![](\"https:\/\/l-stat.livejournal.net\/img\/userinfo_v8.png?v=17080&v=915\")
<\/a>tascioni<\/b><\/a><\/span> to fix this horrible error asap.) As for the runner-ups, you still get bragging rights. You just don't get to brag as loudly. In second place, we have Team 1, The Merry Chase, and veeeery closely followed by Team 10, Extractioneers, in third.
but no seriously, thank you thank you thank you<\/i> to everyone who participated. The hunt couldn't have happened without you. Your hard work is truly appreciated, and now that results have been revealed, please feel free to repost all your work wherever you please! Thanks again for playing, and apologies again for all the scheduling fuck-ups that happened along the way. Now go grab a celebratory beer and watch Inception and create moar stuffz.
<\/a>
","comments":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/6605.html?view=comments#comments","category":["!voting","!results","!mod"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/6268.html","pubDate":"Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:20:48 GMT","title":"on voting","author":"phenylic","link":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/6268.html","description":"
HOW TO VOTE<\/b>:
- Leave a +1 comment on your favorite submission in this entry<\/a>!<\/li><\/ul>INFO<\/b>:
- Voting is open for a week! So you have until
Thursday, May 3, 11:59 PST<\/strike> ETA<\/b>: voting has been extended until Sunday, May 6, 11:59 PM PST! Any votes placed after this time will not be counted. <\/li>- The votes will be screened. Manually, because the mods haven't figured out how to get LJ to automatically screen replies to comments. :( I guess if you really don't want your vote to be seen, we can arrange for a mod to be present when you're placing your votes?<\/li><\/ul>
RULES<\/b>:- You must be an
![](\"https:\/\/l-stat.livejournal.net\/img\/community.png?v=556&v=915\")
<\/a>insearchtion<\/b><\/a><\/span> participant to vote! That means, your username must be listed here<\/a>. Yes, even if your team dropped out, you are still eligible to vote! <\/li>- You may only vote on one submission per item.<\/li>
- You may vote for your own team.<\/li>
- You may not sabotage the votes!! :(<\/li>
- In the event you messed up\/want to change your vote, please post a comment to this thread with a link to the vote you want to remove. <\/li><\/ul>
POINT SYSTEM<\/b>:- The submission with the highest number of votes gets 5 points.<\/li>
- Second highest gets 4 points.<\/li>
- Third highest gets 3 points.<\/li>
- Any remaining submissions will receive 1 point.<\/li>
- Whichever team has the highest total number of points wins the first ever <\/a>insearchtion<\/b><\/a><\/span> scavenger hunt!<\/li><\/ul>
Feel free to ask any questions here. If you would like to discuss the items or a specific submission, you may do so in the appropriate thread here<\/a>. You do not have to be a participant to ask questions or discuss! ","comments":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/6268.html?view=comments#comments","category":["!voting","!mod"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5976.html","pubDate":"Sun, 22 Apr 2012 07:41:22 GMT","title":"discussion post","author":"phenylic","link":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5976.html","description":"Discuss under the appropriate thread. No flaming, no rudeness, etc. etc. ","comments":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5976.html?view=comments#comments","category":["!discussion","!mod"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5819.html","pubDate":"Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:49:30 GMT","title":"FUCKING FINALLY RIGHT? [LOCKED]","author":"phenylic","link":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5819.html","description":"Who failed out hardest for<\/a>insearchtion<\/b><\/a><\/span>? o\/!!! That's right, none of you can take that away from me. Anyway, we'll skip the reasons behind my failures because no one cares and get straight to the good stuff. yes, that's right, after two months of undeserved delays, THERE'S STUFF TO SHARE! You may see that there are 200+ comments on this entry. I've compiled all the submissions that we received and posted them by item number(Team #s randomly scrambled for each item).
For your ease of navigation, here is the masterlist.- 10 recs for “spy”.<\/a><\/li>
- Tell us about Arthur’s tie collection.<\/a><\/li>
- Meta about a pairing and provide screencap\/script-quotes evidence!<\/a> ( main pair<\/a> || rare pair<\/a> )<\/li>
- TEAM PHOTO. reference to team name must be included.<\/a><\/li>
- Find out what happened to Nash after Saito’s men took him away.<\/a><\/li>
- Get a hold of Yusuf’s journal.<\/a><\/li>
- Find special dildos\/vibrators\/pumps for 3 characters. Along with pictures, justify your choices in 100 - 200 words, be it in an essay or a fic.<\/a><\/li>
- You have been asked to perform Inception. You decide to bring in some back up. Draw up your plan\/course of action. Include blueprints\/models, surveillance reports, forgeries, etc. (You are required to collaborate with another team (of your choice). Teams may not use the same collaboration. That is, in the end, we should receive 10 different submissions, with 10 different plans.)<\/a><\/li>
- Make your own Inception score or soundtrack.<\/a><\/li>
- A screenshot of Cobb’s online dating profile.<\/a><\/li>
- 10 recs for “marriage”.<\/a><\/li>
- Porn scandal! Get us a copy of Arthur’s sex tape. (Reviews\/Commentary are encouraged, but not required.)<\/a><\/li>
- On the (un)sexy side of things, catch Eames picking his nose.<\/a><\/li>
- Write up a 500 word minimum character study.<\/a><\/li>
- THIS IS A HUNT WITHIN A HUNT. Await further instructions. (only Team 3 was patient enough to indulge me when I asked for a WANTED poster of their mole, so enjoy their awesome poster<\/a> and this gem<\/a>.)<\/li>
- Cobb is still being prosecuted by the State. Defend him to the best of your abilities! OR New evidence has come into light about Mal’s death. Prosecute Cobb!<\/a><\/li>
- Meta a kink (of your choice) and provide at least 1 supporting fic rec. (minimum 500 words)<\/a><\/li>
- Write a sonnet about Nash.<\/a><\/li>
- Someone left their phone in the warehouse. Hack it and show us the goods! (i.e. texts, pictures, videos, tweets, SECRET LOVE LETTERS, etc.)<\/a><\/li>
- The Inception team is trying to be the greatest musical act the U.S. has ever seen. Find out who’s doing what and grab a copy of their upcoming single with the lyrics.<\/a><\/li>
- 10 texts from last night<\/a><\/li>
- 5 postcards from 5 different dreamsharers to postsecret (http:\/\/www.postsecret.com).<\/a><\/li>
- 10 recs for “superhero”.<\/a><\/li>
- WikiLeaks leaks dreamshare. Show the reactions of the dreamshare world in gifs.<\/a><\/li>
- Everyone is getting LJs; quick! make them an icon! (5 icons, please.)<\/a><\/li>
- Find the greatest pre-existing fanvid.<\/a><\/li>
- Make an asofterinception (http:\/\/asofterinception.tumblr.com\/) pic.<\/a><\/li>
- 10 recs for “clothes.”<\/a><\/li>
- Make a fanmix with meta (a la http:\/\/electricitys.livejournal.com\/4422.html).<\/a><\/li>
- The team is voting in the American elections of 2012! find out which candidate they’re planning on voting for by carefully watching Inception and giving proof of the characters’ political leanings. provide a picture of the team member with their candidate of choice, along with the team member’s favorite quote by that candidate. Donald Trump counts as a candidate.<\/a><\/li>
- Explain “mmmm, Arthur.” With some measure of specificity, if you please.<\/a><\/li>
- Meta about AUs. (minimum 500 words)<\/a><\/li>
- 10 recs for “James Bond.”<\/a><\/li>
- Find a porn video done by any of the characters. Or a facsimile. (Mal has a French accent; Saito a Japanese one; Browning is a bear; etc).<\/a><\/li>
- Find a real world Inception reference and take a picture. (i.e. a street named “Saito,” a restaurant called “Totem,” etc.)<\/a><\/li>
- Write 5 haikus about your team.<\/a><\/li>
- Inception characters love sports! What are their favorite teams, and why? Give us a picture of them 1) with their favorite player and 2) in the uniform of their favorite team.<\/a><\/li>
- Send Browning a love letter.<\/a><\/li>
- 10 recs for “pets”.<\/a><\/li>
- FREE-FOR-ALL! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT<\/a><\/li><\/ol>
- BONUS: Make a new Inception meme!<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
<\/a>
Look through all the submissions! A discussion post is up here<\/a>, and details on voting will come later.
