Learning so much more about Annabel's background in this chapter, I'm starting to see a lot of similarity between Donnica and her. As such, it's starting to make sense to me why Annabel looks up to Donnica so much, as well as how they could both fall in love with the same man, despite that man being a part of the very class of people they view themselves as superior to.

I've been thinking that Donnica was beaten down by life before rising to prominence for some time now. We learned a little more about that here as well, with her admitting to Trevor that her parents were harsh and spent so much time working for a better life that she felt unseen as a child. We obviously know things didn't work out between Amber's father and her, and, given Amber's abuse at their hands, Donnica's past lovers were anything but good people (they even made her self-conscious about the smell of her feet). Then there's the fact that, thanks again to Amber, we know that Donnica and she were poor as she was growing up, with Donnica repeating her parents' mistakes in order to lift the out of that hell.

With Annabel, her path was different but similar enough. She was just a nerd, not pretty or someone who stood out, at least for anything good. But she was a target. Her peers loved to bully her. And they went out of their way to do so, too. I mean, creating a fake profile on a message board and pretending to like a book series just to get Annabel to poor her heart out about it, only to spread those private thoughts around to embarrass her is a lot of effort to ruin someone's life. She was on the bottom of the social hierarchy, and everyone above her was kicking her while she was down, even though she wasn't even trying to stand out. She kept everything to herself to try to prevent being bullied and that shit didn't work. She was beaten up by life before she even reached her twenties.

But, like Donnica, she climbed her way out of that low point. Once her body matured (I'm assuming that was the big change for her) and she became beautiful, she used that beauty. She, too became what she hated, using the power her looks and cold heart gave her to get what she wanted out of people and cast them aside. She was as vindictive with them as her bullies had been with her.

So, in both of these cases, we have women who were nearly destroyed by the cruelties of life, barely hanging on by a thread. But both of them fought their way back, and they earned the right to rise above those who kept them down for so long. And there's a simple message in the background of both of these stories, unspoken but present in every part of their attitudes throughout the story up until now:

Never again.

I've come to believe that it was the fact that society tried to cast these two aside, to make them feel like they weren't good enough, that's at the core of their feelings of superiority and even hatred toward tinies. Their experiences in life forged them to despise weakness, and, let's face it, you can't get much weaker than being an inch tall.

So now that they're the ones in positions of power, Annabel and Donnica refuse to go back, and that refusal has made them into the very monsters that tortured and shaped them. They see in tinies the weakness that they purged from themselves, and they hate it! And now, it's their turn. They're the ones in charge now. They're the ones that get to be on the other end of things for once. They're the ones that are really slaves here, slaves to their own history and the echoes of their abuse and mistreatment.

But Trevor is different. He's tiny, but he's a fighter. Like them. He lost everything when he shrank, but it's never stopped him (at least as far as they can tell). Yeah, there are persona reasons why they love him, too. We've talked at length about Donnica's reasons by this point, and I'll get more into Annabel's in a bit, but I think there's more to it than that. Annabel finally saw Trevor for who he truly was at the end of this chapter. It wasn't just him defending her that won her over, but it was the fact that he fought so fiercely, so confidently, and so calmly against what should have been a fight he couldn't win. He stood across from five heartless giantesses who think of him as less than nothing, but he was the one who put them in their place, who left them speechless and unable to defend their points.

Trevor fights for everything, just like Donnica and Annabel have, and I think they see a kindred spirit in him. That, as much as anything else, is what draws them to him.

But man, Annabel took a huge step toward maybe moving beyond being trapped by her own past suffering near the beginning of this chapter. I mentioned before about how you don't really become who you're going to be until your mid-twenties, and she had one of those huge realizations that comes at that age here.

