#Miss World Norway

[milaisreading]

SHUT THE FUCK UP! THE NORDICS ARE BACK!!! THANK YOU, HIMARUYA

[world-of-stone]

[topsportsasia]

Fredrikstad's Nikoline Andresen to represent Norway at Miss World 2025

Nikoline Andrea Kolstad Tveter Andresen, 22, of Fredrikstad, Østfold County, Norway is Norway’s Miss World 2025 representative. She aims to give her home country its 11th Miss World placement. Norway has yet to win Miss World. The country’s highest placement in the competition was the runner-up finish of Ingeborg Sørensen in 1972 and the most recent one was the Top 7 finish of Mariann Birkedal…

[conandaily2022]

Nikoline Andresen biography: 13 things about Miss World Norway 2024

Nikoline Andrea Kolstad Tveter Andresen is a Norwegian beauty queen from Fredrikstad, Østfold County, Norway. She will represent Norway in Miss World. Andresen previously lived in Orlando, Florida, United States. Here are 13 more things about her:

[truefandemonium]

BILLSTILL BILLSTILL

This AU has consumed my mind

Please accept my humble offering to the Bill still community ( @jellynut I totally forgot to credit u I am so sorry)

a mind ensnared pt. 1

a billstill ficlet

(inspired by the AU by @jellynut)

…

“According to my research, and the readings I’m getting— she’ll be just off the coast— the Laptev Sea,” Ford said, adjusting the map in front of him before folding it and pointing in some random direction ahead of them. Stan tipped the wheel idly, raising his brows at his brother.

“Always thought Nessie would be in Scotland. Like the name. Not Norway.” Stan blinked as snow began to fall in soft flurries onto the boat, finding purchase in the tufts of greying hair poking out from the front of his beanie.

“Russia, Stanley,” Ford corrected in his trademark deadpan, judgemental eyes flicking over the rim of his glasses as he shifted his focus away from the roaring waves in the distance. “We’re headed for the coast of Russia.”

“Yeah, whatever, poindexter.” Stan didn’t exactly mean to say it. He could feel Ford tense every time the word slipped from his mouth. When they were kids— the nickname was friendly, affectionate. But after everything happened… everything with Bill…

You called?

Stan cleared his throat loudly, forcing himself to stare up at the falling flakes head on. “Heck of a storm, huh?”

Thank God— Ford laughed at that. “You mean the gust of cold wind that couldn’t constitute a squall? Yes, quite a storm,” the other man agreed.

Stan smiled. He missed this. His whole life: wasted, without his brother. But now, they could finally make up for that lost time.

Lost time. Boy have I heard that one before. But so have you, right Stanley?

Get out of my head. Stan didn’t notice his own knuckles whitening around the wheel. Get out of my head right now or I’ll—

You’ll what, Mystery Man? Yell at me? Hahahahahahahah—

Say, how much do you remember, Stan? Do you remember your favorite food? How about the shirt you wore everyday for a month while waiting for good ol’ Fordsy to come back from the abyss?

Stan sucked in a deep breath, risking shutting his eyes against the wind as the screaming in his head swelled. He can’t hurt you, Stan told himself, starting to sweat despite the cold.

But you remember the important things, don’t you? Like what Pine Tree gave you before he left for home. Or the secret Shooting Star confessed to you and you alone? Come on, tell me you remember that.

Stan opened his eyes and steeled himself. He wouldn’t let some stupid triangle ruin the rest of his life.

You gotta remember what makes you you, though, don’t you? The fact that you were the reason Ford spent half his life in nightmare dimensions. The reason his childhood was spent looking out for you.

No, no, it’s not true. Is it? Did I destroy Ford’s life? Since the beginning?

The reason he’s never been happy. Not even now—

Stan suddenly doubled over, a sharp pain in his skull causing a bright light to rip through his vision. The steering wheel cracked hard against his knuckles as he tried and failed to find purchase somewhere before collapsing.

“Stanley!” Ford was at his side in an instant, knees on the ground as he placed one steadying hand on Stan’s back, and pushed him to kneel with the other. “Stanley—?”

The two men sat in the snowy light of the moon, Stan wheezing, his vision blurred as sweat began to pool in his gloves and drip cooly down the sides of his face. The waters around them began to spin— or at least it felt that way. Despite the endless space beyond the boat, Stan felt the world closing in on him. All set to the sound of distant wicked laughter.

Ford felt cold to his bones, not from the wind or weather, but the look of sheer panic etched into his brother’s face. Stan had few moments of real fear that he let Ford get close enough to see. This… this was one of them.

Ford eased his hold on Stan and watched him slam his palms onto the deck, shaking hard enough to make his dentures clack together. Keeping one six-fingered hand on his brother’s back, Ford started to speak in a slow, soothing tone.

“Stanley, it’s alright, breathe, Stanley,” he muttered, watching Stan’s eyes flick wildly around, the fear clawing at him. He looked like a wounded animal… more specifically a rabbit.

Caught in a snare: the wire tightening with each sharp breath around his throat, Ford’s heart wrenched at the image. “Stanley.” Ford shifted to cup Stan’s jaw in his gloved hand, applying enough pressure to ease his glazy eyes upward.

“I’m right here,” he whispered. Stan’s gaze flickered with something— recognition, but his heaving didn’t cease. Ford continued, “Breathe, Stanley. I’m here.”

“Bill—” Stan choked out, shaking his head hard, trying to recoil from his brother’s gentle touch.

It was like a blade between Ford’s ribs. The name sent a shudder through his spine and blood flashing behind his eyes. Still, he held firm.

“Stanley.” His voice shook as he pulled Stan into his arms, forcing him to still. “Bill is gone.”

Finally, Stan moved. All at once, he barreled forward, wrapping Ford in a tight hug as he sobbed, the heat of his tears soaking into the exposed hair curling around Ford’s neck.

“He’s gone,” Ford repeated. Part of him wanted to believe it.

Part of him knew, even if Bill was gone. The memories were one thing that would never fall away.

…

[doomdoomofdoom]

If you've been boycotting Eurovision, you may have missed out on how bad it truly was, so here are a few events in no particular order:

The opening act of the semi-finals was Eric Saade, a swedish-palestinian singer who participated in Eurovision 2011. He wore a keffiyeh, a palestinian headdress, around his arm like a wristband.

Despite not making any political statements or drawing attention to his accessory, he was reprimanded by the EBU for "compromising the non-political nature of the event".

During their semi-final performance, the Irish contestant had the word "ceasefire" in old irish runes painted on their face. They were ordered to change it for the final, as it was deemed too political.

The contestant from Israel was not allowed to mingle with the other contestants, due to supposed security risks.

During an Interview, she was asked if she felt any concerns over her participation potentially endangering the event and the people present. The host told her she did not have to answer this question. Dutch contestant 'Joost' asked "why not?"

Joost, while not openly antagonizing the Israeli contestant, has made covert critical remarks about the EBUs decision to allow Israel to participate.

On Friday, the day before the Finale, Joost was investigated by the swedish police for a supposed incident where he threatened an EBU crew member. Thursday, a female camera operator had followed him off-stage to continue filming, even though there was an agreement not to film him off-stage. After she ignored his requests to stop, he threatened her with some sort of gesture.

Joost was disqualified mere hours before the finale. He was slotted to perform just before Israel and considered a favorite and potential winner.

The show itself did not address his disqualification. The dutch entry was simply skipped with no further comment.

Israeli broadcaster KAN was confirmed to have broken EBU rules during their coverage of the Irish act in the Semifinal. The commentator spoke negatively about their act, condemning the very scary goth aesthetic, and noting their willingness to criticize Israel's actions.

Despite Irish contestant Bambie Thug lodging a complaint with the EBU, there was no penalty or other repercussion.

If you were hoping that the event itself would turn into some sort of protest, I have to disappoint you:

Despite rumors of other contestants dropping out over Joost's disqualification, all of them performed.

There was audible booing every time Israel was on-screen, including their performance, announcement of points, and every time they received points. There was equally audible cheering.

No contestant or spokesperson directly addressed the ""controversy"" (read: ongoing genocide being artwashed), although very few made covert remarks about peace, love, dignity, and equality.

The most explicit it got was the Austrian spokesperson, saying something along the lines of "It's hard to find only positive words in a time where heartlessness prevails. But we hope everyone can unite through music and show that everyone deserves to be treated equally"

No one stormed on stage or held up a palestinian flag or anything, if you were hoping for that. I certainly was.

Israel gave its 12 points (both Jury and public) to Luxembourg. The singer is half-israeli and born in Jerusalem.

Jury votes mostly ignored Israel, netting them a total of 52 points through jury votes, which put them somewhere in the middle of the scoreboard. Norway, Cyprus, and Germany awarded them 8 points each, making them the main contributors.

In contrast, Israel received 323 points from the public voting. They were second only to Croatia with 337. 15 public votings, including "rest of the world" awarded Israel their 12 points, more than any other country would receive. The only countries not to award any points to Israel in the public vote were Croatia and Ukraine.

Israel thereby placed 5th out of 25.

