Oklahoma continues to low-key throw out great one-liners. Between that and keeping the academics alive, she may well be the most vital part of team only eat the bad humans.

This was obviously a pretty big chapter for Mika. His feelings on Chloé eating people have always been complicated (mostly negative but sometimes with excuses for her), and now it feels like all the cards are on the table. Now Chloé knows why Mika has a problem with it, that it's nit just her killing people but that she seems to view his kind as food (even if that doesn't apply to him personally). It's his love for her that makes this so hard for him to accept what she is, because, despite what he said, he can't stop loving her even if he believes that she's evil. I think this is why he was at peace when he thought he was going to die; he could neither accept nor reject her, so simply becoming a part of her takes away that struggle (and everything else).

The snake goddess's answer to this is absolutely perfect. Mika tells her that Chloé broke her promise, and the goddess basically says "uh, Duh?" Mika's intentions with changing Chloé have always been good, but the truth is that he has been trying to fundamentally change who she is based on his moral values, which never works in a relationship. Even if he hates that Chloé eats humans, that's a part of her, and if he loves her he had to accept that. He's still struggling with that a bit now, but I think he's on the right path.

And that struggle just so happens to maje him the perfect person to play the judge and jury to Chloé's executioner.

I thought the transformation trick to get into Chloé's second stomach was creative and really clever. I also cracked up when Mika proclaimed that Chloé's stomachs were his. It was symbolic and made sense, but it was more the way he said it.

Yukia continues to intrigue me. I keep wondering what she would be like without the curse. I mean, she'd be kind of crazy either way, I think, but maybe in a more fun-loving sense. The fact that she stood up for Higgins, to me, shows there's at least some good in her. And the fact that she kissed him makes me curious (getting attached doesn't seem to fit her stance on humans).

As for Higgins himself, man that guy has come a long way since chapter one. He went from offering up workers to Chloé as a snack to save his own hide to putting himself between man-eating cat girls and his men. I get why he thinks Emilie did something to make him this way, but I think it's really just this insane situation that had caused him to quietly reevaluate things. I guess maybe the suspicion that she messed with his brain like that could be an excuse he uses to justify doing things he's never dine before, bit I'm not even sure about that.

Finally, I thought the action sequence here was pretty good. You don't write a ton of those, but when you do, you're always to the point while giving us enough details to visualize what's happening. You always throw some personality in to the mix, too, in this case mainly through Chloé's thoughts, which is always appreciated. 

An Outer Heaven reference? Man, the metal gears in Higgins' head must have really been turning to come up with that! Clever like a gray fox, that one.

That last bit with Chloé and Mika atop the world tree was an absolutely brilliant summation of the nature of their relationship. The gentle predatory nature in which Chloé consumed him with her lower lips, wanting (damn near begging) him to struggle as he sunk down into her reflects the prey-loves-pred dynamic that has been present from the start of the story. And the way the world tree amplified Mika's effect on her, with his every kiss and touch during his journey across her upper body being so intense for her, made for a pretty nice metaphor for how much this particular predator is willing to surrender to her prey, as she allowed him to set the pace, so to speak, at least up to a point.

Then there's the almost antagonistic way that he playfully teased her while setting that pace. While he clearly noted that he liked the feeling of control this gave him, I think he also wanted to see how far he could push before she would do pretty much what she ended up doing. He wanted her to take back control, to be that predator, because he likes being prey (at least to the women he trusts).

In a story rife with symbolism, the symbolism here was particularly striking to me. And hot. Definitely hot!

I also thought that brief glimpse the tree gave them into their past was a nice call back as well. Seeing Chloé feel legitimate shame and anguish over eating relatively innocent humans before meeting Mika shows us just how far she has come. Even midway through the story, her not eating random humans had more to do with not disappointing Mika than really feeling bad about the act itself. But as she evolved throughout the story, she has come to actually care about humanity as a whole, and her reliving those early days where she ate indiscriminately actually hurts her now, so much so that Mika's assurance that it was okay because she didn't understand back then wasn't enough to make her feel better about it.

And Mika being okay with Chloé eating innocents in the past gives us a look about how far he has come as well. His reaction to the memory made me think back to an earlier chapter when he was trying to convey to her that it was wrong to eat humans. He tried to find out whether she had eaten anyone who wasn't a mercenary before meeting him, and it was clear that it would have bothered him had he seen such a memory back then. But now he not only understands but accepts Chloé for both who and what she is, and while I'm sure he is going to be very careful and measured in his role as the gatekeeper to the Naga's stomach, he's no longer going to lose sleep trying to rectify the kind girl he loves from the natural predator she just so happens to be.

As for the climatic scene and Natasha's end, it was certainly a death worthy of how evil she was. To not only suffer the fate she planned for humanity by getting shrunk down but also be eaten not by Chloé and those who stood against her but Yukia, someone she trusted completely, seemed oddly fitting. That's especially true given that the Neko princess didn't seem to change at all once the curse was removed from her and actually wanted to get it back! While some Nekos can't help but want to eat humans, this was what Natasha truly wanted down to her core.

I also thought it was interesting that she gave Yukia her blessing to take over as Neko ruler as she was being digested. To go from cursing Yukia to using such flowery language in her final moments seemed odd to me. Was this just the madness that had consumed her trying to process her death? Maybe she was trying to keep what little control she could before passing? Or was there something truly prophetic to her words (maybe something she saw during her brief time with the world tree)? We may never know.

