#SWIN I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

[astramachina]

........... Watcher. I mean. I get it. But what the hell. I love you guys but I can't do it. I can't pay for another subscription. ):

Like I get it, youtube as a platform doesn't lend itself well to this kind of media but damn. Damn.

[disteal]

So I haven’t talked about this on main before, but the situation in South Gaza has gotten so horrifying that I’m p much throwing caution to the wind to desperately plead for eyes on this. I’m raising awareness about stories from activists in Gaza right now, including one of our own.

My lovely, wonderful friend Swin (aka tumblr user @combaticon) was deployed as a volunteer medic to a Gaza hospital on the 9th.

When the bloodshed started, she heard they needed extra hands in Gaza, she spoke Arabic and had the training, and she went.

I’ve been in contact with her throughout. She’s so incredibly brave it takes my breath away. My heart bleeds for these children she’s taking care of and how resilient they are is… astonishing.

Swin and these poor people have been under siege for so long, and they’re in desperate need of critical supplies. They have to filter water through their clothes, and it’s getting dangerously cold. Foods finally been getting through, but there’s not enough blankets and jackets to go around and there’s no fuel for the generators.

Their comrades in the West Bank have been completely pushed out by settler thugs. It’s incredibly unsafe to even be doing humanitarian work for Palestinians. Remember this the next time a Zionist tells you they’re doing this to ‘feel safe’. The IOF is arming lynch mobs.

On a personal note, this has been the most gut-wrenching week of my life. Every day when I wake up without a text from her I feel so much fear. I fight back the grief but I don’t know how to help or what to do. It’s terrifying.

Swin has asked for nothing, absolutely nothing other than something it can show the people around it to make them feel like they’re not going to be abandoned. To make sure they’re not forgotten in some pit praying Rafah opens before Israel decides to slaughter them all.

Today was a bad day. She’s alive but beyond worrying about her privacy now; she’s asked me to share this and to beg that we not lose steam and forget about them. Please share this, and please keep being fucking annoying and loud and digging your heels in with fury because we cannot let these people die silently.

[Times of Gaza] [QUD network] [Eye on Palestine]

[link to GCC registration website as the link in this picture is broken]

Please keep in mind that the Global Conscience Convoy is NOT soliciting donations, and registration is to sign up for attendance to the actual event in Cairo. There’s a list of other actions you can do to boost awareness for their protest at Rafah on the website.

[theyanderespecialist]

Base Yandere Ticci-Toby Headcanons: A Very Unstable Yandere (Creepypasta) (Kinda)

[Hello, My Sexy Muffins! I am back with a new chapter! I hope that you all enjoy this chapter here, my muffins!] 

(Disclaimer 1: For The most part Ticci-Toby is no longer considered a part of the creepypasta fandom. The original creator (All credit to them) asked that they, do not want Toby associated with it anymore. This is when he was part of the creepypasta fandom and is not the Ticci toby that he has become. So this is not the creator canon Ticci Toby but an alternate universe Ticci Toby (Kind of like a mult verse of sorts) 

Disclaimer 2: In This Ticci Toby is 30 in this because he was born in 1994 (So in the year 2024) he is 30

Disclaimer 3: Ticci Toby is not yandere in canon! This is just for fun and not to be taken seriously at all! Simping for fictional characters and yanderes is fine! Just do not be illegal or gross about it! You know who you are! You Dirty, Flaky, Biscuits! Yanderes are not ideal partners to have in real life! Also, remember to separate fiction from reality and headcanon from canon! Thank you!) 

-Base Yandere Headcanons with Ticci Toby From If He was Still part of the Creepypasta Fandom- 

.Ticci Toby is a hyperactive man and very energetic. 

.This carries over to how he is super energetic around you and excited to be around you. 

.He always is full of energy around you and loves to hang out with you. 

.He fell for you right away when he met you, which was when he was on a job for Slenderman. 

.Meeting you was just a chance but he became obsessed with you right away. 

.He is the type of yandere that would be very unstable and would be on the edge of snapping with mass murder or on the edge of snapping and kidnapping you! 

.He has PTSD So does not like cars, and he does not like driving in cars. He would purposely fuck up your car to keep you from driving in it. 

.He is irrational with this but he does not want you to ever be in a car or bus. 

.He lost his sister and he is not willing to lose you so it is very likely that he would kidnap you!'

.He is going to stalk you as well. 

.Making sure that you are safe and sound and that you are taken care of. 

.He does meal prep in your home for you. 

.Helps keep your house clean and taken care of and make sure that your fridge is always filled. 

.It of course would be freaking you out, that someone you do not know is taking care of you?

.Yup he is pretty much a stalker house husband. 

.He has been known to care for some very few people and of course, you are very much the person her cares about and loves the most. 

.So he would want to take care of you. 

.But he takes his bipolar disorder as a yandere to the extreme (fun fact I am I have bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Borderline personality disorder, OCD, and so on, so I can see how relatable Toby is as a character and I say he takes his bipolar disorder as a yandere in the sense I know how my emotions flip so fast with bipolar and BPD (Borderline personality disorder has faster mood swing changes than a bipolar disorder to be honest Bipolar disorder is more so with mania and lows from high energy to low lows of not even get out of the bed, the more you know!) In which they go from one end to the other. 

.When he is super active and energized he can seem more upbeat and more willing to be patient with you. 

.But when he is having the low mood swings he can be a moody little bitch that is cruel and sadistic. saying very sarcastic things. 

.He can have mood swings that are more similar to borderline personality disorder where they change very rapidly and can switch like a flip of this switch

(again this is from my personal experience with both mental illnesses that rapid mood swings rarely happen with bipolar disorder (though not impossible) but more so the rapid mood swings tend to happen with borderline personality disorder. (Again this is not always the case I am not a doctor and it takes more symptoms than just mood swings to be diagnosed with either of these mental illnesses and some people just be emotional messes with no mental illness at all!) 

.His moods with his darling in particular can go from lovely dovey and sweet to very paranoid and that you are seeing someone else. 

.His schizophrenia (Again I feel this) makes him a very paranoid yandere. 

.Which with you may make him think that you are cheating on him with anyone and everyone! 

.with rivals it makes him think that anyone and everyone could be a rival and makes him really on edge. 

.This would make him stalk you even more! He has to make sure that you are not cheating on him and that no other man, woman, or other people are trying to get into bed with you. 

.Back to his mood swings, they can switch so fast and it makes him very unstable as a yandere. 

.Where he can be laughing with you, but then demanding why you looked at the cashier in the store 5 seconds too long 

.You like him, don't you? You are secretly sleeping with him, aren't you? 

.The mood swings with his schizophrenia make him so unstable! 

.He can go again from lovely dovey and possessive to demanding and controlling. 

.He tries his best to be a good partner to you, but he is not working to change these things, he continues on with how he acts and such. 

.It does work for you as well as a darling because once you notice his patterns with how he reacts you can play with his emotions to manipulate him and calm him down. 

.Of course, if you do not do it right it can backfire and he will say you and messing with him. 

.It is a risky game to be playing with a yandere like him that is for sure. 

.He is very much a troublemaker and a chaos gremlin. 

.He will cause a lot of minor trouble for rivals. Simple things like pranks in their house, but since he is unstable it can get to the point where he slams a hatchet into their brains.  .With rivals he can be chill with them for a good part of time, but of course, he can act out and go on a murdering spree. 

.He is the type of yandere that if he has a bad day and is pushed too much will commit mass murder with ANY AND ALL RIVALS

.He is actually a very protective yandere as well, if you had anyone who hurt you a bully, an abusive family member, anything really. He will kill them and torture them before he puts them out of their misery. 

.He had an abusive father and since you are the person he cares for he does not want anyone to harm you. 

.He would protect you from even slenderman. 

.He would do everything to keep you safe. 

.Once again he was stalking you. He is getting to know everything about you. 

.He would also leave you gifts and presents for you. 

.He wants you to know that he loves and cares for you. 

.He can be a very dotting yandere. 

.He would eventually start to worm his way into your life, since he is 30 years old he actually wants to settle down. 

.So he has been doing his best to be a stalker house husband, but slowly work his way into your life so that he can be in your house with your knowledge. 

.He also is a bit insecure though he is energetic and very open about how interested he is with you, how attractive he thinks you are, and how he compliments you a lot. 

.He has issues with how he looks, and sometimes his tics and such. Even though they are just mainly the popping of joints. 

.With you as his darling he would feel he would have to be up on your level and that he is not good enough for you. 

.He might even lash out that he would never be good enough for you and how it is not fair.

.and last time on the anger and happy mood swing. 

.This does affect how he treats you as well. 

.In which he can be so happy with you, but since the mood swings are so bad a lot can set him off to be angry. 

.Although that anger is rarely directed at you. 

.He is the type of yandere that blames rivals, and your friends, families, roommates, anyone really. 

.So he would for sure at some point kidnap you. 

.May it be for your protection or for you to love him it could be either of those. 

.Now how he would confess to you, remember this is when he wormed his way into your life. 

.He would confess to you over dinner, doing his best to look his best and wear his best clothes. 

.If you accept his love he will be the happiest he has ever been and so excited that he leaps up from the seat to smooch you. (This would be your guy's first kiss) 

.If you turn him down he is shattered and you know he is going to knock you out. 

.He would think one of two no three things. 

.One someone was poisoning your mind against him so he has to seclude you so he can make you understand your feelings. 

.I almost forgot to mention because he is schizophrenic he is a very delusional yandere. 

.Hearing voices and such telling him that you love him and that you needed to be protected at all costs, even from yourself. 

.So yes, once again a very delusional and canoically insane man and that affects how he would be as a yandere. 

.The Second reason he might kidnap you is thinking that you are in love with someone else. 

.So he has to protect you and keep you away from people trying to steal you away or hurt you. 

.And the last one, he is angry, yup one of the few rare times he would be angry at you and he has to teach you to love him. 

.Cause clearly you have had too much freedom and he is going to make sure that you learn to be a good darling for him. 

