#like man i know nothing about Malta !!!

[madizenmadi]

i hate writing for hetalia when i need to use other characters that either barely exist in canon or don't exist at all, so I have to make up names and personalities and looks and everything for them but also i don't want to get information wrong but also i don't wanna research for DAYS for this ONE scene and ahHHHHHHHHH

[herejusttosufferalong]

RIPPED FROM DISCORD - NO CHANGE

I don't think Nic and Luke have talked, seriously, since JF in NYC. I think there may have been a few check ins but nothing of note.

I think she was caught off guard by papgate and was PISSED, not just about the pics and the fallout, but about Luke's total lack of accountability in the situation.

He nor his team did much of anything while he was facing an obscene amount of backlash from the fan base.

They simply ignored the elephant in the room.

We first saw Nic's irritation with the passive aggressive post four days after the release and then ending with the SATC TT.

We know she helped his ass out with the Brazil pic to post after the JF interview. I think she said goodbye there.

She did more to help him than he was willing to do for himself or anyone else.

Things calmed down with Paris but then the games picked right back up in LA, it's the only way children know how to entertain themselves.

Nic was silently watching all of this while hanging out with JD.

July was a MESS all around because not only do you have the GQ event and Italy but then you have DM so far up Nic's ass she is covered in shit.

Luke and Nic never seemed further apart.

Biggest evidence for this was the July 16 post, a post marking their 5 year journey and Mr. bare minimum comes through with "Wowwww 🙏🏻"

She never liked the comment btw, can't blame her though.

Papgate 2.0 happens, sus AF.

A week or so later we get shade post about the paps from Nic disguised as a BDAY post for CW. I

It is between that post on Aug 10 and the Col/Pen post on Aug 22 where I believe Nic and Luke started talking again. What all was said, who fucking knows but must not have been good enough. Because we get the PAL post, clearly friendzoning Luke with an even more damning grid caption, "I thought I already shared this but I hadn't so here you go now it's all yours!"

There is a lot to unpack from that. This is clearly a photo taken 18 months prior and she had no relevant reason to post it. I think she was going through and clearing shit out. It's the "...here ya go now it's all yours!" that struck me odd. I know some have speculated that she was just referring to the photo. I believe she was referring to the man.

And I think she was talking to her number one fan. Who up until that point had been pretty quiet outside of her Aug 18th post, "Uncanny Valley of the Dolls."

Whatever Luke and Nic talked about, I think she gave him some things to think about. That coupled with the fact that something is/has been afoot with JD so she may not have been in a place of full availability for Luke, he decided to return to the mess he made.

I think the festival pics and the fact that Jake tagged along to Malta might be causing Luke to really start to think.

It ain't a great look when a 24 yr old man comes in, looking like he has his shit more together than you.

[pumpkinsy0]

fuck it, more Purly Haitian vacation thoughts:

On the first day, Ponyboy got sunburnt to all hell. Yeah he was made fun of for it, but whatever they gave him wasn't regular aloe, it was better.

Runs out of clean clothes (he didn't have much to pack anyway) so he makes due with the clothes given to him (and insisted he keep and bring to america)

Curly jokes he'd look cute in a karabela. Pony doesn't know what that is and just rolls his eyes.

Sandals! Everyone wears them. Ponyboy watches fondly as Curly's aunt weaves him a pair, asking him if he likes the color purple, which he responds "Wi Matènèl." Just like Curly taught him.

The mornings come early and while Curly would love nothing more than to lay in bed all day with Pony, he does want to wake up early and take him for scooter rides. Ponyboy holds on to him tightly as they weave around corners. Curly is in heaven.

Ponyboy is interested in the literature and art of Haiti and loves the bright colors of the homes. He loves their cheap art galleries and after dinner he's read to in Kreyole first and then English second because he wants to try and learn what stories are being told to him.

Darry has asked him to call if possible. There's only one phone avaliable and it's at "the big house." it costs a lot of money to call but The Shepards don't bat an eye giving him the coins he needs to tell his brother he's okay and what his day was like.

Curly avoids all questions asked to him about family back in America. He can't stomach the thought that his relatives think he's living it up and couldn't be further from the truth.

He hates America. Hates the racism. Hates their stupid laws. He hates how their mother left this beautiful place to chase a man that doesn't give a hang about them.

Curly needs a cigarette. On the porch, he pauses:

Ponyboy is given a pretty red and yellow choublack flower crown (cause it's still the 60s) and is out on the street with a bunch of Curly's younger cousins who ask him to draw on the sidewalks with them. Ponyboy never got the opportunity to be a big brother, so it's all fun and games with him. It's lightly raining, a sunshine shower. Ponyboy is smiling, laughing and singing along to some child's song, slightly butchering the words.

Curly is whipped at the sight.

i JUST woke up to this absolute GEM of an ask im going insane im like a dog with zoomies after a shower another BANGER anon ask about haiti omg

AND AND I WANNA ADD MORE THOUGHTS☝🏽☝🏽☝🏽☝🏽

•the shepards has family in the countryside of haiti, and they have a fucking donkey and that thing would nibble on ponys shirt everytime he came near and it was ALWAYS him and him alone like dude???fuck of?????

•pony would LOVE ti kawòl (its this ice cream in a bag thing, comes in different flavors) but he likes it when its melted so he literally WAITS till its a liquid again, pokes a hole in the bag and drinks it and curly, tim, angela, and their family think hes so WEIRD for that

•curlys aunt is always making malta ak lèt (just means malta and milk) and its curly, pony, and the younger cousins fault that its always gone within a few days like my god

•theres a good chunk of reptiles in haiti and curly used to spend his time catching the fuckers when he still used to live in haiti, and ik he took pony to the best places he would find em, however outside of that sometimes pony would find them on accident and his body would take a ss

•kite flying is pretty important, i think pony and curly should be allowed to make their own cool looking kite at least once

•tim and curly were def stealing cool looking plates from their aunts and was forcing pony to be apart of it, he was a mess trying to keep it together

•OHOH sometimes they would have to ride tap taps (just look it up im WAY to lazy to explain it) and pony was a bit nervous bc theres rlly no specific individual seats and no seatbelts, so curly would hold onto him to make him feel safer so gay

•pony def accidentally got some mannerisms from his time there, this is more of a “if u get it u get it” thing, but if yknow that look ur haitian elder gives u when they catch u doin some stupid shit and they just stand there w their hands crossed???yea pony started doing that LMAOOO

•angela made pony this bracelet w seashells, she was makin em w her fav aunt :3

•the whole family went to the beach and curly hit pony w a wet sandbl and IMMEDIATELY fell and got a cut on his knee by a seashell and i promise u, when there was a collective sound of “gade” (means look in creole) in a ‘well thats your karma’ way, i mean it

•pony and curly both have to share a place on the couch to sleep on so they r just all up on each other by the time 4am rolls around

•curly has this scarf thats used in haitian folklore dances and he is NOT using it to dance, hes using it to pull pony in by the neck or hips, i can feel it trust me on this

•one of the shepards family members is a snack vendor, like the kinds w the snack cart right outside schools, and they would always get free snacks, in return they helped w the homemade snacks they sold, but that goes as well as it can w pony and curly making food, they r NOT allowed to make fresco again

•curly would climb treats for fruits pony wanted he def would

•pony brought the gang lil souvenirs :P

[black-swan-slaps]

Top 10 Sus Jikook Moments

There are way too many moments to possibly list, but my friend and I thought it would be fun to compile a list of sus jikook moments. 

