#fetal cell lines

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Food does not contain aborted fetuses, but the total lack of existence of such a product hasn’t stopped one Texas Republican from trying to regulate it.

Ahead of the opening of the Texas state legislature last week, Republican state Sen. Bob Hall introduced a bill to mandate that food containing “human fetal tissue” be “clearly and conspicuously labeled.” If passed, this bill would also apply to food that is “manufactured using human fetal tissue,” or “derived from research using human fetal tissue.” Medical and cosmetic products that have links to fetal tissue would also be subject to these requirements. 

Fetal tissue, according to the bill, is “tissue, cells, or organs obtained from an aborted unborn child.”

To be clear, food with fetal tissue in it? Not a thing. It doesn’t exist.

“There are no conditions under which the FDA would consider human fetal tissue to be safe or legal for human or animal consumption,” an FDA spokesperson told VICE News in a statement. Eating food with fetal tissue would also likely constitute cannibalism, which is typically frowned upon.

Cannibalism has found its way into the news quite a bit lately. Prominent conspiracy theory movements like QAnon hold (falsely) that elite Democrats are running a cannibalistic, Satan-worshiping, child sex-trafficking ring. QAnon’s beliefs are linked to antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ tropes that hold that Jewish and LGBTQ people are trying to hurt children, and even drink their blood. These conspiracies, which have flourished partly through lockdown isolationism and election denialism, have radicalized a stunning number of Americans and torn families apart.

Although food would not be impacted if Hall’s bill became law, medicine and science could be, since fetal cell lines can be used to develop and test drugs. These lines can be collected from a single miscarriage or abortion, then replicated in labs, over and over again, for decades. (Cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue can be preferable, both because it’s easier to collect and because fetal tissue derived from a miscarriage may carry whatever genetic or chromosomal problem may have caused the miscarriage in the first place.) Fetal cell lines have led to development of many major vaccines, such as the vaccines against chickenpox and Hepatitis A.

After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, a split erupted in the anti-abortion community over the morality of taking COVID vaccines that may have been developed or tested using fetal cell lines. The Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines do not include any fetal cells, although fetal cell lines were sometimes used in the development stages.

Hall’s office did not immediately return a VICE News list of questions about the bill. However, his office told HuffPost in a statement, “Unfortunately, many Texans are unknowingly consuming products that either contain human fetal parts or were developed using human fetal parts.”

“While some may not be bothered by this, there are many Texans with religious or moral beliefs that would oppose consumption or use of these products,” the statement continued.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has previously said that, although vaccines with links to fetal cell lines can cause “a problem of conscience for some Catholic parents,” they can take them in service of the greater good of public health. In 2020, the conference urged people to get vaccinated against COVID.

“A well-informed consumer can make whatever choice they decide on purchasing a product so long as they have all of the information in hand to make the choice,” Hall told HuffPost.

So far, Hall’s bill has not been assigned to a committee.

[glittergelpensblog]

In the Dark

Eventual Azriel x Reader Witch!Reader Word Count: 1,232 Summary: You were a witch made into High Fae by your family, kidnapped by the King of Hybern. After he attempts to use your power, you are saved by the Night Court Warnings: Kidnapping, murder, canon violence

Prologue

Blinding, the light was so blinding.

You grunted as you lifted your hand to cover your eyes, the chains attached to your wrists clanging loudly with the movement. You hissed as the noise, uncovering your eyes to reveal the cause of the light entering the cell.

Two heavily armed guards entered the small space, one blonde and one with black hair, both glaring at you as they forcibly grabbed your wrists, and began unlocking the shackles attached to you.

“No, no, no,” Your voice cracked from dehydration and the lack of speaking for months on end.

They couldn’t take you, you wouldn’t let them.

You gathered as much strength as you could before breaking your wrist free and slamming the heel of your hand into the nose of the blond guard. Blood immediately began gushing out of his nostrils, and he hissed as he grabbed it in pain.

“You stupid bitch!” He shouted, before the raven haired guard sent a swift kick to your torso. Pain blossomed across your ribs, and you fell from your knees to your stomach, gasping for air on the dirty floor.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” He laughed, grabbing your left arm and forcing you to stand. The blonde guard grabbed your right, and they began dragging you out of the room. 

It was an ugly trip, as you kicked, thrashed and screamed relentlessly, and weren’t letting up as you approached what looked to be the throne room. Your eyes widened in fear as you entered the room, panic taking control of your body as you slammed your elbow into the guard to your left, and he let go of your arm. 

You twisted, trying to break free from the blond guard but his grip was too strong, and he spun you, sending you to the floor with a powerful slap to your face.

You moaned at the pain, clutching your jaw with your hand and curling into the fetal position on the floor, but the guard grabbed your free wrist, dragging you in front of the throne as you thrashed and kicked your bare feet.

“Now, now, my little witch, why are you putting up such a fight?”

You grunted as the guard threw you to the floor, forcing yourself to your knees to lock eyes with the King of Hybern.

“(Y/N) here is going to show us a little trick,” He announced to the rest of the room.

You turned slowly, surveying the scene in the grand space. There were two winged males, one with short hair and an arrow stuck in his chest, the other with his wings completely shredded. There was a blonde female holding both of them, tears in her eyes as she watched you and the king. To their left was another High Fae male, with dark hair and purple eyes, who was holding a female with golden brown hair to his chest, sobs racking her body.

On the wall to the left were two male Fae in green, one blonde with a face struck with horror, and the male to his left was tanned, with red hair and a golden eye focused across the room, where two high fae females laid trembling.

Your face contorted into pure hatred as you took in the sight to your right, where four humans, the Queens, you assumed, were lined in front of the throne, the Cauldron boiling in front of them. You averted your gaze back to the king, a look of amusement on his features.

“I’m not showing you shit.” 

“Wrong answer,” The King shrugged, unbothered by the scene around him. He simply pointed a finger at you, and burning hot flame took control of your body. You screamed, the sound of it echoing off the bone colored stone the entire room was made of, as you writhed in pain.

Was this death?

“Stop!” The male with the golden hair shouted, “This was not a part of our bargain. None of this was!”

“This,” The king chuckled, letting go of the pain reigning over your body. “Is something else entirely.” He stood from his throne, making his way to you.

“I know that all of you will attempt this again, try to take the Cauldron from me, nullify its power. After today, it may take some time, but I know you will keep trying and trying.”

The King squatted in front of you, and roughly grabbed your face, pain blooming from where you were slapped earlier. 

“(Y/N), is here to ensure that taking the Cauldron from me will no longer be a possibility.” He threw your face to the ground, hard enough that it rattled through your teeth, and blood pooled in your mouth. 

“She, is also Made. But she’s not like you, Feyre dear,” The King smirked at the female who was sobbing earlier, her face now nothing but pure rage. “She was not made by the power of High Lords, or even by the Cauldron. She was made with ancient magic, magic that hadn’t been used in millenia. Magic, that should have killed her.

“And she now possesses that magic, magic that is very, very difficult to dampen. She comes from a long, long line of witches, from the bog of Oorid, then she was turned by her own family.” The King looked down at you, “Where is that spell, by the way? I’ve searched the whole book.”

“Go to hell,” You sneered, and spat your blood onto the King’s feet. His eyes darkened, but he did nothing but glare at you.

“You’re lucky you’re too hurt to play with.” He snarled, “Because I am going to need your full power.”

He snapped his fingers, and an old, leather bound book appeared, floating into his hand. “You remember this, don’t you dear? Your family's spell book? You are going to use this, Witch, and you are going to bind the Cauldron to me.” He threw the book to the ground beside you.

Everyone in the room went still as death. 

You laughed, an ugly, rasping sound parting from your lips. “Do you seriously think I am going to help you?” You pushed yourself off the ground with your arms, sitting on your knees.

“You took everything from me, you have no leverage!” You spat. “You killed my entire family, and tore apart my whole village! You can torture me, you can drag out my death for decades, and I will still never help you!”

The king snarled, but before he could act, Feyre, the king called her, fell to the floor, thrashing and sobbing, before she exploded into bright pure light. 

You turned to face her, before the rush of your power washed over you, wave after wave. The force of its return almost knocked you down, but you fought to stay still, to keep it hidden, nudging the spellbook towards you with your feet 

Feyre began talking, her, the blond, the High Lord, and the king all bickering over a mating bond, as you fought to gain control of your power. Your head pounded, and you strained to hear the screaming of Feyre and her mate over the blood rushing in your ears, the thrum of power thrumming in your body so hard you thought you might break. Tears welled in your eyes, blurring your vision as you felt a hand wrap your arm, and you vanished. 

[fizzigigsimmer]

Don't Fuck With Dad

Also known as the ficlet where Billy accidentally becomes the guardian of a future baby and falls in love with his baby daddy in reverse.

The first raindrop splats against Billy’s cheek seconds before it begins to pour. Back home, Billy would have been able to sniff out the change in the air a mile away - that familiar scent of salt and brine that rolled in off the coast whenever a storm cell passed through.

There is nothing to warn anybody a storm is coming in Hawkins fucking Indiana. He hasn’t smelled anything but mud and cowshit for weeks, and the only respite he gets is when he is driving late at night, windows down, pedal to the floor.  

He’d ignored the first few drops and the heavy looming clouds because he didn’t want to entertain heading toward whatever lame hick shit the kids at school were getting up to. He sure as fuck wasn’t about to go home to Neil and his bad mood. 

It would be calling Billy’s number eventually, so why rush it? 

Except the rain was stirring up something foul - rot on top of wet  - the funk filling his nose. Taking a final drag on the cigarette between his lips Billy tosses it to the side of the road and rolls up his window before it can fill his car. God damn he hates this town.

The rain is really coming down hard now. Sheets of it blurring the lines of the road in front of him. He’s still a few miles outside of town. Thinks he’s getting close to the old power plant. There isn’t much to see on either side except for gray fields and the brown smudges of trees, either way but it still makes him a little edgy. He finds himself wondering about Max. Just because he’ll catch hell for not knowing if he gets home and precious baby Max is unaccounted for. Like it’s his fault her dumb ass doesn’t know enough to come in out of the rain.

Kid is probably fine. She is probably riding around like a queen right now in Harrington’s car with her nerd friends again. Which he isn’t going to think about, because he had new rules for himself since that strange night in October. Staying away from Steve is one of them, even in his mind. Especially in his mind actually. 

