#12 week fetus

[cheerfullycatholic]

Caption⬇️

From daily_fetus on Instagram

[cheapcheapfaker]

in case you were wondering why I’ve been a bit absent minded and sick lately. btw. it’s this guy.

[truth-has-a-liberal-bias]

But once the babies are here, the state provides little help.

When she got pregnant, Mayron Michelle Hollis was clinging to stability.

At 31, she was three years sober, after first getting introduced to drugs at 12. She had just had a baby three months earlier and was working to repair the damage that her addiction had caused her family.

The state of Tennessee had taken away three of her children, and she was fighting to keep her infant daughter, Zooey. Department of Children’s Services investigators had accused Mayron of endangering Zooey when she visited a vape store and left the baby in a car.

Her husband, Chris Hollis, was also in recovery.

The two worked in physically demanding jobs that paid just enough to cover rent, food and lawyers’ fees to fight the state for custody of Mayron’s children.

In the midst of the turmoil in July 2022, they learned Mayron was pregnant again. But this time, doctors warned she and her fetus might not survive.

The embryo had been implanted in scar tissue from her recent cesarean section. There was a high chance that the embryo could rupture, blowing open her uterus and killing her, or that she could bleed to death during delivery. The baby could come months early and face serious medical risks, or even die.

But the Supreme Court had just overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the right to abortion across the United States. By the time Mayron decided to end her pregnancy, Tennessee’s abortion ban — one of the nation’s strictest — had gone into effect.

The total ban made no explicit exceptions — not even to save the life of a pregnant patient. Any doctor who violated the ban could be charged with a felony.

Women with means could leave the state. But those like Mayron, with limited resources or lives entangled with the child welfare and criminal justice systems, would be the most likely to face caring for a child they weren’t prepared for.

And so, the same state that questioned Mayron’s fitness to care for her four children forced her to continue a pregnancy that risked her life to have a fifth, one that would require more intensive care than any of the others.

Tennessee already had some of the worst outcomes in the nation when measuring maternal health, infant mortality and child poverty. Lawmakers who paved the way for a new generation of post-Roe births did little to bolster the state’s meager safety net to support these babies and their families.

In December 2022, when Mayron was 26 weeks and two days pregnant, she was rushed to the hospital after she began bleeding so heavily that her husband slipped in her blood. An emergency surgery saved her life. Her daughter, Elayna, was born three months early.

Afterward, photographer Stacy Kranitz and reporter Kavitha Surana followed Mayron and her family for a year to chronicle what life truly looked like in a state whose political leaders say they are pro-life. [...]

[farfromstrange]

To my American mutuals.

To those of you who voted Blue and spent the entire election in a state of fear, fearing this would happen, hoping that it wouldn’t, and now feel like their world is falling apart.

To those of you who were hoping the next person in power would be someone determined to protect your rights—your reproductive rights, your rights to love whoever you want, your rights to marry the one you love, your rights to get gender affirming care, your rights to books, your rights to education, your rights to exist, your rights to flee from war to another country (this particular country) without being deported, your human rights.

To those of you who have been fighting and casting their voice not just for your country but the whole world.

I am so sorry.

I know you must be crushed right now. I know it must be terrifying. As a woman, I am thinking of you. I am hoping for you. If any of you need to talk or just scream into the void, or even cry on someone’s virtual shoulder, my inbox is open. If you have anything you want to share on anon, like resources or whatnot and you don’t know how to share or you can’t, share them with me and I will post them here. It’s important that you stick together now. That you don’t give up. I believe in you.

My heart bleeds for you.

And in light of today’s events, I will not be posting anything else today.

(More under the cut.)

For my fellow women: If (or when) the policies proposed by the winning party are put into effect; if a nationwide abortion ban does happen; if you’re a woman in need of life-saving healthcare, I have a very small apartment in a country where abortions are legal up to 12 weeks after a brief consultation—which is available in English if you go to the right place, and longer if something is wrong with either you or the fetus—and I’d offer you shelter and help in any way I can to get you the healthcare you need. I’m aware this is only an option for those with the financial means. For those without, I would suggest you look up planned parenthood and check their resources.

The same goes for other medical procedures (gender affirming care, for example) that might not be possible for you at some point during the next four years. I am here to help in any way I can.

I’m sorry.

- Lisa

[coochiekrab]

Following on from all the egg questions. Do you think that a marsupial kid born to a plecental mammal fur would come out fully cooked? Or would they still come out as a jelly bean and need to be put in some sort of an external incubator?

