#tw: mention of stillbirth

[theanonymousclown]

Tell a friend to tell a friend- She’s BAAACK!!

This is an Owl House/Steven Universe AU, specifically an ‘SU in TOH’ variant!

Casual Kiddos + Season 1 Adults

So in Season 1, a human named Steven wanders into the dimension of Homeworld. He is quickly accepted into the fold of The Crystal House, a home for three outlaws Witches who came together- Garnet, the daughter of a Wild Witch (Ruby) and an upstanding Demon (Sapphire), Pearl, a former Guard for the Covens before defecting, and Amethyst, a cursed Witch.

Steven and Amethyst start in the Detention Track…

But quickly chose to Multi-Track. Amethyst studies Beastkeeping, Construction, Illusions and Abominations. Meanwhile, Steven starts out studying Healing and Plants, but expands to Beastkeeping, Oracle, and Illusions to learn the type of magic that the other Gems learned (Amethyst, Garnet and Pearl in that order)

Season 2 happens then (featuring the new uniforms) and the Crystal Gems have to deal with the three Main Heads- Blue, the Healing Head, Yellow, the Abominations Head, and White, the Empress’s Head. What they learn as the season continues is that, actually, they (and Pink, who was the Plant Coven Head before she ‘died’) are witch hunters. Pink was a born a Witch in the Human Realm, and so her sisters gave up their witch hunting ways to find someplace Pink could be safe… or so they thought. Really, White never gave up being a Hunter, and was just looking for a way to get rid of every witch at once.

What Steven learns at the end of Season 2 is that, first off, he’s a Grimwalker. White made him as a copy of Pink and wanted to use him to test various murder methods on witches, but Pink found out and fled, faking her death. She cut her and Steven’s ears to keep them safe in the Human Realm, but she botched the job a bit. Pink took on the name Rose, fell in love with and married a human named Greg Universe, and died in childbirth with her daughter Nora (who also passed).

Steven does… not take this well.

And spends like half of Season 3 downright miserable.

But yeah that’s the main summary of the AU! Some additional Notes:

Yellow is the Abominations Head because she created the Cluster.

Peridot takes over as Plant Head after Pink (because Peri’s a farmer). The Other Coven Heads are Nephrite for Beastkeeping (because she was a beast), Lapis for Oracle (because she was trapped in a mirror and I can warp that into a crystal ball), Jasper for Construction (all quartz are Construction, it’s why Amethyst has it), Fable for Illusions (Because obviously), Aquamarine for Potions (idk, she has a wand?? So I guess Potions is the witchiest Coven??) and Pyrope for Bard (I have no clue why)

Bismuth is Raine, because obviously.

Pearl has an Illusions sigil, so that obviously causes problems.

[jokerislandgirl32]

Ziolet Kiddo Refs!!! Varina Edition!

I decided it’s finally time to post the refs for Zach Varmitech and my OC Violet’s children! In total, Zach and Violet have 5 children! Varina, Vera, Victor, Vallen, and Victoria! Ahhh, I know that’s a lot, but I’m living vicariously through them, and I feel like Zach’s the type of guy that, once he has a child, would want more and more, lol. And Violet’s happy to oblige: She absolutely loves being a mommy!

So without further ado, here is their oldest child/daughter Varina!

Varina Virginia Varmitech

This is long, so I’m placing the rest below the cut, please note there is mention of pregnancy, stillbirth, premature birth, open heart surgery, and loss of child in this reference.

The Basics:

Birthday: May 31st, 2015 (born six weeks early, was due around July 17th).

A Rainbow After A Storm: Varina is Violet and Zach’s honeymoon baby and rainbow baby. They had a stillborn daughter, Alexandria, in July of 2014, so they were not expecting to have another child so soon after this loss. But they decided to start trying for another baby after their wedding ceremony in October of 2014 and…Violet and Zach found out they were having Varina the day of the Annual Villains Meeting (AKA, the Under Frozen Pond Episode)! Thanks to some deductive reasoning from Gourmand and Donita, lol.

Name Meaning: Varina - Strange, yet to be discovered; Virginia - Pure. Named for the fact that she was a pure, unexpected gift. After losing their first daughter, Alexandria, Zach and Violet never thought they’d become parents, but parenthood found them through the unexpected arrival of Varina! She was also given her middle name of Virginia after Violet (Violet Virginia) and Violet’s mother (Virginia).

Nicknames: Vari (Used by Zach, Martin, and her siblings); Sweet Peach (Used by Gourmand)…More to be added?

Physical Features:

Hair Color/Type: Dark Brown, she gets caramel colored highlights in it as she gets older; her hair is long, nearly waist length, it is naturally wavy/has lose curls. She prefers to style it in braided buns, braids, regular buns, or ponytails.

Eye color/ Shape: Blue-Violet, almond shaped - She emphasizes the color with purple eye makeup like her mother Violet.

Signature Colors: Purple and Gray

Style: Girly, preppy, feminine.

Height: 5’2” - She’s petite like her mom, but she is two inches taller than Violet.

She has Violet’s face structure: a muted triangle, she has Violet’s lips. She has Zach’s nose, she has pierced ears, she has a mixture of Violet’s and Zach’s builds, and she has a scar in the center of her chest from the open heart surgery she had shortly after her birth. She has a fair skin tone that is somewhere in between her father’s and mother’s. As a child she had freckles.

