Sorry, I know the official date announcement is overdue. I'm happy to announce that Dennor Week 2022 will be taking place from the 8th to the 14th of August, a month's time from now!
Since feedback from previous years have mentioned wanting more advanced notice of the prompts, I've decided to announce them now, too. This year's prompts are:
Day 1: Early 2010s internet fan culture // Music
Day 2: Home // Country
Day 3: Trust // Costumes
Day 4: Royal // Sightseeing
Day 5: Iceland // Telling stories
Day 6: Fate // Rich kids
Day 7: Proposal/wedding // Zodiac
Thank you so much to the people who submitted prompt suggestions and to everyone who voted for their favourites. As always, our policy regarding late submissions and free days can be found here and here, but just to remind you: we try not to be too strict on that stuff! This is meant to be a fun event to encourage community and to share our love for these two Nordic idiots in love, so don't worry about not meeting dates or prompts exactly. Most importantly: have fun!
Just to summarise: Dennor Week 2022 starts on August 8th and runs until August 14th. Remember to tag your submissions with #dennor week or #dennor week 2022, or tag this blog directly in your post.
This is for DenNor Week 2022 from August 8-14, 2022 at @dennorweek. The themes were:
Day 1: Early 2010s internet fan culture / Music
Day 2: Home / Country
Day 3: Trust / Costumes
Day 4: Royal / Sightseeing
Day 5: Iceland / Telling stories
Day 6: Fate / Rich kids
Day 7: Proposal/wedding / Zodiac
I combined the themes of Home, Country, Costumes, Sightseeing, Iceland, and Telling stories for my drawing, Visiting Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach.
Reynisfjara is one of Iceland’s most unique and beautiful black volcanic sand beaches because of its rocky sea stacks and huge waves crashing onto the shore (Travel Connect hf, Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach Travel Guide). Many puffins, fulmars, guillemots, and other nesting birds make these sea stacks, known as Reynisdrangar, their home (Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach Travel Guide). Some people believe that the Reynisdrangar are basalt columns which were once part of the shoreline cliffs that remained standing while other parts were destroyed and washed away by the ocean (Travel Connect hf).
According to one folklore, the sea stacks were trolls trying to pull to pull ships to shore one night, but were turned to stone at sunrise (Travel Connect hf, Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach Travel Guide). Another folklore says that after two trolls kidnapped and killed a woman, her husband followed them to Reynisfjara and turned them to stone (Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach Travel Guide).
For this drawing, I had Denmark and Norway visiting Iceland in his home and country. Iceland takes them sightseeing, and one of the places they visit is Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. In this scene, Iceland is telling them the story about the Reynisdrangar, and Puffin is waiting to meet his family and relatives. For nostalgic reasons, Denmark and Norway decide to dress and travel as Vikings.
Works Cited
“Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach Travel Guide.” Guide to Iceland. 2021, June 9,
https://guidetoiceland.is/travel-iceland/drive/reynisfjara
Draw in pencil while referring to pictures of Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Puffin, Viking clothing, and Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach.
Go over the pencil lines with a thin felt-tip marker.
Erase the pencil lines.
Color with coloring pencils.
Scan the drawing into my computer.
Use Photoshop to polish and add the frame lines and text.
Sorry this is too long overdue. Lazy and irresponsible I had some other things going on, and sometimes didn’t feel well. I also apologize that this turned out terribly due to bad judgment, unsteady hands, limited supplies. I don’t have pencils in the color of the Nordics’ hair, so I had to mix and color lightly. The background gave me some difficulty, and ended up being just a scribbled mess that no one can tell apart the beach, ocean, and sky.
Disclaimer: Hetalia is created by Himaruya Hidekaz, not me.
and thats an official wrap on dennor week 2022!! thank you all so much for participating!! a reminder that late submissions for dennor week are still open and will be... basically until the next one. i know how it is sometimes. i hope you all enjoyed this years event!! maybe ill even see you all again later in the year for that winter event i keep wondering about. until then, i hope you all continue to share the love for those two dumbasses (affectionate)
if you have any feedback on this years event as well as suggestions for future dennor weeks, ill post a google forms survey in the next few days to make collecting that a bit easier
Last entry for @dennorweek ..! Yeah this one doesn’t even really fit any prompt… still tagging you guys though because the event is definitely what got me to finally draw a bunch of dennor ideas from my to draw list!!!
