#what do you think is better - latvia then or latvia now

[paikothecateater]

Chapter #2

Sweden had been trying, and failing, to keep the atmosphere quiet. Though, with Denmark around, it would be easier to go deaf instead. He just went on and on about things Sweden couldn't care less about, until something he said caught his attention.

"wait... What did you say?"

"Are you kidding me? You weren't listening the whole time? Svi, you suck."

"whatever, just repeat what you said."

"I said that Norway's been getting a lot more sleep lately. It's not that big of a deal."

"don't you think it's weird? Norway's getting more sleep, Iceland's getting less."

"well it makes sense. Have you heard Norway's snoring before? If I didn't know better I'd think the Germans were back."

"you shouldn't joke about that."

"oh lighten up, Svi. It's just a joke. Anyway, why are you so invested?"

"dunno... Just curious."

"yeah sure... Listen, my personal opinion, just drop it. They don't like people who get overly fussy with them, especially Iceland."

Sweden almost retorts, but is interrupted by the sound of a frustrated groan.

"do you have to be so loud in the morning, Mr. Denmark? Oh! Su-san! You're up too?"

Denmark laughs apologetically.

"sorry about that, Fin."

"no, no, it's not a big deal. What were you two talking about anyway?"

Sweden looks away awkwardly.

"nothing important."

"oh we were talking about how Norway is annoying to sleep with according to Iceland."

"what if he wakes up and hears you?"

"bit too late for that."

Norway glares from the top of the stairs.

Denmark laughs at how ridiculous the situation is quickly becoming.

Norway begrudgingly descends the stairs and sits down at the table.

"I'm not annoying to sleep with."

"Nor, you're my best friend in this entire world. I'd gladly jump in a volcano for you, so I say this with all the love in the world, you snore worse than I do."

"that's besides the point. It's not the reason Iceland can't sleep."

"oh? Then what is it?"

Norway sighs looking down.

"I have the ability to project my thoughts to allow them to reach someone without ever needing to speak. I've used it countless times in world meetings to avoid stuttering and be able to express my thoughts without losing my train of thought. Usually... I have really good control over it but for some reason, I've been accidentally projecting in my sleep. Iceland can see my dreams... And because I'm hyper-aware of it, I've been trying to avoid dreaming about anything that I don't want him to see. It backfired and now it's all I can think about, I can't stop the projection, I can't wake up. I know I've definitely been thrashing a lot more, because I'm just trying so desperately to wake myself up. "

"uh... Don't you think this is something you should maybe tell him?"

"no. I can't. None of you can either. If I tell him I don't want him to see it, he'll only want to know more... The best thing I can do is let him think they're just nightmares... Better yet, maybe one of you should let him stay in your room until I can figure this out. "

Sweden puts a hand on Norway's shoulder.

"are you okay?"

"no, and I'm about to get even worse. Iceland also has magical abilities, if he really wants to know, he can find out. That's why I need you all to swear you'll keep it a secret."

The three nordics quietly promise him.

Denmark gets started on making breakfast for Finland and Norway.

Iceland was already on his way back. He had recounted the dream he'd had to Latvia. The dream in which he was standing in a body that wasn't his, in a field that was his.

[monabela]

the last outsider POV first kiss ficlet for now! but I might do more :)

--

released

pairings/characters: Belarus/Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia

word count: 852

summary:

Belarus and Estonia like to argue, and who's Lithuania to judge? However, he might have to judge a little when it suddenly turns into something else entirely.

--

1994

“—because you always think you’re so damn smart!”

Lithuania chews his sandwich and continues to ignore the stupid argument Belarus and Estonia are having. Or, well… It’s pretty one-sided from Belarus’s side, he thinks, because, especially over the past century, Estonia has really honed this mild, almost bland persona of his. It was often the best way to escape notice, which has been very valuable in years past.

“But I am,” he’s saying now, sounding ever-so-innocent about it, which is sure to rile Belarus up more.

Across the kitchen table, Ukraine catches Lithuania’s eye. They just shrug at each other. Latvia, quite wisely, decided earlier he’d go out to buy lunch to get away from all their official meetings today.

“Just because you’re fucking ancient doesn’t mean you’re smarter than me!” Belarus shouts.

“Hey, hey, I didn’t say that!” For the first time, Estonia slightly raises his voice in turn.

Lithuania glances over at the two of them, but quickly turns his attention back to his sandwich. He’s got another one, and is regretting having put cheese on both. He leans over to Ukraine.

“Any chance you want to trade me some lunch?” he asks softly, while Belarus shouts, “That’s what it damn well sounds like, Estonia!”

“Oh, sure,” Ukraine answers, smiling. “How about…”

“Don’t put words in my mouth!” Estonia yells, which makes them both look over. That’s very unusual, for him, and as far as Lithuania knows, it always has been. Of course, Estonia practically lived a whole life before he even existed, but he likes to think he knows him well by now.

Ukraine tuts, turning back. “I have some salad, if you’d like that?”

“That’s…”

“I’ll put my fucking fist in your mouth—”

“I’d like to see you try!”

Lithuania blinks. “That sounds nice, thank you, Ukraine.”

With a slightly pained look, she slides a small plastic container across the table, and he hands her his second sandwich.

“You can’t take me, Estonia.”

“Ha! You fucking think?”

That makes Ukraine raise her eyebrows while she chews the sandwich, though Lithuania is less impressed. Just because Estonia doesn’t swear a lot, doesn’t mean it is particularly surprising either.

“Oh,” Belarus says, voice startlingly low in obvious challenge, “I would love to see you try.”

She has, Lithuania sees, crowded close to Estonia and is poking him in the chest with her long, black nails. Estonia is narrowing his eyes behind his glasses as he gazes down at her, drawn up to his full height. His fingers are flexing, and his nostrils flare.

Ukraine hums, swallowing, and says, “Do you think we should—”

Lithuania can’t even say which of them moves first, that’s how fast it happens; between one blink and the next, Belarus has her hands wrung into Estonia’s sweater, his hands are in her long hair, and she stumbles backwards as their mouths slam together. Lithuania hears her make a sound deep in her throat that he never imagined she could even produce.

“Uh,” Ukraine says.

She’s just as frozen in place as Lithuania is, both of them staring as Estonia backs Belarus up until she hits the fridge, their lips still locked and moving frantically. His glasses are knocked askew, and he is messing up Belarus's hair beyond belief.

“Lithuania,” Ukraine whispers urgently, “what in the world?”

He can only make a confused noise in reply, watching with morbid fascination as Belarus runs her hands across Estonia’s back and one of his long legs presses up between her thighs. What in the world, indeed.

Oh, thank god, they’re parting now—no, that’s not better. Both are breathing heavily. Belarus grins wildly up at Estonia, who honest-to-god smirks back and moves his leg, both of them obviously forgetting they are in a kitchen. With other people. She’s running her hands up under his sweater now!

Just as the two of them lean in again and press their lips back together, Ukraine whistles sharply between her fingers. Belarus knocks her head against the fridge, and Estonia stumbles back, tripping over his own feet. Both are flushed when they look over. As if it wasn’t weird enough before; Lithuania never thought he’d see the day Belarus blushed.

“Please get a room,” Ukraine says, sounding exasperated.

“We’re in a—” both of them start at the same time. They look at each other. Ukraine whistles once more before they start again, although Lithuania doesn’t know whether they were about to continue making out or arguing.

Estonia clears his throat, slowly disentangling himself from Belarus, who smooths down first his sweater and then her own hair, and her skirt.

“We should…” he starts. Belarus rolls her eyes, shakes her head, and then, without another word, she drags him out of the kitchen.

Ukraine and Lithuania sit in stunned silence for a while, blinking at each other. Eventually, Ukraine slowly picks up the cheese sandwich, lifting it to her mouth.

