Chapter 42 : Making Up, The Oppai Way
“Go away. Don’t make me ‘Whisper’ you.” Agni said between sniffles. Her mind was racing, mostly with anger but not with Katrin, who was now clinging to her, it was directed at herself. Simply put, she felt stupid. She felt stupid for showing concern at someone who was conspiring to drive her nuts. She felt foolish for being baited into such an obvious trap to begin with and she felt dumb for crying. Yet, she couldn’t stop!
In fact, the one thing she thought constantly amidst all her swirling emotions was *Do women cry this much all the time?*. Thinking back on the day Katrin and Agni arrived in Grenvale, Agni figured *Probably so.*.
That still didn’t ease the sting of the situation any less. Bracha left of her own accord, while Katrin simply refused and after the mishap with her Succubus powers Agni didn’t feel comfortable compelling her to do so. While Bracha certainly seemed happy that Agni tapped into some unknown ability, the conditions under which it occurred left something to be desired.
Katrin’s arms were wrapped around Agni’s waist and she was adamant about staying. More than anything Agni just didn’t want anyone to see her tears so -- defeated by two women in one bold stroke, she simply cried to herself until her annoyance reached a sufficient level.
“Are you happy?” Agni asked.
“No.” Katrin answered. The entire time she’d been laying next to Agni, spooning with her arms wrapped around Agni’s waist. As much as she hated to admit it, the warmth from Katrin’s body was somewhat comforting.
*Being a woman is confusing as fuck.* Agni thought to herself as she wiped the last of her tears.
“Then why did you do it?” Agni asked, her voice rising in volume before she decided to simmer down a bit.
“Because, I wanted to help you.”
“Ha! HA HA! Are you serious?” Agni replied. The reason was laughable to her. *Help me? Help me do what? Blow my Top? Spazz the fuck out?*
“Yes!” Katrin declared instantly as she nuzzled her face into Agni’s shoulder blades ever so gently.
“Get out!” Agni shouted, her anger getting the better of her as she struggled to physically remove Katrin’s grip from around her waist.
“At least let me explain properly.” Katrin said as she held on for dear life.
“Let me go dammit. I just want to be alone. Katrin. KATRIN. DAMMIT I SAID STOP!”
POP
It was the sound of Agni’s elbow crashing into Katrin’s temple as she struggled to loosen herself from the latter’s grip. The blow was swift and hard, still Katrin refused to let go.
*I’m so stupid..* Agni thought to herself as a rushing sense of regret began to overtake her. She could almost feel tears beginning to rise within the corner of her eyes yet again.
“I’m sorry. Katrin, I didn’t mean to--”
“I know, it’s okay. I - I think I’m bleeding on your sheets though.” Katrin’s voice replied.
“W-what? Are you serious? Oh my god! I’m sorry.” Agni said as she turned to face Katrin who was indeed bleeding from a small gash alongside her face.
“Agni. You’re a succubus. A lust demon who feeds on the carnal energy of others... Don’t you think it’s time you started acting like one?” Katrin began as she grabbed Agni’s doting hand and pushed it down against her bosom.
“What does that even mean? And what does that have to do with this situation?” Agni asked.
*If I knew how to be a woman, much less a succubus -- this would be a whole lot easier.* Agni thought.
“It’s not so complicated...just do as you feel. Whatever you feel. Just...stop repressing yourself. I spent a lifetime doing that in my past life. It won’t get you far in life, in fact you’ll just pile up regrets. I wouldn’t want you to make the same mistake I did. That’s why...that’s why you needed some tough love!” Katrin replied.
“Bracha asked me to help you get past your mental block. And it worked, sort of, even though it took a while...” Katrin explained.
“So slapping my ass 20 times a day was therapy for me? Is that what you’re saying?” Agni asked as she grinned. At this Katrin just smiled and nodded her head.
“Wow, you really are bleeding on my sheets. It’s like a period for your forehead.”
