The memory lingered even now. Amber’s voice had been sharp with protective anger, her eyes dark with worry.

This line really stuck out to me because of its duality. That protective anger and those eyes dark with worry evoked in my mind a feeling of angry possessiveness based in love with Amber, something you confirmed in the next paragraph when you mentioned the master and slave thing and how erotic Rebecca found her scolding. I just thought that there was a really nice blend of that darkness lingering inside Amber and the love she has for Rebecca mixed into those particular descriptions!

I also thought Rebecca saying that she won't do something similar "next time" was interesting. Would she really consider doing another pageant? I guess, despite everything, maybe part of her enjoyed the experience (or maybe just the ovation she got during the People's Princess competition).

The most significant part of this chapter, though, was Scarlett's realization. I love the way it came about, with Scarlett about to politely acknowledge but ignore Rebecca's encouraging words, only for them to help her see that everything Rebecca put herself through was for her. It wasn't some grand reveal or accidental tell that Rebecca gave off; it was completely random, and, in this instance, it was perfect!

I was hoping that Scarlett would realize what Rebecca did for her, but this was so much more than that. Scarlett, through this revelation, realized that her whole understanding of love all this time had been completely wrong. It was laid out so nicely when she thought about how love wasn't about gestures, words, or gifts: Those things are about attention. Real love isn't about that at all!

Rebecca's actions moved Scarlett so much not only because the tiny princess was trying to show her the importance of perseverance or that her hard work can pay off, but because Rebecca never once said any of that. Rebecca didn't do this to show Rebecca her feelings or to get credit for it, she did it because she cares. It wouldn't have mattered to Rebecca if Scarlett never found out her reason for doing what she did; all she wanted to do was help someone she loved.

That's such a deep, thoughtful concept for Scarlett to grasp, and referring to it as "the edges of childhood starting to wear away" was a perfect way to describe it. Because this wasn't some youthful infatuation or a false feeling of love caused by Rebecca doing something nice for her; it was a realization of how Rebecca really feels about her and understanding her own feelings at the same time. Because we already saw hints of Scarlett liking Rebecca back when they first met: Scarlett's intense nerves when they first talked, her shock and appreciation for Rebecca covering for her little masturbatory session at Amber's desk, and Scarlett's own microsexualism, not to mention Rebecca stepping up and helping her with that Verdanne application as mentioned back in S1, as well as how invested Scarlett became in Rebecca's pageant efforts in S1 and S2.

It's felt as though there was a connection between the two of them from the start (Rebecca described Scarlett so sensually during that masturbatory scene and again during the wet dream in S3), and Scarlett finally realizing that Rebecca loves her (even if she can't admit it yet; more on that in a minute) made it easy for Scarlett to admit to herself that she loved Rebecca back. Feeling loved like that is pretty hard to resist, after all.

But I really like how you inserted Rebecca pushing her own feelings aside and dismissing Scarlett as "a kid, swept up in something tender and impulsive, caught in the magic of the day." Because Scarlett's part of the narrative made very clear that this wasn't what was happening with her. It makes sense that Rebecca would take it this way, though. It's sometimes easy to forget that she's, what, 32? It's easy sometimes to think someone so much younger than you doesn't understand what they're feeling, but in this instance, I think Scarlett fully understands, which made this segment so exciting!

Of course, Rebecca trying to dismiss this whole thing is also a matter of convenience. She's with Amber, and having Scarlett reciprocate those feelings that Rebecca doesn't want to admit she has for Scarlett would certainly complicate things with Amber.

And yeah, we know that Rebecca feels that way. It was clear throughout S2 (and hinted at from the start, like I pointed out above), but this line pretty much confirms it:

Rebecca blinked. Her whole body felt hot. She curled inward slightly, caught between confusion and something she didn’t want to name. A yearning she wasn’t ready to address. A disappointment she didn’t want to acknowledge.

I have a feeling that the day when Scarlett's feet don't gross her out isn't too far in the future. The question now is what this means for the three girls, both as individuals and as a group.

You teased in your response to my S2 review that it could be something unique to mixed-sized relationships, as opposed to the love triangle or three-way relationship most people are predicting. That's really interesting, because I'm not sure what that means. The only thing I can think of is that they might end up sharing Rebecca, which could be super fun! I could see the two girls deciding this without consulting Rebecca, because, by that point, they both know that she would not only want that but be driven wild by being treated that way (the only way I could see Scarlett agreeing to do that).

