Ah. We are only distantly related then. The artist is a Russian tree ornament painter, and the photographer is me.
I would tend to use collapse for this. Victora collapsed back onto the chair, defeated. However if I were telling it from a PoV character, I might use a pseudo - onomatopoeic phrase. What I mean is , a word that sounds like what you want it to mean. Victoria flolloped down, as if all her strings had been cut. Or possibly a metaphor Victoria demolished down onto the chair Or put some extra word around it Victoria sat down on the chair and the groan of the legs echoed in her mind. Or you can just elaborate all over it using simile, metaphor and other descriptors with gay, florid abandon Victoria Careened backwards, collapsing onto the chair like the wreck of a battleship running onto the shoals of reality, long since abandoned by the crew, burning fitfully as her last vestiges of hope evaporated into the night. That last sentence would never survive my second draft - but I would enjoy it in first draft. (or if I'm trying to convey that the PoV character is a … poet... in love... in hate?
It can be, I suppose it depends on what message is trying to be conveyed. If we were describing the specific action of taking a seat then I'd, personally, always add "down," if nothing more descriptive. In colloquial language though, if someone asked me where someone was and I knew they were sitting nearby, I might say "They're sitting over there." Or if someone asked me what I was doing in a chair I might reply, "Sitting." In those cases "down" can be more than necessary. Then again, if I were to announce my intentions of taking a seat I might say, "I'm going to sit down." If I said "I'm going to sit," the expectation might be I'm going to sit on the floor where I stand, haha. Which reminds me, we always ask someone to either "sit down" or "take a seat," for instance, in our home, I imagine because just saying "Sit!" sounds like the command we give dogs. The assumptions we make with speech are strange! I'm sure everyone has their own nuanced opinions on the matter, too. ;P
Not sure if it's because I'm from the south, but plain, simple "plopped" is what comes to my mind. And it would very common here in Texas or neighboring Oklahoma.
Looking at the video of Christopher Walken, the phrase "lowered himself" might be a good fit, and I'd say is a common English way of adding some pizzazz in whichever direction you want to take it. Victoria lowered herself into the armchair slowly, defeated by another day of unfulfilling work. Victoria lowered herself into the uncomfortable plastic chair, trying to shrink into it, afraid of her teachers outburst. Victoria lowered herself into the chair unthinking, never taking her eyes off of Christopher Walken, confused as she watched the strange video play before her. And so forth and so forth, the phrase itself doesn't imply very much, but is just a way to get the "sitting" action out of the way while leaving lots of room to add additional descriptors.
I don't like lowered as he released his muscles plopping into the chair. Lowered sounds like a fork lift sat him there.
Good point, lowered is a bit passive. I guess what I'm saying is I think to convey the way Christopher Walken sat would require additional description, above a synonym for sitting. Thundair dropped into his chair unceremoniously, weary from witnessing the results of the public school system. "Lowered themselves, as if by forklift." Thundair sighed. Thundair fell into their chair, catatonic. Shocked someone would lay their idiocy bare by proposing lowering themselves as an acceptable way to say sat. (I'm just messing around now, but I hope you get what I mean.)