eta<\/b>: if any entries are missing, please notify me or any of the other mods ASAP. Voting is being held at a later time so we can fix any mishaps!","comments":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5819.html?view=comments#comments","category":["!masterlist","!mod"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5463.html","pubDate":"Sat, 10 Mar 2012 03:47:36 GMT","title":"that many dreams within dreams is too unstable.","author":"squirtblossom","link":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5463.html","description":"As you may have noticed, our lovely mod<\/a>phenylic<\/b><\/a><\/span> has had to orchestrate a very sudden and unexpected disappearance from the face of the internet. As such, final reviews and voting are going to be slightly delayed, but we'll do our very best to get things running again ASAP. We're super sorry for the inconvenience, guys. :(","comments":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5463.html?view=comments#comments","category":"!mod"},{"guid":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5233.html","pubDate":"Sun, 04 Mar 2012 06:35:50 GMT","title":"UPDATE!","author":"phenylic","link":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5233.html","description":"Thanks for playing everyone! We mods are currently sorting through submissions and setting up final reviews. :) Official voting will go live one week from today, so set your alarms for Saturday, March 10. Each team will be receiving an email from us regarding your final review by March 7, which should give everyone enough time for a final check that all the correct documents and files were sent in (and if they weren't, you'll have the chance to change them!).
Again, thank you for your participation! It's been pretty hectic for everyone, but we've got tons of awesome submissions to share.","comments":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/5233.html?view=comments#comments","category":"!mod"},{"guid":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/4896.html","pubDate":"Sun, 19 Feb 2012 07:04:22 GMT","title":"A HUNT WITHIN A HUNT","author":"phenylic","link":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/4896.html","description":"Hello scavengers. How are you? Have you been hard at work? I hope you haven't forgotten your hunt within a hunt item, because we sure haven't.
Allow me to preface this by saying that we debated a lot<\/i> over what to do with this item, mostly over how to make it fair. We thought this would be a fun twist to the game, and we hope you'll feel the same way.
At the beginning of the game, we contacted one person from each team and made them a Mole. They've taken notes and reported in to us, and now it's time that you put your extractors through their paces and find out who is the Mole on your team. You've got three chances to figure it out.
Please have your team captain PM me,<\/a>phenylic<\/b><\/a><\/span>, for a clue as to who your Mole is.
Once you have an answer, please leave a comment (screened) below with your team name and your guess.
happy hunting.","comments":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/4896.html?view=comments#comments","category":"!mod"},{"guid":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/4248.html","pubDate":"Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:05:08 GMT","title":"MPREG META, PART TWO","author":"phenylic","link":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/4248.html","description":"Submission #4:
Mpreg: gender roles, what constitutes ‘proper’ sex, and the incredible vanishing baby<\/b>
Mpreg is a popular and perennial trope throughout fandom that typically gains popularity as fandoms become established and the canon applications of characters become exhausted.
The popularity of mpreg fic raises several interesting questions about the role that women play as characters in fandom, and more importantly for the sake of this article, what is regarded as “normal” practice in sex and what is an acceptable balance of power to exist between partners in a relationship.
It can be argued, especially within the Inception fandom, that mpreg fic safely feminises one of the characters, and normalises the relationship within the definitions of a heteronormative context. As we’re all aware, Arthur\/Eames is by far the most popular pairing within the Inception fandom, and, with a few notable exceptions[1], Arthur is the favoured partner to be the carrier of a child. There are very few fics and even fewer pieces of artwork that feature another character as the pregnant party[2], and there are two main contributing factors that lead to this trend: the physical difference in size between Arthur and Eames; the predilection of Arthur as the bottom in the pairing, and, indeed, the outright dislike by some members of the fandom of Eames as the bottom. These can be seen as being linked, and when viewed together highlight one simple fact: Arthur is easier to feminise. He is of slighter build and clean-shaven, which contrasts with the classic symbols of masculinity of facial hair and brawn exhibited by Eames.
This assignment of gender characteristics seems to solve the “problem” that appears to occupy so many members of fandom – who is the “girl” in the relationship. Fics such as likelying's I'm With You In Rockland,<\/a> where Arthur and Mal are pregnant at the same time and are characterised with definite, or even stereotypical, feminine qualities. They share girlie chats and giggle over engagement rings, whereas the fathers of the children, Eames and Cobb, are depicted in classic male roles. In many other fics, Arthur's "female role" is repeated: he is penetrated, he becomes pregnant, and he deals with the majority of the physical and emotional implications of the pregnancy, leaving Eames to bask in the pride of ownership.
This is mine,<\/small><\/i> Eames thinks.
Arthur continues to rub his belly muttering sweet endearments, “And even though your daddy is watching me from the doorway we love him anyway, don’t we?” Arthur looks up, almost slyly, towards the doorway, meeting Eames’ tender gaze. Eames’ ears redden. “You caught me, darling.”
(_la_belle_fille's Mine<\/a>)<\/small>
Often, once pregnant, Arthur's behaviour becomes a matter for others to judge; his self-determination becomes secondary in the eyes of those around him to his role as an incubator. Cthonical, however, deals nicely with this with Cobb’s opinions and concerns for Arthur in And a Gunshot for Her Lullaby<\/a>. This assignment of gender roles also conforms to and confirms the unconscious heteronormative stereotype that haunts so much slash fic: that penetrative sex is somehow more “proper," more intimate than other forms of sex, and that it is the core sexual practice between most couples.
The heteronormative parameters can be subverted or twisted, however. Pregnancy can be a chance thing, as seen in Up the Duff<\/a> by anonymous, where Arthur is an alien who doesn’t realise he can get pregnant; it may be dream-based, such as in toomuchplor’s No Soul to Sell<\/a>; the element of choice may even be removed altogether, and is primarily seen in the werewolf\/alpha-omega trope where Arthur goes into heat and Eames is forced to impregnate him (The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized<\/a> by the-ragnarok deals with this particularly well, and also features a pregnant Dom.).
Interestingly, the majority of writers are more interested in the process of the pregnancy rather than in the concept of parenthood. It’s the intimacy of the impregnation scene; the moment when Arthur relinquishes his masculinity (and in the case of werewolf fic, his pretence at autonomy or humanity as well) and the subsequent physical changes to Arthur’s body that holds the attraction. Foxxcub’s brilliantly written The Sweetest Thing<\/a> has one of the most jarring examples of this:
Eames grins. “You’re not going to go into labor before the timer runs out, are you?”
“No, but if I get any bigger I’ll be fucking bed-ridden. Jesus, Eames, twins? Seriously?”
The grin gets even more disgustingly wide. “They’ll have your dimples,” he says.
The thought shouldn’t make Arthur’s chest tighten, but it does.
“But seeing as how my genes are obviously more dominate, they’ll have my brains.”
Arthur elbows him in the gut. He maybe be nine months pregnant, but he’s still lethal.
~
The first thing Arthur does when he opens his eyes is reach for his stomach, which is flat, toned, hard. He smirks to himself, glancing at the chair beside him.
Eames is smiling crookedly at him, something oddly wistful in his eyes. He holds his hand out, and Arthur takes it.
“I don’t know if 'thank you' is appropriate, but...”
Arthur kisses his knuckles. “For my birthday, I get the bondage club dream. Deal?”<\/small>
All of which isn’t to say that there aren’t some examples of the mpreg trope that are thought-provoking insights into man’s yearning to contribute and control the creative process. No Soul to Sell (mentioned previously) explores the shared feeling between Mal and Arthur when they are both pregnant without diminishing either of them to a stereotype, and is one of the only dream based stories I have read that deals with the real-life implications of having a dream child. Atom to Atom<\/a> by anonymous (a WIP dealing with Arthur and Eames trying to conceive) is one of the few stories I've encountered that examines the planning of the pregnancy, the desire for a child, and all the emotional fear and self-doubt this decision engenders. Stiff Drink<\/a>, by metacheese, whilst being focused more lactation kink than mpreg, looks at Arthur as a single parent; how the reality of parenthood doesn’t match his careful plans, and lets Eames make the choice to engage in an existing family unit where the baby isn’t his.
