’. Nou ja, ik dacht het wel te weten, maar dat was in een andere context: ‘De Vrije Gedachte’ heette vroeger het blad van de aan de arbeidersbeweging verwante vrijdenkersvereniging, oftewel ‘s lands atheïsme-club in een tijd dat ongelovigheid…

[maaarine]

Spring 2024: songs I most listened to

Angelina Mango: la noia

alyona alyona, Jerry Heil: Teresa & Maria

Joost, Apson, Acid: Disco Belgica

Omdat het kan, Average Rob: On Met La Patate (Belgian Anthem)music

[k0juki]

Wolf in sheep's clothing

Dark!Joost Klein x fem!reader

Warnings: (Joost is not famous in this!) stalking, bad behaviour, maybe paranoia? mentions of killing and mentions of dead people... NOT EDITED!

English is not my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes or errors!

Wc. over 1500

---

You always thought that you met Joost by accident. But was it really? With him you never know, and now you were pretty sure that it wasn't by accident. He is a man with charm, that's a very dangerous thing.

His blue eyes held more darkness than you had ever seen in anyone else. But there still was something in them, you just hoped it wasn't too late for him.

And even now that you aren't together, you still hoped there was some way to save him.

"By safe on your way home." Said your mother through the phone you had between your ear and shoulder.

"Yeah mom, I will. Don't worry, okay? I love you, bye." You ended the call and made your way home on the busy streets of Amsterdam. It was getting colder this time of year and you feared it would start snowing in a few weeks.

You hated that you had to lie to your mother, but it was for the best. She knew about your and Joost break up and she worried about you. And she would definitely get crazy if you told her the truth about your real parting.

It was a short trip home from the grocery store. Just around the corner, by the book store, where you always walk by. But you tried to walk here only during the day, not night. You saw in the news many times before how some doubtful people robbed other people near your apartment. This wasn't the best street to live on, but it was still your home after all.

The place you loved no matter what. Yes, it has some advantages and disadvantages, but what hasn't. And after you and Joost broke up, you tried to avoid this this shortcut as much as possible. You always thought that someone was watching you going through here, and now that you and Joost weren't together, you felt this feeling growth.

But it wasn't this unfamiliar gaze that scared you. No, you knew it very well who exactly it was. He is the one you should avoid, to hide from and to fear. Maybe you didn't know where he was, but you knew he was close.

You speed up a little and adjust your jacket around you with bag full of food in one hand and the other in your pocket. "It's alright Y/n, no-one is here, there's nothing to be scared of." You kept telling yourself, you were ready for everything.

"Y/n"

It was so quiet, you almost didn't hear it. You stopped in your tracks and slowly turned around. It was him, in all his glory. You didn't say anything. You couldn't, it was like he took all the oxygen and you just couldn't breathe.

"Y/n" he repeated and took a step towards you. But you couldn't move, it was like you were glued to the floor. Looking closer at him, you saw behind his glasses how his right eye was a bit swollen and purple around the corner. He didn't look good, in fact he scared you.

He stopped a few centimeters before you, practically breathing right in your face and you were sure, you were breathing just as hard.

"Wha..." you couldn't bring yourself to even speak properly, but you had to for your sake. "What are you doing here?" It was a simple question, but you didn't expect him to answer truthfully.

"I'm here to see you."

"No," Stepping back, you took your other hand out of your pocket, keeping distance between you and him. "You can't be here."

"Why not." This dull look in his ocean eyes wasn't the one you fell in love with, he wasn't your Joost. The one that cared for everyone so much all the time, even though he didn't have to. This wasn't your Joost that told you how much he loves you right when you woke up in the morning and before you fell asleep in his hold.

This wasn't him. This was someone else.

"You know why." Came out as a whisper. "We are done." You turned back around and continued your way home, you didn't stop even when you heard his voice calling after you.

"You can't keep doing this Y/n!"

He wasn't coming after you and you were glad, you just hoped you won't have to see him again.

As soon as you saw your apartment, you sighed and walked inside the building. He was gone.

Opening the door, you were greeted by loud meowing. It was like your cat brought you out of the trance. He was hungry and rubbed his head against your leg.

