Reviewer: Nhencjnde Signed [Report This]
Date: April 03 2024 8:25 PM Title: Prologue I: An Eclectic Family

Wow. After finishing reading the six parts you've written so far, I can safely say that I haven't felt this hooked on a story with GTS/shrink content in a while on this site. The last of the stories I remember reading on Giantessworld that gave me that same feeling was, ironically, Olfactory Odyssey by Jakeunderfoot, followed by Bridget's R&R universe, seemingly endless The Underfoot Railroad by kenny224, and most of the carnage stories, but mainly The Beaumonts.

Although in the prologue, many may have felt lacking in GTS/shrink content, in my case I was entertained from start to finish getting to know the characters, their personalities, dynamics and the universe that little by little you have not been presenting.

I admit that the main reason I enjoyed the prologue without feeling it heavy or boring was because of the foot content, mainly due to the fetish of the protagonist Nameless, and his constant imaginary scenarios and introspections about his family's feet, being the main attraction that this types of stories for me; but even without that content, the other elements, such as the past of Nameless's mother, Morgan, as well as the relationship between him and his twin sister Frigg, his older sister Titania (beautiful name in my opinion), his adoptive sister Houseki and her younger half-sister Nahla, I really liked them.

I loved each of the characters' personalities and how each one relates to Nameless. From the solemn and calm Houseki, the childish and vivid Nahla, the arrogant and mean Frigg, the serious and diligent Titania, and the loving and caring mother Morgan.

From everything we know about them so far, I would say that my favorite character would be Houseki (I'm very happy to know that she was the one who won the first poll), followed by Tatiana, Morgan, Nahla and in the end Frigg.

Let's say that, in these types of stories, I really like the characters with Houseki's appearance and personality.

I also really liked how you have presented the world to give rise to the name and the problems of Nameless regarding his magical powers and the little use that his profession has in a changing world, a change incited by one of his sisters; along with how you proposed at the beginning of the prologue, Morgan's expedition to some ancient ruins as a mere extra element to learn more about the character's life, to continue developing that element as the origin of two of the Nameless sisters and ending as the event where Morgan found the object that would trigger Nameless's size reduction event, who, motivated by his personality and situation, hatched a plan to get it. Quite clever and creative.

Furthermore, all the other elements raised in the story seem just as interesting to me as Nameless's “little” adventure. I would like to know more about those ancient ruins beneath a kingdom, the wishes that Morgan made to the genie, Morgan's affairs as a court mage, the character of Jafar, as well as explore more of the world and its socio-political situation, taking into account that although the diversity of species in the kingdom has allowed characters like Houseki not to have suffered discrimination, coupled with being the adopted daughter of one of the important people in the kingdom, if Yashima demonstrates anything, it is that discrimination and racial prejudices They still exist among certain sectors of the population, or at least that is what I believe.

I'd also like to point out that I enjoyed how you brought up Houseki's feet with an aspect of her personality: her insecurity towards them.

I thought it was another clever touch to continue reading about feet without needing to have Nameless around fantasizing.

I liked reading Houseki's thoughts as she reflects on her feet and it made me imagine how Nameless's other family might have some connection or thoughts towards them own feet.

I imagine Tatiana reflecting on her tired feet after a hard day of training or guard, thinking how much she is grateful to Nameless for the massages and how much she would like him to be near her whenever she wants one.

For Nahla, I imagine there's a reason she enjoys being always barefoot; perhaps as a way to feel free no matter how dirty her feet get.

I don't think of any deep aspect for Morgan, beyond enjoying a foot massage from her son Nameless.

It's Frigg who has me a little intrigued by the matter. I doubt that she has any thoughts on her feet, but after having read a paragraph insinuating that her arrogant personality towards her twin brother may be hiding something else (that is if I read correctly and the translation of the text was correct), I I've imagined that maybe deep down, she feels some kind of affection towards Nameless, but she's ashamed of it and tries to hide.

In fact, after reading that Morgan's shoes that Nameless hid in his room were visible to anyone who entered his room, I imagined Frigg entering, discovering the shoes and, putting two and two together, concluding that her brother has a foot fetish, which would cause her to think of her feet as a way to get close to Nameless again.

Just random thoughts based on what little we know of the characters so far and my preferences.

I have nothing against authors who prefer to present the setting of their stories as a mere decoration for the action to happen, as Micro Maverick does with his story Insole-In-Law, where the main attraction is the main character being turned into your sister-in-law's template, but I prefer stories whose construction of characters as well as the context of them and their surroundings took their time in posing and developing them before getting to the action.

