#like Switzerland isn’t perfect. alright. but it’s definitely doing good

[machiavellli]

sorry but a Swiss politician flipping the Swiss flag off is so funny to me.

you live in the country with the best political system in the world and you have a salary of a politician (+the one from your normal job) and you are mad??? Your biggest problem is if cows should wear a bell or not.

Babe have you ever looked outside of your own bubble?? HAVE YOU EVER?

[orphicdreamers-wp]

Better Hide Your Love — Nico Hischier

Summary: In which Jack and his girlfriend set you and Nico up on a blind date and neither of you are willing to give them the satisfaction of knowing it went well.

Content Warning; Blind date, mentions of previous sucky dates, secret relationship, sneaking around, plotting bff & jack.

Pairing: Fem Reader & Nico Hischier

You let out a defeated sigh as Maisie pleaded with you to let her set you up on a blind date. You’d gone on your fair share of blind dates recently, most going horribly whether you were stood up, the guy realized how much money you made and expected you to pay when he ordered the most expensive meal on the menu, made comments on your appearance or one of your interests. They just hadn’t been going the best. Maisie smiled, “I promise if the date goes badly I will order you takeout whenever you want for 4 months.” You grinned, “Deal, only because I hate paying for food I didn’t cook.”

On the other side of town Jack was doing the same thing his girlfriend was doing, but for his best friend. Nico shook his head, “No way Jack. After what happened last time I let you set me up no way in hell!” Jack held his hands up in defense, “Hey! I didn’t know she was a nutcase and would tattoo your face on her ass. But I swear this girl is perfect. She has a good paying job so you wouldn’t have to worry about her being with you for money, she’s friends with Maisie so obviously she isn’t crazy. Look if the date goes shitty I’ll let you drive my car for a month.” Nico raised an eyebrow, amused by the offer, “Alright, I’ll go. Just text me when and where.”

Jack grinned as he hurried to his phone to call his girlfriend. He pressed the phone to his ear, “Hey Mais, he said yeah. Okay Friday night at 8? Drinks and dinner. Okay at DiLaurent’s right?” He nodded as his girlfriend agreed. He returned to his friend, “DiLaurent’s downtown at 8 on Friday night. Dinner and drinks.” Nico sighed as he ran a hand over his face, “This better be a decent date Hughes.” Friday came quickly and you were standing in front of your mirror sporting a soft smile. You opted for a black dress with ruffles and a slit up the thigh. You paired it with simple gold heels and gold jewelry and a red lipstick and winged eyeliner.

You let out a deep breath, “I got this.” You grabbed your thin gold clutch and hurried out of your apartment and downstairs to get into the backseat of your Uber. You nervously tapped your nails against your bare thigh. You arrived outside the restaurant and thanked your Uber driver and headed inside. You told the hostess your name and she led you to a table where a man sat with his back to you. From what you could see, he was definitely taller than you and muscular and he looked damn good in dark red.

You smiled as he stood up to pull out your chair, “Y/N right?” You nodded, “You must be Nico. Hi.” Nico smiled at the woman sitting in front of him. She was effortlessly beautiful and her eyes held a twinkle in them that Nico was interested in looking at for awhile. You smiled at him, “So how do you know Jack if I can ask? Maisie didn’t give me much.” Nico grinned, “He’s my teammate, and most days my best friend. How do you know Maisie?”

You laughed, “We were roommates at boarding school in Switzerland when we were in like grade 9.” Nico smiled widely, “What boarding school?” You smiled as you crossed your feet, “Brillantmont International.” Nico shook his head, “No way! My sister went there.” You laughed, “I loved it there.” The waitress approached your table, “Have you had a chance to go over the drink menus?” You looked at the woman, “I’ll just do a white wine if possible.” Nico looked over the drinks, “I’ll take a Negroni.” The waitress smiled as she walked away to get your drinks.

You and him fell back into a smooth rhythm of conversation. Nico smiled as he took a drink of his drink, “So what do you do for work? Jack said you make decent money.” You laughed, “I’m the head athletic trainer for the Harlem Wizards. I also sent to med school and am doing a cardiology residency. I worked for the Seattle Mariners for a while before moving here.” Nico grinned sheepishly, “So if I get hurt you could nurse me back to health. Good to know.” Your cheeks flushed a deep red at his comment.

The waitress had returned to take your order for the meals. Nico ordered first as you weren’t quite ready yet, “Could I have the chicken broccolini alfredo with extra garlic?” You smiled as the waitress turned to you, “Could I have the 8 oz steak, medium rare, extra mushrooms and onions and a side of loaded mashed potatoes?” The waitress smiled at you two, “Of course I’ll have that right out for you. Can I just say you two are a stunning couple.” You smiled at Nico as he thanked her. Nico grinned, “Hey at least people think I could convince a beautiful woman to be my girlfriend.” You laughed, “I’m sure you could.”

The date ended just as well as it started. You and Nico had both ordered the same dessert and laughed about it. You agreed to not tell Jack and Maisie blow well the date went. You made plans for another date. You exchanged numbers as Nico waited with you for your Uber to arrive. You returned to your apartment sporting a grin. You could hear the low hum of your television so you knew that Maisie was in your living room waiting for you to return home to pester you about the date. You pulled out your phone and sent Nico a text telling him you got home safe.

You wiped the smile from your face as you unlocked your door and entered the apartment, “Hi Mais.” Maisie turned off the TV at hearing your voice, “So how was Nico? Was he sweet? Did the date go well? Are you seeing him again? Me you and the guys can double date now! We can go to home games together!” You laughed at the woman’s antics, “Nico was fine, he was kind and respectful. He was just too blah for me. I don’t think we’re gonna go out again.��

Maisie frowned, “Okay, well do you wanna watch TV? There’s a new Love Island episode on.” You shook your head, “I’m wiped Mais, I just wanna take a shower and go to sleep. We have a game tomorrow so I have to be in early to do pre game checks.” Maisie nodded, “Alright, good night. I’ll let myself out.” You hugged her as your made your way to your bedroom and began to get your stuff ready for a shower. You allowed the huge smile to return to your face as you did so.

Nico entered practice the next day with a spring in his step. He was cautious about letting Jack see it so he could lie and say the date didn’t go well so you and him could enjoy getting to know each other without having Jack and Maisie in your ear the whole time. He entered the locker room when Jack spoke, “Hey so what went down last night? Mais said she thought Y/N seemed off after the date.” Nico shrugged, “We just didn’t click. We have nothing in common.” Jack left it at that.

A good two months had passed since the blind date and you and Nico spent every available moment together. You sat high up in the crowds at hockey games while Maisie sat in her box seat. Nico made appearances at a handful of Wizards games. Currently you two were sitting on your couch making out as an Etta James vinyl played on your record player. You two had gone out to a dive bar the previous night. Nico didn’t have practice today so he spent the night. You two had watched all of the Scream movies and then made dinner together and now were making out.

He’d asked you to be his girlfriend the night before. You pulled away from the kiss as you heard keys in your door, “Shit, go hide in my shower. It’s Maisie, I forgot that I told her she could raid my closet for her anniversary date with Jack today.” Nico pressed a quick kiss against your lips as the door opened. He hurried down the hall into the bathroom as Maisie entered the living room, “Hey Y/N, seriously you don’t need to be drinking this much. What did you forget you had a glass already. She was gesturing at the two wine glasses on the coffee table.

You let out a sigh of relief, “Let’s just find you an outfit so I can get back to my horror romance book.” You shut a book near you and made your way to your bedroom. You laid across your bed as Maisie began to flip through your clothes landing on a silk purple dress and heading for the bathroom, “Wait Mais! Just use my room, I have to shit.” Maisie nodded as she returned to your room and you made your way into the bathroom and pressed a hand over Nico’s mouth as you stood there in silence.

You dropped your pants and sat on the toilet as Maisie entered the bathroom. You had never been more grateful you chose dark green shower curtains. Nico was completely out of view of Maisie as she fixed her hair up. Maisie turned to you and sighed dreamily, “I can’t believe I’m celebrating my two year anniversary. I mean Y/N don’t you wanna fall in love?”

You sighed sadly, “Yeah someday, I just don’t want to be the person who falls in love with someone incapable of loving them back, again.” Maisie shrugged, “I know, maybe you should think about trying another date Nico. He’s sweet and still single.” You shrugged, “I don’t know maybe. You should go before your late. You look stunning Maisie.” Maisie smiled at you, “Thank you, I’ll see you later.”

You waited until you heard your front door shut to speak, “That was so close.” Nico spoke as he stepped out of the shower, “I know, maybe we should tell them? I don’t love hiding this now that I know Jack isn’t gonna screw it up for me.” You shrugged, “Maybe your right.” You and Nico returned to your heavy make out session on the couch.

A few weeks later Nico had convinced you to come to his game and you two would figure a way to tell Jack and Maisie you guys had been dating. You had your own plan, you’d borrowed many of Nico’s spare jerseys and you decided to borrow one and wear it to the game. You paired it with a pair of ripped jeans, black converse and an oversized leather black jacket. You put a bit of red lipstick on and clipped in some silver hoop earrings.

You were climbing up the stairs to your seat when Maisie called from a lower part of the seats, “Y/N! What are you doing here?” You smiled as you hugged her, “Can I sit?” Maisie grinned, “Of course sit!” You pulled your leather jacket off as you turned to your friend. Maisie was sporting a confused look, “Why are you wearing Nico’s jersey?” You sighed, “It’s a good thing your pretty Mais.”

Nico skated onto the ice and smiled to himself upon seeing you in his jersey sitting with Maisie and the other WAGS. You had your back to the ice when Jack noticed you and turned to his friend, “Did you finally get a girlfriend Nico? Who’s the chick with my girl?” Jack’s eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the girls face as you turned around. Jack gasped, “You are such a liar! You two have been together for months! Haven’t you?” Nico’s face paled, “Maybe.”

Jack skated away from his friend and stopped in front of you. He glared at you, “You owe us big time! Both of you.” Maisie looked at you then her boyfriend and finally Nico, “You bitch! You’ve been sneaking around behind my back to my face!” You grinned, “I just wanted to have one thing to myself for a while. It’s new though, we’ve only been dating for like 3 weeks.” Maisie grinned, “I’m so happy! So the blind date was a success?” You grinned as your boyfriend approached you, “Yeah.”

Nico grinned widely, “13’s a good look on you.” You grinned as a bright red blush painted your cheeks, “I could say the same thing about you Mr Hischier.” Nico grinned, “So you still up for tonight?” You smiled, “Definitely.”

[sunsoothed]

blue lips, cracked smile

cloy | seo dan/gu seungjun | 1.1k | rated t | fix-it fic, ep 16 does not happen

Pyongyang was cold when Gu Seungjun left someone worth staying for.

Zurich is cold when Gu Seungjun finds her again.

Zurich offers none of the comforts Gu Seungjun could afford in a lesser city. Even breathing the air feels like the cash tucked away in his coat pocket is being eroded away, and his act of burying his hands deep into his pockets doesn’t do much good. He’s here for an admirable cause, if he does say so himself. The two-hour spectacle was immeasurably worth every franc he spent, for the handful of minutes he got to watch her perform.

And now he waits, limp-noodled and shivering, at one of the exits of the auditorium. He’s seen the last of the audience depart, one particularly burly man with his daughter, and a suited figure he thinks was the conductor. His exhalations release fog into the atmosphere, and he waits, cold seeping into the faux-leather of his shoes.

It’s cold here, and Gu Seungjun is starting to lose all feeling in his toes.

It was colder those two nights in London, he thinks. The days where he had made barely a breakthrough in legalising one of his businesses, when the food was too sickening to look at and the corner where he slept in his rented room too leaky. It hasn’t been particularly uphill from there. But he’s had assistance from an unlikely ally, and now, here, a solid three and a half years later, he can give himself a break.

So he’s in Switzerland, where the unrelenting tremble of his leg does not trample the cold. He hobbles to a corner, back up against the bricked wall of some establishment, and waits. He had come here with purpose, he is not going to leave a defeated man.

Greets him the saving grace of the clack of heels on pebbled path, of the sound he’s come to associate with the involuntary grin that delights his lips.

It is who he is waiting for, a blessing from the gods. He straightens, uprightens himself, and exhales. He knows what he’s going to say; somewhere between Seo Dan-ssi, missed me? and Seo Dan-ssi, please tell me you’re single.

Seo Dan is approaching, closer, by the sounds of her footsteps. He exhales once again, prepares himself, and turns. And Seo Dan walks past him.

He blinks. He stares. This isn’t quite how this was supposed to go, he thinks. She didn’t see him, it must be. He nods to himself, prepared once again. He walks in the general direction he’d seen her go, and sets his sights outwards.

No, what had she worn? Red coat, black dress underneath. He can do this.

The crowd is sparse, but close together. There’s one bar in the vicinity, as he’s seen, and that seems like the point of convergence for all these bodies. Seungjun strides with all the confidence he owes himself, ignorant of how frozen his feet are now.

And a hand pulls him into an alley. He goes, barely a breath between one second and the next.

“Gu Seungjun, have you no subtlety?”

“Ah,” Seungjun exhales. He had not prepared himself enough for this. He had definitely not.

Seo Dan is all exuberant, all beautiful. She is more so and just how he remembers. She is here, and he is here, and he has not stopped staring.

“Gu Seungjun,” Seo Dan repeats. “Are you quite alright?”

“Yeah, oh, yes. Amazing. Fantastic.” He smiles, really goes for it, teeth and dimples and all.

And Seo Dan smiles back, the attractive quirk of her lips, the reflection in her eyes.

“You found me.”

“I found you,” Seungjun says, grins. “It’s been a while.”

Seo Dan’s laugh releases fog from her mouth, fog which clears on Seungjun’s face. “It’s almost been four years. Have you been well?”

Seungjun looks beyond her for a moment, then blinks back at her face. “Ah, Dan-ah, leave the past in the past —”

Seo Dan places one finger on his lips. “That means you haven’t been well. I can tell, you know.”

“You can tell?” Seungjun mumbles. “How can you tell?”

“You’re freezing here, you fool,” She says, expression of long suffering. “Here, take my jacket —”

“Woah, woah,” Seungjun hold his arms up, dispatched from her grip. Seo Dan pauses her disrobing. “Seo Dan-ssi, isn’t this a little too forward? I mean, are you still single?”

“Ah, that,” Seo Dan says. She blinks, eyes wandering down, and Seungjun’s heart sinks. She shrugs her

shoulders, fastening her coat again. They’re locked here, in this alley behind this bar in Zurich, and his entire purpose of landing here has been defeated. The moment Seungjun tries to move, Seo Dan’s hands are firm on his arms, in the same position as he’d been dragged here, pressed up against the bricken wall.

“I… I shouldn’t be here,” He tries to fix the atmosphere, his once sharp smile, sharp eyes, failing him.

“Gu Seungjun,” Seo Dan calls quietly. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Renewed, through dampness in his eyes he hadn’t noticed, Seungjun blinks. “You… what?”

“I’ve been waiting for you,” She says again. “You asked me to wait for you, to give you chance once you’re a better man. You are, aren’t you?”

“I am, I am,” He hurries to clarify. “Businesses mostly legalised. Well, I say mostly, that’s a little iffy, but we’re getting there. And I’m trying to move my money back into domestic accounts, and I have charted accountant, too —”

Seo Dan swiftly steps in his space, and Seo Dan swiftly seals their lips together, just like that day on the bridge so long ago.

It’s no less explosive, no less thrilling. In seconds, Seungjun has his arms tight around her waist, facing warmth through her coat. In seconds, one of her hands grip his hair and the other his neck, and they find a perfect balance of holding each other and being held.

“We should take this somewhere else,” Seungjun murmurs, between one kiss and the next. “It’s cold.”

“How long have you been standing out here?” Seo Dan asks him, then doesn’t let him answer as she tips his head just right.

“I watched you perform,” He replies, several long moments later, breath ragged. “I’ve been outside since then.”

Seo Dan exhales again, and fog embraces Seungjun’s lips again. “We should go, Gu Seungjun.”

“I have a suitcase in a hotel lobby and about a hundred and fifty franc.”

Up close, he can see the disbelief and oh-so-familiar disgust on Seo Dan’s face. He finds himself smiling again, leaning down for a kiss denied.

“What was your plan?!” Seo Dan demands. “What if you didn’t find me, then? What would you do?”

“Ah, Dan-ah,” Seungjun’s smile softens. “I’ve really missed you.”

“You…” Seo Dan looks away, shakes her head. “I’ve missed you too.”

The attractive quirk of her lips is unmistakable, the reflection in her eyes is unmistakable. It a cold night under Zurich, and Gu Seungjun’s bleak future has just been doused in colour.

[aprilskyforever]

Henny ranks Eurovision 2021: 1st edition, March 21st

aaaaadn we’re BACK! all songs have been out for about a week (well, still waiting for the set me free revamp so it’s the previous version i’ve ranked here) and i’ve had some time to think so let’s gooooo! also, i gotta say, with so many returning artists this year you can’t help but comparing last years to this. so... that’ll happen a lot.

category: hits the right spot

1 Malta - all of my love wasn’t really my thing last year but this? this is SO my jam! maybe not so much the attitude in the prechorus (the hell no i don’t want your money part), and the brass drop, but the beat in the verses? and the chorus melody (the baby it’s not a maybe part)? boy!!! i love it!!!! and this was a song i just yelled out YESSS to when i heard it the first time so i feel that means something 2 Sweden - a very worthy winner of melfest, he’s a great vocalist, he’s cute, and the song is one i’m yet to grow tired of despite it being on the radio 24/7. it happens so rarely that my personal winner actually wins melfest, and i really want us to get that silver medal... please 3 Switzerland - the only reason i don’t want this to win is because it has too much of a similar vibe as arcade and i don’t want that vibe to win twice in a row. otherwise it’s perfect 4 San Marino - finally san marino does somehting right!! i love it. plain and simple.  5 Norway - it’s looking like andreas haukeland is becoming my crush of the season because BOY i am WEAK for this guy. can’t resist him. nor the song 6 Russia - manizha has got the be the coolest woman this year. i’m in awe. i’m playing this on repeat 7 Iceland - i wasn’t super into this at a first listen but i’ve totally warmed up to this and along with russia it’s one of the songs i’ve streamed the most the last couple of days. daði really knows how to make a beat!

category: enjoying it for sure

8 Bulgaria - victoria was my winner last year but this song doesn’t hit just as right. i still like it, feels like a closing kind of song. like the last dance of the night 9 Lithuania - again, a downgrade from last year, but still really good 10 Moldova - i love the studio of this so much (i mean hello it sounds like something maruv would do how can i not like it) but the video makes me worried, can natalia dance? how about dance and sing at the same time? i really feel like she will be the weakest link in this package... and she really does feel like kirkorov’s puppet. which leaves a sour aftertaste 11 Italy - something different for italy!! love that. and i love them, måneskin. the song though... i’m eating it but it’s not my favourite meal you know? 12 Latvia - samanta does more or less the same song as last year but in her case it definitely works. it feels like her brand you know? she owns this  13 Netherlands - jeangu on the other hand is switching it up and i am HERE for it! lovely vibe. lovely aesthetic in the video 14 Germany - this is fun! i know it’s a water devider, you either love it or hate it, and i loved it initially but have cooled down a bit now. but it’s uplifting for me. i love what he’s got going on

category: it’s nice but something’s off

15 France - see this is beautiful, but it’s the ending that throws me off. it gets so... ridiculously french, in a way? do you get what i mean then 16 United Kingdom - fun! i’ll bop to it. but it’s like a chewing gum that loses flavour too quickly. i love that he’s doing something differently but honestly, i preferred his 2020 entry 17 Czech Republic - has a nice groove! i like this better than kemama but it actually feels kinda same as with the uk. 18 Ukraine - i preferred the pre-revamp but hey, it’s still miles better than last year for me personally so that’s a win 19 Slovenia - the way i felt at a first listen is what i imagine the jury felt for tamara todevska in 2019. it’s impactful for sure. but the lyrics!! not that i have a problem with the church but this is... idk a bit much. i like it as a whole but i’ll have no problem letting it go if it fails to qualify  20 Ireland - idk if it’s the production but whyyyy do lesley’s vocals sound so weird!! i definitely liked story of my life way more 21 Croatia - actually nothing’s really “off” about this it’s just a bit uninteresting 22 Azerbaijan - efendi is doing the same song again basically but this year it doesn’t hit right at all. to me it feels like it lacks personality. like, is this the only thing she can do? who is she actually? this just feels like a typical azeri approach to esc; ordering a song from swedish songwriters (which idek if they’ve done this year but it feels like it) and given it to some singer with no regard of if this is their usual style. idkkkk like i bop to it but it feels wrong at the same time 23 Belgium - it’s the chorus. i don’t like it. i like the rest. that’s all 24 Georgia - it’s cozy but too slowwwww. takes too long to get somewhere. perfect for a lazy summer day in a hammock but on the eurovision stage? oh i’m just not too sure

category: *shrug* it’s nice i guess?

