#imagine they equalise

[pierregaslays]

two mistakes from two world cup winners what is going on girls

[alotofpockets]

Last night | Part 2 | Katie McCabe | 18+ MDNI

Pairing: Katie McCabe x Arsenal!Reader

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, smut

A/n: The much requested part two to Last Night. I hope you like it :)

Masterlist | Woso masterlist | words: 2.5k

Part 1 | Part 2

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By the time you got home, and had your conversation with Katie, it was already lunch time. So, Katie drove you to one of your favourite restaurants in the city for a lunch date. You had eaten here with Katie on numerous occasions, still this time it felt different. Every time your eyes met Katie's, a warm feeling rose to your chest, and your cheeks turned pink. It was your first date with Katie, and it was already better than you could’ve ever imagined.

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Y/n_y/l/n just posted to their story

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Before you head home, you decide to walk around in a nearby park. Your intertwined hands swing between the two of you, both being so happy to have shared your feelings with each other, and getting to be together in the way you’ve been wanting to for so long.

At your apartment, you plop down on the couch together, and start playing some fifa, like you often did on your days off together. You crushed Katie in the first game, “You just got lucky, I want a rematch.” She said when the final whistle blew. You shrugged your shoulders, “If you say so, miss sore loser.” 

You look over to Katie with a smirk when you win another game, in Katie’s defence it was a close game this time. “Best out of five?” She asked without acknowledging your win. You peck her lips, “Sure, babe.” It was the first time you’d called her that, and you felt a blush creep up to your cheeks, the moment the nickname left your mouth. 

Katie used your flustered state to her advantage, scoring the opening goal in the next game. She ended up winning your third game by two goals, making it so that she has a chance to win the best out of five competition after all. 

After her last game's instant advantage through your flusteredness, she realised she could use this to her advantage more. A few minutes into the fourth game, she leans in and kisses you on the lips. You smile into the kiss, and are distracted from the game instantly. Before you could kiss Katie back, her head was already turned to the tv, as she raced her players towards your goal, leaving you to chase after her players. She scored the equaliser, and jumped up in excitement. You roll your eyes, “That’s so not fair.” She sits back down next to you and places a kiss on your cheek, “Who’s the sore loser now?” While Katie was busy rubbing in the goal she just scored, you managed to get through her defence and score a goal of your own. “Still you.” You say with a smirk, as the final whistle blows, and you are the official winner of the best out of five competition. 

Katie is pouting in defeat, it was one of the most adorable things you had ever seen. “Good game.” You say offering your hand like how you do on the pitch with your opponents. Katie rolls her eyes but takes your hand regardless. Instead of shaking it, she uses it to pull you closer. You move with her, and sit down on her lap, facing her, a pout still present on her face. “I have an idea of how to get that pout off of your face.” Before Katie could ask what you had in mind, you connected your lips with hers. 

The kiss started slow and soft, your lips moving in sync with one another. It turned more passionate once Katie’s hands slid up your thighs to your hips, as she pulled you closer. With one hand on her chest and the other in the nape of her neck, you deepen the kiss. Katie’s hands just started exploring underneath your shirt when the doorbell rang, rudely interrupting the both of you. With a deep sigh you get off of Katie’s lap to open up your front door. 

You had totally forgotten about the food that you had ordered for dinner. Normally you wouldn't eat out twice in a day, but since your plans for today changed, you didn’t have enough food at home to cook a meal yourself. You hold up the bag of food, and it’s only then that Katie realises too. You walked over to kiss Katie once more before pulling her up and to the kitchen table. 

Once you had done all the dishes together, Katie got a mischievous look on her face. “What?” You ask her with a laugh. “I believe we have some unfinished business to take care of.” While tapping your finger to your chin, to make it seem you’re deep in thought, you say, “Hm, I don’t think I know what you’re talking about.” Katie’s mischievous look turns into a pout, you look at her with a smirk, “Oh now I remember, miss sore loser.” She rolls her eyes, and pulls you closer. “Just come here.”

Her lips on yours felt like heaven. She walked you towards your bedroom, while she kept kissing you. The path you take was slowly drawn out by the discarded items of clothing. Your room filled with sounds of pleasure as Katie was sucking on your pulse point, and letting her hands explore your body. She started moving her kisses down your neck, your chest, your boobs, your stomach, all the way down to your thighs. With lust filled eyes she looks up to you for permission to continue, “Please Katie.” Is all she needed to hear to spread your legs, and connect her lips with your centre. The pleasure made you instantly buck your hips up, Katie reached a hand to your hip to press them back down. “Patience, darling.” 

It wasn’t long after that you felt your orgasm nearing. Katie’s tongue circled your clit, while her fingers were moving inside you at a steady pace. “I’m so clo-” You didn’t even get to finish your sentence, as Katie curled her fingers hitting all the right places, and bringing you over the edge. She slowed her pace to help you ride out your orgasm. “You did so good, baby.” 

Your hips bucked up when Katie started to remove her fingers. Katie looked up at you with a sly smile. Your cheeks had turned a dark shade of red, being slightly embarrassed with how needy you were for her. “You’re so beautiful.” She noted before kissing your cheek. She started moving her fingers slowly again. Her lips met yours in a passionate kiss. Katie loved the feeling of you moaning into the kiss. 

Since you were still sensitive from your previous orgasm, Katie managed to get you close again in a matter of a few minutes. “It’s okay, baby, let go.” She whispered in your ear, before her lips connected to your neck once again. You came hard, while moaning Katie’s name, a stark difference to how quiet you had been the last time. Once she helped you ride out your high, she laid down next to you, pulling your body into hers. 

You were exhausted from the short night, the long travel, and the amazing orgasms that Katie had just given you but you wanted Katie to have her turn too. Katie had noticed how tired you were and immediately took your hand in her own. “It’s okay, I wanted to take care of you tonight.” 

Katie moved out from under you, and started to get up. You didn’t want her to leave, so you quickly asked, “Do you want to stay the night?” Katie smiled and placed a kiss on your forehead. “Of course, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than by your side. I was just going to get you some water, and get you cleaned up.” 

She came back in a pair of your shorts and your hoodie. After cleaning you up, and making sure you were hydrated, she helped you into a pair of shorts, and a shirt. When she laid down next to you, you were looking at her, eyes filled with admiration. “What is it, baby?” She asked while playing with your hair. “I love you, Katie.” Her smile grew and she pulled you in for a short kiss. “I love you too, y/n.” 

