#and my mom will say ‘lots of women are pregnant and give birth it’s not an accomplishment for celebrate’

[earthsbestdefnder]

knowing that when evelyns born she’s gonna get so much love and so many presents (I know because I share an Amazon account with my parents) and so much attention meanwhile I’m the one who was pregnant for 9 months and then has to push her out of me and I just know that’s gonna be met with…nothing

[tothosewholisten]

Forever Healed | TUA insert

Chapter: 00

next chapter>>

Masterlist

…

On the 12th hour of the first day of October 1989. 43 women around the world gave birth. This was unusual in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant when the day first began.

Sir Reginald Hargeeves, eccentric billionaire and adventurer, resolved to locate and adopt as many of the children as possible.

He got seven of them, yes seven.

..

MARCH 21, 2019

I have to be at least somewhat proud of myself for lasting this long. I thought as I sat on the bus, not everyday you are born with magical powers and are destined to save the world from evil. Yes, hearing myself think that sounds crazy. But that's normal in my life.

I had reached my stop after a half an hour of sitting with my earbuds in, listening to nothing at all. I just wanted to seem unapproachable on the sketchy city bus.

My destination was a terribly designed office building, the space was so crammed and ugly it made me want to turn right back around and get on that bus again. But I didn't because I was trying to convince myself that this would be good for me, but I didn't believe my words.

I was about to have a therapy session with some middle-aged white lady who has glasses and tell her all of my life issues, starting every week at 5pm..

It's not like I had anything else going on, I haven't had work for days now. So I thought I'd give it a shot.

The waiting process made me anxious as hell, I finally got the courage to walk up to the front desk and gave the man who sat there my name. And now I have to wait for this lady to get done with some other patient.

I sat on a chair and frowned, like she is really going to be focused on "my" problems and not the 30 other people she sees today.

I swear it was only a second into me zoning out when I heard my name yelled. "Y/n L/n? It's so nice to meet you!" A woman said, when i looked up at her i saw the exact lady i was describing earlier to the closest details.

I let her lead me to a smaller room that looked way better than the lobby. It had two chairs, a water machine, some fidget items and a large window view of the city. Gloria, I learn to be the name of my therapist, asks me to sit with her.

She clears her throat, "I know this is our first session so you may not be the most comfortable sharing details. But I'd like to know a little bit about you if you're okay sharing."

“Well, I’m 29 years old and a home care nurse.” I say slowly. Hearing the words leave my mouth I knew I haven’t amounted to a lot in my years.

"Oh wow, 29? I would've never guessed that Y/n, you don't look a day over 21" Gloria complimented me i give her a tiny smile in return.

I'm not sure why that is, I get that a lot in my working field. Older women saying that they wished they looked as young as me.

"That's a great start for today's session." She smiles, "A little bit me is, you know my name already but I'm 56 years old since Monday. I have 3 children and a cat named Mr. Furball."

I regret what i said earlier because I think I already like Gloria and not just because of Mr. Furball. But the fact that she has a calming sense about her. I find myself listening to what she's saying, and I rarely do that with people nowadays.

"But I would like to hear more about your upbringing, how’d you become the fine young lady you are today?" She says.

Oh, she wants to hear about my childhood. I mean I knew she would ask but so soon, I'm worried about saying anything. So I told her that.

"I'm worried about opening up to someone about my past cause well I've never done it before." I said.

She hands me a cup of water. "That's okay Y/n, we can take it at your pace."

“I grew up in a small house with my mom and dad until I was twelve. When I was scouted by Reginald Hargreeves because of my unique abilities. And I've been there ever since I was 18 when I moved out to live on my own.” I waited for the burst of confusion I was about to get from Gloria. Not everyday one of the Umbrella Academy walks into your office.

“Oh wow…” she says, eyes wide. “You're one of those superheroes? That’s amazing wow.” She nervously chuckles “I’m sorry I’m normally not this shocked about things, and I hear a lot on the daily.”

“It’s okay” I say, staring at my hands.

She clears her throat. “I'm sure being apart of the Umbrella Academy was big but could you tell me about your life before that?”

I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, pictured my childhood in my brain and opened my mouth.

"Well, I'm sure to this day my father still thinks that my mother cheated on him, due to his "daughter's" virgin Mary-like creation since they were just newlyweds. He held it against my mother all of her life." I took a sip of water and continued.

"I'm not sure why he turned to alcohol. But that turned out as you could expect. He turned on everyone around him and acted like a beast. He regularly attacked my mom for anything she did wrong. But what made him more angry was that his freak of a daughter could heal her mother, after every beating."

"My mom told me before I left I had made her so much happier and in her words. She didn't even question these strange occurrences; she knew her baby was special." I smiled a bit.

I could tell that Gloria was painting a picture in her head of what I was describing too.

"And by the age of 8, I was standing up to my father, even if it didn't end so well. I'd get the beating instead but by the next day, my bloody body would be as good as new. On the surface at least, I had lots of internal issues from that time. But none of that stopped my father from trying to get equal with me.." I stopped talking after that.

My eyes could only focus on my right hand as it was picking at my left hand's skin. It was a habit I picked up as soon as I started to use my powers because I knew my skin would be right back to normal in the next few minutes.

"That's awful y/n I'm so sorry." She frowned. "Would you be okay with continuing?"

I blink up at her. “Yes, that would be okay,” I said. “Then there was this one day..”

..

17 YEARS AGO

“In five, four, three, two. This is Jim Hellerman, reporting live for channel 2 News outside of the Capital West Bank at Main and Sixth. A group of heavily armed men stormed the bank not three hours ago and took an unknown number of hostages.”

That was the big news update of September 2002, I remember. Well I don’t really have to think about it much because I was there with my mom at the bank. She planned on making some deposit when we were screamed at, not to leave by a man who had his gun pointed at us along with so many other civilians. He taped us up and told us to stand in a corner.

That was the first and only time I feared for my life. Police didn’t want them to start shooting, so they didn’t come into the building. Meaning that we were on our own and could die at anytime

One of the armed men walks into the scene unfolding. Sirens blaring, people getting shoved around and threats being made to the innocent.

“Now you’ve put me in a position where I gotta do something I don't want to do. Hmm?” He said talking to another person on his walkie talkie.

My mom brought me closer to her trying to use her body as a shield if things went south. And to us we thought they were about to be.

But strangely, a girl walked up to the man. She’d looked to be around my age in a school uniform and cartoon mask. Her loose curls bounced in the wind as she skipped up to him.

“Shit!” He screams putting his device down. Not noticing the girl until a few seconds after his outburst. “Hey, get back with the others.” He told her, trying to sound intimidating but she didn’t seem to fear him at all.

“I heard a rumor.” She spoke out.

He bent a little to reach her height and get in her face. “What? What did you say?”

She leaned in and cupped her hand to mimic whispering in his ear but loud enough for all of us to hear. “I heard a rumor that you shot your friend in the foot.”

Without any hesitation he did what she commanded and shot the nearest armed man who happened to be trying to rough up my mom. We screamed as he kept shooting.

“We just heard shots from inside the bank. It’s uncertain if any hostages have been harmed in that.”

“There’s some movement on the roof. Possibly law enforcement.”

A loud crash and a boy landed down from the roof. It was crazy he wasn’t harmed at all from that high distance. He was also wearing the same mask and uniform as the girl but he had blond hair. From where he landed he jumped on one of the robbers and started beating him to a pulp, and then throwing him out a glass window.

“Looks like one of the armed robbers had been thrown from the bank.”

Another boy with brown hair runs in from the opposite doors as the girl and yells. “Guns are for sissies. Real men throw knives.” He then threw one of his knives and it curved in the air hitting a robber no where close to where the knife had originally been heading. It was incredible.

“I've been in many hostage situations like this, and it can escalate very quickly.”

The original man hops on a table pointing his gun out at the two of the before seen children plus another one. “Get back you freaks” he says walking back and forth in fear.

“Hey, be careful up there, buddy.” The knife boy calls out.

“Get back now!” The man screams.

“Yeah, I wouldn't want you to get hurt.” The girls mocking voice says.

Right before my eyes another boy teleports behind the man, sitting criss-cross on the table. “Or what?” He said calmly.

The man turns around and shoots at him but before the bullets could hit he teleports again. This time standing up with his arms crossed, clearly not impressed. But the man tries to shoot again.

“Ooh! That’s one badass stapler!” The boy laughs. The man no longer had a gun anymore but a stapler placed in his hand by the kid instead. The boy shoves the stapler into his face and the big man falls back, head hitting the floor before his body does.

“Although there’s been no activity for a few minutes, we’re gonna stay live on location to make sure we don’t miss a thing. In this hostage situation at the Capital West bank.”