This is, by necessity, only a cursory glance at a huge and popular trope. There are things that I haven’t had time to mention that I wish I could (the fact that women tend to be allowed a more progressive characterisation then men whilst pregnant, for example), but the fact remains that one of the reasons why this trope is so fascinating is due to the messages carried within it about the role of women and the purposes of penetrative sex.
Footnotes:<\/b>
1] Eames\/other as the pregnant partner:
Of All the Lies I've Ever Told<\/a> by duckgirlie. Features pregnant Eames.
Untitled<\/a> by Akaya. Fischer\/Saito. Features pregnant Robert Fischer.
Taking Care<\/a> by eternalsojourn. Features pregnant Eames.
2] Art:
Pregant Arthur fanart by platina<\/a>
I actually have no idea who this is by, but it's fab.<\/a>
Cthonical's And a Gunshot for Her Lullaby with companion art by platina<\/a>
My Darling by towel-master, featuring pregnant Arthur.<\/a><\/a>
Submission #5:
Mpreg’s appeal varies from person to person. For some, the kink itself is enough of a draw, and a number of those for whom mpreg has appeal even claim to have no interest in having children of their own. The reasons why kinks have their appeal to people is its own topic, and for the sake of this discussion, we’ll just have to take people at their word on what gets them going. Additionally, mpreg brings for the possibility of other kinks that are heavily connected to it, such as pregnancy sex or lactation. Pregnancy itself may be a kink that appeals to some people, and for readers specifically interested in slash, mpreg is the only mechanism to facilitate this kink.
Mpreg is linked with a number of non-sexual “kinks,” such as werewolves, catboys (or catgirls), alpha\/omega, kidfic, or even genres such as H\/C. In her meta about why mpreg appeals to her,<\/a>djinanna<\/b><\/a><\/span> mentions that she likes H\/C and think of mpreg as an “extreme situation”<\/a> that warranted that kind of story. In fact, “regular” pregnancies are already heavily tax the human body, so it would make sense that it would be an even greater burden on male bodies, which are not meant to host fetuses<\/a>.
Genres such as werewolf, catboy\/catgirl, and alpha\/omega usually act as a means to explain the mpreg, along with mpreg contributing to the appeal of that kink for some people. One of the morst prevailing misconceptions about mpreg is that people who read and\/or like it for whatever reason have a poor concept of or are unknowledgable male human anatomy<\/a>. This, however, is usually far from the case. Having taken several biology and physiology courses, some specifically focused on reproductive biology. When I read mpreg, physiology is usually an aspect that doesn’t bother me as long as there is some thin coat of explanation. As<\/a>shimmerfox<\/b><\/a><\/span> explains in her commentary<\/a>, it is not unusual for people (or even characters in-story) to be surprised for a male to be able to become pregnant. However, fiction is the realm of endless possibilities, and some people even prefer to not have their mpreg explained. For people those who enjoy mpreg, it might be simply be a matter of being able to overlook an obviously impossible event. After all -- wizards nor elves nor unicorns exist in the real world, and yet people can still enjoy stories about them too.
There is also a another way that mpreg hits home with readers and writers. It allows for the exploration of a family setting. The common ‘kid-fic’ is offered with what some would see as a more personal level. Some find the aspect of building a family around a biological child more intimate, than building a family around an adopted child. It’s not to say that adoption is any less of a valuable idea, it’s that with mpreg, two male characters get to develop a relationship over the time that the character is pregnant. It allows for us to watch as two men grow to accept, or maybe not, their situation, instead of already accepting and moving on to adoption.
Moving past the kinks, mpreg is something that has flirted with many fandoms, appearing in many different forms. It has been improbable, impossible, unexplained, thoroughly discussed and yet, it’s something that people are always finding new ways to explore. Male pregnancy has happened due to magic, the introduction of a body changing virus, the it-just-happens-without-explanation, the alpha and omega roles, werewolves, aliens and a number of other causes. Inception offered something new, something that could blend in well with canon.
Inception offered dreams.
Mpreg in dreams would normally be considered a simple idea, but Inception gives us possibilities. No longer is male pregnancy relegated to a single dreamer, but all those who an author wishes to be involved. Whole lives can be created within dreams, spanning lifetimes, years or mere days. Reality is something that can be questioned, challenged. As authors, we are given a chance to give a lifetime of something different, of something a normally male character would be unable to experience in reality.
With dreaming, comes the inevitable though. Waking up. Not only are we given a chance to explore male pregnancy, but we are shown a heart breaking option. What happens when they wake up, when reality sets in her claws and tears away everything their minds created? Symptoms vary from annoyance, depression, horror, a sudden realization that adoption is possible. They have all played parts in Inception fiction, from the humorous to the angst.
But still, with so many people that do like mpreg, there are those who do not enjoy it. Sometimes they don’t enjoy it because they think that there is something unusual and disturbing about forcing a pregnancy on a male character; even if they want it. They can’t understand why someone would impose something so oddly feminine on a male character. They are see a homosexual relationship as one in which both participants in the relationship are uniquely male and with no “female” role.
They enjoy fics where the men learn to love the feel of leaner limbs, or where they have to go through some emotional turmoil when they realize they can’t have society’s normative family unit; where they have to reconcile with the fact that they cannot procreate without use of a surrogate.
Most of the kinks associated with pregnancy are not part of the man’s experience. It comes too close to placing someone in a stereotypical woman’s position by making him undergo pregnancy--even if it is of his own choosing. Do either partners crave to fulfill some biological or societal role by passing on their genes? It bothers them and maybe it has to do with their ideas of gender roles.
In the end, mpreg will always be a kink that some don’t understand, that some love, that some don’t enjoy and even on that some have to research to know what it is. It’s a unique kink and that fits right into fandom, doesn’t it?
Additional Recs
(what else do we like?)
Links\/References
Stories
whiskyrunner's pavlov's bell verse http:\/\/whiskyrunner.livejournal.com\/19155.html
the_ragnarok's the revolution will not be civilized http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/268993\/chapters\/423737 + a coda http:\/\/cherrybina.livejournal.com\/243220.html?thread=18416916#t18416916
foxxcub's the sweetest thing: http:\/\/foxxcub.livejournal.com\/718229.html
eternalsojourn: http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/300860 http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/264060 http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/256646
cthonical: http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/222231 http:\/\/cthonical.livejournal.com\/97941.html http:\/\/cherrybina.livejournal.com\/243220.html?thread=18542356#t18542356
osaki_nana_08's Atom to Atom: http:\/\/osaki-nana-707.livejournal.com\/tag\/story%3A%20atom%20to%20atom
By anonymous: (warning for miscarriage) http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/19632.html?thread=46879152#t46879152
acidpop25's losing faith: http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/292648
metacheese's stiff drink: http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/261432
toomuchplor's no soul to sell http:\/\/cherrybina.livejournal.com\/239684.html?thread=17451332#t17451332
http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/17669.html?thread=38398213#t38398213
http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/4946.html?thread=6315090#t6315090
http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/11941.html?thread=26634149#t26634149
Fakebody: http:\/\/likelying.livejournal.com\/1177.html
Up the Duff: http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/19177.html?thread=45649641#t45649641
My Apologies: http:\/\/thblueshabootie.livejournal.com\/4728.html#cutid1
atom to atom (not werewolf one): (Warning for medicalization)
http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/20092.html?thread=48573564#t48573564
http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/20092.html?thread=48562044
veto: http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/294830
Additional Links
http:\/\/delicious.com\/inceptionkinkmeme\/.mpreg mpreg tag on the i_kink delicious
http:\/\/eames-arthur.livejournal.com\/tag\/genre%3A%20kink%20%28mpreg%29 mpreg tag on eames_arthur
Art
http:\/\/browse.deviantart.com\/?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=arthur+eames+mpreg#\/d31msig
http:\/\/plus4chan.org\/b\/coq\/src\/131607275082.jpg (nsfw mpreg not really visible, but is art for Up the Duff, which turns into an mpreg.)