The next morning you wake up with Katie’s arm around you. It instantly brought a smile to your face, and you cuddled into her. Sadly you couldn’t stay in bed for long as you had a match in a different league later. Luckily it was a home game, so you wouldn’t have to travel much. You prepared the both of you a quick breakfast, before you headed to the stadium. Katie’s hand was on your thigh most of the drive. You were already loving the new interactions between the two of you, and couldn’t wait to create more of your own habits together. 

You met the rest of your teammates in the locker room, where your kits were all ready for the match ahead. You were chasing into your warm-up kit when Lia grabbed your shoulders, and started examining your neck and chest. “What are you doing?” Your brow furrows with the question. “Y/n, who gave you all these hickeys?” Katie sends you a proud smirk that goes unnoticed by the rest of your teammates, who all had their eyes on you now. You pushed Lia off, and quickly pulled your Jersey over your head. “My girlfriend, who clearly didn't care to warn me about them.” You knew the moment you said that there would be more questions, and sure enough, your teammates did not disappoint. “You never told us you had a girlfriend.” You shrug your shoulders, “It's still new.” It was true Katie had only asked you this morning. “Do we know her?” Caitlin continued. You and Katie hadn't talked about telling the team about the two of you, and you didn't want to assume she wanted to, so you decided to keep it vague for now. “You've probably heard of her, yes.” 

You could feel the eyes roll around you, at your vagueness. “Wait, do you know who it is?” Leah's question was directed to Katie. “I do.” All eyes turned back to you. “Why can Katie know and not us?” Luckily Kim was there to put an end to your teammates comments, at least for the time being. “Leave her alone, she'll tell us when she's ready. Plus, we've got a match to win. Let's go ladies, warm-up is waiting for us.” 

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Arsenalwfc just posted to their story

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“Sorry, I wasn’t sure how you felt about telling the team.” You tell Katie, as you’re warming-up together. “You’re all good. I don’t mind them knowing but seeing how all of them were back there I think it would be fun to keep them guessing for a bit, what do you think?” The sparkle in Katie’s eyes was enough for you to agree with her. 

Arsenal was in the lead with a 1-0 score. The match was going great until you went down by a hard tackle. One that had you instantly reach for your ankle, trying hard to hold back your tears as the pain was overwhelming you. Lia rushed to your side, putting a hand on your arm, while she waved the medical team over with the other. 

You were so focussed on your ankle that you didn’t hear the commotion that happened just a few feet away from you. Katie was yelling at the player that fouled you, and it didn’t stop there. She gave the player a hard shove, as she continued yelling. Kim and Vic tried holding her back but it was too late, as the referee was now running over and giving Katie a red card. She curses herself for now not being able to check on you, as Kim walks her to the sidelines near the tunnel. 

The interaction had still gone unnoticed to you, only finding out Katie got a red when you were sitting up and were looking around for Katie, as she was usually there to check on you. “She got sent off.” Kim told you, when she realised who you were looking for. Your ankle was hurting too much to continue playing, so the medics walked you off the field. On the sidelines they taped an ice pack to your ankle, before they let you head into the tunnel. 

You found Katie pacing around in the locker room. The moment she notices you, she rushes to your side to help walk you over to the bench. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Her questions were laced with worry. “It hurts but I will be fine. Now, what happened out there?” Katie’s shoulders slumped. “I got angry with her for hurting you, and yeah I know it was stupid, so I got a red.” You placed a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you for standing up for me. Next time I would rather have you by my side, than being kicked off though.” You joke, bringing a smile back on her face. 

Leah walked down the tunnel to check on you, since you headed in, instead of sitting with the rest of the team. She opened the door to the locker room, only to find Katie kissing you. She quickly backs up, and closes the door again softly. 

After about twenty minutes the rest of the team piles into the locker room with you. Everyone checked in with you, before heading to their cubbies. You were sitting with your back against the wall, with your hurt leg elevated onto Katie’s lap, and her hands resting on top of your leg. 

Steph was watching the interaction with a furrowed brow. “What’s up Steffy?” You noticed her eyes on you. She shook her head, “Sorry, it’s none of my business.” With a shrug you say, “Ask me anyways.” You’d rather know what than guess what was going on in her head. “Well, I was just wondering, does your girlfriend not mind that you and Katie are so close?” She motioned to the two of you. 

“Of course not, they’re the same person.” Leah looks up when the room goes silent, and her eyes widen. “Shit, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” Lia looks over to the two of you, “What does Leah mean by ‘they’re the same person’?” You look over to Katie, and she nods letting you know it’s okay. “Katie is my girlfriend.” The chatter in the locker room picks up again instantly. “Wait, Leah, how did you know?” Katie asks the fellow defender. “I went to check on y/n, and when I walked in here the two of you were kissing.” You laugh at how poorly you were able to keep your relationship to yourself to mess with your teammates, but are ultimately happy that they know. 

Katie drives the both of you to her place after the match, and makes sure you’re well taken care of. She changed your ice pack when you got to her place and elevated your leg up on the coffee table before she sat down beside you, and let you cuddle into her side.

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y/n_y/l/n just posted to their story

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[woso-dreamzzz]

Hello , can I request an angst hc of the Bayern and barca teens Sötnos ,mcdreamy, tontos , mignon, hermana when they miss the deciding penalty which makes their team lose... Their and the team's reaction... Wanted some angst today

Could you imagine if the France Olympic match went to penalties instead? Mignon's goal isn't called off side but she fails to convert the penalty and it doesn't even matter to her that she got the equaliser earlier on. She failed where it matters most and it probably took her ages to snap out of it

Mcdreamy is similar because she feels like the only good thing she can do sometimes is score a goal. It's her whole job. She doesn't know who she is if she can't score

Tontos doesn't like scoring goals. She's very much an assister over a scorer and missing a penalty just solidifies it for her that she should never attempt a goal herself and stay with what she's good which is assisting

Sötnos is probably the most level headed about it. The other girls are all Barcelona girls and aren't used to losing. Sötnos was Arsenal so she knows how to take that with a little bit more grace than the others. She's probably a little depressed for a bit but it's easy to snap her out of it

[liesmyth]

setting the scene: me on the train back from pride, exhausted from dancing the whole time, absolutely famished. I'm with a bunch of gays who do NOT follow sports. imagine me checking the score, swearing, checking the score two minutes later. sighing in relief “well at least we equalised”

my friend: oh is that the euros?

me: wow. I wish I could live like you

[pensat-i-fet]

Don’t forget (Rúben Dias x Reader)

Part 2

**I got this angst request for either Rúben or Licha and my initial thought was doing it with Licha. But after the injury, I don't want to write about him being an asshole 😭 so Rúben will be the bad guy today 😅 then I realized the argument part was what someone else had requested so I'm putting both requests together so I don't just do two imagines that are pretty much the same one after the other. I hope that's alright 😊 and enjoy!! ❤️**

Word count: 2409

Masterlist

Wattpad

There are those days when people feel like everything will go wrong that day the moment they wake up. That was what happened to Rúben and on a matchday. The feeling couldn’t be worse.

