I don't think I can fully convey how gratifying it was to have started my day with this review (yesterday, that is, but I didn't have time to respond properly). Seriously. I could feel your sincere enthusiasm bleeding through every word. It felt really good, and especially since I haven't updated this story in six months and am therefore never expecting continued feedback, this surprise dose of praise was extremely welcome! 

The world building came somewhat easily because I had already laid some foundations in another, as of yet unpublished story in the same universe. When I stalled on that, and my mind turned to this one-off vampire vore story I had always wanted to write, and people liked it enough that I wanted to continue it, it was "easy" to just think to myself, "her world is in that one too," and proceed. We'll see if I can't keep it all straight!

But you're right. This is primarily "just a vore story." And vore (soft, preferably willing and nonfatal) is my primary kink associated with size stuff. So, how many times and in how many ways can I do it so as to keep it fresh and sexy before it turns dull and repetitive for the characters AND for me? Hence the tough balance with plot and smut. But I also don't want to go TOO long between sexy stuff. What're most of us here for? In any case. It is a tough balance that I struggled with the whole time writing this so far. So I appreciate your kind words regarding that. Thank you! And also thanks for appreciating my own little twists on tired tropes. Wanted every species to have just a little of my original take. 

In any case. I, too, hope to return to this story soon. I've been thinking a lot about the next chapters and remaining plot/character arcs. If I'm being honest, it wasn't plot that burned me out, but a struggle to maintain fresh originality when writing the sexy stuff! I just want to make sure when I write the remaining chapters, they're planned out well and hit hard. And also that I'm not tired or lazy when I write them. (Sorry about your January! Reminds me of college!)

Anyway. The content of your review is five stars. Your words all mean a lot to me! One of the happiest I've gotten on this site! Thank you! 

That's extremely flattering! And I will assure you like the others: I do not intend to abandon the story. I just needed a break because I wrote too much far too quickly, and was losing enthusiasm. 

Thank you for the kind words and rating! 

-Xiao 

Hey! Thanks for dropping back in! You certainly don't have to review every chapter. Haha! Though I wouldn't complain. I love getting feedback, and responding to these reviews is really engaging. 

And thank you so much! I consider the world building I've done to be pretty light work, but I just feel that if you're going to recycle tired fantasy species, the least you can do is give them all a bit of an imaginative spin so as to keep things feeling fresh. I guess I just didn't want a reader to be able to pop in and already know everything about Vela based on the title, 'vampire,' alone. I wanted to make being a vampire/borrower/wear wolf/naga etc. something the reader would have to learn about as they went along, while still adhering to a few, concrete pieces of each species that I think define them. 

And ohhh, the guessing game. I've been really entertained by the guesses I've seen present in these reviews. It's a mixture of thrill and frustration whenever one of you gets something right, or close to it. Just shows that I'm foreshadowing effectively, I suppose, which is a tough mechanism with which to strike an appropriate balance when you aren't even really keeping notes and only have the outline of the story in your head. 

All I'll say regarding your speculation is, "not bad," but I guess you'll just have to wait and see! I'm sorry I haven't produced anything new this week, but writing 65k words in less than a month is a little rough, and I needed to step away from the medium for a bit to allow my brain and enthusiasm a chance to catch up wirh my hands. And this gives everyone else a chance to catch up with what I've written as well. 

As always, love reading your reviews! So thanks a lot for taking the time to make them! 

Adieu!

Well, one person's big yes is another person's big nope with these things, so I understand that, and as one of my frequent reviewers, I really appreciate the feedback. I can say that, while I'm a fan of it myself, it's not a mechanism I plan to use often, as it's rather inconvenient for the characters in terms of being "in play" or not. But I'll be sure to mark any other chapters with full-tour if they come along so you can proceed with your own judgment. And no offense taken!

I'm glad that even though you don't appreciate the theme, you still enjoyed my justification for it in terms of story building. Part of the fun of this story so far has been that, for the most part, I've been able to tie in things like vore and even full tour to the story. 

The mysterious effect Leo has on Vela's physiology does seem to be pointing to that possibility! 

And I'm glad you like the nagas. I was hesitant to introduce them, but I think they've provided an interesting element both in terms of story and smut. 

Thanks for all the feedback! 

Hey! I'm glad you're happy. And I briefly considered the Nagas sending her off with some gauntlet like a parting gift for her journey, but Ek-teen isn't Galadriel. Lol 

and that's a curious thought. In what way do you imagine Leo would have an effect on Jackie's anatomy? 

And Jackie and Leo will have plenty of quality time together in the coming chapters. I've been needing an opportunity to flesh out their relationship a little. They were too preoccupied wirh keeping her alive before! 

Thanks for your follow-up review! I'm glad to see you're still enjoying this story! 

You have nothing to apologize for! You don't have to leave me these wonderful reviews at all, so I'm delighted that you do no matter when you get around to it. It's always a happy surprise to open my browser and see that I've gotten another, especially from someone who has been following along! 

And I've always loved the idea of a good, sultry, double-vore scenario, and the way I wrote these characters practically begged for it. And I was pleased with how I was able to "justify it" in terms of the story. 

I hope you enjoy the next couple chapters too! Thanks so much for your continued feedback! I'll keep writing as long as people keep enjoying it. Until I come to a proper ending, anyway. But then I'll just start the next thing. 

Well I'm very glad that you had such a positive experience just reading chapter 1! (Personally it's my favorite), but I still put a ton of love into the rest of them. I'm not surprised you were able to enjoy it on its own because when I wrote this, I didn't have a real plan to continue it. (Hence chapter 1 is so long and full). 

I hope that you enjoy the rest of you get around to them! And thank you again for the shining review!

For reasons that would ultimately spoil the next chapter were I to elaborate, I'll just say that some of the desires expressed in this review would have been satisfied if I had decided to post chapters nine and ten at the same time like I had for most of the previous 2-chapter drops, but alas, I decided that ten needed a little more refinement. Though I'll admit, I shouldn't have put the "butt" tag on without being absolutely sure i was ready to post it. But fear not! Check back in a few hours. 

As far as not wanting lewd content to mess with the story itself, I really appreciate your expressing that. It's a hard balance to strike when I am trying to tell a somewhat compelling and legitimate story that was primarily inspired by the G/t interactions. I'm trying to make those interactions hold more meaning because of the experiences and relationships that the main characters share. So I thank you for your patience! 

Thank you so much for your review! 

Yeah, that's going to be something Vela is going to have to keep in mind. Humans have changed a lot in her lifetime. Innovation doesn't respect its elders. 

And I wanted to sort of make that point about the best laid plans. I wanted to showcase Leo's ability to dynamically improvise and be stealthy, but also demonstrate that everything can go wrong without good intel. 

And yeah, I had a couple of places in mind that they could show up. That chapter took a lot of planning even though I think it ended up being pretty straight forward. There was just some tough decision making that went into it. In terms of consequences. The humans were going for blood. Vela lost a hand. They almost died. And then I crossed into slightly darker territory wirh how the humans were dealt with. Had to be sure it was all what I wanted to do. 

And yeah... you're not the only person to notice that funny name accident either. I've considered taking it out, but... what's in a name? 

I always look forward to your feedback! It's very involved in its specificity and responsiveness to our prior exchanges. Thanks for being here in the reviews! 

Hey! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you were still enjoying it! Everyone in the reviews has been incredibly kind. And you were one of the first people to let me know how much you loved the first chapter, so I was very motivated to continue. Hope you continue to like what you see!