.Of course, this is if he did not kidnap you before confessing. 

.If he did kidnap you before confessing he would confess to you when you woke up. 

.If you accept his love in that way he will let you have more freedom in the creepypasta mansion 

.He got slenderman to let you stay and slenderman made sure everyone knew not to hurt you. 

.If you turn down his love well you are at stage one, which has you chained to the bed, by an ankle chain where you have limited freedom, can still reach the bathroom and such. But you will have to earn his trust to give you freedom. 

.Also he is going to be doing everything can to make you fall in love with him, and he will most likely make you fall in love with him, where you are basically dependent on him for anything and everything. Good luck! 

.This is what you would be like if he confessed before kidnapping and you rejected him at the dinner. Then he kidnapped you and you have the ankle chain. 

.You will for so long be only able to see him that you will crave his companionship just as much as him. 

[YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSs, another chapter is done! This one is (minutes the disclaimer and info on mental illness is over 1,600 words. I hope that you all enjoyed, and stay sexy, all of my sexy muffins!] 

[thisismeracing]

King of my heart | MS47 | part. 06

Pairing: hamilton!reader (she/her) x mick schumacher

Warnings: curse words, twitter environment, mention of food, not proofread etc etc. Minors DNI!

summary: after a week away for work, Y/n is back to follow the race calendar and this time she decided to join the drivers party. What a bit of alcohol and a week away from Mick could do to her? Hopefully, nothing that exposes their situation too much.

a/n: none of the pictures used are mine, they are all from Pinterest and other apps. everything else is made up by me and I do not give permission for it to be published on a different platform. I would appreciate it if those things could be taken into consideration 💛

part. 05 | series masterlist | part. 07

theofficialyn

liked by mickschumacher, pierregasly, and others

theofficialyn Such an amazing day wearing Valentino! 💗 But today’s tip is: don’t do a photoshoot with your older brother, he will absolutely make you laugh all the time 🧍🏾‍♀️

view all 9,456 comments

violadavis Love you two!!!! 💗

⤷ htgawmfan What multiverse is this???? Queen Viola and the Hamiltons?! Im here for it!!!

maisonvalentino we loved the laughing shots, such a great duo 💘

ynfashion Please, tell me Valentino is gonna update more stuff because I’m starving for content and you guys keep feeding me crumbs *cries in obsessive*

lewismerc the fact that Lewis kept making her laugh is so pure

lewishamilton 😜

⤷ theofficialyn blocked!

⤷ sunshineferrari I wanna be their friend so bad

pierregasly Charles was so jealous, he said you should invite him next time!

⤷ lewishamilton tell him she’s MY sister, he have two brothers

⤷ charles_leclerc exactly I have two brothers and now one sister 😇

⤷ tifosiitaly the way charles is getting under Lewis’ skin is sending me HAHAHAHAH

fan2 💘💘💘💘💘💘

hate123 Funny how it's outed that she’s Lewis's sister and suddenly she’s representing Valentino…

⤷ theofficialyn LOL My shoe brand has had a partnership with Valentino for years now, this is nothing new 😘

⤷ popyn yes, queen! put these haters to sleep

lewishamilton

liked by justinbieber, mercedesamgf1, and others

lewishamilton Grateful for the invitation from Valentino 💖 I had a great time! (And yes, YN was absolutely judging)

view all 7,983 comments

theofficialyn not funny, delete!!!

sirlewis9 Lewis, I hate to break it to you, but both of you were judging

charleslechair The banter is so older brother energy. I love them

danielricciardo Looking good, mate! 🖤

maisonvalentine 💘 An honor to have you two!

theofficialyn added to her story

paddockgossip

liked by yndisney, and others

paddockgossip Y/n and Mick are at the same party and rumor has it they are looking pretty cozy, all hugs and sharing drinks. If you have more tea our dms are open!

view all 3,209 comments

1990yn where are these pics from?

⤷ fortyfourlewis mick’s from lando’s story and yn’s is from lilys (alex’s gf)

sainzcentury Schumi boy is looking good. Go get your man, yn!!!

gaslygaslight patintly waiting for the videos from the party so I can scan one by one looking for yn and mick kissing in the background 🙏🏾

⤷ user1 LMAO can you imagine?

mickmercedes I wanted to be at this party so bad 😭 can you imagine their energy while drunk????? unmatched!

mickschumacher added to his story

this story was deleted

theofficialyn

liked by pierregasly, mickschumacher, and others

theofficialyn Great night but not so great morning 👎🏾

view all 6,230 comments

illicitaffairs2 not the noodle in the car on her way to the paddock ☠️

lewishamilton water and sun waiting for you in here, the best cure

⤷ theofficialyn please, I’m going for a swin with rocks inside my pockets 🤒

pierregasly the best party partner ever!!!

⤷ charles_leclerc excuse me?

ynnature can you imagine being hungover and having to hear the vroom vroom from the paddock all the time??? lmfao

⤷ f1sainz but theyre not racing, just training and general work stuff

⤷ paddockprincess its still loud tho

lilymhe ILY!!!

********************

If you liked it, make sure to like and reblog <3 feel free to talk to me as well, my inbox is always open! And I will start a taglist on my posts, to be part of it you just gotta comment/send an ask saying so, and most important: have your age in your profile (I don’t interact with minors!). See you guys next post! <3

wanna be tagged on my stories? click here

[changingplumbob]

Woods Household: Chapter 2, Part 4

Four werewolves and a human sit down to dinner...

CW: Low level sim spice. Content Warning Guide

Wolfgang and Kristopher have not come alone. Natalia, Kristopher’s wife has come to. She and Kristopher have three kids together. Samir is relieved they didn’t bring them to dinner. He and Reece greet her and the meal properly begins.

Samir is nervous at first, then the other werewolves begin eating. They’re every bit as messy as him! He tucks into his food happily, glad he doesn’t have to repress his gluttonous nature and Reece prepares himself for people talking with their mouths full.

Wolfgang: This is delicious

Natalia: Much better than what we have on set

Kristopher: Natalia is an actress in her spare time

Reece: Oh my sister’s friend does that. What do you do Kristopher?

Kristopher: Look after any wolves that come through these parts

Samir: How long have you been doing that

Natalia: A while… he’s immortal see

Reece: Immortal?

Kristopher: Love you forget, they don’t know much about our lore

Wolfgang: They should if they’ve been reading my books, I see a few of them on the shelf

Samir: You write

Wolfgang: Under a pen name of course of but you can also find me at the main mill most days, I’m the librarian

Reece: You work for the library? Say hi to Flynn and Eve for me

*crickets as no one else gets the geeky joke*

Reece: Uh, did you write that bit in The Werewolf who came in from the cold?

Samir: About the collective

Wolfgang: You could read that? Oh wonderful

Kristopher: It means your eyes are adjusting properly. You’ll be able to see extra text in many of the books in the library

Wolfgang: And my books of course. Read up on what you can and we’ll fill in the blanks for you

Reece offers to sort the dishes while Samir grabs some of the meat in the fridge for seconds. Reece goes to the lounge to do more of his homework while Samir asks more questions.

Samir: Will I always be hungry

Kristopher: It takes a lot of calories to shift, and we have a faster metabolism than humans. I’d suggest planting a fruit tree of some kind so you can always have a snack on hand

Samir: I’m more a meat kind of guy

Kristopher: *whispers* how is your hearing

Samir: *whispers* pretty good

The conversation continues with the group talking so quietly that Reece who is close by cannot hear a word they say.

Natalia: It’s an adjustment being able to hear so much. I am not looking forward to what I might hear when the kids become teens

Samir: Wolfgang… what did you mean when you said Reece and I were lucky to have found each other? It seemed weighted

Kristopher: Tell me you didn’t-

Wolfgang: That was all I said Kristopher, those words

Samir: Why? What could he have said

Kristopher: Nothing that’s backed up by precedent

Wolfgang: Just because you’ve never encountered it before-

Kristopher: *snaps* For the last time, fated mates have only ever been documented in relationships between werewolves

Samir: Fated what

An awkward silence descends as Kristopher and Wolfgang exchange looks and Natalia clearly searches for something to say.

Kristopher: So you want to take on who killed your parents do you

Samir: What? *growls* Do you know who it was

Wolfgang: We have an idea

Kristopher: But no, we’re not telling you until we’re sure you won’t go getting yourself killed. Come outside with me, show me what you can do

Samir follows Kristopher outside, nearly slipping on the icy ground.

Kristopher: You need to work on your reflexes

Samir: I know…

Kristopher: I trust you’ve figured out how to shift at will?

Samir: Sort of…

Kristopher: Come on, show me

The older wolf effortlessly ripples into his wolf form while Samir enters his wolf form more awkwardly.

Samir: Why don’t our clothes tear

Kristopher: We may change our physical appearance but you’ll find we stay a similar size. Now, attack me

The pair disappear into a cloud of dust and fur! Samir isn’t used to tangling with someone as fast as him so he has a job staying ahead of Kristopher’s swings. He sadly discovers a bop to his wolf nose is extremely painful, and that it’s harder to slice through fur with his claws than he thought.

When the dust settles Kristopher is the clear victor but Samir isn’t hurt.

Kristopher: You have an amount of raw talent. That may have been fine on the football field but it’s different as a wolf. You need to work on refining your talents

Samir: I know. Thanks

Kristopher: Anytime. If you want to join the collective-

Samir: No. I have Reece

Kristopher: Up to you of course. I’ll grab the others and take our leave. Howl if you ever need anything

Samir goes inside and Reece looks up from his homework.

Reece: You do make a good looking werewolf… but I still think we should keep woohoo to human form only

Samir: No problem, I can shift

Samir goes into the kitchen to get some space and tries to shift. Nothing changes.

Samir: Damn it!

Reece: It’s okay boss, you’ve done it before. You’ll do it again

Samir: Right blondie, I’ll try. I am in control *deep breath* I am in control….