Kefir. He was a present from Joost and the name was an idea from him too. He knew how much you liked milk, so you immediately agreed. Your little nonstop meowing little Kefir.

You put the full bag on the counter after you made sure you locked the door. That night you couldn't sleep, how could you, and all because you saw something you shouldn't. It didn't had to end this way, but he had made his choice.

How can you hurt someone, let alone kill. This was twisted. Beyond disguising. And what was worse, you didn't told that to anyone, too scared to say something to someone. But you made your choice to break up with him. It didn't make you feel any less guilty, but you had to do something, anything at this point.

And you knew that if you looked out of the window, behind curtains, you would see him here standing with a cigarette in his mouth. How he was watching you every night for the past month since you broke up.

He scared you. Joost scared you.

---

You woke up later than usual, but there was no wonder. When you went to sleep, the sun was already up. When you looked out of the window, he was no longer here.

"Are you hungry?" You asked the cat and he just meowed as you made your way to the kitchen. You put kefir granules and got ready for the day.

Then you made your way to work and after the whole day, you had to say, you had enough. All those rude people and their bizarre ideas how you could do your job better.

When you went home you couldn't help but notice certain things. He wasn't here. Normally he was right there waiting in some dark corner watching over you or going behind you in crowded streets.

You didn't think much of it, thinking he finally stopped following you around like a lost puppy. You took a deep breath and stepped inside the building and made your way to the fourth floor.  As you opened the door, you knew he was there, in your home that used to be your both.

You immediately noticed, but it wasn't for your cat, because he came to greet you as soon as you opened.

You knew he was here because he didn't follow you home. It was a strange thing for him to do, but you got used to it.

"How did you get in?"

You heard his chuckle and saw him step to the light of your living room.

"I don't want you here Joost. I made that clear." You said to him feeling confident, but that didn't mean you feared him any less.

"I didn't mean to scare you that night, you know?" He admitted and made his way slowly to you.

"Do you..." You began "Do you want me dead?"

He didn't answer that, you didn't expect him to. He looked at you and after so long, you finally saw something in his eyes other than emptiness. It was like he recognised you.

"Dead?" Joost asked and tilted his head to the side. "Y/n, I don't want you dead."

"Then why do you keep doing this? Why are you scaring me? Why did you kill that guy?"

"I love you, can't you see that?"

He looked desperate and ashamed of himself. Like he didn't recognise himself too. Looking down he pulled you closer by your waist and put his head on top of yours. He squeeze your waist and then whispered.

"You don't get it, I had to do it."

"Why?"

"Because of you. For you."

Now it was your turn to be quiet. Too scared to say something. You didn't return the hug he was holding you in and he noticed. You closed your eyes as you felt them fill with tears of psychical pain and regret for someone's life they couldn't live.

This only made him hold you closer and harder. You took a deep breath and whispered.

"It doesn't have to end this way."

"No, it was always going to end this way."

---

Don't copy or translate my work. Also the picture is not mine, credit goes to owner.

A/n: idk how I should feel about this... it's not edited so... :))

[black-arcana]

SIMONE SIMONS Says Upcoming EPICA Album Is 'All About Reinventing Yourself'

In a new interview with Mexico's Euphonico, vocalist of Simone Simons of Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA confirmed that she and her bandmates have completed work on the follow-up to 2021's "Omega" album. Regarding the inspiration for the LP's first single, "Arcana", she said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it was kind of a lot of things coming together. Rob [Van Der Loo, EPICA bassist] and I are, besides colleagues, we're also really good friends. And he had a deck of tarot cards with him. And I thought, 'Just for the fun of it, let's do a session. Let me draw some cards and then you explain to me what they mean.' And it was a very enlightening experience, I guess. The song, the music was also written by Rob. And then I came up with the idea, like, 'What if I write a song that's kind of inspired by the meaning of the tarot cards and the session that I had with him and what I think it meant for me at that time in my life and where I am now?' So, yeah, it's a very — how do you say? — soul-searching kind of topic, and that's something EPICA has been writing about for quite a while, but so far we haven't touched on the tarot subject. So I thought this could be a cool topic to integrate in the new album, which is all about reinventing yourself, like a rebirth, renewing yourself. So it kind of a cool thing to draw inspiration from."

