#cw maternal mortality

[cleolinda]

AITA for banning my husband and father in law from the delivery room due to their intensely stressful/creepy behavior during my pregnancy?

There’s a famous Reddit post from 2020 where a pregnant woman wrote that her husband and father-in-law were a little too comfortable with their certainty that she was absolutely going to die in childbirth just like her husband’s late mother. It was to the point where her FIL was insisting that she go ahead and put all her clothes into storage, because she was obviously going to die in the hospital and it would save them the grief of packing up her things afterwards. Like. It was WILD.

When I tell my husband [that she feels suspicious of her FIL], he calls me paranoid, but I feel like my FIL WANTS me to die; his whole life identity for the past 35 years has been “amazing single dad” (never dated or had close friends or even hobbies really), and it seems like he’s looking forward to being able to guide my husband through what he went through. At this point, I’d honestly be happy to never see my FIL again, and I certainly don’t want him in the delivery room, especially since he told me he was “putting [his] foot down” about me not being “allowed” to have an epidural…. My husband, in addition to backing his dad on everything, acts like my due date is my death date, and has completely pulled away from me.

The commenters (and me, honestly) were convinced that the husband and FIL were either going to kill her outright to fulfill this expectation, or just make decisions about her care that might conveniently let her die.

And then she never posted again.

Over the last four years, people have frequently mentioned that post, always leading to a thread of people saying, “Oh god, I still worry about that woman.” I did too. It became one of those famous unresolved posts that people always wondered about.

Until yesterday, when someone on r/BestOfRedditorUpdates dug up a 2022 update she had posted on a different account:

TLDR; I had a beautiful and healthy baby girl, and I divorced my ex-husband. I lived, obviously.

She writes that she put her foot down about having her own mother in the delivery room rather than her FIL (!), and she WOULD be getting an epidural. Her husband lost his shit. And in his outburst, he let slip--

I admittedly lost my temper, and told him that I wasn’t going to die- it wasn’t my fault his father’s trauma wormed it’s way into his head, and that he needed to fix it without taking it out on me. He yelled at me that he didn’t need therapy. That caught me a little off guard; I asked him why he went to his therapist and was given advice about my death if he felt he didn’t need it. His expression gave it away, and he caved not long after. It turns out there was no therapist. It was just his dad. During the times he was supposed to be at therapy, he was with his dad. I’m still fuming.

And that was when she got the fuck out.

I’ll wrap this up- I’ve got an adorable little toddler tugging at my leg atm. I’m alive, I’m happy, and I’ve got my baby in my arms. Life is good.

I truly never thought we'd see a resolution to this, and I feel like there's probably a good number of people who remember it, so I thought you might want to know.

ETA: Brilliantly, I put the link in at the top; here it is again for convenience.

[guldaastan]

source

[lilicannotfly]

landyn's (in)formal introduction

. . .

meet landon! || she.he || 19 years || cw. mentions of birth and complications, maternal mortality, and vomiting.

. . .

Galère exists in a fantastical universe set in the future. Boats have gone back to their original forms as they were simply superior.

"And yet you insist on jabbering my ear off with this frivolous nonsense."

. . . ♡︎.ᐟજ⁀➴ . . .

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION.

Landyn is an interesting character, both laid back and tight strung at once. He's extremely family oriented, often holding close to those in his community, and he was known to have a hair trigger temper in his younger years. This didn't help with the fact that people off the ship didn't really talk to him anyways as a child, so he spent a large amount of time observing instead of interacting. Because of this, despite his internal doubts, he fits into any setting exceptionally well.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION.

Landyn is a bigender man of what can be considered a short stature for centaurs, to her eternal disappointment (though, compared to humans she is tall). He is vaguely thin, especially for being a centaur, and has smooth, supple skin that Reece says seems as though it was dipped in burnt sand. Her right iris is thin, pupil-less, and the same warm brown as her fluffy hair, while her left iris is wide and dark. The pupil is lightly coloured, and less so an actual pupil as a symbol correlating to what she's feeling at the moment. She has both her ears peirced, both at the lobes and at the tips (she did both herself.)

. . .

IMPORTANT BACKGROUND.

Captain Darius did a favour for Landyn's mother by stopping the ship at her hometown, insisting that she give birth at home and surrounded by friends and family. It was a sunny day, the air pleasantly warm; a perfect late spring day for a birth of what Landon's mother oft called "a future angel" before Landyn was born. The birth, however, did not go well-labor was almost a day long and painful, and the longer it went on the more it became apparent that she was not going to make it and that Landyn likely wasn't going to either. Landon had to be cut out of his mother, surprisingly being quite healthy. Her mother, unfortunately, did not survive.

His mother had invited five of her friends to bestow blessings upon her once she was born, but, viewing him as the cause of his mother's death, two refused to grand anything at all, while two went on to curse him instead. One of them said that she was always to be a runt, and the other said that he would wear his heart on his sleeve (hoping the universe understood their anger and put her actual heart on her arm). The last one kept her word to bestow upon him a blessing, if not only to honour her best friend, and blessed her to live as long as possible.

Upon hearing the news of Landyn's mother's death, Captain Darius was devastated at the loss of her friend, and devastated on Landon's behalf as he would grow up without a mother. She christened him Landon, in the hopes that she would climb the long hill of life steadily to get to whatever awaits him at the top, but never wrote it down, which led to the difference in spellings.

Landyn was raised on the Tell Mother by all of the rest of the crew, growing up with all of them as her family. She especially felt as though Blaine and Nia were her mothers, being inseparable from them until the age of seven, when he started exploring around a bit more. His eye made him an outcast off the ship-and his seeming difficulty to walk on land, exacerbated by his weakness, certainly did not help. He struggled to get enough energy in her body and put on enough weight, as if he didn't eat slow enough, he would vomit it up, and he could not eat many foods, including foods with large amounts of butter/oil, red meats, or certain fruits, having varying negative reactions to them.

As he got older, she got better at walking on land and more comfortable around strangers, growing into herself and her personality and being the loud, joyful prankster that we know today.

During the summer of his fifteenth year, he went to collect ingredients from the cupboard to help the main cook with dinner, and found Reece hiding there. Obviously, he was annoyed-here was another person, runaway from what seemed like a rich place, based on their clothes, who seemed to have no knowledge on boating or any other survival type skill-but what with Captain Darius' policy to not turn anyone away, he begrudgingly helped them adapt to the ship. As Reece integrated themself into the ship, Landyn slowly warmed up to them, and they ended up the closest friends either of them had ever had.

. . .

PLACE ON THE SHIP.

Landyn is the joy of all the inhabitants on the ship, but his actual job is secondary cook and resident peanut gallery.

THINGS OF NOTE.

. . . 𝄞₊ ⊹ He strongly thinks that Reece should be a doctor-they have a base knowledge that would make it helpful for them to learn, as well as an extremely steady hand. They think that he's overestimating them simply because they're friends.

. . . 𝄞₊ ⊹ Landon makes sure to get off the boat everytime they stop in Town of Eve, often hanging around the Aconitum bar. Abby, the owner, caught him trying to fake being sixteen to get a drink when he was fourteen, and in return for not reporting him to the local authorities, she had him work for her for three months. During those three months, they became friends/acquaintances, and they still speak to this day (though she's got to be on her best behaviour every time Abby is at the counter lols)

. . . 𝄞₊ ⊹ Landyn is wanted in some of their less frequent ports-surprisingly enough, many did not take kindly to her clumsy attempts at theft in her youth.