Reece does his best to think calming thoughts as Samir awkwardly shifts back to human form. It’s still a rusty process but at least he can do it.

Reece: There… my handsome lover is back. Did the others have any good tips

Samir: Just to keep reading and working on skills. Now I have a pretty good tip for you… if you can take it

Reece: *chuckles* I do my best

Samir: Come on, let’s put you to bed

Reece: *sighing* I love you

Samir: *smirks* I love you to, now come on or you’ll miss all the fun

Previous ... Next

[kkcauseway]

Life

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader Summary: Just a little fic, no outbreak, Sarah doesn’t die, nor does she have a deadbeat, stupid ass mom. Cus that girl deserves so much more. Plus you get to live out the fantasy of having babies with Joel what's more to like <3 Not much smut, but it’s just a cute ass story. With a happy ending. Characters: Joel Miller, Sarah Miller, Ellie Williams, Tommy Miller, Maria Miller & You Content & warnings: Depictions of childbirth, family fluff, protective!Joel, Joel being the best Dad, no use of Y/N, no outbreak.

Read from Joel's POV I Series Masterlist I Main Masterlist

You wake with a gasp, clasping at your lower stomach, breathing heavily. You’ve been having pains on and off the past few hours before bed, but you and Joel, both put it off as Braxton-hicks, as they were really irregular. But when you try to sit up and you feel the pain travelling from front to back, it's different, you know what it means. You’ve actually been labouring all evening. It’s the middle of the night, the house dark and silent, Joel’s splayed out next to you on his stomach, his arm over your legs, but you know it’s time. Three days from your due date, there's no denying it. You know the signs and having already had Sarah, you can tell your body is ready.

The pain doesn’t last long, but it’s definitely worse than any of the others you’ve been having over the course of the day. It’s time.

Carefully you remove Joel’s arm from your legs. He stirs slightly, but not enough to wake. You bring your legs over the side of the bed, giving yourself a second, before quietly getting up. A bath is the best thing right now, a way to relax you in the beginning of labour, and there’s no need to wake Joel any earlier than necessary. He’s a worrier, and you don’t want to put him through that.

You quietly walk into the bathroom and begin running the bath. Leaning against the sink as you wait for it to fill. But before you can say or do anything, another contraction takes over you. You begin to sway your hips in an effort to help you through the pain and take deep breaths. Trying your best to remain quiet, breathing softly through it. Once it’s over you finish preparing the bath, adding in some lavender bath salts to calm you. You step in, the lifting of your leg causing a twinge in your back that makes you wince. You then settle yourself down slowly, letting out a soft moan as your stomach hits the water. It’s the best you’ve felt in a while.

About an hour passes, you’ve managed to get through the few contractions you’ve had quite well, the water really helping. You sit and think. Appreciate the life you have, the people you’re surrounded by you take a moment to think back to little ten-year-old you, who dreamt of this every day and didn’t think it was possible. We made it! And we are so happy! It brings tears to your eyes. You feel so complete, so full of love for your family, you could burst. A family of three will soon become four, that thought lingers as you breathe silently through a pain, it makes it all worth it.

You wish you could stay in that moment forever, but your fingers now look more like prunes than fingers and the water has begun going cold. Looking across the room, you can see Joel has left a fluffy towel there for you. Remembering you had told him before you went to sleep, that you were going to have a bath in the morning if you still felt the same. God that man is amazing! He really does think of everything!

As you begin to lift yourself up to get out, another contraction comes over you, much stronger than the ones you’d had previously, and it really hurts. Crippling almost. Realising you’re going to need Joel’s help you have no choice but to call for him.

“Oh Shit. Joel!” you shout.

“Joeeel!” you shout again sounding much more defeated this time, but still in agony.

“I’m coming baby!” he shouts half asleep.

The bathroom door swins open, and a naked Joel finds you on your knees in the water, gripping the side of the bath, gritting your teeth as you scream your way through the contraction.

“It’s okay shhhh, Baby breathe” Joel strokes your lower back, you can hear the worry in his voice.

When you manage to catch your breath back “Fuck Joel, that one hurt”. You say lowering yourself back onto your heels in the tub. Joel moves with you coming to squat besides the bath as he faces you.

“It’s okay, you’re doing amazin’ baby” he kisses your forehead, “is it time?”.  He says rubbing your arms as he looks into your eyes.

“I- Yeah, I’m pretty sure it is”. You whine as a tear runs down your cheek.

“Oh baby, why didn’t you wake me earlier?” he wipes the tears from your eyes before holding his hands on your cheeks.

“I’ve been okay, I didn’t wana worry you any earlier than I needed to. And this is exactly what I was afraid of, and it happened anyway. I’m sorry.”

“Baby, you should’ve woke me earlier and don’t you dare say sorry, you aint got nothin’ t’be sorry for.”

“Honestly Joel, I promise you I’ve been okay. Was no point us both been awake when there was nothing we could do, but I’m gonna need your help now with getting out please. I swear you make big babies Miller and right now, they’re pushing right down.” You half laugh.

“I got you Darlin’, c’mon” Joel stands before helping you out of the bath, grabbing the towel to wrap you up in and bringing you into his arms. Holding you tight. You stay like that in a comfortable silence for a moment. Snuggling into Joel’s chest.

“Y’know I knew second babies were faster, but this seems super-fast.” It’s muffled as you say it into his chest. He hums in response. You look up at him then “Can we go back into the bedroom? I wanna go sit on the bed; my back’s killing”.

He kisses the top of your head then “Course baby, c’mon let’s get you comfy.”

Joel walks you into the bedroom and helps you sit on the bed. He helps you to dry off and put on an oversized lounge set, he then gets up, grabs some fluffy socks out of the drawer and puts them on your feet; knowing how cold your toes get. Finally decent, you move to sit against the headboard, propped up against the pillows, resting your hand on your stomach whilst you stare at Joel. “Thank you for always being so good to me Cowboy”. You smile.

He looks at you so full of admiration and love you think he might burst, and he takes your free hand in between his; “Baby I love you so much, and the fact that I have this amazin’ life and I share it with you, and you’ve given me Sarah, now this baby too, I am so so grateful to you, I’ll do anythin’ and everythin’ for you, always.” He kisses your hand, and when he’s sure you’re comfortable (well as comfortable as you can be all things considered) he goes and grabs some clothes for himself. You struggle through another pain whilst he’s preoccupied this one bearable alone. You think just knowing Joel is near helps. His presence alone enough to calm you through the pain. The pains are getting stronger and closer together, which you know means you’re progressing as you should be, but it’s definitely progressing faster than it did with Sarah.

When Joel is dressed, you can tell he’s petrified, even if he’s trying to act like he isn’t. You know it’s hard for him especially considering he strives through life making sure you’re happy and healthy, you know this is the only situation ever, that he’s felt helpless in, and it scares him that he’s going to witness it again. He’s pacing back and forth, and so, settles on checking all the bags are packed ready to go by the door, then he finally calls Tommy.

‘Tommy, hey bud sorry it’s late, we need you to come over’-

-‘yeah, it’s time’-

He laughs

-‘Okay perfect I’ll let her know, see you soon, thanks Tommy.’

He puts his phone back in his pocket before making his way back over to you on the bed, sitting at you side. “He says they’ll be twenty minutes max, should’ve heard the squeal Maria let out.”

“Anyone would think it’s her baby! But amazing thank you” you take a deep breath, before hitting your knees with your palms “right shall we go wake up our girl, let her know her sibling wants to say hello?” You giggle at the thought; wow Sarah is going to be a big sister.

“You know what; I still can’t get over that we are doin’ this again” he smiles, then walks up to you and bends down to kiss your forehead “I love you baby”.

“I love you so much” you say before kissing his lips and then go to get up, Joel is there to help you. He really is the best husband you could ask for.

You walk or rather waddle across the hall to Sarah’s door, with your husband at your side. A hand rests softly on your lower back. He only leaves you then, in order to knock, before slowly pushing it open. Sarah is fast asleep, her nightlight highlighting her gorgeous features. She really is the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen, and no you aren’t just biased in that opinion because she’s your daughter. It’s 100% true. She begins to rouse as Joel steps a foot into the room. “Daddy?” she mumbles sleepily. Just as you go to enter, another contraction washes over you, so you hang back against the outside wall, riding it out, nodding for Joel to continue in. You bite your arm to remain silent. You don’t want to scare Sarah.

“Hey Baby girl!” it’s an excited whisper.

Sarah looks to the window and notices it’s still dark. Rubbing her eyes, she looks back to her dad. “Daddy, it’s not morning.”

“No Baby, I know, listen, me and Mama have somethin’ t’tell you.” He replies as he takes a seat on her bed.

She yawns as she sits up straighter in her bed, intrigued.

“Where is Mama, was she shouting?” the concern evident in her voice.

He strokes her head “She will be in, in a minute Baby. Now listen your new little brother or sister wants to say hello, so we need to go to the hospital, Uncle Tommy and Aunt Maria are on the way to come and stay with you, while me and Mama are gone okay.”

“The baby’s coming?”

“Yeah baby girl, the baby’s comin’”

“Yay, okay!” it’s an excited squeal, one that reiterates the adoration and love she has for her unborn sibling already.

With the pain gone and the sweat mopped up, so you look somewhere close to ‘half decent’, you walk into Sarah’s room.

“Mama!” she bounces in her place on the bed.

“Hi my pretty girl!”

“You okay?” Joel quickly interrupts as he turns to look at you.

“Fine, honestly” you smile.

He nods in response.

“Can you come and sit with me Mama?” Sarah taps the place on her bed next to her as she shuffles over slightly.

“Of course, baby”

You slowly sink yourself down onto the spot free next to her on the bed, with a groan. Joel moves to be sat near to her feet, so you have space to stretch out. You place an arm around Sarah and the other on your stomach.

“So, the baby is coming tonight, Mama?” she asks as she cuddles into you.

You rub her arm as “Maybe tonight, or maybe tomorrow.”

