#Pregnant Elephant Killed

[bbbrianjones]

paul richard hewson, 1952-1985

“we used to go away on tour for maybe three or four months and paul would have this little blue globite school bag and you used to say “what’s in your bag, paul?” and it would be a wrestling magazine featuring andré the giant, who was his hero, and a portable chess set, some cough mixture, and he had his drugs in there…. i guess.” todd hunter

[schmergo]

Today I learned a fact that kinda blew my mind, and I'm almost astonished I didn't know this before as someone whose chief interests include zoo animals, the U.S. Presidency, true crime, and D.C. history. What an opener, right? How could those topics possibly combine?

Well, buckle up and get ready to hear how negligent National Zoo leadership potentially could have killed a US President or started a local epidemic. Spoiler alert: They didn't. But only because luck was in their favor.

First, the part that I DID already know. In 2004, Lucy Spelman stepped down as the director of the National Zoo after a spate of controversial zoo incidents, including a string of unfortunate (and often preventable) animal deaths, misleading and missing zoo records, and other signs of negligence. The AZA even "tabled" renewing the National Zoo's accreditation for a year until they made some significant improvements. Spelman was also a vet and some of the cases she was accused of bungling happened at her own hands, not just under her supervision. It was a major disgrace for a zoo that was meant to represent the nation's capital.

I was in elementary school during these fraught years and I remember devouring articles about this in the newspaper, riveted with shock and dismay. Some of the deaths were just bad luck, but others were obviously negligent. The most infamous case was two red pandas killed by rat poison shallowly buried in their enclosures as a slapdash solution to the zoo's pest problem. A young zebra died of starvation and hypothermia after Spelman ordered the zebras' feed be cut in half, an orangutan was euthanized due to a recurrence of cancer that didn't exist (she actually had salmonella), a lion died after being administered over twice the usual amount of anesthetic, and more. I remember the names and details of these animals from when I first read these cases 20 years ago. But the one I'm talking about today is that of Nancy the elephant.

Nancy was a 46-year-old African elephant whose health had been steadily declining for several years. She suffered from a bone infection in her foot that seriously affected her mobility and quality of life. She had lost a lot of weight, she was fatigued, she even lay down at times. Nobody could be blamed for deciding to euthanize the obviously ill animal.

But they could be blamed for what was discovered in the necropsy after she was euthanized. While she did indeed have a diseased foot, the bone infection was only "moderate." Why, then, was she so obviously unwell? Her lungs had been destroyed by the effects of untreated tuberculosis. It was the tuberculosis, not the sore foot, that most contributed to her decline in health.

Here’s the scary part: nobody knows how long she'd had it because she hadn't been tested for tuberculosis, a known concern for zoo elephants, in TWO YEARS. All this despite the fact that it's MANDATORY for all zoo elephants to receive a tuberculosis test once per year-- and in fact, it was a National Zoo staff member who pushed for that reform in the first place. And the elephant was on Prednisone for her foot issues, which zoo staff noted in her records made her more vulnerable to illnesses like TB. In fact, none of the zoo's elephants had been tested recently, which meant any of them, including one who was pregnant, may have had tuberculosis, too.

There are documented cases of humans catching tuberculosis from elephants. Now, Nancy the elephant had bovine tuberculosis, which seems to be less contagious to humans and which elephants haven't so far spread to humans... BUT it has spread to humans from black rhinos, a fairly close relative, so it seems likely that elephants COULD spread it. It can also take a while for TB for incubate (and can also be latent without symptoms), especially for elephants, so the elephants OR keepers who were around Nancy were at serious risk for TB.

NOW HERE IS THE PART THAT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT UNTIL TODAY:

Spelman actively tried to COVER UP the situation, potentially putting many more people at risk. The elephant house was closed to zoo guests, but they were only told it was for "renovations." (The actual renovations, incidentally, were to improve ventilation so that illness would be less likely to spread.)

A BBC news crew that came to film the elephants was asked to keep a healthy distance from the elephants for their emotional health and the crew's safety-- the explanation given was that the elephants' group dynamics had been thrown off by Nancy's death. Spelman instructed zoo staff not to mention the TB situation to the BBC crew and, if asked why Nancy died, they were to respond that it was for multiple reasons and that the official test results weren't all back yet.

And here's the most shocking part of all, the part that made me GASP out loud. Spelman still personally gave some special VIP behind-the-scenes tours of the elephant house during the months that the elephant house was closed, a time when the remaining elephant inhabitants could potentially still develop active TB.

One VIP who received an elephant house tour was PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON and five family members!!!!

BILL. CLINTON. THE GOSHDARN PRESIDENT.

While zoo staff says that the tour was deliberately distanced and nobody got close to an elephant, there are photos of Bill Clinton's nephew about a foot away from an elephant's trunk. You know, their nose. The part they can spread disease with. So, uh, definitely in the danger zone there.

Hillary Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, was on the tour and he said that nobody in the party was warned about TB risk or asked if they had any medical conditions that might (a. make them susceptible to communicable disease, or (b. be contagious to the elephants. This is especially egregious because according to zoo guidelines, all behind-the-scenes tour participants MUST be asked these questions-- not just when there's a very real possibility of a TB outbreak at the zoo.

Fortunately, none of the zoo's other elephants OR keepers ever tested positive for tuberculosis. But it was certainly a close call! And imagine what would have happened if a US President caught TB from a close encounter with an elephant thanks to poorly managed zoo staff.

Presidents meet a lot of people. In fact, this zoo visit happened only 2 weeks before the inauguration of President George W. Bush, which Clinton attended. He very well could have started a TB outbreak there. Heck, TWO US Presidents could have been infected!

Now THAT is something I will be thinking about for a long time!

[simpforboys]

Just an idea but olo'eyktan!neteyam and preggo!reader but it's that one scene from ice age 3 where the dads like panicking and running around thinking that the baby's coming but its was actually a kick. (LOOK IK THE MOVIES ABOUT 12 FOOT FURRY ELEPHANTS BUT DON"T JUDGE ME ITS A 3AM THOUGHT) (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfxmRsWGg_0)

-🍄

i think this is my sign to rewatch the ice age movies (i'm an ice age stan)

right here

olo'eyktan!neteyam x fem!pregnant!reader

summary: when a false rumor gets back to neteyam, it leads the anxious mighty warrior to panic

warnings: fluff, pre-dad!neteyam, swearing, neteyam is my fav boy ever

aged up characters

the raging wind blew neteyam's long braids as he rode his ikran, soldiers following behind him as they made their weekly hunt.

neteyam's ears flicked from the wind, his loincloth and feathered vest blowing gracefully.

neteyam called out to his warriors, circling in on an animal pack.

however, as they were beginning to land their ikrans, a call came in through the ear piece the group were wearing.

"neteyam- it is y/n. she has gone into labor."

neteyam's body froze once he heard lo'ak speak. his heart was pounding as the men and women looked at their leader, waiting for his word.

"continue with the kill."

his command was quick as he took off, ikran roaring as the banshee felt neteyam's nerves. he hadn't noticed his shaky hands and pounding heartbeat, his focus on getting home to you.

he landed quickly in the high camp, surprised there aren't more people panicking.

"where is y/n?" neteyam asked one of the people. the girl just shrugged back in response, watching neteyam take off.

"neteyam!" lo'ak caught sight of his brother. they both ran towards each other.

"where is she?" neteyam rushed.

"over here, c'mon, bro!" lo'ak lead his brother.

"i'm having a baby!" he announced to the clan, excitement taking over his long body.

people whooped and cheered, the women and children cocking their head at the olo'eyktan.

there had been no sign from eywa of you having your child, being only eight months along.

"code blue! code blue!" lo'ak ran with his brother, their large feet padding against the stone ground.

"or pink if it's a girl." neteyam happily slapped his brother's shoulder.

the tent was getting closer, neteyam pausing to grab some fresh water for you. his excitement was turning into nerves as lo'ak looked at his hesitant brother.

"what is wrong?" he asked, confusedly walking up to neteyam.

"it's finally happening... and i-"

"what is finally happening?"

your gentle voice scared both the brothers, your bulging belly appearing from the tent.

"my love- aren't you supposed to be in labor?"

neteyam's giant hand placed itself on your belly, feeling your baby kick against his palm.

"what?" you asked, your brow bow furrowing at your mate.

"oh my eywa- lo'ak i told you! it was just a kick!"

neteyam's ears fell flat as he looked between you and his little brother, the future uncle now blushing from embarrassment.

you rolled your eyes at lo'ak, feeling neteyam's hand travel down near the band of your loincloth. he stood on his knees, face by your tummy as he kissed your belly button.

"you gave sempu (daddy) a scare, baby."

"mhm." you playfully rolled your eyes, softly punching lo'ak in the arm.

"hey!"

the surrounding clan members whom where excited to welcome their future olo'eyktan or tsahik frowned from lo'ak's false rumor.