But hey, at least the winner (Switzerland) was nonbinary, diversity win amirite. Notably, they had to smuggle in their pride flag, since EBU guidelines only allow flags of participating countries and the rainbow flag. (This is also why palestinian flags were not allowed. It's not a new rule, but they certainly weren't going to start bending it now.)

If there's one thing to take away from this: Do not ever think the rest of the world is on your side, just because your social media is. The rest of the world has shown their allegiance, and it lies with Israel and Genocide.

Do not stop fighting for what is right.

[sorcererofsolitude]

Yoko, running behind Enid and Wednesday: You guys! Hide me from Principal Weems, quick!

Enid: What happened?! And you know she's tall enough to see over both of us, right?

Yoko, ducking even lower: I may have pulled a tiny, harmless little April Fool's prank... Oh, shit. Here she comes, gotta go!

Weems, storming down the hall: Have you girls seen Miss Tanaka? She's in a world of trouble.

Enid, turning red and swallowing hard: Um... nope! We haven't seen her, right Wednesday?

Wednesday, deadpanning: She moved to Norway. And died.

Weems looks skeptically at the two girls, crossing her arms.

Enid, trying to change the subject: What did she do?

Weems, sighing loudly: She removed all of the toilet seats and hung them around the statue’s necks. If that wasn't bad enough, she replaced all of the Nevermore coat of arms around the school with pictures of Danny DeVito. I don't know how she even managed to sneak in so many framed photographs...

Wednesday, putting a solemn hand to her heart: May she rest in peace.

AO3: SorcererOfSolitude

[broomsick]

List of interesting ressources pertaining to norse paganism, scandinavian folklore and history, and nordic religions in general

These are sources I have personally used in the context of my research, and which I've enjoyed and found useful. Please don’t mind if I missed this or that ressource, as for this post, I focused solely on my own preferences when it comes to research. I may add on to this list via reblog if other interesting sources come to my mind after this has been posted. Good luck on your research! And as always, my question box is open if you have any questions pertaining to my experiences and thoughts on paganism.

Mythology

The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion

Dictionnary of Northern Mythology

The Prose and Poetic Eddas (online)

Grottasöngr: The Song of Grotti (online)

The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes

The Wanderer's Hávamál

The Song of Beowulf

Rauðúlfs Þáttr

The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings (Kevin Crossley-Holland's are my favorite retellings)

Myths of the Norsemen From the Eddas and the Sagas (online) A source that's as old as the world, but still very complete and an interesting read.

The Elder Eddas of Saemung Sigfusson

Pocket Hávamál

Myths of the Pagan North: Gods of the Norsemen

Lore of the Vanir: A Brief Overview of the Vanir Gods

Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems

Gods of the Ancient Northmen

Gods of the Ancient Northmen (online)

Two Icelandic Stories: Hreiðars Þáttr and Orms Þáttr

Two Icelandic Stories: Hreiðars Þáttr and Orms Þáttr (online)

Sagas

Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes: Hervor and Heidrek & Hrólf Kraki and His Champions (compiling the Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks and the Hrólfs saga kraka)

Icelandic Saga Database (website)

The Saga of the Jómsvíkings

The Heimskringla or the Chronicle of the Kings of Norway (online)

Stories and Ballads of the Far Past: Icelandic and Faroese

Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway

The Saga of the Volsungs: With the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok

The Saga of the Volsungs (online) Interesting analysis, but this is another pretty old source.

The Story of the Volsungs (online) Morris and Magnusson translation

The Vinland Sagas

Hákon the Good's Saga (online)

History of religious practices

The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia

Nordic Religions in the Viking Age

Agricola and Germania Tacitus' account of religion in nordic countries

Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions

Tacitus on Germany (online)

Scandinavia and the Viking Age

Viking Age Iceland

Landnámabók: Book of the Settlement of Iceland (online)

The Age of the Vikings

Gesta Danorum: The Danish History (Books I-IX)

The Sea Wolves: a History of the Vikings

The Viking World

Guta Lag: The Law of the Gotlanders (online)

The Pre-Christian Religions of the North This is a four-volume series I haven't read yet, but that I wish to acquire soon! It's the next research read I have planned.

Old Norse Folklore: Tradition, Innovation, and Performance in Medieval Scandinavia

Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings by John Haywood

Landnámabók: Viking Settlers and Their Customs in Iceland

Nordic Tales: Folktales from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark For a little literary break from all the serious research! The stories are told in a way that can sometimes get repetitive, but it makes it easier to notice recurring patterns and themes within Scandinavian oral tradition.

Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Short Introduction

Saga Form, Oral Prehistory, and the Icelandic Social Context

An Early Meal: A Viking Age Cookbook and Culinary Oddyssey

Runes & Old Norse language

Uppland region runestones and their translations

Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas and Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader

Catalogue of the Manks Crosses with Runic Inscriptions

Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction to the Language of the Sagas

A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture

Nordic Runes: Understanding, Casting, and Interpreting the Ancient Viking Oracle 

YouTube channels

Ocean Keltoi

Arith Härger

Old Halfdan

Jackson Crawford

Wolf the Red

Sigurboði Grétarsson

Grimfrost

(Reminder! The channel "The Wisdom of Odin", aka Jacob Toddson, is a known supporter of pseudo scientific theories and of the AFA, a folkist and white-supremacist organization, and he's been known to hold cult-like, dangerous rituals, as well as to use his UPG as truth and to ask for his followers to provide money for his building some kind of "real life viking hall", as supposedly asked to him by Óðinn himself. A source to avoid. But more on that here.)

Websites

The Troth

Norse Mythology for Smart People

Voluspa.org

Icelandic Saga Database

Skaldic Project

Life in Norway This is more of a tourist's ressources, but I find they publish loads of fascinating articles pertaining to Norway's history and its traditions.

[magics-neptunes-things]

Snowball and Jealousy

Hello everyone!

As chosen in the survey, here is a Christmas story with Leah Williamson! I hope you like it:) I imagined it in the same world as Fire and Ice 1 and 2.

Also it's longer than I first thought.

Happy reading!

TW: Still none.

You started dating Leah a little over a year ago, a few weeks before Christmas. Both felt it was too early to officially introduce yourself to your respective families, so you flew to Norway, your home country, to reunite with your family and spend the holidays with them. That didn’t stop you from thinking about Leah about every secondm and you had to refrain from harassing her with messages. You know very well how much the blonde cares about her family and how much she cherishes the moments spent with them.

This year, though, you’re going to spend Christmas with the Williamsons. You have already met Leah’s parents, brother and grandparents, but it’s true that you have not yet met everyone officially. I mean, that was before you walked into the huge house of one of her aunts, with almost all of the Williamsons. Hearing the noise, you instinctively take back a few steps, despite your hand tenderly entwined in Leah’s. She laughed at you and your sister-in-law patted you on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it" she told you before Leah laid a kiss on your cheek.

"Let’s go find my grandmother" Leah says, and you agree.

It was a long way to get to her. You probably had time to greet everyone in the room before you got to her. You don’t have a large family on your side, your parents have made the choice to have three children because they themselves were only children. So you don’t have any cousins, while Leah has so many that you can’t remember all their names.

"Oh, my favorite, finally!" said the old woman, joyfully, holding out her arms in your direction.

You smile at her and willingly give her a hug letting go of Leah’s hand for the first time since you arrived.

"Well hello to you too Nan" says Leah sarcastically before kissing her grandmother.

You exchange a few words with her, which you appreciate very much. You miss your family when you are in England and she quickly took the role of the grandmother of heart. Which Leah seems to enjoy immensely, despite her teasing.

"Let’s go find our place" Leah said after a few minutes, when her aunt asked everyone to sit down.

You follow her closely and you have no trouble locating your seats, next to Jacob, Leah’s brother and his girlfriend. There you meet new cousins of Leah and you find yourself quickly to be part of their conversation. After the second entrance, you noticed that a girl around you and Leah’ age look in your direction very often. The first times your eyes crossed you thought it must be a coincidence, but with the passing of time you are not so sure.

"Who is it?" you discreetly ask Leah, leaning in her direction.

Leah’s gaze briefly flies in the direction you show her before she rolls with her eyes.

"Hailey, a cousin. We never got along, we only see each other at Christmas"

The answer makes you gently frown, you thought Leah loved every member of her family deeply. Seeing your look, Leah smiles at you and kisses your cheek, whispering that she will explain to you later. You nod again, putting your hand on her leg.

"Christmas games!" Leah’s uncle happily screams after everyone’s entries are over.

A big smile appears on Leah’s face, a smile you know well. The same as when someone offered a game of Fifa, the same one she has before a game of Uno. The one who announces that she will take the competition to heart and who amuses you a lot. Leah’s competitive spirit is known to everyone, as is her bad losing side. It amuses you a lot, especially when you have to cover her with hugs and kisses to cheer her up when she lose.

You smile a little less that said when the draw separates you from her. Luckily you find yourself with Jacob’s girlfriend, Joanna, as well as Hailey. You have unfortunately forgotten the names of other people, except James who is one of the children of his cousins.

"So you’re Leah’s new girlfriend?" Hailey says as you watch Leah’s team thrown into a game of Piccionnary.

