Reviewer: It Was Me Signed [Report This]
Date: September 28 2024 7:40 AM Title: Chapter 17 - Hope

If I'm being honest, I didn't expect Emily to figure things out so quickly, although I did think it was possible that she might do so eventually. I know how observant she was being was highlighted at the end of the previous chapter, but she didn't waste any time putting the pieces together, did she?

It makes sense, though, especially after she explained it. She's envy of the relationship that Jordan and Alice have, but she clearly cares about both of them (I mean, she outright said she cares about Jordan). She's someone I could see watching people like them closely, picking up their habits from a distance. This could come off as creepy, but given what we know about Emily, that vibe didn't come off too strongly for me here. I think Jordan's first reaction to this being sympathy and a bit of curiosity helped in this regard.

Also, the suggestion that she's actually crushing on Jordan (at least that's how I read this chapter) explains a lot about her. Surely Alice and Jordan aren't the only close friends in Emily's general orbit, let along the only boy and girl who are friends. So what makes them so special that she's jealous of their relationship? It looks like the answer may be Jordan. Her picking up on his foot fetish and being willing to use it to try and make him happy seems to indicate as much, anyway.

But what made this chapter work so well is the way you covered the conflict that Emily is going through. Seeing as how both segments are told strictly from Jordan's perspective, that couldn't have been easy to do. But noting the desperation in her eyes, the mixture of affection and sadness in her voice, and how Jordan related to the pain he felt being separated from Alice for a day to what Emily goes through every day, it's easy to understand where Emily is coming from. Not only that, but it's clear that she knows what she's doing is wrong, that she doesn't want to do it, but she feels like she has to if she's ever going to get that connection that she wants, whether that involves any semblance of romance or just pure friendship.

Another part of her behavior showing that Emily is fighting with herself over this is when she put him on her foot. She outright declared that Jordan is her little pet, her "special companion," now whether he like it or not, but at the same time, she's trying to entice him to accept this. She's not keeping Jordan out of an interest in tinies or a lust for power over another person; she's doing it because she wants what Alice and Jordan have. She wants him to be happy with her. She doesn't want to force him to be with her; she wants him to choose it. He just needs to be forced into it for the moment, in her mind. She's doing what she can to make him come around, to ease her guilt over what she's doing. They can both be happy with this arrangement, right?

Ironically, while I think Jordan following Leila's advice and playing along is exactly what his character would do, I actually think that him showing Emily how miserable and hopeless he feels about the prospect of being stuck like this forever, of being nothing more than her little "pet" (I don't think she meant this in a derogatory way or even by the standard definition), might be the fastest way to get out of this situation. Like I said above, she wants him to be happy. If she realized how much her decision was hurting him emotionally, I don't think it would take her long to come around. 

Of course, Emily isn't thinking things through. Like Jordan said, emotions are clouding her judgment.

For one thing, she doesn't seem to realize that Jordan is actually Molly's pet, not hers. Emily is just keeping watch over him because Molly is too young for having responsibility over something so frail. But Maria is surely going to let Molly handle her pet again, I'm sure. I bet the first time this happens would be almost as nerve-wracking for Emily as it would be for Jordan. Seeing her kid sister carelessly handle her friend and likely crush would scare the shit out of her, I'd think. It wouldn't take much for an accident to happen, then no more Jordan. And even if she trusts Molly to be careful, Emily has to know that Jordan will never be happy being Molly's pet, that he'll always be scared, annoyed, and probably nauseous every time Molly gets time with him.

Another thing she's not thinking about is Alice. She's so upset at Jordan asking for Alice that she's putting aside the fact that she feels bad that Alice is going through this, as we saw a couple chapters back. How would Emily feel the first time she goes back to school and sees a distraught Alice suffering because her best friend, the person that she loves but doesn't fully realize it yet, is missing. Emily would feel like shit!

So yeah, I do think that Emily might well do the right thing on her own at some point. But there might be a confrontation with Alice before that happens, which could also be interesting. So I'm still left questioning what happens next!

Lastly, I want to point out how good a dude Jordan is. I didn't mention it in my last review, but holy shit did I love Jordan volunteering to save the youngling and trying to steal something from the big world for Elsie, reckless though it was. He has a good heart and is exactly the type of main character you want to root for (and the type of guy to have girls like Alice and Emily pining for him).

I bring that up now because the way Jordan is handling this Emily situation is incredible. It would be so easy to hate Emily for what she's doing, to think that this is the reason why she doesn't have any friends or other mean thoughts. Instead, he empathizes with her, understands where she's coming from. He even feels a little guilty despite not doing anything wrong. He hates that she feels so lonely, and despite her trying to straight up keep him for herself, he's still swearing that he's going to make an effort to keep her from feeling this way if he ever gets his size back. What a great guy!

So yeah, another excellent chapter! I'm glad you decided to give Emily so many layers, as she could have easily just been a one-dimensional, "now you're mine, insert evil cackle" type character. So thanks for fleshing her out so much!

Author's Response:

Emily definitely didn't waste any time. She had been around since the start, seeing Alice all by herself and watching her get flustered when she had lost Jordan from her grip. And then of course, her mom finding this tiny human-like creature in that same park. I wanted her to be the one to figure it out, because she had always watched Jordan from a distance and observed everything he did, to an obsessive point almost, that it made sense to me that Emily would be the one that could, where even Jordan's best friend or anyone else could not. Alice had never even considered that the tiny creature could be Jordan because she couldn't imagine him like that, even though the clues like his first letter from his name or his hair color, were right there. But Emily was more willing to consider the possibility and was able to see the similarities between Jordan and this weird little pet.

She might just have an untold crush that she never considered, but in her mind she really just wants a close friend by her side, and she's so lonesome that she's not thinking clearly and actually willing to keep him like this just so she won't have to be alone again. I wanted her to do something that's considered terrible, keeping a person as a pet, but for a reason people might be able to relate to, or maybe might even consider doing the same thing in her situation. That brings me back to my first reply that I didn't want her to be outright malicious in the generic *you're mine and I can do whatever I want to you, evil smirk* way like you said, just a lonely person doing what she feels she has to even if it's not entirely right (not that most of us on this site would probably complain in Jordan's position but hey)

I think Emily isn't really thinking about anyone or considering how they might be feeling, especially Alice whom she's grown really jealous of. Which is of course, really ironic when you think about it, but people do drastic things when they're in a bad place. Of course she'll probably feel bad about it later, but right now she just wants to have a friend or companion, no matter what it takes.

I'm glad you think of Jordan that way! I didn't want him to be entirely perfect or flawless. While he did pick up on Emily's behavior at school, as mentioned in one of the early chapters, he never actually went up to her to see what's up, which puts him in his current position, maybe because he was insecure or didn't think it necessary.  And he also didn't think to tell Alice about the creature before he ran off, or not going back to Leila with the youngling and putting himself in danger. He has his moments of pure recklessness or bad decision making, but he does always want to do the right thing, even if he's a bit clueless, about his own certain interests no less. Now that I think about it, I had to go back and refresh my memory, but Duncan didn't even know why he got excited at first either. I guess there's no better way to realize your kink than getting shrunk and having to face it head-on.

As always, I appreciate the insight! Fleshing out characters in a way that makes them not purely good or bad without reason is something I'd like to keep around in every story, that just makes things more interesting (though if anyone expressed interest in a giantess with actual bad intentions, I'd consider it)