http:\/\/plus4chan.org\/b\/coq\/src\/13236551405.png
http:\/\/eames-arthur.livejournal.com\/622093.html#cutid1
http:\/\/plaemon.tumblr.com\/tagged\/mpreg (nsfw)
-A Gun Shot For Her Lullabye http:\/\/ae-match.livejournal.com\/10050.html (nsfw)
Past meta
http:\/\/fanficrants.livejournal.com\/9406264.html?format=light - “annoying trends” in mpreg
http:\/\/alchemia.insanejournal.com\/44179.html?format=light - compilation of mpreg in mainstream media
http:\/\/epic-rants.livejournal.com\/73135.html - effects of pregnancy (mpreg) on the body
http:\/\/djinanna.livejournal.com\/205086.html - why people like mpreg
http:\/\/reddwarfer.livejournal.com\/596938.html - issues of abortion\/choice<\/a>
Submission #6:
By<\/a>eternalsojourn<\/b><\/a><\/span>
With the recent surge in mpreg in the fandom, and in attempting to write mpreg of my own, it has occurred to me that mpreg covers several different stages, and that the appeal or kink of each stage is quite different. While all stages often feature domesticity and the notion of parenthood\/family\/commitment, I think each stage showcases its own distinct appeal, or kink.
First is the impregnation<\/i> stage. Much of the mpreg I read early on was based on alpha\/omega and\/or werewolf concepts. For the one-off porn, this usually meant sex leading to impregnation, which in itself is the kink. Digging into this one for a fic I was writing, I found that the appeal (for me) was the characters’ awareness of what they were doing and so the kink centred on impregnation dirty talk. Stories such as Atom to Atom<\/a> (by anonymous) and Up the Duff<\/a> with accompanying art<\/a> (both fic and art by two separate anons) deal with this stage of mpreg, with incredibly hot results. My own foray into mpreg started with this stage: Scorch<\/a> features the moment of impregnation and a self-conscious awareness on the part of the characters that pregnancy was the possible result.
After writing impregnation kink fic, I still somehow felt like I hadn’t ‘done’ mpreg, since my fic didn’t feature a pregnant male body (apart from a brief coda that hinted at the road Arthur and Eames were about to embark upon). I think this kink is distinct from impregnation in that it addresses the actual pregnant male, and often focuses on the body as the source of the kink. Phrases like “belly worship” often come up in these stories, and more art is featured for this stage (hardly surprising since impregnation is rather difficult to depict in visual form).
A few examples of pregnant-belly art\/fic:
http:\/\/towel-master.livejournal.com\/19983.html
http:\/\/666kb.com\/i\/buq07or2klknhs0n2.jpg and http:\/\/666kb.com\/i\/buq0y5cvbcdsgwe2m.jpg (and fic: http:\/\/ae-match.livejournal.com\/10050.html)
http:\/\/666kb.com\/i\/by8votw541orlh1ug.jpg
As a way of exploring the appeal of the pregnant male belly and couching it in a domestic, comforting situation, I wrote Taking Care<\/a>. I enjoyed playing around with exploring Eames’s pregnant body, deliberately calling attention to his masculine features as compared with his fertile belly.
The third stage has quite a bit of overlap with kidfic. In my opinion, this stage begins to depart from mpreg as a kink in that it’s less relevant by this point whether the character has given birth or simply adopted. A noteable exception is the superb Stiff Drink<\/a> by ladderax, in which the mpreg kink is transmuted into a post-natal male lactation kink. However, I think the core appeal — that of nurturing, fertility and the incongruousness of these things with the male body — are shared with the other stages of mpreg.
And on a different note entirely, in a fandom in which canon supplies an easy solution for explaining any fantastic elements in its concept of Dreamshare, it’s perhaps a bit odd that much of the mpreg that appears in this fandom occurs in the ‘real world’. One noteable exception is foxxcub’s The Sweetest Thing<\/a>, which makes perfect use of dreamspace to produce both impregnation and full-term pregnancy in one compact, incredibly sexy fic.
By<\/a>daughtershade<\/b><\/a><\/span>
Mpreg is nothing new in fandom, but I find it interesting in the context of Inception fandom, especially considering the majority of stories featuring Arthur\/Eames. This pairing doesn’t immediately bring to mind the feelings one usually associates with mpreg fic. While it is a common fandom trope and you’ll often see one-off stories or kink meme responses in almost every fandom that includes it, there is a sense that mpreg (and the eventual kidfic it often leads to) lends itself more to a feeling of domesticity. That’s not to say that it isn’t really hot to read some babymaking sex for the sake of babymaking sex. That certainly exists and is quite enjoyable, but typically mpreg fics have an emotional element beyond just the sex. Sometimes it’s humorous, (“What have you gotten me into, Eames!”) sometimes it’s romantic, (“I love you and I want your babies, darling.”), and sometimes it’s about home (“This is our house, this is our child.”).
The problem can be that domesticity and Arthur\/Eames aren’t always a perfect fit. While there are plenty of domestic fics out there featuring the guys (some that are really well done, Joosetta’s Renovations!verse http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/series\/6969immediately comes to mind), it usually takes a lot of set up to get them there. The wonderful thing about Arthur and Eames both is that they are very independent self-sufficient characters. They can often be self-centered and bullheaded when it comes to getting their way. This always creates tension between the pair, and we all benefit from the excellent writing that our fandom has trying to untie the knots these two can cause. These guys live a life of constant travel and intrigue, danger and uncertainty; something not very conducive to pregnancy, babies, or child rearing.
And yet…
There is something wonderful about seeing two BAMFs who often have trouble communicating, especially when it comes to feelings, showing their love in the most instinctual, primal way possible. I like that a lot of mpreg fic in the fandom has either or both of them surprised at how much they want what happens. I think Eames is the sort of guy that loves kids, or at least knows how to deal with them. And while Arthur may seem a little too tightly wound for children, the fact that he wants Cobb to get home and helps him says what he thinks of that ultimate goal. I love fics where he’s Uncle Arthur and not just a coworker. So while on the surface neither one of them really seems like a quintessential “Dad”, there is something underneath. Certainly together they play to each other’s strengths and cover each other’s weaknesses. We see it in action fics all the time and it’s believable. The thing is being a parent, sharing that awesome responsibility with someone else requires the same ability to work together. While they may bitch, complain, and banter their way through it, I have no doubt that these two can do anything they set their mind to, even making babies.
<\/a>
Bonus submission! because I couldn't resist throwing in my two cents as to why there needs to be more pregnant!Eames.![](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/FlwD3.jpg\")
<\/a>
VOTING! <\/b>the question is always: which submission did you enjoy most! (REMEMBER, THE FATE OF A TEAM IS IN YOUR HANDS.)View Poll: Mpreg Meta<\/a><\/div>","comments":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/4248.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/3952.html","pubDate":"Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:04:21 GMT","title":"yay meta! the results of the campfire challenge!","author":"phenylic","link":"https:\/\/insearchtion.livejournal.com\/3952.html","description":"hello, hello! I want to try out the voting, so, if you'll please, read the following mpreg meta submissions and vote for your favorite. No voting for submissions by your own team!
Submission #1:
Pregnant Eames: The Unsung Hero<\/b>
Why isn't Eames pregnant more often? In the thirty-five mpreg fics collected, we have found only three with pregnant Eames: (<\/a>eternalsojourn<\/b><\/a><\/span>’s Taking Care<\/a>, <\/a>duckgirlie<\/b><\/a><\/span>’s Of All The Lies I’ve Ever Told<\/a>, and the anonymous work-in-progress where Eames has to run to Mombasa to have Arthur’s child<\/a>) and no art. (Two fics don’t feature the Arthur\/Eames pairing, but both had Arthur as the pregnant one.)
Bottom!Eames isn’t incredibly popular, possibly due to his size in relation to Arthur’s when the pairing is A\/E, which is the predominant pairing of the fandom. This may be why Arthur is the more commonly occurring option, among a variety of reasons, but we can envision a pregnant Eames just as easily with as many qualifications. Just imagine Eames with a beautiful pregnancy glow!
