#oh look its Tarja

[drabblesandimagines]

400 requests~ AAAAAAAH CONGRATULATIONS ON 400 I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU OMG (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧ May that following increase and the journey ahead be an enjoyable and rewarding one!

May I request a Joshua x Reader? Where reader gives as good as she gets and they banter/tease one another? Developing relationship with secret smiles and whispers (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+

Ty so much my dear, please take careeeeeee! And congratulations once again ❤️ 🎉

Thank you so, so much! <3 Sorry this took me an age - I hope you enjoy it. I had fun writing it in all its fluffy nonsense. Banter Joshua Rosfield x fem reader

You smile at the sight of Joshua breaking his fast in the Ale Hall. Jote is by his side, as usual, eyes watching him like a hawk as he picks idly at his plate. You stride over, a bounce in your step and sit down to his left, nimbly stealing a piece of Maeve’s famous sweet bread off his plate.

“Morning.” You grin, before taking a bite. If Jote could kill with looks alone, you’d be long gone.

“Good morning.” Joshua nods in acknowledgement, suppressing a grin.

“There is still food being served, my lady.” Jote states, politely.

You finish your mouthful and smile, sweetly, in the Phoenix attendant’s direction. “I know. I didn’t think Joshua would mind sharing, though.” “Oh, I certainly do mind.” He replies, though his tone is teasing. “Only because my lady is surely sweet enough.”

“Careful – if you make me faint, Tarja will be most displeased.”

“Then I will be sure to be swift enough to catch you.”

“Hm,” you muse, looking him up and down. “I’ll believe that when you finally best me in the pit, for how many times is it now that I have sent His Grace down upon his backside?”

Jote’s nostrils flair in annoyance.

“Very true,” Joshua chuckles. “I will mind my words to avoid an unnecessary trip to the infirmary. Speaking of,” he turns to the woman besides him, “Jote, I know Tarja would appreciate your help again there this morning, if you’d be so kind.”

“If you are sure, Your Grace. I do not mind… watching over your training session.”

Jote had been vehemently against your tutelage of Joshua in the pit, even though it had been at Clive’s request. Your weapon was similar to that of the delicate blade Joshua wields and knowing the repercussions of what the use of aether did to the body, Clive was keen for him to start utilizing it properly in battles. Though the Undying had tutored the Phoenix to the best of their ability, Clive had noted areas of improvement whilst fighting alongside Joshua and you had immediately come to mind… much to Jote’s chagrin at the constant, somewhat flirtatious banter you and the blonde had relaxed into throughout your training sessions together. “I’ll be fine, Jote. Thank you.” Joshua smiles, warmly, and you see her relax a little at his words.

“I do not wish to face Tarja’s wrath if I were to send Joshua back to his sickbed, so I promise to be most careful.” You try and reassure too, but the way Jote’s lips fall into a tight line as she gets to her feet, bows her head and heads off towards the infirmary tells that you hadn’t quite hit the mark you intended.

Joshua waits a moment to be sure Jote is clear of the Ale Hall before he drops a hand under the table, subtly reaching for your hand and interlacing his fingers with yours. “Sweet one,” he leans into you to whisper the nickname he’s bestowed upon you for moments such as this, “Once again, I must insist you stop tormenting poor Jote.”

“She makes it so eas-“

A firm squeeze of your hand cuts you off.

“My apologies.” You concede. “In my defence, I was being sincere about the last bit though – I do not wish to send you back to your bed with too much exertion.”

“You will not.” He lets go of your hand, somewhat reluctantly, and stands. “Shall we?”

“Let’s.”

--

A little while later, the two of you are catching your breath after a round of sparring in the pit.

“That was much better.” You wipe the back of your hand over your brow. “I only knocked you down three times.”

“Twice,” Joshua corrects.

“No, it was definitely three.”

“No, it was definitely twice.” He retorts. “The third time you are referring to does not count.”

You tilt your head, curious. “And why is that, Your Grace?”

Joshua scoffs. “You know exactly why, sweet one.”

“No, I don’t.” You cross your arms. “Enlighten me.”

He sighs. “I will reiterate that kissing me on my cheek is not an acceptable move in combat.”

“Says who? It’s an excellent distraction technique, as you have experienced.” You grin, thinking back of how flustered Joshua had got when you’d pecked him on the cheek… before thwacking the hilt of your blade across the back of his knees to send him toppling down into the sand of the fighting pit.

“Oh, really? Pray tell, who engages with this technique?”

“Me, for a start.”

“Anyone else I might know?”

“Why, Barnabas Tharmr. How do you think he conquered Ash all those years ago?”

Joshua can’t help but laugh at that, taking a step closer. “Of course, pecked his way up to the throne. No-one else?”

You hum in thought. “Clive of course. His foes are always commenting on how handsome he is in battle, so he gives them a quick kiss and down they go. In fact, I heard he kissed a Morbal once-”

“Oh, hello, Clive.” Joshua interrupts, looking behind you. Your heart skips a beat as you spin on your heels, ready to utter a thousand apologies… ..only to find the dock behind you is empty. You turn back, Joshua’s name on your tongue to admonish him, only to find his lips meet yours instead and he kisses you, a hand cupping your cheek and causing your mind to become utterly blank.

It only lasts a moment when he sideswipes at your ankles and sends you toppling down to your backside with a boyish grin.

“You’re right,” he crouches down and offers you his hand, “it is a good distraction technique.”

-- PS: I love Jote, really! Just had to tease her a little bit too.

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Commissions/Ko-Fi

#ghostdogwrites #joshua rosfield x you #joshua rosfield x female reader

[drama-rebellion]

Wallflowers

(A short-story about two girls meeting on a not so superficial night…)

Tarja hated this place. Every bit of it. She wished she would never had given in to her mum’s urging of going out and meeting people of her age. What a stupid idea.

The big hall was nauseating. Those rich young people in suits and dresses, who picky nibbled at cheese-grape spikes and savoured their glasses of two hundred-dollar champagne, while they were swaying to the live music of a gruesome jazz band. And these boring, lifeless beige walls with red curtains that guarded the black windows… tasteless!

Tarja stood near the entrance without a move, watching the crowd disgusted. Maybe if she left fast now, nobody would miss her, but right in that moment, her date showed up beside her and Tarja felt the strong urge to bang her head against a wall. Instead she forced a smile towards this average guy from the neighbourhood whom her mother had chosen her to go out with. Absolutely ridiculous and embarrassing beyond words, but obviously her mum didn’t mind to force her into the next Stone Age! At least this guy wasn’t much thrilled to be here either.

“Ehm yeah…” he started uneasy, “well, I’m sorry you have to be here with me. My mum told me it would be good for me and she insisted on it. It wasn’t mine idea, really…”

Tarja just smiled again.

“It’s okay. I think it’s the best we don’t mention it to our parents and, ehm…” she pressed her lips together for a second and gave him a kinda excusing and pitying look.

“… let’s just go different ways, yeah?” she suggested and the boy nodded relieved.

“Good idea”, he spilled out and quickly revoked from her peeved presence.

Tarja was left behind in her dark green, golden dress with this small glittering bag in her hand and a head full of thoughts she was unable to shut out. Couples kept passing her by entering the hall, laughing, talking and entertaining themselves. Tarja felt like the only one in a huge group who didn’t get the joke everybody was laughing about. With a deep sigh she looked at her watch. It was barely ten. If she returned home now, her mum would assail her with questions and she wasn’t ready yet to go through more judgment and endless discussions with her parents.

But what to do now? Definitely not staying at this revolting party.

“Wanna go somewhere else?” a female voice suddenly asked and Tarja turned around.

A woman stood at one of the bar tables. She had pinned her long brown curls up and only few strands of hair covered her shoulders. She wore a black dress with a corset and a black leather jacket over it. All in all she seemed even more displaced than Tarja.

“What do you mean?” she asked interested and hesitantly walked closer. The stranger made an explaining hand gesture towards the hall.

“You can impossibly want to stay here”, she said like it was the most logic thing in the world. And it probably was. Laughing Tarja shook her head and her black hair fell into her face.

“Oh no, definitely not. I’d rather be anywhere but here”

“Good. So you will come with me?” the woman asked with a promising sparkle in her brown eyes.

“Where?”

“To a place which is much more fun”. Sly smile.

Tarja knew that she shouldn’t go. It was too risky and dangerous. Who knew who this woman really was after all?

“What is your name?” she asked curiously.

“Sharon”

The sound of her name had something mysterious what increased Tarja’s curiosity even more.

Nervously Tarja bit her lip to keep herself from blushing. She failed brilliantly.

“And with who do I have the honour to talk with ?”

The heat in Tarja’s cheeks got even worse.

“I’m Tarja”, she mumbled.

They shook hands. It felt strange, but that’s what you do when you meet new people, right?

“So, why do you come here when you actually hate it?” Sharon asked and slowly the conversation lost its stuffiness and tension.

“My mum got me a date”.

Sharon’s beautiful lips formed into a teasing smile.

“Your mum got you a date? Seriously?”

Tarja blushed again and laughed forcefully.

“Yeah, I know it’s embarrassing” then she changed the subject.

“Why are you here?”

“The champagne is good”, the woman answered with a grin and emptied her glass.

“But enough smalltalk. We shouldn’t waste more time here, don’t you think?”

The jazz band was just about to start raping another innocent song.

“Yes definitely”

On the way to the exit Sharon walked by the buffet, grabbed a bottle of champagne and stowed it in her handbag. Another few seconds they pushed themselves through the people coming towards them, before they finally breathed in the cold night air.

Without asking Sharon suddenly took Tarja’s hand and gently pulled her further away from the crowd at the sidewalk. The warmth of the touch felt strangely familiar. Tarja looked at the other girl astonished and time slowed down, only to let Tarja appreciate this moment of charm. Sharon lifted her hand and a by driving taxi hit the breaks to pick up the two women. With their cheeks burning from the cold, the girls got on the back seat.

“I don’t have much money with me”, Tarja whispered concerned to Sharon, but she shook her head disdainful.

“I have enough money”, she reassured her and then told the driver the address.

They hit the road and with a fizzle the champagne got opened.

“Here, taste the wasteful sparkling water”, Sharon said sarcastically and handed her the bottle. Tarja took some deep sips and the pleasant mild liquid ran down her throat. A light melancholy started to fill her up when she turned her head and watched the crazy coloured lights passing by behind the window. Sometimes she caught a glance at the people in the other cars and a smile played around her lips when she saw some of their expressions, grim faces or upset lip movements when the traffic slowed them down.

Tarja couldn’t say how long they had been driving and at some point she was surprised that Sharon didn’t try to keep up an superficial conversation about where she came from or what she did all day and other boring, normal stuff people just ask you when they aren’t interested or uncomfortable in your presence.

But Sharon just looked outside the window herself, sometimes took a sip of the stolen champagne and time to time Tarja glanced over to her, only to look at her mesmerizing face. Her thoughts wandered aimlessly like they didn’t know where to go next. Actually she was glad the car stopped, before her thoughts could get lost in the darker parts of her mind…

Sharon got out, paid the cap driver and the next moment the two women stood alone in front of a rusty rear entrance. While looking at this obviously neglected door, Tarja asked herself uneasy, if she wouldn’t have been doing better by enduring the discussion with her mum.

A man like a bull guarded the door, dressed in a suit and his hands folded behind his back. Unimpressed Sharon walked towards him, took out a kind of ID from her handbag and passed him without even getting a second look. Tarja followed her insecure through the door and it was like she had just entered the secret portal to Narnia or something. This was no noble club, but no total sinkhole either. It was something comfortably in between, something you could trust on without feeling doubtful.

Still Tarja clung on Sharon like they were Siamese twins.

Deep bass music sounded through the strange club which was parted in sections, just like compartments somehow but different, in a way that didn’t lock you away from anyone, but still granted you enough privacy to have a normal conversation.

Tarja followed her host through half of the club, passing some drunk dancers and stoned people laying on sofas, until they reached that one special corner at the right side. Three girls and two boys sat there, absorbed in a carefree conversation. When Sharon let herself slump down on the black sofa they looked up.

“Hey! I already thought you wouldn’t show up at all!” one of the girls said and hugged Sharon friendly.

“Yeah, it took longer than I thought”, she explained annoyed but then she turned her head and pointed at the still standing Tarja, who obviously felt pretty uncomfortable.

“Oh, this is Tarja by the way. I saved her from that creepy party and brought her here.”

She expected some distant greetings or forced smiles, but instead all of them really bothered to get up and hug her shortly.

“Nice to meet ya!”

Perplex and confused she accepted it and let herself sink down next to Sharon.

“Let me introduce”, she started.

“This is our charming Charlotte”, the red haired woman smiled brightly.

“Above all enthusiastic Robert” one of the guys gave her a nod.

“Amy. She’s a demon, just to warn ya” the girl next to him with incredibly long black hair showed a greeting smile.

“Ruud” the boy raised his fist in the air, “hell yeah!”

Everyone laughed.

“He’s a true chaotic, just ignore it”, Sharon explained smiling while pointing at the last of the three women.

“And that is Lzzy. The walking energy bomb.”

Ruud pointed back at Sharon.

“And last but not least, our heart and soul, our lovely Sharon!”

Sharon smiled and thanked him with a nod.

Slowly Tarja’s insecurity faded as she looked at all those nice and welcoming faces. They were so different from those people she had met before.

“I’m happy to meet you all”, Tarja said honestly and the next second she got already buried in questions. Everyone seemed to be interested in her and that already was a fact in totally unknown territory for Tarja. She had grown up in a wealthy family with a name which got her access to everything and everyone; she went to private school and now, to her own decision, finally to a public college that would start in two months.

I felt good to speak with those people. Normal people. People who stood up every morning trying to handle their lives somehow, not knowing about the next week, or month or year, just living from one second to the next, trying to make the best out of it. There wasn’t much expected of them and still they could give so much more.

They talked and even though Tarja liked all of them and loved to chat with them, her eyes always ended up resting on Sharon, who sat next to her, preoccupied with conversations.

But Tarja didn’t mind. She just watched her, how her lips moved, the expressions on her face, how they went along with her words. She was fascinated by the way Sharon’s clothes moved while speaking, how her hands made supporting gestures and her bright laugh that lightened up the atmosphere.

Tarja just couldn’t stop looking at this incredible human being, astonished and overwhelmed.

The music wasn’t intrusive and the questions not too personal, but despite all the comfort she felt around those wonderful people, she noticed the panic dangerously crawling up her chest. Dryly she swallowed, trying to fight it, but it was no use. Somehow the company and questions released the dark part in her and the loneliness that dwelled there.

Hastily Tarja got up from the sofa.

“Where’s the restroom?” she asked with shallow voice. Everyone went quiet, detecting something was wrong and carefully Amy pointed to the left backside of the club.

“To the corner and then the first door on the left”, she said silently.

“Thanks”, Tarja gasped.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…” she stuttered, “Just nauseous”

Without any further explanation she rushed towards the rescuing door. Heavily breathing she entered the small and graffiti daubed restroom and propped her hands up on the sink.

Tarja looked up. A person was facing her in the mirror. Green pupils, high cheekbones, messy hair and outworn make up. The lips of the woman trembled, her eyes stared dead at her.

Minutes past before Tarja distantly grabbed her handbag and was already about to fix her face, but then she suddenly felt the unreality hitting her. Her hands felt like they didn’t belong to her, her legs seemed to give in and her head was about to explode. The vision of a red painted canvas crossed her inner eye, with splashes of dreams and hopes, irrevocable wasted and not ever to be taken back. Lost forever.

Tarja held her face under the stream of cold water and felt how the liquid covered every cell, every inch, replaced every thought, and it felt good. Relieving.