I really liked Yukia here. Holding off her forces from certain victory while trying to find a way to save Higgins was a big for her, I think, because, in that moment, there was no denial or excuse about why she was doing it. Nor did she find some false justification when she decided that she would shrink him and take him to safety when it looked like they would have to attack the depleted soldiers of fortune. She still didn't admit to herself how she feels about him, but this was certainly a step in the right direction. I can only hope we see these two again in the epilogue.

Also, I want to wish the Yukia Shogunate good luck. I can only imagine what those crazy cats will get up to now!

Speaking of the Nekos, I'm really curious to see if/how Chloé and Mika go about trying to break their curse. Give the intimate nature of the curse's cure, just how many Nekos would they be willing to free from it. Emilie and Cécilia are one thing, but would Mika really be willing to trust a total stranger with a compulsion to swallow him? And even if he was, would Chloé let him take that big of a risk? Not to mention that they would probably have a hard time convincing the cat ladies to get eaten by Chloé in the first place. It just seems like most of the Nekos are destined to crazy humans for the rest of their days, however many of those there are.

I also wondered if Yukia would want the curse removed from her or if she even needed it to be removed. She doesn't seem to really have the urge to swallow Higgins (to the point where she has to make excuses for not doing it), which seems to imply that she has at least found a "soft spot" in the curse. And if she can keep herself from wanting to swallow him, would she even care about eating anybody else? And, of course, even if she did want cured, it would take a lot of convincing on her part before Chloé, Emilie, and Mika would even entertain going through that process with her, I'm sure.

It was intriguing to finally get a glimpse at the internal workings of the curse through Emilie, brief though it may have been, as she finally swallowed down Mika. It was so much more of a personal thing (or maybe that was just because she was so familiar with him by that point) than I would have thought.

Not only that, but it seems like she secretly wanted to know what it was like to swallow a person all along, even if her rational self didn't want any harm to come to the swallowee. Even in her darkest moment, when she told Mika that she didn't think she could let him out, she still felt bad about it.

But the level of trust Mika had in her was impressive. He may have gotten a little worried when she was teasing him by bringing him toward her throat at first, but he got back in her mouth willingly when she made it pretty clear what was going to happen. And then he didn't even panic when it briefly looked as though she wasn't going to let him out, instead expressing his faith in her.

I was happy for Cécilia overcoming the curse as well. When she was first introduced, I thought she was just going to be an afterthought to the story, but I love how she worked herself back into it in a major way. It was great to see that she had earned everyone's trust to such an extent and that she could finally enjoy Mika's taste without consequence or guilt.

Throughout most of the story, I was leaning toward thinking Oklahoma would end up having a thing for Emilie, but Cécilia and her together is just an adorable combination. There's something about the rough and tumble rouge pilot and elegant, prim and proper near-immortal that just seems to mesh so well.

And to see Oklahoma end up so close to the group that she actually shed a tear at their journey together being over was quite touching, particularly because of how unattached she was at the start of the story. With her not being in the limelight so much as the other three protagonists, her character development may have actually impressed me the most, as I think that's much harder to do with characters who aren't the focus of a story.

Finally, I've already said a lot about Higgins' transformation up until now, so I won't dwell on it too much. But it was nice to see that culminated in this split chapter. It feels like he has finally shed his detachment from the world and, while I don't think he's going to become a saint, he's going to have some kind of moral compass and a sense of camaraderie to guide him going forward.

Overall, this was a phenomenal story, right up there with the best of yours that I've read so far, in my opinion. It has been a joy to read, and I look forward to it being capped off with the epilogue.

Yet again I have to commend you on these slick historical references. That Joan of Arc one was brilliantly done!

Man, there was a lot of action in this chapter! And as I've said before, I'm a big fan of the way you write action sequences. You have a very short, choppy, direct style that makes the action feel like it's happening in real time, and including a couple of timely thoughts or dialogue in there, as opposed to getting lost in longer, purely descriptive paragraphs, really helps the reader feel the emotion behind the action and give it a personal feel. I think some of the best examples of this among your work were in Amazon Country, but the big battle sequence here is just as good as any of those, I think.

There may have been more important things going on in this chapter, but Yukia saving Higgins was maybe the biggest highlight for me (and there were quite a few of them here). You've been building toward that in the back end of the story, and the first half of this chapter having her geek out in her grimoire over him and question why she can't swallow him down served as a nice build up to her shooting Natasha in the back. I'm curious to see how she justifies that in her head next chapter (or if she's finally ready to accept how she feels about him), as well as whether Natasha is going to figure out it was her.

Going back to the start of the chapter, Chloé's teasing/guiding Emilie about just how they're going to save the nekos was as fun as it was hot. I have to admit, I expected Emilie to be a bit more prudish at the idea of having sex with both Mika and Chloé, but she got behind the idea pretty quickly. The neko's nervous excitement at the idea, as well as at Chloé' convincing her to shrink him down and get him off to prove that he could be in to her, was really cute and endearing. I feel like Emilie was initially approaching the idea as a duty to her people, which obviously isn't how you want to approach sex, so to see her excited for more is great to see.