His morning routine was a disaster. The blender didn’t want to work properly and it took him too long to make a smoothie. And when he went to open the avocado to eat with his omelette, it was completely brown and there was no way he could eat that.

The shoes he liked to wear to the stadium were dirty, but he hadn’t noticed the last time he wore them or he would have washed them. But he couldn’t wear them and even if he wasn’t very superstitious, that felt like a bad omen.

The traffic wasn’t great either and that meant it took ages for the bus to make it to the Etihad Stadium. The entire team was restless and the coaching staff worried they would have to delay the match.

When they finally got there, he was the first one by the door, ready to get out. But he didn’t wait until the door opened completely and his jacket’s pocket got stuck, which made his phone fall to the floor. Great. The screen was cracked and he couldn’t see anything. The day couldn’t get any worse…or so he thought.

Rúben was so busy being annoyed that he forgot you were coming back that day. You were going to go to the match and then meet him after so you could go home together.

Once you were on your seat seeing how the team warmed up, you sent Rúben a text to wish him luck and remind him you would see him later. He always checked for your message right before leaving the dressing room and you never forgot your little tradition.

But this time, his phone remained forgotten in his bag. He couldn’t use it anyways, why bother having it near his things like he always did?

The match was supposed to be an easy one for City. No one expected anything worse than a 3-0 win but losing one of your best players early in the game wasn’t the way to get that easy victory.

It wasn’t even Rúben’s fault, it was Jack’s. He went to the floor several times, having been fouled by the same player every time. Each time telling each other not-so-nice things under their breaths until Jack went too far and the other player pushed him, causing the rest of the team to go defend their teammate.

Rúben wasn’t a violent player but between the bad day he had had and the way a player stepped on his foot, even if the player didn’t mean to, he had enough and overreacted. He pushed the player once and then twice. And when the referee told him to leave, he told him to fuck off, which the ref didn’t really appreciate. So what was going to be a simple yellow card and a warning turned into a straight red.

You were watching from the stands, not really believing what was going on. What was wrong with your boyfriend today?

At half-time, the team went back to the dressing room, where moody and angry Rúben had been staring at the floor for the last 15 minutes. City had conceded right after his red card and the players weren’t very happy with their teammate. That’s why when the second half started, he left. Forgetting about the rules that forbade him from doing that and, most importantly, forgetting about you.

The second half was a bit better but not by much. City equalised and managed to save a point but the quality of the football wasn’t the highlight of the match. It also started to rain a lot and both players and fans just wanted the match to be over so they could go home.

You checked your phone when the match ended, expecting a message from Rúben but found none. Though you didn’t think much of it, knowing how gutted he would be after what happened. So you made your way to where you usually waited for Rúben and were a bit surprised he wasn’t the first player out. He probably showered an hour before the match ended so it’s not as if he was busy getting ready.

One by one, the players kept coming out of the dressing room and none of them was Rúben. Until the last one, Rodri, got out.

“What are you doing here?”, he asked.

“Waiting for Rúben”.

“He isn’t here”.

“What do you mean he isn’t here?”

“He left during half-time. Didn’t he tell you?”

You checked your phone again to see if you had missed any texts but there was nothing.

“No…”.

“Do you want me to drive you home?”, offered Rodri, noticing your sad expression.

“It’s fine, thank you. I’ll call a taxi. I don’t want to bother you”.

“You wouldn’t be bothering me…”.

“I’m good, Rodri. Thank you”.

You didn’t want to be with anyone right now so they wouldn’t see how mad you were. After two weeks away for work, Rúben does this to you? Unbelievable.

The Uber took a long time to get to the stadium because of how busy it was after the match and when it parked, it was a bit far so you had to run to it and try to avoid getting too wet. It was pouring with rain.

“Sorry, they didn’t let me get nearer the stadium”.

“It’s ok”.

“It might take a while to get to your destination. The traffic has been terrible all day and with this weather…”.

Could the day get any worse?

But it could. Of course it could. You were stuck in traffic and the driver kept sighing and making you more nervous. He got a call and he kept turning to look at you.

“We’re going to be here for a while. I’m sorry, there is nothing I can do”.

You thought about the options and decided to leave the car.

“Thank you, it’s fine. I’m not far from home so I’ll get there quickly and it stopped raining”.

It should have taken you 10 minutes to walk home if you were quick…and quick you had to be because a minute after leaving the car, it started to rain again.

“Nooooo”.

You tried to cover your head with the jacket you were wearing but it didn’t have a hood and the material got soaked quickly which made your attempt completely useless. The shoes you were wearing made you slip a little when the floor was wet, so running wasn’t an idea either. You had to walk fast in an unnatural way and knew your legs were going to hurt the next day.

When you finally made it to the building, you struggled to get the key inside the lock because of how wet and cold your hands were. Rúben was already home. He had been there for a while, just laying down on the sofa feeling sorry for himself. Going over everything that happened at the match over and over again.

But then the door opened and it scared him for a second. Who was there?

“You ok there? Comfortable having a nap?”

“What are you doing here?”

He couldn’t understand what was going on but then he remembered. You were coming back that morning and going to the match. And he was supposed to bring you home after but…he left. And his phone didn’t work so he didn’t see any of your messages.

“Well, I live here so that’s what I am doing. Did you forget about that too?”

“I’m sorry. My phone broke and then I was sent off and…”.

“And nothing, Rúben. I get you had a crap day but you can’t just forget about me”.

“Let me get you some towels…”.

“I don’t want you to bring me towels! I want you to stay out of my way!"

“I’m sorry…”.

But you didn’t want to listen. You just wanted to remove the wet clothes and take a shower with water so hot that it almost burned your skin.