With a deep gasp Tarja straightened up and dried her face. She looked horrible now, due the messed up make-up but she fixed it within minutes and even she looked like nothing ever happened now, she was unable to move. She just stared into the mirror.

After a while she heard the door opening.

“What are you doing?” Sharon asked carefully. Tarja didn’t resolve the look from the creature in the mirror.

“Looking at her”, she whispered.

The mouth made her the saddest, next to her dead eyes. There was a dark line between the lips in the outline of several waves in a turbulent storm. It said don’t kiss me, don’t fool me. She was dancer who couldn’t dance…

Tarja turned around to Sharon, faced her with that mask she was trained to put on. This mask that prevented her from getting hurt, getting too attached and dependent. She looked intensely at this woman, the woman who had lead her away from a party into a hurricane of feelings, emotions and memories, good and bad ones, and even now Tarja was unable to say if she regretted it or not.

Sharon put a hand on Tarja’s shoulder. The touch brought the frozen statue back to life and Tarja lifted her head, with pale skin and her green eyes gone dull.

“I’m fine”, she said, but her voice sounded like plastic.

“Sure you are”, Sharon stepped even closer, now putting her other hand on her shoulder as well.

“You don’t have to hide anything from me” she said gently and something in her voice just reached out, embraced Tarja’s soul and whispered calming words to her, promised her that everything, eventually, would be okay.

“I know. I…” Tarja was close to lose control again.

“I just can’t talk about it right now”, she pressed out and lowered her eyes.

“That’s okay. Just keep in mind that you aren’t alone”, she gave her an encouraging smile.

“Shall we go back to the party now?”

Tarja nodded.

When they crossed the wide room on the way back, it felt like she was enclosed by dark water, which made all her steps slow and heavy, drained out all the noise and pressed the air out of her lungs.

Like in trance she sat down next to the others, these nice and caring people who tried their best and fought against the cruelty and superficiality of the world, but yet again got drowned in everything that didn’t matter. Even it did matter for them.

Tarja fell in love with them. Sharon, Amy, Ruud, Robert, Lzzy, Charlotte… all of them. But especially Sharon. She hadn’t mentioned the incident at the toilet and she was grateful for that. But anyway this woman just seemed so carefree, like she had figured out life, its meaning and reasons and everything what laid beyond. She could say anything and Tarja would believe it.

The whole evening the small group of these weird people who didn’t fit into society, spoke about everything and nothing at all and everyone was fine with it. At some point, whenever it happened, Sharon and Tarja looked at each other and bend over for a kiss. It wasn’t certain if it was spontaneous or planned, due the alcohol or just random. But Tarja enjoyed the feeling of the soft lips on hers for a second and of course nobody said anything. Nobody cared who loved anyone, because most people at this place didn’t know true love at all.

“Are you okay?” Sharon asked silently and if she hadn’t been only an inch away from her face, Tarja probably wouldn’t have understood her due the music.

“No. Are you?”

The other woman smiled ironically and shook her head.

“No…” she took Tarja’s hand and gently stroked over it.

“I like your friends”, Tarja changed the subject after a while and Sharon laughed.

“Oh yes, they’re really cool! I’m glad you like them”

But the passion in her voice was gone. Instead it got replaced by a distant sorrow, like someone just reminded her that everything, no matter how great or bad, was just temporary.

“Maybe I should go home now…” Tarja slowly said and somehow felt guilty for it. Sharon withdrew her hand from her hold.

“Yeah”

“Can I have your number?” Tarja asked, not willing to give all of this up already. Sharon smiled and pulled out her phone.

“Sure”

They exchanged numbers and it felt good, but the second Tarja got up and headed for the door, she felt the strong urge to go back and sit with those people forever. Just feel life, joy, hope and the will to live. Just all the feelings the night and people were able to give you.

But then Tarja left the club, breathed in the cold night air and felt the depression taking over her body, worse than ever before, while she waited for a taxi to take her home…

#short story #writing #mine #melancholy #Gay #lesbian #love #literature #dark #drama rebellion stories

[skaylanphear]

Thunder and Shadow

Summary: Five years after Ultima’s defeat, those left behind have no choice  but to push onward in a world still on the precipice of ruin. Left with  all that remains of Clive—her twin boys—both Jill and Joshua do all that  can be to ensure the world they grow up in is one of less strife and  struggle than what came before. But the destruction of the crystals and  the god that created them has left the aether and eikons in a state of  chaotic distress that plagues the entirety of Valisthea. And now, to  have received a letter from the north about stone bearers coming back to  life, Jill has a new mystery to unfold.

At the same time, Clive  finds himself waking on what he thinks must be the western Rosarian  coast, though how he arrived there, he doesn’t know. Nor has he any idea  how much time has passed since that final fight with Ultima. But as he  begins to investigate, he sees a battle of eikonic proportions in the  distance, one that revives old, bitter memories. Ifrit, perhaps, can  make up for wrongs wrought so long ago.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, a shadow manipulates them all, his eyes set on those who would become dominants and tools both.

Chapters 1 - 8

Chapter 9

"Ohhhhh, I can't believe it's really youse!" Goetz mooned for the twelfth time.

"Oh, can it, you soft-bellied sod," Charon scolded and thumped him lightly on the stomach, still able to use one hand quite well despite the other being preoccupied holding a cane. "We're all quite amazed—no need to keep spoutin' off about it."

"But Nan!"

"Doubt you've missed the bickerin,'" Blackthorne said from where he stood at Clive's side. "I wouldn't mind a five-year nap if it'd get me some peace and quiet."

"I'd say it has been rather quiet around here, with Mid gone," Vivian interjected.

"Where is she?" Clive asked, even as his eyes flicked to the small courtyard down the stairs to his right. There'd been much celebration upon his initial entrance, much chatter, plenty of questions, before they'd gathered round for breakfast. Elwin—who'd sat on Joshua's right just off the head of the table—had been intent on chattering the whole time, making it difficult to accomplish any substantial conversation. As a result, Joshua and Marleigh together had taken both him and Pup out into the sitting area just off the dining hall, once the two had finished eating. An outside patio, small and separated from the main courtyard.

Eventually, once finished as well, Clive had drifted to stand inside the open doorway, where he could better watch as Joshua kept the twins preoccupied amongst the butterfly garden at the far side. A new edition, as such a thing hadn't been there during Clive's youth.

"Sanbreque, I'd wager," Otto replied. "Was taking her 'airship' out for its maiden voyage and it went down just outside Oriflamme. Hence our esteemed Archduke had to fly into the city on his own two wings."

"Is everyone alright?" Clive asked.

"Oh, right as rain as far as the missives we've got," Otto continued. "Took Tarja along with them, just in case this exact thing happened, but as far as I can read, she's had a boring time of it. Left waiting around for Mid to get the repairs done."

"Tarja with nothing to do?" Clive asked. "She must be absolutely tortured."

"She could afford herself some relaxation," Vivian reasoned. "She's always forcing us into rest, yet takes none for herself."

"I doubt there's any relaxin' to be had on a broken ship with Mid runnin' about," Blackthorne said.

"I offered to give her the spare set of earplugs I've never used," Harpocrates added, hands clasped behind his back, "but she refused." He looked… older. Of all of them, he was the one changed most. Hunched now, where he hadn't been before, and far more wrinkled. They'd all changed a bit, but age it seemed was catching up with some of them faster than others.

"I doubt Tarja would ever put herself in a situation to be caught unawares, frustrations aside," Vivian reasoned.

Harpocrates nodded. "Too true, too true."

Read More

#final fantasy XVI #final fantasy 16 #FF16 #FFXVI #Cliji #clive rosfield #joshua rosfield #clive #thunder and shadow #chapter 9 #fanfiction

[selenityshiroi]

FFXVI several hours later:

I have no idea how far I am through the plot. 3/5 xxxxxxxxxxxxxx down?

Kupka played the 'I have your wife' trope and that was my secret OTP trap card

I'm now a basic bitch who ships Clive and Jill like burning

They were 'I like them...they healthily communicate and share their trauma instead of dwelling in it and are super supportive of each other'

Now I'm like 'ahddksklkfhdksk!'

But when does the choice of fabric in that one side quest kick in and I get to Jill in a new outfit? I know what a bonus content choice is, SE

Speaking of bonus content choices...Otto or Gav scene and Jill or Tarja scene

I chose Otto for the first because he hadn't joined me before but I'm curious about the latter. With the girls I was already in 'ahdksjsgaldhdj' OTP zone so obviously I took my wife, even though I'm also curious about the Tarja scene. That is was chapter replay is for, I guess. I did see that was a thing but haven't looked at it.

As soon as Mid turned up I was like 'yeap...that sure is Cid's daughter'. I'm actually surprised Vivian isn't her mother. I thought, when Vivian first showed up, that it might have been what connected her to the crew.

If this was an older game the hideaway would become an airship in late game. But looks like the Enterprise is in a different castle. And may or may not end up an airship.

I have suspicions about the mystery plot. Based on all the FFXIII Trilogy repackaging that this game has.

Also hello Prince and his lover

Happy pride month

(SE you still have time to confirm Vanille and Fang are also lovers this pride month)

(Not that they need much confirmation)

I'm sad that Joshua is probably not making it out of this story alive. At least that is the vibe I have. But I am believing Clive and Jill both will. Her ill health was giving me concern but some of the story elements give me hope.

But trying to remain spoiler free is soo hard. I want to see people's opinions and reactions to stuff.

But I know once I take just a peek of fandom I will either see something I shouldn't or dive in too deep

So spoilerfree and ignorant of others I remain!

(Also if the multishippers aren't shipping Clive and Gav then that is discrimination against himbos. I'm already in basic bitch Clive×Jill OTP mode but I have faith in the multishippers without looking at the fandom)

I have no idea how much game still remains, either

I'm guessing at least another 20 hours based on just story stuff

Oh, and the most important plot point happened

As soon as he turned blue and leapt out to save Jill I shouted out loud 'wait...MY DOG IS FENRIR?!?'

Turns out he's technically my wife's dog

Peak married

So it didn't even matter that the UI spoiled the fenrir bit on the attribute screen before Tomes could lay down the lore. Because my FF fan ass knew on sight lol

Oh yeah...about Clive and Jill. I was on the fence about whether or not they had been banging the entire time during the 5 year timeskip. Because everyone else sure as hell believes they are and its a small hideaway...but they are still doing the whole pining/almost kiss/long stare thing. And either it's just to bait the audience or they really have been doing that the entire time.

Like...babes...please...you are, in a rare case for FF during the main game for the main protaganists...grown adults.

One last thing...I got a massive amount of satisfaction over beating the entire Titan boss thing. I didn't die, I learned the boss patterns pretty well and managed the phases pretty quickly...but during the fight's stages I kept thinking 'nooooo...stop...not another stage....no...come on...don't power back up :(((('

Like...I'm managing the battle system and I get a lot of satisfaction over beating things. But it is still the thing I have to do to experience the story. Rather than me doing it for the gameplay. So a win, really, since this isn't my choice of gameplay.

I would have probably preferred story mode but I'm invested now lol

#ffxvi #spoilers

[beardedhandstoadshark]

Ingame journal entry 3, aka Commentrough of Pokémon White 2 but I‘m already at the sandy place, aka I just really need to gush about this game right now

The music. The music.

I forgot where I need to go lol, kinda missing Rotom right now after all

Jamming to the battle tracks while my teams‘ getting one shot by a trainer with a single Darumaka. But the soundtrack is just. so good-

Good thing I‘d already stopped attempting a nuzlocke shorty after starting because I really don’t feel like replaying everything…will probably still nickname all the mon though! Good naming exercise

MY LAST MON WAS FINALLY FASTER THAN HIM WHILE HE ALREADY LOST HALF HIS HEALTH TO THE SANDSTORM FROM BEATING EVERYONE ELSE LMAOOOO

…I only have one revive thingy left. I‘m in the middle of the desert. All these trainers are here. It’s a constant random encounter area. Help.

Found a sand crab. I named him Louie!

Trying to find a Pokecenter, found the ancient palace instead

Forgot some trainers follow your movement and got REALLY jumpscared by a psychic trainer for a moment. Why they gotta be so creepy

Man I love these info boards that you can always find in the route tunnels! They’re such helpful and cool little details!

This game has achievement medals lol forgot about those. As if the Pokédex wasn’t enough- not complaining though, it is nice to have an extra collectable

And back to civilization, hello Castelia! Younger me was so amazed just by how gigantic this city feels compared to anything before, which was probably also the intention. Just such a cool feeling. And the music is once again pure gold. (Could never figure out what’s going on with the cruise tho lol)

Miss the old badge collection design from Gen 5.1 a bit but this new one gives each badge their own sound! You can play music with these!

Love how some random dude just shows up and gifts an entire mall street to a random 14 year old stranger he ran into

…I forgot I set some of the lines to "bro“ and "f yes" lmao. This used to be a Wifi thing, wonder if it had a filter?

Hello Nimbasa! Can’t wait to see how you’ve cha-

ITS THEM. THE BLORBOS. AAAAAAAH

(And Nate is a fanboy too apparently! Heck yeah!)

…who on the translation team allowed them to have these names. I forgot they had these names. Their English names are completely normal names here too. I‘m sorry but-those are Emmet and Ingo, who the heck are Back and Forth supposed to be!?

Going easy on the kiddos so they visit the metro, I see how this goes, gotta say peak advertising here

Oof I missed how simple the item detector used to be. Just turn it on and walk around, no riding Pokémon animation and unbearably slow walking needed!

What do you mean the Ferris wheel is gonna be destroyed!? YOU CANT DO THIS! THE MUSIC IS SO RELAXING! NO! …oh they’re gonna cut it in the remakes aren’t they!? Oh I can already feel it, oh no, first Ingo now this, Gamefreak what did Nimbasa do to you!?

…there’s an NPC to the left of the new arena that only exists to say "the make up of a clown includes painted tears“…my man are you ok? Or is this just about Elesa not being in her arena because you’re a fanboy?

Love how they kept the old arena, it looks so cool with all it’s neon colors! And they didn’t cut anything!

I forgot that Pokémon used to have good leveling. Now my entire team sans starter is underleveled because I kept skipping everything lmao

That seed-throwing damage-healing move my Servine has might just be the most OP early game move ever. Like that just healed Tarja for 11HP, and she‘s got a total of 77! That’s a 7th! One half of a potion! Every single turn!

THE MUSIC OF THE NEW ARENA- OH I AM SO READY

YOOO ZucZuc‘s evolving! My tiny boi, precious little Zubat, he grew up so fast :‘)

The music evolves with each defeated trainer. The music evolves with each defeated trainer.

…cliffhanger for Elesa because I gotta go sleep! :)

#pokémon white 2 #ingame journal entry 3 #well I not got 4 games simultaneously being played #*now #idk why autocorrect starts correcting everything wrong all the time and it only happens when writing tumblr tags for some reason #and this doesn’t even include Dark Souls #or my third run of twilight princess #or the Mario & Luigi remakes I still haven’t touched #yea I‘m sorry one person who only followed me because of earthbound #gimme a year max then I‘ll continue playing it

[tarja-turunens-cheekbones]

Tied Together (Sharja One Shot)

A collab between me and @your-local-metal-lesbian 😊

It was a sunny day in Vizovice, Czech Republic. The perfect festival weather, Sharon thought. But it wasn't just the weather that made that day perfect. It was something else. Someone else, actually. Tarja Turunen, her old friend, who made her feel emotions that she didn’t even know she had. She first noticed it during the video shoot of Paradise. She instantly felt this strange, but beautiful kind of connection. She felt like that woman knew her better than she did. Also, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Sharon had a hard time trying to not look at her constantly.

Every time they met, Sharon thought her feelings might change, that maybe her heart wouldn’t go into overdrive when she saw her, that she wouldn’t go weak in the knees at the sound of her sweet laugh. But instead, they only seemed to get more intense.