"that is the second false alarm this month!" a child pouted.

"alright people, nothing to see here." lo'ak pushed away the crowd as they went back to their tasks.

"darling, i know you are nervous. i am too, but that was a bit too much." you cupped neteyam's face as he stood now, slightly towering over you.

your pregnancy made your height shrink slightly, going from 8'8 to 8'6. neteyam kissed your forehead, standing at 9'4.

"i am sorry, i am just scared."

you rubbed your belly as your made pulled you into his embrace.

"i have seen you with tuk and the children, ma neteyam. you are going to be an amazing father."

neteyam reassuringly smiled.

"i will be right here with you every step of the way."

and once the baby did come, neteyam was calmer than ever (on the outside, not internally).

this was so cute omg

[appleblueberry-pie]

How would Yan Miguel feel with an S/O who's pregnant with Gabriel's baby, Miguel thinks that the baby is his but it's his brother’s child. Miguel is furious, sad and upset that she decided to have a baby with his younger brother, so instead of taking his anger out on her, Miguel takes his entire anger out on his brother. Because Miggy wanted so badly to be a father again.

I love your work!!

and i love your ideas

You watched him pace back and forth in front of you while you sat on the couch. You didn't know how to tell him. But now that the elephant in the room was addressed, you didn't know how to stop him from destroying everything around him. He looked so fucking pissed and you were so goddamn scared. You tried to rub your belly to soothe yourself, but you still ended up with nausea from stressing yourself out.

You couldn't bring yourself to make eye contact with him as he cussed to himself, asking a million questions that would never get answered because he would just get more mad. Suddenly, he disappeared into the bedroom. You watched him with weary eyes, wanting to get up and follow him to stop him from doing something stupid. But by the time you got to your feet and was waddling towards the bedroom door, he was storming out with a jacket on and his keys in hand.

You looked up at him and tried to stop him, but he just slid passed you. "Where are you going?" You ask. He mumbles something about you needing to sit back down. You just wanted him to talk to you. Was he going to leave you? Was he gonna hurt you? Was he going to hurt Gabriel?? You just wanted emotional comfort and he was acting like you weren't even here anymore.

"Miguel?" He begins making a phone call and you try your best to reach him. Time and time again, he slips through your fingers like every other time you want his eyes on you. When you want to matter to him. When his phone goes to voicemail, he hangs up and turns around, only to see you struggling to make ends meet and sighs heavily.

"Amor...." He sits you on one of the kitchen chairs close by. Your face flushed with emotions he couldn't really decipher and concluded you were overwhelming yourself. His hand automatically wipes the tears from your face, his heart breaking with yours.

"Try not to stress yourself out too much, okay?" Because it's bad for our the baby, is what he wanted to add. His heart panged in his chest when he remembered the child wasn't his and he got pissed all over again. He doesn't know where he went wrong.

Where you both went wrong. Wasn't what the both of you had enough for you? Was Miguel not enough? Was he not as available as you wanted him to be? He was stupid to think he'd ever be enough for someone like you. But for you to go to his brother instead just made a feeling rot his heart in the most irrational of ways. He was ready to get rid of all possible competition if it meant he could have you to himself. He loves you. He fucking loves you and he'd repeat it a thousand times while killing a hundred men if it meant getting it through your hard head.

And he'd kill his own fucking brother to prove the point. No one was safe.

He couldn't say that to you right now, though. Not when you were like this. "I'll be back, baby. Please take care of yourself."

"Can you just tell me where you're going?"

"I need to take care of something."

"Are you going to hurt him? Are you going to see Gabriel? Please don't kill him, he didn't do anything. It was all me, please. Please, not him, wait! Just hurt me instead." You slurred your words, in complete tears as you continued to block his way to the door. Each time he looked down at your puffy crying face, gripping his arms tightly, reluctant on letting him go, the more he was against the idea of leaving in the first place. He didn't want to hurt you like this. He didn't want to fucking hurt you at all.

He just felt nauseous as you continued to throw yourself at him to take out his anger on. "Jesus fucking..."

You couldn't compare to his strength, but you put up a battle when trying not to get him to leave. Only to end up crying against the door while he pulled out of the driveway. He told you food was in the fridge, knowing it would be hard for you to eat knowing the man that helped you give life was going to die tonight.

You didn't know what to feel as it all came crashing down on you all at once. You felt so fucking useless and your stomach hurt. Miguel wouldn't answer your calls and knew he would be your only source of comfort once he came back. Maybe that was his plan all along.

Idk how i feel about this one lol. I was confident going in and nowww idk how to end it. but anyways.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Ok, straight up? We know the Pilgrims and the Camel Ridge Trio fought each other. We know Wukong had "sent them to the Underworld" himself. But in Slow Boiled au there is no way in hell Wukong would have been allowed to participate since, while I'm not too sure of the timeline of events in the original book, I am fairly certain it was closer to the end of the Journey. Meaning Wukong had gone almost 16 years pregnant at that point.

And had probably lost Macaque by then.

So you can bet that when the Brotherhood members saw Wukong and started spitting insults and calling him a traitor, the Pilgrims are gonna be very pissed. Straight up, the reason Ao Lie wasn't depicted in the flashback wasn't because he wasn't there, it was because he had to be held back from literally murdering them for talking to Wukong like that.

Especially since by that point Wukong had probably, very much likely, told them about the Brotherhood and how he had surrendered and allowed himself to be captured explicitly to protect them so to have his sacrificed stomped into the dirt and spit upon by the very people he was trying to protect, the same people who PUT THE IDEA IF OVERTHROWING THE EMPEROR INTO WUKONG'S HEAD TO BEGIN WITH, well... let's just say they ain't gonna be nice.

In fact I know it likely didn't happen, but I would find it veeeery satisfying if Zu Baije punched Peng in the nose and broke his beak. Just... straight up knocking that overgrown pigeons teeth out because he was the worst offender and the first to actively start calling Wukong a traitor and claim he "mad this choice" when the guy literally did nothing to deserve that.

prev.

In the Slow Boiled AU; Wukong def lost Macaque around the same time as the Pilgrims wander into Lion Camel Ridge. He's distraught and doesn't want to lose anymore of his sworn brothers.

But the Brotherhood forces the other Pilgrims' hands with their words and actions.

Zhu Bajie: (*is spiteful and selfish towards Wukong for most of the Jttw*) The Brotherhood: (*is ungrateful towards their brother-in-arms' sacrifice and brand him a traitor*) Zhu Bajie: "HEY! THAT'S OUR LITTLE BIG BROTHER YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" (*pulls out rake*)

Each member of the Brotherhood is felled by a member of Wukong's new troupe. When the others were freed from the Scroll of Memory, the ones they targeted were personal.

[*The Brotherhood are being processed in the Underworld after they've been KO'd by the pilgrims*] King Yama: "Let'd get this out of the way since these three still have a trial to do for the coup they did some 500 years ago. Yellow Tusked Elephant; how did you pass?" Yellowtusk, in cuffs: "'Twas the Sand Monk that felled me. I had underestimated his strength and paid the price." King Yama: "And say you; Golden Winged Peng ?" Peng, in a bird cage: "That damned pig broke my *squawk!* jaw and hit me with a mud rake! I am disgusted by how undignified my end was!" King Yama: "And you Azure Lion - how were you defeated?" Azure Lion, in a divine cat cage: "I am embarrassed to say." Manjushri: "C'mon kitty, I saw what happened." Azure Lion: "...I was kicked in the head by the monk's horse when I went to strike Sun Wukong." YellowTusk & Peng: (*snickering laughter*)

Wukong is still horrified by how badly things went - but is comforted by the fact that his Pilgrim brothers were willing to leap to his defence. Master did not fight directly, but he told Ao Lie to take Wukong away from the area and placed a ward to protect the others. Almost as if Tripitaka was willing to die or kill to protect the student he had wronged...

Wukong still requires many a hug and a few hundred years to recover from all this.

Things go barely smoother in the Jttw Stone Egged AU since Macaque was still associated with the Brotherhood at the time, and him and Azure had a little kaiju battle over Wukong's choice.

[cobaltperun]

Lost (25) - We Belong Together

Tara Carpenter x female Reader

Summary: To anyone on the outside, and to Tara’s friends, you were Tara’s fierce protector, the MMA fighter who’d take anyone on for Tara. The Guard Dog, as Amber called you. You had no idea you’d have to protect her from people who claimed they loved her. It didn’t matter. As long as you and Tara had one another there was nothing you wouldn’t be able to survive.