“What the fuck!” Latvia shouts, bursting into the room. “Why are Belarus and Estonia making out in the hall? I was gone for half an hour!”

Lithuania drops his forehead on the kitchen table.

[council-of-beetroot]

maybe the real eldritch horror was bureaucracy all along. no but fr i love when hima shows like tolys holding his paperwork. whats on the paper? probably nothing, but he better get it done soon! theres so much to do! and ivan sitting at his desk. wtf is his job title? who would let him sign off anything important? wasnt he like digging up oil 2 seconds ago? now he has an important Office Job? also love when its a modern setting but they do nothing online, just still walking around with paperwork

Unironically Yes, indeed.

"fuck you Janet! I'm not going to your cousin's baby shower"

Lietpru: office politics like never before

I mean take this segment of Hetalia fantasia 3

Liet (Lithuania): Ah, I’m so, so busy. Just when I think the economy’s recovered a little, I end up being this busy! Ohh, I just want to relax and spend an entire day eating the pointy portions of Sakotis right now…

Liet’s Boss: Hey! Make sure you send all these documents overseas too!

Liet: All right! Ugh, more work… Maybe I should build a tower out of this mountain of documents just like that thing in France’s home.

And then we have Ivan who basically has one insane boss after another saddled with really whatever job the government sees fit, mining, paperwork, managing the eastern bloc and making sure they don't kill one another,

And Ivan like any middle management immediate gives most of the work to someone beneath him.

Latvia would be that fresh out of college intern who is really wonders how the how operation stays a float

Gilbert is Gilbert

Feliks is like that secretary or person at the front desk whose only job is to point you in the direction of whatever meeting your supposed to go as well as dish out all the hot gossip.

It's honestly such a good setup for real

But yeah I usually in fics will have Tolys be assigned the most mundane or pointless tasks by Ivan. I wrote an office fic and gave him a mound of paperwork from Ivan and in my latest fic I had him rearranging furniture for Ivan just for Ivan to decide he wants it back the way it was.

Ivan is so extra in his ways I swear 🤣🤣

[canmom]

l'aventure de canmom à annecy épisode DEUX - lundi 2 - cats and pigs

So this one's going to be a little chaotic in terms of order of events but hey. Let's gooo.

First up! I saw Flow, as mentioned earlier. Director Gints Zilbalodis from Latvia was the very first person to win the Contrechamp award at Annecy in 2019 for his solo-animated movie Away. Now he has a team, and they decided to make a totally wordless movie about a cat. Honestly I could leave it at that - this is a movie which you should watch unspoiled and just let it take you on a ride - but for a more detailed summary...

Our adorable little cat is living alone in the forest, surrounded by statues left by their former owner, when the world abruptly gets flooded, sending the cat on a journey to try to find higher ground and survive. The cat falls in with a group of other animals - over the course of the film, this group grows to include a capybara, a ring-tailed lemur, a secretarybird and a dog. It's the story of the struggles of these animals as they try to navigate the rising water towards higher ground, dealing with both outside threats and conflict within the group. I won't tell you where they end up but things get a tad mystical.

The thing is this film is totally wordless. The animation has to do absolutely everything. And it does so with aplomb. This is hands down some of the best character animation I've ever seen in a CG movie. Every animal moves naturally and expressively, their relationships shown with humour and clear expression. I honestly don't know how they did it so well.

It's also gorgeous on a rendering level. I'm not entirely sold on the posterisation effect used on the animals, but their environments are so vivid and richly detailed, looking natural even as they enter stranger architectural zones. Under water, over water, in storms... it looks absolutely great. It makes me so happy that this was done in Blender, it's like, that's what we dreamed of back in the day on the blenderartists forums.

The film already got a Cannes nom, which is wild for animation, and honestly while I haven't seen the other features yet, this is gonna be a tough act to follow and I think it has a pretty good shot at winning. I have no insight into the mind of the annecy jurors though! Regardless, spectacular film, makes me really want to make shit in blender lol.

I got some photos of the team getting a standing ovation at the end but it's super late so I'll have to upload them later lol.

Later I saw the premiere of The Pig That Survived Foot and Mouth Disease, a new Korean film which makes a much better case for using mocap in an animated horror movie, also in the midnight specials slot. Impressively all the roles of around 30 characters were played by one mocap actor, which is wild. It's a classic Korean style of film - a spiral of death and trauma rooted in social violence, particularly military hazing and animal agriculture.

A pig, surviving the mass slaughter of pigs during the foot and mouth epidemic, eats the body of the farmer who raised him and transforms to become more human and becomes something of a cult leader for wild boars; a military deserter becomes a yeti-like creature but finds new hope when he rescues a girl from her suicide attempt, but is she even real?

It calls to mind films like King of Pigs and The Fake, and it's no less uncompromisingly bleak in its view of society - but by comparison to those films, it's shot very stylishly, with a cool nonphotorealistic shader and a frequently gorgeous forest setting. It's not as fancy as something like Flow, the models looking a little videogamey at times, but it's definitely solid - the rigs detailed enough to capture the acting. The style works very well for the film, and there's a couple of really standout stylised sequences, playing with religious iconography or dream sequences.

The film it reminded me most of is actually Unicorn Wars, another violent story of transformation and people going a bit nuts in the woods. But it also gets a bit Shakespearean with all the stabbings by the end.

Whatever you compare it to, it's a compelling drama, unblinkingly facing the cruelty of society. The two directions of escape - the human who wants to live like the animals, free from social cruelty, and the animal who wants to live as a human, free from the imminent threat of death, present a strong contrast and a good pincer movement on the theme of what it means to be human.

Sadly it didn't have nearly the turnout as WSDIB, but I did get to tell the director and mocap actor I liked the film - unfortunately I don't know enough Korean to really ask the questions I wanted to (though I learned they used Unreal for rendering) but the director did very kindly run over to his friend to give me a little postcard with some art.

I wish the crowd had been more enthusiastic tbh, this was a good movie!

I also watched a bunch of XR stuff today, and another WIP panel for Canadian film Death Does Not Exist which is looking real cool, more on that in a mo... and I met Malaysian director Suresh Eriyat in a comic book shop and bought his art book direct from him which he fully signed for me, bless him...

seriously how adorable is this?

[beardedmrbean]

[Huey Zoomer Anon]

You know given the difficulty situation I was in as a teen. I couldn’t be ass to research what the Jews did post holocaust as I had personal shit to deal with

Also I’m still generally shocked that Jewish people helped with the civil rights movement. But why? It wouldn’t seem beneficial to them

…Has online activism made me think activism is transitional af to where there no altruism in it?

But what about the white goys who said they are Jewish “Allies”

Anyone else remember how tumblr portrayed Jewish people as perfectly little angels with the mentality of a mentally handicapped 3 year who can’t separate fiction from reality?

I do! It cause me to hold a grudge that I still have to this day

And the Jews never EVER did any form of violence or crimes against humanity in the past!…Just ignore the city massacre Simenon and Levi did when they were 14 and 13…did Jacob drop the two as babies and didn’t tell anyone? I’m trying to understand how did two boys who voiced just broke decided they should slaughter a city entire population of men to avenge their sister?

Or Joshua conquest of the Canaan…or that “act” the tribe of Benjamin did to the Levite concubine that lead to a civil war nearly wiping the Benjaminites

Or that terrible thing Amnon did to his half sister Tamar, which lead Absalom killing Amnon and causing another civil war

Sorry it a whiplash actually paying attention to what the ancient Israelites did the past. Like shiiiiit, why are ancient Israelites warriors are used in games or inspired fantasy warriors?

Now there a 180 by the same goddam people saying that Israeli Jews are doing the exact same thing Nazis did to their ancestors towards Palestinians.

Well shit what are Jews meant to be? Self destructive people with a victim complex?