But again, that could just be wishful thinking on my part. In fact, I'm pretty sure what actually transpires is going to be a lot more dramatic and tense than that!

Speaking of Amber possibly sharing Rebecca, that sure was a possessive way to end the segment and chapter, wasn't it? Rebecca getting hot and bothered by Scarlett's wet dream (I think we all know who she was thinking about) was pretty hot, but the shock of seeing Amber looking down at her was great! And I don't think it was a coincidence that Amber chose that moment to start the master-slave stuff back up (although maybe they've been doing it in the bedroom this whole time and just not doing it in the real world? I don't know).

But yeah, it seems likely to me that Amber caught Rebecca looking and used her role as master to remind Rebecca of who owned her and how much the tiny woman loved being owned by such a dominant goddess. That look that was a blend of reverence and cruelty was interesting, and I think that was a combination of her showing her love for Rebecca and that she was upset that her girl was looking at someone else like that.

Still, even with Amber being so dominant here, she waited until she got consent from Rebecca before lowering her toward her womanhood. A "Yes, master" is still a yes. That's a change from the limo scene, so it's good to see that Amber is still backing off from forcing her will entirely upon Rebecca like that. And Rebecca ... well, she had a good time for sure!  I did, too! That scene was really fucking hot!

And those last lines about Scarlett were the perfect way to bring the chapter home. Knowing that Rebecca's cries of pleasure were echoing in Scarlett's erotic dreams brought a smile to my face.

The poor girl needs a win too! I didn't realize she had gone through a bad breakup (I'm assuming she was dating a tiny, given her sexuality). I almost forgot to mention that. Yeah, the other stuff in her bad year, the move and the Verdanne rejection, sucked too, but knowing that Scarlett was still hurting from the end of a relationship makes me want to root for her even more. I'd even venture a guess that such heartbreak helped her realize that epiphany about love and Rebecca!

And The Kingdom of Helena?! But ... but I thought the kingdoms weren't a thing. That they were a lie. You said! Don't you fucking tease me! Woooooo!

Er, um, yeah, I'll be eagerly anticipating the next chapter on Monday.

I love how naïve the girls were about this pageant. They assumed that it was a chance for tiny women to be seen, to be adored. And, to be fair, the crowd, at times, seemed to provide that adoration.

But from the very start of S2, it was apparent that this whole thing was designed by people with disdain for tinies. That teen stage director set the tone real quick! It was bad enough the way she singled out Rebecca, but that comment about their tiny brains was about as sizeist as they come.

So yeah, it wasn't a huge shock to me when the "queens" came out and it was revealed that nearly all the pageant's events were geared toward tiny subjugation. And I knew that Natasha plug in S1 was going to materialize in some way during the pageant. But for her to be over Rebecca the whole time? That added real tension to the entire segment.

Backing up a bit, though, I really enjoyed how nervous Rebecca was at the start of this, before she even got on stage. She's spent a lifetime hating and disregarding these pageants (or their participants, at least), so it was pretty cool to see her realize that this shit isn't easy. I mean, she was kind of proven right about the pageant queens themselves (except maybe the tiny ones), but to see her feel the full weight of something she had spent so much of her life demeaning and underestimating added some real depth to the segment.

It also obviously made her finding strength in seeing Scarlett's hopeful expression much more meaningful. Rebecca finding a sense of determination for being an example for Scarlett to follow wouldn't have meant as much if everything came easy and natural for the tiny princess. 

That theme throughout the segment, that Rebecca wanted to show Scarlett that when you get knocked down and it looks like all is lost you get back up and keep fighting, was so powerful, too! Rebecca faced so much more adversity than Scarlett did, having someone actively try to hold her back and humiliate her at every turn, and the prize waiting at the end was so much lesser, a meaningless crown versus the culmination of a lifelong dream.

But that was the point. That meaningless crown was actually more important, not for what it was, but for what it represented to Rebecca and Scarlett. While the crown itself means nothing to Rebecca, it would prove to Scarlett that hard work can pay off and that it's worth it to battle through adversity and keep faith. Rebecca was battling Natasha not for a crown or stupid pride: She was fighting to give Scarlett hope, while Natasha was fighting to feed her own petty ego.