Damn it i can’t find my post but babies in the Furryverse are born relative to their precocial/altricial status, though the difference in fetus development isn’t nearly as Stark. All pregnancies are still GENERALLY 9 months at the most, but a lot of parents end up needing induction due to species. A precocial baby is born like 3-4 months “ahead” regardless of birthday, so as soon as they’re born they have no floppy neck and can sit and do Tummy Time. An altricial baby is born 2-4 months “behind” and is basically what we would consider a premie or a super premie, but would actually be full term according to their species. Altricial babies usually spend at least 2 weeks in the nicu on breathing tubes and most would need incubators but some babies could handle just parental body heat. Baby development for both precocial and altricial species evens out by 12-24 months

Nevaeh has a Pouch and Freak Thang would be born at basically 4 months premature (basically the size of a hand) and just hang out in her pouch for a few months. No nipples in there though so she would have to come out to feed. Nevaeh stays at the nicu with Freak Thang on oxygen inside her pouch. Evan could wear a sling pouch with a warmie inside to carry her if he wanted. If Nevaeh had a lynx baby instead it wouldn’t be happy inside the pouch despite being (relatively) 1 month “premature” as well. Too dark too scary (even though they’re still blind……) Evan enters single father era when shes out of the pouch

[secularprolifeconspectus]

Footage of a 12-week fetus reacting to the lethal injection during a selective reduction abortion.

Selective reduction means one or more fetuses from a set of multiple fetuses is killed in utero. The other twins are left to grow while their sibling's body is "digested" (decays/reabsorbed). This is a common practice in IVF.

This footage (and more like it) is available publicly on YouTube from doctors in Asia.

Narration by flower.fetus.416

[wolfjessedragon]

Based on @liliacamethyst Webs of series

Webs of What if

Part 1- Webs of Forgiveness

“Miguel, we have a major issue in Sector 12! The anomalies...” she starts, then catches sight of Sunny’s tear-streaked face. “Oh, am I interrupting something?” Miguel was about to respond when he caught a glimpse of Sunny. Her eyes were bloodshot and teary, a vivid reflection of the weight she was carrying within. Time seemed to stand still as Miguel's gaze locked with hers, capturing the silent plea hidden behind those teary orbs.

In that moment fate offered Miguel a choice….

Miguel: *sigh* Yeah just give us a couple minutes.

Jessica: Alright, I’ll see what we can do. *heads out*

Miguel: Okay say what you- *he sees that she’s trembling at that his gaze softens a bit* Is every-

Sunny: I’m pregnant

Miguel: ……What?

Sunny: I just found out a few days ago, had every test done to make sure, and they were all positive. I am pregnant, with your baby.

*Suddenly the monitors start going off like crazy, Miguel still in shock, Sunny looks to see it’s a symbiote variant.*

Sunny: They need you with them, go.

Miguel: I- I-

Sunny: Go!

Miguel: *about to go out the door then turns back to Sunny* Just stay in here, we can talk more about it after I get this under control, okay?

Sunny: Okay *gives a reassuring smile*

Miguel: *gives her a quick kiss then runs*

After the breach was taken care of…

Miguel: *Gets back into his office, pretty beat up, and Sunny comes to help him.* I’m fi-

Sunny: Save it *She props him on his desk chair and starts nursing his wounds.*

Miguel: *Just watches, a million thoughts going through his head. Despite the many voices telling him that this shouldn’t be happening. That what he and Sunny have was nothing but a way to release a cardinal urge and that the fetus growing was a stupid consequence, he couldn’t convince himself of that…*

Sunny: *As she finishes the last stitch she looks at Miguel who is just staring at her abdomen.* I’m roughly at nine weeks, give or take. *Unsure of what else to say, she cautiously takes Miguel’s free hand and places it on her abdomen.*

Miguel: *In that moment all forms of doubt silenced. As his hand rested on her abdomen he couldn’t help but smile a little as he thought about the tiny life growing in there.*

Sunny: *inhale* Do you want to be part of this? *Miguel looks up at her but she cuts him off.* Look with or without you, I’m doing this. You can’t change my mind on that. If I have to raise this baby on my own I’ll do just that. I just thought you should know and I should give you that choice because… I care a lot about you Miguel. Like a lot. And I- I- *tears started welling up in her eyes as she struggled to find the words*

Miguel: *gently caresses her face and looks into her eyes reassuringly, he sighs* I want to be part of this

Sunny: What?

Miguel: I want to be involved… *He gently pulls her in closer* I- I care a lot about you too *His hand never leaves her abdomen.*

Sunny: Y-you really mean it?

Miguel: Yes

Sunny: *passionately kisses him*

Miguel: *doesn’t pull back instead wraps his arms around her*

Later in Miguel’s apartment..

Sunny: *Lies there, completely naked, in his bed, Miguel’s arms gently wrapped around her with one of his hands caressing her abdomen as they spoon.*

Miguel: *Plants soft kisses along her face and neck as he holds her even closer.* Te amo Soleada..

Sunny: *Turns her head to him and smiles softly with tears rolling out of her eyes* I love you too Miguel..