Elaborating on the writing and recording process for EPICA's upcoming album, Simone said: "I think 'Arcana' was one of the songs that came together quite quickly. We had many writing camp sessions in Holland. We rented a house where we were meeting a couple times for, like, a week in a row, and we were all just sitting together. And Rob had also kind of a clear view of what he wanted vocal-wise, and then he just let me do my thing. And it went very naturally to write the lyrics.

"The vocal recordings [for the new EPICA album] took place in the summertime, which is a good time to do so because autumn [and] winter is a time when everybody gets sick," she explained. "So, for me, it's great if I'm in the summer in the studio, so I'm in a good shape or not running a risk of getting a cold and that it affects the voice, because I did have to record albums back in the day where I did get sick. And luckily you can't hear it. I know which songs are the ones. But it was a very smooth process. We worked together with the same producer, Joost Van Den Broek, who became a little bit like the seventh EPICA bandmember. And it's great working with him. Yeah, we were diving into all the little details and we were really concentrated on making the songs as a band together.

"I think people that don't know EPICA, they don't know that we don't live in the same village," Simone added. "We live, actually, in four different countries. So for us to get together and really work on the songs is tricky. And we started doing that already for 'Omega', and we really liked that, to clear our touring schedule, because we tour a lot and to really be there together and not everybody at home in their home studios. You get a total different result if everybody's there in the same room; you feed off each other's creativity, and that's very beneficiary for the songs."

Asked if there is a main songwriter in EPICA or if everybody contributes to the songwriting process, Simone said: "Everybody gets to write songs. And some songs, I think the guys did write demo songs on their own, because we all have our home studios, and when we were together in the writing camp, then we were sparring off ideas and sending each other the files, and then everybody was working on a random song at the same time. There was a funny moment where, I think, Coen [Janssen, EPICA keyboardist], Ariën [Van Weesenbeek, EPICA drummer], Rob and I were sitting in the living room area, but kind of far apart from each other, and Coen was working on a song and he thought he had his headphones plugged in, but it was running out of the speakers. And then we said, 'Oh, cool. That sounds great. Which song are you working on?' And he was, like, 'Oh shit, you guys could hear what I was working on.' So it was everybody in different rooms. Isaac [Delahaye, EPICA guitarist] was in the attic playing the guitar, and I had to wait until very late before I could go sleep 'cause he went on writing music, recording guitars until almost one o'clock in the morning. But it was a really lovely experience. And everybody gets to write songs and everybody gets to work on those songs. So, we all put our little own salsa on the songs. [Laughs]"

"Arcana" marked EPICA's first new release since "Omega" and the collaboration EP "The Alchemy Project".

The single is now available on all streaming platforms. It also includes "The Ghost In Me (Danse Macabre)", EPICA's recently released collaboration with Europe's second-most visited theme park, Netherlands's magical De Efteling, and their much-anticipated new attraction, Danse Macabre.

The previously released music video for "Arcana", directed by Remko Tielemans, can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Spain's Mariskal Rock, Simone stated about EPICA's upcoming album: "I'm so happy with the songs, I'm so proud how everything turned out and it's gonna be another amazing EPICA album. We added a couple of new elements, but also went back to the roots, the old EPICA. And yeah, I just can't wait for people to hear this.

"I loved 'Omega' and we toured so much with 'Omega' and had wonderful experiences, but then when you reach the end of a touring cycle, you start to get itchy and feel, 'Okay, now it's time to do the new album. Can we do it as good or maybe even better than the last album?' That's always the thing we strive for, ways to renew ourselves a little bit. And we feel a very strong spiritual connection also that it's our ninth album. So there's gonna be themes around the symbolic meaning of nine, the number nine."

Elaborating on the musical direction of EPICA's next album, Simone said: "The songs are heavy. There's a beautiful ballad, a very cinematic song, very uptempo, very doomy, melancholic and amazing, amazing power riffs. It's the most epic EPICA, I think, so far. Yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm feeling it. I'm very happy with it. I'm proud of it."