The five already counted for children make way for the last and shortest one to make his move. “Do we really need to do this?” He talks quietly.

The blonde one replies to him. “Come on, Ben. There’s more guys in the vault.” So his name was Ben huh?

Ben sighs, “I didn't sign up for this.” Before walking into the room with more people. Large black tendrils illuminated the room as men screaming could be heard behind the door. And a beast roars but then the sound stops and Ben walks out again, this time covered in blood and guts.

He breathes heavily. “Can we go home now?” I felt bad for him.

The kids untied our hands and told us to run. And once it was clear to go my mom started to run out of the doors thinking I was right behind her.

“Now we see the hostages. They— They’re free. They’re scared clearly but they do seem to be unharmed.”

But I was behind her trying to help this older woman who’d slipped on the floor. As I was helping her, the kids walked out too.

“People are coming out now. It’s not the armed robbers. These are schoolchildren in uniforms with masks on. Jim Hellerman, Channel 2 News.”

But there was one not accounted for robber, the one from earlier who had been shot in the foot. I started to run out and call out to my mom who was outside. When the man got up from the floor, cocked his gun and shot at the kids.

Fortunately, he missed them but the bullet hit me.

Questions being asked to the children stopped when they saw my body flail onto the floor outside of the bank doors. I was shot right in the chest. There was blood everywhere and it started to leak over to where the kids were standing. They turned around to see where it was coming from..

Everyone looked horrified and there was a bunch of screaming. Mainly from my mother who was wailing as she ran over to hold me to her chest screaming for me to wake up. And that will be engraved in my memory forever after this day, I never wanted to hear her like this ever again.

Police started to rush over but in a matter of minutes, a miracle seemed to happen. At least to the city that is. There was a yellowish glow around my chest and the blood seemed to have reversed back into my body. Even the stains on my blue dress were gone. The bullet even spit out of my chest; it was truly witchcraft.

My eyes then shot open as I started to breathe in and out.

I don't exactly remember what I felt during those moments but I'm sure I left those people around me stunned. After all this was their first look at powers.

I couldn't care what the paramedics were talking about above my body. I was focused on the 6 children looking at me bewildered as well as the old-looking man with them and whatever my mom was saying at the time.

I was put on a stretcher and rushed to a hospital for evaluations after the pandemics came but they never found anything. It was like everything was perfectly reattached.

But as I was leaving I could see the news reporters zeroing in on the kids trying to get the details on how these children saved the bank from thievery.

“Our world is changing.” The man spoke to the crowd. “Has changed. There are some among us gifted with abilities far beyond the ordinary.” He said looking back at the children. But they weren’t paying attention, some were staring at my ambulance and some eyes were on the ground.

“I have adopted seven such children. I give you the inaugural class of the Umbrella Academy.”

I now realize thinking back, the seventh person he was talking about was me..

..

PRESENT DAY

My mouth felt like it was moving faster than my brain so I took a pause and chugged the rest of my water cup.

Once again Glorias eyes were wide open. As she took some notes down in a notebook I never noticed beyond this point.

"Uh once I got home I remember the house phone noise filled my house with its nonstop ring, the other person on the phone would change my life forever when he came in.”

“And who was that person?" Gloria asked.

"Reginald Hargeeves, eccentric billionaire and caring father from what the public knew.." I rolled my eyes.

"So I'm guessing it wasn't really like that" she asked carefully.

"He was never a father really, more like a hard state-national basketball coach." She wrote that down.

"I guess it was a hard decision for my parents to make well, my mother. My father was ready to give me up as soon as Reginald stepped foot in my small house."

"And I'm sure they thought there was nothing bad about the offer they were given, he promised I'd be raised in a steady environment with the best schooling and my powers would be used for the greater good. And in exchange, my parents would get a large sum of money for my absence."

"What were you doing during this?" Gloria worried.

"I think I was just sitting right there next to my mom actually. I definitely didn't understand at that point what was happening to me. Still thinking about the events of that day.”

"And then I was being taken out of my only home in the blink of an eye. I resisted the people taking me, starting with screaming and then kicking and then running. Back to my mom's arms, Reginald himself had to pull me away from her. The deal had already been struck and there was no taking me back."

Now looking back at my hands I could only see small teardrops on my palms. Gloria reached for a tissue from the other side of the room. "Thank you," I said as I wiped my eyes.

"I like to think that my mom was upset that day but the memory has already started to fade as I reached adulthood.

You know after that day I was no longer 'Y/n L/n' no, I was known by my new name.. Zero Hargeeves."

..

I decided that was the end of my story, at least for now because I couldn't place the pieces together anymore. I was full-on sobbing at that point.

Gloria decided to bring up something more light to talk about next but I don't remember what it was because I'd zoned out and thought about the cat she'd told me about earlier.

The two hours seemed to fly by because the last thing I heard her say was if I didn't have anything else to talk about then that would be the end of the session. My legs seemed to move on their own as I walked out of that building. I would come back at the same time next week and honestly, I think therapy was for the best. I forgot about how I felt about all these things for the longest time.

I started the journey back to the bus stop, stopping to look in the windows of shops.

Shops like bakeries and bookstores and other things like that. Until I came to a stop in front of a store with a TV sticking out in the window.

My eyes scanned the screen and they went wide. The lady on the news had a somber expression as someone died. I was feeling sad for the person's family, but then I read the red-blaring headline.

The person who died was Reginald Hargeeves...

...

Aug 14 update:

If you'd like to be added to the tag list for rest of the series (starts at chapter 10) say taglist in the comments!

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

Today's contribution for Disability Pride Month

Obligatory "I don't have this disorder. I'm raising awareness because I'm so fucking sick of women that drink while pregnant bitching about how hard it is being an 'autism mom'". (Autism mom in quotes because a) it's probably not autism and b) the phrase "autism mom" to describe "mom if an autistic kid" is stupid.)

(I'm going to use the term "women" instead of "uterus haver" not to be exclusionary or transphobic. But because I have a severe headache effecting my ability to find words. I am trans-masc. Don't cancel me. I'm not a FART.)

(This is not to demonize people that suffer from alcoholism. Addiction is a very real disability. This is to raise awareness for one of the only known preventable birth defects and hopefully seek help.)

Thank you for the people at @bfpnola discord for checking my post to make sure this doesn't sound eugenics-y.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

FASD (previously known as fetal alcohol syndrome) is a disability that can range from mild to severe dependant on how much the mother drank while pregnant. It only takes one glass of wine while pregnant to cause this disorder

I already know what the fuck this is. Why are you talking about it?

Because your only know about the severe cases diagnosed as fetal alcohol syndrome. You THINK you know what it is. But the reclassification has only come up in like... 2003? Fetal alcohol syndrome is like... the far end worst severity of FASD. And since the new information of it being a spectrum disorder, estimates have the disorder as high as 5% of the population (and I really think it's higher based on some information I'm about to share).

Fine. So what is this... spectrum disorder?

Very good! So this disorder is HIGHLY misdiagnosed as autism. So all those boomers bitching about "the rates of autism going up?" Yeah they probably caused it. Symptoms include low body weight, facial differences, poor coordination, difficulty maintaining attention, poor memory, poor emotional regulation, slower development, poor reasoning skills, issues with the heart, bones, and kidneys, shorter height, shorter head size,

I have all of those things. How do I know it's FASD and not the autism?

That's kinda the issue. The only real way you can know is ask your mom if there's ANY possibility she's had a drink while she was pregnant. I can't stress this enough IT ONLY TAKES ONE DRINK. For instance I have a lot of those issues, but my mom was so paranoid she wouldn't even dye her hair or drink coffee. Like there's NO WAY.

Like what do I do about it?

Mostly get your accommodations met and raise awareness. Like people are still actively drinking while pregnant because they are still under the pre-2000 belief that just a couple of drinks are okay. It's really not. Not to mention most women don't know they're pregnant until 4-6 weeks in. So they shouldn't be drinking if they're actively trying to have a child. Because that increases the risk.

What the fuck. People are drinking while pregnant? I don't believe you.

Each of these claims are linked.

30.3% of all women reported drinking alcohol at some time during pregnancy, of which 8.3% reported binge drinking (4+ drinks on one occasion)

According to the Center for Disease Control, one in 10 (10.2%) of pregnant women in the United States reports drinking alcohol in the past 30 days.

Despite clear evidence that primary prevention of FASD is possible if prenatal alcohol exposure is avoided, up to 80 % of women drink during pregnancy, many before pregnancy recognition

What? Women are drinking while pregnant? That's fucked up.

This is not to say people with FASD are lesser than.