*They kiss and soon fall asleep while embracing one another.*

The next morning…

Sunny: *When she woke up rather than the coldness of her alone in bed again, she felt warmth. A sleeping Miguel was still holding her close to him. She tried to move only to feel Miguel’s grip to gently tighten around her. She couldn’t help but smile as she closed her eyes again.*

Miguel: *Wakes up and looks at seemingly still asleep Sunny. Careful not to wake her he leans to her abdomen and kisses it.* Hi little one, this is your dad. I don’t know if you can really hear me right now, I like to think you can. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that although you’re just the size of a kumquat right now, I already love you so much…. You and your mom are the best things to happen to me in a long time. *As if the floodgates opened he starts crying. Tears of regret and of happiness. He catches his breath as her hand gently caresses his face.*

Sunny: *She smiles softly at him and places a peck on his lips.* Good morning *She whispers as she wipes away a tear.*

Miguel: *He blushes and hides his face in her chests then mumbles* Buena

Sunny: *giggles and hugs him*

A bit later…

Miguel: Sorry I don’t have much besides cereal, I’d make you something else but I believe me when I say I’m sparing you.

Sunny: *giggles* You can’t be that bad at cooking

Miguel: The pots and pans I had destroyed over the years would say otherwise. *chuckles*

Sunny: *chuckles* It’s alright Miguel, cereal is more than alright. *Eats and notices Miguel just staring at her* What?

Miguel: Oh nothing *Liar. He notices she has the pregnancy glow, and doesn’t want to admit that he thinks she’s beautiful.* So… does anyone else know?

Sunny: Just Peter B. Parker

Miguel: *groans* Out of all-

Sunny: Hey, he’s my best friend, practically my brother. And he only knows that I’m pregnant, not about you being the father. And honestly you should thank him.

Miguel: Thank him?

Sunny: Had he not said “Maybe you should reconsider telling the father.” I wouldn’t have told you at all.

Miguel: ���.What?

Sunny: You heard me

Miguel: I- *At that moment Miguel remembered the fact that this was their first morning together. That after every night they were together he’d leave her before the first ray of daylight and she’d have to wake up alone. How throughout the day he’d hardly look or talk to her. Then of course there was yesterday, and how he almost threw it all away. He took her, his companion in the darkness, the woman now carrying his unborn child, his Soleada, for granted.*

Sunny: Miguel?

Miguel: …I’m sorry

Sunny: What?

Miguel: I’m sorry for all the times that I made you feel… alone.

Sunny: *lays a hand on her abdomen and grasps one of Miguel’s hands with the other*

[Authors Note: Hi everyone, so this is the first part of a what if series, warning lots of fluff and angst ahead. I urge y’all to check out the original series by @liliacamethyst she is an amazing writer and hers is pretty groundbreaking. Also sorry not sorry for the drastic differences in formatting, I just write better in script style. I still hope y’all enjoy it. Anyways have a wonderful day and see y’all in part two.]

[Also please feel free to comment and stuff, I love reading y’all feedback.]

[ftmdilfmode]

Thinking about superfetation and extended pregnancy...

(this post is about trans men, with he/him pronouns, getting pregnant. Please don't add female, misgendering or de-trans tags)

Tw: tmpreg, ftm birth, sewing cervixes shut, birth denial, multiple pregnancy, fetuses of different gestational ages, breastfeeding, breast pumping, lactation, extended pregnancy, medically inaccurate

The idea of getting pregnant and my partner not being able to keep their hands off of me, fucking me constantly. They're obsessed with my bump, especially when we get to the second trimester and I start getting bigger fast. He jokes about it being twins, but the scans from my first trimester only showed one, so I convince myself he's wrong.

I go to my 20 week ultrasound and find out that there's a 20 week baby in the lower part of my womb with a 6 week fetus above it. It's a rare case of superfetation, getting pregnant while already pregnant.

Despite the risks, my partner is thrilled, and my doctor is convinced that I can deliver the older baby when it's time, and they can keep the other baby inside for the extra 14 weeks. I'd be pregnant for anywhere from 52-56 weeks total, but they convince me to try it.

I struggle with the rest of my pregnancy, full and stretched from the awkward way both babies are sitting in my womb. My partner barely lets me get out of bed, constantly rubbing and worshipping my body and inviting his friends over to see what a miracle we're experiencing, making sure that I let them fuck all my holes while they're feeling my bump.

My due date approaches and I can barely stand, severely swollen with a ten pound 40 week baby and a two pound 28 week baby stacked in my womb. The doctors are adamant that I can't deliver the second baby yet, and they'll do anything to keep it inside me until it's ready. The pressure mounting, I wonder if I can just keep them both in longer so I can deliver them together...

My body betrays me, however, going into labor at 40 weeks. I cry and beg for the doctor to stop it as I start contracting hard and fast, but it's time for the first baby to arrive. There's nothing they can do but rub my sore cunt and tdick as I labor on all fours and push, screaming in pain as I feel my cunt lips thin and stretch around the head, the shoulders popping out shortly after as they pull the baby out of me.