Not like I know a certain community or two who are like that…

Also I’m still generally shocked that Jewish people helped with the civil rights movement. But why? It wouldn’t seem beneficial to them

They helped because it was the right thing to do and they know what it is like to face oppression, they were on a very similar playing field to the black community for a good long while in the US.

I know I've told you about Lois Armstrong and his Jewish neighbors that came from Latvia, and his shock that they were treated like he was even though they had white skin.

Did You Know That Louis Armstrong Wore a Star of David?

In his memoir Louis Armstrong + the Jewish Family in New Orleans, La., the Year of 1907, he describes his discovery that the Karnofskys were also subject to discrimination by “other white folks' nationalities who felt that they were better than the Jewish race… I was only seven years old but I could easily see the ungodly treatment that the White Folks were handing the poor Jewish family whom I worked for.” Armstrong wore a Star of David pendant for the rest of his life and wrote about what he learned from them: “how to live—real life and determination.”

Still places that don't let Jewish people in to this day, private clubs and such, we can also look at what is being excused with Antisemitism these days as opposed to anti black racism, especially in the western world.

Or that terrible thing Amnon did to his half sister Tamar, which lead Absalom killing Amnon and causing another civil war All the stuff before here too

As I've said on a multitude of occasions, nothing is hidden it's all written down for the world to see, book has been a global best seller since long before a best seller list existed.

It's not something they teach in public school because they're not really allowed to afaik, as for all the wars and killing and such, that's just the way things worked back then, it's been 2-3000+ years maybe we can just see how the last 1000 have gone and run with that.

Sorry it a whiplash actually paying attention to what the ancient Israelites did the past. Like shiiiiit, why are ancient Israelites warriors are used in games or inspired fantasy warriors?

might have inspired some, but as I've said, what they were doing was fairly normal for the area when they were doing it, could very easily create a generic character and country and avoid all the angry people you would get if you flat out said it was the Hebrews.

Now there a 180 by the same goddam people saying that Israeli Jews are doing the exact same thing Nazis did to their ancestors towards Palestinians.

If that were the case there would be a much higher body count if for no other reason than there would have been a siege where nothing got in or out, obviously with the exception of the random smuggler.

That and their internet would have been cut off and we never would have gotten all those different tumblr accounts sending us asks begging for donations.

Well shit what are Jews meant to be? Self destructive people with a victim complex? Not like I know a certain community or two who are like that…

Seems like that first bit would make some people much happier as for the other, I imagine we could all come up with a few.

[lilcindy]

Yandere Tolys Laurinaitis

Warning: obsessive behaviors, Poland is mentioned, mentions of wars, mentions of Word War II, historical events

Disclaimer: This can be cringe-worthy since this is the personification of a country, reduced to some anime trope, what I am indulging in can be harmful. Also, I go after comic events in the manga, not historical

━ A healthy relationship consists of two healthy individuals who acknowledge and accept responsibility for themselves, and Lithuania is a magnet for toxic ones.

━ His victim must be a nation, It takes a lot of time for Tolys to get used to someone, he's even willing to ignore the people who actually respect and appreciate him ( Estonia & Latvia) for his longer relationships.

━ Tries to be helpful to everyone, especially to his victim. Like helping them with legal issues, and giving them food and protection, If Lithuanian is not the official language of the Nation! darling, if we can say that, he will translate his most famous books, into their official language(s), which will be in vain since he never asked your permission in the first place. It doesn't matter, he LOVES helping/working for you.

━ As a yandere, Lithuania feels pretty threatened by his victim's independence, mainly due to a lack of security within himself, but doesn't really do anything about it. Finds it embarrassing to feel that way and he hates embarrassing stuff! ( attempts to restrict your choices many times)

━ He always overthinks his relationships with his obsession.

━ He is genuinely a kind person, unlike the average Yandere, he wouldn't wish to harm his love rivals. 

━ Too infatuated with his obsession that he can't see their flaws.

Before the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth:  

━ He used to control Middle and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages. He's a great leader and will always give you his best strategies. Since you're a Nation, he's not that overprotective despite being a Yandere but if you clearly are in danger, he won't hesitate to cut some throats.

 ━ It says that 'he used to be awesome before but he hasn't been blessed by his bosses'. I think Lithuania is willing to joke around, however, I don't think he will actively seek a romantic relationship with them. 

━ Why? He's born in the middle of a war, and as I said, he always overthinks his relationships with you, It may sound awful, but if you're not Poland, he will often hyperventilate when he puts scenarios in mind, where you and he had to war with each other.

━  Poland often calls him out for his obsession, calling it creepy, and weird as hell. Though,

After the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth:  

━  The time when he was taken by Russia, well...he gets less time to be with you since Mother Russia overworks him to the point of exhaustion, Don't worry, he is Russia's favorite!

━  That is why Russia overworks him to the point of exhaustion. If You had bad blood with Russia in the past or currently, he will ask, in a forceful way, Lithuania to stop his yandere tenancies, after all, he is his property. ♡

━ If not, he still doesn't have time for you...he always sheers a tear while thinking about you. Lithuania will ask Poland for his news about you while drowning in alcohol. 

 ━ If you are also Russia's subordinate. He will always be concerned for you, like extremely, literally handed three handmade documents that tell how to please the Great Fearful Russia without being bullied.

━ Would hesitate to cut some throats, since over time he developed a weak stomach, and couldn't handle the gore too much. 

Modern Days:

━ Now that Mother Russia is gone.  

━ If he was asked oh-so-aggressively by Russia to stop his obsession, he would immediately rush to your house, clean it, and cook for you, as I said before he loves working for you.

━ If you guys are both subordinates of Ivan, he will boldly ask you to get rid of stuff that reminds you of him. He will NOT insist if you rightly so refuse.

━ He has a better relationship with Poland, and this one doesn't approve of this relationship and constantly reminds Liet that his obsession isn't normal.

━ He will never let go of his unhealthy crush.

[gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot]

Chapter 8 Part 1: Metus Obscuritatis (Fear of the Dark)

Previous / Masterlist / Next

‘‘You sent my Sergeant there with no clue, and now you’re pissed that she’s not listening to you? What did you think it was going to happen?’’ He slammed his fist on the table again, but a bit softer this time. ‘‘Do you fucking want her to become another Ghost?’’

‘‘She already is’’ Laswell shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. ‘‘Has she told you how she got out? After Transnistria?’’

Price’s blue, cerulean eyes narrowed dangerously, and the Captain crossed his arms. Dealing with one Ghost was tricky enough even in his best days, and if he had to worry about two of them, he’d go grey faster than he thought.

‘‘No. She said she broke out’’

‘‘Oh, she did. Through the front door. Leaving ashes behind’’ She sighed again, seeing the situation getting out of hand without Price’s backing. ‘‘I sent a team to clean afterwards. It was a carnage.’’

https://archiveofourown.org/works/47442772

‘‘Confirm, Wolf 7’’

The air seemed colder somehow. Even with the sun timidly appearing over the trees, painting the sky with delicate red brushes.

Riot was looking at her comm as if the device was a venomous snake, eyes narrowed and the ice in them darker, the rest of her face inscrutable beneath her half balaclava. Ghost could tell she was tense though, the fabric was tight enough that he was able to make out her clenched jaw.

‘‘Hey’’ He muttered, closing the distance between them until he was towering over her, so close that he could feel the brush of her arm against his vest each time she took air in. She looked up at him, eyebrows together, conflicted.

‘‘I asked her not do this. She sent me here to make sure I recognised him. He’s one of Rico’s lieutenants.’’ She whispered, her hand gripping one of her knives. ‘‘I should have known. I knew.’’

Ghost looked around once, and then his hand grabbed the back of her combat belt and pulled her closer until her side was pressed tightly against his chest, still looking down at her. She didn’t protest, and her free hand slowly laced her fingers around one of the straps of his plate carrier.