"They’ve been together for a year and a half, I wouldn’t use the term new" laughs Joanna, sitting on the other side of you.

You nod and just smile, not taking your blonde out of your eyes. You smile as you see her little dance of joy and you find yourself letting your eyes slide over a particular part of her anatomy when she leans over to take a pen. Of course, this is the time she chooses to look back at you. Her amused smile and arched eyebrow make you understand that she perfectly understood what you were doing. You smile back and shrug, who can blame you for ogling your girlfriend?

"You’re from Norway, right?" asks Hailey

You turn your attention to her to answer her, also answering the questions she asks you about your native country. You could talk about it for hours. You’ve taken Leah twice already there and you can’t wait to leave for a whole week with her at least in January. You have to admit that you get a little lost in your conversation and you wonder why Leah and she don’t get along. She looks pretty nice. You don’t notice that says Leah’s upset look at you from a distance.

When the game is over, Leah quickly makes her way to you and puts her two hands on the armrests of your chair to lean over you.

"Come breathe some fresh air with me?"

"With pleasure" you smile

Leah doesn’t back down when you get up even if she gets up when you do. Your lips ghost hers, causing electric currents throughout your body. Your smile expands and you let her willingly put a kiss on your lips, before grabbing your hand to train you in the snowy garden. All of that, ignoring her cousin with perfection.

Children, dressed from head to toe, run and play, shouting joyfully. A soft smile appears on your face this time, the memories of your winters in Norway coming to mind. Since there are fewer people, you allow yourself to put your two arms around Leah’s waist and let yourself go against her. A year and a half has passed and you still find it frustrating not being able to touch her as much as you would like. But Leah is more of the kind to be discreet without being secret and you obviously respect her choices. On the other hand, you don’t see yourself going into an intense kissing session in public.

Leah puts her arms around you and puts several kisses on your face.

"Great victory" you do mischievously.

"As if it was going to happen otherwise" Leah replies with a goofy grin.

"I’m disappointed though, I won’t need to give you dozens of kisses to make you forget your defeat."

Leah laughs and you look up at her with a smile on her face. You love her laughter and being the reason of it.

"So, what’s the deal with Hailey?" you ask after a few minutes.

"Nothing special except she spent her teenage years flirting with my girlfriends or crushes and trying to steal them from me." sighs Leah, frowning. "It worked one time"

"Oh" you mumble while playing with her sweater. "She even tried with Jordan?"

"She never met Jordan. The first time she was in Australia and then Jordan was in her family. I didn’t really want them to meet, to be honest."

"Why?" you ask while frowning.

"I didn’t particularly want to see my girlfriend get picked up by my cousin."

The answer is logical, but your question involved something else. Leah has always been very honest with you about her relationship with Jordan. But you have to admit that to see that some people always seem to regret their relationship while you don’t hide yours… It’s painful. It obviously has nothing to do with a confidence you wouldn’t have in Leah, quite the contrary. You have complete and complete confidence in her. But your mind doesn’t wait à second to play with you. Are you less important on Leah’s life than Jordan was?

"Why am I here then?" you whisper after a moment of silence, trying to ignore the strange sensation in the pit of your belly.

"I thought she would have changed over time" sighed Leah "I was wrong."

Your insecurities give way to misunderstanding this time. You rise your eyes again, so that you can observe her at best.

"What are you talking about?" you ask while frowning.

"Oh please Babe, don’t tell me you didn’t notice her little game"

"We were just talking about Norway?"

You are lost and you look at Leah without understanding what she means. The pretty blonde looks at you a few seconds before smiling and rolling her eyes, realizing you aren't playing with her.

"It’s true that you have trouble realizing when someone is interested in you, I practically had to jump on you in a hospital bed for you to realize it"

You pout, even if your memories of that moment are intact in your memory. Like your first kiss, for that matter.

"When someone talks to you looking into your eyes, leaning in your direction with a hand on your arm or your knee, it’s an seduction attempt, Y/N."

"Oh."

Leah rolls her eyes again and smile before biting the corner of your jaw with a playful air on her face. You shove her elbow playfully, trying to escape her hold. You finally succeed, running away. Your feet slide on the snow trampled by others before you, but you manage to get away from Leah, passing the corner of the house. Knowing that you will not be able to walk away for a very long time, you take advantage of the few seconds that you have to take a handful of snow and turn it into a ball.

When Leah appears at the corner of the building, you send her the snowball, aiming a little too well since it arrives in full head. Fortunately, you didn’t squeeze the ball too much and the snow spread quickly in all directions and doesn't hurt her. It doesn’t seem to soften Leah, who stops dead and looks you right in the eyes.

"You’re so dead, Darling."

You swallow. You're so dead.

"I’m sorry?"

She resumes her race to catch you and you try to keep her in distance but she managed to catch you after a few meters, tackling you in the snow. The cold and humidity make you squeek, but it doesn’t stop Leah straddling your waist.

"I thought the Norwegians weren’t afraid of the cold?" said Leah maliciously, leaning over you.

"I never said anything about the snow getting in my clothes"

Leah laughs and throws you a handful of snow in the face to make a good figure and not show how much she has a soft spot for you. She has a reputation to uphold after all. But that doesn’t stop her from helping you rise up and take you back against her right after. You sigh at ease while putting yourself against her, your face in the hollow of her neck.

"I’m glad you’re here" said Leah after a few seconds, her lips in your hair.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm" she hums softly. "Just remind me to make sure to keep you away from Hailey next time."

"Will I really need to remind you?"

Your request is made with a small laugh and you lift yourself from her to look at her with amusement. Jealousy is a trait that you didn’t prepare for in her. But since you consider it a proof of love, it’s far from disturbing you. She’s jealous, but not so possessive. The difference is important to you.

"No, certainly not" Leah laughs before kissing your lips. "You’re mine."

"Yours"

You barely have time to exchange a new kiss that a cry of child sounds near you, making you both turn. Covered in snow from head to toe, James seems satisfied to find Leah.

"Lee! Jacob said the Arsenal players suck and then he threw me in the snow!"

"What?! I’m coming!"

Without hesitation, Leah hurries to join James and the Arsenal defenders in the snowball battle that began outside the house. When you come back with Leah’s coat, she’s already soaked, but she accepts it with pleasure. Her gloves too. And since you’re here, she takes the opportunity to steal a kiss from you before training you in battle. After all, it’s also your duty to defend Arsenal, right?

[toomanythoughts2]

I think something we don't consider enough about Toki is that he grew up basically in front of all his fans. Like, whether or not you subscribe to the idea that Toki was a minor (16/17) when he joined Dethklok or a young adult (18/19), it's still very apparent that Toki grew up in front of the world. He went from a nobody, farmers boy in an abandoned village in Norway to being on stage to millions and millions of people in the blink of an eye.

Like, no wonder the fans think he's the cutesy one, he was literally the cute baby of the group. I bet there are fans that put side by side photos of when Toki first joined, baby face, to his adult, modern version. Toki is basically a child star to some degree. But that's also why people underestimate him so much because he was introduced to the world as a minor or very young adult and then grew up, but still stayed excatly where he was. He never branched out, so he's stuck in this child-rememebered position.

But there's also so many cute or shitty things that could have happened in that time to influence how people saw him. Gig went on super late, got really sleepy and was allowed to nap. Got his first interview done, was socially awkward and nervous. Got his first paycheck, went and bought toys and showed them to the paparazzi before getting escorted away. Had his first few drinks, got incredibly sick and left the party early. Gets asked questions he doesn't know how to answer, immediately asks for help from someone in the band in front of the interviewer. Got hurt while touring, wanted to be patched up by a band member or Charles. Just like in DSR when he's talking about how happy joining the band made him while singing "I Believe", he probably took every chance he got to tell interviewers and whatnot how happy he was to be part of the band and that he loved them very much.

Like, there's so much missing content between the beginning of the band to the start of the series. 10 whole years of Toki (and Dethklok) growing up under the public eye. Idk, I just love pre-klok Toki but there isn't much Post-Klok Pre-Series Dethklok.

[elibeeline]

five likes and ill move to somewhere rural and baltic

the urge to move to a cabin in the mountains grows stronger

[iateyourparents]

snow angels | c.b.

pairing: colby brock x fem!reader

summary: you love winter but you hate getting sick. but when it happens you have colby to take care of you.

warnings: bad writing and grammar(i’m sorry but english isn’t my first language)

an: it’s short but i love snow and colby so i decided to make this because it snowed so much yesterday in my city <33

pictures are from pinterest:)

„Baby you will get cold.” Colby warned looking at you with a little smirk when you were laying on the ground doing snow angels with Katrina.

It was winter, your favorite season and because Los Angeles wasn’t known for snowy and cold weather, Sam and Colby decided to surprise you and Katrina with a little travel to Norway. It was heaven for you, so much snow and cold weather.

„I won’t love.” you rolled your eyes „Come here and make your angel!”

He rolled his eyes but started walking to you with Sam and they both laid down and started copying your and Kat’s movements.

„Come on love, let’s go inside baby.” Colby took your hand some time later „You will really catch a cold if we stay outside for any longer.”