We've kind of hit the "all is lost" moment here, which makes sense since we have to be nearing the end of the story. Still, you came at the moment hard, not only are Emilie and Mika captured and Oklahoma feeling so hopeless that she wants to give up, but you even gave Natasha a nuke. A nuke! (As a side note, I love that Oklahoma referred to it as an A-Bomb. Very 1950s of her).

I like how Oklahoma got emotional as she was telling Chloé that things are hopeless, though. It shows how far she has come as a character and how much she actually cares for all of them. Still, I think that practical way of looking at things fits her character perfectly, and it's understandable that she would start thinking of settling things before the end instead of never giving up. Still, it's easy to understand why Chloé's upset with her over it. They're just two different people with tow very different outlooks on things.

Of course, obviously Oklahoma is going to come around before the end of things, right? Right?!

Higgins' having that classic line at the ready for when he landed a punch on Natasha was great! he doesn't say much, but he knows how to taunt when he wants to. His whole fight with Natasha was fantastically done and once again makes him look like a credible fighter, given how fast and skilled the neko are.

I also love that he, for the first time, felt emotional about the loss of some of his troops. Again, great character development here, especially since this wasn't dwelled upon, as that would have felt weird and out of place for his character.

I'm eager to see what arrangement Chloé and he come to.

Lastly, Natasha continues to be a spectacular villain. She's straight up mad and obsessed with no redeeming qualities whatsoever (even the one person she showed some semblance of feelings for was a psychotic murder). I also like that you gave her a reason to keep Emilie alive, as it would have been weird that she went from saying everything she needed to say and wanting her dead to keeping her around for the climax if she wasn't needed to keep Mika in line.

Well, I got to this one a bit later this time, so hopefully the next chapter will seemingly come quicker for me. I'm curious to see how things shake out as we're nearing the end.

I'm glad to see you give Black Bart some love here! It's only fitting that Blackbeard gets a mention and Mr. Roberts only gets mentioned indirectly, serving as another reminder that there's more to fame than just success.

Yukia has been pretty interesting to follow for a while now. She's shown some small signs that there may be more to her than just being a psychopath for several chapters, and that kiss with Higgins last chapter could have meant a lot of things. Now it looks like she's slowly working her way through the same process Higgins is, possibly setting up not one, but two redemption arcs! And a potential couple redemption arc at that!

But it was really enjoyable to see Yukia display that playfulness and even a bit of craziness in a way that was more loving and teasing than deadly, even if she wasn't fully aware of (or just doesn't want to admit) why she was acting that way. It'll be interesting to see how her excuse that Higgins is just "more fun" than most humans stacks up against Natasha's "new" stance on humanity.

As for Higgins, he shows a lot of subconscious trust in Yukia here, even after he keeps chastising himself for it. I kind of feel like his instinct are still good, even in a social situation like this. Even though he's seen Yukia eat humans several times and, on a conscious level, thinks she's going to do it to him, deep down somewhere, he dropped his guard because he knew he would be safe. I really don't think it was lust that led him to her room, at least not entirely.

It was phenomenal to see Chloé get past that struggle to accept herself, and it was fitting that Mika helped her do it, given that he inadvertently caused the problem in the first place. I've mentioned it a few times, but again, it was sadly sweet for her to wish that she could be what she believes Mika wants, a human girl. It's heartbreaking to feel like the person you love wants you to be something you can never be.

And it makes sense for her to feel that way, because Mika's feelings on that are a lot more complicated than she can comprehend, given that she's still learning (but has come a long way; keep it up, Chloé!) about complex human thoughts and emotions. Also, I think she took Mika's use of the word monster last chapter a bit too literal. He wasn't talking about her being a naga but rather about the prospect her viewing his entire species as food. The fact that she feels the way she feels at the start of this chapter kind of proves that she doesn't feel that way, though. It's just instincts (although those instincts can lead her to saving humans, too). Or anger, if you happen to stab her or kill her boyfriend's parents.

And it was extremely satisfying to see Mika help her accept herself by telingl her how he really sees her and for Chloé to take what's hers!

For his part, I don't think Chloé's new diet is what was bothering Mika in the first place. At the end of the last chapter and through most of this one, I kind of got the vibe that it's his new role that he's not comfortable with. I felt like he had come to terms with Chloé's need to eat humans when he took ownership of her stomachs. It's the fact that he's the one who has to decide who's on the menu that's his issue. Given how much the thought of Chloé determining which humans were food was for him, having to do that himself probably ways pretty heavily on him, even if he ultimately agrees that it's necessary.

I really like the way you handled Emelie's assimilation into the group. This is the first chapter where it really felt like she wasn't an outsider just tagging along. While Oklahoma accepted her pretty quickly, it makes sense that it would take Chloé and Mika more time to do so, and the past few chapters have done an excellent job of showing the tensions between Emelie and each of them individually without making it a central focus or feel melodramatic. We also saw them start to warm up to her gradually over time, and now the Neko is here giving love advice to and dancing with Chloé and Mika's thought that they could be four friends on vacation was kind of a subtle way for him to acknowledge her as a real part of the group.

Also, Emilie's history references and lack of understanding that things progress over time continues to be hilarious.

Cotton Eye Joe. In Mumbai. This is everything that's wrong with globalization. (I just want to note that I could have made a stupid pun about that "being the Bombay!" but I just couldn't bring myself to stoop that low. I feel like I deserve credit for that.)