Story warnings: Scream violence, family issues, trauma, angst, certain sensitive topics

Word count: 3.9k

Story masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

-I only think of you, and it's breaking my heart, I'm trying to keep it together but I'm falling apart-

~X~ March 25th, 2027~X~

Ghostface grieved for his followers, for Ghost-Elephant and Ghost-Bull killed in an effort to capture Tara Carpenter, now L/N, to lure Samantha to their location. He finally had his twelve followers, he finally had everything he desired, and now he was left with only ten, they could be replaced, of course, but perhaps he was too trusting. The snake was in his ranks, and it betrayed him, while wearing the mark of a snake he so carefully painted on the white mask.

To make it more difficult to track them, he separated the cult into two groups, one led by Ghost-Bear, one led by Ghost-Dog.

Bear, Bird, Fish, Monkey, Bull, and Elephant in one group. Dog, Wolf, Lion, Shark, Rhino, and Snake in the other group, stationed around him. From the looks of it, the dog was more effective than the bear, and would soon enough receive the unmarked mask, as his second, as the one almost equal to him. But that would be left for later. He had a traitor to kill.

“I have been kind to you all,” he began, his voice changer on, as usual. “I’ve given you an opportunity to join me, based solely on our shared beliefs, yet one of you dared to betray me and now…” he pulled out a knife and violently stabbed it into the table. “Sidney Prescott lives! One of you made sure of that!” he yelled, causing everyone but Ghost-Dog, the unwavering, loyal follower, to flinch.

“Tell me who it is, and I’ll personally handle their punishment,” Ghost-Snake spoke, making Ghostface grit his teeth. The nerve of the traitor, to speak so eagerly in his presence.

He stood up, his robes flowing behind him and circled the table, the dim candlelight flickered as he walked by, some flames dying out as he stopped right behind Ghost-Snake. “I appreciate the offer,” he spoke calmly, abruptly yanking the mask off and pointing a knife at the back of the woman’s head. “Here is your punishment,” he fired before the woman he allowed into his cult even had the chance to speak. The blood stained the wooden table and his clothes and he cleaned the gun with the snake’s robes. “Dispose of her, let this be a lesson to all of you. Betrayal will not be tolerated.”

~X~

She had no way to tell the time; her phone was taken or left at the warehouse, and there were no windows in her room. The air was stale, the food barely enough to keep her alive and water wasn’t something she had easy access to either. If the Ghostface with bird on the mask wasn’t bringing her, or rather sneaking in, food and water for her, she was sure she would be only getting one meal a day. Tara was tired. So tired she barely had the energy to glare whenever the Ghostface that shot Danny brought her that one meal.

She was hopeful the first day, believing she just had to be patient, and that she would be saved, that you would come through those doors and get her out of here, but it didn’t happen.

She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t keep going. And she had long since given up on hoping she would be saved. You were alive, she knew that much, but you were captured as well. You would have gotten free long before Danny got killed if you could have. This was likely her end, and she could only apologize to you for dying here, alone, afraid, and worse than that, pregnant with your child. If only she could have given birth before this, at least that way you’d still have your child, as it was, she’d be leaving you alone.

And then she felt something warm between her legs.

It took her a few moments to move, to figure out the cause of the sudden warmth, her exhausted body not willing to comply to her wants.

But when she properly looked down at her fingers and saw the red spots on her fingers her heart began beating rapidly. Blood. She was bleeding. “Relax, relax, it can happen,” she tried to calm down, to not let the panic set in, to do anything just to stay calm. But her panic driven mind thought of how little she ate since you were arrested, how much stress she experienced, and she was more afraid than ever in her entire life. She thought she had accepted her death, she was sure of that, but she didn’t accept your child dying before her.

She never accepted and she would never accept that!

~X~

How many weeks has it been already? Almost four weeks if the number of meals you were given was any indication. Damn it Sam… the fuck did you get yourself into, was the question you often asked no one in particular as you sat there, chained to the wall. Your thoughts once again drifted to Tara, and you clung to those thoughts desperately, knowing full well those thoughts were the only thing keeping you sane. Was she fine? If Sam did anything to her, or was in any way involved in something bad happening to Tara, you’d make her pay, you’d make her regret ever touching that damn mask.

You just hoped against all odds that Tara would stay out of danger, that Chad, Mindy and Anika would come back to keep her safe, to make sure she didn’t feel alone. You tried to get free, many times, but the chains around your arms just wouldn’t budge.

“I should have known only the leader would know where you were,” a voice, that damn voice came from the doors. You didn’t look up though, you had no desire to know who was speaking to you. “Silent treatment?”

You scoffed; you had nothing to say to Ghostface, and you would have rattled your chains if it wasn’t so useless to do so. They were still afraid of you, seeing as they just barely interacted with you.

“This isn’t like you, L/N,” the voice changer was turned off half-way through the sentence and your eyes widened as you recognized the voice. “You’re just going to rot here? While your wife is out there?” you clenched your fists when you heard that, rattling the chains holding you in place.

“What are you doing here, Golubeva?” you demanded, finally looking up to glare at the woman. What was she doing here and wearing that damn mask? It didn’t matter. If you had to kill one more former MMA fighter you’d do it.

“We have a common goal, L/N,” that made you settle down a bit, curious as to what she could possibly get from all of this mess.

“Explain,” you demanded as she took off the mask, she looked a bit older, but there was no doubt this was the woman you fought all those years ago for the title.

She sighed and began unlocking the chains on your feet. “My cousin is a Ghostface, I’d like to get him out of this. I don’t know how involved he really is, but if there is a way to save his life, I want to do that. And you, well, you vaguely know what’s at stake for you here,” you scoffed at that as she moved the chains to the side and moved on to the ones around your arms. Well, at least you were being freed and could get back to Tara now. After you properly made sure she was fine you’d figure out how to make the damn cult pay for putting Tara and you through all of this. Tara first though. Everything else.

“Vaguely?” you couldn’t help but ask once she was done setting you free. You got up, feeling a bit unsteady but overall fine. You could get up and move a few feet even while chained up, so you remained in shape, the insufficient food was an issue, but you powered through it like you used to before your fights.

“Your wife was captured,” Anya told you and you saw red. Slamming her into the wall and pressing your forearm against her neck.

Anya cursed in Russian and tried to push your arm back, but fueled by rage there was no way you’d be that easy to push away. “Where is she?” you pulled back a bit and slammed her back into the wall. “Where is Tara?!” you barely registered that Anya couldn’t breathe with how hard you were pressing on her neck, but you still somehow realized it and pulled your arm back as the blonde woman began coughing and gasping for air.

She raised her arm when you nearly attacked her again. “I get it. I’ll take you to her. Damn,” she rubbed her neck, but you were already pulling her outside.

~X~

Kirby had never seen this much fury in your eyes, you looked ready to rip someone apart as you stepped out of Anya’s car. “Y/N,” she greeted you in front of the safehouse, a small cabin in the woods.

“Kirby, where’s Tara?” you barely acknowledged anything else, you didn’t even shake her hand. Considering you just as easily could have gone ballistic on them for not keeping Tara safe she figured this was the best possible reaction.

“You can go and get her, but we need to go over the plan first,” Kirby pulled her arm back, knowing full-well you were too focused on rescuing Tara to care about anything else.

The rage flickered in your eyes and for a brief moment Kirby thought she’s be on the receiving end of your fist, but you just took a deep breath and went inside the cabin. “Fine, but be quick about it,” you paused, likely because you saw Chad and Mindy inside.

“Y/N!” the twins jumped to their feet and greeted you happily and just for a second you allowed them to hug you before once again focusing on Tara.

Kirby couldn’t say she disliked your dedication to Tara, it would certainly make this part easier. “Okay, here’s the plan Y/N,” she began.

~X~

The bleeding stopped, but her worry didn’t end. She needed to make sure your child was fine, she needed to get out of here, she needed to move. She had no time for tears. The doors opened and she glanced to see the Ghostface with bear on the mask coming in with a tray, a bare minimum of food, mainly bread and some canned meat and a glass of water on it. It didn’t even smell appetizing. Not that it mattered, he lowered his guard while lowering the food to the concrete floor.

Tara’s arms were left untied after the one with the bird cut the ropes. The woman argued she couldn’t escape as long as her legs were tied, and the other three Ghostfaces agreed. It certainly made eating easier. It also made it easy to hide that she untied her legs and just kept the rope loosely around her ankles a long time ago.

Ghostface set the tray down and while his head was down Tara moved. She lunged forward, grabbing the man under his left knee and pushing him to the ground in a move that you’d be proud of. She allowed a small smile to appear on her face, she didn’t watch you train for years for nothing. Before Ghostface could figure out what was happening she grabbed the rope and tied his arms behind his back and kicked him in the head for good measure. The groan he let out told her he was still conscious, and that she needed to be quick as she ran through the building, finally finding the exit, rushing outside and realizing it was the middle of the night, that she was in an empty street in a more industrial area than she hoped. She hoped she was kept somewhere where she could ask for help, somewhere where there was at least a shop or something, but she was in some kind of abandoned place filled with large buildings and no way of knowing where to go. She just knew she had to move, to get away from this building before Ghostface freed himself.