But first, I love that life lesson that Trevor bestowed upon her. The way he described empathy and why it's so important was so poignant and profound. He's exactly right that empathy isn't just about feeling sorry for other people, especially those who have hurt you. It's about understanding them and thus understanding why these kinds of things happen. It's something for you, not just for them. That understanding is healing; it allows you to start to let go of all the spite and hate in your heart and move on. I can't begin to say how much this resonated with me personally and how happy I was to see this conveyed in any form of fictional writing, let alone a story on an amateur porn story site. It was incredible to see, and I want to thank you for including it. That's how moved I was by this.

But to see it actually hit Annabel, to see her finally understand what Trevor meant, to feel it, was so rewarding. I was so happy for her in that moment. It was truly special. And the way it was written, that whole passage about how everyone is caught up in this vicious cycle, how the people that hurt her were likely hurt just as badly themselves before, was so beautifully done. I really felt like Annabel grew up a little bit here, and we saw that in how she started to treat Trevor differently afterward. This didn't instantly make her a good person, and it may never make her that, but I have more hope for her now than I did before. And either way, Annabel is so much better off than she was before, and regardless of how I feel about her as a character, that makes me smile.

As for Annabel falling in love with Trevor, I know I said before that Annabel was pretty wide open as a character, but damn! I didn't see that one coming! If you had told me this was the plan after the end of the last chapter, I would have told you that the twist makes no sense! But you made it make sense here, starting with that revelation about the reality of life that I mentioned above. And, from the point that she offered to let him into her systems (phrasing!) onward, it became pretty clear how she was feeling about her former hated enemy.

You know, oftentimes telegraphing a twist is a bad thing. It ruins the shock value and makes it unsurprising to the reader. This was not one of those times, however. I feel like that scene in her workshop, with her smiling as she started thinking about Trevor and appreciating how much better her life had gotten since she started cooperating with him, was actually vital to the chapter. And her staring at her phone, hoping to see that blue notification light flashing, was the icing on the cake. Not only was this a sweet callback to the previous chapter, but her energy was so different here compared to then.

The light was a source of stress for Annabel then. Why wasn't George messaging her? Did she respond too fast? She's the one who's supposed to play these games, not him, right?

But none of that was present when she was hoping Trevor would text her. She just wanted to hear from him. And when she saw that light flash, her joy was contagious! She gave her response some thought, sure, but when she added that "How are you doing tonight," there was no power play there or even the thought of one. She was giddy that she had gone through with it, and instead of worrying that she was responding too quickly, she hurried to hit send before she could talk herself out of it. This was so different from her texting with George, despite the fact that, even if she didn't realize it yet, it was just as much of a relationship thing as it was George.

And it was so cute how seriously she took that simple text! I loved it!

But the way all of these good vibes played off of her breaking job going on at the same time is just brilliant! It's a reminder that, despite all these good feelings, this is still Annabel we're talking about. That she killed a tiny here, that she basically planned it from the start, is particularly devious. But again, she's a "true believer." She really thinks tinies are beneath normal-sized people. We even saw that when she was pissed at Trevor for getting on her gently about being two minutes late. So it makes sense to me that she's evolving as a person but is still doing these terrible things right now. And hell, she actually showed mercy to that other tiny who didn't bow to her, so maybe she's loosening up a bit?

Back to that being late thing, though. Holy fuck was Annabel thinking about how she crushed a tiny with that same hand not so long beforehand as she carried Trevor to that meeting hot. And the thought that she would never hurt him, contrasting dramatically from her thinking that she could easily do Donnica "a favor" and just kill him at the beginning of the chapter, was so great! It captured what's going on with her perfectly right now! And she still thought of him as less than a person in that moment, despite clearly caring for him deeply at the same time. I fucking love it!

The meeting itself was such a gratifying scene, too! To see that "horrifying" secret of Annabel's that we had just been made privy to in the opening segment expose, and to Helena and her crew of all people, had me feeling so bad for her. When they started making fun of her, I found myself wanting to defend her, despite all the evil shit she's done/is doing. But I didn't have to. Trevor took care of it, and I loved his defense of Annabel so much!