Finally, at the end of the chapter, we see Natasha make a classic villain mistake. She can't have her human anymore, so now no one can! As I mentioned above, it'll be interesting (and probably bad for Natasha by the end of things) to see how Yukia deals with that.

I know Gloria Chesterfield is a pretty minor character in the grand scheme of things (unless she's not, of course), but I really appreciate the little details you've put into her. She has turned out to be a fun balance between brave, noble journalist and mousy, nervous girl-in-over-her-head. Between that and her, uh, direct approach to gathering information, she makes for a great comedic relief.

I'm also really enjoying the relationship between Emilia and Oklahoma. Emilia has this sort of refined aura about her and comes off as careful and bookish, while Oklahoma is decidedly unrefined, carefree, and action-oriented. This odd-couple style pairing works really well here, with Emilia getting a bit frustrated with Oklahoma's bluntness at times but also leaning on her a bit to get a better understanding of Mika and Chloé.

And it's impressive how quickly Oklahoma has come around to trusting Emilia, as the pilot is far from the trusting type. Even after being mindfucked by Emilia, she's still able to look back at the Neko's actions and look her in the eye and realize that her intentions are pure. And with how protective Oklahoma has become around Chloé and Mika, the fact that she was willing to keep Emilia's secret from them in the first place implies a really deep trust.

Speaking of Oklahoma being really protective, I was a bit surprised to see her reaction when Cécilia tried to eat Mika. I knew she felt close to them, but for her to become so fierce and potentially put herself in harms way for him shows that oftentimes deep-buried sense of loyalty we tend to love in our "rouge" archetypes. I've brought this up a few times now, but it really has been rewarding to see this "B-story" of Oklahoma going from a loner, for-the-money type to a true friend to Chloé, Mika, and (gradually) Emilia play out subtly in the background, poking its head into the main plot here and there.

As I said before, I was pretty curious about how Chloé would take Emilia's Neko repopulation plan, and man was that a strong reaction! She was more upset about that than she was over Cécilia trying to eat Mika. To be fair, he was fine by the time she realized what was happening, while the threat of Emilia "enacting her plan" is technically around as long as she is. Also, Chloé, now confronted with a potential threat to her relationship with Mika, became territorial, almost primal at the thought of having a romantic rival, even if romance isn't part of Emilia's equation. It was interesting to see play out, and we'll see whether that tension has completely boiled over in the coming chapters, I'm sure.

But I like the way you've handled Emilia's assimilation into the group. Mika starts off irrationally (though understandably) bitter about Emilia's role in his past, but that seems to be slowly drifting away, and his interest in history is something I could see them bonding over as the story progresses. Chloé was empathetic but skeptical about the Neko, then furious over the thought of her sleeping with Mika, and then we don't see them really interact after that. And Oklahoma, as noted above, is the closest to her, but in the most carefree, cavalier way possible.

And it was noticeable that when the train pulled out of the station, it was just Mika, Chloé, and Oklahoma sharing a toast, as Emilia isn't quite in that circle yet.

I'm finding Emilia's recollection of history to be pretty fun. I like her throwing out ancient names for Egypt and Istanbul (I personally like the name Constantinople better, although its namesake was just terrible), but her recalling interactions with famous people from history is pretty great. I especially appreciate how these stories involve her being just like any other regular person of the time (I feel like there's a temptation with stuff like this to have the time traveler/immortal rub elbows with these historical figures) and that her opinions of them seem to match those of her contemporaries at the time (her being annoyed at, rather than an awe of, Jessie James and the Sundance Kid, for example). Since her people are always hiding in the shadows, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for them to be so tight with so many well-known people, after all.

And lastly, I was intrigued by Charboneau's "critique" of Higgins. In particular, it was interesting to see how the older merc's perspective on the job contrasts so deeply with Higgins'. I mean, if you ignore the pure evil of what they do, what Charboneau says makes sense: People should love what they do. That also makes me wonder exactly how Higgins got into such a line of work if he didn't feel that way.

But yeah, I ultimately agree with Higgins in the last chapter: If you enjoy a job that calls for murder and violence, there's something wrong with you. And the more we see of Charboneau, the more Higgins seems to not be quite so bad.

You know, this fetish is really interesting sometimes. I mean, where else could something like this make sense:

Chloé: I shouldn't eat you now because I want it to be special (with an entire ship's crew and a state in her stomach already).

Mika: Cool.

Chloé: So I'm going to put you in my sex instead.

Mika: Also cool.

It seems so surreal out of context; how could being shoved inside a woman's most intimate place be less, well, intimate than being eaten, especially if it's not done fatally? But within the context of the story, this makes perfect sense, and not just because vore is a thing.

Pretty much from the start, this story has been building to that moment when Chloé finally eats Mika. In most of the stories I've read here that focus heavily on vore, a lot of the intimacy tends to come from the fact that either pred or prey (or both) have a vore fetish and are either reluctant to act on it or happy to take their time stalking and teasing and whatnot. But here, the tension hovering around this throughout the story give it a more organic feel, if that makes sense.

Neither one ever seemed to think of eating or being eaten as a sexual thing until they met each other. And while I still think there's a genetic component to their mutual desire for this to happen, it's clear that the driving force behind said desire is their feelings for one another. I think the hesitation be each of them is a sign of that (Chloé's hesitation hasn't been as obvious, given her bubbly nature, but just like she said when she teased Mika, she could just do it whenever she wants. So technically, every second Mika spends outside of her stomach is her hesitating to put him in there).