But all of this "curing autism" when most of this "autism" is caused by a pregnant person's ability to stop fucking drinking for literally 5 minutes. THESE WOMEN THAT ARE DRINKING WHILE PREGNANT ARE THE ONES CAUSING ALL OF THIS GIVING "AUTISM". IF YOU DRANK WHILE PREGNANT. IF THERE'S EVEN A SLIVER OF A CHANCE THAT YOUR DRANK WHILE PREGNANT? ITS PROBABLY NOT AUTISM. ITS PROBABLY THIS DISORDER.

I'm just really fed up with all of these "autism moms" that also make "wine mom" jokes and making light of literal alcoholism bitching about how hard it is to be an "autism mom" because YOU'RE THE PROBLEM. STOP LAUGHING ABOUT YOUR ALCOHOLISM AND PUT THE DAMN GLASS DOWN.

But my parents are literally autistic

So they don't really know the generational effect of FASD because the new knowledge is so new. But since FASD is literally genetic issues caused by alcohol while you're in the womb. It's assumed that it can cause issues that are passed down.

But like this diagnosis is SO NEW that we really don't know much.

-fae

[kinkandkreep]

TokRev Boyos Dad-canons:

Baji-boo:

Learned how to be a dad from observing his mom be a mom

I think the consensus is that Ryoko is a major contributing factor for Baji ranking number 1 out of the best boyfriends to have in TokRev

I would venture a guess and say that though Baji was influenced by his mother’s parenting, he knows that she didn’t do a perfect job, as with any parent, and he intends to make up for where she might have stumbled

Now, I’ma keep it trill wit y’all, I ain’t read Letter from Keisuke Baji and don’t know much about it 😭

BUT from what I’ve gathered, we do see more of Baji and his mother’s interactions

I think overall, Baji is a very chill dad

He’s one who never really gave deep thought about the prospect of having kids, but figured that if it happened, it happened

Initially, Keisuke does have some insecurity concerning whether he could be an adequate father or not

But once the time actually arrives, he’s very self assured and confident in his ability to be a great parent

Contrary to popular belief, Keisuke isn’t stupid stupid, he’s just book dumb

He’s got good common sense and reasoning skills, and he’s very well aware that both pregnant women and babies are fragile 

So, he acts accordingly 

Keisuke tries his best to be gentle during your pregnancy and after 

He insists upon doing practically everything for you 

He doesn’t like to dwell on it, but he frets a lot during the whole process

Everything is liable to harm you and your baby and the thought makes him simultaneously furious and so anxious he can at times visibly vibrate from feeling both emotions

You do a fair amount of damage control during and after your pregnancy, even though you’re technically the one meant to be hormonal and sensitive

Keisuke, perhaps surprisingly, doesn’t really cry when you give birth

His eyes more so water really hard but no tears fall

He’s actually really supportive and calm throughout the birthing process (which he insisted on being present for) and once your little bundle of joy has been safely and successfully brought into the world, he’s immediately overtaken with such a sense of happiness and fulfillment and the urge to protect that he’s slightly taken aback

Rather randomly, he looks great in all the hospital pictures taken the day your baby is born 🙃

I could honestly see Keisuke having either a boy or a girl in about equal measure, so I’ll let you decide what the two of you have

Either way, he adores his child

He’s kinda like Mikey, in that he can be firm but also very accommodating with his kid(s)

Is somewhat familiar with Cocomelon and prays your child never has to be 🙃 (mostly for his own sanity)

Bubble Guppies is his stuff though

Coos at your child all the time

Like everytime he sees them he’s just overwhelmed with this desire to make cute noises at them 😂

Would beat anybody up who tried to make fun of him for it though *coughMIKEYcough*

Takes care of the majority of baby related and household duties for quite some time after you’ve given birth

He just wants to be helpful, you’ll let ‘im won’t you? 🥺

He tries not to coddle you though, since he knows you’re not like, bedridden, just recovering

His favorite baby cartoon is probably Paw Patrol and his favorite pup is, perhaps predictably, Chase (though he does also have a soft spot for Zuma) 

MATCHING. OUTFITS. 

Keisuke loves to match outfits with his baby

And like he’s not normally a fashion focused guy, like Mitsuya, but when it comes to coordinating with his little “mini me,” he really goes all out 

Of course, who would Keisuke be if he didn’t let your child(ren) play with his long, luscious locks?

A terrible father, that’s who 😤

I can see Keisuke’s baby or babies all having hair like his, and this makes for some…interesting wash days

Especially if you got temperamental 4C hair, like me

And then combine that with how thick Baji’s hair is too???

Girl, my arms hurt and I’m ti’ed just thinkin’ about it 😂

Luckily, whatever texture your hair is, Baji doesn’t mind being the one to handle wash days, once you’ve shown him the proper hair care techniques

Loves to go on outings and do different activities to engage your little one

Keisuke knows he wasn’t the most academically gifted, so he does everything in his power to make sure that your child is mentally stimulated from a young age to hopefully encourage a greater academic ability 

All that being said, Baji is a superb dad, and he believes wholeheartedly that fatherhood has changed him for the better 🙂

Draken here

[beanghostprincess]

Don't know if you've ever read about this ship but: Portgas D. Rouge x Sora.

Garp helps Rouge run away to the East Blue and lives in Dawn Island and Ace is born here. She lives on a small house on the jungle, between Foosha and Dadan's house and Garp sends money (Rouge doesn't like to depend on him but until her boy is a little older it will have to be this way). Sora kills Judge poisoning him and runs away, stoping at Dawn Island while still pregnant. She has some money to live until she's able to get a work.

Both women meet at some months after Sora gives birth to the quadruplets. They discover they houses are near and, well, they have kids and maybe they can meet each other and play, even. Rouge and Sora get really along. At time pass they start to go together buy things for their houses, talk a lot, falling in love. Rouge think the only one she would be in love with was Roger, but oh well, she was wrong. Sora never was in love with Judge and this was a arranged marriage, so she's discovering just now she is a lesbian and in love with this beautiful woman.

When Ace is 3, the quadruplets 2 and Reiju 5, Garp arrives asking Rouge to raise Luffy. It's... chaotic. But at the end Rouge stays with baby Luffy, because PLEASE, she knows better than let a baby in the man's hands. Garp leaves sure Rouge is having "something" with Sora.

Ace and Luffy grow up together as brothers since the beggining, with Reiju + 1234ji as friends. They don't start dating until Ace is 8 yo, Luffy 5 yo, the quadruplets 7 yo and Reiju 10 yo. Since Ace and Sabo meet at the age of 5 or 6 (if I am right), I can see Ace taking Sabo to meet his 2/3 years old baby brother and his friends. Rouge asks were his parents are to Sabo and he says he doesn't have none. Rouge adopts him after less than a month.

ASL love their mother and they like Sora a lot! She is kind and likes them all very much! Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, Sanji and Yonji also love Rouge, their mommy is happier around her! The 8 kids have a a strong friendship and they all get along a lot. Sabo and Sanji get close and along quick. (Can't let the chance to put childhood friend to lovers Sabosan in this)

(I am really thinking about if Sabo stays with them and Dragon take him to Rouge and if Ace lives on Marineford but- things will stop before the angst, 'kay?)

I HAVE HEARD ABOUT IT AND I LOVE IT SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! (I have a weak spot for sapphic rareships/crackships they're my favorite thing ever)

I'm loving the whole thing about them raising the kids on their own (even if Rouge has some help) because I genuinely think they would've done such an amazing job as moms if they had the chance :(( Also, Sora finally being able to take care of her kids the way she wants to (with real love) and Rouge showing Ace that he deserves to live and be happy.

The headcanon of Sora being a lesbian has always been one of my favorite things because I adore stories about queens/princesses being forced to marry men and then realizing they didn't want that at all in the first place and their real happiness isn't with a man... Sora and Rouge falling in love and Sora realizing that she can be so much more than just a wife and being appreciated by someone who will treat her right and make her feel both loved and valued. While Rouge, even if still obviously loving Roger, has the power to move on and love again.

So this story about the kids being raised with love by these two sweet and powerful women is just beautiful to me. They would've been so happy... Rouge would've taken care of ASL so well and they would've been able to grow up without the need to survive on their own (I mean, I believe they would do the exact same things they do in canon. Ace and Luffy are the typical "we need to be strong to protect mom too", but this time they have a cozier place to call home and Ace has his mom with him). In this world, Ace would still resent his father a bit, honestly, because the comments about him wouldn't cease, but Rouge would tell him stories about Roger anyway and would try to make him see that he is loved despite the rest of the world hating the idea of him. Sabo's fate is basically the same even if he's being taken care of by Rouge, but in the meantime, being so loved by a mom and having more friends would have helped him in so many ways. Same thing with Luffy, honestly, his abandonment issues would still be there even if there's just a bit more of a peaceful environment around him. I need to mention that I'd like Dadan to be here too helping Rouge more than Garp does and being also kind of like a caretaker for ASL because I believe that she deserves that too. She loves them so much that I don't want to take that away from her even in this world.

