MARLENA
Rome, 2021
Today, I feel a little more energetic than other days, I even came out of my bed and ate a decent breakfast. The morning sunbeams are shining through the curtains, so I open them, and then I see the birds in my neighbors cherry tree chirping happily. All in all, I am happy as well. I don't know what this day will bring me yet but I need to use my good mood for the better.
It's still early I put on the television, wanting to know what's going on in the world. I first zap through some channels as I'm not in the mood to watch Immagini invernali (Winter images) or the umpteenth rebroadcast of an old soap. Then a channel catches my eye as I see some familiar faces filling my whole screen, a special interview is shown on there:
Måneskin will come to Italy after their stay in Russia, the band declared this yesterday evening. There are here with us now. Singer and frontman Damiano David explains: "We're excited to visit our home country for a while. All the touring is marvelous and the European fans are amazing, but it makes us missing our home and folks," at which guitarist Thomas Raggi, bassist Victoria De Angelis and drummer Ethan Torchio nod in agreement.
De Angelis adds: "We will take some time for ourselves at first, but now we'd like to make a thrilling announcement. We will be performing for our own people in a week," she says with a big smile on her face. What a piece of amazing news! "But," Raggi interrupts, "the show won't just be anywhere. We'll be keeping the location a secret and will give hints to our beloved fans on social media and in other ways to make this a fun game to engage our public!"
Torchio smiles politely and says: "The clues will be starting from now on! An important side note my friends forgot to tell you is that the venue will only allow 100 people. So, this show will be super limited yet we'll make it extra special because our fans might need to be a little hardcore to get in. We'll give them a glorious reward for their efforts."
So, to all the fans of Måneskin, stay tuned, and may the best fans win!
After their announcement, all social media goes nuts. Even people outside Italy are sharing this and posting about it, so there presumably will be people from all around Europe who are wanting to fly to Italy for this. Although I hope the band will make this easier for us, since this is one of the few times they'll be around and Italy still is huge, at this moment I have no clue about where this venue may be.
I feel like this may be a turning point for me, maybe it's a gigantic step forward but I've been taking baby steps for way too long now. So I put my Instagram notifications on, I already followed the whole band although it hurt me sometimes to look at their photos because it constantly reminded me that I miss being with them. But for now, I might try to make an effort. Once again a sad wave hits me that they didn't even think about messaging me personally that they'll be in the country, but I can understand it because I haven't even wished them congratulations on their music and victories. It also has been such a long time, yet I feel ready to play this game and earn it to meet them again. Chances are meager because as I said before, I'm not calling myself a "fan" and I know there are many crazy superfans walking around here who would commit murder or sell their organs to go and meet the band.
I've already "met" my old friends enough times so that's not why I want to go there, I just want them to see my face again. I smile at my own imagination, knowing that they've also always loved to play games because we used to do it all the damn time. We liked messing around with each other. It's naive of me to think everything will be fine but I'd like to stay on this positive, pink cloud now I've finally set foot on it. I even feel like dancing, so I go search for my ballet pointe shoes from under a thick layer of dust and some spider webs. I cough. Maybe it's time to clean up a bit, but first I'll dance. So I move my table and the small couch in an attempt to create more space for me to move. I decide to dance in pajamas since I don't even remember where I've thrown my old dresses. I dust off my old record player, which I inherited from my grandfather and I go through another dusty box and choose the record of Ode by Stravinsky. The sounds of the orchestra resonate between the four walls of my tiny living room, bringing me straight back to my childhood and the time I was in ballet boarding school. I try to get on my tiptoes and struggle for a minute but then I remember ballet runs through my veins. I stand up like it's nothing because after all this time there's still muscle memory. I twirl and flutter through the room like I am a butterfly that's softly landing on a flowerpetal to drink nectar and then flies away to the next one and the next one and ...
I'm for sure not as good anymore as I once used to be, but this is enough for now. I just keep dancing until I'm exhausted and go through my knees. My condition is obviously decreased as well. But even when I'm already tired and my legs are trembling, this gave me a new energy boost, it feels like all the lost energy hits me now at once. I believe it might be a force Måneskin has on me. The possibility of seeing them again makes me feel normal again, there still is a big "if" in it but I'll try the hardest I can. I have to do this, I have to win this and I have to see the band and my Dami. Otherwise, this life has no meaning for me anymore, and this is my best shot because I know they'll probably block me out when I try to reach them.
*PING*
My phone has a notification and I run to see what it is, it's from vicdeangelis' Instagram from already a couple of hours ago. So I open my Instagram and immediately see that Victoria has posted something on her story. It's just a cute pic with her small dog, the dog's named Chili as I read somewhere online because I've never got to see her in real life.
The fan pages on Instagram seem to have started with the guessing game already, thinking that this might be a hint already. The conspiracies go from the name "Chili" to the dog's race to the fact that Vic's laying in a bed. This is innocent, I guess. It's just Vic being comfortable in a tank top and a bare face while hugging her pet. She looks gorgeous, she has changed a lot from the last time I saw her and on television, she's always wearing heavy eye make-up, but her face and icy blue eyes are still the same.
I just scroll a little further on her Instagram, paying close attention to how she's acting and the way she handles our guys. I sigh when I see her Eurovision winner post, I kinda regret that I've never sent them anything about it. I see older posts, from their days publicizing for their newest album and then some pics of herself and photoshoots with the rest of the band. I stop scrolling when I spot posts about the Il ballo della vita tour, I could recognize the way she and the rest look out of a thousand more pictures. The further I scroll the more it will hurt me. So I put my phone away. It's time for a deep clean of my apartment, I think. But my thoughts get interrupted by another *ping* sound. I rapidly take my phone back, 1 notification from ykaaar's instagram, so I press on it, wondering what Damiano is sharing with the world:
ykaaar: La vita senza te non può essere perfetta 🐶
It's just a throwback picture with Chili, I think, but the comments go wild. Several people are commenting on first how beautiful his bare face and smile look, but the majority of the comments are about the hinting game. They all are hunters. Everyone now thinks Chili must be the hint since Vic also posted something with her dog.
I must confess that this was a smart way of publicity of them, how even more popular they will become on all social media and elsewhere because people will just dig into everything desperate to be the one finding something and understanding the hint.
Yet all these people are stupid. I don't know what Måneskin, or just Damiano, is up to with this message because I can vividly recall these words of the caption as they were what he once said to me. This joyful memory hits me like a truck but at this moment non mi frega un cazzo.
I don't call myself "a fan" but again, I noticed that he'd used this sentence in one of their hit songs. I smile at myself, happy and proud that I might have found something and now I'll just wait for more to confirm my theory. I think I even can explain why they're using the dog in their posts, except to bless us with Chili's out-of-the-world cuteness.
It also can be that I've finally gone insane, but this feels like they're talking directly to me. I know this game will keep me up for the whole week but I'm completely fine with it if it gives me back what I want most.
***
A/N: Hey guysss, do you find the game our lovely band set up as interesting as I do? :D
I'm kinda wishing it could be real, maybe in another dimension ;)
And as you see, I like using pictures in my story, so I hope I blessed you as well with these Chili pics <33