You sit in silence for a moment then. Cuddling Sarah soaking up her love; the last few moments of it being only the three of you.

Then Joel adds in as he taps her foot “Hey Sarah, last time to put your bet in, what’s it gonna be a boy or a girl?”

“It’s a sister I know it, she told me” certainty on her tongue.

“Oh yeah, and when did ‘she’ apparently tell you this?” you reply with a giggle.

“When me and her were talking one day, you know we like to talk” she says it like she can’t believe you’re asking, that you’re stupid for not knowing exactly how she knows.

“Well, we will soon see, me and Daddy think it’s a boy” you boop her nose as you laugh.

“But I don’t want a - Oh- Mama? Are you okay?”

As Sarah begins to reply to you, another pain washes over your body, causing you to yelp slightly, but you try your best to hide the pain. As to not scare Sarah. You squeeze your eyes shut as you breathe your way through it.

“Mama’s okay Baby” Joel reassures as he strokes a hand up and down your leg “this is just your baby brother or sister tryna get out”. He then adds “Breathe Mama.”

“Oh” Sarah moves slightly in your arms, so she can rub some hair out of your face and behind your ear. Kissing your check once she has done it. Sarah copies what Joel says “breathe Mama.”

Once the pain has subsided you squeeze Sarah as hard as you can, “Thank you so much for helping me through that pain, that kiss was very nice” you kiss the top of her head. Sarah then moves a hand to your belly and wriggles out of your arms, so she can move to bring her mouth to your belly. She lifts up your top to expose your belly and whispers against the skin; “don’t hurt Mama please baby sister” she kisses your tummy and adds “I can’t wait to meet you.” She really is the most beautiful six-year-old ever, the most considerate little girl.

You sit there embracing and soaking in every last second as the three musketeers, life is never going to be the same again after this. So you really do soak up every last second. Eventually there is a distant knock drawing all three of your attention’s. Joel is quick to stand up and is out of the room in the same breath.

You turn to Sarah again; “Come give me a big big hug, I’m gonna miss you soooo much.”

“I’m going to miss you too Mama, will you be gone long?” she mumbles into your chest as she hugs you tight.

“We shouldn’t be baby; I think we will be home by tomorrow night at the very latest, but I will call you so that you know okay?”

“Okay, Mama, oh and you know somethin’?”

“What’s that honey?” you stroke her hair.

“I am so happy you’re my Mama, and I’m so happy you’re baby sisters Mama too, we have the best one in the whole world” the sentimental thoughts this little girl has melt you. You’re amazed that she knows exactly what to say, and when to say it. She makes every situation good or bad 10x better.

“Oh, thank you Baby, I really love you so much. You know that?” you can’t help the tears that begin to fall down your cheeks then. You sniffle, which gains Sarah’s attention, and she looks up at you.

“Oh, I’m sorry Mama, I didn’t mean to make you sad” she reaches a hand to wipe the tears from your cheeks.

“You didn’t make me sad baby, I promise, these are happy tears, you made me really happy”. You kiss her forehead.

The bedroom door opens again, and Joel, Tommy and Maria all walk into the room. Both you and Sarah look towards them.

“Hey stinker!” Tommy shouts

“Hey Uncle Tommy, hi Maria!”

Joel notices that you’re crying and is straight to your side “You, okay?” he then reaches to Sarah’s bedside table to get you a tissue.

You take it from him with thanks “I’m fine, I promise, Sarah was being Sarah, and now I’m crying. You know how it goes”. You laugh wetly as you dab under your eyes with the tissue.

“Oh, I do.” He turns to Sarah, stroking her cheek “You’re the best aint you baby girl”. She giggles in response.

He then looks back to you “Right Baby, you ready to go?”

“Yeah” you smile and take a deep breath. “Let’s go have a baby!”

Joel holds out both his hands to you and he helps you to swing your legs back over the side of the bed. He then helps to pull you up with a groan. You take a second to catch your bearings, now you are back on your feet. Joel helps to walk you slightly to the middle of the room, so Tommy and Maria are able to position themselves on the bed by Sarah. You watch as Maria takes your position, she cuddles up to Sarah and strokes her head. You’re so happy she’s in good hands whilst you’re gone. Tommy and Maria have always been so good to Sarah.

Still holding one of Joels hands; “right Sarah, you have to be really good for Tommy and Maria okay baby- you need to make sure- ugh” you say as you place your freehand under your bump feeling a pain beginning, Joel grabs hold of you tight then- “make sure to listen to-f-fuck!” you grip onto Joel’s arm like it’s a lifeline and move back to face him.

He shushes you and offers you his other arm too, so you can hold onto him properly and sway. You push your forehead into his shoulder. You can’t help but be vocal this time, in too much pain to be able to control the moans that come out of your mouth. “Y’got this baby” Joel whispers into your hair. As the pain begins to subside you can just about hear as Tommy tells Sarah you didn’t mean the ‘no no’ word you said. Sarah just laughs in response.

When the pain is completely gone, you look Joel in the eye, he can see you’re already beginning to feel deflated. Yet he also has a cheeky half smile on his face, and you remember what you had just said. You stand up tall again and turn back to look at Sarah. “Mama is sorry for saying that baby, I didn’t mean it, be good for Tommy and Maria, listen to what they say okay? I love you.”

“Love you too Mama!” she blows you a kiss and you pretend to catch it and placing it on your heart, before blowing her one back.

As you begin to walk out of her bedroom Joel turns to look back at the three of them; “Tommy, I’ll be in touch, thank you for havin’ her. See you soon baby girl, be good, love you”!

“Love you too Daddy, make sure to look after Mama”.

“I will, I promise!”

Tommy and Maria both shout good luck and you make your way downstairs, grabbing the hospital bags that you left by the door, and then you’re on your way.

🩷🩵🩷

You’ve been at the hospital about an hour when your midwife comes into the room.

“Hi, I’m Sally your midwife, how are we both doing?”

“Good thanks, but definitely progressing much faster than I expected.”

“Well, there’s never really been a time scale for these thing, your baby must just be super eager to make an appearance! Are you okay if I check you, just to see how far along you are?”

You nod, but are sidetracked by a very painful wave, overtaking your body once more. You sit up taller in the bed, breathing and moaning your way through the pain. Joel is rubbing your lower back, ‘counterpressure’ her remembers the midwife at Sarah’s birth called it, it doesn’t really do much, but you enjoy feeling his presence and care. Once the pain ends, Joel helps you to shift in the bed, so you’re able to get into a suitable position for the examination; offering his hand. You take it gratefully and part your legs so the midwife can get to work.

“Okay, six centimetres, coming right along, well done! Won’t be too much longer now hopefully” she snaps her gloves off.

“Oh, thank goodness” you groan.

“Now am I right in thinking it’s in your birth plan to have a water birth, if we have a room with a pool free? Is that still what you want?”

“I would Love that! I really regret not having a water birth with Sarah.”

She nods “okay, no problem, I’ll get onto the case and find out if we have a room, I’ll be back with the verdict asap, in the meantime, I’ll be right outside if you need me, okay? That red button to your right, press it if you need me, I’ll come running, literally! Especially if your water breaks okay, shout me!”

“Will do, thank you nurse.” Joel responds.

With the door shut and the midwife out of the room you turn to Joel.

“She’s nice” you smile.

“Yeah, I like her” Joel agrees.

“Hey not too much longer baby and we will be a family of four, how crazy is that!” you add excitedly.

“I can’t wait. Do you think Sarah is right about it bein’ another girl?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I know she really wants a sister, so I would love to give her one. But either way she will be the best big sister, I know that much.”

“Oh, she most definitely will, I have to agree with you there Darlin’.”

Joel moves his hand out of the grasp of yours and begins to caress your belly. Making gentle work of it, as he knows just about any pressure on it right now is painful. You let out a pleasurable moan in response. His palms tickling your belly in a really relaxing way. His baby kicking in response every so often.

“God, I really hope I can have a water birth.”

“I’m praying for you Baby”. He says as he leans down to kiss your stomach.

🩷🩵🩷

Two hours later, again, your breathing begins to speed up as another pain takes over you whilst you lie on your side in the hospital bed. You grab onto Joel’s arm as you moan with the pain. You lean into him, curling your body tight. He uses the arm you don’t have a hold of, to rub up and down your back.

“You got this baby, I’m so proud of you”.

“Ugh, it really hurts” your voice breaks and you can’t help the tears that begin to fall “I can’t do it anymore”.

“You can baby, you can. You’ve got this, you’ve done it all before with Sarah. Just think of how amazin’ life is now because you brought her safely into the world. You did that! Endured all that pain to bring her into the world, and now you’re going to do the same again with this baby. We are all so lucky to have you. You’re so strong.” He kisses your forehead as the pain begins to subside.

With the pain gone, you have the ability to sit up straighter. Joel moves out of your way so you’re able to sort yourself out, however you wish to. Rather than sitting against the pillows, you bring your legs over the side of the bed, so you can sit directly facing Joel. You hold your hands out on either side of the bed to help you stabilise. Joel then kneels in front of you, so you put your arms around his neck, in an effort to hold him closer. He’s your safe space. You pull each other into an embrace, and you rest your head on his shoulder as you cry.

“Shhh Baby, you’re okay, y’got this”.

You don’t say anything, you just continue to hug him as you shake and cry. Joel brushes his hands up and down your back. “Hey baby, look at me”. It’s a whisper into the quiet room after a few minutes of silence. You don’t move, just shake your head no into his shoulder. “Baby” he pulls away a little. “Please, look at me” this time it’s much sterner, but still drowned in concern.

You slowly lift your head up; your hair falls in front of your face as you do so. Your face red and shiny with tears. You looks exhausted and defeated. Joel brushes your hair behind your ears and smiles at you. He then wipes your wet cheeks to free them of your tears. “Hi” he smiles “see you’re so strong. So much stronger than I could ever be. I promise you, you’ve got this”.

“I don’t” you whimper.