Personality/ Relationships:

Personality: Sassy, snarky, sweet, intelligent, bright, observant, devoted, determined, detail oriented. Varina has Zach’s temper and Violet’s spunky attitude and heart. She’s never afraid to stand up for what she believes, and she won’t take no for an answer when she believes deeply in something.

Relationships With Family: She’s a total daddy’s girl, she’s also a mommy’s girl; she is an excellent and loving big sister to all of her siblings. She takes on more of a friendship role with Vera and more of a protective and caring role with her brothers and Victoria. She acts as a second mother to all of her siblings quite often, leading them to get aggravated with him and tease her about being a second mom to them.

Love Interest/Future Family: JJ Z @rosey100’s OC who is the son of Jimmy Z and Koki. I feel like she and JJ marry and become parents at some point, but I’m unsure of what children they have together, any suggestions @rosey100? I initially headcanoned that she became a young/teen mother, but I’m not so sure anymore. If it did happen, I feel like it would make Zach have a heart attack, but he’s wrapped around her finger so he deals with it and love the baby 💜.

Talents/Career:

Special Talents/ Future Career: Varina is very intelligent like her parents, but her skill set is more in tune with Violet’s. Varina is a talented singer, dancer (ballet is her specialty), and pianist like Violet. She thrives academically in every subject, but prefers history, literature, business, and the sciences, particularly, environmental, biology, and zoology based courses. She graduates Valedictorian of her high school class and maintains a 4.0 GPA throughout college. Varina ends up becoming the joint CEO of Varmitech Industries, along with her brother Victor, following Zach’s passing.

A Few of Her Favorite Things:

Christmas is her favorite holiday, she loves everything about the Christmas season, she also enjoys Halloween.

She typically consumes a vegetarian diet, loving fruits, vegetables, bread, and sweets, but she will eat fish, seafood, and white meat occasionally.

Music: Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, Elton John, AURORA, Lindsey Stirling, Oh Wonder, The Greatest Showman Soundtrack, Halsey, and Melanie Martinez (she’s got her mother’s music taste) are among her favorites.

Animals/Nature: She love all animals, but her favorites are elephants, bears, foxes, butterflies, cats, giraffes. She also loves all types of flowers and being out in nature during any season, but spring and summer are her favorite seasons. She becomes a Wild Kratts kid early on.

She loved Winnie the Pooh as a child, and other classic Disney animated movies and shows, like Kim Possible, all the princess movies, and any of the movies about animals (Aristrocats, The Rescuers, etc.)

Alternate Version

The version of Varina listed in this post is exclusive to my Wild Violet AU. @trin-draws-art has a younger (teen) version of Varina included in her Kids on the New Block Au (KOTNB) . In this AU, Varina has much of the same attitude, but her look is a bit different, and she has a different love interest, @trin-draws-art OC Marissa Kratt. More info on this version of Varina can be found at this post!

And I think that’s enough for now, lol, feel free to ask any additional questions about her that you would like! I hope to have Vera’s reference ready by tomorrow!

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there who don’t have their kids to show for their title. We aren’t less than the rest, we’re still mothers.

Whether it was a miscarriage or a stillbirth, whether your child died or is in the adoption/foster system, whether your parents raised your child for you or you just don’t have custody, or the hundreds of other ways you can lose your child or lose your title as their mother.

Happy Mother’s Day, today is about you too. We are not less than just because we don’t get called Mom everyday.

[hellfirestxnes]

L&D Baby

Nurse!Steve Harrington x f!Reader

Word Count: 2.3k+

Warnings: 18+, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, mentions of a stillbirth, dad!steve, labor and delivery nurse!steve, blood/blood loss, swearing— as always let me know if there’s any tags i missed!

Notes: This fic isn’t edited but, I have a lot of thoughts of Steve as a L&D nurse in his early/mid 20’s while his wife is spitting out his gaggle of 6 children. Also, as a warning i am NOT a L&D nurse and this probably is not an accurate depiction of an L&D nurse. This is just one of many additions to the au living in my head.

Steve is tired. His bones are aching and his eyes are sore, but it’s just another Friday really. He has about half of his shift left and he’s off again, thankfully, until Monday. Leaning on the counter at the nurses station, listening to the other nurses gossip and share stories about their kids. And he’s thinking about you at home, sitting pretty and waiting for him to come home— belly swollen with his child. Any other day, he might tuck himself away and use the phone to call and check in, but today… he couldn’t face it. The first delivery he was on that morning, he watched a new mother wish with every fiber of her being that what the doctor was telling her wasn’t true. He cleaned up that baby, took their weight and height, made out the card for the parents that would never get to hear a cry. He bundled up gray, cold skin and hoped that the couple would be able to find peace. Somewhere deep down, he wishes he wouldn’t have heard them ask how did this happen? Everything was just fine this morning.

But, now here he sits. Thinking about that delivery, thinking about his wife at home. His very pregnant wife. Your pregnancy has gone by so quickly, been such a breeze. He’s been to as many appointments as he could, especially the ones you were so worried about. But there’s always a reassuring answer of your baby being strong and healthy. A perfect little Harrington. And now, Steve’s never found himself more terrified. If everything can be fine and perfect one second and terribly tragic the next, he doesn’t know where to find his peace. He hangs his head against his hands for a few moments— taking a deep breath. He’s gotta get himself straight, take a few moments. But there’s hellos being exchanged a few feet away and after what seems like a millisecond, a hand is settling on his lower back. He snaps around, prepared to give the whole I’m married spiel he’s done a thousand times, he’s met with the beautiful eyes of his adoring wife. And that softens his features, he’s visibly relaxing.