I hate when people just decide when something that someone else likes is stupid or childish. Who the fuck are they to tell that person what to like?! It pisses me off, honestly. But Trevor shut those bitches up real quick, and it made me so happy! He doesn't even like the series, yet he explained why it had merit! But beyond that, him pointing out that Annabel reading anything is better their own efforts (or lack thereof) to get into literature was so. Fucking. Perfect! That line about him betting that they haven't picked up a book since college was exactly the kind of point I wanted to make! And their silence at that wonderful insult shows that it hit a little too close to home!

I can see why this was the moment Annabel realized her feelings and fell in love with him!

And now, I have no idea where you're going with Annabel with this new angle! Again, you could go in so many different directions here! I love how unpredictable this is!

I think the natural assumption is that Annabel will end up trying to "break" Trevor and make him love her back. You could prove me wrong over the next chapter or two, but I don't see it. I think if she viewed Trevor as just another tiny whom she could break, then he wouldn't be worth loving, let alone pursuing!

I could also see this situation with Teagan shaking out in a number of ways. Will Annabel successfully break her and reinforce her view on tinies? Or will Teagan resist, almost forcing Annabel to reexamine her thoughts on tinies? Or will that resistance not change her views on tinies in general, but make her look at Teagan in a different light? Or will she just get pissed and kill Teagan, and she's been a red herring all along?

Then there's Annabel's worship of Donnica, which can only be strengthened at this point, right? I mean, the one thing Annabel saw that was "wrong" with Donnica was her relationship with Trevor, and now that's not something Annabel sees as fault, as she wants the same thing now (and was even starting to feel this way before she realized she loved him). I have a hard time seeing Annabel doing something to fuck over Donnica, no matter how much she loves Trevor.

But, then again, love makes you do stupid shit! So Annabel is really capable of anything right now, isn't she?

Not to mention that you've quietly set up Helena as a potentially major villain! That could play into this whole Trevor/Annabel thing in a number of ways. I'm very curious to see where you go with Helena, too! I have a feeling that, between this Annabel stuff and Helena rising up in the firm, Trevor's advice to Donnica to spend more time at home, while well-intentioned, is going to make things a lot more ... complicated for everyone involved, as well as for Amber and Rebecca!

Speaking of those two, I'm kind of worried about them now! This chapter showed that there are some serious issues with both of them bubbling just beneath the surface, and I don't think playing this master-slave game is going to get them through all of it!

Did I say master-slave game? Why yes, yes I did!

You see, at first glance, that scene looks like a master punishing her slave for forgetting her place. But that's not what's really happening there, I think. This is just the sexual dynamic that both Amber and Rebecca love, and they used it here to try and play out their emotions coming off of the fight. With them giving into that "primal" understanding of things and Amber taking full control, she can feel better in the moment making Rebecca "pay" for lashing out at her like that, and Rebecca can, in turn, suffer the way that she wants to for hurting Amber.

But this whole notion of Rebecca being a real slave and Amber needing to remind her of her place is just an act. We've seen Rebecca take control of the conversation with Amber several times since they've been together, and Amber, at most, has tried to defend herself in those arguments. Amber tip toes into rooms and keeps her voice down so as to not disturb her "slave." Amber wants Rebecca to feel loved and cherished. None of this is master-slave behavior.

Now, let's look at how this whole thing came to be. Rebecca got carried away trashing Amber's book (I hated it here, too; sorry Rebecca!), and Amber instinctively resorted to physical force. Rebecca, in turn, went right back to accusing Amber of hurting her, digging deep to hit a spot she knows is a sore one for her giant girlfriend (this was made clear last chapter in the food court).

So what happens next?

Amber, the great and powerful master, walks away and starts to cry at her desk. Rebecca begs for her to come back, which she eventually does. Amber tells Rebecca that the tiny is "scary" when she gets mean (which is accurate), and Rebecca, despite not really believing that she can be scary to Amber, realizes that she has a problem, one she's all too familiar with, and apologizes profusely. It wasn't until Rebecca asked if there was anything she could do to make it up to Amber that things shifted, and they resorted to sexual games to clear the air between them.