So, she ran, she ran ignoring the pain in her lungs, the difficulties breathing, and she refused to focus on the pain in her stomach. She only stopped when she felt like she was far enough to start walking instead of running. After all, running would likely make her easier to hear. The streetlight flickered as she leaned against the building, trying to catch her breath. From the looks of it, she managed to escape captors. Even if she wasn’t sure for how long she’d be safe.

“She couldn’t have gone far, spread out and find her! Do not kill her, we still need her alive!” she heard a voice she knew all too well shouting, commanding the group of pursuers that were after her. She took a few deep breaths, and hoped she could find her way out of the trap they prepared for her unharmed.

~X~

You ran through the industrial zone, not caring one bit about anyone seeing or hearing you. You were too late, when you rushed into the building Anya pointed you toward Tara was already gone, no one was there, no one was around it, but you saw red spots on the ground and a fallen tray with food and a broken glass lying next to it.

You ran, hoping you’d either find Tara before anyone else did, or that you’d find a Ghostface and kill them right away. Either of those two would work, as long as you could get to Tara before anyone could hurt her.

~X~

While she managed to evade her pursuers for at least an hour Tara was quickly losing strength, only fueled by her adrenaline and need to keep your child safe as she checked around another building for anyone nearby. She kept to the shadows, tried to find some kind of forest, or anything that could be used as a shortcut, but she had no luck so far. She placed her hand on her stomach, and pushed on, rounding the corner only to suddenly feel arms pulling her in.

She felt strong arms wrapping around her back and relaxed, recognizing you immediately by touch alone. “Y/N,” she didn’t even need to look at you, but she did because she wanted to, she looked you in the eyes for the first time in almost a month and her hands trembled as she grabbed onto you, afraid that you’d slip through her fingers like some exhaustion induced hallucination.

“It’s okay, Love, I got you,” you kissed the top of her head and Tara raised her head to kiss you. The kiss was hasty, of course, you hardly had any time to spare. “Are you okay?” you asked her.

Tara nodded. “Yeah, we both are,” relief washed over your face and she let you pick her up. She couldn’t tell you about the blood, not until you were safely out of this hell.

She couldn’t keep her eyes off you, off your face, the relief and love in your eyes, the slight tremble of your arms as you held her, not from her weight, but from the weight that dropped from your heart. And she allowed the exhaustion to take her over, she was safe once again, you were with her once again, and she fell asleep in your arms. You’d get her out of this hell.

“It’s okay, Love, you can sleep now, I’m with you,” your reassurance was more than enough for her. Once again, she felt safe.

~X~

Your eyes softened as you looked at Tara, at her peaceful, though tired face and sighed, relief flooding you, but you couldn’t relax, not until you made it out. You looked around, while you wanted to kill everyone involved, everyone who kept her here, you needed to keep her safe. You slipped into the shadows, listening carefully for any signs of presence anywhere near you, and began walking in the direction Tara came from. She made the right turn into your arms, but if she turned left, she would have reached the forest and that was where you were heading. Two miles through the forest and you’d reach the road, where Chad was waiting in a car.

Two hours on the road, and you’d get to a safehouse, one Kirby guaranteed was safe, one Mindy and Anika were currently making sure was safe. And then Tara could rest and properly recover.

Finally, with Tara in your arms you managed to clear your head enough to think about the entire situation. Kirby had a mole, the one with wolf on the mask, it was because of her that all of this was possible. She confirmed Sam was involved way before you were freed, and she contacted Anya before her cousin could, which set everything else in motion and here you were. With two confirmed allies in enemy ranks, and Sam you were still unsure of.

Did Sam do this to protect Tara? If Tara wasn’t captured you would believe that, but as it was, you had your doubts. You’d have to clear that up with Sam herself. Fifteen minutes later you reached the road and leaned Tara against you so you could take out your phone. Chad’s location popped up, less than half a mile down the road. Just a bit more and everything would be fine.

Tara hummed, blinking a few times, and leaning closer to you. “Y/N,” she muttered, reaching up and hugging you.

“You’re okay now, Love, you’re safe,” you leaned down, kissing her forehead.

“I was bleeding,” she suddenly said, her voice shaking and her grip on you tightening, and you froze. You didn’t see any wounds on her, any stains on her clothes. But she said she was bleeding, and there were drops of blood where she was held.

“What?” your throat got dry all of a sudden, the worst case scenario running through your mind. You looked down at her stomach and then back at her face to see her nodding. “It’ll be fine, okay? It can happen, right?” you asked, rushing toward the car, fear clutching your heart, fogging your mind so much you barely stopped by the car without running into it.

“We need to see the doctor,” Tara nodded, soothing you with her touch even as she panicked as well, and you nodded lowering her back to her feet and opening the doors for her.

“Drive to the hospital! Right now!” you yelled jumping in from the other side as Chad turned to check on Tara.

“Hospital?!” he started the car, panicking just from hearing the panic in your voice.

“Just drive damn it!” you shouted as Tara leaned into your side, refusing to let go of you. “Baby will be fine, Love, you’ll both be fine,” you assured her and yourself as much as you could and hearing you say that Chad drove faster as Tara clung to you and you each placed a hand on her stomach. “You’ll be fine,” you whispered because you weren’t sure what you would do if the baby wasn’t fine.

~X~

The hospital wasn’t too far away, and you were in the hall with Chad, waiting for the doctors to come back and tell you if Tara and the baby were fine. The fact that you couldn’t be with her frustrated you and you gritted your teeth, feeling a lot like you did back when Tara was still unconscious after Amber first attacked her.

Chad patted you on the shoulder. “They’ll be fine, Y/N, Tara is strong and if the baby is anything like her, you have nothing to worry about,” he assured you.

You nodded, taking a deep breath. Your arms were crossed over your chest, and you squeezed your biceps so hard you nearly winced in pain. “I should have found a way to escape,” you couldn’t help but think that. That you should have been there for her, that you should have come back to her, and kept her from getting captured in the first place.

“You couldn’t. You were chained, weren’t you? You’re stupidly strong, but even you have limits. We should have come back, we should have been there for Tara,” he felt guilty as well, and a part of you did think that. They left Tara, even when they knew she only had Danny left. They weren’t there for her, not to fight the damn cult but to make sure Tara didn’t feel alone! They let her get captured, Kirby especially didn’t do nearly enough to prevent Tara’s kidnapping. And you were furious, and the one person you were the most furious with was Sam.

“You should have but,” you looked at him, anger not directed at him burning in your eyes. “Sam should have, none of this should have happened in the first place if she just-” you bit your lip, stopping yourself before you could finish the sentence. But it was clear to you. This wouldn’t have happened if Sam didn’t decide she could deal with the cult alone. If she was even trying to do that in the first place.

“Where is Sam anyway?” Chad dared to ask. “Is she really Ghostface now?”

You were about to answer, but you saw Tara coming out with the doctor next to her. “Tara,” you ran up to her and she hugged you the moment you reached her.

“We’re fine! All three of us,” she said, pulling you down to kiss you on the lips. You missed the feel of her lips, her touch, her body pressing against yours but all those sensations and happiness gave way to confusion.

“Three?” you couldn’t help but ask.

“We’re having twins, Baby,” she whispered, relaxing once again in your arms.

“Your babies are fine, the bleeding happens sometimes, but you were right to come and check,” the doctor told you and you nodded, thanking her.

“We can go now, right?” Tara asked, though she didn’t separate from you, she kept hugging you, not wanting to be separated from you any more than she absolutely needed to be.

The doctor nodded. “Just make sure you eat enough and have plenty of rest,” it was a bit of a warning, and you’d both take it to heart. Hell, you’d make a good, healthy meal for Tara the moment you came to the safehouse. You picked your wife up bridal style and turned around to see Chad with happy tears in his eyes, he heard everything.

“Thanks for coming to save me,” Tara said and reached out for him to take her hand.

“We don’t deserve that! We all came, Tara, and I’m so sorry, we should have been here from the start!” he sobbed, relieved that she was fine, and Tara didn’t say it, but there was no anger in her eyes, and just for that you wouldn’t blame them either.

Tara smiled, letting go of Chad’s hand and wrapping her arms around your neck and shoulders as she fell asleep in your arms.

A/N: What’s that? Reader appeared? About time!

Story masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

Taglist: @alexkolax

[queer-ragnelle]

So @currentlycryingaboutlancelot was posting about the false guinevere and it made me interested in what other arthuriana texts there are where arthur feels like the villain or at least on the darker end of the moral scale (usually without the author acknowledging it)? Obviously i vote le morte d’arthur but I was wondering if you know how widespread this writing quirk is

Hi!

You’re right on the money with your parenthesis, most texts don’t acknowledge it or at least not as fully as it could. It also sort of depends on what constitutes “villainous” behavior.