‘‘Wolf’’

‘‘Some years ago I was called to join a Special Operations temporal group to support a couple of MI6 agents abroad.’’ She sighed. ‘‘We never saw each other and worked alone, but to communicate used the codename Wolf and a number. After that one, each time I’ve been sent on a solo mission they have used that code to ‘activate’ me, so to speak.’’

‘‘Nothing any of us haven’t done before’’ Ghost’s voice seemed unfazed, his hand still gripping her belt to keep her close. ‘‘I’m usually just Ghost, or Bravo 0 7’’

‘‘You’re not just a ghost’’ Riot muttered, and looked up at him. ‘‘I was done with secret shit. Secret shit killed my squad. I just want to… I should have known better. I knew she wouldn’t keep her word, and still…’’

‘‘All of us have made that mistake, some more than once. People you know can hurt you the most.’’ He shrugged, looking down at her, his brown eyes locked on hers. ‘‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, lovie. There’s a silver lining to this shit’’

‘‘Which is?’’She smiled sadly under the balaclava. She had to. His tone, even gruff, was comforting somehow. Lovie. She even felt pathetic feeling so comforted.

‘‘You’re not doing this alone’’ Ghost kept his eyes on hers. There was something there, in her eyes, in those blue irises with grey tones. He still didn’t know what it was. He just knew he wanted it. Not for the first time, he felt thankful for wearing the skull mask when her eyes narrowed in a smile. Not for the first time, he wished to rip that mask off.

‘‘I wouldn’t want anyone else’’

-

In Latvia

‘‘The fuck are you doing, Kate?’’

Captain Price’s voice could cut rocks when angry. That was something Ghost had told Gaz and Soap long ago, and now, both of them were enjoying to not be on the receiving end of his anger. In silence, both of them watched the scene from the corner of the room.

‘‘Wolf 7, confirm’’ Laswell insisted on the comm, receiving only static. ‘‘Riot!’’

‘‘You better start talking or i cut you from the feed right now and order them back’’ Price slammed his hand on the table, next to Laswell, and stared at her hardly, his blue eyes promising a fucking storm if she didn’t comply. ‘‘And I assure you I am absolutely positive about whose orders they are going to follow’’

‘‘I needed her there to confirm the HeadHunter’s presence, John’’ The Station Chief looked at him, unfazed at his anger, she had seen it many times before. ‘‘And I need them to bring that man back here, he can take us to Captain Rico, and Rico could give us Shepherd… Riot, answer!’’

‘‘You sent my Sergeant there with no clue, and now you’re pissed that she’s not listening to you? What did you think it was going to happen?’’ He slammed his fist on the table again, but a bit softer this time. ‘‘Do you fucking want her to become another Ghost?’’

‘‘She already is’’ Laswell shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. ‘‘Has she told you how she got out? After Transnistria?’’

Price’s blue, cerulean eyes narrowed dangerously, and the Captain crossed his arms. Dealing with one Ghost was tricky enough even in his best days, and if he had to worry about two of them, he’d go grey faster than he thought.

‘‘No. She said she broke out’’

‘‘Oh, she did. Through the front door. Leaving ashes behind’’ She sighed again, seeing the situation getting out of hand without Price’s backing. ‘‘I sent a team to clean afterwards. It was a carnage.’’

‘‘Good girl, I’d say’’

‘‘You adopted her already?’’ Laswell rolled her eyes, trying to think how to salvage the situation. ‘‘Ghost, do you copy?’’

‘‘No’’

From their corner, Soap snorted loudly at Ghost’s dry answer. Price shot him a warning look, but before he could say anything, Riot called him.

‘‘Price’’ God, she sounded cold. The image of a younger and broken Simon Riley flashed in his memory again. Price, I can’t do it anymore.

‘‘I’m here, kid’’ Like hell am I going to allow you to become another Ghost.

‘‘Confirm’’

‘‘I have given you an order, Sergeant’’ Laswell insisted, but knowing already it was getting nowhere.

‘‘Price. Confirm’’ Riot ignored her completely, her intentions and loyalty clear.

‘‘Hunt that bastard down and then you two come back’’ Price didn’t even try to not sound smug, ignoring Laswell’s eyes. ‘‘Ghost, provide support’’

‘‘Roger’’

‘‘If we want to find Shepherd we need Floyd alive, Price’’ The Station Chief was clearly not happy, jaw clenched and arms crossed, but tried to keep her composure. ‘‘I need…’’

Price turned abruptly to put a finger right under Laswell’s nose, leaning in closer until their eyes were close.

‘‘Don’t give me that shit. Don’t try to sway me your way when you have sent someone that you yourself said was deeply traumatised to come across someone responsible of her torture without warning’’ He let out a deep grunt, pacing now next to the desk. ‘‘Yesterday you told me to keep her on a leash, and now you’re setting her loose and want her to bark at your command’’

‘‘We do whatever is needed to protect our countries, John’’

‘‘Yeah well, I hope that comforts you when she hunts you down for this’’

[iced-coffeebean]

Had this sitting in my drafts for a hot second and I'm bored while I wait for the college week to end soooooooo I decided to work on this <3 _______ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ(ꜱ) ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?

-

I'm not really sure tbh.

I've been in the Hetalia fandom since for a good while now but I never really gave the micronations a second thought. But as of recently, I've just been SO intrigued by them.

I got attached to Molossia cause he's a micronation in Nevada and I'm a Nevadan so I guess close proximity to him geographically??

I figured, "You know, since he's a micronation from my state, I should probably put in an effort to try to get to know him." So I began to do a bunch of research and stuff and I eventually started vibin with his character and then I was just "...Jesus christ, we are practically twins-"

Slowjamastan is another muse of mine because of his connection with Molossia. His possible backstory and upbringing is also just a really interesting thing to unravel so. He is in the brain at all times too ❗️❗️❗️

He's a relatively new character but he's already managed to snatch my heart <3

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ?

-

Anything I just don't really vibe with or that makes me uncomfortable. Usually, dead dove items unless I'm going INSANE and I want to emotionally wreck people but yk.

If you really want to know, you'd probably have to ask me 1 on 1 and I'd tell you. Just tell me your list and I'll tell you if I wouldn't vibe with it or not.

I also don't really like Russia all that much so I try to avoid writing him or mentioning him if possible. It's probably the Latvia kinnie in me but Russia gives me the ICK and Russia enjoyers also seem to spook me just a bit. Usually the people I've been around that like him don't end up being the best of lads so... Sorry </3

I'm also not a big fan of horror so, don't expect that much from me either </3

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ?

-

I'm not really sure tbh. I like the aspect of building out a character is possible and seeing them go through changes and such.

I really like writing AUs for things.

I also love writing Molossia and his relationships/interactions with other micronations, Slowjamastan in specific.

I'm slowly opening up to Ladonia and he already has a lot of canon interactions with him and even seems to be on really good terms with him so that I'm taking that and running with it.

I love werewolf AUs SO MUCH but I haven't yet to write one. Hopefully one day <3

ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ?

-

They come to me in dreams-/j

Joking joking but tbh, I just exist tbh and they come to me.

I normally do a lot of research on characters and adapt their way of being/personality into how I think would fit for them based on the info I got for them.

For characters I'm really passionate about, I try to consume as much of their canon content as possible while reading fics available about them and trying to get into their shoes, yk?

I try to BE the character for a hot second to understand them better. It just helps thing imo.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ?

-

I ALWAYS HAVE MUSIC PLAYING

I need it. There are very few times I've tried writing things in silence but I don't usually get very far </3

I always try to listen to music or songs that fit the mood of what I'm writing. It just gives inspo and drive for the writing <3

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ?