New fanart: Glowing Eames and happy father Arthur<\/a>
(Created by our team!)
Oftentimes it seems like Eames is written as the more “motherly” (in the Western tradition of characteristics of mothers as defined by society) in his relationships, since his characterization as a loving partner is regularly occurring. Take, for example, whiskyrunner’s Pavlov Bell verse<\/a>, wherein Arthur sees Eames as a natural father and is jealous of his ease with their children.
Here, in<\/a>red_rahl<\/b><\/a><\/span>’s Happy Holidays From Our Family To Yours, implied mpreg<\/a>, both fathers are portrayed as equally happy and loving. So why not transition this natural paternal inclination into pregnancy?
People seem to perceive Eames’ cheekiness as warmth, but the Eames of canon is very self-serving, just like everyone else in the film. There’s a big divide between canon and fandom characterizations--often for the better! Fleshing out the characters to give us all a deeper well to mine from. Ergo, pregnant Eames shouldn’t be so difficult to achieve!
Eames is often seen as a protector, even to those who may not necessarily need that protection. We think that projecting his protectiveness onto a baby instead of, or in addition to, his partner(s) wouldn’t be too big a leap. We’re just saying, give preggers!Eames a chance.
New fanart: Doesn’t have to be Arthur\/Eames, we just want more of this<\/a>
(Created by our team!)
REASONS WHY EAMES WOULD BE A GOOD CARRIER:<\/b>
-Sturdy frame.
-Protective, with superb defensive skills.
-High pain tolerance.
-Good percentage of body fat.
-Physically fit.
-Remains calm under pressure, therefore more liable to have good blood pressure.
-Ample chest for lactation.
-Excellent understanding of human psychology.
-Very creative and will come up with a million creative in utero ways to stimulate the baby's mind.
-High salary earner, useful for supporting a child.
-Will dress baby in latest, comfiest fashions.
HOW WOULD EAMES DEAL WITH BEING PREGNANT? (based on canon\/fanon)<\/b>
-Pragmatic about the pregnancy. He would weigh the danger in his life against his desire to have a child and then make a decision about it.
-Attentive and patient as a father.
-BAMF.
-Not a weakling; even if he felt weak, he wouldn't let it show.
-He would have the empathy to relate to any gender (or fluidity therein) his child chooses to be.
OTHER POINTS:<\/b>
-Because of his field, forgery, he has an understanding of femininity and femaleness.
-He has become someone comprised of both female and male qualities.
-Understands gender fluidity better than most.
-Could potentially impregnate himself in the form of his female forge à la Misfits.
BASICALLY, HE'D BE THE BEST DAD EVER :|<\/a>
Submission #2:
Mpreg poses some rather obvious challenges to the fanfiction reader\/writer. First is the ‘squick factor’; some writers\/readers are quite simply put off by the idea of mpreg. Not to say that they kink bash, it simply fails to float their boat. I am at a bit of a disadvantage in discussing this problem as I love mpreg and am therefore unqualified to discuss this particular aspect further, so I’ll move on to the second hurdle: The universal problem of believability. Clearly in the ‘real world’ men cannot become pregnant, they are biologically incompatible with carrying and delivering a baby. However let it never be said that reality has stopped fanfiction writers from doing anything they set their minds to.
There are many ways to handle believability, there’s the ‘it’s all a dream’ route, as seen in toomuchplor’s (http:\/\/toomuchplor.livejournal.com\/) “No Soul to Sell” (http:\/\/cherrybina.livejournal.com\/239684.html?thread=17451332#t17451332). This is probably the easiest and most realistic way of handling mpreg, especially in the Inception fandom where dreams are their own kind of reality.
Another is through Alternate Universes where men can naturally become pregnant. This is seen in the popular influx of Alpha\/Omega stories where one character is an omega male with the ability to have a child. Often in these stories the additional kinks of knotting and one or both characters going into heat is also explored, as seen in the_ragnarok_d’s (http:\/\/the-ragnarok-d.livejournal.com\/) “The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized” (http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/268993\/chapters\/423737). This story is different from many Alpha\/Omega fanfiction in that the entire populous is made up of people who fall into alpha, beta, and omega categories, not just the main characters having the child.
A subset of the Alpha\/Omega trend is found in werewolf fic, which again commonly use knotting and heat as plot points and kinks. Osaki_nana_707’s (http:\/\/osaki-nana-707.livejournal.com\/) fic “Atom to Atom” (http:\/\/eames-arthur.livejournal.com\/1370094.html) is an entirely AU world in which Arthur and Eames are both underage werewolves, who accidentally mate and conceive. However not all mpreg werewolf fic is AU, or at least not completely AU. Often the only change is in this one aspect: werewolves exist and omega male werewolves can become pregnant. Two fics which are werewolf-AU but otherwise canon compliant, are the eternalsojourn (http:\/\/eternalsojourn.livejournal.com\/) fic “Scorch” (http:\/\/eternalsojourn.livejournal.com\/11258.html) and the as-yet unfinished “Divide by Two” (http:\/\/cherrybina.livejournal.com\/243220.html?thread=18542356#t18542356) written by cthonical (http:\/\/cthonical.livejournal.com\/).
In “Of All the Lies I’ve Ever Told” (http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/17669.html?thread=38398213#t38398213) written by duckgirlie (http:\/\/duckgirlie.livejournal.com\/) there is no explanation for male pregnancy, it’s simply a fact of that universe. Some males possess the gene to get pregnant and no further scientific details are offered. Like some other fic mentioned this is AU only in that males can also bear children and mpreg is the main kink explored. Similarly the anonymously written yet familiarly named “Atom to Atom” (http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/20092.html?thread=48472700#t48472700) provides no supernatural reason for male pregnancy, although it does offer a slightly more scientific option of hormone therapy and various fertility treatments which allow two males to conceive. “Up the Duff” (http:\/\/inception-kink.livejournal.com\/19177.html?thread=45649641#t45649641) another anonymously written and as-yet unfinished story is an entirely AU crossover with “3rd Rock from the Sun” set in college where Arthur is an alien who gained breasts and other female attributes after an accident involving flying too close to a quasar. Another story, “Taking Care” (http:\/\/eternalsojourn.livejournal.com\/12075.html) also by eternalsojourn (http:\/\/eternalsojourn.livejournal.com\/) is somewhat unusual in that it doesn’t attempt to explain how a man can get pregnant, he simply is, the how and why mattering less than the emotional involvement between the characters.
At its emotional core that relationship between two men is the true unifying thread to all mpreg fic, they are less about werewolves and science then they are about two people coming together and creating a life. Sometimes a baby is the unexpected result of their union and sometimes creating a child is the goal. But in the end what truly matters is how these men come together, despite various factors both external and internal, tearing them apart, to become a family. The kink is in finding someone sexy because of the life growing inside of them, not in spite of it.
As a kink mpreg grants a certain freedom to writers and readers. It encourages exploration into what is often thought of as taboo: men bearing children, werewolf AUs often dabble in bestiality, the aforementioned knotting and the burning desire of going into heat, feminizing talk or feminization of a character, possessiveness and the idea that this child belongs to both men giving them a claim over the baby and each other, and countless other kinks which can be difficult to find. Mpreg often comes with a feeling of ‘anything goes’ and the comfort of knowing that not only are your kinks shared, they’re accepted and there is nothing wrong with you for enjoying them. In the end the importance of mpreg isn’t in how a male character can become pregnant, suspension of disbelief is what makes fanfiction possible after all, it’s in the celebration of life and the coming together of people.