You smile at him, as he tugs you into his grip. The hug lasts longer than usual and Steve loves hugging you. You rub his back and kiss his shoulder, “you forgot your lunch.” You whisper to him quietly, the bag in your left hand adorning a beautiful band that Steve had so carefully picked out himself. At your words, Steve’s grip just tightens a bit and he kisses your head, sighing out. “Do you wanna eat together?”

“Yeah, angel. Just about to take my break. come on.” he says quietly, leading you down to the cafeteria. He pulls out your chair and you can tell something is distracting him as he sits. He’s busying himself by passing out the food, but he’s quiet and normally— he isn’t. He asks about your day, tells you about his, has told you he loves you a dozen times by now. And he knows you’ve noticed, by the way his eyes flick up to yours and back down again. “I’m okay.” he says after catching the look on your face.

“You’re not.” you reply, matter-of-factly. “What’s going on, Steve? Can talk to me.” you reach over for his hand, thumb brushing over his own gold wedding band. “You’re not acting like yourself.”

Steve sighs heavily, flipping his hand over to take yours gently. “The first birth I was on this morning was a stillbirth and I dunno… just had me thinking a lot.” He explains, his eyes dropping down to your belly across the table. You nod slightly, the hand that wasn’t entwined in his moves to your belly. You’re almost due and neither you nor Steve have ever had to worry about this. Never had it been a thought in your head.

“Just want you guys safe, is all.” Steve says softly and gives your hand a squeeze before he’s pulling it away to eat his lunch with you. And when it’s time for him to get back to work, you stand. There’s a dull ache that starts in your back and wraps around to your tummy, it lasts about 30 seconds as you clean up from lunch. You ignore it as he hugs you tightly, pressing a kiss against your forehead. “I’ll see you at home, okay? Take it easy, rest.” He reminds you, rubbing up and down your arms.

“Yeah, okay.” You acknowledge him with a nod, before you feel another aching pain. But this time it’s accompanied by a slow trickle of fluid down your thighs. And when Steve notices where your eyes are falling, all of the hair on the back of his neck stands up.

“Oh.” Is all he can manage. He’s done this a thousand and ten times over the past few years. He’s consoled laboring mothers, he’s held their hands and cleaned them up, he’s been their support system. It’s his job. But here he is, with his own wife, frozen in his tracks. Your water broke and he can tell with the uncomfortable face you’re making the contractions have started as well. “Okay, angel… let’s… let’s get you checked in.” he says softly and suddenly, you’re more than thankful for the pre-registry packet Steve made you fill out last week. He holds your hand the entire time they check you in and get you into a room. He can hear his pager going off and he’d check it, every now and again, hoping one of the other nurses could pick up his patients, since he still technically was on his shift. But when he can’t put it off any longer, he kisses your head. “Listen, I’ll be right back okay? I’m not leaving you alone for this. I’ll be really quick.” he says softly.

You just nod, munching on the ice chips he had brought you not too long ago. You still feel like you have time. The contractions aren’t that close together yet. But Steve would throw a fit if they even tried to send you home and you know it. Steve smiles nervously when he wheels a cart into another expectant parent’s room. He introduces himself and shakes her husband’s hand when he extends it to him introducing themselves as, “Caleb and Connie Bear.” He's trying to keep the small talk up and keep himself calm— and not to think of his wife four rooms down. “Is this your first?” he asks softly, administering her medication.

“Oh no.” Connie laughs softly and shakes her head, “It’s baby number seven.” She pats her belly gently. Steve nods, a little lost in his own head. A mix of thoughts of the young couple a floor up with no baby to show, his wife laboring without him, and these friendly people working on their seventh baby. “It’s not as bad as you think.” she laughs, catching Steve’s face.

Steve laughs nervously and shakes his head, “oh no. it’s not that.” He smiles softly, “my wife and I wanted around six.” He shrugs, giving her a glass of water.

“You’ve got kids?” She smiles at him and gives his forearm a gentle squeeze as he adjusts her monitors. “You’re so young.”

“Uh… not yet.” He laughs softly and pulls her blanket back up over her. “My wife’s in labor now, actually. Not very far along yet and It’s our first, might have a while to go.” He rambled off nervously.

She smiles at him, a warm and comforting smile, and so does her husband. They remember those days. And Steve does find comfort in that smile. “These things take time.” She says softly, nodding at Steve. “but she’ll know what to do and I know you’ve seen a lot of babies being born but the minute you see yours, everything’s gonna change.” And Steve knows she’s right.

“Thank you.” he says softly. “I’ll be back in to check on you in a little while.” he dims her lights a bit, sighing softly as he steps out of the room and walks over to his station to chart his notes quickly. When he looks up and sees his mother-in-law, that’s when his panic starts to set in. He’s hurrying around the counter, biting the inside of his cheek. “What are you doing here?”

“Y/N called asking me to come, Steve.” She laughs, a sound that reminds him of you. “She knows you’re busy.” She gives his arm a pat and smiles at him. “She’s getting close, from what they’ve told her.”

“And she didn’t say anything to me?” Steve frowns, leading her over to your room. His face is knotted up in confusion when he looks over you. Your feet are planted on the floor, leaning over your bed. He sighs softly, knowing he should have been in here. He walks over, standing behind you to rub circles into your lower back.