For example, in the Vulgate, it’s Arthur who sneaks into Morgause’s room and crawls into bed with her. She believes him to be Lot (ignore the impracticality of that, medieval logic to absolve her of culpability) so she has sex with him and becomes pregnant with Mordred. She then forgives him and they agree not to speak of it. Like. Madam that was rape you did not consent to sleep with this random squire kid! Who it turns out is your brother! And while Arthur is tormented by dream visions surrounding his sin, it has more to do with unknowingly committed incest that admonishing him as an active participant in any crime. Even after that, he goes on to have numerous illicit affairs that result in sons who grow into men that join the Round Table. Pretty messed up from Guinevere’s perspective to see Loholt, Arthur the Less, Mordred, et cetera all reaping the benefits of their noble births by association to Arthur while she's unable to have children or criticize the King for cheating. It’s just whatever!

I think the starkest example is the Post Vulgate where, after once again impregnating his sister with Mordred, Arthur orders the May babies to be put to death in the hopes of culling his incestuously conceived son. That’s what Malory was drawing on, so it has a lot more depth in Post. (For better or worse, probably worse.)

Another example could be Alliterative Morte Arthure. There Arthur’s fatal flaw is his fixation on expanding his territory and power. There’s no illicit affair between Guinevere and Lancelot. Rather, while Arthur is far away for over a decade, Mordred takes the throne by marrying Guinevere, and she's the mother of his sons. Mordred wields Clarent, the sword of peace, which is a subtextual signal to the reader that Arthur is the aggressor in his actions on returning, choosing to challenge Mordred for the throne at the cost of everything rather than accepting defeat for the good of the kingdom. Or, you know, having not abandoned it in the first place. At the end, once Mordred is dead, the remaining loyalists go on to kill his sons as well to end the line of succession.

There’s also the elephant in the room about punishing Guinevere for the affair with Lancelot but not really punishing Lancelot. Guinevere was to be burned at the stake, while Lancelot had fled and was, evidentially, not pursued and captured. It’s only for that reason Guinevere doesn’t die, obviously, as Lancelot returns with his kinsmen to save her. Arthur was going to go through with it! That’s the outcome in most versions of the story, at least from a medieval literature standpoint. Pretty villainous.

So Arthur sucks just as often as he is good, if not more often. Modern retellings are a whole other can of worms. If we count Sonic and the Black Knight, Arthur is straight up the final boss and replaced by Sonic at the end. LOL. So, you know, Arthuriana is a spectrum. ;^)

Hope that helps!

[ladybugsimblr]

Q: I don’t need the Bailey Kay Superstar Social Media Special. Maybe an assistant, so I don’t miss out on a dope opportunity because my inbox is flooded with enthusiastic butterflies. BK: Aht Aht! This is not about the Hive! This is about the thirsties slipping and sliding into your dms. My butterflies know how to act. Q: Oh really?! BK: Yes really.

Q: That’s funny because… let me see… here… Yeah I definitely got nudes from… wildbutterfly and a sexybfly4liiiife with four i’s. BK: So we’re keeping messages with nudes now, Quinton??? Q: Damn. The government?? Penny, help! Penny: You two are hilarious. This is quality entertainment. Maybe we should reconsider the reality show. BK&Q: NO!

BK: What’s with the face sir? Are we boring you? Khalil: I’m just wondering when we’re gonna talk about the elephant in the room. BK: ( Shit. How does he know?? ) Penny: Khalil, now is not the time. We’re celebrating. Q: No, get it off your chest because you’re definitely killing the vibe.

-

This was wordy so continue reading below…

Khalil: Look, I gave in with the residency decision, but I’m not rolling over on this retirement thing. I think it’s stupid and a huge fucking mistake. BK: Well damn. Khalil: I don’t get it B. You love this. Music is life. Performing is life. Your fans. All of it. Why would you stop now? BK: You’re right. I do love it. And music has been my life, but I’ve done it all. I’ve accomplished every one of my goals when it comes to being an entertainer. I’m ready to move on.

Khalil: This is crazy. You’re at the top of your game. Now is when you cement your legend status. All the greats are still recording and performing into their adult years, some even elders! BK: I hear you, but right now I just want to do things on my terms and time. I want to focus on my family. I want to help other artists make their dreams come true. Maybe even discover something else I love. Khalil: This industry moves fast. You know that. If you quit, there’s no guarantee you’ll get your spot back. Everyone will move on to the next hot thing. BK: I’m not worried about that. If I come back it will be out of love for the music. I don’t need to chase the fame and the top spot anymore.

Khalil: Did you forget about the 2 albums left on your contract? BK: No, I- Q: Are you really bringing up contracts right now?! Khalil: No one is listening to logic so yes I’m talking about legal obligations. Q: Clearly you didn't hear one thing she just said. You’re still only worried about what she can do for you.

Khalil: Q, stay in your lane. I don’t tell you how to do your job. Don’t tell me how to do mine. Q: Maybe you should think about something else other than the job. There is more to life. Khalil: Here you go with your speeches on family life. Focusing on the job got me, your wife and you the success you have now. You conveniently forget that. The family sim thing is for you. That’s great. But let me and B do what we do best and make sure we all stay winning. BK: It doesn’t have to be an either or situation. Both can be possible. Khalil: Retirement is not both. Retirement is quitting and that’s not the Global Superstar BK that I signed. It’s sounding like Bailey being influenced by Quinton.

Q: I don't like your tone. BK: Khalil, you’re about to cross a line and we really don’t have to go there. Khalil: I’m just being real because you two are not thinking straight. I swear you must be pregnant or something because that’s the only time you come at me with the home life work life balance shit. But even you two wouldn’t be that reckless.

*crickets*

Penny: Bailey… Khalil: Are you fucking kidding me?!

BK: We- Khalil: This is bullshit. I’m out. Penny: Khalil!

[silverhart-makes-art]

I think this week's Bestiary Posting is pretty fascinating. I especially like the animal being described as having 'mercy', as I feel like many people would consider that a distinctly human trait. I kind of assumed this idea of animals being like machines incapable of emotions was an old idea, but this and other bestiary entries really seem to humanize the animals listed in them more then I expected.

Anyway, I think what the Zomargon actually is, is pretty obvious, but the bit that stood out to me the most was: "it strikes fear into bulls, yet fears the mouse", and my mind immediately went to my dog. He likes to put on a lot of bluster when confronted with larger dogs or animals, but show him a bug and he runs behind the couch and cries until someone comes to save him.

So, it had to be a poodle. There's no other animal it could possibly be. Lively intelligence, scared of mice, works with people, if one of them falls over they have to gather around and make a big drama about it - that's a poodle for sure.

So this description lists a lot of different traits, so I'm just gonna go down them all and explain my thoughts.

"His nose is called a trunk because he uses it to put food in his mouth."

At first I went with an elephant shrew-type nose, but that's not so great for grabbing, but you know what would be? A hand. And what has a hand on the end of it's nose? That's right, a star-nosed mole. So combination trunk/star nose situation.

"The Persians and Indians, carried in wooden towers on their backs..."

So we know it's a big critter, to able to carry people on it's back.

"...lively intelligence and a long memory..."

Gave them a bit of a big skull to accommodate those big brains. I can also confirm that poodles never forget and hold onto to grudges for years.

"...she goes out into a pool, until the water comes up to her udders."

For sure a mammal this time, so good to know.

"If the Zomargon finds a snake, it kills it..."

This explains why my dog's favorite toys are the ones made to look like snakes and why they are the first to get torn to shreds.

"if it falls down, it cannot rise."

For this I was thinking about how this happens to sheep quite often, when they're pregnant or their wool is too heavy, so I gave my Zomargon a broad back and thick woolly fur that can grow out into a big poof-ball (as I doodled in the bottom).

"...it has no joints in its knees."

This one was tricky to figure out. The knee is a joint, so how can a joint not be a joint? I had to sketch up a couple of legs off to the side just to try out some ideas. Ended up going with the middle one, and just adding a big fleshy pad on the back of the foot to support it, since there's no mention of hooves. It looks weird, but I guess they make it work?

"They possess the quality of mercy."

If a creature possesses mercy, it of course must have soft, gentle eyes, so I tried to give them a sweet dog-like expression. This is a beastie made for cuddling.

"...they make their way carefully and peaceably lest their tusks kill any animal in their way."

Just throwing in tusks in at the last second, huh? I honestly almost forgot to include them, they seem like such an afterthought in the description. And if Zomargons don't fight each other, the tusks must be used for something else. I decided to give them something like a Thylacosmilus fang situation, where these big saber teeth are supported by this crazy lower jaw. Seems to be some debate about whether these teeth were used for scavenging carcasses or killing prey. The Zomargon also eats fruits according to the description, so maybe these tusks are in fact just for opening coconuts.