. . . 𝄞₊ ⊹ M once tried to teach him how to cast spells. It did not work, the energy imbued in his body counteracting the energy he was trying to draw from the universe, and he ended up severely ill for a week. M felt overwhelmingly guilty for that and therefore mildly spoiled her ever since.

. . . 𝄞₊ ⊹ She keeps a diary, an old, weathered book that she found in the library when she was very, very young-maybe three years old. It sat in his room until two weeks after her seventeenth birthday, when she remembered its existence and took to writing in it religiously. Somehow, it never seems to run out of pages.

. . . 𝄞₊ ⊹ Because of her left eye, she is visually impaired.

. . . 𝄞₊ ⊹ He hates lemons with a passion. They don't make him sick or anything like that, she just hates them, really badly.

[luveline]

hey jade!! i love kisses before dinner and was wondering (if you like the idea) maybe you could write something about avery realising how scary giving birth can be and starts worry about it before the new baby arrives? <3<3<3

thank you for your request! kisses before dinner —mom!you and dad!steve comfort avery when she has concerns for your health. fem!reader, 3k

cw discussed maternal mortality and death

Steve Harrington looks out over the kitchen table that night with a great sense of success. You're sitting at the other end with Dove on your knee, feeding her bites of macaroni cheese between feigned spoonfuls given to her rainbow teddy bear. Bethie sits to his left eating without complaint (a victory considering her pickiness). Avery sits to his right, trying to pour her own glass from the juice jug. It's awesome. 

Steve quickly swallows the drink he'd been sipping on and offers to help her, hand extended, "Here. I got it."

"I can do it," Avery insists, her long arms shaking under the weight. 

He doesn't mind her being independent, nor her improving capabilities, but the last thing he wants to do tonight is clean up a huge juice spill. Steve takes the juice gently and refills her plastic cup. 

"Dad," she whines. 

"Avery," he whines back. 

She huffs and grabs her fork, ignoring her fresh cup of juice to shovel in bites of broccoli and macaroni instead. 

"I think I'm done," Bethie says. Steve must have jinxed it. 

He attempts to do the impossible —convince Bethie to finish dinner. He takes up station by the side of her chair, having tried everything now, and only this works. 

"Beth," he says, putting his hand behind her back, "Are you sure there's no room left? I don't want you to be hungry again before we go to bed 'cos you won't tell me, will you?" 

"I'm full," she insists, reaching for her drink bottle. 

"Is there something wrong with it?" he asks, rubbing up and down her back.

"No, daddy, it's nice," she says. She isn't quite convincing, but she tries. 

Steve looks at her. She looks like Steve sometimes, like neither of you other times, but mostly he looks at her and he sees you. Your smile, your frown, Bethie's tell is the same as yours when she lies. Steve can read you both like a book. 

"Is it cold?" he asks, sticking his pinky finger in the corner of her macaroni. "A little. If I heat it back up for you, would that make it better?" 

"No, please," she says. 

He sighs. "Make you something else? Sandwiches?" 

"I'm not hungry, daddy." 

Steve plasters a smile over his worries and kisses her cheek. "Okie smokie. Well done, honey, you ate lots and lots. Let's try even more for breakfast, yeah?" 

"Yes!" she agrees, sliding off of her chair.

"Where are you going?" he asks. 

"Need to pee!" she yells, running to the stairs. She opens the baby gate (which she’s known how to do for too many years, way before supposed to know how to —thanks so much, Avery) and Steve listens to her sprint up the stairs with a wince. 

"Call me if you need help!" he yells after her. 

"Okay!" 

"You think that's why she didn't want to eat?" you ask, wiping the corners of Dove's mouth with her bib. 

Steve stands up and stretches his arms behind his head. "I don't know," he says, rolling his neck around in a circle. 

"Is it gross if I eat her leftovers?" you ask. 

"I'll make you another pot, if you want it," Steve offers, arms dropping down to his side. He's been trying to get back into shape lately. It's not working out. "You having cravings?" 

"I'm just hungry all the time," you say, your voice melding into a sing song as you finish wiping Dove's face. "All done! Good girl, Dovey! You're my good girl." You plaster her forehead with a layer of kisses before putting her down on the floor. She wobbles, hands on your thighs. "Okay? You want another drink?"

"Dotty Dolly," she says, taking your hand. "Please. Please, Dolly."

"Yeah, my love. I'm coming." You groan as you stand up, not quite pregnant enough to worry about popping soon but more than enough to feel exhaustion to the marrow. 

"Just me and you then," Steve says to Avery, tucking in chairs and piling plates at the table. 

"Me and you, sir," she agrees in a funny voice. 

"Still mad at me?" 

She remembers to glare at him. "Yes!" She takes another bite of macaroni. "Okay, no." 

"If you're not gonna chew with your mouth closed, put your hand over your mouth. I don't wanna see your chewed up dinner." Avery pokes her tongue out, laughing when Steve says, "Ewww." 

He sets the leftovers aside for you rather than waste Bethie's largely untouched pasta in the trash, stacking the dishes in the sink and wetting a cloth to wipe down the table. He cleans around Avery, squeezing her neck, shoulders and arms to make her squirm as he goes.

"You want seconds?" he asks, returning to the sink. 

"I want dessert." 

"Good idea. You know Mom's so pregnant all she does lately is wake me up for ice cream."

"She wakes you up?" Avery asks. 

"By accident trying to put her socks on at the end of the bed. Baby's getting too big now, she can't see her toes." 

"It's a good thing she has you, dad."

"Yeah, but you'd help mommy, wouldn't you? Help her put her shoes on if she couldn't reach?" 

Avery hops off of her chair and passes him her plate, completely clean of food. She grows like a bamboo shoot and eats like a rabid dog. He loves it. She's evidence that he's a good cook. 

"Thank you. What did you want for dessert?" he asks. 

"I have something to ask you." 

"Oh." Steve hates the sound of that, theorising that she wants a new something or other he'll have to say no to. He grabs her by the waist, wet hands and all, hoisting her up onto the counter by the dish rack. He puts a rag in her hands. "You dry and I'll answer." 

"It's a weird question," Avery warns.   

"Avery, you wouldn't believe how weird some of the questions I've asked are. Don't worry about it." 

He scrunches dirty water out of the dish sponge and squirts soap onto a dirty plate. The hot water burns his fingertips. Avery dries a plastic plate diligently, her question coming out slow as running wax. 

"Mom's gonna be okay, right?" she asks quietly. 

Steve fights to keep his eyebrows down. They bob anyways. "Okay from what?" 

"When she has the baby. She's not going to get hurt?" 

"Well, having a baby really hurts. But there's medicine for her to take, and I'll be there to hold her hand." 

"No," Avery says, frowning, "that's not…" 

"Sorry, Ave. Ask me again, try a different word." 

She puts the dried plate down to her left and picks another to dry. "Will mom die?" 

"No," he says. Doesn't miss a beat, though his pulse capers. He knows that childbirth is hard, that lots of things can go wrong, but if he truly thought you might die he wouldn't have asked for another baby. And even if he did think it were going to happen, it's not a thought Avery needs to have. "She won't die, I promise you. Where'd you get that idea, honey?" 

"Jordan's mom died having a baby." 

Steve nods and tries to recalibrate the conversation. He knew of Jordan's mom passing away, he made a couple of trays of food for Jordan's dad and put money in the collection plate for her memorial, but he didn't know Avery knew precisely how it happened. 

"Right, she did," he says gently. "And that's scary, huh?" 

