Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

[Coruscant Knave]

Not really sure she wants it.

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I guess we can take things seriously for a moment.

This could be the opening for a schism in the team and Missy going off to Cali with Vicky. Isn't that where her dad was going? I can't remember. In any case, I don't think that will happen. I imagine this little bit will be resolved soon and be forgotten in favor further threesome discussion.

The real meat from this chapter was Vicky leaving. Riley mentioned she seemed happy to go, but I can't for the life of me figure out why that would be. She seemed to be adjusting fine. Though this isn't surprising, I tend to miss the little things Tana works so hard to sprinkle throughout the story.

 

[Snake/Eater]

....DRAMA ensues.... and hopefully some slapstick comedy and to go with chapter is a song we all know that goes with a certain new year journey and typical teenage drama.this is Phantom Planet's "California"
Missy/Theo/Riley - fate/stay night

Spoiler: California

 

[GiftofLove]

It's my understanding that Victoria has developed a bit of an inferiority complex to Amy. Her foundation for her self image was partially dependent on being the strong sister. Then there's the fact that she didn't escape home without damage herself. She appears to crave outside validation of her worth.

Since these issues were the root of her trigger, they have likely been even more deeply ingrained, exaggerated. Don't forget that these issues were likely tangentially related to her first trigger as well. She lost her powers, but the alterations they made to her brain still persist.

Now Amelia doesn't need her. In fact she has thrived without her. Victoria just doesn't even compare to her sister. She's gone from having the world focusing on her as the next Alexandria to living in her sisters overwhelming shadow.

She won't say it, but I bet she's wilting. So she's off to seek the sun elsewhere.

 

[TanaNari]

She won't say it, but I bet she's wilting. So she's off to seek the sun elsewhere.

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You are now my favorite. Or at least in competition with Slayer Anderson for the top slot.

 

[Snake/Eater]

I had a thought we all know that Avalon is claimed by Pantheon,but I just realized, did the U.N. also give them owneship of Avalon's moon?and if not,was this an intentionial oversight or just an incompetent error on the U.N.'s part

 

[The Shadowmind]

You are now my favorite. Or at least in competition with Slayer Anderson for the top slot.

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Are you rating commenters now?

 

[Zarohk]

Amelia, Ch 241- Missy
She and Dean had been quite the pair, much to my younger self's constant disappointment. It still hurt a little to think about him, though the last seven and a half months had eased the pain. He was a friend, and I still missed him dearly, but I no longer carried the torch for him that I used to. It helped to have so many good friends to support me, and a wonderful boyfriend.

Click to shrink...

Amelia, Ch 243- Riley
Now I had real friends and family, and I had to fake cheer.
…

Missy was now standing in front of me, wearing her costume. She held up my silk scarf between her pointer and middle fingers.

"So," she started, sounding less than pleased. "I recently found out you have a crush on my boyfriend."

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Ah, Missy, irony is sweet and turnabout is painful. Now she's in the position of being the girlfriend, and having a different one of her teammate crushing on her boyfriend. Hope she's figured out a better solution to the problem than Victoria did (which is "blast them with mind-altering powers and hope for the best"). Or else, given that Missy grabbed Clarice's scarf, Missy has decided to increase the odds Dinah gave to 100%. I do hope that either way Missy recognizes that she's on the other end of a situation she's been in before.

 

[Ack]

Ah, Missy, irony is sweet and turnabout is painful. Now she's in the position of being the girlfriend, and having a different one of her teammate crushing on her boyfriend. Hope she's figured out a better solution to the problem than Victoria did (which is "blast them with mind-altering powers and hope for the best"). Or else, given that Missy grabbed Clarice's scarf, Missy has decided to increase the odds Dinah gave to 100%. I do hope that either way Missy recognizes that she's on the other end of a situation she's been in before.

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That's probably why she's less than pleased.

 

[Slayer Anderson]

You are now my favorite. Or at least in competition with Slayer Anderson for the top slot.

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Aww...I'm touched. So...chances of this being the 'plan' Emma was considering?