10. 2021 Jimin Birthday Live

Cute and flustered Jimin calling Jungkook? Jungkook coming immediately to spend time with his boyfriend? Hobi calling out why Jimin was in Jungkook’s studio? So many questions.

9. 2015 Award Show Back Hug

Let’s be real, there are plenty of questionable back hug moments, but this one is particularly interesting. The fact that it was so early in their relationship. The fact that it took place at a public award show. The way Jungkook held onto Jimin and how they swayed together. The questionable looks from the other members. I see you jikook, I see you.

Honorable back hug mention is the BE live and the way Jungkook caged Jimin for an incredibly long time with their matching hair. Exuding boyfriend energy to the max.

8. Cute Feet During PJ Run

Honestly, this is just one of my favorite moments that makes me feel giddy. How comfortable they are resting on one another. The way they’re playing with their feet. Jimin’s surprised laugh when Jungkook plays along. And let’s not forget the special photo of Jungkook spooning Jimin.

7. “Let me give you a hug” Dance Practice

Am I the only one who has watched this clip over and over? We get to see how even during work they are always having fun together. But how can we not swoon over Jungkook’s smitten face as Jimin fails to lift him, and the way his smile grows brighter when he lifts Jimin like it’s nothing. Jimin tries to lift him one more time, but fails and instead hugs Jungkook and nuzzles into his neck ever so slightly. 

6. Jungkook’s Snow Gift

We should all know this moment. Bon Voyage season 4 in New Zealand. This is the beginning of Jungkook really doing whatever the hell he wants, and he disappears one morning to go on a mountain hike and returns with a chunk of snow, much to everyone’s confusion. He specifically waits for Jimin to wake up and excitedly shows and gives it to him. Jimin is, understandably confused, but we all understand the intent.

5. Malta Room Sharing

I’ll be honest, finding out about this speculation was what thrust me into the world of jikook. (It doesn’t seem to exist anymore, but I had wandered across an analysis video a few years ago). Obviously, we don’t know anything for sure, but there are enough clues here, as well as in many other occasions, that make it possible jikook were room sharing.

(And let’s not forget their cute Malta date)

4. Osaka Live

Similar vibe to number 5, but cranked up to 100. I don’t need to go in depth into this, because we all know, but my two cents is that Jimin was in that room. (Just as he hid in Jungkook’s room during the 2019 NJ live). What were they doing in a dark hotel room with sensual music playing? Eating bread, of course.

3. GCF in Tokyo

Enough said.

2. MAMA 2018

What I would give to hear everything the man sitting next to them heard. Something was truly in the air that day. They were all over each other and incredibly lovey dovey. While we can’t know for sure what they actually said to each other, the look in Jungkook’s eyes speaks volumes.

1. Rose Bowl

Are we surprised this is my number 1? There are so many moments that exist, but all jikookers come back to this one. There are so many questions about why. Why nibble the ear? Why confess his love? Why give a kiss? (We all know why). But the emotions are palpable, as they would be at the end of a high intensity concert. Jimin was emotional, and Jungkook went to console Jimin, as we know he usually does. Hanging onto Jimin’s back isn’t out of the ordinary, but Jungkook took it a step further. And put Jimin’s ear in his mouth. My assumption is that he was saying something, but ultimately decided actions would speak louder than words. To be clear, he says something first, pulls back, and then goes back in, catches Jimin’s ear, and then delivers a clear kiss to Jimin’s head. There’s no mistaking it. Jungkook was taking care of his baby. 

Honorable Mentions:

Rainy day fight

“I was with Jungkook [at 4AM on his birthday]”

That award show moment where Jungkook is singing a love song to Jimin and Jin is staring at them lovingly. (There is a video somewhere, but I can’t find it. Please, someone find it. I think it’s from the melon music awards)

Jungkook waking Jimin up on In the Soop season 2.

Jimin breaking Jungkook’s mosquito net on In the Soop season 1. (And the spooning that occurred the next day.) 

Black Swan Lift

Honestly, there are too many moments to mention. Please share your top sus moments!

[my-jewish-life]

As promised, here are my other Jewish OC´s^^

This is Leon Millard, he´s 25 years old and was born on June 15th 1919 and served during WW2 as a medic. He was born and raised in Malta, Montana. His family had a small farm and pets. He has 2 younger brothers and a younger sister, his family originally comes from Germany but his great grandparents moved to America to start a better life. Growing up he was taught both german and yiddish and can speak it pretty fluent and his family practices reform judaism. After his family learned what was happening during the war and they started getting fewer and fewer letters from their family in Germany, Leon decided to join the army. He wanted to do something and not just sit there and watch from home. But he wanted to save more lives rather than take lives, so he enlisted as a medic. There he joined the paratroopers, Easy Company. During the war something happen that he never thought would happen, he managed to find love. After they had captured a group of german soldiers he helped treating the wounded and there he met a man his aged, a young german soldier named Matthias Becker. They talked about everything and nothing when Leon came over to check on his wounds every day and noticed that they weren´t so different.

This is Darla Liebgott, sister to Joseph Liebgott in Band of Brothers. She´s 22 years old and comes from a orthodox jewish family, she´s not married but she still loves to wear tichels and create cute looks. After her brother left to fight in the war she helped taking care of their younger siblings. Something she struggled with for a long time was that she´s a lesbian. The only one who knew for a while was Joseph, the two are very close and shared thoughts and secrets with eachother. He accepted her and loved her for who she was and before he left he told her to try and talk to their parents about it, not wanting the thoughts to eat her mind. One day when she was on her way to Shul she bumped into someone, a young woman in her age. The two went to Shul together and Darla had butterflies in her stomach the whole time, that young woman is now her girlfriend. Darla finally told her parents a few days later as they prepared for Shabbat, to her relief and surprise her parents had been waiting for her to tell them. That night she sent her brother a very happy letter, updating him on how their parents took the news and that she now had a beautiful girlfriend.

This is Darla´s beautiful girlfriend, Tzeital Levine. She´s 26 years old and was born August 25th 1918. She grew up in the same area as Darla but had never seen or talked with eachother before, she comes from a Ashkenazi family. She loves to take care of her flowers and plants and loves to read and study as well, she learned pretty early that she was a lesbian and it took some time for her family to accept it but now they are her biggest supporters. When she met Darla during the war she finally got some light in her life and the two would often hang out at eachothers places, just cuddle and hold eachother close to comfort eachother.

If you want to know more about them, like how their lives were before or after the war i´m more than happy to write about it^^ Just comment down below^^

[magpiepills]

Would love to know your thoughts about this man!!! Bat!!!! The arms!!!!!!

Oh, Bug. I’m glad you asked.

No thoughts. Just a lot of growling, groaning, moaning, panting, whimpering, wailing, gnashing of teeth. I fear I may dislocate a hip if I keep my legs crossed like this all day.

I lied, lots of thoughts! This movie comes out ON MY BIRTHDAY!

I want those biceps around my neck.

Has the kama sutra got a position that will let him be behind me and under me and on top of me all at once?

What’s he got on under that tunic? Can I reach under there? What’s that thigh feel like?

I want to carve “dono bono caput” on a stone and throw it at him. See if he can take a subtle hint.

How many of his fingers can I fit in my mouth?

Would he let me wear his little golden laurel thing and nothing else?

Do him and Lucilla need a third?

Bet his cum is actually golden and tastes like honey.