And now, she was sitting right next to her, a glass of wine in her hand, on the balcony of Sharon’s hotel room. They had a view of the little town and the rolling green hills beyond. The setting sun was reflecting from Tarja’s black hair and made her pale skin shine. Sharon thought that she looked more beautiful than ever and not just one forbidden thought was on her mind.

“I’m so glad we got to do this.”

Sharon was pulled from her thoughts by the voice of her friend.

“Me too,” she said, smiling. “Let’s not wait two years to perform together again, okay?”

“Deal.” Tarja raised her glass, and Sharon tapped it with her own.

“So, what are your plans for the rest of the year?” Tarja asked once she had swallowed her sip of wine.

“Well, we’ll be performing at festivals for the rest of the summer still, and then preparing for our tour with Evanescence next year.”

“I heard about that! That will be so cool, and I’m sure the fans will love it.”

Sharon nodded. “Yeah, we’re really excited. And you’re going to be on the road for a while, right?”

Tarja nodded. “Yes, I have a couple more festival shows in the summer, and then I’ll be touring in Russia for most of the fall. And then it will be time for the Christmas concerts!”

By that time, both of their glasses were empty.

“Want some more?’’ Sharon asked. 

“Oh, yeah, definitely.’’

She poured some more of the wine in the glasses and gave Tarja a light smile.

“You look really cute today, by the way,’’ the younger singer said. “Well, you actually look cute everyday.’’

“Oh, thanks sweetie, so do you, but you know that, right?’’ Sharon responded with a smile. Tarja smiled back, without making eye contact, and took a large sip of wine. She was definitely going to need it. Sharon, her secret crush, was flirting with her. Or was she? Tarja couldn’t tell. She finished the glass and got herself even more.

“Looks like we’re gonna be drunk even before it gets dark.’’ Sharon laughed before she chugged her entire glass to keep up with Tarja.

At this point, she could feel the wine doing its magic.

“What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you onstage?’’ Sharon asked.

“Oh, god, don’t even ask…’’ the other singer said, rolling her eyes.

A mischievous grin formed on Sharon’s lips. “Great, now you made me even more interested in it.’’ 

“Nope, that's just too… You know.’’ 

“Come on, tell me.’’

“No, I'm so not telling you.’’ Tarja started laughing at the memory.

“Please, tell me, or…’’ 

An idea formed in Sharon’s mind.

“Or?’’ Tarja asked and raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Or I'm gonna find a spider. You don't want that, right?’’

“Nope.’’

“So are you gonna tell me?’’

“No.’’

“Come on, what if I get us another bottle if you tell me?’’

“Deal,’’ she said.

“So, what happened?’’

“My pants broke on stage and I had yellow underpants.’’ 

Sharon started laughing, a lot. “Oh my god, that's horrible. What did you do about it?’’

“Well, I went backstage and changed during the guitar solo,’’ Tarja responded, giggling. 

“You handled it well. Now let's get us a new bottle, shall we?’’

They walked to the store, hand in hand, laughing to everything the other one said. They suddenly felt like their worlds were complete. Tarja picked a random wine bottle from the liquor section, and they walked up to the cash register. Sharon had to let go of their linked hands when she pulled her card out of her wallet, but as soon as she had paid, Tarja reached for her hand again, and her heart somersaulted in her chest.

“What are we gonna do now? We can go back, or we can walk around a bit,’’ Sharon asked her.

“Yeah, let’s take a walk. I think there's a nice park nearby,’’ the other woman answered. “By the way, what is the worst thing that happened to you onstage?’’ Tarja continued.

“Oh, I don't know, probably when I confused languages and started speaking German in France.’’ She winced slightly at the memory.

“That's pretty funny as well.’’ Tarja smiled.

“Well, it wasn't at the moment,’’ Sharon said and giggled.

“Yeah, that's understandable.”

They had turned the corner from the paved street and onto a gravel path that led into the park. It was dark outside now, but the light blooming from the streetlights lining the path was enough for them to see by. 

 “Look, there's a really cool tree!” Tarja said, pointing to a large oak with low-hanging branches up the path a bit to their left. “How great would it be if we drank the wine under it?’’

“Yes, it's pretty cool. Not cooler than me though,” Sharon said, and they both laughed.

They sat under it, opened the wine and shared some more funny stories. Soon, the bottle was almost empty, and Sharon felt warm and content.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Tarja said, giggling.

“What?”

“We should climb the tree. Don’t you think this would be more fun if we were up in the branches?”

In her intoxicated state, this sounded like the best idea in the world. “Yes,” Sharon agreed. “We absolutely should.”

Still giggling, Tarja hooked her arm over one of the lowest branches and tried to pull herself up. “Can you help me?”

Sharon gave her a gentle push until she was able to get herself on the branch.

“Now you,” Tarja said, holding out her hand. 

Sharon grasped onto it and pushed against the tree trunk with her feet until she was able to get the leverage she needed to make it up to the branch as well.

“Yay, we did it!” Tarja clapped her hands and almost lost her balance, but Sharon quickly reached out with one arm to steady her while keeping the other hand firmly on the branch.

“That’s the perfect spot,” Tarja said, pointing up the tree a ways to a divet in the branches that would have enough space for both of them to lean against the trunk.

It was easy enough to climb to it, and it was a tight squeeze, but Sharon didn’t mind that Tarja had to be half on her lap. The younger woman rested her head on Sharon’s shoulder. “This is perfect,” she whispered.

“Yes, it is.” Sharon looked down at her friend and couldn’t resist running her fingers through her silky hair. 

They stayed like this for a few moments until Tarja looked up suddenly. “Where’s the wine?”

“I think we left it at the bottom,” Sharon said.

“No! We need the wine.” Tarja looked alarmed, and she started to climb back down. Sharon reluctantly followed her, even though she would have been happy to stay in that spot all night.

When she reached the base of the trunk again, Tarja was looking inside the wine bottle with a disappointed expression on her face.

“It’s almost gone,” she said. She held it out to Sharon. “You can have it.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t need it.”

“We can split it then,” Tarja said, and raised the bottle to her lips.

Sharon watched the muscles in the other woman’s neck contract as she swallowed, and she felt her throat go dry.

“Here.” Tarja held out the bottle to her, and she drank the last tiny sip.

When Sharon set the bottle down, Tarja was gazing up at the tree. “I don’t think I have the energy to go back up there.”

“Me either,” Sharon said. “Let’s just stay here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tarja said and sighed happily, snuggling closer to her friend once more.

Sharon put her arms around her and leaned against the base of the trunk. Within moments, she felt Tarja’s breathing settle into a slow rhythm. She knew they had to get back to the hotel soon, but she was sleepy and didn’t want to disturb the woman in her arms. Without meaning to, she let her eyes close and rested her head on Tarja’s.

Ruud watched with dismay from behind a nearby tree as Sharon and Tarja fell asleep. He had watched his best friend stare after the Finnish singer with puppy-dog eyes for the past six years and had watched Tarja give her the same longing looks when she wasn’t aware. He had hoped that tonight, when he had seen them leave the hotel holding hands and skipping down the street to the grocery store, that one of them would admit their feelings with the influence of the alcohol that they were clearly under. But it hadn’t happened.

“Idiots,” Stefan mumbled, voicing his thoughts, and he looked over to see his friend shaking his head.

“We need to do something,” Jeroen said.

“Like what?”

A mischievous glint sparked in Stefan’s eye. “We should play a prank on them.”

Ruud smiled.

“What would we do? Draw on their faces or something?” Jeroen asked.

“Hmm,” said Stefan. “I think we can do better than that.”

A moment later, Ruud held up his hand. “I’ve got it.”

After he explained the idea to his bandmates, they tiptoed across the path to where the two singers lay fast asleep. The knelt down and began carefully untying their shoelaces. They froze when Tarja stirred, but she just draped her arm across Sharon’s shoulder and made a soft noise before seeming to fall asleep again.

They glanced at each other again before continuing their work. Once the laces were untied, they began tying the laces of their shoes together, one from each foot. They had to move Sharon’s legs slightly closer, but luckily she didn’t seem disturbed. Once they had the laces of each of their shoes together, they tied them multiple, tight knots.

Ruud glanced to his right to see Stefan trying to stifle laughter, and he had to contain his own as well. 

Once they were satisfied with their handiwork, they got up and dusted off their hands, giving each other silent high-fives before returning to the hotel.

Tarja woke up very confused. Her head was hurting and she had no idea where she was. This definitely didn’t feel like her hotel room. It kind of felt like she was outside. And there was someone with her. She opened her eyes and saw her friend sleeping next to her. It was still dark and there was an empty wine bottle laying near them.

“Sharon?’’ 

Her friend wiggled a bit next to her. “Yes, sweetie?’’.

 Tarja couldn't believe her ears. She called her sweetie. That could mean something. Or perhaps she was still drunk.

“Where are we?’’ Tarja asked in a sleepy voice.

“I don't know, somewhere in Czech Republic,’’ Sharon answered, her eyes still closed. Tarja quickly looked around. She could see a high building with the word “hotel’’ written on it. Could this be their hotel? It was a small city, this could be the only hotel there. She got up to look around a bit more, but she fell on the ground immediately.

“Damn it, Tarja, what are you doing?’’ Sharon asked.

“Looks like some idiot tied our shoelaces together. Do you have all your stuff, or did they rob us as well?’’

Sharon checked all her pockets and sighed in relief.

“I seem to have everything. You?’’

“Me too.’’

“Good. Now, do you think you could try to untie the laces?’’

 And Tarja was trying, unfortunately without a great outcome.

“Holy shit, that person really did a great job,’’  Tarja hissed angrily.

“Let me try it,’’ Sharon said with a little smile. “Oh crap, you were right’’

“I guess we're gonna have to walk back like this.’’

“It could be worse.’’ Sharon smiled and Tarja helped her get up. She hugged her tightly.

“We can do this,’’ she whispered in her ear.

They were slowly moving towards the hotel, just a few inches apart, both of them enjoying the closeness.

“See, it's not that bad.’’ Tarja smiled and placed a small peck on her friend's cheek. Sharon pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

After a few minutes, they entered the hotel.

“Is this even the right hotel?’’ Sharon asked, laughing. The receptionist gave them a strange look, but neither of them really cared.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I can remember it,’’ Tarja assured her.

“Can I help you, ladies?’’ the receptionist asked them, looking even more confused.

“No, you can’t. Unless you want to untie our shoelaces of course. Some jerk tied them together.’’

 The receptionist rolled her eyes. Tarja pulled her keys out of her pocket and looked at them.

“Room 317. That’s probably the third floor.’’

They got on the elevator and Sharon pressed the button. The door closed.

“Did you see the look on her face? What the heck is wrong with her?’’ They both burst into loud laughter.

“I know, right, has she, like, never seen two people with shoelaces tied together before?’’ Tarja said, laughing again.

She unlocked the door and they both walked in. 

“I'm still really tired… How about going straight to the bed?’’ Tarja asked.

“Oh, yes, sounds nice. Wait. I'm not going straight to the bed. Lets go gay to the bed.’’ Sharon said and buried her face in Tarja’s shoulder. She couldn’t believe that she actually said that.

“Yeah, definitely.’’ Tarja jumped on the bed and took Sharon with her. They were both laying on their side, face to face, just looking at each other, admiring each other’s beauty.

“You're so goddamn beautiful,’’ Tarja said after a minute or so of silence.

“Shut up, just look at you, do you ever look in the mirror? Don't you see it?’’ 

“Oh, honey…’’ Tarja said and leaned in for a kiss. They joined their lips, looking deep in each other’s eyes. After a couple wonderful seconds, Sharon leaned back with a large smile on her face.

“Oh, gay indeed,” she said.

“I love you,” Tarja whispered. “And not just when I'm drunk, I love you all the time, wherever we are.’’

“I love you too,”  Sharon confessed quietly.

“Like, in the, you know, gay way?’’ Tarja wanted to be sure. She still couldn't believe how many good things had happened to them in the past few hours.

“Oh, yes, sweetie. In the gayest way possible,” she assured her.

“Oh my god, the guys are gonna freak out when they'll see us as a couple.” Tarja laughed.

“Yeah, totally. We gotta film it when we tell them. I can already imagine their faces,” Sharon agreed.

Tarja giggled and then rested her head on Sharon’s shoulder. Sharon gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and kissed her once more.

After a couple of minutes, they were already asleep.

#sharja #tarja #tarja turunen #Sharon den Adel #fanfiction #sharja fanfiction

[misfit-among-the-angels]

Music asks #36-48 since you’re bored 😉

Yay, you are saving me from boredom!

36. what are some songs whose lyrics you relate to? Escapist by Nightwish Ghost in the moon by Avantasia An empty dream by Tarja So good it hurts by Lord of the lost Blessing In Disguise by Edguy Death by Cellar darling Journeyman by Iron maiden Mein herz brennt by Rammstein

37. pick a song and analyse its lyrics. Oh my gods, I’m so bad at this and I hate analyzing lyrics just for the sake of doing that. 

38. which songs do you think have the best lyrics? Usually it’s the fun songs or songs that made to troll something like Aren’t you a little pervert too? by Edguy; Bonus song by Ensiferum; Valhalleluja by Nanowar of steel. 

39. what are some songs whose lyrics you think most people just don’t get? For the greater good of god by Iron maiden Deutschland by Rammstein

40. are there any musicians whose lyrics you particularly tend to like? Yep.  Tobi of course. Tuomas from Nightwish. Till from Rammstein.

41. do you prefer songs that have good melodies or songs that have good lyrics? Both.I need good melody and good lyrics, tho sometimes I like melody more than lyrics or opposite

42. name five songs you like that were released in the 90s. Fear of the dark by Iron maiden Sehnsucht by Rammstein Mister Superstar by Marilyn Manson Song of a gun by Bruce Dickinson Under pressure by Oomph!

43. name five songs you like that were released at least 50 years ago. Time by Pink Floyd Wish you were here by Pink Floyd Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen We will rock you by Queen Us and them by Pink floyd

44. write a parody of at least a verse of any song you’d like.  I’m not good enough at this, I can’t write songs 

45. name 5 songs you can’t stand. Tbh anything from Metallica or Megadeth

46. look at your country’s song charts, listen to the first unfamiliar song you can find, and share your opinion on it. Nope nope nope,not even gonna do it because it’s usually songs that aren’t my type and I don’t want my ears to bleed

47. turn a song lyric into a pickup line. You know, I can be Titanic. I can go down (on you). Inspired by Fucking with fire by Edguy  Omfg, i know this one is bad but i can’t stop giggling now

48. name the last 5 songs you listened to. Schicksal by Eisbrecher Schwarzes Blut by Eisbrecher Das Steht Dir Gut by Eisbrecher Menschenfresser by Eisbrecher Flieger grüss mir die Sonne by Eisbrecher

Thank youuu! This was fun!

#anon Tobi #answered

[musikfurfreiheit]

Parts Of Stories I’ll Never Finish

Pairing: Sharja Working Title: Tunnel Vision

People always say there’s a white light at the end of the tunnel. That, and so many other things that people say, is just a lie to comfort themselves, to scare the fear away. There was no light at the end of this tunnel, not since the last street light was broken by a stupid teenager. Sharon was surrounded by the absence of light and that was why she had chosen the place. Darkness had never been darker, cold had never felt so lovely and wind had never sounded so loud as in that very tunnel.

Usually Sharon didn’t come here at night. The fear of the possible unknown danger in the dark had been stronger than her urge to hear her thoughts. She’d been here countless of times to think when she couldn’t find a single word to write down, only to leave just as empty handed as when she arrived. This time would be different.