25 Finland - i love that finland loves it but this just isn’t really for me 26 Romania - nahhh idk 27 Spain - cute i guess? i don’t have much to say 28 Cyprus - idk but this provokes me. it’s good but it’s bad. you know? the random spanish lyrics... or let’s be real the lyrics in general... and the melody sounding like walmart bad romance.. nope 29 Australia - i think montaigne’s style just isn’t for me 30 Austria - it’s alright! but not as powerful as i think he wants it to be 31 Albania - this is just very cookie-cutter albanian ballad with a screaming woman and it’s getting old

category: it’s a no from me

32 Greece - i’m so sorry but this is so forgettable i’ve heard this multiple times and i could only sing back like one or two lines to you 33 Denmark - the europals in the servers are eating this for some reason and i am just not seeing the appeal. props for sending something in danish though. sweden could learn a thing or two 34 Israel - hmm no this is just. boring 35 Serbia - i just can’t get around to this. i can enjoy slutpop but it’s gotta be good slutpop then 36 North Macedonia - the fact that i felt “ohh no no noooo” when i first heard it... yikes. i WILL applaud that vasil does something that feels more right for HIM though. it’s just not for me 37 Portugal - i don’t care that portugal doesn’t sing in portuguese but myyy this is boring 38 Estonia - /: 39 Poland - tvp’s poster boy... i read in the comments of his song that “this is not poland’s representative, this is tvp’s” or something like that and honestly. i felt that 

[bre-meister]

So, I just watched the first 3 episodes of Fate: The Winx Saga and I know I don’t usually talk about Winx on this blog but... girl gotta put her thoughts somewhere. This show was my childhood and Netflix really said “Fuck it”.

 I’ll leave it under the cut so if you wanna stay for this rant, feel free

 I went into this knowing I would hate it and, honestly, I do and I don’t

 I think it is an absolute shit dumpster fire of an adaptation that someone poured gasoline on and then tried to lite on fire with Bloom’s inconsistent control issues and shit just got even worse 

But, this could have been a fairly decent show If it was a stand alone- It had no need to be attached to the Winx name because it really is not Winx

There are some problems I had with it that everyone had before the show even dropped - The whitewashing and lack of diversity, the atrocious outfits, the lack of wings (“We evolved” that’s fucking bullshit y’all know good and well that part of the fun of the OG show was the new transformations and the outfits and we can’t even have that)

Also there is def technology here so why the FUCK do we not have Tecna? She’s the straight laced girl of the group but at the same time I feel like she could have added some much needed levity 

And my girl would have told it like it is. Sometimes these people (not the Winx because they are NOT the Winx) do dumb shit for the sake of doing dumb shit and Tecna would never have allowed this!

Combining the Trix into one person is still iffy for me, like I get why they did it but I just don’t think it has the same effect as having the three of them

Sometimes she gives me Icy vibes and most of the time she gives me Darcy vibes and almost never she gives me Stormy vibes (even though her powers are most like Stormy) and that shit just gives me whiplash

 I also think that having the witches at cloud tower provided the original show with this great idea of “even though we use dark magic and are considered witches we still make the choice ourselves as to whether or not we use that magic for good or for evil” but then again I might be reading into it too much who knows 

It’s bad enough they had to go and make Aisha the token black character but then they also make her this mean, black woman caricature (and I know it stems from her frustration that she can’t do this one thing perfect but still, as a black young woman who has seen black women portrayed like this constantly it is damaging as hell)

On that note - why did they have to make the one black and overall minority girl the control freak? Idk it just doesn’t really sit right with me

Speaking of jealousy...we gotta talk about Stella

 I know this is supposed to be more realistic and grown up and ya, I get it, girls can be catty but dude, Stella WOULD NEVER

THIS Stella endangered Bloom on PURPOSE because she was Jealous and then she really wanted to dipp on her in the woods after Bloom was trying to help her get back HER ring she shouldn’t have given her in the first place all cause she was a bit scared? Even scared Stella in the original show wouldn’t have done that! Would she have complained? YES! But she wouldn’t be so quick to give up

Need I remind everyone that she almost drained herself completely trying to protect her friends in the Omega Dimension from the Ice Snakes and only stopped because Musa was like “Stella, your hurting yourself. Take a break everyone will be ok”

And this shit show wants me to believe that these are the saem people? I think not!

 So I’m only on episode 3 but I can already tell that whatever they’re trying to say happened with Rickie is not what actually happened and that whole storyline is just super annoying like bro, there better be a good ass reason why she is pretending to be such a terrible person and I just don’t trust this show to be that creative 

This thing between her and sky is so confusing and makes like, no sense

Moving on...

I love Sam, he is so sweet and cute and amazing 

 His introduction “uh...I’m Sam...what’s up” made me laugh my ass off and I can’t even tell you why

Truly I love him but at the same time...he’s kinda getting in between Musa and Riven

 Like I get that their relationship was not the best at all (and this Riven has even more problems which was kinda unnecessary cause he already had SO MANY!) but at the same time when we’ve only got the opportunity to have 2 of the original couples like... I’m gonna need this show to give me something 

Riven - I loved him in the original show because he always had so many issues but then season 4 rolled around and he was genuinely trying to become a better person. And to have the guts to realize later that he was not ok and that he had to leave to figure that out? Respectable. I recognize that this dude had issues (and that Musa deserved better) but I respected him by the end of his journey

THIS Riven? He can eat shit. I know this is kinda supposed to be the whole Darcy arc he had in the first season or whatever but at least then he was being mind controlled to a certain extent which explained a lot of why he was doing what he was. But this dude is just an overall douche. 

Isn’t he supposed to be Bi? Internalized homophobia is amazing guys we definitely want more of that - -  (just to be clear that was sarcasm)

And I know this contradicts my wanting him and Musa to be together but I think that these two things go hand in hand

I hate that they upped his issues by 100000x because I legit want them to be together and have a genuinely good, functional relationship

But Sam is precious and should be protected

So now Terra

Honestly I think making her say “I have a cousin named Flora” only made the whitewashing more obvious and worse. If they seriously wanted to go this route they should have just committed and not brought Flora’s name into this at all. We the fans are not idiots Netflix! We know what you did!!

This might just be a more personal thing but I kinda feel like they made her entire personality (at least this far) only about her being plus size 

And this was FAR more prevalent in the few chapters from the book I could stomach to read

And wasn’t that their defense for whitewashing? That they wanted to have more inclusion in body types?

You can have a plus size character and not make almost 90% of their screen time about them being self conscious about their body- Like this legit seems to be almost 99% of the reason she’s socially awkward

Again, if you’re going to commit, COMMIT! Show her being ok in her own body and her own skin. Let’s fight against the same culture that makes this character feel self conscious

As far as Musa goes... still don’t really like that they changed her powers 

I guess they thought her new ones would be more useful in a more “practical” setting but um... they haven’t been? Not really?

I know she said she’s not a human lie detector but... they show keeps making her one whenever it’s convenient 

I guess they thought her new ones would be more useful in a more “practical” setting but um... they haven’t been? Not really?

 I still don’t understand why they have to sneak around but, idk maybe they’ll explain it later ( like I get that Sam is Terra’s bro but Musa and Terra don’t even know eachother like that for this drama to be such a big deal)

Bloom is alright

That’s all I have to say about her

Her mom though?

Idk why she was acting the way she was, Just why?

Not her making fun of Bloom going to antique shops when Vanessa owns a literal FLOWER SHOP in the original show!

I will say though, “This basic bitch will pull out her PhD and take you to school. Every comeback is another week without your door. Hit me.” with that confidence? BEST LINE IN THE SHOW!

She had my support for like .5 sec there

“Slam the door, loose the door” she was on some Black mother shit right there - the amount of time my mom has threatened me with this? 

It wasn’t even a threat it was a promise

Sky seems to be the most in character but then again the bar isn’t set too high

Why are the teachers so fucking shady? And are there only 3 professors in this giant ass school?? (I say that knowing there were only, like 4 in the original - 5 if we count Daphnee)

It also took me a min to realize that they kinda combined Feragonda and Griselda into one person. I don’t really like it that much

 I still don’t understand why they had to strip Aisha and Sky of their titles. I felt like that added so much to their characters - Aisha felt the need to be so perfect because she was a princess and Sky had all these increasing obligation through the show that would create conflict (sometimes it was stupid but still)

Also for a show about they Winx they sure as hell don’t spend that much time together 

They got their name in the FIRST EPISODE of the original show. It’s been 3 and the only mention of “Winx” was a quick pan of the door label for their suite. Blink and you missed it

And they seem to keep flip flopping between being best friends to being indifferent to each other, to “I don’t really know you” to sometimes hating each other (the emotion flop is mainly Stella but the others seem to have some weird ranges as well)

From a technical standpoint this show has some weird choices

 Sometimes cuts will just ...happen? Especially during actions scenes sometimes it’s hard to make sense of what’s happening 

And all the fight scenes - especially the training scenes - just seem so rehearsed it hard to watch

and why does Riven keep flip flopping between the worst specialist and a great one?

The utter lack of creativity in terms of the technology and weapons and even just the representation of the magic in this show is sad

The Original was so magical and colorful It was always obvious that this was a different dimension

I feel like I could legit go to Switzerland and find a place just like this and it wouldn’t be anything super different or weird

I also still don’t get why earth can’t know? Are we just gonna pretend that the Earth fairies and Believix and the Wizards of the Black Circle just... didn’t happen?

If this person that Beatrix is working for isn’t Lord Darkar or Valtor like...idk what to do

Again I would just like to stress that this show did not need to be an adaptation

 In fact it really isn’t I don’t know what they hell they are adapting cause this is NOT Winx and I cannot stress enough just how utterly wrong this felt while watching it

 All most of the characters have the same names but they are not the same people at all - no where close

Also can I just say, Sky’s hair seemed so different (length, part, style) almost every other scene sometimes I would legit have to sit back and be like “this is the same actor right?”

 Speaking of I’d like to finish this off by saying: absolutely no hate to the actors and actresses - I can see they are doing their best with what they have been given and most of the more controversial decisions were not made by them 

I will say I did think that linking Fairy magic to emotion was a good touch - idk if they did this in the Original show or not. I can’t remember 

So far this show...

As and adaptation:

words cannot describe how bad it is

As a stand alone property:

 I mean, it’s noting amazing or truly different but I’ve definitely seen worse 

I’ll probably make another one of these for the last 3 episodes. I could literally get 0 notes on this and still do it anyway. Sometimes you really just gotta rant

[wowweeharrystyles]

Part 2 | Opening Night & The First Note| 7k words

‘Sequins & Zippers’ Summary: An internship with Harry Lambert transformed into a job of a lifetime - Aurora Del Gatto finds herself touring the world with the one & only Harry Styles as his ‘Head of Wardrobe.’ Aurora is nothing but nerves & excitement as she packs her bags & almost 100 custom designer suits that belong to an unbelievably kind rockstar. She never thought she’d fall in love on top of it all.

warnings: mentions of anxiety. 

Read Part 1 Here

Masterlist 

--------

St. Jakobshalle is busy when Aurora arrives at the arena that afternoon. Crew members she met in London were buzzing around doing just about exactly what they were doing there, but now in Switzerland. It’s a bit trippy for Aurora because though she may be in a completely different city, in a completely different country, the arena looks and feels almost the exact same. She has to remind herself several times that she’s in Switzerland and that today really is the 1st night of the tour. Everyone is called for at the stage at 2pm. Harry makes a small speech again and thanks everyone for their hard work. Boxes of reusable water bottles, branded with “Treat People With Kindness” are passed around as well and they match the sweatshirts a lot of people are sporting today. They take a group photo in the elevated seating closest to the stage and there’s a chorus of cheers when Jeff tells everyone to go back to work and that there’s 5 hours till curtain. They haven’t even completed the first show of the tour but the atmosphere and energy between everyone already feels like a family of sorts. When Aurora catches a glimpse of Harry as she heads to the dressing rooms she can’t help but feel overly endeared by the bright smile on his face and crinkles at his eyes. 

Aurora heads to the band’s dressing room to set up their clothing for the night. She’s steaming Adam’s suit when Sarah walks in. 

“Aurora!” She exclaims walking over to her and hugging her after she’s set the steamer aside. “Flight alright?” She asks after pulling away and sitting down on the couch.

“Absolutely! I slept the entire time,” she goes back to steaming while talking to Sarah. “and what about you?” 

“Too excited to sleep,” she chuckles. “Flight was still good though.” 

Sarah stays with Aurora while she steams the all of the pieces for the band. Aurora really likes

Sarah and her calm energy is nice in the excited and busy arena. 

“So who have you toured with before?” Sarah asked as the 2 of them find their way around the arena in search of some snacks before Sarah has to get to sound check and Aurora has to prep Harry’s suit. 

“Oh,” Aurora is surprised by the question, “I’ve never done this before. I-I graduated college last May.” 

“You’re joking right? I mean, you were in New York with Lambert for the album release, yeah?” Aurora nods. “So you had to have a good recommendation or experience before that to be thrown into the hustle and bustle that comes along with working with Harry.” Aurora chuckles as they round the corner and walk into the room where Craft Services is. They both start to fill a plate and Aurora fills up a coffee cup as well. For Aurora, coffee is the answer to everything.

“No seriously, Sarah. Keep this on the DL but I legit have no idea what I’m doing most of the time.” Sarah laughs along with Aurora. “I met Lambert while I was studying abroad in London. Got my internship with him from there. And now magically I’m here.” 

“Maybe a little magic involved, but you’re talented, Aurora. You know what you’re doing and from where I’m standing you look like a seasoned veteran on this crew.” 

The jet lag is without a doubt kicking Aurora’s ass already and it was only day 1 of the tour. She made a mental note to google some ways to beat it. Aurora treks her way to a dressing room that’s labeled ‘Creative Crew’ - a room just for her, Ayae, Helene and a few others she barely has met. She set her bag in there when she first arrived that morning and remembered a couch that sounded like the best thing ever to her right now. She finds the dressing room empty and she’s thankful for it. Plopping down on the couch, she dozes off immediately. 

15 minutes later her alarm goes off. She knows herself too well and always, always, always sets an alarm for a nap because she will sleep for hours on hours otherwise. She slides her shoes back on and grabs Harry’s wardrobe notebook from her bag and makes her way to Harry’s dressing room to get his suit set for the show. She’s steaming Harry’s black button down when she lets out a yawn, desperate for another coffee. She thinks the nap might have done more damage than good. 

Ayae joins her in Harry’s dressing room only a few minutes later to start setting up her things to refresh Harry’s hair and what not. Ayae and Aurora talk through their excitement for the show that night, Aurora realising that she gets to witness the show every night. She had always loved concerts, Broadway shows, plays her friends were in during college, anything. She tells Ayae how she’s never seen a performance she truly didn’t like. Their conversation is cut off when Harry walks through the door right after the 15min call for the opener went over the intercoms. 

“Right on schedule, as always,” Ayae remarks to Harry, who has a fresh t shirt and shorts on, and his curls hang in wet heavy ringlets. “Soundcheck go alright?” She asks. 

“Mhm,” he hums making his way fully into the dressing room. “And I even brought coffee for the both of you.” He hands Ayae hers before turning towards Aurora. “Heard you snuck in a nap earlier…” he comments after Aurora takes a sip. 

“How did you-?” Her jaw drops slightly before she starts to question him.

“I have people, Ror,” he chuckles before sitting down in the chair set up in front of Ayae’s products and the large vanity mirror. “Don’t give me that look... just drink your coffee, love.” He’s making eye contact with her through the mirror and Ayae is quietly giggling at the 2 of them. 

Aurora busies herself with the steamer and doing some finishing touches on Harry’s pants, and of  course drinks her coffee. She grabs the new pair of his Gucci boots and takes them out of the box.

“You need socks for these boots or are the ones you’re wearing okay?” She asks while setting the boots near the couch that’s adorn in Harry’s own Gucci throw pillows. 

“I’ve just got Nike socks on right now, do you have any actual trouser socks?” 

“Yup! That’s all I’ve got, actually.”

A few minutes later she’s handing him his trousers off the hanger for him to change into. Just like a few days ago in London, he drops his shorts revealing his black Calvin Klein boxer briefs before Aurora can turn around again. She lets out a small “oope” as she turns. It’s not until now that she realises her and Harry are the only 2 left in the room. 

“Are you blushing, Ror?” Harry’s voice is soft but Aurora heard it loud and clear. She chooses to ignore it and picks up the coffee he brought her and lets out a hum. The coffee in her hands keeps them busy and still as she turns back around to him. He’s buttoning his trousers now and slipping off his tshirt. “Hmm?” He gives her a questioning look. 

“What?” she asks now giving him his shirt, coffee still in one hand. His eyes meet hers and the eye contact starts a buzzing feeling in her finger tips. The green in his eyes are lighter than she’s seen before the gaze is so intense that she can’t look away. 

