Reviewer: It Was Me Signed [Report This]
Date: December 05 2024 1:27 AM Title: Ch 17. Confrontations

Damn, I didn't expect you to get the next chapter out so fast and now I'm behind. There's a lot in this chapter here, so I'm just going to review this one and jump to the next one after that.

Havi is cannon now! We did it! Heather's exactly right; it is adorable.

As usual, I really enjoyed the small touches you put into this chapter. Things like Lynn calling the rhombus a "rhomboid" because she's "not a nerd" and didn't realize she was saying the wrong thing make this story feel so alive, and it's so much fun to read these characters because of it. And Alena and Lynn's reaction to finding out that Heather had "crushed the rhomboid" was so fucking cute. We hadn't really seen what any of the characters outside the rhombus thought of Javi's precarious love life, so it was great to see that Lynn, Alena, Jackie, and Pierce were all pulling for Heather the whole time (which makes sense, because she's the only they really know, but still!) and that they had become invested enough to give the then-hypothetical couple a nickname.

But man was the title of this chapter as on-the-nose as it could possible be. There were confrontations galore here, and each one made me feel a little different. I was so glad to see that I was right and that Lynn didn't hold a grudge against Heather for what happened at the dance. I love that Alena and Lynn both hugged her first thing and that Lynn and Heather got into a "fight' over who should be apologizing to who. Alena apologizing first out of everyone seemed to really fit her character, as I think she had the least to apologize for out of the three of them, so of course she the opposite and kicks things off.

While we're here, though, I want to focus on Heather for a minute. Her continued lack of confidence in herself reminds me just a tiny bit of one of my own characters, and I can assure you that it's just as grueling reading her doubt herself as it has been for some of the people who've read my story to read Callie doing the same (I just want to clarify that I mean this in a good way, as grueling usually has a negative connotation attached to it).

I bring this up because we see some examples of this in this very chapter. For example, while I actually kind of like how hard Heather is on herself even after Lynn tells her that what Heather did to her is okay, as that shows legit remorse rather than just trying to get back to the status quo, I still felt bad seeing her beat herself up here, demanding that she be held accountable. Heather was getting down on herself so much, that she missed Lynn saying that she was wrong for not listening to Heather. We went through this in the last chapter, but that's a big deal for Lynn to do, as she's always so confident and so sure that she's right all the time. So this really showed me how much Lynn values her friendship with Heather, but Heather was too busy feeling unworthy of Lynn's friendship to even notice this.

Thankfully Lynn was able to help her move past this by saying they both fucked up (which is true).

But we see this lack of confidence again later, when Heather is explaining why Javi "stood her up" at the dance. As she's retelling the story, she realizes that it was by chance that she wandered into that bathroom and found Shawna and Javi, making her wonder if Javi would have ended up with MIchelle had he gone to the dance with her instead. Of course, we have more information than her, such as how Javi, when he thought he was going to die, devoted his "last thoughts" to Heather, so we know this isn't true and that Javi would have chosen her regardless at some point. But I was a little bummed that Heather even entertained the possibility that it was only dumb luck that led to Javi and her getting together.

Okay, now to get back on track.

If there's one thing I learned from that Tiny Student Committee segment, it's that Jeremy is going to be a problem at some point. I kind of got that vibe from him before, but fuck was he a jerk here. I like how the new confident Jackie put him in his place and that everyone else seemed to be on her side instead of his. Her sarcasm here was awesome, and I'm so happy to see her coming out of her shell in public as much as she is in the bedroom.

I was also thrilled to see Jackie let Melanie have it a little bit once she found out about Shawna's prank. Even though she's into vore, Jackie had no patience for someone signing off on eating a tiny without consent and made sure Melanie knew how fucked up that was, no matter the circumstances. I also liked the way Pierce almost seemed traumatized on behalf of his friend; there was just something ... distant about his response, and it was fucking perfect!

The way Jackie was rubbing Pierce's back as he sat on her thigh during the meeting was so heartwarming and adorable! It was another one of those "gentle moments" I've mentioned before. But I loved how Jackie subconsciously changed the way she was doing it while finding out what happened to Javi, switching to rubbing soothing circles into his back with her thumb. I came away from that thinking that this was both for his benefit and for hers, as the action seemed to calm them both down a little (seeing this affect them this much was great, by the way).

And then we got a little more Michelle and Sam to close out the segment, which was fantastic! The way Michelle came to notice Sam after it was made clear that she was zeroing in on finding Javi was a nice little piece of writing, hinting at Michelle deciding to move on and give Sam a chance a little later in the chapter. I also like how guilty Michelle felt when Sam pointed out that she had finally noticed them, even though Sam didn't mean it in a bad way (I love their take on this when they talk about it at the coffee shop).

And that date scene! Damn, that was the best kind of awkward. The way Sam couldn't recover in time from feeling deflated over what they thought was a rejection was so fun to read. I think my favorite part was when they were chastising themself over making a Next Generation joke and trying so hard to think of "normal things" to talk about (I did like the little payoff of the barista getting the joke and writing Picard on the cup); this encapsulated their nervous energy in the best way possible, I think. It was also sweet that Michelle found their awkwardness around her cute, even giving them a leg up on her precious Javi on that front.

Michelle's answer to what she sees in Javi kind of made everything click for me in terms of her character. She isn't really in love with Javi, per se, but more what he did for her. It's really sad that people would be so cruel to her, but that's the way that high school goes. To find out that Javi, who almost never stands up for himself (more on that a little later), would so vigorously defend her like that was really touching, and it makes perfect sense that she'd want to be with him so badly, even if it's obvious that he just doesn't feel that way about her. However, this also made Sam's compliments to her (calling her pretty, in particular, even if I liked the whole being beneath her notice thing more) much more meaningful. Michelle had never been complimented like this before, so Sam giving her this kind of attention makes them stand out to her in a similar yet at the same time entirely different way than Javi does. I was so happy to see her move on from her Javi feelings, too!

But that's jumping ahead. That confrontation between Michelle, Javi, and Heather was one that I didn't think too much about before but probably should have. This one was really well done, as I could understand both how upset Michelle was about the dance and how annoyed Heather was with Michelle at first. I really, really like that Heather was the one to tell Michelle the truth, as I don't think Javi would have ever done that, electing to be the brunt of Michelle's anger rather than expose what Shawna did.

The complete 180 that Michelle did once she learned what really happened was much more gratifying than I would have thought. My feelings on Michelle have been moving more positive for a while now, but this scene made me really appreciate her character. I think we've both mentioned before (and I just did again above) that Michelle is more in love with what Javi represents (which I didn't know before now was a white knight) rather than Javi himself, but this showed that she does genuinely care for him as a person. I loved seeing how upset she got about it, and the way she ripped into Shawna in the next part of the segment had me cheering her on.

The way Heather and Michelle kind of bonded over the whole thing was amazing, too. I certainly wasn't expect that, but it made me smile. That Michelle told Heather to "keep him safe" before leaving says a lot about what she thinks about both Javi and Heather (even if she does lowkey think/hope the relationship doesn't last, as evidenced by that coffee shop scene).

That leads us to the big confrontation, the one we (or at least I) have been waiting for: Shawna, Javi, and Heather. Like I said above, seeing Michelle get involved in part one of the conflict was a welcome surprise, and I like how all three women were so passionate that they forgot to let the most important person in the argument speak. Heather was so fierce going at Shawna, which was spectacular, and the way Shawna indignantly defended herself, believing that Heather was just being ignorant, was perfect, because it came off as arrogant and tone deaf in the moment, but my view on this changed completely after reading the second part of the confrontation after class.

At the core of this is that Shawna really believed that Javi was into vore and that the fear he felt was part of the rush for him rather than a traumatizing experience. I'm not saying this was at all Javi's fault, but I have to admit that I can understand Shawna's confusion here. It's made clear that Javi knows Shawna is into vore and that she thought he was too, but he didn't correct her because he didn't want to disappoint her. While that may be kind of sweet, it can also lead to situations like what happened on Galaween. Again, that doesn't excuse acting without consent, but it does help to paint Shawna's actions in a different light.

So when Javi told her how he felt and Shawna started crying and struggling to contain her emotions, I really felt for her. Hearing Javi say that he did know that she would never hurt him, or at least he thought he did, and now he doesn't know that at all had to be devastating, and she acted accordingly. I'm actually surprised she was able to keep it together enough to leave the room without sobbing, but I was happy to see her so understanding about Javi's needs in the aftermath of what she did and even try to make amends with Heather.

Speaking of which, I think Heather's harsh reaction to that makes a lot of sense. From what we know, she's been surrounded by self-centered, insincere jerks for most of her life, so it makes sense that once Shawna did something like this, Heather is unable and/or unwilling to give her the benefit of the doubt or take anything Shawna said about why she did what she did into consideration. It's cool that she has so much respect for Javi that she doesn't even try to talk him out of forgiving Shawna, though.

As for Javi himself, I'm glad that he was able to express that he needed space for Shawna and that things between them wouldn't be the same again, but his people-pleasing nature is still keeping him from properly valuing himself, I think. It's telling that he spent most of class worrying about Shawna's reaction to the coming confrontation and that one of his first questions after she left was "Do you think she's mad at me?" That it was openly noted in the narrative that he didn't take Heather telling him that the only one Shawna should be mad at is herself was so sad. I took him scratching his head as him being confused by this, like he didn't understand how him standing up for himself and just telling Shawna how what she did to him made him feel didn't make him a bad person or something. For as far as Javi has come so far, this made clear that he still has a long way to go.

Oh, and the way Heather "protected" Javi in class was an extremely cute diversion in the middle of this tense scene. Even Michelle took motivation from it, and we didn't even realize she saw it until the next segment!

And the way Heather's heart melted when Javi called her place home was so fucking sweet. I think I got diabetes just from reading it.

The entire cooking scene was gold. Heather stressing out over making burgers was so on point. Seeing Jackie use her size to tease her sister is a bit new, but then again, we haven't actually seen these two together like this too often, so maybe this is normal? I'd like to think it's another sign of Jackie's growing sense of self-worth, though. I also agree with Pierce; a waterfall in a hotel suite is fucking insane! It just seems to fit his more down-to-earth personality that he would make such a big deal about things like that and rich people literally eating gold (I love how Heather hated that, by the way). And the satisfaction of Heather making burgers that everybody but her thought were fantastic (it makes sense that her, being used to five-star chefs, would be a bit more critical of her own food) was great to see from her.