On the other hand, Sora raising the kids and them turning out... Normal (as normal as these kids can be) is just so sweet to me. They'd be so loved. And even if they were born with these abilities, there wouldn't be more experiments after that, so perhaps Sora can help them deal with it. Sanji would have a decent dynamic with his siblings... Imagine the Vinsmokes actually being sweet to him. Going insane with this one. And Sora would probably hide that they're royalty, honestly, I don't think she would want them to know. But they would be raised with so much care and love... If you wanna add some angst you can always say they find out about Judge, but I'm focusing on fluff mostly here.

And please please please!!!!!! Childhood best friends to lovers Sabosan mentioned??!!?!?!?!??!? It's one of my favorite things ever. I just know they'd be the ones to get along the most. I have talked about this before but there is no way ASL isn't fighting for Sanji's attention since he probably learns to cook at a very young age and the three of them adore his cooking. Although Sabo is actually down bad for him for other reasons that aren't just that-- I would talk about this more, but I think I have mentioned this AU too many times already to come up with something new that isn't "They fall in love and Sabo dies and then they reunite etc etc".

What you say in the end makes sense. I mean- Perhaps this is just a good timeline where nobody actually dies and there's no Marineford and no Whole Cake Island, buuut I love angst and I believe Ace's death to be one of those things you cannot change no matter the plot. So there would be angst, but let's not talk about it (mentioning the Vinsmokes going to help Ace too tho. That'd be great). And as per WCI...... Idk how this could even happen but I swear that you just need imagination and you can come up with something. No amount of love can fix Sanji's mental stability imo he's always a bit messed up and I love him for that.

Anyway!!!!!!!! This is a wonderful concept. I just love the idea of these two women taking care of the kids on their own and giving them the love they deserve despite the world constantly going against them. Perhaps what these kids actually needed were two sapphic moms and a bit of a better childhood to be less depressed and fucked in the head... I would love to see this, honestly. Sora and Rouge also deserve the world and I hope they're happy in this timeline (when the kids grow up and go in their own separate ways, they stay living together in their house and grow old together as cottage-core sapphics) (maybe Rouge takes Sora and they go sailing together for a little while) (pirate x ex-queen my beloved).

[blacklegsanjiii]

Know this is random, but I have a theory about Sora: she was a D.

Like, the stuborness that her action means, being strong enough to drink poison when pregnant everyday during MONTHS and still being alive for 6 years, all the inconditional love she has for her kids, every single thing is like a D.

She did what she did knowing Judge could kill her, just bc she wanted her kids to be human.

And also? I don't believe her personality is actually all lovey-dovey. Maybe more like Sanji, still lovey-dovey but agressive if needed. She just acted 100% lovely bc it was her kid.

Now that I said the theory, now a au: single mom!Sora. She, while pergnant and after starting drink poison, takes Reiju and go away. Sora wants to kill her shitty husband but for now it's not possibly.

Sora starts to be a pirate after giving birth to her quadruplets, and the will of D. more the sword and gun skills make her strong. No one is able to catch her, bc the woman is smart and strategic.

Everything is fine, the 1234ji are all human and have emotions, Reiju is a smart girl and looks up to be like her mom. Until Judge kidnaps Sanji.

This makes Sora angry to the point she goes at Germa. And she finds her ex-husband, but there's no sign of her forth kid. Full of rage, Sora kills Judge, believing he killed one of her childs.

But Sanji had scaped and stoped at the rock, with Zeff. They starve until the day Sora and 0124ji finds them. After being saved by this women who is eggplant's mom and a pirate herself, he says that when Baratie opens, they're welcomed to come whenever they want.

Four years later, Sanji starts to work on the restaurant, under Uncle Zeff's care. Of course, his family sends letters and visit. With Sora being more and more strong and a bigger bounty every year. And a crew.

Then, when Sanji is 19, he meets a guy named Luffy and join his crew. Everything from the story happens until Marineford. Where Sora (a pirate with almost the strength of a Emperor of the Sea) go help WB, Ace and Luffy. She saves the three of them from dying and receives the title of Fifth Emperor of the Sea this day.

Of course, both Luffy and Ace notice this woman named Skylar D. Sora is identical to Sanji. And when they ask, she just says "Well, he's my kid. One of them."

She helps Rayleigh to train Luffy (bc she uses haki a lot + he's Sanji boyfriend), and after the TS, she + 0124ji go to see Sanji in the Strawhats reunion. Everyone surprised Sanji's mother is a Emperor.

(P.S.: also, I believe in this au Sanji would be normal about womans. And the Skylar D. is Sora and her kids lastname)

Amazing, so good. Judge does NOT understand the Will of D like Doffy does, that's for sure. Doffy hates it for a fucking reason and Sora is a stubborn bitch(loving) for a reason. She absolutely argues with Judge at every opportunity and chugs poison throughout BOTH her pregnancies. Then she just fucking leaves, she has to have Conqueror's haki as she makes her escape and just knocks everyone out and leaves with her sleeping toddler. So she leaves, still chugging poison and makes her escape and starts a pirate crew.

She gets a crew that she believes will help her and her kids after she gives birth, and they do, her crew is GREAT okay? Her crew is full of people who care about her and the kids. She's terrifying, absolutely terrifying and has earned A LOT of respect from the crews on the seas but also White Beard specifically. He's like their adopted grandpa and some of their first allies. They do not sail under him and Sora has made it VERY CLEAR she never wants to date again. She is all about her kids and piracy, she has done a full 180 of nobility and is so fucking pumped to fuck up the government and so are her kids and crew. She has gone full anarchisticly feral. She is so lovely to her crew and she puts up that lovey dovey front which lulls people and other pirates into a false sense of security. Then they see her shoot her guns or swing her swords or use her haki and she's terrifying god. GOD.

Her kids all grow up human and using training with swords and guns and using haki, a necessity in the New World and Grand Line. It's going great, they've all learned code, even Sora because she doesn't half ass things so she studied it and uses it as much as she can and learns from other older pirates. Then Sanji gets kidnapped while he's out with the cook and another crew member to get supplies. He's gone. They can't find him. Sora is pissed and 124ji are crying the set is broken because they've almost always been together, if you count them going with different people on the crew who specify in their interests to get supplies as breaking the set, so they're distraught. Sora immediately sets course for Germa and goes off after them. She will get her son back come Hell or high water. He's crossed her once with what he's done and now Germa will be sunk. Germa sails fast and they're self-sufficient so it feels like they can never catch up. It's a fruitless chase for a while until they find Germa.

But they don't find Sanji. Sora is pinning Judge to the ground by his haki demanding where her son is and Judge tells her that Sanji is dead. Sora takes Judges own sword and beheads him. She leaves and they sink all of Germa and her kids and crew see her come back. Furious and distraught as she orders the sinking of Germa, her hands empty except for swords. They follow the orders given and let the tears fall as they do. Sora explains everything Judge said in her Captain voice which is a lot like mom voice but far more intimidating to everyone. They do what they would for a funeral service and it just...hurts. The set is broken, her son is dead, the crew has lost a member. It's horrific. He's dead.

He's not, he's on a cruiseship cooking for his keep, he does enough for his bed and sometimes for food, more often than not eating half eaten garbage because i have to hurt baby lemon. I have to. He's already been starved in the dungeon and upon his escape having to go to work on a cruise ship to live. It's not like with his mom or his crew and he wants to go home. To the boat where he shares a room with his brothers, it's like a closet but it has four hammocks in it and Sanji and Niji would be on one side and Ichiji and Yonji would be on the other. He stays quiet and out of the way until the ship is boarded by pirates sometime later. Sanji will not die, he will find the All Blue and says so to the pirate. Then he's stuck on a rock with the geezer who was going to kill him. They'll be lucky if they make it off alive, even luckier if unscathed. So they wait, starving and dehydrated. Until they see a ship, finally, eighty-five days later sailing straight towards them. Sanji edges closer to the edge and yells for help until the jolly roger comes into view and is clear, then he starts crying and absolutely screaming 'MAMA' at the top of his lungs to Zeff's surprise. This kid, this absolutely shitty brat is Skylar D. Sora's kid? He's a fucking D? No, no Zeff's not going to think about that as they're rescued and taken to the infirmary aboard the ship. They make a deal about eating at Baratie whenever they're in the East Blue and if/when Sanji decides he will come work at Baratie and Zeff agrees. In exchange Zeff is taken care of and left with a decent sum of money to continue his care and start Baratie. It's wild. Zeff makes the eggplant promise to be good when he leaves. Sanji glares because he hates the name. Now everyone is using it. He's going to kill the old guy. DOESN'T MATTER HE'S THEIR UNCLE! NO! THEY ALREADY HAVE A TON THANKS TO GRANDPA WHITEBEARD! MAMA~!