“Nothing,” he breaks eye contact with a chuckle and takes his shirt from her. Aurora whispers a soft ‘alright.’ Once he buttons up the shirt he turns towards the full length mirror that’s attached to the inside of the open wardrobe case. He’s fumbling with the long pieces of fabric that almost touch the floor. There’s a slight furrow in his brows as he attempts to tie the fabric into a bow. “Aurora, could ya help me out?” he asks while still fumbling with it. “Pesky, little, fu-” 

“That’s what I’m here for,” she says with a smile and motioning with her hands for him to turn towards her again. She ties it on the 1st try and is pleased with the look of it. “There,” she steps back slightly and then tilts her head at him. “Ohhh actually looks a bit tight,” she steps closer to him again and is slips her pointer finger between the collar and his neck trying to move it a little bit, “yup, that definitely won’t do.” She notices the goosebumps that arise on his neck and quickly removes her hand. She unties the bow to start over. 

“Are ya gonna watch the show?” Harry asks quietly while Aurora continues to tie the bow on the collar of his shirt. 

“Yeah I’m hoping to get a glimpse of it from the side of the stage.” She’s untied and re-tied this bow several times now. 

“Know ya can watch it from the audience with this little thing, yeah?” Harry gently tugs on the tour pass with her name and face on it that’s hooked around her belt loop. “That cute little picture’ll get you anywhere in the arena.” Aurora is too frustrated with the bow around Harry’s neck to react to his comment. 

“Oh, didn’t know I could go out there,” Aurora lets out a huff dropping her hands to her side. The fabric that should be tied in a bow lays long against Harry’s torso. “Well at this rate, I won’t have to go out in the audience cause you won’t even be onstage ‘cause this bow just isn’t cooperating.” There’s a flash and click sound that startles both of them. They snap their heads to the door. 

“Sorry,” Helene squeaks out with her french accent. “Quite liked the look of the 2 of you there.” 

“Oh, hi Helene!” Aurora says reaching up to harry’s collar again. She loops the fabric one last time and gets the bow just right. “There we go!” she exclaims, dropping her hands to her side in relief. 

“Harry, I’d love to get some photos of you with your band before you hit the stage. If that’s alright with you, of course.” 

“Yeah, I’d like that too!” Harry smiles at Helene. “Just gotta finish up here with Ror and brush my teeth, then I’m all yours.” 

“Perfect! I’ll meet ya in a 15 then?” Harry nods a ‘yes’ to Helene before she walks out. He turns around to look at the finished bow in the mirror. “Looks perfect.” 

Aurora slides the black sequined jacket from the hanger. “Here,” she holds the jacket by the top of the lapels ready for him to slide his arms into it. Harry shrugs into the jacket and Aurora helps him situate it properly on his shoulders. “Turn around for me?” Harry is silent as he turns around. Aurora is hyper aware of his silence now while she makes sure the lapels on the jacket are laying flat and his shirt collar is sitting perfectly under the jacket. She notices his change in demeanor and the familiarity of it. “I would keep it buttoned for as long as you can on stage to really show off the look, but definitely unbutton it when you’re dancing around.” She buttons the jacket closed for him. “Don’t want you ripping anything while on stage. Or a button flying and hitting someone in the eye…” she jokes. He doesn’t laugh with her which causes her to look up at him. “Harry, you alright?” He shakes his head pulling himself out of his distracted silence. 

“Uh yeah, sorry. Got it. Keep it buttoned, un button it when I’m dancing. No injuring anyone.” The words come out of his mouth much faster than normal.

“I know what nerves look like, Harry. No need to hide it from me.” His face has softened but he goes silent again. “I used to get so nervous before dancing on stage. I would come off stage and my tongue felt numb from the adrenaline and nerves and 9 times out of 10 I couldn’t remember what I had just done.” She hands him his new socks and boots. He’s looking at her with a softness in his eyes that neither of them could truly describe. 

“You’re a dancer?” She sighs at his response, finally loosening up again. 

“Used to be, yeah.” She explains how she used to compete and how her mom always made her dance costumes and that’s how she ended up studying fashion design. The story distracts Harry from his nerves while he puts his boots on. He smooths out his pants and looks towards Aurora. 

“Thanks, Ror,” his hand is at her hip and pulling her in for a hug. He’s holding on to her tightly for a long moment and she relaxes into his arms. When he pulls away he speaks up again, “for helping me get ready and ya know, just being around, I guess.” 

“That’s what I’m here for.” She smiles at him and then checks her watch. “You should probably get going, Helene and your band are waiting for you.” 

“Yeah, of course.” He’s smiling at her again, gives her a quick kiss on the cheek and grabs his small black toiletry bag and heads to the bathroom. 

“Good luck, Harry!” she shouts at him while leaving his dressing room. 

After the show, Aurora meets Harry back in his dressing room to gather his suit and pack everything back up.

“Well looks like your bow didn’t make it through the show.” It’s the first thing he says as he walks in the room. He tosses an empty water bottle into the bin by the couch. Aurora pouts remembering how frustrated she was and then shakes her head at Harry. 

“It’s your crazy dance moves’ fault not mine. That bow was perfect and you can’t deny that.” 

“So ya saw the show?” There’s a spark in his eyes and Aurora writes it off as post stage adrenaline. 

“Course I did,” she smiles back at him. “I’ve got your clothes here from earlier, didn’t know if you wanted to throw those on after the show or not.” He’s racking a hand through his sweaty, messy hair before he takes his jacket off and hands it to Aurora. 

“Uhm,” he’s thinking about what the plans are for the night. “My suitcase is still here yeah?” She nods. “I’ll change into something from there then.” He’s rifling through his case now. “Did ya like the show then?” 

“Harry, it was incredible,” she exclaims while taking each piece of clothing from him as he takes them off. 

“Sorry everythings a bit sweaty,” he giggles as he hands her his trousers last. 

“I’ve dealt with worse.” She hangs everything up individually so they can air out before they’re put away. “But seriously, the show was so so good. I loved the new songs you added to your setlist!”

Harry has made his way towards the bathroom that is attached to the dressing room with a set of clean clothes in his hand. “Thanks, love.” his smile is so big that his dimples are making a show and his eyes go all crinkly. He’s lingering in the bathroom door way. 

“I’ll come back later to put everything away,” she says as she grabs a few of her things she had in his room from earlier. “Again, amazing show, Harry. Excited to be here. Have a good night.” and with that she gives a small wave at him and leaves him be. 

Aurora quite likes life on tour. In less than 4 days she’s been to Switzerland, spent a full day being a tourist in Paris and this morning she woke up in Amsterdam. She quite likes seeing Harry every day as well. There’s only been 3 shows so far but the time her and Harry have together before and after the shows goes by much faster than she would like and unknown to her, Harry is feeling exactly the same. 

When she arrives at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam later that morning she drops her stuff in the green room. She’s searching for Helene when she runs into Jeff. 

“Aurora! Just the person I was looking for,” he says as he stops her. “This is for you,” he pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to her. He gives her a smirk before rushing off to take care of something that had just came over his headset before she can ask any questions or thank him.

She carefully unfolds the paper and scribbled in half cursive half all caps printed handwriting is just a few words. meet me by bstage at 12:15. I’ll bring coffee. Harry’s name is signed at the bottom. Then, (only if you want of course.) is scribbled under his name. Her jaw drops before she’s giggling at his inherent kindness. She checks her watch, 11:58. Suddenly she can feel her heartbeat in her throat and the tops of her ears are flushed. She jumps when her phone rings from her pocket. 

“Hi mom!” Aurora starts walking around the arena a little distracted by her mom on the phone and the letter that is folded up in her hands. “Mom, can I actually call you in a little bit? I’ve gotta.. uhh... I’ve got a lot to do to prep today and wanna get ahead of it before it gets crazy.” Aurora stops to the side of the hallway and slides the paper in her pocket, noticing the shoes she put on this morning. “Great. Love you most! Talk to you soon.” The sneakers. She finally decided to wear the Gucci sneakers. She sighs, a small smile creeping up on her face. 

The inside of the arena is set up for the concert already and there’s a dim glow through the whole space. She can see Harry sitting on the edge of the bstage, legs swinging slightly and his hands clasped together in his lap. When the door closes behind Aurora it echoes and Harry’s head whips to her. From all the way across the arena, she can make out the huge, dopey grin on his face. It’s one that elicits a dimple on his cheek and makes her ears flush again. She shoves her hands into the pockets of the jean jacket she’s got on, smiling back at him. When she’s closer Harry pushes himself off the stage. 

“Ror! Hi!” He looks like sunshine she thinks. Is it the yellow shirt he’s wearing? Is it the sparkle in his eye even though the arena is fairly dark? Is it that damn dimple or the crinkles around his eyes? Or is it- Her thoughts are cut off when he pulls her into a hug. Both of his arms are strong around her torso and she can tell he’s bent down a little because she is easily wrapping her own arms around his shoulders, hands finding a home near his neck. Harry has a bit of stubble on his face and she can feel as he nuzzles his head against her cheek before pressing a kiss there. “Happy you came,” he whispers against her neck. Aurora lets out a hum as he squeezes his arms around her just a little tighter, “so happy.” 

“Hi Harry,” she whispers back fighting the grin that inevitably appears. She buries her face into the crook of his neck. It seems that their hugs get closer and closer every time. A different wall of boundaries and insecurities breaking down between the two of them each time. He’s warm just like sunshine. Neither of them know who broke the hug but they slowly pull apart and Aurora’s cheeks flush as Harry’s bright green eyes locked with hers. 

They make small talk about their mornings and their flights from the night before. Aurora’s following close to Harry’s side as he walks around the arena, sipping her coffee that he promised her. He’s got tea in his cup. He reaches his free hand out to her when they reach steps that reach the farthest seats in the arena. She places her hand in his, slowly and he quickly grips her hand, pulling her along the steps behind him. 

“Harry, where are we going?” He laughs in response. “What’re we doing?” She’s laughing with him now. 

“Trust me, yeah?”

“Harry, I barely know you…” she trails off, a hint of joke in her voice. 

“But you still trust me, yeah?” he questions again. She doesn’t need to think before nodding at him with a small smile. He’s taking her all the way up the stairs and then through a door at the top of the arena. “I’ve watched a lot of Criminal Minds, Harry, I know how this ends!” she jokes at him. His laugh echoes through the hall they’re walking through now and she can’t help but let her smile grow. They go through one more door and Harry let’s go of her hand, the door closing behind them. In front of Aurora is a huge window that looks out over Amsterdam. 

“I remember finding this room back when I was touring with the boys.”

“Was that when you wore the orange jumpsuits?” Aurora asks with a laugh before she realises what she might have revealed. Harry looks at her with a smirk. 

“Ror… don’t tell me… you were a-” There’s a short moment of silence 

“Ugg yessss. Yes, I was a fan,” she blurts out. She’s rolling her eyes at herself for getting into this situation. “Makes you question bringing me up here, huh?” she jokes hoping he isn’t thinking about his invite twice. 

Before she knows it, he’s throwing an arm around her shoulder with a loud laugh. “I had a feeling.” Her shoulders drop, not having realised she tensed up at all. 

“My mom found my old posters and said I should bring them with me for you to sign.” She smiles up at him. 

“and did you?” 

“Though it might be weird if I were to bring a poster of Niall Horan on the Harry Styles World Tour,” she says with a straight face. Harry huffs and is silent for a moment. 

“Wait… are you serious?” 

“Dead serious.” Harry’s face changes. Is he jealous? She raises onto her tippy toes and presses a kiss to his cheek, well it’s more his jaw than his cheek. She doesn’t know what’s come over her. She’s rarely this bold, but the look on his face has turned her brain to mush she thinks. His face relaxes eventually. There’s a bit of silence between them before she speaks up again. “Why’d you bring me up here, Harry?” she asks finally. 

His arm that was wrapped around her shoulder finds its way to her waist. “Gets a bit lonely sometimes,” his fingertips dig slightly into her waist. A wash of warmth and shivers simultaneously cover her. Lonely. “It’s nice to share stuff sometimes,” he trails off, “just not with the whole world.” 

“I wish I could say that I get it and I’m sure you hear that all the time,” she lets the feeling of his hand at her waist pull her closer to his side, “but I’m happy to be here with you.” Aurora pulls her hands out of the pockets in her jacket. She mirrors his previous actions and lightly slides her arm around his waist. He digs his fingertips into her waist again and she can feel a breath leave his body, heavier than a sigh but barely audible. It isn’t till then that she realises how close their torsos are slotted together. She can feel every little movement from him and she’s suddenly aware of how she can feel the heat of his skin through the tshirt that’s draped perfectly over his body. Every square inch of her body that is in contact with his feels tingly and warm. She thinks if she were to pull away from him there would be red light where she was in contact with him. She does the exact opposite of pulling away from him. She turns her whole body towards him falling into his torso even more. She isn’t sure if it’s because she’s a little homesick or that her anxiety is making it hard to settle into the tour life, but something about Harry feels familiar and comfortable. “Hey, Harry,” she says quietly receiving a hum in response as he turns his head towards her, “uhm, I’m having a really great time on tour,” she decides to say. How do I tell him that something about this feels right? Familiar? That I’m  feeling a bit homesick and he’s somehow managed to wipe it away for the time being? She can see a smile start at his lips out of the corner of her eye. “Honestly, can’t believe this is my job,” she adds. 

His tongue clicks on his teeth, “You’re just saying that cause you’re here with me.” It comes out with a bit of a whine in his voice. 

“Nuh uh.” She shakes her head slightly before meeting his eyes. 

“Well,” he pauses, not breaking eye contact, “I’m having a good time too.” He’s smiling at her and somehow pulls her into him even closer. 

“Your shows say it all. Always look like you’re having the time of your life up there.” She’s smiling back at him, flashes of him performing appear behind her eyelids as she blinks. 

“The shows are always great, best part of my job.” His smile grows and it’s toothy and his dimples are visible again. “But I’m having a good time,” he pauses, “right now.” 

They stay silent for a little and look out at the view in front of them. Harry points out a few of things on the Amsterdam skyline, making corny jokes and a few puns as he continues on about tulips and windmills. He looks down at her again and uses the arm around her torso to turn her to face him completely, his hands clasping together at her lower back. Her hands landing flat on his chest without thinking. 

“Nice sneakers,” he smirks down at her. She presses her lips together, fighting a smile or a laugh, she’s not really sure. She looks up at him through her eyelashes. 

“Thanks, can’t remember where they’re from.” His hands shift at her back and he’s pulling her closer. He leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead, then her cheek. 

“Damn,” he furrows his brows at the wall behind her. “I should really be getting back, I’ve got soundcheck… well I should’ve been at sound check 5 minutes ago.” She turns around to look at the clock breaking away from his hold. 

“We’ve been up her for almost 2 hours?” They both lock eyes before they’re laughing with each other. 

They go back a different way and end up at the back of the stage when they re-enter the arena no more than 2 minutes later. Aurora’s about to head to the dressing room and leave Harry to do his sound check but he pulls on her hand and his hands quickly find their way around her in a tight hug. She’s starting to get used to his hugs and his hands constantly at her waist or holding her hands. “I’ll see ya in a little bit, okay?” She nods against his chest. “Thanks for entertaining me, Ror.” He places one last lingering kiss to her cheek and before she knows it he’s on stage and his voice is booming through the speakers in the arena and she’s still standing there in awe of her afternoon. 

“Where’ve you been today?” Helene asks Aurora as she’s making a plate for dinner. 

“Oh, uhm, I’ve-” Aurora doesn’t really know what to tell her. She assumes if Harry wanted her to be hush about their afternoon that he would’ve said something. “I was with Harry,” she says quickly, adding a spoonful of hummus on her plate. 

“You were- you were with Harry?” Aurora blushes. “Aurora. Tell me everything.”

“Not much to tell.” She thinks the less she says the better. 

“Uh huh… I don’t believe you. Your cheeks are as red as the tomatoes on your plate.” 

“Okay, okay,” she says as they sit down at an empty table. She pulls the note from her pocket and hands it to Helene. She raises her eyebrows up at her while she unfolds the paper. 

“Aurora, oh mon dieu,” she voices, her french accent heavier when actually speaking French. “So you met him, then?” Aurora nods while picking at the plate in front of her. “Continue…” she urges her. 

Aurora tells Helene about her time with Harry while they finish their dinner and head back to the dressing rooms. Helene continues to ask questions about the afternoon and is picking apart every detail that Aurora has shared. They both grab everything they’ll need for the rest of the night, Helene, her camera and Aurora, her look book. Aurora also trades her jean jacket for her ‘Harry World Tour’ hoodie. 

“So you think you guys will hang out more?” Aurora is silent for a moment as they turn the corner. “Aurora?” 

“I mean, I want to but…” she trails off, “I don’t know. Not like this a normal situation… and it’s only the 1st week of tour. There’s still 4 months ahead of us.” 

“Yeah, so?” 

“What if something happens?” 

“Don’t you want something to happen?” Helene questions Aurora as they enter Harry’s empty dressing room. Harry’s own Gucci throw pillows already place perfectly on the empty couch and his suitcase is set off to the corner. 

“Honestly, I don’t know. Guess I’m a bit scared.”

“Being a little scared is probably good.” Helene is setting up her camera, changing lenses and taking a few test shots of the room. “I mean, if there’s any feelings, whatever they are or may be, then it would be worth seeing where it goes. I don’t know Harry all too well yet but he seems genuine.” Aurora smiles at Helene at the comment. “Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful and I don’t want to scare you more but his life is much different than either of ours.” Helene can hear Aurora sigh across the room. “Just be careful, yeah?” 

“Yeah, you’re right, there’s no way to tell what will happen. Guess I’ll just take it as it goes?” 

“Think that’s best.” 

“This is also my job, my career…”

“Don’t think of your job and your relationship with Harry in the same space. You’ve gotta separate work and pleasure. Always.” Aurora giggles at that. “You good? I wanted to get some photos of the empty arena and the lines outside before they open the doors.” 

Aurora thanks Helene for letting her blab about her afternoon and is thankful for the alone time she’s greeted with once she leaves. Aurora grabs her headphones and calls her mom back as she goes to prep Clare, Sarah, Mitch and Adam’s clothes. She knows they’ll all be busy for at least another hour before they come back to their dressing rooms. 

Aurora doesn’t tell her mom about her afternoon with Harry. She does tell her that she loves tour life but is still a bit homesick. Her mom tells her about the new kitchen appliances they got for the house, some drama between some of their neighbors about grass upkeep and how they’re already counting down the days till the MSG shows when they get to see Aurora. As their conversation lingers on Aurora heads back to Harry’s dressing room. She smiles when she remembers what he’s sporting tonight. 

“Mom, I’ll definitely have to send you a photo of what he’s wearing tonight.”

“More Gucci?” She jokes.

“Surprisingly no!” She laughs along. “It’s actually a new designer, still in school too. I actually met him when I was at CSM when I met Lambert as well.” She pulls the Harris Reed ensemble out and hangs it on the empty rolling rack and taps the steamer on. “Not a classic suit in the slightest, flared pants with a chiffon insert at the flare, quite a frilly button up shirt and a cropped black vest. Pretty excited to see him perform in this.” Her mom gushes over the idea of The Harry Styles dancing around stage in something so unique. That leads her mom into questions about Harry - how is he, what’s he really like, are you friends, and does he have groups of women following him around all the time like you think a rockstar does. Aurora hushes her mom and gives her very short, minimal answers. 