The tiny food stealing got ramped up to another level here. I'm not sure if this was exactly what you were going for or not, but Jackie came off as a Sith lord here to me. You wrote "Do it: but I swear I read "Do it, young Skywalker." And I love how Heather just went for it, seemingly on instinct, and apologized nonstop to Javi after the fact, all with Darth Jackie cackling in the background. The overly dramatic way Pierce words everything here is hilarious, and Lynn's fury is palpable.

Meanwhile, Alena's just eating her food in peace, confused as hell over what's happening. Maybe she's immune to the tiny food addiction? Or will the Dark Side sway her over as well?

Author's Response:

Congratulations. You won me over. Havi has made its way into the cannon. You can thank Alena for that one because I realized while writing the chapter that a huge anime nerd like her is 100% the type to come up with ship names for all her favorite characters, and so I just had to sneak Havi into there through her.

Saying these characters make the story feel alive is very high praise. Thank you! I really enjoyed writing all the sweet interactions here between the trio, and we had to get everyone’s takes on the freshly defeated rhombus. Jackie, Pierce, and Alena briefly brought the rhombus up back in chapter 8, but I wrote that over half a year ago, so it’s good to get a fresher take from all of them. And yeah, Jackie even mentioned it back then, but they were all rooting for Heather partially because she’s the only one of three they really know (and are friends with), but come on, obviously Havi were meant for each other. They all know that! Alena would never bother coming up with however the hell you’d combine Javi and Michelle’s names (Mivi? I got nothing.).

I packed so many confrontations into this bad boy, what else was I supposed to title this chapter? lol Yeah, I think Lynn’s pride and Heather’s stubbornness come through in interesting ways here, with both wanting to be the one to apologize. They both do have things to feel sorry over, so it works out. I found your different interpretations from your last review of how Lynn would respond to Heather pretty interesting. I could see a pre-Galaween Lynn holding a grudge against Heather, but once she accepted she was wrong with how she handled her issues with Alena, forgiving Heather didn’t take much more convincing. As you’ve said in the past (and maybe in here, and maybe in the next review? There’s too many words to keep track of), Lynn has never been bothered by Heather’s roughness before, so the physical actions didn’t bother her like the feelings behind them did. And once those feelings were settled, Lynn was ready to throw her full trust in her friend again.

You know what? Good. I am damn well pleased to make you suffer like I did! Stew in it, ya jerk! That is for Every. Single. Time. that Callie or Duncan thought they weren’t good enough for each other when they couldn’t be more perfect by even the highest standards. Goddammit, I’m getting war flashbacks of pre-chapter 9 Roomies scenes. I need to ramp up Heather’s self-loathing to make up for it now lol.

I do think Heather is on an upwards path though (not at all evidenced by these chapters, but it’s coming I swear). Now that she has tiny friends, and a tiny boyfriend, she has more chances to improve her act around them and redeem herself in her eyes. But I’m getting ahead of myself, and I can’t promise to refrain from throwing more monkey wrenches her way.

I really wanted Heather to address the fact that a chance encounter in the bathroom is what finally brought her and Javi together, and how if one of several factors weren’t as they were, she may well not be with Javi at that moment. Like you said, we as the author/audience have more perfect knowledge that these two are into each other and have enough chemistry that they’d likely end up together somehow if not there, but it made too much sense to me that Heather would worry, if only for a passing moment, that she’s only with Javi by dumb luck. I think a lot of that particular doubt goes away by the end of the scene, with Javi referring to her place as “home,” but even if any of it lingers, it really shouldn’t take much to prove to her Javi and her are meant to be. 

Fucking Jeremy. Yeah, it ain’t the last we’re seeing of him. Unfortunately. Though, I suppose he makes the story more interesting, so thanks I guess. Fucking Jeremy.

To me, Jackie has a unique perspective regarding Shawna’s prank. Everyone can agree what she did was fucked up, but as a vore fetishist, Jackie hates seeing it practiced unethically. There’s enough stigma around the idea of big’s eating tinies, and she doesn’t need more fuel added to that fire. The idea that Pierce, or any tinies close to her, could think she’d pull something similar is devastating to her, and so is outwardly against that sort of behavior. Of course, Pierce isn’t worried about that. He’s been in her mouth too many times by this point to suspect she’d swallow him unwillingly, but he still remembers how scary the thought of getting swallowed is, and he’d freak out if anyone other than Jackie tried that shit with him, especially without a Vore Suit on.

Jackie rubbing Pierce that way has been stuck in my mind for a while now. It’s such a simple display of affection, and I adore how its comforting both ways, soothing both Pierce and Jackie. It’s like how petting a dog makes you happier and the dog happy. I don’t know, just don’t be surprised if that sort of thing pops up more in the future (and not just between Pierce and Jackie). 

I’m loving how well received Michelle and Sam have been these past two chapters (17 and 18). I didn’t want Michelle’s role in this story to die alongside the rhombus, and what Sam finds most attractive about Michelle is a side of this fetish I’ve been wanting to explore for some time now. I’m glad Sam’s nervous energy is coming off as cute as intended and not annoying or anything. I think that awkwardness is actually something they have going for them as Michelle is not used to people getting nervous around her. Calling her pretty is certainly doing them favors, and I’m elated to hear you finding their other reason for finding Michelle attractive even more compelling. After chapter 18, it will likely be a little while before we see more development between these two (I have so many characters to balance!), but I am looking forward to checking back in on these two when we have time to do so.

Yeah, I knew Heather had to be the one to fill Michelle in on what went down on Halloween. It wasn’t even a conscious decision, I just knew Javi wasn’t ratting Shawna out like that (even though it’s the right thing to do). And while her feelings for him are misplaced, Michelle and Javi still have a bond from high school, one Michelle should hopefully see is best left as friendship and not anything romantic. She “fell in love” with an ideal, but she does care about Javi the person and is going to be rightfully upset when someone hurts him. And with both her and Heather coming to accept the rhombus’ collapse, they don’t have much of anything pushing them apart, and so their mutual concern for Javi’s well being can bring them together in that moment. And to clarify, Michelle’s comment in the coffee shop about Havi possibly not lasting isn’t her hoping they break up. She’s seen Javi break it off with enough women (and enough women breaking it off with him), that she can’t be confident Heather wil fare any differently. She doesn’t know Heather that well after all, and she certainly didn’t read that scene of them together in Galaween part 2 (or the Penthouse stuff two chapters later, or the morning after chapter following that). I’m guessing you were already leaning towards that interpretation, but figured I’d clarify just to be safe (and because this response isn’t already long enough).

Shawna and Heather not letting Javi speak is a holdover from when the rhombus was early in development. Like, the context is completely different in the finished product, but that and the scene from forever ago where the three women are all fighting for his attention (Michelle with her butt, Heather with a banana, and Shawna with her boobs) were what inspired me to pursue the rhombus in the first place (before I even referred to it as the love rhombus thanks to you!). 

I really enjoyed writing this argument between Shawna and Heather (and Michelle) because it was so easy for me to slip into their shoes and believe both parties to be right from their perspectives. With these types of conflicts, I often fall into the doubts that one side’s arguments don’t make sense and are there to stir up drama, but it was so easy to justify Shawna’s beliefs with how Javi gave her the wrong idea about him. Like you said, Javi’s not at fault for what happened to him, but his people pleasing nature led to events occurring as they did. With her composure at the end there, Shawna is the oldest corner of the rhombus (age-wise, though also in terms of how long she knew Javi), and I view her as a more mature character emotionally as well with more experience under her belt. So yeah, she is devastated by the rift she created between her and Javi, but she has the strength to remain composed at least as long as she’s in public. 

And yeah, I think Heather’s response to her makes sense. She doesn’t have the history with her that Javi has. The only positive interaction they’ve had is Shawna giving her Melvin Adams’ info to help her quit smoking, and that isn’t enough to make up for what she did to Javi. But at the same time, Heather recognizes Javi does have a long history with her, and so she isn’t going to question or get in the way of his desire to preserve that friendship to some degree. It’s clear to her that Javi isn’t being misguided here but doing what could be reasonably rationalized as the right thing to do, though she’d be just as supportive if he wanted to cut ties with Shawna forever. Now, if only Javi would realize he did the right thing lol.

Inflicting the reader with diabetes is the mark of a good gentle story. I’m glad I could do your pancreas the disservice.

I’m glad you enjoyed the cooking scene. It felt good finally writing all six of the main cast together in the same room for the first time since … I think, chapter 4? Holy shit. 

Jackie and Lynn’s sibling bickering is definitely not something we’ve seen a lot of in this story. You’re not far off in associating it with Jackie’s increasing self-worth. Basically, this side of them comes out more easily when Jackie is comfortable, like when she’s hanging out with her friends or when the twins are home together. Most of when we’ve seen Jackie and Lynn together is in the beginning of the story, when they’re just starting college and Jackie has yet to make friends, or is just starting to get to know them. When Jackie is feeling vulnerable, Lynn enters protective little sister mode, and Jackie depends on that to get by. But as Jackie makes friends she can rely on, that’s less of a burden she’s placing on her sister and the two can act more casually around each other and tease each other more freely. I hope the way I explained that makes sense. 

I love the idea of Jackie being the devil on Heather’s shoulder in this context. As the root of evil manipulating the impressionable, lovestruck fool, sharing stories the tinies wouldn’t tell all to get what she desires at the expense of all those around her, Jackie is very much the Palpatine to Heather’s Anakin. Alena better watch out, lest she winds up fighting her best friend over a flowing river of lava. 

Reviewer: EchoofZen Signed [Report This]
Date: November 28 2024 6:06 AM Title: Ch 17. Confrontations

Well, that ended up going as it was expected. Sometimes you try to do something, and it ends up torpedoing everything you were aiming for with no take-backs allowed. Here's hopping that Shawna will actually take the lesson to heart, and move past it.

Hopefully we will see her interact with them, or even other people, again.

Author's Response:

Yeah, Shawna messed up pretty bad and is facing the consequences. We'll have to wait and see how the fallout affects her going forward, but I will say that this isn't the last we've seen of her.

Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!

Reviewer: ProbablyIX Signed [Report This]
Date: November 25 2024 11:47 AM Title: Ch 16. Reconciliation

This chapter was an adorable read, really well done. 

Lynn and Alena making up was really sweet. Some of the things Alena's mother said sounded heartbreaking, and it was super nice to see Lynn helping her through it. 

Honestly Lynn is probably my favourite character to read. Her bravado and skittering energy are always super entertaining, especially when she's around Alena. 

That first bit in the part was great, legendary rejection haha. And the line where time takes a break for the couple was gold, melted my heart. 

Arrrgh I love these two. You're doing an amazing job. 