The tunnel was so much more alive at night. A few minutes ago, ten or maybe thirty, she’d heard an owl cry, followed by the sound of its wings. She’d heard a dog bark in the distance, the wind was howling as it traveled through the tunnel. At night the darkness in the tunnel was more beautiful than any other place would ever be. She was almost tempted to call it paradise until a small light became visible at one end of the tunnel. It wasn’t bright nor white or big. Just the small flame from a candle carried by footsteps. Sharon sighed as she recognized the silhouette of a small human being. Paradise was denied to her once again.

The footsteps stopped when the person was only a few meters away from her. Dark eyes stared at Sharon, small clouds of the persons breath were visible as they traveled through the light of the candle, the wind suddenly had stopped howling.

‘You must be new here.’ The voice sounded strong and fragile at the same time. It fitted the figure, which Sharon now knew was a young woman. ‘This is my spot.’

The woman came closer and so did the smell that hung around her. The girl’s hair probably hadn’t been washed properly in a while and her clothes didn’t look so good either. Slowly Sharon crawled to her feet and grabbed the thermos with coffee that she’d brought.

‘I’m sorry.’ She mumbled while trying to get the possible dirt off her clothes.

‘It’s okay, you’re lucky that I’m willing to share.’ The woman answered. ‘Besides, where else would you go? Home?’ A soft chuckle left the woman’s throat and she shook her head while sitting down on the spot Sharon had just left. ‘Sit down and tell me your story.’ She said as she patted the ground next to her.

‘What story?’

‘Wow, you’re really new.’ The woman smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll show you around in the homeless world. My name is Tarja.’

‘Sharon, but I-’

‘I don’t do nicknames.’ Tarja interrupted her as she opened the case she carried with her. ‘Are you hungry?’

‘No.’

‘Then save this feeling, you’ll miss not being hungry.’

Sharon watched Tarja in silence as the woman opened a can of cat food. The woman actually seemed to enjoy it and almost licked the can clean before putting it back in the case. She pulled a blanket and coat from under the guitar that lay in the case and handed Sharon the blanket.

‘Here, it will be cold. I’ll start teaching you tomorrow if you and all my stuff are still here in the morning.’

Without another word the woman wrapped the old coat around her body and rested her head on the case. Sharon tried to understand what had just happened as she watched Tarja drifting off to sleep. Everything had changed. The silence was now filled with rhythmic breathing and the dark wasn’t so dark anymore. The cold however was still there and she wrapped the blanked around her shoulders as a shiver ran up her spine. She wanted to go home but she couldn’t just leave Tarja here. There was something about this woman, something mysterious like a story that was waiting to be told. Sharon was just a songwriter that went looking for inspiration, and maybe she had found just that.

Sharon was now living with a 300 year old pregnant serial killer that was 37% vampire, or that was what Tarja claimed to be. The girl had no intention on sharing her past with Sharon. Every answer she had given sounded like it was rehearsed, as if Tarja was a character instead on a person. Her emotions seemed to be turned off, but there was one thing she couldn’t hide. Sharon had already seen it on the very first evening she’d met Tarja. There was a layer of mystery that protected the real Tarja and the small flame in her green emerald eyes. Her voice hinted that it had a story to tell, a story that was stopped by the protective layer.

Everything about the mystery named Tarja fascinated Sharon. The thought that the other woman could be her new source of inspiration had crossed her mind, but Tarja turned out to be the complete opposite. Sharon couldn’t think about words to describe her, no melody her fingers could play would be right for her. Tarja was a melody on herself, a rhapsody of emotions too great for the human ear to be heard. Even though Sharon was a professional song writer, she would never be able to write a song that was good enough for Tarja.

Sharon’s peaceful bubble got burst when the next metro entered the station. The sounds Tarja was producing with her guitar got overpowered with the screams of the metro’s brakes before the talking of a hundred people took over. One by one they passed the two woman without acknowledging their existence and Tarja sighed as she put down guitar.

‘I guess we won’t have dinner today either.’

Just the word “dinner” was enough to get Sharon’s stomach growling. She hadn’t eaten in hours, hadn’t washed her hair or clothes in almost a week and for what? She could just go home, lay in her warm bath for an hour and buy all the pizzas she wanted. The answer was sitting next to her. Tarja had no choice, she had no bath, no money for pizza. Tarja had to fight to survive, to keep the flame in her eyes alive and it was that very flame that Sharon was hungry for. It was that flame that made Sharon stay.

‘Can I try it?’ Sharon asked as she pointed at the guitar.

Without another word Tarja handed her the instrument. The girl buried her face in her arms while Sharon placed the guitar on her lap and felt the familiar metal of the guitar strings under her fingertips. It had been almost a week since she last played a guitar but her hands easily found the right position for the first chord. She smelled and she was ashamed of herself, but this was something she was good at. Not a single second did she hesitate to sing the first note. Everything about that one note was so perfect that it made up for the way she looked and the notes that followed were enough to also convince other people of that. They looked down as they passed the two homeless girls, sometimes even tossed some money at them, but there was only one pair of eyes that mattered.

Sharon could feel the flame in Tarja’s eyes burning on her. She could feel how every movement she made was watched and it made her smile. Tarja had surprised her with several things all week long and now it was her turn to have a surprise.

These was no applause after she played the last note, but the smile on Tarja’s lips was louder than any crowd could had been.

‘You’re good.’ Tarja whispered in awe. ‘Your voice is amazing and… Imagine what you could be if you weren’t homeless.’

‘Like what? A professional songwriter?’

‘Yeah! Look at all the money you got, that has to be like 10 euro! You can actually buy food instead of stealing it this evening.’

Sharon lightly smiled as she put the guitar down and started counting the money. She was still surprised by how honest Tarja was. It didn’t matter how much money she’d earned with her attempt at playing the guitar, if she had enough money she’d pay for her food. Tarja didn’t steal because it was easy, she stole because she had no choice. There was something special about living in a tunnel, it was a special way of living. You did everything possible to survive, but helping others was still priority. Homeless people saw things so differently, and Sharon felt as if she opened her eyes for the first time when she understood the tunnel vision.

‘No, I’m not going to buy food.’ Sharon smiled as she looked down at the money in her hand. ‘You’ve been craving coffee all week so I’m getting you some. It was your guitar after all.’

Sharon’s entire body protested as it was suddenly forced to move. She’d been sitting on the cold floor for over an hour and the thought of warm coffee almost made her hop towards the coffee stand in the station.

It cost her almost all her money, but the smile on Tarja’s face when she smelled the warm liquid was totally worth it. The woman almost moaned as she took a first careful sip. Never before had Sharon seen a smile so thankful and real and she had no choice than to smile herself.

‘Oh my god, this is almost as good as an orgasm.’ Tarja sighed with closed eyes. ‘How can I thank you for this?’

‘Well, there might be one thing that I want.’

‘And what would that be?’

‘You.’ Sharon smiled. ‘I want to know you and who you are and I…’

Every word Sharon had ever learned left her mind as she looked right into the flame inside Tarja’s eyes. She couldn’t think in words anymore, there only were butterflies, the scent of coffee and her heart racing in her chest. Sharon was surprised her hand wasn’t shaking as she lifted it before softly stroking Tarja’s cheek. Her lips were even softer when Sharon carefully kissed them and they were warmer than the flame in her green eyes.

Tarja didn’t react at all. Slowly Sharon pulled back, the smile that had been on her lips disappeared as she opened her eyes. The flame in Tarja’s eyes seemed to be frozen and for the first time, the woman didn’t show any emotion at all.

#Parts Of Stories I'll Never Finish #Sharja #fanfiction

[handsofdarkness]

Sharon den Adel interview for RTL.de

RTL: You actually come from the fashion sector, right?

Sharon: Yes, at first I did an apprenticeship in fashion management, but of course I also worked a lot on design. I actually wanted to do design, but I thought that management had more career opportunities. I spent a lot of time with clothes as a child. But then my career changed completely (laughs).

How did you get from fashion to music?

Music has always been my first love. And with the band I had the opportunity to make my own music. But you always need a plan B - and plan B was fashion! And now I can combine that too. I partly create my stage outfits myself or let my ideas flow into them. It would be boring if you always looked the same, because new ideas were always needed. And so I can finally connect my two great loved ones!

Let's talk about your current album "Resist" * Does it mean a new chapter of Within Temptation after a five year break?

Yes, the music has changed a lot in my opinion compared to our previous records. In the intervening years I had a phase when I didn't know where the band was going. I also worked on my solo project "My Indigo", which naturally led to new influences. Back then I really had to leave my comfort zone because I had never released a solo album and I learned a lot in that time. It took a lot of me, and so a new sound developed with the band. More up-tempo, a little more groovy, completely new elements were added to our music. This gave the band a new base. With "Resist" everything feels different and new to me.

"Resist" refers to the resistance to completely engulfing the digital world and having its behavior recorded and monitored on the Internet. Where did the inspiration come from?

In the past, we were very often inspired by what had happened in the past. But of course we found that we are now facing new major problems. A lot of things made me very angry, although of course we live here in a comparatively very comfortable world. And then there is this amount of social media and how people interact with each other there. As a result, so much has changed and so much is happening that I disagree with. And so many people were still in sleep mode, they didn't even notice what was happening there. And I was completely in "Resist" mode (laughs). But in the time we worked on the album and released it, many finally woke up.

Which song on the album means a lot to you personally?

"Raise Your Banner" because for me it's a kind of wake-up call. It's time to stop hiding behind the music as a band. I think, first and foremost, we make music and not politics, but you should express your opinion. As a musician, you have so many expressions. If a president can share his views on Twitter, then we can say what we think. In this way you can stimulate other people to think as an artist. I don't mean giving someone an opinion, but food for thought is important.

Do you plan to continue with your solo project "My Indigo"?

At some point I would like to do that, but at the moment we are so filled with Within Temptation - it's always like a roller coaster ride (laughs). Especially now with the upcoming tour with Evanescence. But if I have time again and everything is a bit more relaxed, I would like to continue with "My Indigo", yes.

You have already worked with various other artists - Jacoby Reddix from Papa Roach, Xzibit, Tarja Turunen ... is there anyone else on your wish list?

Oh, the list is endless (laughs). We work with so many great people, and often we write a song and think about who we could add, who would fit. So that depends on the music.

How did the idea of a tour with Evanescence come about?

I don't even know exactly where it originally came from! We met about two years ago. Evanescence played in the Netherlands and invited us. That was great, of course, because we were always compared, and then it was exciting to see who it was, the people behind the band. And after only five minutes we noticed that we definitely have a connection to each other, we understood each other as well as it rarely happens the first time. I hadn't expected that. I think Amy and I have been thinking about doing something together ever since. But I can no longer say exactly who initiated it. Last year we had a gig together in Switzerland and that turned into the tour.

How would you compare the music of Within Temptation and Evanescence?

There are many parallels, but also many differences. We are both from the "heavy" corner, of course, but Evanescence are American and we are European. And I think that's the difference! The way we make music is different. There is the European sound with us and the American sound with Evanescence. But the music is definitely different. I think the parallels are mainly that both bands have a front woman, our styling is often similar, so of course the comparisons come.

What is special about this tour?

For many fans it is definitely great to see two bands they like in one evening in a nice location. It’s not always there, it’s pretty cool! For example, I remember when Metallica were on tour with Megadeth. Many of my friends were absolutely thrilled!

The tour is called "WORLDS COLLIDE". Which two worlds are meant by this?

Two worlds that are similar on one side, but different. Evanescence from the USA, we from the Netherlands ... and both bands have developed differently. But there are many similar feelings in our music, the drama, epic storytelling etc.

Do both bands inspire each other?

Good question - I can't answer that spontaneously! There are so many inspirations for us and I haven't even asked Amy about them. I have to do it! (Laughs)

Are there any differences between fans in different countries? Are German fans different from others?

Yes, there are actually differences, sometimes even within a country, between north and south. Sometimes people find it more difficult to find their way into the music, to go along with it correctly or to drop it. Others are more open. In Spain, for example, the fans go out of their way, they are very extroverted. It's different in the Netherlands. Here people are more relaxed and calm.

What was the strangest thing that happened to you on a tour so far?

I remember when we first played in Germany at the Mera Luna Festival. We didn't know the festival and we didn't have time to look at the audience before our very early performance. We didn't really know that it was a Goth festival and that everyone was dressed and styled really well. I felt totally underdressed! (Laughs)

Is there a place in the world where you absolutely want to play?

I would love to play in Iceland! It's a country I've never been to and it has to be so beautiful

#Sharon den Adel #within temptation #2020 interviews

[fantroll-purgatory]

@boisonbapple

Hey its me again with another fantroll, and here we have a wonderful heiress

Alternia or Beforus or some type of AU?

Alternia, during the time of after Trizza and before Feferi

Name (preferably include how you came up with it and why):

Peptoe Bizmal, she was named as a joke, her name came before her design, me and a friend were joking on how Peptoe Bizmal was a valid troll name so we used it, also Peptoe is fuchsia and pepto is pink.

OKAY, this name is very funny, naturally, but it’s also like… kinda random. So we have a few options here. 

1) We can either change her name to something themeatic like… Evnesc Turnen (a reference to Evanescence and the former lead singer of Nightwish, Tarja Turunen). Or like… Jkilla Ebonee (a reference to Jay Killa from Vampires Everywhere! and, of course, Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way). 

2) We can KEEP Peptoe Bizmal, but we have to make it fit her theme somehow. Sooo… Pepto-Bismol, otherwise known as Bismuth subsalicylate, is a medicine that is used to help people obvs, but that is also Kinda Toxic. As with all medicines, repeated use is bad. So maybe we can throw it into her themeing personality…wise? Like maybe she’s a great person to be around occasionally (teaberry-flavored personality and all) but if you spend too long with her she can turn toxic on ya real fast. Scene kid DRAMA, y’know. I think if the name Peptoe Bizmal is kept, you’ve GOTTA pull in more Bubblegum Pink, though. When you go Bismol you go full Bismol. 

Age:

8 sweeps, or 16 years old.

Strife Specibus:

2x3dentkind, like all fuchsias

Fetch Modus:

Hoodie pocket, item goes into a Hoodie pocket (and it will never fall out) and the user has to wear a sweatshirt with the items in the pocket

See now that’s not a Fetch Modus, that’s just wearing a magic jacket. We need a LITTLE more inconvenience than that. 

So you know how like… Scene kid buttons were(/are) a big thing? 

Maybe her items get stored as Pins With Edgy Phrases. She has to reach into a Pin Bag and try to sus out which one relates to the item she’s LOOKING for. 

Blood color:

Fuchsia.

Symbol and meaning:

Pilo (Prospit + Heart).

Sign of the Spirited.

I like me some hidden signs, they’re on her shoes

Trolltag + Grype:

Kinda lost on this one

Well my first and most obvious joke is sleepingSiren, as a reference to sleeping with sirens LOL. bumblegumBass could be another fun one. bactericidalRomance? panickedFischo? eatedCookie? Okay now I’m having too much fun, but any of those should work.  

Quirk:

Lik hOw a sCeNe girl tAlks??? o.O

oh teh noes O_o

Well obviously you gotta be sure to ALWAYS turn “the” to “teh”, use as many x’s and z’s as possible, and use *asterisks for action*. such as when Peptoe *epically glomps her bffzzz >XD* 

Special Abilities (if any):

She’s a seadweller and that’s it

Lusus:

Big ol glubglub

Personality:

She’s the highest up so she’s a bit snobby, but is just genuinely friendly most of the time, but she can get snippy and rude if something gets her to be offensive, she kinda sees herself as the best due to being a fuchsia, but she tries to ignore the fact that when she reaches adulthood, she’ll lose the battle against condy, she also tries to act “random” and “quirky” matching that persona she gave herself.

