#graphic childbirth

[evilwriter-originals]

Whumptober Day 15 - Poison Breaths and Gritted Teeth

Prompts: Breathing Through the Pain

Rated: explicit

Warnings: lady whump, graphic childbirth, difficult childbirth, blood

Word Count: 1,543

Summary: Anaria has gone into labor, but something is terribly wrong, and she fears she won’t make it out of this.

A/N: There is no death in this story, and it has a happy ending.

Girad gripped Anaria’s hand tight.

“Anaria, breathe, just breathe.”

“Do you want to try doing this?!” she shrieked at him. She tilted her head back, moaning. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She really hadn’t meant to yell at him like that. “It just hurts.”

“I know, my love. I know.” 

“Anaria, you have to push,” Anika told her. 

“Again?” Anaria asked, exhausted, pain rippling through her body. Her hair was clinging to her, soaked in sweat. She’d known they’d called childbirth “labor” for a reason, but hadn’t realized just how laborious it would actually be. “Shouldn’t the baby have been born by now?” she asked breathlessly before groaning. Oh the pain she was in.

Anika frowned at that question, turned to the other healers. They left her bedside, talking.

Fear made Anaria’s heart pulse at her ribs. That couldn’t be good. 

“Just look at me,” Girad said. He knelt by the bed, still holding her hand. With his other hand, he mopped up some of her sweat with a cloth. “It’s going to be okay.”

“It shouldn’t be this painful,” Anaria squeaked out between sobs. “Not with all the poppy they gave me. Something… something’s wrong.” She could feel it in her body. Something wasn’t right. 

The healers returned to her bedside as another spasm clutched her, a scream coming from her mouth as she writhed on the bed. One healer was leaving, and Anaria didn’t know why.

“Where is she going?” she asked once she could find her breath. She’d requested all women healers for her birth. 

“Getting your father,” Anika answered. “No more pushing for now, alright? I just have to take a look.”

“Great,” Anaria gasped out sarcastically. “My father. That won’t be embarrassing at all.”

She spread her legs as Anika got down onto the bed and lifted her dress. It was a simple, red gown, but despite the color, Anaria could tell there was blood on it. She looked to Girad anxiously, and he held her hand tighter. She was fine with his grip.

Anaria yelled as she felt Anika’s hands touch her there. Oh, that hurt!

“What are you doing?!”

“I can’t see the babe’s head,” Anika told her. She looked harder. “You’re dilated, but something’s not right.”

“I fucking knew it,” Anaria muttered, once again looking at the ceiling, as if that would distract her. Gods, she was exhausted. Exhausted and in agony. All she wanted to do was sob and squirm and scream. But she had to hold still for Anika. And besides, she didn’t want to scare her husband. 

Anaria and Girad had been wed as soon as Anaria knew she was with a child she could carry to full term. It had been a large ceremony, a celebration to the end of the war, a celebration of peace and allyship. It made everyone hopeful that humans and the Nessari would not fight again, that they could mend their relationship. 

Anika got off the bed, wiping her bloodied hand on a cloth. She looked to the other healers, and they were once again off towards her balcony, talking.

“What are they talking about?” Anaria asked Girad anxiously. Of course she was anxious! She’d just been told something was wrong with her labor.

“Shh, they’ll tell you. I’ll make sure,” Girad said. He kissed her hand, smiled at her, but Anaria could see the worry in his gaze. 

“Maybe… maybe humans and Nessari aren’t meant to be,” Anaria said.

“Anaria, what do you mean?”

“Nessari births aren’t usually this complicated,” Anaria explained. She’d studied anthropology: she knew these things. 

“But certainly in your studies you’ve come across ancient connections between humans and Nessari,” Girad said, trying to ease her mind.

“I have…” Anaria was thinking, but it was so hard with the pain blocking out almost every thought. And the panic. She was starting to panic. “They… agh!- never mentioned anything about childbirth.” 

“Anaria.” Anika had returned with the healers without her even noticing. She turned her head tiredly towards her.

“Yes?” she asked, glad that Anika hadn’t referred to her as princess, as the other healers were wont to do. She didn’t like her title. It felt derogatory to her. 

“The baby is facing the wrong way,” Anika explained. “I think I saw part of their back, but not their head. They’re almost in the right position.”

Anaria was flabbergasted. She’d known something was wrong, but hadn’t guessed at that.

“What do you mean? Why would I go into labor if they weren’t in the right position?!” She almost screamed it. Gods, the pain was becoming unbearable, even to her, and she’d survived torture and captivity. At least this wasn’t some sick game being brought on her by someone else.

Or maybe it was.

Maybe the gods did not want human and Nessari to be allies and friends, and this was their way of telling them. 

Now you’re just getting paranoid, she told herself. Paranoia was something that came naturally to her since her captivity, however. How could it not? 

The doors to her chambers suddenly opened, and Sol was rushing in, feathers fluffed out, hair a mess, like he’d run or flown there. 

“What’s going on?” he demanded.

“The baby is not in the right position,” Anika responded. She was speaking calmly. How? 

Anaria arched her back and screamed as another spasm jolted through her. Gods, she was getting sick of this! 

“And have you tried to move them?” Sol asked, worry clear in his tone. 

“Not yet.” 

Anaria didn’t know what attempting to move the baby would entail. She was scared, so very scared. She could feel her energy waning. 

“What… what are you going to do?” she asked, voice so small. She hadn’t heard it that small in a very long time. 

Anika was putting one knee on the bed, folding up her wings so as to make room for Anaria. “You’re going to have to relax,” she told her. “I have to try to move them.” 

“You’re… you’re going to put your hand in my wife?” Girad seemed to realize before Anaria could. 

Oh… That was going to hurt… 

Anika was indeed rolling up her sleeves, readying herself for it. 

Sol had come over to the other side of the bed, politely not looking anywhere near Anaria’s nether region. His eyes were on her face, and her other hand was in his.

“You’re going to be alright, Anaria.”

“Father, I’m scared,” she admitted tearfully. “Please, I’m scared.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Anika said, voice reassuring. “Just breathe.”

So Anaria tried her very best to breathe and think of nothing but that. Anika let her enter a sort of trance-like state before putting her hand in her. And it made her flinch and jolt and yell, but it wasn’t as bad as she’d expected it to be.

Anaria focused on the hands in hers, on the two men who loved her most in the world looking at her. She wished she had Hali with her, knew she would be anxiously waiting right outside the door. The healers hadn’t let her in for fear of crowding the room, something Anaria still wasn’t happy about. So they would allow her father in here, but not her lover?

Anaria didn’t know how long it took to move the baby, only knew pain and breathing. It was like each breath was laced with poisonous agony. She was still crying. 

Anika withdrew her hand with a huge sigh of relief, wiping off the blood that almost went down to her elbow.

“They moved,” she announced. “They’re in the right position.” She was smiling, and Anaria would have, had she not been so exhausted. Girad kissed Anaria’s hand again, while Sol kissed her forehead.

“I told you it would be alright,” Sol said, tears glistening in his eyes. 

Anika patted one of Anaria’s hands. “Now you really have to push,” she told her. 

Gritting her teeth, Anaria began her work.

---

Anaria didn’t know how long later it was, but she held her baby boy to her breast, letting him suckle. The healers had cleaned him off and handed him to her once they were done healing the damage that had been done to her genitals. That had been more than uncomfortable, but not even nearly as bad as the labor itself.

Hali, Girad, and her father surrounded her, crying tears that must have been of joy. Girad and Hali were each kneeling on one side of the bed, Sol standing by Girad. Girad was very, very gently stroking a finger down the baby’s head, almost stunned by the sight of his son.