(Also, super looking forward to the presumed thanksgiving chapter! It'll be fun to see Lynn and Jackie's parents again.)

Author's Response:

Thank you!

Lynn is always a pleasure to write. I love a little firecracker, and she pairs so well with Alena’s more subdued personality. I’m glad the scene of them making up came through for you. 

That rejection bit in the park might be my favorite scene this chapter. Don’t get me wrong, I loved writing the emotional exchange at the start, but Alena shocking Lynn of all people with her audacity is too good. And I’m always happy to melt some hearts around here. Plenty of stories have melted mine to mush, so I’m eager to return the favor.

I’ve been looking forward to Thanksgiving for a long time (in the story, not in real life lol). We’re still a fair few chapters out from it, but I can’t wait to give a few familiar faces another moment in the spotlight.

Reviewer: It Was Me Signed [Report This]
Date: November 04 2024 3:36 AM Title: Ch 15. Lazy Day

Jackie made a cereal hot tub for Pierce? Like mother like daughter, I suppose. Jess would be so proud!

I also love how Jackie has her own stash of tiny food. I don't think her love of tiny food will ever not be funny! And now Heather seems to have caught the same affliction. At least Javi is kind enough to share. Selfish Pierce!

Pierce accurately predicting what Jackie is going to do with him in her mouth was great! I especially enjoyed the way it was written, with Pierce thinking something then Jackie's action being phrased in exactly the same way. And once again, I have to credit your creativity. Jackie sticking him halfway out of her mouth and dragging him back in, with her incisors soothingly brushing against him is yet another thing I don't think I've seen before (I've seen a few instances when tinies cut themselves on teeth, but never what happened here). I love that this is what put Pierce over the top and reduced his resistance to rubble (I liked that he tried to make it more of a game in the first place, too!).

But Jackie seems so much more confident throughout this chapter. I couldn't help but notice that Pierce actually noted that she looked kind of like Lynn for a second, which shows much her confidence has shot up since spending the not with Pierce. It's so fun to see, too. Jackie is so playful and sexy like this, but she doesn't sacrifice that considerate attitude that we all fell in love with (like being careful not to get soap in his eyes when using him as a loofah) in order to be that way. It's tough to have a character go through a change like this, as you have to balance the old character with the changes you want to make, lest you basically end up writing a whole new character under the same name as the old one. You made it look really easy with Jackie here.

Backtracking for a second, it was a small thing, but Jackie keeping Pierce in her fist when she put on the oversized shirt instead of putting him down was fucking adorable! I just had to get that out!

Speaking of small things, the way she picked him up with her toes and seamlessly transitioned him to her hand in the bathroom was another one of those "gentle moments" that just sticks out to me. It highlighted his complete trust in her and that she was able to do it so smoothly shows that his trust is well placed. It was written in a way that was really easy to visualize, too.

The reminders that this story takes place deep in the future are greatly appreciated. Street Fighter 9 and Cyber Zangeif both made me laugh so hard, especially Cyber Zangief's tragic backstory. If I remember my fictional futures correctly, I believe he was killed in Street Fighter 8 Alpha Sigma Tao 6: Ryu Joins a Frat.

The foot fetish stuff here was fucking perfect! There was the sweet moment where Jackie got another confidence boost when Pierce was mesmerized by the rest of her rather than just her feet. Her deciding to let him win in that critical moment was the true meaning of love (although I think Jess would have disapproved), and her dropping a rank in Street Fighter because she's too busy dragging her boyfriend across her sole was really hot!

I think the most moving part of the whole chapter for me was when Heather made Javi promise to stop her if she goes too far. She understands him so well, and she knows that he'll just take whatever she (or anyone he cares about, really) dishes out to him, but she doesn't want that for them. She's playful and likes to push the envelope a little bit, but she doesn't want him to deal with something he hates just because he won't say anything. Hell, just before that, it seemed like she was hurting him and didn't even realize it, primarily because he wouldn't say anything. She wants to protect Javi from himself, and she knows that she needs to make sure he does his part too.

This is a big reason why I love Heather so much. She has a tiny boyfriend that will let her do whatever she wants, but she doesn't want to take advantage of him. He's a sub that just wants other people to be happy, even at his own expense, but his happiness makes her happy. He just hasn't figured that out yet (I still think something happened in his past or there's some weird relationship with his family that causes him to devalue himself). This is the opposite of Shawna, who never noticed this and just assumed that he was into the same stuff that she was, which led to her eating him and being stuck alone on Galaween night (and no one wants that)!

But man, did I feel bad for Heather when she woke up at the start of the Havi segment. I love that she triple-checked the floor before putting her feet down; she may screw up a lot, but she's dialed in on the important stuff (like not squishing her boyfriend under her feet). The panic at the thought of Javi abandoning her like all the others was heartbreaking, but I like that she refused to accept that doubt. It's obvious that she's been through a lot, but she really believes in Javi and deep down she knew he wouldn't do that to her.

And deep down, Javi actually got used to the smell, which is kind of scary to think about, given where he was!

Heather freaking out over forgetting to take him out of her ass was a great scene, as Javi continues to pull her away from the ledge. He's her rock (maybe pebble would be more accurate?), there for her to lean on when she beats herself up. And honestly, I don't know how many people, let alone tinies, would be okay with something like what Javi went through. A little stink never hurt anybody? This man is a fucking saint!

I also love how he checked himself for injuries when she mentioned hurting the people she cares about, like she knew better than he did somehow. Fucking hilarious!

Speaking of fucking hilarious, that Arrested Development reference had me laughing pretty hard! I didn't expect that here. Ten dollars. Ha!

Have I mentioned how great Javi is? I really like how he's both impressed and doesn't care about Heather's money. Him valuing the wardrobe she bought on a whim and not wanting to stain it is really admirable, and Heather not understanding that is just one of many signs in this chapter that they come from two different worlds, even aside from size. The way he almost cried because that rabbit steak was so good actually made me a little jealous! But I love how he cracked down and insisted on paying for the ingredients for their cooking expedition. She could have paid for it easily, but he was willing to spend his money to teach her the value of things. That's really admirable, and I think her insistence that she cover the cost would have been enough for most people, even well-intentioned ones, to give in and just let her. It's great to see Javi take a stand like that, given how he usually handles things; it shows how passionate he is about both frugality and cooking.

This is my favorite line of dialogue from the whole chapter:

Heather pouted. “Yeah, but we won’t know how bad it is until we try it.”

Also, NY Pizza Oreos?! I get you were going for something outlandish, but you, sir, are a monster!

I think you may have started a new subfetish: Pothole Porn! That was a fun way to make this anal scene stand out from the one last chapter. I loved both that scene and this one (I'm normally not into anal, so that's saying something), and the way Javi bounced around inside her as she herself was bounced around was incredible!

Javi being worried about getting stuck in her intestines and ruining Heather's day by making her go to the doctor was both funny and a little sad. Like I mentioned earlier, it's clear that Javi doesn't properly value himself, not even realizing how devastated Heather would be for him being stuck in her intestines. In his mind, anything that goes wrong for him is really just an inconvenience for her, which makes me feel so bad for him. Again, I have to wonder what happened to make him think this way. Thankfully Heather seems very much dedicated to setting him straight!

I'm not even going to tease you about that cooking scene. It was fantastic, and I actually like it better than mine, especially with that prep segment at the grocery store added in! Heather's frustration boiling over was great, and I love how Javi kept his cool and calmed her down even though it terrified him (Heather would feel like shit if she knew that). The little mistakes, like forgetting to set the timer and not knowing how to use a can opener, were a nice way to show the first-timer's struggles in the kitchen. But like always, Javi is there to keep her centered, and she gets through it. But obviously, my favorite part is how much they both love it even though it didn't taste anywhere near as good as the stuff they had for breakfast. The fact that they made it together made it better. The idea of them doing this on the regular is a fun one, too!

Of course, we also saw part of the reason why Heather was stressing out about this. That story about Javi's mom and dad, meant to comfort her, added pressure to her because she then felt like she had to get cooking down in order for Havi to work. All of those bad relationships in the past have really screwed her up (I think I said that before in this review, but it's too high up to check!), and I think we saw that both with her "not embarrassing" him with an off-brand wardrobe and here with the feeling that she has to meet some set of expectations from Javi. That's kind of fucked up, and I hope she can get past that one day. Fuck, I was as nervous as her waiting to hear what Javi thought of the food.

So yeah, all the Havi stuff was great! They're still No. 1 in my power rankings.

Pierce and Jackie are giving them a run, though, I will admit. That last segment was such a nice way to close out the chapter. Pierce is so dedicated to meeting all of Jackie's desires, so I'm glad she's decided to tone herself down a bit, maybe not go at him quite so often. Because I'm pretty sure he'd do it until he died!

I also like how we see him finally ready to feed himself to her, while her brain is beginning to plan new and exciting ways to use her feet to get him going. They're planning for each other instead of just worrying about what they themselves want, and that's a sign of a healthy relationship. The smut between them these last few chapters was off the charts, but this last segment makes me feel like they've taken a step forward as a couple after all that fun.

Lastly, I think you made the right call holding off on the Lynn and Alena stuff, This chapter played off the previous two perfectly with that morning after vibe, and I feel like trying to shoe horn Lynn and Alena would have cheapened the aftermath of their drama, especially with the feel-good vibes the other two main couples have going on here. Giving them a whole chapter to themselves to figure stuff out just sounds right.

I really look forward to seeing that, too!

Author's Response:

Jackie is very much her mother's daughter. Part of my goal with this chapter was to establish that with a couple Mixing Sizes references sprinkled in. I love that you state Jess would both be proud and disapproving her in this review lol.

The difference between Javi and Pierce is that the former can recognize when a giant woman's about to steal his food and know just how to diffuse the situation. Perhaps one day, Pierce will come to learn that a little generosity can go a long way, but something tells me Jackie is too far lost in her dark temptations to be reasoned with any more.

I love using repetition effectively. It was maybe the only thing I was good at back when I tried writing poetry. That and alliteration, but whether that was a good trait of mine or not depended on the reader. I figured Pierce got "eaten" so many times in the past 24 hours, he's gotten her standard playbook down pat. Teeth are underutilized in gentle mouth play (for obvious reasons), so I try to include them where I can. I don't remember if I brought it up in my review, but I was so happy when I saw Callie use her molars to massage Duncan, so yeah, I had to make sure I did my part too.