What the handle of that sword do?

How did he go to Malta looking like an uncle on vacation and then show up in the trailer looking like he could incinerate my whole entire reproductive system?

I’d fuck vacation uncle too, frankly. That tshirt got wet somehow, y’know?

Yeah. I’m glad you asked. ❤️

[badgersprite]

My 2024 Eurovision Top 37!!!

It's that time of year again! That time where I give my opinions on Eurovision that nobody asked for!

Is this an especially strong year for Eurovision? Eh. Yes and no. There's a lot of songs I don't like, more than there probably has been in any recent years, but there's also lots of songs I really like and would be happy if they won.

I think this is shaping up to be a very interesting year. I would argue that there is no clear and obvious frontrunner. Any winner is really probably going to feel like a "surprise", and most likely a pleasant one at that. There's a lot of songs here that feel like they'd be deserving winners, with no one really so clearly ahead of the pack to where it would feel like they were "robbed" if they lost.

But anyway, we're counting down, in reverse order, below the cut!

XX. ISRAEL - EDEN GOLAN - Hurricane

Ok, full disclosure, this is why I was kind of late to post my top. I haven't listened to this song. Frankly, I don't feel comfortable listening to this song. I don't know if I ever will. So, accordingly, I will not be giving it a rating, review, or ranking. I wish to make no further comment and please respect my decision.

Sorry for the downer start, but that's just how I feel.

36. SWITZERLAND - NEMO - The Code

I'm starting off controversial. I have no idea why this song is so popular in the community. I do not know what other people hear in this. To me, this just sounds like an annoying, disjointed mess.

35. LATVIA - DONS - Hollow

This song is a slow, dirgey wall of sludge. Sorry to this man, but I don't come to Eurovision to feel like I'm at a funeral.

34. BELGIUM - MUSTII - Before The Party's Over

This song is a slightly less slow, dirgey wall of sludge. I don't know, it feels like it's trying really hard to be artsy and ~important~

33. ICELAND - HERA BJÖRK - Scared of Heights

"I'm not one to take risks."

Yeah, Hera. We can tell. Jesus Christ. This song is so safe it feels like getting a lecture on abstinence at a Christian private school.

32. MOLDOVA - NATALIA BARBU - In The Middle

I like the chorus. Shame about literally everything else in this song.

31. ALBANIA - BESA - Titan

What's with the random banjos? Albania in its Folklore era.

30. AZERBAIJAN - FAHREE & ILKIN DOVLATOV - Özünlə Apar

As much as I want to give Azerbaijan bonus points for finally sending something partially in Azeri, I literally cannot remember a single note from this song and I relistened to it about an hour ago.

29. FRANCE - SLIMANE - Mon Amour

Every year at Eurovision be like

Eurovision: "Hey, France, how French do you want to make your entry this year?"

France: "Oui."

He's got a great voice but to me this is just a run of the mill, paint by numbers Eurovision ballad that is also French and mentions Paris.

28. GERMANY - ISAAK - Always on the Run

Okay I actually don't really care for this song at all, it sounds like the kind of generic, inoffensive, slight hint of country so they don't alienate the flyover states kind of song they make American Idol winners sing. He's only this high because I really like his voice.

27. MALTA - SARAH BONNICI - Loop

This is an average Eurovision song.

26. LUXEMBOURG - TALI - Fighter

This is an average Eurovision song.

25. GEORGIA - NUTSA BUZALADZE - Firefighter

By the time this song gets going, it really comes together. It finishes really strong. The problem is the first...half or so? It's a disjointed mess. But the fact that I like at least PART of this song so much is what puts it above all these other songs that are insta-skips.

24. LITHUANIA - SILVESTER BELT - Luktelk

Probably my next most controversial pick. I don't get the hype for this song? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's fine. I like it. But it's just, like...an average song in this genre? It's nothing special.

23. PORTUGAL - IOLANDA - Grito

This is probably a case where it's not the song so much as it's me not getting it. To my ears it sounds pleasant but dated. And slower songs are often fighting an uphill battle with me at Eurovision anyway so.

22. ARMENIA - LADANIVA - Jako

I really like this, it's the fun folk throwback of this year. The only problem with it is, it's basically just straight up folk instrumentation. It sounds very small as a result. It could have used just a bit more modern production to give it that real OOMPH factor.

21. NETHERLANDS - JOOST KLEIN - Europapa

I probably would have liked this song a lot more if I hadn't heard Finland first. Spoilers for later. Also maybe I'm just too Australian and not European enough to really be able to relate to this song.

20. UNITED KINGDOM - OLLY ALEXANDER - Dizzy

This song feels like a throwback to a lot of the kind of British pop music that would cross over onto the Australian charts here when I was a kid. Like, remember when Billie Piper was a pop singer? Remember Craig David? This song doesn't sound like either of those per se but it does sound like the kind of song that would be on like one of these albums that I have in a box in my garage somewhere

19. AUSTRALIA - ELECTRIC FIELDS - One Milkali (One Blood)

Listen, I love Electric Fields. I've seen them live, and they were great. And I love this song. It's very meditative, it gives some good kind of spiritual advice that I vibe with. I think the song is only this low because, well, the video is meh, and this kind of feels like a "safe" Electric Fields energy? It feels like they could have done more.

18. SERBIA - TEYA DORA - Ramonda

See even though this song is a slow ballad, it avoids being a dirgey wall of sludge because it actually has like dynamic range to it. It's mostly quiet and gentle, and it builds to a big high point. It doesn't just feel like a wall of melancholy sound slowly drowning me.

17. GREECE - MARINA SATTI - Zari

I think I'm not hip enough for this. I feel like I'm going to come back to this later and like it a lot more than I already do. And I do like this. It feels kind of like a Greek Russian Woman in terms of vibe, and I mean that as a compliment. This is really good. It just may be a bit too weird, too out there, and too current to really land at Eurovision. Like this song definitely feels like it belongs on the internet. This song has iPhone face.

16. SPAIN - NEBULOSSA - Zorra

I love her lack of energy, go girl give us nothing!

Seriously though, this song is for the girls and the gays. And as I am a girl and a gay, I can appreciate it. This song is about, no matter what you do, people are going to call you a bitch and try and drag you down. So she's like, OK, fuck you, I'm going to go take on the world, be an empowered woman, and be successful, and if that makes me a bitch then fine, I'm the best bitch here. And I think that's a good message, and I support it. Women shouldn't have to make themselves smaller so as to not threaten your insecurities.

15. CYPRUS - SILIA KAPSIS - Liar

There is just something absolutely FILTHY about this beat that makes me want to throw it back. Fortunately for everybody, I am incapable of throwing it back, so you don't have to be subjected to that. But, like, I feel it in this song. This beat does dirty things to me.

14. ESTONIA - 5MIINUST & PUULUUP - (Nendest) Narkootikumidest Ei Tea Me (Küll) Midagi

Every time this song comes on, I can't resist the urge to get up and start dancing to it, so it must be doing something right. But also fuck you for making me write a title that long.

13. SWEDEN - MARCUS & MARTINUS - Unforgettable

Swedes are too OP at pop. Like this song is basically perfect. Fortunately, I am too much of a lesbian to be nostalgic for boy band music. If I had been into the Backstreet Boys or N*Sync back in the day, this song would make me super nostalgic, and it would probably be my number one. But as it is I'm nostalgic for different things, and it's all those songs that are in my top ten this year. As you'll see.