But yeah, I just started thinking about all that during that scene and thought it was funny that being swallowed by Chloé (or swallowing Mika, from her side of it) has become more intimate than crawling around inside her pussy.

Also, I mentioned it after the last chapter, but I wanted to point out again how much I appreciate the way you've built the relationship between Chloé and Oklahoma. I don't think it would have served the story well to have made that a focus "on screen," so to speak, so having them bond between chapters, when the trio is actually doing most of the traveling and we're not around, is a nice touch.

I bring this up again because it struck me just how comfortable Oklahoma has quietly become around Chloé. When she thought the giant mermaid was Chloé, Oklahoma's first response was to chastise her, which isn't something I thought she would ever be comfortable doing to the Naga in her actual form. Then, of course, there's Oklahoma volunteering to go inside Chloé's stomach first to show the crew that it's safe. She REALLY doesn't seem like the kind of person that would volunteer for that sort of thing (in fact, I expected her to argue about it until it was just Mika and her left on Chloé's belly), so this really surprised me. Chloé has earned a lot of trust with Oklahoma, and the pilot definitely isn't someone who trusts easily.

And it was also sweet how Chloé included Oklahoma when talking about what she didn't know was missing in her life. That not only shows that the feeling is mutual, but it also subtly tells us that, yes, the two are getting along quite well when we're not around to see it (or even in those quick notes in the story, like when it was mentioned that Oklahoma brought Chloé to play cards with the crew).

I just really like the discreet way this has been brought along, with little hints here and there to let us know that this is happening. It makes scenes like the ones in this chapter make sense when they would otherwise feel pretty random for the characters.

I do feel bad for Carl, though. I feel like he indirectly called dibs on Mika's riding spot, so he kind of got screwed, and not in the way he wanted. Not only that, but a mermaid showed up and he still didn't get any sex (I mean, we are playing by Lovecraftian rules here, right?). Poor dude.

Emilia seems to genuinely like Higgins, even though she knows he's not a good guy. Maybe hanging around her sisters so much has gotten her used to sharing company with unfeeling killers (I mean, compared to Yukia, Higgins is seems downright cuddly). I also like the dynamic between these two, with Higgins' experience in high pressure situations giving him a bit of an edge on Emilia, despite the vast age difference. She's able to keep it together, but Higgins can keep her on edge. Between that and the mutual respect they seem to have for each other, it's always interesting to see them together.

And speaking of Emilia, I was curious how she was going to introduce herself to Mika and company, and it looks like she's going with the honesty route. That means it looks like we'll be getting a better view of the big picture in the next chapter, as I'm pretty sure the archivist of all people is going to have a pretty good idea of what's going on. Yeah, we've got the gist of things, I think, but, you know, unanswered questions and all that.

Thulsa Doom? Thulsa Doom?! THULSA DOOM?!

That's a hell of an obscure reference you threw in there! That's one family lineage even the cat girls cant Conquer.

Once again, I'm really enjoying this story. there's a lot of moving parts to it, which I'm into, but the biggest draw for me is still that dynamic between our male and female protagonists. In particular, the ethical quandary surrounding their relationship provides a lot of depth to both Chloé  and Mika.

I think the most interesting part of this is the different ways in which the two of them are using/interpreting the word scared. Chloé still believes that Mika is scared that she might eat him at some point, and this clearly breaks her heart. The way she starts to cry when she tells Mika she would never eat him or any of his friends was a sad but touching moment.

Of course, Mika already knows this and probably has for a while now. If there was any doubt of that, the fact that his reaction was to harshly ask about innocent people who aren't his friends proves this is the case. There was no relief that he was guaranteed safety, something you would expect even if he was still concerned for other people as well. 

No, he's troubled by that answer, because when he told her that she scares him, I don't think he meant that he was afraid of her. In a way, I think he's actually scared for her. He's afraid that she's going to turn into a monster ... well, more of a monster ... a metaphorical monster. Yeah, let's roll with that.

Mika's afraid that he's in love with someone who has no problem taking human life, regardless of whether they "deserve" it, that she'll only ever look at the humans she doesn't know personally as food. He's already trying to reason away any past innocent victims that Chloé may have killed (although he admits he'll never know for sure) by reminding himself that there was no way for her to know better back then. But the fact that he even asked her about it shows how much it bothers him that she might have killed someone who's only crime was being around her. While I think Mika legitimately cares for the lives of the strangers he's trying to save from becoming a potential meal, what he's really worried about is balancing the feelings he has for her with the fear that she's an indiscriminate killer.

In short, he's afraid that he can't be with Chloé, and his efforts to instill a good set of morals in her is his way of fighting against that fear. Not only that, but it's not enough for her to stop eating 

Chloé, of course, can't understand Mika's real fear, as she doesn't understand humans well enough to get such a concept yet. His words are having an impact however. Ironically, though, I think Chloé is doing more of the ethical legwork herself.

For example, I love the way this chapter ended, with Chloé hesitating to eat that womanizer, his begging causing her to fight against her instincts as she wasn't sure what to do. Before we saw which side won out (to be fair, the narrative itself seemed very pro-vore, but we still don't know for sure what she would have done), Mika intervenes and Chloé does the right thing. This is brilliant because we're left to wonder what choice she would have made on her own and, therefore, just how far she's come from a moral perspective.