Sanji goes to fully work there at like 14/15 and Zeff and learns a lot more, the kids been a pirate most of his life, save for his work on the Orbit and his mother is in the New World. He sends letters to his family and they send them back and Sanji is just happy to still be his mother's son. Then he joins the Strawhat Pirates and starts dating the captain and he's sending letters and no one recognizes him and his poster is awful. He doesn't mind though, his bounty raises quickly and it's not up to his siblings level yet, soon it will be. He knows that. He's also just the cook apparently. Sure he doesn't fight with his hands anymore but give him a gun sometime! It's good fun, Usopp! Promise! PROMISE!!

But then Sabaody happens and Luffy is separated not only from his crew but also his boyfriend and his brother is going to be executed so he makes his way to Impel Down and then to Marineford in order to try to save him. He has to try. He has to get to his brother. So he escapes with everyone from the Impel Down team and watches the start of the execution. Then the war starts as the White Beard fleet attacks. It's big and loud and terrifying but Luffy is making his to the execution platform and Sora and her crew show up, immediately joining the fray as Sora joins White Beard and smiles lightly as they join the fight. Of course the tides start turning when Teach starts fighting White Beard and and Ace goes back to fight, against what everyone has yelled at him for. Then Akainu punches Ace in the back and then Luffy lets out that wave of haki The hit didn't kill him because Yonji pushed them out of the wave, just full speared the brothers after the first gracing of skin and lava. The brothers are out of it as Jinbei comes to get them and he looks at the blond who shoos him away with them, yelling at him to get them away. Save them.

So Jinbei starts running and then lava graces his shoulder and hits Luffy in the chest as he boards the Polar Tang because Law says they're too interesting to die. Sora and White Beard are fighting Teach. Then Shanks shows up and ends the war, Sora of course is glaring at him as the crews and marines start collecting their dead and wounded. Sora has a half a mind to go yell at him, then again, she's a D so she walks up to him with a cold look. They stare at each other with hardened eyes before Sora shoves past him to make arrangements with the White Beard fleet to meet and discuss the next steps. Sora takes Luffy to meet with Rayleigh after and then they train him. Luffy is distraught about his crew and Ace being touch and go and not being able to be there. Sora is entrusting her crew to her first mate and her kids to go take care of her territory and the startings of the fleet she is amassing. When Ace comes to visit, like a year later, still rehabbing because that punch was nasty, he has Marco and White Beard with him because those two want to talk to Sora. Ace however is looking at Sora and points at her and asks Luffy if his boyfriend turned into a forty something year old woman, Marco immediately punches Ace as Sora and Whitebeard lose it. Sora explains Sanji is her child, her forth one and the second youngest. White Beard asks where he is and Sora says he's missing. Again. It's not the first time, hopefully it's the last but she doesn't count on it. White Beard is laughing harder as Sora explains it and is just thankful Sanji's a D and was raised a pirate so he should be fine. This is a lot for Ace and Luffy, not the D part but just everything else. It makes a lot of sense though so Luffy shrugs and says cool. Sanji looks like his mom.

Then Luffy leaves to go help Hancock so when the Strawhat crew is reuniting everyone is staring at this emperor of the sea and her four kids who all look like Sanji, except with different hair and one's a girl. She is hounding Sanji about Code who is assuring her he still follows it and keeps calling her 'Mama' and Zoro finally asks who the fuck she is outside of Sanji's mom and why people are paying her a lot of respect. Nami immediately yelling at him that's Captain Skylar D. Sora, Emperor of the Sea, and apparently Sanji's mom. She helped at Marineford.

[just-4-thought]

Cw: abortion, miscarriage, and politics

Pregnancy and healthcare surrounding pregnancy is a politically charged conversation right now and sometimes that can make it hard to see some of the realities that pregnant people face.

According to the CDC, between 2018 and 2021 the maternal mortality rate nearly doubled in the general population and in all categories from age to race included in the data.

78% of maternal mortalities happen on or after the day of delivery. And pay attention here, 53%, which is the highest percentage of maternal mortalities, happens between 1 week and 1 year after delivery. Meaning the danger only increases after birth.

It is getting more dangerous to be pregnant in America.

As a new mom who is currently pregnant, I am surrounded by other new and pregnant moms. We sit and talk about our stories like war veterans and I have found myself growing in concern at the number of women who had complications that put themselves and/or their baby at risk. In fact, of my friends I can think of one who had no complications and we are talking people whose ages range from 21-34 at the time of birth. Ironically, the one person who had no complications does not want to have another child because she realizes how lucky she got. Uterine rupture, hemorrhaging, severe infection, preclampsia, internal bleeding, hyperemesis gravidarum, ectopic...it goes on. I'm also surprised by women who will say they had uncomplicated births and then you get to talking to them and they hemorrhaged for a month without anyone believing them or their blood pressure got so high the doctor's had to put them on bed rest and try to monitor until they couldn't delay any longer for concern about long term organ damage. Even the women who had complications that were not life-threatening have been left with disabilities no longer able to run or move their body in ways they previously could.

The dangers of childbirth are consistently dismissed and downplayed even amongst people who've experienced them. Sometimes especially amongst people who've experienced them. My guess is that external pressures and "mommy guilt" play a role in making these dangerous and physically altering experiences seem like no-big-deal. A lot of people paint afab bodies as miraculous for the ability to bear children and there is truth to that but the reality is that there will be constant conflict between the baby and the pregnant person as they fight for space and nutrients and both with be put in danger.

I say all this as a woman on my 3rd pregnancy. A pregnancy that I fought very hard for. Prior to this pregnancy, I have had two life-threatening pregnancies and one of them resulted in my daughter. My daughter who makes me sound like a cliche, like a my heart is outside of my body walking around in a toddler, and I go to bed exhausted but with a huge smile on my face because of her and I cannot wait for the next day when I get to hold her and spend time with her again. My mind is always with her, there isn't a moment of her life that she hasn't been loved fiercely. But my love for her and my willingness to die for her is a choice I made and in making that choice my experience included needing a transfusion due to blood loss from a c-section and internal bleeding a month after the fact. My recovery is ongoing. The trauma will never leave. And if given the choice I would do it all again --and worse-- for her.

I decided even after hearing all my friends and acquaintances talk about their life-threatening stories and experiencing my own that I would be brave and face my fears to give my daughter someone to walk through life with and be there with her when she's my mom's age and I am long gone. And make no mistake, I am afraid. There are a lot of potential bad outcomes. And my/our decision has already led to one.

My second life-threatening pregnancy was an ectopic. And I find the word "dismissed" almost too gentle. I wasn't just dismissed, I was laughed at by my medical care team for suggesting that an excruciating pain presenting in my lower back was an ectopic. It would be weeks before I would get care. I also sat in the hospital waiting care after an ultrasound confirmed that I had no viable pregnancy because the staff had additional concerns related to abortion laws. In the end, abortion laws delayed my care by several hours, but dismissing and downplaying women's health issues delayed my care by several weeks. Even more, the research about ectopic pregnancies, which impacts 1-3% of pregnancies, is limited which increased my risk going into my third pregnancy. The limited research is likely also connected to the downplaying of these issues.

The reality is childbirth is getting more dangerous, most of the danger happens late in pregnancy and into postpartum. I have personally witnessed abortion laws delay care and increase risk in a post-roevwade world.

Any real conversation about "women's health" not just bad-faith lip service, has to start with the women it claims to address. In a world where the politics of good Ole sexism endanger pregnant people daily, I don't know if the politics of abortion could possibly be trusted at any level to truly protect these people. Pro-life sounds righteous in theory and I can see why the term resonates with people. But in the context of women's health issues, a pro-life stance does not truly exist. With the often unspoken and growing dangers that pregnant and post-partum people face, terms like pro-life become a fantasy. Make no mistake a "pro-life" stance will kill people and-- I guess-- we live in a world where you get to decide if you want to be responsible for those deaths.