“You did amazing, Anaria,” Girad breathed in awe. His voice got a little choked up on her name. “So amazing.” 

Anaria smiled at him. “Well, you helped.”

“By holding your hand,” Girad said, shaking his head. “You did all the work.” 

Anaria rested her head back against the pillows. She was exhausted, but still wanted to hold her baby. The feeling of him suckling at her breast was a comforting one, especially after how hard her labor had been. She’d thought she was going to die at one point… But here she was, surrounded by family, the newest, living member cradled gently in her arms.

[chthonic-kelpie]

Rating: G

Wordcount: 942

Summary: Zagreus gets a little sister

-

All is quiet in the House of Hades. You would never guess that it has been pure chaos for the past day or night. Persephone was in labor for hours, and her screams carried through the house and so distressed Cerberus that he moved from his usual spot to claw at the door to her chambers. Zagreus stopped him from breaking through the wall, but he remained outside the door and howled in sympathy with his mistress. In the main hall, Orpheus picked at his lyre as he composed a song to celebrate the birth of the new god, although he complained at that it was difficult when he didn’t yet know the name of his song’s subject. Nyx and Dusa were busy helping with the delivery, and Hades put all operations on pause and shut the front doors so that he could be with his wife through the birth. The line of shades outside stretched on even further than usual, and Achilles had been temporarily reassigned to assist Hypnos in managing them. All Zagreus could do was run around distracting everyone from their duties, accomplishing nothing and feeling completely useless.

After what felt like a lifetime, the screaming stopped, and Zagreus caught the tiny cry of a newborn baby. He hurried into Hades and Persephone’s chambers, expecting to see his mother peacefully nursing the baby—only to find her weeping, clutching Hades’ hand and staring at the ceiling, too terrified to look at her newborn daughter in case what happened last time should happen again. Nyx and Dusa washed the child and looked her over, counted her fingers and her tiny, fiery toes, and told Persephone that the baby was healthy and her feet still burned bright. Finally, after several such assurances, Persephone turned to look at the child crying in Nyx’s arms, and her tears turned to tears of joy. She reached for baby Melinoë, and beamed as she nursed her, too exhausted to speak.

Then Orpheus decided to debut his new song, and Melinoë must not have liked it, because she started crying and would not stop, not even when Orpheus switched to a calming lullaby, nor when he stopped playing altogether. Everyone was so frazzled from the excitement that it took far longer than it should have for anyone to think of enlisting Hypnos’s help to calm the baby. She fell asleep instantly in his arms. And then Persephone could finally rest. Dusa cleaned the room around her until Hades ordered her to leave, and forbade anyone but Nyx from entering their chambers to disturb her slumber.

And now all is quiet. Cerberus, reassured that his mistress is out of danger, naps in the western hall, his enormous paws twitching as two of his three heads gently snore. The front gate is still locked, and no shades mill around in the main hall. Achilles is outside keeping them in line, Dusa is cleaning somewhere unseen, and Orpheus rewrites his lyrics in silence. Nyx stands outside the lounge, leaving Hypnos inside with Melinoë as a show of trust, but unwilling to stray too far. She offers Zagreus a tired, but warm, smile as he passes.

Hypnos is dozing in the corner, still holding little Melinoë. Zagreus frowns and carefully takes her from him, lest he should drop her in his sleep. Hypnos doesn’t wake, but Melinoë stirs.

This is the first time Zagreus has held his sister.

He now has a sister.

For one of only a handful of times in his life, Zagreus needs to sit down. It hasn’t sunk in until now. He stares as Melinoë blinks awake, scrunching up her tiny face at him. She has her mother’s flaxen hair, and her eyes are like Zagreus’s, one green, one red. Under the fire-resistant wrappings, he knows her feet burn like his, too. He holds his breath and waits to see if she will start crying again, but she only looks at him and wriggles a bit to get comfortable. “Hello,” he says quietly. “Welcome to the underworld, Mel. Can I call you Mel?” She doesn’t answer, of course, but Zagreus decides she won’t mind. “I’m your big brother, Zag.”

His voice catches. He can’t say he grew up without siblings, exactly, but most of Nyx’s children were always so busy with their work that Zagreus rarely saw them. And they all answered to Hades, who was determined to make Zagreus’s life as difficult as possible for reasons he had not understood for a long time. He grew up without anyone to talk to who was like him, caught between two worlds. Without anyone who understood that constant feeling that he didn’t belong.

Melinoë will never have to feel that way. It will make a world of difference just having Persephone here. She missed her son’s childhood, and will cherish Melinoë as she would have cherished Zagreus. Nyx already promised to act as a second mother to the child, and though Hades is not forthcoming with his emotions, Zagreus knows he wants to be a better father this time around. Melinoë will have the love and support of three parental figures. And, of course, she'll have Zagreus, who will do everything in his power to make sure she never has to go through what he did. She'll never have to be alone, if Zagreus has anything to say about it.

Melinoë turns slightly and closes her eyes again. In another instant, she is soundly asleep. Zagreus brushes a careful kiss to her forehead. “You’re going to be so happy here, little sister,” he promises in a whisper. “You’ll have a charmed life. I’ll make sure of it.”

[nostalgia-tblr]

Huzzah, it is @sifkiweek once more! This year I have not missed the deadline! I am posting this for day one as it fits the “throne” prompt pretty well. I’ve posted it as two chapters just for neatness as the whole thing is almost 9000 words which seemed a wee bit unwieldy for a single chapter - both parts already are up so the fic is complete. 

This year’s fic is a sequel to the fic I wrote for last year’s Sikfi Week, and you should probably at least skim that one so that this one makes sense: Bitter/Sweet 

Anyway, the plot of this fic is that Queen Sif has a baby and this a) scares her and b) makes her reconsider her position on whether or not Thor needs to die. Oh no, a Corruption Arc! 

Title: Loyalty Binds Me (AO3) Fandom: Thor (Movies) Rating: Mature Pairing: Loki/Sif Wordcount: ~8800 Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Sequel, King Loki, Queen Sif, A Large & Impossible-To-Ignore Thor-Shaped Hole, Angst, Corruption Arc, Pregnancy, Childbirth, Motherhood, Frigga Does What Frigga Thinks Is Best, Mild Sexual Content, Canon-Typical Violence, Fratricidal Ideation, Treason & Betrayal & All That Fun Stuff, Sifki Week 2024 (Marvel) Summary/Snippet: Sif knows that he has one more point to make, one more argument with which he can hope to win her over. She is already forming the words in her mind when he says them; “And there’s the child to think of too, now.”

PS: I made An Artwork to go with it

[maslows-pyramid-scheme]

I don't know if any of y'all would be interested, but Emma Donoghue's The Pull of the Stars is a historical female same-sex romance set in a Dublin hospital during the Spanish Flu (with commentary on religious misogyny, marital abuse, and abuse of women and children by the church)

[valiantvillain]

I feel like we as a society need to bring back children's books with cute fuzzy animals murdering and maiming each other.

[nonuggetshere]

I shared my (and my friend's ocs) that are related to PK SO-

This is A LOT and I'm kinda embarrassed but I'll fucking "cringe culture is dead" through life or so help me GOD

I like imagining backstories for characters and making cool little nonsensical and completely self-indulgent AUs

(Also for the few people subscribed to my patreon there's more stuff after what I've posted there, just scroll a bit down 👍)

F9r the record I also mangled mine and @demonicintegrity 's thoughts and ideas into one post so it's somewhat comprehensible but jsyk they contributed a lot

An AU where Adamas has her last clutch in her small form

As a refresher Amanita is White Lady's name and Ebur is Pale King's name. Adamas is Pale King's mother, though wyrms use dame and sire for their parents so that's what he calls her. I am yet to properly share Quercus but he's WL's father. Flower is my name for the Pure Vessel in this AU, Hallow is their birth name. Amaryllis is an oc, they're Flower's twin. Any other names that appear here are PK's siblings.