-

I usually do things in the moment but depending on who I'm talking to, I try to better plan things out when I respond so I sound like a normal human being rather than the feral, impulsive mf I am.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ?

-

I love shipping <33 It makes things fun but I do enjoy characters and interactions between characters without the need for romance.

I just like how you can play around character in ways you probably couldn't before when you add a dash of romance or romantic uses into the mix.

ᴡʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱ/ɴᴀᴍᴇ?

-

I'm some variation of Iced-Coffeebean on social medias and I usually go by Coffee. My 2p name (for shits and giggles) is Tea <3

I jokingly call myself *insert kinnie name* kinnie on discord.

I'm also called Mythos due to that being the main DnD character I play.

So I go by Coffee, Tea, and/or Mythos <3

ᴀɢᴇ?

-

I'm 19 but sometimes I feel like I'm a 28-year-old stuck in a teen's body from how hyperindependant I am and how that makes me stress over everything and makes me hella overthink. I'm surrounded by people that are older than me but act so childish and it makes me wanna rip my hair out sometimes </3

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ?

-

I'm an Aquarius <3

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ(ꜱ)?

-

I FUCKING LOVE GREEN!!!! GREENS LIKE MY TUMBLR PAGE SETUP AND DISCORD BANNER ARE SO ❗️❗️❗️

I also love navy blue, grays, tans, blacks, and lavender!

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢ(ꜱ)?

-

Shooting Star by Owl City is an ALL TIME BANGER But I have top 5 songs that are ROTTING my brain rn (no specific order):

Pedastal by Aiko

Roméo by Pierre De Maere

Zari by Marina Satti

Luktelk by Silvester Belt

Daughter of the Sun by Aiko

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

-

Breathless (1960) by Jean-Luc Godard

Had to watch it for my film class. It was okay.

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

-

La Casa De Los Famosos for a reality show I've watched recently. Aside from that, probably either YGO or Hetalia. I don't remember. It's been a second.

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ?

-

Appetite of a People-Pleaser by Ghost and Pals cause I'm going feral </3

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ?

-

I'd honestly kill for some pupusas de queso con chicharron. That with a non-alcoholic sangria and MMMM.

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ?

-

Probably Spring or Fall.

As Nevadan, anything that isn't 116 F/46.6 C is WONDERFUL. But anything lower than 45 F/7.2 C is COLD for my desert ass </3

So naturally I enjoy the months that aren't actively trying to kill me. I've only seen snow twice in my lifetime in my city so if it starts snowing (despite me liking the idea of snow), I'd actually just combust into flames and explode.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ?

-

I guess you could say that @starfishes-and-watercolors is my Tumblr bestie <333

We met via AO3 and then chatted on here before moving to Discord. But she has seen the best and worst of me fandom wise and IRL wise.

She helped me stay motivated with YGO GX content, specifically Anikishipping content or Shou/Syrus content. She just deals with me being a Hetalia thot now but yeah, I still really care about her and I'm glad to have met her.

______ I was tagged by @heta-micronomics

Tagging: @starsmadeinheaven, @starfishes-and-watercolors, and @stardust-revolver

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Okay, a few thoughts on the Semi Final 1 acts

1. Norway 🇳🇴 - Alessandra was kind of a let down. Maybe it's because she was opening the entire Contest and the show got to her but her performance at her national final remains superior. More energy, more passion and you could tell she was actually enjoying it. The crowd went crazy when they still hadn't announced her as a qualifier though so, obviously, she's still gonna do okay. But I saw a tweet that next year's Contest would definitely be held in one of the three Nordics of Semi 1. Not in Norway, I don't think.

2. Malta 🇲🇹 - Such a shame honestly. I can't see why this song never got the hype it deserved. It's peak Eurovision, it's fun and The Busker gave their everything on that stage. It's made even more frustrating because y'all know this would have qualified in the second Semi 🙂

3. Serbia 🇷🇸 - Wow. The crowd went absolutely crazy during Luke's performance. They even chanted the "secret" 'bitch' part 🤣 He really was great. I expect perhaps a bit more in the final now that's he's secured his place in it.

4. Latvia 🇱🇻 - I said it last night too, the last few seconds were they all sing / mouth the Latvian part were haunting. I almost teared up. But, yeah, ultimately I can also see why they didn't make it. Maybe a jury would have saved them but I don't think they would have gotten an overwhelming amount of points from them either because Remo would have syphoned them up, and as we saw he was still able to qualify on televoting alone so yeah.

5. Portugal 🇵🇹 - WOW. Miss girl. Miss mother. She brought her A+ game alright! Everyone has been hyping up her performance style since Festival da Canção and the pre parties. Because the song is only ok but her performance really elevates it to new heights. I only started feeling really good about this after her rehearsal footage but wow. It was even better! Mimicat really ate that stage up. I don't wanna say she was a pleasant surprise because we knew she would qualify, but she did even better than expected is all in saying.

6. Ireland 🇮🇪 - I liked the song but yeah the performance was not on par with everyone else's. I felt he may have been kinda nervous? Idk.

7. Croatia 🇭🇷 - I have been watching them perform this song ever since their national final and I was still not ready for... that. I can't imagine people's reactions seeing them for the first time 😂 Amazing. This is how you do a political song. Zoran's vocals were also better live this time.

8. Switzerland 🇨🇭 - Remo's vocals were really good. We were pretty much guaranteed to have that but even I was pleasantly surprised. Out of all the sad slow songs his was definitely the best and the juries are gonna eat him up. I gotta say his message is a tiny bit tone deaf though like, he keeps saying that he's in an age that usually Swiss guys get drafted in the army and that he couldn't imagine being in an actual war like... Sweetie, what are you saying 🤣 I doubt comically neutral Switzerland is gonna send you to war anytime soon, and if the Swiss army is anything like the Greek one, you're just gonna do lots of chores, maybe some desk work and a couple of patrols. You're gonna be okay trust me! But then again, Europe is pretty tone deaf on most issues so this is ultimately a good fit.

9. Israel 🇮🇱 - The second disappointment of the night 😬 Like, you don't understand, every day at the gym, her and Alessandra usually come back to back on the playlist and they literally give me so much energy boost 😂 I didn't get that last night. The song is still messy, it's like BLACKPINK and she, apparently has the questionable vocals to match. Yay 😬 She killed the dance break of course so at least she's got that on BLACKPINK but she's no Eleni Foureira, no Chanel. They both danced throughout their performances as well but were still able to give good vocals, Chanel even hit a high note after her dance break. If she doesn't fix her vocals by the final the juries are gonna vote her down. Hard.

10. Moldova 🇲🇩 - Like Mimicat, Pasha also did better than expected. I honestly don't remember his 2012 entry, other than it's title, but this will stay for years! Yes it's this year's Shum, just like Fulenn was last year's, but Europe clearly enjoys pagan rituals in the forest so I hope someone continues to perform them each year. Maybe it's a secret EBU rule; someone has to do the ritual to appease Martin Osterhdal otherwise he'll invite America or sth.

11. Sweden 🇸🇪 - Miss Queen killed it ok. When I saw her Melodifestivalen performance I wasn't sure about the weird LED sandwich thing and I honestly couldn't understand what the fuck she was saying, and when I saw rehearsal footage of the smaller Liverpool LED I felt her staging got fucked a bit but they actually found the proper camera angles to make it work. Loreen sounded amazing, probably the best female vocals of last night, so yeah I can honestly see this winning again.

12. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 - They were cute. Wholesome. But that's about it. This was such an inoffensive performance but I feel like it was ultimately not memorable at all too.

13. Czechia 🇨🇿 - Oh my god, the Vesna ladies KILLEDT itt!! So happy and proud of them. They became my favourites during rehearsals not only because Austria didn't bring it as much as I wanted but also because their act itself is amazing. Nothing more to add. Very happy.