„No.” you whined letting go of his hand „Let’s buid a snowman!”

„You will regret it.” Colby warned with a laugh but also got to work on your snowman.

And truth to be told, you should listen to Colby when he was urging you inside but you only realized it couple of hours later when you were laying in bed coughing and sneezing.

„I told you so babe.” Colby sighed looking at termometer in his hand “You have high fever.” he looked at you with worry and you took his hand.

“I’ll be alright. It’s only a cold. Plus I have the best nurse on the world to help me get better.” you smiled at him and he only laughed kissing your nose.

“You look like a rudolf with this red nose.” he kissed it again “I will go make a soup, okay?”

“Don’t leave me here all alone.” you pouted.

“You should have listened to me and you wouldn’t be in this situation.” he smirked and you rolled your eyes.

“You’re no fun.” you whined but let’s be honest, he was right, but you would rather spend three days sick in bed than admit he was right.

“Sure love.” he kissed your head and walked out of your room.

You laid there for a few minutes but you quickly got bored and your phone wasn’t any help, so you got up from the bed and ignoring your body’s shivering, you started walking to the kitchen where from you could hear Colby singing.

You quietly stood behind him and hugged his back placing your cheek on his shoulder blade.

He jumped a little but then sighed “I told you to stay in bed.”

“I was bored.” you pouted slightly “I missed you.”

He laughed quietly but continued making a soup.

“You didn’t miss me?” you faked a gasp and stopped hugging him. You immediately missed a warm his back was providing you but you took a few steps back acting as if he did something cruel “How could you?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t miss you.” he defended himself.

“Your silence did!” you accused “Alright then, go back to your no missing me and I will go hug Kat and Sam.”

You walked out of the kitchen hearing Colby’s laugh and him shouting your name and I love you behind you but you ignored it and went to the living room where Sam and Kat were already looking in your direction with smirks.

“Problems in paradise?” Sam joked and you pouted.

“He doesn’t love me anymore!” you accused loudly to make sure Colby could hear you in the kitchen.

“I didn’t say that! I love you!” you all could hear Colby screaming and that made Kat and Sam laugh and you rolled your eyes.

“Do you wanna hug?” Kat looked at you and you quickly nodded, sitting on her side and snuggling into her body while Sam covered you both with a fluffy blanket.

Some time later Colby came into the room with a steaming bowl and also steaming cup in the shape of gingerbread man.

“I made the soup and I also made you a cocoa as a sorry for making you think I didn’t miss you while I was in the kitchen and you in the bedroom. It was wrong.” he smiled at you and you laughed.

“Add kinder surprise and I will forgive you.” you smirked at him and he smiled at you.

“They are waiting in the kitchen.”

“I love you.” you kissed his cheek when he was sitting things on the coffee table in front of you.

“I love you too baby.” he kissed your forehead “Now eat.”

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 3, Episode 6

Out here in the real world it's been a week since the cliffhanger ending of episode 5 where Simon broke up with Wilhelm, but in-universe it's just the next day, and Wilhelm is being comforted by Felice.

Subtext: This entire episode is incredibly meta, there are so many times characters say things that reference earlier seasons or episodes, or the entire series as a whole. This is the first time, and Felice is saying what we're all thinking. IS IT REALLY OVER?!? 😱

Blink and you miss it: Felice gives Wilhelm her sunglasses and dries his tears so he can hide the fact that he's been crying. Also, look at that gorgeous Swedish summer. It is so pretty.

Culture: The third-years are painting the banners that go on the trucks on graduation day.

Culture: They're also signing each others' student hats, which is a common tradition. You can just sign your name or write something funny or do whatever.

Culture: This car is what we in Sweden call a sossecontainer. It's an old 90's Volvo, it's square, it's ugly, and it was pretty cheap and reliable, so it was very common and popular among working class and the lower middle classes. It was never a high-status car, so it perfectly illustrates the Eriksson family.

Subtext: Oh look, another throwback to season 1 when Sara argued with Simon about their dad, and said that he should stop giving people second chances.

Culture: Oh look, another poem by Karin Boye. This time it's Eternity, a poem about cherishing your time with your loved one, and the text is about how good times feel like an endless summer, which is what it certainly looks like for the kids and their teacher in the lush landscape. But just like in the poem, their endless summer is about to end.

Culture: This is pretty much exactly the reason used when real-world Lundsberg was temporarily closed.

Culture: And Wilhelm isn't wrong, the shitty traditions are in the walls of the place, it's always been like that, and it's always been upheld by everyone involved with the school, parents, teachers, staff, and students.

Subtext: Since this is the last episode, let's prepare the viewers to say good bye to the show, and let's do it with a little montage of students crying and taking their stuff down and emptying their rooms.

Culture: This is a 100% factually true statement, Göteborg is the worst city in the world. Source: I'm a native Stockholmer, and you just have to trust me on this, ok? Look, it's just common sense, alright? Don't listen to people from Göteborg, they're just jealous they're not living in the glorious capital. Also, they talk funny. And they have no sense of humour! And everyone is named Glenn or something.

Culture: I don't think they're referencing an actual school here, and the current Norwegian royal children went to school in Norway, not Switzerland. But the current Danish crown prince went to some boarding school in Switzerland for a while, but then he went to the Danish elite boarding school Herlufsholm. However, it was rocked by a bullying scandal in 2022, so they had to pull him out of that one and deny all knowledge of the events. Feels familiar?

Culture: Solliden is the private summer palace of the real-world Swedish royal family located on Öland, an island off the south-east coast of Sweden. The show has consistently stayed away from every likeness with the real world, but I guess they couldn't be arsed making up a fictional summer palace for the YR royal family so they went with something familiar.

Subtext: Farima is talking about the problems of finding a new school for Wilhelm from an academic perspective, but he's just thinking about how this means he won't be close to Simon any longer.

Culture: Vincent and the boys are pouring one out for Hillerska. It's a way to toast a dead friend, or in this case, a place.

Blink and you miss it: August places a king chess piece on the table before telling his friends that he's Wilhelm's reserve and might be king someday.

Subtext: And he's still so blinded by the glamour of it, despite everything. Thankfully, his friends can bring him down a couple of pegs.

Blink and you miss it: While Wilhelm is returning Kris, the book from last season, the second book in the pile is a book by Kjell Westö, Den Svavelgula Himlen - Yellow Sulphur Sky. It's about a working class kid in Finland becoming friends with his upper-class neighbour family, and his struggle maintaining a relationship with the girl of the family because of their class differences. Slightly on the nose there, show.

Meta: Henry interrupting our boys at the worst possible time is just a running joke at this point. How many times has it happened now? Four times? Five? Read the fucking room, Henry!

Subtext: Last chance to have a party together, but also last chance to see Simon, "maybe ever". Oh no, we have to start preparing for a sad ending!

Culture: Red solo cups are not a thing anywhere outside the US really, but you can buy them as a gag gift in Sweden, because to us they're just a weird movie prop we've seen American movies. Every other party scene in the show has featured regular plastic cups.

Culture: Drinking with the teachers?!? Yeah, sure, why not, everyone is an adult.

Subtext: Emo outfit? ✅ Sitting on the floor? ✅ Full of self-pity? ✅ Exaggerating the catastrophic state of his world in the way only a 17yo disaster boy can do? ✅

Meta: Another throwback to how Wilhelm was referred to as the party prince back in season 1.

Blink and you miss it: Felice hides the wine bottle behind her back before Malin comes in. She knows, Felice. Malin knows everything.

Meta: Another throwback to when Wilhelm was eating the dirt at the very same football field that disaster emo boy Simon is now sitting at together with his friends, who are trying to convince him to go to the final party.

Subtext: This time, August isn't just sorry that he got caught, he is genuinely sorry for everything he did to Wilhelm. He in turn forgives August, and we're all getting closure for this plot point.

Meta: Hey, hey, hey guys, do you remember that scene in season 1 episode 1 when Sara helped hold Felice's hair while she was throwing up? We're doing a throwback here!

Meta: Hey, hey, hey guys, do you remember that scene in season 1 episode 3 when Felice told Sara that maybe you don't have to speak the truth all the time? Well, Sara still doesn't understand why you would lie, but this time she's right, Felice was right to tell the truth.

Blink and you miss it: Stella and Fredrika are making out at the party, Felice saw it, and is making a very funny face. This is also why Stella rudely rejects Rosh, because of course she's gonna choose Fredrika, Rosh was just a distraction to make her jealous.

Subtext: Vincent is talking about Nils, who just came out, but August just saw Sara, and that's the whoever he wants.

Subtext: But despite saying that he doesn't care about anyone else seeing them, he still ducked behind a stack of pallets for this conversation.

Meta: This is a brutal Fleabag reference.

Cinematography: This scene is overwhelmingly lit in that sickly greenish fluorescent hue, but there's golden light coming from somewhere, so Sara and August share one final kiss in that golden light. But there's not enough of it to go around, not enough for their love to last, so August is left standing there alone, and all the golden light is gone.

Cinematography: Wilhelm and Simon left the party sometime after midnight, this is supposed to be a very early morning summer sunrise, and our boys are just gonna be bathed in the golden light throughout the entire scene. Gods, it is pretty.

