The 56th WHF - Sterblichengokai, Tödlichebujoku - IC Thread

[Todlichebujoku]

"Hello Beepee, may we have your 5 points?" asks Aašeli as Mike Oxlong appears.



"Good Evening all you beautiful people.
What a wonderful festival. I am delighted to present the votes from Beepee....

Our five points go to.. Caryton!"

[Todlichebujoku]

Velta nods to Aina Mizuki on the screen. "Hello Tohotokai, your points please?"



*beep*

"Hello, good evening, and konnichiwa to Estegoa and the rest of Tobu! This is Aina Mikazuki-san calling to deliver the Tohotokainese jury votes, and guess what? I liked quite a lot of the performances you put ton tonight! Now, without further ado, I'm telling y'all that the Tohotokainese jury's 5 points go to..."

"North Alezia!"

"Thanks for all that you guys had to offer at this festival, and good night!"

*beep-beep*

[Todlichebujoku]

Aašeli asks the usual greeting and question as Vivienne Zuleyxa becomes visible on the screen. "Hello Togonistan, may we-"

He pauses for a moment, before picking back up. "May we have your five points please? Wow, Vivienne, what an impact tonight!"



"Hello Sterblichengokai! Oh? This is just how I am normally. Our five points go to... Tödlichebujoku!"

It's a bit of an awkward moment for Aašeli, but luckily, Velta picks up as she announces the next nation to vote.

[Todlichebujoku]

With practiced ease, Velta nods to Marie de l'Abre on the screen. "Good evening Normandy and Picardy, can we have your points please?"



"Bonsoir Todlichebujoku, hüváá iltaa, boa noitinha. Un grand merci pour un spectacle fantastique ce soir. Bonne chance Frédéric et Annabelle, nous souhaitons plein réussite aux vous et tous les autres. Maintenant, c'est le moment pour lequel vous attendiez.
Cinq points sont attribués par le jury Normand et Picard à... Malte Comine Gozo!"

Velta nods along politely as a running caption helps make sense of what she had just spoken.

Good Evening Todlichebujoku, [good evening, good evening]. Thank you greatly for a wonderful show this evening. Good luck Frédéric and Annabelle, we wish you and all the other competitors every success. Now, it's the moment you've been waiting for. Five points are given by the Normand and Picard jury to... Malta Comino Gozo

[Todlichebujoku]

Having recovered, Aašeli is given no respite as he turns to see Kärolina Füks on the screen. "Hello, um, Darkmania, may we have your points?"



"Hello and good night. This is Darkmania calling. Thank you for your terrifying show. We always love when the host does a sh-"

The audio and video glitches for a second.

"Anyway,

what the hell am I doing with my life

That means, 'here are the points from Darkmania'. Our five goes to.. Malta Comino Gozo."

Aašeli nods politely with a forced smile and patiently waits for Kärolina to disappear from the screen.

[Todlichebujoku]

"Well then!" exclaims Velta. "Now that it's halfway through Stage 2, let's take another look at the scoreboard. Not too much as changed at the top but it does look like Tödlichebujoku is approaching the top two!". The home crowd cheers in hope and excitement at this revelation.

"And of course, Malta Comino Gozo has just received 10 points, propelling it to the left side at last! What a nail-biter of a voting sequence tonight- now, I do hear that we have the points from North Alezia next, don't we?" She turns to Aašeli, who nods as he waits for the North Alezian spokesperson to make an appearance.

[Todlichebujoku]

Aašeli sighs in relief as Andi Robi Idris Novogrody appears on the screen. "Good evening North Alezia, may we have your five points please?"



" Hello everyone! Here I am again reading the North Alezian votes and before I do that I want to say that everyone did a great job at this competition, everyone here are so talented! Congratulations to all! Well, the five points from North Alezia goes to..... Kalosia!"

[Todlichebujoku]

Velta nods to Rafael Cortez on the screen. "Hello Skanden, your five points please?"



"¡Buenas noches! Good evening from Escanden. Here are the results of the Skandish vote. 5 points go to... Northern Beepee!!"

WHF viewers on the matrix begin to hunt down and share pictures of Mr. Cortez.

[Todlichebujoku]

Aašeli nods to Karina Foster. "Hello Rhim Flavezztowland, may we have your five points?"