"Why can't it happen to mommy if it happened to her?" Avery asks. 

Steve shuts off the water. Hand still wet, he rubs his forehead roughly. "Can I have that?" he asks Avery, gesturing for the dish cloth. She gives it to him, putting down her last plate, and Steve wipes his fingers dry to pick her up without getting her wet a second time. 

"Let's have a talk," he says, tilting his head to the side. He sees his eyes looking back at him, smaller and softer, longer lashes but the same honeyed brown. "Me, you, and mommy. Okay?" 

"Dad," she says, startled. 

"It's okay, It'll be better if you talk to mom, too, because it's mom that's already had babies, not me. I think I know everything because my brain is so big and stuff, but I can't tell you what your mom is thinking." 

"I don't want mommy to get upset," she says. 

It's partially his fault for asking her to tell him if there's a problem rather than you a few weeks ago. He didn't want you walking up and down the stairs unnecessarily, and your blood pressure is something they've been keeping an eye on. He didn't mean for Avery to bottle things up. Every time Steve thinks he's doing something right it finds a way to bite him in the ass. 

"I meant if Bethie's turned the faucet on and flooded the bathroom, or if you want to change your bed or something, not that you can't ask her things that are worrying you," he says, readjusting her weight. Her knees dig into his sides as he carries her to the living room doorway from the kitchen. 

"Hey, mom?" he asks. 

Your head jumps up. You're sitting on the edge of the couch with Dove's face in your knee, a dribble patch dampening your pants. Bethie has her hand in yours sitting next to you. You're still in your work clothes, your bump straining against everything now, but yet to drop. He'll have to wash your pants tonight. 

"Hey?" you say, a guilty smile tugging up your pretty mouth. "I'm coming to do the dishes, I swear. My girls caught me in their net." 

"Can we talk to you? For a minute," Steve says. 

Your eyes widen. You stand up with a funny noise like someone's stepped on your toes, lifting Dove by the armpits to sit next to Bethie. You kiss the girls goodbye and they're too distracted by Dotty Dolly playing on the TV to mind. 

"What's wrong?" you ask, following Steve back into the kitchen. 

"Want me to explain?" Steve asks Avery. She nods. "Avery's a little worried about you." 

"About me?" You put your hands under your face and beam at her. "What's worrying you? I've never been better." 

"She's worried about when you have the baby." 

"'Cos of Jordan's mom," Avery whispers. 

You hear it despite her small voice, your smile sobering. "I see… I see. You know… you're a big girl, Avery. You're my big girl, and I wish I could keep you this young forever sometimes, but I know that you know that people don't get to stay with us forever, so I don't want to scare you, but I'll tell you what I think, yeah?" 

Avery swallows around nothing. 

Steve gives her back a sympathetic pat. "It's okay," he says to her, enthusing his voice with some pep to calm her down. 

"Jordan's mommy was sick when she passed away," you say, your hand resting on your bump now, inching closer to Steve and Avery where they've paused under the kitchen light. "She knew things were going to be hard. When you have a baby, you know things won't be easy, but it's not fair. It's very sad. She," —you look at Steve with a parent familiar fear that says, Am I saying the right things?— "said goodbye before anyone wanted her too, but Avery." Steve knows what you're going to say. It's a promise he made only minutes ago, one that you have no control over keeping, but a necessary one nonetheless to make. You could very well have complications down the line, things could spin out of control, but Avery doesn't need the stress of that hanging over her. "I promise you here and now that I'm not going anywhere. Daddy won't let me." 

He laughs a little breathlessly. "Damn straight." 

"But daddy isn't a doctor," Avery says, holding out her arm. 

You walk into Avery's reach, letting her climb from Steve's arms to yours without complaint. "He didn't have time to be a doctor, he was too busy being the best dad ever." 

"Are you flirting with me?" Steve asks. 

"Duh, Stevie." You turn your attention to Avery, struggling to hold her and stroke a hair from her face. "Don't worry about me. Promise me you won't, Ave." 

"I just don't want you to go away," Avery says with a frown. 

Steve feels an unexpected heat behind his eyes. You smile softly, your thumb on Avery's cheek. "Then I won't. I'll stay. I can't go anywhere without you, gorgeous." 

Steve strokes the back of Avery's head. "And I can't be without either of you, so mom doesn't have a choice." 

He wishes things were that simple. Steve has no idea what the future holds, but he chooses to believe it'll be a good one, where every one of his girls gets to grow old. But the future isn't something he can predict nor change by wishing alone. 

"Did that make much sense to you, sweetheart?" you ask Avery.

"It makes sense. Sorry." 

You and Steve make twin sounds of loving disbelief. 

"Sorry for what?" you ask, as Steve says, "No, God, don't be sorry!" 

"It's okay to ask me stuff," you say.

"That's what we're here for." 

Avery wraps her arms around your neck. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" she whispers, near imperceptibly, Steve's ears straining to hear her under the sounds of the water heater and the television. 

"I'm sure. I've done it three times already."

"Are you scared?" 

You shake your head resolutely. "No. You know why?" 

"Why?" 

"'Cos I know, at the end of it I might get another little girl who's just like you. Or like Beth, or Dove. Maybe I'll get one who's nothing like any of you, but I know with such a great big sister she's going to be amazing." 

Avery rests her cheek on your shoulder. "You think so?" 

"I know so." 

"Thank you," she says. 

You laugh again. "For what?" you ask, nails raking up and down the length of her back. "Only telling you what's true. Me and daddy think you're the bestest." 

Steve rubs his face with both hands rather than cry. Crying makes his eyes sore and he has to wake up at six AM tomorrow to take the girls to swimming lessons at seven thirty. (He also doesn't want Avery to see him crying and get the wrong idea, what with the previous conversation.) 

"Mom?" Bethie asks in the doorway. 

"Yes?" you murmur, resting your head atop Avery's gently. 

"Excuse me." 

You laugh a charmed laugh and scoot out of the way, resting your weight on the door jam. Bethie looks incredibly small idling at his feet, even though Dove is much smaller. She smiles nervously. 

"Daddy?" 

"Yes?" he asks, crossing his arms over his chest. He pretends to be nonchalant, while inside he's thinking about lots of things. Avery's huge heart and all her worries. Bethie's emerging cheekiness after years of quiet. Dove's roaring giggle when you squeeze her just right. And you, your bump, your devotion to him and the girls, but more than that —your voice and how you talk with all the good you possess. How you're talking now to Avery in dulcet tones. 

Bethie takes his hand. "Can I have the rest of my mac and cheese, please?" 

"Yeah, babe. Unless you want dessert instead?" 

His hand sways in her grip. "I want mac and cheese if that's okay." 

Steve picks her up with a typical dad groan. He'll check on Dove first, but he has no qualms with warming her mac and cheese. He'd offer to make you another helping if you weren't distracted entirely, nose bridge nuzzling into Avery's neck. 

He doesn't know what the future holds, but he hopes for more of this. 

[marlowethelibrarian]

Okay with enough writing and editing and cannibalizing my first draft, I have hit a word count of 6301 words!!

Definitely would not have gotten this far if i wasn't already working off of a base but fuck it, it counts.

Posting a snippet! New Prologue in the works! cw: childbirth and maternal mortality

And the Great Mother Esae heaved, her voice to the heavens, her earthen hands moved to the mound of her belly, her throat a column of pain.