12. UKRAINE - ALYONA ALYONA & JERRY HEIL - Teresa & Maria

Ukraine doesn't miss at Eurovision. If the Vidbir staging had like...any budget at all, this would probably be higher. That's really all that's holding it back. I love this song. It's great.

11. CROATIA - BABY LASAGNA - Rim Tim Tagi Dim

This was hard. I went back and forth with this and other songs in my top 10 so many times. If you ask me to make this list again five minutes from now, this is probably there. If this song wins Eurovision, I'll be happy. I love it. If there's anything holding this back in comparison to the songs in my top, it's: I'm more nostalgic for other genres apparently; there's no real vocal moment in this song; the production kind of sounds like this was made in Garageband? Don't take any of this to mean I don't like the song. I do. But I like this a roughly equal amount to like half of my top ten and I had to split hairs.

10. SLOVENIA - RAIVEN - Veronika

This is art, mama. This was the first Eurovision song I heard this year and it really started everything off on a good note. The insane vocal moment at the end is what kept this in my top 10 above Croatia. I cannot wait to see the staging because this has a vision.

9. NORWAY - GÅTE - Ulveham

This feels weird having it this low. It was my number four for the longest time. Like, until I made this list today. I think it's the verses holding it back for me. The verses are a little bit nothing. It's just a lot of "this happened, and then this happened". And that's the one thing that docks an execution point from this otherwise excellent song. But it's lovely hearing Norwegian at Eurovision for the first time in forever

8. AUSTRIA - KALEEN - We Will Rave

Things Badger is nostalgic for, entry #1 - Cascada, apparently. This is taking me back to playing fucking DDR at the Time Zone outside of Hoyts at Hornsby Westfield when I was like 15. This was one of the songs I was juggling with whether to keep in my top ten, asking myself "Do I really like this song as much as I thought I did the last time I played it?" So then I'd play it again, and every time I played it...I'd get this feeling. And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly.

Wait.

7. ITALY - ANGELINA MANGO - La Noia

OK, full disclosure, if I were ranking the songs "objectively" in terms of which one is the best, like if I were taking personal taste out of this and just telling you what song I think will or should win Eurovision, this would be my pick. This is by far the hippest thing Italy has ever sent to Eurovision. It's great. It's fun. It's fresh. It's vocally challenging but executed with unbelievable ease. Angelina Mango is style, she is fashion, she is an icon, she is the moment. She's everything. Also, BUSINESS PRINCESS. What more can you want?

6. CZECHIA - AIKO - Pedestal

Things Badger is nostalgic for entry #2 - late 80s/early 90s girl grunge rockers. This song is stuck in my head all the time, and it's awesome. You just want to scream out the chorus. Because, you know what, I relate to this. I am currently going through a phase of loving me more, loving me more than your bullshit. And it feels great. It's empowering. It's a good message. Sometimes we do need to learn to put ourselves first, and learn what self-love actually means.

5. DENMARK - SABA - Sand

This is Scandinavian pop perfection. And I am not immune to Scandi-pop. Far from it. It's a well-known weakness of mine. I apologise if it makes me boring, but I fucking love this. I love every single second of this song. I'm probably going to vote for it in the Grand Final. If this wins the Jury I will be the one person who was like yeah I told you.

4. POLAND - LUNA - The Tower

OK, I initially had this lower. This was always in my Top 10. I always loved this song. But I always kind of had it in my mind of like, oh yeah, this is a really great song, but I like other songs more.

But, do I, though? Because, other than my #1 song, this is the song I've listened to more than any other song this year. And, as I was putting together this list, I kept thinking, oh yeah, The Tower is going to be the song that I listen to the most (other than my number 1) after this contest, it's going to be on all my playlists.

And then I stopped and thought, wait, hang on. If I keep wanting to listen to this song more than all the others, and I'm already looking forward to listening to this song for years to come...doesn't that mean I like it a hell of a lot more than I keep thinking I do? And, yeah. The answer is yes. I really love this song. I think the reason I kept underrating it is because it's just a great song all the way through with no real big epic Eurovision moment, right? But this list isn't what song I think will win Eurovision, it's what songs I like best. And I like this song almost the best. This is the kind of music I listen to.

3. FINLAND - WINDOWS95MAN - No Rules!

Things Badger is nostalgic for entry #3 - Y2K era Eurodance. This is basically just Planet of the Bass with only slightly less irony. And I love literally everything about it. Eurodance is a fundamental, defining characteristic of who I am. The first album I ever owned was Aqua's Aquarium. This shit just speaks to my soul, OK?

2. IRELAND - BAMBIE THUG - Doomsday Blue

*stands and applauds* You did it. You fucking did it, Ireland. You sent something interesting. Thank God. And, like, OK, interesting in and of itself does not equal good. This song is a stylistically experimental mishmash of different genres that could very easily be an unlistenable messy clusterfuck, but it's not. It's unironically actually very good and...oddly coherent? It's honestly bizarre how well these stylistic shifts that should be jarring just flow seamlessly. Or at least to me they do.

Is there maybe a part of this song that is trying a little too hard to be different and edgy? Yeah, sure, maybe. But I was once a teenager trying too hard to be different and edgy, and maybe this song speaks to that part of me that I haven't accessed in a while.

1. SAN MARINO - MEGARA - 11:11

Man, it sucks that this is going to go out in the semi-finals because I REALLY love this song, and I don't get why other people don't.

But apparently it's because...Thing Badger is nostalgic for, entry #4, mid-2000s electronic rock, which was absolutely fucking huge in Australia at the time. This song reminds me so much of that time in my life when I was listening to, like, The Rogue Traders, The Veronicas, TV Rock, The Presets, The Potbelleez, Sneaky Sound System. I could keep going. Apparently I was hugely nostalgic for this exact sound and I had no idea until I heard this song. But apparently this is also an experience entirely unique to me because it seems like nobody else likes this song, or cares about it at all.

Whatever, it will always have a fan in me.

OK HAPPY END

[matthewmoorwood]

On the last hundred pages of Ship Of Destiny FUCKING FUCK

I'm going so insane over how Kennit ALMOST became an average citizen and then he went fucking full nutter butters and now no one believes Althea was raped. FREE ME FROM THIS TORMENT RAAAAH

Same with Wintrow like I FUCKING THOUGHT for a moment that these male characters might not be utter shitheads but noooooooooo RAAAAH. Despising everything about Wintrow wanting to suck on his faux step mums tits and be an alpha male cause of his horrific inability to have an identity outside of parental figures. DAYUM.

I don't think I'll ever really get over Paragon either. the Paragon & Amber dynamic is something very precious to me.

Not a single of of Robin Hobbs characters are ever what I think they are, or even who they think they are. Yet they all act perfectly in line with their characters and what we know of them. Freaking out.

If I'm reading a Robin Hobb book and a male pov doesn't make me physically nauseous, am I even reading a Robin Hobb book? No.

Thinking about Malta, thinking about the Malta and Vivacia/Bolt parallels, thinking about how both of them are forced to give up their souls for men so that they might have a chance at freedom because the alternative is to die by those same men's brutality. Oh I am ILL

"There were, she suddenly saw, many ways to be raped." Oh I am ILL

The way Wintrow only sees Malta as her place as a Bingtown Trader and as a woman as a 'good negotiator' and sees nothing of the fucking eons of abuse she's endured. FOUL.

They're all trauma dumping to each other in the hold as Jamilla ships fuck around these guys.