I'm so ecstatic this story is finally at the point where I can bust out confident Jackie. She's such a delight to write, and now that I'm actually writing her, it's finally dawned on me how similar her assertive self is to her twin sister. Pierce recognizing the resemblance in that moment is actually me coming to that realization in the middle of writing that scene. I'm glad Jackie is still herself in your eyes. I think I have a stronger sense of her character than any others, so I've never really worried about losing what makes her "Jackie" in the first place. She was always meant to go down this path, and I have no doubts people are going to enjoy what I have in store for her. There's so many upcoming moments I'm excited to finally put to paper!

I'm so glad you loved that detail about her holding Pierce while putting her shirt on. It's how I had envisioned the scene playing out, but I almost forgot to write that detail down! Thank god I caught that lol. And it's so great to hear how vivid Jackie picking Pierce up with her toes was. I really like that interaction, so casual, so cute, so perfectly in tune with this fetish. 

I'll admit I've had a lot of trouble handling this story's future setting. It had to take place in 2045 given the fact that Mixing takes place in the year it was written, but the big appeal of that story for a lot of readers was its realism, and I was worried the future setting would ruin that realism in this story. My solution was to avoid addressing the year as best to my ability, to make this world's future not too indistinguishable from our own present. I snuck in details here and there (Jackie and Heather playing on a Playstation 8 in Ch. 3, the inflation rate leading Heather's father to be a trillionaire as the fourth richest man alive, and the tech behind the AR game in chapter 4), but I mostly downplayed the future aspects to hopefully maintain this story's realism, and also because I hate shoehorning fake advances in tech in stories where it doesn't belong and fucks with the tone or aesthetic (I'm thinking about those dumb holograph phones everyone had in the last season of Parks and Rec. Ugh.). But looking back, I'm not entirely happy with how I handled things. Mainly, I should have been more up front about what year this story takes place in, as I feel all I've done is confuse any one who hasn't read Mixing and started here instead. I'm fine with how things are tech wise though, as I'd hate to turn this shit into the Jetsons lol. I do have some real fun plans in mind with more future tech, and everything I'm writing is going to be within reason, based at least somewhat on pre-existing technology. And hey, if I get to make a few loving digs at Capcom, then all the better. And I hate to be that guy, but um, actually that version of Street Fighter 8 only hinted at Zangief's death. It was first shown on-screen in the next iteration: Street Fighter 8 Alpha Sigma Tao 7: Ryu Does a Keg Stand. 

Jess would 100% disapprove of Jackie letting her boyfriend win, and I can't express how proud I am that my characterization of her back in Mixing was strong enough for you to, even jokingly, come to that conclusion here. And I'm glad you enjoyed the foot content here. People have been complimenting how novel my smut has been recently, and I gotta keep that up given how much feet and mouth stuff we're going to be seeing from these two. Don't worry though, I ain't out of ideas yet. Far from it.

Havi was so fun to write this chapter. I'm really getting into their dynamic of "careless, but very well intentioned domme" and "emotional anchor with an unhealthy addiction to people pleasing." Their energy of trying so hard to make the other happy because that's what makes themselves the happiest is so beautiful, and gah! Did I say next chapter was a Lynn/Alena one? Maybe I'll scratch that. Maybe I'll rename this story "Twin Sizes: Oops, All Havi!" (I kid, I kid. But I'm warning you, your favoritism's infectious.) And regarding Javi's sleeping arrangements, did they really seem all that unbearable? I don't know, spending the night up a woman's ass sounds pretty cozy once you get used to the smell. I mean, who are you to knock it? After all, "You don't know how bad it is until you try it."

The moment I decided Heather was going to be an heiress to an absurdly wealthy estate, I knew that Arrested Development gag was sneaking its way in here somewhere. Originally, it was going to be a more direct homage with Heather genuinely believing a banana costs $10, but the idea that a younger Alena showed her that clip and Heather never got the joke was too funny to me.

Part of what makes this relationship work is that Javi doesn't care about Heather's wealth; at least, that has nothing to do with why he's into her. He's going to be a professional basketball player, so he's already destined for great fortunes, but his upbringing has taught him to value the limited money he currently has. His obsession with the clothes she gave him is less about the their high value but the fact Heather so generously bought them for him on their second day as a couple, their expensiveness in his eyes exemplifying how committed she is, even though from her perspective it was simply a polite gesture and not as big a deal as he believes it to be. 

I never found a good spot in the chapter to detail them trying the oreos, so I'll subject you to that horror here. I figure by 2045, Oreo will have ran out of sensible flavors and resort to pure shock value to keep cookie sales up. The NY Pizza flavor is so perverse as to no longer resemble a sweet dessert treat. The cookies are savory like crackers while still maintaining the consistency of an oreo. The creme is actually a processed cheese spread coated in the red powder they use on pizza flavored Pringles. Is it disgusting? Absolutely. And yet, it is surprisingly edible if you pretend it isn't an oreo and have literally nothing else to snack on.

I regretted using the "bean in the maraca" comparison so early. I had to step it up here by calling in the NASA G-Force simulator. I've done "tiny boyfriend eats out his girlfriend in a moving car" a few times across three different stories at this point, and I think this is my best case yet. Something about how the vibrations in the seat would feel to a shrunken person gets my gears turning. I'm glad these anal scenes proved to your liking. After a Jackie/Pierce fan told me they weren't into feet, I was sick with worry that my most vocal Havi fan wouldn't be into the butt stuff, and now those worries have been confirmed. Now I have to try extra hard to keep those scenes appealing (as opposed to what, not doing that?). Thanks a lot lol.

I'm not gonna lie, Heather going to the doctor's office because Javi got jammed too far up her butt sounds so adorably tragic. If I hadn't already wrote a one-shot with that premise, I'd probably have to indulge here. So thankfully, this couple has been spared such hilarity. I did really like Javi worried for Heather's sake more than his own, and you're right that Heather would be devastated that she, involuntarily mind you, did that to him. I may have dropped a subtle hint here regarding the source of Javi's mental state and I may expand further on that in the future. 

I think what makes my cooking scene "better" than yours comes down to context. In Roomies, Duncan is using Ada as an extension of himself to cook a meal for his beloved. Here, Javi and Heather are cooking a meal together, the tiny playing mentor to the inexperienced big. Yours is an introductory scene meant to build towards the chapter's real meat of a romantic payoff we've been waiting months for, while mine is the scene the rest of this chapter's second half had been building towards. I don't really see my seen as any better than yours, or yours any worse than mine, just me expanding on an idea I loved so much from your story and putting my own spin on it. And I'm so glad you wound up enjoying it! I really liked playing Javi off Heather here. How do you have a tiny and big cook together? Make the smaller one the cool-headed expert and the larger one the rank amateur with an explosive temper. But at the end of the day, the fact they made it together is what really matters. I hope to continue to evolve that between them as the story goes on.

Trying to pace this story has both been a treat and a massive headache. I want the reader to always come away from a chapter satisfied, so I want to pack as much into each one as I can, but I have to balance that with releasing these chapters in a timely manner, and I start getting antsy if I take too long to post a new chapter, and that leads to burnout, and that leads to chapters taking longer to come out, and... All that to say, I'm glad I put off Lynn and Alena for another chapter. I feel bad that they haven't had any time to shine these past three, but just like each couple's first times together, what they're currently going through is too important to share a significant portion of a chapter with the other couples. I can't wait to get back to them.

Reviewer: It Was Me Signed [Report This]
Date: October 21 2024 1:09 AM Title: Ch 14. First Night Together: Penthouse Edition

You were right. The ass sucking did make this chapter even better! Of course, the fact that it stared the clear, without-a-doubt, [insert third cheeky superlative here] best couple didn't hurt either!

The contrast between this chapter and the previous one is simply brilliant! We went from two nervous, anxious virgins feeling out their first times and finding comfort in each other to two experienced lovers giving each other experiences previous partners could never hope to match. I noted in my review of the last chapter that you did a hell of a job making it feel different from Alena and Lynn's first time together, and you did the same thing here, distinguishing Heather and Javi's first night together from both of the titular twins' initial sexual encounters with their partners.

The ways in which you used both Heather and Javi's sexual experiences here was also really creative. For example, it's spelled out a couple times that Heather's previous partners were unsatisfying for her and were purely focused on getting themselves off, but you also highlighted this in much subtler ways, such as how much Heather enjoyed Javi walking across her body. At first glance, this might not seem to stand out too much and simply be a sweet quality of hers. But when taken in tandem with a couple other instances, it becomes pretty clear that Heather is touch starved and has a deep need for that kind of physical intimacy.

I think this hit me during the lead-in to the anal worship scene, with some of Heather's internal thoughts (as opposed to external thoughts?) giving her away. Her thinking I want it so bad about him worshiping her, without even knowing what part of her body he was going to worship yet, is pretty telling. And the way she played off that first spank while begging him in her mind to do it again confirmed it for me. Not to mention her fantasizing about taping him to various parts of his body or trapping him in her clothes in order to keep him in constant contact with her. I'm hoping we get to see this one play out in some form at some point, maybe even see her wearing him with jewelry or something (although Heather doesn't seem the jewelry type, except maybe for formal events, so maybe this one's just a pipe dream). The point is, that little line got my imagination going!

Oh, and while we're on that scene, I loved her thinking about helping Javi get past her butt cheeks but deciding that she was enjoying him fighting his way between them too much to do so. That was hot as fuck!

As for Javi, we saw that he knows exactly how to please a woman and has a strong desire to do so, as Heather pointed out. It was clear right away that he knows his way around inside a pussy, and that helped him give Heather the best sexual experience of her life (I really like the way you slipped that in there and had Javi not catch it right away).

Then there's his growing confidence. That "cave diving" scene (more on that in a minute) was an incredible one for a lot of reasons, but seeing submissive Javi, who always just goes along with what his big partner wants, take the initiative and act so aggressively like that was so satisfying to read. I feel like that was a really big step for him, even if he doesn't recognize it. He made the first move and decided the terms of their first time together, something I never would have thought based on the previous times we've seen him get smutty in this story, including that first scene between them in the penthouse. I felt proud of him, and I love that he felt comfortable enough with Heather to do that!

Speaking of which, I thought it was great that Heather tried so hard to get Javi to choose which part of her to worship, especially since she had something particular in mind. She knows how Javi is, and rather than take advantage of his submissive nature, she put so much effort into getting him to enjoy their time together the way he wants to as well instead of just doing what she wants. When I think back to how Shawna, who I like and believe really cares about Javi, dominated him while "studying" and even ate him without permission (and didn't even notice how distraught he was about the whole thing), it becomes more and more obvious why Heather is the right choice for him. When you compare each of their approaches to Javi, it's just obvious!