“Woman beater. Pervert. Hentai.” Katrin replied with a teasing tone.
“Serial ass slapper.” Agni retorted.
“Bedroom bandit.” She continued, causing Katrin to chuckle.
“The tearful Succubus’s fiery declaration -- ‘Get out, Now!’ “ Katrin exclaimed in a very animated way.
“Ouch. Ok, that kinda hurt. A little bit.” Agni replied.
“Fine. I’ll...just go with the flow and act on how I feel at the moment. But...don’t complain to me if you get groped all day…” Agni warned.
“I won’t need to worry about that.” Katrin replied confidently.
“Why’s that?”
“Because I Bracha and I gave you plenty of chances and you failed.”
“Oh HO! Oh, so it’s like that.” Agni said as she gritted her teeth. Katrin nodded her head eagerly as the cut from her forehead finally closed up due to her natural regeneration.
“Pfft. Wait til bath time. I’ll show you.” Agni said.
“Why wait til bath time all talk succubus!” Katrin said as she pulled her robe open, exposing her breasts.
“Oh? Someone’s bold. I don’t mind if I do..” Agni said as she began to make “creeper” hand movements while drawing closer.
“Ah, wait! Wait! I’m sorry. I haven’t mentally prepared yet!” Katrin finally squealed as Agni drew too close for comfort.
“This is the least you deserve.” Agni said as she began to caress Katrin’s tits, bouncing them into one another and finally tweaking her nipples before she stopped. Katrin covered her face as Agni had her way with the D-cup mounds on her chest.
“I’ll let you get away with cuddling….this time…” Agni added before turning over to go to sleep.
“Agni.. Your tail won’t stop--uwa, it’s sliding in again!”
Ahhhh the honest tail strikes again
At this I feel conflicted, I really feel as if Agni is being ‘forced’ into being sexual, like really against her will and then she just plays it off with her friend that was manipulating her.
Katrin herself doesn’t even sound that sorry at all either, like she’s so dead set on the thought that this is the only way to resolve things she doesn’t for once reconsider that this might hurt Agni more than help her. It makes me really interested in this past of Katrin and her regrets she speaks of. Maybe the requirements for being called into this world is having strong regrets from their past lives, things they so wished they did. You can kinda see it from the MC also, they obviously have issues with their sexuality and body. More then sex, I feel they need to come more so into acceptance with their new body. Understand that she is attractive and is able to be openly attracted to others.
I do feel the aspect of her sexuality needed to be fixed with her morals and new body constantly fighting each other, but that felt like a choice she should’ve made for herself by herself. We haven’t even seen her explore herself yet, but she’s been manhandled by almost every named character she’s ever been in contact with. Like, her honestly sitting down and setting some ground rules with herself and seeing what she’s comfortable with. We haven’t even seen her explore herself yet, but she’s been manhandled by almost every named character she’s ever been in contact with. Even with all that she’s so afraid of being rejected because she’s so used to thinking that she has no value, be it appearance or ability to offer to her partner.
I actually believe that her class is subtly influencing her behavior with how she behaves. Especially with how she offen comments about how cute girls are even when they do mean things towards her. In this chapter and the previous, look at how she almost instantly forgives Katrin at every turn cause she’s adorable and also doesn’t confront Bracha. You can even count her second sexual encounter for an example where she was in a threesome while Katrin got busy in the brushes which resulted with the other party stealing all of their stuff and then processed to leave her and her partner naked after a night they spent together. Hell she doesn’t even really get mad at them for doing it or even question how Katrin got buck naked also (strange with the hole territory thing that’s been building up between the two). I think its because she was satisfied sexually, a positive for a succubus, something her class is molding her to accept.
I mean really, just cause she’s a succubus, doesn’t mean she has to like s*x so much or actively seek it, but hey, I mean I’m just a reader, its your story at the end of the day.
I guess I have to get use to the fact that this is a world where might makes right and morals are less conservative. Your system of power is really well thought out and the fights so far are funny to read.