I try to relax but I feel my doctor shoving her hand up my cunt, pushing the second baby farther back into my womb before grabbing a large speculum. She shoves it inside my cunt, stretching it open as wide as possible. I try to ask what she's doing before I feel a repeated sharp pain as she used a needle and medical stitching to sew my gaping cervix shut before removing the speculum.

"there, another 12 weeks at least." She smiled, handing me my first baby to breastfeed.

Even with the new baby, my partner just couldn't keep his hands off me. That's why I wasn't surprised when I went to get my stitches removed and get an ultrasound for the remaining baby, now 40 weeks along, and we found another 8 week fetus above it in my womb.

I cried, knowing that I was going to be pregnant for literally years at this point, constantly giving birth and having my cervix sewn shut over and over again. Then I rubbed my swollen stomach and put on my breast pump, feeling my babies moving inside me as I leaked milk into bottles, and I started rubbing my tdick.

Maybe this is just my fate, maybe I can learn to love this...

Maybe I can stay pregnant forever?

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Thousands of Brazilians march against bill that equates abortion to homicide

Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to protest proposed legislation that equates abortion with homicide and restricts legal abortion to 22 weeks of gestation, including in cases of rape. The proposal was approved last week for urgent discussion in the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil’s lower house.

According to Brazilian law, abortion is currently legal in three circumstances: cases of rape, when the mother’s life is at risk, or when the fetus is anencephalic. The proposed bill aims to limit the period for these abortions to 22 weeks, whereas the current law allows them at any stage of pregnancy.

If an abortion occurs after this 22-week period, the woman could be prosecuted and convicted of murder, with potential sentences ranging from six to 20 years in prison. The crime of rape in Brazil carries a sentence of six to 12 years. This means that a woman convicted of homicide for an abortion — even in rape cases — could receive nearly twice the sentence of the rapist.

The proposal sparked a massive backlash, mainly on social media, but also with protestors gathering in the streets. Social movements and NGOs defending women’s rights came together and launched the “children are not mothers” campaign, with a petition to put pressure on congressmen, which already has more than 343,000 signatures.

Continue reading.

[virgoanmaenad]

Every study I read on abortion done later in pregnancy and the people who get them, the conclusion is always the same: We need better and more free access to abortion at all stages of pregnancy, especially in the first trimester.

There are two reasons people get abortions at or after 24 weeks: Either they couldn’t get an abortion earlier because of insurmountable obstacles (payment, laws, judgement, etc.) or because they fully intended to stay pregnant but scans show there’s something wrong with the fetus and an abortion is the safest and best way to handle it.

The best way to lower third-trimester abortions is make abortion easier to access in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, not harder. Aside from that, scientific advancements in detecting fetal abnormalities earlier are the only other way to prevent an abortion later in pregnancy.

[pidgwin]

The treatment for a missed miscarriage, a miscarriage where the fetus has died but the body hasn’t realised, is abortion. Either through surgery or medication. 

I was told at my 12 week ultrasound that my baby had died 4 weeks before. I have dreamed of becoming a parent for my whole life. Those few weeks I was pregnant were the happiest of my life but the second I knew my baby had died, I felt like the living embodiment of death. I felt like a walking coffin, distinctly inhuman. Dirty down to my very soul.

I was desperate to get the beautiful child I had wished for so dearly out of my body. The 24 hours between my ultrasound and being given abortion medication were some of the hardest of my life. Abortion is healthcare. I cannot even imagine being forced to carry my baby for another moment. I also can’t imagine being forced to carry a fetus, which you do not wish to. To take that right away is disgusting and demonstrates how truly little these people know about the reality of reproductive healthcare. Pro choice always.

[srebrnafh]

Today and tomorrow our Parliament is discussing reproductive rights.

Currently, in Poland, abortion is legally banned, except for a tiny number of cases (risk to woman's life, and criminal origin) and even then, this is questioned, delayed, ignored.

There are now four drafted legal changes on the table:

centrist-right - go back to what used to be called "abortion compromise" which adds to the above, also the fetal health reason (so, if the fetus is terminally malformed, the pregnancy could be terminated; currently THIS IS NOT ALLOWED)

centrist-leftish-somewhat & left-wing - two versions that cover legal, no-reason-needed abortion up to week 12 with certain other reasons for later stages (eg. diagnosed fetal abnormality); these two have huge overlap, with leftist being more liberal in certain aspects

left-wing additional proposal of decriminalisation of help (eg selling abortion pills, providing money for termination abroad etc); which currently is penalised with 3 years of prison, absolute.

And there are also the right-wing fucks who right now spew their "tiny hands" and "beating hearts" and "killing babies" and all this crap. Good thing we have a strict time limit in these cases, or they would drown us in murderous sacharine.

We've marched, and we've screamed and we've voted the cretins out. Now we have a chance to get abortion rights voted into law.

Keep your fingers crossed for Polish women.

[dfortrafalgar]

I'm Losing You

Having a family isn't always as easy as fairy tales make it seem.

Warnings: Read chapter 1 for warnings. This story is over halfway done now!