“This is how we got into this situation.” You joke, face pressed against your sheets.

The response makes Steve chuckle, rolling his eyes, “oh hush. your mother is here.” He mumbles softly, rubbing your hips gently. “Where did they say you’re at, angel?” he asks softly.

“Eight.” You mumble back, letting yourself melt into Steve’s hands. They slide around to your belly, lifting gently and trying to keep the pressure off of your back in between contractions. “What do you think it’s gonna be?” You ask him, turning your head to catch a glimpse of him. You can see the worry etched into his features. But once he sees the way your hair is sticking to your forehead and how flushed and clammy your skin is— he softens.

“A girl.” He says softly. “Gonna be just as pretty as you.” He whispers softly, helping you switch positions and lie back on the bed quietly. Steve’s head perks up as he sees one of his co-workers take a quick peek in. “What’s up?” he mouths over to her. He watches her point down to her belt, signaling to the pager Steve has forgotten.

He sighs and kisses your head once more, rubbing soothing circles onto your arm. “I’ll be right back again, okay sweetheart? Your mama’s here. gonna take care of you while I’m gone.” He says softly and squeezes your hand before he’s ducking out and heading down to the Bear’s room, pushing the cot along quietly.

Connie smiles tiredly, having opted for an epidural at the last stage of her labor. Steve’s ready at her thighs, ready to pop the baby up onto her chest. His own head is occupied with the thought of missing the birth of his own child while he welcomes another into the world. His shift would be over soon and then he’ll be sitting at your bedside, holding your hand and keeping you healthy and happy. Supporting you throughout the entire transition of your labor. Caleb rubs soothing circles on Connie’s arm as she pushes, and Steve takes note of the love in the room. How much the two of them lean on one another.

And Steve’s breath hitches in his throat when he’s reaching over her thighs, with their newborn boy laying on her stomach. He’s helping rub the baby dry, eyes flicking up to the delivering doctor when no one hears any cries for just a few more moments. And Steve whispers, panicked, but full of hope, “oh come on, kid.” No one hears him, but Connie— and her eyes are on him as Steve tries his fucking best to coax a cry out of the baby. Even after suctioning his nose and mouth. He remembers the heartbroken looks on that young couple this morning and he couldn’t take it again.

And finally there’s a sigh of relief when the little one lets out their first big wail. Steve smiles watching as Connie holds their baby to her chest, tears welling up in her eyes. She gives Steve’s hand a squeeze, her face silently thanking him. And then as he’s walking away to fill out a stats card for their baby, Steve hears his name followed by someone shouting time to push. And he’s running. He’ll check back in later, but he’s not missing his baby’s birth. You’ve got the rails of the bed in your hands, gripping tightly as you push— and he’s finding your side and brushing back your hair. “I'm here, angel.” He’s whispering through your tears. “I’m here. Look at you. You’re doing so good, mama.”

And it’s a whole new feeling when Steve hears a cry before he even sees the baby. He can see the blood on your thighs as they lift the baby up to place against your chest. The tears in your eyes are falling as you look up at Steve. And he just presses a kiss against your forehead, sniffling back his own years. “You did it, angel.” he mumbles softly.

“Congratulations.” You hear through your OB’s big smile. “It’s a boy.” And then Steve laughs, his smile pressed against your hair.

“It's a boy.” you repeat, fingers brushing against the back of your baby's fresh soft skin. The quiet grunts coming from him fill the room as he roots around trying to latch onto your breast quietly. “Joseph.” You whisper and turn to look up at Steve, remembering the perfect name the two of you had spent the last eight months curating. “Joseph Steven Harrington.” You announce to your mother quietly. And Steve feels himself tear up a bit.

Nothing has ever felt like this before in his life. And once you’re squared away, he makes sure to thank his coworkers quietly. Appreciating every second of them covering his ass tonight. They all congratulate him for the beautiful baby, passing out hugs and offering advice. And Steve soaks it in, every single word of it. Soaks it in like his life depends on it.

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tags

@peachyproserpina

(if anyone else would like to be tagged in any future steve harrington work, please fill out the form attached to my masterlist x)

[hells-greatestdad]

Headcanons for my Lucifer (to be updated)

my Lucifer is autistic. I made a post about this and my reasoning here

recently thinking inattentive ADHD is also fitting for him

Lucifer has chronic pains from his fall from heaven. The specifics of this I'm not entirely sure, but probs includes back pain from the long fall, and nerve damage from the flames that were involved. This is why he uses a cane. He has to take medications for the pains.

Lucifer also has trauma from his fall from heaven, in addition to his canon depression. PTSD and sometimes he disassociates.

Lilith was cursed by heaven to birth dead children. This is because Heaven didn't want to risk an army of powerful demons with Lucifer's blood that could rise against them. Charlie is one that by some miracle survived, and when Heaven learned of this, Lucifer had to appear in the heavenly court and beg for his daughter's life to be spared.

[une-sanz-pluis]

Reading this post about Anne Boleyn, made me think about Eleanor Cobham and her childlessness.