This is an au I call “the lighthouse but wholesome”, it stars den as a lighthouse keeper and nor as some kind of sea fairy or selkie? Tbh I didn't think much farther than this but I love the vibes, the secluded lighthouse is such a good location for vaguely modern but timeless and mystical stories. I'm thinking I'd like to subvert the loveless/forced/dishonest marriage trope usually associated with selkie myths and turn it wholesome somehow...
I really suck at finding title, goodness... Maybe a little warning as it's related to anxiety. (if anyone wants to betaread it, I would gladly accept it btw!)
@dennorweek
Words count : 1000~
~~~
Breath in.
Breath out.
Each step is followed by one breath in and one out. No one would notice it though, he hopes. Lukas makes the last step to the aisle and focuses on Natalya in front of him. The place is silent, only his steps resonating in the hall, making it sound like he is alone. No sigh, no sneeze, no cough, no kid or baby, as Natalya can’t stand their voices and cries and knows no one who gets one anyway.
Silence everywhere and yet Lukas can feel their presence, like they are all whispering and mumbling words behind his back, quite literally. He knows that’s not the case but… how can he be sure of that? They are all looking at him and that is a fact. He is the only one moving at the moment. They are for sure thinking something about him, judging him. Is he too slow? Too fast? Can his attitude be seen as too casual? Maybe they don’t find him formal enough for the ceremony. And what if there is something on his back? A stain? A tear? Something in his hair? Is he walking normally? Maybe he shouldn’t though? Perhaps there is a way to properly walk at a wedding and he doesn’t know about it. Is this how his relationship with Natalya is going to end? She’ll be upset because he would make a fool of himself and so of her as well. Goodness! He should be focused on his feet right now but how on Earth does walking work already? Left foot first? Right foot? And the arms? What is he supposed to do with them? Natalya would be mad at him and hate him for ruining everything. That is obvious and understandable even. It is his fault. He isn’t doing things right. Lukas can feel the tears coming in.
“Fuck you, battery!” Matthias’ voice suddenly brings Lukas back at the moment.
Some people giggle at the guest who shouted. Lukas smiles.
Breath in.
Breath out.
He looks up and sees Natalya’s face behind the veil. She isn’t smiling. She never is anyway. It's the usual Natalya with her silent face. She looks serene than ever though. Lukas can see well she isn’t trying to express her feelings as it’s hard for someone with alexithymia. Today, she is just her, with no filter nor mask, not pretending to be anyone but her best self surrounded by people she loves and trusts, in front of people she doesn’t have to fear judgment.
Lukas takes the box from his pocket. His hands are all moist and a little bit shaking. Natalya gently puts her hands on his and he can’t help but jump a little. She isn’t smiling at him, only stares. She is herself and silently promises him he can be so as well. He doesn’t have to force himself. Her lips move to articulate a silent “thank you”. She knows how much effort it is from him to stand in front of a crowd. She has asked him to be her best man but didn’t force him. Lukas wanted to though. She trusts him and he wants to honor it.
Lukas focuses on his best friend, her pastel green and silver gown, the veil, and how she takes the ring out of the box. She gently squeezes his hands again before turning to her partner. Lukas crosses his arms behind his back so no one would notice him nervously fiddling with his fingers.
The kiss comes, then they sign the wedding certificate. When they finally proceed to the ballroom, people get up as the couple followed by their witnesses go by. The partners of witnesses only join them before the family and other guests do so as well.
As soon as Lukas feels Matthias by his side, he grasps his hand while feeling pins and needles running along his arms. Matthias’ thumb tenderly rubs his hand. “You did great.” He says and he kisses him on the cheek.
“Thanks to you.”
“Thanks to my phone… I really need to change it for a new one.”
Breath in.
Breath out.
“Want to go to our room?”
Lukas nodded, his throat dry.
They skip away from the crowd as soon as they can. Lukas insistes on letting Natalya know first. “You better go get some rest. I need my best dancer for a waltz tonight.” She says.