Also, Javi's answer to this is perfect. He separates himself from those jerks Heather had been with before by saying that he doesn't want to feel like a "self-serving jerk" by calling the shots. He actually gets off on making her happy, which is awesome! Although, I do hope he gets to the point someday when he feels comfortable giving her a real answer when she asks questions like that (I have a feeling that she's not going to stop until he realizes that him getting what he wants is just as important to her as the inverse is to him).

Back to the cave diving scene, holy fuck! I called that drool scene in the last chapter inventive, and now I feel stupid (to be fair, that one was pretty creative in its own right)! This was incredibly creative and fun. Calling sex with a big spelunking or cave diving is fairly common, but this is the first time I can recall a tiny actually doing it! The air pocket inside Heather was a really clever idea, as was the system Javi had to make sure she would know if he needed her save him from drowning. And the idea of him getting her going while she's sitting in a hot tub with him underneath the waves? It's enthralling in a way I can't quite describe, but I fucking love it!

I thought the anal scene was also incredibly well done. I'm glad you didn't shy away from the smell and showed us what Javi was enduring to push Heather over the edge. I think the fact that he got off himself in that environment is a testament to how much pleasing Heather does it for him. I liked the "bean in a maraca" description, which really sold how powerful Heather's movements were and how helpless Javi was against them. And referencing back to the tapping system (whenever I finally finish the next chapter of Roomies, I want you to know that I didn't steal this idea and that it's just a coincidence. That's all I'm saying!) at the end, with Heather thanking him after realizing what she did was just perfect. Well done!

Once again, I have to commend you on selling Heather's size here. There were some things I haven't seen before used here, such as Heather's face seeming so far away from Javi as he stood on her ass that he almost forgot that he was still on top of her was pretty powerful. As was basically everything that happened in the hot tub: the way he struggled in the water but prioritized watching her enter the tub, her pushing him toward her by making waves in the water instead of just picking him up (this really made her feel like a force of nature), her tits representing a coastline, and even how the waves were calmer around her because her size blocked the waves. All of that shit was gold! There was a lot of stuff when they were undressing, too.

Lastly, there was another small touch that I really enjoyed here, and that was Heather's confidence. Given the night she had at the dance (and the last time Javi was in the penthouse), she had every reason to get down on herself like she always seems to and be overly careful. I loved her thinking back to the proper etiquette for handling tinies (I believe this was mentioned in that first penthouse chapter as well), and I love the way she disregarded it because "lovers play by a different rulebook." The same goes for the way she tossed him into the water, too.

And in between, when she reveled at him being "at the mercy of her whims" but at the same time acknowledged that she'd let him go the second he asked, that's pretty much sums up the gentle side of this fetish in a nutshell.

So I love that Heather's inner domme came out a little bit here, including when she shoved Javi inside her ass without realizing what she was doing. She's never going to be Shawna and just do whatever without thinking to check with Javi (even if sometimes that checking doesn't come until afterward), but I feel like being with Javi has allowed her to become a bit more assertive about these things, and It's great to see this development in her.

Oh, lastly lastly, I'm normally not one for "couple names" (I've painfully accepted that a couple of people have started referring to Duncan and Callie as Dallie), but I think I have one for these two: Havi. They have to point out to anyone who asks that it's different because it starts with an actual H instead of the usual J. I'm not sure why I find this so funny, but I can't stop laughing at it!

Excellent work as always, and Havi continues to be the greatest of the three main couples (although they're all really great). I'm eager to see where you're going next with this, as there's still plenty of unresolved Gallaween fallout to attend to.

Author's Response:

I love how much you love Heather and Javi. I've always considered them main characters alongside the other four, but back when I was uploading the early chapters, I did worry readers may get fed up with how much attention they got since they aren't related to the twins (who could be seen as the central protagonists) or to any characters from Mixing Sizes. I was afraid they'd be seen as extra side characters taking up too much spotlight. The fact I've yet to receive such complaints and that they shot to the very top in your books is awesome!

Touch starved is a great way to put it. A lot of Heather's exes treated her roughly. Not in the fun way but in the "this guy is in it for himself and doesn't know what he's doing" way. (to clarify, I'm not trying to insinuate Heather was ever abused. Her sexual encounters were more akin to awkward fumbling from a guy that didn't know, and often didn't care, how to please her.) So, Javi's more delicate touch left a huge impact on her during the brief moment they shared last time in the penthouse, and she had been yearning for that ever since (enough to want to keep him "in constant contact" with her). Granted, Javi's size is equal parts responsible for his delicacy as his intentions are, given that he is physically incapable of treating her roughly, but I think his size is just another part of Javi's appeal to Heather along with everything else. I mean, if he was any taller, then she couldn't tape him to whichever body part they felt like that day!

Don't worry, I didn't include that line about entrapping him in her clothes without any future plans of doing just that. I hadn't thought of jewelry though, and I do have a fondness for accessories built to hold and display tinies. Hmmmm. I won't make any promises, but if I see an opportunity arise, I'll consider it.

Javi taking the initiative in the hot tub is a sign to me, like you so adamantly insist, that him and Heather are right for each other, that he's comfortable enough around her to take a chance on surprising her with something he thinks she'll get a kick out of. Both Heather and Javi love making each other happy, and the more time they spend together will lead to a better understanding of what makes the other tick, leading to less resistance when one asks the other what they want to do (and less need to ask in the first place).

My guiding light while navigating the love rhombus was this: Shawna and Michelle impose what they want onto Javi, while Heather considers Javi's wants in tandem with her own. We've seen how Shawna does what she wants and assumes, sometimes correctly sometimes not, that the submissive Javi will be into appeasing her desires. Michelle puts him on a pedestal and treats him more like a romantic fantasy than an equal partner, showing plenty of interest in him but rarely making a genuine connection. Heather on the other hand, always seeks his input before trying stuff with him. Sure, there's playful exceptions, like snatching him up in her hand or tossing him into the tub, but she always makes sure he's having a good time because she too gets off on making her partner happy.

Way back when I wrote that beach chapter in Mixing Sizes, I, a stupid idiot with a penis, had to google if water went into the vagina when swimming. The answer was an obvious no, ruining a potential underwater sex scene I was ruminating on. A year and some change later, it dawned on me how I could use that factoid to my advantage. I'm quite proud with how this scene turned out. I knew I wanted a Jacuzzi scene, but I wasn't sure how to make that an interesting read, but once the inspiration struck, it struck hard. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Being a fan of anal/anal insertion/anal vore/whatever you want to call the butt stuff is tough when I'm not into scat. Farts are a grey area for me, but my giant lady butt's are always impeccably clean, so I know I have to describe the smell to make up for the lack of grosser details (Heather seems like the type to clean up down there anyway). I think Javi enjoys the smell to a degree too. I mean, he is into armpits, he don't mind getting a little nasty now and again. (But obviously, yeah, this being Heather's fetish is the biggest motivator for him in there).

 In regards to you coincidentally "stealing" the tapping system, you're good dude. The inspiration for that was actually Duncan communicating the test answers to Callie by slapping her tits back in chapter whichever that was of Roomies. Communication through touch makes a lot of sense when the tiny can't speak directly to their big partner, so thanks for instilling the idea in me and I'm excited to see what you did with it in that future chapter (or I suppose, I'm excited to see what the situation is that would require such forms of communicating).

While on the topic, I want to mention that the chapter I'm currently working on has a Havi scene that takes more obvious inspiration from a scene in a recent Roomies chapter, and I've been debating whether I should ask you for permission to do that lol. You'll clock it as soon as you read it, but while the scene's premise is built on similar components, the actual context of it and how the characters behave in it are different enough that you shouldn't have to send your legal team to my doorstep. The scene in question provides me a great opportunity to flesh out some of Javi's history and it feels like a natural fit for both characters and where they are at in there relationship, so I want to push forward with it and can only hope I don't offend the author of one of my favorite size stories. (And knowing me, I'm probably making a mountain out of a mole hill. It really just boils down to "this scene's premise is obviously inspired by one of yours.")

And yeah, you got me to refer to them as "Havi." I am also not normally one for couple names, but the H/J thing is pretty cute. I can picture them eagerly trying to explain that to someone hopelessly confused, and that mental image is adorable. It's also leagues better than the alternative: Heavi.

Reviewer: It Was Me Signed [Report This]
Date: October 06 2024 7:12 AM Title: Ch 12. Galaween Part 2

So Santa is an anagram for Satan. I can't unsee that now, so thanks, I guess?

I was so happy to see how much attention Heather and Javi got in this chapter! Since we're declaring favorites here apparently, they're mine! Yeah, I'm enjoying Jackie and Pierce and Lynn and Alena a ton as well, but I think the fact that Javi and Heather's relationship took longer to develop, was far from a sure thing (there was a whole rhombus to overcome and everything!), and, unlike the other two major relationships in the story, hit its first major issue before they were even together all makes them coming together here feel more earned than the other two relationships. There's nothing wrong with that, and I enjoyed how the other couples came together quite a bit, actually, but the last segment of this chapter was one of the most satisfying of the whole story so far because of the road less traveled that Javi and Heather took to get to this point.

I love how Heather continues to be the only person Javi can be vulnerable around. Not only that, but Heather recognized that something was wrong with him right away, while Shawna seemed completely oblivious. Javi likewise knew exactly what was going through Heather's mind when she entered the bathroom (right down to it being a mirror that she wanted to punch!). From the start, whenever they're together, they always seem to be on the same wavelength, something that was never true with Michelle or Shawna when it came to Javi. So it makes sense that Javi could let his guard down, stop pretending to be who he thinks everyone wants him to be, and let his emotions and fears come flooding out in front of Heather. The honesty of that moment when he started sobbing, begging her not to leave him alone, was so beautifully poignant.

It was heartbreaking that Heather wanted to comfort him once she found out what Shawna did to him but stopped because she felt like she could only hurt him more. Now that she's aware of how her actions have been affecting tinies this whole time, the guilt is eating her alive. I was so happy that she was able to get past that wall she was unwittingly putting up and give Javi the physical comfort he needed once he lost it. His suffering took priority over any issues or shortcomings she had, and your wording here throughout the scene was fucking perfect! I can't even single any of it out because it's all so good!