The pressure built and built as the babes wrested themselves free from their mother and burst from her belly in an explosion of flaming afterbirth and boiling blood, rending their mother asunder with their elder siblings, the sun and the moon, and their fathers, the sea and the sky, to stand witness to the birth of the twins, Suyo and Napeki. “What have you done?” murmured Ikije, the moon, as she swaddled the green eyed babe that was Suyo. “You must set it right,” said Sapi the Sun, as she stroked the flaming hair of Napeki. And so the twins, united in grief and guilt, set about returning life to the body of their mother. Suyo, the older, wept salt rivers on the Great Mother’s womb, seeding lichen and mushrooms beneath her footfalls, and raised the cloud forests on the mountain of her belly and the mangroves on the shores of her feet. Napeki, the younger, took her sister’s creations and brewed new life in her cauldron, birds and beasts leaping from her iron pot. And so the twins created the world anew but the Great Mother never stirred again.

[axarmae]

Lore Dump #1: Kimora

CW: Mentions of forced sterilization, and mentions of death due to the government not caring

Kimora is a planet that is divided into two sections; there is the upper section called the "Bubble" where the rich live and the lower section which is the mines and slums. The air quality on the planet is horrible because of the mines and processing plants all over the planet. The planet itself is unstable because of all the mining that goes on deep into the planet's crust.

The Bubble

The nobles of the bubble profit off of the mines by selling rare purple gems (name in the works) to the Empire which covets said gems

The gems were mined by exploiting the poor people of the lower section

The nobles wear bubble-like helmets over their heads to keep the purple smog out of their lungs, so they do not get purple lung (think black lung because of coal, but instead it is purple because of all the dust that gets kicked up because of the mines and planet quakes)

The nobles live lavish lifestyles without a care in the world

The Mines

Almost everyone either works in the mines or factories

Working in the mines is more dangerous, however, it pays better and is less competitive than getting a job in the factories

People spend hours in the tunnels which are barely tall enough for the average adult human to stand in

The Slums

After the destruction of Earth, Kimora was flooded with countless refugees

Most refugees were handed over to the Empire; the rest were forced to keep their heads down

The slums are overcrowded; disease and purple lung run rampant

The lower sections of Kimora have one of the largest variety of species, which leads to a lot of inter-species breeding. Kimora has a pretty bad overpopulation issue in the lower section. This led the noble governing body to decide to sterilize large groups of species (really it is because they did not want to have to care for their citizens---for control). Because of all the inter-species breeding some of their offspring ended up being infertile anyways.

The death rates on Kimora are high. High infant mortality. High maternity mortality. High worker mortality. People die every day due to not being able to feed themselves, poor working conditions, etc. Purple lung is a major factor. While working in the mines it is recommended for people to wear ventilators. The issue with the ventilators is that they slow you down while you work. Which leads to a lower yield, which means less money to feed you and your family. So some people decide to forgo the ventilators which has a heightened risk of developing purple lung.

[countryconditionswithshiro]

Human Rights Watch, El Salvador: Court Hears Case on Total Abortion Ban (03/23/2023)

CW: human rights violations/sexual assault/gang violence

In “the case of Beatriz, who was denied an abortion by El Salvador despite her high-risk pregnancy… The Medical Committee of El Salvador’s national maternity hospital recommended terminating the pregnancy. But in El Salvador, abortion is illegal in all circumstances.” Ultimately, “Beatriz underwent an emergency C-section. The anencephalic fetus died five hours later.”

“El Salvador continues to criminalize abortion in all circumstances. Women have been convicted of homicide for having an abortion, sometimes with sentences up to 40 years in prison. In some cases, having a miscarriage or stillbirth was used as evidence to convict them.”

“Access to safe and legal abortion protects autonomy and reduces maternal mortality and morbidity.” “Authoritative interpretations of international human rights law establish that denying women, girls, and other pregnant people access to abortion is a form of discrimination and jeopardizes a range of human rights. These include the rights to life and to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; liberty; health and information; privacy and bodily autonomy and integrity…”

[thashining]

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A post shared by Joy-Ann Reid (@joyannreid)

The number of women in Texas who died while pregnant, during labor or soon after childbirth skyrocketed following the GOP’s 2021 ban on abortion care — far outpacing a slower rise in maternal mortality across the nation, a new investigation of federal public health data finds.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/4ed8FZM

[reasonsforhope]

“Bangladesh has achieved a huge success in reducing infant and maternal mortality rates in the last five decades, securing the top position in South Asia.

According to the World Bank's estimation, the current infant mortality rate for Bangladesh is 21 deaths per 1000 live births making 85% decline from 1971 as the rate was 141 deaths during Bangladesh's independence.

According to health experts, Bangladesh achieved unprecedented success in every health index in the last 50 years since independence...

According to Health and Family Welfare Ministry, Bangladesh maternal mortality rate was 269 per 100,000 live births in 2009. The ratio has reduced to 165 recently.

The government has set a target to reduce maternal mortality to less than 50 per 100,000 live births...

After the independence, the Bangladesh government had put emphasis on maternal health, family planning, child nutrition and so on.

Special importance was also given on different five-year plans, health policy and latest health, population and nutrition programme. Special allocation was also kept at annual development programme (ADP) on those issues.

Annual Global Childhood Report 2019 of the humanitarian organization "Save The Children" says child mortality rate has reduced to a great extent in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal in the last two decades.

Among the four countries, Bangladesh has made the highest progress. The child mortality ratio declined 60% in Bhutan, 59% in Nepal, 57% in India, [and] 63% in Bangladesh in the last two decades...

Family Planning Directorate Assistant Director Matiur Rahman said that 3,364 union health and family welfare centres are providing maternal and child health facilities apart from family planning services across the county.

Of them, 2189 union health and family welfare centres are providing 24 hour safe delivery facilities every day.”

-via The Business Standard, 6/14/22

[firesidoni]

I mean, if we hazard a guess that she’s, what, somewhere in the range of maybe fifteen to twenty-one, with maybe one year, maaaaybe two as outer margins of error? Let’s guess her at the older end of that, and say she turns twenty-one in 1891, which gives us 1870 as a neat birth year to work with. That would make her only forty-four when WWI breaks out in 1914, and forty-eight when it ends.

... *surfaces gasping from a minor research binge* so, uh, a mildly embarrassing amount of time later for an offhand comment, I can find appropriate mortality rates and life expectancies for the US for the appropriate time period, but not for France, at least not without paying for a hundred-odd-page paper, so Imma use the corresponding US statistics.

A white woman age twenty in 1890 could expect to live on average another forty-two years, for a total life expectancy of about sixty-two years. (This matches almost perfectly with data I found for England and Wales in the same time period, which is promising.)

I’m not touching maternal mortality rates except to note that, if we’re going off contemporary stats from the UK, the maternal mortality rate was around one in two hundred births - about 0.5% per child.

This means that, barring catastrophe, Belle could quite reasonably expect to live through World War I and into the 1930s. In fact, if we say she lives through WWI, and she makes it to age 50 in 1920, her life expectancy rises to age 73 or so.

This means that not only will Belle probably see World War I, she has decent odds of at least seeing, if not necessarily living through, World War II!

(Okay, I’m stopping there before I lose another hour or two. Eheheh.)

Dating Disney: Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast features my favorite love story and my favorite Disney Princess, so it holds a very special spot in my heart. So, it’s worth looking into the film to decide when the Movie is supposed to be set.