Also using they/it for Ebur and the rest of the family bc as wyrms they don't really have genders

Ebur and Amanita meeting while Ebur's family is travelling and Amanita still lives at the edge of her father's territory and her root system is connected with his but she's getting ready to leave hopefully in just one or two years when she's gathered enough strength and the spring's kind and abundant

Adamas' little group settles near her groove since it's brimming with life and there's not many people to get in the way or compete over resources with aside from the occasional traveller or two, and Amanita tolerates their presence for now, they give her something to do since her father is quite busy with his new seedlings now that she's grown and she doesn't have much company or things to do other than to listen to the occasional mortal passing by and watch the nature, so this small group of wyrms that's mostly composed of ones not much younger than her with all the hubris and boldness of young wyrms is the most interesting thing that's happened to her in a while

Some of them would probably push too far before Adamas had to smack them upside the head and reprimand them for ever thinking about taking over this territory, after all they're really on the larger territory of an ancient God, and even though Roots aren't known to be the most attentive of parents she still doesn't want to tempt fate and check if this one is the same by attacking his daughter

Either way, Amanita notices the younger wyrm isn't quite like the others and seems very intrigued by him

Although their first in face meeting wasn't the best, with her attacking him and managing to stab him in the ribs (you bet your ass Adamas chewed out his ass when he returned to their densite all bloody and holding his side), he kept returning to study her

Seems they both found each other intriguing

And eventually they get to talking, Ebur seemed excited to meet the first rootfolk in his life and actually to get to talk to her, he asks so many questions and she's amused with his curiosity, and eventually actually grows curious about the wyrms (and especially him) herself and asks him things in turn

They grow into unlikely friends though there's definitely more to it but neither is willing to acknowledge it yet

He often sneaks away from his family just to talk to her, and eventually they start sneaking into the more private parts of her groove with the excuse that they wouldn't want Ebur's family finding out they're friends, both of them just ignoring their glaringly obvious attraction to each other

One time Ebur brought her a kill he made and she hoped to GOD her blush wasn't noticeable (it was, not that he'd know because he was also avoiding eye contact to try and hide his own)

Ebur and the bad bitch he pulled by being autistic 💜

The group spends enough time around there for the two idiots to stop dancing around the subject and not only admit to their mutual attraction but to start to fall in love

Enough so that Ebur decides to stay when Adamas decides it's time to move on

At first she was about to talk sense into him about staying permanently in this place but he quickly corrected her

"No, no, it's not like that! I don't want to stay here permanently! I just..." He quieted down and looked away

"...You want to leave?"

"...mh..."

"Are you sure about this? Life as a lone wyrm isn't easy out there in the Wastelands, perhaps it'd be better if you stuck around until we find a suitable territory for you to stay at-"

"No, dame, I- I want to leave now. I think it's time. I love you all and I'll miss you, but...I just...I want to see what's out there for myself. Every year, every day, feels the same now; find some place, stay for a bit and hunt, move on. I- I can't live like this, it feels...suffocating."

"...You were always the curious kind, weren't you? I should have known this routine would bore you eventually," She sighed heavily and approached him, "I always knew this day would come, I just never expected it to be my youngest and smallest wyrmling that leaves the nest first..." She pulled him into a tight hug, "...Stay one last night with us, and if you're still sure about this after tomorrow's hunt I'll leave some supplies for you when we move on."

He smiled and hugged her back, "...Thank you..."

"Just promise me you'll be safe, okay?"

"You taught me well. I'll be alright, I promise."

He spends lots of time with his siblings and mother the next day, maybe Melpomene proposed she could come with since they were always the closest but he reassured her he wanted to be alone

The goodbye is very tearful, even Adamas cries and she's not the type to do that often

Ebur feels a little broken seeing them go, it feels weird being completely alone, strangely quiet too - he usually likes the quiet, but not this time. He goes to hunt to keep his mind off it then that evening he gathers his things and moves them to a densite way closer to his root's (his root, saying that makes him so giddy) and goes to share his kill with her

And that night, for the first time in their lives, he goes to sleep curled up around her amongst her roots. It does help him feel much better about having to say goodbye to his family

He spends the rest of the year in her groove with her - from summer to winter - before she's finally ready to move on next spring and he happily follows her to look for a new home for the both of them

Despite the new normal being hard to get used to at first he was still so unbelievably happy with her

And Quercus was considerably easier to hide their relationship from than his own family, considering they're on the outskirts of his territory and Ebur never saw him in person. As far as Quercus is concerned, Amanita just has a mild wyrm problem that she's handling well on her own

A few different  things could happen from then on

Could either go canon compliant or pull out one of my fav moves, a cute domestic AU where they don't found Hallownest or do it later down the line after already having children and just live for a while as a happy family

And also the Drama Flavour where Ebur ends up pregnant despite them not trying to, they say fuck it and have them but he gets very sick and she brings him to her father for help, cue him being appalled that she's partners with a wyrm and her telling him to suck a dick and she'll take care of him herself, then they have the worst luck ever after finding a brand new territory and stumble onto Ebur's family, and Adamas has some very strong opinions about him being mates with a root (she doesn't even realise he's expecting otherwise it would have been. Worse). Fucking Romeo and Juliet up in here

For the last idea, I like the idea of Adamas questioning if that root can even provide for him or any possible clutches he might have in the future and he gets so pissed off he bristles, tells her to drop it and he's done with her attitude and to get the fuck off his territory. She bristles and calls him out on being so cocky as to tell her to get out

"If you're so confident then come on, defend your territory! Kick me out yourself!"

"Stop it-"

"Come on, boy! Show me you can actually protect yourself and yours! If you want me out them force me out!"

"I'm not going to fight you, mother!"

"...Tsk, you even talk like her."

"...Just...Just leave...please."

She circles him, "You should know words won't be enough to protect your territory from intruders, and that young root definitely doesn't have it in her to do it. You promised me you'll stay safe, so show me you can actually take care of yourself!"

Instead she gets violently thrown back by a white root after Amanita returns to check up on her hubby <3

Puts herself between them, ready to snap their necks with her roots if she has to

"He told you to leave, so leave. Or should I make you, you old bag?"

"Amanita-"

Of course, it was 25% him not being willing to fight his own mother and 75% him being sick and not willing to risk the pregnancy, but he's not gonna tell her that when she reacted so negatively about him being mates with a root (and his siblings def teased him before the situation got serious)

He's gonna be SO fucking depressed about this later though

But I also just like the idea of them finding the place that would later become Hallownest and founding the kingdom together

Ebur: Babe do you want me to beat up this old slug for you?

Amanita: Oh how romantic~

Unn:(live slug reaction)

Unn: Just take the damn territory and leave me alone, you brats

I also made an entire AU with Integrity where PK moves on with his family with a promise that he'll be back next spring for her, only to realise he's expecting. And I am obsessed with this version, it's cute and domestic (in a wyrm kind of way) and I am sucker for these things.

Ebur leaves with his family, promising to return to her next spring so they can leave together, but what he DIDN'T account for was him getting pregnant

So now he has to think up an idea to sneak away and keep his pregnancy hidden until he's back with her. Very hard to do with his mother around, an old wyrm with decades worth of clutches she's reared into adulthood by herself, she sussed him out embarrassingly quickly

Ebur, trying to sneak out: 💦💦💦

Adamas, like she’s scolding a teen: where are you going at this hour?