Rúben went to the room when you were in the shower, listening to know when you were coming out of the bathroom. And the first bad sign came when he noticed you weren’t singing. You always sang in the shower but now were quiet as a mousse. The last time that happened was when you had a terrible day at work and ended up crying in the shower so he wouldn’t see you do it. Were you crying again?

Finally, you got out of the bathroom wearing a robe and carrying your wet clothes with you to take to the washing machine.

“I can wash that for you…”.

“Zip it”, was the only thing you said and if looks could kill…

He sat down on the bed again and then you came back and started to pick up clothes before heading to the bathroom again. The way you slammed the door made him close his eyes. You weren't going to listen to him today.

He then realized you were using the blowdryer and knew it would take a while so he went to the kitchen to make some dinner. You didn’t have to talk to him but could at least eat, right?

Rúben knew you liked pasta so he made some for the both of you and then took a piece of the chocolate cake you had in the freezer so it could defrost and be your dessert. You kept it there for those bad days when you needed all the chocolate you could eat.

“I made you some food”, he said when you got to the kitchen. But you didn’t acknowledge him and just went to the kettle to make yourself some tea. You still felt so cold. “You have to eat”.

“I’m not hungry. I’ll just go to bed. Feel free to stay in another room tonight”.

He grabbed your arm when you walked past him. “Stop this. Stop acting like a child”.

“I’m the child? Says the man who gets into fights at work and gets sent off…give me a break”.

“Ok then, starve yourself tonight. I don’t care”.

He had enough for one day. And so did you, so after hearing him, you took your mug and went to your bed. It was also far away from him so you felt great there.

After drinking your tea, you heard Rúben approaching the room and faked being asleep. Even if he could probably tell you were not really sleeping but you were exhausted and didn’t want to argue more.

He opened some drawers, getting the clothes he would sleep in that night and then you heard some movement on the bedside table. You assumed he had taken your empty mug to the kitchen but when he left and you opened your eyes, there was a plate with food there. And cake.

You waited until the door from the other room was closed to go out and take the plates to the dishwasher. A part of you wanted to go see Rúben and let him apologize. So you could also apologize once he was done but your ego didn’t let you do it and you just went to bed and fell asleep.

Rúben wasn’t so lucky. He kept trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in but couldn’t. Not while being upset with you and not knowing you were in the same house but not sleeping next to him. It felt wrong.

Also, his toe hurt a lot. When he went to the dressing room, he took his boots off and saw some blood on the socks. When the other player stepped on his foot, he stabbed his big toe with the studs. One of the doctors cleaned the wound and bandaged it but now it was hurting again. And when Rúben went to take a look, he saw some blood on the bandage. He needed a clean one but those were in your room. And it was 3 am.

Moving as quietly as he could, he got to the bathroom and started to open drawers, trying to find the bandages and the disinfectant. But he woke you up, startling you for a second with the noise. You got up to see what was going on and saw him sitting on the floor with half of your first aid kit on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"I didn't mean to wake you up".

"Are you hurt?"

"It's my toe. A player stepped on it and it's bleeding again. I just need the bandages…", he kept checking the drawer but wasn't going to find anything there.

"They are in the cabinet".

He moved to get up and get them but you stopped him.

"Don't, I'll get them for you".

"Thank you".

Without saying anything, you took the bandages and sat down on the floor. You took his foot and put it on your lap so you could clean the wound and then bandage it. You sneezed a few times and felt very congested. The joys of being out in the cold rain with no umbrella to protect you.

"Done".

"Thank you".

"It's fi…", another sneeze stopped you from finishing the word.

"Are you sick?"

"Either that or I developed an allergy to you".

Rúben laughed. It was good you were making jokes again.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did. Again, I'm sorry".

"I'm sorry too".

He got up and offered his hand so you could do the same.

"How about you go to bed and I find some medicine for your cold?"

You nodded, eyes closing from how tired you were and how terrible you felt. Practically collapsing into the bed, you tried to sit up to take the medicine Rúben brought.

"Are you staying here?", you asked when you saw him getting into bed next to you.

"Of course. I read the leaflet for the medicine and it says to drink a lot of liquids and get a lot of cuddles from your boyfriend. So…doctor's orders".

He opened his arms so you could hug him and you smiled before doing just that.

"Also, it's my fault you're sick and I feel guilty".

"As you should. You better buy more cake tomorrow".

"I won't forget. And I won't forget about you either. I promise".

[drbased]

Can you explain your thoughts on pegging more? Why is it at the top of your list? I'm curious because several other acts come to mind as obviously more degrading toward women first

It's just a personal pet peeve of mine. I think it's because it's pegged (pun intended) as some feminist equaliser in the bedroom (think the scene from deadpool where she says 'happy women's day'), or a sexy domme role-reversal thing. The humiliation comes less from the action itself but how it's portrayed in media, how it's sold as 'taking the power back' when it's just a straight-up admittance that penetration = power and abuse, with zero critical thinking about what that says for women. The media depictions love to go a step further with the implication that the man is in physical pain/the woman is pushing it on him. When IRL the vast majority of pegging enjoyers are men. But we're still expected to go uwu poor widdle emasculated man. Give me a fucking break.

Even back in my kink days I really hated 'femdom' imagery and expectations because of the same humiliation that the woman is 'in charge' and yet she is still the one who is dressed all sexy for the male gaze (and is totally focussed on him and his orgasm, or lack thereof). One thing I noted time and time again is how the woman is dressed up to the nines, where the man is typically naked and pudgy and ugly. Even in their wildest fantasies where they're supposedly 'submitting' to the demands of women, men can't imagine a scenario where they're attractive.

Let's not forget how the guys talk about it, as well. With your average normie dom dude there are avenues in which you can piss him off. You tell off one of these sub guys though? It's all 'oooh yes I am a bad boy, plz punish me mistress' and feminist blogs such as myself have to keep out those weird bait asks that are like 'since all men are totes evil should they be kept outside naked and service women to make up for it???'

To me there's something very psychologically twisted and gives me the ick about dressing up and play acting 'dominance' when you're literally just performing for your oppressor class. Women's anger at sexual violence and desire for equality is turned into a cheap pornified parody. So yeah, a lot of your classic sub/porn acts are definitely objectively worse, I just really hate that specific brand of ironic mockery that we're all supposed to think is empowering for us.

