I know I talk about the horrors of birth a lot but human reproduction is utterly ridiculous. Just found out you’re not supposed to swim in the ocean for a month and a half after giving birth. Because there is a dinner plate sized wound inside of you. Just sitting there. Which I knew about but finding out you’re not supposed to swim for weeeeks and your baths are supposed to be short to prevent infection made me go. Oh my God. I know puerperal fever was a major cause of death throughout history but I’m surprised anyone survived giving birth in the past. Even if you’re not having your baby delivered by a doctor who has touched a dead person and not washed his hands, germ theory hasn’t been invented yet. Even in the modern day with decent sanitation methods and a greater knowledge of infection prevention it is a fairly common complication.
OKAY. Knowing Christine got her tubes tied, did she ever at all want kids? Or has she known since birth that she didn’t want them.
Assuming Felix is 100% okay with it when he finds out, did he ever want kids? Probably not considering his situation? But I don’t know.
She has tokophobia and getting pregnant would be a literal worst nightmare come true - she also doesn't like kids, never really has, and everytime she's forced to be around one she gets anxious, easily frustrated and is much more prone to sensory overload, so she's known for a long time that she NEVER wants one of her own, she's just not cut out for it and keeps a polite distance where applicable.
She'll be nice to the kids of strangers, do her best to do her part in making whatever brief interactions she has with them a positive one (she loves handing out sweets on halloween for example, wave back at kids, help them find their parents if she found one lost at a mall etc.), but if an interaction lasts longer than like 20 minutes she needs to withdraw and reset - she can't handle the touching, the sticky fingers, the noise, the complete lack of spacial and social awareness... tolerating a nonstop breach of her personal boundaries and comfort levels is deeply exhausting to her.
Felix is very neutral on the topic of kids, he wouldn't have been against having one but also doesn't actively want or need parenthood (truthfully he'd be too afraid to mess it up even if it WAS on the table) - plus, he gets to be an uncle to a niece and nephew AND a pet parent to a crinkled little dumpster cat. He's content with how things are and wholeheartedly respects Christine's view on this.
bigots will forcibly try to detransition/convert trans people to be cishet, that trans mascs face the most cases of sexual assault, that a lot of trans mascs face this corrected rape, pregnancy is sometimes the result of said sexual assault, and for a lot of trans mascs, pregnancy is the worst thing they can go through and would literally be life-ending and could very well prevent them from transitioning.
i beg you to please consider these implications and imagine yourself in a situation where pregnancy is the most dysphoric thing to happen to you, that has DECADES of irreversible effects and could prevent you from transitioning at all, being forcibly thrust upon you because you're trans. there's a reason i got a full radical hysterectomy before i ever got top surgery.
please don't say trans mascs have it easy. you are not listening to us.
I love they way you write the Primarchs so much! And all of the daddy primarch content got me thinking about how difficult normal pregnancy is anyways with some women having their ribs compressed or broken by their baby kicking them while in the womb. I need to know how the primarchs or legions would handle seeing or probably HEARING their legions mother's bones snap.
TW: Mentions of pregnancy, Tokophobia, pregnancy complications/mentions of pregnancy termination
Thank you anon! You offer up a very interesting and dark subject!
Normal human pregnancy is already considered a massive undertaking for the body. I salute anyone who chooses to experience it because it is probably THE most badass thing your body can endure, it's a true marvel of nature. One cool thing I learned is that a fetus can actually HELP the mother by sharing fetal cells that are able to change and adapt to what the mother needs. Now imagine if the baby you carried was also part PRIMARCH?!?!
There's a possibility you might actually become superhuman yourself, at least while you're pregnant. But that's not what we're focusing on for this~ I chose a select few of the Primarchs simply so I could put more detail into each one. This was interesting to delve into, and this subject matter has a lot of potential for some juicy grim darkness!
Again, trigger warning for those that are sensitive to pregnancy complications/mentions of pregnancy termination and related body horror.
The fetus growing inside you was becoming less of a blessing and more of a curse every passing day as your pregnancy progressed. Perturabo was originally pleased to discover a fetal heartbeat developing in your womb, and you had never looked more radiant. Now, your skin was sallow, your frame weak, and he could hear your bones creak under the stress of your quickly developing baby. He was a fool. An absolute reckless fool! To think a baselines body could handle carrying something of his kind. He should have taken better measures to prevent this. Yet his hatred for himself was only eclipsed by the hatred of that thing leeching off you.