Another point that I find incredible is the effort you put into writing the scenes from Nameless's shrunken perspective. I found each of those scenes ingenious, well described and beautifully narrated. I can't even imagine how much it must have cost you to conceive and carry them out, but the result is worthy of admiration.

I think what I liked most about those scenes, besides little Nameless at the feet of a normal-sized person, is also having the perspective of the normal-sized character, like the scene where Houseki stretched and played with her feet, almost as an unconscious act, but for Nameless it was an event of apocalyptic proportions.

Excited to know the outcome of Nameless at the feet of his younger sister. Will he be able to get her attention? Will he get trapped inside Houseki's shoes? Would he end up letting go of her foot? Many scenarios and only one outcome.

When it comes to the character to choose as Titania's fiancée, I have thought about the type of personality and the possibility of knowing more about the region where said character comes from.

Although a character's personality is surely not linked to their race, I have imagined the Frog Girl as a rather rough and tomboyish character, the Sylph with a relaxed and carefree personality, like a kind of hippie girl under the effects of a mild hallucinogen, and the Succubus as a playful and flirtatious woman with sexy mannerisms and gestures.

At first I was going to vote for the succubus, because I liked the idea of a girl with horns and a long, thin tail with the tip in the shape of an inverted heart, with that personality mentioned above, contrasting with Titania's personality, and knowing more about the place of origin of the succubus, Abyssal Reach, caught my attention; but after thinking about it a little, a Sylph with a more relaxed and soft personality attracts my attention, even if I admit that knowing the Skyward Capital does not attract my attention much.

Excited to know the results of the polls and to read the next chapter of this incredible story. Although I like the unconscious action, and the scenario you have established so that Nameless's family does not suspect his absence, I like the idea of one of his sisters finding him and initiating an interaction between her and Nameless.

What I enjoyed most about Olfactory Odyssey was precisely how the protagonist's sisters interact with him in his tiny size, like in that last chapter where Jake ends up “voluntarily” swallowing food and waste straight from Nicky's feet.

Although, if you don't have anything planned like one of Nameless's relatives finding it in his new size, it still seems like an incredible story to me.

I hope the translation is understandable. English is not my native language and sometimes I can skip a detail or two.

Author's Response:

Hi Nhencjnde,

Thank you so much for detailing all of your thoughts about the story up to now. I definitely consider the comparison to those great works as high praise. Especially Olfactory Odyssey and The Underfoot Railroad. As I find myself coming back to those stories often.

The prologue being interesting to the reader was definitely a concern. So I’m glad to hear that the story was entertaining, the characters being alive and distinct, and the fetish material that I was able to put in those chapters were able to tide you over. Getting the reader, such as you, interested in the lore, engaged in the character’s and their aspects (such as Houseki’s insecurity) and brainstorming your own ideas of how the other family members would play out, and making conjectures based off of that tells me that I’ve written a story that inspires imagination. 

The specifics that you’ve delineated related to each character, I will not say if I will be doing what you’ve speculated…but I think that you will enjoy it. As for the shoes that accidentally were misplaced, and fell out of the book shelf, I will say that someone will have seen the shoes by next chapter.

As for the main scenes that probably constitute the interest of my story, as a piece of giantess fiction, I will say that I probably wouldn’t be able to write such descriptive pieces if I didn’t enjoy them. I do like depicting multiple perspectives in my story when it comes to a single scene, but if there comes a scene where there is more to be gained from “less” and “mystery” then I might limit myself to a singular perspective in that scene. We’ll see if it ends up happening in any of the future chapters.

Also, you are in luck. Sylph won the poll, so I’ll get to writing the chapter “soonish” and we’ll get to see her a little bit in the upcoming chapter.

Finally, as for the part about aware sister interactions with their brother, scenes that I also quite enjoyed in Olfactory Odyssey, that is something I’ve been considering as well. 

There are plans for it to happen eventually, in multiple forms and varying levels of awareness, but I don’t think that I’ll be able to write interactions that are similar to Jakeunderfoot’s story until much later. And that is really due to the narrative I have planned and the constraints of the setting that I will be hinting at in future chapters.

I think that I addressed everything in your review. Once again thank you so much for taking the time to read, review, and rate. I was quite happy to read your thoughts.