Katrin is a very bad 'friend'. Not sure why she should be forgiven
honestly, she did nothing wrong here. agni is practically handicapping herself and she needs to be straightened out sooner rather than later. first off it's an inevitable change that's going to happen, so better to take place in a controlled environment. but secondly and most importantly, this world is not so forgiving that it'd let this wanna-be succubus continue acting like this and not get trampled all over. if she doesn't get her sh*t together she's going to be in for a rough time and they all know it. agni has continuously said she doesn't get how to be a woman or succubus, so this is exactly what she's been asking for.
@UncrownedKing Its weird that she doesnt know how to be a women as if its an alien race.. its exactly the same as a man in alot ways, still “human” enough except for hormones and d*ck
@WeezyF7 Absolutely not.
Society has vastly different expectations for men and women, and if you act the same as one as you do as the other, you'll get vastly different results.
Do not underestimate the difference in treatment, and the importance of upbringing and your surroundings for your personality and behaviour.
I think I'm gonna be sick. The last few chapters were abusive and unhealthy on so many levels...
If this makes you physically ill, then don't take a good look at the real world. Worse things happen everyday than being iced out.
@DreamOfRen 1. I hope you do realize that this is what-aboutism, and really doesn't make Katrin any better here. Or Bracha for that matter.
2. I typically go and read fantasy because I'm sick(unintended pun, but a welcome one) of the real world and try to distract myself from it.
3. There is a difference between being iced out and being actively malicious to someone, no matter if it is for a supposedly good reason. "I'm hurting you for your own good." are the words of an abuser who's trying to justify themself. It's even worse that Katrin thinks she's right about it and "Hey it worked - so where is the harm?"
Now, I'm someone who empathizes quite strongly with the characters I read about, it's the main reason I love reading so much at all. And I feel my emotions quite strongly in my body.
I've had writers tell me before, that they take it as a "job well done" when they actually want to make me as a reader feel like that.
From the way you reacted I'm gonna take away that you didn't intend to do that.
Now, I don't mean to tell you you gotta go and "fix this." This is your story and you can do whatever the hell you want. Nor is it your fault that I felt like this. I was the one deciding to read this. However, I would hope that you take another look at what you wrote here. The situation over the last few chapters is basically this: There's 2 people Agni can currently trust, both of them, after being quite intimate and playful with her, trying to draw her our of her shell, immidiately turn around become emotionally abusive towards her, not even letting her sleep properly. Agni has absolutely *nothing* in this world, the last few aquaintaces she had robbed her blind, and depends on those two "friends" as much as anyone in that situation would. That all just makes the abuse hit 100 times harder.
She even tries to communicate about it, you know the PROPER thing to do when there is a problem that needs to be adressed. Asking if she did something wrong. Asking if she upset Katrin somehow. All that brushed off and ignored, while the abuse keeps coming.
And when she finally cracks, the goddamn saint of a deamon taking it for almost two days, it's "we just did it to help you, see, you need to act more like what you are." while barely anyone actually has a clue how the Succubus thing works. Suddenly they're experts in not just demonology, but also therapy. Most of these things you even pointed out yourself.
But here comes the big one. After she finally cracked and Kartin explains herself, Agni just... accepts that and is happy to have her "friend" back? THAT is the real kicker.
That is a victim accepting the abuse from people they trust! That entire pile of sh*t just BOOOOM! -Normalized-
Amazing trick mister magician! What do you mean it smells like sh*t in here? There is no pile of sh*t here...(...anymore)
Yes, there is worse stuff going on every day in the real world sadly, but situations like this are numerous enough already IRL, and not healthy. And if the victim doesn't recognize it, it will be stuck there for a long while.
Yes, rehashing this had me emotionally riled. I realize that I probably don't come across very friendly here.
@Misstra The truth is I've dealt with much worse in my lifetime that I don't even register anything about this chapter as abuse.