“Baby” he laughs “you do! Look at you, you’re literally doin’ it as we speak!”

“I don’t feel strong” it comes out like a moody grunt.

“But you are, come on take a deep breath. It’s all gonna be worth it”.

You take a deep breath in before exhaling, keeping eye contact with Joel as you do. You bring a hand to your lower back with a wince.

“Can you help me up please? I wana walk for a little?”

“Course baby, whatever you need”.

Joel takes hold of both of your hands and pulls as you begin to lift yourself off the hospital bed. You then proceed to pace; breathing deeply as you rub your belly.

“You up for some music? We can dance for a bit, will that help?”. Joel asks enthusiastically.

It stops you in your tracks “Aww Joel, you cutie you still wana dance with me? Even when I look like this?” you gesture to your hospital gown.

“I always wana dance with you darlin’.”

Joel grabs his phone and puts on a random playlist of slower songs. He takes you into his arms and cuddles you close swaying with you in his arms. Stopping with each contraction that hits you, rubbing your lower back. He kisses the top of your head every so often. Mumbling into your hair how much he loves you. You continue to do this for a while, seemingly more relaxed until “Shit, wait Joel stop, I feel weird”.

He immediately stops swaying with you but continues to hold you “what do you mean?”

“I- I, it feels weird down there, I don’t know” you grab the underneath of your stomach.

“What can I do?”

You begin to stand straighter in his arms“I- I just need to move, just need t-“

You’re interrupted by a gush of water, falling from between your legs. Soaking your bare feet, and Joels boots.

“Oh shit, well that’s what that was” you laugh, but then keel over with another pain. Placing your palms onto the hospital bed as you sway and moan.

Joel pushes the red button, then is right back at your side helping you through it. The nurse is in the room within a couple of seconds.

“Hey, I was just on my way back to you guys, what’s going on?”

Joel, noticing you’re still getting over your pain, responds on behalf of you “her waters went”.

“Oh goodie! Progressing as we should and to top it off, we have a room free. We will take you there when you’re ready sweetie” she rubs your shoulder in concern.

“Oh, thank god, I would’ve cried even more if I couldn’t have a water birth”.

🩷🩵🩷

Once settled into the new room Joel helps you to strip completely, then helps you to put on a bikini top. The midwife is filling up the tub and Joel helps you in once its ready. You’re straight on the gas and air.

After an hour of contracting in the water, you’re sat against the tub, a flannel over your forehead and Joel is rubbing your shoulders. You’re focusing on breathing calmly between contractions, but the next pain that hits you is excruciating. There’s something much more primal about this scream. Despite the pains everything seems calm till the sudden urge to push overcomes your body.

You sit up taller in the bath, pulling a face as you try to move to get more comfortable, which is just impossible.

“You okay baby?” Joel asks noticing the distress on your face.

“There’s so much pressure down there I think-  I feel like- like I need to push” you take a second to get a proper feel for what it is you’re feeling. “Yeah, I do- I need to push Joel!”

Joel quickly jumps up and presses the red button and it takes all of ten seconds for Sally to return.

“How we doing?” she asks genuinely, but it’s obvious she knows the answer she’s about to get.

“I need to push” you say before a pain takes over you that has you almost screaming in pain. You turn in the tub to face Joel and put your arms over his shoulders. He hugs you close.

“You’re okay baby, you’re doing so good.”

“Okay, when this pain is over, I’m going to check you, whatever you do, do not push, okay?” Sally says in a rushed tone.

You nod into Joel’s shoulder in response. And it takes ever fibre of your being not to push. You don’t move whilst she examines you, continuing to cuddle into Joel as you try to suppress the urge to push.

“Okay it’s go time angel, baby’s head is right there I can see it.”

“Oh, thank God” it comes out like a cry.

“You hear that Baby you can push” Joel utters to you so softly, it’s almost a whisper.

“You can start pushing as soon as you’re ready angel, how do you want to do this? You happy in the position you’re in or do you want to move?”

“No, I want to stay like this” you’re determined but exhausted.

“That’s absolutely fine. Now on the next contraction, I want you to push with everything you’ve got, okay, I’m going to count to ten and I need you to push that whole ten seconds, okay? You’re no quitter, so I don’t want any giving up.”

“Yeah, okay” it’s about all you can manage response wise.

It doesn’t take long till the next contraction happens, they’re basically on top of each other by this point.

You bare down as you grip onto Joel, and you give it all you’ve got. “Good!” the midwife shouts. “Keep going that’s it, 8, 9, 10.”

You stop pushing with a gasp.

“You did so good baby” Joel whispers in your ear.

“Ready to go again?” the midwife asks, and you nod before baring down for another ten. It takes a few more pushes before the head is completely out and you’re nothing but glad that the ring of fire is long gone.

“Okay good the head is out! Well done! Take some deep breaths for me. Just a few more pushes and your beautiful baby will be here!”

“The heads out?” it’s almost a cry.

“Yes, it’s out!”.

“Can I feel?”

“Yeah, course go for it” the midwife adds. You move out of Joel’s grip slightly, bringing one of your arms back to feel the head between your legs.

“Oh, Joel, I can feel them, wow they have a lot of hair” you say as you look at him.

“Yeah? Lotta hair, just like Sarah?” Joel asks.

“Oh yeah beautiful full head of hair I can see it” the midwife adds in.

“Good, hey almost there now baby” he replies before kissing your head as you lean back into him.

With the head finally out, you know you have to push even harder for the shoulders and you’re exhausted.

“Give us a really big push on this next contraction, okay?” Sally asks.

“I can’t” you shake your head into Joel’s shoulder.

“Baby you can, what do you mean you can’t?” Joel adds.

“I can’t do it anymore, I can’t!” You cry.

“Baby, you’ve been doing so well and you’re so near the end now, hey look at me.” You lift your head from his neck to look at him. “You’re so strong you’ve got this, okay? You push, give it everything you’ve got and lets meet this baby of ours, okay?”

“Y-Yeah, okay”

“Good girl” Joel replies kissing your forehead.

The pain begins to wash over you and you push until you can’t anymore. Joel and Sally coaching you through every second of the push.

“Few more pushes and baby is out” the midwife adds.

“Good you can do this baby come on!” Joel shouts enthusiastically and that’s all you need to hear.

You scream as you bare down gripping onto Joel’s shoulders. It takes three more pushes to get the baby out. The midwife is there to catch and when the baby is finally free from your body you immediately sit back so you can take the baby from her. “It’s a girl!” the midwife announces as she places your screaming daughter in your arms.

“Another girl Joel” you cry at him, and he comes over to kiss you on the head before placing a hand on the back of his new daughters head.

“She’s so beautiful” Joel cries back.

“Sarah was right” you laugh, “she got the sister she always wanted”.

“Look at all of her hair!”

“She gets that from her daddy” you laugh.

You’re crying, Joel’s crying, the baby is crying. You all just stay like that for a minute.

“Dad do you wana cut the cord?” Sally questions Joel, bringing you both out of your new baby bliss bubble.

“Y- yeah” he replies.

You move the baby to be cradled in your arms as he cuts the clamped cord. The midwife then takes the baby and gives her to a nurse to clean her off whilst you deliver the placenta.

🩷

An hour later you’re back in the hospital bed in your own comfy pj’s as your newborn daughter sleeps against your chest. She makes little purr like noises as she does. Skin to skin is your favourite thing to do with a newborn. Joel is sat at your side and rests his palm against your daughters head.

“What should we call her?” he whispers to you.

You turn your head to the side to look at him briefly. You whisper back “I think she looks like an Ellie.”

“Ellie?” he looks to her squished, pouty face then. “S’perfect” he replies, before leaning to kiss her tiny head.

As if she hears herself being talked about, she stirs awake and lets out a little grouchy cry.

“Oh, baby Ellie, you’re hungry again huh?” You coo at her angry scrunched face. You then move, Joel quickly grabbing her from you, so that you can undress yourself ready to feed her. Joel helps to position her at your breast, and she latches almost instantly. And you quickly settle back into the feeling of feeding a baby, it’s the best bonding feeling ever.

Joel just sits back and watches you both for a moment, before getting out his camera and taking a snap of you feeding your daughter.

“Babe, stoppp I bet I look a mess”.

“You look gorgeous baby.”

This birth had been much less traumatic than Sarah’s and you were raring to go home. Thankfully you got the all clear to go which you were more than thankful for. You didn’t want to have to spend the whole night away from Sarah if unnecessary. Ellie was born six hours ago; she had fed easily and was going to the toilet normally. And so home time it was. Joel is getting Ellie ready in the car seat whilst you get out your phone. You’d promised to call Sarah when you were coming home and so you call Tommy’s phone to speak to her.

It only rings twice and surprisingly Sarah is the one to answer.

“Hi Mama!”

“Hey baby, are you okay?”

“Yeah Mama, are you coming home?”

“We are coming home!”

“So, the baby is here!”

“Yes, the baby is here, and you’ll get to meet them very soon!”

“Yay I can’t wait!”

“See you soon baby love you!”

“Love you too!”

There’s a welcome home sign on the front door, clearly made by Sarah, when you make it back home. Joel carefully helps you out of the car and then makes his way into the back to get Ellie out whose sleeping soundly. You then walk up to the front door together, Joel unlocking the door and allowing you to enter first. He enters behind you with Ellie in tow.

You walk into the living room and Sarah runs straight to you. Jumping up and down in front of you. ‘MAMA!’

“Hi beautiful girl!” you gently hug her. “You wana meet someone special?”

She nods, as she looks behind you to watch Joel walk in the door, baby carrier in tow. “Baby girl, this is Ellie, your sister” he announces excitedly.

“Sister? It’s a girl! See I told you!”

“Yeah, you were right baby, now if you go and sit nicely on the sofa, you can hold her if you want?”

“Yes, yes pleaseeee!”