[sttoru]

It's so true that people love to hate on mom bodies. Like, they complain about everything and even say that their body is ruined now. I was seeing a lot of pregnancy/post pregnancy things for my studies and the amount of hate comments is huge. Moms are so important and so strong and people only see the outside and shame on them for it, for something they think is ugly. Our bodies are amazing for what they're capable of doing and a lot of times, the moms who gave birth are still trying to love their new body and those idiot people make it worse. Humans wouldn't be born if it wasn't for what moms go through and instead of thanking them for giving birth and for everything they do, people hate on their appearance.

cw; discussions, body image.

anon, you’re so right and it’s frustrating. extremely frustrating and upsetting to see. especially when dads get all the hype for their ‘dad bods’. it’s horrible for people to shame women for their changed bodies after they literally went through 9 months of pregnancy and then childbirth. and what exactly did the man go through? absolutely nothing, but gets compliments about his dad bod.

when a woman gets pregnant, her body could permanently change. people do not understand the huge risks moms are taking by even being pregnant in the first place. they are giving up their bodies to give life to someone — the most beautiful thing to exist and yet (mostly) men do not seem to comprehend it. or rather; their minds are so influenced by modern day beauty standards and all the porn they watch, some can’t view those moms as attractive anymore. they only like the process of getting those women pregnant, but the consequences of bearing that child is met with disgust.

there are so many stories about husbands cheating on their wives after she gave birth to their children because her body has changed and its not to his liking. there’s also another video i saw where the husband shamed his wife for having stretch marks around her stomach after birth. or the other where he complains about her vagina looking different. for fucks sake.

it’s fucking sick and they all need therapy. i hope i never ever meet or come across a man like that. and anyone who loves dad bods but dislike mom bods can remove themselves from around me as well.

[abri-chan]

"only I can save the soul king"

does not elaborate

starts stripping

i can't unsee the gates of truth / fma symbolism with the one eyed

and then the gates of truth said "what will you do to balance the nicest cock in soul society ukitake? what will you give as equivalent exchange?"

your husband's sperm must not have been very healthy...

in tradition of bleach where the boys take from / look like their moms

(mimihagi mimihagi eat my children

it would have been cooler if they had sacrificed their son just in case for this same reason so he may come in hand to the soul king one day, and not out of the last resort to save their child. shunsui not believing old women's tales will come to bite him in the ass one day *cough* sister in law *cough*)

she would not say that

old man can't be bothered to say one good word -- he hates shunsui has a friend now, what's next a love interest?

"and if you vomit blood on my face ever again i'll kill you"

"hahaha, no bitches?"

they're holding aizen captive in arizona

you only want me for my potatoes anyway

potato thieving jeazebel

(inside joke that will make sense to no one, but this is time travel, because jugram grew those potatoes)

ik in canon this is the red bean something shunsui likes, a like he shares with nanao, so a detail kubo added from his files, but the potato is funnier to me.

why the fuck you lying, why you're always lying omg stop fucking lying

he's happy cuz he naps all day and never worries about nobody

future alcoholic in training -- this man is so unserious

shunsui had no chest hair in this fight and assuming that they're both adults and he has hit puberty proves my theory that his manwhore gene was activated only when sister in law provided the trauma catalyst. you're welcome i guess for those of you that like his middle-aged look. (idk what she did to you, but she did you a favor.)

a hurricane is coming, so what will this old man do to stop it?

"i won't let you die that easily ukitake" what so you can control the weather now?

the woman in question being his sister in law 900 years ago and he still hasn't recovered and that's why he drinks daily

(robotic voice) the flower of evil has bloomed [aku no hana reference]

rukia flashblack or a reminder that animation used to be shit (okay okay i actually liked the old bleach animation but shunsui looked like shit in it back then)

looks a lot like bella's transformation in twilight after giving birth to a demon baby (that is to say this man wants to get pregnant so bad, he wants to give his body was something greater, ladies please make this happen, put a baby inside him)

"jushiro, my tits trembled from all that shaking"

man got marked like a cow. also why would you be purring when it comes to aizen?

[sweetlittledaisy7]

For those bashing me because I grew up conservative Christian who is against the abortion laws:

Most people can't look at all sides of why they're against something. It's all abortion is murder and it's wrong. Just give it up for adoption. Many conservatives live within their own heads. Everyone preaches love but spews the opposite.

Yes, I'm adopted.

Yes, I've been part of the prolife movement since I was a child. I was forced.

Yes, I don't believe in abortion for myself.

Yes, I'm still conservative Christian.

When will conservatives recognize their own hate? Many of you shame the very women you tell to choose life. Many of you wouldn't offer any money or support to families in need. Many of you aren't foster parents or adoptees or even foster kids.

I'll admit. I grew up pretty privileged. I grew up in a small bubble and just followed what I was raised in. I never questioned anything. I grew up in a nice town, nice home, went to private school, and my parents paid for my college education. My parents are even thinking about buying me my first home and want to fund my masters degree. Newsflash, most people don't have this.

There are women literally dying because they can't abort. These babies will not survive long, or the mothers health is at risk.

There are babies who will never ever get adopted. Let's be real here. I realized there are babies who aren't adopted. I was a white, healthy baby girl. If I had a disability or medical issue, the chances I'll get adopted go down a lot. Race matters as well. Most adoptive parents looking to adopt don't want to adopt a sick/problem non white baby. It sounds harsh, but it's true. I've met adoptees who were told their adoptive parents settled for them.

So shut the fuk up about putting it up for adoption.

Foster care has many kids we can't find homes for because most adoptive parents like I said are picky. Most want white baby girl newborns. Almost none want an older child or a teenager especially ones with issues.

Speaking of foster kids, did you know many foster kids are raped and abused in foster care? Many can't access health care. What if a teenage foster child gets pregnant? She can't abort. There are kids who spend half their lives foster care until they age out with nothing. Where are the conservatives helping them out? What about the aged out teenager who get pregnant and is homeless now? Will you help her?

Let's talk about the 10 year old pregnant rape victim. If you support a child carrying a baby after being raped you're sick af. I'll be the first one to tell you that if I had a child and she got pregnant from rape, I'll risk my freedom and life getting her an abortion. No child should be forced to not only be raped but be forced to carry a pregnancy from rape. What if it was your child? Grandchild? Cousin? Neighbor? Sister? Many of you call yourself prolife but don't care about kids at all. What about the 10 year old?

And rapists in many states have parental rights. Think about that for a second. Not only must victims bare the child but share custody with their rapist. This country is sick.

And adoption isn't the answer. I'm adopted. I can honestly tell you it's not fun being adopted. Knowing your birth mom didn't want you. Everyone can say she made an adoption plan or she loves you so much. What a load of crap. I'm thankful for my life and my adoptive family, but honestly, at times, I hate being adopted. Everyone else can be with their biological families but me. Now that I'm an adult, it gets harder. I can't wrap my mind around carrying a child and birthing a child just to give your own baby away. It's not something to be proud of either.

Having no genetics around you sucks. Not knowing where you're from sucks. I literally have so many issues from being adopted it's not a joke. Conservatives can push adoption all they want but adoption has its own issues too. Women shouldn't be forced to carry a pregnancy just to give the baby away for adoption. Adoption should be for kids who truly need it when they don't have any family willing to take them in. Why do we want more kids born when we can't even take care of the kids we already have born?

And inflation is a bitch right now. My parents brought their houses for cheap. Their college degrees were cheap. Most people can't even afford to live, let alone pay their medical bills. Many people can't afford rent or a mortgage.

So, yes, I'm a conservative Christian adoptee who is against abortion laws. The prolife movement is a joke. I hate my damn state. And shut the fuq up about adoption. We don't need more babies born to be adopted anyway. Women aren't here to be your incubators.

And before y'all attack me, I believe in Jesus, the Bible, and I've attended Christian schools my entire life. My boyfriend is a preachers kid and grew up more religious than I did. I still attend church, and I still have my beliefs. I attended Christian college and came back a different person once I got outside of my bubble and my family. I see a lot of stuff differently and feel I was brainwashed on many things. I still don't support the abortion ban. Make abortion legal for all. Now shut up and actually practice what you preach if you're prolife. I'm not talking about preventing abortion or banning it either. The hard work of helping born kids and born people who are struggling.

[cursedvibes]

The new fic is so sad, I didn't know I could feel so bad for Kenjaku.

It actually made me remember something my mom told me. She was born and grew up in an impoverished country, and when she was a child lots of people were dying in the area due to meningitis, she almost died herself from it.

Later when she got pregnant with her firstborn ( me) she kept remembering lots of stories the older women about would say SIDs and babies who just stopped breathing. She would sleep with me and constantly be checking my breathing, feel my face to make sure I was okay and had me take basically every shot, medicine, and vitamin supplement throughout my life even now as a grown up.

I can so clearly visualize Kenjaku with baby Yuuji just relieved and proud to have their perfect healthy child but still finds themselves checking on their breathing in the middle of the night, checking every reflex and milestone. First night Yuuji gets the sniffles as a baby, assures themselves that it's nothing and there's plenty of medicine advances but still Jin do all the direct care.

I am very sorry to hear this, but glad you and your mother made it through that tough time. Hope your mother is doing well. I also had meningitis as a child that was discovered pretty late, so I can understand what your mother went through and why it left such an impression on her.