“Mom, he’s really busy, I barely even see him.” She knows if she really starts talking about Harry

that her mom will be able to hear it in her voice. Her mom knows her all too well. 

Harry walks in just as she wrapping up the phone call with her mom. 

“Nice sweatshirt,” he says not seconds after she says goodbye to her mom. He smirks at her as he sits down in the chair in front of the vanity. Ayae hasn’t arrived yet. Aurora glances at her watch before tugging at one of the strings on her hoodie. She notices he’s starting to show up in his dressing room earlier and earlier each night.

“When do I get a sweatshirt with my name on it?” she asks turning back to the frilled shirt Harry will be adorned in later that evening.

“Probably never,” he says slyly. She whips her head around at him, shock written all over her face. “Quite like the look of my name on you.” He says it so nonchalantly. He’s not even looking at her when he says it. He’s messing around on his phone. She’s frozen while looking at his form sitting so casually in the chair, scrolling through his phone. She huffs in disbelief, barely able to process the words that had come out of his mouth. She was right. He lifts his head when she doesn’t say anything. When their eyes meet in the mirror she slowly turns back to her work. Little does she know that there’s a smirk appearing on his face as he goes back to messing about on his phone. 

“I had a feeling,” she boldly whispers to herself, half hoping he doesn’t hear her and half he actually does. 

“What was that, love?” he asks. He heard her she knows for sure but she plays along. 

“Oh nothing.” The room is quite silent for a few minutes apart from the noise the steamer makes once and a while. 

About 30 minutes later, Ayae finishes Harry’s hair and makeup. She’s cleaning up her stuff as Harry slides into the Harris Reed flared pants.

“Ror, I had fun today,” he speaks up once Ayae leaves. Aurora hands him his shirt. 

“So did I,” she says softly, not making eye contact. As she grabs the vest from the hanger she can see out of the corner of her eye that he’s not actually putting the shirt on. “Ya know, you gotta actually put your arms through the sleeves to get the shirt on, yeah?” she jokes though her voice is a bit shaky. Still not looking at him because she’s nervous and second guessing everything, like always

“Hey,” his voice is soft too now. She can tell he’s picked up on her nerves. “Everything alright, Ror?” She stays silent, not really knowing how to describe how she’s feeling right in that moment. She nods with a hum. Harry accepts her answer, for now and finally puts on his shirt. “Tie this for me?” He asks holding the long fabric ties out towards Aurora. 

“Course,” she says smiling to herself, predicting that this will be a common occurrence throughout the tour. He’s totally capable to tie it himself, but Aurora won’t argue with an excuse for the two of them to be just a few inches closer. “Harry,” he hums in response still looking intently at her while she keeps her focus on the fabric looping through her hands and fingers. “Uhm, you, uh, I’m just curious, but you’ve been calling me Ror, a lot,” she pauses, still pulling on the fabric around the collar, “instead of Aurora.” 

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it anymore if you don’t want me to.” She can feel the heat from his neck as her fingertips brush against his throat every now and then. 

“No, I don’t mind actually. Just curious where you got it, I guess.” Once the bow is tied to her liking she grabs the cropped vest again. 

“Oh,” Harry chuckles lightly, almost like a nervous habit, “haven’t really given it much thought. Just kinda came to me as I got comfortable with ya.” Harry turns away from her and she holds up the vest. He slides his arms through and pulls on the front of the vest just as he has done with each suit jacket the previous nights. Aurora speaks up while she’s getting the shoulder seams of the vest to sit just right on Harry’s broad shoulders. 

“My mom has always called me that,” she shoots him a small smile in the mirror, “Ror or Rory.” He smiles back at her. “Really, not a lot of people call me by a nickname.” Harry turns back around to face Aurora, a hand going to her waist as a voice announces 15 minutes till curtain. “It’s nice to hear it when I’m so far from home.”

“Well, Rory,” he winks at her. “I’ve got a show to put on. Thanks for making me look the best.” 

“Harry, you’re forgetting your shoes…” she giggles at him. He places a kiss on the top of her cheek, something she doesn’t think she could ever get tired of. 

“What would I do without you?” He slides a fresh pair of socks on and then his boots, then another kiss to her cheek before he’s running out the door to perform on stage for an insane amount of people. 

Aurora watches most of the show from the audience. Half of her time is spent watching Harry on stage and the other is tagging along with Helene and watching in awe of her getting the best shots. Aurora is thrilled with how the flares look when he’s dancing around and takes a video to send to her family’s group chat and Lambert. Harry has just draped one of the many pride flags he’s acquired on stage over his mic stand just as the updated, rocky version of ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ starts. He’s not even finished with the 1st verse and the bow that she tied loose around his neck has come undone. As he launches into the next verse he makes direct eye contact with Aurora. She can feel her cheeks heat up as he grabs for the loose pieces of fabric and re ties them into a bow without breaking eye contact. The second the bow is tied he takes his mic from the stand and walks over to the side of the stage, passing Aurora. He walks back towards his mic stand while belting out the lyrics, a smile starting to sneak up on him. Harry doesn’t make it to the mic stand before he pivots back towards Aurora’s direction. He directs the mic towards the audience signally them to sing louder. Simultaneously, he looks down at Aurora who is standing next to Helene in front of the barrier, who is crouching down to get a good angle of the stage. The smile that was sneaking up on him makes a full appearance as a lopsided smirk directed at her. The only thing besides Harry’s smile that she is aware of in the arena of thousands and thousands of people is the click of Helene’s camera. 

“Gotta figure out something with those dang bows,” was the first thing Aurora said to Harry when he arrived back in his dressing room after the show. 

“Maybe I’ve gotta tone down my dancing?”

“Hmm probably a good idea to do that anyways,” she spits back at him as she takes the vest off his shoulders, “bow or no bow.” His eyes turn to slits as he grimaces at her joke. 

“Ha ha. You’re so funny, Rory,” he deadpans. 

“Come on,” she says through a yawn, “start handing me your clothes so I can get them packed up.” There’s a hint of sleepiness in her voice and she isn’t even trying to cover it up. 

Harry starts to peel one piece of clothing off after the next and handing them to her. A barely clothed Harry stands in front of her, a situation she has started to kind of - key words, kind of - get used to. She’s hanging everything up, the start of her new nightly routine. In her head she knows she’s just getting closer and closer to getting the chance to fall asleep in a huge bed that awaits her back at the hotel. 

“Ror, would you wanna come out with me tonight?” She hums and yawns again, giving him a questioning look. “A few of us are going out to get food and drink, wanna come with?” Suddenly Aurora is aware of what he’s asking. 

“Oh, Harry, I don’t know,” nerves tickle through her fingertips as she hangs up the flared trousers Harry had on, not moments ago. Go out with Harry? And his friends? Today had already been a lot for her. Aurora is overwhelmed at the thought and thankful that she has clearly shown signs of her exhaustion already. An easy excuse. “I’m really tired. Not really used to the traveling and jet lag is still kicking my ass.” 

Harry is silent before he speaks up, “Okay,” he says solemnly, “maybe next time then?” She nods at him in agreement knowing full well that she’ll make an excuse next time. She doesn’t know why, but something just doesn’t feel right with taking whatever her and Harry have outside the bubble that each arena has created. 

“Great show tonight, Harry!  I’ll see you in Antwerp.”

Hope you enjoyed !! feedback & comments always appreciated !!! 

[jayxscripta]

The Mahaigner - Chapter Six

Aaaand this is where things really start cooking. And by that I mean there are so many characters and unresolved plot points to pick up from the films, and characters I decided to create and add in for some more flavor, because otherwise this would be too easy, and--

Madeline woke with a deep ache resonating throughout her bones, throbbing wrists, and a rhythmic pounding in her head. She had blacked out—she knew that much—but her memory failed to inform her why. It was probably a miracle she had even woken up at all.

She pried open her eyes, trying to blink away the blurriness. She was lying on her side, against something cold and hard and probably metal. She tried to move her hand to push the hair away from her face, but the motion was cut short with a clink. Surprised, she looked down to her wrists. Handcuffs. Protruding blue veins were stark against alabaster skin. These must be the power draining cuffs Stark had threatened her with.

She finally lifted her head, trying to blink away the blurriness, when a familiar voice jolted her from her stupor. “Cozy, isn’t it?”

“Perfect, actually,” she groaned, forcing herself up into a sitting position. The bench was unforgiving and indeed made of metal, as was the rest of the room. Loki sat across from her, the picture of indifference. They were moving. She was in an armored truck. She looked around, panic creeping in when she realized that, for the first time in years, Astrid wasn’t with her. “What happened? Where’s Astrid?”

“I believe they took her as well.” He sounded sympathetic. “Are you alright?”

Madeline’s first instinct was to respond sarcastically, but after the conversation she had overheard between the two brothers, she couldn’t bring herself to. Loki was trying, and her guilt begged that she give him the benefit of the doubt. So instead, she nodded, somewhat numbly. “I’m not dead yet. But never mind that—” she winced, “—how long have we been in here?”

“Several hours. After the incident, one of the officers called the General. The Vision tried to stall for time, but even with his help Stark couldn’t hide hundreds of Asgardians and the Hulk. Or the quinjet that crashed through the hangar roof.”

“He took everyone?” she asked, confused and disbelieving. “Even Strange?”

Where could the General possibly hide all of them? Did he have some sort of massive, secret bunker just to stash arrested super powered people?

“I don’t know where the other Asgardians were taken. Banner is in government custody, and you and I the same, as war criminals. Stark argued for Thor’s immunity. When we were arrested, the doctor was still unconscious.”

She nodded, numb. How had everything spiraled out of control so quickly? She had learned to deal with the guilt after the last incident, but this was different. She could have killed someone—she might have even killed Strange. That was why the cuffs were on her wrists. But at least she was alive. At least someone hadn’t put a bullet in her head.

She buried her head in her hands. “So, I’m a war criminal now?” She doubted her years as a law-abiding American citizen mattered at all to General Ross. Not after what had transpired. Not when he didn’t even extend grace to the Avengers.

“You don’t seem like one.” Unsurprisingly, Loki was rather calm. Probably because he had been in this sort of situation before. She could always hope he could provide some plan, some assurance that they would be fine. But that didn’t seem likely at the moment.

Unsure of how to respond, she settled for, “thank you.”

Angry voices and thumps pierced the wall separating the drivers’ compartment from the security unit. She started, turning towards the wall as if that would somehow provide an answer. Had she imagined it?

Her confirmation came seconds later. “Did you hear that?” Loki asked, and she nodded. As she leaned forward, trying to hear if anything was being said in the driver’s cabin, there was another shout. The truck swerved sharply, braked too hard, and Madeline lost her balance, flying forwards out of her seat. Loki caught her by the shoulders easily, the cool metal of his restraints skimming her arms. He was so close to her face that she could see that his eyes were green. Then she cleared her throat, wondering why that was the first thing her brain had noticed.

She barely had time to apologize before the doors to the truck swung open, and light flooded in, the shadows of a woman and a man cast before them. She recognized both almost instantly, despite their altered appearances.

Ivanoff’s eyebrows furrowed. “This isn’t what I was expecting to find.”

Loki released his grip on her arms, the shocked expression on his betraying that he recognized the rescuers. But somehow, he didn’t seem that enthused with their appearance. She could understand why it was awkward, given the circumstances of their last meeting. And now they were rescuing him from being imprisoned again. A bit ironic, actually.

On a normal day, Madeline would have laughed at the sheer absurdity of the situation. How could she have ever imagined she would be a war criminal, locked in the back of an armored vehicle with a demi-god, and rescued by two superheroes? But she was speechless, largely because Ivanoff was supposed to be dead.

“Are you two getting out?” Ivanoff pressed, raising an eyebrow. “We’re on the clock here.”

“Right.” Madeline turned to the open doors, legs wobbling. There was no real way of knowing how the power cuffs were affecting her body, but they had definitely weakened her. She hopped down and would have pitched forward into the dirt had Ivanoff not steadied her. “How did you find us?” Madeline asked, scanning her surroundings. They were in a desert—one like you see in movies, with cacti, towering red rocks, and the obligatory tumbleweed. There was no way Ivanoff and Captain America had stumbled upon them by accident.

It made sense. If Ross had been sending them to a secure government facility, there was definitely one hidden in some desert somewhere.

“We used a tracker,” Ivanoff answered vaguely. Her eyes flickered to Madeline’s cuffed wrists and she grimaced. “We have to get these off. I know the feeling. The suppressant will last for a few hours but after it wears off your powers should come back.”

Madeline winced as Ivanoff’s hands hovered over the cuffs. She didn’t know what she was doing, but it hurt. “That could be a bad thing.”

Ivanoff raised an eyebrow. “Well, at least you’ll feel better,” she murmured. She was concentrating on the cuffs, the palms of her hands glowing a faint purple. “These shouldn’t be hard to get off, but I don’t want to fry your wrists.” Then suddenly the purple glow grew in magnitude and brightness. There was a snap and a clang as the handcuffs fell to the road.

More shouts sounded from the front of the armored truck, and it was only then that Madeline noticed Captain Rogers had disappeared. “Are you sure you’ve got this under control, Miss Ivanoff?” Loki ventured, making a point to jingle the chains of his cuffs together when she looked up.

“Don’t piss me off,” Ivanoff warned, “Thor sent us here to rescueyou; he never said I had to set you free.” She jerked her hand towards Madeline and hooked the cuffs onto her belt. “I’m sure we have room but I will gladly make up an excuse to give your spot to her.”

“Thor sent you?” Madeline recoiled in surprise. Suddenly it all made sense. That’s why they were here. Except, she didn’t know how Thor had managed to contact the ex-Avengers while under lock and key at the Compound. “How?”

“It was through this.” Ivanoff held up her wrist and showed them a simple metal bracelet, engraved with strange symbols. Probably Asgardian. Madeline followed as she and the Captain stepped off the road and into the barren desert. “I’m sure Loki recognizes it. It gives off a strong distress signal at any point where its match is activated. Thor gave it to me a few years ago before he left. Said if he ever needed us, he would let me know. Of course, his timing was perfect. I was halfway through a stack of blueberry pancakes when it lit up. But we figured it was important, so we followed it.”

Loki looked down at his arms, as if realizing something important, and sighed heavily. “He must have slipped the other beacon onto me when he hugged me.”

“Sounds like Thor’s getting better at being sneaky,” Ivanoff remarked. “You ready, Sam?”

Madeline heard a faint crackling, but nothing else. She cast a quizzical glance towards Loki; based off the knowing look in his eyes, he had some idea of what was happening. She took a few steps further but was stopped when a chain adorned arm reached out to stop her. Before she could ask just what he was doing, he nodded in the direction that she had been going. His lips twitched upwards, like he was withholding a grin. “Might I suggest looking up before you walk?”

Bemused, she did look up. Then, tilting her head to the side in amazement, she watched as a jet silently materialized out of thin air. “Where are you taking us?” she asked, following their rescuers up the jet ramp.

“Not back to New York, if that’s what you were wondering,” Ivanoff answered. She was right, Madeline had been wondering. With good reason.

“Somewhere safe,” Captain Rogers assured. “You’ll be granted asylum there for as long as you need.”

“Are you sure you want me coming too?” Loki asked, almost sounding bored. “Last time I was on Midgard I got the impression you would kill me if I dared to come back.”

“That can be arranged,” Ivanoff offered.

“Tori.” Steve’s voice carried a strain of warning, and a tiredness that only occurs in someone who has been doing this for years. “Thor wants him alive, I’m sure.”

“Fine, I’ll try to play Switzerland. But I don’t have to be friendly.”

“Where are the others?” Rogers asked, ending the argument. “Are they still at the Compound?”

“No. General Ross arrested everybody, including Banner.”

“Bruce? Why?” Ivanoff asked, alarmed.

“Possibly because he’s still the Hulk.”

His answer seemed to take the three former-Avengers by surprise. That, or they were still trying to figure out if Loki was lying or not.

“Still the Hulk?” Rogers’ brows furrowed in confusion.

Wilson turned in his chair to glance back towards the assembled group, disbelief evident on his face. “Hold up, I thought the Hulk always turned back into Bruce once he—you know—de-stressed?”

“Usually.”

“Did Tony even argue to keep Bruce from being incarcerated?” Ivanoff asked, sounding frustrated.

“Not to my knowledge,” Loki said drily. “I was busy being arrested.”

That seemed to be enough of a confirmation for Ivanoff. She sighed and rubbed her temples. “Don’t tell me you’re surprised,” Sam cut in, an edge of disbelief to his voice. “That’s exactly what happened to us.”

“Is it a cop out to say that I’m more disappointed than anything?” she returned with a huff.

“Was there anyone else who Ross could have arrested?” Rogers questioned, shooting a look to his companions that clearly meant drop it.

“My dog.” Madeline faltered, guilt flooding into her stomach. “And Dr. Strange.” If he woke up and was healthy enough to pose a threat, of course Ross would arrest him as well. After all, he had helped her.

“Who?”

“Stephen Strange. He helped me while I was at the compound.”

“Stephen Strange?” Rogers echoed, glancing towards Ivanoff. “We’ve heard that name before.”

“From Sitwell,” Ivanoff confirmed. “Is he working with the Avengers now?”

Madeline pursed her lips in contemplation. “It was more of an ‘out of necessity’ partnership.”

“Then he’s already in too deep,” Wilson said, not turning from his position in the pilot’s seat.

“Never mind that. Personally, I’d worry about your dog,” Ivanoff replied.

Rogers turned his gaze on Ivanoff. “Seriously?”

She shrugged defensively. “It’s a valid concern.”

Madeline cleared her throat and tried to steer the discussion elsewhere. “If we’re not going back to New York, then where are we going?”

The conversation stopped abruptly, like they had flown into a brick wall. “The only place any one of us can be safe,” Ivanoff said, “Wakanda.”

“You’re joking, right? They’d offer us—” she gestured between herself and Loki “—sanctuary?”

“They did for us,” Rogers replied, “and their king said they would for you too. As long as you cooperate.”

“Define cooperate,” Loki joined in, sounding bored.

“Just don’t talk, and you probably won’t have an issue,” Ivanoff told him frostily, and then turned to Madeline calmly. “I think you should get comfortable. We won’t land for a few more hours and your powers might make an appearance before then.”

Madeline nodded her thanks, scanning the room and choosing a seat furthest away from the group. She craved her own personal peace; a few moments in which she didn’t have to worry about being arrested or dying or accidentally killing somebody.

She tucked her legs onto the seat and closed her eyes, thinking about everything that had happened in the last day or so. Where she was going, who she was with. It was like a fever dream.

As she dozed off, she wondered how she had never realized how much safer it felt to have Astrid curled up by her side.