Since he’s her bestman, Natalya gave him one of the most beautiful rooms in the castle where the event takes place but furthermore, she choses for him a room far from the ballroom, which is a very welcomed kind thought. When Matthias closes the door behind him, no more sounds from the ceremony can be heard. Only the muffled silence of a cozy room. Lukas collapses headfirst on the bed right away. He has so little energy left he doesn’t even take off his shoes, which Matthias does while giggling. Rumbling, sluggish as a puppet, Lukas let Matthias even take off his jacket and necktie.
“I hate clothes.” Lukas says and he finds the strength to take off his shirt and pants by himself, ending up in his underwear.
Matthias stretches out beside him. “Come here.” He says and hugs him in a big sooth embrace only he has the secret of.
Lukas joyfully welcomes the cuddle, snuggles into his arms and tangles his legs in his. Their faces are close enough to have their nose touching each other.
“What if we want to get married someday?” He asks after a moment.
“Well… We’ll do it?”
“But the ceremony?” Lukas moans. He can feel his whole body tensing just by imagining it.
Matthias rubs his back and kisses him on the nose. “We’ll do what suits us. That’s all. If we really want to get married, that’s already one thing to do, we’d have very few people attending the ceremony and I would wear my Thor cosplay!”
Lukas snorts. “Oh god, no…”
“What? It’d be our day. And if people could wear fairy wings and elves’ pointy ears at their wedding, I want my costume. I put too many all-nighters into it. And you know I’d be so handsome in it!”
Yes, Lukas knows it. He snuggles even more, clinging to his partner, while he imagines kissing his Thor, when he can’t resist anymore and falls asleep.
Ingrid raised an eyebrow. These prices were too high. How were they supposed to afford anything when they didn’t have enough to pay for it? Dang rich people. A sigh escaped them and they left the shops, hopefully looking for food elsewhere. They came from one of the poorer cities of the Fire Nation. Both Ingrid and their sister Valdís should at least have something.
Hanne, on the other hand, came from the Northern Water Tribe, which happens to be faring a lot better than some Fire Nation cities. Not to mention some places in the Earth Kingdom, but that’s besides the point. She had gone out on one of the fishing trips and through the use of water bending, managed to catch a few. A faint smile crossed her face as the fish were brought in.
One day, Ingrid happened to by by a body of water when they spotted something. Is that… a person? On a boat in the water? What’s going on over there? It looks like they’re water bending. And would you look at that, they managed to catch some fish. Once they had all the fish needed, the water bender took the boat back to shore. Ingrid decided to go say hi to the other. As they approached, they could see that the person is a female with short blonde hair and purple eyes.
“Hi there,” Ingrid said when the other was at the shore. Purple eyes look at them in surprise. “I’m Ingrid,” Ingrid said. “Haven’t seen you around before.” There was a moment of silence before the water bender spoke. “Hanne. I’m from the Northern Water Tribe,” Hanne said. Ingrid gave her a look. “So, you’re one of those rich people, are you?” They asked. A soft giggle escaped Hanne and she smiled a bit. “Yeah, but I don’t mind sharing what I catch.” She gave Ingrid a couple of the fish she had caught. This time, it was Ingrid that was silent for a moment. “You’re different from the other rich people. Most of them are snobs.” “Well, as I said, I’m from the Northern Water Tribe. For the most part we were taught to be nice to others.”
As time went on, Ingrid and Hanne’s friendship became stronger. Hanne would buy things for Ingrid if they couldn’t and in turn Ingrid would protect Hanne while she was fishing. One day, Hanne asked the one thing that Ingrid hadn’t been expecting.
“Would you be my partner? As in romantically?” There was a moment of silence. “Yes.”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
My single submission for @dennorweek 😅 I finished this at, like, midnight last night and haven't bothered to reread it so I hope you enjoy!
Prompt day 6: Fate
Word count: 4587
--
This is the last place Lukas wants to be. He’s clumsy enough off the ice, and his parents want him to put skates on? Even at seven, he knows this is a bad idea and he doesn’t understand why his parents think it is. “Please, Pappa,” he whines, tugging on the hem of his jacket as he rents the skates. “I can’t!” His mother hushes him, resting a hand on the top of his head. He huffs, ducking away from her and adjusting his beanie. No one is listening to him. As usual.