I hate everyone who sees that they have power and wrangles it just for pleasure of causing harm and gaining a scrap more control at the cost of someone else's existence.

Plz i'm going to shit out my lungs. Malta who has endured so fucking much, is so terrified of having Reyn see her because he is her last hope to be loved by someone outside of the vesrit family. She's already been hurt so badly by men and had for years valued herself entirely on her usefulness as a 'pretty woman' and now here she is. Her very survival has devalued her own perception of herself to the one person she thinks can truly understand her.

Begging on hands and knees that Kennit doesn't keep the cycle of abuse going. PLEASE allow someone some peace from him.

Both Reyn and Malta have put so much weight on how they look. And both are terrified that the other will put even a quarter of that same weight on them. I'm not okaaaay about this. plz.

Alrighty I just want a dragon to come and fuck shit up. Serpent, liveship, whatever form just need some unbridled rage bc I am FEELING shrimp emotions.

Hmmm... The ghosts of Kennits past coming to kill him... Hmmm... The fact that trying to repress those memories is what caused all of this... hmm... All the people he tried to bury in order to allow his own ignorance coming together to exist in their own narrative... I am thinking.....

Hold on im losing it. Hold on im going insane. Malta kissing Reyn properly and he wakes up?? true loves kiss type shit because in the end Malta and Reyn are still a fairytale despite the shit they've been through.

"If you'll have me as I am." SHUT UP RIGHT NOW

Fucking fuck. Althea being scared to talk to Brashen about her rape because in the end he is still a man and Althea knows that on some level Brashen will always view her as a possession.

Y'know what. Kennit being killed (hopefully permanently) by someone who does not give a single Fuck about him is so good. His whole life he wanted to be something other than what he was, be respected and recognized and yet he dies at the hand of someone who thinks of him as nothing other than a shitty pirate.

Ugh. He's not dead.

Oh man. Oh dude. Paragon. Fucking fuck. ing fuck. ouch.

I am hurtinedg :C

Robin Hobb why

I actually swear to God if Kennit is still able to torment Paragon via the memories thing I'm gonna scream.

OH IM SICK.

Vivacia who is not vivacia letting go of Althea despite everything. Aughr fuck. How this means that both of them are going to begin to have their own sense of self outside of their co-dependence. awrg,

Oh for fucks sake. If Kennit in Paragon is still trying to touch Althea I'm going to bite through my desk.

Althea oh my darling. She doesn't want to hurt Kennits mum over her own anger at how Kennit abused her. I am ill.

"Neither woman could escape what he had done to them" Oh I am sick.

"We've got to survive this, I've a life to live." SOBBING

Oh thank god Kyle is dead now too. YIPPEE

I have too many feelings I fear I must throw up to process them properly.

Either that or have some cheese.

My brain is too mushy for these negotiations I'm just gonna trust that things work out (they won't)

JEK queen go get laid I respect it.

Amber, my sweet Lady Amber :C

Raise your hand if you too are tired of the Althea/Brashen miscommunication GUYS I KNOW YOU'RE STRAIGHT BUT PLEASE JUST FUCKING TALK TO EACH OTHER

Awug Serilla.

I am feeling things.

Amber plz. my soul cannot take you refrencing fitz any longer

Oh lol Paragon showing them where evil mc fuckface left all his sick pirate loot.

Oh my fucking god I hate this got dam book fucking fuck,

:C

Amber I really hope you get your happy ending. Or a least a happy moment before the ending.

OH MY FUCKING GOD

Paragon.

Althea.

I am a broken husk of a person.

No one speak to me until I have drunk this hot choccy.

[hasdrubal-gisco]

eurovision '24 semifinal 2 early review

content and spoiler warning for albania, armenia, austria, czech republic, denmark, greece, malta, switzerland, belgium estonia, georgia, israel, latvia, the netherlands, norway, san marino, france, italy, spain

albania - opening witha good and strong song. would have been better if it was in albanian, but albania always brings the heat. albanian and serb are brothers because they are son of same bitch (many are saying this !)/10

armenia - absolute banger. singer doesn't have the classic hayastani spade face which must have hard for her growing up. genuinely This is what eurovision is about. may you drop thousand bombs on baku/10

austria - (watching music video) i liked display of aryan man masculine power energy, sweat dripping down his chest. how this make you feel ? song ? generic, forgettable, this will score no points without mr schutzschtaffel flipping tires. you will never regain lost glory/10

czech republic - Yes i am deadnaming this country. i do not recognize these silly zoomer pronouns like "czechia." NOT REAL ! song is relatively good on its own but to me it its not a eurovision song. it's giving pale waves without the production by mr the 1975 whatever his name is. i think this will be well received by juries but it's not fun in the way we expect from battle royale evropa edition. props to the czech republic for sending a russian girl in these russophobic times. i will not mind hearing this on the radio in the car in the coming year/10

denmark - she's technically white seeing as she's very obviously ethiopian (amhara, not those COLORED varieties). good singer but the song is nothing. relatively dignified considering the scandinavian's propensity for cringe/10

greece - she gave cunt she served she died or whatever it is you kids say these days. it's giving noa kirel if we're being honest. in my top 3 i'd say. no wonder greeks invented civilization/10

malta - for this one my opinion is colored by the fact that going into it i know she's some commercial real estate magnate's daughter who paid her way into the competition. when will people learn, war criminals' nieces are simply better than investor's daughters. don't even thing about being a talentless hack if your uncle isn't exterminating minorities. only positive is the tooth gap/10

switzerland - european college student is not immune to american they/them disorder. if he sings the hard parts well, this could save some of it musically but culturally it's a L. go back to sending kosovar albanians/10

belgium - european man in his 30s is ALSO not immune to american they/them disorder. this is nothing, but we must always keep in mind only a few years ago a good third of the contestants would send ballads so. belgium has no reason to exist, think about it/10

estonia - MICHAEL VSAUCE ?? estonian pitbull be like mr balt-wide. it's above average in an extremely poor year/10

georgia - rising from the ashes like a phoenix is actually referencing the historical period during which georgia did not exist on the map, like poland, but re-emerged as a sovereign state. and this is what they did with it. also the bizarre sour food. below average in an extremely poor year/10

the illegitimate fascist ethnostate of isnotreal - the best of this variety of song we've heard, largely because the music is more subtle and she can in fact sing. this will either get high or no votes from the general public depending on prevailing sentiment on the holocaust du jour. thee mathematical average in a poor year/10

latvia - na-baron, house harkonnen does not know what's coming for it. bro the lisan al gaib's fedaykin are coming for ur bald ass ! this is nothing/10

the netherlands - i will confess this is not bad. TO ME it is a quirky and lighthearted version of a stupid eurovision song, with some self awareness that the finns (both this year and last) sorely lack. unlike other TREASURED MUTUALS i do not consider this man SEXUALLY ATTRACTIVE. i will let the senatus populusque tumblorus draw its own conclusions based on the notes of this post. MAGNA EVROPA EST PATRIA NOSTRA/10

norway - i can recognize there is an audience for this and that audience is not me. is it good ? i'll have to ask them. i think this may get an unusually high amount of votes from juries for some reason. feels like the kind of song that would play for a super epic and dramatic ( :I ) final scene in vikings (tv show). eeeh/10

san marino - you can tell she thinks she's quirky from the facial expressions. if i wanted sexy skeletons i'd have played undertale. this sucks, you're san marino you have no identity, genuinely this should be a vehicle for importing flo rida or something. this sucks/10

france - incredible voice. getting a lot of dune princess vibes from the outfit (<- guy who just watched dune). this will get panned because it's france, and somehow american warships have secured total anglo victory in the cultural thousand year war (the hundred year war). liberté, égalité, fraternité/10

italy - i had not heard this as i abstained from san remo, but this is pretty good, it's very ethnic, it's sexy, it has hot blood coursing through its veins. top few (final ranking pending)/10

spain - relatively okay beat/instrumental that's wasted on a nothing singer. send basque opera singers next time. i'm ready to go to sleep/10

final conclusion - there were more good entries than in the first semi, i'll come up with a final list and rough ranking of who i'd like and hate to see go to the final for any undercover jurors reading the die karthagische zeitung. feels like the entries that are good are really good, and there's a lot of blah, but at least we're skirting by with very few ballads. pee breaks speckled in for those of us who have bladders like old women who have somehow had babies (not me tho).