We don't know anything about Eleanor's childlessness beyond the fact of it. We don't know if she had pregnancies that ended in miscarriage or stillbirth or whether she was unable to conceive. But the possible impact on her mental health tends not to be even considered, let alone mentioned. In fact, her attempted defence at her trial for witchcraft - that she had only used "magic" in attempt to conceive her husband's child - has been over-interpreted by some historians (e.g. Lauren Johnson, Robert Bartlett) as a type of threat or an admission of treason. She wanted to have a baby because her son would replace Henry VI and she'd be the ~mother of kings!

Which is just bizarre. There are many reasons she could have wanted a child - and note that she did not specifically state she wanted a son but a child - but both Johnson and Bartlett reduce her to the cold-hearted scheming vixen only wants a son so she can rule through him. Also, like, Eleanor was literally the only woman alive in 1441 who could provide the Lancastrian dynasty with a clear-cut heir.

We know the succession became a point of anxiety not too long after Eleanor's downfall and while we can't explicitly trace it back to Eleanor's time as Duchess of Gloucester, it does stand to reason that she would have been aware of how fragile the Lancastrian dynasty was. Henry VI was four years away from marrying himself and twelve years away from having his only son (which, of course, Eleanor couldn't have known about). He was the only child of his father and had no brothers who could inherit the throne, while all of his paternal uncles except Humphrey had died without legitimate issue by 1435. Humphrey himself had no legitimate children. The succession after Humphrey was confused, with at least three possible claimants. Eleanor, as Humphrey's wife, was likely very well aware of how fragile the succession was and was the only woman at that time who could give birth to an heir. Yes, any child might be Henry's "replacement" and she would become the mother of the next monarch but that's how a heredity monarchy works. Maybe people should read less of the Philippa Gregory-style of historical fiction.

And that's not going into the culture of primogeniture or the idea that a woman's worth as a wife was often closely tied to the production of an heir. There are studies that talk about the stigma of involuntarily childless on modern women today, who have the benefit of feminist movements and not living in a culture based explicitly and totally in primogeniture.

Nor does it go into the fact that that having a child could have had an legitimising affect on Eleanor's controversial marriage and status, providing her with security. Nor does it discuss the emotional affect of suffering miscarriages and stillbirths - admittedly, we don't know that Eleanor suffered from these but there doesn't seem to much evidence around miscarriages and stillbirths in late medieval England and so we can't rule out the possibility this was part of her experience.

It's all too easy, when we put aside the scheming vixen image, to imagine Eleanor's fear, distress, desperation and anxiety over her childlessness. Even if she was a scheming vixen, as Johnson and Bartlett would have it, it still would have had a large impact on her. It would have influenced the way she behaved - perhaps the motif of her disastrous pride and ambition came from an desire to emphasis her status as a way of taking refuge from her inability to have a child. Although I'm yet to find contemporary allegations that supports the not-uncommon idea Eleanor was greedy and grasping, perhaps she was in order to build up a stockpile of wealth that she could use to support herself if her marriage to Humphrey was annulled or her dower seized after his death. We might also consider that she turned to magic/witchcraft in desperation to have a child or at least in attempt to know what awaited her.

[olivescales3]

Happy WBW! 💚 In honor of Aro Week: how does your world view anti-amanormative ideas or practices? In other words, how does the world at large view people or ideas that don't prioritize romance or romantic relationships?

Thank you mutual for the ask!

I've always wanted to write about how my characters see relationships.

Chima animals are... you know, animals! They see the world in a totally different way than us, and each tribe has its own unique manner of understanding what's around them, as they're each different species.

In a nutshell, Chima animals do not have romantic relationships. The concept of romance and sex is absolutely alien for them, since they're not human (nor dolphin....).

However, romance being inexistent in Chima does not mean that the animals there don't have relationships. There are those who have a mate, those who don't, and those who simply wish to not have one (non-partnering). You can find both homosexual and heterosexual couples in Chima— the former started to become more common since the tribes don't have to worry much about underpopulation.

How do these couples express affection? Simple, just like how they do in real life. Depending on the species, they will cuddle, groom, play, etc.

The closest thing to "romantic attraction" is when an animal analyzes their possible partner in a mating ritual. Words such as "handsome" are meant to describe an animal's good genes.

Well, kind of. I somewhat lied. 'Romantic relationships' can exist in Chima, but it's totally different from ours— rare cases of two different species mingling can happen.

This part can be triggering to some, so it'll be placed under the cut. Also, be warned, and always keep in mind that the characters are literally animals, and are not meant to represent humans by/as themselves. Each different tribe is its own species of animal— interpreting them as different human ethnicities is extremely offensive, since it's an interpretation that aligns with pseudoscientific racism.

No one knows the reason of these incidents, but it's known that those of two species who mingle can and will cause harm to themselves and those around them, especially if they're closely related enough to form an offspring, since the birth of a hybrid might put the mother in danger of dying during birth. If it doesn't come out of the female as a stillborn, its body won't function properly— hybrids are a guaranteed case of bringing a suffering animal to life. Reegull, a hybrid between an eagle and a raven, was born without a functioning wing.

[sweet-vanilla-sims]

Year 1680 - Part 1

TW/CW: Death, Child Death, Stillbirth

The year in Tartosa began with the family mourning the losses of the previous year and the young Collari twins growing into bigger infants with Sabina having ruby eyes and her brother having pale yellow. Though despite that, the famine and the lack of clean water had not been resolved yet and on January 16th, Alessandro collapsed and quickly passed in the early hours of the morning. He was buried near his late wives and passed surrounded by his family.