I mean, it amuses me to think that Riley/Theo/Missy trio actually increases the chance of the apocalypse, but saves over a million people if it happens...

...and Emma is fairly close with Riley, so she'd probably want to pull something like this if she knew it wouldn't backfire horribly...

...what are the chances Emma dropped the line to Missy about the whole 'crush' thing?

I'd ask Dinah, but that's a little too rich for my blood.

 

[Peanuckle]

Aww. Lisa was making such headway with Rebecca, but she invites Vicky over instead. That's gotta sting.

I wonder if Vicky's team is gonna be Pantheon West? Or is she going to form her own group entirely?

 

[Alterego9]

I mean, it amuses me to think that Riley/Theo/Missy trio actually increases the chance of the apocalypse, but saves over a million people if it happens...

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It saves over 150 million people.

 

[cosoco]

I'm just letting you know all this so you don't wind up accusing your girlfriend of being part of this when her boss inevitably makes an attempt to lure you over to the dark side or whatever."

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Lisa's secondary power is framing everything she does in the best possible light.

I had a thought we all know that Avalon is claimed by Pantheon,but I just realized, did the U.N. also give them owneship of Avalon's moon?and if not,was this an intentionial oversight or just an incompetent error on the U.N.'s part

Click to shrink...

Assuming that Avalon is a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty, they can't own the moon. They can own installations or vehicles on the moon, but not land.

Besides, what really matters is who gets the mining rights.

Hope she's figured out a better solution to the problem than Victoria did (which is "blast them with mind-altering powers and hope for the best").

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Missy has access to a much wider array of mind-altering powers (including Riley's power) so that's now a viable plan.

Aww. Lisa was making such headway with Rebecca, but she invites Vicky over instead. That's gotta sting.

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They'll always have that night that Alexandria flew Lisa, no, Sarah, over the New York Harbor, gazing into-

I mean, they were just looking at the static anti-Endbringer emplacements on the Hudson River.

 

[Hiver]

I mean, it amuses me to think that Riley/Theo/Missy trio actually increases the chance of the apocalypse, but saves over a million people if it happens...
.

Click to shrink...

...I just realized something.

Theo get his revenge on Jack Slash. Not by killing him. No... by helping undoing all his work on Riley. To remove the last of his influence on the world.

Oh, and banging Jacks 'daughter'. That too.

Jack should have been a bit more careful in choosing his Nemesis.

 

[Snake/Eater]

...I just realized something.
Theo get his revenge on Jack Slash. Not by killing him. No... by helping undoing all his work on Riley. To remove the last of his influence on the world.
Oh, and banging Jacks 'daughter'. That too.
Jack should have been a bit more careful in choosing his Nemesis.

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does that mean you think he's going the Heaven's Feel route.

 

[edale]

Oh, and banging Jacks 'daughter'. That too.

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Jack: "Interesting, I guess I get to play.... protective parent! Now, how to increase the impact of 'what are your intentions towards my daughter?' hmmm... OK, we'll start with Cherish cranking their anxiety to 11, while hatchetface takes care of any pesky powers letting them try to escape the lecture. Oh this'll be Fun."

 

[AkuArkaine]

does that mean you think he's going the Heaven's Feel route.

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Heaven's Feel was my least favorite ending. I'm more of an Unlimited Bladeworks kinda person.

 

[Divabot]

Jack: "Interesting, I guess I get to play.... protective parent! Now, how to increase the impact of 'what are your intentions towards my daughter?' hmmm... OK, we'll start with Cherish cranking their anxiety to 11, while hatchetface takes care of any pesky powers letting them try to escape the lecture. Oh this'll be Fun."

Click to shrink...

I can see a variant of this happening later in Weaver Nine, when Good Girl reaches dating age ...

 

[Daunmi]

Aww. Lisa was making such headway with Rebecca, but she invites Vicky over instead. That's gotta sting.

Click to shrink...

Actually...

Lisa's the team's main Thinker. She's the one who steps in to organize/handle PR, she's breached Taboo so she's one of the ones who has to analyze situations regarding it, she's their planner for most things.