Taglist: @phsycochan | @mirillua | @augustanna | @chaixsherlock

Chapter 17

[Prev] [Next]

It had taken about five hours for your body to fully pass the miscarriage, and during that time you were transferred into a more private room in the emergency wing where a labor and delivery doctor from the hospital’s maternity ward assisted with the pain management.  Not like you were psychologically there, and neither was Law.  You had repeated your behavior from previously, your mind’s go-to defense mechanism being to completely shut down, forcing your eyes closed in a feeble attempt to crawl out of your skin and escape reality.  The reality being you, sitting on a toilet in the tiny bathroom of the private room, a bedpan under your body and the L&D doctor, who you wouldn’t speak to, occasionally offering shallow words of support as you hunched in pain with each agonizing cramp that washed through you.  Law kept his eyes trained on your face the entire time, every exhausted contortion of your muscles as ripples of cramps waved through you throughout the seemingly endless seconds of your time in the private room.

When Law saw it, what had left your body, his lunch evacuated from his stomach into the nearest garbage can.  Maybe it was the way it looked, or the fact that the doctor from L&D was holding it in a cold metal bedpan of all things, or maybe the stress of it all finally caught up to the jaded heart surgeon and he settled it by losing his stomach contents.  You didn’t look at it, keeping your eyes closed, desperately wishing to be in your bed at home.

It was clearly going to be a human.  All of the early human-like traits were there.  Two arms, two legs, a head, a body, but it was still so far away from actually being a person.  It barely had what could be called skin, if anything its external appearance seemed more like a glass frog, only a fleshy red color and not green.  That is to say, Law could see the beginnings of organs inside the shape that rested in the chamber pot.

Law started to judge the gravity of calling the fetus an ‘it.’  The doctor holding the bedpan said it was going to be a boy, based on what she called the ‘Nub Theory,’ and was about 12 weeks along, before she cleaned you up and took the almost-boy away to be discarded somehow.  Law’s mind flashed back to the young boy in the CICU who had passed away a few months ago, and the mother who was so distraught that she left Law with a bruise that took two full weeks to fully heal.

He wondered if you cried like that in the ambulance when he wasn’t there to help you.

He wondered if you would’ve hit him, too.  No… you would never.  Not even in your most distraught, vulnerable state would you do that.

Law felt his stomach twist once more for even thinking about you in such a way.

But when he looked at the almost-human in the bedpan, he had to remind himself that the fetus was yours.  That would have been your son.  That would have been his son.

And the actions of that mother in the cardiac ward, hearing her son pass away surrounded by nurses, her screams of agony and despair at having to go home without her little boy, suddenly made a lot more sense to Law.

And for the first time since the two of you had started trying for a baby, he started questioning if he was really meant to be a father.

—

“Give me everything that happened,” Law’s pointed glare and monotone words spoke volumes to Ikkaku and Shachi who sat uncomfortably across the small table in the hospital’s cafeteria.  Robin had arrived after her clinic closed to assess your condition, and Law took the brief opportunity to get the details from the two that were with you before he arrived.

“We were eating lunch outside, the group of us,” Ikkaku started.  “Throughout the day she seemed like she was in more pain than usual, but during lunch it seemed to be getting pretty bad.  She went inside to use the bathroom and apparently fainted in the reception area of the office.  We all came back inside when some of our other coworkers were trying to get her to come to, and she started bleeding heavily so we finally called an ambulance.  I tried to call your phone but it went right to voicemail, so I called Shachi to meet us here.”

Law’s posture was eerily still.  “How was the ambulance ride over?”

Ikkaku was clearly growing uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze of her best friend’s husband, but she mustered through her discontent and continued to relay her recent memories.  “She woke up when the ambulance got there, and I think she saw the blood in her pants and started to have a panic attack.  She was refusing to go with the paramedics so they… kinda… manhandled her onto the stretcher.  She was screaming and trying to get away so they tied her down.”  The curly-haired woman used her hands to display a crude image of what she was seeing in her head.  “They strapped down her legs and arms and put her neck in one of those plastic brace things to keep her still, and all of that was before the ambulance even left the parking lot.  She couldn’t even move in the ambulance, but they took off all of her jewelry because they were ‘concerned for her safety.’  I said they were stupid, and they told me to watch my language.”

The black-haired man’s teeth ground against each other in his mouth as he remembered a similar retelling from one of the nurses in your room, the excuse for your wedding ring being missing being out of caution for yourself.  Clearly, the situation was a bit more nuanced, but he didn’t wish to strike up some form of argument with his close friends right now.  Thankfully, your wedding ring had been returned to him a few minutes before you were wheeled to the private room, and was tucked safely in the pocket of Law’s slacks.

Shachi piped up, keeping his voice low.  “When I got here she was still crying and screaming, there was a nurse that came up to her on the stretcher and put her hand over her mouth and told her to be quiet.  I honestly wanted to slap her for that.  I mean, what kind of nurse tells a crying woman to shut up?”