The irony is, he’s totally thinking about Harrington when it happens, but even if Billy hadn’t been distracted the rain was coming down so thick he probably wouldn’t have seen him anyway. The figure running across the road suddenly appears between his headlight beams and there’s nothing he can do but slam on the brakes and turn the wheel, hoping to god that he doesn’t hit them.

He does. The car slides on the wet pavement and fishtails to one side before he feels the ominous thud, between his palms and up his arms, his thoughts becoming a litany of oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.

The body lays on the side of the road, a few yards away from where Billy struck it - him! Holy shit. It takes seeing the guys beat up sneakers and mud splattered levis for it to really sink in that he has just hit a real person with his car.  Like a live person, who might now be un-alived, thanks to him!

Billy’s knees are knocking together, his teeth rattling in his skull with shivers that have nothing to do with the rain soaking through his clothing as he runs over to the body. It’s definitely male - jean clad legs splayed awkwardly on the pavement, his toros curled in a fetal position. 

“Hey! Hey buddy, are you alright?” Billy calls, praying desperately for a response. Slides to his knees in relief at the body’s side when a pained groan reaches his ears.

Billy pushes at his shoulder to turn him over before he remembers that you’re not supposed to move an injured person and the man on the ground moans softly. The hair on Billy’s skin raises at the familiarity of the sound. And it’s a revelation, because there’s no reason for Billy to know Harrington by something as small as that - just a grunt of breath under the pounding rain - but apparently he does. 

Steve’s a wreck: tears in his clothes, scratches on his face and arms, and underneath the thick layer of dirt that stains everything else Billy spots blood. 

But it’s not just his injuries that unsettle Billy. It’s the strange lines on his face like he’s aged ten years since basketball practice. He doesn’t understand why Steve looks like he’s been through a war zone - or why he smells like absolute death. Billy can’t help but make a disgusted face at the stench of rot that clings to him as well as the slime - not mud - covering his clothes, and now Billy’s hands. Fucking gross.

“B-Billy?”

Familiar brown eyes blink open slowly and stare up at Billy dazedly, but before he can answer a sharp cry cracks through the air. An infant's cry. It’s so wrong and out of place that Billy jerks back like someone fired a gun. Steve reacts to the sound on instinct, pulling enough strength from somewhere to sit up and open the thick parka he wears and reveal the tiny bundle strapped tightly to his chest.

“Hey, hey, baby it’s alright. Daddy’s here.”

He makes these shushing sounds, rushed and insistent despite their softness, as he tries to sooth the baby. Tells the kid everything’s gonna be okay as he unwraps it, shaking hands feeling over its body for injuries. Billy just hopes it’s true. It’s so fucking small in Steve’s arms and Billy hit it with his car!

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Billy demands, swapping terror for beligerant rage because what the fuck is Harrington doing running across the road like that with a kid anyway. “I could have fucking killed you!”

The rant makes Steve look at him again, but it’s not with an expression that makes sense. For a moment he seems confused, like he didn’t understand the plain English coming out of Billy’s mouth. And then something like dread creeps over his face and he turns his head to look back at something in the darkness. 

“Billy.” Steve breathes his name like a prayer and it makes the cold hand of fear drag down his spine. Steve sounds downright terrified. Billy follows his gaze but beyond the glow of his headlamps all he can see is the dark silhouette of the iron gate that surrounds the old steel mill. 

“What? What’s the matter?”

Harrington doesn’t answer. Instead Billy suddenly finds an infant shoved into his arms and has to fumble not to drop the damn thing. It begins to wail again as it is handed over, but Steve doesn’t stop this time to try and soothe it. He wipes the water off the poor things face and presses one hard kiss to its forehead - daddy loves you - and then he’s pushing himself up onto his hands and knees and  stumbling to his feet.

“Wait a minute! Harrington what the hell?!” 

Billy clambors to his feet after him as quickly as he can manage without dropping the screaming baby in his arms, his heart sinking into his stomach because that sure seemed like a goodbye to him.

“I need you to take her.” Steve sways on his feet, weaving like a drunk and pauses to pant for breath before he looks back at Billy. “Get her out of here.”

“Fuck you! You’re not -”

Before Billy can finish, a strange animal scream rips through the air, chilling his blood. He can’t place it. Can’t say it’s a cat, or a fox, or a rabid fucking coon, cause he’s never heard anything like it before. It doesn’t sound right.

“Billy, listen to me.” Steve warns even as Billy demands to know what the hell that was. “Keep her safe. Okay? You have to get in the car and go. Right now!”

The thing is, Billy is inclined to agree. Whatever is out there in the dark making that awful sound is not something he wants to meet. But -

“What about you? Where the hell are you going? Steve!”

But Steve is staggering away from him, visibly powering through the pain as he runs into the darkness. Toward danger.  He shouts something over his shoulder that Billy isn’t sure he catches right. Something about coming back for the kid. 

And then he’s gone.

[jackmedwn]

“Sudden And Unexpected” on X: "“Before Dr. Bradstreet was murdered he tested the blood of nearly 70+ autistic children & found 3 components of DNA. Mother, father, and a third unknown DNA source. He then realized the third DNA came from the aborted fetal cell lines in vaccines. He concluded that this may https://t.co/VeXQXjOPs7" / X

[seramilla]

So idea for human au at some point the apartment they live in gets flooded or becomes unlivable some other way. While it’s getting fixed they have to go live somewhere else luckily Carmilla is more than willing to take both of them in. She is spending this time trying to win over Sera and make her want to come back and stay with her permanently as well as get Sera to go out with her.

If anything positive is to be gleaned from this, Sera is glad, at least, that she'd bought the renter's insurance. The furniture, the appliances, the food they lost when the power went out -- all those things can be replaced. But the photos and precious memories that were ruined when the tepid water had soaked into their photo albums and Sera's only computer...they can't get any of that back. Sera will be lucky if her hard drive isn't completely waterlogged. She laughs, because if she doesn't, she'll cry and never stop.

But Emily is safe. Sera is safe. No one get electrocuted when about a foot of water, almost two, started gathering in their basement apartment overnight during some recent flooding. The worst event their small town had seen in at least 20 years. Sera tries to feel grateful for the little things. It's the only way she'll get through this with some semblance of her sanity intact.

Insurance can replace their things, but finding a place to stay for the next several days, or weeks, until management can get rid of the water and make repairs is what's plaguing Sera's mind at the moment. She tries to be strong for Emily, because the little girl had been scared, too. Emily is so strong -- much stronger than her, most often these days -- and Sera doesn't ever let her see Sera cry, but she does a lot of that in private, when her sister isn't looking.

Carmilla calls them the evening after, out of the blue, once she and Emily have settled into their hotel. It's roach and springtail infested, and the bedsheets feel like sandpaper to Sera's sensitive skin, but it's a roof over their heads, so she can't complain. Sera wonders how Carmilla had heard of their plight, and then she remembers -- of course, Emily probably told Odette and Clara that day at school.

"Carmilla, hi," Sera manages to say, trying to keep the tiredness and stress out of her voice when she answers her cell phone.

"Sera...the girls told me what happened at your place. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Sera curls up into the fetal position on the bed, cell phone shoved against her ear and rough fabric of the pillow. Emily dozes softly beside her. It's been a long day for both of them.

"We're okay. These things happen," Sera says. It is definitely not okay. Sera is having a really hard time believing her own words coming out of her mouth.

Carmilla knows when she's lying. "Why don't I believe you?"

"You don't need to worry about us." Sera really wants Carmilla to worry about them. "We're safe. Staying at a hotel tonight."

"...For how long?" The brief pause before Carmilla's question signals that the matriarch is not at all happy about this news.

"A few days. Maybe a week." Sera lies again.

Carmilla calls her out for it.

"Sera...you know you can tell me if you need help, right?" Carmilla tries to nudge at Sera softly with her words. It hits at a very tender place in Sera's heart; one she didn't realize she had until she met this woman. "You know I care...very much about you and Emily."

"I know. I know you do. But Carmilla...I don't want you to feel obligated to solve all our problems. Emily is...my responsibility. Not yours. We appreciate all you do for us...but..."

"But what?"

"It just doesn't feel right. I feel like I'm taking advantage of you."

The silence stretches for several moments longer. Sera can't even hear the sound of the other woman breathing on the other end of the line, until Carmilla speaks again, and puts a stop to any further protests from Sera.

"You're not taking advantage of me. I want to help. Why don't you and Emily stay with us? The insurance company doesn't have to know."

"What? But--"

"You don't have to, if you don't want to," Carmilla adds, giving Sera a way out, if she chooses not to accept her offer. "But like I said...I hope you know by now how...sincere my feelings are for you, and your sister. You're always welcome here. I would like it very much if you would stay...for however long you need to. Or forever."

Sera's face flushes several shades of pink, and her neck gets hot. A lump forms in her throat, and she swallows it, until it thunks heavily somewhere in the vicinity of her heart. She's speechless. Tries several times to form words with her jumbled brain. Her body feels catatonic by Carmilla's words. She knew Carmilla had feelings for her...but she didn't know how deep it went.

"Really?" she asks, still dumbfounded. "Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure. I don't say things I don't mean. I want you both here. If it's what you both want, too."

The fact that Carmilla is also keeping Emily's feelings in the equation tugs at Sera's heart in a completely different, unique sort of way than it had earlier.

"Umm...thank you. Can I...can we...think about it tonight?" Sera asks. She doesn't think Carmilla's offer has an expiration date...but this is a big change. She wants to talk it over, with Emily. Her sister deserves a say in all this, too.

"Of course. Take all the time you need. My door is always open. The girls would love having you here, too, if it's any consolation."

"It is...thank you, Carmilla."

"You're welcome, mi querida. Goodnight."

"Good night, Carmilla."

Sera hangs up and lies there with the phone against her cheek for several moments longer, pretending in her mind's eye that the heat emitting from the little device is actually the warmth of Carmilla's hand against her face. She can pretend that Carmilla's lying here next to her, holding her, telling her everything will be okay...

She'll talk to Emily the next morning. Sera's pretty certain what her little sister will say...so in that sense, their minds are already made up. She sets her alarm on her phone, and quickly falls asleep. Their lives are about to go through a big change in the morning. She needs all the sleep her tired body can get.

[transgenderer]

Human and rodent placentation is hemochorial, the fetomaternal interaction between the two blood circulations involving direct physical interaction between maternal blood and the chorionic trophoblasts.