[balkanballad]

Eurovision 2020 ranking

welcome to another year and another ranking. the last few years I used to put the songs in different categories, but this year I did that (from top 💐 to flop 🥀) AND gave every song an actual number AND added a comment. wow, so brave, I know. it’s a bit long, but here we go:

💐:

Norway: it was love at first sight and listen with this song. I connect with it, I love the lyrics, the instruments, her, everything about the nf performances. this is my very strong number one this year and, btw, the studio version is so much weaker than the live version

Switzerland: this song makes me very emotional and I love it. his voice is so lovely and with this one I, again, enjoy and feel the lyrics. I am very curious to see what they will do on stage

Australia: I wouldn’t say that I am always a huge fan of the songs with more goofy vibes and staging, but this one is a fave. I wasn’t in a great mood when I listened to this the first time and I remember crying because it was just very fitting to my personal situation. so, me and this song have an emotional connection now. also, I enjoyed the contrast that the staging in the national final gave it. it’s just.. same to everything about this song and performance. it’s also my favourite entry from Australia so far

North Macedonia: my only ‘dance’ song in this favourite category. it makes me wanna dance but in a tango and dimmed red lights way. I would also say that it made me think a bit of Switzerland last year, but I like this better

Croatia: another favourite entry that won a national final! I didn’t have a terribly bad year with national final faves. I might even say that I had a good year. anyway, a Balkan ballad :) with nice lyrics :) a bit sad and great violins :) of course I am into this. I love it

Portugal: I had this saved as a favourite before I saw the live performances and I really like that it won the national final. it’s super sweet, pastel pink vibes and my cup of tea

Finland: sweet! this makes me tear up a bit and I see a pattern this year for my personal preference: songs that make me melancholic and cry a bit. although, no one should be surprised because nostalgia and melancholy seem to always be with me

Denmark: while I was making this ranking and listening to the songs over and over, I think this song moved up the most. this is very sweet. last year was too sweet for me and I think this one is better, but on the edge to crossing that line. however, I love that we have a duet. I’m a big fan of duets. is someone going to propose this year again? this song would be at least perfect for that occasion. or maybe a bit too pushing actually.. 

🌺:

(no. 9) Israel: maybe a tiny little bit too much going on in a 3-minute song and something about it reminded me a bit of JESC songs, but I love the rhythm and I think this performance will be fun 

(no. 10) UK: it’s a good song. the breath! part makes it more interesting and I have this song in my car playlist, which means that I am not skipping it usually. however, I also came across the BBC recording and I am not very convinced that the staging and everything will be enough to secure it a high placing in the end

(no. 11) Romania: oh look, I once again connected to a song because I feel the lyrics. that is probably not the best sign with this song but oh well. I am not the biggest fan of the live version here and prefer the studio recording. maybe another bad sign or maybe it’s just the weird screaming in the back and low quality of the equipment etc.

(no. 12) The Netherlands: I don’t think that they are trying to win another time this year with this, but it’s a cute and sweet song and everyone will cheer anyway. I listened to one live recording and there he sounded amazing

🌻:

(no. 13) Armenia: maybe this would be a guilty pleasure, but it’s 2020 we are just enjoying songs. I think the staging for this song will decide how it goes because the song itself is definitely.. different and not for everyone. the studio version is a lot better than the live performance, the lyrics are a bit repulsive to me and I feel like this could slip in the category ‘cheap’, but the whole song also gives me a weird kind of self-confidence boost when I listen to it 

(no. 14) Azerbaijan: okay, so the song title made me very excited. the lyrics are.. there. I don’t think I was looking for something relatable in this song, but they are just very random to me. funny enough, I think this will be competing with Armenia because of similar vibes and because a lot depends on the staging. however, I think that this might do better because it’s more esc mainstream and has a better flow, but then again, maybe don’t rely on me when I say such things  

(no. 15) Greece: this sounds a bit like a JESC entry to me and I have mixed feelings about it. with this I am also not sure what the message is supposed to be, but I really like the instruments  

(no. 16) Estonia: hm. I must admit that I like this song more than I want to, but I don’t love it. I like the dramatic touch, but it’s not relatable at all, which isn’t necessary a factor for a good song of course. I just like having my emotional support songs and this is not one of them 

(no. 17) Poland: this and Albania are in the same semi and sound too similar, so my prediction is that only one of these two will go through. personally, I like Poland better, but even if none of them makes it, it won’t break my heart I think

(no. 18) Spain: this song feels a lot longer than 3 minutes and it might be because it’s repetitive, but I can listen to it still. just not too often

(no. 19) Lithuania: this is a fan fave, right? personally, I’m just.. not in love. I like the message, but I don’t feel the need to listen to it regularly 

(no. 20) Iceland: it’s alright. it’s there. I can’t really think about things to say about this  

(no. 21) Italy: a ballad. in Italian. ground-breaking. just kidding, I think the fact that it’s in Italian saves it a bit, but I don’t really listen to this. I don’t mind it playing in the background, but it’s also not in my car playlist

(no. 22) Ukraine: I feel like I should technically like this more than I do, but I don’t really listen to this, sorry

(no. 23) Belarus: just like with Ukraine: I think I should like this a lot more than I currently do. I also find this song a bit boring

🌼:

(no. 24) Georgia: not a fan of the screaming, but I see why it fits the song. I am not sure, though, whether this will be the year that they make it back to the final 

(no. 25) Albania: did anyone ask for the English revamp? I don’t think so, but they did it anyway. it is too forgettable for my taste and reminds me of something that they sent already in the past few years, but now it’s in English, so even less original. it isn’t a bad ballad though

(no. 26) Ireland: I know what this song is trying to tell me, but it is trying very hard to make sure we all understand it. it also reminds me a bit of a song that they would play in a disney channel film and it annoys me a bit

(no. 27) France: I might not skip it always, but it’s very repetitive and I still stand with my association of the Netflix show YOU and this (sorry, Tom)

(no. 28) Austria: my friend said that this song sounds like it should be by Sweden and I think that she is right. I never really was into that kind of vibe though, so I am not the biggest fan

(no. 29) Germany: not terrible, but also kind of strange vibes. I don’t like the lyrics (I will tell my mama whatever I want). I also think that Germany took inspiration from Switzerland last year and who knows, maybe they will finally start playing their own songs on the German radio stations and stop playing Sweden’s 2016 entry

(no. 30) San Marino: San Marino is once again bringing the disco vibes, thanks. I can’t watch the video twice in a row because it makes me feel like I’m on a trip, but good for her! I should definitely also get a little more freaky myself sometimes

(no. 31) Sweden: I’m not a fan. I was a fan of other Melfest entries though.. anyway, this is not a bad song of course, but definitely a bit boring to me

(no. 32) Moldova: I don’t hate it, and some very few parts of the melody I even like, but this is my least favourite Kirkorov produced, or written or bought or pushed through or whatever he does, song

(no. 33) Bulgaria: if everyone should find a similar partner then Bulgaria could team up with Romania this year. I find Bulgaria to be a lot more boring though

(no. 34) Cyprus: keep on running and keep on running and keep on running.. etc. etc. etc. this is how I feel when I make myself jog once a year 

(no. 35) Malta: sounds very familiar, but I haven’t figured out yet which generic pop song it reminds me of

(no. 36) Belgium: yet another year and I am sadly bored by Belgium’s entry yet again

🥀:

(no. 37) Czech Republic: to this song I imagine the scenario of a school mate, that you aren’t too close with, but he is friendly, so you listen to the songs he made himself and uploaded and then you assure him that it sounds cool and you will add it to your music collection, but then you don’t ever listen to it again. this never happened to me, but that’s the vibe somehow. it’s just not really my kind of song and it also misses a bit of a real concept and flow because, even after the revamp, to me it still sounds a bit unpolished

(no. 38) Serbia: nop. I am very much for wmn pwr but I don’t like this. I get very strong mean girls vibes from it and I don’t say this as a good thing because I would rather not get bullied. I despise the lyrics and overall, everything, but I see why one would call it a ‘bop’ perhaps

(no. 39) Russia: when they were announced I looked them up and already was skeptical. most of the time this simply isn’t my kind of genre, humour and taste, and I was right. it annoys me. I am sure, like with every song btw, there is an audience for this, but I am very far away from being that audience

(no. 40) Slovenia: I’m sorry, but I really don’t like her voice, which is not a good thing, obviously, when ranking songs. I also find the song quite boring and it is another example of songs that somehow feel longer than 3 mins

(no. 41) Latvia: this gives me a headache. I don’t understand the lyrics, the music makes me want to leave the room, it’s a no from me and my last place

[nyaheum]

My 2019 Eurovision Final Ranking

Everything is different from my fromer lists and that's the way it's supposed to be. I only looked at the live performances for this and basically ignored the music videos or studio versions.

This is also purely my own opinion, I’m not attacking you if I dislike a song you love, it’s just difference in taste in music (which is great).

(tbh i kinda like all songs except czech republic and estonia, and even czech republic isn’t that bad anymore)

26. Estonia: Victor Crone - Storm

It’s a gamble whether or not he’ll hit his notes, and even if he does, I still don’t like it. It’s just too basic for me, and I’d still happily switch him with Portugal.

25. Czech Republic: Lake Malawi - Friend of a Friend

I just...can’t like this. I tried really hard because Albert seems like a genuinely nice guy, but urgh. I just cannot stand this song at all.

24. Denmark: Leonora - Love Is Forever

Liebe ist für alle da~...but not for me. Apart from the really boring staging, this is pure Eurovision lovey-dovey romance. And why not utilize the fact that your singer can actually dance very well?

23. North Macedonia: Tamara Todevska - Proud

Honestly, I like the live version way better than the music video, but I’m still not that into it. She sings really well though.

22. Germany: S1STERS - Sister

A little bit of national pride definitely helped place them here - I don’t mind the song, they have nice voices, but compared to other songs? Meh. And we still had better songs to choose from.

21. Serbia: Nevena Bozovic - Kruna

I just can’t get into this song. It’s not bad by any means, but it doesn’t catch me. It didn’t catch me before the semi, it didn’t catch me in the semi and it won’t catch me in the final.

20. United Kingdom: Michael Rice - Bigger Than Us

I like him. He can actually sing so well, but he got a rather boring song, so I’m not really into it. I also haven’t seen his live performance yet (the ol’ Big Five struggle) so I can’t say anything about that.

19. Greece: Katerine Duska - Better Love

Oh well, I know everyone likes her a lot and I used to liker her a lot too but...the song lost it’s appeal for me. I don’t know why. I just woke up today and thought: “Oh, yeah, Greece is here too. Hm.”

18. Slovenia: Zala Kralj & Gasper Santl - Sebi

I’m starting to like this, even though the two of them staring at each other and him slightly touching her arm and face makes me a bit uncomfortable, for some reason.

17. Belarus: ZENA - Like It

It’s a bop, you guys are just mean. It’s not a musical masterpiece, but she can sing well, and even though her outfit is really awful, the song is fun. And she’s 16, guys. She’s really young.

16. Sweden: John Lundvik - Too Late for Love

I don’t know what I think about this. It’s not as boring to me as UK (so John Lundvik chose the right song) but I definitely don’t like it as much as some people seem to. Definitely not my Top Ten, but it’s alright.

15. Albania: Jonida Maliqi - Ktheju Tokes

I like ethno-songs, especially in Eurovision, so I like this too. I actually don’t have anything in particular against this song, I just like others better.

14.San Marino: Serhat - Say Na Na Na

This is pure sympathy and not at all quality. His performance wasn’t good, I can admit that, but I like Serhat so much? And at least this song is fun. (Also, calling me out with the very first line in the song? Perfection. (I do look sad and lonely. Something is wrong tonight. My faves won’t win, Serhat!))

13. Israel: Kobi Marimi - Home

Kobi can sing and the song isn’t that bad, and you can fight me on this. They won’t win with it, that’s for sure, but it’s not bad. It does sound like a musical number though.

12. The Netherlands: Duncan Laurence - Arcade

Loving this is not a losing game, we all know that. I don’t mind it, it gets stuck in my head, but that’s pretty much it. I won’t mind it winning, let’s say it like that. I won’t be rooting for it either though.

11. Azerbaijan: Chingiz - Truth

No hate for this song. Shut up about it. I don’t understand what he’s saying because his English is very...interesting, but it’s so catchy. I’m not a big fan of the robots though. They are, uh...bulky?

10. Spain: Miki - La Venda

It’s just fun! The performance looks...interesting, but this will be at the end of the night, after Australia and Iceland and Russia - nobody will care that this is a bit weird. The song’s fun, and I just like it! For no reason!

09. Australia: Kate Miller-Heidke - Zero Gravity

It grew on me again. The staging is amazing, especially the part where she’s over earth and you can’t even see the pole she’s sitting on? So cool. And the way she hits those high notes perfectly every time, mhmmm.

08. Cyprus: Tamta - Replay

Let’s face it, her performance in the Semi wasn’t the best of the best, but she has charisma enough to make me forget that. The song is catchy and I love it.

07. Malta: Michela - Chameleon

Also a very fun song, and I really like her voice. She also reminds me that I’m sitting at home doing nothing while she’s on stage at 18 years old and performing for all of Europe.

06. France: Bilal Hassani - Roi

When I dream, I’m a king too. Sometimes I’m also chased down a hill by thousands of rolling cheeses. But you don’t write songs about that. But if you did, I think Bilal could make me like it. (It also makes me giddy that my French is actually good enough to understand this whole song :D)

05. Switzerland: Luca Hänni - She Got Me

Yes, little-DSDS-boy, dance! No, actually, I like this. Choreography, yes please. Fun song, yes please. Neighbour-bonus, apparently.

04. Norway: KEiiNO - Spirit in the Sky

I hope we’ll hear people calling for them tonight. (No, that one didn’t really work, did it?). This is pure Eurovision and I’m so here for it. I love it. The joinking is weird, but it’s also weirdly fitting? I love them!

03. Russia: Sergey Lazarev - SCREAM

This is my emotional-support-Russian, leave me be. He can sing so well? The staging is...interesting. Yeah. I’ll use that word.

02. Iceland: Hatari - Hatrid mun sigra

We all love Hatari. Well, most of us, anyway. I love Hatari. (I’m german, we know how to do this kind of music. Might be why I like this.)

01. Italy: Mahmood - Soldi

🖤 Apart from the fact that this song is something special and I love it a lot, this speaks to me? My dad’s an ass to, Mahmood. I feel you.

[steviemae]

opposites attract // sp

requested by @iftheglassslipperfitz: So I don’t know if this is a good idea or not but can you do a story with the reader meeting sweet pea in a book store and they hit it off only for him to find out later they go to the same school and she’s on the cheer squad. But he does a big gesture to show her he doesn’t care about them being so different? Sorry if this is weird (I’m having a really bad day and I have this idea stuck in my head)

You walked up and down the aisle of the bookstore, letting your fingers run over the spines of the old, used books as you tried to find the one you’ve been searching for. Not having any luck, you let your hand drop to your side and huffed in frustration.

“Need help, sweet cheeks?” a low voice asked. You turned around to find a tall mad clad in leather with his arms crossed, leaning against the shelf behind you.

“Maybe a fresh pair of eyes could help, i’ve been searching for this book all day.” you said handing him the paper you wrote the title down on. He took it from your hand reading over your writing before handing it back and disappearing for a second. When he came back, he had the book in his hand.

“Found it.” he handed it over to you. You were shocked and kind of annoyed that he found it with such ease and you’ve been looking for it for hours in just this book store. You’ve been to about three today searching for it.

“Thank you.” you flipped the pages and let the scent of old book flood your sense of smell, smiling happily to yourself.

“I’m Sweet Pea, by the way.” he said holding out his hand for you to shake. You took his large hand and yours giving it a soft shake. 

“i’m y/n. Thank you for finding this by the way. I was going crazy.” you laughed.

“You can thank me by letting me take you to lunch.” he said, “Pops?”

“Sure. it’s the least i can do, i suppose.” you smiled at him before turning and walking to the check out. Once you paid for the book you met Sweet Pea at the front of the store.

“I’ll meet you there.” you said pulling out your car keys from your bag. He nodded and you parted ways.

--

You laughed as you dipped fries into your ketchup while Sweet Pea told you a story about him and his best friend, Fangs.

“You know, you southsiders have some weird names.” you commented.

“You northsiders have common names.” he shot back jokingly.

“Touche.” you said pointing a fry at him.

“Alright, tell me about you.” he said crossing his arms on the top of the table and leaning forward slightly.

“There’s not much. I live with my parents, right down the street from Jughead’s girlfriend actually. I’m a River Vixen, Jughead is one of my best friends, second to Kevin of course.” Sweet Pea hummed softly.

“Never took you as the River Vixen’s type.” he said.

“Why not?” you asked putting a fry in your mouth.

“You’re not a total bitch like the other Vixen’s i’ve met. You’re actually pretty cool to be around.” you nodded, understanding where he was coming from. Most of the other girls were total bitches and for no reason. They could be a handful.

“I don’t really associate with them outside of practice and games. I’m friends with Betty, Josie and Veronica, but Cheryl and i don’t really see eye-to-eye and it’s mostly because i don’t follow her around like some lost puppy dog like the others.” you explained.

The two of you finished your food, making small talk and getting to know each other a little better when, of course, your little lunch date was ruined.

“What do we have here? Southside scum and my favorite Vixen.” you rolled your eyes at Reggie’s voice speaking from behind you, “is this snake bothering you, y/n?” he had leaned down so his arm was around your shoulders and his mouth level with your ear. He spoke softly ,but loud enough for Sweet Pea to hear.

“No, Reggie. I came here willingly with him. Now go find someone else to terrorize.” you said shoving him away from you.

“What’s Cheryl going to think when she finds out you’re canoodling with the likes of them? Bet she’d kick you off the squad. Damn you from ever being a Vixen again.” Reggie threatened.

“You’re the only one who holds being on a sports team on godly levels, Reggie. It’s not that serious, but if she kicks me off the squad for one little lunch date, then so be it.” you said standing up and grabbing your things. Sweet Pea stood up as well, following you out of Pop’s and to your car.

“This doesn’t make me taking you out on a real date as definite no, does it?” he asked as you opened your door.

“If every time we go out if going to be ruined like that, i don’t know if i can. We’re very different people with very different upbringings and our sides know that. It may have been a Northsider this time, but next time, who’s to say one of your Serpent friends don’t show up wanting a fight because we got food together?” you said looking at him.

“I don’t give a damn what they think or say. I want to keep hanging out with you and no one is going to change that.” Sweet Pea said. Your phone started ringing, stopping you from saying anything to Sweet Pea. You answered, Sweet Pea rolled his eyes as you avoided the conversation you were just having.

“That was my mother, i have to go. I’ll catch you later, Sweet Pea.” with that, you got in your car and drove to your house. Leaving him standing in the parking lot of Pop’s.

--

That week at school, you had found out that Southside High had got shut down and most of their students would be transferring to Riverdale. You decided to stay Switzerland during the orientation today, not helping Veronica and definitely staying far away from Cheryl as possible today. You weren’t in the mood to pick sides and listen to everyone bicker.

As you walked down the hallway clutching you books and notebooks to your chest, you made eye contact with Sweet Pea. He looked pissed and you had no doubt it was because something Reggie just said. His scowl softened a little when he saw you, giving you a small smile and head nod. You smiled a little sending him a small wave. Jughead saw you and yelled your name happily from down the hall. You hesitantly walked up to the crowd, giving Jughead a hug.