It's not what-about-ism , its realism. The reality is that some people have to deal with things like this as a matter of course. It's not supposed to make you feel good, and it will illicit a response out of any decent human being.
I think there are people who have actual gripes and people who experience a thing once or twice and form an opinion. I find it's generally the people who have only experienced a small measure of discomfort that tend to be the loudest.
The people who truly suffer injustices tend not to say anything, for years and suffer in silence. I know this, because it's been a constant part of my life since I was small for various reasons. I also know dozens of people who are functioning adults despite all the years of abuse we have dealt with. This , frankly, registers on a 0.1 out of 100 in context for me. A person ignored you and made you feel bad? Not trying to ruffle any feathers here but -- so what?
For the same reasons you feel your point of view is valid, I also believe that I have more experience in the area by comparison , based on what you've told me. In any real world setting, a person who has years behind them on a study are considered experts. Anyone else can be considered laymen, journeymen or novices.
This holds true in many regards.
In other words, I'm saying that maybe the fiction isn't really the problem. Emotions are like muscles and the reason many people complain so much or are easily affected is because they haven't used them or had them stressed.
What seems enough to make you ill, is normal waters for me. So I'd appreciate a little perspective. I'm not being disrespectful of your feelings here, but in no way shape or form are you "right", you're only right from your perspective. The world isn't really so black and white. The same holds true for me.
@Misstra The last thing I will point out is that these are people living a second life.
Realistically you have no idea how old they grew to be before they died. They could be 80 years old in the body of a 19 year old, for example.
There's also countless things you learn through various means as you grow older.
To say what insights one person might have when it comes to teaching a lesson isn't really a finite thing.
There is also the misconception that anything that makes you "feel bad" is bad for you.
The reality is, you can only grow by experiencing things that challenge you emotionally and mentally.
Those things are not comfortable, and in fact the act of growing and maturing is a painful one. The difference is whether you do it gradually (so much so that you don't recognize you're undergoing the changes), or whether it happens all at once.
Examples of this are child birth and death. Both very extreme moments in a human's life that have profound impact on the way their lives are lived forever many times.
They are also very natural, and can hurt in many aspects.
Many people misunderstand "pain" as something negative and to be avoided. Personally, I would rather confront something unpleasant, deal with it and come out for the better.
That is what this chapter represents. Its better to deal with a problem under a controlled situation, than allow life to deal with it for you.
Option 1 is just about as painful as option 2, the difference is that option 2 will tumble you about and spit you out wherever it deems necessary.
So from this point of view, it's a matter of perspective. If you fall on the other side, that's great. But I don't think this is a matter of right or wrong, it's a matter of confronting an issue that ultimately will become as much at some point.
@Misstra One other thing. I think if this chapter really gave you anxiety it might be a good idea to.. stop now. I don't say that lightly, because I write to entertain. But this is more of the "rip the band aid" mentality I think.
It's not my goal to dissuade you but, things like this will happen pretty often as major plot points in the future.
It's undeniable that a good part of entertainment is the human aspect. Characters have emotions, thoughts and feelings. Without them the entertainment can seem shallow and 2 dimensional. Those fics have their place, a place you go to when you just want to escape and that's 100% okay. But-- this fic isn't really that sort of fantasy.
There will be a time where Agni has to deal with heart rending or sometimes disquieting events in order to grow. It's a constant, persistent theme in the work. So is sexual exploration (which, the current chapters are trending towards).
And boobs. Lots of boobs.
@DreamOfRen I appreciate your replies. Yes, I've already decided to stop reading here for now. Not because of the strength of my emotions, there's many cases where that gets me just more invested, but more so because the resolution of the situation of the last few chapters goes so far against my values and principles that the points in the story that are supposed to release the tension just make me much more angry.
I suppose you're right, maybe it is a matter of perspective and since the parts of me that have taken offense are deeply important to me, I can only see whats been happening in the past few chapters as wrong and unhealthy. This being tolerable to me would mean I'd be a different person.