What does having a team member split off to form a second part of their team in another state mean? It means that their main Thinker now has an excuse to visit that state as often as she can justify.

Considering Avalon and Eric/Missy, it's not hard either.

Planning an op? I'll be there. Something seems fishy? I'll be there. Got some juicy news? I'll be there. Need to run an idea past me? I'll be there. New threat? I'll be there. Just let Alexandria know I'm coming.

 

[pepperjack]

Just let Alexandria know I'm coming.

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Alexandria's really perceptive, though. I'm sure she'd notice when Lisa was ... oh wait you meant as in "visiting."

/so utterly juvenile

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 244- Theo


Riley has feelings for me? "You're sure about this?" I asked.


"I trust the source," Missy answered. "And that source is certain."


"And you're not going to tell me who gave you this info?" I prompted again. It was a pretty narrow list, considering the first step would be to eliminate absolutely everyone who didn't know Riley existed. That alone left us with, at most, a dozen or so people. I could remove Amelia from the suspect list because I didn't think she'd talk if she did know. And if Taylor found out, she'd tell Amelia, and they'd default back to saying nothing. It could have been Dinah, the whole outsider perspective. That, and the most powerful precog any of us had ever heard of. "Was it-"


Missy put her hand over my mouth. "I promised I wouldn't say who it was," she told me, her beautiful green eyes were intense and determined. "Please don't ask me go back on my word."


Well, there goes any chance of me finding out. "That's not fair and you know it."


"Sure it is," she replied, lifting herself on her tip toes to kiss me on the cheek. "You do what I say, and I let you go out with me."


"You've been spending too much time around Victoria," I leaned down an gave her a light peck on the lips. "Or maybe it's Emma this time. Now what are we going to do about this thing with Riley?"


"We aren't going to do anything," she emphasized. "I'll make us a shortcut to the roof so we get our armor from the other side. Don't worry, already had Trevor activate their remote guidance, they'll be waiting. Then you will shunt over. And I'll wait for Clarice. I have a plan, but I have to do it alone. You can wait for us to sort everything out."


....


Something about this just seems wrong. Missy was in her full armor, which was a rarity. She wasn't one of the ones that really needed her armor system to be effective. In fact, it actually slowed her down. She had to 'fill' the armor before she could extend her power around it, which meant it took longer to extend her power outside than it otherwise would. Of course, in the tradeoff she had a defense that only Endbringers and Lily could break through, and an energy weapon that could shatter a city block.


Clarice came up to the roof, and was turned into some kind of bizarre three dimensional pretzel, at least to my eyes. Missy's power couldn't work directly on the construct anymore, thanks to the Endbringer upgrades. But Missy had a lot of practice finding ways to work around her power's limitation. When everything snapped back, Missy was holding the decorative ribbon that Clarice kept in her pocket.


After that, she spoke. "So, I recently found out you have a crush on my boyfriend." Yeah, she has definitely been spending way too much time around Victoria.


Clarice froze, looking for all intents and purposes like a deer caught in the headlights. Then she started to cry, and it was all I could do to keep from shunting over to comfort her. Clarice isn't real. It's a puppet for Riley. Fuck you, Dream Girl. Meanwhile, my armor's systems automatically read the construct's lips and interpreted the words for me, using a fairly generic sounding female voice to speak. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"


Missy put a hand on Clarice's shoulder, and they shunted over. Clarice was doing an incredible job of mimicking emotions. "Time to take us all back home," my girlfriend commanded. "We'll talk when we get there."


It was a simple pair of footsteps to take us back to the base. "You wait here," Missy demanded.


"What? Can't I at least go to my room?" I asked.


"Nope, you stay here. And no peaking," she ordered, and then she shunted over, taking Clarice with.


What the hell? You'd think I was the one in trouble right now. I wandered around a bit, examining the structures going up on Avalon's side of the portal. There were several buildings, relatively squat office complexes of no more than four or five stories. More of it was dedicated to the zerg, they were lined up in rows like a massive and alien car lot. The creatures lacked autonomy without Khepri's direct control. They would act on their own in some circumstances, but for the most part they simply waited and did nothing. How did they ever manage to build to this point without being labeled a Class S threat and destroyed?