And what a sexual game it was! I loved every second of it! Amber forcing Rebecca to wait before the tiny sub could pleasure her was fantastic! And Amber, in her anger over how Rebecca made her feel, denied Rebecca release, which was so fucking hot!

But yeah, this only happened when Rebecca asked for a way to make things up to Amber. This whole thing was voluntary. Rebecca listened to Amber because she wanted Amber to feel better. And Amber did this to Rebecca only after Rebecca gave her "permission" with that question. I've said this before (and I believe you agreed with me), but Amber won't do anything to Rebecca that Rebecca herself doesn't want to do. And honestly, what would Amber have done if Rebecca had said fuck it and started fingering herself in the middle of all this. Nothing, that's what. At worst, Amber would have broken the mood and been pissed/sad that Rebecca didn't listen to her. There would have been no punishment, of that I have no doubt.

So why does the fact that they resorted to this game make me worried about them as a couple? Because it did nothing to actually resolve any of their issues.

Amber resorting to physical dominance when pushed too far, especially given the history between Rebecca and her, is probably a lingering sign of her own abuse. It's natural for her to lash out physically because that's what those assholes always did to her as a kid.

Rebecca's anger issues and biting comments are clearly a result of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather. I mean, that has more or less already been said outright before, back when she talked about getting into fights all the time and taking shit too far. Amber is surely far from the first person to find Rebecca "scary" (and, randomly, this makes me appreciate Trevor even more for sticking with Rebecca through everything; I have a feeling she didn't always make it easy for him!).

During sex, Amber's fear about Rebecca leaving her came out again:

 “I’ve got big stinky feet and a sexy pussy, and you’re my bad, bad little girl. You’re my doll, and I get to do whatever I want to you. You belong to me and you can never get away from me and you're all mine!”

This is clearly still bothering Amber. She still thinks Rebecca is going to leave her because of the way she treated her tiny girlfriend early on. Just hugging it out in a dress shop without talking about it did nothing to address the problem, and neither did this!

And Rebecca going back to that well, telling Amber that hurting her is the one thing that never really changed about her, is makes it incredibly obvious that a part of her isn't over that abuse at the start of their "relationship" either. She loves Amber and isn't afraid of her anymore, but the scars of that treatment are still buried in her, and they come out when she gets angry enough.

So yeah, pretending to be master and slave did nothing to address any of that, which means all of it is still bothering them, holding back their relationship. At the heart of the matter is that these are two broken women trying to deal with their abusive pasts and the abuse they suffered at the hands of each other (I'm counting Rebecca's verbal abuse because she was fucking harsh at times, even if she didn't realize how deep the sting of her words was). And neither of them knows how to get to the root of their issues. Yeah, Rebecca can lend an ear to Amber when she needs to talk about her abuse (even when she doesn't think she can), but Rebecca has pretty much given up on trying to heal herself, which is a huge fucking mistake!

I really don't know if these two can navigate these emotional waters alone. If only there was someone that could help them out. Someone who has some experience talking to a victim of abuse. Someone who it seems as though he can do damn near anything these days. Someone who can thrive in a world of giants despite being tiny. Someone who ...

Okay, fine! I'm talking about Trevor, okay! There, I said it! Thanks for ruining my fun!

But yeah, I feel like he's their best hope at this point (unless Donnica being home more turns out *a lot* better than I think it's going to).

Speaking of which, I loved the dinner scene so much! Amber was actually being cool around Trevor, which was fucking awesome! We're not quite at friends level yet or even approaching, dare I say, father-figure levels, but it was nice to see Amber smiling at Trevor and for her jab at him to be lighthearted for once. It warmed my heart and gave me hope for the future with these two.

Obviously, I agreed with Amber when she called Donnica a hypocrite. I think we've all known that about Donnica for some time now! Donnica being so dismissive about Amber's question that she didn't even realize her daughter was getting upset at first was so sad. They were getting along so well! I loved reading that Amber was excitedly telling her mom about soccer! Given how that call went way back during the chapter at the soccer field, this was so refreshing and satisfying!

