bakerstreet | Start a family, you and me

Start a family, you and me

the "WE'RE HAVING A BABY" 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 | Expand All

[Just no manipulation!]

[ m/f ]

Edited 2023-08-20 13:57 (UTC)

[Nyssa here is a shapeshifter of a genderfluid/nonbinary nonhumans that has been a Father multiple times but seldom a Mother. Any gender and anatomy combination is possible here, and I'm down for anything but vore, gore, or bathroom play.

Beware: tentacles are very possible here.]

Ganymede had come home from an early afternoon of refilling all--all--of the ice trays and cleaning all the soda taps at the bar, intending to spend a night in with his husband and their dogs, and so he'd called out Ashley's name upon entering, dropping his keys and water on the coutner as he kicked off his shoes.

"Ash! I'm home early tonight, I thought we could..." the words died away when he found said husband laid out on a couch in one of the several living rooms, an infant planted on his chest and curled up for warmth and comfort.

"When did this happen?" he asked, snagging a soft blanket off the back of the couch to drape over them.

When Nephele had work that would take her out of town or was dangerous in nature the pack always pulled together to help take care of Arleys. Oni was usually the first choice. But, they were still having an issue with Kevin's old pack trying to find him. After the snack attack incident it was safer to leave her with Ashley in the city. The technological guru that he is, his home is highly secure. No one would sneak up on him here or get even get too close without him knowing. When she had been dropped off he was given a very vague answer about how long she would be in his care. Which wasn't a big deal, his schedule could be easily adjusted and he could work from home. Chrissy loved it when he brought the little girl to the office too.

His favorite thing was to take a nap with her curled up on his chest. The older dogs had come in a couple of times to sniff at her and see what was going on.

Ashley heard Ganymede when he first called out and started to stir. When he felt the blanket and heard him again but closer Ash smiled and stretched. Which trigged Arleys to do the cute baby thing and scrunch up her legs under her. She looked like a little bug.

"Hey, baby. What time is it?" He would probably need to feed her soon.

Ash shifted a little on the couch so Ganymede could sit next to them. "C'mere."

"Almost four in the afternoon," Ganymede answered, smiling at the tiny infant on his husband's chest pulling into a tighter curl; he put a warm hand on her back, solid and reassuring so she wouldn't wake to a stranger in her space. Babies could recognize faces much earlier than most gave them credit for, and Ganymede was not entertained by the notion of this one screaming in discomfort.

"Now, I know there were no babies when I left this morning," he said lightly. "And unless I'm very mistaken, adoption takes a while. So either you stole this one, or I need to have words with someone." He was obviously teasing, and fond of children--Ashley could have remembered how much he loved them from their time in California, when Ganymede could have been found with an infant or young toddler on his hip more often than not. "What's her name?"

Arleys is a fairly quiet baby. Unless you take too long getting her bottle when it was time to eat. She's been living with abd around dangerous shapeshifters almost all of her life and has never reacted to any of them with fear. He's sure she will be just fine with Ganymede.

"I wasn't the one that stole her." Nephele did and for good reason. She was a tiny, sickly newborn in a lab and would have been experimented on had the white haired allomancer not decided to intervene. "Neph is going to be out of town for a few days for work. I'm on babysitting duty." He smiled fondly as the tiny girl started to wiggle and stretch against his chest. "This is my Arleys."

"She's precious," he murmured, sitting next to Ash and stroking the baby's back gently. "This one can always stay with us, anytime. And you look fabulous with her," Ganymede says.

He opened his arms for the little infant, fully intending to take her while Ash undid his braids, something they both liked him to do, scooting down to it on the floor between Ashley's knees. "Have Ameera and Maelie come to see you? Or the pups?"

He loved that Ganymede wasn't put off by coming home and finding they had an unplanned house guest. Just immediately had open arms ready for her. Nephele and Arleys are a very, very special part of Ashley's life. He isn't quick to let anyone know they even exist. Sitting up Ashley got ready to hand her off to his love. He would notice she is small. At first, yes, she had been very seriously underweight. They had kept her in a crib and treated it like a prison. She had never been touched before Nephele took her and was only fed enough to keep her alive.

Now that she is healthy they know she's also just a very petite baby. Ashley carefully handed her to Ganymede, immediately smiling at the sight of the man he loves holding the little girl who was so precious to him.