Perturabo:
He had offered to remove it from your body and attempt to place it in an artificial womb, but you had staunchly refused. He had then proposed to have you put under a sleeping agent so that you could carry out the rest of the pregnancy pain-free. That idea resulted in a decorative vase and insence plate being launched near his head.
You wanted this child. The moment you realized what you carried, you wished for nothing but the safe arrival of the baby. Perturabo did not share your enthusiasm. At first, he was proud, perhaps even a little smug at the prospect of being a father and being the first of his brothers to sire a legitimate heir, but as your vitality drained from your eyes and limbs, he felt nothing but dread. He did not hide his disdain for the child, and as he witnessed how it hurt you, his resentment only grew. He could not bring himself to love something that harmed the one person he cherished above all things. For now, you remained bedridden, hooked up to tubes and intravenous lines that provided you with potent elixirs of vitamins, nutrients, and pain relief. His priority would always be you, and if he decided that the child within you was stealing away your very life force, he would not hesitate to destroy it. But for the present, you remained stable. You only had another month... another grueling, torturous month.
Guilliman:
Your pregnancy was an astoundingly smooth one. If he believed in such things, he would have thanked whatever diety watched over you because despite his greatest fears, you never looked more radiant than when you were sitting quietly, rubbing your belly in quiet contemplation and hope. Guilliman soon realized, however, how complacent he had become, how foolish he had been, to let his guard down. He was created to be the perfect creation of planning and contingency plans, why then, did he leave the development and health of his wife and child to nature? It was uncharacteristically, unforgivably stupid of him.
The birth had almost killed you. Correction, it DID kill you. At least, for the 6 minutes and 32 seconds you had flatlined. And then the second time you had flat lined, this time for 2 minutes and 58 seconds. Guilliman prided himself in being a reasonable man, but he was faced with the reality of his own uselessness and the lack of someone to blame. He nearly brought the foundation of the palace down with fear and frustration. The agony of hearing the long, torturous tone of the heart monitor ring for those combined 8 minutes and 30 seconds nearly brought him to his knees.
The baby was healthy, by some miracle their baby was strong, screaming, and healthy. But you... your body was gutted and the Lord Commander of the Imperium almost sobbed at the sight of your bloodied and bruised body.
A million theoreticals ran through his supercomputer brain and the absolute horror at the possibility of having to raise a child on his own was simply adding fuel to the already raging fire of his impending mental breakdown and then- a saving light. A Deus Ex Machina of the most epic proportions: you had survived. It was slow, and for the first three days you were not awake or aware enough to see your baby, but the moment you finally had the strength to hold them in your arms, the look of devotion in your eyes seemed to tell him that you were happy to endure it all over again.
Mortarion:
The sickness would not leave you. Mortarion had disparaged his worth many times over when it came to his relationship with you. He was plague incarnate, his very chapter lived, breathed, and thrived in a world of poison and suffering. Yet you chose him. Him! If he did not love and adore you as much as he did, he would deem you insane.
When the knowledge of your pregnancy was revealed, and Mortarion heard the tiny, rapid heartbeat within you, his brain had shut down for a moment. He quickly had to swallow his first words which would have been "Forgive me." Please, forgive him with burdening you with his bloodline, for exposing you to the inevitable pain of what his progeny would you put you through. But the smile on your face had stopped him. You were elated, so very happy that you couldn't possibly fathom why Mortarion had to quietly excuse himself.
Weeks after the start of your pregnancy, the morning sickness began. It was violent and painful. The panic in your eyes as your body refused to give you a second to breathe between retches made him feel as if he was suffocating with you. The apothecaries did their best to administer both antiemetics and fluids to calm your body, but a new problem quickly arose afterward; your body was losing its vigor. Rashes rose across your arms, stomach and legs, your hair began to thin, and your gums began to bleed. It was as if you were being poisoned by your own child.