"Good evening, everyone in Todlichebujoku! How're you doin'? I'm calling from Malinley in Rhim Flavezztowland to tell you the name of the nation to whom the Flavezztowlander jury gave 5 points to in this song festival! And it's... Malta Comino Gozo!"

[Todlichebujoku]

"Evening, Achaean Republic may we have your points please?" Velta asks as Adriana Marie Rivera becomes visible.



"Good evening, Estegoa! Buenas noches desde Corola! What an amazing show—I enjoyed it so much! But now, it’s time to reveal the Achaean Republic’s five points! (reads from an off-screen card, squinting her eyes) Et cinq points vont à la Normandie et à la Picardie!'

Merci! Thank you so much! Muchas gracias! Goodbye!"

[Todlichebujoku]

"Hello Malta Comino Gozo!" greets Aašeli. She nods to Tim Spiteri. "May we have your points?"



"Good Evening Sterblichengokai! Its Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo calling! Its great to be back! We've really been entertained by the beautiful music and singers tonight. Thanks! Our five points go to.. Normandy and Picardy!"

[Todlichebujoku]

"Ah, good evening Britonisea! Great to see you!" exclaims Velta as Jordan Bassett appears.



"Hello everybody, this is Cappehnyaden calling - the hosts of the Vha Mehlodhivestoile International Pre-Qualifiers! Congrats to the broadcaster and Todlichebujoku for the fantastic show. Good luck to all of tonight's artists. Our five points go to.. MALTA COMINO GOZO!"

[Todlichebujoku]

Aašeli gestures to the scoreboard as it appears. "Well, now that we are about three-quarters through Stage 2, let's look at the board again. It's heating up quite a lot in the top, with both Normandy and Picardy, and Malta Comino Gozo rising up swiftly to join Britonisea and Rusmailica, with Kalosia and Tödlichebujoku just behind."

As the audience takes in the current standings, he continues. "Unfortunately, no changes in the right side - are they all set now? I suppose we'll find out very soon! I hear that Northern Beepee is next up.."

[Todlichebujoku]

"Alright then, good evening Northern Beepee and can we have your five points?" Velta asks Yarran.



"Hello Sterblichengokai, and a warm welcome from here in, Melaleuca, tropical Northern Beepee. We're delighted to be here with you tonight, and wish Good Luck to all the entrants... and we give our points to... Normandy and Picardy!"

[Todlichebujoku]

"Hello, Caryton?" asks Aašeli, before waiting for a response. "Hello? Hm. Looks like there's no connection. Well, that's fine, I can reveal that..."



"Caryton gives five points to... Britonisea!"

[Todlichebujoku]

Velta turns as Meliora Napoleti appears. "Good evening Kalosia! Your points, please?"



The feed is slightly blurry, it is unclear whether that is due to a Kalosian technical issue or simply some ocean spray as Meliora speaks over the wind.

"Good evening Sterblichengokai! Thank you for such a wonderful show with an amazing orchestra! Here are the results of the Kalosian vote. 5 points go to... Skanden!"

[Todlichebujoku]

Aašeli nods toward the screen as some completely random Nightomese man appears on the screen. "Hello Nightom, may we-"



"'Ello, 'Ello, 'Ello what's going on? I'll tell ya, it's the votes from the Knights! This is Knightingham calling. Mwah, beautiful show, with all them strings and that. Right, bet you've got your eye on...those 5 points! Our 5 points are going to...would you look at this...ACHAEAN REPUBLIC!"

Aašeli gazes into the camera view and sighs after the generic Nightomese citizen disappears from view.

"Well congratulations to the Achaean Republic for that five!", he notes, breaking the awkward silence.

[Todlichebujoku]

Velta waits patiently as the connection to Axuva is established. "Hello, Axuva?"

The screen doesn't show much aside from some shadowy lines, but the sound of faint screeching and distant shouting in Russian and Korean is heard. Those who are blessed with sharp hearing and knowledge of the relevant language are able to catch a woman sobbing about voters and a man yelling about something called Destinyvision, before a keening wail is heard and the line is cut.

"Well then! I suppose we shouldn't have expected much different. Looks like I'll announce the points then."



"Axuva's 5 points go to... Rusmailica!"