An understandable question indeed.  Law ran an incredibly tight ship in his cardiac ward, with his nurses and fellow doctors being well-rounded individuals who worked incredibly under the high pressure environments in and out of the operating room, and based on what Law had seen and heard throughout the afternoon, he was starting to wonder if his was the only department that behaved somewhat normally.

“Sorry for calling in the middle of a surgery, by the way,” mumbled Shachi, awkwardly rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.  

“Don’t be, you couldn’t have known,” Law replied, his own voice low and pensive.

“Law, are you okay?” Ikkaku asked, reaching her hand across the table and giving a friendly pat to the doctor’s forearm which lay across his side of the table.

The man bowed his head, hiding his clearly bloodshot and exhausted eyes behind the feathery wisps of his black hair.  He could feel his mouth growing dryer by the second, his nose still sore from wiping away the snot caused by his crying, his lips dry and chapped with the way he gnawed on them in the failed attempt to keep his sobs at bay.

“No, I’m not,” was all he said.

Ikkaku and Shachi shared nervous, anxious glances with one another.

The redhead reached his own hand forward now, tapping it gently against the surface of the table in Law’s field of vision.  “Do you want us to bring you anything?  Snacks… water… something to read…”

“No thank you, but if you could go and check on Bepo that would be great,” Law muttered, turning down his friend’s offer faster than he probably should’ve.  “Thank you guys for telling me everything, I’m going to go back to her room.”  He turned his back on his two concerned friends before they had the chance to muster out their goodbyes, hoping that he could hide his face once more to quell the oncoming tears that threatened to fall for a second time.

Law hated crying.  He always hated crying.  Crying left him feeling more exhausted than a 12 hour surgery.  Crying left him feeling weak and defeated, like a dehydrated, shriveling plant that gets left to deteriorate on a scorching windowsill.  Throughout his entire life, he had only truly cried a total of three times.  Once when he lost his family in their house fire.  Twice when his adoptive father figure was murdered before his very eyes.

And three times today, weeping over your form over the baby that was lost.  Again.

The hallways of the main corridor were uncharacteristically empty as Law’s feet dragged his fatigued body down the tiled hallways, his shoes scuffing the floor with each labored step.  He fought desperately to control his breathing, his lungs feeling like they were filling with water, his body fighting for life.  How pathetic he was.  You were the one in pain.  You were the one losing the baby.  So why was he getting so worked up?  Why was he letting himself fall?

In sickness and in health.

“FUCK,” Law lost control of his vocal chords as he shouted into the empty hallway, the only witness to his outburst being the LED lights on the ceiling, illuminating his shame.  He hadn’t consciously registered the way his body contorted, his hand balling into a fist as he drove his limb into the wall next to him, the force of the blow making him grimace.  A sizable dent was left where his knuckles had impacted the drywall, blood beginning to seep from the skin of his tattooed fingers as he let his knees buckle and send him to the floor.  He slumped against the wall, gazing at the back of his hand.

D  E  A  T  H

Law was an edgy undergraduate.  He funneled his trauma, his insecurity, his distaste for life into his studies, drowning himself in textbooks and medical demonstrations, filling the blank spaces in his psyche with music that shared the same disdain for the world as he did.  He littered his skin with marks that spoke to him, the marks of his family and the marks of death.  He didn’t care if the tattoos on his fingers gave him less chances of getting into medical school, he did what felt was right.  He had escaped death more times than a kid ever should have, and the ink in his skin was a testament to that.

You had poked fun at the symbolism on the day you first met him.  A doctor with the word ‘DEATH’ written on his hands was an ironically funny image.  You had said something along the lines of, “I think I would trust my doctor more if he had ‘DEATH’ on his hands.  At least it would make more sense if he happened to kill me.”

Law had scoffed at that.  His tattoos were nothing to joke about.  But he came back to you because of the smile that rested on your lips as you laughed, the way the skin around your eyes creased with your happiness.  You were a magnet pulling him into your embrace.  Suddenly, the blank spaces in his mind previously filled with depressing music were filled with the image of you.  Your smile, your eyes, your bubbly giggle, the alluring smell of your perfume, the way you filled every room with light, the way you brought joy to the lives of your friends, your nerdy talks, your voice as you sang along to his music in the passenger seat of his car…

Hot tears plopped onto the tiled floor, some hitting the skin of his knuckles, making the bleeding wounds sting with the foreign contact as Law remained slumped against the wall, staring blankly at his hands as the wounds on his fist continued to ooze dark red blood.  He missed his mother, his father, his little sister.  He missed the way his mother would wipe his tears away with the sleeve of her shirt, kissing his forehead and ruffling his thick black hair.  He missed the way his sister would cling to him on the playground, relying on her strong older brother for support.  He missed his adoptive dad, the freakishly tall, clumsy, blonde ex-marine reserve who smoked indoors and would leave accidental burn marks on his clothes.  He missed the way his dad would pick Law up like he was weightless, singing praises to the child’s accomplishments, even the most menial.  Law always told you how he wished his family could have met you, how they easily would have adored you for everything you brought into his previously dark life.  He wondered what his family would say to him now, as he sat on the cold floor of the hospital’s main campus, alone, bleeding from his hand.