I do hope Scarlett realizes at some point that Rebecca went through all that for her specifically. And I hope that Scarlett is inspired not by what Rebecca did or didn't accomplish but by Rebecca's shear force of will and refusal to give up, no matter how much humiliation and degradation she suffered.

Also, can we talk about how dedicated Rebecca was to Scarlett here? Yeah, I get that they're friends, but damn! Rebecca laid everything on the line because she cared so deeply for Scarlett. That strikes me as something a bit more than friendship, even if Rebecca doesn't realize it yet. And they do naturally have a lot in common, even if Scarlett doesn't seem to be broken like Rebecca (and Amber). Could this be the start of some love-triangle drama? Maybe that three-way relationship I keep accusing you of teasing me about? Possibly me reading into something that isn't there at all? Who knows (well, you know who knows)?

Okay, now for Natasha. She makes for such a great villain here! Because like all great villains, and yeah, I'm going full-blown cliché here, she's the hero of her own story. She's clearly a terrible person (we'll get into that in a second), and she was an entitled prick who treated everyone like shit even back when Rebecca and her were kids. But Natasha doesn't feel like any of that was wrong. All she cares about is that Rebecca not only stood against her, but challenged her openly in the halls of their school, embarrassing her in her own eyes.

So for Natasha, what she does to Rebecca isn't cruelty or spiteful: It's karma. Natasha feels as though she's owed this, that some twisted form of cosmic justice delivered her hated rival to her in the most vulnerable position imaginable. That's way more interesting than just being a bully for bullying's sake or hating tinies and picking on them. No, that warped sense of reality and even more deluded form of entitlement give Natasha her own distinct flavor.

But let's not get confused here. Yeah, Natasha is a great villain, but God is she (sorry, Helena) pathetic! It's bad enough that, more than a decade later, she's still trying to hang on to her former glory by being a 30-something pageant queen (although they don't even compete, so that's not even really earned anymore). When I read that part about 30 and 40 year olds marching out onto the pageant stage, I felt second-hand embarrassment for those fictional characters. That's just sad.

But Natasha is even worse. The fact that the other queens are afraid that Natasha might banish them from the circuit only shows that she's desperately clinging to what little power her pointless pageantry has left, likely because she's not accomplished much outside of it. In my mind, that was confirmed in her reaction to finding Rebeca on the stage.

When she said that she had been waiting a long time for this moment, that's what proved to me that she's done nothing since high school. She's so worthless a person that being defied by Rebecca is something she's been thinking about this whole time! The only reason Rebecca thought of Natasha at all was because they were at a pageant, but clearly Rebecca yelling at her in front of their peers (who all apparently loved her if they were fucking bowing to her) has been at the forefront of her mind for years! Just think of how empty, how hollow you have to be for something so minor to matter so much after so long. If that's not pathetic, I don't know what is. This is shades of (fuck) Victoria, for Christ's sake! And we've all seen how miserable that woman is!

On the other hand, though, Natasha does sound pretty hot. So scale balanced?

As for the things Natasha did during the pageant, they landed perfectly both from a narrative and a fetish-y standpoint! I felt so bad for Rebecca throughout the pageant as my hatred for Natasha grew. At the same time, it was so inspirational to see Rebecca keep getting up and fighting what she knew was a losing battle, because, again, something way more important was on the line!

From a fetish standpoint, not only did your decision to really focus on some of Natasha's antics and merely highlight others keep things fresh, but this whole thing hit a very unique note for me. I don't know if I've seen something like this before. Natasha is using her size to torment Rebecca in front of such a huge crowd, but none of them, including Rebecca's own loved ones, has a clue that it's happening. There's something about this that I found incredibly hot!

And your descriptions were, once again, exceptional, even for something that I don't particularly care for! You were never going to get me to find farts even mildly sexy (if you're reading this, sorry J-Vader!), but you did a hell of job selling how intense both of those farts were to Rebecca. For those that are into that, I can only imagine that they felt like they struck gold with that scene!