[Todlichebujoku]

"Well, let's hope that Joija brings us a little bit of normalcy, hmm?" Aašeli asks rhetorically before turning to Sandira Coen. "Good evening Joija, may we have your five points?"



"Ālo Tēdlësjā! I will be giving our points to you.

Our 5 points go to... Pemecutan!"

Relieved, Aašeli relaxes and turns to Velta. "Now, we have only one nation left to vote.."

[Todlichebujoku]

"So let's take a look at the scoreboard!" exclaims Velta, finishing Aašeli's sentence. "It's very tight up in the top three, with Britonisea leading by only two points ahead of Rusmailica and Normandy and Picardy which are tied. But of course, as Rusmailica is the ultimate nation to vote, that means the winner can really only be Britonisea or Normandy and Picardy."

She pauses. "Now, those of you who remember the last World Hit Festival here in Tödlichebujoku may remember the minor issue where Malta Comino Gozo was the last to vote, but also the only possible challenger for the win, meaning that the leading nation at the time had already won." She joins the audience in a light chuckle before continuing. "So we made sure not to do that this time around! Rusmailica has not yet voted for either Britonisea or Normandy and Picardy, and of course their 5 could easily go to some other nation, leaving Britonisea as the winner of the 56th World Hit Festival, and repeat its success in the last Orchestral edition! But the question is.... will it actually?"

"Will Rusmailica give five points to Normandy and Picardy? Or will the win go to Britonisea? What do you think? We'll return on air very shortly with the result!" Velta winks and waves.

[Todlichebujoku]

After the commercial break ends, Aašeli announces the poll results. "So let's see what the audience thought... oh dear!"

"It looks like the audience is evenly split! Interesting!" he exclaims as the audience hmms over the result. "Anyway, Rusmailica's votes await us, and let's get to them!"

He turns to see Reme Jurkin on the screen. "Good evening Rusmailica, may we have your five points?"

"Good evening, Todlichebujoku. This is Kabourom calling. Thank you for such a great show. It was a pleasure to participate in the orchestral edition. It was like coming back to the past. I need to apologize on behalf of Lotnuscora for lack of connection with studio in Shoatem. We have information from LAVF that it was an unexpected problem with transmission. Anyway, thanks to all the nations for great music but only one could be a winner of Rusmailican voting. And it is... Normandy and Picardy!!!"

[Todlichebujoku]

"And there we go!" Velta cries out as the camera view centers on Frédéric and Annabelle as they gasp and make their way to the stage. "Congratulations to Normandy and Picardy, winning once more at long last!" The final scoreboard appears on the screen after Rusmailica's votes, before transitioning to a congratulatory graphic.

[Todlichebujoku]

Winner's Reprise
"T'es tombée sur ma main" - Frédéric Duchamps and Annabelle Vallence

Tune: Ermal Meta and Elisa - "Piccola Anima"

Title Translation: You Fell Onto My Hand
Language(s): Normand French
Lyrics: Frédéric Duchamps
Music: Frédéric Duchamps

---

Frédéric Duchamps and Annabelle Vallence, the partners and musical duet winning for Normandy and Picardy in the 56th World Hit Festival

---

All was still. All was dark, as the very final preparations were made practically under the cover of darkness, the dusting of snow around the lampposts provided, the bench placed, the backing singers took their places, and the technical team made sure everything was ready. Frédéric and Annabelle hugged tightly, a very quick kiss as the two of them shook, not quite knowing how to act. They had never expected this. That sat mesmerised by the fact they had won. It was finally happening. It felt mad. Also taking his place once more was the over-the-moon Normand conductor, Maurice Delavier, director of the Cherbourg College of Music Symphony Orchestra, who had helped arrange the song for the contest. Positions taken. The trophy set aside. Both of their hearts pounded like mad, as Frédéric glanced up towards where Annabelle was standing, yet couldn't particularly make her out. A nod of the head in the orchestra pit, a fateful blow through the air, signalled the beginning once again. Not any great brass scream but rather a soft woodwind note announced the start as the performed the song once again for the reprise. Madness, pure madness. And yet, it was happening, both of them were quite sure...