Ebur: …. A walk to clear my head?

Adamas: do you think that excuse worked with your siblings back then?

Ebur: … no

Adamas: do you think it’s gonna work now?

Ebur: ……… no

Ebur, quickly thinking of something else: ......hunting...

Adamas: Hunting?

Ebur: Hunting.

Adamas: At midnight? With your white, glowing ass? After we just ate?

Ebur: .........I'm hungry.

Adamas: Uh-huh

Ebur, bristling: Well! I'm a grown wyrm, I can do what I want!

Adamas: Oh can you now?

Ebur: 💦💦💦

Adamas: You're an adult but I'm still this group's leader, including yours

Ebur: Yes, dame. I'm sorry, dame

He does his best to mask his scent and keep his hormones and instincts under control, tries to sleep a little further from the group, is very careful on hunts and starts eating away from them when food aggression starts kicking his ass

One time Adamas finally approached him at meal time, throwing him her portion

"Here, eat up."

He looks at her, confused, "...I...what?"

"Just eat, kid."

He hesitantly takes it and leaves it near as he continues with his portion, "Don't you need to eat also?"

"Eh, I've eaten enough. Besides, I'm not the one who's eating for more than one right now."

"HRK-"

He looks at her, horrified, and she can't help but laugh

"What? You think I haven't noticed? Come on, you could fool your siblings with your excuses but I've had plenty of clutches of my own," She pats him on the shoulder, "Come on, eat up, kid. You need to put some meat on these bones."

He sighs heavily and goes back to eating, red in the face and a little awkward, unable to look her in the eyes as she's just observing him

"...If you copulated around the time of your first heat last spring-"

"HRNK?!"

"Oh, don't be like that, you're not a child anymore. Anyway, your due date should be in winter...not the ideal time to have a clutch, but we could make this work. You'll need to eat a lot if this kid is to have any chance of survival, though," She looked back st him, "...If you want to keep it, that is."

He goes quiet, his tail curling in close, "...I...y-yeah, I do..."

"...Alright, if that's what you want."

"You seem nervous."

"...How- how could I not be? I mean, all of this, it's...it's my first brood, and if they're due in winter..."

She scoots closer to him and wraps her tail around him, "Hey...you're not alone in this, okay? You have your siblings and I, we'll take care of you and your young. It's going to be alright." And she nuzzles him gently

Obviously they figure out the children are part root, but only some time after they're born

At least now Ebur has an excuse to return to her, saying she'd have valuable input on caring for them

That doesn't stop his siblings from teasing him about possibly wanting to see her again and being in love (they're right, but he's not about to admit it)

Also the moment he accidentally let's her name slip he's not gonna hear the end of it

Adama: So you want to return to the groove?

Ebur: Yes. I mean, she taught me a lot about rootfolk, but-

Io: Uh-huh, I bet she did. Close and perso-

Ebur, slapping him with his tail: ...Anyway. She told me a lot, but still, Amanita would kno-

Adustus: YOU KNOW HER NAME?!

Ossum: OHHH, LITTLE LOVERBOY IS ON FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THE ROOT~?

Ebur: You're killing me

God can you imagine what kind of pains in the ass these cunts were when Adamas and Ebur broke the news to them

Constant teasing and asking who it was

Ebur gets no rest

Adamas takes her little shits on a training hunt again

"Why do we need to train anyway? You've taught us how to hunt seasons ago."

"I did, but not with two members down. You need to practice now before your sibling stops being able to join us on hunts."

"...two...?"

"Yes, two. It'll be safer if somebody stays behind with Ebur when he's further along and carrying for his young, so I need to know we'll be able to provide for this family with two hunters down and more mouths to feed."

"...Can't I join your hunts anyway? You hunted by yourself while pregnant, didn't you?"

"I did, but I was also alone, I had no choice. You shouldn't have to choose between your children's safety and finding food. We live as a family for a reason, what would we be but animals if we don't take care of each other? I'm not letting you or your young live like lone nomads when you have us."

They also hunt more since Ebur needs more food, especially later down the line, and if anybody complains she's gonna cut that shit down SO fast

"I don't want to hear it! Ebur and the brood they're carrying are your kin, so start acting like it and have some damn respect. Do you think Ebur would be here complaining if the roles were reversed? Do you think they wouldn't care for you when you need it? We're a family, we take care of each other, in sickness and in health. Your sibling and his children need you. If that's a problem for you, you're free to leave and live as a nomad, but as long as you follow me and are a part of this family I don't want to hear any complaining, got it?"

"...yes, dame. I'm sorry."

"Instead of apologising to me make yourself useful. And treat your siblings kinder, one day you might be the one who needs their help so you better hope your words don't come back to bite you then."

Adamas is a strict parent but very much loves her family and it's so important to her that they take care of each other <3

She's a good mum, if a little bit hard on them at times

Melponeme, loafing in front of Ebur: ….

Ebur: …. What. Go away

Melp: im not touching you

Ebur: what do you want

Melp, loafing, staring: ……….

Ebur: ………………

Melp: you’re gettin fat

Ebur: no shit it’s almost like a have a litter growing inside me

Melp, reaching over to poke his stomach:

Ebur, batting: stop that!!!

Melp: how many do you think they’re gonna be?

Ebur: I dunno

Melp: probably like. A lot of you keep growing at this rate

(And then it's just two. Absolute menace <3 won't give him a break)

Ebur, growling:

Adamas: Dear, if you keep poking at a predator like that it's gonna strike

Melp: Nahhh, they're harmle-

Ebur, pouncing on her:

Melp: !!!

"Don't be too rough with your sibling, they're expecting."

"Oh come on! They started it! They can't keep holding the pregnancy thing over our head constantly!"

Ebur sitting there like >:3

“Well they’ve got a few more months and then it’s fair game”

"Oh, so you'd beat up a new parent and leave my children orphaned? How cruel"

"I'm not gonna kill you, you maniac?!"

Also once he's much further along he digs himself a separate den and slowly moves in there, it worries his siblings but Adamas assures them it's normal, wyrms prefer to be alone in the first few days before and after giving birth

"Are you sure they're okay? Can't they stay with us?"

"Pff, would you prefer to get growled at and possibly mauled every time you come into your den? They'll be fine, don't worry."

His siblings go out hunting and gathering more often after that and finally give him lots and lots of warm and soft bedding for his new den

"Since you'll sleep alone we thought you and the baby could use some warmer bedding."

And he can't help but smile and wag his tail

Wondering if wyrms would have a word for aunt/uncle and what would it be?? Obviously not auncle, since aunt and uncle aren't wyrm temrs

Currently they don't have any, anybody beyond your parents, siblings and young are just "kin"

Maybe they'd use cousin? (As in. Also use cousin, not a replacement for aunt/uncle. I realised I worded this weird)

Half of this is Ebur's siblings fretting over him and Adamas having to keep them straight and from freaking out KDBDJRB

“GET OUT OF MY DEEENNNN”

“Oh but we worry about our poor lil sibling!!”

“FUCK OOOFFF”

Gonna get hissy and pissy and Adamas will just shake her head and say she warned them

“Can we see the babies now— UAGH”

“-HISSSSS-“

Glaring at them from the entrance of his den before the babies even arrive

"You're so lucky I'm round and slow right now"

“Hehe spherical”

“Shut the fuck up”

Also been thinking about the delivery. This sounds weird,,

TW for childbirth, pregnancy, etc, and mention of near infant death

Anyway, his siblings would notice he stopped eating, only stays in his den, and would bring it up to Adamas

Her ear just twitches and she looks over at his den, "...Seems the little one will arrive any moment, then."