It's undeniable that a good part of entertainment is the human aspect. Characters have emotions, thoughts and feelings. Without them the entertainment can seem shallow and 2 dimensional. Those fics have their place, a place you go to when you just want to escape and that's 100% okay. But-- this fic isn't really that sort of fantasy.
I slightly disagree on this. A fiction doesn't have to lose in 3-dimensionality to become a viable place to escape for an individual, but doing so will move it closer to a common denominator for the general audience.
There will be a time where Agni has to deal with heart rending or sometimes disquieting events in order to grow. It's a constant, persistent theme in the work. So is sexual exploration (which, the current chapters are trending towards).
And just this almost makes me want to go back and keep reading. Maybe I'll do so at some point in the future, when I'm not so angry at Katrin. I wouldn't have even been half as mad if it had just been Bracha acting like that. I could have even seen it as an acceptable "tought-love" way to teach.
I quite welcome emotionally impacting situations, as stated above, it's that I dislike the resolution. In my opinion Katrin specifically should have gotten an earful about the way she acted from Agni and not been forgiven quite as easily. It feels like Katrin put little thought into the impact of her actions towards Agni and hasn't spent even a few minutes to ask herself if maybe there is a better and more productive way of achieving the same result. Like the difference between drawing someone out of their shell, and cracking the shell.
There is also the misconception that anything that makes you "feel bad" is bad for you.
For sure, pain can be a teacher and adversity makes us grow.
I simply believe that in this specific situation Katrin abusing Agni was the absolute least productive and most damaging way to deal with the problem. Maybe I'm arrogant, but if I had been in Katrin's place, I think I could have helped Agni in a much better and much less painful way, and most importantly, in a way that would have put 100% lest strain on their friendship. Reversing it, had I been on in Agni's place, that would have pushed the friendship close to the breaking-point and quite likely irreparably damaged, the fact that I would be basically all on my own and clueless about the world would have been the only reason I wouldn't have left right there. You just don't do sh*t like Katrin did to someone who you're emotionally close to and depend on so much. You find a better way.
They're training as a team and this opens up doubts about the way they interact with each other and the world around them. Lets say Katrin makes a mistake in a fight(or other situations) that negatively impacts Agni. Why shouldn't Agni wonder "Did she do that on purpose? Is there something I'm doing wrong that I'm not getting again and she's pushing me so I might overcome my problems?"
There are many similar situations that could occur. Not getting an answer to the question "Is there a problem? I don't understand why you act this way?" when in the past this exact situation has happened, and despite the initial denial there was a problem is something that permanently sabotages communication, even more so if the situation is stressful. And just like Agni's struggle to deal with her new situation, these doubts could lead to massive problems in the future.
If I were in Agni's place, what I would have learned from this situation is: "Even though I thought I could trust Katrin, one of the few people I thought I could trust in this new world at all, she decided she knew what was good for me and forced me to confront it without communicating properly with me, and even when I asked, she didn't tell me about it. So now I have to even question the words of my friends and trusted ones."
And at that point, I would have simply decided to cut Katrin out of my life instead, no matter how much it hurt. What's the point of friends if you can't trust them? Or alternatively, I would have made it crystal clear to Katrin that she crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed, that she is never to do so again.
I'll stop here, because clearly, I'll talk about this forever if I don't.
I hope that maybe this makes my grievance more clear.
@DreamOfRen It being a matter of perspective is fine and all, but at the same time... Well, funny you say it's "normal waters" for you because to make a crude comparison what you are saying reminds me of how people boil lobsters alive. See the trick is they don't turn the heat up all at once, that will make the lobster panic. They turn it up little by little, let them become used to it. Soon, before the lobster even realizes what's wrong, they are cooked alive.
Now of course people are not lobsters, but pretty sure in this way they are similar. Simply getting used to abuse until it hardly registers anymore doesn't necessarily mean it isn't abuse you know. It's all a matter of perspective but from my outsider perspective what you are saying still sounds kinda screwed up. Just saying.