Meta: Hey, hey, remember that scene in season 1 when Simon was singing that song, and Wilhelm instantly fell for him?

Meta: Hey guys, remember that scene in season 1 when they were discussing welfare politics in class and Simon threw shade on Wilhelm? This is a throwback to that.

Cinematography: Just fucking look at this shit. What a nice view. The nature and the sunrise is pretty, too! Going naked into the water? Yeah, that's a rebirth metaphor as well. Lisa said so!

Subtext: This entire scene is basically Wilhelm trying one last time to get Simon back. They said they weren't gonna, but he's trying anyway. They're talking about that politics class where Wilhelm couldn't speak up because he was "not allowed". So he's still bound by his royal duties, which is why Simon broke up with him last episode.

Subtext: And since Wilhelm is still stuck, he's left on dry land, while Simon swims away from him, free. Guys, I'm thinking we're actually gonna get a sad ending! This does not look good! 😭

Blink and you miss it: Stella and Fredrika are sleeping in the same bed and making out the morning after, and millions of #Stedrika shippers are rejoicing! Yay, fanservice!

Blink and you miss it: Walter is helping Henry up after he passed out in the grass outside after the party, and millions of #Walty shippers are rejoicing! Yay, fanservice!

Subtext: The last photo Wilhelm takes down from his wall is the one with him and Simon, because that's the most important memory of this place.

Blink and you miss it: Wilhelm shuts off his red lightstrip in his room. Those lights have typically been a symbol of his love for Simon, but he's turning it off. Sad ending confirmed.

Meta: Listen, it's a lovely little song that Simon wrote for Wilhelm, but it's 100% fanservice, it's referencing events in the show that Simon actually didn't witness, and it's even referencing the soundtrack to the show itself! I mean, come on! And we're getting yet another sad boy Wilhelm montage of him moping around Hillerska with his earbuds.

Subtext: Remember how the frog snowglobe was a gift from Erik, who in turn got it from their grandpa, the king? It's so obviously a symbol of the monarchy, but Wilhelm is dumping it in the trash. Are we... Are we not getting a sad ending?

Cinematography: The shot of the flag being raised is cut off at half mast, which is a pretty universal symbol for mourning. Oh ok, we're back on track for a sad ending.

Subtext: This is the first time this season that Simon speaks Spanish with his mom, and the first time in the entire series that Sara does, which shows that they're fully themselves again, they've pulled themselves out of the Hillerska world.

Culture: The graduating students are having a champagne breakfast before the graduation ceremony, that's also very common in Sweden.

Subtext: Felice and the rest of the choir decided to have a little rebellion and not sing the boring old Hillerska song, and instead the new improved one that Simon made last season. No-one told him about the switch though, which is why he's so surprised.

Culture: After the ceremony, the graduating students will run out of the school to find their parents and family and friends, who are waiting for them, usually with a big sign with the most embarrassing baby picture they could find of them.

Blink and you miss it: August's mom and stepdad have also made a huge sign with an embarrassing picture of August Malte as a kid. Adorable.

Lost in translation: The queen is saying "lilla gubben", which literally means "little old man", a very common term of endearment in Swedish families. The show has been pretty consistent in that Wilhelm's family are all using normal words, just like any other family would. So it's pretty funny that despite everyone else using titles and styles all the time, to Wilhelm, his parents are simply "mamma" and "pappa", as if he was a regular kid.

Subtext: As a graduating student you get little gifts from your family, flowers, champagne, stuffed animals, all with a blue-and-yellow ribbon so you can hang them around your neck. August is family, so the Queen gives him one as well. Of a frog with a crown. Which is a symbol of the monarchy in the show. Wilhelm threw his frog in the trash, August is getting a frog from the Queen. I think there might be symbolism here! I think we're setting up August to become the next king! Do we dare hope for a happy ending?

Cinematography: Just fucking look at this shit. The composition, the contrast, the height difference, the distance between them. It's so pretty. And they're talking about how good it was while it lasted, just like how a TV show with a sad ending can still be an amazing experience. Hint hint.

Subtext: We're saying our goodbyes, Wilhelm and Simon are saying goodbye to each other, Wilhelm wishes Simon a nice summer, just like how Simon wished Wilhelm a good Christmas back in season 1, and just like back then, they both understand that they love each other, but can't be together.

Cinematography: And then Simon exits the scene, again, leaving Wilhelm standing there alone, again, having seemingly chosen his family and royal duty.

Culture: It's common to either rent a truck as a large group of students, or to be driven in a flashy car alone or with a friend. The two girls in the centre are sitting in a very nice Aston Martin, while a bunch of their classmates are on a truck. I can't make out the full text on the banner, but I think it says something like "Lock up your sons because tonight we become like animals".

Culture: Svensson is a very common Swedish last name, so to "be a Svensson" basically means that you're super average and mediocre, you're like everyone else. Whereas these elite kids are used to having everyone else bow and scrape for them, so that message is on brand.

Cinematography: We're in the car, it looks like the ending of season 1, and we're doing a close-up of Wilhelm's face. We're ready for the fourth-wall-break of him staring sadly into the camera, having been once again broken down by the system and not getting the boy. We've said goodbye to everyone, roll the credits, start your crying...

Cinematography: ...except the show isn't ending here. We're having an honest conversation between Wilhelm and his parents for the first time. Because every other time he's said that he doesn't want to be crown prince of the next king, he's been angry or upset, he's been threatening, and definitely impulsive. But he's never wanted any of it.

Cinematography: His parents let him go, they open the door to their van, Wilhelm exits, and the show turns up the volume of the soundtrack. "Energetic music" my ass, it's the Harmony theme! It's the main theme of the entire show playing as Wilhelm runs away.

Subtext: Oh, yeah, August sees him run away, and understands that he's next in line now. Sorry buddy, sucks to be you, but never mind that now. RUN, WILHELM, RUN!!! GET YOUR MAN!

Cinematography: The shows turns into the most perfect rom-com, with Wilhelm chasing down Simon's car through the incredibly lush and green Swedish summer. He catches up to them, tells Simon that he ditched the crown for his own sake, and asks if it's really over between them.

VAD FAN TROR DU?

As if the soundtrack wasn't triumphant enough, it now starts playing As Long As you Are Here as they throw themselves in each other's arms. Happy ending! They're crying, I'm crying, we're all crying! 😭

Cinematography: A montage? With all the best scenes between our boys from the entire show? With the text of the soundtrack perfectly matching the montage? I should be outraged at how cheesy this is, but it is perfect. Perfect. I love it. I swear, this fucking show.

Subtext: Finally we are at the true ending of the show. Wilhelm has managed to escape Hillerska, him and Simon and Sara and Felice have all escaped the hierarchies, the expectations, the duties, and the toxic environment of the school. He arrived in a Ferrari, and is now running away with his boyfriend and friends in a crappy Volvo station-wagon. The stiff suit jackets are gone, they're all in white, his hair is ruffled in the wind, and for the last time ever Wilhelm looks into the camera. And he smiles.

He is finally free.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Wips

Last updated: 23/11/24

Alexia x Reader (platonic) -Injured (Alexia's Version) VIII - R tries to help her brother Jaume come out to their mother [ANGST] -Injured (Alexia's Version): Future V - R brings home her girlfriend and her new dog, Flower -Leaving VIII - Alexia remains clueless as to how you play tennis -If You Were My Little Girl II - Alexia decides to help out with R's situation -Tears V - There's some complications when Alexia gives birth to R

Grace x Reader (romantic)

-Injured (Jenni's Version): Future III - R and Grace have a day off without the kids

Leah x Reader (romantic)

-Snap - R gets injured during the North London derby

Aitana x Reader (platonic) -Miracle IV - R has been distant and aloof for a few months and Aitana wants to find out why [ANGST]

Mapi x Ingrid x Reader (platonic)

-Teenage Dirtbag III - R spends her day teasing a girl at school before being taken out early by Mapi and Ingrid

Mapi x Ingrid x Reader (romantic)

-Flirts V - R gets injured trying to do her job and Mapi and Ingrid freak out

Mary x Reader (platonic)

-Carnival II - R is homesick so Mary helps

Hardersson x Reader (platonic) -World Cup VII - Pernille thinks about R's career during a World Cup in Denmark

Lucy x Ona x Reader (platonic)

-New Girlfriend III - R makes a game for school and doesn't let Lucy see it -New Girlfriend IV - R collects Pokémon cards and Lucy doesn't quite understand

Lucy x Reader (platonic)

-Chase - R can't quite keep up with her sister [ANGST]

Rue x Reader (platonic) -End of the World VII - Rue takes R out to the zoo

Leah x Reader (platonic)

-Outburst V - Leah gets in trouble for letting R stay up past bedtime

Wonze x Reader (platonic)

-Broken III - Keira stresses about R's broken arm in the break room together

McFoord x Reader (platonic)

-Melting Pot IV - R goes to sport's day at school

Marta x Caro x Reader (platonic)

-Daisychains III - R and Caro miss each other while Caro plays for Norway

HALLOWEEN FICS: -Sunshine's Halloween

[nowaysguidetothebestkeptsecrets]

Wonders of Norway: A Traveller's Guide to the Best Kept Secrets

By John Kirby, G. Soliven From BSIT-1A

Imagine a land of stunning fjords, majestic mountains, and vibrant cities under the shimmering Northern Lights. Norway is not just a destination; it's my dream vacation, a place I long to explore one day. Though I’m currently studying and can’t visit just yet, this guide will unveil the hidden gems of this Scandinavian paradise for when I can finally embark on my journey. Whether you're an outdoor enthusiast, a history buff, or simply seeking tranquillity in nature, Norway has something special for everyone. Let’s embark on this journey to discover the wonders of Norway!