Frédéric was stood beneath an old style street lamppost with floral elements, something rather like this. Around the base of it, and beneath his black brogues could be seen a thin layer of snow. This was actual snow that had been provided kindly by the hosting production team as part of an agreement with the Normand broadcaster, who obviously preferred to use the real deal if at all possible. There's more where that came from. In any case, Frédéric was leaning from the right hand side of the lamppost as according to the camera view, to the left for the audience, on his elbow. Indeed, this reveals an important point here, namely that the camera shots for this first section were all looking out towards the audience seated in the Ergasia Vadonixa, mostly to hide the nervous Annabelle stood on the back rampart on the top of the stairs leading up from the lower stage section. This would be revealed openly later, but for now the focus was on Frédéric, wearing a dark blue suit with an overcoat that looked rather like this, but itself also dark blue, and around his neck he wore a red scarf. But for now, these colours could not be made out. Why? Not for the lack of light, which whilst the only source at this point the lamppost provided ample amounts. Rather, for this initial section, the shots were in black and white, and made deliberately grainy. Having been looking down towards the floor in the direction in which he was leaning, as the song started, he looked up towards the camera which slowly zoomed in towards him as the verse moved on. Beyond this, there was not much more beyond the slightly movement of the zoom, Frédéric singing rather softly, and never quite looking perfectly at the camera, as if preoccupied, fully getting into the role.

T'es tombée sur ma main
Je suis tombé sur toi
Et dans la nuit très froide
Mon cœur s'a rechauffé encore

You fell onto my hand
And I chanced upon you
And in the freezing night
My heart warmed up again

At the end of this first verse, going fully with the idea of the opening section having almost been like an old film, the reel seemed to sort of melt away, like this sort of thing, but the holes that emerged in the 'film' actually revealed the colour image behind it, and thus this burning and melting away provided the transition to the colour view. In fairness, it is not as if there was a sudden explosion of colour, but instead the orange glow of the lamppost and its reflection on the sand, the dark blue of his suit, the white collared shirt beneath, one button undone, and the red scarf tied around his neck, could all be properly seen. Not much else actually changed during this verse, as the focus very much remained on Frédéric, playing the role of the lover who has lost the object of his love, standing out in the cold winter night. There was perhaps, over the course of the verse, a slight increase in the lighting, as the screens on either side slowly came into life; they would be used to show a night sky later on, and had already moved to show this, the starts twinkling away, and these LED screens being on helped provide this extra ambient glow. There was some slightly panning camerawork, but most of the focus was on Frédéric's subtle movements, whether a quite glancing pass of his chest with his hand, a searching look out into the distance, or, perhaps more certainly, his movement up from having been leaning on the post to being stood up more properly, and indeed swinging slightly, not with a great amount of vigour or energy (or, at the very least, not "too much").

Et bien que t'aies fondu
Et dans la nuit silencieuse t'aies disparu
Je te sens toujours ici avec moi solitaire
Et mon cœur fond une fois encore
Et mon cœur fond une fois encore

And although you melted away
And you faded away into the silent night
I still feel you here with my lonesome self
And my heart is melting once again
And my heart is melting once again

As the chorus began, the camera shot changed to show one of the screens on the left of the stage from the perspective of the audience, on the right from the original camera view and from Frédéric in his current orientation, to show the moon slowly emerging out of the clouds, slowly zooming out to show the image of the night sky, broken up between the screens but being spread across them, before turning around to show Frédéric singing now beneath the moonlight. Indeed, this movement also allowed for a judicious use of lighting, with a very faint white spotlight shining down onto Frédéric so that, within the camera shot which essentially looked down from the other side, it might appear that the moon was properly shining on him, joining the general light from the LED image of the moon. Alongside this, the audience had been asked to get involved specifically for this first chorus, in the form of using their flashlights on their phones or various other devices (who knows what the Todlichebujokis especially have at this point), to provide a 'starlit' background for Frédéric as he song, walking slowly about. These wider shots also revealed the position of the backing singers, all dressed up in similarly suitable, formal, almost slightly old fashioned, winter wear. There were three of them, all part of the delegation that had travelled from Normandy and Picardy, Anais Merchaut, Julie Benoit and Luc Medard; this was Anais' first World Hit Festival, whereas Julie and Luc had both provided backing vocals in the past; all of them would especially be key for this entry, in which their vocals very much provided part of the music itself alongside what was being played in what was perhaps a slightly underutilized orchestra. There were a few more panning shots, and one or two of the orchestra playing along.