[bonefall]

Since you mentioned only cats and a few other distant animals are sentient, does this mean foxes are getting their sentience removed? Midnight can talk to foxes in the books and even convinces some foxes to leave a patrol of cats alone (the foxes are WEIRDLY violent and talk about eating the cats too lmaoo).

I assume Hollyleaf's changes mean the Fox Cub Incident is either being moved or just removed entirely, I always found that small plot point interesting in face of all those "Non-cat in clan" AUs. Seems like something that could be interesting if an "us vs them" argument was formed from it, especially if it was targeted against Midnight and calling her unholy yknow?

Yeah, that sapience is gone completely. In this universe, language is limited only to humans, cats, and some distant animals that are far outside the range of Albion (elephants, bottlenoses, some parrots, etc)

And Hollyleaf's story especially. Ngl to you, I don't like that fox idea. Or anything about Hollyleaf's Story. I think it was the worst possible route to take.

"Hollyleaf will be a mother to this evil creature to learn what it's like to love something that hates you. It is so sad to be your mom Leafpool (Squirrel-who?). Don't you feel like a shitty daughter now, Holly? Let's not ask any questions about the code btw, or how you were already filled with crushing shame from it. Or how it made you so disgusted about the idea of pregnant nuns that you flipped your shit and ruined the lives of your entire family. No, what really mattered about this situation was maternal empathy. Also here take the nearest male character we can find to ship you with, we accidentally made Cinderheart too gay when she was upset about your death lmao"

But, digressing, putting my distaste of that novella aside,

WC is profoundly xenophobic already with just the cats, and I think it was a CATASTROPHIC mistake to make it so every animal is secretly intelligent but speaks animal language. Now every conflict between cats and their predators is an ethnic dispute! You're chasing out groups of people perfectly capable of reasoning if you bridged the language barrier, but they're also ACTUAL PREDATORS.

AT BEST; It's the same uncomfortable situations that Zootopia and Lion King ends up tripping over. In Zootopia, predators are used as an allegory for oppressed groups... but predators are MADE to eat prey. A rabbit is RIGHT to be terrified of a fox, twice its size with a jaw made for catching bunnies. In Lion King, lions have divine authority to rule over their dinner/subjects, and chase out any animal based on their personal ideology... which just so happens to only be leveraged against rival predator species.

(Nerd preemption: yes i know about lion guard. I do not think diverse Lion Cops were the solution you think it is.)

Carelessly adding sapience to "natural systems" often ends up accidentally justifying bigotry. Bigotry doesn't MAKE SENSE, it's bullshit we made up and perpetuate through culture, but food webs are completely logical. The rabbit fears the fox because the fox eats rabbits. The lion hates the hyena because they compete for the same food. Gazelles don't happily submit to an overlord who is divinely capable of deciding who should live and who should die, it's just nature.

But it gets even worse-- because it's actually WORST CASE; the Erins saw that complicated moral problem and went, "don't worry! They're actually born evil! Foxes just talk about food and killing things :)"

like... my brother in cats, YOU gave them language in the first place! What was the fucking point if they were just going to be evil barbarians anyway?!? For ONE scene where Midnight could show off her Duolingo streak???

So to summarize,

It was an awful idea to start with

It was executed in the worst possible way

In a series that is already plagued with xenophobic sentiment, this somehow made it even worse and more direct

If it was completely nuked it from the story, the series would be immediately better with minimal change. Holly caring for what is essentially the clan cat-equivalent of an exotic animal like a chimp or a tiger cub would have done the same thing

There is not even a glimmer of an idea here that justifies the poison that full sapience does to the wider implications of the series.

Don't even get me started on the Badger Debaucle in TNP, which is actually in my top 5 for most vile things in WC

So if I don't explicitly say that a species in BB is capable of true language, assume it is non-sapient. Talking animals like Midnight and Rat Leader are magical individuals-- gods, curses, etc.

[dudadrawings17]

Maleficent: I just hope these little goblins inside of me decide to be born very soon! I can't take this pregnancy any longer! Ursula: enjoy while you can, darling! After your babies are born, THEN you'll wish you'd still be pregnant! Cruella: at least you have Chernabog doing everything for you. Ursula: who would guess the Disney version of Satan would be such a soft papa, right? Maleficent: why, just because we have horns, like black and green colors, and we're both related to evil and Hell, we can't be good parents?? Wow, rude!

— x — x — x — x — x —

Frollo: you know... You remind me of someone... Gothel: oh yeah? Who? Frollo: your raven hair, your emerald eyes... Are you single, my dear? Gothel: I'm a single mother. Is that a problem to you. Frollo: not at all. I'm a single father too.

— x — x — x — x — x —

Cruella: say it again, darling! Clayton: I ~kill~ animals. Cruella: oooohh yeah, babe! What else? Clayton: I ~sell~ them for riches. Cruella: oooh you evil man! Clayton: now tell me, my darling. What animal you desire the most? A coat made of leopard fur? Shoes made of crocodile skin? An elephant head to decorate your living room? Say it, and I shall have whatever pleases you! Cruella: I want... A ~dalmatian~ coat! Clayton: ... Say what?

— x — x — x — x — x —

Silver: are you sure about this, James? Hook: about what, John? Silver: I don't know... It's the very first time we're leaving Pietra alone with mr. Smee... Hook: oh, don't worry, my dear. Smee knows he better take good care of our daughter if he doesn't want his ass to be kicked.

— x — x — x — x — x —

Jafar: (on the cellphone) Hades, where are you? Hades: I left earlier, Jaffar. I'm tired. Jafar: what?? Where are you going?? Hades: home. Jafar: are you kidding me?? Get your ass back here! You drunk too much! Hades: relax, will you? I took a cab! Jafar: WE WERE DRINKING IN YOUR HOME, YOU ANIMAL! Hades: ... Then where am I going??

[darlingsfandom]

Pregnant reader is glowing with her big round belly Steve is trying real hard to be respectful, disrespectfully.

"God ! I am fat and my tits hurt!" You sobbed as you rolled onto the bed.

"You're not fat ! You're having our baby!" Steve sat down next to you and rubbed your back slowly as you hugged your pillow tightly.

"No I'm fat! This baby is making me gain weight like crazy! I can't eat deli meat because of the heartburn and all the gas I've been passing is enough to kill an elephant Steve! I'm ugly and sweaty and I hate it !" You hit Steve with you pillow before he pulled it away.

"I know you're having a hard time being pregnant but pregnancy so different for all women! I think you look beautiful baby!" Steve kissed your forehead gently before helping you onto your feet. He held your hand as you waddled over to the mirror. "See! Look at your glow!" He wrapped his arms around you before rubbing your belly. "Our baby is in there!" His lips attached to your cheeks which in turn made you blush before he started kissing your neck. Steve's hands ran up to your boobs and slowly massaged them while he kissed your neck. You placed your hands over his while watching him in the mirror.

"I'd get you pregnant every year if I could!" Steve bit the side of your neck hard enough to leave a mark. You whimpered out his name before he took you back over to the bed, laid you down and got on top of you.

"You're beautiful and I'm going to remind you just how beautiful you are!"

[keijisprettygirl]

➺ Haikyuu boys as — “shit my friends have said.”

cw: profanity, suggestive!

Yamaguchi: hey you hungry? i’ve got chicken—

Tsukishima: fuck chicken, give me death!

• • •

Atsumu: if a girl pulled out a banana during sex i’d kill her.

Kita: my god, why?

• • •

Tendou: i’d do me every night cos i’m lonely. pull game wack. no bitches.

• • • ︎

Sugawara: if someone asked you to eat their ass would you?

Daichi: no?? can you keep your voice down—

Sugawara: why not?

Daichi: oh my god shut up, we’re at a hospital.

• • •

Nishinoya: bro like, Tanaka is pregnant with my child for real.

Tanaka: for real bro, dap me up.

• • •

Hinata: heh heh, i look like a virgin— wait i am a virgin.

• • •

Atsumu: guys is this billie eilish?? *accidentally shows a picture of a donkey *

Suna: ….. yes.

• • •

Kageyama: oh my fucking god, you dumb ass ginger

• • •

Bokuto: if humans didnt exist what animal would you smash?

Akaashi, doing his college assessments: …. excuse me?

• • •

Yaku: i cannot stand any of you bitches anymore, im gonna go drown myself in bleach, ciao.

• • •

Kenma, talking about Lev: “I wouldn’t want his brain tbh would be like trying to push an elephant into a straw”

• • •

Yachi: he’s waiting on all the juicy gossip and yes i am a lesbian

• • •

Kuroo: deadass

Bokuto: oh thankyou :3

Kuroo: i said deadass, not dat ass??

• • •

Makki: i absolutely hate raspberry vodka. that shit felt like my asshole was cracking.

Iwaizumi: your asshole is what?

