Hey! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and that you decided to go through it again and review each chapter! Sorry for taking so long to respond, but I've had a lot going on of late. I'll get to each chapter review from you though!

You're dead on about the "tiny person in my house" thing. Very early in my thinking this up, I wanted to take a classic, clichéd theme like this and try to do something different with it, freshen up the concept.

I love that Callie resonated with you right away, and you're exactly right about her. She's in a bad place at this point, but she's staying true to herself and trying to power through it rather than letting it bog her down and reshape her attitude. Actually, this adversity, in a lot of ways, has only strengthened who she is, as it made her want to help Duncan even more rather than shut down and focus on her own problems.

Reading all of your reviews, it seems a lot of what I tried to do with Duncan didn't quite resonate with you. That sucks to read as an author, but I really appreciate the feedback. I'll go back and try to reevaluate some things and see how I could have made some things clearer with him, so that I can convey some of those things through my future characters more broadly.

As for Duncan sharing his story with Callie, it was more out of a desperation to connect with someone after six months of almost complete isolation from humanity than trust that he did that. Granted, he did spend a week testing her after observing her before that, so he was fairly confident that she was a good person, especially after she went out of her way to feed him and make him feel like a person again (talking to him through the wall). But Duncan doesn't trust easy, both because of what happened after he shrank and his life in general before that.

I didn't rush this for narrative reasons, though. Between Duncan's state of mind here and Callie having earned the moment through her actions, I thought it developed pretty naturally. Again, I feel like the disconnect here is that I didn't do a good enough job of showing off his mental state at the time. Sorry about that.

A lot of Duncan's story was told very casually by him because of his general state of mind as his journey progressed, which doesn't really get explained until later. I was hoping that the way he told some parts of the story like this compared to the part about Kristie would help emphasize that, at some point, he just kind of accepted things as they came and decided to just roll with it, using the trauma of whatever Kristie did to show that he does, in fact, have limits to that levity and that some things really do linger within him.

So the squirrel fight, by the time it happened, was past that point for Duncan. So much shit had happened to him at that point that it barely even registers as a near-death experience to him anymore. Every day came with those, and rather than lose his mind by living in constant fear, he just kind of stopped worrying about it and decided that he was at peace of today was the day he died. So that's why he comes off more embarrassed than traumatized when he tells this story.

Also, Callie adds to the levity a lot, finding the story cute and funny at first. As a normal-sized person, the thought of a tiny person fighting a squirrel for food doesn't immediately register as dangerous, I think. It's just such a hard thing to empathize with. But there was a point when she realized how big a thing this actually was and that he could have actually died, and she got serious in that moment. Then Duncan's method of escape brought humor back into the picture.

I'm happy the shoebox scene came off the way I wanted it to. I really wanted to show how resourceful and competent she was, as that comes into play several times throughout the story (such as with Duncan's clothes, his gym, how his shoebox house eventually turns out, etc.). And yeah, she's all about making others feel comfortable, especially someone like Duncan, who has been through hell. Not to mention that she feels like helping Duncan is somewhat therapeutic for herself, making her feel less useless as her problems seem so far out of reach for her.

I think Duncan's response to Callie here makes a lot of sense for the character. He appreciates what she's doing for him, sure, but he's also very cautious. Again, he doesn't trust easily, and we already know that one other person who found him treated him with kindness as well only to turn around and torture him later on. So while I get that a lot of people would have had a big reaction to her effort, I think his approach was perfect for where he's at right now. Plus, he did thank her and go out of his way to make her feel better about the arrangements being less than ideal by her own standards (him mentioning that he had slept in a hole in the wall for the past month).

Yeah, Callie's more of an open-book type, while Duncan is a lot more guarded. It's by design that we're still trying to figure out more about who he really is at this point. Like you said, we know a lot about what happened to him, but a good amount of time is spent throughout this story showing how those things affected him and who they made him become.

As for the lack of central conflict thing, yeah, I kind of slow roll everything out. This chapter was more about establishing the premise for the story and getting the reader familiar with these characters than giving them a problem to solve.

So yeah, I'm glad you seemed to mostly like the first chapter. And I really appreciate your honesty. I don't necessarily agree with everything you said here, it's certainly given me a lot to think about!

I appreciate the concern! I'm glad you found the chapter to be worth the wait!

You're also right that there are plenty of moving parts in the story to keep track of, and you complimenting my management of them makes me feel more confident that I'm doing an okay job of balancing things.

Actually, a lot of this stuff hasn't been based on my personal experiences. I will say that I've seen secondhand the foster care system taken advantage of and that has been something I've drawn from a bit (not Kristie's big revelation this chapter, though).

Thanks again for the kind words. I still have to check out the newest chapter of Shrinkie Haven, too, so I'll try and drop a review there when I get a chance. I really like where that story is going!

Thanks! As I said in my review of Shrinkie Haven the other day, I'm enjoying your story as well!

I really like how you mentioned getting worked up over both Duncan's relationships and his safety. I'm always concerned that there isn't enough tension in this story, and reviews like this make me feel a little more confident that there actually is, so thanks for the confidence boost!

Ha! The daily updates thing made me laugh for several reasons Thanks for that!