14. Netherlands 🇳🇱 - Wow. I feel so sad for them, because they got a lot of shit in the last few months about their vocals and I guess it was kind of justified based on this performance, Dion's at least because Mia kind of kept it consistent but... Yeah 😬 I hope they still had fun though because they look like genuinely nice people, all of them this year. I honestly don't think there's any annoying contestants this year so losing any of them genuinely feels crushing this year, but I feel extra sad for Mia and Dion because, after Blanka, I feel like they might have been trashed the most this year.

15. Finland 🇫🇮 - He's bringing it alright. The performance is really nice and it's basically what I expected of him. The dances are also very much into this. They're giving a lot of drama and I love that. At times I was actually focusing on them instead of Kääri. The crowd went absolutely crazy too. Probably the loudest response. However... The vocals during the end 😬 Oof. If he doesn't fix that by the final the juries are gonna go after him hard.

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2003 - Wrap Up

2003 is an iconic Eurovision year. They year that ended the dark period. The year they fixed the voting. The year the girl bops broke through. The year the right song won (sorry Belgium). The hosts were fun, the small budget was spent in the right places, the controversy was confined to a single delegation whose outrages seem to me, more and more like a politically confected response to the problems and allegations surrounding the voting in 2002 - and even they had a good song.

Look at how many of the Eurovision qualifiers made it into my list this year. The winner hasn't been this high since 1993! In the current songfestival.be top 500, there are 6 songs from 2003, up 3 from 2003 - a 100% increase!

That's not to say that the national finals weren't good. They were and they chose well. Melfest (and the Nationaal Songfestival) alighted on its modern structure and stuffed itself with what Sweden loves most. Iceland and RÚV outdid themselves by organising a national final that was filled with Icelandic musical talent that could only have been bettered if they'd managed to get Björk and Sigur Rós. Poland put on its first national final with Krajowe Eliminacje and instantly had national flavour and quality as if it had been going for many year.

Around Europe, several names, who would come to be synonymous with Eurovision over then next two decades, were entering with their débuts. There was disco, there was indie, there was Europop, there was jazz and metal and schlager and folk and experimentation. There were even songs in made-up languages. Wherever you look around Europe in 2003 there's improved quality and huge variety.

The voting sequence of 2003 is possibly the best one ever. There were few technical problems and the ones they did have didn't effect the outcome. The hosts have a few moments of the usual cringe, but their styling and looks cannot be beaten. Latvia is a very, very cool country and despite a lot of criticism before hand, the evening itself was a triumph.

The inventive set design and the magnificent green room would set the minds of future production design teams alight with ideas and possibilities. If any year demonstrates what can be achieved with creativity on a budget - even if the first thing that comes to the mind of the average Eurovision fan thinking back to 2003 is modelling clay.

So many things went well. Even better for 2004, the EBU are letting everyone in. Announced prior to the final, the semi-final era is upon us. No more relegations! Everyone can take part now - even Europe's small countries and microstates who left during the 1990s. Eastern Europe can finally be properly welcomed to the Eurovision family. Everything is awesome again!

Goodbye Riga, we'll miss you. It's onto Istanbul and the third first time winner in a row. Türkiye, show us what you can do.

[hyperfocusedcloneshipper]

First question: Why.

Second question: Do you feel like you understand Dylan better now that you've tortured us with these characters?

Third question: Do you find it difficult to keep track of all the plot points?

First Answer: Because I loooooove Latvia Mike so so so much and love putting him in situations and then puzzling over how to pull him back out.

Second Answer: Lolol. This is very funny to me because as you know this series began as a direct response to mourning Latvia Mike after 107 came out. While I don't think I come anywhere CLOSE to Dylan when it comes to the torturing the audience with these characters, I will say that when people tell me that a fic has genuinely affected them it is sort of thrilling. Not because I want to make my audience hurt exactly but because it means that I wrote well enough to make you care.

Third Answer: Not really! I do have a calendar that I created specifically to map out the timeline of IRP (Love in the Time of Iterations and Retrocausal Pockets) so that I don't mess up the timing of things especially when I make reference back to events that happened earlier in the series. And when I am planning out a big future arc I tend to make an outline and build that outline out over time so that by the time I get to actually writing it I already have a fairly good idea of what's going to happen (though those outlines are just guidelines and I tend to change a decent amount by the time I get there).

At the beginning of the current compound/kidnapping arc I did create this note (see below) so that I could make reference to it as I wrote since I assumed I'd forget which Mike was doing what. But Ultimately I really only referenced it when I needed to remember which Michael had Mike 3 and which one had Support Mikey 😂

Spoilers for recent chapters of IRP (Love in the Time of Iterations and Retrocausal Pockets) below the cut

[eurotastic]

Eurovision reviews 2023 - Semi final 1

Eurovision week has officially started, and that means it's about time I write my reviews for Eurovision 2023. I went to the London Eurovision preparty in April, and I had the best time, and for that reason, my opinions are partially based on the live performances that I saw there. As usual, I'm primarily basing my reviews on the song quality (do I want to listen to it outside of the competition?), and the preview videos for the staging - The full package that we're getting in the actual show. I'm also taking general fandom opinions into consideration with some of the songs, in case I think the fandom is overhyping or underrating an entry. I feel like I'm overexplaining the way I judge the songs, mostly it's just based on vibes, but the bottom line is that these are just my personal opinions and you're all free to send me anonymous hate mail if you disagree.

Norway: Queen of Kings - Alessandra

It's one of the catchiest pop songs of the year, so it's the perfect song to open the semi final with. I just wish the staging would have been improved from the NF, because right now it's looking cheap and unimaginative. It's a fast paced europop song with some pirate vibes, it has so much potential for camp but we're getting nothing visually. Cute whistle note though.

7/10

Malta: Dance (Our Own Party) - The Busker

I understand what they're going for, I really do. Introverted nerds need party songs too, but the song isn't good just because the idea for the song is good. The guy says "do you wanna dance", but the song is too slow and low energy to dance too, it just flatlines. At least they're giving us a strong staging gimmick, and Eurovision always needs an epic sax guy, so this entry isn't a complete failure.

4/10

Serbia: Samo mi se spava - Luke Black

The instrumental is fantastic, and the singing is… Is he even singing or is he just doing some sexy moaning and breathing into the microphone? This is definitely a case of style over substance, but it looks so good on stage that I don't care if the songwriting is a little weak.

7/10

Latvia: Aijā - Sudden Lights

I respect this song way more than I actually enjoy it. It's obvious that these guys are really competent musicians, but that doesn't matter when the song is this forgettable.

4/10

Portugal: Ai Coração - Mimicat

This feels like something out of the early 2000s, for better or for worse. I like how Mimicat is doing her own Moulin Rouge type of thing, but that's the problem, it's just a cabaret performance. Once the competition is over, it's not something I'm going to keep listening to.

5/10

Ireland: We Are One - Wild Youth

"We might be different, we might be unique" - No you're not, you're the most generic band on earth.

2/10

Croatia: Mama ŠČ! - Let 3

First there's the authoritatian version of The Village People singing about tractors and morons, then Lenin shows up with some missiles, and then they start singing about a "crocodile psychopath"…It's so beautiful I could cry. It's completely ridiculous and stupid, but it's obvious that it was made by smart people just playing stupid. Also, this does a better job denouncing Putin and the war than any world peace song ever could. It's the first truly great troll entry of the 2020s.