Oh super convincing for a Scene Themed Character. Like I said above maybe she could be a liiil on the toxic side. Like, scene-kid era impulsive lying to be more impressive. Myspace Drama Causing Fool. If you hang out with her for a little while she can be great if kinda… awkward, but her deeper internal feelings of superiority and also general natural can just kinda make you either nauseous or just frustrated after too long 2gether. Best taken in small doses. 

I also like the idea that she’s nervous about the Condy thing. Is that why she built this persona? Is she just trying to live it up while she still can? Is it REBELLION against the system but she’s fuchsia so she doesn’t Actually know how to rebel against the system so she does it with eccentric fashion? That’s a great idea. You can expand a lot on that conceit. A character who feels trapped in a situation w/ no way to fight against it can often try to exert control in odd ways.

Interests:

She likes what is considered weird, creepy, and unusual, as well as horrifying cute items too, she likes east alternian animation since not everyone likes it and it’s considered quirky for her to like it as well as she likes emo bands like troll mcr, p!atd, and fob, she finds it fun to go find abandoned places and just hang out there, she likes collecting plushies of not cute things.

This is fun. I wonder if she might be interested in lowblood culture in general then? Or at least interested in co-opting its image a little bit. I mean, if she’s into creepy things and acting Super Quirky and Edgy, she might actually be really into the like, rustblood scene of Ghost Seein’. A lot of younger scene kids during the Scene Boom were really into that habit of pretending they had psychic powers and were really into ghosts. That’s something you could play around with, the idea of her Pretending she TOTALLY has psychic powers like a rust, for sure!!! Yeah she can SUPER talk to the dead. If she likes breaking into abandoned places, she could like hunting for ghosts, too.

Title:

Thief Of Heart

Honestly I miiight chalk her down as a Knight of Heart? She’s got a Whole lotta soul, a whole lotta identity, a whole lotta personhood and doesn’t really know what to do with it or how to utilize her Own self. Instead she relies on redistributing facades and putting up masks. Gotta learn to tune into her REAL feelings instead of hiding them. 

Land:

Land of Reflection and Overgrowth.

Overgrowth definitely feels a lil too Lifey for my liking. If I had to pick kind of just aesthetically/themeatically, I might say the Land of Bismuth and Parades. Bismuth is another callback to Pepto-Bismol, and Parades is, OF COURSE, a reference to Welcome to the Black Parade. 

Dream Planet:

Prospit

Design time!:

I obvs can’t replicate your really great style in sprite form, but here I go. From the top down: 

Hair: The bleached blonde aesthetic just doesn’t work on trolls, so I went with what I kind of assume is similar to a bleached strip in troll culture? Blood Colored Fluff at the back of her hair. I kept the red stripes, but I added the classic Scene Kid Raccoon Pattern. 

Face: Since she already had so much color going on, I brought the eye makeup back to that classic Scene Kid Dark Smokey Eye With The Heavy Shadow Under. She also got a Duck Face style lip and both gold snakebites and a gold nose bridge piercing. I added a plug earring on her right fin, because plugs are def associated w/ the scene look that this era Draws From. 

Outfit: I brought the shirt down to dark grey just to keep that color balance you were going for. Her belt got gold studs instead of silver and you may notice that she has a raccoon tail pinned to her belt, as was (and maybe still is) common for Scene Kids. Except hers is like. An actual lusus tail. Like she actually took it from another person’s lusus. Don’t worry about it. I brought her skirt to a Rustblood Red to emulate that idea I was talking about, of her ripping off and exploiting lowblood aesthetics. 

Shoes/socks: I wanted to keep the sock colors neutral here esp because there’s so little space to work with, so she gets mismatched stripes and checkers in black and white. And her converse have become Pepto-Bismol Pink. 

Tiktok Badapp is up next

But she’s my latest fantroll who I’m really happy about

She’s real great! Thank you for sharing!

-CD

#fuchsiablood #tyrianblood #seadweller #submission #boisonbapple #cd review #redesign #review #peptoe bizmal #peptoe #bizmal

[drabblesandimagines]

400 request! Could you do some thing like enemies to lovers with Cid, maybe an argument that leads to an angry kiss. With some spice at the end?

Thankyou!

Thanks for the 400 request, anon! Sorry it took me an absolute age to get round to it - I'm still working my way through a few. I didn't quite get enemies to lovers but there's some argumentative banter and a tiiiiny bit of spice towards the end - please let me know what you think in an anon ask xxx Sparks Cidolfus Telemon x female reader Fluffy, little sprinkling of spice towards the end

You start to look up at the sound of the bell tinkling over the door, announcing a customer, but the heavy boots on the wooden floorboards tell you all you need to know and you sigh, casting your eyes immediately back down when you see who it is darkening your doorstep.

“No.”

“Love, that’s not a nice greeting. Want to try again?”

“Cidolfus-” “Oh, I am in trouble.” He smirks. “Now, this is a nice one.” You hear him heave a pot up in his hands, “how much?"

You look up then – he’s admiring the ceramic with a fake interest. “Not for sale.” You pinch the bridge of your nose to try and relieve the tension as he places the pot down.  “I have a headache that could down a behemoth and I cannot deal with that and you today.”

“Then,” the approaching footsteps show he has not heeded your plea, “you should let me help you.”

“Help?” You scoff. “You always bring more trouble to my door. If the Imperials or Dragoons get word of you being here…”

“They’ll what – poke and prod me with their little halberds?” He pretends to pout. “I don’t fear them and, if someone would finally accept my very gracious offer, neither would you.”

“Leave.” You seethe. “You’re nothing but a hinderance these days.”

“Surely it’s the thought that counts.” He chuckles, laying both palms down on the desk to show he had no plans to leave. “Besides, if you would concede, Tarja could whip you off something for that headache too, quick as you like.”

“By the Mothers. I swear-“

“This isn’t a very viable way to run a business, love – chasing your customers away at the door.”

“You’re not a real customer.”

He shrugs, before lifting a hand off the counter and grabbing a gil pouch off his belt. He drops it in show, the bag giving a satisfying thunk as it hit the counter to show off its contents.

“I’ll take however much this will get me.”

“You won’t. I hold the right to refuse you service.” You stress, shoving the pouch back across to him.

“You’re such a funny shopkeeper, someone might get ideas you’re up to something else here.”

You sigh, meeting his eyes at last. He’s a handsome man and he knows it – part of what makes him so cocky. “What will it take for you to leave me be?”

He throws his arms wide. “Come join my group of outlaws.”

“I’m doing fine work here.” You grumble. Your paths had crossed a few years back. He’d heard word of someone shipping ailing Bearers out to the Kingdom of Waloed – something he could not stand, given his history. His investigations had led straight to you – ushering them onto a boat in a way that wasn’t befitting on a slave master. After a tense exchange, it had been established that the two of you were of the same opinion – that Bearers didn’t deserve the hand they had been dealt and were trying to help where you can in different ways. You’d buy up Bearers where you could and, under the guise of selling them to Waloed, you’d find them havens throughout Valisthea, allowing them to live their final days in peace, for whatever it was worth.

He was smug, cocky, thought he was the Mother’s gift to all around him, and it drove you up the wall – like he expected you to swoon over him and his swagger, go along with whatever he wanted. But no, you’d stayed firm, held your resolve – Cidolfus Telemon will not get his way with you.

“What if I say I’m worried?”

“About yourself? You should be. I heard a certain rumour about an unwanted visitor to Drake’s Head.”

He quirks an eyebrow, looks surprised for a moment before his face falls back into its self-assured grin. “I just wanted a closer look, love.”

The bell above the door rings again and a real customer walks in – a nobleman, by the looks of it, with real gil to burn.

You look at Cid and nod your head towards the door. Thankfully, he relents, giving you a wink and a wave and finally heads out the door.

--

Later that evening, you’re about to lock up when a hand squeezes your shoulder. You turn, alarmed, and find yourself facing a trio of Imperial soldiers – all sporting the same haircut under military standards, the same hardened stares.

“I’m awfully sorry, but I’m closed for the day, sirs. Mayhaps you can return in the morning.” You keep your tone light, almost ditsy to try and diffuse what is clearly not a group of soldiers out shopping for pots.

“I’m afraid this matter really cannot wait, my lady.” The soldier reaches past you and opens the door into the shop before pushing you back within. “After you.”

You make it five steps in when you hear a sword being unsheathed and an almighty clatter as it collides with a group of pots on display.

“Oops.” The soldier says, dryly.

“Accidents happen.” This isn’t good – whatever this is.

“They do.”  We wouldn’t want any more happening, would we?”

“No, sir.”

“Like, it must have been an accident when Cidolfus Telemon was here this afternoon and you did not bring it to our attention.”

“Who?” You tilt your head, trying to mimic confusion. The soldier, the commander of this merry trio, you reckon, grabs you by your jaw, squeezing your cheeks.

“Don’t play dumb, my lady. You’ll only make this worse for yourself. What business did you conduct with him?”

“None.” He lets go of your jaw and shoves you backwards, sending you crashing into another display of pots. Jagged bits of ceramic poke at your back and thighs, but that pain is nothing to the fear you feel when he draws his sword.

“Ladies should not lie.”

“And that is no way to treat a lady, lads.” Cid’s smooth voice comes from the doorway. The soldiers spin on their heels, holding their swords aloft. He steps in, casually, rolling up his sleeves.

“Surrender, Telemon.”

Sparks of lightning begin to crackle along his arm and into his palm. “Not my style.” And before the soldiers can make another move, he punches his fist into the ground, sending three strikes of lightning in each of their directions, sending the trio flying up for a moment before crashing down into more of your pots - dead.

You stare in disbelief of what’s just occurred, your heart pounding as Cid strides over to you, pulling you up to your feet.

“Are you all right?”

“You.” You growl, grabbing hold of either side of his collar with both hands and yanking him forward. “I told you that you’re nothing but trouble.”

He holds his hands up in mock surrender. “Love, I’m sorry, that wasn’t meant to happen-“ You cut him off with a bruising kiss and for a moment he doesn’t reciprocate, stunned, before he drops his hands and slides his tongue in between your lips, fighting for dominance. His hands find your waist and he pulls you closer, one hand dropping down to squeeze your backside. You can feel him smirk into the kiss, but that won’t do. You let go of his collar, trailing your fingers down his chest and then lower, ghosting his crotch, causing him to moan into your mouth…

“We gotta go, Cid – more Imperials heading this way!” A voice comes from the door – one you recognize as another part of his crew.

He pulls away, frowning. “We’ll have to continue this back at my place, love. Come on.” And with no hesitation, his hands are back at your waist and the smug bastard throws you over your shoulder, patting your backside as he adjusts his grip.

“Cidolfus!” --

Comments, likes and reblogs make my whole day x

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Ko-fi

#ghostdogwrites #cid telemon x reader #cidolfus telamon #cidolfus telemon x you #ffxvi x reader

[unchain-the-escapist]

Jurassic Meteor [Part 2]

“”Think it’ll scare the kids?” Floor asked while moving closer to Tarja.

“The kids?! This will give the parents nightmares…”

“Is that good…”

“It’s fantastic…”  Tarja said breathlessly.””

Meteor (Merel/Charlotte/Floor) (Romantic pairing)

Words: 2515

Other parts (x)

After grabbing some papers on her own desk and throwing her coffee cup away, Floor made her way to her car and began driving to the enclosure. Floor didn’t even know that her boss was working today, her days usually filled with vacations to all possible locations in the world while not really being involved in the businesses of the park. That’s why Floor was here, to keep everything going. Ms. Turunen was usually only involved when it came to the bigger decisions, for example in what the Indominus would look like and what its characteristics would be. The rest was up to Floor to arrange. Tuomas and his team had been working day and night to correctly assemble the right combinations to create the new hybrid, and when it had been a success, their boss had been notified.

Stopping on the small gravel area right in front of the main gate to the enclosure, Floor stepped out of her car and immediately spotted Ms. Turunen waiting for her. Dressed in a tailored black suit and matching black heels, Floor scoffed at how hot she must be in that set. It was Costa Rica they were in. Here it was either hot or really hot.

“Floor!” the woman greeted enthusiastically while lowering the phone she was holding against her ear and ending the call she had been having.

“Ms. Turunen! How are you?” Floor said back, the other woman frowning in dismay.

“Oh please call me Tarja, we’ve been over this before.” Tarja said while stepping up to Floor and shaking her hand. Floor had always seen it as common decency to call someone higher in command for Ms, Mrs, or Mr. Something that she would probably never stop doing.

“Tarja… how was your travel here?” Floor asked, both of them moving towards the control room entrance.

“It was amazing! The park seem to have grown so much since I’ve been gone! How’s it doing?”

Having memorized her papers before she stepped into the car, Floor spoke up.

“We're up two and a half percent over last year, a bit lower than our initial projections-“

“No, no, no, how's it doing? Are the guests having fun? Are the animals enjoying life?”

Feeling a bit off course by the question, Floor cleared her throat and answered Tarja’s question.

“Well, guest satisfaction is steady. In the low nineties. We don't have a way to measure the animals' emotional experience.”

“Sure you do. You can see it in their eyes, right?”

“Of course. And the marketing department thought that we could offset some of the costs-”

“Ah, enough about costs! John Hammond entrusted me with his dying wish, and not once did he mention profits. "Spare no expense", he used to say.

Ugh, Floor really hated that saying. She was reminded of it constantly whenever she and Tarja met and discussed business. Spare no expense was a good saying and idea, but in practice it didn’t work like that.

“I appreciate that, but the reality of operating a theme park is that it requires-“

“Don't forget why we built this place, Floor. Jurassic World exists to remind us how very small we are. How new. You can't put a price on that.”

As they reached the door, Floor moved her keycard across the screen and listened for the click of the door so that they could step inside. And once they both heard it, Floor placed her hand on the handle and pressed it down.

“Okay, now show me my new dinosaur..”

------------

After scaling a couple of stairs in high-heels, the women entered the control room, immediately greeted with huge, glass windows. To their left sat a security guard with a sandwich in one hand and a coffee mug in the other.

“Unbelievable…” Floor thought, feeling quite embarrassed that the boss over the entire park had to see that they had hired such an incompetent idiot. But Tarja’s eyes were trained on the glass, Floor taking the opportunity to signal for the security guard to leave. After he did, Floor spoke up.

“We hit a few speed bumps early on. It began to anticipate where the food would come from. One of the handlers nearly lost an arm. The others threatened to quit if I couldn't guarantee their safety.” Floor said while they moved closer to the windows. The only thing they could see was dense jungle.

“She’s intelligent then?”

“For a dinosaur.”

“And that?” Tarja said darkly and pointed to the small crack in the glass.

“It tried to break the glass.” Floor exclaimed, her heart beating nervously in her chest. That had been a panic filled morning for the employees when the report had come in about the attempted escape. But the crack was on the long list of little things to fix around the park.

“I like her spirit.”

Those were just the words Floor loved to hear.

Suddenly, a growl could he heard from the thick trees. Something was moving through the green scenery, the shape of a large, white back and the side of a white abdomen area disturbed the otherwise still leaves. Floor could faintly feel the vibrations of the dinosaur’s footsteps.

“Oh it’s white… you never told me it was white…”

Looking over at the other woman, Floor could see the awe and the fear in her eyes. In that moment, she wanted to do a victory dance. But that had to wait. All of Floor’s hard work had payed off.

“Think it’ll scare the kids?” Floor asked while moving closer to Tarja.

“The kids?! This will give the parents nightmares…”

“Is that good…”

“It’s fantastic…”  Tarja said breathlessly.

As Floor could clearly make out a yellow eye looking in their direction, Tarja spoke up.

“Can she see us?”

“They say it can sense thermal radiation, like snakes.”

Pausing for a moment, Tarja turned fully towards the other woman.

“Say, I thought there were two of them. That’s what you said on the phone when you gave me the good news.”

“There was a sibling in case this one didn’t survive infancy.”

“Where’s the sibling?”