He gets dragged to a bench, where his father encourages him to trade his boots for a pair of small skates. He glares at the skates, wishing he was anywhere except right here. His mother nudges his shoulder. “Come on, Luka. Let’s just try it. For your dad.”
I had no fucking idea what to write as a title ah ah (if anyone wants to betaread it, I would gladly accept btw!)
@dennorweek
Words count : 1000~
~~~
For all their life, Lars had been following an ineffable spark. They couldn’t see it but feel it in their very soul, like an instinct or maybe a second nature.
Like a game of hide and seek, they tried every time to get closer but the spark eventually got lost in the crowd of humanity. It was like Ariadne's thread except it was thin, so thin that Lars couldn’t touch it for very long as it required a lot of concentration. They tried to limit their searching area. It required them seventy years to get to an only one town which happened to be in Norway, not far from Bergen. When they got there the first time, Lars laughed out loud and people looked at them puzzled. Lars went all over the world for their whole life looking for a spark only they could feel while not being able to describe it, and it happened to be in the country right next to theirs. Almost next door, especially at a time where reaching far destinations could actually be so quick. As always, the spark was very hard to track and no matter how many times, for centuries, for millenials, Lars never got used to it. They had found no tips over the time course of humanity. They wondered if it was the same for the other side.
They received the name of Lars and were assigned male at birth this time. It actually didn’t matter to them especially after all this time, but they had also learned very few people would be disposed to accept a change in the course of a lifespan. But Lars had been surprised in a good way to see people their age starting to discuss the matter lately. They wondered how their next life would look like then.
But for now they were Lars, an 85 years old person who had started travelling around the world at 15, secretly hoping to find their dear spark. Of course, they knew at the end of the line there’d be no such a thing as a spark. They were looking for someone in somebody. It was maybe the best way to picture it. Their senses couldn’t describe it at all. Perhaps it wasn’t really in the physical world and that’s why it was something they only knew deep down.
So, Lars had been in this little town not far from Bergen, and really hoped the search was almost over. Their body was tired and they didn’t know what would happen if they didn’t find each other for once. They had always reached the other and vice versa. Lars swallowed as they feared for their fabulous fate to be broken if they’d missed each other in this lifetime. Lars tottered. Someone caught them and nicely asked if they were okay.
“Time… Time is so vicious.” Lars mumbled.
The person looked really confused but perhaps thought it was just an old man rumbling, a little bit lost after all those years of life. Lars giggled. If the passerby only knew!
They eventually waved at the person. “I’m good, I’m good. Thank you. I’ll just have some rest on this bench.”
As they were even more puzzled, the passerby didn’t need to be asked twice, politely nodded at Lars and left.
However, Lars didn’t stay more than one or two minutes on the bench. They could feel the spark, so close. They couldn’t give up yet.
They didn’t recall if there had been another time when they were both this old when they finally met. As they were hurrying, pushing this old weary body to its limits, Lars wished they could have found each other in their younger years. To be born again in the same village was rare. Some very few times they even ended up in the same direct family which was awkward. Both of them had a hard time fitting into the society of that time and place. But most of the time, they managed to meet each other in their forties at last.
It was especially painful for the one looking for the other as they knew there already was someone in their life missing, as they couldn’t help but feel lonely and longing for the other all the time, as they were the guardian of all their memories together. Lars got used to this weird melancholy weighing on their chest, but they knew their lover didn’t like this heavy feeling.
Lars came out on a square where locals were enjoying drinks at cafés or wandering around, looking at some small shop windows in a peaceful atmosphere swept away by the sea breeze. There, an old lady was with a dog quite tall and large, gently leeking her cheek as she knelt down to stroke them. Lars couldn’t describe much more the lady as they were obsessed by the aura emanating from this body, like soundwaves calling them more and more persistent.
“Excuse me?” Lars asked when they got close to the lady who raised her head. Her look was nothing familiar to the one Lars’ lover had in their previous life. But Lars felt their heart jumping in their chest and their brain rushing out of adrenaline, like they had won the game. It wasn’t a real spark but a firm conviction, and they touched the lady’s hand.
The lady, who she was disappeared in a blink. As soon as their skin came in contact with each other, in less than a second, the one who remembered shared the memories of them together with the one who was stuck into oblivion. And the one who was recovering opened their eyes wide and gasped before cuping Lars’ face.