Sarah runs hurriedly over to the sofa and sits nicely kicking her legs. You come to sit next to her and put an arm around her. Joel places the carrier down onto the floor and bends to carefully to unclip her to get her out. Maria and Tommy both coo from the other sofa when her tiny body is lifted out of the seat. The newborn scrunch is enough to set you off crying again and when Joel gently helps Sarah to position her arms to hold her new sister correctly, you’re a mess. Sarah’s one arm is propped against a pillow to further help her in supporting her baby sister.

“Hi Ellie, I’m your big sister. She’s so tiny wow” she strokes her cheek gently.

“She is huh? Joel adds “she’s gonna get so much bigger though, one day she will be as big as you.”

“She’s so beautiful” as if on cue, Ellie opens her eyes then and looks straight up to her big sister in curiosity.

“Look Sarah she recognises her big sister; she remembers your voice from all those times you spoke to her when she was in my tummy. God, you look so big holding her baby girl” you bend her head towards you gently then to kiss her.

Joel reaches into his bag and gets his camera out once more.

“Girls look up, lets get a picture of the three of you”.

You and Sarah both look up at once, you quickly wipe the now drying tears from your face and Joel takes multiple pictures.

“Right daddy I think it’s time you got in too, don’t you?” Maria asks from behind him, he quickly passes her the camera and sits the other side of Sarah, you all smile once more at the camera, and Maria also take one of the three of you looking down at Ellie as she makes her tiny little noises.

Okay now enough you lot, think it's time Uncle Tommy had a cuddle, don't you?" Tommy asks “C’mon shift, stop hoggin’ my niece!” He jokes.

You all laugh then.

This is family, this is love, this is the life you’d spent your whole life dreaming of. And here you are finally living it, and it’s so much better than you could’ve ever, ever imagined.

Read from Joel's POV I Series Masterlist I Main Masterlist

[gentaro-kinniecom]

hello! I want request headcanons for Eichi, Arashi and Wataru when their s/o have sun allergy or Is very sun sensitive? Please and thank you

🌷S/o with a sun allergy/sun sensitive headcanons🌷

→Characters: Eichi Tenshouin, Arashi Narukami and Wataru Hibiki

→Cw: none! Mostly fluff, just reader with sun allergy and/or being sensitive to the sun!

→A/n: hi!! Thank you so much for requesting this! I absolutely loved making these hcs since I’m sensitive to the sun, so this hit close to home, hope you enjoy!!

Eichi Tenshouin;

Very caring and understanding

Would buy anything that could help with your rashes (if you get in contact with the sun for a while) and/or aloe vera for sunburnt skin if you went to the beach for a date

He tries making each date indoors, mostly going to restaurants during the afternoons or (his favorite type of dates) taking a trip to the flower gardens close to his home

Eichi loves buying clothes (and hats) that can help you with your allergy, especially soft comfortable clothes so the rash doesn’t get so itchy.

During summertime, he suggested you both take a swin in his indoor pool instead of going out to the beach and harmfully expose your skin to an allergy reaction or burn

Arashi Narukami;

She’s so sweet and noticed when you were at the beach and started to scratch your skin very harshly, she immediately grabbed her moisturizers and creams, rushing towards you to help you

Ever since that happened during your last date, she’s always caring some sort of skin moisturizer, rash relief and aloe vera

Arashi knows a lot about skincare and how to treat these sunburns or rashes perfectly

It’s in the little things that she does that make you love her even more, like offering to place the creams herself or treating you to a spa, anything that she knows will make you feel relieved and actually help your skin get better

With that being said, Arashi loves going on spa or nail dates! Especially if you both get matching nail sets together or a couple’s spa day

She also has a daily routine of washing her face, applying some moisturizer and etc, she has invited you a few times to join her and do things like clay masks together or manicure and nails when you don’t go to the nail salon together

Wataru Hibiki;

He somewhat knows how to treat sunburns or sun allergies but he’s not that well informed

However, if you need something, anything at all, he’s willing to get it for you

Like Arashi, he has a cabinet full of products that you had recommended him or he brought himself for you. His skin is so soft and it’s no wonder why he has so many products in one cabinet

He’s very gentle with your skin and when you experience a very bad skin allergy reaction, he tosses everything he had for that day asside just to help you

If he has a play during the day and outside, (not like in the actual theater they have) he makes sure to reserve a seat that has an umbrella and it’s specifically reserved for you, his beloved

He prefers having fun dates like going to an amusement part (in the afternoon ofc), a theater, but if that’s not your cup of tea, he would take you to a museum or picnic under the afternoon sky.

[celestiall0tus]

So, I'm curious to see how the blessed powers work in Scions. Right now, the vibe I'm getting is that it's a mix of the Amaranthine/Siren’s Song (in the sense that they can use their powers as much as they want but once they go threw they're reserves they start to use up their vitality and can pass out from the strain) and the Court of Miracles (in the sense that the powers are blessings and they can have multiple powers, passive powers, and can summon weapons) power systems

You know, this is perfect time and chance to do this as I wasn't sure about adding the Scions characters to the normal holder list given their circumstances. And, as a quick note, I will just be discussing the blessing traits, not the DnD and homebrew shit. So, let's get into it:

Juleka Couffaine as the Scion of Life and Creation, the snake and ladybug. With these blessings, she gains:

Herbalism - Passive/Innate

Cure Minor Wounds - Cast at will

Creation (Object) - 3 times per long rest

Summon Weapon (Asclepius staff) - Cast as will

Luka Couffaine as the Scion of Death and Destruction, the snake and the black cat. With these blessings, he gains:

Restful Sleep - Passive/Innate

Inflict Wounds - 5 times per long rest

Snake Bite (Venomous bite) - Once per long rest

Cataclysm - 3 times per long rest

Summon Weapon (Caduceus and Bo Staff) - At will

Adrien Agreste as the Scion of Transformation, Beauty, and Freedom, the butterfly, peacock, and white cat. With these blessings, he gains:

Divine Beauty - Passive/Innate

Transformation - Once per long rest

Teleportation - Short Distances (at will) Long distances (once per long rest)

Mesmerization - Once per long rest

Summon Weapon (Fan, Sword, and Cane) - At will

Alya Cesaire as the Scion of Intuition, the wolf. With this blessing, she gains:

Tracking - Passive/Innate

Sixth Sense - Passive/Innate

Summon Weapon (Armored Claws) - At will

Astral Vision - Once per long rest

Marinette Dupain-Cheng as the Scion of Nature, the dragon. With this blessing, she gains:

Fire Immunity - Passive/Innate

Dragon Scales - Passive/Innate

Blindsight - Passive/Innate

Eternal Fire - Passive/Innate

Frightening Presence - Passive/Innate

Fire Breath - 3 times per long rest

Draconic Roar - Once per long rest

Draconic Ally - Once per 7 days

Summon Weapon (Sword) - At will

Mylene Haprele as the Scion of Nature, the dragon. With this blessing, she gains:

Growth - At will

Harvest Feast - Twice per long rest

Tree/Nature Travel - At will

Talk with Animals - Passive/Innate

Summon Weapon (Sword) - At will

Ondine as the Scion of Memory, Oblivion, and Time, the dolphin, seal, and shark. With these blessings, she gains:

Rewind - Once per long rest

Fast Forward (Haste) - 3 times per long rest

Enhanced Swin Speed - Passive/Innate

Immortality - Passive/Innate

Advantage on Memory Checks - Passive/Innate

Freeze Time - Once per long rest

Amnesia - Once per 7 days

Summon Weapon (Trident, Bident, Glaive) - At will

Rose Lavillant as the Scion of Love, the dog. With this blessing, she gains:

Empathy - Passive/Innate

Seduce - 3 times per long rest

Charming Presence - Passive/Innate

Felix Fathom as the Scion of Valor, Determination, and Animosity, the tiger, ox, and rooster. With these blessings, he gains:

Fear Immunity - Passive/Innate

Indomitable Will - Passive/Innate

Rage - 3 times per long rest

Frenzy (going to rename to Flurry) - 3 times per long rest

Relentless Charge (Stampede) - 3 times per long rest

Energy Strikes - Add on damage to attacks

Summon Weapon (Lance, Warhammer, and chained scythes) - At will

I'll be adding Marc later to this list, but essentially, the system can be seen more as Court of Miracles as they are blessings, however the usage of their powers runs on DnD 5e rules.

[istherewifiinhell]

okay just gonna link a bunch of the es story boards videos (i started this with the mind of curation but ended up in a place of COLLECTION. whoops)

and ONE FUN BONUS at the end which u could just skip to the bottom for if (website popup voice) YOU DONT LIKE COOL ANIMATION. (joking lmao. this is for me interact however u like). The bonus is BOTH a fun fact and a fun vid.

i could not be any more clear at ALL TIMES. that i want ppl to watch es but lol either way. <3 story boards. (note also the rise turtles like swag (crossover staff) and see why i say this show looks so good cause u can tell their doing the 3d like its 2d)

notes: scratch track (the non VA audio in theses) so charming. yay u get to see them actually use purple rain. u can really clock mandroid flubbed a punch cause he DIDNT want to punch alex (inch resting) LOOK how extra expressive twitches alt mode is in 2d tho RIP. (crys about the little bird moment for the five hundredth time). Hashtag <3 fucking lmao.

this scene is one of those first DAMN thats crazy in the show i feel like and oh lol. would u look at that. DAMN THATS CRAZY.

AND THEN. this is the part with the meg move i love so much and the meg.op battle couple AND THE AND THE. (passes out) its sooooo cool.

notes: deleted scene, explains WHY shock wave got out during the megs field trip ep. gayass. CUTE KITTY. #3 son mug. this shits literally just so funny. she/her rav pronoun drop fjgbdfjg.

notes: altered version from the final ep they moved night shade around. they all have their final mode colours in the boards aw lol. ALSO. little like. adopted kids moment that i doooo get why they cut but u ALSO GET how it would emotional payoff in the ep with NS protecting their parents Oughhh (rolls on the ground)

notes: JUST A LITTLE MORE emotional oumph to the megs flash back but not that different. hes handsome tho i like to see him. like the scratch tracks impression of shock wave its cute. i can hear the vocal quality their going for.

oh hey also GAY CARS. i just found these/am seeing them first time today

Neat!