“Hey, Juggy.” you said softly.

“I was wondering when i was going to see you bopping around this place.” he said.

“I’m actually avoiding conflict. I don’t want to choose sides so i’m trying to stay out of it. This however, isn’t helping that.” you said pulling away from the hug and noticing Cheryl and Reggie glaring at you.

“By hugging the snake and going to lunch with the other one, it’s clear whose side you’re on, y/n.” Reggie spoke making you roll your eyes.

“Who’d you go to lunch with?” Veronica asked, her perfect eyebrows knitted together.

“Uh, Sweet Pea and i went to lunch at Pop’s a couple of days ago. He helped me find this book i’ve been searching for at the bookstore and as a thank you, i met him at Pop’s.” you explained.

“Ah, so you’re the off limits Northsider he’s been talking about.” Jughead stated making Sweet Pea shove him.

At lunch that same day, you sat with Betty and Jughead. Sweet Pea, Fangs and Toni joined you moments later and you all fell into your own little conversations.

“So you’re really not going to let me take you out again?” Sweet Pea said from beside you.

“I never said you couldn’t, i just don’t want it to end the way the last one did and in this town, that’s inevitable.” you said plopping a grape in your mouth. Sweet Pea let out a huff before standing up and moving his tray to the side, stepping up onto the table.

“Sweet Pea, what are you doing?” you asked grabbing his ankle and telling him to get down.

“Okay, so i’m a serpent, big fricking deal. But i like y/n and i don’t give a flying fuck what any of you Northsiders thinks, but be warned that if you ruin another date for us, i’ll kill you. That is all.” he said taking a very sarcastic bow before jumping off the table and sitting back down. The whole outside lunch area was quiet and all eyes were on you and Pea making you shift uncomfortably but laugh at Sweet Pea’s idioticity.

“So how about that date, beautiful?” he said sitting back down next to you. Everyone waited in anticipation for you to answer. Betty, Jughead, Toni, Fangs. They all stared at you, Fangs and Toni about ready to bust out in laughter at their friend.

“Sure thing, Sweet Pea. i was going to say yes anyway. You didn’t have to get up on the table and announce that it everyone.” you said smiling widely at him. Your own giggle escaping your lips.

“Yeah, well can’t take it back now.” he shrugged, “i’ll pick you up friday at 7. Don’t wear a dress or a skirt. It might fly up when we drive.” he said.

“What are you picking me up one?” you asked confused.

“My bike, sweet cheeks.” he chuckled.

[singtheskyandfightlikehell]

Eurovision 2019 Opinions

Well, the 26 countries that will be participating in the final are official now, so here’s my in depth thoughts about each entry, ranked from least favorite to favorite along with explanations and a 10 pt rating system. honestly i thought this year was solidly mediocre. a few i really like, about 3 i can’t stand, and the rest are all smack dab in the middle of “decent”. of course, these are just my opinions and I totally get that people will disagree with them. i don’t really care. yeah there’s a few i’ll judge you for, but frankly my opinion shouldn’t matter to you. i’m just posting it for my own record and for anyone who might be curious

26. Slovenia (0/10) I know a lot of people like this entry, but frankly, I cannot stand it. It’s boring. It’s awkward. It’s uncomfortable. If I wanted to watch an m/f couple - or, you know what, any couple - stand really close to each other and mumble for three minutes, I - I don’t actually know where I’d go, because I can’t conceptualize myself ever wanting to see that.

25. Denmark (0/10) Again, why? This entry annoys me a lot, and the only reason I didn’t put it last was because I appreciate the use of more than one language. It’s my least favorite parts of all kids shows combined coupled with a message that honestly I disagree with. It feels a bit like she’s judging me for being upset at injustice in the world when I should just shut up and be happy about what I have. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe it’s acceptable to ignore atrocities just because my life is filled with good things. I could imagine this song being the welcoming number in a musical staged in one of those “everything is perfect on the outside but inside it’s the creepiest shit you’ve ever seen” towns that’s used to hypnotize the protagonist into not noticing the creepy shit

24. Estonia (1/10) I don’t honestly dislike this song, but it does bore me. He’s a mediocre singer with a mediocre song. Also I can’t get past the fact that he rhymes “this” with “this”. It distracts me and ruins the whole thing.

23. Czech Republic (2/10) I really didn’t like this one at first. It was irritating and the lyrics were weird. However, I surprisingly enjoyed the live performance. The lead singer has some charisma on stage. Good for him.

22. San Marino (3/10) No idea how he got to the final (I know it’s bc he’s a meme, but still), but I don’t hate the song. I don’t think it should win, but honestly, I think it’s fun. His voice is ridiculous, but I can stand it for three minutes.

21. UK (4/10) I definitely feel like this is the kind of generic song I’ve heard many times before, but he does a good job with it, and ultimately it’s alright. His hair makes me think of Finn Shelby from Peaky Blinders, but that’s neither here nor there.

20. North Macedonia (4/10) Honestly, I feel like I should like this song more than I do. She has a good voice, and the song has a good message. Unfortunately, it’s just never clicked with me, and I often find myself tuning out while listening to it.

19. Israel (5/10) I like his voice. He sells the emotion. Not a gripping song, by any means, but not bad. Some of the rhymes feel a little forced, like the lyrics were written specifically so that they would rhyme, rather than because they have meaning.

18. Germany (5/10) This one gets stuck in my head sometimes, but I’m okay with that. Tbh, I quite like it. Plus, the whole “sisters (but I’d say girls in general) are taught to tear each other down but need to build each other up instead” theme is one I wholeheartedly support. I spent too many years hating everything associated with girls because society told me to.

17. Malta (5/10) I go back and forth on this one a lot. Parts of it I like, parts of it I don’t. It feels a bit different to me, but not like, in a revolutionary way. The singer is strong, and it definitely gets the award for most colorful performance, literally!

16. Serbia (5/10) I feel like I’ve heard this entry before, too, but specifically at Eurovision. Still, she does a good job with it, and I like her armor-inspired jewelry. Plus, it’s not in English!

15. Belarus (5/10) Another one I go back and forth on. I find this is very good study music - energetic and repetitive enough not to be distracting. I don’t love it (I’m even hesitant to say I like it lmao), but people really ought to stop hating on her so much. She’s sixteen. Let her have her fun.

14. Albania (6/10) I really liked Albania’s entry this year tbh. I didn’t feel she sang as strong in the semi-final as she did in the music video, but otherwise I thought it was a very powerful song. The staging was pretty cool, too!

13. Azerbaijan (6/10) I loved everything about this except the refrain. The “shut up about it” bit starts to get on my nerves by about the second refrain. But the verses sounded cool and the staging was awesome!

12. Sweden (6/10) Not the most exciting song in the world, but he sounds good, the ladies sound great, and there’s nothing I dislike about the song or staging.

11. Cyprus (6/10) Not as good as the music video, sadly, but still catchy and fun. I didn’t really like it the first time I heard it, but it’s grown on me since. I felt bad for her being put on the spot with that one “are you mad about Cyprus losing last year” question.

10. Greece (6/10) Definitely grew on me. I tuned out of it the first time I heard it. Prior to the semi finals I thought it was alright. But she really gave us the lesbian dream, huh? Ladies with neat clothes and swords, plus a garden? What more can you ask for lmao

9. France (7/10) Feels kinda standard to me, but not in the worst way possible. Sometimes I get really into it, other times it’s just a nice song. I’ve been liking it a little bit more each time I hear it, though.

8. Netherlands (7/10) The favorite to win, and I’d be okay if it did. Not my favorite this year, but a solidly good song. I have to be in the right mood to want to listen to it, but when I am? Fucking amazing. Also, considering he never left the piano (and didn’t light it on fire), he gave a pretty good performance.

7. Spain (8/10) This song is so much fun, and it’s definitely going to end the competition on a high note. I’m also really curious to see the full version to know more about the life-size dollhouse and animatronic thing they’ve got going

6. Switzerland (8/10) I loved the music video more than the live performance, but regardless I thought this song was also really fun and, idk, snazzy? Love dancing to it while I fold laundry.

5. Australia (9/10) Australia’s staging was everything! I had them in the upper middle rankings until the semi-final, but honestly that looked cool as all fuck!! Her song is weird, but in a way that I can dig. Plus seeing her soar around like Glinda in space with two fellow witches is one of the highlights of Eurovision this year

4. Russia (10/10) Sergey is back and just like in 2016, I absolutely love him and his performance. I’ll admit, the shower thing was a bit weird, but the song sounded great live! Plus, he had a leg-up for me by going with fairy tale imagery in the music video.

3. Norway (10/10) Initially, I only liked the joiking. The other two singers have grown on me, though. This song is fun, the staging is cool, the singers are great, and then it gets quiet and the joik part comes in, and it’s so fucking cool!! Love it, love it, love it!

2. Italy (10/10) My favorite for a long time, only bumped out because I made the fortuitous mistake of watching Iceland’s interviews. I love the song. I love the message. The thing that impressed me most, though, was that this song is about something that isn’t even remotely close to anything that’s happened in my life. I do not relate to it at all. But despite having no personal connection to the topic, I could feel the emotion in it. For a brief three minutes, I could feel something that isn’t my reality but is the reality of many other people. And an artist who can do that is powerful indeed.

1. Iceland (10/10) If you couldn’t tell from the everything about my blog, I have firmly joined the camp of Hatari stans. It may surprise you, but I didn’t really like this song the first time I heard it. Then, I found out the meaning behind it and gave it another chance. Lo and behold, I liked it! It rose in my rankings from lower-middle to the number one spot between listening to it multiple times and watching all the Hatari content I could get my hands on. I totally understand the music being too far for some people, but as a metalhead during the not-Eurovision parts of the year, Hatari isn’t too far of a leap for me. I love the song. I love the staging. I love the costumes. I love the message. I love the band. I love how they interact with each other and everyone else. I love the bits on Iceland Music News. I love their trolling and sarcasm in the interviews. I love the anti-capitalism. I love their websites (seriously, check them out. they put a lot of effort into them). I love the way they approach issues that are important to them. I love the fact that they aren’t afraid of the tough subjects. I especially love that they aren’t trying to walk the popularity line (you see it all the time - for example, queerbaiting, where a tv show wants to appeal to all sides of an issue, so they make characters nearly lgbtqia+ but then throw in enough straightness to please conservatives). Hatari picks their side in each issue instead of trying to cater to everyone, and I respect that a lot. My reactions and emotions aren’t usually prominent or even necessarily visible, but there’s a chance I might actually cheer if they win.

Finally, the honorable mentions, aka countries that didn’t make it to the final but that I would’ve loved to see:

Hungary (in my original top 10) - loved him last time, loved him this time. Beautiful song, beautiful voice, beautiful staging

Georgia - my hopes weren’t high but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it. There’s nothing quite like a good dramatic song, and this was as dramatic as they come

Portugal/Poland - the two most people were really miffed about in the first semi-final; I think they’d’ve been alright in the semi-final, but both depend entirely on my mood. sometimes I love, sometimes I hate

Croatia - the song was ‘meh’, the singer was fantastic, and the staging was Eurovision in all the right ways

Armenia - one of my early favorites. could’ve used some other people on stage, but otherwise I thought she did wonderfully

Romania - what can I say that hasn’t been said already? she brought everything! that was an experience and an amazing one at that. so disappointed she didn’t make it

and of course,

Ukraine - catchy, badass, wacky, and wlw? sign me the fuck up. So sad to hear what happened to her. I know people are saying this is why politics should be kept out of music, but that’s ridiculous. The real issue is when the issue/message isn’t coming from the artist. It should always be up to the artist’s discretion what they do or do not promote. Propaganda and censorship go hand in hand, which is why I am so bothered by the blanket statements I hear thrown around about Ukraine’s fiasco this year

And that’s all! I think I’ll be happy with anyone scoring a 7 or higher for me winning on Saturday. I wouldn’t be upset about a 6 winning either, I suppose.

Anyways, off to bed so I can make my snacks tomorrow lmao!

[ttakemethere]

100 day update.

               I never planned to go to Australia. Of course, at some point I decided that I would come to live here and had to start working towards it. But to be honest, I can’t remember a distinct moment when I thought to myself “Yeah, I definitely want to go to Australia”. I grew up obsessed with Steve Irwin, who fostered my love for animals, and all things that seemed to push the border of normal. Maybe it was something that had been manifesting in me since childhood. Whatever the reason was, I left home knowing next to nothing about the country I was headed to. I knew the names and locations of a few capital cities, and that it was home to some of the world’s most deadly animals, but that was it. Suddenly one day I found myself at the airport saying goodbye to my parents with my backpack, and that was it. I was on a plane, and I had no idea where I was going or what I was getting myself into. I was absolutely terrified, but I couldn’t wait.

Maui was incredible. It was a dream holiday, and exactly what I needed after 70 hour/ 6 day work weeks. Yoga in the mornings, beach hopping, sunbathing, day drinking, jungle trekking, waterfall climbing, snorkeling with sea turtles, and partying the night away with new friends from around the world; it was the perfect “welcome back” to the backpacker hostel lifestyle I had missed. Breathtaking landscapes, friendly hostel mates, delicious food, long days, late nights, and the slow-paced island lifestyle was the cocktail I needed to kick off my working holiday. It was one of those destinations that make you want to freeze time and stay forever. Eventually though I woke me up from my island dream after managing to lose my wallet (the day before moving overseas!? No worries!).I spent most of my last day on Maui on the phone waiting on hold with my bank, eventually my roommate managed to coerce me into an afternoon beach hopping break to relieve me from the stress. I laid on the shore of Makena beach while I reminded myself of Bob Marley (and my Dad’s) words “Every little thing is gonna be alright…”

               Sleeping in airport terminals isn’t the most glamorous part of traveling, nor is it my favorite, but it’s something that I’m no longer a stranger to. I had an overnight layover in Honolulu, where the airport welcomes stranded travelers with a designated area to sleep in. While the benches didn’t make the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on, I was able to catch a few hours of good rest. In the morning I woke to a beautiful sunrise bidding me a final goodbye from the states, and after the longest walk of my entire life to the other side of the world in the terminal, and a goodbye call to home I boarded my plane. A window seat in econcomy on a budget airline promised me that a year of adventure laid just a sore neck and a close of my eyes ahead.        

The day I arrived in Sydney I felt pretty overwhelmed. I had just moved to the other side of the world, and since I’d lost my wallet, I only had the bit of cash I had brought with me. I was feeling pretty grateful for an exchange rate that worked in my favor, a hostel kitchen with 8 (eight!!!!) stoves, and a clean bed to relax in after the journey over. My first priority was to get my money sorted; it didn’t take long for the Sydney sticker shock to set in and I knew I needed to work it out. I was up with the sun my first morning to head to the bank where I learned two things: 1. It gets cold in Sydney (who knew that Australia actually has a winter too?!) 2: It would be over a week before I could get access to my money Deep breaths, everything is going be alright. Stressing out about it wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I’ve got this; I’ve done the whole hungry budget backpacker thing before. No worries.

               In the midst of work/life chaos before leaving home, I had decided to book my first week in Sydney with a tour company. This was my first time doing organized travel and although it lacked a little freedom, I was glad that I had decided on it. They had set up my accommodation for the week and a few meals, so I didn’t have to worry about spending too much until I could get my card. I was grouped with some lovely and hilarious English and Canadians who were also starting out on their working holiday visas. It was comforting to be around people who were in the same boat as me, but it also was a bit strange to be at the mercy of whatever was planned for us. 6 days and 5 nights in Sydney and Port  Stephens: complete of course with the obligatory city walking tour and pub crawls. It was an interesting change of pace from the travel that I’m used to. No planning on my part, just “Show up here at this time and we’ll take care of everything for you”. A harbor cruise and boat barbecue, an evening exploring the dazzling VIVID Sydney displays, yoga with kangaroos at an eco-hostel, a hike through Tomaree National Park, boarding through sand dunes, restaurants with food that looks like it came straight out of one of those trendy facebook videos, drinking games, nights out dancing, and a sales pitch just every now and then to gently remind you that your tour leader was getting paid to hang out with you. While it was fun to have my days filled with things that I probably wouldn’t have done on my own, I was desperate for a little independence which I was able to find at a couchsurfing meet-up.

I fell in love with couchsurfing while I was in Ireland a year ago. I was in Dublin, my first big city on my solo Europe trip and I joined a meet up for a hike on the coast of Howth, a fishing village an hour bus ride outside of the city. After our walk through the cold wind and rain, we took refuge at a jazz and blues festival pub crawl. Hours went by chatting to each other and listening to music before heading back into the city together. I had never met so many people from so many different places, and being new to traveling it blew my mind to feel so welcomed by everyone; I knew that I would definitely be doing it again. Shortly after I had gotten home from Europe I started attending meet up every week in Phoenix. I haven’t surfed yet, but I definitely plan to soon. When I got to the bar in Sydney, I was greeted by friendly faces, and after watching fireworks over Darling Harbor, I was invited to head to someone’s flat for pre-drinks followed by a Friday night out. I didn’t need much convincing, but the promise of free drinks and new friends made any hesitations I might have had disappear.

               After a week in Sydney, I was ready to move on. My bank was going to forward my card to me, so all that was left to do was set up my phone plan, book my flight, and then I was ready to head out on the next chapter of my journey. After a bus ride, a flight, another flight, a bus, a few hours of sleep, and another bus, I arrived at my new home away from home. The Northern Territory: home of crocodiles, and barra fishing; where winter is a sunny 40 degrees Celsius, and men brag about the size of their fish. I would be spending the next 88 days working remotely in Kakadu National Park. Remote work is required by Australian Immigration to extend your Working Holiday visa from 1 year to 2 years. Where and what you can do depends on which visa you are on. But for me, this meant administration work at a hotel.

               My bus left from Darwin at 6:30 in the morning, and after a 3.5 hour ride through the middle of nowhere, the bus pulled over and it was my turn to get out. It felt like a scene from a movie, getting off the bus with my backpack, walking through the doors of this little green hotel in the desert. Things moved pretty quickly as soon as I arrived and I started work the next day. It took a few days to get situated, but everyone I worked with were backpackers, so it didn’t feel too unfamiliar. What did take some getting used to was the isolation.

               Kakadu National Park is more than half the size of Switzerland, and with a population totaling just 1130 people, it’s easy to feel small in such a big space. The hotel is a half hour drive from Jabiru, the only town in the park, which boasts a shopping center featuring a small grocery market, library, bank, police station, hairdresser, and an Olympic sized swimming pool (to which I regularly wonder how on earth they managed that). It’s pretty much impossible to get anywhere around the park if you don’t have a car without hitchhiking, however I managed to make it away from the hotel quite a few times in my first month. My first trip was to Yellow Water Billabong. We spent the afternoon on a river cruise learning about some the Aborignal history in the park and the unique wildlife, bird watching, looking for buffaloes, and of course, spotting crocs. A few days later we were off to Ubirr, the largest rock art site in Australia. On our way, we stopped at Cahills Crossing, the border to Arnhem land, where the aboriginal community live. At high tide when the river flows over the crossing, you can be eaten alive by mosquitoes while watch crocodiles at the edge of the water, waiting for fish to be pushed into their mouths. After finishing the climb to the top of Ubirr, you are welcomed by a 360 degree view of the park. Being there felt like I had been taken back to the Jurassic age. Looking out across the wetlands, I half expected to see a dinosaur, or lions and elephants walk across the plains. During this time of year, Wurrgeng season, the locals burn the land to prevent bush fires and help restore nutrients to the soil. The smoke from the controlled burns turns the sky beautiful colors, and the sun a deep glowing red. It’s a picture that each time I’ve visited reminds me of the opening scene from The Lion King.