[xamaxenta]

SGDHDHDHDJ Sabo like Ace maybe 👉👈🥺 can you like edge me and keep me from cumming until it physically hurts me I think that'd be fun pretty please? Ace just "only cuz I missed you". I hate them both so much. Nah but I think they'd be super chill and open about discussing stuff like that. Like they have a super toxic codependent relationship but their sex life is wicked progressive and healthy and it's super weird and confusing for outsiders to witness.

YEAH Ace would probably be like so thrown for the loop at everything and anything that comes out of Sabos mouth like You want me to do WHAT TO YOU?

Sabo reiterates maybe describes what will happen bc Ace has such a vivid imagination and that helps him process it like oh okay sure if you wanna i trust you

Literally anyone else will probably be like wow thats uh. Kinda effed up dudes ngl and Sabo and Ace r just like 👍🏽

I think all their toxic codependency equalises out due to their hilariously progressive aforementioned sex life like they get it ALL out in the bedroom

Ace could be choking Sabo out with both hands forcing his full weight down like youre never fucking leaving me and Sabo’s already a goner like yeah im never gonna do that—

[bat-besties]

Who is Lili? (1)

Rose Wilson’s mother’s backstory is primary revealed in Deathstroke #15 by Marv Wolfman. I’m going to do a close reading of the first half of the comic, with the addition of some panels from Deathstroke #48, also by Marv Wolfman, recapping the events. I’ll follow up with her actions in the current comic timeline in my next post. 

Inherently, Marv Wolfman has crafted a story which relies on Lotus Blossom/Miss Saigon tropes around Asian women, and sexualises a survivor of political and military sexual violence. However, I think that even within the comics canon, it is possible to read the character of Lili differently by engaging directly with the text and putting aside authorial intent. To do this, I am treating Slade as the unreliable narrator he is. I am contrasting his narration with Lili’s on-panel art, dialogue, and actions, as well as a light touch of Cambodian history, to imagine a more rounded and human character. It’s creative criticism, rather than strict analysis. 

Right from the cover, Lili is literally described as “exotic”, and sexualised with a torn dress and unrealistic proportions. She’s also helpless, clinging to a white man in fear and unable to help herself. As if to add salt to the wound, there’s a large, purple flower in the background, illustrating the tropical setting and connoting beauty and fertility. It’s not a lotus blossom - but it’s close enough. 

But the answer to who Lili actually is gets more complex as the comic progresses. 

CW: discussion of sexual assault and sexual imprisonment, discussion of the Khmer Rouge atrocities, discussion of sexist and racist tropes around Asian women

The drawings of Lili continue to be sexualised and orientalist, with her next appearance set in an imagining of an exoticised Cambodian brothel, a world away from the brutal realities of women’s experiences under the Khmer Rouge. 

She introduces herself as “Sweet-Lili”. I’m not sure where this came from - it could be a ‘working’ name of some sort during her imprisonment, or a direct translation of part of her name, or a nickname. Whichever way, “Sweet” evokes the Lotus Blossom tropes of demureness and innocence set against sexual knowledge and experience. It also evokes her being consumable, even edible, for white men. 

She is fluent in English, showing a high level of education and also that her word choices are very deliberate. 

The next thing she says is “these are my girls” - this is where we immediately get introduced to the character’s priorities which will unfold over the next decade. In #48 it is revealed these women were once her servants, and have now been subjected to the same fate as her. Still, she never uses the word servants for them, throughout they are “my girls”. She equalises herself with them, emphasises their youth and innocence when Slade uses the derogatory “whores”. Most of all, despite being captives of the Khmer Rouge, they are hers. While she used to be their employer, in this dire situation where her nobility makes her a target rather than a social superior, she continues to lead them with a sense of responsibility. Now that a rescue party has arrived for only her, she isn’t going to leave her women behind. She steps down the stairs in front of them, opening her arms and making herself the centre of attention - she is relatively confident that Slade and his men are here to rescue them, but as these are women who have lost everything in a brutal civil war, I do think putting herself first is a precaution. 

When she greets Slade, it is by putting her hand on his chest in a flirtatious manner, something which the other women mirror with his soldiers.

This is to show her sexualised nature, and suggest gratitude towards Slade which will develop into romance. However, as someone who has survived the (implied) killing of her family through her captivity in a brothel, this could be read as a deliberate action she takes to both flatter Slade, and encourage her women (who are not meant to be saved at this point!) to use the attractions of the American soldiers to help rescue them.

She interacts with Slade as a fellow leader, and he asks if she is the princess.

 Slade calling Lili a princess is not his fault at first, it has been common historically for English translators to simplify the complex Cambodian royal titles into Prince/Princess even for very distant relations to the king, like Lili. (Without knowing her grandmother and mother’s titles I can’t work out what her exact title would be, or if she is entitled to one at all. Please tell me if you can work it out!)

She corrects him very politely, affirming she is royal and his target (“my father’s father was third brother to the king”), but not actually a princess. Despite this, both Slade’s narration at the very beginning of the flashback and throughout his recollections of her in #48, he uses the term “princess”. Once was a mistake, but his continual use, and later adaption of the term into an endearment for Rose, seems to replace the realities of Khmer Rouge’s political purges of the royal family with Slade’s Orientalist fantasy. 

However she corrects Slade with the brilliant line “But I am princess only to my girls” [sic], which elides her position from one of blood to one of responsibility. He has been sent to save her because she’s a royal, but she is extending her own protection over these common women. While missing out “a” could be a translation error, given how good Lili’s English has been so far I doubt it. Instead, I think she is transforming princess from a noun into a more active term; she is a princess “to” them, and being a princess to women is an active choice and responsibility. 

She quickly follows this with “You will save me now, yes?” which is just such a bold line in which she takes control of her own rescue. 

And surely - without even thinking about it, the Americans save her fellow captives as well. She’s achieved her goal without Slade even realising what she was doing.

He does observe her leadership as they escape, “Sweet-Lili kept them in line”, and the women are able to cook “incredible meals” from the surrounding nature, showing how efficient and well-organised the women are, in large part due to Lili. Slade says he doesn’t think he “ever had better”. 

And then we have the key key line, something which would be so easy to miss. “Could say the same for the nights”. 

The American heroes, the oh so noble saviours, are sleeping with the women they were sent to rescue from sexual slavery. Not only that, but it’s viewed as idyllic and part of their reward. I think that Slade does deep-down know this was wrong, as when he recaps the story in #48 after Lili’s death he claims they “trekked through the night and slept during the day”. This doesn’t align with this quote, or the fact that the women cook during the day, and all of the panels of the party walking and fighting in #15 are in daylight. This could be a continuity error, but I want to be consistent and not assume authorial intent.  

