Trying to be normal

go to About:config find media.mediasource.enabled and toggle it to false find media.cache_readahead_limit and change it to 9999 find media.cache_resume_threshold and change it to 9999

additionally if you'd prefer mp4 to webm

also in about:config, find: media.encoder.webm.enabled media.mediasource.webm.audio.enabled media.mediasource.webm.enabled media.webm.enabled and toggle them all to false

note! this will limit video to 1080p

Here’s the second poll which is about mpreg sub-genres

This poll is for better understanding of how trans vs cis characters impact enjoyment or dislike of mpreg fic. I’ve gone back and forth for about 30 minutes on the wording of these options. I want to be as inclusive as possible while not convoluting the poll to the point of confusion. Please keep in mind that there are character limits that get in the way.

With that, the first follow up poll is about genre tone. I truly had no idea there were people who read and wrote mpreg from a body horror perspective! As someone who loves horror and working things out through it, i’m equally fascinated and intrigued. The only mpreg i’ve come across has been what I’ve interpreted as biological family fantasies (tho granted as stated in the first poll, i actively avoid mpreg due to personal pregnancy phobia lol). This has resulted in me craving MORE DATA

Obviously there are other signifiers of maturity than romance (such as finding a job/task/purpose/ role in society, or gaining more self-control/ big picture thinking - & you can be mature despite never doing any romance whatsoever; Lace does seem to want a job/purpose/place in a community & to be recognized for it (her whole protector/knight gimmick) but hasn't really gotten recognition for it & that's implied to be the main cause of her villainy, so that's the most natural angle to pursue in giving her a redemption arc or showing her maturing / overcoming her artificially enforced arrested development, more so than pairing her up with someone.

But certainly, it must be conceded that having your 1st crush is a big part of adolescence/coming of age for many people, and a romantic subplot is often emotionally juicy & cathartic - the purpose of fiction is to make you feel things first & foremost.

Still. While you might argue that there's some interpretation room regarding Lace's actual maturity level, there is no ambiguity at all that whatever it is, Hornet views it as being way below her own & she's never shown to be wrong in the narrative or even having it called into question or the idea presented. (even if you view it as more akin to a 19 year old and an old lady - which, while I get why ppl might think it's interesting, has no basis in canon) It's even worse from Lace's side because of the clear familial jealousy she expresses, like you would toward a sister or cousin. You're not going to convince me that someone with Hornet's personality (responsible, jaded, down to earth etc.) would be sexually attracted to what's basically her bratty cousin.

You could argue that it could be problematic IRL to get with someone she's dependent on to survive or whom she has this inferiority complex toward because she views her as "mother's favorite" but that doesn't bother me personally (fiction is supposed to evoke feelings & often what's problematic IRL is exactly what's perfect for feelings-evocation, for the same reasons) as much as that it just doesn't fit their canon characters, doesn't work without making Hornet massively OOC to force that generic tsundere rivals dynamic and the idea of fucking your bratty cousin is just deeply unsexy to me personally.

But as I said before, it would actually be interesting to explore Lace falling in love!

Does it have to be basically her exasperated aunt, tho?

IMHO the most suitable fit would be someone who is also a young person who is just coming into her own / becoming independent - Gilly or Nuu, maybe? Although admittedly those wouldn't immediately seem to have any chemistry.

I've previously entertained the idea of her ending up as Ogrim's apprentice (so she gets to be a Knight for real), or Bretta doing the same, so maybe that's an option.

Bretta's probably supposed to be an adult but a fairly young/inexperienced one, enough so to be referred to as a 'maiden', so it'd be a smaller gap (depending on your interpretation - alternatively it could ensue only eventually after some maturation/ character development was had enroute from Pharloom)

You could include a bit of a 'knight & maiden' gimmick to make it juicy, & Bretta having just gone through an arc about seeking your own story instead of waiting for others to save/notice you could rub off on her in a positive way, but she'd probably still be the type to give her partner a lot of attention.

Lace can ovsly fight already but would have to learn the spirit of chivalric heroism & Bretta might be all in motivation wise but would probably be starting from scratch in terms of skill. They both want to be seen but had a very different way of coping with feeling ignored, a contrast like that is always interesting.

compare it to dana and abbot. dana's approach is accusatory, pressing: sometimes it's like you're just tempting death 'cause you don't give a shit anymore. and what is wrong with you today? while abbot's is emotional, heavy, and anticipatory: you just make sure you come back and if it gets dark you call me. both are coming from places of worry, but their approaches demand something from him.

cassie does something else entirely. she frames it through herself: in a previous life, i had friends who liked to see how close the edge was, as if it were a challenge. trouble is, they all inevitably found it. 9 years sober, she has lived this recognition. she places it gently, through her own past, through the people she knew and the patterns she saw unravel, in a way that doesn’t demand a response. she leaves space for robby to step in—or step away. she doesn’t corner him, doesn’t demand admission, doesn’t make him the problem. she quietly says: i see you. i’ve been you. she offers him recognition without expectation, something he can receive—or ignore—without feeling attacked.