               Remote living is a unique experience. You work, sleep, eat, live, and play all in the same place with the same people. Imagine laying out in your backyard at the pool with a book on your afternoon off, then your manager walks through your back gate to let you know that the schedule has changed and now you need to be back in the office to close in half an hour. It’s your day off and you’re having a late breakfast in your kitchen in your pajamas, and in they come to tell you all of the things they would like you to do tomorrow. Work-life balance does not exist, they are one and the same. This made the work become frustrating quickly, and management challenging to deal with to say the least. As staff you quickly learn to rely on each other: celebrating small victories together, acting as an outlet for frustration, and taking a little extra time and effort to do things as a group. I found the answers to “what will I do tonight?” were different than they had ever been. Taking dinner out to the grass for a picnic instead of eating in the kitchen, grabbing a beer and going for a walk to the billabong at the back of the hotel, being workout buddies at the gym, drinking until late (which now meant 10pm) doing puzzles, playing and billiards in the rec room, or playing cards sprawled across the floor of your hotel room.

               Of course my favorite days were my days off. While there were certainly hardships to living in the middle of nowhere without my own mode of transportation, it was the first chance I’d had in a long time to learn how to live life slowly. I no longer had to wake up early on my day off to make it to Bikram Yoga, or run to the grocery store and spend hours cooking in the kitchen (although I do miss those things dearly now). I could be lazy ,and not feel bad about it! I could sleep until my body decided it was time to get up, head to the gym when I felt like it, float in the pool for hours, listen to a podcast during a walk through the forest, read a book in my hammock, practice yoga at the gym, and still have hours left in the day to burn (my hula hoop, of course). And on the days when I felt like I had cabin fever coming on, I had the entirety of the park at my doorstep. A spur of the moment decision and catching the boss in a good mood meant you could ask for the keys to the company car. Maybe having an early afternoon off meant going for a drive to the Mamukala Billabong for some birdwatching, over to Burrunkguy to admire more  rock art, and then to Nawurlandja to watch the sunset. On one of my lucky days I had the day off with someone with a car and we took the 3 hour drive through the park to Gunlom Falls. A 25 minute hike up a steep cliff led us to breathtaking views at the top of the waterfall (and with crocodiles being one of the most populous residents of Kakadu) meant one of the rare chances to swim in the infinity pools. One day after catching a late bus and being temporarily stranded, I even worked up the courage to try hitchhiking. It was a rough go at first, but after half a bottle of sunscreen I got picked up by a fisherman that took me to the South Alligator river. We cast a line out together and watched crocodiles swim by before taking me back to the hotel.

As backpackers, this was only our temporary home, and we all had another adventure planned when our 88 days came to an end. The nights before we said good bye were always my favorite: both fun and bittersweet. The bonds that formed over such close quarters always hurt a bit to sever, but it was impossible not to be excited for them to continue on their own journey.

               One of the biggest things I have learned from traveling is to let go of my expectations. I didn’t really know what it would be like or what would happen living here, but I can say easily that most of this had never crossed my mind.  The past 100 days have been a roller coaster ride of emotions and adventure, and as I enter my last week at Aurora Kakadu, I can’t contain my excitement for the future. I’m so grateful to all the people I have met along the way. What an incredible opportunity, to live in such a uniquely beautiful place (I mean come on, how many people can say that they’ve lived in a National Park that’s a dual listed UNESCO World Heritage site?!). It’s offered a unique glimpse into Aboriginal culture, and it has been a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. I’m looking forward to getting back on that bus in a few days and taking all the lessons that I’ve learned with me on my way. In 8 days I will be on a plane on my way to Queensland (home to the zoo of my childhood hero) to explore The Daintree Rainforest, and The Great Barrier Reef.

100 days down since leaving home, 269 days left in Australia, and then…. We’ll see.

[anxiously-unsatisfied-world]

Switznia - Failed Mission (Switzerland x Estonia)

Summary:

Liechtenstein and Latvia have a plan to get Switzerland and Estonia together. However, not everything goes according to plan...

This is dedicated to Switzerland’s birthday! :D Hope you enjoy!

“Is he coming?” Liechtenstein queries, looking around to make sure that her older brother can’t hear her.

“Jā, he is. Do you really think this will work?” Latvia replies, sounding a bit unsure.

“Of course! I know my bruder. He definitely likes him.”

“Alright. We’ll be over soon. The party starts at three, correct?”

“Ja, it does! See you soon, Rai.~” She murmurs, hearing footsteps round the corner. Latvia responds quietly before she hangs up the phone, looking up when the sound stops.

“Hallo, bruder! Are you ready for your party?” Liechtenstein tilts her head, giving him a hopeful smile.

Switzerland nods, a small smile on his face, “I am. You said it’d be small, right?”

“Of course! Just a few close friends and family!” The smaller girl announces, beaming at her older brother.

Switzerland hums in response, pleased with her answer. “Good. Do you want any help setting anyzing up?”

Liechtenstein quickly shakes her head, “Nein. It’s your birthday. You shouldn’t have to do anyzing! Besides, I know a few vill come early, zhey can help me!”

The Swiss nation hums uncertainly, “If you’re sure. I’ll be out in the garden, come get me vhen it starts?”

“Of course, big bruder! Have fun~!” Liech calls out, watching as Switzerland leaves the room.

She lets out a soft sigh, “Let’s hope zhis vill vork.” She mumbles, a look of determination flashing across her face as she skips to the living room to start setting everything up.

By the time the first of the guests arrive, the room is mostly prepared, just a few minor things left to be added. The girl enlists the help of the other Germanic nations to get it to look just right.

The Baltics arrive when everything is finished and Liechtenstein giggles, going over to Latvia and hugging him gently. She then goes to fetch her older brother, excited at the idea of everything going smoothly.

“Big brother, everyzing is ready!” She announces, sticking her head out the door.

“Alright, be zhere in a moment.” Is her response and she grins, skipping back over to Latvia.

It isn’t until everyone has split into small groups that Liechtenstein knows her plan is about to begin. While planning, she told Latvia to make sure that Estonia knew to be the first to give Switzerland his present.

The boy had clearly done his job, proven by Estonia walking over and sitting by the blond, passing over a beautifully wrapped box.

Liechtenstein and Latvia watch as Switzerland opens the box, pulling out a scarf and a charm bracelet. A soft smile spreads over the Swiss nation’s face, him turning to Estonia and pulling the nation into a soft hug.

Right before pulling away completely, Switzerland presses his lips gently to the Baltic’s cheek, causing a light dusting of red to appear on his face. The two smile at each other and start talking to each other quietly.

Meanwhile, Liechtenstein grins, bouncing on her toes and gripping Latvia’s arm tightly. “Did you see that?! It worked!!” She giggles softly as she watches her brother converse with the other nation.

“It did. Want to go congratulate them?” Latvia asks softly, Liechtenstein nodding rapidly.

The two make their way over to the couple, Liechtenstein sitting beside her brother with Latvia sitting beside her.

“Such lovely presents~.” The girl says softly, looking at the scarf and realizing that it’s handmade. “Did you make zhis yourself, Eduard?”

Estonia nods, a pleased look on his face, “I did.”

Liechtenstein grins and looks curiously at the charm bracelet on her brother’s wrist, Switzerland shifting his arm to allow her better access.

“Ooh, zhis is pretty! What do the charms mean?” She asks, slightly confused by them.

“Well, the gun is self-explanatory, I’d assume.” Liech nods and Estonia continues, “The book is because I always seem to find Vash reading whenever I come over. The flute because it’s Vash’s favorite instrument, as well as the one I can play best.”

“And zhe heart?” Liech asks when he seems lost in memories.

“Oh, yes. Well, what other charm would make more sense on a bracelet you give your boyfriend?” Estonia asks softly, Liech’s eyes going wide.

Switzerland smiles softly at her, “I’m surprised you never figured it out, Lilli. Vee’ve been dating for a vhile now.”

“Neither of us wanted to make a big deal about it.” Estonia adds, getting a nod from the Swiss man.

“Oh, well, congratulations, big bruder!” Liechtenstein says, still a bit thrown by the new information. “I guess we’ll leave you two alone for now~”

Her hand finds Latvia’s, both of them raising to their feet and walking away. They sit on a couch near the edge of the room, looking at each other, their shock still visible in their eyes.

“Well, that was unexpected.” Latvia mumbles after a few moments of silence, Liech nodding numbly.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m happy! Zhey’re perfect togezher! But still, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize zhe fact zhat zhey’re dating!”

Latvia lightly places his hand over Liech’s, giving her a soft smile, “Well, you always pay attention to me more than them whenever we both come over. I bet if you paid them more attention you would have known sooner. But, still, you knew that they’d work well together.”

The girl nods, a light smile on her face, “True! Vant to dance vith me?”

“It’d be my pleasure.”

Switzerland smiles at the sight of his sister dancing with the smallest Baltic, turning to Estonia and squeezing his hand.

“What was that all about?” Estonia asks softly and Switzerland chuckles.

“Lilli and Raivis had been trying to get us togezher. But zheir plan backfired a bit…” Estonia chuckles and nods.

“True. At least you know she approves.”

“Right. And you have to admit, her shock vas a bit funny.” Estonia nods, the conversation switching to another topic.

Thanks for reading!

Also, would anyone be willing to read a multi-chaptered Switznia fic? (I want to expand on this pairing a bit :D)

[hannahberrie]

Something That Finds You: Chapter 9

Fandom: Zootopia Pairing: Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps Rating: T WC: 3418 Summary: "Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you."

In a time of tension in the land of Zootopia, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are arranged to be married as a symbol of peace and unity. The only problem? They can't stand each other (the 8 year age gap doesn't help either). A story following Nick and Judy growing up together, through all the good and bad.

[A/N]: While writing this chapter, I was heavily inspired by the song "Hunnie Pie," by Zella Day. It's so fluffy and romantic, if you're interested you guys should totally check it out!

Chapter Selection: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]-9-[10][11][12] [AO3]

Judy was tucked away in the shade of an apple tree, the same apple tree she’d practically grown up under. Her lessons were over for the day and she’d wanted to find a nice spot to read; this seemed like the perfect place. When she’d first approached it, she couldn’t help but remember that this was the same tree Nick had kissed that vixen under when he was 16, then immediately hated herself for remembering that, let alone caring at all.

The heat had died down some over the past week, but it was still hot enough that Judy had ‘accidentally’ forgotten to wear her stockings today. As long as she didn’t trip over anything in front of her mother, there wouldn’t be a problem.

She was flipping through her book on European geography when Nick approached her. Unsurprisingly, he was lacking a proper suit jacket, per the norm. His fur was ruffled and his shirt was unkempt like he’d just exerted himself somehow. Not that Judy cared what he’d been up to because she didn’t. She’d made a point of avoiding him ever since the river incident — her emotions were still too rattled from the whole thing.

Apparently, Judy not making eye contact with him or even acknowledging his presence wasn’t enough to deter the fox, as he still started a conversation with her anyways.

“Whatcha readin’?” He asked casually, leaning up to pick an apple from a low-hanging branch.

Judy’s fur bristled at the sound of his voice. It should have been illegal to have a voice like his — all confident and smooth and sly all at the same time. It wasn’t fair. “A book.”

“‘A book,’ she says,” Nick snorted. She heard him toss the apple in the air once before taking a bite. “What book?”

“A book book.”

“Book book? I don’t think I’ve heard of that one.”  

Judy quickly felt herself growing exasperated. “What do you want, Nick?”

The fox took another bite of his apple, continuing to speak with his muzzle full. “I’m trying to be nice here, bunny wifey.”

Judy’s eyes nearly bored a hole through her book, that’s how hard she was trying to make a point of not looking at him, ignoring him. “Don’t call me that. We’re not married yet.”

“So, can I call you that when we get married?”

“No!”

“Then when?”

“Never!”

“But you said —”

“I say shut your muzzle and let me read!”

Nick listened to her for once. It was shocking. He gave a defeated huff and shrugged, plopping down on the grass beside her — all in complete silence.

However, Judy quickly found that Nick not talking didn’t make it any easier to read. Ever since their time at the river, she’d started to feel this…physical reaction whenever he was around. Her cheeks would warm, her fur would bristle, and her arms and legs would tingle. She suddenly felt so nervous and self-conscious around him, though for the life of her she didn’t know why.

Even right now, it was the same dilemma; having Nick sit only inches away from her made her heart pound and her cheeks flush. She found herself reading and rereading the same sentences over and over again, never actually absorbing any of the information.

“Can you sit somewhere else?” She finally asked, looking up at the fox beside her. That was a mistake. He made eye contact with her and suddenly her legs felt like jelly. Stupid legs. Stupid fox.

“But I like it here,” He declared, gesturing up to the tree, “It’s got shade and free food.”

“Then go to the kitchen.”

“There’s always 10 million bunnies in the kitchen. Besides, I’m pretty sure that every time I go in alone they send a guard after me. Ya’ know, after the whole carrot cake incident.”

Judy frowned. “What incident?”

“Ah, c’mon, Fluff! Tell me you haven’t forgotten!” Nick smiled, “I think I was 11, maybe 12. You were 4, and you got me to sneak into the kitchen with you after dinner. Your family had this huge carrot cake they were saving for dessert, and you—”

“Dug my paws right in,” Judy finished for him, smiling softly at the memory. “I remember now!” She started to laugh before covering her mouth with a paw, ashamed. “You got in so much trouble though! All because of me!”  

Nick shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad. Besides, we were just kids. Really dumb kids.”

Judy snorted. “Clearly! I don’t know what I was thinking!” She reminisced on the moment, and with every passing second, the memory became funnier and funnier to her. “I still remember how you had frosting smeared all over your muzzle!” She giggled, glancing over at Nick. “You looked ridiculous!”

“Like you looked any better, Frosting-Paws,” Nick teased, nudging her slightly.  

Judy felt herself blush, though she was desperately trying to maintain an indifferent frown. “Well,…that was a long time ago. We’re different now.”

Nick eyed her as she returned her focus to her book. “Yeah…I guess we are. Even though we still fight like cats and dogs.”

“That saying isn’t even accurate,” Judy mused, trying to find where she’d left off in her reading, “Cats and dogs don’t even fight that much. I knew a cat and dog from school that were best friends.”

“So, I guess we fight like foxes and bunnies,” Nick corrected.

Judy laughed softly. “I guess so.”

Nick finished off his apple and tossed the core aside. “So, how’s your ‘book book’ coming along?” He asked, leaning his muzzle over her shoulder.

“Do you mind?” Judy bristled, holding the book closer to her and pulling back slightly. She tried to sound angry, but her indignation was ruined with the hint of another laugh. “I’m trying to read.”

“Lacus de Lausanne, otherwise known as Lac Léman, is one of Switzerland’s most prestigious bodies of water,” Nick read over her shoulder.

“Stop!” Judy exclaimed, slamming her book shut. “You’re so nosy!”

“At least I’m interesting.”

“I’m interesting!”

Nick gave her a look. “You’re literally reading a book about water.”

“Lakes are interesting.”

“But their books are boring.”

“They’re not boring!”

“Sorry, how about dull? Uninteresting? A complete snoozefest?”

“Well, if I’m boring, you’re…exasperating,” Judy huffed, giving him the best glare she could muster. “You’re lucky we’re betrothed because I don’t see how any girl could put up with you!”

“Harsh words from such a small bunny,” Nick replied dryly. “I was just speaking from the perspective of someone who’s actually seen a lake. I can understand why it must be hard for you since most of you bunnies spend life underground.”

“Hilarious. Real charming, Nicholas. At least I don’t look like I live underground — which most bunnies don’t even do anymore. You look like a mess!”

“A mess?”  

“Your fur is all scruffy, your pants are nearly worn through, and I’m pretty sure that’s mud on your paws!”

Nick glanced down at himself. “Huh. So I am. I guess that’s just a price to pay for adventuring.”

Judy didn’t look impressed and didn’t reply.

“‘Gosh, Nick, what adventures?’” Nick said in a high-pitched voice that was apparently supposed to resemble Judy’s. God, he was so dumb.

“I think you’ve talked enough about your time away,” Judy said, unable to stop the slight edge of resentment from sneaking into her tone. “Considering you’ll talk about your adventures to anyone who will stand there long enough.”

“Okay, yup — you are definitely jealous.”

“What!? I’m not—”

“And besides,” Nick continued, ignoring her angry, sputtering protests. “This adventure is one that I had right here in Bunnyburrow.”

Judy paused. “What?”

“Yup,” Nick nodded. He pulled away from her and stood up, slipping his paws into his pockets. “But like you said, I’ve talked enough about that. I guess I should just keep it to myself.”

Judy hesitated. “Well…maybe I’d be interested, just this one time.”

“Gosh, I dunno, Carrots,” Nick said casually, stroking his muzzle as if he was in deep thought. “I don’t think you like it. It’s a bit too exciting for a cute little bunny like yourself.”

Judy’s eyes narrowed.

“Try me.”

“Are we almost there?” Judy asked. They’d been walking through the woods for what felt like forever now, and Judy was starting to doubt Nick’s intentions.

“Almost,” Nick called back, walking several paces ahead of her.

“If this is some wild goose chase—”

“I promise ya’ Fluff, it’s not.”

She knew they were getting higher up, as her legs were sore from walking up so many steep inclines. If she was still practicing her constable exercises, she was sure she would have aced this. But no, as of late, most of her days were spent sitting around.

Judy still didn’t know where they were going. For a brief moment, she had a flash of fear. What if Nick was crazy? Like, crazy crazy? What if he was leading her into some sort of twisted trap? Some sort of plot to get rid of her, so they wouldn’t have to marry? Did anyone know where they were right now? There was a chance she might never be heard from again!

But then Judy remembered that this was Nick, the same Nick who’d had a contest with her brothers last night to see who could fit the most chocolate truffles in their mouths before gagging (Nick had won, of course).

The bunny shook her head at the recollection. It hadn’t been a pretty sight, and it reminded her of who Nick was. A big, dumb, dork, for starters. He definitely wasn’t a criminal mastermind. At least not one malicious enough to ever do harm to her.

“Alright, Cottontail, you ready for this?” Nick asked, stopping before a small clearing.

“I think I can handle a few more trees,” Judy answered, giving him a perturbed look.

“Do you really think I’d bring you all the way up her for a couple pinecones?”

“You’d think it was funny.”

“True, but this isn’t one of those times, Rabbit. Now get over here.”

Judy sighed as she walked up to him, coming to a stop when they were face-to-face. She cocked her head back to look at him. Her legs felt like jelly again, standing right in front of him, but she blamed it on how sore she was from hiking. “Alright fox, what did you want to show me?”