In November 2022, EPICA released "The Alchemy Project" through Atomic Fire Records. The EP was co-written and performed with diverse guests ranging from extremists like FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, Niilo Sevänen (INSOMNIUM) and Björn "Speed" Strid (SOILWORK) along with melodic masters like Tommy Karevik (KAMELOT),keyboard legend Phil Lanzon (URIAH HEEP) and Roel Van Helden (POWERWOLF) to a once-in-a-lifetime song with Simons, Charlotte Wessels and Myrkur.

Just one day after the release of its anniversary reissues "We Still Take You With Us" and "Live At Paradiso", EPICA celebrated 20 years of existence live in September 2022 at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands, the same place where they played their first show (supporting ANATHEMA) back in 2002.

EPICA was formed by guitarist Mark Jansen after leaving AFTER FOREVER in 2002, and the band quickly gained attention outside their home country, taking big steps towards becoming the leading symphonic metal superpower they have long proven to be. After their ambitious debut "The Phantom Agony" (2002) and the surprisingly eclectic sophomore work "Consign To Oblivion" (2005),the road took them to new heights via their first concept masterpiece "The Divine Conspiracy" (2007) and their global breakthrough "Design Your Universe" (2009). 2012's opus "Requiem For The Indifferent", 2014's bedazzling "The Quantum Enigma" and "The Holographic Principle" (2016),cemented their reputation as not only one of the hardest-working metal bands in the business but also as one of the best. With "Omega", the final part of the metaphysical trilogy they began with "The Quantum Enigma", they reclaimed the throne without so much as the blink of an eye, amassing three million-plus streams during the first week of the album's release.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe

[medijaycre]

Me and all my friends really miss Joost from the competition he was robbed

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #36

36. FINLAND Windows95Man - "No Rules!" 19th place

Decade ranking: 143/153 [Above Nadir, below Let3]

Okay so, I promised in Saturday's post that I would try to be positive, but I may already have to rescind on that promise lol. (the "lol" is for punctuation because I definitely did not laugh.) "No rules!" stinks and has very few redeeming qualities. 🙂 Natalia was right, she WAS robbed by a Nudist Demon!

For real, does anyone over the age of twenty-five enjoy this dumpster fire? If so, fukk meee. LOVE YOURSELVES.

As I noted in my UMK review back in Feb:

I have difficulty buying into this hyperactive ball of bad taste. “Fuck The System” always feels like the go-to message of individuals that fail to fit into social structures that aren’t fully of their own shaping. For an entry that’s all “live as you like, there’s no rules!” in its messaging, these two look like they conform to just about every styling and behavioural rule associated with Zoomer culture: A total disregard for general aesthetics over a dumbed-down drone of a beat because everything is ironic and nothing is to be taken seriously.  It is a depressing take on life. Yeah sure, a bit of camp levity is welcome in this loathesome world, but any happy song that weaponizes irony like this one trends towards encouraging irresponsibility, cynicism and nihilism. Some things DO matter in life, you know? You need to afford your bills and groceries, charge your social batteries, cultivate your friendships, or else you’ll wind up living alone in a van, down by the river. But if the latter life appeals to you, then this is the entry for you, I guess. For me though; this contest is already has one Joost Klein. Let’s not add a second one from Finland.

Funny how I nailed that even before knowing the full extent of it. I ofc vastly underestimated how bad the live would be, and as soon as I'd seen it my scepsis immediately supernova'd into intense HATRED. If ONLY "Paskana" hadn't been weak as piss. Yes, the cringe in "No Rules!" is deliberate, obviously, I have a sense of humour. Having a sense of humour is why I hate it? How much "deliberated cringe" can one tolerate before concluding "nope, this is r o t t e n." Does it start with

THE BAD GUNTER IMPRESSION?

or

THE DONALD DUCKING?

or

CALLING HIMSELF" A QUEEN"?

or

screaming "SEE ME SLAYYYY" :proceeds to not slay: ?

It definitely ends in whatever this shot is supposed to be.