“They’d be proud of you.”

Law’s golden eyes opened at the sound of the voice coming from in front of him.  Shachi was crouched directly in front of him, a soft smile gracing his crooked mouth as he used his shoulder to support himself against the wall in front of his friend.

“I know you.  You’re thinking about Cora and your family, aren’t you?” he asked, retaining his cheeky personality but flooding his words with an air of unabashed kindness.

Behind him, Ikkaku stood, her own eyes welling with overwhelmed tears, but standing and blocking Law from the lights that shone down on his defeated form.  She too had a small smile on her lips.

Shachi moved to stand upright, grabbing Law’s arm and hauling the taller man to his feet.  Law barely stepped forward to pull his friend into a back-breaking hug, releasing everything he was bottling up into the shoulder of his best friend.  Shachi’s arms supported Law, hugging the man back and squeezing him with the might only a life-long friend could have.  

“You’re doing great, Law,” the redhead whispered.

Nobody spoke a word as the two led the doctor back to your room in the emergency ward.  Law’s tears continued to fall, his hand finally clotting.  

When he rounded the corner of your room, you were standing upright, your body wrapped in a fabric hospital gown, your own cheeks puffy with the force of your own crying.  Robin was supporting your arm as you were about to lay back down on the bed, but as you witnessed Law enter your room once more, supported by your two best friends, you pushed past your doctor and threw yourself into the waiting arms of your husband.  His hands circled around you, your personal shield, your knight, holding you against his trembling body as his tears fell into your hair, as his head dipped down to hide in your shoulder and as your own face buried into the crevice of his neck, your unending tears soaking his shirt.  The world vanished around the two of you as you stood in his embrace.

[seoul-bros]

Jikook Week 1 Complete ✔️(12-19/12/23)

Their first week in the military is now complete and it's time to celebrate this milestone. This week in 2013, Jimin and Jungkook were getting ready to celebrate a Perfect Christmas.

Twitter Link 1, Twitter Link 2

Jimin appeared on Twitter saying "I want to cook for you, just thinking about it makes me happy." Anytime, anywhere Jiminie. The airfare would be cheap at the price.

Twitter Link 3

On the 18th December, JK appeared with RM in the Big Hit Episode for the Perfect Christmas song with JHope's buddy Jo Kwon.

Look at our shy boy with the killer voice. Adorable. No wonder Jimin couldn't resist him.

Fetus jikook celebrating their first Christmas together after debuting as BTS. Lindos recuerdos.

Facebook Media Set 18th December 2013

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

No, Donald Trump is not “flip-flopping” on abortion as some corporate media headlines are claiming. But the silver lining to this debate is that it elevates the issue of reproductive freedom to the forefront in the closing months of the campaign—reminding people Trump was “honored” to “kill” Roe v. Wade and that his abortion bans are literally killing women. What sparked the headlines about Trump’s so-called “flip-flop” on abortion was when Trump first stated last week that he opposed the GOP enacted six week abortion ban in Florida. Trump told Fox News this six-week ban was a “mistake,” adding, "I think six weeks, you need more time.” However, after the pro-forced birth activists and Christian nationalists expressed outrage, Trump reversed course, saying he would vote no on the proposed Florida ballot measure that would repeal the state's six-week abortion ban.

Trump did not “evolve” on the issue of reproductive freedom. In reality, he has no core beliefs other than racism and sexism. The convicted felon simply sees the same polls and election results we have when it comes to abortion. Trump gets that a recent Gallup poll found only 12% of Americans support the GOP’s total abortion bans—while 85% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or certain circumstances.  Add to that, a recent CNN poll found nearly two thirds of Americans oppose the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Trump simply wanted to appear more reasonable on abortion given new polls show Americans overwhelmingly trust VP Harris to handle the issue of reproductive freedom--which has contributed to a record gender gap.  This explains Trump’s latest proposal regarding in vitro fertilization (IVF) that he claims will force insurance companies to pay for the costs of in vitro fertilization (IVF.) I’m sure we will see this “amazing” IVF plan the same time we see Trump’s “great” healthcare plan that he repeatedly promised since 2015 he would be unveiling in “two weeks.” Never happened.

Trump’s new IVF is not even original--he stole it from the Democrats. In June, Senate Democrats proposed legislation known as the Right to IVF Act that would have both enshrined into federal law a right for individuals to receive IVF treatment and would’ve mandated coverage for fertility treatments under health insurance plans. In other words, what Trump says he now wants to do. However, that legislation was blocked by all but two Senate Republicans included Trump’s own running mate, JD Vance.