The mechanism by which cells are exchanged across the placental barrier is unclear. Possible explanations include deportation of trophoblasts, microtraumatic rupture of the placental blood channels or that specific cell types are capable of adhesion to the trophoblasts of the walls of the fetal blood channels and migration through the placental barrier created by the trophoblasts. Intervillous thrombi containing mixed maternal and fetal cells occur in the fetal placenta/labyrinth.44,45 Histological defects in the continuity of the trophoblasts lining the vasculature of the placenta are also reported.46,47 Together these observations suggest the possibility that fetomaternal hemorrhage within the fetal placenta/labyrinth may allow exchange of cells between the fetal and maternal circulation. Microtraumatic dislodgment of trophoblasts from the trophoblast-lined blood channels through which the maternal blood passes may also explain why trophoblasts appear in maternal circulation. The microtraumatic hypothesis of cell exchange does not appear consistent with the hypothesis that fetomaternal microchimerism may be of adaptive value to the fetus but fits well with the hypothesis that fetomaternal microchimerism is an epiphenomenon of pregnancy with potential pathological consequences.

An alternative hypothesis is that cells cross the placental barrier by mechanisms akin to the active adhesion and transmigration that occurs across high endothelial venule (HEV) endothelium in peripheral lymph nodes and at the blood-brain barrier (BBB).48 Intriguingly, in the mouse at least some of the fetal cells that enter the mother are also capable of crossing the blood brain barrier into the brain.35,49

Fetomaternal microchimerism appears to occur with great frequency following human pregnancy. It has been suggested that fetomaternal traffic occurs in all pregancies.14 Moreover fetal cells are reported to persist in the mother for decades. Male cells have been found in maternal blood even decades after pregnancy,7,77 including in one case in which the women was last pregnant with a male child 27 years earlier.7 Fetal cells also may persist for even longer after engrafting maternal bone marrow14 and perhaps other organs. By engrafting into niches such as the bone marrow, fetal cells may also be able to proliferate and reinfiltrate blood or other tissues later. There is strong evidence that fetal cells with the characteristics of mesenchymal cells do engraft the bone marrow. Male DNA was detected in 48% of CD34-enriched apheresis products from nonpregnant female marrow donors.1 Male cells were also detected in all bone marrow samples from women who had previously been pregnant with males, including one woman who was last pregnant with a son 51 years earlier.14

The absence of Y chromosome markers in samples from women who had never born sons in some studies14 strongly supports the argument that the male cells observed originate from the fetus. However, it is important to note that there are crucial caveats in the use of the Y chromosome alone as a marker for fetomaternal microchimerism that may have led to over estimation of the incidence and persistence of fetomaternal microchimerism in humans. Male cells have been found in the blood of women without sons.78,79 Male cells may occur in the blood of as many as 8–10% of healthy women without sons and no known history of abortion.79 It has been speculated that the male cells arise from unrecognized spontaneous abortions, vanished male twins, an older brother transferred by the maternal circulation, or sexual intercourse. However, a history of unrecognized spontaneous abortions or sexual intercourse cannot explain all cases of the presence of male cells in females as another study detected the presence of the Y chromosome in normal liver from seven of eleven female fetuses and five of six female children.80 Such microchimerism may be best explained, by fetofetal transfer from an undetected vanishing male twin or maternofetal transfer of male cells harbored by the mother. Estimates of the frequency of vanishing twins range from 3.7–100% of pregnancies81 however not all twins share connected placenta vasculature, especially at the early stages of development at which many twins disappear. Maternofetal transfer to the mother may also have occurred if the mother's mother had a history of blood transfusion, transplantation or previous pregnancy with a male fetus. It is difficult to estimate how frequently male cells in females could arise as a result of fetofetal or maternofetal transfer. Although one might expect such events to be rare, the incidence may be high enough to have biased estimates of the incidence of fetomaternal microchimerism in humans. While the possibility that the Y chromosome could also enter the mother via microchimerism as a consequence of previous blood transfusion or transplantation has been considered in most studies, the possibility that male cells detected in the mother may have arrived via fetofetal or maternofetal transfer to the mother in utero has not be systematically excluded. Conclusive proof of fetomaternal microchimerism in humans would require the use of other paternal markers that differentiate between the father of the fetus and the father of the mother. One scenario might be to investigate cases where the mother and the mother's father share a genetic mutation or polymorphism not carried by the father of the fetus. In such cases, evidence of genetic markers derived from the father of the fetus in the mother could provide more conclusive evidence of fetomaternal microchimerism in humans. If the genetic mutation or polymorphism caused disease the presence of fetal cells in the diseased tissue could also offer evidence of the potential of fetomaternal tissue repair.

[darkmaga-retard]

The abortion industry, the organ harvesting industry and the vaccine industry work together. Their operations go hand-in-hand. The current supply of vaccines for children and adults is based on a history of brutality toward the unborn. In order to develop vaccines, human fetuses must be strategically picked apart, their organs harvested, the cell lines reproduced for vaccine manufacture.

There are six main types of cell lines used to develop biologics (vaccines). Four of these cell lines involve the sacrificial use of aborted fetal cells. The list of vaccines that exploit fetal cell lines in the manufacturing process is exhaustive.

These aborted fetal cell lines include the WI-38 diploid human cell line, which is composed of fibroblasts taken from the lung tissue of a 3-month-gestation female fetus. Vaccines also utilize the HEK-293 cell line, which is isolated from the kidney of a human embryo. Third, vaccines contain the MRC-5 diploid cell line, which consists of fibroblasts isolated from the lung tissue of a white male, 14-week-old embryo. Finally, vaccines are derived from the RA 27/3 cell lines, which have been taken from attenuated fetal kidney cells since 1964.

Here is the full list of vaccines that contain the WI-38 cell line:

1. MMR (M-M-R II)

• Type: Live attenuated

• Components: Measles, mumps, rubella

2. MMR (ProQuad)

• Type: Live attenuated

• Components: Measles, mumps, rubella, varicella

3. Varicella (Varivax)

• Type: Live attenuated

• Components: Varicella-zoster virus (chickenpox)

4. Zoster (Zostavax)

• Type: Live attenuated

• Components: Varicella-zoster virus (shingles)

5. Hepatitis A (Havrix)

• Type: Inactivated

• Components: Hepatitis A virus

6. Hepatitis A (Vaqta)

• Type: Inactivated

• Components: Hepatitis A virus

7. Rabies (RabAvert)

• Type: Inactivated

• Components: Rabies virus

8. Rabies (Imovax)

• Type: Inactivated

• Components: Rabies virus

9. Pentacel

• Type: Combination (inactivated and toxoid)

• Components: Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTaP), polio, Hib

10. Kinrix

• Type: Combination (inactivated and toxoid)

• Components: Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTaP), polio

11. ProQuad (MMRV)

• Type: Live attenuated

• Components: Measles, mumps, rubella, varicella

[looseleafteeaves]

Spine of Steel

Khaji Da cannot remember what exactly happened while they bonded to a host. Jaime is the 43rd to host them, and they still have no clue what EXACTLY happens. 

They know that the changes depend on the makeup of the biology of the being they inhabit. 

They know that they increase muscle elasticity and bone density and muscle density and the inherent durability of the host. 

They increase the capabilities of the optical organs, of the cutaneous, auditory, and olfactory senses. 

They optimize the production of chemicals, the dispersion of hormones throughout the body.

They twist the prey drive to fight. To fellow predator. To defend and attack and resist and take out the threat.

But they have no clue, outside of the programming, what exactly they are doing. What pain they are possibly causing, or nightmares that will linger. 

Khaji Da has never fit within a host quite like they do inside of Jaime Reyes. They feel and breath and think and twine all throughout Jaime’s body, in time with him. 

(They don’t like to think about what will happen when Jaime is gone. Jaime is not allowed to die. They fit far too perfectly to ever leave.)

Khaji Da has never regretted the changes they caused to a host. 

Khaji Da regrets the results that still affect Jaime from the event.

~~~

Jaime’s family has been pretty cool with Khaji Da, and the new effects they have on the family dynamic. They think that Khaji Da has gifted Jaime the confidence to stand up, tall, proud, ready to make his presence known.

They see Jaime’s straightened spine, and think “Ah. Jaime is growing up. Jaime is ready to be the man of the family.”

They do not see Jaime’s shoulders attempting to curl downwards, but being unable to shift his spine. 

They do not see how his eyes flash whenever something startles him. They don’t see how his curled fists flex with the need to defend.

They notice but force themselves to forfeit. Jaime is normal. He is. He’s just more confident now.

Jaime sees his family, and can read the approval of his straight spine, and his strengthened presence. 

He doesn’t have the heart to say that he feels less confident, if anything. He feels scared, jumping at shadows, paranoid of the people who stare at him and follow him through school. 

He can’t tell them that his spine doesn’t really bend unless his adrenaline is pumping and he is doing superhero work. 

He can’t mention how he feels as if his spine is lined with a rod of steel.

~~~

He is thrashing, as 7 burning points drill into his back. It feels as if someone is screwing something into his nerves, and liquid fire races along every part of him. He becomes hyper aware of every piece of skin and muscle and bone- every part of his body, whether he always could or not. 

He can feel something inject itself from the burning points, and suddenly the heat grows. He feels as if a supernova is trapped in his skin, in his blood, in his muscles, in his bones and organs and cells. 

He feels as if the heart of the stars have been compressed into him.

The burning begins to cool. It hardens, wiry and stiff. Feeling as though there is chainmail inside him. 

Then his skin feels like it begins to burn.  Something hard forms on the top layer, turning his clothing to ash. He screams, adrenaline racing as he becomes something exorcist-esque. His body flings towards the ceiling. He can-

He flings himself forwards, falling from his position on the ceiling, landing on his bed. 

Jaime Reyes, why are you reacting this way?

Jaime remains curled as tightly as he could, breathing through the fear and phantom pain that haunted his thoughts. However, as Khaji Da was forcefully making his adrenaline levels drop his spine was slowly pulling out of the fetal position without his consent.

His breathing began to pick up again as the phantom panic haunted his thoughts, growing more intense from the lack of control over part of his body.

Jaime Reyes, everything is fine. There is no danger. You are safe in your room in Palmera City. Scanners are clear.

Jaime, finally breathing more steadily, pressed against the wall, tugging his knees against his chest.

“Khaji Da?”