Mattsun: cracka

Oikawa: cracka lacka

• • •

Lev: i snatched her wig cos i was curious if it was real or not.

• • •

Sakusa: when was the last time you fucking showered? a sewer rat is cleaner than you.

• • •

Kunimi: life is sucks

Watari: …

Kunimi: sucks is life … sucks life is—

Watari: yes, i get it.

• • •

*Lev asking the team a would you rather question*

Kenma, talking over him: would you guys rather be deaf or listen to this moron ask would you rather questions?

[haggishlyhagging]

The Ashanti of West Africa … specifically equate menstruation with "killing an elephant" and childbearing with being a warrior. Like the Dahomeans, the Ashanti are a West African kingdom in which there is extraordinary sexual parallelism in many aspects of thought and behavior. This can be seen in the treatment of a girl at her first menstruation and a woman at childbirth.

When the Ashanti girl reaches puberty, it is said "the Bara state has stricken her. She has killed an elephant." This is an occasion for elaborate ceremonials and exchange of gifts. A mother's first act, upon learning the news from her daughter, is to inform the villagers, the Sky God, the Earth Goddess, and the ancestors. Taking some wine and spilling it on the ground, the mother says:

Supreme Sky God, who is alone great, upon whom men lean and do not fall, receive this wine and drink. Earth Goddess, whose day of worship is a Thursday, receive this wine and drink. Spirit of our ancestors, receive this wine and drink. This girl child whom God has given to me, today the Bara state has come upon her. O mother who dwells in the land of ghosts, do not come and take her away and do not have permitted her to menstruate only to die.

The onset of menstruation signifies that a girl is ready to make her contribution to the continuation of the lineage through the bearing of children. However, although the blood denotes the possibility of life, it also reminds people of death. The advent of puberty means that the child of a departed ancestor will soon die in order to be reborn into the world of the living. People say, "A birth in this world is a death in the world of ghosts; when a human mother conceives, a ghost mother's infant is sickening to die." Menstrual blood implies power, and there are many taboos in connection with it. During the puberty ceremonial, a girl is taken to the river, where she is disrobed and immersed three times with the words: "We quench the bara fire at its source." Menstrual blood is thought to nullify all supernatural powers possessed by persons, spirits, or objects. These powers, if rendered inactive by contact with a menstruating woman, have to be "recharged, as it were, by propitiation, extirpation, and augmentation rites, to placate them and build them up anew."

If a woman dies during childbirth, she is treated like a warrior who has lost an important battle. A ceremony is conducted that only pregnant women attend. The goal of the ceremony seems to be to chastise the woman who has died, and hence has failed in her primary duty, and to prevent other such failures. During the ceremony the other pregnant women of the village get a plantain leaf and say "Bang! (imitating a gun) be gone with your evil, you have been unable to bring forth, you have been unable to fight, you have fought only to die." Then each woman takes a knife and addresses the body: "We told you to fight but you could not fight, When our turn comes to fight we swear the oath we shall not pass out."

Thus, the Ashanti impose hunter and warrior imagery on female reproductive functions. By phrasing the natural rhythms of life giving and life taking in the same terms, the Ashanti establish a symmetry between male and female.

-Peggy Reeves Sanday, Female Power and Male Dominance: On the Origins of Sexual Inequality

[kiame-sama]

Yandere OC's during your darling's pregnancy

Walter Woods;

"I'm so excited for this next chapter in our lives. Do you think they'll be interested in medicine?"

- Walter is thrilled to have this next part of your lives together. He is happy to spend countless hours thinking of names and planning out early life activities to do as a family. It is clear that Walter is going to give you the best at home care and he will try to do everything in his power to keep you happy.

- Whatever you are craving or wanting, he will happily go get it for you regardless of what time it is. He has all of the maternity items you will need to be comfortable during your pregnancy. Walter is a doctor and will be obsessing over your health at all times, you should just let him because it is his way of showing his love.

Evan Rothchester;

"Fuck, I don't think I'm gonna survive this."

- Brings a whole new meaning to the saying "we're pregnant". Evan is so stressed over the pregnancy that he is worrying himself sick. Odds are this is the first time since his father's death that anyone has seen him this distressed and emotionally worn.

- Don't get him wrong, he's thrilled that you're pregnant, but there is so much to worry about when it comes to pregnancies. Blood and family means more than anyone would admit when it comes to mafia families. Evan had been the sole head of the family since his father was killed, now he is the patron of the family. He has to emotionally mature rather quickly, so the stress is getting to him.

Carlos Vargas;

"Kid's gonna grow up with a zoo for a family."

- Carlos is excited to have a family with you and wants to make sure that the fur-children are nice to the human-child. He knows the kid will grow up feeding elephants and watching their father lounge with the tigers. There is little doubt the house serval, Mimis, will be able to resist the baby crib and will be the most excellent babysitter to the infant.

- The elephants somehow know you are pregnant and the matriarch will be using her trunk to examine your belly often. The dogs will sit with their noses to your stomach and guard you fiercely. Carlos is keen to remind you that even if you guys can't get to a hospital quickly due to living in a wildlife rescue, he can still help you deliver your infant.

Jackson Locklear;

"I couldn't be happier!"

- Jackson loves the idea of having a kid with you, being able to teach the kid about his culture. It does make him sad to not have his tribe with him to share in the birth of his child, but he will do what he can to stay strong. There is a chance Jackson could fix things with his community through his child, but all he wants is for the kid to be happy and helpful.

- Jackson will make whatever you are craving and is the kind of guy to give you a massage and take care of you every day. He will be sure to get you to your appointments and checkups on time. Whatever he can do to help you, he will.

Orion Medici;

"Our very own star. They are destined for great things."

- Orion is proud as a blackbird and will be so thrilled to meet his child. No doubt he will try to keep the family naming theme going, so expect a bunch of star themed names for your kid. Since Orion is a powerful and proud man, he will no doubt hold his child to high standards and will do what he can to give them the world.

- You are going to have to be the one to scold or punish your child because, in Orion's eyes, your kid can do nothing wrong. He will never oppose to how you want to raise your child, but he will spoil them and always dote on them. Even if he is wealthy, he will insist to be part of his child's life and let them know he loves them.

Hahne Yamare;

"Do you think they'll want to learn about the mafia?"

- Hahne is only joking... Kinda. He won't expose your kid to the mafia until they grow up a bit more. Sometimes he will bring home work, but he will still do what he can to spare the kid from dealing with anything illegal.

- Whatever you may be craving or you may want, he will make sure to get it for you as soon as he can. He may have to leave you alone for a bit to do his job, but his boss- Evan- is quite understanding about the whole thing. You can always bet that Hahne is going to be doting to you the entire pregnancy.

Amira Woods;

"Okay, I scheduled the consultation appointment for between my Business in Environment lecture and my Finance IV class."

- Have no fear, Amira has amazing planning and organizational skills. She will be excited to plan out appointments and classes, but she may be a bit more stressed during this time. Amira is working quite hard on her education, but she sees you and the life you carry as far more important. She won't choose if she doesn't have to, but she will always choose you.

- Amira will likely call her big brother for help because she trusts him and knows he will drop everything to help if he isn't working. She wants to be present for everything she can be present for, but please try to be flexible since she is balancing education and parental rolls.

Kaya Braziel;

"The most rare and stunning flower in the garden."

- Kaya is a bit new to this whole parent thing, but she will happily face it head on because it means she can spend more time with you and help raise the life growing inside of you. The house will change practically overnight as she puts the dangerous or toxic plants in the locked greenhouse and makes sure the plants in the house are safe or out of reach. Every corner of the house will be baby-proofed long before it needs to be.

- Many of the names Kaya suggests will be plant names or have some kind of horticulture importance and meaning. Every book on properly taking care of you and the infant will be read cover to cover. Expect for Kaya to be quite the mother-hen about the whole situation.

Julie Winter;

"How is our little clay-pot in the kiln?"

- Julie is excited and draws great inspiration from the prospect of raising a family with you. She will swoon and coo over your stomach, talking to it frequently while praising you endlessly. More of her recent pieces have to do with maternity and the potential that new life carries, some of her most abstract ideas yet!

- When the kid is born they are likely going to be a very creative soul as any art material they could want is right in their own home. She will likely suggest names more common in European countries as opposed to artists or famous people. She wants the kid to make their own name have meaning instead of being assigned meaning due to relation with famous artists or otherwise.

Hada Yamare;

"Goodness, our little shark certainly is restless today!"

- Hada absolutely LOVES talking to your stomach and she fondly refers to the life inside of you as a 'little shark'. It is her kind of endearment and affection as she adores sharks in their many forms. She wants to talk about a water birth as there are many benefits to it as opposed to a normal birth, but she recognizes that it is completely up to you and not her.