Just a few days later, Clement celebrated his sixth birthday with his family as Orelia and the girls had returned to celebrate with him.

Sadly the birthday of his much younger cousin was of little joy to Giuliano as he mourned his beloved wife but more pressing was that young Rustico was constantly crying from pains in his gut and the lack of comfort from his mother that he missed.

Sadly on January 24, Rustico finally slipped away after a fitful sleep that he never awoke from.

Borthola did her best as a big sister to cheer up Ricciardi as his closest playmate had just passed but the adults were devastated and even more so as Bastiano started showing signs of extreme lethargy not long after Rustico's funeral but they did their best to carry on.

By the time Orsetta's sixth birthday came around they were back in the islands once more which was fine with her as the waters were nice to swim in and the paths were much prettier than in Newcrest.

On the ever less common good days Bastiano had with energy, he, Borthola and their cousins would spend the day swimming and despite Giulia wanting the children to study after the past few months she was willing to be more lenient with them. Especially after the loss of Alessandro's mother on February 13th.

But a bad day came for Bastiano on March 6th and he took a nap that he couldn't wake from after being gripped with intense headaches and cramps. Sadly it was Ricciardi who found him and whose cries alerted the family. But the losses didn't stop there as just a few days later came news that Antea had also passed from similar causes.

While recently orphaned, Camilla grew up into her infancy in the care of Gabriella. But sadly her cousin, Sabina from the main branch of the Collari family passed away that April and on July 4th, the family Matriarch Bianca passed away as well leaving the family in the hands of Marcello at least until Salvador came of age.

As the birth of their child approached, Giovanni Cesare and Vivienne decided that it was time to put aside their unfulfilled wishes and make the best of things especially after Vivienne's eighteenth birthday that March. The young couple decided to genuinely attempt a real relationship.

While other adults of the house were out in town, Vivienne and her brother were happy to get along in secret.

In late July on the 24th, Vivienne went into labor and when the midwife told her there was a second baby on the way it made sense on how quickly her pregnancy had shown but sadly the joy of her daughter, Elisabetta's birth was quickly dashed as the second girl was stillborn. The young couple called their late daughter, Elena, and while she couldn't be buried in the churchyard, she was buried not far from the home.

Following the birth Vivienne had difficulties bonding with her daughter as the conflicting feelings of loss for her secondborn and the lingering thoughts of how if she hadn't gotten pregnant in the first place, she'd be free to marry into a similar life of luxury that she had grown up in reared their ugly heads. Giovanni Cesare though, was taken with his daughter. The loss of Elena hurt him dearly but after losing so many family members in his life, he was used to grief and dealing with it so he chose to refocus and give his daughter the love he had for both children especially as Vivienne only seemed to interact with her to feed her or change the occasional diaper.

Unfortunately for the family the losses did not stop as Giuliano and Ashley's only daughter slipped away on August 29th. Giulia couldn't believe just how quickly their household full of noise and children and young love had changed in less than a year.

[sydsrichie]

How could you made Sena that pathetic? Like I thought after you said you want to have non violent ending to dance, I was sure you will write a lot of good fucks and children popping like Alysanne but why you decided to make Sena so weak? Like, to me, you had dilemma whether you want to pull Aemma/Laena fate with her or to make her survive by some kind of miracle. You have done so great job at making her strong, only to write her as unable to make Aemond's dream of big family came true. WTF?

brooo this is the most sexist ask I have had in a long time. women who can’t have lots of children are weak? disgusting take. desperately hope you don’t have any women in your life who cannot conceive or have had difficult births if that is your attitude.

begging you to do a google search on medical history, women’s history, ANYTHING that will teach you how dangerous childbirth was before modern medicine, germ theory, epidurals, blood transfusions, caesarians, etc. it is still sadly a major cause of death in developing nations and why pregnancy is such a high risk, closely monitored health state.

in the books, targs die in childbirth even more often than other women. a lot of fans theorise it’s to do with whatever magic it is that makes them dragonriders and leaves their stillborn children malformed with dragon characteristics, or even just the inbreeding.

not that I think this ask deserves a serious answer, bc good lord that is one of the most offensive things I have read in a long time, but the idea was to not give too neat and happy of an ending, bc such a thing never happens in real life or in asoiaf. “Life is not a song”. And also just to show a deep and enduring love between two people with virtues and flaws, who don’t get their idyllic big family but are content with what they DO get regardless. I also often see a troubling association in fiction between women who are either physically weak or emotionally closed off being unable to bear children, as though not being able to have children is evidence of weakness or lacking in nurturing qualities/femininity. so I wanted to write a woman who is both strong and nurturing but just so happens to not be able to safely bear children. also just to show aemond as a rare man in this world who values his wife’s LIFE above his own legacy. the books are littered with men who all but kill their wives in the pursuit of heirs. in a way, that’s what starts the entire story of the dance when aemma dies.

so yeh. that’s a really vile opinion to go and drop in someone’s inbox. I just hope you’re very young, don’t really understand what you’re saying, and you’ll take this opportunity to go and educate yourself.

I can’t tell if this is the same person who dropped that rude ass ask in my inbox a few days ago (I think it is) but I had to answer this because it’s just straight up offensive and I really hope you can see why. I won’t be answering anymore of these though, so don’t bother!