Yes, Jaime?

“What did you change in my body?”

… I can check the files for you and share the specifics if you want, Jaime.

“You don’t just know?”

… No, Jaime. I am dormant until the Scarab has performed base optimization of the host. I am programmed to have the records but I do not consciously choose.

“How can I believe you?”

You can’t. All I have is my words. And the proof that you still control your own body.

“Truly, that doesn’t really help. Share the files please?”

Yes, Jaime.

Immediately, lines of alien script scroll across his vision. He can tell that it has been translated into recognizable symbols, but knows nothing else.

{~<Command Sequence> [activate with contact]

~<Scan biosignature of life form>~

~<Determine Compatibility:

~<Life form compatible: [yes/no]>~

~[No]~

~<Remain dormant>~

<Repeat Command Sequence>

~[Yes]~

~Commence [Unification Protocol]

~[Scan] Biology

~[Locate] neural pathway central

~[Determine Optimal Positioning]

~[Execute Command] ^Begin Unification^

~[Execute Command] ^Bond With Neural Pathways^

~[Execute Command] ^Inject SC4R48 Nanites^

~[Execute Command] ^Determine Needed Improvements^

~[Execute Command] ^Determine Need For Cellular Production

Optimization Needed: [yes/no]

~[No]~

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in

[Command Sequence]^

.~

~[Yes}~

~[Execute Command] ^Bond (Novaellum) with host cells^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell production^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell functions^

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in

[Command Sequence]^

.~

~Bone Structure Improvement Needed: [yes/no]

~[No]~

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in

[Command Sequence]^

.~

~[Yes}~

~[Execute Command] ^Bond (Novaellum) with host cells^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell production^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell functions^

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in

[Command Sequence]^

.~

~Cartilage Structure Improvement Needed: [yes/no]

~[No]~

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in

[Command Sequence]^

.~

~[Yes}~

~[Execute Command] ^Bond (Novaellum) with host cells^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell production^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell functions^

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in

[Command Sequence]^

.~

~Muscle Structure Improvement Needed: [yes/no]

~[No]~

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in [Command

Sequence]^

.~

~[Yes}~

~[Execute Command] ^Bond (Novaellum) with host cells^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell production^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell functions^

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in [Command Sequence]^

.~

~[Detect] Organ Systems:[yes/no]~

~[No]

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in

[Command Sequence]^

~[Yes] Organic Systems Detected

~Collect Organic Systems Data~

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in

[Command Sequence]^

~Optimize All Organic Systems: [yes/no]

~[No]~

~[Execute Command] ^[Execute Command] in [Command

Sequence]^

.~

~[Yes}~

~[Execute Command] ^Bond (Novaellum) with [all] organic system 

cells^

~[Execute Command] ^Optimize cell production^

~[Execute Command] ^[sequenced command] in [Command

Sequence]^

.~

~[Execute Command] ^Khaji Protocol^

~Command File Corrupted~

~[Delete] Khaji Protocol

.~

}.

~[Execute Command] ^Armor Optimiza-

“Wait, Khaji Da, stop please. I’m getting overwhelmed. Are the rest of the commands similar?”

Yes Jaime. The rest of the protocols that affected your body are similar. 

“Are there any other protocols that I need to know immediately?”

No Jaime. All the other protocols are offshoots of either ^Host Optimization^ or ^Armor Optimization^. None will interfere with your daily life barring the Reach gaining access to our communication system.

“Okay. Thank you Khaji Da.”

You are welcome, Jaime Reyes.

After around 30 minutes, Jaime is debating the need of asking Khaji Da to increase his melatonin levels, when he remembers a protocol that was listed as corrupted.

“Hey, Khaji Da?”

Yes Jaime?

“What is the ^Khaji Protocol^?”

…That is the infiltrator protocol. It is meant to place my interface, commands, and computing system in the ^Driver’s Seat^ as you put it. 

“It’s meant to be, what mind control?”

Jaime waits patiently, tasting the usual flavor of mint that crosses his senses when Khaji Da is researching on the internet. 

Yes, Jaime. It is a ^Mind Control^ protocol.