“It’s you… It’s really you. It’s been so long. I’m sorry.” They said with tears in their eyes. This had always been one of the very first things they said, sorry to realise they had forgotten the other.
But as usual, Lars was quick to get rid of their lover’s guiltiness, by smiling bright and tenderly kissing their forehead.
Now Lars could feel at peace. They would enjoy each other's company for the rest of this life before death eventually came, but only to escort them to the next one.
DenNor Week 2022 // I’ll play “Rêverie” for you again., Chapter 2 of 7
Written for @dennorweek 2022, Day 2: Home.
Summary (excerpt of Chapter 2 included below):
Who, where, when.
These are the questions that Lukas has never been able to answer.
The only answer he has ever had is if.
Like a speeding bullet, it will strike him—the revelation that something terrible is going to happen. It will strike him, an abrupt and devastating blow, and it will leave him breathless, reeling, wondering. Wondering, again, what the answers to those questions might be, even though he knows that he will never be able to answer them until it is too late.
Wondering, too, if it is instinct or intuition or coincidence and simple bad luck, even though he knows that it will never matter, because he is never wrong. Because he can always tell.
Caught, he has always spiralled endlessly, wondering and believing, too, that there is nothing that can quiet the clamoring questions that fill his mind. Nothing that can bring him rest.
Yes; that is what he believes until, in halls of the university music library, he hears a soft, winding melody, one that fills his head with daydreams, and he meets the pianist, another student named Matthias.
Link: AO3
Status: 2/7 chapters up. In progress and updating as quickly as I can get the chapters written! Hoping to catch up with the prompts before the week is out :)
Pairings and characters: Denmark/Norway, Iceland
Word count: 3469
Genre and rating: romance, drama, hurt/comfort, angst (with a happy ending); teen and up
Excerpt from Chapter 2:
“Lukas…” It seems that Matthias cannot find the words he wishes to say, either—the words that will staunch the tears and the hurt pouring from Lukas, that will ease the quieted anguish and worry etched upon his face, that will still his shaking shoulders and allow him to rest.
He realizes, then, that there are no such words. Not really.
Instead, he reaches for the box of tissues on the nearby nightstand. He pulls out a few, presses them into Lukas’ hands.
“Here,” he says softly. Then, after a long moment, “Do you…want me to hold you?“
Lukas nods wordlessly. With one hand, he smudges away the tears that have trickled down his cheeks; the other lies clenched so tightly in his lap that his knuckles have gone bloodless.
When Matthias wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him close, he can feel every shuddering breath that Lukas draws. As silence settles around them, words come to him, the only ones that feel sincere right now.
“I’m so sorry, Lukas. I’m…here. For as long as you want me to be.”
They sit there together for a while, and gradually, the sobs that wrack Lukas’ frame subside.
“Do you feel a bit better?” Matthias asks gently; he feels the other nod against him in response. “Come on, let’s book you a train home, yeah? If you do it now, you should still be able to get one early tomorrow morning,” he coaxes.
Matilde smiled as she met up with Lukas. Apparently, he'd decided to bring his brother Emil along with him. This was a slight surprise, as Emil didn't have many friends. The most he did was go to school and occasionally go to the market with Lukas. Now the three of them could adventure together.
It wasn't until they were a week into their adventure that the trio found themselves in the middle of a fight with bandits. The bandits consisted of earth benders and fire benders. Good thing they happen to have a water bender (aka Matilde) to help them where it counted. This went on for a while until... something had happened. What had caught both Matilde and Lukas off guard was when, all of a sudden, the ground surrounding the two and Emil turned to lava. And that was after the younger male had touched the ground. This allowed them to keep their distance from their attackers. After a while, the bandits ran away with more injuries than pride. Matilde cheered and hugged Lukas.
"You're a lavabender!" Matilde exclaimed when the three were eating. "That's so cool!" "Why didn't you tell me?" Lukas asked. "Surprise," Emil said. "I'm still new to it. And it's not like I have anyone to teach me, since there wasn't really any lavabenders in Gaoling." "Yeah, that's true," Lukas said.
When it was nighttime, the three found a place to sleep and Lukas paid for their rooms. Yet, somehow, Matilde had found her way into Lukas and Emil's room and ended up sleeping with them.