Part of what inspired this part of the fic was actually that I have no or a skewed sense of hunger. I feel my body getting weaker without food, but there isn't that natural drive to eat. I heard from my parents that even as an infant they had to time the meals because I wouldn't cry when I was hungry. If they forgot, I would have just peacefully starved to death and that has left them very anxious about my eating habits until I became an adult. So that influenced a lot of my description of Anshi's behaviour.

Kenjaku has gone through so many failures, in general and related to their children, that I think they kept their expectations low for Yuuji, at least for the first few months, until they were sure that he was developing the way they wanted him to. They probably tested some things out beforehand, but it was still a gamble of if it would succeed this time. Whatever they did to give Yuuji his exceptional body could likely have very easily turned around to hurt him or even kill him at birth. Once that initial phase of doubt is over and they could confirm he is everything they wanted, they relaxed a bit more and allowed themselves to get a bit closer (albeit not physically).

I imagine that is part of why he is now one of the few people they (let themselves) care about. It is very difficult to kill him and when he was a child there were also not that many sources of danger around, so they for once could enjoy the feeling of finally having conceived a healthy child that is living up to their expectations. They are still very careful about showing these feelings to others, but it is clear they are proud of how he has developed and what he could become in the future. Doesn't stop them from throwing him into dangerous situations though, although it is clear that they are usually confident he will be able to survive them.

[clunelover]

Random nice kid things - we love Bluey, of course. Yesterday E was reading up on Bluey trivia, and let us know that there’s an episode called Dad Baby that didn’t air in the US (I looked it up and I guess they’re playing pretend that Bandit is pregnant, and then he pretends to give birth in a pool? And it’s not on Disney+ because there was a concern that it "borders on sex education?" For a…presumably cis-male dog to pretend to have a baby?? Okay sure…). Then E said, "oh, and it says there’s a reference in one episode to the fact that Chili might have had a miscarriage, and it’s now been confirmed that yes, she did." Then C asks, "what’s a miscarriage?" So I explained that in simplest terms, and he was like "oh so if she hadn’t had a miscarriage now she’d have three kids instead of two?" And I said yes (even though I guess depending on when it happened, that’s not necessarily true), and then he said "so is that why YOU have two kids instead of three, you had a miscarriage?" So then I explained that no that’s not how that works, and I haven’t had a miscarriage but I know a lot of women who have, and that I wanted to have two kids, and that people decide how many kids they want to have. He said "you get to decide??" Which I guess IS news when you’re 6 and people seem to just become pregnant at random. So I said that yes, people decide when they want to have a baby, and that that’s an important part of freedom, at which point he lost all interest and drifted away. But it was still a pretty cool talk to get to have! Also I love that more things of this nature are being normalized for talking about. I think there was one book I read as a tween that mentioned miscarriage, and I didn’t know what it meant (a character had had one, and nothing was said except it was clear that it weakened her greatly, physically…I wish I could remember what book that was). I asked my mom about it and I don’t remember what she said, either, but she was alarmed that I was asking, and I got the vibe that it was not to be talked about (and, while she certainly didn’t say "that’s gross," the extreme reaction left me with an impression that whatever it was was gross). So thanks to Bluey for this and providing a framework for me to dunk on Jeremy for forgetting important things when going places ("The Pool").

[raybug-theradfem]

CONTENT WARNING

Mentions of miscarriage, possible financial abuse, religion in places it shouldn’t be, maternal mortality.

I see the way most men parent and I think “why would you pressure your wife/girlfriend into having kids that you’re going to ignore?” The more time I’ve spent in the family dynamic of my mother’s boyfriend, it is being made very clear that in his head, women are just here to make children. He has about 6-7 children (I do not know because I have yet to meet them all) and he just gives money. His children come over and yet it is my mother, his eldest daughter or me, who is made responsible for the younger boys while he goes to work or soccer. Not only do I believe dynamics like these are because of the patriarchy/misogyny but I also believe they are a result of capitalism (in all of its stages) and affect the health and wellbeing of women negatively.

Most men see women as a vessel for children. This has been made clear by both my observations of individual heterosexual relationships and my knowledge of women’s access to contraceptives or abortion in North America. On the topic of the heterosexual relationships that I have witnessed, I will use the ones I am around most often, my grandparents and my mother and her boyfriend. My grandparents had their children in the eighties, my grandmother was a stay at home mom and my grandpa went out and made money. At the time of having her first child, she had no access to contraception (or no knowledge of it ) and no access to safe abortion. Therefore, the only answer was to get married. She had four daughters and an angel baby. After the loss, she had her tubes tied. While raising her family she had no say in where they lived or what her husband did with the money, she just had to be a homemaker. Obviously, this was normal for her culture and time but looking at it through a modern lens, it is a sad and lonely life. My mother’s boyfriend does something similar. He isolates her. They only go out with his friends or do what he wants. They live in a bachelor style basement apartment. She was on birth control that was causing major health issues and instead of him wearing a condom and her stopping it, she decided to keep it on (birth control patch) and suffer silently. She still got pregnant despite the patch and he said she had to keep it. She had no say in what to do with her own body or life. She was trapped, not having the financial resources to leave. After Christmas, she lost the babies to which he said something like: “just pray, it’s in God’s hands” because he somehow believed that would bring back the already decomposing fetuses. Not only was this a traumatic experience for my mom but around the same time her dad almost died and her boyfriend was the biggest burden in trying to go see him or do anything for my grandmother.

Parenting for a lot of men, especially in modern times involves either being the parent to punish children (the scary parent) or just giving money. There doesn’t seem to be an emotional aspect. In recent years there’s been an ever more common “baby mama” dynamic in families, it has always existed but it just seems to be more prevalent now. Men will have children with a woman, sometimes children she doesn’t even want and leave her for another woman and do the same thing repeatedly until they either kick the bucket or get married and ultimately cheat on their wife. This is incredibly toxic for everyone involved. These men then go on to have booming careers and everything they want in life while the woman is stuck taking care of his kid(s) that he sees for at most five days a month. On the days they do have their kids they will do the absolute most, post about it on social media and get praise from their friends but behind closed doors tell their children “I only have to love you every two weeks!”. I am giving this opinion from two perspectives, the child and the observer. In the position of the child, it is magical when you’re younger because you get to have a sleepover at daddy’s apartment and eat candy and go to the arcade but as you get older you hear what your parents say about each other and you feel like a burden to both. From the side of the observer, I see that the kids don’t get to actually bond with their father or have a second parental figure most of the time. He is more so viewed like how you would view an uncle or cousin than a father. There is no possible way for you to have more than 3 kids with different mothers and give them all equal opportunities and attention.

Dynamics like these are the result of the patriarchy and capitalism. “In a patriarchal society, women are excluded from fully participating in political and economic life” (simply psychology). This point is made especially true for women with children. With the baby mama dynamic, the woman is giving all her financial resources to raising the child and the man is giving a set amount per month which is barely enough to feed the child most times. Women are already paid less than men in North America and other parts of the world but now add being the sole provider for children that you originally didn’t want and were pressured into having. The average cost of raising a child up to 18 in Canada is $293,000, that is almost $300k that could have been spent on education, housing, retirement, etc. In “traditional” dynamics, the man is the breadwinner and the woman stays home to raise the children. The woman has no work experience or money of her own which in the event of an emergency gives her a huge disadvantage. Furthermore, these issues go hand in hand with capitalism because patriarchy and capitalism go hand in hand. Both are built under the traditional model of men going to work and women staying home. But what about now? Nowadays, women have to go to work and then come home to do more, now unpaid, labour. While men get to come home from work, relax, play video games and participate in other hobbies, women come home to cook dinner, help the kids with homework, clean the house, etc. In this dynamic, the woman is exploited entirely for her body and labour, by both her boss and her husband/boyfriend. Many women feel that their male partner does not equally contribute to responsibilities in the home (American Psychological Association).

Finally all of these things combined negatively affect the health of women. Women risk their health with every pregnancy and birth. Many complications can arise that are so much more common than people think. In Canada 3-20% of women develop gestational diabetes (Diabetes Canada). The USA has a scary maternal mortality of 32.5 for every 100,000 births according to the CDC (all age groups included but the older, the higher the risk). This informal essay was not meant to discourage having children but to inform anyone reading the effects of having children that aren’t always talked about.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/patriarchal-society-feminism-definition.html#:~:text=In%20a%20patriarchal%20society%2C%20women,home%20(Nash%2C%202009).

[littlemissskuld]

Soooo, this fic idea has been bouncing around in my head since the second TLOU ep.

Starts out meeting two characters trying to traverse the woods; Adam and Evelyn ( because my brain thought it would be funny)

Evelyn is nine months pregnant - she looks a bit like Sarah if she had survived, little heavier

Adam is starting to act oddly and it's revealed he has been infected and is starting to turn, and attacks Evelyn - aiming for the baby

Joel and Ellie are also traveling through the woods. Ellie's asking about things from the past , Joel is begrudgingly answering( he enjoys it)

They start hearing screaming a little ways off, they head towards the noise to find Evelyn doing her best to fend off an infected Adam

Evelyn grabs a good size stick/branch and cracks Adam across the head, pushing him away for her

Before he can go after her again, Joel shoots him.