I really hope there's a confrontation with Shawna coming, for everyone's sake, including Shawna's. Heather's right that what Shawna did was beyond fucked up, but I think Shawna really thought that it would bring Javi and her closer together instead. That scene with the two of them studying showed off her extreme dominant streak, and she clearly knew that Javi was a sub, so I can see why she might think this was a good move on her part. None of that makes what she did right, but I think it's important to recognize that Shawna is a good person who cares deeply about Javi. If she were to find out how her little prank actually made him feel, I have no doubt she would be horrified and heartbroken. I like that Javi is only saying he needs a break from seeing Shawna after that, because I think it would be totally understandable if he never wanted to see her again. In fact, I think her presence is probably going to make him feel uneasy long past that week he's hoping to get away from her.

Damn, the escape room scene with Heather as a second tyrant was fun! I loved the visual of Heather's boot coming down to just miss Javi and Pierce as it blocked the only exit to that building. And the clothes she was wearing? Holy shit! Stuffing Javi in her top was the fucking power move Shawna thought she was making when she ate Javi, too.

Jackie taking a round to give Pierce a taste of his own fetish was super sweet of her. That concerned look she gave him to make sure he was cool with it first was a really nice touch. No more misunderstandings here, she said! The description of him sinking into the memory foam and being faced with the socked object of his desire made the whole thing easy to visualize, too!

While we're on Pierce and Jackie, damn that was a surprisingly smooth, bold move from him suggesting sex as "practice" for vore. I was really impressed with him. Jackie being bold and assertive toward Lynn, demanding the room for the night, made me so proud of her but also made me think, "No, not now!" It was delightfully terrible timing that she chose that moment, when Lynn really needed to not be alone, to find the guts to fight for what she wanted for a change.

Also, that handheld scene, where Jackie used her thumb and breath (maybe not exactly intentionally with the breath, but still) was great! I really enjoyed those little details being worked in!

Back to Heather and Javi, that last segment was fucking incredible. I love how hard Heather tried throughout the chapter to not take advantage of Javi's vulnerability. Like I said before, he doesn't really seem to show that side of himself to anybody else, and her thought process throughout the night shows exactly why she has earned that from him.

That heartstopping pause from her got me almost as much as got Javi, even though Heather didn't mean anything by it. I'm sure she was just gathering her thoughts on this and making sure she got the wording just right, but damn! She couldn't have gotten one more word out before stopping?

Javi handled Heather's concerns so well here. I agree that he's not a player, but I get why Heather saw him that way. I'm glad he could make clear how ready he was to dedicate himself to her, as well as that he wasn't just asking to be with her because of what Shawna did to him. And he finally got to tell her that the smoking thing wasn't a big deal! I've been waiting since the moment it happened for him to be able to talk her off that particular ledge. Although, I do wonder if she's going to continue to try to quit smoking or go back to it. It'd probably be better for both Javi and her if she could stay clean, but, as we saw last chapter, there are times where she might feel like she really needs a smoke!

Also, I mentioned that Jackie/Pierce handheld scene, but the visual of Javi lounging in Heather's palm as she's walking him out of the building was fanfuckingtastic as well. I also forgot to mention it way back at the start of the review, but those descriptions of Heather's size in the bathroom scene, especially the emphasis on her gigantic eyes and how close her face was to him after finding out what Shawna did, were almost as captivating as the hotter stuff in that escape room scene.

Naila and Justine helping out Lynn and Alena made me so happy. I love how you continue to work them into the larger story when they seemed relegated to just being background characters when we first met them. And they were both so good at reading their friends and getting them on the right track.

Alena's issues went a little deeper than I thought. I just assumed she was ashamed of her family and didn't want to deal with their shit. I didn't realize that she was feeling guilt because she was raised to believe what they believed. That was a nice extra layer to add to the issue. I'm glad Heather was able to straighten her out.

I also didn't fully grasp Lynn's issue with this, either. I figured she thought Alena was ashamed of her, but I had no idea she felt like she was being used by Alena like that, like a toy being put back in the toybox whenever her family comes to town. I still think Lynn overreacted at the dance, and I wasn't without sympathy for her position before, but damn do I really get it now. She framed it as an ego thing ("No one's ever treated me this way"), but  it really ran so much deeper than that.

I'm glad both of them seem to have calmed down, and I look forward to seeing the two of them have that talk!

It was so sad to hear Lynn say that Heather wouldn't be accommodating to her. Those two were so tight, and Heather feels like shit for what she did, but Lynn clearly thinks Heather hates her now. There's some work to do on that front. We can only hope that Lynn learned her lesson here and actually hears Heather out whenever the big apologizes and explains herself.

Lastly, I was so, so thrilled to see Sam finally make their move with Michelle. And the early returns are good! They seem to have hit it off quite well. I like that Michelle is so nonsizist that she assumed a tiny asking her to dance was the tiny playing a prank on her. She couldn't believe that Sam wanted to dance with her! Michelle has turned out to be a lot differnet than I thought she would be when we first met her. Now, if she can only get over Javi and see a good thing staring her right in the face ...

But damn, I felt bad for her feeling stood up, another negative thing to come out of Shawna's little prank. I don't know if it's better or worse that Sam didn't clarify what happened to Javi when they told Michelle. On the one hand, it would be nice if she knew that he wasn't ignoring her. On the other, I think Michelle's reaction may have been even more violent than Heather's was going to be (assuming Michelle could find Shawna).

But yeah, I really enjoyed this one. It was just as good as the last chapter, and I was super high on that one. I can't wait to see where you go with things next!

Author's Response:

For me, I find my favorite characters depends entirely on the scene/chapter I'm writing. Oftentimes, whichever characters I'm currently focused become my favorites as I remember how much I enjoy writing them. So, in a Lynn/Alena heavy chapter, they're my favs, same for Jackie/Pierce. It's actually great for writing this story because it'd suck if during a certain character's scene, I'm busy thinking about how much I'd rather be writing about these guys. In this chapter, Heather and Javi were my favs and I think that shone through in the prose. 

I've said it before, but having the three main couples all progressing at their own paces really helps in keeping things interesting. I get what you mean regarding the buildup to Heather x Javi. Typically, I feel like romance stories focus more on the "will they/won't they" more than I care for. I want to get to the loving already! But since I already got to dip my toes with Lynn and Jackie's relationships, it meant I could actually focus on a slower setup for once. This was also my first time writing anything akin to a love triangle, and all I can say is I'm relieved to have finally found my way out from the rhombus. It was a bit nerve wracking making sure that whole dynamic was engaging to the reader, as I tend to wind up getting annoyed and wishing the bachelor or bachelorette would just pick the correct girl/guy already!

I'm very happy to hear you thoroughly enjoyed the bathroom scene. I think that's one of the best scenes I've done in a while, at least it was one of the few times I felt so confident in my writing. The back and forth, how easily they read each other, Heather distancing herself only Javi and her to finally break down that wall between them, Javi opening up, it all felt really good to write. Earned is a great word for it. And there's definitely a confrontation with Shawna on the horizon, whether Javi likes it or not (Heather's in that class too after all), but it's going to be a little bit down the road. I have a few more "important" matters to attend to first *wink wink nudge nudge*. 

The Heather/Jackie dream team escape room was pretty much meant as catharsis for the emotional roller coaster the rest of Galaween was. I had to let my girls be sexy monsters together, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. And I can finally insert some actual foot content into this story. Huzzah!

The final scene with Pierce and Jackie was one of those "I've been playing this on loop in my head for months." I figured after everything Pierce went through that night, he'd have the strength to take their relationship to the next level. And I'm so proud of Jackie for standing up for herself at the worst possible time for Lynn. How was she to know? Poor timing aside, I think that was a pretty sweet moment for the young couple.

Have I made it clear how much I enjoyed writing Heather this chapter? Even after scoring a win in the bathroom scene, getting that kiss in the photo booth, and having her romp in the escape room, I couldn't escape the nagging feeling that she'd be hesitant to actually start a relationship with Javi like this. I liked having her come to that realization throughout the chapter, leading to the big moment at the end where she openly addressed these feelings with Javi. His assertion regarding his commitment to her was the final step needed to kickoff this coupling and vanquish the rhombus for good, and I'm kinda proud of how everything came together this chapter.

But yeah, hearing I nailed the size descriptions for Heather makes my fucking day. Conveying scale is probably the most important element of size fiction. It's the one thing, maybe the only thing, that all of us in this community want to see out of our smut. No matter our particular tastes or fetishes, we all want to feel the size difference between characters and other characters or characters and their surroundings. So yeah, I get really stressed out wondering if I'm doing a good enough job of that in literally everything I write, so thank you so much for reassuring me I at least did good here.

I'm liking Naila and Justine more the more I write them. I'm not sure when it'll pop up, but I'm planning on a future scene dedicated to peering in at a slice of their relationship. You know, probably the fun parts.

Conveying Lynn's emotions these past couple chapters has been tough when I'm trying to keep her from acting completely rational and out of character. Like, I can't just have her air her list of grievances during a heated argument, so I have to pray her flustered shouting carries her intent across to the audience. I'm glad the full breadth of her issues was more clear here. The main thing is that: she's upset Alena would be ashamed of her, that she'd keep this all secret from her, and  this whole incident is indicative that Alena doesn't really love her (the whole being used thing and being hidden when inconvenient). Honestly, as long as the first two points are clear, then I'm happy The third is mostly extrapolated from the first two and a doubt that rises in Lynn from her rationalization of how events played out (because yes, Lynn does occasionally have doubts, though she'd never admit to it).

Oh right, that Michelle/Sam scene happened this chapter, didn't it? Yeah, Michelle isn't the most careful (or observant) around tinies, but she's spent enough time around them to not see them all that differently from big folk. A cutie's a cutie tall or short, and to be fair, the guy she's been crushing on for years is a tiny, so she's definitely open to a mixed-size relationship.

As always, thanks for the review and all the high praise. It really helps motivate me to write the next chap... Oh wait, I already posted it. Well, I didn't get the chance to respond to you until well after the fact, so we'll just say you've motivated me extra hard to write the following chapter because based on what you've said here, I think that one will be much to your liking.

Reviewer: darkone Signed [Report This]
Date: September 25 2024 8:12 PM Title: Ch 1. New Faces

I don't have a lot of feedback, other than I am enjoying this story quite a bit. Now you have me on edge with the Galaween Part 1 cliffhanger.

Keep it up!

Author's Response:

Thank you!

Reviewer: giantessfan355 Signed [Report This]
Date: September 23 2024 11:42 AM Title: Ch 11. Galaween Part 1

This chapter was great, filled with so much emotion and tension at the same time, I have been lurking on this site for some time, and I had read a bit of your previous works(Mixing Sizes and Stranded with the Enemy are the ones I enjoyed the most), but this one seems to be the most polished one so far, and I am not only talking about the whole story but this chapter as well.
I am in a bit of a rush so I am sorry but I will have to keep this review brief.