“She ate it.” Floor said matter of factly, watching as Tarja’s eyes turned wide and showed disbelief. Ingesting the information while turning away from Floor, the women watched as the Indominus disappeared through the jungle.

Tarja surveilled the walls for a while before speaking.

“So the paddock is quite safe then?”

“We have the best structural engineers in the world.”

“Yeah, so did Hammond.”

Floor didn’t respond to that, her mind still cursing Hammond and his foolishness. It had been ten years. They were smarter now. They had better technology. The Indominus was safe in its enclosure.

“There is an animal trainer here. Part of a research team one of my companies is running. Merel Bechtold.”

Feeling how her entire stomach twisted at the name, Floor was close to gasping, her hand once more reaching for her wedding ring. It was still hard to hear that name without her heart beating painfully.

“I know who she is.” Floor said with as little emotion as she could.

“Her animals often try to escape. They’re smart. She has to be smarter.”

Turning away from the other woman, Floor took a deep breath while trying to compose herself.

“And the veterinarian. Charlotte something… we need to ensure that the dinosaur is happy after all. Weren’t you dating?”

A big smile stretched across Floor’s face at the name, the thought of Merel seemingly being blown away for the moment.

“Wessels, her last name is Wessels. And we got married six months ago.”

“Congratulations.” Tarja said and smiled warmly.

“I want both Merel and Charlotte here to inspect the paddock. Maybe they see something that we can’t.”

------------

After saying goodbye to her boss and knowing that she would be in her office during the rest of the day, Floor got conformation of her wife’s whereabouts through the main control room and began making her way over there.

She rarely got to see Charlotte during the day due to them working in two very different departments. And when they got home to their hotel room, they would barely have energy to make food before they both collapsed onto their bed together. They knew that this type of living wasn’t good for their marriage, long arguments into the night had proved that much.

Pulling up to the veterinary clinic on the East Plains, Floor spotted the sick Triceratops lying on its side inside the cage it was held in, a woman with a distinctive set of red hair tending to the animal. Charlotte’s passion for animals had always been great, her job with large mammals recognized by the park’s employers and they gave her an opportunity that she couldn’t refuse.

Exiting the car, Floor breathed in the fresh air while looking over the mountains and how they broke through the dense jungle, a flock of Gallimimus foraging for food on the edge of it. A name was circling around in her head, a name that she would do anything to forget.

Merel.

Why was she even needed? Floor had had engineer after engineer looking over the enclosure and they had declared it safe. She didn’t need this “expert” to have a look at it too. But Tarja was her boss and she had to obey.

Opening the door to the clinic with her keycard, Floor was met with cupboards with medicine, x-ray and surgery equipment, and other things used for examinations. Floor wasn’t really familiar with the care of the animals or what was needed. She just signed the papers if new equipment needed to be purchased. Towards the end of the room, and next to a touch screen with what seemed to be a journal displayed on it, was a door. And through that door, Floor spotted her wife.

The heavy breaths of the Triceratops greeted Floor as she stepped out into the sun once more, Charlotte listening to the animal’s chest with a stethoscope, eyes closed and mind focused on the rhythmic breathing.  

“Hey.” Floor said carefully, Charlotte’s eyes snapping open and a smile replacing the focused look on her face.

“Hey!” the redhead said while putting the stethoscope around her neck and walking up to her wife. Charlotte’s arms were quickly wrapped around Floor’s neck, her head tilting back and connecting her lips with Floor’s own in a heated kiss. Placing her hands on Charlotte’s hips, Floor marveled at how soft her wife was, her spirit free and caring. A sharp contrast to Floor’s harder and distrusting one. But maybe that’s why they fit so well together, and why their relationship bloomed under such straining working conditions. And why it didn’t work with some…

Pulling away from the kiss and shaking away the sinking feeling in her chest, Floor faced her wife’s worried gaze.

“What’s wrong?” she asked gently, playing with the small strands of hair at the back of Floor’s neck. The touch felt good, eliciting tiny sparks along her spine and making her heart pound. Charlotte always had that effect on her. Floor could be in the middle of a breakdown over the stress of keeping the park together, but one touch from Charlotte and she instantly became calm.

“Ms. Turunen asked me to bring some experts to the Indominus enclosure to make sure that the dinosaur was fine and secure. She wanted me to bring you… and Merel…”

Floor watched as Charlotte’s smile changed, her hazel eyes turning somber as her arms dropped from the taller woman’s shoulders.

They hadn’t spoken in a year, not since Merel had walked out on them. On their relationship. Screams and tears of heartbreak had been present at all of them. It had been the three of them for so long, sharing the same home, the same bed, they even proposed to each other at the same time. On the Costa Rica beach, under the stars, they made a promise to each other to never be apart.

And then Floor’s work took over. She was never there anymore, leaving Merel and Charlotte alone to miss her. And then Floor broke the news about the Indominus Rex and Merel lost it. She called the hybrid a monster, a being that wasn’t supposed to exist. That it would never work and destroy everything. Not just the park, but their relationship as well. And then she made a dilemma to Charlotte. Would she stay with Floor or Merel? And when she couldn’t answer, Merel packed her stuff and left their room.

Charlotte had cried for two days straight.  

“Oh?” the redhead said and began hugging her middle.

They hadn’t seen or talked to Merel in a year, Floor only knew that she still worked at the park. They hadn’t made an attempt to re-connect. Something that had been all too present during their wedding day, how they had cried not over the vows they had read, but over the person they had lost along the way. A piece of their heart was missing that day.

“Yeah. And I don’t know what to do.” Floor said, her voice cracking just a bit as she spoke. She had chosen her career over her fiancée. She would not chose her career over her wife. That’s why they were working so hard to make their relationship work.

“I don’t want you to get into trouble just because you didn’t follow orders.”

Floor wanted to shout at the conflicting emotions coursing through her mind. She loved her job, she loved making profits, to expand, and to see the park flourish. Floor loved the challenges that came with it. So she had to follow orders. She had sacrificed so much for this park.

Caressing her wife’s cheek gently with the tip of her thumb, she kissed Charlotte’s forehead before starting to hug her tightly. Floor did have the park, and in some miraculous way her wife, but they both needed closure. Merel’s departure still weighed heavily on them both.

“We can’t keep doing this, Charlotte. We can’t keep ignoring the woman we once loved. Maybe even still do…” Floor spoke quietly, sensing how Charlotte began clinging tighter to her.

“No, we can’t…” the redhead said while pulling away, Floor seeing the tears gathered in the corner of her wife’s eyes before they were forced away. Floor admired her strength, she always had. When things had been crazy, Charlotte was the one who brought peace when Floor’s and Merel’s tempers had been boiling over. Sometimes Floor wondered why Charlotte had picked her, Merel was the funny one and Floor was just… Floor. During the night when Merel had walked out, Floor was so certain that Charlotte would walk away too. And when she hadn’t, the tall brunette had cried with joy. Nowadays, she couldn’t even imagine a future without Charlotte in it.

“I’ll take care of this lady here and then we can go.” the redhead said, going back to listening to the Triceratop’s chest. And Floor looked on, thanking every force in the universe that Charlotte had stayed.

#fanfiction #meteor #jurassic meteor #merel bechtold #charlotte wessels #floor jansen

[222daysoflight]

A Journey Through Kitee, Finland: Birthplace of Nightwish

So as some of you know and I’ve made a few random posts about, last December I visited Kitee, Finland, the birthplace of Nightwish and (arguably) of symphonic metal. I’ve been wanting to make a full post about it for a long time, but I really want to do it justice. It’s a long story, so I’ve put it under a cut, but I feel like there’s some good info in there.

I’m going to try to give it what it deserves, but the long and short of it is: Kitee’s the most magical place I’ve ever visited. And that’s not something I say lightly, or with anything but sincerity. I’ve been to a fair amount of places, but Kitee feels like nowhere else I’ve ever been.

I can see how it created something like Nightwish.

So, bits of background: Nightwish has been my favourite band since I was about 10. It was the first thing I remember ever autonomously liking, and I’ve pretty much always liked them with the intensity I do now, but I was very embarrassed about it and kept it a secret until I was about 16. Why that is is a different matter entirely, but my point in explaining this is to hammer home (as if the whole “Nightwish blog” didn’t do that already) is that Nightwish is something massively important and personal to me, and has been for more than half my life. Going to Kitee was like a pilgrimage.

Anyway, more practical things: I was in Europe in December. I had no intention of flying back to the States for Christmas, and I wanted to go somewhere. Ergo, Finland. Now, several years ago, in the early days of this blog, I was talking to someone who had gone to Kitee, and they had mentioned a name to me: Plamen Dimov. I found him on facebook and sent him a message asking if he would recommend some places to see in Kitee. He replied for me to text him the time my train would get into town, and he’d come pick me up.

So one cold December morning after Christmas, I got on a train from Joensuu, where I was staying, to Kitee, about a half hour south. I texted Plamen, got off the train, waited for everyone else to get into their cars and leave, and then approached the only car that remained.

It was the right car, fortunately, so I got in and introduced myself properly to Plamen Dimov. Essentially, his claim to fame is that he is the music teacher in the Kitee high school who originally taught Tarja, Tuomas, Emppu, Jukka, and Sami. He was instrumental in their earlier stuff, though since they’ve gotten bigger, he’s taken more of a step back. But (as I’ll talk about later) he’s still very close to Tuomas and the Holopainen family, and has, of course, taken on the role of tour guide to people who have somehow found his name and are juuuust obsessed enough to come to town.

He’s also a big, loud, intimidating Bulgarian man.That should definitely be noted. We realised afterwards that we hadn’t taken a picture together, and I regret that.

First stop after the train station was Plamen’s house, because he had lost the keys to the museum where all the Nightwish stuff was. On the way, he told me about how as kids around my age, the entire original lineup of Nightwish used to sleep at his house so that they could stay up together and finish the demo that would become Angels Fall First. 

It was there, he said, that they actually came up with the name Nightwish for the band, basing it off the song of the same name. I was thrilled to learn this, since I had been wondering about that for years and the internet was not forthcoming. Plamen eventually found his keys, and we left again.

Stop 2 was actually the local convenience store, because I’m not very smart and had not bought a return ticket to Joensuu, and apparently they sell out. When the lady checked, the last train with tickets available was the 6pm train. Plamen said it really wouldn’t take us that long and he had afternoon appointments. I said it was fine, I would just wander around for a while, and then we would meet up again and he would take me to the train. This ended up being a lovely bit of luck, but I didn’t know that yet.

Kitee is a tiny town. The municipality (also called Kitee) it’s in has a population of about 10 000, but the town itself is essentially just one street with shops on either side, clusteres of houses on little side streets, and then farms and lakes and forests. Your classic small town, at first glance.

And Plamen knew everybody. Before we even made it to the museum, he had already stopped three times to chat with random people. He’s large and sort of scary looking, but also very, very friendly and charismatic. He also seemed to take great joy in interrupting his Finnish conversation to go “and this my visiting Canadian!” while pointing at me. This didn’t really ease how intimidated I was by him, but y’know, that’s just my personality.

Eventually though we did make it to the museum, which was an old barn converted for the purpose. We went in, and it had apparently originally been a museum about logging in the area, but Nightwish stuff was slowly starting to creep its way down the stairs to probably take over the building. 

The upstairs area, as it were, was already cramped with artefacts in cases (for the ones that really couldn’t be left out in an uninsulated barn), and sort of roughly organised in another area (for the things that could get a bit cold or wet). And it was small, don’t get me wrong-- this isn’t a high-budget operation, and Kitee is a tiny town to have anything that big-- but it was fascinating what was in there. All of the editions of all of the albums. The original lyric sheet for “Eva”. The original artwork for the cover of Century Child. The certifications for when the albums had gone silver, gold, platinum. There was even a poster, inexplicably, from the Nightwish show that I had been to in Toronto two years prior. 

Frankly, even despite its mediocre organisation and small size, it was a little bit overwhelming. It was like everything that had been so important in my life all in one room.

(I blame my poor photography skills on glare)

Plamen let me look around for a bit, then asked me what my favourite Nightwish album was. My answer for that is actually about four pages long, but I just said Once, because that’s the conclusion of those four pages.

On the way out he had me sign a guestbook, which was pretty fun to leaf through. It wasn’t signed very often, but the places that people had come from were pretty amazing: Mexico, Brazil, Japan, all over Europe. I put in my own name and a nice word in for Montreal, and then we left.

Next stop was the Kitee high school, which I thought was strange, but it turns out that Finnish high schools have recording studios in their basements (don’t tell me if not all Finnish high schools do, I want to believe), and that all of the Nightwish albums until Dark Passion Play were recorded in said high school basement. I think it’s technically called “Caverock” or something, but it’s totally just a recording studio below a school.

Now, this is the only recording studio I’ve ever actually been into, but from my inexperienced perspective (and you can tell me yes or no from the pictures) but that place is swanky. There were a few rooms that you sort of snaked through, but eventually you made it to the back, where there was what I would call a Nightwish shrine.

This thing is huge, and filled with signatures. It was sort of like the guestbook, but it had all of the members of Nightwish, their families, their crew, everybody who was important or had visited the town where it all began. Plamen gave me a marker and I dutifully added my name, country of origin, and date to the shrine. Not gonna lie, I felt a little bit proud with my name there alongside everyone else’s.

Then Plamen opened up a little storage closet, pushed aside some cleaning supplies, and pulled out a microphone. I know I already posted this once, but I just feel like it bears repeating.

P: Here, it’s the microphone Tarja used to record Once. Want to hold it? Me: Oh god no, I’m going to break it. P: You’re not going to break it, it’s already broken Me: No no, I’m going to break it more P: ... Just take it

And so I held the microphone used to record Once, my favourite Nightwish album, the one that Rolling Stone said was really good or something. It was just a broken microphone, but I think you can tell be the look on my face. I was absolutely smitten.

So when we were looking at the shrine wall, Plamen had pointed out the signature of John Finburg. He’s Nightwish’s North American tour manager, and if you’re from North America and have seen Nightwish or various others before, he runs the ticket ordering service Enter the Vault. And, much like his ticket ordering service, John Finburg is terrible. Horribly misogynistic and racist. I don’t want to get too much into it here (or why people use him), but my point is that he’s a scummy human being and I hate him with a passion.

I don’t know why, but as we were walking back to the car, I mentioned this to Plamen. He turned back to me and looked sort of angry, and I was afraid I had said something bad, but I was wrong. I will never forget what he said next:

“John Finburg is a giant piece of shit. The way he treats women-- I told him, if you lay a hand on any one of the girls, I will kill you.”

Needless to say, Plamen and I got along swimmingly after that.

We got back into the car and drove for a while after that.The above picture is the very far edge of the Meadows of Heaven, which is apparently an actual place and not just a metaphor in a song (which I had always assumed). I wish I had a better picture, but they were on the left and Plamen’s head was in the way, but essentially it’s just this huuuuge open meadow, dark pine trees behind it, lake just barely visible in the distance. It was covered in snow because of the time of year, and Plamen said it was absolutely beautiful in summer, filled with wildflowers and the like.I don’t know, I thought it was pretty with the snow on it.

All the while Plamen chatted, giving interesting tidbits about Finland, which I found fascinating but isn’t worth relaying here. But, once we had bonded  over our mutual hatred of John Finburg (or something), he also started to talk about other Nightwish things, especially Tuomas. About how he had once had to pull a girl off Tuomas and then talk her down. About that girl who had tried to get Tuomas to sign a marriage certificate. And how Tuomas had had to set up security around his house, because of people figuring out where he lived then going there (???). I asked if my belief was correct, that Tuomas is just a quiet Finnish man who would just like to write music in peace. The answer to that is yes.

Oh, and also, Plamen loves Floor. Obviously he had a special connection with Tarja, and he liked Anette, but he was on my page that Floor is a perfect fit for the band.