NOT THE SAD SHIP VIDEO VIBES.... OH GOD OH GOD... NOT THE SAD ASS PIANO MUSIC..... WHAT THE HELL. THIS IS DEVASTATING. watching bd tanking those shots for bee and crumbling APART. awesome. what the fuck. HELLO.

finale stuff

kids fighting oppie at the train yard. just COOL

fight on the bridge. ALSO COOL.

BIG finale scene stuff in 3 diff parts

scary shit and visuals that FUCK

THE MEGS ANGST. im KILLS ME that it didnt get a way in there. tho would have killed me to see also. no really tho this shit is so visually insane god damn. seeing this DID also help me understand how the screamer save happened better. EVIL SPIDER MAN. also in the group that comes saves em. was not in the final ep but we must pray hes still safe maybe just doing smth else.... (hes with swin and his bro busting in. the brother is the car. lol). twitch doing megs move!!! (propelling herself with her canon). mandroid going full fucking beast mode.... etc.

urghh u can really vibe out how bad those injuries are. and emotionally. bwah.. and. THIS SHOW. god. okay.

okay this one isnt the bonus but ill give it anyway

song from the tf the movie and also my alarm for several months (yes it HAS stopped working thanks for asking) BWAH. my loves. (weeping gently)

OKAY HERE IS THE FUN BONUS VIDEO

REALLY funny really goofy really fucking delightful. the mean girl trio seekers energy is supreme. god i love gay ppl. anyway. hey. doesnt that screamer look.... familiar...... WHY YES. YOU MAY NOTE THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL... SAME PERSON. THEY GOT A FUCKING JOB. ON THE SHOW. (unsure if its causally related) THATS SO FUCKING CRAZY the world is wonderful. es seeker trio THE mean girls seeker trio of all time. even if their barely in it. cause like. wow. (gets stuck in my loop of watching this forever and ever again) BWAH

[dacuslucy]

stumbling into the coffeeshop at approximately 1 in the morning. i’m so normal about kate martin playing qb like i got everything out of my system (not) also my spellcheck is saving my ass rn or else this would be. completely incomprehensible. anyway i have to go to my first swim practice on a new team jn 8 hours and im scared :( and then i have to teach brand new kids ive never met before in lessons and im scared :( its night night time for rowe and actually it should’ve been night night time for rowe like two hours ago!!!! yayayyyyy also everyone did you know i love amelie so much

I AM SO NORMAL. I JUST READ HER WHOLE WIKI PAGE AGAIN BC I CANT BELIEVE I MISSED THAT AJWUYFWGJHKWIUA. um. yes! i am normal actually and kate martin playing football is fine i guess and i dont care. OMG SWIN {RACTIC!!!!!! you will do so great rowe i believe so much....... you are a great teacher and a lovely person and you will SUCCEED!!!!! i hope you are havning a good night time right now <3 guys whatever rowe tells you know that i love rowe MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[crushes-georg]

47 with Swindle!? :O (Yearnin-cryptid)

47. touching their elbow to get their attention

"So expenses come out to about..."

"Swin?"

"Hang on. Now if... hm. I can transfer these funds and..."

"Swindle..."

"I said hang on. That would put us at about..."

"Swindle!"

Ayvee's tone was just below a shout for the arms dealer's attention, her servo coming up to grab his arm just at the elbow and pull the datapad he held in his own servo away from his scrutinizing gaze. Violet optics immediately snapped up to her, and for a moment, it almost looked like the smaller Decepticon was about to admonish her; but Ayvee gave him such a soft, tender look, that Swindle's expression immediately lessened in intensity, going from genuine frustration to a mere mildly annoyed pout.

"Vee, I'm working," he muttered, to which Ayvee plucked the expense listing from his servos and set it aside.

"Yes, Swin, I know. You have been for the past four hours," she replied, earning a sideways glance from the smaller 'con. A small smile graced her lips, and she leaned in to press a delicate peck to his cheek to snap him out of his perturbed little stance. "Come on, hustler. Take a break. I miss you..."

Well that was certainly a tune he couldn't help but to follow. A smarmy grin spread across Swindle's face as his arms snaked up Ayvee's, servos resting at her elbows to pull her arms closer around him.

"Oh? Just how much d'ya miss me, sweetspark?" he purred, the grin on his face one that he always reserved for when he was shmoozing clients. Ayvee rolled her optics, but she couldn't help the grin that spread across her own face as her arms looped around Swindle, her forehelm tipping forward to rest against his, optics violet and cyan glowing against one another.

"Miss you enough to commit the heinous crime of pulling you away from work so we can go cuddle...?" she said innocently, fluttering her optics a bit in a way to appear (jokingly) more enticing. This pulled a laugh from Swindle, as he leaned in a little to give her a quick peck on the lips this time.

"An hour, that's all I can give," he said softly, before slipping his servo into Ayvee's. "Don't mind me if I start talking business."

"Do I ever mind, hustler?"

"That's just what I love about you~"

[asoulofatlantis]

Kevin appearantly knew Dingo and he is the one who introduced him to Van.

And we have our favorite Assasin-Couple back! Huray! I love my Nadia and you should too! She is great and always says the right things at the right time ♥

So much about lore... XD Don't you have work to do Kevin?

Lapis looks adorable!

EXCUSE ME?! Don't you betray me now, Lapis!

Appearantly Kevin is back to hunting heretics and Swin and Nadia are not having it, given their oath to never kill again. (Appearantly Rufus founds are all used by the girl's expensive exploits? ^^' I guess it isn't easy for a former and technically speaking "dead" governor to find a new job either, huh? ^^' Poor Rufus.

Currently doing some side-mission meeting Marielle and the two Dancer-Girls whos names I also can not seem to remember ^^' Also meeting Jack and Halle.

All old man in Trails a weird XD

Eien has been mentioned a few times already. I wonder if we ever met her in person in a game. Like... as a moving model and not just in a picture or manga or as a book story XD

Yes Rufus, have you visited your brother and his adorable little girlfriend who apparently grew big boobies by bow? XD

How can you say that? Your brother loves you, despite all the (sometimes literal) backstabbing you have done!

Okay entering the second part of the Day 2 playthrough. 2 1/2 hours left and the new Stream is already going strong once again with Rean mostly doing some sidemissions. So we should be able to get through that part a big quicker this time despite the golden child being there ^^'

But back to Kevin and Rufus who are done now playing cards.

And were at Grim Garten now. And now we are back and talk a bit about the backstory of our Desert-Town which only survived because Hamiliton did something to save their water-supply or something like that.

Kevin can use this technique to see somewhat what someone did in the past and he chose Dingo here for some reason I do not fully get yet.

Kevin is really rough on Swin and Nadia here. Telling them he might have to "silence them" if things go wrong. No idea why he is so hard on them tho. Maybe he doesn't trust them fully because of their past?

But I guess there is no need to worry. There is no way to break these two. Ever again.

Kevin tries to teach them that sometimes, to protect each other, they might have to kill (no wonder he isn't working with Rean, he would go nuts with that kind of thinking...) and Swin just said that if Nadia dies, he dies too. This is so romantic, even tho in a very fucked up way ^^'

Kevin has decided to test the picnic Squad in a battle it seems. And as we right as Rufus-Team that means after all those year I can FINALLY kick that mans ass! Wohoo! Now I am looking forward to playing Kai myself one day XD

Kevins Stigma has become quite colorful it seems ^^'

They won! (Yes to kicking Kevins ass after all those years of hating him XD) And now he accepted that they can be trusted and is willing to go on with them to whatever exactly his goal is if they want to.

Nadia playfull mentioned Ries and I love her even more for it ♥

(At this point, I think the reason she is not with him is because of what he wants to do... she would have stopped him for sure.)

We got a flashback of Risettes first encounter with the ASO and I love how the camera focused so much on the Van and Agnes cutness of that first time. Ah... I miss that. I wish it stayed and Elaine stayed away... *achem* Sorry. The shipper in me is... uh... yeah... lets move on...

(In the meantime on Reans Stream they are backing cake XD Oh! I have to remember to check that scene out, there was a small flashback to a part of class7 so maybe they mention what someone else is doing...)

(Not to selfe: Fight with Lucrecia in Grimgarden. Appearantly Rean gets an Alisa tease... and then flirting with him? We will see tomorrow!)

[*achem* I almost had an accident because in the dark I did not see a bike on the stream coming right at me when I crossed a road so I am a bit in shock still. Thankfully nothing happened, but my mother stopped me in her panic while already halfway on the street and... uh... doesn't matter, I am just a bit out of it right now. So not sure how much sense the rest of my reaction will make. But I try! So back to it!]

Hammilton is having secrets with Dingo... uh was having secrets with Dingo ^^'

OBVIOUSLY! Guys! NEVER trust people in lapcoats in a Trails-Game XD

It seems like Hammilton is using some sort of "fake" Genesis to do certain things. Appearantly, the whole thing with the water drying up in the Desert City was her manipulating reality or something like this.

Okay. With Kevin deciding to be back to beeing called the "Heretic Hunter" his route ends end we get into the intermission. Were we play a bit with our new Enforcers Friends while actually mixing our 3 teams.

This is Hajimari all over again XD

Dealing with Ouroboros is mildly exhausting in this game ^^'

Isn't that still a freaking spoiler at this point in the game? Or did she already mention that in the connect-event with Van? Seems to obviously important to mention in a connect-event tho.

Ups! Novartis went a bit too far adressing Agnes and Van is now in full protection modus. (Not that I am complaining... XD)

[anna-sunberry]

Honeymoon

Zelda: it is so pretty here!