Norway’s Outdoor Adventure

Why Norway Is Perfect for Adventure Travelers

Norway is often referred to as a dream destination for adventure travellers. The varied landscapes provide a rich diversity of outdoor activities, including hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking, and rock climbing. There’s no shortage of thrilling experiences to be had in Norway's great outdoors!

When I think of my future travels, I can already envision myself immersed in nature, taking in all that Norway has to offer:

Mountain Climbing

With over 600 mountains, Norway is a paradise for climbers. Galdhøpiggen, the highest peak at 8,100 feet, promises breathtaking views for those ready to take on the challenge.

Rafting

For adrenaline seekers, white-water rafting on Norway’s majestic rivers is a must. From beginner-friendly experiences to thrilling rapids, there’s an adventure for everyone.

Dog Sledding

In the winter, dog sledding is an unforgettable experience. Imagine gliding through snow-covered landscapes in Tromsø, led by a team of e nergetic huskies!

Reference Top Destinations/Activities

Activities and Nature Attractions

Norway is filled with stunning natural beauty and activities for every season. Here are some highlights I dream of experiencing:

Must-See Nature Attractions

Fjords: Exploring the iconic fjords like Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is at the top of my list.

Northern Lights: Witnessing the magical Aurora Borealis in places like Tromsø during winter is a dream come true.

Midnight Sun: I can already imagine the surreal experience of the sun never setting during summer in northern Norway.

Waterfalls: Visiting breath-taking waterfalls like Vettisfossen, the tallest in Norway, would be a highlight of my trip.

Family-Friendly Activities

Norway also offers many activities suitable for families, from outdoor adventures to cultural experiences, making it a wonderful place to visit for everyone.

Reference

Cultural Insights

Family Dynamics

Norwegian families tend to be small, valuing independence and equality. Gender roles are balanced, with shared responsibilities in both work and home life, creating a sense of community.

Official Language and Communication

Norwegian is the official language, but most Norwegians speak English, making it easy for travellers like me to communicate and connect with locals. I appreciate the straightforward and warm-hearted nature of Norwegian interactions.

The Norwegian Diet

Traditional Norwegian cuisine includes fish, meat, and hearty bread. While I look forward to trying local delicacies, I know international influences have shaped the modern dining scene, making it diverse and exciting.

Reference Travel Tips

17 Things You Need to Know Before Visiting Norway

Norway is a Scandinavian Country: It consists of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Polar Bears Do Not Walk in the Streets: They’re found in Svalbard, not mainland Norway.

Currency: The Norwegian Krone (NOK) is the currency; most transactions can be done with cards.

Safety: Norway is one of the safest countries to visit, with low crime rates.

Seasons: Norway experiences distinct seasons; plan your visit accordingly.

Wild Camping: Enjoy the freedom of wild camping in nature.

National Parks: Access to national parks is generally free.

Best Salmon: Don’t miss trying Norway’s renowned salmon dishes.

Eating Out: Dining can be expensive; consider grocery shopping for budget-friendly meals.

Northern Lights: Best viewed in northern Norway between October and April.

Travel Distances: Norway is large, so plan your travel time accordingly.

Wildlife: Generally safe; no dangerous animals on mainland Norway.

Norwegian Taco Culture: Tacos are a beloved Friday night tradition!

Diversity of Regions: Each region offers unique landscapes and experiences.

Midnight Sun: Experience 24 hours of daylight in summer.

Community Engagement: Young people often engage in sports and volunteer work.

Language: Understanding basic Norwegian phrases can enhance your experience.

Reference Norway, with its breathtaking landscapes, rich culture, and welcoming atmosphere, is truly my dream vacation destination. From stunning fjords to vibrant cities, I know there’s something for every traveler. I eagerly look forward to exploring this incredible country someday.

I encourage you to consider visiting this amazing destination and share your thoughts or experiences in the comments below. Have you traveled to Norway? What was your favorite part?

If you enjoyed this guide and want to explore more about travel, culture, and adventures, don’t forget to follow us on social media for the latest updates, tips, and insights, and check out our other posts for more inspiration. Here’s to dreaming of Norway until we can experience it firsthand!

[mrs-elsie-barnes]

How Like A Winter Your Absence Has Been, What Freezings Have I Felt | Loki x Asgardian!Reader

Learning that Asgard has been destroyed you follow the Asgardians to Midgard, crash landing in a Norweigian forest. When Loki is sent to collect you old hurts are raised, new hurts are healed and an understanding is found.

Warnings: soppy snow based shinanigans, sort of friends to lovers with an enemies to lovers vibe, hurt/comfort, reader is hurt and needs stitches. Kissinngggg.

Loki calls reader 'Vennen' which is a term of endearment, between friends and lovers, but can be seen as patronising in the wrong tone or context.

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Masterlist | Loki Masterlist

The sullen silence filling the cabin of the car weighed heavy on Loki’s shoulders. It’d been years since you’d seen each other, before Ragnarok, before Odin had left Asgard. Years. And yet the familiar awkwardness of your presence still ate at him. 

In the passenger seat you fidgeted. Frustrated that your return had ended like this, helpless in a Norwegian forest you’d never visited, returning to a home you’d never seen. News had travelled slowly across the galaxies, but as soon as you’d heard that Asgard had fallen you’d been trying to return. Your ship had fought you all the way, trying to set a course to a world that existed only as errant space dust and you’d floated there, fighting off the creatures that crawled among its ruins, until you’d received word of a new settlement, here on Midgard. 

It hadn’t surprised you, both brothers had always been obsessed with the place and, driving through the night, flashes of snow carved out of the darkness by the moon, you could understand why. Norway was a beautiful land. 

“So, you still can’t pilot your ship.” Loki’s voice cut through the silence and you huffed in response. 

“I’m not the one who blew up a planet. It’s not built for landing in Midgard’s atmosphere, how was I to know it’d start burning up.” You looked out of the window, how dare he make jokes about Ragnarok, how dare he. 

“I doubt the builders will be able to salvage it.” 

“I don’t care, leave me alone.” 

It was Loki’s turn to huff out a laugh, “you intend to walk back to New Asgard, vennen? Be our guest, I care not.” 

He slowed down as the endless skies opened and a new flurry of snow swirled around the car. 

If he could’ve chosen a way to spend a cold, snowy night before Solstice Loki would’ve chosen reading by the fire or drinking with Val and Thor. Maybe even an evening’s walk on the cliffs. He certainly would not have taken Thor’s Avenger’s issue Land Rover to trawl through miles of empty forest, but looking for you, that was a task that he had felt was his and his alone. So why was spending this much time alone together, in a confined space, when you hadn’t seen each other for eons, making his skin feel tight. 

“Then why did you come?” 

“Because despite Thor’s abdication I still owe a duty to my people, I would never leave an Asgardian stranded.” He kept his eyes on the road ahead, he knew if he turned you’d be looking at him with those beautiful eyes, studying him in that way that always made him nervous, and his eyes twinkled at the thought of you rattled. “Besides, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease you mercilessly while you have no escape.” He chuckled, but stopped abruptly when you made a noncommittal noise in return and turned back to your window, sliding a hand into your jacket. . 

The car jostled again, wheels catching in the patchy road. You’d been able to land your ship well enough outside of New Asgard to not hurt anyone, somewhere in the vastness of the forest, but it had been a bumpy landing after a harrowing few weeks free falling through the devastation of your home. You were in no mood for teasing, even if you had missed that glint in Loki’s eye, the way his smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. It had been too long to dwell on that now, you were here to settle with the rest of your people and that was the extent of it. It was nothing to do with Loki at all. 

Another noise escaped your lips as the road took a sharp turn and this time Loki noticed, turning his head slightly, you refused to think about the way the upturned collar of his coat emphasised the sharpness of his cheekbones. Why would you care about such a thing anyway?

“Are you injured, vennen?” 

“No.” 

“Are you certain, you made a noise?” 

“Do you not think me capable of assessing my own bodily needs?” You snapped, digging your fingernails into your palms in an effort to stave off the groaning pain in your side. 

“As you wish.” He sighed, holding a hand up as if in surrender and turning his eyes back to the road, now turning this way and that as it made its way back down the mountainside. At each turn the wheels of the car span in the mud and snow caked along the side of the road, and each time you stifled your pain. 

The road evened out again and Loki put his foot down, slush and snow spraying up the sides of the 4 x 4 as he sped through the night. 