“Before with the other two, they were always a band and a soloist, a band and a soloist,” he said. “Now, with Floor, they’re just a band.”

Eventually, we stopped and got out of the car at the above house. Plamen explained that it was the Holopai’s house, Tuomas’ parents, and that they weren’t home at the time otherwise they would probably love to come out and meet me (Tuomas’ uncle/godfather lives in the red house to the side, hence the footprints). So I was like okay, cool, Tuomas grew up really really far from everything. We were about 10km from the Russian border, in pretty much the middle of nowhere.

Then Plamen lead me down a little path that went to the edge of the lake, looking out over the quiet, frozen emptiness.

“Over there, on that island,” he said,

“was where the idea for Nightwish was born.”

I took the picture, the sun (kindly) cooperating with me, and then I just... stood there. I stood there and stared for a long time. Plamen silently smoked a cigarette behind me, letting me be all weird and caught up in the mythos of it all. Do I really believe that Nightwish started there? I’m not sure. But it’s a nice story, and that’s what Nightwish is all about, right?

After a while, Plamen came back to stand by me again. Some dogs had started barking in the distance, and Plamen asked me if I knew what that meant. I said no.

“Wolves,” he said simply.

It was a few more senconds, and then there was the distinctive howl of a wolf, silencing all the dogs. It was one of the oddest things I had ever experienced. Absolutely eerie.

We stopped a few other places, but nowhere particularly worth noting in this already very long post. As I said, my train didn’t arrive for several more hours, and Plamen had some afternoon commitments, so we drove to the supermarket parking lot and he dropped me off. I said I was okay to just wander around a few hours, that I was used to the cold. He told me that if anything came up, I was supposed to go into the pizzeria and say “puhelin Plamen” (which means “telephone Plamen,” but like it’s being said by a child who doesn’t understand grammar). I agreed, and he drove off.

So then I had several hours to kill in a town that only had one road. I went into the supermarket to get some food, because it was around lunch time. For some reason, this supermarket had a music section, and so I waltzed on in and looked at some of the titles. Normal stuff, mostly-- all the Nightwish CDs-- and all organised in alphabetical order, like normal.

Except when I got to the letter “T”, I found this:

I don’t know why I found this little thing so strange, but I did. That CD should not have been classed under “T”, it should be under “H” for Holopainen. And yet it most definitely was not. I didn’t take a picture in the store, but I did stand there for a long while, thinking to myself how weird it was. Tuomas was so normal in that town, it would have been unusual to put his own album under his last name.

I didn’t own Life and Times of Scrooge, so I bought it along with my weird bagel things* and some hummus, and then set back out into the day, not really knowing what I was going to do.

It wasn’t a cold day at all, compared to some of those I’ve experienced in Montreal. Still, it was hovering around -4 C, and I didn’t have my proper winter gear with me, so it was a bit chilly. Plus, the minute I left the store, it started to snow as well, which was not helped by the fact that none of my clothes were waterproof. But it wasn’t wholly unpleasant, as far as days go, especially given December in Finland. Plus I was eager to explore.

As mentioned, Kitee “downtown” is just one street, so I decided it best to go out into the “outskirts” a bit. Being a proper wannabe goth (tm), the first place this lead me to was a series of graveyards. For a town of so few, Kitee has A LOT of graveyards, and you can make of that what you will with regards to Nightwish. 

Next order of business was weird abandoned mill thing. Look, I have no idea, I had time to kill, and have a terrible sense of self preservation. I went through some of the outbuildings, with most everything being too dark to photograph and I just... I don’t know what this place was, really. One of the places seemed like a house, abandoned and with its door gaping open, with snow blowing in. Like nobody cared.

However, when I reached the far edge of the mill-area, I realised that there was, in fact, an occupied building on the property, and that there were lights on in it. I was fairly certain that I wasn’t supposed to be there. If I got caught I doubted I’d be able to explain myself, and I was too far from the pizzeria for me to emergency call Plamen for Finnish help.

So I bolted into the woods.

This was, perhaps, a mistake.

Now you see, the entirety of Kitee is surrounded by forest on the edge of a lake, so I knew that is I kept the lake in my sights I would be able to find my way back into the town. This is an excellent theory. However, as I mentioned, I didn’t have proper snow gear, and while my boots were okay and I had tucked my socks correctly, there was probably 8 inches of the snow on the ground in the forest, beautiful and pristine and utterly impossible to walk through.

But I had committed, and I didn’t really want to turn back and risk having anyone ask me questions. So I set off again, this time slogging through the woods.

I was never lost, per se, but I didn’t really know where I was going. I always kept the lake at my side, and knew I would get there eventually. At one point I ended up alongside a freeway before going back into the woods. It would snow, then stop, then snow again. Things were starting to melt onto me.

But I didn’t really care. As I walked along-- sometimes finding paths, sometimes through the woods-- it was the weirdest feeling. Like I was just suuuper aware of my surroundings, of the silence, of everything, and it was all... pleasant. Like when you’re warm and cozy in bed with the knowledge you don’t have to be anywhere for a little bit. I don’t like to bandy about words like magical, but that’s the closest I can come to describing it.

There would sometimes be weird little bits of life left behind in the woods, like this chimney with nothing else still visible around it. Sometimes there would be things like the freeway or a house. But for the most part, it was just trees, and snow, and views like the picture above this one, of a vast, frozen lake.

It may sound boring, the way I’ve described it. Snow and trees and ruined structures. But that’s not how I felt, and I think the most telling thing was that I didn’t listen to anything. Ever since I got my first iPod nearing on ten years ago, I’ve had headphones in constantly. I probably listen to about 5 hours of music a day, on average. It’s a compulsion, and has to do with some mental health issues that I won’t get into, but suffice it to say that I usually get very stressed if I’m out and not listening to music.

But walking through those woods, for pretty much the first time since I was 12, I didn’t feel the need to listen to music. Not Nightwish, not anything. Actually, at one point I put my headphones in, then took them out again, because it felt so wrong. 

It sounds sort of silly, all typed out. “Kitee cured my anxiety,” or whatever. But it felt real at the time, and I swear to god, there something weird about that place. Maybe it was all in my head, but hey, so is the music, in the end.

I did eventually make it back to town, crossing through a metal pipe under the freeway (?) and eventually seeing the main stretch. It was pretty dark at that point, too, so I was pretty glad when I saw the entrance to town and the glow of the ABC minimart/gas station in the distance.

(don’t forget to rake your tits)

Plamen had suggested that if I got too cold I could go into the minimart to wait for him, and I felt like that was just what I needed. I went, got a coffee, and sat at a table in a far corner. There was wifi, so I made this post, and checked some stuff, but mostly I just wrote all of this down, everything that had happened, but mostly about how fucking weird I felt.

I listening to old men play slot machines and teenagers fuck around two tables over from me. I watched as cars drove by in the dark. Life went on while I was having a very small existential crisis with some mediocre coffee in a gas station.

As such, I managed to accidentally miss the time that I was supposed to meet Plamen back in the supermarket parking lot, and had to run to get back there. I was only a few minutes late, but he was extremely worried about me, even though I had plenty of time before my train.

Anyway, his son Nikolai had for some reason tagged along to drive me back to the station, but honestly I was very glad for the company. Things seemed more normal with them there, and we talked and laughed about languages, and Canada and Finland, and metal and circus. They told me to come back again anytime, but especially in the summer, as that was when things got really beautiful. I thanked Plamen and said goodbye to Nikolai, and got out to wait for my now-late train.

The lake wasn’t frozen over back up in Joensuu. I don’t know why. The next day I was back to listening to music again, exploring Joensuu and the woods there, but it wasn’t quite the same. Nothing was quite the same, and part of me doubts that I’ll ever find anything else that is.

There’s something weird about Kitee, and it’s not just Nightwish. And I really, really like it.

*if ANYONE knows what the weird bagel things are, I will love you forever. They’re more like rings of dough, so the hole in the centre is huge, and they’re a lot sweeter than normal bagels. I think I ate about 4 a day when I was in Joensuu, but I cannot for the life of me remember what they are called.

#personal #nightwish #kitee #long post #shit yeah originally i didn't have it under a cut but that would be... excessive #too many pictures #anyway this was really nice to write #it's been like... 8 months but as i mentioned i wrote down everything after it happened #so this is as accurate as i can assume anything is that happened in that town #seriously did i like temporarily step through a wormhole to some other dimension? #like ok this romanticises it a bit but... that's what it felt like #and i romanticise like nothing #and the music thing may seem small but you've got to realise that that is one of the weirdest things i've ever experienced #not wanting to listen to music #also i wanted to post a picture of my signature on the wall (i'm standing in front of it in the picture) #but it's defs my full name #and i ain't doing that #uh anyway if you're even in that neck of the woods 10/10 go visit kitee #and go through plamen #i can provide introduction if anyone needs #man there's so much more stuff but like this post is forever long #and here i am just rambling in the tags #wait later addition to tags #just because i feel like i need to make a note of something #that these pictures are not necessarily in the order i took them in #i just matched them to where they fit best in the story #all of them are mine and from kitee though #with the exception of the second to last one which is actually joensuu

[autumnpawtribe]

Potions

Janaret preferred an axe and shield.  His usual fighting style was defensive.  His attacker however was on the defensive at that point and he was fighting to drive him back.  His hair, tightly braided to his head flew around him as he fought with all of his prowess and none of his spells.  They had decided no spells, defensive or otherwise.  

“Aret.  Fight like you mean it!”  The hunter called out, sitting on the fence with their mate, Xiao Chun, as Venyabi, Vol’raka’s brother, practiced against the prelate.  Tarja was in her bouncing seat n the ground next to them, happily making noises and flailing her feet every time her uncle kicked toward the Zandalari he had quickly adopted as best friend.  Next to them was Naddja and Zakin, sitting on the ground on a blanket and watching as well.  Nielka and Pahre were on the other side, pulling out the simple foods for a bit of a family picnic.  It was a cool day and on one of the days that they didn’t have the stable workers there.  It was a good day for just family.  

Aret took the order, slamming into Venya hard, knocking him back.  The wandering  fighter rolled away after the hit, getting back in a defensive pose as Aret charged at him.  Feigning right, he knocked Aret flat, a sweeping kick to the back of his thighs knocking him down hard.  He fell on his back, bare skin the the grass as Venya put a two toed foot on his chest.   “Lucky strike.”  Aret dropped the wooden practice axe on the ground and took his friend’s outstretched hand.  He hopped up, an arm around the slightly smaller male.  “Maybe I need to learn a little hand to hand?”  His voice was sheepish, but he was recovering from the events of the last few weeks.  His voice was becoming stronger and he was learning to be a little more interactive with people.

“I am sure one of the three of us can teach you.”  Venya walked back to the big troll and His own little family, giving his mate a kiss on the lips and his adopted son one on the forehead.  “Lunch time, Kin?”  He smiled as the boy nodded and scrambled out of his mother’s lap to run to his grandmother.  He put a hand down to Naddja to help her up, her belly growing with the daughter he would adopt as his own soon enough.  “Janaret needs a little more hand to hand…”  

Venya stopped talking and tilted his head as he looked down the path.  WEll It was more like above the path as a Jeweled Onyx Panther flew in to the ranch proper, alighting on the stone path and kneeling to let its rider down.  Aret turned his head to look as Vol’raka was whispering sweet nothings in a fuzzy pandaren ear and not paying attention.  

“Vol’raka.  Were you expecting Auntie Kit?”

All of the party turned their head as Kit’raka walked toward them a basket on her arm.  She was without her children or mate.  That alone was unusual since they had heard she was sick.  Vol put Xiao down softly as he walked toward the shaman.  They had a few quiet words, Vol taking her basket and walking her toward the area that he had set up for the children of a rapidly growing family.  Aret had jokingly told him they were starting their own tribe.

“Pahre…”  He spoke in Zandali, the family almost exclusively using it at home now, as Xiao’s was becoming good enough to be more than passable.  “Kit and I will be back in a while.  No need to save us any.”  He looked at the huge spread of cold food and knew his mother-in-law had made enough for an army or orcs, let alone a family of trolls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I didn't think they would be done this soon.  Will they keep for the next six months?”  Vol sat on the ground, giving his aunt the chair that Pahre kept outside when she watched her grandchildren.  “I don’t want them to be used until after the wedding.”  

The Vials he looked at were pearlescent and in a rainbow of colors.   They ranged from yellow to green, all shining almost shimmering in their bottles.  Kit had packaged them in an ornate black and red laquered box.  The lid was edged with some silvery metal and small golden tiger’s eye, jade, amber and deep sapphire colored stones with the August celestials on each corner.  Three of the celestials had names carved on them, Vol’raka under Xuen, Janaret under Nuizao, Xiao under Yu’lon.  The fourth, the red crane Chi-ji was blank, but obviously meant to have a name.  

“Did you forget a name here? Tarja’s?  Baby brain again?”  Vol grinned, joking with his aunt lightly.  She was a skilled carver, jewelcrafter and alchemist, and usually not forgetful.  When she was expecting her eldest son Sah’tir, she told him about what many called baby brain, a bit of forgetfulness during her pregnancy.

“Vol’raka, I put down the symbols of your mates.”  She pointed to the inlaid Jade and Yu’lon.  “Xiao, the one who heals hearts and loves greatly..”  The bright Sapphire and Nuizao.  “Janaret, protector and strength.”  Her finger moved to deep amber, a flower stuck in one of the stones, resting along the corner with Xuen.  “Vol’raka, the one who will fight and die first for the family he never thought he would have.”  On the last she tapped a claw gently on the delicate beak of the Crane.  “The hope of your family, the one you have not found yet.”  She smiled, looking at her very confused nephew.  “Oh, don’t give me that look.  When I actually have a clear vision, it is important.  I didn’t inherit Mama Azu’s gift of sight.  My visions are not Oracle of a Goddess level here, kid.  This one was cru… rissss… talll… Clear.”  Her voice went soft and even, almost as if she was telling him a story like she had when he was a child.  

“This was not spirits, kiddo  This was fate speaking.  There is a fourth, one you will not expect, that will come to you for want of you and the both of your mated loves.  It is one you know well.  Some may not like it, but it is meant to be.  This one is of a dual nature.  They will come to you with their own family.  This one has the eyes of tigers.”  

“I’m not looking to take a third, Kit…”

“Too bad, so sad.  You want to be the alpha male that that fuckin human beat out of you, then act it.  They will not have children for you.  They may end up bearing, but not for you.  You will accept them as closely as you accept Aret.  The spirits speak.  Suck it up.  Now, potions.”  

She took the box from him, setting it next to her.  "First off, let's get side effects out of the way.  Drowsiness, sleepy.  During the shift, Xiao will be very very sleepy.  The body will need a lot of energy.  Make him eat.  Every few hours, something.  Noodles, rice, a whole goat… food.  Once the process is done, I suggest you find someone to watch Tarja.  You know what a female troll in heat does.   Prepare for it.  Horny is not the word.  And it will go on for a while, until the tusklings come.  Last time I saw someone use this stuff, the guy literally would not leave his mate alone.  I doubt you or Aret will have problems getting it up.  Smell alone is going to make you want it.  Make sure you get your sorry carcass off of him once in a while.

"He may still have male organs, I don't know for sure.  I do know that the process takes three to six days.  No faster or slower.  They need to be taken in a specific order, Vol.  Don't screw it up, or Tarja is gonna be an only child.  Each color does something different.  Yellow starts the process, green makes the imbiber very fertile and.. well.  If you can get Xiao off you after that, I will be impressed.  Take them twelve to Twenty four hours apart.  There may be discomfort, so I put a mild pain reliever in the mix. Nothing that will change what it does.  And, because I love my new Pandaren nephew, it tastes like mangos.  It will keep for one year.   Those herbs were not easy to procure, obviously the blood was easy."