What I'm really looking forward to down the road, however, is seeing how, if at all, Chloé's code of ethics differs from Mika's as it develops. Will she find instances where she feels morally justified to eat people (obviously, that's different from just eating people and not really caring, even if you try to justify it by calling them "bad")? If so, will Mika understand and accept those differences? I mean, would it would be enough for him if Chloé simply stopped eating people because he asked her to, even if she would still see them as food but just care about him enough to give up some delicious snacks? I don't think that's the case, so she needs to come to these conclusions herself if she's going to get to where Mika wants her to go. As such, he may have to decide if he can accept that she may be able to justify doing some things that he may not agree with, such as eating people who are actively trying to kill them. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out, if it comes to that.

I love how the tabloids are leaking out the catgirls' plans. I usually go to them for all my catgirl news, so this was very reassuring.

I'm also glad that we confirmed that Emilia is working against Ouroboros. It sure seemed that way, but I feel like this is the first time we could confirm that she was working to stop them rather than to sabotage her cohort for personal gain. I also really like her motivation and that she's been having these reservations for centuries, but only just now acting on them. That adds a sense of urgency to the story, cluing us in that this is different what her people have been doing all this time. Shit's about to get real. Like, really real.

The way her mindfuck powers are working on Oklahoma is also fun to read. Oklahoma gets to continue being herself the entire time (as opposed to being in some kind of trance state) and her true motivations shine through, even when she's acting on "orders." Also, I know she's eager to have first dibs on whatever treasure they find, but I wonder if she'll find anything that belongs in a museum.

I've quietly really liked Higgins's character from the start, and I really like where he's going. The way he's been set up as an unfeeling professional cutthroat this whole time makes his concerns about his current employer that much more potent to the reader. Also, I could see him slowly being set up for some kind of redemption arc (I think I've made my feelings on those very clear) but I could just as easily see him diving in head first and going the other way. It's nice to have that kind of uncertainty with a character.

And lastly, I didn't see the plot twist about Mika being part-catperson coming (although with a name like Mika, maybe I should have? It sounds very catperson-like to me, for some reason.). I'm intrigued to see where this development takes us, as Emilia hinted that he could provide an alternative to the catgirls shrinking us all down and eating us, which would be nice.

Having seen Chloe's more or less master English over the course of three chapters, I again have to say brilliant developing a language barrier for the Mika and her to overcome was. Not only did that show off how intelligent Chloe is (as Mika notes himself), but I feel like the way this was handled in the first two chapters has helped the man-eating naga maintain a sense of innocence that I don't think could have been pulled off if she could have simply communicated with him from the start.

It just feels more natural when she doesn't understand certain things about the human world, given that she didn't even speak any human languages just weeks before. And the cuteness that came from her gradually learning the language is still reflected when she forgets certain words (such as "legs"), and that puts a softer tone to her discussion on eating humans and "friend privileges." I think Mika's assumption that her ethics haven't developed yet is right on the mark.

On the subject on her ethics, it was interesting to see Chole feel "uncomfortable" after eating those three mercenaries. I think, on some level (although maybe not a conscious one), she understands that her eating habits scare Mika, which clearly isn't what she wants. And the fact that she can now actually understand what her prey is screaming from her stomach probably doesn't help much either. I'm really curious to see wear this goes, as her simple logic of "eat bad humans, don't eat my friend" might get a bit more complicated as the story moves forward.

I love how creative Chloe is getting with these fruit visions. I also believe that's the first time she has intentionally gotten Mika off. That ties in well with the ongoing theme of MIka being surprised that someone finds him attractive (or at least hinting that nobody back home does). The scene with Chloe manipulating him in her mouth to climax, then exposing him to the fruit reflects that the naga not only finds him attractive but also feels a deeper connection with him and wants to keep him safe, matching her other actions as well. I just like the intense feelings Chloe seems to have for him matched with the backdrop of a dude with zero confidence in himself.

And again, that constant conflict Mika has between wanting to escape, wanting to stay with Chloe, and wanting to be food is great! His need to uncover his past is really engaging, but the internal struggle he's having regarding Chloe is driving the story just as much.

Yukia and Emilia brought a lot more questions with them when they arrived. I certainly didn't expect Ouroboros to send in the catgirls. Shit must be getting real.

Yukia's shrinking power adds another element to the fetishy side of this story for sure, but I'm interested to see how useful it turns out to be plot wise. And my first thought on Emilia is that she's secretly working against Ouroboros, but she could just as easily be planning on just cutting out Yukia to move herself up in the organization. She adds another element of intrigue for sure.

Oklahoma's back! You said she'd be back, and now she's back! It seems Emilia has some specific plans for her, even if the pilot isn't able to remember them. In any case, I'm looking forward to the sarcastic pilot lady's reunion with Mika and introduction to Chloe. That should be really interesting.

And you left us on that little cliffhanger with Chloe and Mika, implying that Mika was the one that found her egg (apparently) 19 years ago. That of course leaves us wondering where Mika and his parents were when the egg hatched. I'm sure she would have appreciated their help against that villainous frog!

But yeah, I'm a big fan of how this little mystery is unfolding. The pacing is nice; I feel like we've learned a lot in just three chapters, yet there are still so many questions waiting to be answered. I'm pretty well locked in to this one!