After a while, I found myself at the bioconstruct labs. Rey was inside, because he basically lived there, prodding a some glowing material. There were a number of tools near him, all in pristine white colors. They'd started growing basic equipment out of Endbringer tissue, crazily enough. A copy of Rapture's armor was there as well. I wasn't a tinker, and I didn't really know what projects were on the go, so I wasn't sure what he was doing with the armor. That wasn't really my concern anyway.


"Is something wrong?" Rey asked, looking up from his project.


"I honestly have no idea," I sighed.


"Girl problems," he nodded sagely. "I know that look."


"Got any advice?" I asked.


"Not really," he answered. "If I understood women, I'd have a very different life right now. Somehow I just happened to stumble across a Thinker who was just barely neurotic enough to date me for whatever reason. So I guess my advice is don't give up, and eventually things will work out through sheer dumb luck."


"Well, that's better than nothing, I guess."


"It also helps to take your mind off of the problem," he continued. "So, why don't you give me a hand for a while. I'd like to see how this KEB forcefield reacts to your power. Maybe we'll finally get you a real armor synergy."


....


"Okay, you came come back, now," Missy transmitted over the armor's com.


"Well, I got my call," I told Rey. "Let me know how things pan out." I was pretty sure the experiments had mostly been him humoring me, because there wasn't anything he seemed excited about when testing how my power interacted with Khonsu's power. Between Trevor, Emma and Riley I'd seen Tinker Success Mode enough times to recognize it. And there wasn't one of those here.


"Will do," he replied. He went back to working with the glowing material that was the deepest chunk carved out of Khonsu. I walked back over to our base and shunt onto our lawn. Missy was there waiting, she didn't have her armor on.


She led me inside, to my bedroom. "So, I had a talk with Riley."


"And?" I asked.


"She has it pretty bad," Missy informed me. "Has ever since before I met either of you, actually. She has a lot of issues with self esteem. She didn't believe you'd ever want her because of all the things she's done, so she never said anything. I think she was trying to have a relationship vicariously through me. Kinda like Lisa does, but with a lot less unbelievable bitch."


"I don't know what to think about any of this," I spoke up. "What should we do?"


Missy turned and looked at me, her face a blend of sad and determined. "You're going to give her what she wants," she instructed.


What? "I..."


"I've been exactly where she's at," she interrupted. "I know what that feels like. Being rejected like that by a friend and colleague. Riley has enough problems in her life, I won't allow her to go through that, too. She loves you, and you're at least going to give her a chance."


"But I'm dating you," I pointed out.


"I know," she replied. "Don't act like seeing both of us would be a hardship. You're a guy, after all."


I managed a dry chuckle. "I'm sure my old man is cheering from whichever hell he's damned to. I can't do it," I insisted, holding her hands in mine. She's so small compared to me. "It's not fair to you."


"Then I'm breaking up with you," she whispered.


My stomach dropped. "You can't mean that," I insisted. "You can't throw away what we have like this."


She looked away, toward the ground. "If it were anyone else, you'd be right," her voice wavered. "But this is Riley we're talking about. We both owe her our lives. And as much as this hurts, if I have to step out of the way so the two of you can be together, I will."


"I don't want Riley," I cupped her face and made her look at me. "I don't think of her that way. I love you, and that's that. Then there's still all that shit Dream Girl did to me. Seeing someone else is not a solution. Please, don't do this."


"Theo," Missy sighed. "Clarice is Riley. Her mind, her personality. I don't think you're so shallow that the pretty face is what made you fall for her in the first place. So any feelings you have for one, you have for the other."


I closed my eyes. "Damn it, you are too self sacrificing, you know that right?"


"She did the exact same thing for me," she pointed out. "Now are you going to cooperate, or am I going to have to find Zach and make him explain how you're throwing away a perfect opportunity. I'm sure it'll be an incredible blend of vulgarity and insight that will make you feel dumb for not realizing it on your own. He might even throw in charts. Or we can cut out the middle man. It'll save you from having to see stick figure pornography."