"Huh?"

"How can you tell?"

"I also stopped eating like two to three days before I had you or any of my previous litters. It's normal. Just give them some space, they're going to be especially irritable now."

Then one night one of them wakes up and immediately wakes the others, as Adamas isn't in the den. They peek out to look for her and find her just sitting nearby and staring at Ebur's den

"...Dame? Why aren't you in the nest?"

"Quiet down. Do you smell that?"

They pause to scent the air

"...blood?"

"...It's been a while," She gets up and dusts herself off, "I'll go check up on your sibling, you keep watch for me. Don't come too near, he's probably stressed as is."

She approaches his den and they see her quietly talking before she disappears inside. They keep watch as promised, though all of them are fidgety and uneasy, pacing and shifting around, trying to chat to pass the timd

After what feels like forever though one of them tells them to shut up for a moment and when they do they can hear very faint cries coming from the den

They wait with held breaths and eventually Adamas stalks out of the den holding bloodied bedding (to a group of nervous wyrms looking at her like 👁👁 👁👁 👁👁 👁👁 👁👁, almost makes her laugh)

"...so?"

"So what?"

"Dame, please-"

She snickers, "There's two."

They all seem excited, which makes her smile

"How are they?"

"Ebur is fine. One of the wyrmlings is strong, and the furstborn..." She trails off, swishing her tail, "They'll make it, if they survive this night."

The five visibly deflate at the news

"...Are they gonna...?"

"Only time will tell. Like I said, if they survive this night they should be okay. Don't repeat this to Ebur, though, they've had enough of hardships for one night," She turned to leave, "I'll go burry these sheets. You five, go hunt for your sibling and their young, they're going to need the strength. I'll look after them."

They hurry off, a hunt seems like a good opportunity to blow off some steam

When they return, Adamas shows them how to thinly mince the meat for the the newborns before she delivers the food to Ebur and his kids

That's pretty much the norm for the next few days, Adamas is the only one who he allows into the den so she updates the siblings on the situation and stays with him while they go hunting

The day after, after they made their hunt for the day and Adamas once again disappears into their sibling's den with the food, was probably the most stressful. The five waited for her for what seemed like eternity and immediately pounce on her for info like young wyrmlings the second she's out

"Won't you five calm your tails?! Your sibling and their young are fine."

"And the firstborn?"

"They're doing much better and seem strong. You can stop panicking."

Though they're less intense about this afterwards, everytime Adamas leaves the den she's met with five wyrms staring at her and eagerly awaiting any updates

"Do they have names yet?"

"Ebur said they did pick already, you'll learn them once you meet the younglings"

"UUUUGHHH"

"MAAAAN"

"Stop being dramatic, it's only a few more days"

The five also get an idea to make the twins little clothes so they can stay warm and cosy

They get to gift them to Ebur once they finally meet the little ones

One day, after nearly a week, Adamas leaves the den to see the five wyrms once again waiting on her and she sighs heavily before smiling

"Alright, who wants to meet the babies?"

And they all get SO excited, before she has to remind them to keep calm to not spook their sibling or his kids

They go into the den one by one, which is thankfully big enough for all of them, where Ebur is laying in the corner, curled up around two little sleepy boundless and purring to them

His siblings are just awe struck at the babies and coo to them, showering them and Ebur with so many compliments

"They look a little odd for wyrmlings though, don't they?"

Io proceeds to get very roughly jabbed in the side by Fossor

"Ow, what the hell?!"

"Don't be an ass. Obviously they're not full wyrms, idiot, they're going to look different."

Though none of them is yet to clock that they're half-root

They get the babies thick clothes so they can crawl outside the den (under incredibly strick supervision by all 7 of their family members) once they're big enough

"Ebur, quit grooming them! They won't combust into flames if they have a speck of dirt or snow on them!"

"Mrrrr"

Melpomene: So, how did you name them?

Ebur: The firstborn is Hallow and the second born is Amaryllis

Io: Hm, weird names for wyrms

Ebur: 💦💦💦

Fossor, readying to hit him again:

Hallow, crawling towards Io with intent to Bite:

Io: Ohhhh little lad on a mission, what will they do? Beware the big bad wyrm

Hallow: Grrrr

Io:*casually just rolls away*

Hallow, flopping down and looking at him offended before SCREAMING angrily to voice their displeasure at inability to bite and maim uncle: EEEAAAAAAAAA

Gonna crawl towards him with even more determination

Adustus: Snrk- Stop giving the poor kid a workout and let them bite you

Io: If they wanna bite me they should prove it by getting me the legitimate way

Adamas: that one has a strong set of lungs

Ebur: mhm

Ebur: ...Was I this loud at their age?

Adamas: Absolutely. The loudest

Ebur: .......oh

Adamas: yeah. oh. Little snot

Ebur: hey!

(Mean to him <3)

Just wait till they figure out the connection between Amaryllis and Amanita

Of course loverboy would name the baby after a flower LMAO

".....snrk"

"shut up. shut up. shut the fuck up. I dont wanna hear it. Shut your bitchass up."

Start teasing him that he is SO smitten and in love

None know just how right they are

He's gonna die or commit murder at this rate

Ebur being all "it's not like that, it's not like that" and then when he sees Amanita again they're all lovey dovey and cute

I think Adamas' group was in the groove for like 2 years so they did have time to develop a meaningful relationship, though it's still nothing compared to how they're gonna be in a few years KFBDJFH

Io: not like that my ass—

Ebur: Shut the fuck—

Amanita: :? Not like what my darling?

Adustus: he’s been swearing up and down it isn’t love and he hasn’t totally been courting you

Amanita, amused: aaaww my dear Ebur, so now you’re shy with your affections~?

Ebur, sputtering: Ami, please not in front of my family...

Ossum: AMI

Ebur: I BITE

Ossum: Yeah, I bet ~your Ami~ knows a thing or two about that, huh~?

Ebur: GRRRRR

Amanita, laughing a little: I haven’t heard you growl that loud since we first met my wyrm~!

Ossum: good gods y’all are nauseating

Adamas: Her wyrm, huh?

Ebur: NOT you too

Amanita, not helping as she nuzzles him: My wyrm~

She's having so much fun <3 He can't help but smile though

Ebur: You're...impossible, my darling

Amanita: 🥰

Adamas: So, how long have you been together?

Amanita: Officially? Only one year, but we've been courting for much longer than that~

Adamas: Oh, you're official hm? Ebur, you never told me you've found yourself a mate. Look at you growing up on me, my youngest wyrmling has a mate and children already

Ebur: My dame, please

Amanita: ....children?

Adamas: ... you didn't know?

Ebur: Hey i was suppose to surprise her with that dame!

Ebur: Plus, I only found out after I left, not like I could tell her I was-

Amanita, grabbing him: Darling, what's that about children?

Ebur: .... We have two my darling.

Amanita: We have children!?

Ebur: yes. Our...... time together has resulted in me becoming gravid. We have two healthy children

Amanita, shaking him: Show me!!

Ebur, laughing: Well, stop trying to give me whiplash and I will!

(They're so adorable it makes me sick <- Ebur's siblings probably)

Presents her with the two little guys with a big smile. Tells her their names and she kneels down to hold them both and nuzzle and give kisses and be so so emotionally happy about it

The rest of the family give them some privacy so they can have a proper reunion and Amanita can meet her children

She's so SO happy

Scoops all three of them up and nuzzles him, looks at them as if they're her whole world

"Oh, my darling, they're so beautiful, so perfect...I love them..." She whispers, her breath caught in her throat for a moment, "...I love you."