Art Recs:
http:\/\/towel-master.livejournal.com\/19983.html
http:\/\/ae-match.livejournal.com\/10050.html
http:\/\/eames-arthur.livejournal.com\/622093.html<\/a>
Submission #3:WELCOME TO MPREG NATION!<\/h1>
<\/div>![\"mpreg](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/EOmBi.jpg\")
Overview<\/font><\/b>
“Mpreg” – which stands for male pregnancy – has been around in fandoms for a very long time. Most fans consider mpreg fanworks to be horrible; some even think it’s worse than Mary Sues or self-inserts. Why? Mostly because it’s really hard to make mpreg work well in fandoms that don’t have canonical male pregnancies (Torchwood<\/a>, Superman<\/a>) or any elements in canon that could be used to explain how a man could get pregnant, such as alien biology (Star Trek<\/a>) or magic (Harry Potter<\/a>). That means mpreg in these other fandoms is usually associated with humorous crack or even bad!fic.
Though mpreg is often linked with kidfic, they are two separate genres. The majority of mpreg stories focus on the pregnancy rather than the child, which suggests that the allure of mpreg may have more to do with pregnancy kink than with childrearing or parenthood. In fact, because of the unique fantasyscape associated with Inception<\/i> canon, Inception fans often tend to write phantom pregnancy, dream pregnancy, or fantasy conceptions--such as in the brand-new pregnancy kink fic featured in this post! This would suggest that mpreg as Inception fans write it tends to have more to do with the moment of conception, and with the power and roleplay dynamics involved therein--especially as associated with Arthur\/Eames--than with the physiological act of getting a man pregnant.<\/font>Mpreg in Literature (or, Aliens!!!!)<\/font><\/b><\/div>
Literature, especially science fiction, fantasy, comics, and hybrid genres, are rife with examples of mpreg. Fandom guru Henry Jenkins once observed<\/a> that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein<\/i> could be considered one of the first examples of literary mpreg. It's true! Many of the elements in literary mpreg are all there in the sad tale of Frankenstein's monster: the science-fiction setting, issues of masculinity and social conformity, the alien or freak somehow merging with a human form or identity, the element of fear of the unknown--even the linking of "birth" to horror and death. (More on that later!) In contrast to the way in which female pregnancy is often associated with the earth, with nature, and with a common thread of humanity, there's a fundamental connection between male pregnancy and alien identity or freakishness.
Think about it. What are the two most contemporary pop cultural images of the alien?<\/font>![](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/jejHt.jpg\")
That's right. Anal probing and chest bursting!
Or, to spell it out a little further, alien ass-fucking leads to alien impregnation, leads to alien labor. Or:![](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/WGyaJ.jpg\")
(Source)<\/a><\/font><\/center>
Using alien settings makes it easy to play around with and critique gender, sexuality, physiology, and cultural roles pertaining to pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood. Here are some examples of alien mpreg in pop culture:
- Star Trek: human male gets pregnant with alien babies by having sex with an alien woman
- Ursula LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness<\/i>, alien race features gender-fluid members who can take on male or female sexual organs in order to conceive and give birth. The most notable quote: "THE KING IS PREGNANT."
- Sims 2: male Sims get pregnant after alien abduction
- American Dad: alien impregnates boy via mouth-to-mouth; passes it on via kiss to his girlfriend
- Futurama: the alien Kif can be impregnated by a touch
- Farscape: the alien Rygel has human John and Aeryn’s baby
- Torchwood: In the pilot episode, Jack Harkness refers to having been pregnant once<\/a>
- Octavia Butler's novella "Bloodchild<\/a>", in which the male pregnancy experience is simulated via different means: humans are hosts for an alien race that plant their eggs inside humans, both male and female, which then hatch.
- Lonely Island's mpreg love ballad, "Incredibad"<\/a>
As you can see just from these examples, literature often plays with gender as fluid, and with the idea that pregnancy isn't necessarily limited to a) vaginal birth or b) the female of the species. Slash fandom takes these ideas even further by queering what is typically, in literature and the media, a heteronormative concept, and by bringing the mechanics of male impregnation back from the realm of the alien to familiar, human spaces and contexts.<\/font>![\"Optimus](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/LKRpc.jpg\")
Mpreg in other fandoms<\/font><\/b>
Mpreg in contemporary fandom has roots in early scifi media fandoms like Star Trek, and in Asian fandoms schooled in a wide range of Japanese doujinshi-based kinks and tropes, including mpreg. The mechanisms and functions of mpreg are as vast and varied in fandoms and between fandoms as the fandoms themselves. Some fandoms have canons that lend themselves easily to mpreg, like Thor, which has a character, Loki, who became impregnated while taking the form of a mare according to Norse mythology. Or Harry Potter, where anyone can get preggers at any time, because magic!
Two of the best examples of Harry Potter mpreg are "Genesis,"<\/a> which is a great "starter" mpreg fic because it features all the classic mpreg tropes in one place: accidental\/unexpected\/magical pregnancy between two characters who aren't prepared, and then fall in love while dealing with the full range of pregnancy issues from conception to morning sickness to labor to parenthood. The natural progression of this type of mpreg theme is an epic by Femmequixotic and Neoen, "The Silent World Within You"<\/a>. This fic enters into detail regarding the physics and magic of wizard pregnancy, and the social ramifications of Harry not only being pregnant, but pregnant to Draco in particular.
There’s one fandom in which male pregnancy is very common and even considered normal: Supernatural (SPN). There are mpreg-themed comms<\/a> and kink memes. Mpreg fic in the SPN fandom is commonplace, which is unusual enough for any fandom, but it’s also often an element of ‘Wincest’ fic (i.e. fic which features the incestuous Dean\/Sam pairing) and the fact that these two so regularly go hand-in-hand makes SPN fandom quite unusual for a mainstream fandom. The fics themselves run the full gamut, including mpreg as a purely sexual kink, fluff and angst fic that has more of an emphasis on the emotional aspects of mpreg, and variations\/combinations of those. The pregnancy itself is generally the result of a curse, although occasionally it comes about as a result of angelical interference (the angel Castiel, for instance, is another popular candidate for SPN mpreg).
It should also be mentioned here that one of the most well-known fanworks in SGA fandom,<\/a>astolat<\/b><\/a><\/span>'s "A Beautiful Lifetime Event<\/a>," is a test tube mpreg fic disguised as a kid!fic. Though the characters have their baby by accidental insemination and a test tube, the story actually plays with the idea of impregnation kink, and the baby very much has two daddies.<\/font>
Art Source: "20 WTF Pregnant Male Characters."<\/a>![\"arthurglow\"](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/nOce6.jpg\")
Mpreg FAQs<\/b><\/font>
“WRYYYY!!!!!” – is that guy even pregnant? How did it happen!?? How will he even have the baby!!?! AHHHH.<\/font>
Different fandoms use different explanations for their male pregnancies, depending on the possibilities given by canon. The two most common ones supported by canon are:
- magic: like impregnation spells and magic that emulates female reproductive organs
- aliens: impregnation through aliens or mpreg made possible by alien biology
Explanations commonly used in fandoms that don’t have references to thing making mpreg possible in canon is AU!fic, in which characters are put into an alternate universe where mpreg is possible and genderbent fic, where a male character is temporarily or permanently turned into a female so s\/he can get pregnant. Not everyone thinks that the latter counts as mpreg, though, as the pregnant person no longer has a male body.
Some mpreg fics also describe the actual birth of the baby. The modes of birth most commonly used are: anal birth, c-section, penis birth and vaginal birth (in genderbent fic).<\/font>
Is this even realistic or does the pregnant dude just go on living like normal?<\/font>
Of course, being pregnant isn’t something that just happens to everyone all the time. At least, it’s not like that in real life, but it may seem to be the case for certain characters in certain fandoms. In real life, pregnancy comes with a changes in your body, hormones going crazy and about a million of limitations and things that you shouldn’t do or should at least stop doing for a while. Most mpreg fic mentions at least some common signs of pregnancy, like morning sickness and positive pregnancy tests. These two are also used as a way to let the other characters in the story notice the pregnancy. The number one early sign of pregnancy is hardly ever mentioned though: missed periods. This is probably the case because men don’t menstruate to begin with. As the pregnancy goes on, other consequences of pregnancy are introduced, such as backaches - used to emphasize how big the character has become, food cravings - probably because it’s a very cliche symptom and changes in libido. Additionally, pregnant males (and females) should not smoke, drink or take any other drugs during their pregnancy. They should also refrain from lifting heavy things or in general avoid physical exertion and anything else that could possibly harm the child.