The women are so far from being safe from male sexual violence. Without guns, they can’t run into the jungle alone, so they have to stay with the “rescue” party and do what they want. What is an exoticised memory for Slade is any woman’s nightmare - including for Lili. 

The party comes across the Khmer Rouge enslaving and murdering villagers, and sadly Lili is unsurprised by these conditions, telling Slade the exact diet of such prisoners. As Lili hasn’t experienced these conditions herself, I think this shows how she’s tried to stay updated on the suffering of her people, despite the brutal repression of information and killings of journalists. She feels deeply for every person suffering during the civil war. While she’s empathetic but unfortunately has to be practical - she doesn’t ask Slade to try to save these villagers. 

However, when an American soldier cries out at the murder, their cover is blown and all the Americans other than Slade and the women other than Lili are murdered. Slade fights the most brutally of anyone, killing all the Khmer Rouge and trying to protect the women before succumbing to his wounds. 

After years living alongside these women and protecting each and every one through their imprisonment, Lili watches them all be killed in front of her, by the very group which tortured and terrorised them. It’s horrific. These are the only people she has left from her old life, and they’re gone. 

She protects Slade, who comes down with a fever, including from the Khmer Rouge - we are never shown her fights, because Slade was not conscious for that. This is a much-needed reminder that Lili is only shown from his perspective. 

Over time, the two talk and share personal information, growing closer. I do think that she was honest with Slade about herself, more so than she could be with other people after the experience was over. She doesn’t have anything left to lose, is an ambush away from being killed, and Slade is a mercenary who cannot be shocked by anything she tells him. They’re going through a huge trauma together, and it forges a bond. He describes their relationship as “formal”, a strangely nice adjective from Slade which shows his respect for her (as much as Slade respects any women), and the fact that he did not make any advances before Lili did.

So Lili definitely still has some walls up.

One thing that never comes up is that Lili has her grandmother’s necklace on her the whole time. In Deathstroke #46 Rose runs to get it after Lili is murdered in the US, wanting her mother to be buried with it as it’s the only thing she has left of her family, so it’s clearly very important to her and was taken with her from Cambodia personally.

Now, it’s entirely possible that Slade does know about it but it isn’t important enough to include in the story. But it never appears on panel, nor does he ever mention her grandmother. I think it’s likely she kept it hidden, even as she dressed and undressed in front of him. It isn’t monetarily valuable, so she can’t have been scared of Slade stealing it. 

If it is an amulet, her grandmother would have personally had a Buddhist priest bless it for Lili, and this 1970 article shows how important this traditional item became during the war. It’s the most sentimental item she has - and she never shares that part of herself.

The two share a moonlight kiss, after an in-depth discussion “about the war, about her, even about me [Slade]”. She is shown to be the one leaning in, and I do think that she genuinely wanted to kiss Slade and share that moment with him. Interestingly, this kiss is only revealed in #48, when Slade feels more sentimental as she has just been killed. It does not factor into his initial recollection, showing how his focus is on sexual, not romantic, memories of Lili, distorting his view of her. We will never know what she said “about her[self]” to this American mercenary who saves her women and sleeps with them, kills for money and for protection, and could be the last person she ever knows. 

This is where we get to the most complex part of the recollection - the two sleeping together. 

Unsurprisingly, I’m going to reject Slade’s reading of this as a natural development of their closeness which was romantic and spontaneous. However, I do think that Lili does consent, and would not have maintained a future sexual relationship and friendship with him if she had not. 

One reading, building on what I’ve said above, is that Lili has been through these terrible traumas, is at risk of death or recapture, and has found a surprisingly sympathetic companion in Slade. As an unmarried Cambodian royal woman in the 70s, she would have been expected to be a virgin, and likely did not have much sexual experience before being subjected to repeated rape as a captive. The most positive reading of her relationship with Slade would be a reclamation of her own body and sexuality in a pursuit of fleeting joy in the most dire circumstances. 

Alternatively, and in my view more likely, you can read Lili as engaging in self-protection. She is unlikely to be able to get to Thailand as a lone woman, even with Slade’s gun. Slade has already almost died, he could easily decide the reward isn’t worth the risk and abandon her, or sell her back to the Khmer Rouge. She can’t know what he’ll do, and therefore she maximises her chances of being rescued by having this sexual relationship, the same way she survived in the brothel. Either she initiates proactively, or he does, and she is in no position to safely reject him. 

I don’t think this is antithetical to her conversations with Slade and continued relationship with him post-war. People are complicated, and ultimately Slade does save her, and would have saved her women, as well as being the only person who has shared her specific war trauma and heard her feelings at the time. 

[It’s really important to note here that, textually, none of these arguments hold true. In the text of the comic, Lili’s body becomes a reward for the white American rescuing her, and why she would desire him is not a question that occurs to Marv Wolfman.]

“It took us another two weeks to make it into Thailand. Wish it’d took two years” is up there with the most heinous things that Slade has ever said. 

It also shows that she didn’t keep a relationship with him the moment she got to Thailand and safety. Whether she was escaping him to freedom, or wanted to leave the unhealthy coping mechanism of him in the jungle, she did leave in the immediate aftermath of her rescue. Slade lets her, something which must have been a concern in the back of her mind after her previous imprisonment. 

I’m going to go into Lili’s life post-Cambodia in my next post, covering themes including tropes around Asian women as sex workers, her success and wealth, and her loving relationship with Rose. 