"Yeah, the girls came in a couple times to check her out. Once to herd a few of the pups out when they got noisy."

Sitting behind Ganymede, his legs on either side of him, Ash slid his hands over his braids as he gathered them up. Then he pulled them to the side so he could bend down and kiss his neck just below his ear. "I have never let anyone outside of my pack except Chrissy to even lay eyes on her."

"They're good girls," Ganymede said softly, cradling Ashley's baby girl to his chest, opening his shirt so she could rest her cheek on his skin. "I feel...honored that you'd let me hold her," he murmured.

"Do you have a crib set up for her?" he asked. "If we don't, I can ask Cho. Her youngest boy just outgrew his crib, and she's looking for someone who needs one." Ganymede tilted his head back to let Ash pull his braids aside, smiling gently at the affection. "She's almost as small as Meli was when she was born. She was early by almost three weeks--healthy, but small. But this little girl is almost white as snow," he hummed, letting Arelys grasp his fingertip sleepily in her little infant grip.

"I want an eternity with with you. That means trusting you with the most vulnerable, precious parts of me and...our life." He almost said my life but immediately stopped himself because that's not what he wants any more. Ashley wants the lines between his life and Ganymede's life to be gone. This was part of that.

He started to work on undoing the first braid. "She has her own room here. I just keep the door shut." But he had stopped locking it when Ganymede moved in. Before he wanted to keep the little girl secret, because it was true, Nephele had in fact stolen her. He didn't have to hide this from his husband. Ashley trusted him with everything.

"When Neph made it home to us with her...she was so tiny...so skinny. She had never been held before. The first few nights she was with us we all took turns with her making sure she was always held, always touching skin, never alone."

The first night Ashley had slept on a twin sized bed next to Nephele, who was wounded and beyond exhausted, with the tiniest little baby burrowed against his chest. A hand was always touching Neph, the other on the back of the baby. It was a joke to say he slept, he didn't. He had laid there all night, making sure both his girls were safe and that they felt protected. That night changed him.

"If it won't bother you...I usually let her sleep with me." Sure, there was a crib. Ash rarely used it when she was here.

He hummed out a laugh as Ash worked on his braids, craning his head back to look up at his husband. "She's a baby, it is not going to bother me to sleep with this little one on us." He often had slept with his children far beyond the baby years, especially if they were moving around; it was easier to keep an eye on them and have the feel safe in a parent's company.

"You know I make my own identities. And I can make her one, if you'd like me to. Be all legal and legitimate. Start her off right." The little one sleeping on his chest deserved that much: a good, solid start in life in an uncertain world, where everything could and would change on a moment's notice. "She's loved, Ash. You've done wonderfully with her, I can tell."

He looked down at his love and kissed his lips when he tipped his head back. "Good answer. I'd hate to make you sleep on the couch." Ash teased. He loved falling asleep with Arleys on his chest. Her breathing, the scent of her, the tiny content sounds she made...he loved it so much.

"I love you for saying that. For immediately thinking of it. But," He combed his fingers through the first loose section of hair. "That was my first job. Scrub her identity and create a new one." Neph had come to him for a reason. She knew with his gifts he could protect her. "I'm not very good at it. But, I try. Everyone loves her so much...we all take care of her."

"I love how you say that like I'd be the one kicked out," Ganymede snorted, but he still smiled when Ash dropped a kiss on his lips. Ganymede adored children, and this little one was content and gentle, soothing to the part of him that always wanted to take care of children.

"You're very good at everything you put your mind to doing," he amended for Ashley, content and happy to have his hair unplaited while he sat for a while--it hadn't been a bad day at work, but he also hadn't taken much break between the night prior and the morning. He'd gotten home at something like four AM, and left again at nine, and he was tired. And holding a baby and being taken care of was doing him good. "How long do you think we have her for?"

Ashley laughs as he presses another kiss to Ganymede's lips. "Brat." He muttered as he kissed his forehead. Then softly nudged his head so he could go back to work on the braids. That morning when Ganymede was leaving Ashley was a little concerned about the amount of sleep he had gotten.