Zelda: look there waterfall Aidan: let's stop here

Zelda: we are here only for few hours but I love this place so much already Aidan: me too, it it beautiful

Zelda: this tree is called Lover's Tree

Aidan: where did you take cookies from? Zelda: from home, I've baked them yesterday Aidan: they're delicious, you are an amazing baker, maybe you should open your own bakery Zelda: maybe some day I will

Aidan: do you wanna go swin near the waterfall? Zelda: sounds great

Zelda: did I ever tell you how handsome you are? Aidan: no Zelda: you are very handsome and sexy, Aidan!

Aidan: I love you, baby

Zelda: what are you doing? we are on the beach!! Aidan: there is no one!

Zelda: let's go for dinner!

Zelda: thank you for such an amazing day! Aidan: every day we spend together will be amazing, I promise you, my love

Aidan: wow! Zelda: time to make babies! Aidan: are you sure? Zelda: you wanna me to change my mind? Aidan: of course not!

[pancakejikook]

"jkkrs before: jk is so sweet to jm, he's taking care of him, he defend him when other members teasing him and he doesn't want to"

Um anon have you seen the same jkk for yrs as we have? Jungkook has always teased jm like who do u think was teasing him about his height? Jk always teases jm whenever he can.

"He defends him when other members teasing him and he doesn't want to" I'll give you two examples one from past one from now. 1) Remember how all members teased jm when he said 'Sorry' during his white house speech? And who told all the members not to tease jm nd make him feel better? Of course jungkook cut to when hobi asked jk when he took that taekook pic jk himself used 'When jiminie hyung said sorry' like U see how he himself teases jm BUT it's different he teases jm when the situation is not as serious.

Current example from AYS ep3. Jungkook kept teasing jm with water gun because he wanted jm to play with him. But when jm wasn't budging he let jm sleep. Then when jm woke up nd decided to revange taekook nd when they were upstairs jm said "what do you have to say for yourself?" Jk only said "Sorry" nd tae said "Take 3 steps back" and when jk got those two guns from jm, tae took one from jk but as soon as jm said "Stop" it was again jungkook who said "Let's leave this". Because he knows when to stop exactly.

And to people who kept saying jungkook ganged up on jm with tae then let me tell you jungkook was already teasing jm with water gun then taehyung joined jk. Ppl saying "jungkook enjoyed his time with Tae" i mean that's exactly what they were there for. He said "I'm going to swin" when jm was awake. Jm saw him going inside pool as well, later it was again taehyung who joined jk in pool so was jungkook supposed to ask him to leave or do the thing for which they were there for?? He again at last tried with jm but jm was asleep and wouldn't budge. So he went to take shower and taehyung went outside on scooter ride. And the people who said jk left jm on floor and joined tae to cuddle let me tell you that when jk went to lay besides tae jm was already awake and was at pool already. Jm wasn't sleeping on floor at that time. Jk even came outside a little when jm was at pool nd jk was seen trying to wear a coat. So no he didn't "Abandoned" jm on floor to cuddle tae. And again for those who said jk should have make jm sleep on bed, if jm wanted to sleep on bed he himself would have been on bed, there's cam in their bedroom as well so it's not even like he wouldn't have gotten filmed if he went upstairs. Since start jm was lying on floor, jk himself was lying on floor with mob in one scene. Ever thought that maybe jm wanted to sleep there? And sleeping on floors is common for Koreans. So like where exactly the big deal here?

And if i want to nitpick taekook's interactions and what they said to eachother will y'all love it (I'm saying this cause i know many of those anons are Tkkrs as well since u use TK tag). Thing is i understand jokes. Jk's words towards tae were also harsh as said by jm but I know they're used to it so i won't nitpick but if tkkrs want it then we can move that way as well.

Yeah, pretty much all of this. It's just that's it's crazy to me that these things even have to be explained 😭 like aren't they obvious?

[thegoldensplayd]

I love contrasting themes so much that I made one of my protagonists have an opposite theme with pretty much all his party members :P

He is extremely emotional, has a poor vocabulary, and doesn't know much about the world -> his best friend is unreadable, talks in a very verbose way, and is very wise

He is vulgar and has no idea how to act "the right way" in public -> party member 2 is very polite and his manners are perfected after years of work

He wears red proudly and has fire related powers -> party member 3 is fighting to stop the destruction of her homeland's ancient trees (burned to be used for fuel [fire] and produce fire protecting dyes [Red fabric] yeah... Yikes)

He dislikes authority figures and restricting rules, his fire powers are not very well controlled yet -> party member 4 is quite literally a cop/firefighter and their job is to control dangerous individuals like him, also haha firefighter vs pyromancer

Besides his chaotic nature he is very sweet, and also loves sweets, and looks harmless if you don't know him -> party member 5 is a dry and bitter criminal that looks intimidating and terrifying, but is actually calm and non-threatening, that ironically comes from a land of salt deserts

Again, fire, but also the fact he is scared of heights -> party member 6 has strong ice powers and lives in the mountains

...

I could continue but I think that's enough to get the idea

Another funny one include the fact he cannot swin and the ocean would be a death sentence to him, and one party member is an elite diver fishermen of deep sea creatures

[monasatlantis]

Kuro 2 Review – Interview Style Part 1

A while ago I finished Kuro 2 with the Englisch Fan-Translation-Patch. (That I am really grateful for. Guys, I am also stull grateful for the Spreadsheet that allowed me to play Hajimari and Kuro 1 in advance but it is so much easier with a Patch instead… I loved it! Thanks to whoever made it!) Which means it is now time for my final review of the game.

[Just for your information: I legally bought the game on Steam]

(As per usual, I might write another Review or add something to this one, after the official English translation is out, but we will see if it is really necessary.)

Obviously, SPOILER! (Possible not just for Kuro 1 and 2 bus also for the rest of the Trails Saga.) YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Once again, the review will be done Interview Style

1.  You’ve watched a lets play of the game in Japanese first, what was your first impression after you finished watching it?

My first impression was that the game wasn’t really good and had some rather annoying time-reset-shenanigan that we could have really lived without and lots of meaningless and emotionless deaths. Plus, it was obviously a filler game that did basically nothing for the plot. It was honestly not a game I was looking forward to very much.

2. How did your first impression change, now that you had the chance to play the game yourself?

The good news is, that I really think that the game isn’t as bad as it felt like when I was just watching it. But the bad news is that a lot of my criticism still stands.

3. Lets talk about your criticism first then, but in a bit more detail. What did you dislike the most about the game?

The resets were immensely annoying. They could have been an amazing feature, if they had used it a bit less and a bit differently. A lot of the dead-ends weren’t that shocking at all and a lot of them didn’t have any emotional impact in you as the player and that was the mistake. The first one, were Elaine dies and then Van was a total shocker, but we didn’t have much time to have any emotional reaction to this, because while Agnes was screaming the reset already happened and both Van and Elaine were alive again, before you truly got to feel anything. Also… in Maxims Story, it took us 3 tries to finally fix the problem and it was getting annoying at some point. Yes, it was supposed to be the big plottwist that all along Maxim was the problem, but after the second reset I kind of got sick of it. And then, there is no true system behind the reset. When Towa died, we got a reset, but when the guy died that had worked with Almata before and wanted to turn himself in to some day finally be able to return to his family, the time did not reset. Why? It was later explained that the time would reset until the outcome was the desired one. But why do we desire the death of that man but when Towa dies we turn back time? The whole reset thing was a hot mess that did more damage to the game then it did good. There were also a lot of moments in the game were the character were totally OOC or where their actions didn’t fit their previous actions or were they doubted someone they’ve know and trusted (and sometimes even loved – be it as a friend or otherwise) for years in a way that made me shake my head. Like…. Elaine had to fight against Van, the man she loves, the guy she knows since her childhood and trusted enough to not one moment assume he was the red Grendel, to find out that he had good reasons to work with the Oathbreaker? WTF?! Ashens mind was so twisted that she believed that her childhood friend Aaron killed Cao and that devastated her so much that she thought killing Aaron was the right thing to do? Swin would leave Nadia behind to be with Ace without even trying to get Nadia to join them? And he really felt the need to go with an Ace that obviously did things the real Ace would have never done to begin with? Bullshit! Märchengarten was a nice way to train your people and get your hands on some useful stuff, but it ruined the Pacing and I honestly have no freaking idea why we had to go through level 9 after already beating the Garden Master, who had been the reason for the anomaly to begin with? Chapter 3 was a never-ending nightmare. We ran from one catastrophe into the next and it far overstayed its welcome. Not to mention that getting crushed by a falling airplane was a bit too much, even for a game where we got poisoned and affected by a deadly virus and obliterated by an Angel. (And all that in itself already sounds ridiculous.)

4. Okay, but since you said the game wasn’t as bad as you first thought, what were the good things?

Something I liked about the game is that many of the missions, side- or main missions alike, had some twist and turns that made them really interesting. The thing with Maxi for example was surprising. They should have kept that one a bit shorter, but yes, that was something that I didn’t see coming at all. Or the one with the Graffiti, where the guy was wanting to use the girl to make money with her art, while pretending to only want her to clean the Graffiti off his boat. Or did anyone foresee Halle blowing us up? The twists and turns made it really interesting, even when the slowed down pacing got you a bit tired. This game was a filler, yes, but it showed you why it was necessary anyway very well. It gave you more time with the characters, more time for the development of relationships and showing us certain places and situations a bit more closely. A lot of things that were placed in this game will do part 3 good, but would likely not have fit into it. For example, Quatres story and its consequences or the first half of Ninas true Identity. Even rounding up Dingos story by giving us a chance to properly say goodbye to him and mourn his loss and the “what could have been” when Marielle showed up, was an important part of the story that was really necessary (I talk more about this in the next question) and would likely not have found a place in the third game. The game also payed close attention to making sure we get the time to learn to like Shizuna and our two new Gralsritter-Friends, as one of the most important parts of the Trails-Series is the connection between you the player and the characters in the game. And once again, we will likely not have time for that in the next game. And I think it is a good thing, that a filler fulfills more purpose then just filling in a gap.