"Thanks, Lilah. That was nice," she murdered.

I'm sorry, but this cracked me up. Given the length of this story, a few typos and such are to be expected, so don't take this as a complaint. I just found this to be really funny.

"Oh, that was nice." STAB! STAB!

But it was another line of dialogue just a bit further down that I felt encapsulated the core of this story in a nice bit of meta writing:

"Hey, no judgement! I like smut! I bet you're really good at writing smut! Like you take the time to really set up the characters so they feel like real people. And then you let things build up really slowly, so that the reader is super into the story once the sex finally happens, it's super fucking hot. That's like the best smut!"

You did a fantastic job setting up these characters, and I was invested in both of them from the very start of the story. Every line of dialogue and pretty much every piece of narrative gave us insight into Becca and Lilah, so much so that it felt like we got to know them pretty well by the end of the story.

And the source of the conflict between the two is handled really well, too. Early on, I kind of expected that Becca and Lilah never acted on their feelings because they didn't want to ruin the friendship, a tried and true trope that tends to work pretty well. I really like the way you went instead, with each of them feeling as though what they want from the other, at least sexually, would be seen so terribly by the other that they never considered acting on it.

For Becca, she makes pretty clear that she believes Lilah would hate to be viewed as a little-folk-eating sex goddess, given the big folk's naturally friendly personality and the effort she makes to look out for her tiny friend. Becks even goes so far as to say that she thought it was "disrespectful" to view Delilah like that, hence her strong effort to ignore her attraction to her roommate. This is a really good justification for a character to have never made a move on a longtime friend and potential love interest.

And Lilah is on the other side of that coin. She wants Becca to feel safe and loved, and that seems to make her feel ashamed about her deeper wants. Not only that, but Delilah was probably afraid that acting on her lust, even as a roleplay, could shatter her relationship with her beloved Becks, undoing the years of work she put in to make sure her friend was comfortable around her. Again, this makes a lot of sense.

Of course, as we move through the story, it becomes more and more obvious that their sexual desires compliment each other perfectly. It was only a matter of one of them realizing that to bring them together. This is kind of a unique angle to take on a classic theme (friends who secretly share a fetish), and it serves as a great vehicle for development of our two leading ladies.

But what really blew me away was how you "let things build up." From the beginning, this story was setting things up for later. Not only that, but there were "pieces" scattered throughout the story to let us know exactly what was going on (and at least one time to make it plausible to question Lilah's intentions). And none of it is explicitly spelled out, which I love as well. I enjoy inferring things, and this story is full of stuff to put together.

For example, it's never outright stated that Lilah planned the events of her evening with Becks (at least everything north of scrump muffin), but there are plenty of clues regarding her intentions, some obvious, others less so. There are some of the more obvious hints, such as Lilah's shady reaction about how convenient it was that she had the keyboard adapter handy, the story being open on her computer, her makeup, and the lollipop swallowing. But then there are some more obscure ones as well, such as Tifalover88 combining two things Becca clearly loves, Lilah's frustration when Becks says she's going to call it a night early, and the choice of movie for the creature feature, which again, is something Becca loves.

All of that points to Lilah trying to wow Becca both sexually and just on a personal level. She wanted Becks to see how perfect they are for each other, and she went through a good deal of effort and planning to do so.

Then there's how Lilah discovered their shared fetish in the first place. Lilah admits that Becca is one of her favorite writers on that site, but she didn't realize it until she read that last story. Sure the characters match Becca and her, but that could have easily been a coincidence, so that alone wouldn't have been enough to tip her off. But we're also told that she used to read Becca's work all the time, which ties everything together. Lilah was probably drawn to Becca's stories in the first place because she was unknowingly familiar with the writing style. Recognizing Becca and her in the strawberry shortcake story was just that last piece she needed to recognize who the author of those stories really was.

I even found myself reflecting on why exactly that dinner with Eve and Lilah turned out so terribly. At first, I just assumed it was just a case of Lilah being jealous, but honestly, it probably had more to do with her not knowing how to handle seeing someone she loved, someone she had convinced herself she couldn't truly be with, in a serious relationship with someone else. Also, Becca thought they would get along because of how considerate Lilah is toward littles, but, while I think Lilah respects littles in general and would treat them with respect, that effort to anticipate Becca's needs was really more about her feelings for her precious Becks than it was her going all out just to make a little feel comfortable. In other words, Becca didn't realize that Lilah was going out of her for her specifically, so it was surely weird for her to see Lilah not be like that for another little.

But, in terms of building, that ending was set up extremely well. The constant reference to the alcohol and glitterdust, the dialogue establishing a safeword, the way the narrative notes that Lilah probably would have regretted swallowing Becca too soon: All of this (and other little things) helps make it seem plausible that Lilah might actually eat (as in digest and all) her little friend. This adds an intensity and foreboding sense around the scene where Becca really does get swallowed. It makes sense that Becca, in her fear and intoxicated state, would forget the safeword before making the trip down her giant roommate's throat, just like it makes sense that Lilah, between the drugs, alcohol, and sexual euphoria, would forget that she didn't tell Becks that she couldn't be digested. The story kept its sweet, heartwarming core, yet still gives us that sense of darkness that comes with (at least seemingly) fatal vore. This was a really clever and unique balancing act.