During the opening musical number “Belle”, Belle is telling the Baker about the book she’s been reading. She’s clearly describing Jack and the Beanstalk, the earliest version being the tale of “Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean” in 1734. But she also deliberately mentions an ogre, not a giant. Near as I could find, the only version with an ogre was written by Joseph Jacobs in 1890, making Belle nearly contemporary to modernity. Belle’s excitement over the book is likely a sign that this is a new story.

During the same musical number, we see a sign depicting a tobacco pipe, but unlike with the Calabash pipe from the Little Mermaid movie. I could place it to possibly be a Billiard type, but the exact era of creation escapes me. However, tobacco pipes have been around as long as Tobacco has been introduced to European trade, starting in the 16th century.

The history of colored printing goes as far back as the 16th century, and there are illustrations from the early 1700s with an impressive variety of color that help establish a stronger time period. The book also shows the words Le Prince Charmant or Prince Charming. Prince Charming started being used in 1697 in Charles Perrault’s version of Sleeping Beauty, although there, Prince Charming was not a name. Rather, Perrault stated that the Prince was charmed by her words. The first story to use Prince Charming as a name is the Tale of Pretty Goldilocks. It was written at some point in the 17th Century by Madame d’Aulnoy, but in her version the hero was named Avenant. It wasn’t until 1889 when Andrew Lang retold the story that Avenant was dubbed as Charming. One year later in 1890, Oscar Wilde used the term “Prince Charming” sarcastically in his novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, meaning that the term had gotten its more modern meaning by this point in time.

Gaston’s musket is a Blunderbuss, which was invented in the early 1600′s and remained popular through the 18th century before falling out of fashion in the middle of the 19th century. However, considering Belle states that this is a backwards town and Gaston is an old-fashioned, Primeval man, it’s possible he’s using a largely outdated weapon.

While there are no street lamps in the city, we can see in the background lanterns on the sides of buildings, which might allude to the movie taking place before the invention of gas lamps. However, gas lamps were invented in 1809, and if the version of Jack and the Beanstalk is from 1890, then by all accounts the town should have gas lamps. What this amounting evidence is leading me to believe is that the film is directly following the plot of the original fairy tale.

In the story, Beauty’s father is a merchant who loses his fortune due to a storm destroying his cargo. They’re forced to live on a farm until the merchant stumbles upon the Beast’s castle and kick starts the plot. In the opening song, Belle says “every morning’s just the same, since the morning that we came, to this poor, provincial town.” This could mean that she grew up in a much more modern, urban, and progressive town. Possibly even Paris. But that after Maurice suffered severe financial trouble, he was forced to move them to the small, backwards town that was practically living an entire century behind the rest of France, which is why she’s so bored and unimpressed by the little town. It helps explain why she’s so eager to want to get out of this town and see the world. She wants to be part of the modern world again.

Interestingly, I can support this theory with background information. According to some of my research, Belle’s village was based on the little town of Riquewihr, France, which still looks like it did in the 16th century to this day. So the idea that Belle’s little village lacks so many modern elements could be a nod to the architecture of this sleepy French village that has remained largely untouched by the march of time. Hence why it looks more like something out of the 1700s despite the many elements from the 1800s being present.

During the song “Be Our Guest”, Lumiere dances with a match stick. Match sticks were invented in 1805. Assuming the film still takes place in the 1890s, this would be concurrent with the other evidence we’ve seen thus far. Later in the same song, the silverware makes an Eiffel tower, which was constructed in 1889. Since Jack and the Beanstalk was written after that, it still fits within the suspected time frame.

During the climax of the battle, Cogsworth is wearing military garments reflective of Napoleonic styles. Napoleon was coronated in 1804 until 1814, had a brief return to power in 1815, and eventually died in 1821. So this is also congruent to the established time period.

In the Youtube Video “Fashion Expert Fact Checks Belle from Beauty and the Beast’s Costumes” by Glamour, April Calahan, a Fashion Historian from the Fashion Institute of Technology directly noted that Belle’s yellow gown lacks the shape of a proper 18th century dress, and more closely resembles the shape of 19th century dresses, fitting into the evidence that’s been mounting in support of a late 19th century setting.

As a part of his primary costume, Lefou wears a waistcoat and tailcoats, which came into vogue in the 1800s, namely from the 1840s through the 1850s.

But if the film is set in the 1800s, how can the Beast still be a prince after the French Revolution? Well something worth noting is that when he finds out that Belle isn’t coming to dinner, the Beast storms through the halls to her room as Cogsworth calls after him as “Your Eminence” and “Your Grace”. The address of “Your Eminence” is reserved for Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, and is an ecclesiastical style of address. “Your Grace” is noticeably an English style of address, but it’s being used by Cogsworth who is British, so I can chalk that up to just part of his culture. Although it was used for British monarchs, it fell out of use during the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547) and after that, the use of “Your Grace” became used to address archbishops and non-royal Dukes and Duchesses. Now clearly the Beast is not a cardinal or a bishop, especially if he is looking for the love of a woman to make him human, since it’s forbidden for Catholic priests to marry. So clearly that is not what is meant here. But the other answer actually does hold a bit of weight. Beast’s father was in fact, a Duke. So how is the Beast a prince? He’s not. Not entirely. See, there’s more than one kind of Prince in French nobility. There’s a Prince du Sang, or a Prince by Blood. Effectively, the Crown Prince, the sons of ruling monarchs. But the title is also given to lords in charge of a Principality, one of the smallest territorial sizes. The Beast’s principality probably only extends to having power over the little unnamed village. And with it being after the revolution, Beast might not even have the proper use of his title anymore. He’s effectively a rich kid in a fancy house with no real authority or power. He’s just old money from a by-gone era of human history. But if Beast’s address of “Your Grace” is accurate, that would mean that he’s a non-royal Duke, meaning he would not likely have been executed during the Revolution, as his family would have essentially been governors or senators than actual monarchs. They just had jurisdiction over a small piece of the Kingdom of France and reported back to and obeyed the orders of their King. Thus, he would not have been important enough to be killed or chased out of power by the townsfolk.

CONCLUSION

The movie is set between the late autumn and early-to-mid winter of 1890. Although the snow is gone when Belle returns to the village, the trees are still bare, signaling that it may just be unseasonably warm, though it could be the very early spring of 1891 between the receding of the snow and the blossoming of new spring foliage. Between the books, clothing, and references made, my conclusion is that Belle is a very modern girl living in a backwards little town stuck in the past, thus why a village in 1890 looks so completely lacking in modern technology despite the era. The Prince is nothing more than a fancy title as the son of a Duke, and he likely has very little if any actual government authority. Essentially, Belle married into wealth, not power, and will never be a proper queen, and I’m not sure if the wife of a lord ruling a principality is a princess or not, but I suspect the answer is no. Making Belle, like Mulan, a Disney Princess who did not marry royalty, was not born royalty, and thus, cannot be called a Disney Princess. She’s definitely a noblewoman, but she’s not royal by any means.

SETTING: Riquewihr, France

KINGDOM: The French Republic (France)

YEAR: Autumn, 1890 - Spring, 1891

PERIOD: The Third Republic (1870-1940)

LANGUAGE: French

[hollowwhisperings]

on historical context, medieval europe vs westeros:

GRRM cites the War Of The Roses and several Tudor-era figures as being inspirational for his Westeros, a semi-medieval fantasy europe. inspiration does not require accuracy but historical "fact" oft used as justification for Certain Things. sadly, commonly believed history is seldom representative of historic fact & historic fact is ever being relearned: as more sources are discovered and taken into account, our understanding of history grows, better knowing how history was LIVED rather than how these histories were written down.

so let's look at how GRRM's Westeros fares in historic context as opposed to historic "fact".