I laughed a little. "Okay," I relented. "If only to avoid having to tell Zach that he's smarter than us."


"Could be worse," she gave me a quick hug. "At least he's not Lisa." She stepped away and palmed my door. It opened. "You can come in, now."


Riley came through the entrance. She'd dressed up at some point, a dark red blouse that accentuated the black hair color she'd been sporting for a while now. She stopped, clasping her hands together in front. She looked at me nervously. I did pretty much the same thing back. Riley is Clarice, in every way that matters, I reminded myself.


Missy pointed at Riley and mouthed the words 'ask her out' slowly and silently.


"Uh... Riley?" I hesitated.


"Yes?" she asked.


"Would you like to go out with me?" I asked.

Her face lit up, but she thought to look back at Missy first. Missy simply nodded. "Yes!" Riley exclaimed, and jumped into me, hugging me tight. "Yesyesyesyes!"


I put my arms around her, and looked back toward my girlfriend. Other girlfriend? This is going to be such a pain in the ass to figure out. Missy managed to smile at me, walking up and gently hugging both of us. Well, I can think of worse problems to have.


===============

A/N- Yeah, this arc shocks exactly no one.

Except the ones who were expecting me to do something horrible because I'm a trolling dick. To you? Well... double bluff troll maneuvering, go!

 

[pepperjack]

Riley is Clarice, in every way that matters, I reminded myself.

Click to shrink...

So it's still technically a threesome when all four end up in bed together. Good to know.

 

[Masterjaxx]

So it's still technically a threesome when all four end up in bed together. Good to know.

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That's actually a very good point. Odds are very high that Riley will eventually have sex with Clarice as a sort of assisted masturbation, if she has not done so already. This would mean that Riley can engage in a threesome with Theo or Missy without requiring there be a third real person involved.

. . .

This post is only barely acceptable in this part of the forum. Expanding any further on the details would require it be moved elsewhere.

 

[Malfunctioning Hugbot]

Except the ones who were expecting me to do something horrible because I'm a trolling dick. To you? Well... double bluff troll maneuvering, go!

Click to shrink...

Not falling for it, something horrible will happen later, because it's what you do best.

 

[GiftofLove]

Heh, I just caught what you did TanaNari. Missy caught Clarice's ribbon, and now she has to go out on a date with her.

I have to ask, were you planning that from the start, or did you just make good use of a throw away gag to add to the narrative?



Now, there is one thing I have to say here, and that's that I very much dislike emotional blackmail. But is it really emotional blackmail? I'm not really sure. On one hand it's kinda a jerk move for Missy to do this to Theo like she is, on the other if Missy wants to change their relationship that's her right. If Theo doesn't like it, well, he does have the option of just walking away.

What makes it nice, though, is for the most part I feel like Missy realizes that she's not being exactly fair to Theo. That doesn't mean she'll stop, though. One of those hurting someone to do them a service situations. It's pretty nice to read, because it makes you really contemplate their relationships.

So, now I'm a little curious if Missy had, or is planning, to have Riley do to her what Taylor tried to do with Amelia, and alter her sexuality. Or is she just going to be cool with trying their relationship with of them being attracted to only Theo?

I think it'd be interesting if she did, not because LESBIANS(!), but because it'd be another one of those things that introduces conflict into the story, bubbling out to affect others.

News at 11; Pantheon - Making Gay Contagious?!

 

[CptTagon]

laughed a little

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I laughed a little.

So by my understanding, Riley and Missy are both dating Theo, but they aren't seeing each other, correct?

Also, it's nice to see Missy being so understanding, mature, and levelheaded in this matter, especially for a teenager.

 

[Masterjaxx]

Why cant Missy be naturally bisexual? I think it would be kinda neat if she was having feelings for Riley already and that this all just kinda helps things along.

 

[1282748472]

You know, I'm kind of hating Missy after this update. She's being manipulative, incredibly sexist and forcing Theo into a relationship via ultimatum. Maybe it'll all work out because of authorial fiat, but in the real world doing things like this without consent is pretty terrible.