His heart skips a beat and he nuzzles in close and kisses her cheek, "I love you too..."

And the babies are gonna ruin the moment and squeaking in protest about being held <3

"ooohhh my little sprouts, I need to plant you in my den and watch you grow big and strong youre so precious~"

"wait like. Actually bury them??"

"A little yeah. They should be able to root I think"

"...hm!"

"...Unless they're more wyrm in that regard?"

"Well, they seemed to do just fine on meat, but there's no harm in trying other things. Maybe a combination will be best for them?"

"Oh dear..."

"Don't worry, my love, we'll figure it out together"

Theyre rowdy and like to run around and play

but for sleepy time they get to be buried in the dirt. Makes em giggle and keeps them warm

OH the convo between Adamas and his siblings in the meanwhile

Adustus: ...He's gonna leave, isn't he?

Adamas: Hm?

Adustus: I mean, with our group we can't stay anywhere for too long, especially in a small groove like this, we'd run out of prey. And a root wouldn't be able to keep up for long, they're stationary. And...I doubt he'd leave her, just look at them.

Adamas: ...He seems happy. It'd be good for the little ones to have both parents too.

Amanita, planting the babies for the first time:

Quercus, waking her up at ass o'clock after he sensed two new seedlings near her: 👀 👀 👀

Amanita: huh wh

Quercus: KIDS?? KIDS?? DO I HAVE GRANDKIDS PRINCESS???

Amanita: pfft. yes.

Amanita:

Amanita, internally: wait shit fuck

Quercus: oh hey that wyrm problem came back. Lemme drop by and see how my daughter is doing since im not busy

What a fucking reunion that would be huh

Adamas: I've heard you want to leave? Maybe you should come with us, then, it'd be easier for you

Amanita: Ah, but would you like to leave now? Because it's already almost the end of spring, I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to leave now, I might not survive winter if I'm not rooted down somewhere by autumn. We were planning to leave early next spring, if you'd like to live in my groove until then you're fully welcome to

Adamas: But what of your parent? Wouldn't they notice?

Amanita: It's alright, he didn't came by last time you were here for over two years, I'm sure it's fine now, he won't even notice 😊 (narrator voice he did notice)

"Hey sweetheart how are you.... doing...."

Amanita, with the family of wyrms just hanging out in her den: .......... Daaaadddddddd what a suuurrrppprriiissseee💦

Her just trying to cover up this fairly large family of wyrms

Adamas getting defensive when Quercus is questioning Amanita

Starts growling and pushes to the front of them

Quercus: Stay out of this, wyrm

Adamas: Like hell I am! I'm not letting you step all over my family or my daughter

Amanita: It's really not nece- daughter??? 🥺

Quercus: Daughter?!

Adamas: Yes, daughter, she's my child's partner so as much of a family to me as my own children!

Amanita's just trying so fucking hard not to get emotional and cry over this now

too bad Quercus is bristling at that

Amanita and Quercus are emotional over this but in completely opposite directions

Amanita has to get herself together to step between them before it ends in a fight

GOD. I AM SO EMOTIONAL OVER THIS. AMANITA BEING ACCEPTED INTO HIS WYRM FANILY AFTER THEY SEE HOW MUCH SHE AND EBUR LOVE EACH OTHER 🥺 SO CUTE

She gets to root in and do some wyrm watching with her tubers

Amanita, to the kids: look how silly your father can be. Look, watch

Amanita, wiggling a root:

Ebur: 👁️👁️

His siblings watching him paw at the root

Adustus: ...Dude...

Fossor: Good fates he's domesticated

Adamas: …… oh how the mighty fall

She always knows how to embarrass him in front of his family 🥰

Zooming through her roots to play while Adamas wonders how he inherited such weird quirks

Adamas: I should have judged my mates better, what is this...

Ossum: hey they're the only one Like That

Melp: yeah we’re normal about things

Ebur: Snrk- Yeah, just wait till you find your own mates

Io: I think you're just weird, actually

Ebur: At least I have a mate and children, you lonely ass

Amanita delights in how silly the tubers are. Truly the most delightful thing

Ebur's family think it's funny how the twins have been dubbed the tubers since they came here

But hey, it fits

I bet Amanita sometimes just casually steals her wyrm away

Just picks him up with her roots like "I'll be taking that~"

They're so lovely dovey it's nauseating

Even Adamas teases him about her swooping him off his feet

And he can't keep the smile off his face when he talks about her or hide the blush when they tease him so he really can't hide it

Ebur and the tubers also sleep in her den, keep in her tangle of roots.

The others can set up a den as they please

He at first set up a den near her instead of with her but it was literally abandoned on night one

It's his den in spirit

The second his siblings realise its been abandoned and how fast he's getting teased AGAIN

“Shouldve just saved the time and effort and not done that altogether.”

“I didn’t ask you”

Adamas: No, I bet they tried really hard to use that den but really couldn't help themself be apart from her, didn't you?

Ebur: ...grrrr

Adamas: Snrk, seems I got it right

Amanita: you made a separate den from me???

Adamas: case n point

Ebur: Ooooh, God forbid I want to sleep with my partner! You insufferable twats

Adamas: You’re such a fucking sap

Amanita: Oh but they're my sap~ And I think it's so cute~

Gets a collective "Bleh" out of them

The two looking over their tubers playing with Ebur's siblings

Amanita: Oh, these kids are great, I love them so much

Ebur: Mhm

Amanita: We should have more~

Ebur, sputtering: Amanita!

Io: HEY WE HEARD THAT YOU FUCKING WEIRDOS

Amanita: what? You didn’t think I was going to want just one clutch did you love?

Ebur: w-what—

Amanita, curling around him: I have an urge for my seeds to spread my wyrm~

Io, gagging:

Fossor: What the hell, you two

Ebur: Not- not in front of my family, my love...

Io: literally traumatizing. What is wrong with them both

The rest is pretty much just VERY half assed future stuff and this is long enough as is 😐 So like. Yeah.

[velnica]

FFXIVWrite2024 #3 — Tempest

The shoji slid open with gusto, and Master Mathelin practically leapt out of the doorway, fist in the air. “We have a boy!” he yelled.

CW: Pregnancy and childbirth (non-graphic)

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49833130/chapters/149571925

[trudemaethien]

Does Not Occur In Isolation

E, underage, Rex/Bly (bg Rex/Cody/Fox) Rex&Wolffe, ft The Unnamed Baby and postpartum depression

Rex pushes up onto his elbows and twists to look at the room, hovering protectively over the sleeping infant. They haven’t noticed the tiny body yet. His squadmates all look very concerned, and he feels very fragile.

But if he can’t trust them, what’s the point?

read on AO3 🔒 https://archiveofourown.org/works/49871962

[adrift-in-thyme]

@zelinkcommunity

Happy Valentines @cooking-with-hailstones! 💖 Hope you enjoy this little fic

Lullaby | T | OoT Zelink

Ao3

Zelda can’t remember the last time she was as exhausted as she is right now.

Perhaps, she has never been. After all, years of relentless training, and even defeating Ganondorf seem to pale in comparison to what she has just done.

“This is the fight of your life, love,” the midwife had said when the contractions had begun in earnest and she had squeezed Link’s hand so hard it was likely painful. And she’d been right.

It had been excruciating, exhausting, an endless battle she wasn’t certain she could win. But Link had been there the entire time, fingers entwined with hers. And though she had hardly noticed when he coaxed sweat-soaked tendrils of hair from her face or murmured reassurances, his presence had been an immeasurable comfort.