[samithefungus]

Hi, I love your works and your writing style. Then I saw that in your description you have the Italian flag, so I assume you are Italian; I'm Italian too and I wanted to know which part of Italy you are from exactly?

Anyway I wanted make a request if I could...

I've read your work where Briefcase and the Reader (his boss) are dating and you mention their marriage a couple of times...

I wanted to ask if you could actually write something about their marriage, because now I'm curious 

Thanks in advance

Thank you Anon for your request, I I tried my best, hope you like it. <3

Anyway yes, I'm Italian, precisely I'm from Rome.

Briefcase x Boss Reader (Part 2?)

WARNINGS: Little mention of panic, but nothing more

-By now you and Briefcase had been engaged for a long time, that's why Briefcase had decided to take ask you to marry him

-He bought the ring and did his best to keep it hidden from you until he found the right time to propose to you

-He wasn't very good at this, let's say you were able to guess that he was hiding something, but you didn't understand what

-Briefcase asked Brendon for help with ideas about how to propose, but in the end they both agreed that the classic proposal would be fine

-It would soon be your engagement anniversary, and Briefcase had arranged a dinner for the two of you

-Brendon advised him to propose there, and Briefcase found it a wonderful idea

-On the day of your romantic dinner Briefcase was really agitated and you noticed it clearly, but you thought it was because of work since you were full of things to do at that time

-At the end of the dinner he got up and stood in front of you and then got down on one knee and pulled out the ring

- "Will you marry me?" He said

-You put on the ring (implying a yes) and then you looked at him

-Briefcase, not receiving an answer, began to fidget and completely panicked

-You kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Yes, I want to marry you"

-His eyes grew wide with joy and he blushed

-Everyone at work celebrated for your wedding

-Honestly, it bothered you a little; you knew that all this was just to work less and you would have even accepted it if it weren't for the fact that you were swamped with work at that time and in addition already behind on some deadlines

-You still decided to celebrate a bit and then send everyone back to work

-You and Briefcase decided to get married at the end of May, which was when the workload was less for the company and so your absence would not get in the way of other employees

-Brendon helped you with the organization of everything; you gave him the contacts with the people who published his novel; he owed you this a little bit

-Brendon is now an emerging writer, and that's why Briefcase can no longer call him Unemployed Brendon, so he started calling him 'Freelance Brendon'

-You scold him by reminding him that Brendon is helping you with your marriage; instead Brendon doesn't mind much, still better than Unemployed Brendon

-You and Briefcase decided to do something quiet without too many invitations

-Basically it was: you, him, Brendon (who was his brother's best man), your family, a few of your friends, and [Insert friend/family member who was your best man]

-During the bouquet toss you put too much force leaving it and because of these it ended up on Brendon's head, who was very confused about that while Briefcase started giggling

-After the cake and greeting the last guests, you and Briefcase were finally able to go and enjoy your first wedding night

-Although it wasn't a big wedding, it was the most memorable day of your life, and so was Briefcase

-After a few days you left for your honeymoon

-You and Briefcase decided to take a cruise

-Initially you wanted to go to the Caribbean, but it was not recommended at that time of year, so you opted for a cruise among the Mediterranean and Greek islands

-You visited islands like Madeira or the Canary Islands, and then went to Malta and Cyprus, making several exceptional stops in cities such as Genoa, Marseille, Valensia, Ibiza and Palermo when you visited the Mediterranean islands and then Venice, Mykonos and Santorino when you visited the Greek islands

-It was a wonderful vacation and for each place you visited you bought more than one souvenir, some that you gave to Brendon as a gift

-When you returned from your honeymoon you finally moved together in the house you had bought for the you two and now live there as a happy married couple

I wrote this after a long day of school (+ lots of homework), so if there are more mistakes than usual, I apologize. <3

[residentraccoon]

2nd rehearsals thoughts below

The ones who impressed me

Malta - Their stage show is so creative and fun?? This might actually kinda make it to the finals like wow

Serbia - It's bonkers in a good way and it feels like I'm actually fighting a boss in a game ngl

Latvia - It's going to be the most atmospheric performance of the night, I'm feeling it. It impressed me a lot but I don't know how much the televoters will appreciate them. I've already came to the conclusion that they aren't qualifying because I don't want to bawl my eyes out by giving myself hope.

Israel - I still don't like the song, but man she's killing the stage. She's totally coming for your points and there's nothing you can do about it, like her choreography is freaking awesome?? Probably top 3 in the semifinal

Moldova - Nothing much to add tbh, the performance is what I've expected from them, it's perfect in every way

Finland - Every shot is amazing ngl, from the first one when he gets out of the box until the last one when the dancers also join the stage. It's winning the semifinal by a huge margin

The ones who were alright

Norway - Much brighter than the NF performance, didn't really see anything THAT special from the snippet but it has a very competent staging

Portugal - Yeah, I know her staging is empty but the dancers kind of make it up for me? I don't understand how they didn't get the funding for a better one though. The NF staging was the best and they should have kept it.

Sweden - It's not that different from Mello but it lacks a lot more passion tbh

Azerbaijan - Really liked the split screens, all in all, another good staging but that's it

The ones who were dissapointing

Ireland - I know it's just a rehearsal and most of them are keeping their voices for the actual show, but he was very off. I don't think that much gold and glitter suits the song as well

Croatia - The sound is very off and the performance felt unengaging

Switzerland - The dancers feel so uncoordinated and messy to me, didn't understand from the start why this song even needed dancers

Czechia - I saw a lot of comments of praise for their staging but I was heavily underwhelmed. The graphics are nice but isn't it too much pink? They also looked pretty uncoordinated and the vocals were flat, I think the idea was nice but kinda poorly executed. My gut feeling gave me NQ vibes sadly but I guess that's just me since everyone else really liked it. Hope I'm wrong though

Netherlands - Oh gosh the old version had much much more passion and this new one just sounds so deadpan I'm sorry. It looks like they don't want to be there on stage as well. I feel like they're kind of doomed being behind Finland but who knows

[houseofbrat]

Really?!! H & M were on & off for most of ‘17?! Then how on Earth did she manage to claw her way back in?? And how did he LET HER?? Also MY GOD THE DELUSIONAL CONFIDENCE of this woman!!!

I remember how she went to Malta & got into some black costume, with a full veil ofc, that it was only worn by their royal women… I knew then that she had her sights set on being a royal/ a royal man… Sure enough half-a year later, the news broke that she’s seeing Pr. H. Loool. Woman plans & plans & manipulates like nothing I’ve seen before.