CW: potential spoilers for ASOIAF, reference to dubcon & no con, reference to child brides, brief references to historic christianity.

first off, one of GRRM's named inspirations for Westeros &, specifically, the War of the Five Kings, is the "War of the Roses". This conflict was 30-ish years of civil war in 15th century england, ending with the establishment of the Tudor Dynasty: the most famous Tudors were its last two monarchs, Henry VIII & Elizabeth I (his 2nd daughter by his 2nd wife, Anne Boleyn). The Tudors ruled England from the late 15th century 'til the start of the 17th century, having 5 monarchs in total.

my post prior to this was a reblog regarding the character Juliet Capulet from Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet", specifically her age (~14) and how understanding her age, in the context of 16th century europe, is the basis of the entire play: the play was written & performed as a tragedy and the context is greatly lost when translating the work through 500 years of retellings, societal shift, and linguistic difference. Shakespeare's plays were written in the 16th century, during the reign of Elizabeth I, and were hugely popular in that time: thusly it can be intuited that the average 16th century londoner found plays like Romeo & Juliet to reflect the morals, opinions and issues relevant to themselves and their society as a whole.

so. Juliet was the tragic heroine of Romeo & Juliet: she was 14. i will edit in a link to the post i'm referencing (which contextualizes how medieval europe viewed consent, marriage, and un/healthy maternity).

link: https://at.tumblr.com/hollowwhisperings/concerning-juliets-age/ybxrn3dtaesf

in Westeros, betrothing children from birth is not uncommon: marriage, however, is generally held off until both parties come of age. the exceptions to this exist almost entirely amongst the highborn (give or take a Tysha) and are considered Scandalous (unless you're a Targaryen or a ruthless politician). rather than medieval england or europe, the morality & maturity of the characters in ASOIAF reflect or are contrasted with the modern West (the english speaking populaces of North America, western europe, and Commonwealth countries): in Westeros, a female's consent is an afterthought or is left entirely unconsidered in a marriage. this is hugely contradictory to both catholic & tudor views on marriage, wherein female consent was considered both spiritually and medically important: marriage was a sacred institution and the good health of a wife was an important consideration. it was (& remains) the case that females who had reached maturity had fewer difficulties during their pregnancies and had healthier children; in a time of high infant mortality, it was found that children were more likely to survive infancy if they had a living mother to support them. since the endurance of a family relied on legitimate children having legitimate children, it was thusly logical to ensure that any wife was healthy & content during her marriage.

meanwhile in Westeros, girls and mature women of the noble houses (most especially & egregiously in the royal family) are consistently pressured into pregnancies (against both modern & medieval medical advice) well before they are physically mature.

there are no POV characters, thus far, in ASOIAF who are lowborn women, few secondary characters of such status & fewer still who have "typical" life experience: Daenerys has no reference for maturity beyond hypotheticals and the varying views of her advisors, living in a context of institutionalized slavery, and is a queen by conquest; Sansa is a political hostage, Arya a runaway; Brienne is a social pariah; Melissandre is a cult leader & sorceress; Cersei married into royalty; Gilly's homelife would be considered universally horrific by every society thus encountered (Free Folk, Northerners, Southron folk, Dornish, and the Dothraki would all condemn/execute Craster: it is likely that even the most traditional Ironborn would consider Craster a monster).

There are several girls (and a few boys) who are wed while very young during the ASOIAF series itself: Daenerys Stormborn (13) to Khal Drogo ("young"), 1 child born premature & stillborn; Sansa Stark (~12) to Tyrion Lannister (~27), unconsumated; Ermesande Hayford (2) to Tyrek Lannister (~14), unconsumated; Tommen I (~8) to Margaery Tyrell (~16), unconsumated; Jeyne Pool (~14) to Ramsay Bolton (~18). all these marriages were politically inspired, scandalous and genuinely dangerous (albeit unexpectedly in the case of Lady Hayford: the disappearance of her husband has proven her to be resilient and firm on the subject of naptimes).

prior to ASOIAF, there are the weddings of Rhaella Targaryen (~12) to Aerys II (~14), Tysha (13) to Tyrion Lannister (13), and of Lysa Tully (~17) to Jon Arryn (~72). both Rhaella & Lysa had traumatic, premature pregnancies and chronic health issues, reproductive & otherwise. of Tysha we can only assume that, if she survived at all, she likely suffered great & permanent injury to her person.

(i will note that, at the time of Lysa Arryn's becoming pregnant by him in 282 AC, Petyr Baelish was both 14 and very drunk)

There is a consistent disregard for female consent in Westeros, attitudes more reflective of modern societies & expectations than those of medieval europe. That said, it is also true that House Targaryen's marriage practices seem referential to similar practices in Ancient Egypt. I am as yet unfamiliar with the many thousands of years of [Dynastic Egypt] save its very last, the Ptolemaic. The Ptolemys were consistently incestuous though the extent is difficult to ascertain due to the lack of surviving records, multiple wars civil & otherwise likely affecting which records did & did not survive, the likely practice of adopting children of one's spouse [to claim credit?/legitimize the most promising?/?i'm guessing based on imperial china which was contemporary but far removed & kept its incest scandals between step-relatives, i need to do more research]... i am similarly lacking in knowing Roman history (though it, at least, consists of a much shorter time span to read up on than the millennias of imperial China or dynastic Egypt) but its mythology is as incestuous as that of the more popular pantheons throughout Egypt's ancient period, if not more so due to the frequent infidelity of Greco-Roman deities versus their decidedly monogamous Egyptian neighbours. It will be Interesting to compare House Targaryen to the Ptolemaic Dynasty, especially given the easy parallels to be found between Daenerys Stormborn and Cleopatra VII. There is much tinfoil possible in finding any similarities or allusions to Elizabeth I & her sister, Mary I ("queen of scots" in name, largely french in practice), their written histories potentially foreshadowing the fates of Daenerys and Young Griff (or Jon Snow).

This post ran away with its premise rather quickly but hopefully it has provided room for thought & critique. If I disappear before posting a compilation post on the Life Expectancies of Targaryen Kings, assume i have gotten stuck in a family tree somewhere in the centuries BC.

[minkmousesworld]

so um... if u know abt america u might know abt this whole abortion bs... idk if im abble 2 ask u or if its appropriate to be asking, but, like whats ur opion about all of it? Sory if im stepping out of place with this question...

It's okay, sunshine, I'm always ready to chat about my opinion on any things <3 /hj

cw politics, abortion, S*muel Al*to

in my opinion, Roe v. Wade was an important decision — even if Roe's actions are questionable afterwards — because it became an impetus for pregnant people to get the right to terminate their pregnancy in any case, which is an ordinary human right, like the right to life, or to social security (such as the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health).

And I don't like to make categorical statements, because we are all different and this is normal, but this is the point of view that any sane person who understands the value of any life and understands what "life" is in general should support.

The right to an abortion without an "important reason" is the basis of human rights, because it directly comes from the ability to independently dispose of one's own body without state control and, in the case of people who are able to get pregnant, their uterus and womb. No one can take away these rights — just as no one can take away life, name or childhood. And even if I say "everyone has the right to their opinion," the pro-lifers can express their opinion only at home in the kitchen at night when no one hears.