Even though I've already talked multiple times about Rebecca's perseverance, I still have to bring up the People's Princess bit. How incredibly well done! Natasha, tired of being even remotely subtle, straight up rips Rebecca's clothes, the ones they'd worked so hard on, and literally let Rebecca fall flat on her face on-stage. This was so bad (even though the crowd still didn't even seem to realize that Natasha was doing this to her) that nobody even mockingly laughed. They were all silent, and Scarlett looked like it was Verdanne all over again, but this time for Rebecca! That description of her looking like she desperately wanted to help someone she loved but was helpless to do so was perfect!

And then Rebecca fed off that, remembering why she was there, why she'd put herself through all this in the first place. And that gave her the strength to triumph. I also love how the crowd was undecided until they heard Amber and Scarlett. It was like the crowd realized that Rebecca had given something to those two girls, represented something much bigger than herself, and they wanted to be a part of it. Shit, even the stagehands wanted to be a part of it, and we saw how they feel about tinies. It was a thing of beauty!

Also, going back to just before all that, the way Natasha became infuriated at Rebecca's punk princess look was great! It added something more to her character. It wasn't just the hallway stuff that Natasha has hated all this time: It was what Rebecca represented. She hates that Rebecca was the opposite of her (to be fair, I feel like that's true the other way, too), and seeing that oppositional force in her world brought her anger to another level. I thought that was a nice touch for her character.

Oh, and while we're going back, let's head back to that question portion of the pageant. That was such a satisfying moment! Natasha thought she mocking Rebecca by all but openly saying that this was her revenge, and Rebecca not only didn't take the bait, but embarrassed her! Her answer about power was perfect and shows why people like Natasha are fucking awful (hot though they may be!). And I loved the fact that people in the crowd and backstage, all giants, could actually relate to it. Because it's easy to forget that in this world of giants and tinies, the giants are only larger than life to the smaller ones. They still have all the shit problems we have here in the real world, and everyone feels belittled at some point. For that one moment, maybe, just maybe, some of those careless giants felt a fraction of what their tiny counterparts feel, a small wave of empathy washing over them.

And Rebecca turning the "not very princesslike" line around on Natasha like that was fucking gold!

I shouldn't have been surprised that Natasha would have one of those illegal registration scanners you mentioned back in what, chapter 27 (see, you took the time to worldbuild, so I remembered!), given the pageant atmosphere for tinies. But again, her being so bitter that she rushed off the stage early and had to immediately check Rebecca's status like that is just so petty and, dare I say, pathetic. She was so bitter that her last act of sabotage didn't work, despite making sure Rebecca would never win the crown, that she had to make sure she got her next layer of revenge another way. And giving Rebecca away to her kids? Damn, that's just cruel.

But that dark moment (because pockets! Wooooo!) only served to make Rebecca's rescue all the sweeter! I wondered how far Natasha would get before Amber and Scarlett would track her down. And with the way Natasha swiped Rebecca off the stage, I'm sure they realized something was wrong right away.

I loved the anger from the girls once they cornered Natasha. They weren't in the mood for any of her shit! Scarlett wanting to call the cops on her was really sweet, but, given the environment in the city because of Donnica, I doubt it would have amounted to much. I was hoping the girls would beat Natasha's ass, but scaring her off (and that princesslike line not working on them at all) was still pretty awesome!

Of course, seeing how Amber handles people who mistreat her precious Rebecca, I can't imagine this is over. I don't know how well off Natasha is (that bit about rushing to the pageant and dealing with her kids gave me the impression that she was just a normal mom with an otherwise pathetic life, given her attitude and bitterness), but Donnica has a lot of influence in the city. I'm sure Amber could find a way to piggyback off that. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

Anyway, yeah, fantastic segment! That promised cruelty was there, but it had a very important purpose, and it was entertaining and hot anyway! I'm looking forward to seeing how you close this chapter out in S3!

So I just read S1, and before I say anything else, I just want to commend you on writing up that soccer sequence. Soccer isn't a sport I watch a lot, but you not only made that sequence during the game easy to follow, but it was incredibly thrilling as well! I could the excitement that can only come from that big game feel radiating off of word! You also did a great job of selling that underdog vibe with Amber and Scarlett's team, building up Wesford Hall as a really big deal in a very short amount of time.

By the time Amber scored that game-winner, it felt like she had just accomplished the impossible. And in a story like this, where we pretty much know that's going to happen (because we all expected/wanted to see Rebecca in a pageant environment from the second Scarlett brought it up), that's really tough to do.

