I think your criticisms of that scene with Monica and Kristie, as well as Duncan's reaction to it, are perfectly valid and logical. In fact, I'm surprised that I haven't seen more pushback on that scene like you've so elegantly delivered here. However, I of course, feel differently about you regarding the scene (I mean, I wouldn't have wrote it if I didn't), so allow me to supply a bit of my reasoning for why that scene worked in my head. I don't necessarily think this will convince you that I was right in my thinking, but maybe it'll at least give you some more insight into why I thought this was how things would play out in said scene.

Regarding Monica, I do think that her motivation to do what she did goes a bit beyond the "I ought to rape them back" logic that you mentioned (although, to be fair, Monica did mention the eye for an eye thing, I just think there was more to it than that, even if it was left unsaid by her). What bothered Monica more than anything wasn't just that Kristie had raped Duncan, it was the brazen way in which Duncan's ex dismissed the notion that she had done anything wrong to him. Kristie acted like this was no big deal. She basically just told Monica that she raped one of her dearest friends, but it's cool because not only was it not rape, but she was entitled to do it because they were dating at the time. Kristie even joked about it! So yeah, in a rage, Monica decided that a taste of her own medicine was the only retribution worthy of Kristie's crime.

But that rage was also a big part of it. A calmer Monica was much less sure about her planned punishment, and, as I mentioned in my response to saltavio, she projected her own doubts onto the faces of Callie and Duncan and was going to back off. Monica was just going to let the threat linger to intimidate Kristie, but she wasn't going to actually do it. Then Kristie taunted Duncan. Specifically, she acted like his trauma was his own fault because Kristie said what she did wasn't a big deal. And she did this in the most vulgar of ways. So, in another act of rage, without thinking, Monica went through with it right then and there.

I don't know if I made this clear enough, but the plan wasn't for Monica to actually do this in front of Duncan. She only wanted Kristie to confirm that she had agreed to accept this punishment, as she knew Kristie could easily claim that Monica did it to her against her will after the fact, and Monica would have a hard time either lying or explaining her way around this half-truth. It was blind anger at the way in which Kristie demeaned Duncan, who again, she thinks the world of, that led her to this. Monica's friends are her soft spot, which she didn't know about before because she really hasn't had any, at least not in her adult life.

I also don't think that Monica is trying to make things even between Kristie and Duncan. Both with the threat and the actual deed, she's doing this out of anger. It's not about justice for her. She's thoroughly upset that someone could do such a terrible thing to someone she cares about and act like it's nothing. So I have to respectfully disagree that real person likely wouldn't act this way. I don't think it would be the most logical or rational reaction for sure, but to force someone who's done something horrible without care to experience that same horrible act themselves actually seems like a realistic idea someone could make if they became upset enough about that someone and their actions.

As for Duncan, I do think that Kristie consented (in his mind) to this makes a huge difference. Whether she was doing it as an act of atonement or to prove a point about how much of a baby she thought Duncan was being, I do think there are ways her consenting would make sense to him, and Kristie's words right before Monica snatched her up would certainly point him toward the latter line of thinking. I think he could see that combination of arrogance and ignorance on her part as a way to rationalize what was about to happen to her. He could tell himself that she volunteered for this and now she's going to understand what she did to him (to be fair, I probably should have included this line of thinking in his segment, so that's a big oversight on my part). And in any case, if Kristie would have used her one chance to tell Duncan that she didn't want this rather than mock him for his trauma, he most definitely would have put a stop to it. So that consent makes a huge difference in how he perceives the situation, even if he knows that Kristie is actually suffering in there.

And that's another thing. The fact that it's Kristie that this is happening to makes all the difference in the world. I think a rape victim having no remorse for what happens to their rapist is actually pretty common. Duncan's feelings about Kristie overall are complicated, but, as was mentioned in his segment, there is a part of him that wants to see her suffer for what she did to him. He doesn't like it, and he's ashamed that any part of him feels this way (again, this is why he was so adamantly defending her from his giant friends earlier in the chapter, because he's fighting against that darkness that Kristie put inside him), but it's there. That Monica acted so fast that he didn't have time to process what was happening until Kristie was already out of sight made it too easy for him to give in to that dark urge and do nothing to help Kristie. He didn't ask for this, but it happened, so he did what he could to push down the guilt for once and give in to that darkness in a small way (small in that he's being passive here, not small as in the gravity of the act itself).

As for Duncan reliving his trauma with Ada, I think there's a difference between him being put through something eerily similar to what Kristie did to him and simply watching Monica stick a consenting adult inside her. Now, If Monica had taken her time, played with Monica's twat with her fingers, and slowly run the tip of her tongue along said twat as well, I think this point would be much more compelling.

So, again, I hope these points at least help you consider why I felt this scene wasn't the departure from these characters normal behavior that you found it to be, even if you ultimately don't agree with them.

I'm so glad that your reservations about the logic behind the scene didn't deter you from enjoying its smuttier aspects, and that those aspects helped ease those weird vibes you were getting from it. That you described Kristie's segment as extremely hot is something I really appreciate, and I'm glad the karma of it all led to it being a satisfying scene for you. I feel very much the same about you mentioning Duncan and Callie's fantasies during the scene, as well as the symmetry of them each unwittingly pulling the other out of it. Those two segments were a lot of fun to write!

Your comment on what page their both on made me chortle.

in other news, I was thrilled to see that you not only immediately knew what I was talking about in those DMs without me giving details, but you also felt that Kristie was handled well here rather than acting as a walking, talking excuse for bad things to happen to her. That means a lot, actually, as I told you before that I share your dislike of that particular trope and found myself a tad concerned that I may have crossed that line with Kristie.

Yeah, the fact that our main characters are so likable made Kristie really fun to write. She contrasts from them so well, and I had a blast letting her be her naturally bitchy self. And you're right that her being terrible helped to draw out the worst in all of our heroes, which was also a lot of fun to explore.

This was especially true with Callie. I can't tell you how relieved I am that nobody had a problem with the way she reacted to Kristie at the start of the chapter. Your description of protective and vengeful is perfect, and I hope I set that up at least a little bit with some of her actions in previous chapters (grabbing Monica's hand and yelling at her the first time the CEO tried to touch Duncan way back in chapter three and her strong reaction to what Ada was doing to Duncan in chapter six, for example). I, too, would like to think that Callie would have come to her senses in time, but Duncan had to go and ruin that little experiment for us, didn't he?

The fact that you described that scene with Duncan trying to stop Callie as thrilling made me so happy! I love that you felt so much tension in that scene. I agree that the vast power difference between Callie and Duncan is what made the scene so exciting, especially given the dynamic between those two in general. We don't really see things like this between them that often, after all.

So which Kristie insult got you laughing the most? Goldicunt? It was Goldicunt, wasn't it?

I love how much thought you're putting into the mystery of the girl with the blue streaks. I don't think I mentioned either her or Natasha being college students, though, did I? If I did, that was a fuck up on my part, and I need to go back and fix it, because neither one of them is. If that was a clever trick to get me to give some small detail away, congratulations! But that's all I can say on the subject. I don't want to give anything away, of course.

Thanks as always for the incredibly detailed review!

Thanks! I think you'll like where we're going with those future chapters! There's a lot of fun ahead!