Humour is subjective sure enough, and Windowsninetycringeman's jokes fall flatter than a pancake á moi. Why is everything denim? Why is this THIRTY-NINE YEAR OLD MAN still engaging in toilet humour and internet speak? Grow the f up? The art lies in the execution and Finland showed neither. I do NOT like Europapa much, but having Finland and not Netherlands in the final vibes wrong on so many levels. Europapa at least had a clear plan and delivered its nonsense in contained, piecemeal doses? It was COMPETENT in what it attempted to be (A Televote Winner), not a lazy amalgation of simple-minded drunk jokes strung together over a Planet of The Bass megamix as some sort of a Hail Mary. Joost and Teemu represent the Expectations/Reality divide of Zoomer Nonsense and it was darksided that only the latter got to compete for points. But on top of that, Teemu was generally just full of shit? Hooray, an Old Millennial engaging in Zoomer Cringe who lets an actual zoomer do all the vocal heavy lifting, without giving him a single featuring credit. Yay! It's a painfully accurate depiction of what being a zoomer is like, but not an intentional one.

Also remember when Teemu said he would "try to discreetly approach the other contestants to find ways to show support for Palestine" (remember that this contest was supposed to be 'not political'?) Hm yes discreet. So discreet he declared his intentions to interviewers so that everyone would know it was HIS idea. "Discreet", human please. And the result of all that talk was...

(lol I'm SO making it sound like I care about what political standpoints any of these acts took, and I don't. But I do call out a fraud when I spot one.)

Yeah well thanks for trying, but I'd rather you hadn't. A statement you can apply to my feelings of the entry overall. Okay, we've reached full circle, time to move on to our designated palate cleanser because THIS page is a safe zone for people of good taste.

The universe where YLE overrules the results and sends THEM to ESC is the one where we head to Helsinki twice in a row.

THE RANKING

[justinsentertainmentcorner]

Rob Picheta at CNN, via The Advocate:

(CNN) — Switzerland’s Nemo won a chaotic and politically fraught Eurovision Song Contest, triumphing in a competition overshadowed by controversy and booing over the presence of Israel. The typically jovial event – one of the most watched in the world’s cultural calendar – descended into turmoil in recent days, as organizers in host country Sweden tried and failed to contain anger aimed towards Israel’s delegation. But Nemo, a favorite throughout the process, won over crowds with a stunning rendition of “The Code,” a genre-bending anthem about their journey towards accepting their non-binary identity. “I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person,” Nemo said after accepting the trophy.

“I have to say this whole experience was really intense and not just pleasant all the way. There were a lot of things that didn’t seem like it was all about love and unity, and that made me really sad,” Nemo said. Their win – the first for a non-binary person – was Switzerland’s first triumph since Céline Dion won in 1988. Malmö hosted the competition on the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s Eurovision breakout, but the event quickly found itself facing political controversy, and tension grew in the hours leading to the final. Protesters said the event was “artwashing” Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since being launched in the wake of the militant group’s October 7 attacks on Israel. But organizer the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) defended Israel’s presence, and insisted the contest is non-political – a line that became increasingly untenable as artists, broadcasters and fans clashed over the presence of Israel’s singer Eden Golan. Golan was booed by some members of the crowd during her performance, while a few turned their backs or left the arena, but more attendees cheered the Israeli performance.

And outside the arena, police surrounded a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters, keeping them separate from crowds arriving for the event as they chanted “Free, free Palestine!” and “Boycott the Eurovision.” Ireland’s Bambie Thug meanwhile told CNN in the build-up to the event that it was “the wrong decision” not to exclude Israel, as Russia had been two years ago. [...] Just hours before the event, it was thrown into added turmoil when the EBU disqualified the Dutch entrant for a backstage incident involving a female crew member. The EBU said police were investigating the incident involving the singer Joost Klein and that it would not be appropriate for him to participate. Some fans made their anger at the decision clear during the final by booing EBU representatives when they appeared onscreen.

The 2024 Eurovision contest featured controversy, mainly over Israel’s participation and Joost Klein’s disqualification that wasn’t merited.

Still, some good history was made, as Switzerland’s Nemo won it. Nemo is the first nonbinary winner of the competition’s history.

See Also:

LGBTQ Nation: Switzerland’s Nemo is first nonbinary singer to win Eurovision Song Contest

PinkNews: Nemo becomes the first non-binary artist to win Eurovision – as the UK’s Olly Alexander comes 18th

[tangerisms]

THANK U FOR THE TAG @tjarry !!!

tagging @penaltyboxmaster @mikathemad @oliviabelova @stillfertile and @keller-clayton , my beloved dash moots :3 !AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO DO THIS !!