So yeah, awesome job here. I love all the attention paid to such a fun part of the chapter, even though it really doesn't add any fetish value to it. Things like this are what make this story so rich and easy to invest in!

You know, we've talked before about what makes for a great gentle scene, and this whole segment is a great example of that, and in the subtlest of ways, too.

When Scarlett first suggested that Rebecca take part in the pageant, the two giant teens begged Rebecca to say yes. Begged. An inch-high woman. I loved that so much. Their pleas were thunderous to little Rebecca, a power that could easily force her to become a pageant princess pounding her through body with their voices alone. There's something special about them asking her something in such a sweet, innocent way while at the same time deafening her through sheer size and power alone.

It's part of that whole restrained power thing I mentioned before. They love and respect Rebecca enough that they wouldn't dream of forcing this on her, but they so very easily could if they wanted to. Hell, I half-expected Amber to throw out a "Master says yes" just to see if it would work. She seems to have pulled back on that quite a bit since the fight over Naomi, though, and I'm not really sure how Scarlett would respond to that.

But on Rebecca's part, I love that she didn't feel forced because of their size but rather because she knew their ceaseless cute begging would wear her down eventually. It also makes sense that she would hate the idea of doing a pageant, as that lines up perfectly with what we already know about her past. The girls' reasoning for wanting her to do it was pretty flattering, though, saying that she that she's amazing enough to win even at something as ridiculous as that and that they just wanted to show the world how gorgeous she is (that's a pretty bold thing for Scarlett to say in front of Rebecca's girlfriend, now isn't it? Don't you get my hopes up for another three-way relationship, dammit!).

The bet was a great way for Rebecca to try to get out of the whole thing, and, again, you did a fantastic job of selling just how much of an uphill battle this would be for our two towering teens. That Amber rose to a higher level to get the job done was compelling enough, but for the two of them to look back at Rebecca as they were still celebrating, making it pretty clear that they were more excited about her becoming a pageant princess than their athletic accomplishments themselves was both sweet and another subtly gentle moment.

Again, and I can't emphasize this enough, they could easily make Rebecca do this. Or anything, really. So not only did they agree to a bet that it looked like they had no chance of winning, but they busted their asses and upped their game, upsetting a huge favorite, all just to fairly get Rebecca to do the thing they wanted her to, to do things on her terms instead of theirs, shows a deep level of care, love, and even devotion for Rebecca, without even saying a word. It was an incredible moment, even if Rebecca would disagree! 

And by the way, I really enjoyed Rebecca getting lost in the moment and losing her mind cheering for her girlfriend before the reality of the situation kicked in. She should be happy that Amber pulled off such an amazing play and won the game for her team, and a former player like her is going to focus on what's happening in-game first and foremost. So I appreciate that you acknowledged that before we saw her start to sulk.

I think Scarlett is going to end up being a good influence on Amber. The way Scarlett was quick to scold Amber when those shoes came off in the tiny dress story and apologized for and glare at her after the shop attendant reprimanded Amber reiterates just how pro-tiny Scarlett is. That contrasted well with Amber going back to her old ways a bit, thinking that being a giant means that she can do what she wants in the presence of tinies. Still, though, she wasn't being intentionally malicious here, I think. She just wanted to free her feet and simply didn't care about what the tinies thought about it.

I really think that, deep down, Amber knows tinies are people just like her and not lesser beings. That's why she got such a kick out of tormenting Trevor in the earlier days; it was the fact that one of her mom's boyfriends was small enough that she could fight back (preemptively, even) that drove that. She would've gotten bored with it pretty quick if she really believed what her mom believes. That's also the reason that she was able to build her relationship with Rebecca, even when they were at each other's throats. I'd even go so far as to say this is why we haven't seen Amber kill a tiny yet, even though her beliefs appear to sometimes drift in the direction of people who do that shit regularly. It's just that, between the influences of her old friends (like Sara) and her mother, that simple truth has gotten buried deep inside her, letting her embrace some of those primal instincts that she knows she needs to rein in (which is why she asked why she does bad things to Rebecca a few chapters ago during that Naomi fight).