“Careful, Loki, we’ll -” your warning was cut short, the back two wheels fishtailed, dragging the car across the road in a wide circle before coming to a stop. Loki hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. 

“By the norns, this infernal fucking machine!” He griped.  

“I told you to - “

“Yes, yes.” He lowered his forehead to the wheel and took a deep breath. “Let me inspect it.” 

He opened the door, bracing against the gust of wind whipping up the open path the road made through the otherwise dense forest. The door closed with such finality that for a moment you were alone again, suspended in the debris of a former life and wishing for home. You couldn’t take the silence and, though your skin stretched painfully around your injuries, you opened your door too. 

Loki ran his fingers through his hair, leaving the long dark waves spiked and tangled to be played with by the wind. There was a huge patch of ice in the middle of the road leading back up the mountain. He placed one hand on the back window to steady himself, his mind reeling, he could’ve hurt you. In his haste to get back to the village he could’ve hurt you. 

The slamming of the door echoed through the trees and he looked up to see you shivering in the snow. You were dressed for space, not for Norway, fitted leather leggings and tunic hugging every familiar curve of your body, he only had to glance at you to remember the feel of you when you’d last sparred in Asgard, your waist corseted beneath his palms, the beat of your heart so close to his, your breath, ghosting over his lips before you’d pulled away abruptly and left him lying there in the dirt. 

Your only sensible clothes were your boots, heavy and solid, and your jacket, padded and warm against the cold of your spaceship, but not the biting ice of a Norwegian winter. 

Loki looked away, the car wasn’t buried in the snow or stuck in the mud, it would be fine with a shove. But when he looked up you had gone, your footprints leading to the edge of the forest. 

He followed, concerned, despite your warrior training. Loki breathed a sigh of relief when he saw you brushing snow from the needles of a fir tree, pressing the flakes into a small ball. His mouth lifted at the corner, so it was going to be snowballs, he could play that game. Loki’s magic shimmered as he gathered snow into a perfectly formed sedir built snowball, but paused. Instead of turning and throwing it, as he expected, you lifted the ice to your face, wincing. His hand opened and the snowball fell to the permafrost with a dull thud. 

“Loki,” you looked surprised, dropping your ice as well and wiping your face with the sleeve of your jacket. 

“What happened to your face? Why are you icing it?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. Can we leave? Is this thing broken? The carar?” You eyed it warily and it occurred to Loki that despite all your time travelling in space, you’d never actually been to Midgard. “It doesn’t appear to be very sturdy considering the conditions.”

“The car,” he smiled, “is fine. Your chariot awaits, my lady.” He opened the door and you allowed him to help you back into the passenger seat, if only to hide your other injuries. 

Loki kicked the snow from the tires and used a gust of magic to blow the snow from the solid mud beneath before returning to the car. 

“I have become accustomed to the ways of this planet over many years and I forget that for you, this is your first visit.” he said, quietly, as soon as the road evened out again,

Loki never took his eyes from the road, but you saw the subtle twitch in his jaw, knew the movement all too well, he couldn’t say sorry, but he would admit his faults in his own way and hope that you forgave him. 

“Everything is new here.” You answered, quietly, an acceptance of his statement, no acknowledgement of his apology. 

The next bend was more gentle and Loki took the angle slowly, but you still hissed, biting your lip to hide the pain. 

“You have hurt yourself.”

“It’s nothing.” 

“If it were nothing, you would be silent.” Loki raised an eyebrow, peering ahead into the dark night and spotting a gravelled area away from the road with a picnic bench, bin and parking space.

 He’d spotted it on the way out too, there’d been a few cars parked there with their headlights on, a group of friends in huge coats and hats sharing a flask of something steaming hot and toasting each other. Now, in the darkness, there was none of the warmth of their gathering left, but at least there was a quiet. 

Loki put his arm over the back of your seat, his palm flat on the wheel as he reversed the Land Rover into the middle space, and you pressed your knees together at the memory of his hands on the tiller of the flying faerings as you raced them between the pillars of the bridges on Asgard. He had the same easy grace, his fingers dancing on the metal as they did over the leather of the wheel. You squeezed harder, ignoring that same building of fire and need you’d experience then as well. This was nothing, there was nothing, between the two of you. He had been sent as a courtesy, you had arrived because you had nowhere else to go. 

“Let me look.” He ordered, removing his seat belt and pushing his seat back so he could turn to face you properly. 

“No, it’s under my shirt.” You protested, pressing your hand harder into your rib. “Besides, it’s probably just broken. I’ll bandage it when you take me to my lodgings.” 

“Move your hand.” His voice had dropped slightly, more akin to the Princely demands you were used to him making, his eyes were dark, the sharp angle of his cheekbones picked out by the harsh interior light. 

“You can’t order me about, Loki, you’re not in charge here.” 

“I am still concerned, please, let me see.” Those dark eyes softened, and he reached his hand out to pull your jacket away from your body. Between your fingers the soft brown and bronze of your tunic had turned maroon, the bloom of blood soaking through like watercolour. “You’re bleeding.” His eyes roved from the poppy shaped stain emerging from beneath your fingers to your face. “You’re bleeding and you kept this from me.” 

“It’s nothing, I’ll fix it later.” 

“It’s not nothing, please let me help you.” He tugged on your sticky fingers, the residue of your blood staining his own long digits and for a moment you allowed his hand to hold your own and then - 

“I don’t need your help,” you snatched it back. 

“Please, let me -” 

“No.” 

“I can fix it for you, I can help.” 

“I don’t need your help, Loki. I don’t - I don’t need it, I learned to live without you.” You stormed, tugging your coat back around you to hide the evidence of your injury. Even facing the window you could see his stunned face behind you, reflected in the darkness beyond. 

“You learned to live without me?” Loki sighed, his shoulders sagging under the weight of your words. “Vennen -” 

“Don’t call me that, don’t call me that when you know we are not friends, I am nothing to you and -” 

Loki reached across the centre console of the car to touch your shoulder but you flinched, eyes staring out at the road again, unable to look at Loki or his reflection. 

“How can you say that?” Loki withdrew again, brows furrowed, “how could you think you are nothing to me?” 

“Where were you?” You rounded on him, “where were you that was so much more amusing than being with us, I thought you dead and gone, I thought you buried on some fearful planet far from Valhalla for all eternity, I thought I would never see you again in this life or the next and - and - and you have the audacity to collect me like some lost thing on this planet and expect me to fall in step beside you as always, well. No more. No more, Loki. I don’t need you. Take me to see the King and leave me there as you always do.” Tears spilled over your cheeks, dropping in heavy splashes on your hands as you bent to hide your angry sobbing. But the movement only caused further pain, blood spilling from under your tunic onto your lap.

In a moment Loki was by your side, the car door open and his arms wrapped around you, holding you close to his chest as he carried you to the back of the vehicle. He set you down gently, opening the door at the back and sitting you on the open ledge. 

“I must tend to this wound now, before it gets worse. They don’t have the same technology here yet, our doctors -” he paused, swallowing down the guilt that he couldn’t have saved more of his people during Ragnarok and quashed the feeling for another day, “we are short on doctors, should something happen to the wound -” he trailed off, opening a small green box that had been hooked onto the door. 

He warred with himself, fighting down the urge to defend all that he’d done, the pain it had caused him to leave his friends and family for so long. 

“Fine.” You conceded and pulled your tunic up as high as you could, revealing the large gash in your side. Norns, it was worse than you’d thought, curving around your side, over a rib or two and down towards the top of your trousers. 

Loki’s touch was gentle as he mopped up the blood, wringing the cloth clean with his magic until he could see each side of the cut clearly. Every touch made goosebumps erupt on your skin, the tingle of his magic mixing with the softness of his touch, the warmth of his fingers.

 “What happened to you?” 

“I told you, my ship is supposed to stay in space, it’s not supposed to enter the atmosphere.” 

It had begun burning up on entry, flames licking up the sides of the small craft and you’d squeezed your eyes shut, bracing against the inevitable fall. You didn’t remember the landing, only waking up with your own blood on your hands, shards of metal surrounding you and feeling colder than you ever had before. 

“We should have sent someone to meet you,  I - I apologise.” Loki kept his eyes cast down, long fingers fiddling with a needle and thread. 

“Yes, you should have.” You looked down at him, crouched by your legs in the snow, the ice no doubt biting through his leathers already and he looked up, eyes wide and wet with unhushed tears. 

“I am, truly, sorry, for what I made you go through. Please, will you forgive me?” He set the now threaded needle down on its sterile tray and placed his hands on your thighs instead, his hands were cold now, but a wave of warm sedir washed over you, brushing away the shivers wracking your body. 

“Maybe, Loki -” 

“I know, I have a lot of apologising to do, I don’t deserve your forgiveness-” 

But he was considering it, it was the first time you’d ever heard the words uttered from him, and it made your heart yearn for the safe harbour of his friendship again, even if you knew better than to believe the storms were over. 

“It’s not that, it just, it still hurts, I want to forgive you, but it still hurts.” 

A frozen tear held steady in the corner of his eye, but he nodded in understanding. 