Jaime shudders and pushes the sensation he gets from Khaji Da increasing his melatonin levels towards the ever present sensation of the Scarab in his mind. Khaji Da wordlessly complies, helping Jaime slip into a dreamless sleep.

~~~

The next morning, as Jaime struggles to sit up in bed, having never returned to the ceiling last night. His back refusing to bend, Khaji Da wordlessly forms four insectoid legs that push Jaime straight and allow him to continue with his day. 

He tries not to dwell on how he is now intimately aware of just how much his body has changed, and how much he is still mostly unaware of. 

After all, ignorance is bliss.

Right up until it isn’t.

[eldritchamy]

WAIT hold on hi abt the tags on the post about terfs being stupid about periods you reblogged - does HRT really end up causing similar hormone change cycles to periods? i've never heard abt that before and it's kind of boggling my mind because on the one hand why WOULDN'T HRT do that but on the other hand why WOULD it?

So keep in mind I am not an expert on the subject and everything I’m about to tell you is for the purpose of introducing you to the subject matter.

The short answer is yes. And it’s not similar to periods. It’s EXACTLY periods. Caused by the exact same hormones interacting with the body in the exact same way.

So yes it does happen, and it happens because a period doesn’t come from a uterus. It comes from the hypothalamus. A uterus is just the organ most noticeably affected by it. A uterus is not necessary whatsoever to experience period symptoms.

Everyone has a hypothalamus. It’s just a little thing in your brain that does some endocrine/hormone stuff. Under the right hormone conditions, ANYONE can have period symptoms. Not everyone can bleed because you need uterine lining tissue for that (some amab intersex people do! I’ve read at least one account from an amab person who found out they were intersex BECAUSE they had a small amount of uterine lining in their rectum which caused monthly bleeding when they hit puberty).

But literally every other period symptom is fair game.

And yes, that sucks.

If you want quick links to some sources I’ve read about the subject without clicking through for my rambling bullshit, here:

Yes, Trans Women Can Get Period Symptoms (2016)

Cycle Dynamic - Why Trans Women Can Have Periods (2018)

If you DO want my rambling bullshit, buckle up because I’m Very Normal when I find a subject interesting.

The background fact you need to understand the rest of this is that the human body doesn’t actually HAVE separate “versions” of anything for ‘male’ and ‘female’ bodies (I may be using these terms more liberally than they should really be used for ease of reading, but for the record the gender binary is bullshit, which is the point of where this is going). Even a penis is just a modified clitoris. It’s not an analogous structure. It’s literally the exact same organ. (And it does change in response to hormones).

The human body is just the human body. It decides how it behaves based on chemistry, not genetics. There are CERTAIN STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT (namely embryonic/EARLY fetal and puberty) in which major diversions in form and function happen. And of those embryonic is faaaaaaar more significant because it’s what sets the harder to change things (primary sex characteristics) in place. Most secondary sex characteristics can be changed later just by changing the hormone chemistry of your body, which is the entire principle behind why HRT is possible.

At no point ever in the entire span of a human life cycle does anything like “oh okay, you have a BOY hypothalamus :) enjoy :)” happen. You just have the same hypothalamus as everyone else, barring medical conditions.

SO. Basically how it works is your hypothalamus knows how much estrogen is in your body at any given time, and if it notices a spike in that level, it says to itself, “OH SHIT! WE HAVE A MATURE EGG! Time to MAKE SOME CHANGES.”

Your hypothalamus does not know or care whether you have a uterus. It only responds to the estrogen cycle.

Both cis and trans women (and anyone else who either has a working uterus or takes an estrogen supplement, but again, using simple language to get the ideas across) have estrogen cycles.

In CIS women, the estrogen cycle is internal and based on ovulation. TL;DR, your ovaries release different amounts of estrogen throughout the cycle based on the maturity of an egg cell.

In TRANS women, the estrogen cycle is external because we get our estrogen from pills or injections instead of from ovaries, and it’s based on how your body metabolizes that medication. You usually get a big hit around the time you get the dosage and then it tapers off until you take the next dose. Back to this in a second.

IN EITHER CASE, your hypothalamus tracks those changes and responds to them by releasing the period hormones (GnRH (Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone), FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), LH (Leutinizing Hormone)) at a certain point in that cycle. When your hypothalamus feels that estrogen spike, it doesn’t CARE where that estrogen came from because it’s not its JOB to know where the estrogen came from. It only cares that it’s there. And you have the exact same hypothalamus no matter what genitals you have.

This next bit is speculation on my part based on experience and anecdotal evidence, but it seems like the greater and more predictable the VARIATION over the course of that cycle, the easier it is for your hypothalamus to be like “AHA! NOW!” and keep you on a regular cycle. Trans women who take INJECTIONS, which are on a much longer release schedule than pills, tend to experience more ups and downs in their estrogen levels and more noticeable, and regular, period symptoms. FOR ME, I’ve only ever been on pills, at a few different dosages. Earlier on I noticed that for (surprise) about 3 to 5 days every month, I would get all kinds of symptoms like headaches, backaches, joint aches, muscle aches, irritability, mood swings, depressive episodes, odd cravings (usually just crunchy and salty but sometimes really specific things), bloating, cramps (yes really), gastrointestinal stuff, etc. I suspect, with no evidence either way, that these symptoms were mild, but I’ve heard other trans women describe their symptoms as much less severe than mine, so idk.

ALSO earlier on, I used to take all of my pills at once, one time per day. I noticed something interesting when I switched to splitting my dosage and taking half twice a day: a huge reduction in severity and regularity of period symptoms. My levels are a lot more consistent throughout the day now, and I guess my hypothalamus can no longer sense a spike in my levels. (It used to be ESPECIALLY severe when I ran out and it took a few days to get my prescriptions refilled, cause then I had an estrogen crash (which gives you symptoms of menopause and wow THAT’S a wild ride, hot flashes are the actual worst) followed by a spike when I got back on them and almost always would have a super noticeable period within days of this happening).

So when I started spreading my dosage throughout the day, I basically made my hypothalamus too confused to know when to release those hormones. Either that or it thinks I’m pregnant. I’m not sure.

Coming back from that tangent.

It is a VERY KNOWN THING that when you take estrogen INJECTIONS, you need to work with your doctors a bit to figure out the exact dosage and timing that works best for you, because a lot of the time what happens with that is you’ll experience pretty severe dysphoria and depression symptoms in the days leading up to your next injection, and if this describes the experience of anyone you know, congrats, that’s PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder), and you need your injections to be a few days closer together to prevent those symptoms. It’s literally your body experiencing an estrogen crash because your last dose wore off too long before you got the next one. This is also more common in people who take Progesterone.

The long and short of what happens when your hypothalamus registers an estrogen spike is that it releases the period hormones, which basically among other things go down to your abdomen and say W̶̫̬̒I̶̧̬̤͛Ĝ̴̦͆̽G̴̢̞̈́L̴̩͖̂E̷͇̲̊͐̀. And if you have a uterus, all that wiggling is what makes your uterus cramp up and squeeze out its lining and start bleeding. It ALSO has the delightful side effect of not really caring enough to target the uterus specifically, so it also makes your INTESTINES start cramping up and squeezing themselves, so fun fact that’s where period shits come from if you have those.

Everybody say “thank you, hypothalamus.”

So yeah that’s why it happens. The TL;DR is blame the hypothalamus. The human body is differentiated by chemistry not chromosomes. Put the right chemistry in place and you can absolutely get periods.

And yes, they suck for us too.

[totallynormalalec]

When a smeet hatches, they are giving a PAK designated to a random class, or whatever class is in demand. Each class is represented by a color and each PAK is specialized to the tools and information needed for that class. There has been multiple instances throughout Irken history that an Irken has transferred to a different class from which they were born into, but the PAK is still a way of designating what kind of tools and info they possess.

PAK Tools

•Four mechanical, spider like legs which can be used as

• A quick and versatile mode of transportation

• Laser cutters/laser blast

• Shield generator

• Laser gun

•Audio and Video commucator

•Portible container

•Levitation system

•Jet pack

•Invisible bubble helmet (space travel)

•Binocular helmet with night vision

•Small robotic arm

•Organ harvesting device

•Ray gun

The PAK contains all of the Irkens knowledge, effectively serving as an auxiliary brain, and holds a great array of wepons/tools. It also contains the hosts personality, charging cell, atmospheric prosesr and a handy auto reset button that will reactivate an Irken if they suffer a fetal injury. It also seems to be able to heal the host more quickly then it would naturally.

If a PAK is separated from its host, it will soon begin to seek out another, though it will at first attempt to reconnect with its original Irken owner

If the PAK attaches to another organism it will slowly kill the organism and take over if the organism can't remove it in 10 minutes.

Combat Division

Invader Class

Trained in covert ops, Invaders are tasked with going undercover to enemy planets and blending in with the native inhabitants in order to prepare it for conquest by the Irken Armada.

Milliary Class

The Irkens programmed for the military make up the majority of the Irken Armada. They are trained to be the soldiers on the front line in battle wether that be on land sea or space

Wepon Class

Battle seems to be a hobby to the Irken race. And working in close correspondence with the Innovations Class, the Wepons Class specializes in the building and development of the technology of the Irken military offense. If the Military Class uses it in battle, the Weapons Class built it

Research & Analysis Devision

Life Sciences Class

They specialize in all the non mechanical factors of Irken life like biology,systematics and agriculture

Physical Sciences Class

Irkens of the Physical Science Class are the ones that crunch the numbers of life and the math of how things work. Their specialists include the studies of space, sound, motion and best of all quantum physics

Explorer Class

The Irkens programmed into the Explorer Class don't see Irk much after their initial training. Their job is braving the frontiers of space, mapping and scoping out the far universe and reporting their findings back to the tallest

Engineering Division

Medical Class

Seeing how the PAK is the Irken life force, highly trained medical technicians are needed to maintain and repair them. They work in close correspondence with the Life Sciences Class, but those in the Medical Class truly know the ins, outs, and facets of the PAK and how it works. They're the primary class in production of every new PAK.

Innovations Class

Those in the Innovations Class are essentially the inverters and artists of the Irken race. They design and build everything from cruisers to robo technics to the structure capsules used by the Invader Class to establish their secret bases.

Communications Class

They are the Irkens behind every visual and aural form of communication used by the Irken Empire. Not only do they build the equipment they also operate the Communication Center on both Irk and the Massive alike.

All information was taken from different sources on the internet. I just compiled it into a list -Alec

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the appeal of a Minnesota woman who said she was wrongly denied unemployment benefits after being fired for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because of her religious beliefs.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development determined she wasn’t eligible for benefits because her reasons for refusing the vaccine were based less on religion and more on a lack of trust that the vaccine was effective.

The case shows that the vaccine debate continues to smolder after the pandemic and after the Supreme Court in 2022 halted enforcement of a Biden administration vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers but declined to hear a challenge to the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care facilities that receive federal funding.

Still pending is an appeal from military chaplains who challenged the military’s vaccination requirement. Although that requirement was later rescinded at the direction of Congress, the chaplains argue they lost out on training opportunities and promotions because they requested religious exemptions.

Minnesota said the unemployment benefit appeal denied Monday wasn’t worth the Supreme Court’s time because benefits have been given to others who were found to have a sincerely held religious objection to the vaccine, so there’s no overarching question to address.

Lawyers for the Upper Midwest Law Center, which represented Tina Goede, had argued she was treated differently by the Minnesota courts than others who successfully appealed their denial of benefits.