But Donnica not taking Amber seriously and it taking Amber's emotions to boil over before she realized there was a problem was fucking heartbreaking! And I get that Donnica's view of the world makes her not even consider that her daughter would want to date a tiny, but she was dismissive of Amber not wanting to get married to a guy, too! Amber already told Rebecca that she wasn't looking for that in her life right now and might never, but Donnica has a vision in her head of what a happy life would be for Amber, and she can't imagine Amber not wanting that.

Sadly, Donnica is right that she's become her parents, at least somewhat so. Donnica really cares about Amber and wants what's best for her, but she doesn't really know her daughter at all. I love that she realizes this and wants to fix it. Better late than never, right?

But, as I said earlier in this review, trying to do that is probably going to bring up a lot of issues for her, both at the office and at home.

I wonder if Amber went with tiny boy instead of tiny girl because she thought telling her mom that she both in love with a tiny and a lesbian was too much to throw at her at once. Or does Amber think that Donnica will judge her for being gay? Or did she just think the conversation would flow better if she went with a boy instead of a girl? Now I'm even more curious how Donnica will react if she finds out about their relationship (assuming she finds out about the relationship before she just finds Rebecca)!

I'm really hoping that those harsh comments from Amber about Donnica and Trevor's relationship were just her being angry at the situation or trying to get at her mom. But, knowing you, I could see you taking this new Trevor-Amber dynamic away from me right after you teased me with it, ya jerk!

Great fucking chapter overall! There was so much here, as is the case with most of your chapters! That doesn't go unappreciated! And you've got me scrambling to try to figure out where you're going to go next, which is so fun!

One more thing about Tegan and "Expendable". If you are in war together, sharing a trench, sharing rations, covering each other backs, and then your friend gets shot. It might break you, but more likely it'll piss you off even more and want to get revenge. I am pretty sure you are not going to write Tegan this way, but my reaction would be pissed off and wanting revenge.

Go Tegan Rage!!!

In the last chapter, I was going to lay into Annabel. She was evil pure and simple. Her idea of breaking men to make people lose their will completely. To kill them just to make a point and to break others. Her complete cold disregard for tiny people was deplorable.

In fact, she still is completely this way as was demonstrated in this chapter. The way she slams her hand down to crush people. It's disgusting and the fear she invokes in tiny people for the reasons she chooses is simply awful. She doesn't just make people into slaves, she removes their free will. It's a terrible thing to do to people. To make them so irrevocably scared that they can only do the actions that she trains them to do.

In the last chapter, she needs to cause Trevor as much grief as possible. To prevent him from installing the software that would even help her as he pointed out, but no, she won't even listen to him because he is tiny.

So in this chapter, you tease that she might be becoming human. She has this moment of clarity as empathy leads her to discover the cycle of torment and abuse, but then later on SHE DOES NOTHING ABOUT IT. She is still breaking tiny men, happily. Killing them with no regard to them at all.

You try to then make her look even more human when Trevor defends her in the meeting, and she falls in love with him. I realize this is just probably mostly done to have a power struggle between Annabel and Donnica. Do I think her new regard for a tiny man will change her in future chapters? Hell no. She is forever broken. A mean torturer who might love a tiny herself, but she will never let that interfere with her work of enslaving and breaking the wills of other tinies. Her own experiences won't inform her other actions toward tinies.

This theme of giant women falling for Trevor or Rebecca and then never having any other impact on their relations with other tiny people is very frustrating as a reader. (at least for me).  I mean I have seen Amber only as a bully toward tiny people after Rebecca. For what she considers to be good reasons. I haven't seen her interact with other tiny people so I don't know how she would treat them, but I suspect her relationship with Rebecca won't inform her actions.

AAARRRRGGGHHH.

But that being said, I'm glad Annabel fell in love with Trevor. May she choke on it as Donnica whoops her ass, she deserves it.