Well, I've probably rambled too much already. I really appreciate how meticulously crafted this story is. It has elements in it that can make you think if you're into that, but it's really no less enjoyable if you're not looking for that sort of thing. This was really well written, and I plan to check out your other story when I get a chance.

Oh, and I saw in the other reviews that you haven't see a lot of other stories that share this particular style of nonfatal vore. I'm not sure if this quite fits your criteria, but have you read Back to Normal by Greenanon? I'm working my way through it now, and I feel like one of the characters in that story might at least approach what you're looking for.

“Tomayto, tomahto.” Shana replied, shrugging with a smirk.

I know the misspellings are for emphasis, and that was definitely the way to get the point across here, but part of me still wishes that you just spelled "tomato" twice. I don't know why, but I find that thought pretty funny for some reason.

But on a more serious note, I think you did a great job of using dialogue to give us important details on this world, particularly the status of tinies within it. Emily and Shana's little back and forth was both entertaining and informative.

That technique also made the portion of the chapter in which you used the narrative to explain some details not come off as exposition-y. The explanation about those fighting for little folks' rights was written in a way that followed the flow of the conversation, and those three brief one-sentence paragraphs came off more as a deeper look at Emily's perspective and less as an infodump.

And I like the small additions to the first chapter. Seeing that Jane was wearing torn pieces of cloth tells us a lot about how tinies live day-to-day. And did the original version of the chapter note that Maya was 13, or did I just miss that the first time around?

I do have a couple of knits to pick, if that's alright. These are just me being picky since you seem to be looking to continue working on your craft. These are some things that I think can make the difference between a good story and a great one, as opposed to a good story or a bad one, if that makes sense.

The first piece of constructive criticism is that I didn't feel as though Shana's dialogue matched up with the character you set up in the first chapter. She was giving off major tomboy bully vibes when you first described her, but she came off as a bit stuffy when she spoke, and her word choices seemed a bit uncommon.

Here's an example:

 “So riddle me this, Barbie. If they are people, then why hasn't anyone ever been jailed or even just tried for killing them?”

I feel like the words "jailed" and "tried," while used correctly here, aren't being used in a way that people commonly speak, making Shana come off as sounding odd. The "riddle me this" isn't odd in general, but I'm not sure that it fits the character that you've set up.

She's your character, so maybe it isn't my place to say, but I think something like this sounds more appropriate for a tomboy bully:

Okay then, Barbie. If they're people, then how come nobody's ever gone to court or even been arrested for killing them?"

(I did think the Barbie insult was a nice touch, by the way. That's just the type of thing a tomboy would make fun of somebody like Emily for, I think: assuming that she's a stuck-up airhead just because she's blonde.)

I think you could even lose the "gone to court" and have arrested stand on its own, but I left it in to replace tried.

Not to beat a dead horse, but there was one more example that stuck out for me:

“This farce has been going on for too long. Show me what you have in hand of your own choosing before I decide to do it myself.”

To me, this sounds like something an old-fashioned noble (or at least a rich, "went to the best schools" kind of kid) would say. The word farce, again, doesn't sound like it belongs in the mouth of a tomboy. I also think that for a bully like Shana, the threat would have played better had the violence been a bit more directly implied.

Here's another way this could have been stated:

"This shit's gone on for too long. Show me what's in your hand before I make you."

"Shit" (or "crap" if you don't want the character to swear) sounds more crude then farce, and therefore, to me, sound more like something a bully or tomboy might say. I also think "make you" sounds more like a threat than "decide to do it myself," which requires more context to realize what that means (the context isn't lacking here, but my point is that "make you" is simpler).

In both of my examples, I also tried to shorten the sentences a bit, make them a bit crisper. I feel like bullies tend to keep their sentences short and to the point. It makes what they say appear more threatening, I think. Notice I used "nobody's" and "shit's" instead of "nobody has" and "shit has." I also cut off the extra verbiage "of your own choosing" entirely in the second example.

Your pretty good at writing dialogue in general, but the next step is to really hone in on the way in which each character speaks. Someone like Shana, at least based on my interpretation, should sound a bit more rough around the edges, for example. Things like that are tricky, but they really help your characters come alive and distinguish themselves from each other.

The other "knit" is that I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Jane in this chapter. I think Emily and Shana driving the conversation was the right call, but maybe Jane could have tried to chime in only to be shut down harshly by Shana, which would fit into the effort to establish tinies place in this world. Or perhaps taking a quick sentence between lines of dialogue once in a while to describe Jane's reactions to what's being said.

Maybe Jane tries to hide between Emily's fingers as Shana talks about tinies being killed. Or she could tremble with either fear or anger as Shana tells Emily that little folk aren't people. She could even look up in admiration at Emily for standing up for her kind. Or it could have been a neat bit of foreshadowing to have her shiver a bit as she catches Suki stealing a weird glance at her.

Now, you did do this once in the chapter, when Maya tried to comfort Jane only to have the little folk shiver and Maya stop as a result.  But as Emily and Shana got into it, I found myself really curious how Jane was taking all this. So I guess my advice is that you can show reactions, both directly or indirectly, for characters that aren't playing a role in a conversation if what's being talked about is of interest to them, if that makes sense.

But despite my long-winded, overdetailed ramblings above, I thought this was a really good chapter. I'm pretty invested in what happens to Jane, and getting your audience to care about your characters is really the hardest part of writing, so well done! I'm eager to see where you take this story next!