Here are some sources on representation and trope history I drew on to write this:

Before that, here's a post about her life between Cambodia and America and the Dragon Lady trope

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/03/26/asian-women-hollywood-portrayals/ 

http://unveilingthesilverscreen.digital.brynmawr.edu/tropes/lotus-blossom/

https://www.hercampus.com/school/american/the-dragon-lady-the-lotus-blossom-and-the-robot-archetypes-of-asian-women-in-western-media/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/09/archives/amulets-are-a-vital-part-of-a-cambodian-soldiers-equipment.html

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/women-speak-out-over-khmer-rouge-sexual-violence/j5wwh30x1 

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2019/11/feature-survivors-of-sexual-violence-in-cambodia-speak-out  

[saltbind]

idk i think the reason i just can't see bottom sub sam is that your sexual preferences don't...really change THAT much depending on your partner. he's consistently depicted to be a pretty aggressive dude when it comes to sex and dean is depicted as the opposite. i can see sam very occasionally trying bottoming or subbing for dean, but very much in a 'you're the only one i trust with this' kind of way, and it's absolutely not the norm because it's outside of both of their comfort zones. and i don't think he'd do both at the same time - dean is okay with power bottoming on occasion or doing the service top thing, but not both. i think that would come too close to making dean feel like he's actually raping sam, and post-cage i can't imagine that sam would be okay with that at all. sam's a control freak when it comes to sex and that's okay! dean's a pillow princess!

also i like that a top dom sam/bottom sub dean dynamic kind of equalises their relationship a bit. dean is the big brother and he's generally in charge in the rest of their life, so i like the idea of sex being where sam can take care of dean and be in charge. it makes their relationship a little more even.

[milflewis]

Fernando MEANT that slap lmao. They fascinate me so much. Over 15 years of this, like, can you even imagine.

fernando and lewis’s relationship and herstory is fucking insane. like a two time wdc and a rookie were put in the same team and made to shave their heads and then the ROOKIE beats the wdc ???? all while fernando believes that lewis had the better car and went so far as to blackmail his boss over it. and then fernando leaves the team in disgrace at the end of the year??? only lewis to go on and win the title the next year (breaking fernando’s prev held record of youngest wdc) and they circle each other for years……semi comrades in arms against this cocky shit who sticks in finger in the air all the time and keeps beating them…….only for lewis to abandon him in favour of said shit. fernando’s career just keeps going down down down while lewis’s goes up up up. and fernando compares every teammate since to lewis and finds them all lacking???? lewis names seb his favourite rival over all others. including fernando. through in mark webber who is one of the few ppl fernando is sort of soft for and who cannot stfu about how much he thinks lewis is the greatest ever !!!!!!! lewis equalises michael’s record which ppl once expected from fernando. and he did this in a team that fernando is banned from driving for…..bc of the blackmailing he did from their first (and only) year as teammates……and now seb is gone and all the others are gone and it’s just fernando and lewis left. wdym !!!!!!!!!!!

[raving-raven-writing]

The newest chapter of “I’ll fix you” fic reminded me of the Equaliser movie and now I’m imagining Quaritch going to a specific diner every night because he knows Spider will be hanging there in between ""servicing clients"", and waits for the right opportunity to whisk him away, but slowly the two regulars build a bond. Miles is nice to him and looks at Spider like he’s jus that; a person, a kid, and Spider quickly gets attached to him because no other grown up in his circles can be trusted.

Spider shows Quaritch his sketches, and he encourages him. They talk about books and stories and lives (though Socorro never gets too deep into the mess that is his captivity or drug addiction) but they have a genuine dynamic until one night, when the two go for a walk, Socorro gets caught by his pimp and later beaten for disobeying, so Miles goes full papa bear mode and, one by one, takes out the higher-ups in the sex-trafficking ring.

Hey anon,

I don't think I've ever seen that movie but the plot line sounds kinda familiar. Definitely interesting though, I will have to check the film out! Nice to see that my writing reminds you of a movie plot line.

[cookiepotofchaos]

More long ramblings about more England Women's Senior and U19s games under the cut.

I did say it would be interesting to see how the games turned out, for different reasons, and...that's one word for it, I suppose? Especially for the senior team who apparently chose chaos for the day.

U-19s England Vs Serbia, Final Score 1-1

Now this was more of a match to see how the team play under pressure and Serbia offered a lot of pressure. They were fast, physical, and pushed hard up the pitch. Captain, Matejić, who also scored Serbia's goal was a particular challenge for England, but far from the only one. Stokić caused all sorts of problems, keeping the wingers and midfield busy, and the back four were definitely not making it easy for England to get through.

While England put up a fight all game, they probably didn't deserve to get the equaliser in the 90th minute; it was a somewhat debatable hand-ball vs ball-to-hand in the penalty box that gave the opportunity for Enderby to equalise. Serbia probably feel, quite deservedly, a little hard done by.

In terms of seeing the potential of players under pressure, Arsenal's Vivienne Lia continued to be impressive, especially in her link ups along the wing with Araya Dennis (who signed for Tottenham Hotspur in February). Evie Rabjohn of Manchester United was also looking sharp defensively until she suffered what appeared to be a nasty knee injury in the 20-25th minute of the game. Commentators didn't bring up the possibility of ACL or MCL injury, but whenever it's a knee involved and the player is stretchered off, the question is there.

Final game against France for the U19s will be an even bigger challenge, I should imagine.

England vs Sweden, Final Score 0-0

Well... Interesting is certainly one way to describe this one. Weirdly oscillating back and forth between chaotic/panicky and underwhelming, especially in the second half, with many of the same issues as in the Ireland game. A change back to a more familiar line-up, with Hampton being the only real surprise, given Sweden's strengths in set pieces.

Based on interviews with Wiegman and the speculation of the media and fans, the battle for England's GK spot is definitely on and... I don't believe it was even close to being answered in this game, but I'll come back to that.

The late substitutions were an unwelcome return. It often feels like some fresh legs at half time would make a difference. Since Wiegman has this reluctance to disrupt flow, you always get this sense that she holds on too long and the players are far from their best by the final 25ish minutes.

The hesitancy and extra touches in front of goal were still an issue, with few efforts on goal. From interviews, the team are VERY aware of this, which makes you wonder what the root cause is. I do think one contributing factor is this is where they really miss Lauren James, who will often take a shot or a chance at a shot or a cross, and seemingly make something out of nothing.

England received a number of arguably soft free kicks and did little with them, though one of their few chances of the game came from a free kick that ended in Bronze heading the ball at Mušović. That said, while they didn't convincingly best the Swedish defense at all, they started strong by dominating possession and play for the first half, keeping Sweden shut out of their final third for all but the last few minutes. The second half, on the other hand, was often panicky, with England too easily being put on the back foot.

Honestly, England were fortunate Sweden were not in great form themselves. A team in better form would have punished them for those set piece errors. And while I am always delighted when a player shows integrity and stays on their feet in the box, and wasn't exactly enamored with commentary saying Kafaji should have gone down, it's true that England were fortunate she didn't. A lot of players would have gone over and pulled that penalty.