It is, I am aware, a pet issue of mine. Imagine it was a boy telling a smitten girl that she also had to date his friend Steve (who someone surgically altered her brain to find attractive) or they were breaking up, and she was enough in love with him to go along with it. Right, creepy. On multiple levels. Dream Girl alone is enough to muddy the waters of consent. 3 person relationships can be highly complex things which not everyone is suited to. That said, they are teenagers so it's not like terrible lovelife decisions are out of character or anything. Missy, Theo and Riley have not exactly had good role models for this kind of thing, seeing as they were raised by Crappy Parents, Nazi Supervillian and Jack Slash respectively.

So yeah, most people seem to be high fiving. I'm looking on this more as the setting sail of the HMS Tragedy.

 

[pepperjack]

You know, I'm kind of hating Missy after this update. She's being manipulative, incredibly sexist and forcing Theo into a relationship via ultimatum. Maybe it'll all work out because of authorial fiat, but in the real world doing things like this without consent is pretty terrible.

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Bear in mind that we haven't actually seen a lot of Missy and Theo's relationship behind the scenes. It's quite possible they've talked about issues related to this quite a lot, and I'm definitely getting the sense that the whole issue with Dream Girl and Theo's attraction to Clarice has been a strain on the relationship.

You make a lot of good points here, but so does Gift of Love. I get the feeling that Missy's trying to kill two birds with one stone - do her friend Riley a solid by getting her out of what Missy considers a horrible situation, and help relieve pressure on her own relationship with Theo by letting him act on his powerful attraction to Clarice.

(Also, I didn't read the "them I'm breaking up with you" thing as an ultimatum calculated to influence Theo's behavior. I read it as "I have to do right by my friend, so if your morals - which I respect - mean I'm standing in the way of her happiness, then I need to step aside.")

I'm not saying it's a good plan - time will tell - but I do think she has everyone's best interests at heart.


...wait, did I make a serious post? I mean, uh - look, psychic lesbians! /flees

 

[Snake/Eater]

Heaven's Feel was my least favorite ending. I'm more of an Unlimited Bladeworks kinda person.

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So...Theo's getting the good ending of the Unlimited Bladeworks route, here's a song for this chapter.this is Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time" as covered Raya Yarbrough,my brother and sisters all think the original version of the song is the greatest work of art in human existence,but personally when i heard this version of the song on a sci fi tv show call Defiance,it touched my heart,never cared for lauper anyway.this is what fanfiction is about,taking an original story and singing it with a difference voice and words and making it better.this a song that match's Missy and Riley's thoughts and actions that they will always pick eachother up.
"In 'Time After Time,' the singer believes she is a difficult person, unworthy of love. She runs away and shuts people out. However, her devoted boyfriend who loves her unconditionally is willing to help her through anything. The relationship is given depth. The couple's intimacy and history is apparent. They've been together for a long time. They love and have seen each other through every tough part of their life. if Frozen has taught us anything, love can be more then romantic,it can be agape,selfless and unconditional for friends and neighbors.

Spoiler: Time after Time

honestly wished soundcloud worked on this site
i'm surprised that giftoflove didn't post a vid of the song "the book of love" by Peter Gabriel...but then again who can lifted that dammed thing with it's charts and figures.

 

[Alterego9]

Imagine it was a boy telling a smitten girl that she also had to date his friend Steve (who someone surgically altered her brain to find attractive) or they were breaking up, and she was enough in love with him to go along with it. Right, creepy.

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The thing about these "if the genders were reversed" issues, is that the genders are not, in fact, reversed. You can tell that in a non-sexist world, these two scenarios are supposed to be equally creepy, but it the fact that they don't feel that way in this one, conts somewhere too.

Arguments like "you are a guy so you want it anyways" might be bullshit, but as long as it's bullshit that they both take for granted to be legitimate, it just doesn't have the same punch.

As long as that is the case, this feels a bit like getting offended in Theo's place where he himself seems to be cool with it.