Et j'attends toujours que tu chutes
Du ciel sur ma main comme mes rêves
Je verrai mondes que je n'aurais jamais pensé d'imaginer
Quand je te regarde ici en bas où je suis debout

And I am still waiting for you to fall
From the sky once more
I'll see skies I would never have even thought to imagine
When I see you down here where I am standing

The chorus ended, however, with a camera shot now looking towards the stage from the audience perspective. This, of course, meant we got a shot looking from behind Frédéric, who had been faced towards the orchestra the entire time. But, this was deliberate, and allowed for a shot that focus in on the new lampost light that turned on at the back of the the stage area, up on the back rampart at the top of the stairs, the camera focusing in and consequently Frédéric in a sense fading away, to show Annabelle stood in a long, relatively form fitting black dress, (certainly not too tight, allowing her a decent degree of movement, however - perhaps slightly less tight than the image used at the exaple here), with a small, faux-fur jacket over her shoulders and upper torso, which she was holding in tight. The turning on of the top lampost also seemed to have the effect of bringing life to the back LED, it too changing to show the background of stars and the crisp, night air as if in a wave emanating from the lamppost, which was to the right (from both audience and camera perspective) compared to the lamppost on the bottom stage area and also the staircase. There was a general fade out and a shift to a close up camera view of Annabelle as she sang her verse. She too had been leaning on the lamppost, which also had a dusting of snow around it, and the fur jacket thingy that she wore had also received a slight dusting; around the main body of Annabelle's lampost, there was what looked like ivy growing up; otherwise it was the same. As she began singing, she pretty immediately and elegantly picked herself up, as it were. The camera here, rather than zooming in as it had onto Frédéric, rather slowly zoomed out to show more of the background, at this point still just the starry sky, and more of Annabelle. She proceeded to slowly walk along to the centre of the top rampart, i.e. to the top of the stairs, over the course of the verse, at one point brushing her hand along the railing which too had been lightly covered in snow, having reached the top by the end of the verse.

Je suis tombée du ciel
Et j'ai trouvé ta main qui m'attend pour moi
La vent a guidé le chemin
Jusqu'à ce que je sois arrivée enfin
Et j'ai trouvé quelqu'un à qui aimer, à qui perdre
Et mon cœur toujours fonds aussi

I fell from the sky
And I found your waiting hand
The wind guided the way
Until I reached you at last
And found someone to love, someone to lose
And my heart is now melting too

And so, the song reached its second chorus, and the cameras zoomed back even further to show the full stage, the full span of the opera house in which the contest was being held, and in which more of the background lighting was now being used, an ambient, slightly coloured light, certainly to the extent of the lamppost lights, but still with a bit of an orange tone to it. The camera view, looking as it was towards the back of the stage, was thus first focused on Annabelle as she slowly walked down the stairs, and further on the background screen behind her, which also seemed to scroll down, from showing just a starry sky to now showing the rooftops of rather stereotypical looking French-style townhouses, and in the background the silhouette of Rouen Cathedral appeared; above all this the night sky now hung. There was a shift around now to show Frédéric, was shown looking up towards Annabelle, his arm now reached out, as if desperately longing, but almost as if his feet were stopping him from moving. He finally began to walk around, almost looking as if he was having to put force into it; not too much now, though, because he wouldn't want to slip on the frosty ground. There were a variety of shots used in this section, a series of wider shots to show off the background LEDs and to show both of them moving closer to one another, finally seemingly reuiniting it would be as per the song (or uniting for the first time? You'll see why this interpretation is here later), intermixed with shots focused on the two of them, looking out across the stage to each other as they moved, Frédéric especially seemingly moved by the experience, as well as some shots looking over the stage and the orchestra, dutifully, marvelously playing along under Delavier's instruction. By the end of the chorus, the two of them had reached the central point of the back part behind the orchestra pit, where they finally properly locked onto each others life. They could do this. This was their moment. Or so they both thought, and willed the other to also think.

