"Okayyyy." She pulls Katie close to her in the bed.

Mmmm woman comfy. "It's like... in dyke culture there's all this emphasis on butch this and femme that, and I think I'm just, like, too weird and autistic to be either. Or like, I'm sort of butch, but like, the kind of man I'm like isn't the cool blue collar 1970s action movie kind like most butches, it's like, the lame libertarian incel kind. There was this post I read once back in the olden days of Social Justice Tumblr about how nerdy men pretend to be gender-nonconforming when they're actually just practicing a different but equally toxic and patriarchal kind of masculinity, but like, if dykes can reclaim the rugged blue collar kind of masculinity, why can't we reclaim the nerd kind?" She has some theories, but it seems Raven is too woke to be receptive to them.

"Heh. Too woke of me to say 'the people who have convinced you that you're just as patriarchal as nerdy males are themselves patriarchal and wrong', or does that sound just right?"

"I mean, it's like, it's less that they tell me I'm just as patriarchal as men and more that they just kind of pretend I don't exist. Girls are supposed to have 'girl autism', which is cute and quirky and not evil and repulsive like 'boy autism'. Or, well, they don't say that it's autism, they just describe every symptom of autism and then say that People Like That are always violently misogynistic men."

"Every third thing you say about The Discourse feels like an iceberg passing by."

"I'm glad that phrasing implies you think this is a real problem you've been lucky enough to avoid, rather than me deliberately seeking out the worst people in the world because I'm a self-destructive idiot."

"Hey, I'm a demigod. I know what it's like to have the worst people in the world seek me out."

She squeezes Raven around the middle appreciatively. "Do monsters actually have, like, worse political takes than average, though? Do you even get the chance to find out?"

"It's a common monster modus operandi to infiltrate some institution to prey on demigod children, and often we or our allies will infiltrate the institution ourselves and wait for the right moment to strike.

Their political opinions...hmmmm. They tend to have a very zero-sum worldview, comes of growing up in Tartarus. They're very into upholding the power relationships that get them their easiest prey—teachers over students, doctors over patients, landlords over tenants. Beyond that, it varies by group? Empousai for instance tend to have a very cynical view of dating and gender relations."

She looks down at her phone to Google that word. "Huh, and they're all women, right? You'd think they'd like you guys."

"No, see, we like men. From our point of view, at least the most popular one, patriarchal society is one giant cry for help, lost souls begging to be put in their place.

From their point of view men are scary, they're the real monsters, you have to get them before they get you."

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Like 90% of the time a feminist says men are like this or men are like that, the description always applies to me."

"Which one, 'the real monster' or 'crying out to be put in your place'?"

"I mean like, both, but in practice people always do get me before I get them, so in practice mainly the first one."

"And what is your place, sweetie? What things do you need a big strong woman to do to you?"

"Well uuuh, I do have some ideas, but kind of the point of being put in my place is at least partially being told what my place is."

"See, I'm still figuring out what to do with you! Like...I get the sense you're continuously startled by us being more-or-less feminists who, like, appreciate the good and joyful things of the world, and I'm similarly startled by you being a submissive woman who's like that.

I am...intrigued to hear your ideas. A phrase which here means 'wondering if it's too soon to turn on my hypnotic voice and ask you to tell me the most embarrassing thing you want me to do to you'."

"I mean, I've already confessed to you that I want you to make me fat, and that's the short answer to that question. But to elaborate on it... my sexuality is kind of oriented around attention, I think. Like, lots of sexual fantasies basically boil down to 'scary dangerous thing except I'm not actually in any danger', and for me the scary dangerous thing is 'people being more than faintly aware that I exist'. Ever since I was a kid, I've either been ignored, or mocked by my social equals and punished by my superiors, so having someone's eyes on me naturally puts me on edge. And that extends to like, dressing in a way that hides my physical body, I guess. So it's really hot when someone notices it, pierces through the armor of my baggy sweatpants and tells me that I'm an adorable pathetic little twig, and while it's cute how helpless I am I'm never gonna be able to satisfy her in bed with a body like that, but she's going to fix me, make me big and strong and beautiful and impossible to ignore. That's kind of what I find so hot about being fat. Like, people judge you for it, but even if they didn't, they'd notice you more when you are because you literally just take up more space in their field of vision, so it plays into my whole attention thing. Also, I'd really like to be fed during sex. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, yes it does. When it comes to being fed during sex, are there any specific foods you've imagined in that scenario?"

"Cake, or maybe some other kind of sweet. But you should probably bring something salty too so you can keep filling me up when I'm sick of sugar."

"Ooooh, what about cookies, what kinds of those do you like?

...and I wonder how amenable to manipulation by charmspeak the sensation of being sick of something is..."

"Chocolate chip. They need to be soft and chewy though, I don't like the hard brittle ones. But who knows, maybe you can charmspeak me into that too."

"I wouldn't want to, preferring the soft and chewy ones is good taste."

"I guess you would know, huh." She puts a hand on Raven's belly and gives it a jiggle, in case her meaning wasn't clear.

She emits a small pleased noise, and softly rubs Katie's belly in return.

"You'll catch up. ...Speaking of which, wanna see if I can get an android to bring us some pastries? Cookies, donuts, a whole cake would be problematic on such short notice but how do you feel about cupcakes?"