bakerstreet | Our family

the "Starting a Family" meme

Nature is no respecter of persons, my friends. Whether it be childhood friends, newlyweds, or one-night stands, a single decision or accident can change everything, and there will be three people instead of just two.

Congratulations! The characters in these threads and those who reply to them are now expecting babies, no matter what their unique situation may be. Of course, depending on the characters, this might go over like a lead balloon. But wait! Even if the decision to have a baby was made and was consensual, the process is no walk in the park. There is lots to do...and only nine months to do it. Nine potentially drama-filled months.

HOW TO PLAY

Comment with your character, preferences, etc.
Not all options here are fluffy and happy. Some are potentially angsty or possibly triggering. Tread lightly. Be sure to mention what you want and what you don't want.
Reply to others.
For this, male characters can get pregnant because why not.

PROMPTS

How'd It Happen: What led up to this event? How are you in this situation?

Realization: There's a wrench in the works...or maybe it was expected, but you're just realizing you're pregnant.

Positive Reaction: Yes, after all this time and planning! You're finally ready for a family.

Negative Reaction: Oh, no. This is terrible. You're in no position to take care of a child!

Freak Outs: But...how? You're a human, she's an alien, how -

Deciding What to Do: If this wasn't planned, there needs to be a plan of action now.

Keep it Secret: You're attempting to keep your pregnancy a secret from your partner. This is only a bandaid for the bigger problem.

Telling Others: The other people in you two's life have to know at some point.

Drama: No one wanted you to have a kid and the anger is palpable.

Morning Sickness and More: Everything hurts and the mornings are hell.

Learning: If you're in a technologically advanced society, you may get to see an ultrasound. Otherwise, there are folk remedies that can be tried.

Manipulation: One of you is using the prospect of a child to bend the other to their will and make them stay.

My Body is a Cage: The person carrying the baby is having a decent amount of discomfort, mentally and physically.

Showing: It's a secret no longer with an expanding stomach.

Support: The partner who isn't carrying the child should do their best to be there and help out...

Overprotective: ...but to a degree. Don't act like the partner carrying the child is made of paper.

Getting Ready: The house or apartment or castle has to be babyproof.

Heart to Heart: It's time to talk about the big changes before the happen. Where do the two of you stand?

It's Happening: THE BABY IS COMING.

Rough Going: Childbirth is still a dangerous affair and there's no smooth sailing for you. So pace if you're lucky, scream in the bed if you're not.

Bad End: Not all new beginnings last. Sometimes, they become unhappy endings.

Coming Home: Finally, parents and baby get to settle down.

Getting Used to This: Well, maybe settle down. There's still crying in the night, feedings to do, diapers to change...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ...so. Given how amicable most humans in SW are towards aliens, I've gotta say I'm interested if you are. ]

(I am so sorry about the wait in getting back to you and I am definitely interested. Also Mantis is the best so I mean... why wouldn't I say yes?)

[ Don't worry about the wait! I'm a forever backtagger. On that note, if you have any prefs/ideas that speak to you - my first thought is a fluffy post-war meeting with Mantis pregnant, but I'm by no means married to that - I'll toss up a starter. ]

(Thank you! I'm definitely a backtagger so that's no problem. I just hate making people wait! that sounds like it would be fun. I don't think I've played Poe in that type of scenario before. A starter would be great too!)

[ The first three scouts that greet the triumphantly returning heroes of the Resistance - lightspeed travel's fast, but news of an ended war spreads even quicker - serve as raindrops, just a hint of what's to come. Then, there's the deluge: it seems like every person or droid or lifeform in the broadest sense that's inhabiting the last dilapidated base the rebels could fortify in their wild gambit is pouring out to celebrate a hard-earned yet harder-grasped victory. For all the excitement that builds up in the hangar, practically electric in its potency, you'd think a conquering army returns instead of a ragtag group of no more than ten pilots, fighters, and one or two stowaways, give or take. It could have been one person. It could have been a hundred. In the end, the fact burns above everyone like fifteen supernovas -

It's over. All of it, finally. Tears are shed, embraces exchanged, friendships strengthened, lovers reunited. Naturally... ]

Excuse me- [ Naturally, the fever pitch can work everyone up enough that they're unable to look past their own little world for the moment. Mantis doesn't blame anyone for crowding about so thickly that she can't seem to squeeze in no matter how she tries. Then again, she might have been able to a few months ago, back before she'd needed to adjust to her new body shape. Being pregnant is an unusual (though not unwanted) condition and, in truth, she's not entirely sure how to handle it.

Well, learn by doing. She's heard that before. Surely that applies to this situation, too?

Speaking of doing, with one last spoke to a nearby set of shoulders, she determines that she's not going to make through the ever-enlarging mass of wellwishers, so she falls back. Specifically, towards a flight of stairs that leads up to an overhang often used to watch ships take off.

An easy enough trip later and she has a much better point of view, her eyes scanning the crowd until: ]

Poe!

[ Because the key flyboy of this mission wasn't already the dead-center of attention, another spectacle's required in the form of a heavily-pregnant someone yelling, waving, and beaming from him overhead. ]