Mortarion himself was stricken with guilt, and he did not know what to do with himself. You had remained calm throughout all of this, your eyes determined: "We can do this." You had whispered weakly, your eyes filled with such determination that even a Space Marine would be proud, before closing your eyes and returning to your rest. Your comfort was of the utmost priority by this point, and if you wished to stay the course, then he would turn the universe on its head to do so. Right would become left, the sky would become the ground, and the Primarch of Disease and Plague would become a man possessed to know of every possible way to preserve and heal you.
Hi! Will there ever be a part 2 of Love Town? I'm really curious on what'll happen if she manages to leave while pregnant, will she still be pregnant or will it disappear since the pregnancies only happen in town?
More on Love Town
A related piece from a collection of shorts inspired by Junjo Ito. Enjoy.🖤
Let’s remember that it doesn’t matter if you're a girl, a guy, you’re not safe in Love Town. Everyone—yes, even the old—is susceptible to a love-child in Love Town. Unfortunately, it’s very unlikely that you’ll even get to your car, let alone out of the Town, before your babies are due, and even then, there comes a certain point where they can’t cease to exist.
If it’s really early on, like before they’re a complete fetus, if you leave Love Town, you can maybe get away without giving birth. Granted, the ones responsible will likely assemble to stop you from doing so.
In the original fic, the speed at which the Doctor stops you from leaving the hospital is evidence enough of the devotion everyone has to the reproduction of life. To even leave the care of the hospital during such a developmental stage is simply not allowed; if it wasn’t the Doctor, it’d be the town’s Sheriff, and if not her, the Mayor themselves is willing to talk you out of such a heavy decision.
“You’re weak and you’re tired and probably already hungry—let us all take care of you!”
“You are taking part in the greatest gifts of life! Lay down, rest awhile!”
”Enjoy the moment, soon your time will be filled with more love than you can handle!”
Even if you make it in time, avoid the interlopers, avoid your admirers, and leave before the bump below your tummy grows any bigger. This is far from over. While the better half of the pregnancy is restricted to the town, your admirers are not, and in a community that cherishes Love above everything else, everyone is more than eager to cheer on your pursuers who chase you far beyond the town. Your poor sister, if she hasn’t casually given your location, will be pressured until she does. After all, poor sleep and the stress of a pregnancy just can’t withstand the intense demands of your many, many admirers. And yes, they’re nice enough considering they’re hoping to be in-laws, but in the name of love, who won’t mind that someone gets a few scars….or has an accident at the top of the stairs.+
But it’s your choice as always.
I mean, how could you tell that the cashier you barely greeted in Love Town is now in your neighbor and is happily inviting you over for dinner?
How could you know that the Nurse who giggled at your helpful demeanor in Love Town was able to squeeze into your vents and wriggle out the duct when you were fast asleep?
You’d be none the wiser that within the trunk you haven’t cleaned out is an anxious teacher just waiting to finally speak to you face to face!
But if you’ve gotten to the point of no return where your stomach is huge and every single heartbeat inside you is just waiting to pop out. Then you’ll have no choice but to deliver in Love Town, but be assured that you’ll have the best medical care and a whole village just biting at the bit to help you out. Even better, finally, your admirers can make themselves known as they bring gifts of food, baby clothes, and balloons. Surely you’re moved by their copious amount of love that they have for you, enough so that you reciprocate in kind.
If you don’t, everyone is baffled, likely in horror. How could you? Not accept their love after they’ve gifted you the greatest little gift on Earth? Hold on, your sister might have mentioned this. You’re so unfamiliar with romance that you just can’t grasp how much they adore you. You poor, poor thing! But the babes need a parent who’s all about love, so they just have to attach themselves to you. Better yet, they will ride with you on the move out of Love Town! As much as they adore the place that gave them a baby bundle for you both, they just couldn’t stop themselves from…acting out.
They can barely contain themselves when next to their darling little copy of you, and there's another that shares your features, cooing right beside them. But in Love Town, they’re prepared for this kind of event. Here, they allow just about anyone popular enough to have as many marriages as they need to make it work. Promoting a harem-like family if need be, because it is unheard of to leave even one of your little angels.
You're not a monster are you?
No, you’re a Lover, just like the rest of them in Love Town!
So hold the wine and measure your ring, you’re going to have more than two of them.
As for a sequel, I’m not sure. I didn’t originally plan to make one, but who’s to say I won’t be inspired in the future?