[cunning-matriarch]

I have been trying to figure out the intensity of Shenzis maternal instincts for a hot minute and I kinda pieced it together due to her reactions in threads and some internal reactions she had to things

Cause it didnt entirely make sense that a female of her status and age never tried to breed or reproduce

Shenzi likely tried to be a mother when they FIRST moved to the pridelands before the drought hit. Things were still lush, prey and water were still plentiful.

Unfortunately over 60% of hyena cubs dont make it through birth due to anatomy; especially for first time mothers. And she lost both her cubs.

Couldnt handle trying again so she just went to be an auntie/maternal figure to the clans younglings.

[lifewouldbebetteronmars]

Somewhat based on this post

Summer of Angst Masterlist

Title from It’s Quiet Uptown from Hamilton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I Could Trade His Life For Mine

Three days ago, things were different.

Three days ago, Sophie was a mother to three children. Two beautiful little girls and the baby in her belly.

Three days ago, Gideon was telling everyone how excited he was to become a father for the third time.

Three days ago, they were happy. Everyone in the Lightwood home was happy.

But three days ago, something changed.

Sophie went into labor in the middle of afternoon, while simply drinking her tea. Something had been wrong, she’d known it right away.

It was too early, she wasn’t due for almost two more months.

And when her water had broken, it wasn’t water, it was blood. Strikingly bright against the lightly patterned carpet.

Something was wrong.

She labored for nearly two days, forty hours in total. The whole experience longer and more painful than she had felt before with Barbara and Eugenia.

The girls had been sent to stay with Henry and Charlotte, as Gabriel and Cecily had been busy enough to little Anna, who’d recently begun teething. And Charles was closer in age to the girls anyway.

It was by the twelfth hour that Gideon demanded she be transferred to the Silent City, fearful for her life and that of the babe in her belly. But the Silent Brothers refused, citing the reason to be it was too dangerous to move her now.

So Sophie had watched as Gideon stewed in his own worry from his place beside her. He had desperately tried to hide it from her, but she knew it was there.

But as she said, that was three days ago.

And after those forty long hours, a baby was finally born. A baby boy, small and blue.

He didn’t cry or scream as he came into the world, having already been dead long before he was born.

The heartbreak of that was hard to voice, to give birth to a dead baby.

Especially since she wasn’t even close to being finished.

It was barely ten minutes after the first baby that the midwife told her there was another one coming. Another baby boy.

He was small too, but not blue like his brother was. He too, didn’t cry, at least, not at first. It took him a minute but he cried and cried, proudly showcasing his small lung capacity with small squeaky cries.

Sophie and Gideon cried when their son was placed on her chest, whether it was from the relief of him breathing or from the grief of their lost boy, she didn’t know.

They named him Thomas, after her dear friend Thomas Tanner, who had died protecting the London Institute. It felt fitting to name their son after a fighter, since he would have a long fight ahead of him.

Which brings us to now, three days later. They had been brought to the Silent City shortly after Thomas’s birth, the three of them-Sophie, Gideon, and Thomas of course.

She didn’t know what had become of her other son, the one she called Philip in her head. She his body would be held in the Silent City, for a proper funeral later on. She hoped it wouldn’t become a double, but with how Thomas looked, she couldn’t be very hopeful.

He was a tiny little thing, with a head full of sandy colored hair-just like Gideon’s-and skin that was all but translucent. The short, shaky breaths her son emitted made Sophie want to break down into tears.

The Silent Brothers were doing everything they could to help him survive, but they didn’t give much hope to the parents, telling them to prepare for the worst.

Didn’t they know that the worst had already happened?

She was now content to sit here and watch every breath her son took, desperately praying that each one wouldn’t be his last.

Sophie jumped and tensed when a hand came to rest on her shoulder, only relaxing when she saw it was only her husband. Gideon was looking worse for wear, the bags under his eyes making the green in them pop brightly and contrast against his nearly-white pallor. He hadn’t slept since she’d gone into labor, maybe even before that. He’d been so stressed out lately, she had noticed; but had chalked it up to late night patrols or the fact that they had two children under the age of five.

But now she could see that the stress had been a combination of the two, coupled with the difficult pregnancy.

The stress now made worse by the loss of the Philip and the possibility of losing Thomas as well.

“Do you think he’ll make it?” she whispered to her husband, eyes still focused on their tiny son.

Sophie could hear Gideon swallow audibly from behind her, a nervous tick of his. “I think we should have faith in the Angel and in the Silent Brothers.”

“What if faith is not enough?”

“Then I don’t know, sweetheart. I really don’t know.”

They wasn’t meant to be cynical, Gideon’s words. He was merely speaking the truth, there wasn’t much they could do for Thomas besides sit and wait.

All Sophie knew is that she couldn’t lose another baby. It would break her.

“I can’t lose another, Gideon. I can’t.”

“I know.”

She couldn’t lose another Thomas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before I go, I shall leave you all with another Boo meme:

[randooffthestreet99]

So, I do have a Cross child I would like to talk about, because I feel like he would be the greatest parent in the world lol

Her name is Salem! Cross adores her, even if she wasn't planned. He tells his brother XPapyrus first, and eventually everyone finds out. (This is during a good timeline where they are all safe....mostly) They make a nursery for her and XUndyne constantly talks about how great of an Aunt she will be.

Trigger warning for under the cut! Please do not read before reading the tags.

