Twisting the Vigrin Power trope

[Ghost]

You have a lot of ideas, Jabrosky. My honest advice would be to pick the one that moves you, no matter what other people think of it, and show people why it's great through the storytelling.

Personally, I don't like the idea of magic being tied to sexuality or reproduction, but a good story and an author who gives a damn about his characters are way more important to me. I don't have to agree with every message in a story to enjoy it. I like anihow's point about hormones and pregnancy. If you need a dose of realism, that would be a good approach. I wonder how a person would feel about being cut off from magic for 9 months in addition to the hormonal wackiness.

 

[Caged Maiden]

@Ouroboros She'd be too busy nesting. You know, folding and refolding baby clothes dozens of times, scrubbing the baseboards with a toothbrush... yeah it gets nuts. And all you poor men who have to watch it in silent support. I only worked while pregnant with one of my kids, but it was hard to keep my schedule straight, be on time for work, make it through the day. I could just have slept for the first three months straight. Then that bit goes away but other things start, about 6 months your ligaments are stretching, and if it's your first, that is an EXTREMELY painful process. I was couch-bound for like two weeks. and then there's the shortness of breath, heartburn, low blood sugar if you don't eat every three hours, loose joints, light sleeping... i mean it's really pretty miserable, and I really had good pregnancies.

Oh man, and let's not forget the best part: LABOR. How in the world can anyone believe that women could lay down their tools in the field, give birth and return to work? I mean, yeah we're tough, but that would be quite impossible from my perspective.

 

[The Dark One]

Virgin Power

My latest plot bunny features a group of pirates or other adventurers hiring a female diviner to help them locate something of value. The diviner initially dislikes these "uncouth barbarians" but later unlearns her prejudice and even falls in love with one of them. The problem emerges after she consummates her love: her divination power weakens with pregnancy. The idea is that her body redirects energy from divination to her womb as she grows a baby inside. The adventurers henceforth must find another way to locate whatever they're looking for until she gives birth.

Would making pregnancy rather than virginity the determinant of a woman's magical powers suffice as a twist on the old Virgin Power trope?

You bastard!

That is exactly what happens in my latest WIP although there is a major difference.

I'm about 60k words into what I expect will be about a 120k draft.

This is now a race to the death!