REFUSING TO GET VACCINATED, FIRED FROM A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY

After refusing to get vaccinated, Goede was fired in 2022 from her job as an account sales manager for the pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca. Her position had required her to meet with customers in hospitals and clinics, some of which required proof of vaccination.

She told the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development her religious beliefs prohibit injecting foreign substances into her body, which is a “temple of the Holy Spirit.”

A Catholic opposed to abortion, Goede also objected to the COVID-19 vaccine because she believed it was manufactured using or tested on an aborted fetal-cell line. (A cell line from an abortion decades ago was used to create Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. Fetal cells were used in the early testing, though not in the production, of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.)

But Goede told the unemployment law judge she wouldn’t receive the vaccine no matter how it was made “because it doesn’t work.”

The judge said Goede was declining to take some vaccines, but not others, “because she does not trust them, not because of a religious belief.”

Goede’s attorneys said the judge had interrogated her religious beliefs with “unfair `gotcha’ questioning."

“He couched his denial of benefits in Ms. Goede’s credibility and then discounted her religious beliefs by determining that her secular beliefs outweighed them,” the lawyers told the Supreme Court.

At the same time the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld that decision last year, it reached the opposite conclusion for two others who had been denied benefits after asserting religious objections.

Goede’s lawyers said her case presented a question that will reoccur: how to analyze a religious objection to an employer policy when those objections coincide with secular beliefs.

[slifarianhawk]

Chapter 41: Little Brother

It was about two weeks since me and Albert found out about our triplets. He barely let me out of his sight however we had a mission coming up, to show what I am to the B.S.A.A. I couldn't afford to let the B.S.A.A. get in the way of my plans. While this would probably traumatize a lot of people including Chris. It needed to be done.

I was ready to embrace the path I was on. I was going to save Albert.  Even if it meant severing all ties I have. I was about three blocks away from the main European branch of the B.S.A.A. The Intel that was collected said that Chris would be at the main Europe office for the next few weeks. The agent didn't know what for but said that he was an integral part of an upcoming mission. Wesker wanted to cripple them one way or another.

This was going to be a slaughter. Many innocent lives were going to be ended by me today. I felt strange about it. Part of me yearned to call Chris and warn him of what was coming. Yet I didn't call. I was ready to let the innocent burn for all my pain. Someone had to pay for everything I was feeling.

Albert rubbed my belly as the black S.U.V. neared the base. I was terrified something would happen to them. I placed my hand on Albert's. It was simple I would transform into the archangel form and go on a rampage.

I was faster in my archangel form. I would be able to dodge bullets with ease. I started to shake what if they were hit? I couldn't lose them so soon after finding out about them. Already they had wormed their way into my and Albert's hearts.

"Uroboros will protect you and our children, my delicate lotus. I'm also sending in a B.O.W. to protect you. You just have to filtrate and find Chris. Once you do soothe him make him feel like you managed to get away from me. Then the beast will attack the base from the B.O.W. study area. I'll let you out here and I'll release the B.O.W. that should surely get you in through the gates or at least draw out Chris."  Albert said reviewing the plan. 

I could tell he was stressed over us being apart too. He used three contractions. I had to ease his worry somehow after all he was easing my worries. I kissed him and shifted my skin cells to appear bruised and beaten in multiple places. I had to be confident in my acting. Not only to make Albert happy but to keep Chris safe.

"You'll be there for the ending, right? Where you collar me and drag me away?  I know that will send a message to Chris." I asked my eyes now appearing dull and lifeless.

"Yes my dear, I hate making you look like this but we do as we must to protect our future." He kissed me then he kissed my lower belly through my torn and bloody shirt, "Your father loves all three of you. Keep momma safe from her bastard brother."

I gently chuckle at the affection he gave our unborn younglings. He was going to be an amazing father to them. But it was time. With a quick kiss on the cheek. I kicked out the door of the S.U.V. and jumped into the nearby forest. I curdled up into the fetal position landing on my back. Uroboros bracing my fall I barely felt a thing. Mine and Albert's creation was protecting mine and Albert's little ones.

I heard restraints snapping and a roar breaking out from behind the tree line. I knew what was released. A tyrant, I moaned in annoyance as I limped away. I ran as fast as I could to the other side of the forest. The base was dead in my sight, and I kept limping on. I heard heavy boot steps behind me. Was this thing going to protect or harm me I couldn't tell. The programming was extremely fickle.

I hurried out of the forest, B.S.A.A. guards quickly drew their Assault rifles and aimed at me, "FREEZE THIS IS A PROTECTED AREA BY THE UN TURN AROUND AND LEAVE!!!" a lanky female yelled.

"P...PLEASE HIC HELP ME!!! HE SENT A TYRANT AFTER ME!!!" I screamed bloody murder falling in front of the base, my arms guarding my stomach.

Shortly after I heard a man scream out "OH SHIT IN THE TREE LINE!!!".

A roar pierced the air, as the tyrant burst through the trees. My heart quickly sank. It was one of Sergei's tyrants, the green glasses one to be exact the one that was always meant to hunt me and return me to Vladimir's side. Albert sure did his fucking research, my PTSD was fucking triggered. More for the part I guess but I was having words with him when we got back.

I pushed myself up and started limping toward the base again. I grabbed my Phoenix Corps. badge from my torn-up shorts as an alarm started to go off. I heard a door open as I limped closer and closer.

"WHAT THE HELL!!!? T WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" I heard a familiar voice call out.

"CHRIS HELP ME! HIC WESKER SENT THAT THING TO TAKE ME BACK!" I cry out the lie sorrowful tears leaking from my nearly lifeless-looking eyes.

"WHAT!!?? OH FUCK NO!! HURRY T OVER HERE!" Chris yelled as I fell once more my bare left set of toes extremely hyper-extending as I heard a distinct pop. I shifted to land on my back my slight baby bump exposed. My body was covered in false bruises and faded scars.

The tyrant grew closer as the agents opened fire on the damn thing. I tried to stand but quickly fell again screaming in pain.

That was fucking genuine pain. The first time I felt pain like that in a while. I couldn't stay I had to keep moving. I dragged my body along the asphalt. Chips of silica fell off lightly cutting my body. I felt hazy. My left foot spasmed as I threw up. Damn morning sickness and pain, at least it made my predicament convincing. I knew with the last fall I took I had probably done some real damage to myself as I watched my left foot turn splotched with red and violet hues.

"KEEP FIRING! I'M GOING AFTER MY SISTER!" Chris yelled sliding down the pathway and shooting at the green-lensed Ivan with his M92F pistol.

The monster stumbled back as Chris got closer to me. I tried and successfully managed to stand up excruciating pain ran through my foot. Fuck, at that moment I knew it was at least a sprain. I waddled over to Chris trying to keep weight off my left foot.

"Chris, brother, please stop this thing! I can't go much further." I fell to my knees and drew my Samurai Edge from the holster behind my back. I panted another wave of vomit blew past my mouth. I weakly dropped the pistol, falling into the vomit. Yuck, this was a new low for me.

"T! Oh my God! What the fuck did he do to you?" Chris stared at the fake bruising in horror. Then his eyes came to my distended belly and I saw defeat on his face.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" He asked lifting me into his arms not caring I was covered in throw-up.

"That's why I had to get away. Couldn't let anything ...happen.... to them." I threw up again most of it was bile and from pain, "I was taken on a mission but I escaped Chris. I managed to get away." I weakly laugh.

"Yeah you did good T, you have no idea how glad I am to see you again," Chris said handing me my Beretta which was spared from the vomit.

"It's retreating!" One of the agents shouted as I looked at the tyrant walking back into the forest.

"Stay on guard its master probably just called it back," Chris said rushing me into the base as I felt even more hazy.

"Chris... I'm so sorry for dragging you into this." I coughed, closing my eyes, "You know I missed you, little brother.".

I decided to take the act even further and fell asleep.

(CHRIS POV)

"NO! GOD DAMN IT WESKER!" I stared at my unconscious sister. I raced to the infirmary where Rebecca was. She would be the only doctor I could trust with her. I knew he had moles in the B.S.A.A. and she wasn't one of them.

"Chris! what's going on?" My trainee asked with his sniper on his back.

"It's Wesker, Piers. He is nearby. My sister somehow managed to escape his grasp. But I'm sure he will be back for her." I said opening the infirmary door, "Rebecca emergency patient!"

I quickly sat T on a medical bed and then rushed to wash my hands. I didn't care that she was covered in vomit when that thing was after her but it was still gross. I looked at her left foot, the top was swelling pretty badly and looked like some small veins had popped when she landed.

"Chris is this her? The former Umbrella operative?" Piers asked a stunned look on his face.

"Yeah, that's her, My older sister Tabitha. She is Wesker's wife." I sigh sitting in a chair next to her. She did not look at rest. I watched as the bruising was slowly disappearing everywhere except her foot.

"What's making that bruising disappear so quickly?" Piers asked.

I was about to answer when Rebecca walked into the room, "That agent Nivans is one of the effects of being infected with the Angelis Virus."

"Rebecca thanks for taking a look at her, I think she might have broken her foot," I said stroking her hair.

"What is the Angelis virus? I have never heard of it." Piers asked setting down his sniper rifle.

"I believe she is the only one infected with it but it's a strain of the Progenitor virus. That's the parent strain of the main umbrella viruses." Rebecca said her hand automatically going to her stomach.

"Chris, I think she's pregnant." Rebecca ran over to a cabinet and grabbed a scanner-type thing.

"I know she told me just before she passed out. That was the reason she escaped." I said staring at Piers.

"She ran away while pregnant, your sister is either brave or a little stupid." He said.

"Or option three a good mom," Rebecca said placing some kind of gel and pulling up a screen.

"She did always want to raise kids of her own. To think Wesker would do this to someone he married. Who had two of his kids before? Why Damn it?" I growled snapping the cheap plastic chair.

"Mmmph!" T groaned in her sleep.

"Sorry T," I whispered taking a deep breath, "Rebecca what do you see?"

"She's pregnant with triplets Chris!" Rebecca shouted stunned, "She's almost at the end of her first trimester!"

"So Wesker did succeed, God Damn it!" I rubbed her forehead.

"Mmmm, huh where am I?" T asked waking up and shifting around.

"Hey T," I smiled as she smiled up at me.

"Hey little brother," She said, and when she moved her foot she winced, "fuck! That is fucking hurt."

"I was about to get you an x-ray of your foot," Rebecca said to T.

Piers stepped out for a moment when a loud rumble shook the building. T's eyes went dark and she started to shake. We were under attack and I damn well knew who it was.

"He's come for us," T said holding her baby bump, "Chris, I'm scared."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Wesker doesn't get you guys. Here, there is a wheelchair over here. I'll evac you and get you to O'Brian. He will know what to do." I said gently picking her up and placing her into the wheelchair.

"SIR! THAT THING IS BACK! AND IT HAS BACKUP!" Piers yelled running back in an explosion knocking him into the med bay.

"Cough...cough...you okay kid?" T asked shaking.

"Yes thank you, mam," Piers said, "Chris get her out of here. I'll cover you."

Piers pulled out a nine o'nine as the tyrant stormed into the corridor. I heard T gasp in pain as she lept out of the chair curling up on the floor. Her body was spasming becoming encased in a black glass-like material.

"Chris....please run my virus..... unstable.... can't hold back much longer.... I don't have my meds to stop this... I'm so sorry for this..." she said as her body completely crystallized.

"T NO!" I shouted, "Piers and Rebecca lock down the infirmary stay hidden!"

"You sure Chris? I can help!" Rebecca shouted as Piers pushed her into the med bay.

"Dr. Chambers, please stay down." I heard Piers close the door as the glass started to shatter.

T showed me this once before. She nearly killed me then. The monster that Umbrella made her. Their sickening form of an angel. I heard wheezing as the glass shattered and T erupted from the cocoon. She let out a horrendous screech.

"T, please don't make me do this!" I shout drawing my gun.

"HELP LITTLE BROTHER!!!" She shrieked her voice like grinding brakes.

She lurched towards me. That's when I heard him. His fucking cruel laugh rang throughout the hallway. Wesker strutted into view his sunglasses shining in the fluorescent lights.

"There you are my precious lotus. Come to your master." He said beckoning her to him.

A weird sound exited T's throat. Her wings flicked and she hovered over to him. No, the B.O.W. in her listens to him. I shot at Wesker and T charged towards me. Her clawed right foot slammed into my chest sending me flying into the wall.