Well. Cross would have been the best parent ever. If Salem had survived. Salem was...not intended, and neither was her creation. XGaster would punish Cross in ways that a person never should, and Salem was the creation of that. Cross was terrified when he learned he was pregnant, but he decided that the baby was his more than XGaster's. Well, XGaster decided to ignore Cross for the next couple months, content to just avoid him and the child, but XPapyrus started pushing Cross to tell them who the father was. Cross insisted that he didn't know, that it was a one night stand, but XPapyrus accepted that if Salem got a paternity test done.

XGaster didn't like that.

XGaster pulled Cross away in the middle of the night and beat him until he was unconscious and bleeding, kicking and hitting him in the stomach repeatedly to ensure Salem's death. He was found in the morning by XUndyne.

Cross was in shock. They took him to a hospital kicking and screaming and sobbing to have a stillbirth.

It happened again...and again....almost every OVERWRITE. And then XFrisk restored his memories. He was shook to his core, nearly passing out.

Once he joined Nightmare’s gang, the others noticed very small habits of his that were almost unnoticeable. He would absent-mindedly place a hand where his stomach was or quietly hum lullabies, and would get this look on his face whenever it came to any kind of baby clothes or products, flinch whenever a baby cried, or even just look really depressed whenever he saw a pregnant person.

They had no idea why, and Killer only brought it up once, only to have him completely break down. Never again.

They did eventually learn about Salem. Cross was rip roaring drunk, alone and sobbing in his room, muttering about her. Eventually he accidentally let's spill that it was the day he had to give a still birth to his child the first time. He sobbed and said they had to clean her dust off his SOUL. Needless to say, they were horrified.

The next morning, Cross has one hell of a hangover and everyone was looking at him strangely, and he finally asked them what was up. He never regretted a question more than when Horror quietly whispered "We're sorry about Salem..."

He went stiff and asked how the hell they knew that name and was horrified when he learned the events of the night before. But... it felt good. That somebody finally knew what happened to him, that they knew and wouldn't judge him. The looks were gone soon, the others had just needed to process what had happened to their friend and teammate.

They were more understanding from then on, and would do little things on the days that hurt the most. Cooking special foods, cuddle piles, just being there for Cross, and it meant the world. Healing is a very slow and painful process, but they were getting there.

Cross was healing.

[thecoffeelorian]

...so.

I'm feeling a little relieved that they chose to go a slightly different way with baby Visenya...instead of showing a potential human-dragon hybrid, they said "Screw that Greenie propaganda" and showed us a NORMAL BABY GIRL.  Ya know, the kind with NO wings, stubby tail, or scales, because Rhaenyra wished to have a daughter ever since she was named Princess of Dragonstone, and would have loved her to bits if cruel fate hadn't gotten in the way.  That's what makes her lone stillbirth tragically devastating, and not some empty horror movie moment.

[me-myself-and-my-fos]

Been thinking about the first kiss with Casey…

It doesn’t happen on the first date. His mom raised him better than that. He waits a bit, and makes sure he asks for permission first

But it would happen after I have a particularly long and hard shift. Not a lot of good news and more stillborns than I ever want to deliver, and right before my shift is up so he and I can go on our date, I end up having to perform some emergency surgery. It takes way longer than I want and I ask someone to go tell Casey I’m sorry but the date won’t happen but I’d love a rain check

He ends up waiting for me to get off, dropping by my office when he hears the surgery is over and was successful. He’s happy my shift can end on a positive note, and as I’m packing up he knocks on the doorframe. And we have a little chat, I apologize for cancelling but he waves it off. And then he says he’s ready for the rain check if I am and holds up two containers from my favorite Chinese buffet. He tells me he remembers me mentioning it’s my favorite place on our first date and how I said I go there after a shift when I don’t have any energy

I’d be so taken back by that and find it so sweet, jokingly asking how he hasn’t been taken yet when he’s such a catch. And Casey replies that it’s because he only has eyes for one person

And during this whole thing we slowly had been getting closer, and when we’re right in front of each other he quietly asks if he can kiss me. I say yes, and Casey tucks some hair behind my ear before kissing me softly

It’s breathless and he tastes like coffee and potato chips. Not an attractive combination but it’s heavenly while he’s kissing me and holding me against him. It’s a little sloppy because haven’t done it before, but I can’t get enough of him and Casey chuckles into the kiss as I push on my toes to kiss him a little deeper. It ends when we have to pull away for air, and we decide to go down and eat dinner in the front seat of my car in the hospital parking lot while talking about our day and making plans for a proper date

[hells-greatestdad]

Hey lucifer.. personal question.. what number child were you on when you ended up having Charlie? Is it really true of cursed Lillith that 100 of her babies would die before or at birth?

"How did you come to know about this? It's not information that is easily obtained."

He sighs. This is a painful topic.

"Yes, there is a reason Charlie is the only child between Lilith and I. Lilith was cursed to bear dead children.... though your information is a bit off. Heaven didn't want us to have any children who could potentially be a threat to them, so they wouldn't have set a limit like that. It's nothing short of a miracle that Charlie is with us."

"As for how many... I'd rather not think about that. Suffice to say heaven has plenty of blood on its hands."

[ask-the-celestial-family]

Other anons, it’s still Christmas. I’m pretty sure Zenith is still in the first trimester, even by celestial-model pregnancy standards. If that fetus was born now, it’d probably die.

(Are we absolutely sure how high magical pregnancy [a sped up pregnancy] works in a celestial [who have notoriously sped up pregnancies]?)