That characters in fanworks don’t always behave like they should can be seen in this extremely NWS but gorgeous fanart<\/a> by<\/a>platina<\/b><\/a><\/span>.<\/font>
“Are you my mummy?” – what about gender roles?<\/font>
Mpreg can impose a sort of heteronormativity on the m\/m relationship, in the way writers often ascribe ‘mother’ and ‘father’ roles to the parents. A large number of fics show the man who carried the baby taking on the nurturing ‘mother’ role while the other partner assumes the role of proud, protective father.
Mpreg can be used to highlight gender inequality, and there can also be an element of ‘let’s see how they like it’, as many writers seem to take a certain amount of glee in making their pregnant male characters suffer. This is dealt with explicitly in an episode of the BBC comedy show Red Dwarf (episode six, series two ‘Parallel Universe’), during which the characters are transported to an alternate universe which exactly mirrors our own except that it is the males who experience pregnancy. The result of this is a strongly matriarchal society, illustrated by the way the main characters’ female counterparts treat them. Rimmer’s female double keeps smacking him on the bottom and calling him condescending pet names, while after he has sex with her, Lister’s double tells him that he it was his responsibility to take precautions and that it’s not her fault if he ends up pregnant. Rimmer then follows with a gleeful description of the agonies of childbirth. While the whole thing is presented as a straightforward role-reversal comedy, it does serve to show how instrinsic the act of carrying children is to the status of women in Western society.<\/font>
But isn't it misogynistic to take a woman out of the equation when it's something as hugely feminine as PREGNANCY?<\/font>
Not when you consider that historically and culturally, childbirth has always been considered to be shameful, because<\/i> it is something that primarily is associated with women. Diane Dworkin has a whole chapter in her seminal book Intercourse<\/i> called “Dirt\/Death” that discusses the origins of our modern conception of the womb<\/a>! She points out that as far back as the Book of Job, men were considered “dirty” because they came from a woman’s womb, and that the word “uterus” is connected to the Latin for “grave.” So quite literally there is an entire sociocultural\/historical association of female bodies and childbirth with dirt and death.
So if “a woman’s body incarnates shame,” and the act of pregnancy, even socially today, is considered to be the act of life rising from a body that is basically dirty\/filthy\/useless except as it houses new life<\/i>, then mpreg as a genre, primarily written and consumed by women, is basically re-empowering the act of pregnancy by placing it inside the vessel that is socially sanctioned rather than socially abjured--the male body, rather than the female one. Doing this actually forces the male character to undergo the same set of physiological circumstances that lead to women's bodies being disenfranchised and seen as less valued. So it can be seen is an equalizing act, as well as an ironic one.
Consider what happens when you allow male genitalia, which is socially “cleaner” and a source of pride for men, to become directly connected to the womb (however physiologically you choose to do it). Some stories have men growing wombs *and* vaginas, others have the infamous “ass babies,” some have wombs + c-section, and yes, even “penis birth.” All of these different mechanisms say different things about the ways we view and react to pregnancy\/childbirth? Or is it all just about kink? (And if it is about kink, what’s hot about it? :D)
Not only does mpreg eroticize what has socially been seen as dirty or shameful about female sexuality and pregnancy itself, but it actually highlights the disparity between genders, and allows for a reclaiming and a critique of what makes female physiognomy "dirty" to begin with--namely, the shaming of childbirth and the dirtying of female genitalia as a way of maintaining power structures over women. We can also draw links from the “magical” or “test tube” forms of conception and\/or “vanishing” pregnancy (the kind that we can have in the Inception dreamscape) to “virgin birth” or to a desire to “purify” the experience of pregnancy--possibly as an exercise of internalized shame on the part of female writers, but more likely as a way of distancing male pregnancy from connotations of dirtiness, recontextualizing it and allowing the females who are writing about it to explore it without negative societal influences. <\/font>
I read my slash for the porn, but I’d like to try mpreg. Can I expect sex to happen?<\/font>
Some people are extra horny during their pregnancies, some are not – it depends on the person. Though, as it is a subgenre of slash, it is likely that the affected character will “suffer” from that libido boost so that sex scenes can be included. This is especially the case in fanworks that consider mpreg not as a plot device, but rather as a kink.<\/font>
Tell me more about this mpreg kink.<\/font>
As well as a chance to subvert traditional gender roles, there are a variety of reasons why people seem drawn to reading and writing mpreg stories. Often mpreg places a strong emphasis on the emotional aspects of pregnancy, and indeed there are mpreg stories which bypass the sexual side of things and concentrate solely on themes of domesticity, love, completion, the creation of new life, and the flip side of that, the angst that is attendant upon unplanned\/unwanted pregnancies or upon difficult\/complicated pregnancies. There can be an element of wish-fulfillment, too, in the enjoyment of mpreg stories, with people reading or writing mpreg while dealing with their own fertility issues.
Mpreg as a purely sexual kink is another huge motivator, with the fic’s emphasis on the sexualisation of the pregnant male’s belly (which seems to be often tied with belly kink in general, along with others like feederism, gluttony, weight gain\/chubby kink) and the power\/potency of the man who impregnated him. Inception mpreg fic in particular tends to emphasize the act or the idea of impregnation itself, almost as a separate kink. The Sweetest Thing, several alpha\/omega knotting fics, and Up The Duff all feature this, as well as does the following exclusive-to-Insearchtion fic, written by an Anonymous Team Friend:<\/b><\/font>"This is Not Mpreg"<\/font><\/b><\/center> - "Come on, god, why are you worried about foreplay right now?" Arthur says, tugging at Eames' hair where he's planting kisses down Arthur's belly with obvious intent.
Eames blinks at him, moving back up. "Tell me you're not objecting to having your cock sucked."
"That can wait," Arthur winds his legs round Eames' hips, "It's been two weeks," he says, grabbing the lube and pressing it pointedly into Eames' hand, and Eames catches on.
"It's good to see our time apart didn't change you," Eames grins, spilling lube over the sheets as he slicks his fingers, "It must have been dreadful, all empty without my cock to fill you up."
"Fuck," Arthur says, his cheeks lighting the moment Eames' fingers press inside him. "Oh god, fuck, I missed you."
"Should I be analyzing the fact that you never, ever tell me that until some part of me is in your arse?" Eames slides in a third finger, because Arthur is opening for him already, desperate for it.
"Missed your face, too, if that helps," Arthur breathes, clenching rhythmically in what Eames used to think was a practiced move but now knows is just unconscious greediness.
"Is that your way of asking me to eat you out?"
"Shut up, oh my god, just fuck me, I'm ready."
Arthur is as hot inside as ever, searing Eames' senses as he presses in, coaxed on by Arthur's legs locked around him, the whines breathed out against his ear.
Arthur's shivering by the time Eames' hips are flush against him, lips parted on a moan, his brows furrowed as if in concentration. "Come on, come on," he urges, shifting, "Fuck me."
Eames starts to move, setting a satisfying pace; he doesn't have the heart nor the resolve to tease Arthur tonight, not when he's begging like this, squirming and whimpering and, fuck, two weeks really is too long.
"Feels -- you feel so good," Arthur stutters out, and Eames thrills at the words. It's not every night that Arthur allows himself to babble, but he does it so beautifully when he lets go.
"Yeah?" Eames says, planting himself on his elbows so he can lean close, "That's better than your fingers, isn't it?"
"You're never allowed to leave again," Arthur declares, shaky, "Can't -- ah, there, fuck -- you can't leave me like that again."
"It is a sad thing, a cockslut without his favourite cock," Eames agrees, grinding into Arthur at the angle that makes him jolt. "Do you want it hard tonight? Tell me what you want, Arthur."
"Fuck me," Arthur says, and that won't really do, but Eames lets it go while he watches the shocks course through Arthur's body, watches him ride the motions and push back for more until he's starting to sob.
"What do you want, gorgeous?"
"You -- just, just put it in me."
Eames huffs, leaning in and biting at the long, exposed line of his throat as Arthur throws his head back. "I think you'll find I already have."