"Gorgeous isn't she Chris? She is truly a perfect specimen. Look at the obsidian plates along her beautiful womanly parts?" Wesker said as she landed next to him.

"T please fight this!" I screamed falling to my knees as wesker stroked my sister's belly, "GET AWAY FROM THEM YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Oh dearheart, did he find out? So sad. I guess we just won't be able to leave you out of my sight anymore my precious pet. Our young shall inherit this disgusting world. We can't risk them or you falling into the wrong hands, now could we? We both know what will happen if anyone takes them away right." Wesker said grabbing her chin from in between her fangs.

I looked into her eyes and saw nothing but fear and despair behind them a raspy female voice came out as T's fangs shrunk and mouth opened, "They would experiment on them and do what Vladimir did to me. Make our little ones into weapons."

What? No! That wouldn't happen with us. we'd keep her and them safe. Right? I shook my head realigning my shot at Wesker's head. He was manipulating her with her trauma! No way in hell was I going to allow him to do this to her.

I took my shot and fired my gun only to see Wesker smirk. A horrid noise came from behind Wesker. The monster that was chasing T earlier was holding Piers by the neck. She turned towards Wesker and reverted to her human form.

"Chris stop her!" Piers cried out grabbing his pistol and blasting the bastard's head. "She could be the key to stopping Wesker!"

"Albert, let the young man go... I will go with you. I give up, you win." T said looking away from me.

"T PLEASE DO NOT GO WITH THIS BASTARD! THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY!" I cried out.

"There is but you can't do it, Chris. You wouldn't let your friend die and you wouldn't kill me and my babies. This way at least the young soldier lives to fight another day." She said tears of blood falling from her face.

"I will accept this trade my dear lotus." Wesker laughed pulling out something out of his pocket.

My face dropped it was the collar from the video. He wrapped the collar around her neck and tightened it. T bowed her head as the tyrant dropped Piers.

That was when I heard the clacking of combat boots racing towards us. Maybe this is my chance.

I raced toward T and grabbed her wrist. I started to pull her away when I felt a shock course through my body. I saw sparks shooting down her arm.

"THERE THEY ARE! OPEN FIRE!" The Assault team captain shouted.

"WAIT NO SHE'S!" I started to yell out only to see a bright flash of electricity.

T had punched an electric panel and darkness rolled across the base. I felt something warm and wet wrap around me.

I cried in the darkness, "Please T don't go..."

"I'm sorry Chris. My adoring baby brother, this is where we part ways. Good....bye hic" She whispered in my ears.

Then I felt her be pulled away from me as gunshot flashes lit up the hallway. She was gone. The little time I had her in my grasp and she sacrificed herself to him to save one of mine. T why damn it! She gave up her free will to save Piers.

"I failed again," I whisper curling up on the floor.

She broke for him, she fought her bastard uncle but broke for her husband. This just told me one thing. That was a shadow of my sister. She was gone.

I'm sorry T but I can't save you.

Hey everyone Silfarianhawk here and I didn't take as long of a break as I expected. Inspiration struck and I had to get this down. Things are turning up again so let's keep the ball rolling. I'm currently on medical leave from work so I'll have another chapter up soon. My name is Silfarianhawk and I'm not so far away. Good night dearhearts 🪷

[jeonstellate]

ocean waves & faded dreams — shore xi

the avengers watch snippets of phantom's life with hydra and the winter soldier.

⚝༄ platonic!bucky barnes x original character (ft. platonic!tony stark x original character)

⚝༄ depictions of memory wipe, child abuse, objectification, murder, & dehumanization

⚝༄ paragraph format — 1.6K words

masterlist | ow&fd masterlist

[gif’s full credit belongs solely to its owner]

⚝༄ think everything in bold is in russian.

The Avengers found themselves deep within a HYDRA base.

However, they opted to not look around their new surroundings right away in favor of attending to Bucky — who claimed a spot on the floor as he collected his thoughts.

"Buck, can you hear me?" Steve was immediately in front of him, ready to comfort.

"I’m— I’m fine. Just shocked." Bucky lightly shook his head as though he was shaking his best friend’s concern away. "I didn’t— I didn’t know they did that to Tide that early."

"What was that, anyway?" Scott intrigued. "The mechanical dentist device?"

"It’s what HYDRA used to wipe our memory."

"Why would they wipe the memory of a literal four-year-old?" Clint voiced out what everyone was thinking.

Unconsciously, they all looked at Wanda — as they all assumed she knew exactly why. After all, she was the one who showed those memories as part of answering what S.H.I.E.L.D. was hiding about their youngest agent.

"I had to cut the memory short for Barnes’ sake," Wanda started, "but we were supposed to hear Fischer say something near the end." She paused for a second while she waited for Steve to help Bucky up. Once she met the latter’s eyes, she took it as a signal to continue, "‘If only you didn’t inherit your Papa’s intelligence along with his eyes, then I wouldn’t need to wipe your memory this early.’"

The Avengers were silent as they tried to make sense of that information individually. Whatever they were thinking, though, it was apparent that they were reaching the same conclusion — as noted by the way they all unconsciously looked in the same direction.

"How many more memories do you have up your sleeve?" Tony didn’t appear to be bothered by the stares that gradually gravitated toward him.

"There’s one more after this," Wanda informed him and the rest of the team. "Just to solidify everything, in case there’s still any doubts."

Taking that as their cue, the Avengers finally took the chance to process their surroundings. Only there wasn’t much to process since there was barely anything in the room. Just a door, a HYDRA insignia on the wall, and a cylindrical glass prison.

"Is that Kid?" Sam was the first to identify the lump inside the cell.

In the others’ defense, there was nothing identifiable currently in view since she was curled in a fetal position. All that was in their line of sight were the unwanted gifts etched on her skin — faint scars, newly formed scars, old cuts, and bleeding cuts all around.

"What have they done to her?" Bruce led the way to approach the glass cell to get a better look. "Even her clothes are soaked with blood—"

Before anyone could add another comment, they were silenced by the sudden appearance of the younger-looking Winter Soldier. No one heard the room door open nor close — and they didn’t see him already in the room when they materialized, either.

However he entered the room, the Winter Soldier announced his presence by widening the opening of her cell door — making it creak in the process.

"Please, I had enough for today," they heard Riptide croak without looking up. "Please don’t hurt me."

"I’m not here to hurt you," the Winter Soldier replied cautiously. He stayed at the adjacent corner of where she was, careful not to make any sudden movements that could startle the young girl.

"Papa?" She looked up suddenly, her eyes were sparkling with tears and hope.

"How old was she here?" Tony’s voice was tight. It was easy for them to tell in the previous memories that she was four years old — as Detective Jones told them she was four when she was abducted. Not to mention she appeared to be generally well taken care of in those memories, like she was still growing normally. However, in the one they were currently seeing, her age became a bit ambiguous due to the sudden loss of her cheeks.

"Five," Bucky supplied. It only took one look at him for some to realize he wasn’t fully with them at the moment. Rather, he was slightly reliving the memory currently playing in front of them. "Five-and-a-half, at most."

"You mean it had been a full year and yet she hadn’t stopped looking — waiting — for her Papa?"

"You heard Jones earlier." Bucky’s attention was still directed on what was in front, but he still contributed to the conversation. "Johan hasn’t really stopped looking for him, even now."

The Winter Soldier shook his head somewhat regretfully, "No, doll, but I could be your friend."

"Friend? I never had any of those before." Riptide was slowly uncurling herself from a fetal position. She gave her full attention to the newcomer, suddenly interested. "I had a mom once, I think, but never a friend. What do they call you?"

"Winter Soldier, Asset, Soldier." He replied casually before walking close to where she sat. "In English, too."

"Do they call everyone ‘Asset’? They call me that, too." Her child-like curiosity was in display once more, albeit it was notably not as strong as it once was. "They call me a lot of other things, but mostly Riptide, Experiment 218, or just 218."

"They called you Phantom before they sent me here," he offered hopefully. "You have a lot of names."

Riptide patted a spot next to her, wordlessly inviting him to sit. He obliged. "I do, but I don’t like any of them, so just call me whatever you like."

"Little one," the Winter Soldier decided almost immediately.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Natasha commented, sounding a bit exasperated. She turned to Bucky, "Out of all the nicknames—"

"How was I supposed to know?"

"That’s too long," Riptide rejected his idea as soon as it was out of his mouth. "Speaking of, can I call you Win? Or Sol? ‘Winter Soldier’ is a bit of a mouthful."

She suddenly yawned. If her bleeding wounds were anything to go by, the Avengers were quick to assume that her exhaustion was from the experiments that she had to endure for the day.

"Win’s fine."

Since there was nothing she could sleep on, she merely lied down on the floor. However, that feat was accompanied by a hiss the moment her back touched the floor.

"Shall I call you Rip?" Win copied her example and lied down as well.

"What, like ‘I’ll rip your throat out’?" Even in pain, Riptide had a quip. Slowly, she shifted off her back and decided to rest her head on his chest instead.

He didn’t seem bothered by the sudden close proximity. "Can you actually? Already?"

She hummed, before adding as an afterthought, "Not that efficient yet, though."

Contrast to the masks of horrified looks that the observing Avengers shared with one another, the Winter Soldier merely let out a small impressed sound. "Tide it is, then."

Time elapsed around the Avengers.

They witnessed Riptide — or Tide, as the Winter Soldier dubbed her — grow from an expressive dreamer into an expressionless machine. Overtime, she gradually lost her faith in her father . . . in being rescued. Her sparkling eyes were replaced by a vacant abyss; her meaningful stares were eventually replaced by blank ones. They saw how her tears became less and less frequent until they stopped altogether. Day by day, her scars multiplied, but she eventually stopped caring. Over the years, Tide became less and less human.

Oftentimes, she would come back to her prison bleeding allover. Majority of her clothes would be soaked in blood and her skin would be covered in newly-opened cuts, but no reaction would ever come from the young girl. No wince, no tear, no scream, no nothing. Just an absolute blank look.

"They’ve broken her," as Pietro noted amidst the chaos that was fast-paced memories.

Perhaps that was why the Avengers almost lost their minds when she suddenly came back with metal hands.

"What’s that on your face?" The Winter Soldier was accompanying Riptide inside her cell, as he often did throughout the elapse. Had he not pointed it out, they wouldn’t have noticed that her usually blank face had been tinted. Of sadness and confusion.

"They seemed to wear it quite often, don’t you think?" There was no emotion in her voice, which was a huge contrast to how she was before. She didn’t bother looking up at him either, and instead just focused her attention to her hands. "I thought it was quite suiting."

"Why?" His lack of emotion was rivaling hers — and ultimately surpassing it without any trouble.

"I heard them talking while I was under." The heroes were surprised at how quickly they figured out that the "they" and "them" in her previous sentences weren’t referring to the same group of people. "They said that I was related to someone who they wanted revenge on."

"That’s something, isn’t it?" The Winter Soldier situated himself next to the teenage assassin. "I thought they always just take people at random."

The Avengers’ bloods ran cold. They all concurred on who were the brainwashed assassins were most likely talking about without conversing. After all, there were only two-to-three people who they could possibly be referring to.

"Howard Stark," Riptide confirmed their suspicions, "whoever that is."

"That name sounds familiar," he murmured. "I don’t know."

"Familiar like Steve?" She inquired, finally glancing at her fellow assassin. "Or from a mission?"

"I don’t know the difference between those two," the Winter Soldier admitted after trying to read her face for a moment. "Who’s Steve?"

Tide let a beat pass, "I guess it’s time for me to give the ‘Don’t Forget’ lecture."

next shore >

[jackmedwn]

Most of today’s vaccines are developed with ABORTED FETAL CELL LINES – Here’s the full list – NaturalNews.com

[beardedmrbean]

WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the appeal of a Minnesota woman who said she was wrongly denied unemployment benefits after being fired for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because of her religious beliefs.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development determined she wasn’t eligible for benefits because her reasons for refusing the vaccine were based less on religion and more on a lack of trust that the vaccine was effective.

The case shows that the vaccine debate continues to smolder after the pandemic and after the Supreme Court in 2022 halted enforcement of a Biden administration vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers but declined to hear a challenge to the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care facilities that receive federal funding.