He squeezes her hand now, and she turns to him with a small smile.

“How’re you feeling?”

She sighs, letting her gaze slip back to the little bundle cradled in her arms. Even after everything she’s seen and endured, she still finds it incredible that their love created something so wonderful.

Their newborn daughter, Zelda Saria Hyrule.

“Tired,” she breathes, “and sore. But looking at her now, it was all worth it.”

It’s true. The worst of the pain is no more than a distant memory, now that she is here with the man she adores and the child she already loves.

She would do it all again in a heartbeat—saving Hyrule, training to be Sheik, enduring the agony of childbirth— if it meant getting to this same point. And she would do it all happily.

“She really is something else, isn’t she?” Link murmurs, awe, and adoration practically dripping from his voice. “I think she has your eyes.”

Zelda tilts her head, thoughtfully. “Mm, maybe. I think she has your nose.”

Link leans forward and regards their child scrutinizingly. “No, no definitely not. It’s too tiny and cute.”

“Oh, all right.” She chuckles. “But I like your nose!”

Link looks unimpressed. “It’s gigantic, and you know it. I could’ve killed Ganondorf with it.”

Zelda can’t help the laughter that bubbles up in her. But the jostling wakes Saria from her peaceful slumber, and she begins to cry, in desperate high-pitched tones.

“Oh, dear.”

She lifts the baby up and sets her against her shoulder, patting and shushing gently. Her efforts do little to calm her.

“You know,” she manages over the ruckus, “I’m realizing now that I know next to nothing about comforting a baby.”

Link chuckles. “Neither do I. I was raised by a tree.”

Zelda sighs, as Saria’s wails only grow louder and Link’s expression comes to mirror her own desperation.

“This is going to be harder than it looks, isn’t it?”

He nods. “It certainly seems that way.”

A princess who lost her parents too soon and a fairy boy raised by a tree. Zelda has the urge to laugh. Certainly, no one ever pegged them as being prime parent material.

She wonders if Impa has any tips she’d be willing to give. She must have figured something out in order to raise a young girl in a war-torn world and teach her to be a warrior.

“You know what?” Link pipes up, suddenly, and when Zelda turns to him, a little grin has brightened his face. “I’ve got an idea.”

He fishes his ocarina from its place strapped to his belt and lifts it to his lips. Seconds later a familiar tune weaves itself through the air.

Almost instantly, Saria quiets, wails turning to sleepy coos.

Zelda gives a quiet chuckle of relief and sags back against the pillows. Who would’ve thought a simple song would be enough to soothe their child?

Though, it’s not just a simple song at all, is it? She thinks, with a smile. It’s really quite special.

The music washes over her in waves, bringing years-old memories with it. Mother humming as she tucked her into bed, Father teaching her to play it on the ocarina, a little fairy boy listening attentively as she entrusted him with the melody that could unlock almost any door.

…including the one to her heart.

As the last notes fade, she reaches out and takes Link’s hand.

“You’re going to be a wonderful father,” she murmurs.

Grinning, he leans forward and gives her a peck on the cheek.

“And you are going to be the best mother in all of Hyrule.”

Zelda hums. She isn’t too sure about the truth of that claim yet, but she is beginning to think that maybe, just maybe they’ve got this.

After all, they’re together. And when they’re together there is nothing they can’t do.

[letsoulswander]

It's so weird to go from s3 to s4 of Call The Midwife in my rewatch. In s1-3 the things the nurses tell their laboring mothers make sense, and as I currently read Jennifer Worth's memoirs more things are revealed.

For example, the admonition of "don't push, just little pushes" isn't random in the first three seasons, it's always just as the baby is crowning. The book clarifies that this is to prevent the baby's head from being born too quickly and hurting the mother so that she needs stitches. But in season four, I'm now having the dubious pleasure of watching Patsy demand "little pushes" when the head is already fully born. Did they fire their consultant? Or did the actress for Jenny just do a bunch of research and read the memoirs before doing her thing?

[hollers-and-holmes]

The day drew near and still the little scallywag would not turn how he was supposed to. She would deliver a frank breech if she had to, but two days before the coranarí she tried one final time to persuade him head-down.

[yugenronin]

@mahotoai​ answering the holiday ask

Now, like everyone else, Hasumi and Motochika would have an eventful night as well because while everyone else was calm and happy... well, there was screeching and cursing throughout the palace once Motochika would enter from meeting with another Lord over the War. Tadasumi had received the raven first about the twins coming and Hasumi not exactly handling it her best and most graceful, but Tsuruhime was with her as well as midwives and she had requested Motochika be there along with enquote 'If he didn't get here, he would be paying dearly for it in the coming new year'... and so here they were, Hasumi a mess and Tsuruhime trying to soothe her while Tadasumi stood guard for his friend, even keeping the other Lords at bay from entering. This wasn't their time this snowy night; just Hasumi and Motochika's (and Tsuruhime who would not leave her side).

There was no need to even ask, much less threaten, the Chosokabe lord to come and support his wife. He did not wait for Tadasumi to finish speaking when he was informed of this, sprinting through the halls without acknowledging anyone else. The moment he stepped into the room, he went right to her side, offering her his hand.

This was not something he had any experience with. All he knew was that Hasumi had a lot of work to do, and lot of pain to get through. It was the only part of expanding their family he wasn’t wholeheartedly excited for as he didn’t want her to suffer and he worried about the potential for something to go wrong. All he could do, outside of listen to Tsuruhime’s instructions and give Hasumi anything she asked for, was to hold her hand and make sure she knew he was there. She could squeeze his hand until his bones begged for mercy, but he would not withdraw it. Whatever soreness he might feel on account of her death grip could not compare to what she was going through.

“I’ve got ya. Doin’ great, Hasumi. I promise I’m not goin’ anywhere, tell me what you need to me to do and it’s done.”

[laurelwinchester]

HTLGI update soon?

soon...ish.

unfortunately i've had a lot of real life setbacks when it comes to, like....everything (the last few months of 2023 were hands down some of the worst months of my life, the first couple months of 2024 were a mess, and just when things started to calm down my computer died and i still don't have my new one because i'm being jerked around) so the bad news is that there was a solid two months there where i didn't write at all. which means my february htlgi deadline turned into a march deadline and that march deadline has now been forced to change into an april deadline, which is all really stressing me out tbh. the past five months have just sucked beyond belief.

the good news is that the next chapter is almost done, even without a computer i'm getting a lot of writing done with the good old fashioned pen and paper method, so i think i should be able to make my april deadline, and hopefully the next two chapters will make up for the ridiculous wait.

and i really hope they do because these next two chapters? this is what i've been waiting for. for years!!!! we have finally arrived at laurel's rock bottom and the kick off to the climax of the plot and i could not be more excited. it's divided into two chapters. one for black canary (so we've got sin, black canary vs lady shiva, and two major fight scenes) and one for laurel lance (the chapter that i have been referring to as The Big Horror Chapter) and the themes that are running throughout both chapters are as follows:

motherhood: a horror story

generational trauma and mental illness as an actual monster

amy adams and patricia clarkson in sharp objects

laurel's morbid obsession with drowning

an attempt to give alex kingston more to do in two chapters than arrow gave her in four years

BIRDS

so you can see why i'm so excited about this i'm practically vibrating. i truly cannot wait to post these next two chapters and i hope they're worth the wait, even if we have to wait just a little bit longer for them.