How did she claw her way back in? I don't think anyone really knows for sure, but I suspect Harry's desperation in wanting to get married and start a family played into it big time.

Sex & The City, Season 3, Episode 8 Miranda alludes to the fact that men are like cabs, and it’s really about timing.

Miranda:

“It’s not fate, his light is on, that’s all...Men are like cabs, when they’re available, their light goes on. They awake one day and decide they’re ready to settle down, have babies, whatever, and they turn their light on. Next woman they pickup, boom, that's the one they'll marry. It's not fate, its dumb luck.”

It was probably like that. Meghan was the only girl willing to say ��yes.”

[nerianasims]

So again, I, an American who knows nothing of the current European music scene, am listening to all the Eurovision songs online to see which I like. In the order they are on this playlist:

Ukraine: Sadly, this year... eh. Didn’t bother finishing listening to it. (Sounds like an American mid-tier hit that’s on the charts for a week.)

Estonia: Also eh. Not finishing listening, again. (Sounds like an American mid-tier hit that’s on the charts for a week.) 

Italy: Good, it’s not in English. And he is hot. But besides it not being in English, it sounds like an American hit that’s on the charts for like 12 weeks and you can’t escape it. Which... is that an improvement? I dunno. But I’m bored, sadly.

Austria: Kind of weird, though in English again. I don’t like it, but at least it’s different?

UK: The beat’s very slightly interesting. The rest is not, and again, why does everything sound not just American, but mediocre American? I mean at least there’s good reason for this one to be in English, but otherwise... pass. When you write a song about being a woman angry she was cheated on, you should have some actual anger and oomph in it. “Before He Cheats,” this ain’t.

Latvia: It’s got some energy anyway. Even if it’s in flippin’ English again. However, that key change was laughably predictable.

Slovenia: Not in English, +10 points. I’m digging it, I could definitely dance to this. I looked up the translation of the lyrics, and I like them too. Slovenia is so far in the lead for me. This is going on my playlist.

Iceland: I was hoping Iceland would come in with not-English, but no such luck. Bored. Are love songs illegal or something, every woman has to be angry at a man who done her wrong at all times?

Croatia: Woah that’s a start! And not in English, +10 points. Also, this is weird. This is more like it. I’m not putting it on a playlist. Yet. I have a feeling it might grow on me.

Malta: Saxy, nice. In English, not so nice. Well I like the sax parts, but not any of the rest.

Romania: Not in English, +10 points. He looks different, but the song is not very interesting. Again. Bored.

Poland: In English. You’re hot and cold, high and you’re low? Seriously? I’m sure he’s up then he’s down too. Channeling Katy Perry in 2023 is certainly a choice.

Australia: No points removed for being in English. Also it’s a love song, good. Maybe men are allowed them? But yeah, I like this. I still like the Slovenia one better, but this one is also going on my playlist.

Serbia: He’s got that particularly whine-adjacent timbre I can’t stand in male pop stars. And that’s a lot of noise without sounding like artful noise. Not for me.

Czechia: Not entirely in English, +10 points. There’s a bit of a Slavic folk beat behind the electronica too. Yeah, I definitely like this. I very much like the lyrics too. It’s in the lead for me now.

Israel: Opening with the electronica equivalent of nails on a chalkboard was... uh... why did you do that? Moving along... nope. Bored. Shallow “empowerment” drivel.

Sweden: English. Too bad the music is boring, because I do like the lyrics.

France: Yeah, I knew France wouldn’t send something in English. The opening is very sweeping. I like the music, it’s got energy and interest. And it’s sort of “woman who’s been done wrong,” but the lyrics are more complicated and -- very very French. I approve.

Netherlands: NOPE. Nope nope nope nope nope. Sorry, but I heard the opening piano and went “uh-oh,” then heard the whiny pop boy sing the first line and nooooope.

Armenia: English. Bored.

Finland: Not in English, so that’s good. The techno sounds like a Chrono Trigger riff, from the “future” area. It goes very hard, but not very interesting. (Insert “like my ex” joke here if applicable.) This is a drinking song? It sounds more like a fighting song. With bonus JRPG midi.

Spain: In Spanish, thankfully. And this sounds quite cool, and actually Spanish. I looked up the lyrics translation -- it looks like a pop rock-ified traditional lullaby. I like it.

Georgia: Why is she yelling at me :(. Sometimes you can go a little too hard in the beginning, if you’re not heavy metal. This is a love song, though it doesn’t sound like one, so that’s good. But it’s in English and also very shouty.

Lithuania: In English, bad. Love song, good. But boring.

Switzerland: In English. Dull and preachy. Anti-war is good and all, but the song itself needs to be good too.

Azerbaijan: In English. Also hipster douche vibes.

Greece: In English. Apparently he wrote this when he was 14. It shows. This is what people mean when they criticize “white guy with guitar” songs.

Cyprus: Well here’s a guy singing about a broken heart. In English. Boringly.

Albania: Not in English. And it’s interesting. Though not to my personal taste.

Belgium: English. Pretty typical Eurodance song. There are worse things, but eh.

Germany: English. German metal, not gonna listen to it, but it is what it is.

Ireland: Before playing, “We Are One”? Is this a unification anthem? Sadly, no. It’s one of those nice message, banal delivery songs.

Moldova: Not English, and has musical inspiration that I assume is Moldovan. I’ve never heard an “I’m going to marry this woman” song that had this much oomph. I like it.

Norway: English. The music is okay but predictable. The lyrics are okay but also predictable. There’s a banality to it.

Denmark: Another heartbreak song. The beat is giving me a headache and this is a whiny pop boy.

Portugal: Starts with the “I Will Survive” piano riff. Not in English. A love anxiety song rather than a heartbroken song, so that’s welcome. I like the music too, it’s definitely Portuguese sounding.

San Marino: English. It has energy. And I do not like it at all, there’s something icky about it.

So, the songs I like are from Slovenia, Croatia, Australia, Czechia, France, Spain, Moldova, and Portugal. I don’t absolutely adore any of them though. Kind of a meh year, at least for me.

[thereapernoel]

"No need for formalities. Noel will do just fine." The psychiatrist smiled studying Israel's movement carefully and listened to every word spoken and the tone it held analyzing the mircodetails. "I've heard, between there and Ukraine I'd be very busy if I wasn't otherwise preoccupied." He tapped the collar that kept his powers negated despite being staff. There were a few good reasons for that, he surmised. "A man of mystery." Noel tutted his brow at the vague reasoning for the other's arrival.

"Is anything truly simple when dealing with megalomaniacs?" Noel leaned forward on is toes into Gideon's space. "Or do you just want my take on the things that have happened in your absence, Israel?" He purred the country at the other before falling back on his heel and speaking indifferently. "A number of inconsequential councilmen died during an attack, well none here. Unless you were friends with them, were you?" He raised a brow. "Spain, Finland, Egypt? Egypt is in your area. Perhaps you knew him or a part of him, but I suppose that part is gone now isn't it?" Noel laughed at that entire situation. There were a lot of red flags, much as there were in Malta's new councilman, but like it seemed to happen so often, it was explained away and nothing was done. Noel didn't care, Aurelius was toxic as they came, not that Raphael was any better. A councilman trait it seemed.

"Did you know France and Egypt were a thing? For quite some time, over 1400 years. I wonder what he thought of Italy hanging around growing so close, but what about Israel? Who does he associate with or do you run alone? No ties? No problems?"