Arthur shakes his head, his fingers tightening painfully on Eames' shoulders. "Just -- fuck, Eames, fuck -- knock me up."
Eames feels his rhythm falter, and he stares down at Arthur, but Arthur isn't watching him; he's writhing about, eyes shut, as if he hasn't just said something absolutely earth-shattering.
"Arthur--"
"Don't stop, don't stop, I want you to come, fill me up, put a baby in me--"
"Jesus christ," Eames gasps as his hips snap, brutal, completely out of his control. "Arthur."
"It'd feel so good," Arthur moans, "It'd be yours, your baby, inside me, fuck."
"Yeah," Eames says, finally able to pick up the thread, "I'll fill you up, sweetheart, you want me to knock you up?"
"Please, please," Arthur's hand slides down, but he doesn't touch himself, just splays his fingers over his belly, and fuck if that isn't the hottest thing Eames has seen in recent memory.
"You'd swell up so big, wouldn't you," he groans, and he can see it so vividly in his head, basic laws of science be damned. "Everyone would see, they'd all know."
"Yes," Arthur says, "That's -- yes, oh, fuck, oh--" his body coils tight as a spring, and Eames feels the wet on his stomach, Arthur gasping like even he didn't expect to come so soon.
Eames can't speak then, his voice strangled by the pleasure and Arthur's moans and the parade of images in his mind. It just takes one more plea, "Fill me up, Eames, please," to have him falling, hooking his arms under Arthur's legs to hold him open while he presses in deep, spilling inside him with a groan.
Eames doesn't know how long he lies there, still inside Arthur, struggling for breath and sanity, but his first fully-formed thought is, Was that real?
"Where's my totem?" he asks Arthur's shoulder.
"We're awake," Arthur says.
"We can't be," Eames insists, dragging himself up onto his elbows, "That was too perfect for reality."
Arthur rolls his eyes, just a bit, but the dimples betray him every time.
"Honestly, darling," Eames goes on, kissing his cheek, "I had no idea you were... into that."
"I didn't either," Arthur shrugs, wrinkling his nose, "Pregnancy sounds fucking terrifying."
"Doesn't it," Eames murmurs, letting his head drop back to Arthur's shoulder.
"I don't know," Arthur says softly, "I just like the thought of... of being claimed like that. You claiming me."
Eames presses his lips to Arthur's throat. "It's a great thought."
"Don't pull out yet," Arthur says, his voice lowered to a whisper, breathed into Eames' hair.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Eames says. He doesn't.
- written by Anonymous; scavenged by Team #???<\/ul>![\"my_darling_by_vergoftowels\"](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/x1p9a.jpg\")
Mpreg in Inception Fandom!<\/font><\/b>
The Inception canon seems to lend itself to mpreg fic in two main ways. Firstly, the availability of the malleable dreamscape gives writers a broad scope for the inclusion of ‘fantasy’ elements because, as is demonstrated by several characters in canon, the world of the lucid dream can be moulded by the people sharing the dream, as in<\/a>foxxcub<\/b><\/a><\/span>'s "The Sweetest Thing."<\/a>
In this fic, Eames inadvertently gets turned on during sex by the idea of getting Arthur pregnant, so Arthur plans a way to "conceive" during a dream. Real physics aren't a concern, because Arthur's pregnancy happens in super-speed. Giving birth isn't an issue, as the dream ends before the child can be born. Health issues? No problem, so Arthur and Eames have sex multiple times, as A’s pregnancy causes extreme horniness. The physical kink of pregnancy is evident, in the description of Arthur's “full, round stomach," and the tactile pleasure Eames gets out of touching him. The phantom baby "kicks," and A undergoes all the physical symptoms of pregnancy, including morning sickness, food cravings, and horniness. But since it's all a dream, the two of them wake with no consequences, or nothing more serious than wistfulness. So there's the possibility of flirting with all the kink, novelty, and intimacy of pregnancy, without any of the more lasting consequences. Like, er, kids.
Secondly, the Inception canon is a work of science fiction, set at some indeterminate point in the future (as evidenced by the use of PASIV technology), and therefore fanfictional mpreg can be explained by such plot devices as advancements in medical technology, and\/or the involvement of aliens, as in<\/a>akayalovesyaoi<\/b><\/a><\/span>'s untitled Robert\/Saito.<\/a> Quotes Robert: "Men do not randomly get pregnant from anal sex! It’s either I got abducted by aliens and they imprinted on me or all of this is just another dream.” In this case, as it turns out, Robert is<\/i> an alien. This is something of a theme in "Up The Duff," as well, which is a 3rd Rock crossover in which Arthur is an alien. So far the fic has been more concerned with the genderbending aspects of Arthur’s alien physiology than it has been with his actual pregnancy, which has only just been discovered, but the de-normalization of the character is already in full effect.
The "my boyfriend is an alien" trope allows writers to explore the idea of non-normative relationships and "freaks." Apart from the obvious level that making men pregnant subverts beauty stereotypes, making one character an alien allows us to play around with the idea of non-normativity and alien cultures without straying too far from what we know. The alien\/freak theme also stays in hand with the idea of subverting gender and sexuality by queering characters. When the universe itself allows for queering characters, men being gay is no big deal. Men being pregnant, however, is a different story. So you have all kinds of yummy conflict to play with.
Inception canon lends itself quite easily to genderbending and genderqueering. Not only does the dreamverse allow for phantom pregnancy, but it allows for fluid genderswapping and roleplaying. The anything-goes nature of dreamshare lends itself to equally anything-goes AUs. For example, this prompt on the i_k kink meme<\/a> allows for Ariadne getting Robert pregnant; and in<\/a>persephone_il<\/b><\/a><\/span>'s "The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized"<\/a>, Mal is the one who impregnates Cobb.
There are also instances in which male pregnancy is subverted by genderqueering a male character first<\/i>, and then allowing the female incarnation to become pregnant. One of the best examples of this is<\/a>cicer<\/b><\/a><\/span>'s "A Long Slow Collision"<\/a>, in which Eames accidentally knocks Arthur up, and she goes through all of the typical worries and fears about whether or not to keep the baby, and tell Eames. You can easily see that by allowing a character we typically associate with masculine-gendered behavior and roles to experience all of the typically female-gendered emotions of pregnancy, Cicer still plays around with male pregnancy as a genre, and with its function as a subversion of the dominant heteronormative paradigm.
In addition to the ways in which the canon makes several explanations for mpreg possible, there is also a growing genre of fic in which the characters are mythical creatures (most commonly werewolves, although werecats and catboys figure in this as well), and this is used to explain how a male character has managed to fall pregnant--see, for example,<\/a>whiskyrunner<\/b><\/a><\/span>'s Pavlov's Bell<\/a> verse. This trope expands the physiological\/freak identity conflict found in the alien trope often by making BOTH characters human-hybrids, allowing for a greater range of identity exploration and social ramifications. It also taps into the same sort of mythological and folkloric ideas found in Thor and Harry Potter fandoms, with characters simultaneously maintaining human and animal characteristics, and sometimes shifting between magical and human cultures.<\/font>CONCLUSION!<\/b><\/font>
So, in conclusion: As we have demonstrated, mpreg is most prevalent in fandoms where the canons can provide a believable premise for male pregnancy, either through the use of magic (as is the case for the Harry Potter and Supernatural fandoms), or science fictional elements such as advanced medical technology or alien contact (in fandoms such as Torchwood, SGA, and Star Trek). Because Inception has the capacity to combine both these elements - the science fictional in the 'real world' and the fantastical in the dreamscape, it provides a suitably fertile canon for production of mpreg fanworks.
Also, because Tom Hardy. <\/font>
RECS<\/font>
- Tell us about Arthur’s tie collection.<\/a><\/li>
- 10 recs for “spy”.<\/a><\/li>
- The votes will be screened. Manually, because the mods haven't figured out how to get LJ to automatically screen replies to comments. :( I guess if you really don't want your vote to be seen, we can arrange for a mod to be present when you're placing your votes?<\/li><\/ul>
- Voting is open for a week! So you have until