What Trump and the GOP don’t get—or care to grasp—is that stripping women of a 50-year constitutional right to reproductive freedom is not a political issue, it’s personal. In fact, nothing is more personal than Republican laws that force women against their will to carry a fetus to term. And that is exactly what Republicans have done in 14 states they control with their total abortion bans that in essence mean on day one of pregnancy, a women’s uterus becomes property of the GOP.  (An additional eight GOP controlled states have also implemented abortion bans still far more restrictive than under Roe v. Wade.) These abortion bans—as studies have now detailed—are literally killing women. One study found that “women in states with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or soon after giving birth.” A July study found that “the highest rates of maternal mortality can be found in the Mississippi Delta, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.” These states—as well as Texas and others--all have extreme abortion bans that have resulted in preventing women from receiving an abortion to address a women’s health needs. Rather, a woman must be on the doorstep of death before doctors are permitted by law to perform an abortion to save her life.

Abortion bans are harming and killing women, point blank. These have the imprimatur of Trump-appointed justices and GOP legislators across the nation, along with Trump himself.

[thatdebaterguy]

Your abortion opinion is dogshit. “Just have safe sex. No child is unwanted” tell me you’re middle class and sheltered and you’ve never done any research without telling me. Childbirth, if you’ve never had any experience with it, is an extremely long, painful, traumatic, and dangerous experience. If a pregnant individual at any point decides they do not want to experience this, they should be allowed to terminate the pregnancy. Are you really going to make a full grown thinking feeling ADULT unwillingly go through +12 hours of agony and potentially a fucking massive surgery while conscious (if you don’t know what a c section is) to prevent the termination of a fucking fetus that doesn’t even know it’s alive and has no capacity to suffer?

“No child is unwanted” you fucking idiot. Is your idea of the worldwide foster system limited to Annie the Musical? Not everyone has a loving family who can accept the child. Foster systems are rife with abuse. Almost nobody who ages out of the foster system has had a good childhood. And that’s only talking about places like North America and Europe. What about places with no nationwide foster system? Do you know about post partum depression?? Do you know about the research done about the mothers that just straight up do not love their babies or their children and regret not aborting them?

Look at me anon. I don’t care if it’s physically impossible for you, thought experiment here, would YOU undergo 9 months of pregnancy symptoms (weak bladder, swollen ankles, morning sickness, baby kicking, etc) and then go through hours of agony followed by a multi-hour cesarean section surgery for which you are conscious. Just to have a baby. Starting right now. I don’t care if you don’t want it I don’t care if you don’t have the money. Right now. “No child is unwanted,” right? Also the baby you have has a 100% chance of being sexually assaulted within the foster care system and becoming a drug addict who dies of an overdose at a young age. Still doing it?

What exactly are you trying to prove? My mother was well into her 40s when I was conceived, I was premature by about 2 weeks, and I was a c-section. She happily reminds me of the pain she went through just to make me exist, but isn't that the miracle of life, of birth, of families? Millions and millions of women go through such hardship and turmoil, 9 months of their lives, to bring life into this world, and will quite frequently then do it AGAIN, and will cherish their children graciously with no regrets. Not everyone has a good family, a good relationship with their mother, not everyone even knows their mother, but they get to experience life, to experience the world, no matter how shitty it gets, they always have a chance at pulling through, reaching happiness, having their own family. Of course it's not as simple as 'just have safe sex' but you see so many abortions are due to those not ready for motherhood yet failing to have protective sex. Personally, I believe if you're willing to have sex, you should be mindful of the consequences, and being horny and immature isn't a plausible excuse for terminating a life. Since my first formulation of an opinion on abortion, I've given it time to think, and have come to somewhat of an idea. Life truly begins once the heartbeat begins within a human child, and conscious existence begins around 25 weeks. The cut-off for abortion should be 25 weeks at latest, as that's when consciousness begins. However, at the development of the heart would also be ideal or acceptable in my eyes.

But of course every family isn't perfect, of course many people don't have a family, I grew up with an absent father who was more invested in booze than my life, I know many people who grew up in foster homes, and sure yes of course it's better to have a supportive family, but growing up adopted or in a foster home doesn't make your chances of a happy life impossible. And every child is wanted. By someone, somewhere. In America alone, there are 2 million couples on the adoption waiting list. Those are 2 million couples who'd greet any child with open loving arms, who'd try their best for that child. Being unwanted by your biological parents is a painful fact that could haunt you for life, but it doesn't negate from the value of life and the countless amazing experiences it has to offer. It just poses a greater challenge for you to overcome, and the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Knowing you've overcome being unwanted by your own family by building your own loving family is genuinely one of the greatest achievements in life, and if you've taken lessons from your parents to better your own parenting skills, to learn from their mistakes, to give someone a father when you didn't have one, then shoutout to you. Shoutout to mothers, to my mother, to single fathers, to loving parents, to orphans, and to those enduring through the hardships of life. We're all proud of you.