“Can you at least forgive me the pain this will cause,” he tipped his head towards the needle, “I can numb you as much as possible, but I have no doubt it will sting.” With a flourish he produced a cut glass with a healthy measure of whisky inside, “drink this first.” 

You downed the burning amber in one gulp, allowing it to warm you deeply and nodded. Loki stood, that familiar glimmer of gold and green drying his wet legs and knees, removing the snow that clung to his coat. 

“Lay back,” he removed his coat and folded it, placing it under your head as he helped you lean into the boot of the car. Prone and cold with your tunic shucked up to your armpits you felt ridiculous and exposed, but there was no teasing when Loki asked if you were happy for him to start. 

The first stitch was the most painful, but his cold fingers made your skin numb as he worked quickly and steadily until the aching pain was at least unaccompanied by the hot seeping of your blood through your fingers. 

Loki stood back, surveying his work in the cold white light from the tiny bulb in the car’s interior, and brushed his damp hair back from his face. “Does that feel better?” 

“Yes, thank you.” Swiftly you pulled your tunic down, and shuffled to sit on the ledge of the boot again, feet hanging off the edge. 

Loki left you like that, pacing away from the car and surveying the road ahead. The snowfall had increased since you stopped and the drifts were now encroaching further into the already narrow track. It would be a treacherous trip back down the rest of the mountain. 

“I think we should camp here tonight.” He said, steadily, though his heart beat wildly beneath his sweater. 

“Loki, it’s freezing cold, below freezing.”

“It’s one of my brother’s friends’ cars.” Loki said, flippantly, as if that explained anything at all instead of raising a hundred new questions. 

You raised your eyebrows, waiting for him to elaborate. 

“It has - things - inside. He spent some time with the Avengers? You must have heard of them, terribly annoying, but I must say their accessories are very helpful.” He stared at you waiting for you to understand. 

“You and Thor and your little Midgardians,” you laughed, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but let's see these accessories that will keep us warm in a car in the snow.” 

Loki stretched out his hand, helping you get your feet back on the ground. You felt dizzy after your stitches and the no doubt centuries old whisky Loki had conjured for you, but he held your arm politely while he walked you over to a picnic bench. 

“Settle here and all will be revealed.” 

He allowed himself a smile and, unbidden, you smiled too. It was hard to remain angry when this was all you’d wanted for so long, this adventure into the unknown was exactly what you’d been missing. 

Loki ruffled his hair again in thought before pushing the long, icy strands away from his face. He examined the car, then pushed the rear seats down flat. With a hum they fell forwards, creating a wide flat platform. He pulled at another lever and the carpeted floor flipped over, revealing a padded mattress beneath. 

You laughed in shock, what funny contraptions these Midgardians had. Loki allowed his smile to linger, listening to the tinkle of your laugh in the quiet woodland, it echoed and returned to you both ten fold until you were both laughing. He pulled again and a second mattress appeared so that the entire back of the car was now a bed. 

He shut the door to conserve the heat inside and used the step at the side of the car to reach into the roof box, pulling out a metal box. 

“That’s quite the trick, Loki.” You conceded, still smiling at the simple joy of it. To hide a bed inside a vehicle, you couldn’t help another giggle. 

“Well, it comes in very handy when I find myself stranded in the wilderness,” he winked, opening the tin box and extracting an odd metal item, cups, a small pan and what looked like powdered food. 

“What’s that?” You wrinkled your nose as he flicked something on the side, pumping a few times and then allowing a spark of magic to dance across the circular top. Fire erupted from between the spokes of the circle and you jumped backwards in shock before bursting out into another uncontrollable laugh. “Loki! What is that?!” 

“It’s a camping stove, I thought we could make hot chocolates.” He looked over shyly now, a peace offering. 

“That doesn’t look like chocolate,” you picked up one of the brown packets, on the front was a picture of a steaming mug, but inside was definitely powder and not solid chocolate. 

“It’s a sort of powdered drink, I need to get some water.” 

“Not cream?” 

“That would spoil the fun, would it not?” He grinned, pouring water into the pan from his canteen. 

As he worked you wound your jacket tighter around yourself, wondering if your nose was frozen or if it was normal to not be able to feel it. After a few minutes he lifted the pan from the odd round fire and poured the contents into the enamel mugs, handing one to you. 

Warily you sniffed it and then took a tentative sip, it was fine, you supposed, “it tastes nicer with cream.” 

Loki’s smile turned indulgent and, in a swirl of green, a silver bowl appeared settled in the snow atop the picnic bench, laden with heavy, whipped cream. Delighted you spooned out a generous helping and stirred it into your drink. Sipping it slowly before turning your eyes back to Loki. 

He looked resplendent in the moonlight, snow glittering over his night black clothes, the sweater only accentuating his broad shoulders and lean waist. You longed to wrap your arms around him and press yourself into his embrace, to feel as close as you once had. Everything felt different now, you had spent so much time apart that the idle games of your shared youth were just a distant memory. 

“We should get back in the car.” He announced. Now that he’d accomplished all the practical tasks that he could think of to help you, he found himself lost for words. Your admission that he had left you, failed you, somehow was a deep and painful wound. He hadn’t intended to leave and never return, he had always meant to stay and yet some force always dragged him away. It had even dragged him here. Loki had been distraught when he realised you were not on the transport out of Asgard, only reassured by Valkyrie’s insistence that you were safe, travelling. 

“I’m going to put my boots by the seats, so we don’t get snow in the beds.” 

Loki didn’t look around as you made your way slowly back to the car, politely angling his head away so that he didn’t see you slide out of your wet clothes either.

“You can enter.” You called, now wrapped in the thick sleeping bag that lined the mattresses. 

Loki opted for magic to create his own privacy, his black sweater and jeans vanishing in favour of black sweat pants and a long green t-shirt. You smiled again, so Midgardian, he looked nothing  like the swaggering prince you knew, always bedecked in silk and sumptuous fabrics. He looked, normal. 

“Do I have chocolate on my face?” He asked, climbing into his own sleeping bag.

“No, it’s nothing.” You sighed and, with a flicker, the cabin light went out plunging you into darkness. 

In the vastness of the night, cold fingers sought your own, the fingertips pressing into your palm. 

“I truly did not mean to leave Asgard for so long.” Loki whispered, “it was a fate not of my own making.” 

You sighed, rolling onto your back and away from his hand. “I believe you.” Focussing on your tired limbs you attempted to sleep, closing your eyes and exchanging one darkness for another. But sleep refused to take you, dangling you on the precipice of unconsciousness, only to remind you of all that you had lost, before you could plunge into oblivion. You woke again, your heart in your throat, your stomach in knots, and Loki lay beside you. 

His features were relaxed, his breathing even, the lines of his cheekbones looked softer, somehow, now that his lips were partially open. The temperature must have cooled, for each breath was like a will-o-the-wisp, dancing from between his plush lips and fogging the windows. How you wished you could join him in sleep again, you couldn’t remember when your dreams had taken you, but the moon had moved around the car so sleep must have found you somehow. 

Betrayed by your own hands you reached out for him, touching his arm with a single finger, just to make sure he was still there. 

“If you are cold, vennen, you have only to say.” His voice startled you, your hand jumping back as if burnt. 

“I - I didn't mean to.”

Eyes still closed, lashes brushing his cheeks, he held his hand out and you took it. Snow had covered the little glass window in the roof of the car, so you could no longer see the stars. All was gone, yet Loki lay here with you, his fingers laced with your own. 

“I did not wish to cause you pain, truly, it was not your doing nor did you deserve to suffer because of it.” 

“I know, Loki.” 

“Will you let me make it better for you?” 

You turned to meet his ice blue eyes, still sparkling, filmed with tears he was too scared to shed. 

“There is nothing to be done to bring Asgard back.” 

“I am aware,” he smiled, “but I wish to heal you nevertheless.” 

“You have stitched me, that is all that can be done.” 

“Vennen,” you looked at him again, his face serious, “let me heal this between us.” 

You stared back, confused, and then his free hand reached out and cupped your bruised cheek and that was all you saw before his lips were on yours. 

Loki tasted like expensive whisky and dark chocolate, his lips like velvet, warm and soft as they brushed against your own. You fit together so perfectly that you couldn't help but roll closer, pressing a hand to his chest and feeling the warmth of his heart beat beneath. 

But then the stitches over your ribs pulled, your hiss of pain swallowed by Loki's protective kiss. With gentle hands he rolled your back, hovering over you and blotting out the darkness with his smile. 

“If you hurt yourself more, I shall have to continue to heal you.” His lips skated over yours, so tantalisingly close. 

“Then I suppose I’ll need to crash my ship again,” you smiled up at him, your Loki, and for the first time since you’d landed you didn’t feel the pain or the cold or the fear of a new place. Only Loki’s lips on yours and the knowledge that he would never leave you again. 

The title is from Shakespeare's Sonnet 97:

How like a winter hath my absence been From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen! What old December’s bareness every where! And yet this time removed was summer’s time, The teeming autumn, big with rich increase, Bearing the wanton burden of the prime, Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease: Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit; For summer and his pleasures wait on thee, And, thou away, the very birds are mute; Or, if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near.