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Part of me really hates the traditional idea of the stereotypical family idea Ed has proposed, but if it comforts Jess, it is what it is.

Also the question on everyone’s mind, how the heck is all the characters gonna fit on one cast page? xP

Given how close the two siblings are, I’d be surprised if they hadn’t at least touched on their future plans in terms of family/career/etc. So I’m inclined to believe they both at least somewhat want to have kids. Most people do (bout 4/5, iirc).

And further, just because Jess is bi and in a relationship with Jo doesn’t necessarily mean she doesn’t want kids. Lots of methods. IVF, adoption, fur babies, etc. Something she and Jo will have to talk about, as Ed will with Nina.

And I dunno if he’s even suggested anything traditional, really – barring perhaps having kids in the first place. Beyond that, all he’s saying is their families will be tight knit.

It makes me a little sad to think of someone being judged poorly for the choice to have kids either way. I’ve one sister who really wanted them, one who really didn’t. Might be why this touched a nerve Either way, it’s probably more healthy for the thoughts keeping me up tonight to be how the cast page can be redesigned to fit more people. So I’ma focus on that.

IIRC, IVF doesn’t help with lesbian relationships, it just helps more “traditional” conception issues, like it helps with fertility, from what I understand it’s a long and involved process with like injections and stuff. Artificial insemination is where you take “material” from a donor and have a doctor do something or other that results in a pregnancy (I’d prefer to be more specific, but it suddenly occurs to me that I don’t actually know what exactly they do, part of my memory is telling me they take an egg out, fertilize it in a petri dish or something, and then put it back in, but another part of my memory is telling me it’s way simpler than that somehow but I don’t see how the turkey baster method would provide the kind of certainty you’d want if you were paying a doctor for it).

I’m sure it wouldn’t be her ideal but all Jess needs is a male donor and a willingness to lie back and think of England. And as far as it goes, the turkey baster method is mechanically similar to old fashioned intercourse. IVF is mostly used when there is some difficulty with the availability of a viable egg for fertilization. Occasionally even the egg is donated if the woman is unable to produce viable egg cells. Artificial insemination is a much simpler process, though not quite as crude as using a turkey baster. It boils down to implanting viable sperm cells at the right place and time and letting nature do the rest. Human being are remarkably good at making babies. Once you get a fertilized egg in a womb it really doesn’t care about the sexual orientation of the person carrying it.

“Lots of methods”
And recently some scientists in Isreal have managed to make an early-stage embryo without the use of sperm, ovum, or uterus. How long will it take for this technology to yield another method?

Frankly, I was surprised when so many people my age had kids, since it became easily avoidable when we were kids, and everybody knew it. I expected that only about 1 in 5 would actually want kids.

I wanted children. I got them with Gwen, my second wife. (My first died of an incurable hereditary disease and we were not going to inflict that on a child.) I spent 40 years with Gwen, until death did us part. Now that my parents, my brother, and my wives have all died, I still have family. One of them saved my life by calling 9-1-1 a month ago.

I wanted children, and I am happy to have them.

I’m glad you’re still around. My uncle and grandmother wanted to have kids, the former should have been allowed to have them, but fate had other plans. My parents shouldn’t have had kids. Its the latter impulse that I tend to work with. You are one of the people whom should have gotten them a lot easier than it took. I was just acting on my lived experience. I hope that makes sense.

What, you think his sis can’t adopt? Or have a polycule including a male capable of performing the job for one or both partners? Or any other number of options that aren’t traditional or stereotypical?

But honestly, he seems very vanilla to me, at least so far. His future plans for himself, so far, include white picket fences, kids, and perhaps a dog. So of course he thinks in those terms for his sis as well. That’s his world-view. He’s wanting what he sees as the best possible outcome for his sis. It is best to break him in slowly, lest he BSOD or backlash.

It’s the latter I was addressing initially, but I find the dialogue of people defending the idea of having kids in the comments interesting, as I figured similarly to Typeminer due to mental health issues making it not likely to produce offspring in a healthy manner.

I should also mention that movies have been portraying the picket fence mentality for centuries now, so if there is any repulsion to that idea, its due to that, the assumption of most that you want to have that, and trauma on my end. It was never meant to be a call out, which is funny.

love ed’s face at the end there

Ja, me too – like he just realised *right this second* that he wants this. Right before he goes on a date with a woman he really likes and respects. Is it way too early in their relationship for that convo? I get the feeling we will find out.

Attaboy, Ed
Though maybe wait a bit before raising the subject with Nina

“Hey yo, Neenz, ya know how we’re pretty close to officially being in some sort of relationship? Well, I wanted to celebrate a little bit, and… check out what I picked up for us on the way over! Or should I say… who? Pretty neato, amiright? Just had to sign some papers, mention that I had a job, it was pretty easy. So, whaddaya think?”

huh, Edward never struck me as particularly religious

alas, his words did not prove true for me and my sibling. depression on my side did a number on me maintaining that bond, and his wife doesn’t seem to care for me at all and I think that’s starting to rub off on him

I was wondering that too, and starting to have guesses on if anyone goes to church lol. I should’ve known growing up in a majority christian area like the bible belt might affect what you say. I’m not religious either, but I’ll still mention god if I hear or read others doing it too.

…I don’t have much to say on your personal situation except maybe to keep going with life wherever your goals take you, even if it’s just to maintain your relationships. Don’t know if that is something you need to hear, but it’s something I need to hear. My depression has me giving up on everything I’m striving for over relatively minor inconveniences.

Ah true, I grew up in a religious area too (mostly mormon) so using god or jesus as exclamatory or expletive phrases is pretty common, with “thank god” being pretty heavily ingrained in my own head for lack of a better substitute

Not something I needed to hear, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I’ve long grieved the friendship I had with my brother back when we lived with our parents already, so losing out on our current dynamic kinda pales in comparison to the previous loss. I make do with my current friends at least

I totally get you though, it’s wild how much the minor inconveniences slowly pile up and become overwhelming. I don’t know what medical options you have available to you, but my physician got me started on anti-depressants a year and a half back, and it’s been super helpful for me, and only costs me 20CAD a month (roughly 15USD a month)
it was rough getting myself to that first appointment, but it was a goal worth working toward for me and has given me momentum, so if you’ve got space, could be a goal to try and follow too

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