Reviewer: Drone762 Signed [Report This]
Date: March 30 2024 11:42 AM Title: Prologue I: An Eclectic Family

I was originally drawn in by the similarity between the concept and one I was tinkering with before, but even without that bias, this is the story that convinced me to make an account on this site after over a decade. The descriptions near the end of the first chapter were perfect, and I love the way you mix in your worldbuilding and the other narrative threads, to keep it engaging as a story as well.

I loved your style in A Faerie Crushing Date too, and hope to see a similar structure with bad end chapters or the like, but of course I have faith in any structure you go with!

You can stop here unless you want to see the concerns & critique I have to offer - my opinion, as I've said, is overall stellar, after all! But first, the 'thesaurus vibes' are a little strong (for instance, Nameless referring to capillaries as "sanguine circuits" was okay in his inner monologue when it just felt like the usual prose, but everyone's speech style so far has been very grounded, so it felt out-of-character for him to start waxing poetic in a serious conversation with his sister). It could simply be the in-universe name for blood, but it's hard for a reader to tell when you also implement words like fascia into your prose - the net effect is that it looks less like minor worldbuilding, and more like a bleed-through of your prose into the character's dialogue.

Secondly (and more subjectively), the Humiliation and Slave tags mildly worry me because everyone has stellar characterisation as someone who cares for Nameless deeply, and I feel like - barring a foray into mistaken identity - any such mistreatment of him would be a disservice to their personalities as portrayed. Even Frigg gives off the impression of caring about him too much for that, behind the usual sibling bickering.

Regardless, stellar work, and I will be watching with interest!

Author's Response:

Yo Drone762!

I'm super glad that you found this tale to be exciting and one that has been on your mind before! And reading your comment now makes me wish that I was able to post my next chapter sooner. Guess you will just have to be content with reading it when it's available in less than an hour.

As for your critiques/criticisms, I am aware of the 'thesaurus vibes' being a little strong and that it could be detrimental to my world-building. I'm trying to work on that so it doesn't make the character's dialogue seem odd. Not too much, as the "thesaurus-vibes" is intended more to be a part of Nameless's character. As you will see in chapter 5, his education as a Cleric leads to a parlance that is steeped in medical knowledge. As we both know Nameless is supposed to be trying to shift away from that profession...but falling back on the foundation he's built for over a decade is expected. I've written him this way because I already anticipated that I might bleed prose into character dialogue, so I designated Nameless to be the character that would do that...and maybe a few others that I'll introduce down the line (but that is not set in stone yet).

And I agree with you, fascia isn't a word I would expect to see in a complete fantasy story, but so isn't D-type Juvenescent Information Networking Nucleus, so both the Cleric terminology and D.J.I.N.N.'s name are little clues in the world itself. I will try and not bombard y'all with medical terms. For instance, there will be a phrenic nerve issue injury in the next chapter, but I was able to practice restraint and not even mention that term once. As I figured, like you were concerned with, that even with my explanation about the content and purpose of Cleric jargon...it might be disengaging for the general reader.

As for your second point, we'll you already mentioned one way that slave and humiliation tags could be used without sacrificing character consistency...and I am a huge fan for mistaken identity. But there are two other avenues that I'm considering of how those tags will be implemented. Within this story that so far has only depicted people that care for Nameless. Therefore, I would like to tell you to please rest easy, as characterization is quite important to me as well...would be less hot for me if I didn't. Curse you Game of Thrones final seasons!!!

In short, thank you for the wonderful comment and I'll try to take your critique to heart. So please do write another review if you think there are improvements I can make.

I'll be looking forward to it.

Reviewer: Medrinisoc Signed [Report This]
Date: March 26 2024 3:19 PM Title: Prologue I: An Eclectic Family

Wow! I’m loving this story (the world building is simply amazing). I also loved olfactory odyssey so I can’t wait to see how you continue with the descriptions of perspective and smells. I was wondering if there will be any unaware / mistaken identity with Frigg. 

Reviewer: Dawger2 Signed [Report This]
Date: March 25 2024 6:39 AM Title: Prologue I: An Eclectic Family

Ooooh! Looking forward to this one!

Author's Response:

Thanks! I’ve already made some small progress on the next chapter. So it might be coming sooner than later. Hopefully all the necessary build-up will be out of the way and we’ll shift from chapters with 90% Exposition and 10% Action to a lot more action. At least 50%.

Love your GTS renders by the way. I’m assuming that you’re the same account on Deviantart.