"Blood?"

"Needs blood from a pregnant or in heat female.  So yes.". She lifted her arm where the cut was made to add her own blood to the potion.  "It's not much and it is troll's blood.  It'll help make the change faster.  So…  year.  After that, might as well be water.  The sooner you use  it the more potent. Use it in six months and shouldn't take too long.  Easier with a shaman or druid around, but I'm not getting within miles of that mess.   I suggest you go to one of your houses and hide a while.  Don't take your daughter.  You are not going to be able to care for her and yourselves.  Plenty of food, whatever survival supplies.  Once your deeds are done, go back to your family and be fathers and do what you will."

"I can smell when it happens?". He was curious, a hand running over the small vials staring at them.  

"Few days..  a week after, yes.". She smiled.  "You did not really get to experience fatherhood as it should be, Vol.  You…  to me, you were robbed at so many things.  It's not going to be easy   Seeing someone who loves you in pain, but giving you everything they can.  There will be pain and joy and long nights and…". Kit smiled on the one she considered her eldest son, even if he was not that much younger than her.  "You three love each other.  This will be a chance most won't have.  Cherish it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, Vol told Xiao and Aret what Kit had told them about how the potions worked and Kit’s vision.  They discussed the potions mostly, but Vol was not ready to discuss a fourth.  It was not on his mind.   The bottles were locked in Vol's safe in his office, next to his prized black-glass ritual dagger and Aret’s childhood journal.  He had other things to deal with.  Like the human buyer coming to see him about goats and hunting raptors.  He’d deal with it in a few weeks.  His family needed to eat.

[platinumnib]

Married... with children

Was there in the whole world a creature so perfect as Floor Jansen? Tarja vehemently denied it.

Her body, stretched across the mattress next to where Tarja sat, was bare save for a light sheet lazily wrapped around her hip. She usually slept in the nude in the hotter months of the year, to her wife’s utter delight.

Tarja reached out and dropped her fingertips on the skin of Floor’s calf, ever so slightly sweaty; what little moonlight made it through the open bedroom window glanced off its surface and made its mellow tan glisten. Underneath, she felt solid, well-worked muscles, but she needed only travel a few inches up to find more and more roundness and bountiful flesh.

Beyond her aphrodisian haunches and the white linen dramatically covering part of them, the hollow curve of her strong back led to broad shoulders - some would say too much so for a proper woman, and she, perhaps vindicating their point, would do them some harm. That, there, was precisely what made Floor such a thrill to love: she was a beauty out of this world and she had more power and spirit in her than an angry moose.

“Floor…” Even her name left some of its sweetness on Tarja’s tongue as she breathed it out.

She stirred in her slumber, unconsciously turning onto her side. A full breast came into view and made a grin tug at the corners of Tarja’s thin lips. The feathered edges of a wide areola, culminating in a soft, pink and puffy tip - a minuscule raspberry daring her to come steal a taste.

Floor was a vision infinitely erotic, and still she was so pure in her innocence. A fierce believer in God, family,  in true love and the sanctity of her marriage to her long-time friend and occasional colleague, even when she could have, by Tarja’s reckoning, shared the bed of as rich or handsome a man as there could be.

“What’s the matter, Tari?” she mumbled through her sleepy haze, alerting her that she was very much awake.

“Nothing… I was just watching you sleep.”

Her eyelids lifted heavily to uncover opalescent blue eyes gazing from behind a veil of luxurious brown hair. Reaching out with a gentle hand, Tarja brushed it aside from Floor’s face to be reminded of its soft features,  then tenderly cradled her cheek.

“Namu and Freja aren’t up yet, are they?” Floor asked before pecking at the palm left on her face.

Tarja shook her head and received a warm relieved smile in return. The parents had some time to themselves for the customary morning kisses and caresses.

“Floor.”

Tarja’s thumb traveled back and forth across the roused sleeper’s cheek.

“Mmmh?”

“You look so gorgeous.”

“Then lie down with me, sweetheart,” Floor spoke soft and slowly in a voice brimming with fondness. “Let me show some gratitude.”

Tarja raised herself onto the bed proper, lay down beside Floor with their noses brushing together. Neither was one to resist an early display of affection; they went straight for the other’s mouth. While they shared a poised liplock, one soft hand (unexpectedly so on account of its size) absently stroked Tarja’s flank up and down, then tentatively cupped the underside of her breast.

Their feelings came out in as many sounds as they could allow themselves without relinquishing the kiss. Their intimate embrace became a lovely dialogue of moans.

They pulled apart, each taking the time to probe the other’s eyes. Neither of them saw any real need; they never waited long enough to let it settle between them before indulging in their fleshly games.

At the moment, still sated from a rather lively midnight romp, they had no interest in sex.

Tarja pulled her woman close so she could wedge her head under Floor’s strong jaw and cover her neck in little pecks and nips. While she did, Floor nuzzled at Tarja’s silky mane, drowning in the beautiful inky color and the smell of fresh lilac. On occasion, she used some of her wife’s shampoo, when they had to spend some time apart, to keep a trace of Tarja on her body at all times, no matter how faint. Tarja, of course, thought there was nothing more endearing.

“I love you, Floor,” she spoke against her skin.

Floor kissed the top of her head and held her even tighter.

“You know I love you too,” she whispered back.

The answer was a contented sigh as Tarja deepened the cuddle and let her hands roam all the soft curves she could reach.

Floor melted into the loving embrace like the overgrown kitten she always became in the bedroom, and spoke some more of how Tarja was her entire life.

“I really, really love you plenty, Tari. More than I’ve ever loved anyone, and then some,” she all but purred. “I’m sorry, am I sounding too sappy?”

Tarja gave her another fond squeeze and giggled sweetly next to her ear.

“Oh, silly,” she breathed against Floor’s skin, “it’s what every woman lives to hear.”

#tarja turunen #floor jansen #Floorja #Fanfiction #Nightwish #fluff #Namu #Freja

[minimetalxena]

The Perfect Afternoon

Tarja woke up one cold morning in the middle of winter to find that Floor's spot in the bed was empty. She got up, put on her robe and slippers, and went downstairs. As she entered the kitchen, she heard the thud...thud of an ax, and peeked out the window to see Floor splitting firewood to feed their outdoor furnace. She smiled and waved at the other woman. Floor set the ax down, saw Tarja, and waved back, before putting the pieces of wood in the furnace. Tarja watched as she stood another log up on its end, picked up the ax, and split the log down the middle. She loved watching Floor chop wood, or anything that involved using those strong, muscular arms of hers. Even with her coat on, it was a fascinating sight. Tarja could have sat there watching for much longer, but then she thought that she should start making breakfast so that Floor would have some hot food when she came in from the cold. Delicious smells soon filled the kitchen, scents of coffee, eggs, and other things. Tarja stirred the eggs that were cooking on the stove, one hand on her belly. She felt a tiny foot hit her palm and smiled. The baby was awake. A few minutes later, the door opened and Floor came in, stamping the snow from her boots.

“Brr, it's cold out there!” she remarked, hanging up her coat and gloves. She took off her boots and came over to hug Tarja. “Good morning, honey. Sleep well?” Tarja nodded and kissed her.

“Yeah, baby actually decided to go to sleep last night.” Floor laid a hand on her belly.

“Well, she's definitely not asleep now, good grief!” Tarja giggled at the strong kick she had just felt.

“She knows you. She got excited when she heard your voice.” Floor smiled and hugged her wife. Tarja leaned against her, a happy smile on her face as she rested her head on Floor's shoulder. She enjoyed the feeling of Floor's strong arms around her small body, holding her, keeping her close. And she could tell Floor liked having her in her arms. She was looking down on Tarja was such love in her eyes, it made Tarja's heart melt. Wrapping her arms tighter around the tall brunette, Tarja leaned her head on Floor's shoulder once more, closing her eyes. She could have stayed like that forever, but then she remembered the eggs. Quickly, she let go of Floor and stirred them. Floor poured herself a mug of coffee, sighing contentedly as she sipped the hot liquid. Tarja got her a plateful of eggs and toast with strawberry-orange marmalade.

“Ahh, these are delicious,” Floor said, trying a bite of egg. Tarja smiled and dished up some for herself, before sitting down across from her wife. “I swear, they're better when you make them. I feel like I burn everything.”

“Nonsense!” Tarja laughed. “You made me a very nice dinner on our anniversary.”

“This is true,” Floor admitted. Tarja smiled.

“See? You don't burn everything.”

“Still, you're a much better cook then I am,” Floor said. Tarja rolled her eyes.

“If you say so.”

“Anyway, what do you want to do after breakfast?” Floor asked, taking a bite of her toast.

“Mmm...cuddle,” Tarja decided.

“Big surprise there,” Floor commented, making Tarja giggle.

“I like cuddling you.”

“I know,” Floor smiled. “And I'm still cold, so...”

“Maybe we can watch a movie or something?” Tarja suggested. “NOT a horror movie,” she added quickly, before Floor had a chance to suggest that. Floor pouted.

“But I like horror movies.”

“I don't,” Tarja said. “And yet, we watch an awful lot of them. And then I end up scared-” “And I wrap you in my arms and hold you and kiss you and you calm down,” Floor finished. “That's not so bad, is it?” Tarja rolled her eyes.

“No, I guess not, but I mean it, no horror movies.”

“Chill, I'm just messing with you. No horror movies today. It's not the right time for them anyway,” Floor said. Tarja giggled.

“I thought any time was right for horror movies for you.”

“Nope, not on a day like this,” Floor said. “It's too nice today.”

“It's snowing,” Tarja said, looking out the window at the big white flakes that were now falling steadily from the sky.

“It's still nice,” Floor insisted. “Maybe we should take a walk or something.”

“I wanna cuddle,” Tarja said. Floor laughed.

“Okay, okay, walk first, then cuddle. Deal?”

“Noooo,” Tarja pouted. “Too cold.” “Not if you've got a coat and boots and all,” Floor reminded her, laughing at Tarja's poking-out lower lip and pleading eyes.

“It's still cold,” Tarja said.

“I'll keep you warm,” Floor promised. “I'll wrap my arms around you and snuggle you up and then you'll have no choice but to be warm.” Tarja giggled.

“You're funny.” Floor stuck her tongue out, making Tarja laugh even more.

“Come on, let's finish eating. I wanna go outside.”

“No, it's too cold for that,” Tarja said.

“No, it's not. I'll wrap you up nice and warm in your coat and scarf and mittens and everything and you'll be fine. Come on, Tari, don't say no,” Floor begged. Tarja sighed.

“Oh, all right, but if I get cold, we go inside.”

“Fine.”

So after breakfast, they got on their winter gear and went outside. Tarja had a purple scarf wrapped around her face, and a black hat pulled down low on her head, so that only her eyes were visible between them, but they sparkled happily and her mittened hand squeezed Floor's gloved one.

“See, isn't this nice?” Floor asked, pulling down her scarf. Tarja nodded. Floor grinned and yanked her hat off. She shook her hair out, letting the snow fall on it. Tarja watched as Floor fell over backward in the snow with a whoop of delight. “Come, Tari, join me!” she cried happily. Tarja laughed, but remained standing. Floor reached up, grabbed her hand, and pulled her down next to her. Tarja landed on her butt in the snowbank. Laughing, she grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it all over Floor's face. “TARI!” Floor shrieked, gasping and blinking. “That wasn't very nice!” Tarja almost fell over laughing as Floor wiped the snow off her face. “My face hurts,” she complained, rubbing her eyes.

“I'm sorry,” Tarja said, crawling into her lap and kissing her cheeks.

“Eh, I'm okay,” Floor said, standing up. She helped Tarja to her feet. “I thought we were taking a walk?”

“You're the one who decided to flop over into a snowbank,” Tarja reminded her.

“True,” Floor admitted. She took Tarja's hand. “Come on, let's go to the woods.” They walked, hand in hand, to the small forest at the edge of their yard. It was always beautiful, but especially in the wintertime, with the trees all covered with snow. They walked under a tree with a low-hanging branch and Floor reached up and shook it, dumping snow all over Tarja. Tarja shrieked and tried to brush the snow off of herself.

“Floor, really?” she said, shaking her hat out. Floor grinned at her.

“Consider it revenge for washing my face with snow.”

“Fair enough,” Tarja said. She squeezed Floor's hand and Floor squeezed back.

“Tari, come here, I've got something to show you,” Floor said suddenly. She led Tarja through the woods until they came to two huge pine trees that were very close together. Floor squeezed between them, holding the branches aside for Tarja, until they got to the other side. Floor pointed ahead of them, grinning. Tarja gasped when she saw the snow castle that Floor was pointing at.

“Did you...build this?” she asked. Floor nodded.

“I've been working on it for weeks as a surprise for you. I know how much you like being the ice queen.” Tarja's jaw dropped as she walked around the outside of the castle.

“Floor, this is amazing!” The walls were made of snow and covered with a layer of ice. There were towers and walls and even a small version of the Finnish flag at the top of one tower. “You built it all by yourself?” Floor nodded, grinning happily.

“It took me forever, but I'm glad I did it. Do you like it?”

“I love it!” Tarja exclaimed, throwing her arms around Floor. “Can we go inside?”

“Sure,” Floor said. She took Tarja's hand and led her through the doorway of the castle. Inside, the walls looked almost blue. They too were covered in ice, and glistened in the light that came in through the windows at the sides of the room. It was big for a snow castle, about 6 meters by 5 meters, and tall enough that Floor could stand up comfortably and there was still a fair amount of space between her head and the ceiling. She'd even built a throne out of snow and it was also covered in a layer of ice. Tarja ran and sat on it, resting her arms on the armrests and leaning against the high back.

“It's beautiful,” she breathed. Floor knelt at her feet and kissed her hand.

“I'm glad you like it, milady.” Tarja giggled.

“Rise, Lady Floor.” Floor stood up and perched on the arm of the throne.

“Too bad it's so cold,” she remarked.

“Why?” Tarja asked.

“Because. We could sleep out here...and stuff,” Floor replied, winking at her. Tarja rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She patted Floor's shoulder.

“Well, it is, so we can't.”

“True,” Floor answered. “Oh well. We have a perfectly nice bed.”

“Speaking of beds,” Tarja said. “I'm getting cold. There's snow down my collar. Can we go inside and cuddle?”

“Oh, poor little kitten,” Floor said, wrapping her arms around Tarja. “Come on, let's go warm you up.” She took Tarja back inside and they went upstairs. A few moments later, they were in bed under the covers, kissing and cuddling in front of a stupid movie.

“Perfect afternoon,” Tarja murmured. Floor kissed her.

“Are you warm enough?” Tarja snuggled up even closer to her.

“I'm toasty warm.” She squeezed Floor's hand under the covers. Floor squeezed back and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her arm around Tarja, her hand caressing her wife's round belly. Tarja took it. “Not too long now,” she murmured. “We'll be able to meet her soon.” Floor pecked her lips.

“I can't wait.”

“Our little princess,” Tarja said softly, rubbing her belly. Floor pulled the blanket down and kissed the round bump.

“Hi, little one.” Then she laughed. “Woah! That was a strong one.” Tarja smiled and stroked the dark curls falling across her stomach.

“I love you so much,” she murmured.

“Who, me or the baby?” Floor asked, looking up at her. Tarja chuckled and shook her head.

“Both, but I was talking to you.” Floor slid up next to her, wrapping her arm around Tarja and kissing her. Tarja cupped her cheek as she kissed back. When they broke off, Floor leaned her forehead against Tarja's, looking deep into her wife's eyes.

“I love you too,” she whispered, before their lips met again.

#Floorja #Tarja Turunen #Floor Jansen #fanfiction #FLUFF! #love #metal ladies #symphonic metal