... The last two or three years have been difficult for everyone. Pandemic, quarantine, social isolation and constant tension — the whole world began to get tired and lose their minds as soon as the restrictions began to be lifted. I will not comment on the very long-standing presidential elections of America — at least because there were no "elections", the same people in the parties that were when Obama was still president, it's time to introduce age restrictions after which you can't run — but even then it became clear that only interesting events were ahead.

I don't want to hurt the residents of the USA, at least one of my favorite buns lives there, but the regularity of various problems and tension in society is natural for them. The main problem is not even that — although they can compete with passion even with the Italians — but that huge power the United States has, too huge for someone so unstable. A strange electoral system, regular battles, social tension, problems with racism — not a judge, cannot give any assessments of what is happening, because the United States is still going through a stage of tension and creating its own culture, and this is good, even if it is bloody and dirty.

Therefore, when the news about the incomprehensible situation with abortions in the USA surfaced, I did not even react — this is the USA, ok, something is constantly happening there; moreover, given what is happening now and the strange reactions and actions of the president, I had other reasons for concern and nervousness. What was my surprise when it turned out that something was really happening there, and not the usual democratic "we fought, defeated and won".

Restricted abortions, in a country that calls itself democratic and highly values people's lives — doesn't that sound like a bad joke on some dubious website? Maybe that's why I can't take seriously what Alito writes — with all due respect, I wrote the same way when I was a caustic teenager in the eighth grade, and Alito, well, I think, definitely not in the eighth, and not even in the ninth.

All things start small, and restrictions on independently managing whether they want to give birth to a child or not will not end there. This is just the beginning. The prohibition of abortions leads to criminalization, the growth of homeless children and orphans, an increase in crime, loss of confidence in the government, an increase in maternal and child mortality, moving to other countries to perform abortions — for what? So that the stereotype of a "white cishetero man" feels that he is saving someone? I don't understand.

And I hope I never will. Because nothing is worth taking away from an adult the right to personal inviolability, and from a child the right to a good and loving family and a secure and happy childhood. None of the children whose parents were unable to have an abortion against their wishes will say "thank you" to them.

And I really hope that there will be sane people who understand why abortions are needed, and that this is not just "infanticide for those who want to fuck but do not want to have children."

... but of course this is the opinion of just an amateur who lived their childhood among unloved children and stories about reproductive violence.

in addition, my... religion?... is against any kind of attempts to impose its opinion, even if it says that abortions are always valid, since no one can use a person's body except for the person themselves <3

[phoenixyfriend]

The “Momma Sturmvoraus was Literally Satan” AU

As requested by @spazzbot​. This AU was initially brainstormed on the GG fanworks server almost a year ago. Specifically, on the first day of 2020.

[ID: a truncated discord message by “Miss Nixy, Gay for RoboLadies” posted 01/01/2020. The message reads “I need to sleep but please for the moment consider:” and ends there.]

So. Let’s get to it.

Satan took a human form because why not see what's going on topside, live like a human, and “Oh shit is this pregnancy? This is pregnancy. Fuck, that's a tiny human. Which is now half demon. Am I supposed to take care it? Wonder if retconing this form into that Valois family was a bad idea. They do have SO much money though, I get to live like a queen. I suppose another child shouldn't hurt, it wasn't that bad. Oh, he's cute, this is actually making sense, why humans do all the sinning. Not counting dear Aaronev's murders, of course, those are just evil, but I did search out the worst of the humans to pair myself to...”

This is literally just "Tarvek and Anevka's mom was low-key Satan on a bored “let's be human for a decade or two to see what happens” jaunt, consequences happen because these kids are LITERALLY half-demon and arguably anti-Christs."

Also it's just Very Funny for Tarvek, ineffectual sexy lamp fashion twunk extraordinaire, to be an antichrist

Jeff thinks he’s pretty. Jeff keeps describing features that don’t entirely make sense. (Jeff’s canon name is Karl Thotep but they spent so long unnamed that the server collectively named them Jeff.)

This is not a crossover with anything, btw. Ambiguously Pop Culture Satan just got bored and went to have babies with a serial killer.

They’re just kids! That are vaguely demonic. So. Moreso than the rest of the Valois.

Sometimes "mom" comes back from the dead and visits Anevka and Tarvek to impart Wisdom and possibly magic lessons The rooms always smell faintly of sulfur after that...

They try to put Anevka in the machine but SHE isn't hurt and the MACHINE just melts

So that's the end of that.

It's very awkward for everyone, but the paperwork isn't too bad. It's very easy to write "incidental fire began during late-fugue experimentation, resulted in fire spreading through six rooms and several casualties, including Prince Aaronev Wilhelm Sturmvoraus."

As per @atagotiak​, “I feel like if we’re going in any way dimensional weirdness with thing, Tarvek got so good at exploring bc he could just clip through walls.”

With image provided by @thisarenotarealblog​:

Tarvek in Paris: My dead mother keeps showing up in my dreams to tell me I need to seduce my way out of my problems and also she looks like Satan. Tarvek's Voltaire-Appointed Therapist: I still don't know what that means. Just like the last five times. Tarvek: I keep telling her that I can’t seduce Colette, if seduction is that important she should get Anevka to do it.

Like he probably wouldn’t say most of that in front of any Voltaire-approved individual, but still.

Tarvek is still very good at self control but there's a Special Edge to his rants.

(Derailed in the moment to me thinking about Anevka in a sfw-but-concerningly-deadly succubus getup, because... yeah.)

Aaronev dies and goes to hell and his dead wife is just there like "hi! Time to be tortured for eternity!" He wasn't a good husband so. He can't exactly sentimentalize his way out.

“In the sexy way?” “... not for you, no.”

Mostly I just want the BULLSHIT that is "Storm Mom was actually just Satan getting bored and going on vacation as a retconned Valois girl, the kids are half-demons and sometimes it Shows."

To clarify: the Satan bit isn't the retcon. Grandma used to have one daughter. Now there are two. (Seffie and Martellus's mother doesn't remember being an only child, but sometimes...)

Satan retconned a new daughter in, which included a Valid Valois Venusian Vestment, so the blood tests play out.

The subtle signs of wrongness would be fun too. Anevka tends to smile a bit too wide and sharp for a human face. Inexplicable uneasiness, here you can’t point at any specific thing that’s wrong but it’s uncomfortable. Uncanny valley prettiness, almost like the porcelain she became in other timelines. Skin isn’t supposed to be that smooth.

My brain's pre-nap contribution at that point was "Satan's pronouns when not pretending to Human are sin/sinself" which is! Certainly a thing.

Tarvek, at some nebulous future point: I mean, your ancestors were monsters, but my dad was a serial killer and my mom was literally Satan, instead of just figuratively like Lucrezia, so. I mean. I kind of get what you're going through.

Per @firebirdeternal: Tarvek and Anevka growing up with "you're allergic to holy water" and not questioning it until a little later because What.

And then they test it and it's like "yeah, no, there's a rash now. That stung. What the fuck."

It INFURIATES Gil in Paris when Tarvek tells him that's a thing, because there's nothing chemically different about Holy water and regular water. But no, this is somehow happening.

It gets logged in medical journals as a Valois genetic thing because, well, Mom was like that too, right?

One time they both go into a church for an Adventure and Gil is very annoyed to find that Tarvek is like. Faintly smoking. It smells like burnt hair in here.

Gil: What smells like burnt hairgel? Tarvek: [glares]

Gil decides that it must be something particular to the church, like a fungus or something in the stone, contaminating the air and water so it only LOOKS like the holiness is what's setting off reactions.

It is not.

Tarvek once got into an argument with someone and ate a slab of raw, completely uncooked meat as a power move.