Nick stepped back and allowed Judy to enter into the clearing. And when she did, well, the bunny found she was at a lost for words.

They were at the top of a large hill, or cliff really, as there was a large drop in the clearing ahead. Vibrant wildflowers and tall grasses swayed in the gentle breeze, but that wasn’t what caught Judy’s eye.

In the center of the clearing was a large waterfall flowing off of the edge of the cliff, and it had completely captivated Judy. The waters weren’t terribly rough or treacherous, but instead were sparkling and bubbling in the afternoon sunlight. It tumbled off into the abyss, where there were no trees, only endless blue sky. They were so high up that she could see the valleys and hills of Bunnyburrow stretched out for miles, sprawled out like a warm green and golden quilt.

“Nick, this is amazing!” Judy beamed, gazing at her surroundings in awe.

“I’m surprised you didn’t know this was up here,” Nick commented, walking over to stand beside her. “You’ve lived here the longest.”

“Yes, but it’s not like I was exactly allowed to wander through the woods alone,” Judy reminded him. “I’d always seen it from a distance, but I never imagined it’d be anything like this…how’d you find it?”

“I got bored,” Nick said simply, like he always discovered stunning landmarks in his free time. “Thought it might interest you.”

“I love it!” Judy gushed, rushing forward to run her paws through the bubbling water. She almost made a joke that they only seemed to get along when water was involved, but then that would require admitting that they were getting along and that she didn’t completely despise him, which she still wasn’t ready for.

“You wanna go in?” Nick asked.

Judy eyed him. “Only if you keep your clothes on this time.”

Nick held up a paw. “I promise.”

And so, for the second time in the past 2 weeks, Judy found herself having fun with Nick. In a stream, no less. The water wasn’t as deep here, only up to Judy’s ankles, and the two had to make sure to avoid the edge, but it was still absurdly entertaining. They looked for landmarks below, like the Hopps’ Manor, which looked like a small brown blob from up here. They fished for rocks in the stream — Judy found a few beautiful ones that were almost violet in color. By the time the were finished, the bottom of Judy’s skirt was thoroughly soaked and muddied. Nick’s trousers didn’t look much better.

The two took a break to catch their breath, both feeling drained from their hike up here and their mischiefs in the stream. The two sat side-by-side in the grass near the edge of the clearing, listening to the birds singing and enjoying the picturesque view. They were silent for a few moments before Nick turned to her.

“So, do you have like a water fetish or something?”

Judy balked at him. “Excuse me?”

“Well, the only time you seem to tolerate me is when we’re in a stream. And you were obsessing over your lake book earlier. I’m starting to see a disturbing trend here, Fluff.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Judy huffed. “That book wasn’t even a lake book. It had stuff about mountains and deserts and forests and caves.”

“Okay, so a nature fetish.”

Judy elbowed him. “Who said that I even like you?”

Nick whistled. “You, apparently. I just said that you were tolerating me right now. I didn’t say anything about you liking me.”

Judy felt her cheeks grow hot. “Well…I’m barely tolerating you,” she blustered quickly. “So…you’re not even right about that.”

Nick just gave her a skeptical look. “Whatever ya’ say, Carrots.”

Judy avoided his gaze, turning her attention back to the view before them. “We’re so high up!” She observed, still in awe of the whole place. “If my mom knew we were up here, she would kill me! Especially if she saw my dress; I’m pretty sure it’s permanently ruined now.”

Nick eyed her mud-caked skirt and shrugged. “My mom usually doesn’t care what I do, as long as I don’t ‘mouth-off.’”

“Hmm, so she must care a lot,” Judy said dryly, “Considering that’s all you do.”

“The bunny bites!” Nick chuckled. “What would your parents say?”

“What wouldn’t they?” Judy countered. “They always have something to say about what I’m doing.”

“Good point.”

Their conversation halted after that, though deep down Judy knew why. There was a single unanswered question left hanging in the air, stifling things between them. Judy had to admit she’d been curious about it ever since he’d returned, but she didn’t know if she should question it. She still didn’t. But, then again, it wouldn’t make much sense for her to never find out…

“Nick?” Judy asked cautiously, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Nick shrugged, picking at a few blades of grass.

“What happened to your father?”

Nick paused. “…No one told you?”

Judy flinched slightly, suddenly feeling extremely guilty. “I…I didn’t ask. I’m sorry.”

Nick just shook his head dismissively. For a moment, he was silent, and Judy couldn’t help but notice that this was the quietest she’d ever seen him. He wasn’t smirking, or fidgeting, or making his grand paw gestures. He just sat there, staring at the ground with eyes slightly unfocused and mouth in a tight line. “He passed,” Nick finally said, voice low and even. “3 years ago. He got some kind of infection in his lungs — the doctors couldn’t figure out what it was, and he just…he didn’t make it.”

Judy felt her heart drop right to her feet. Poor Nick! She couldn’t even begin to imagine what’d it be like to lose her mother or father. “I’m so sorry, Nick,” Judy said earnestly, placing a paw on his arm. “I really am. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for you!”

Nick eyed her paw on his arm before shifting away and clearing his throat. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not, but it’s been 3 years.”

Judy wanted to say something. Something to make him feel better, to reassure him — but the words were swallowed in her throat. Instead, she gave him a gentle, genuine smile, hoping that would let him know that for the first time in their strained relationship, she was holding no resentment or judgment towards him. She understood.

“So, how about that view, huh?” Nick remarked, abruptly changing the subject. “It’s really something.”

Judy frowned, confused by his sudden change in demeanor, but then quickly caught on. He didn’t want to go any deeper, not now, anyways. “Oh, uh, yeah! It’s really nice. Thanks for taking me up here.”

“Anytime, Fluff.”

“Really? Any time?”

“Yup.”

“So, if I was to wake you up at 3 in the morning, you would take me up here?”

“Oh yeah, totally.”

Judy snorted, unable to stop herself from giggling. “What if…there was blueberry pie for dessert? And there was only one slice left? Would you give it up to take me here?”

“Ouch!” Nick winced, clutching a paw over his heart. “The thought is killing me, Fluff! But, yes, yes I would.”

“How loyal of you.”

The two exchanged small smiles as the conversation died off after that, leaving them with nothing but the sound of rushing water and the wind swaying through the trees.

“We should probably head back,” Judy finally said.

“Probably.”

“But we won’t?”

“Nah.”

Judy smiled and shook her head. “You’re so dumb.”

“You know you love it, sweetheart,” Nick said offhandedly, suddenly searching around for something. “The lady doth protest too much.”

Judy laughed, half-impressed and half-indignant “Hamlet?”

“See? I know things,” Nick said, turning to wink over his shoulder at her.

“If only you could know things all the time,” Judy teased. “Because most of the time you’re a dumb fox.”

Nick didn’t reply, still searching the grass until he finally found what he’d apparently had his sights on. “Aha!”

Judy peered over at him. “What?”

Nick turned back to her, a small, wispy dandelion in his paw. “For you.”

Judy raised an eyebrow, giving him a doubting look. “A weed?”

“And you say I’m the dumb one,” Nick chided. He grabbed her paw and placed the dandelion in her grasp. “You’re supposed to make wishes on these.”

“Wishes? Like magic?”

“Yeah, like magic.”

Judy rolled her eyes slightly. “But magic isn’t…it’s silly.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t believe!” Nick gasped. Judy couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

“I believe in hard work and determination,” She replied, “Not sitting around and wishing for something to happen.”

“Humor me.”

“…Fine.”

Judy sighed but closed her eyes, picturing what she wanted to wish for. Her first instinct was to wish that she wouldn’t have to marry Nick, but that didn’t seem quite right. She thought about wishing that predators and prey would just get along, but that didn’t seem realistic. Then she was reminded that none of this was realistic to begin with, and that blowing on a weed wasn’t going to solve anything, so it didn’t really matter.

In all honesty, she felt as if she didn’t have much to wish for. Her life was already set in stone, so as she’d gotten older she had eventually stopped wishing things would be different. Even if she didn’t talk about it as much anymore, she would never forget the crushing feeling she’d experienced when her parents had shut down her dreams of being a constable.

Maybe that was the problem. She wanted to have something to hope for again, something to aspire to within the confines of her duties.

So, taking a deep breath, she gave a gentle blow to the dandelion, wishing to have something to wish for. It was redundant and kind of ironic, but Judy didn’t care. It made sense in her mind, and that was all that mattered.

She opened her eyes to watch the white wisps catch the breeze and float off, dancing midair as they rose towards the sun.

[unfltrdlfe]

We finally arrived in Thailand! Now, I LOVED seeing Vietnam and Cambodia , but, Thailand had been a long time desire so I was really excited to get here. First stop was Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. We arrived late at night 2 days before Songkran began… technically 3 but everyone began celebrating the day before anyway. I’ll get to that.

Accommodation: Jimmy and Jeng Homestay

Thoughts: I HIGHLY recommend this place!! The people who run it are absolutely amazing! They’re so welcoming, helpful, and speak perfect English. We had our own ensuite to our room, and it was so clean! We didn’t feel like there was any need to wear shoes in the shower (idk about you, but I always count that as a win as I just don’t trust the cleanliness of the shower floors in hostels). They were also extremely helpful when it came to planning excursions and could give discounted prices.

The location is fantastic as well! It’s a little out of the way, but, if you go out, turn right and walk straight for maybe 10 minutes, you’ll be right in the centre of town. It’s perfect! It was even better during Songkran because it was a good place to be able to stay out of the way of the festivities if you didn’t want to take part.

Additionally, they have water and sodas available, you just keep track of what you take from the fridge and pay at the end. They also offer breakfast and coffee in the morning. It’s a really great place!

Day 1

As earlier mentioned, we arrived fairly late, we checked in and walked into town to get some food, had a really lovely meal, walked around a small bit, then went home to sleep.

Day 2

Alright so, first full day! Over breakfast, we made some decisions: to book the elephant sanctuary tour for the following day, and to go to the zoo as both Lacey and I love the zoo! Say what you will about them, but I have a younger sister who has been obsessed with animals my entire life, and has always made us go to zoos in almost every city we’ve visited and I can honestly say I’ve only seen a small handful where I felt the animals were kept in closures too small or might be mistreated, and only one where I can definitely say I KNOW they were mistreated simply based on looking at the animals, and that was ironically in Zurich, Switzerland.

To get there, we took a shared tuk tuk, which are very common in Chiang Mai. They’re red, and have long benches, can hold around 12 people I believe. You can pick them up anywhere, you pay a flat rate, which is printed on the side (was slightly higher while we were there because of the holiday), and they’ll take you where you want to go. It’s a great way to get around!

Anyway, so we went to the zoo and spent all day walking around, and still didn’t see it all! This place was HUGE! It was fantastic! The animals looked healthy and their enclosures were big, I loved every minute of being there! Definitely recommend it if you have the chance. Once it came time for the zoo to close, I think we caught the last tuk tuk out and headed into the markets. As previously mentioned, in Southeast Asia, even if you’re not actually buying anything, the markets are definitely worth a look.

We eventually headed back, went out for dinner, and went to bed as we had an early morning the next morning for the elephant sanctuary!

Day 3

There are two elephant sanctuaries that are more encouraged for you to go to as they are the ones that don’t allow you to ride the elephants. People try to discourage the ones that allow you to ride them as the point of the sanctuaries is a safe place for the elephants so they won’t be mistreated or hunted….and riding them isn’t natural. So, we went to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary as we were able to book it last minute, the other one that is highly recommended is the Elephant Nature Park however, this one you have to book in advance, they were booked about 2 weeks out when we were there. If you travel like we do, Jungle Sanctuary is definitely your better bet.

We were picked up in the morning by someone who was going to take us to the sanctuary location, we were the first stop, we made 4 or 5 more along the way at other hotels. It was tuk tuk-esque. It was a pick up truck that had a cover and benches in the back, then the last 2 we picked up sat inside, up front with the driver. On our way out, Jimmy gave us plastic bags and told us to put our things in it as we’d be getting wet. We took the bags and said thank you, although we really didn’t understand why we’d be getting wet…we soon found out.

Along the way, we all chatted in the back of the truck, there was a couple from Miami, a couple from Canada, a couple from England and then me and Lacey….a couple of crazy people. Everyone seemed really cool and we all got along really well. There was a stop made along the way so we could use restrooms and buy water if needed or anything else, but also, our driver handed out plastic bags to everyone else to put their things in, and advised us all to do so at that time. Still unsure as to why this was necessary, we all followed his advice and protected our things. Shortly after doing this, as we were driving along, through a few smaller villages (this was an hour’s drive at least), we were assaulted with water flying into the back of the truck! Whoever got hit in the back screamed out of surprise and jumped out of their seats! All of our jaws were on the floor in shock, which quickly turned into fits of laughter as it proceeded to happen a few more times during our drive.

We finally arrived to our location with minimally damp clothing. We were driven down quite close then had to walk the rest of the way over to the shelter. As soon as we were down past the trees, we saw elephants! It was mind-blowing!!! We made our way to the shelter, and were given special shirts to put on while we fed the elephants. They gave a demonstration on the proper way to feed the elephants, then handed some of the food out to each of us and let us begin mingling with them! It was absolutely incredible! There was a baby who would stay nearby its mom most of the time but was really adorable and fun to pet…and when I say baby, it was almost up to my shoulder in height! The elephants are extremely comfortable around people and are really friendly, however, they are obviously massive, heavy animals who don’t quite realize just how big they are. They are playful, which obviously means you have to be careful as they could easily hurt you by accident, and they can’t see behind them, so you have to be sure you won’t get stepped on when they decide to reverse. With that said, no broken bones or injuries occurred while we were there.

Once the elephants were fed, it was time to feed ourselves. We ate a provided lunch, had time to use the toilets, and if we finished early, could feed the elephants a bit more. Once everyone had their fill of lunch, we changed into bathing suits and went to give the elephants baths! There was  mud bath pit, and clean water to rinse them in. To give them mud baths, you literally just picked up loads of mud and rubbed it on them. This was all well and good…until the people working there started rubbing the mud on us. It basically turned into a massive mud and water fight. Oh, and side note: the elephants will poop in the water, and the people working there will pick it up and throw it out. Sounds gross, but when you stop and think about an elephant’s diet, it’s basically like picking up a fallen tree branch and throwing it aside.

Once the mud bath was completed for elephants and people alike, it was time to rinse. The people working there led the elephants to the clean water, and we all followed. You had to give plenty of room each time an elephant entered or left the water, because when entering, they would walk in and roll over on their sides, they loved it! But exiting, you again just need to be sure you won’t get stepped on. Once again, this basically ended up turning into a water fight. While the water/mud fights were fun, I would have rather had a it where your group is assigned to one elephant to bathe, that way you get to spend a little more time with them. From what I’ve heard, that’s more the way it goes in the Elephant Nature Park. But, personal preferences.

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Additional note: Everything I described here is part of the full day tour. There are half days offered, personally, I can’t imagine doing a half day as I believe all you get to do is feed them. It just doesn’t feel like it would be worth it to me.

Once we were done, we dried off, made sure we had everything and loaded back into the truck to head home, once again, putting our things in plastic bags for protection….this time we were SO happy we did this. On the way home, more people were out, with kiddie pools, hoses, and emptied trash bins loaded with water. They had water guns and buckets waiting to shoot water at passersby. As soon as the first one hit, it didn’t stop the entire way back into town. We were SOAKED! Soon, we started looking out the windows and would figure out which side of the truck it was coming on so we could prepare. The worst was when it was on your side and they clearly had just melted blocks of ice for the water, it was FREEZING!! Thankfully, it was hot out so it was alright. Between the 8 of us in the back, we started using empty water bottles to collect water from the bed of the truck (yes it was that wet) to throw water back out! It was pretty fun!

We finally arrived back in town and started making drop offs. This time, there was no relief between water attacks, I would have been less wet if I had just jumped in a pool. Not only was it wet, we were freezing! And as we were the first ones to be picked up, Lacey and I were the last to be dropped off…meaning we were definitely the wettest. When we got back, they just laughed at us for being so wet and asked if we had fun. We took warm showers, and went out to get food, and water guns for the next day. I’m not really sure why we wasted the time to shower to be honest, as soon as we stepped outside the safe confines of the Guesthouse, people were at us again with water guns. The only way to stay dry is to stay home, no joke. So, although Songkran wasn’t scheduled to start until the following day, people definitely started celebrating early. Lacey and I each bought a water gun, and goggles and were ready to go the next day.

Day 3

Official first day of Songkran!!!! We got up, loaded up water in our guns and headed out to meet everyone. When we arrived, we were greeted by blasts of water from their guns. People had lined the streets, shooting water guns and launching bucket fulls at each other. I mean, this is the water fight you dreamed of as a kid! Cars and trucks drove through, most cars kept their windows rolled up, but in the trucks, people were loaded up in the beds, bins full of water throwing it on everyone, and getting 5x more wet than everyone else in the process. There was a river nearby as well that pretty much everyone from the streets was filling their buckets and guns with…this is definitely something to note if you ever go: DO NOT DRINK THE  WATER BEING THROWN AROUND!!! It’s definitely not clean and you could definitely get sick…as I did later, and no I didn’t drink the water, or at least not intentionally, so it can happen either way.

After a while we decided we wanted to head down to a bar, especially because most of the bars had bins and hoses so you could fill your water up for free (a lot of places tried to make you pay…this is a silly thing, don’t do it if you ever go to this festival, walk around, you’ll find free water to fill up.

Lacey and I had walked around the first night and found that one street with all the bars….yeah you know the one I’m talking about (there’s always one). We told everyone we knew where we needed to go, and led them over that way. Once we arrived to the street, it was just a matter of finding the right spot, which we did about halfway down the street. Ended up being this really small bar with like one or two other people in it, we sat down, had a few drinks, started dancing and having fun, then went and hung out on the street to play water war some more. It was amazing! We were there for a few hours, everyone smiling, laughing dancing and singing! Just absolutely amazing! After a while we all realized we’d had a fair few drinks but nothing to eat, so we went to find food.

After lunch we all sort of lost our energy and finally decided to call it quits for a while, saying we’d meet up again later tonight to resume the activities. Lacey and I returned, and our lovely, lovely guesthouse owners had some friend over and were cooking and having some drinks, they weren’t big on going out into town for the festival. They invited us to sit down with them and have some food, it was all amazing! Then, we went to shower and take naps. Somehow in the process of all this, I started feeling ill. Not like I ate something bad or anything, but just overall did not feel well, and it felt like I had a fever. So, instead of heading back out for the night, we ordered pizza from Pizza Hut, watched a movie and fell asleep.

The next morning we flew to Bangkok. We took an uber there as to not get wet because we did have to drive through town. We kept the windows rolled up, but the car still got hit with water as this was only day 2 of the 3 day festival. We got to the airport, then to Bangkok, to our hotel where we were going to meet my Dad and sister!

Chiang Mai During Songkran! We finally arrived in Thailand! Now, I LOVED seeing Vietnam and Cambodia , but, Thailand had been a long time desire so I was really excited to get here.