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

WRITING PROMPTS REGARDING ABORTION AND MISCARRIAGE 

trigger warnings for graphic description of the above topics, human trafficking, cannibalism, violence against pregnant women.

everything about this is entirely fictional, meant for writers. since I understand there aren’t many whump blogs that feel comfortable writing prompts about the subject (very understandable), I figured I could offer writers out there some prompts about this, in case they were looking for ideas for their works.

that being said, while the prompts are not real, the subject is very much real and can be triggering, so if it’s not something you’re comfortable with, don’t read below the line.

__________________୨ ୧ __________________

*feel free to change/adjust the pronouns however you want

a pregnant whumpee got kicked in the stomach by whumper, which led to miscarriage.

a pregnant whumpee, who was a housewife, fell down the stairs at her house when her partner was away for work. she didn’t tell her partner about the incident either because she was afraid he was going to get mad at her or because she thought it was fine and didn’t want to worry him. until she suffered severe bleeding that turned the mattress red at night.

whumpee who went through miscarriage kept hallucinating a life where her child was alive and she got to raise them. caretaker tried to help her, and even though her condition only seemed to get worse, they refused to send her to an asylum. 

whumpee who lost her child during childbirth refused to surrender her child’s corpse. It was understandable at first, until the child started to decompose and rot in her arms and she, with a knife in her hand, would attack anyone who tried to take her baby away from her.

whumpee was a sex slave who got pregnant, the thing was that it was a mistake. so in order for her to be able to continue doing ‘her job’, whumper made her undergo unsafe abortion by having a straightened-out wire with sharp edge (from a coat hanger) inserted into her vagina and into her uterus. they got the fetus out, but whumpee later got a nasty infection that resulted in her suffering from hallucinations, and her not being able to stand or stop her pale, naked body from shivering. whether or not she was rescued in time is up to you, the writer. 

whumper is an OB doctor who often lied to the patients that they miscarried their perfectly healthy stillborns and that the babies needed to be surgically removed in order to save the moms’ lives. this made it very easy for the doc to get away with eating fetuses, since the moms would rather not keep the corpses of their stillborns anyway, and police were never involved. (I mean who would question a licensed physician?!)

[continuousmeowing]

I should start posting about my love for medical history & science more…..

[hor3nee]

• Life •

Sukuna grappling becoming a father while you give birth.

CW/TW: GN! reader, Labour/Childbirth, Sukuna typical violence mentions, BRIEF suggestive stuff, Nothing graphic, Religious metaphors & LOTS of life/death talk, (LMK if I should add anything else!)

Characters: Sukuna x Reader

AN: Nobody dies in this fic! It's fluff-ish. (It's Sukuna and reader giving birth, as fluffy as that can be man), prequel to this Descendant fic

   Life was such a fickle thing, not that it mattered to Sukuna. He was above life, death sickness and health, beyond it, above the proper empathy to care for it. It wasn't that he didn't understand, because he did, once mortal himself, and existing on this earth surrounded by the humanity that populated on it for years as a curse, he understood. But there was no legitimate reason for it to matter to him unless he could gain from a life, there was no reason to mind it.

And by the loose, greedy and otherwise just gluttonous standards of what it meant to be a creature of 'gain' to Sukuna, you fit it to the T, your life mattered to him. Your life, it was something he wanted, no needed to maintain to be kept satisfied, if you weren't there to be by his side, he'd be left starved.

To lose such a thing, would only ignite a certain wrath inside of him.

The screams of agony that parted from your pretty little lips had his chest twisting into a feeling of irritation. He much preferred your screams of ecstasy, making you scream his name in sweet pretty moans when he bedded you. Not this, screams of something he was also the culprit of in fairness, sobbed screams of pain as your body tore to birth his child.

Sukuna enjoyed such screeches of terror, weak defeated sobs he could rip and tear from the pathetic lot of mortals he terrorized, all of whose lives served no purpose to him. The issue is, yours does serve purpose, a great purpose to Sukuna. You're always there, by his side, and when you're not, it bothers him, he's greedy, hungry for you.

Your pain only infuriates him, he doesn't like it at all, no, he loathes listening to it.

Finally, finally, it stops after what felt like torturously long, it comes to a stop. Like that, the tightness inside his chest unwrapped, Sukuna didn't think he'd ever feel relief, he wouldn't need to, he had never fought an opponent he couldn't defeat, pillaged an army that would come close to his strength there was no concerns or worry for him to have to be relieved from. Yet here he was basking in such relief. Your screams stop, now instead replaced by the bothersome cries of something much more smaller. Squeaky small wails, that of an infant. his infant.

"Lord Sukuna." A muttered voice of one of the midwives comes through the door separating Sukuna from the delivery room. The door opens to the midwives attending finishing up and then all bowing in submission, their heads hanging low as Sukuna stands by the door-frame.

"Done?" He asks, more so a statement, a demand as everything he speaks is.

"Yes-" The meek voice of a midwife responds, she not daring to look up from the floor of the delivery room.

"Then what the hell are you dimwitted fools doing? OUT." There's the slightest growl in his voice at the command, one that though slight works wonders on any who dare stand in his presence, and to which without a moment of hesitation has all the midwives scatter out of the room, rushing out with their heads low. Only one pauses to shut the door behind herself, not wanting to risk the stupidity of leaving the door open.

Now, only the sounds of a baby's cries echo in the room, the small thing wrapped, protected in a small blanket. The moment is deafening as it is loud, there are as many thoughts as there is nothing in his eyes as he stares at the small baby you held. Yes, you made his child, 9 tedious months of him practically carrying you around everywhere and it was out now.

Sukuna was, well Sukuna, he didn't bother thinking much of the specifics, but rather the obvious reality of the situation during those passing months, and didn't see a reason to. He could still sleep with you, could still have you around, could still listen to your voice speak with him in converse. Was it different? Sure, but in no way that bothered him. Cravings? The King of the Curses can provide feasts. Tired? You needn't walk, he has four arms for a reason. The bodily change? Sukuna guts humans like pigs, the size of your stomach was far from grotesque to such a demon like Sukuna.

But now, he is met with the reality, the sight, the sound the smell of the newborn babe, absolutely reeking of familiarity, a literal complete being of two halves, Sukuna and you. It's overwhelming, and not in the way Sukuna likes, not in the hedonistic pleasures he enjoys but rather overwhelming in thoughts. Thoughts as rampant as blank in his mind, fogged like he was considering all of this.

"Sukuna." A clear call of his name comes from your throat despite its audible hoarseness of exhaustion, still as captivating as always, catching his entire attention. No one can command the Sukuna, but he doesn't need to be commanded when you call for him, because it's in his full will and gratification to come to your side, which he of course does. Stepping softly to where you are laid, surrounded by stained sheets, tools and incense presumably used in aid of the birth.

"What?" His throat rumbles, a question with no particular answer aside from the obvious literal whole baby you had birthed in your arms.

"Look at them... Beautiful, aren't they?" And perhaps by the grace of a god he'd doubted existed, there was a moment of serenity now, the fog cleared from the depths of his sick mind as he gazed upon the small bundle in your arms. That was your grace perhaps, no definitely, definitely your grace, you had bore his child.

That damned sinister grin came over his face as he reached down to the infant, the large monstrously large hand of his ever so delicately traced the cheek of the little one, a comical contrast between himself and the child. For the entirety of you and Sukuna's time spent together, he had considered you the only life that truly mattered to him, and now you had created a life from the mere womb, you've given him another life he'd find true importance in.

His child's life, blessed by the sanctified arms that cradled it.

"Divine, rather." He rumbled, a short snicker leaving his twisted tongue, but laced with genuine adoration. Utter devotion to this small life, to both two lives he had found himself so graciously gifted. Of you, of his child.