Still pending is an appeal from military chaplains who challenged the military’s vaccination requirement. Although that requirement was later rescinded at the direction of Congress, the chaplains argue they lost out on training opportunities and promotions because they requested religious exemptions.

'Cancel culture' Supreme Court rejects case on dust-up between Catholic student and Native American

Minnesota said the unemployment benefit appeal denied Monday wasn’t worth the Supreme Court’s time because benefits have been given to others who were found to have a sincerely held religious objection to the vaccine, so there’s no overarching question to address.

Lawyers for the Upper Midwest Law Center, which represented Tina Goede, had argued she was treated differently by the Minnesota courts than others who successfully appealed their denial of benefits. 

Refusing to get vaccinated, fired from a pharmaceutical company

After refusing to get vaccinated, Goede was fired in 2022 from her job as an account sales manager for the pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca. Her position had required her to meet with customers in hospitals and clinics, some of which required proof of vaccination.

She told the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development her religious beliefs prohibit injecting foreign substances into her body, which is a “temple of the Holy Spirit.”

A Catholic opposed to abortion, Goede also objected to the COVID-19 vaccine because she believed it was manufactured using or tested on an aborted fetal-cell line. (A cell line from an abortion decades ago was used to create Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. Fetal cells were used in the early testing, though not in the production, of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.)

But Goede told the unemployment law judge she wouldn’t receive the vaccine no matter how it was made “because it doesn’t work.”

The judge said Goede was declining to take some vaccines, but not others, “because she does not trust them, not because of a religious belief.”

Goede’s attorneys said the judge had interrogated her religious beliefs with “unfair `gotcha’ questioning."

“He couched his denial of benefits in Ms. Goede’s credibility and then discounted her religious beliefs by determining that her secular beliefs outweighed them,” the lawyers told the Supreme Court.

At the same time the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld that decision last year, it reached the opposite conclusion for two others who had been denied benefits after asserting religious objections.

Goede’s lawyers said her case presented a question that will reoccur: how to analyze a religious objection to an employer policy when those objections coincide with secular beliefs.

[expertacademicassignmenthelp]

What Are The Stages of Fetal Growth During Pregnancy?

The development of a fetus during pregnancy is a complex and remarkable process, marked by significant changes and growth each month. This journey is typically divided into three stages known as trimesters, each lasting approximately three months. For Healthcare professionals we discuss fetal development in terms of weeks. Here’s a detailed overview of what entails during each month of pregnancy.

a) First Trimester

The first trimester of pregnancy encompasses weeks 1 through 12 and is characterized by the initial formation and rapid development of the embryo. This period is critical for establishing the foundation of the future baby’s organs and body systems. The first trimester is often associated with the onset of pregnancy symptoms, such as nausea, fatigue, and hormonal changes.

Month 1 (Weeks 1–4)

Weeks 1–2: The first two weeks of pregnancy are technically considered a preparatory period. During this time, the body releases hormones and prepares the uterus for a potential pregnancy. This period includes ovulation, where an egg is released from the ovary. If fertilization occurs, the zygote forms and marks the beginning of pregnancy.

Week 3: Fertilization occurs when a sperm cell meets the egg, creating a zygote. This single-celled entity undergoes rapid cell division as it travels down the fallopian tube towards the uterus.

Week 4: The zygote becomes a blastocyst, which is a cluster of cells that implants itself into the uterine lining. The amniotic sac and placenta begin to form, playing crucial roles in protecting and nourishing the developing embryo. By the end of this month, the blastocyst is about 2 millimeters long, roughly the size of a poppy seed.

Month 2 (Weeks 5–8)

The second month of pregnancy marks significant developmental milestones as the embryo transitions into more complex forms.

Week 5: The neural tube, which will become the brain and spinal cord, begins to form. The heart, initially a simple tube, starts to pulse, setting the stage for the development of the circulatory system.

Week 6: Limb buds appear, which will eventually become arms and legs. Structures for the ears, eyes, and mouth start to take shape. Blood cells begin to form, and circulation starts within the embryo.

Week 7: The process of ossification starts as bones begin replacing the soft cartilage, and the formation of the genitals commences. The embryo now resembles a tadpole due to its prominent tail.

Week 8: Major organs and body systems continue to develop. The hands and feet start to form web-like structures, and the umbilical cord, which provides nutrients and oxygen to the embryo, is fully developed. By the end of this month, the embryo, now referred to as a fetus, is about 0.5 to 1 inch long, similar to a black bean.

Month 3 (Weeks 9–12)

The third month of pregnancy is marked by significant growth and maturation of the embryo, transitioning into a more recognizable human form.

Week 9: Teeth and taste buds begin to form. The fetus starts developing muscles, and its body takes on a more human appearance, although the head remains disproportionately large.

Week 10: Limbs and digits are fully formed, and the external genitals start to develop, although they are not yet visible on an ultrasound. The placenta continues to grow, providing essential nutrients to the fetus.

Week 11: The fetus begins to move spontaneously, exploring its surroundings by opening and closing its fists and mouth. The bones harden, though the skin remains translucent. Facial features such as the nose and lips become more defined.

Week 12: All essential organs, limbs, bones, and muscles are present and will continue to mature and develop. The fetus is about 2.5 to 3 inches long, roughly the size of a plum. At this stage, the risk of miscarriage decreases significantly, and many women begin to feel relief from early pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness.

Second Trimester

The second trimester of pregnancy spans from weeks 13 to 26. This period is often considered the most comfortable phase of pregnancy as many early symptoms subside, and the risk of miscarriage decreases. The fetus undergoes significant growth and development, and the mother begins to feel fetal movements, known as quickening.

Month 4 (Weeks 13–16)

During the fourth month, the fetus continues to develop rapidly, and its features become more distinct.

Week 13: Vocal cords form, and the fetus’s head starts to grow proportionally to the rest of the body. The fetus begins to practice breathing movements by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which helps develop the lungs.

Week 14: The skin starts to thicken and fine hair, known as lanugo, begins to grow. The fetus can bring its fingers to its mouth and may start sucking its thumb. External genitals are fully formed, and fingerprints start to develop.

Week 15: The intestines and ears move to their final positions. The fetus practices more purposeful movements, such as thumb-sucking and smiling. The developing nervous system allows the fetus to respond to external stimuli, such as light and sound.

Week 16: The fetus can hear and respond to external sounds. Its eyes, although still closed, can perceive light. By the end of this month, the fetus is about 5 inches long and weighs around 4 ounces, comparable to an avocado.

Month 5 (Weeks 17–20)

The fifth month of pregnancy is marked by increased fetal activity and continued growth.

Week 17: Fat begins to accumulate under the skin, providing insulation and energy reserves. The fetus’s skin is covered with a protective coating called vernix, which prevents it from becoming chapped by the amniotic fluid.

Week 18: The fetus is covered in lanugo, which helps keep it warm and provides an additional layer of protection. The fetus starts to establish a sleep-wake cycle, and its movements become more noticeable to the mother.

Week 19: The fetus’s movements, including kicks and punches, become more frequent and noticeable. Unique fingerprints are fully formed, and the fetus may start to experience hiccups.

Week 20: Nails develop fully, and the sensory areas of the brain mature, allowing the fetus to respond more actively to its environment. By the end of this month, the fetus is about 9 to 10 inches long and weighs around 1 pound.

Month 6 (Weeks 21–24)

The sixth month of pregnancy is a period of significant development, particularly in the nervous and respiratory systems.

Week 21: Coordinated limb movements become more frequent, and the fetus’s bone marrow begins producing blood cells.

Week 22: The fetus’s grasping reflex strengthens, and it can touch its surroundings, including its own body and the umbilical cord. It can hear internal sounds, such as the mother’s heartbeat and external sounds, such as voices and music.

Week 23: The fetus’s viability outside the womb increases, though intensive medical care would be necessary if it were born prematurely. The fetus starts rapidly accumulating fat, which is essential for temperature regulation after birth.

Week 24: Lung development progresses, although the lungs are not yet mature enough for the fetus to breathe independently. The fetus is about 12 inches long and weighs around 2 pounds.

Third Trimester

The third trimester of pregnancy spans from weeks 27 to 40 and is characterized by rapid growth and final preparations for birth. During this period, the fetus gains weight quickly and undergoes the final stages of development necessary for survival outside the womb.

Month 7 (Weeks 25–28)

During the seventh month, the fetus continues to grow and develop reserves of body fat.

Week 25: Increased body fat makes the fetus’s skin less wrinkled and more plump. The nervous system matures rapidly, enhancing the fetus’s ability to respond to stimuli.

Week 26: Melanin production begins, contributing to the skin and eye color. The lungs start producing surfactant, a substance that helps the lungs function properly after birth.

Week 27: The fetus’s eyes open, and it develops eyelashes. The fetus begins to develop regular sleep and wake patterns, and its movements become more coordinated.

Week 28: The fetus may begin to position itself head-down in preparation for birth. By the end of this month, the fetus is about 14 to 15 inches long and weighs between 2 to 3 pounds.

Month 8 (Weeks 29–32)

The eighth month of pregnancy involves continued maturation and growth of the fetus, with a focus on brain development.

Week 29: The fetus’s movements become more distinct as space in the uterus becomes cramped. The brain develops rapidly, allowing the fetus to control its body temperature more effectively.

Week 30: The fetus’s brain continues to grow, and it can process information and respond to stimuli. The fetus begins to establish more distinct patterns of activity and rest.

Week 31: The fetus’s skin loses its translucency as fat accumulates beneath it. Most organs, except for the brain and lungs, are fully developed and ready for birth.

Week 32: The fetus is about 17 to 18 inches long and weighs up to 5 pounds. The brain continues to develop rapidly, and the fetus can hear and respond to a variety of sounds.

Month 9 (Weeks 33–36)

During the ninth month, the fetus continues to grow and mature, preparing for birth.

Week 33: The fetus’s bones harden, although the skull remains soft and flexible to facilitate passage through the birth canal.

Week 34: The protective vernix coating thickens, providing additional protection to the fetus’s skin.

Week 35: Brain growth continues, and the fetus’s brain is now capable of regulating essential body functions.

Week 36: The lanugo covering the fetus’s body begins to disappear, and hair growth occurs on the head. The fetus is about 17 to 19 inches long and weighs 6 to 7 pounds.

Month 10 (Weeks 37–40)

The final month of pregnancy is a period of final preparations for birth, with the fetus reaching full maturity.

Week 37: The fetus’s toenails reach the tips of its toes. It continues to gain weight rapidly, preparing for the energy demands of life outside the womb.

Week 38: The fetus’s weight gain continues, and it starts to shed the vernix coating. The fetus moves lower into the pelvis in preparation for birth.

Week 39: The fetus is considered full-term and continues to develop and gain weight. It measures about 18 to 20 inches long and weighs between 7 to 9 pounds.

Week 40: The fetus is ready for birth. Its organs are fully developed and capable of functioning independently. The fetus positions itself head-down in the pelvis, preparing for delivery.

Throughout pregnancy, the fetus undergoes substantial growth and development, preparing for the transition to life outside the womb. Regular monitoring and care by healthcare providers are crucial to ensure the health and well-being of both the mother and the fetus. This comprehensive journey from a single cell to a fully developed baby highlights the incredible complexity of human development.

Expert Academic Assignment Help specializes in supporting medical students to study fetal growth during pregnancy. Our assistance includes study materials, tutoring, assignment help, and exam preparation, ensuring students understand fetal development. We provide mentorship, empowering students to excel academically and become competent healthcare professionals. Email: expertassignment46@gmail.comac