SVV seems to work perfectly. Everyone is fine. We get the ‘you fight like ducks’ moment.

And then Tarvek bursts into flames, and everyone panics because no they fixed this what the fuck is he still infected with Hogfarb’s oh my god... and then everything settles down and he's perfectly fine. Not a scratch on him, no longer turning funny colors. Completely unharmed. He's in a nicely tailored suit and looks faintly stunned

"I just met my dead mom, who's apparently Satan. She told me that after I died the first time just now, I should be harder to kill later, especially with fire, because now there's more demon and less mortal and guys I think I'm going crazy." "Is that a martini?" Tarvek looks down. "Apparently."

Tarvek starts just. Randomly setting things on fire by glaring too hard and has to tone it down. Meanwhile, Agatha and Gil are having crises about how he's somehow getting PRETTIER.

Is he faintly glowing? Maybe!

Gil handles it by angrily sniping at Tarvek about how of COURSE he's an evil little rat with a background like that.

Tarvek just wants a nap and to forget this ever happened. Many people are sworn to secrecy. It's very awkward.

Still, SVV did something, for handwave-y reasons, and so they're linked now. Gil and Agatha both getting tiny flashes of the same shenanigans.

They get none of the powers. They just keep getting Weird Shit.

Other characters with divine influence are like "Did you.... did you make a pact with a demon?" "What no that's our boyfriend."

Tho tbh I wouldn’t be surprised if a Heterodyne did sign a contract with a demon at some point in exchange for like. Materials. A hundred souls sacrificed in exchange for some succubus blood. Thanks!

Tarvek and Othar: Falling out of CW as in canon. Tarvek: WHAT THE HELL SINCE WHEN DO I HAVE WINGS HIDE THIS BEFORE I GET BOOTED FROM THE LINE FOR THE THRONE

IDK where Anevka is during all this. I think she might have decided to go sleep her way through the courts of the Ice Tsars. Vacation, y'know?

Othar after he's decided to make Tarvek his new Heroic Apprentice: AH, my poor afflicted young friend, it's noble of you to go against the dark nature of your tragic heritage like this. Tarvek: I hate you. I wish I could hate you to death. But you have a point. I shouldn't let my father's blood limit what I strive for in life. Othar: I... I thought your mother was... Tarvek: I know what I said.

Tarvek: Also you can't tell ANYONE about that, I can't have them thinking I'm not actually in line for the Storm King's throne.

He does admittedly have to like. Explain things to Grandma.

Terabithia is Tarvek’s maternal grandmother so this is supremely awkward. That said...

Grandma fondly remembers her pregnancy cravings; bone marrow and sulfur.

"Yeah so, my mother, your daughter, was... maybe actually Satan? But retconned into your life?" "Tarvek, darling, please. I figured that out half a century ago."

TARVEK ACCIDENTALLY FINDS HIM HIMSELF WEIRDLY INTENSE AT CONTRACTS

I mean that honestly just Tracks about Tarvek anyways? But like moreso.

He just. Writes something up and there's things getting signed or shook on and then the person tries to break the contract and either suddenly catch fire or are deeply unlucky for a set amount of time.

And Tarvek's just standing there like "how in the FUCK did I do that?"

Severity of infernal punishment depends on the severity of the breach of contract.

Tarvek finds out that Anevka's been convincing rich people to sign their souls over to her. It's a fun challenge. She keeps them in jars.

They can still remotely pilot their bodies but like. They can't TELL anyone what happened.

Satan: I'm going to go make babies and now everyone else has to deal with the consequences.

Anevka's living up to that whole "princess of hell" vibe. Tarvek's just like "nope nope nope I want the storm throne, not the hell throne, BYE MOM."

Satan's just feeling sinself down in hell like "awwww look at my babies go, aren't they adorable?"

Tarvek: Anevka, what... first off, how did you figure it out? Anevka: Well, I temporarily died when father put me in the machine, and... I can't say that hell kicked me out because they were afraid I'd take over, but mother DID say she'd rather I play about with human governments instead of Hell's. Tarvek: Okay, cool cool cool. What after you planning to DO with all these souls? Anevka: They make for some lovely reading lamps, don't they?

(Anevka absolutely sets herself the goal of acquiring new titles that rival her old ones, or even surpass them. She just black widows her way through Europa.)

I just want someone (probably Snackleford) to ascend, take one look at Tarvek, and run SCREAMING.

Tarvek still needed to be anchored to Higgs, because Tarvek is Baby.

Gil is eventually in a relationship with an Eternal God Queen and the Literal Son of Satan.

Family dinners can include ALL the in-laws if you duck down to hell! - You borrow Bill from... probably heaven, maybe purgatory. - You have Lu and Aaronev and Satan already there, though the first two... well. Aaronev and Lu get invited to dinner but they have to eat by themselves at the kiddy table and nobody talks to them or acknowledges their presence. After all, this is hell, and what better punishment for Lu than to be completely ignored, and for Aaronev to see Lu at her worst and be reminded that he gave everything for this horrible, horrible person who isn't even pretending to care about him anymore. - Zanta and Klaus get invited via portal. - Anevka saunters in with a blood-soaked dress and a complaint about militant demon-hunters refusing to let her go shopping for a new pair of shoes. - Zeetha tagged along with the OT3. (She can't wait to see this situation explode.)

Oh God, Satan is actually second place as far as good parenting goes.

Well, actually, fourth. Because Adam and Lilith. But second as far as bio parents go. 1. Zanta 2. Satan 3. Klaus 4/5. Lu and Aaronev N/A. Bill

Someone (Anevka) decides to stir the pot and invites Von Pinn, Terabithia, Bang.

Bang is basically Gil’s older sister, right? Right.

This is Zanta meeting Bang for the first time! Zanta is just: "It's so nice to meet my husband's adopted daughter." Klaus freezes. Bang freezes. Gil is the only one who is just. "Yeah." Meanwhile Zeetha is crying with laughter off to the side because both of them deserve this. (Zanta would legit love Bang though.)

Agatha: Tarvek, I think DuPree is-- Tarvek: Hitting on my sister? I know. Agatha: On your mom, actually. Tarvek: NO!

Also I do love the idea of like. Nobody tells Bang they're inviting her. She just wakes up in Hell like. "Ah. Yes. Fair enough."

Satan: Oh no no no my dear, you're here as a guest. Besides as well as you'd fit you're not one of mine, you've got other things waiting for you. Bang: Okay, but I love the decor. And is that Cheesecake?

Bang’s family has their own evil god in the novels, but! Bang DID pick on Tarvek a lot in Paris. Satan cares more than Anevka does. Bang might get the sexy punishment.

I feel like the fact that no permanent damage was done and it taught Tarvek a lot of things means Satan isn't gonna be all that upset about it.

And let's be real, if there's a character in GG who could look the literal Christian devil in the eye and be like "Yeah I tortured your kid, what're you going to do about it?" it's Bang.

Even Satan doesn't know what to do or think about Othar.

He sure is here! As Anevka’s arm candy! Nobody knows what to do except Anevka herself, who just wants to be Smug.

(What's that scene from Phineas and Ferb that's the mad scientist trapping the platypus within the rules of polite dining at a fine restaurant? Like he can't make a scene because that would be rude?) (That. Othar would dearly love to start a fight, but it's a Family Dinner. You're only allowed to fight verbally at those.)

(Othar isn't even fighting Satan, he just wants to argue with Klaus.) (And maybe fanboy in Bill's direction a bit).