10/10

Switzerland: Watergun - Remo Forrer

This song makes me feel like the type of conservative right wing American who gets really intense about supporting the military, and I don't like it. It's 2023, and in case you haven't noticed, a country participating in Eurovision has been forced into a war for survival. At this moment, the Ukrainian military is the only thing keeping the country from getting wiped out of existance. In case you haven't noticed, it's an ongoing attempt at genocide. With all that said, it looks like someone didn't notice, because here's some Swiss bitch getting on his moral high horse singing some cutesy, whiny little song about how he doesn't want to be a soldier because he doesn't want to "play with real blood"…..Guess what, you're from fucking Switzerland, nobody's ever forcing you to be a soldier, unlike the Ukrainians who don't have a choice! It's a completely tone deaf choice for 2023, especially coming from the country that's using neutrality as an excuse to avoid solidarity with the rest of Europe. I'm getting the same vibe from this as the shitty world peace songs that Russia would send in the 2010s. I hate hate hate hate hate hate this.

0/10

Israel: Unicorn - Noa Kirel

At first I thought this song was the most annoying thing in the world, but after hearing it in approximately 500 recap videos on Youtube I think I got Stockholm syndromed into loving this. It's literally phenomenmenmenemnal.

8/10

Moldova: Soarele și Luna - Pasha Parfeni

Nobody does weird better than Moldova.

Nobody does weird better than Moldova.

7/10

Sweden: Tattoo - Loreen

Loreen is the greatest artist in the history of Eurovision and she deserves to be the first woman to win the whole thing twice.

10/10

Azerbaijan: Tell Me More - TuralTuranX

It's refreshing to get something this completely uncompetitive from Azerbaijan. There's a lot of good songwriting ideas here, I like the laidback vibes, but at the same time it's too bland to stand out.

5/10

Czechia: My Sister's Crown - Vesna

This song felt a lot bigger when it was released a few months ago. I love the aggressive rap parts and the defiant attitude in the beginning of the song, but then there's the "we stand for you" parts…This song is trying to be everything for everyone, and think it would have benefitted from focusing on just being angry without any lines about world peace and holding hands and whatever else. The production is incredible though, I can never get enough of this Eastern European folk hip hop thing.

8/10

Netherlands: Burning Daylight - Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper

This is the kind of song that I usually can't stand in Eurovision, since it's basically just a bland easy listening radio song. Somehow I don't mind it, it's very well written despite being basic. I'm definitely not voting for it though.

Finland: Cha Cha Cha - Käärijä

It's crazy, it's party, and it's officially my favorite Eurovision song of all time. I love it more than I love Shum, Wild Dances, Rhythm Inside and whichever other song I have called my all time favorite over the years. My favorite things in life outside of Eurovision are professional wrestling and Rammstein, so the music video alone was enough to make me a huge fan of Käärijä. If I see a guy inside a wrestling ring with a huge Rammstein tattoo, obviously that's the guy I'm voting for. It's my most played song of the year on Spotify, and I feel like this whole thing was created in a lab specifically for me. 11/10

[aijamisespava]

10 Eurovision 2023 Songs as...Taylor Swift Albums?

Yes. You heard that right. It was just a silly little idea that came into my head as we say goodbye to the 2023 songs (or not since a lot of them have found homes on our playlists!) and get ready for the 2024 season. It's still early (no songs, and only 2 artists have been announced), so if I do it now, it won't interfere with all the 2024 content we will be prepping for come the new year! So, I've picked 10 songs from the 2023 list and assigned them to a Taylor Swift album (solely based on my opinion, and I just choose the songs without thinking of my personal ranking).

Debut: So...the first album...the hardest one for me to come up with one for. But then, I thought that "What They Say" by Victor Vernicos from Greece kinda fits the bill. Aside from both Taylor and Victor being 16 when they released their respective pieces, "What They Say" gives me some minor "Tied Together With A Smile" vibes, which match the first album rather well.

Fearless: With a song like "Mr. Perfectly Fine" being such a sassy breakup song, I feel that the United Kingdom fits the Fearless bill here. "I Wrote A Song" by Mae Muller would fit onto Fearless perfectly. With the lyrical clapbacks (that could also work on Speak Now), it fits on an album with songs like "Mr. Perfectly Fine" or even the confessional NOT breakup song that is "You Belong With Me"

Speak Now: Speak Now is probably as close as Taylor has gotten to a rock album. With songs like "Better Than Revenge", "Haunted", and even the recently freed from the vault "Electric Touch" have these rock elements...kinda like how "Promise" by Voyager from Australia has those elements too...plus it's one of my mom's winners with her favorite Taylor album.*also taking this moment to wish Danny a speedy recovery!*

Red: I've thought of a couple of songs that would match this album. As Eurovision has as many heartbreak songs as they do love songs. And what's better than Cyprus' "Break A Broken Heart" by Andrew Lambrou for the heartbreak album? I mean, it just works! Right?

1989: I spent some time thinking about this one with it being my favorite Taylor album. And while I almost picked Finland's song, I decided to go for Käärijä's friends over in Slovenia. Joker Out's "Carpe Diem" is fun. It's parties with friends. It's perfect for big cities. What else is those? 1989.

reputation: For this one, it was probably the one that inspired this blog. I chose Serbia's "Samo Mi Se Spava" by Luke Black for reputation. Aside from the specific animal imagery that both the album and the song have (the lobster for the song and snakes for the album), the electro elements are similar to me. Plus, I've called "Samo Mi Se Spava" by villain song and people say you go into your "reputation Era" when you're in your villain era.

Lover: This one was another easy pick. Armenia's entry has the album title in the name! Brunette's "Future Lover" fits the overall theme the Lover album has of...well...love! It also qualifies because a song for your future lover can 100% count....I've written a piece to mine in my vault!

folklore: It's no Eurovision 2023 post without me mentioning Latvia's "Aijā" by Sudden Lights. While the soft rock elements would be better suited for something like Speak Now or Red, I chose folklore for one reason and one reason only. folklore is my favorite album to write to. Sudden Lights has three albums of songs, plus Aijā, plus a couple of post-Eurovision releases that are literally perfect writing music. I've tried it, and their album "Miljards vasaru" ranks up there as a favorite writing album.

evermore: Yeah...I've thought it through. And Moldova's "Soarele Si Luna" by Pasha Parfeni just gives me evermore vibes. Plus, it's kinda cool that I put my winner and my sister's winner as the sister albums. It's just cute.

Midnights: This is gonna sound like a bad joke but hear me out, The Netherlands' "Burning Daylight" by Mia and Dion would fit on Midnights. It sounds and feels reflective, which matches the theme that Midnights was trying to portray. And yeah...the title works too...

So, that's only 10 songs. If a favorite of yours didn't make it, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to assess it! In fact, I'd be willing to do a song not from 2023 if you're dying to know about one of those!

[purecommemasolitude]

Thoughts on Eurovision second rehearsals

Because I love self-sabotaging and looking at esc videos instead of doing homework 🤪

I'm lowkey getting scared for a lot of countries I thought were safe ngl

Norway - The LED on the floor is neat, but her vocals and energy seem a bit off? I still think her pre-party vocals was just cause she decided to have fun at them, which, fair, and I do think a lot of this will be fixed by the energy a live audience brings (depending on the audience it make elevate one's performance tenfold), but we'll see

Malta - This seems a bit less fun than the first snippets seemed, but once again I bet a lot of that is the lack of live audience. I bet it'll look great for a first-time audience, though, and I think they're going to do much better than I initially expected

Serbia - This is either going to place very well or incredibly flop, and I'm soso scared as to which one :(. I don't mind the word projections so long as they don't over-use them, but I'm scared the graphic on the LEDs will discourage people from voting :((. The lighting and everything looks great I am just full of fear

Latvia - This looks great!! Honestly, at this point I'm convinced they're qualifying (and will be soso sad if they don't). I was right when I predicted camerawork would make this, and I'm relieved the camerawork does seem to be good. Hoping they have now found their costumes elemayo, and also I'm really happy they managed to bring the lights!! The blurry shot right before it cuts off also looks intriguing and I'm sososo excited to see their final performance

Portugal - This is another country I'm getting worried about-- she seems tired, and I can't tell if that's true or if I'm just looking for things to be scared about, but I'm hoping this will once again be solved by live audience. The dress is doing the opposite of growing on me, but the rest of her styling looks good!