Evelyn is visibly distressed- who wouldn't after that- at that she is very pregnant

Joel checks her over and helps her up, dad mode kicking in

Ellie pokes fun at Joel alittle - since he keeps trying to be a big ol grumpy grump

Asking why Evelyn and Adam were traveling alone while she's pregnant, she reveals that they were trying to get to a nearby settlement for her to safely give birth.

Witha little convincing by Ellie, Joel agrees to help Evelyn get there.

Night time comes around , Ellie gets to feel the baby kicking. She tries to get Joel to feel it too, but he keeps his distance. While he is keeping watch Ellie tells Evelyn about Sarah.

Joel keeps an eye on both of them while they sleep, thinking about Sarah as a baby

The next day they keep on traveling out of the woods, taking their time so Evelyn doesn't over exert too much.

Evelyn divulges some info on herself; she was trained to be a nurse and she and Adam were married recently.

They continue on for a few more days.

Then they come across an abandoned information centre, Ellie and Joel notice that from the direction Evelyn came from there was another QZ.

Joel questions her why she would risk leaving the QZ for a different settlement

Evelyn tells them that something is going on with the other pregnant women in the QZ, the doctors are claiming the babies are dying despite Evelyn working with many of the moms and even helping with the birthing process. She suspects FEDRA is taking the kids.

Evelyn doesn't want anything to happen to her baby so she's risking traveling to keep her baby. Adam had managed to get arrangements for both of them.

Ellie tells Joel they have to keep helping her- expecting an argument- but Joel agrees with her. They continue on.

At this point they are a few hours from the settlement, Evelyn goes into labor.

Ellie is beginning to freak out. Joel is sort of freaking out.

"Joel , what do we do?! "

"Give me a second"

"But we're not doctors Joel!"

"Ellie, this isn't my first time doing this"

Evelyn's contractions are getting closer , the baby is coming NOW.

Joel tells her he's going to deliver her baby.

So there, on the forest floor, Joel is talking Evelyn through everything and Ellie is helping her sit up.

Ellie does looks in the middle of the process

" Mother Fucker ?!"

"Not now Ellie!"

A lot of screaming later, Joel gently hands Evelyn her baby girl. Wrapped in his flannel shirt.

Evelyn is crying tears of joy, so is Joel, Ellie's talking to the baby.

The next day, the group makes it to the settlement. Doctors check over Evelyn and the baby.

Joel checks on Evelyn a little later on, asking if she has a name picked out. She tells him she has.

Evelyn lifts up the baby,

"Would you like to hold Sarah?"

Joel, speechless, just nods and gently holds baby Sarah.

After getting more supplies, Joel and Ellie say goodbye for now to Evelyn, promising to come back and visit - Ellie is cooing over baby Sarah - and the two continue on their journey.

Well, I need minute.

@grogusmum

@oonajaeadira

@ezrasbirdie

I trust your opinion on these things, since writing is not my strong suit.

Am I nervous? Yes.

[lexa-griffins]

Can you break my heart and make me cry today? I wanna know about the major angst involving Bedwarmer Clarke and Lexa's baby from the poll we did

😈😈😈😈 there are two plot points of angst.

One of them, I won't say much - i will say there were two babies, and now there's only one. They didn't know there were two babies.

For the second point:

They are pretty far off in the pregnancy by now. Lexa has been trying to take it easy but she's still heda and she also has a small toddler to take care of so she does move a whole lot and assists with training and refuses to slow down to much even if Clarke thinks she should.

She's adamant that despite everything she is not at risk during the pregnancy, the midwives have told her she is healthy and should be perfectly fine to go about her business - as so many women do on the ground. Clarke wants to disagree, but the medical training she got on the ark barely touched pregnancy and childbirth and sometimes she really wished her mom was alive to go and ask her for advice but without her all she has is her medical instinct and a sense of doom.

That night, Lexa wakes up like usual, the baby making her go to the bathroom is by now a fairly normal occurrence at eight months. She waddled her way to the bathroom, trying to be quiet with Madi asleep with them in the bed. She's half asleep, not paying much attention to anything until she sees it. Blood, in her underwear.

No. No no no. Not now. Not this time. Not again, please no.

She wakes up Clarke to tell. Lexa feels horribly calm too. Perhaps she already knew it was going to happen, had accepted it long before it happened. When Clarke wakes up at first, she assumes Lexa is in labor but Lexa tells her no, she's spotting and they need to go to the midwife.

Madi half wakes up in the commotion of them asking a guard to watch her, and Lexa only starts to choke up when the little girl calls her over and kisses her tummy because she "wants to say bye bye to her baby sibling". She says it all the time when Lexa leaves in the morning, she doesn't mean anything by it but it feels far too real this time.

When the midwife tells them she cannot be sure and that they will have to wait to see how it progresses, Clarke feels the urge to kick the old woman. What the fuck does she mean they have to way and see?! Thats their baby! If she was in the ark, if if Clarke had managed to help, if her people hadnt been so fucking stupid maybe theyd have their technology and theyd be able to know if the baby inside Lexa is still alive or not, they could just remove the baby instead of waiting to see if her wife will have to give birth to... she cant even think about that.

They go back to the room. Clarke cannot stop pacing as if trting to remember anything that could help them right now. Lexa seems to barely be aware of anything around her, staring ahead, hands in her stomach hoping to feel a movement, a hiccup, something. But the baby is awfully quiet and still, Lexa can barely remember if she felt them move at all through the day and shevstarts to question if there is something she could have done today, yesterday, at all to save their baby. Maybe she could have done everything different. Or maybe she could have done nothing at all because this baby was just a wild fantasy that was never to be.

Madi is asleep next to them. So sweet and small. She's been so excited for a sibling, she already adores Lexa so much and had been so affectionate towards Lexa's bump over the past 3 months (yes, only three. Lexas eight months pregnant, that is not a typo 👀). It breaks Lexa's heart even more, having to explain to her where the baby has gone.

At some point, they fall asleep. Neither have cried yet because despite all of their sureness in the end of this dream, neither dare to acknowledge it might be over.

Lexa wakes up with a pain on her side. She groans at it. She does not want to wake, she does not want to face the day knowing she might be less whole by the end of it.

The pain again. She swats at whatever is making it but catches nothing.

And again.

"Nomon."

"Madi baby shh"

"Nomon."

"Hmm"

"Nomon, baby want you to wake up."

"Not yet Madi."

"Baby kicking nomon. Up! Befast!"

[foxgloveinspace]

idk if this is gonna get tmi or what but i’ve seen your recent posts about periods and i am here to commiserate lol

they are the worst fuckin thing to ever happen

i just started a surprise one today so super pumped about that. after my last one was literally a month long (this is the tmi i’m so sorry lmao)

so now i have to scramble to try to get to a doctor to make sure i don’t have some sort of reproductive issue (pretty sure i do, all the women on my mom’s side have some sort of illness/issue)

if i could go through life without having periods but not compromise my ability to have kids i would 😭

First off: I’m sorry this took me so long to get too, my adhd brain is about 10x worse when my cycle ends/my period begins, and I think I spent a lot of time just staring at walls and sleeping the past few days oof.

Second: this is not tmi AT ALL, I am ‘weird’ and I like talking about periods cause it’s part of our everyday lives and it shouldn’t be stigmatized. It’s something that affects half of the population and it shouldn’t be this hush hush thing.

Third: I am SO sorry your going through this. That sucks so much, and I hope your doctors listen to you and you can get results, and just. Mostly that they listen to you, and you get help in the situation.

Idk if you want ‘advice’ or if you just wanted to ramble at me (which I am a ok with), but I swear by raspberry leaf tea*, and when I was researching the tea vs. the pill version, I know people who had gone off birth control and had months long periods swear that it helped them regulate their periods again, if you want to look into it. I personally use it to help my cramps (I used to get cramps to bad I projectile vomited a few times. Couldn’t eat and when I’d try it would be a disaster.) and my mom actually took the pill version when she was pregnant with me and she said it was like night and day compared to giving birth to my siblings.

*also called red raspberry in the pill version, and the tea I drink is called Healthy Cycle Tea it’s made by traditional medicines.

Some people say your only supposed to take it when your off your period, and you take it the whole time between one period and the next, I take it the week before I’m meant to get mine and the first day of my period. Since you don’t know when yours will be/how long they might be, maybe the pill would be better for you? But these are just my thoughts, and honestly I hope you can get medical advice that will Work For You.