So having someone like Scarlett around, someone who really cares about her and actually spends time with her (and isn't an inch tall; sorry, Rebecca!), I think will keep Amber in check and even help draw out the part of Amber that doesn't think of tinies as inferior.

At the same time, though, don't think I didn't notice that Scarlett stopped complaining when Amber started gently dominating Rebecca like that. Granted I think she would have stepped in if Rebecca had acted grossed out by Amber's foot or didn't look like she was into it. But clearly, Rebecca was into it, and while we didn't get a look inside Scarlett's head in that particular moment, my mind went back to that video Scarlett was watching on her phone when she first "met' Rebecca. I'm pretty sure Scarlett went quiet because she was into what she was seeing, especially given her "condition." It seems Scarlett enjoys watching these two in their natural environment, so to speak.

Again I say, stop teasing me! I'm really starting to build up hope that we're going to see Amber and Rebecca welcome a third member into their relationship.

Speaking of Scarlett, much like the soccer match stuff, you did a hell of a job making Verdanne a big deal and then taking it away, all in one segment. I figured we'd hear more about the college after it was first mentioned, but damn, I didn't expect it to be that quick or that decisive in the outcome. But like Rebecca said, it certainly helped explain why she went all drill sergeant on Rebecca like that. This pageant became her focus, her distraction, something for Scarlett to throw all her energy into and not have to worry about being rejected from her dream school and feeling like everything she spent the past four years working toward was lost. That was a nice little mini-twist.

But aside from that revelation, I loved the contrast between Amber and Scarlett throughout the prep scenes. Scarlett was dialed in, doing research on which stores to go to, being meticulous with having Rebecca try things on, buying everything and relentlessly having Rebecca try every possible combination, and drilling the tiny on every event she would see at the pageant. By contrast, Amber mostly relaxed and complained, poking her head into the process here and there, but mostly keeping her face buried in her phone.

And that's the difference between them, probably the reason Scarlett will be playing soccer somewhere at the next level and Amber won't. They both worked hard to get Rebecca to go along with this, but Amber wants to enjoy it now and have some fun. Scarlett is focused on winning, though, and she's willing to put in the work to do so, as well as demand the same from those around her. Scarlett's fun comes from the real win, in this case Rebecca at the pageant. Getting Rebecca to do it was just the first step.

And again, I know Scarlett had extra motivation because of her rejection, but Amber pointed out that this is how Scarlett was on the soccer field all the time. So Scarlett's intense drive and Amber's lazier mentality after accomplishing the initial goal really stuck out to me here. I think there's merit to both approaches (Scarlett's work ethic is going to pay off more times than not, but if you don't take it easy once in while like Amber, you can miss out on a lot of fun along the way), but I love their opposing approaches here.

But back to Scarlett being rejected, I was so happy with Rebecca's response. She could have easily gotten out of the pageant after the girls saw how serious the whole thing actually was and how the other giants there didn't seem to care about fun (or very much for their tinies, for that matter) like they did. But Rebecca recognized that Scarlett needed a win, and she was willing to put herself through this nonsense to give it to her. That's dedication. That's friendship. That's ... maybe something more?

Oh, and as I've been praising the nuanced gentleness of this segment, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up how adorable it was when Rebecca took control and bossed the two bigs around at the end there. The way Scarlett and Amber jumped at that "NOW!" was cute and empowering, and to see them scramble to follow Rebecca's orders, a complete flip on how every other tiny-giant dynamic backstage, was so gratifying to read.

The pageant itself should be interesting. If I had to venture a guess, based on the way you handled the Verdanne and Wesford stuff, I'm guessing that Natasha is going to show up in some way, shape, or form before the end of the chapter. It just seems too coincidental that Rebecca would think about her and that we'd get a bit of backstory on her without seeing her in a pageant environment.

What an incredible chapter. I don't expect any of that to happen. I can't wait to go deeper with the longer review. Thank you for this chapter, and congratulations on another milestone: 30 chapters. What a journey since this dinner with Donnica, Trevor, and Amber! 

Author's Response:

Yes wow! It's been a crazy ride starting all the way back in chapter 1 at dinner with Trevor, Amber and Donnica! 

I had no idea I would write this much back then. I'm glad you are still enjoying the story and there is plenty more to come :)

Thanks for the review and of course I always look forward to your more in-depth analysis!