Ireland - I like Conor's costume here better than the last one by far (I'm pretty sure they're different but I can't bring myself to check), however I'm not as much a fan of his vocals :( I'm by no means a vocal expert, but his particular rasp sounds unhealthy and bad vibes, even if it actually isn't. I don't know, we'll see how he sings the night of the semi-final. I really like the gold into multi-colour in the chorus decision though!

Croatia - Their staging actually looks really clean and good, I'm intrigued as to what their full performance will look like. The cut-off being right after Lenin with his bombs and the lightning is really funny

Switzerland - I'm actually really scared for their staging now :(( the pyro and the smoke and the rapidly shifting lighting and the everything is just So Much visual stimuli and I'm scared it'll take away from their actual song by a lot. Still don't really like his outfit, but that is way overshadowed by my staging worries. The last second right before the cut away looks good though, so I'm hoping the rest of it is still okay

Israel - The more I watch this, the more I actually like the choreography for the dance break less, which I wasn't expecting. However, I'm sure Noa will sell it even more with the energy from a live audience yadda yadda yadda. My main complaint is the far-away shots, especially the one when they do the fancy spin-- it's such a cool moment, and making the audience not look at it is such a baffling choice??? Israel don't you want to do well. But overall I have no doubt they'll place high

Moldova - Not much to say here again, other than that it's very very well-done and that it bugs me that he's ever-so-slightly off-centre in the circle

Sweden - Ohh no :(( I knew something would be lost with the downsizing of the platforms, but it seems to fall so much flatter now-- hoping it will still look cool for first-time viewers. I'm really not a fan of the lighting, it washes Loreen out and makes everything so much less atmospheric IMO. Also I think there was smoke in her Melfest performance that's missing here? If so I wish it were back. Overall it is still good, and I hope she pulls off the semi performance

Azerbaijan - This might??? Qualify???? After all????? Or I may just be losing it. I really like the staging, the lighting especially is great, the camerawork adds a lot, and if they pull off everything just right, they miiiiight just qualify

Czechia - I have gone from very optimistic to oh so scared again. Their vocals seem off a little, I mislike a lot of how they're using the LEDs, I'm baffled by some of the choreography choices, and overall I just really really hope it looks better in the three minutes than it does here (I am also being overly pessimistic about them because I am so so scared). At least the sound for the rap part is finally not awful though!

The Netherlands - They might qualify?? Maybe??? It's pretty nice, Good camerawork (mostly), the costumes are still nice and it's pretty atmospheric, which is needed for a performance like this. I don't know if it would've worked better had they gone with strictly lights instead of LEDs, but overall it's a decent job

Finland - I mean obviously the beginning of this is going to bring the house down come semi-final. I'm very excited, the staging seems great. Again not much to say here, other than the first shot amuses me (he's just a little guy) and that live audiences bla bla you get it by now

[unhonestlymirror]

"If you say Baltarusija in Lithuanian today, it means Lukashenko, it is a people under a dictatorship, which does not resist like Ukrainians. "Baltarusian" does not sound proud and good. Look in the Lithuanian language dictionary: the word "gudas" has several meanings there. There are negative and positive values. Among them is "plain, experienced," the one who knows what to do. I believe that the longer the tradition of using a word, the more nuances there are."

.

Gudė́ti [Lithuanian] - ‘imti kita tarme šnekėti’ - to speak another dialect.

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He notes that the word gudas is in the first dictionary of the Lithuanian language by Konstantinas Širvidas, which was published at the beginning of the 17th century. And this word goes through centuries. Yes, even in the interwar period, when the Lithuanian state existed, on the maps issued at that time, Belarusian territories were marked with the word Gudija.

"The word Baltarusija did not exist in the Lithuanian language before World War II. It appeared in the post-war period: On the one hand, there is a very strong inertia. People are used to the word Baltarusija, and it is difficult to change it. But on the other hand, "Gudija" about Lukashenka sounds wild. In my book, I use the word Gudija for normal, light periods. And where there is a Soviet period, a dictatorship, including Lukashenko, I use Baltarusija. If this tyranny collapses, I think it will be necessary to make a second attempt in Lithuania and change the name to Gudija."

"After the war, Soviets came who wanted to turn Belarus into "White Russia". The word Baltarusija appears then in the Lithuanian language as part of the integration of Belarus into greater Russia. The word Gudija is thrown out altogether, disappears from our vocabulary, and is only revived in the late 1980s. And this word both then and now sounds much better than Baltarusija"

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I knew that Belarus wasn't Belarus about hundreds of years ago, but I didn't know it was Gudija for Lithuanians (Lietuviai). Belaruthians used to call their land Litva. Cool.

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Rūstis Kamuntavičius believes that there is great value in the fact that there are different views of history. "Only one interpretation can be only under totalitarianism. It is the freedom of interpretation that unites us. What we have in common is that we are different - and that's what makes us who we are."

"Unlike Lithuanians, whose identity is built in opposition to others (for them, almost all neighbouring nations are enemies), Belaruthians strive to live in harmony with everyone. Lithuanians always have some kind of limitation, a division between their own and foreign. And it doesn't work like that for Belaruthians." Therefore, Kamuntavičius believes it is more difficult for Belaruthians to organize themselves"

.

True. Especially funny is that Belaruthians are VERY good at organising material stuff: events, work, weekends (Ukrainians often made fun of them for that). Belaruthians are bad at radicalism - and that's what paradoxically kills them slowly. Radicalism is destructive in long-term action, but in short-term (10-20 years for Latvia and Lithuania, 1 year for Ukraine) it can be life-saving.

Also, WOW HAHA I DIDN'T EXPECT A LITHUANIAN HISTORIAN ADMITTING "for Lithuanian history, enemies are all around". We have kinda same in Ukrainian history, but we always tried to choose neutral words. At least, I've never seen the word muscovites mentioned in my 2018-2020 history textbooks, they always said "russians" while admitting russian war crimes. That's why I was quite surprised opening a Lithuanian history textbook (in Lithuanian) for children, and the first word I saw was "muscovites", they are very straightforward. XD.

[lietpolski]

Alright! Asks always make me feel better!

What do you think is the main motivation that gets lithuania through the week?

Any ideas for Lithuania and Latvia just being brotherly

Thoughts on Estonia and Finland's friendship

Any ideas you want an excuse to share?

ty for all the questions!! <333

lithuania is a real serious professional guy!! and he cares about his country a lot, which sounds kinda dumb because obviously they all do!! but especially liet who has had to fight and is constantly fighting to protect his national identity, so i think the guy honestly gets through the week to get his job done lmao. which doesnt help all the stress </3 oh liet...

LITHUANIA AND LATVIA ARE SO CUTE IM VERY SOFT OVER THEM..... lovelovelove to think of them doing brotherly things!! i really like the strip where the 3 baltics are on call together reacting to russia's livestream, i like to think liet and latvia watch movies together on call when there's time, and it's also really easy for them to hop on a bus and get from riga to vilnius to hang out! they just get something to eat and walk around their old towns and it's a really nice way for them to unwind from all their stress :)

ESTONIA AND FINLAND.... ALSO SO IMPORTANT TO ME ACTUALLY FR!!! i don't know if this is a hot take but i also like them for a more brotherly/familial angle!! they've known each other since they were so young, and spent a lot of time together growing up, and we know in modern day estonia sleeps over at finland's sometimes!! so they're super super close and comfortable with each other and i'm rlly glad eduard has someone like that <3 (on the other hand i also like estfin and estsufin so. depends on the day HAH)

drawing a blank on ideas right now but i think i already rambled enough!! :,) tysm council :D