Et j'attends toujours que tu chutes
Du ciel sur ma main encore une fois
Je verrai des ciels que je n'aurais jamais pensé d'imaginer
Quand je te regarde ici dans cette nuit trop froide

And I am still waiting for you to fall
From the sky once more
I'll see skies I would never have even thought to imagine
When I see you down here in this freezing night

The camera focused on the two of them and it seems that the moon must have moved in the "sky" as a single spotlight provided nearly all the light shining on them as everything became very close and intimate. The viewers across the multiverse were shown a shot of their upper bodies rather close, the two of them looking deeply into their eyes as they sang to each other. The spotlight slowly gained in 'strength' as it were and was slowly joined by more ambient lighting over the course of this section, as the camera slowly zoomed out. Anyway, to return to their intial meeting, the two, as noted, stood and gazed at each other, as Frédéric unwrapped his scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around her. The two reached out there hands and joined them together, palms meeting together and clasping each other, and coming down to a natural rest. The two slowly walked around, keeping each other at the same, close distance with their arms, so that the two seemed to swap places. Just before this section ended, Frédéric moved one of his hands, the camera shot moving behind him to show him slowly brushing a bit of hair to the side, before taking her into hold.

Bien que nous sachions qu'il n'allait jamais durer
Chaque seconde était incroyable
Et chauqe moment passe dans ma tête
Chaque faible lueur
Et puis ils diminuent vers le crépuscule
Mais ils laissent leur empreinte sur mon esprit et ma main
Et mon cœur fond une fois encore

And although we knew it would never last
Every second was incredible
And every moment plays in my head
Every glimmer
And then they melt away into the twilight
But they leave their mark in my mind and on my hand
And my heart melts once again

Then, Anais' vocals took over, and showed why she had been brought in for the job of backing vocalists. As her frankly angelic voice ushured in the brief instrumental section, the camera which had been slowly zooming out faded out to allow it to jump the rest of the zoom out and show all of the stage as the background LED screens came back into life again, but now showing it snowing too over the rooftops of the city of Rouen as portrayed in the background. A fade to another shot, now from the surface level of the stage, focused on Frédéric and Annabelle as they slowly waltzed their way clockwise (if you view the stage from above and orientated from the audience side), slowly moving, to-ing and fro-ing, there way, twirling round, and barely breaking hold; Annabelle's dancing lessons as a young student at the Cherbourg College of Arts had certainly not gone to waste, and Frédéric... Frédéric had had a last minute crash course during the dress rehearsals itself, but a dog is never too old to learn new tricks. They did go this way around deliberately of course, in order to avoid the backing vocalists who were doing such a great job. They reached the front of the stage, beneath, indeed, the lamppost where Frédéric had started, and where they now finally broke out of hold. Frédéric was on the right hand side and Annabelle on the left, and they now stood facing slightly away from one another, but connected to each other via the hand that they held in between themselves. At this point, as the camera shot settled to just below stage level, looking up slightly, and a rather tight, close shot, snow began to slowly, gently, yet clearly fall from the roof of the Ergasia Vadonixa, the snow from the background images now clearly coming to life here too.

Je verrai des ciels que je n'aurais jamais pensé d'imaginer
Quand je te regarde ici dans cette nuit très froide

I'll see skies I would never have even thought to imagine
When I see you down here were I am standing

As the song slowly began to come to a close, the lights faded away again, until it was just the lamppost shining on the two of them, and the snow slowly continued to fall, forming layers on their clothes, getting into their hair, but of course generally looking very pretty if very annoying for Frédéric and Annabelle themselves. The camera view focused on Frédéric, who was 'singing to' Annabelle, i.e. it was slightly faced towards him rather than looking straight down the middle axis of the stage. The lamppost was not very strong, strong enough to show the two of them, intimately close once more, have turned in to face each other, and enough also to reflect off and playing amongst the snow flakes, which two danced along through the light. Yet, Annabelle seemed to slowly pull away over the course of the section. And then, she let go. The precise moment was caught on camera, as it were, the very instant that the contact was lost, and idneed, rather than show the whole process, instead the live feed stopped at this point, and simply faded to black and white, before fading away entirely into an old style cinema screen with FIN across it in fancy writing, as though to bring to an end this little fleeting romantic film indicated by the opening verse.

T'es tombé sur ma main
Et mon cœur a fondu, une fois

Once you fell into my hand
And my heart melted once again

With that, the performance was over. There was a cut back to the live camera feed which showed a clearly exhausted Frédéric and Annabelle now at the centre of the stage, holding one another close and looking up at each other, trophy prominently in the shot. They had done it.