The uncanny similarities to Lucien were undeniable, but not hard to discern from the differences. "It seems I was. Good evening, Mr. Gaudet. It's certainly less of an interesting time than being back in Israel." He assured the other with a small grin. "Business. Pleasure. Reprieve. A mix of all the things." He explained as he regarded the other. "How have things been at the castle? I've heard some stories but I feel as though you might have a more condensed, simplified version."

[nystiaa]

Eurovision 2023 initial reactions

This is a list of my first reactions when watching the performances for this year (now bare in mind this was at 2am and took me an hour to go through almost all the countries (I did miss a few at the time) you can tell at what point I start getting tired)

Finland: what is he wearing??? HEDGE ARMS OMG HE IS MEME MATERIAL I LOVE IT

Georgia: pretty decent, I like the tune

Armenia: oh damn Armenia I was thinking meh but halfway through DAMN, did not expect, second half is better

Moldova: okay this is reminding me of Polish captain hook jesus from a couple years back, very good song!

Azerbaijan: going for 90s vibes cool, nothing special

Germany: why is he dressed like a spider??? I like it

Croatia: WTAF CROATIA?!?! IM SCARED I DONT LIKE IT, WHY IS HE SO CREEPY OMG, hedge arms ago tho I see a theme "f a s h i o n"

Greece: a sad boy singing in the rain, the judges might eat this up. HES 16?!?!

Portugal: Portugal always brings the vibe, you can rely on them. She got the swooshy skirt

Sweden: MY GIRL LOREEN!!! She fucking killed it, I wont be mad if she wins again

Cyprus: fucking catchy god damn, I can see myself having this on repeat

Iceland: I like it but I feel it wont reach the final

Latvia: Latvia be having an existential crisis, dude needs a hug. Omg I thought they were murdering him at the end of the video

Poland: not a fan of the song

Albania: bringing cultural influences into the song? I like. Raven lady going extra. Is she in a funeral home what is happening?? Is there a darker meaning behind this, did she murder her family. I think dramatic raven lady killed her family. Decent song

Belgium: another 90s song. Is he wearing 20 hats? Nope just a minecraft block shirt. Dude needs to up his polygon res, hes not loaded in. Must have a bad signal. Dont like the song

Spain: moaning women - no

Malta: FUCK YEA. I think this guy lived in my brain. Introvert being awkward at a party, sweaters, anxiety?? The dudes me. Dhakdhakdhsj fricken SAX MAN!! eh first half of the song was better. I want more lyrics about anxiety, I wanna relate, what is this

Estonia: nope

Ukraine: killing it again, doesnt beat their song from last year but it's good

UK: the UK with an actual Eurovision style song and performance??? Damn I'm impressed. Song is meh tho but the vibe, so much better

Israel: not a fan

Ireland: ireland are you okay?? I know we're technically still in a pandemic but you can take the face mask off. Decent, not the best

Austria: I like! They got the vibe, the weird, the song, YES, top 5

Denmark: another sad boi. Meh, nah

Switzerland: damn I like, definitely another song I'd have on repeat, and hot guy? Yes. Am a sucker for songs like this, deep, emotional, got a good beat

Serbia: ooooooo Serbia on druugggss

Italy: no

Netherlands: didn't like it at the start but the end is growing on me

San Marino: more like San Mari-NO XD

Australia: fun

Lithuania: no

France: ooooh yes, she dance, very french, it keeps getting better

[hyunverse]

ur so right that totally makes sense. i am such a hopeless romantic and i swear that’s one of the things that makes me so attracted to hyunjin. like he’s just so emotionally intelligent yk ?? he just gets it. and i love that he shows his love for things (love itself specifically) through his artwork. i’ve always done the same so it’s so nice to have an idol that i feel like is so similar to me yk? he’s 100% a man written by a woman

okay it’s also wednesday where i am and i’m in the est time zone so we’re or 13 hours apart i think ??? i know absolutely nothing about time zones but i know that’s in the uk LOL (which is so cool btw. i have a lot of family in the uk bc my dad is an immigrant from australia and his parents were immigrants from the uk and malta) ALSO so cool you’re also an older sibling, how many siblings do you have? i have two bio and three half ^_^ and def never hurts to ask imo 😏 skz is skz 😏

you made me blush 🤭🤭 i feel like i could talk to you about anything too. even tho we literally just met i’m already so comfy w you. what’s ur zodiac sign ?? that always makes more sense for me when i get along so well w ppl >:)

AND YES CAN WE PLS TALK ABOUT HYUNJIN W THE PIERCINGS 😩. listen, edited or not, the tongue piercing is gonna do it for me every time. and then. the surprise belly button one. dude. i screamed. AND STRAWBERRY BLONDE MINHO PLS BRING IT HERE. and yes seungmin at mama awards was so good like we need to see more forehead from him. it always makes him look older i feel like, which is such a good thing bc i can find him sexy instead of just absolutely adorable. in the recent racha vlog w the maknaes, i was actually baffled at how effortlessly perfect seungs hair is. like he just flicks it back and it looks like it took 45 mins to style it ??? how ??? and why not me ??? blue hyune and seungmin would kill me. but i will say, if we got blue han again…. i don’t think i’d survive. like genuinely i would pass out. and yes let’s pls go on a little expedition and raid all their shampoo so we can get what we want 😇😇😇

- 🐈‍⬛

ME TOO STOP I'M LIKE, THE BIGGEST HOPELESS ROMANTIC I KNOW LOL i'm the type to write love letters and i feel like hyunjin would get me. i long to receive love letters tbh ☹️ i've never received flowers. i've never received even a love note without having to beg for it and it SUCKS. so i decided to screw men and stan hwang hyunjin instead <3 call me a girlboss or wtv!!!

13 HOURS APART??? i'll cry RN. me and my beloved moots always have such huge timezone difference, not u too my love </3 the universe is unfair </3 ooo is it snowing rn where u are? my british oomfs' places r snowing and god, it seems so magical to me. malaysia doesn't experience the four seasons, so i've never experienced neither winter or autumn lol. alwaaays summer here. i've always dreamt of studying in the uk, oxford or cambridge specifically. hopefully i'll get to one day! reaaaally wanna experience snow hehe. i have two siblings!! a little brother and a little sister. they are a pain in my ass but i'd give my kidney to them tbh. u have quite a lot of siblings omg T_T how do u cope T_T

AAA I'M SOFTT U R SO CUTE <3__<3 i'm a leo! i'm not really one to believe in astrology but i will listen 2 any of ur rambles abt it hehe.

NO CS LIKE WHEN I SAW THE BELLY BUTTON PIERCING. I. HAD. TO. PAUSE. WAS FLABBERGASTED AND STARING AT THE SCREEN LIKE? HWANG HYUNJIN? WHAT IS THIS BEHAVIOUR? JHDNJHBD AND it's so funny that ure mentioning seungmin's forehead too cs like, jokingly (maybe not really jokingly) i put "i want to see more of seungmin's forehead" as my new years resolution ^__^ it's a valid resolution ok. i gotta do what i gotta do 🤓 the racha log was so heart-warming 🥹 just our boys being boys. playing games together. super duper wholesome, i melted at the sight, especially jeongin 🥹 baby bread just eating some fries while playing. so so endearing. ure right, seungmin's hair is effortlessly beautiful. wonder how it would be like to run my fingers through his hair. . . 💭 lets go im driving to da cuties dorm and we are gonna blast skz the whole time, baby!