I really loved Pierce this chapter, the fear in his lines while in Jackies mouth made my body shiver, and sent a tingly feeling through out my body. And Jackie was also really cool this chapter, I think standing up for Pierce shows just how much she cares. They might be the purest couple in this story, but despite that I am really hoping to see them become more lovey dovey, and maybe even some good ol smut with them in the main role.

I also think that the events with Alena and Lynn in this chapter are setting up a great conflict between the characters which will put their love to the test. I may be wrong, but it seemed to me that Lynn lost a bit of that god complex after finding out Alena didn't want to tell her sister they were dating. It would be interesting to see Lynn maybe a bit depressed or something while she and Alena are trying to figure out what to do next and how to approach eachother. It would certainly be something new(and correct me if I'm wrong) up until now Lynn was always so full of energy and confidence.

and Heather will probably beat herself up over what she had done, and I feel really sorry for her. I hope that maybe Javi or someone else will try to console her and make her no longer feel " like absolute shit ".

I really like your stories and can't wait to see more from you, especially the next chapter to this story!

PS: something that I wanted to add, is that I really like how realistic the interactions between characters feel, and honestly I would love if we got even more looks into certain characters thoughts, like Jackie and Lynn this chapter, but I think I still understood what was going on in their minds

Author's Response:

Thank you! It's hard to tell from my perspective whether I'm improving as a writer, so I appreciate hearing this story is more polished than my earlier works. I was trying to scare the reader with that mouth scene (it is a Halloween chapter after all), but knowing how bone chilling the scene is while I write it is tough when I already know the outcome.so the fact it made you shiver sounds like a success in my book.

One of the boons of having such a huge cast is that I can progress their relationships at different paces. Lynn and Alena have already fucked a few times onscreen, but Jackie and Pierce are both the type to take these things slower. This is the longest slow burn to actual smut I've ever done for a couple, but I can assure the good stuff isn't too far away at this point.

I'll say you're on the right page regarding Lynn and Heather. I love you referring to Lynn's arrogance as a god complex. I actually had a cut line in which Heather's therapist tells Lynn her arrogance goes so far past narcissism she's just deifying herself lol. Mariah's reaction to her and the big fight were definitely reality checks for her. Next chapter will check in on how her and Heather are doing after all this.

And in regards to your p.s., thanks! Realism, especially in how characters talk and interact, is one of my aims with this series. When it comes to showing a character's thoughts, I try to strike a balance between diving directly  into their head and showing their thoughts through their words and actions. Ideally, if I can convey the former through the latter, I often try to go with that. That said, it can be fun to see how the characters are reacting internally, and I love playing that up for humor when I can. There are also times I purposely avoid acknowledging what a character is thinking. For example, if you knew what Jackie was thinking while Pierce was freaking out in her mouth, it would eliminate the tension from the scene and kill the surprise when she doesn't swallow him. But I get your point. Hopefully, I can improve on conveying the character's mindsets for you.

Reviewer: It Was Me Signed [Report This]
Date: August 19 2024 11:31 PM Title: Ch 10. Trying on Clothes and the Removal Thereof

Well that last line certainly didn't have any ominous overtones to it! No calm before the story or anything like that here, no way!

But seriously, I love the way you're building up to the inevitable challenge that you're going to throw in the way of these two idyllic lovers' relationship. In particular, the way the last segment of this story plays off the opening one struck me as brilliant.

Alena's lack of confidence has been a problem for her since we first met her, but you really shined a spotlight on it here. Despite Lynn being desperate to see her in as many outfits as possible at the start of the chapter, she still refuses to believe that her tiny girlfriend finds her as hot as Lynn really does. Lynn was being selfish when they were clothes shopping; she wanted to see Alena in sexy clothes even if she knew they would buy something else. I feel like Alena sometimes thinks Lynn does that stuff to help her feel more confident, which, again, clearly wasn't the case there.

That scene about getting the wrong food is another good example. I agree with Lynn wholeheartedly here, especially since it sounds like she wasn't a Karen about he whole thing. But yeah, Alena got the wrong food and made excuses to not get what she really wanted, deciding it was just easier to take what she was given and shut up about it. No confidence at all.

And then there was that line about Alena's mom. Holy shit, that might explain a lot! You briefly hinted at the mom being an issue with that call in an earlier chapter, but now I've severely upgraded that woman's threat level to Alena and Lynn's relationship. She not only sounds closed-minded but kind of intense as well. It makes me wonder how a strong personality like that will clash with Lynn's admittedly strong personality. And how will Alena process said clash? Will she find the strength to speak out with those two dominant women wrestling for her soul?

That's another thing I like about this chapter. I just got done talking about the display of Alena's lack of confidence here, but you showed her growing confidence in other ways at the same time. The way she was smug and stern with Lynn about making her wait while she changed and the way she handled Lynn during that incredibly hot sex scene at the end of the chapter both showed her oozing confidence.

So what gives? How can she be so timid sometimes and so confident other times?

Because of Lynn. Alena is still the shy, quiet girl she was at the start, but as she gets closer with her tiny girlfriend, all that doubt and fear go away. She still struggles to assert herself to the world at large, but she feels completely at ease around Lynn and therefore isn't afraid to show off her more fun, aggressive side.

And the irony that the most timid character in the story is the only one who can put the most confident one in her place isn't lost on me.

This huge contrast is a phenomenal way to show the reader just how strong Alena and Lynn's relationship is. It's also great to see this slow change in Alena, one that I suspect will snowball into other aspects of her life as the story moves forward.

Lynn was pretty interesting here, too. She walks a fine line between caring girlfriend and egomaniac, but she walks it well. I loved that line about her not putting herself down to build Alena up (and I believe Alena when she says that wasn't what she was trying to do). That's a very Lynn thing to say, although that bitterness does make me think there might be more to Lynn's attitude than I initially thought.

And it never fails to make me laugh when Lynn, in all sincerity, keeps calling Alena the third hottest woman on campus because Lynn herself is the hottest and she has a twin. Jackie has to be second hottest for Lynn's own sake! I continue to love that!

But back to that food scene, it was so much fun. Seeing Lynn boss around a big (although, again, it seems like she was polite) to the point that said big even knew her last name was pretty awesome! Lynn has great social skills (she also took the time to learn Vanessa's name, after all), and she's not afraid to speak up if something is wrong, so this made a lot of sense to me. Plus I really like the visual of Lynn sitting on top of Alena's wrapped burger in that pose. I would think it would be hard to look smug sitting on someone's food like that, but she made it look easy (in my brain, anyway).

Jackie stealing tiny food will never not be funny! It's so pointless! Does she just like the texture? Is it a way for her to get in touch with her inner tiny, swiping other tinies' food? Or does she just think it's funny? I can't remember if this was addressed when she did it on her date with Pierce, but it still cracks me up!

And Pierce taking a stand had me laughing, too. He has a line, and if you cross it, he'll do the right thing, even if that right thing is selling out his girlfriend.

Then there was Lynn's reaction. Picking up a single big fry (which was clearly more potato than all the fries Jackie stole put together) and licking it like that? Amazing! And I love that "Ha!" right after she did it, declaring victory. Not only that, but I thought she bonded with Pierce a little over the whole thing, even sharing the giant fry with him.

I loved this whole scene so much!

Oh, and I didn't miss that line from Jackie talking about how Lynn can pretty much read her mind so she doesn't have to deal with all that unpleasantness (not how it was worded, I know, but this is clearly what she meant). Jackie still has plenty of room to grow as a character, and I appreciate little reminders like this every now and then.

Not to mention how Jackie was able to calm Pierce down while saying some (on the surface) not calming words and kissing him. He finds comfort in her, and the fact that she was trying to make him feel better outweighed that she was still talking about how she was going to eat him. This was a really nice moment.

Author's Response:

lol I needed a good line to end the chapter on and figured full foreboding was the way to go. 

It's been a minute since I last got to focus on Lynn and Alena, and having them back in the spotlight is a real treat. Lynn's just so much fun to write, and Alena's the perfect foil to bounce her off of. The praise for how their relationship is developing is very appreciated and the perfect confidence booster heading into the next chapter.

Speaking of confidence, I realized early on that a lot of this story is spent exploring the varying degrees of confidence amongst the main cast, particularly how their ability to express themselves is dependent on who they're around at the moment. This is probably most obvious with Jackie who is comfortable around tinies and anxious around most bigs, Javi who is reasonably self-assured but readily capitulates to the wants of others, or Lynn who doesn't know the definition of doubt no matter no matter how tall the person next to her stands. Alena is timid and has a poor self-image to the point that it's going to take the most confident woman in the world to lift her out from the depths she's dug herself into. Part of the challenge of writing Lynn and Alena's relationship is how disparate their views of themselves are, that's where lines like Lynn not tearing herself down to build Alena up are birthed from, but I like that Lynn is slowly drawing her partner out of shell (and I like that you picked up on that lol). It really does come down to Lynn being one of the few people Alena feels comfortable being assertive around, that the tiny's openness and bold personality can rub some confidence off on her lover.

"Walks a fine line between caring girlfriend and egomaniac" is a perfect way to describe both Lynn herself and the fucker writing her. The food scene is a perfect example of that, where on one hand I wanted a scene where Lynn stands up for Alena but also didn't want the tiny breaking the spirit of an unfortunate food service worker. I tried to find a happy middle ground that emphasized Lynn's social prowess while keeping her on the right side of history, and it sounds like I succeeded. I'm glad the visual of Lynn sitting on the burger paid off. Even when she's helping her girlfriend out, she's gotta look smug about it, and a burger throne ain't gonna negate that. 

I don't believe I addressed it yet, and I'm not sure if I will directly in the story, but Jackie's love for stealing tiny food comes from a few places. One, growing up in a mixed size family, she developed a taste for tiny food alongside the more fulfilling stuff at her scale. The more subdued flavors and mouthfeel remind her of home and taste good in ways unique to tiny food. It's also an ultimately harmless way to express some control over another person. Those sorts of feelings I'll delve into later, but Jackie has her reasons for wanting to show some dominance where she can. Plus, Lynn is oftentimes the victim to Jackie's very specific manifestation of kleptomania and getting a rise out of her little sibling is fun for the otherwise docile big sister. And as an aside, the author just thinks the whole idea is very silly and thus very funny.

Yeah, I'm finding the little reminders of Jackie's shyness kinda necessary lol. She's been hanging with tinies so much in the story that it feels like it's been a while since she last had to interact with a big (not counting Alena and Heather, who she has accepted as friends by this point). I swear her character's basic premise hasn't been lost on me, I just haven't had the opportunity to explore it more thoroughly with where the plot is currently focused. 