@Misstra Pain isn't so bad. Fact is there ARE situations where people need to hurt someone they love for their own good, and those situations are actually extremely common. To say all of those are bad or abusive is to way oversimplify life. Being good to someone doesn't ALWAYS mean making them feel great, being overindulgence when you know someone is doing something bad for themselves is more harmful than to cause temporary pain.
@FaustVoncleave Since you didn't give me any sort of example to pick apart, I can't say I agree or disagree. There might be situations where hurting someone close to you could be necessarry or unavoidable, but I do not see it applying to the situation in this story.
I also feel like you might have missed me writing: "For sure, pain can be a teacher and adversity makes us grow. " It's not like I don't see the point of growing through a painful experience.
Hell, I'm a sub. I welcome the disciplining from my dom, and sometimes that comes with pain. Sometimes pain is even just part of the 'fun'. But what I've argured about was much less about 'pain' and more about the betrayal and damaging misscommunication and generally going **way** too far to get to their goal.
Road to hell is paved with good intentions and all that.
Did you know that sleep-deprivation counts as a torture method? Sure, it was only one night, but that doesn't make it look much better.
Can you, or anyone else, give me a good argument for why that was needed?
And last, but certainly not least:
and those situations are actually extremely common.
I have my doubts about that. From my experience most people are terrible at properly communicating their troubles to one another. From my point of view, people who love each other sometimes deal with problems by hurting each other because they don't know how to do it better.
I've been in relationships like that myself. I've been hurt that way. As a naturally empathic and submissive person who puts the well-being of the ones I love first, it can cut all the deeper for me to be on the receiving end of it, because I can't proerly deal with those kinds of wounds until I'm sure my SO is alright.
And I don't blame them for that, for how much I get hurt in emotionally strained situations. Instead, I've developed ways to communicate about it so they can understand better what's happening on my end. I've taught these ways of communicating to friends of mine. Many people, maybe even most people, hurt when their loved ones are hurt.
And with every close relationship I lead, I go over these ways of communicating with the other partie rather early on, so that when something happens that actually puts a strain on the relationship, we have the tools to keep it from blowing apart.
No one, not even my parents, who for me are one of the examples I look up to in how to lead a relationship, was able to teach me these things, these communication tools. I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with these methods, but it's not something openly talked or taught about in society because being emotionally vulnerable is somewhat taboo.
We're technologically advanced, but in social terms, we're not just staying in place, look at the world around you, we're regressing. We, as a collective, know less about how to talk to each other constructively then we did 30 years ago.
So yea, sorry, but unless you give me examples or sources to talk with you about, I simply can't take what you say about hurting each other being common and good seriously. Especially not with the context in which it was presented in this story.
Your point on overindulgence is certainly correct, but I don't quite see how it was relevant here.
Cheers o/
@FaustVoncleave There may or may not be situations where hurting someone for their own good is for the best, but can you or anyone else really say for sure what they are and when they appear? I find it likely that most of the time there is an optimal solution that doesn't involve hurting anyone at all. That people are not always capable of finding it doesn't mean they should never look. Of course sometimes you need a solution now and don't have time to look for a better one, though I don't think this is the case in this story.
@DreamOfRen elicit, not illicit.very different meanings. And no, emotional abuse is pretty clearly definable. any sociologist, psychologist or counselor would recognize these events as being both physically and emotionally abusive. I am sorry that you have had such harsh treatment in life and hope you are in, or find, a good relationship. That's not to say that smacking someones ass is always a negative thing, but the combination of intentional sleep deprivation and emotional abuse make this physical abuse. If you tolerated this kind of systematic abuse in your life and have normalized it I would recommend counseling as it will likely profoundly affect what you perceive as a healthy relationship. I have known many long-term situations similar to what you have described and they are usually are volatile. This is a short term situation, but would have long term effects on their relationship given the way you have described Agni unless she is just an airhead with no real emotional capacity, or is driven entirely by how attractive she finds someone to be.