"I try. Kids are hard." Kids were his weakness, the one area he felt like an absolute failure in. He tried really hard with Arelys. Read books. Asked questions. When Han's mom said 'You with the face, come here.' and showed him how to use the fabric wrap to secure her to his chest, he listened and learned. Still, it never mattered how much he learned or how the little girl responded to him, in the back of his mind he was still always thinking that he would probably miss something. Do something wrong. Just...not be good enough.

"At least a few days. Could be longer. Neph will keep me posted." The next braid was out and he did the same thing, worked his fingers through the long strands and rubbed at his scalp. "I don't love it when you work so late and turn right back around in the morning, baby. You barely slept. She's out for her long nap. Why don't you lay down with her and when you wake up I'll have dinner ready."

"I have to rework the schedule," Ganymede murmured softly, the tip of his nose brushing against the top of Arelys' head as he let Ashley take out the braids, tight and full and thick down his back. "It never used to matter so much if I was home or not--and even when it did, it didn't really. He never cared if I slept very long." But Ash did, and Ganymede found himself wanting to be home with his husband more and more often.

The funny things love did to people.

"James likes doing it, maybe I'll have him start doing all the ice things with Ignacio. They work well together," he said softly, half to himself as his head shifted and Ash rubbed with his fingertips. It was a soothing and hypnotic motion, and very shortly would probably have him asleep. But he cracked open his eyes to watch his love. "You're sure about dinner?" he asked.

"It matters to me how much you sleep." Ashley kissed the top of his head. Part of loving this man was being concerned about his well being. Physically and mentally. He got home at four but they weren't settled into bed until five. Ash didn't like it. "I don't want to be the guy that tells you what to do. I'm not here to control you. But I need you to take care of yourself. Maybe a little bit more like I would take care of you."

He looked down at his love, holding his most favorite tiny person, his heart completely melted. Feeling so much love for this man it almost hurt. "Yes, baby, I am sure. I need her to sleep so I don't fuck up her schedule and I need you to sleep because I love you and you look exhausted. Plus, my two favorite people cuddled up together is good for my heart."

With a slow, sleepy smile Ganymede nodded, and pushed up to sit back on the couch; he'd be asleep soon after his head touched one of the pillows, and he knew it; he was tired. But more than the tired, he was safe. Ash would love him even if he fell asleep without cooking or cleaning up, or anything else.

"I like you taking care of me. I'm bad at letting go...but I want to try moer. Letting someone else take over the hard parts."

He shifted so they could swap places. When they had he bent down and kissed his love long and slow. Then he softly planted his lips on the back of Arelys head and stayed there for a moment breathing her in. He lifted his head and looked down at the most beautiful sight, the two of them together.

"I would love more time with you. And I promise...if you scale back on your schedule, I will too."

"Love you," Ganymede murmured sleepily, already beginning to drift off between the soft couch and the warm weight of the infant on his chest, and his love nearby. It was safe here, protected, and he felt loved down to the tips of his henna-dyed toes. "Stay for a minute, baby..."

It didn't take long for him to fall into actual sleep, a graceful headlong tumble that left him cuddled protectively around Arelys. He hadn't slept nearly enough the night before, Ashley was right, and though normally he'd have worked through it he was finding the welcome ability to be human too much to resist. He only woke when the baby shifted on him, blinking his eyes as the little one squirmed under his hand, the smell of food wafting from the kitchen.

Ashley sat kneeling on the floor next to them until Ganymede drifted off to sleep. "Love you, beautiful." He mumbles against his temple.

For a few more minutes he stayed kneeling beside them watching them sleep. His heart was so full looking at them was almost enough to make his eyes well with tears. What had he ever done to deserve this?

When he was finally able to tear himself away Ash went to the kitchen and ordered food from a local, authentic Greek place that had the best damn tzatziki he's ever had.

Instead of leaving it in containers to eat from Ashley had set the table, lit candles, poured wine and put the food on nice dishes to serve from. With his heightened senses he picked up on both of them starting to stir and wake. He has a bottle ready and waiting in the bottle warmer on the counter.

"Hey," he brushed his lips against Ganymede's temple. "I'll change her then meet you at the table for dinner."

Decembra Frost|| OC || OTA

Alucard | Castlevania | ota

kaedehara kazuha . genshin impact

Sansa Stark | GoT | OTA

Nyssa | OC | OTA

Ganymede | mythology | closed

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Stolas || Helluva Boss || OTA

Moxxie | Helluva Boss || OTA