But whatever, next up's Galaween and I'm bursting with excitement to write it. Scares! Romance! Conflict! It'll have all that and then some! ...I hope. Or maybe it will just be another chapter with a much longer word count. Nah, fuck that. It's gonna kick ass!

Reviewer: It Was Me Signed [Report This]
Date: May 10 2024 11:59 PM Title: Ch 8. Everything is Fine

... the most important campus event of the first half of the fall semester: Galaween.

Who even names these events, the GalaDean? I just hope the group doesn't miss it because Jackie lost her pen.

But wow, we covered a lot of ground in this chapter. It touched major issues for each member of our group of friends (and Michelle, too), introduced some new characters, and even gave us a different look at Shawna. I think the balancing of all of that both in terms of pacing and "criss-crossing" things by showing what characters think of situations and people they've most been segregated from up until now (Jackie shipping MIchelle with Sam and Lynn getting worked up about Javi, for example) was really well done here. Sometimes getting fresh eyes on a situation and seeing how people within the story are seeing these things can be refreshing.

And speaking of Lynn's thoughts on Javi, I can't blame fully blame her for assuming he was being a baby about the smoking incident. She knows that Heather is pretty laid back usually, and we haven't seen Lynn hanging out with either Javi or Pierce very much up until this point, so it makes sense that she would assume that something significant happened and take her friend's side over the person who's just in here group of friends.

It was also funny to see Alena arguing from the tiny perspective while Lynn took what most would consider a big point of view on the whole thing. It's quite cute how Lynn's outgoing, rambunctious, almost reckless way of life clashes with Alena's introverted, concerned, considerate demeanor to create role reversals like this.

Also, while we're talking about those two, it sure seems like the waters ahead might get a bit chippy. I wonder if Alena is more concerned that her mom will be upset that she's dating a girl or that she's dating a tiny. The mention of her mom trying to set her up with a boy seems to indicate the former, but even if that's true, I have to think that if someone isn't cool with same-sex dating, they probably aren't going to be cool with mixed-sized dating either. So maybe both? Either way, I'm really curious to see how Lynn handles a situation involving a girlfriend's intolerant parent, should that be a path the story goes down at some point.

And Naila immediately dropping what she was doing to go hit on Justine after only seeing a picture was hilarious. I was wondering if we'd see the librarian again at some point, but I have to admit, I didn't see her being accosted by a sexed-up Brit during working hours coming.

I feel bad for Jackie. That had to hurt to hear Pierce call "her thing" creepy. Although, to be fair, based on what we've seen of him so far, I don't think he would have found it creepy if Jackie had brought it up with him personally. Now, he would still have a lot of the same concerns about it, no doubt, but I think he's the kind of guy who can be pretty considerate about things if you're just direct with him but can't read even the most obvious signs right in front of his face. Also, it's pretty easy to just assuming something is creepy when it has no bearing on your personal life; if someone you love is into that something, however, your view might change after finding that out, which is what's probably going to happen here.

And Jackie's explanation of vore was perfect, both for how it encapsulated the meaning behind it and her delivery of it. I believe that's the first time we've seen her slip up like that around tinies, showing how caught up in passion and nerves she was about the topic.

And fuck Jeremy! What a bigot (I'm not sure if this qualifies as a pun or, if it does, if said pun is intended)!

Back to Heather, it was pretty sad to see her so down on herself. That the smoking incident is hitting her so hard hints at deeper issues, I think, so I'm glad Shawna gave her that therapist's name; that's a great way to give us some deep insight into what's going on under that multicolored hair of hers. Also, Shawna has quickly went from an afterthought to a character I really like. She doesn't take up a lot of space in this chapter, but after seeing her pine after Javi for a while and their sexy fun time a few chapters back, it was nice to see her caring side for a few paragraphs, especially given how guarded and almost hostile it can come out, if that makes sense.

But seeing Heather use Javi as a motivation to quit smoking is very touching. It shows how much she legitimately cares about him (and I think her feelings for him are part of why this is bothering her so much, but I'm also not Melvin Adams). All that tension and stress she's going through is for him (she might be worried about some of her other tiny friends, too, but he's clearly the motivation for this).

Between that and finally seeing Michelle get her alone time Javi, I feel pretty confident that Heather will be the one to collapse the rhombus and end up with him. I came away from those Michelle segments thinking that it's less that she has strong feelings for Javi and more like she has put him on a pedestal.

Her not being able to think of another topic of conversation during lunch together felt a lot like her not understanding anything about basketball despite going to all of his games.  Then there was her being super careful and proud of being able to give him his food without dumping it but being totally careless with setting her own stuff down on the table. And finally, we've got her having to go online for advice on how to approach aspects of a relationship with him.

I think she thinks he's a nice guy and that, on the surface, he's what she thinks she wants in a guy, but it's clear that she doesn't really know him well enough to be in love with him. And she has had arguably the longest time out of the three other corners of the rhombus to do so (yeah, Shawna has known him longer, but Michelle was with him throughout high school, when people usually start really getting into the other sex). Also, despite believing that she wants to marry him someday, she has never taken the time to learn how to be more careful and considerate around tinies in general, something you would think she would do if she really wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

All of that being said, I came away from this chapter liking Michelle at lot more than I did before. The detail she put into cooking that meal was nicely done, to the point where I was already thinking she wanted to open a restaurant before she even said it (she even had her own spice. I mean, come on!). I think a lot of her lack of consideration around tinies is just obliviousness, whereas before, I thought it was just her not caring. She just came off much more sincere here, and I have a new appreciation for her.

So I'm pretty interested to see if Jackie can work her (lack of) magic and get Michelle and Sam together. Maybe they can show Michelle what she's missing, and things will come a bit more naturally for her with the right tiny. Also, it isn't lost on me that they are starting to develop an interest in vore and Michelle is a foodie (or, based on the detail she put into cooking that meal, I assume she is). That might be a fun combination of interests ...

As for Javi, much like his outing with Shawna, he more or less just went with the flow here. He was supportive and enjoyed his time with Michelle (but not as much as he would have liked, based on how that all ended), but he was just going along with whatever she wanted. Like I said before, he just seems more natural (though not entirely, as I mentioned before) around Heather: The conversation seems more natural, and he felt comfortable enough (alcohol helped, to be fair) to show her what he's really into. It just seems like the best fit to me.

I also loved that he was once again looking out for Pierce and Jackie, pushing them into something that both are really nervous about but will both be better for after the fact, I think.

And as a side note, tinies coming up with the idea of having a big eat a few of them for a scare is an awesome idea! I don't know if I would have ever thought of something like that, so well done!

So it seems like everybody but Shawna has a potential suitor lined up for them (unless I'm way off about what's happening in this story). Maybe she can take over the tiny orgies if Naila hits it off with Justine?

Lastly, I have to ask, Melanie wouldn't happen to be a tiny relative of one J. Jonah Jameson, would she? She was killing it with that on-the-fly alliteration, especially with that last one!

Author's Response:

Haha, everything should go fine so long as Pierce and Javi don't name a pet "Jackie's Boobs." That could potentially end in disaster.

It's definitely interesting playing around with who's familiar with who and what their take is on situations they aren't directly involved with. And I like playing around with their biases dependent on who they're closest with. Of course Jackie is rooting for Heather over the other corners; she's never even met Shawna, and her only interactions with Michelle are when she barges in to pick up Javi. The friend who lets her crash at her pad and pilfer her foreign snacks is clearly the right choice for Javi in Jackie's eye (for more reasons than just her bias, but you get what I mean). And Lynn's opinions on Pierce and Javi are going to be shallower because she only hangs around them as part of the group, not with either of them on their own.

Alena's situation with her mom is a brewing storm. Things are calm for now, but it'll come to a head once the rain starts. That conflict in particular I'm really excited about. Not only for the emotional beats produced throughout its course, but there are some events I have planned that spring off it that I'm sure fans of Mixing Sizes will enjoy.

I'll admit, sometimes I'll create a character that exists to serve a purpose and never really returns after that initial appearance because their purpose has been served. That happened a few times in Mixing, and ultimately I'm okay with it because I felt it added to the story's realism (in real life, not every person we meet gets that satisfying character arc. That ex doesn't always come back and redeem themselves, you never rekindle anything with that girl you had a crush on in high school, you never get in touch with that coworker you slacked off with before they quit to focus on pursuing their dream career, etc. People pass through our lives and can leave an impact and never be heard from again). But with Twin, I'm trying to be more economic with my characters, so yeah, Justine, you get to come back to hookup with Alena's punk roommate who has her own role to play in this story. And hey, if it gets me the chance to detail an FF/whatever orgy then all the better!

Pierce's stance on vore was so hard to nail down. I knew from the beginning that I wanted him to be against it in some fashion, primarily to contrast him with how immediately accepting Drew was with Jess, but the degree of his distaste was up for question. Should he be belligerently opposed to the concept like Jeremy? Terrified of the idea to an irrational level? Grossed out by it? Simply not his cup of tea? I like where I settled on it, and judging from what you've said, I've correctly conveyed my intentions with him so far. We'll peek a bit more into his thoughts on the subject next chapter, but man am I excited for when the couple really starts working through it. Jackie and Pierce are still in the early phase of their relationship (i.e. before I can start writing copius smut of them), and I am eager to show everyone how they evolve.

And yeah, fuck Jeremy! It's interesting to note that I had once planned on his role here being taken by Sam, though they'd be against vore specifically for thinking it problematic as opposed to Jeremy just being a bigot. But given our lines of thinking regarding Sam and Michelle are very much parallel to one another, I'm glad I decided to make Jeremy a separate character and have Sam be vore-curious.

It's probably safe to say that the rhombus' trajectory is much clearer now, at least as far as Michelle is concerned. Your analysis of her this chapter is spot on, and while it pains me to weaken her standing in the rhombus, I think it's for the best I explore her character this way, and it'll be fun continuing to develop her regardless of how her and Javi's relationship status plays out.

But hey, the other corners are still in this race! I enjoyed showing Shawna's caring side this chapter, and I felt it important for her and Heather to connect over something beyond just liking the same guy. I'm glad that resonated with you.

And to answer your last question, Melanie's full name is actually Melanie Manifred Manson, eldest daughter of Mason Manifred Manson and Wilma Wethers Washington. She also has a cousin named Linda Lucille Lipton and a step-uncle twice removed named Theodore Thawn Thurston the Third. (This is a joke. None of that is cannon. Do not hold me to any of it.)