- Hada goes into extreme protection mode when it comes to you and she will certainly send any hecklers or general jerks right into the hospital. She will hover and try to take good care of you even if she is a little lacking in personal space with you. Good luck trying to do anything without her insisting that she can take care of it for you even if it is something simple like watering plants.

[xblackreader]

CASTING MY OC’s: Tadeas 🦏 and Xyanza 🔱 + LORE

The Children of Okoye of Wakanda and Attuma of Talokan

+ bonus: Nashuri’s Daughter - Itzia

Tadeas - The Rhino 🦏

He was a sweet sensitive and shy boy growing up, he was very in tune with people’s emotions and how they felt. But unfortunately his parents could not shield him from the violence of the real world. When he was around 8 years old, he was out playing with the rhinos (his mother often commented how close he was to them and his father said they would be his wayob or ‘chosen animal’)

He went following the rhinos, further than he should’ve been, and witnessed a poacher group of elephant and rhino hunters. They saw him and decided to try and shoot him, they wanted ‘no witnesses’ and thought “some young African kid, just get rid of him”, his favorite rhino shielded him from the bullet and died there, roaring for Tadeas to run for his life. Tadeas ran for his father and when they went back, Attuma killed the poachers and reported it to Queen Shuri. But Tadeas was forever changed. It changed his worldview. His family gave the rhino a hero’s burial and Okoye comforted her son but noticed he did not cry anymore. He was numb. She cried to Attuma that night bc while her child was safe, those poachers had taken her innocent son. And she feared she might never see him again.

After that Tadeas focused mostly on training and feeding his rhinos. His father saw how quiet his son was these days and wanted to do something, his daughter Xyanza suggested they take him to Talokan for the first time. See, Tadeas was unable to breathe underwater. he has no gills and so he had not yet been to Talokan even at 9 years old. Though Xyanza didn’t quite see why not, she didn’t understand why she and Baba went to Talokan often but not Mama or Tadeas.

So they brought him to Talokan, and told him to stay in his room overlooking the city, glass panels giving him and other visiting Wakandans the ability to see over the city. At first he did stay put, but Xyanza said “You’re still sad… how about I sneak you out and we can go play a game with the other children!” Not knowing that normal humans will die underwater bc of the dense atmosphere. Awful idea but she was only 9.

His sister held his hand and Tadeas was able to go into the depths of Talokan. They snuck him a breathing mask and the other children of Talokan showed him lots of places, he wasn’t as good of a swimmer and they had to hold his hand, but he fell in love with Talokan. He finally smiled for the first time in months looking out at the kingdom and Xyanza was proud she had been able to make him happy again.

Meanwhile, Okoye comes back to the room to entertain her son and call for her daughter only to find that they are both gone. Under normal circumstances she would’ve been calm and okay, but she was pregnant again and had already been hesitant to bring Tadeas so deep under the surface. She screamed for her husband and Attuma came running.

They sent a search party to find the children. Namor, Namora and Attuma went themselves to look from them and found them atop a steep cliff on a trench. Attuma raced toward his son and enveloped him in a hug while the other Talokanil surrounded Tadeas like “YOURE NOT WEARING A SUIT… HOW ARE YOU ALIVE????”

So they bring him back to the Talokan Palace and he is scolded by his mother who is in tears and Xyanza is given a stern talking to, but she didn’t understand he could’ve died. Tadeas is unremorseful however, he has tears in his eyes as he tells everyone how wonderful Talokan is! Shuri does a few tests and discovers that although he is not able to breath water, he still is immune to the depths of Talokan. Now knowing that his children could both train in Talokan, His father says it’s about time his son began to train with Talokanil children, but Okoye is hesitant once more.

“Umama, please… I have not known happiness in some time. Please let me train. You trust me right?” He son said, tugging at her dress and nuzzling her hand in his hair. Had to turn up the cuteness to convince Umama.

“No. You are not old enough to be trusted with such a thing! Attuma, talk to him!”

Attuma nervously cleared his throat. “I believe it is time, Okoye. We’ve held them both off for long enough, you see how their hands long for the blade.”

“We said, we wouldn’t-“

“This illustrates not forcing them, in K’iino… he reaches for it, just as we did at their age.” Tadeas looked between his mother and father and nodded eagerly at his fathers words. “How we wanted to protect and serve.”

Okoye shook her head. “I did not know better then. I know now.”

“Mama, please!” “I forbid it!” Of course, the children eventually began to sneak out and train at late night, which made Okoye absolutely cry from worry and Attuma have to scold them even if he was in support of them training. “You will be the end of your mother if you continue to act like this. Chaac forbid it.” 

Often she would fake faint just to guilt trip them, but it stopped working when their father subtly informed them of what she was doing. Okoye glared at her husband from she laid dramatically on the bed as her children shook their heads at her. After that, she finally allowed them to train freely. Reluctantly, after she gave birth to the triplets, she recovered and a year later began to formally train in the way of the Dora the twins at 11 years old. Xyanza went to Dora camps after that.

Tadeas is very close to his little triplet sisters once they begin to talk, they latch onto him and he is often the one In charge of watching them.

He’s the oldest so he’s very often the one in charge or held responsible for hijinks. He idolizes his mother and father but mostly wants to fully emulate his father. He’s a bit jealous that his sisters can breathe water and not him.

His skills include: swimming (he had to train to swim like a Talokanil, it didn’t come naturally) holding his breath for up to 10 minutes, battle ax combat, espionage, long range combat, night vision (all children of both talokan, and Wakanda were given night vision by Bast and Chaac as a gift of unity)

Xyanza - The Eel 🐍

When she was born she had gills and could breathe water as well as air. I’d on the battle field, you’ll often find her in a body con suit that changes color with her surroundings. She is known as the eel for her swimming ability and stealth.

She was able to go to Talokan and stay there for days or even weeks while her brother had to stay home until he turned 14 and he could come unsupervised.

She’s the bleeding heart (very similar to her auntie Nakia) she was Namor’s little grand baby when he would hang around them all the time. She was the sweetest baby and her mother and father predicted she would be sly and cunning. She is a master of stealth even if she is 5’11 and close to 150 pounds. She towered over her mother by the time she turns 15 and Okoye be like “🤨 you think you can beat my ass?” And Xyanza is like “mom, chill, I just asked what’s for dinner…” “I DO NOT SERVE YOU EEL” “Umama be CALM”

She is a good friend of Itzia as well as trains with the Dora often. She and her brother were close until he began to become vindictive and angry as a teenager, they still have their sibling moments but it’s hard for them to be friends with their opposing views.

“Xyanza… your brother still loves you of course… how could he not?”

“He has become so dark and closed off, Mama… I do not even recognize him anymore.” Xyanza weeps into Okoye’s arms. She misses her brother, she misses her best friend.

“He is going through things he must navigate himself. But his love for you has not stopped. He is blinded by rage right now. It happens to the best of us. Do not cry for he is not gone.” :((

She a thickly thick broad too. Very popular with all the youth of Talokanda. Wide hips, lil waists but built! She is STACKED! Call her the Willow smith bc her parents are powerful and she’s a bad bitch.

She very much is an icon in their kingdom, people wear her clothing and suck up to her a lot but it’s not difficult bc she is a sweetheart, though very competitive. When she’s being normal think Ty Lee but when she���s in a competition or match off she turns full on Azula. She’s smart as a whip and very easy to fall for. She has some of her fathers features but her face is her mamas. The side eyes and stank faces are completely her mothers.

She trained for many years as a Dora. And her mother was excited to think her daughter would follow in her footsteps but Xyanza is not the girl to be an obedient soldier. She questions authority and is steadfast in her personal beliefs.

She still has not told her mother she doesn’t want to be a Dora. Her mother is the Head of Border Defense and General of the Midnight Angels… how can she tell her nationalist African mother that she wanted to be a spy/war dog?

Her skills include: swimming (Talokanil, Contorting her body (Eel) Night vision (Talokanil) Camouflage, close range combat) Think Ty Lee from Avatar TLAB

Itzia - The Clawed Serpent 🪽

She’s a goofball fr, he relationship with her mom isn’t the tightest but she still loves her and knows her mother loves her too.

She’s much closer to her father, or she was until he began to push her away when she turned around 13… she doesn’t know why (see this post for the reason) and instead turns her attention to her closest friends, Tadeas and Xyanza for her chosen family. She’s a massive rebel and a bad influence.

She will not do what she’s told, she don’t give a fuck that her dad is the godking of Talokan and her mother is the black panther and queen. She definitely gives “I didn’t ask for this life” but she’s truly the life of the party.

She’s got namor’s trademark wolf smile, pointed ears and winged feet but besides that she absolutely her mother’s daughter. @mickimomo maybe she’s tight with her auntie ora and auntie oni 👀👀

Her skills include: lesbianism/rizz, flight, superhuman strength, Siren song of Pathos (think blue Diamond), Night vision (All Talokandan children), She has a good lie detector in her brain

TBC 👀 for more info click here