A lot of player discussions can be boiled down to "probably should have been subbed out earlier" and "got shaky under pressure". Outside of those two main discussions, Hemp and Carter also struggled to link up on their side of the pitch, with Carter not looking in her usual form. Carter also had a rough time trying to keep Rytting Kaneryd from causing mayhem when Sweden did eventually start to break. I wonder if subbing her out at half time, like with Ireland, would have been a better option. She looked shattered by the end.

Mead and Toone started out decently and then struggled in the second half. I've seen criticism of Toone starting as opposed to being a super sub, but I think she had a decent first half and was involved in driving forward a number of the chances England did have. There was one run forward I was sure she was going to take a crack at goal and then just...didn't at the last moment, with that same extra pass and hesitancy mentioned above. The problem is she disappeared in the second half - I think Toone often works better for one half or the other, and there are options to rotate that role available.

The midfield struggled at times to keep play moving forward, though Bronze's return did help with that on the wing, giving Walsh more options with Bronze's confidence in mixing overlapping runs and backtracking more substantial than Le Tissier's was against Ireland. She did seem a little stiff-legged at the beginning though. The commentators seemed of a mind that she was going down easily to get free kicks, but sometimes she looked to be less steady than usual. As the game went on, she seemed to settle into her usual play and made a vital clearance from inside the eighteen yard box as well.

The defense overall, though seemed determined to bring panic and mayhem to the second half, I fear.

Williamson and Bright were mostly good, especially first half, making blocks and clearances, keeping the Swedish players away from the England goal. There was also less back passing this game. However, for their strengths, they also had multiple moments of chaos when they either gave the ball away unnecessarily, made a slightly uncontrolled lunge in the penalty box (Williamson), or outright just clattered into Hampton during set pieces (Bright). Communication between Hampton and the backline did not look strong, and Hampton noticeably struggled to communicate at times.

Which leads to the return to the #1 Goal Keeper conversation.

There is a tendency for fans of different players/teams to just be overly biased towards their preferred player and against the perceived "competition". That can be very apparent with the England GK situation. Chelsea and Hampton fans have said that fans of Earps who were commenting on Hampton's performance would have given more grace to Earps had she performed like Hampton did. And it's absolutely true. Equally as true is that if Earps had been on and performed like Hampton did against Sweden, the same Chelsea and Hampton fans would be calling for Earps to be dropped to 2nd or even 3rd choice keeper.

Hampton did not have as bad of a game as some people on social media have made out, but she also had far from the quality game that other people have argued in response. She made a few good saves as well as some scrappy saves that chance was on her side for. Also, a clean sheet is a clean sheet whether you get there with grace or inelegance or utter chaos.

However, I said in the Ireland game write-up that, under pressure, you can see the same shakes and errors start to creep up for Hampton and they appeared again, but worse. This isn't just an international game thing either, you saw them at times at Aston Villa and there have been signs of them at Chelsea, too. They just seem to be worse on the international stage, likely due to nerves.

Hampton spilled the ball in front of the net multiple times, struggled in areas where she is often commended like gathering crosses and long ball distribution, and seemed to struggle to get communication with the back-line right. By the end of the game, she had a thousand-yard stare that made you think she was probably relieved that she wasn't going to have to play in England's goal for a fair few months.

The GK situation at England is certainly far from a done deal right now. Unlike other positions on the pitch, there is so much less rotation amongst keepers that you can't imagine a situation under Wiegman, with her style of game plan, where they would be rotated in and out, playing to their strengths each game.

There was a news article out today that said that Wiegman was making it clear by benching Earps that there were no guaranteed places in the team. But benching players as an indication they've failed or fallen short wouldn't be the first solution I would think should be tried here. Reworking the approach to how the game is played and how players are used, especially substitutions, would seem like a better initial approach to try.

But, you know, given the chaotic choices I sometimes like to make in FC24 just to see what happens, I'm not a manager of a football team for a multitude of very good reasons, (with career path and logistics at the top of that list), so all of this is just hypothetical rambling 😅

[tomboyyyaoi]

i much prefer the headcanon that after vash's hair turns black it starts a sort of ageing (though for plants it would be more like a slow deterioration) process that allows him to grow old and settle at some point bc i cannot stomach the idea of him outliving milly and meryl and having to watch them grow old and pass away without him. like literally im just over a big sob from the idea. ive never cried like that over a hypothetical pertaining to media before. actual snotty, wet, ugly tears. oh my god i cant handle that

let me have my fluffy ageing vash, content and relieved with the fact hes going to age and die the same as anyone else would after hes lived through so much pain watching loved ones before wither away and leave him behind. i imagine hed take great pride in his first wrinkle or his hair noticeably greying. i imagine itd make him feel so comfortable, finally feeling like he can have a place nestled comfortably in a community. actually forming connections not just as a protector but as a friend. death, the great equaliser

[b14augrana]

I am imagining bebita out of nowhere scoring a bicycle kick goal like zlatan Ibrahimovic score against England to equalise for barca against a tough team in a champions league semi final and just staying in the ground not knowing she has scored a goal while all the players from both sides too look on in shock 😯 and even the fans too while Jona has hands on his face cannot believing the goal...

Before she can even look at the goal and realise she scored, everyone is going crazy and celebrating. They’re all in absolute shock, still processing the golazo, and Jona is literally losing his shit on the sidelines

[pierregaslays]

me when i said “imagine they equalise” and then they did :)

[borgiabeacon]

Babies Beyond the Body: Artificial Wombs

Imagine reproduction without pregnancy. No need to quit drinking, no cramps. No vagina talks with your boss (unless you both decide so). Dreamy.

The invention of the artificial womb could profoundly reshape gender roles and the dynamics of family structures. As biotechnology advances, the ability to gestate a baby outside a human body has the potential to liberate women from the biological constraints of pregnancy, affecting how we view gender responsibilities and parental roles.

In a world where pregnancy can be entirely separated from the female body, women may experience a new kind of freedom in both personal and professional realms. This technological shift could equalise the playing field in careers where women often face setbacks due to maternity leave or childbearing considerations. Maybe it could even lead to a reevaluation of paternal roles, encouraging a more balanced distribution of parenting responsibilities.

This detachment of reproduction from the body could also change a few societal norms around family structures, potentially normalising alternative forms such as polyandry in addition to well-practiced polygyny in some societies. With the physical demands of pregnancy managed technologically, multiple-parent models might become more practical and appealing, providing children with larger support networks and resources.

Sounds scary, right?