And your favorite story on the site for the last year? or even couple of years? Holy shit! Thank you! That's incredibly flattering to read!

I hope the story keeps hitting such a high note for you!

Thanks, web100! A ray of light in a dark kingdom. I kind of like that.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

Hey MXP! No worries on "taking forever" to read the story. It's not going anywhere. And I look forward to seeing what you think of each chapter!

Yeah, based on these reviews, it seems like it's really hard to not like Callie, so I'm happy that you feel the same way. As for Duncan, there are a lot of reasons for him being the way he is, both from his time as a tiny and also well before.

Funny you should mention your curiosity about Duncan's time with the other giant women he's met. You should find the beginning of chapter two pretty interesting then.

I agree with that point on unexpected events. I personally love it when I think I know where a story is going, only for a seemingly random thing to throw me for a loop. It opens up so many new possibilities and keeps me guessing.

As someone who writes ridiculously long reviews on this site, I've had that happen to me before, too. If you take too long to type it out, the site might log you out automatically, and then when you go back to the page that review box is blank. Agony is a good word for it! I started copying my reviews when I finish typing them and make sure I'm still logged in before I hit submit, and I haven't had that problem since!

That being said, thank you for the incredibly kind words regarding my story!

You actually touched on several things that I was hoping were coming through in my writing, so I was pretty happy to read this. That comment about his basic survival instincts is actually pretty important, and I thought, if anything, someone would rip me by thinking that Duncan wasn't acting realistically in some of those situations when there's actually a reason for this. So I was pretty stoked that you mentioned this!

The dynamic between Callie and Duncan and particularly Duncan's comfort level being tiny around her was something I really wanted to emphasize with this last chapter. The first two chapters saw these two come together and form a bond but still be a bit raw and reserved in how they act around one another. But now, after spending a couple of days together without the shock and stress of figuring things out, they've quickly gotten a lot more comfortable with each other and their natural personalities are starting to come out in their interactions together.

This happened a bit quicker between Duncan and Monica because they've known each other for a while, and once Duncan realized that any reservations he had about her were misplaced, he was able to relax almost immediately. And yeah, she really cares about Duncan. I was kind of going for a big sister/little brother dynamic between them. It was also pretty fun building up her ice queen credentials at the end of chapter two and the start of this one only to have the vulnerability of Duncan at his new size help prompt her to open up (in her own way) as well.

And don't worry, Duncan helping Callie with her class will be a big focus of the next chapter, though that help will be a bit ... unconventional.

Your comment on character development in general is much appreciated! I tried to put a lot of thought into these characters, so it feels good to hear that they feel fleshed out! The same goes for your generous words on my detailing. Seeing the words mesmerizing and breathtaking associated with my work is really satisfying, so thanks for that!

Finally, I'm glad that you think this story is coming off semi-believable with it's lewdness and actions. That's nice little tightrope to walk, balancing things people with our little fetish might find interesting or alluring without making the story or its characters seem weird or implausible. That line about community standards here certainly holds true, too; this story would most certainly read differently if it was put in front of a mainstream audience, wouldn't it?

Thanks again for the review, and I encourage you to leave more as you find other stories you're into. This one was pretty motivating, especially given how expressive it is, and I'm sure other writers would feel the same!

Hey Chief!

Yeah, Divinity Lost has been incredible so far, and with the incredible level of thought and detail you guys put into it, I pretty much had to babble on about it for a while. I also checked out that new Melissa chapter (and some of the reviews; man, people do not like Melissa) and it was phenomenal. I've got a lot of thoughts on it myself, but I think I might be able to knock out the next chapter of this one in the next couple of days, so I'm going to focus on that before I get a chance to clutter your reviews again. I will say that I feel like I learned a lot about Melissa, and I also had some interesting comparative thoughts between real-life religion and how the god of gods does things.

As for your thoughts on this story, I'm thrilled that multiple people have said the 10k words went by quick. I thought a wordy chapter like that might drag people down. Also, the next chapter is looking to be about the same length (I'm at about 7,500 words right now), so hopefully it reads as smoothly as this first chapter.

It's good to hear that you're into our two main characters so far, and I particularly like how you're feeling about Callie right now. That should hopefully make this next chapter have a real impact on you. As for Duncan's trust in her, I'm hoping I conveyed well enough the combination of cautious observation and Callie going out of her way to earn that trust for that to make sense. I'm a big believer in being able to bond with people not just over time but based on actions as well, so ideally I've shown that Callie has handled things a lot differently than Kristie and Natasha (even if things did start not so bad with her).

I will say that it's going to be a while before we get too deep into the mystery of why Duncan shrank, but we'll get there. And one thing that I do find kind of funny is the amount of people drawing attention to his clothes shrinking with him. That's not to say it isn't a good observation (it is), but it makes me think about how the majority of shrinking stories on this site focus on shrinking out of clothes. I just picture a bunch of people reading that part and going, "Wait, what? His clothes weren't supposed to shrink, too!"

And you saying that my story "feels alive" may be my favorite compliment on this story. I sometimes wonder if I focus too much on smaller details, so reading this was extremely rewarding. So thanks for that!

Hey Green!

You're certainly on the right track as far as Callie's problems go. I was hoping that I didn't make her main issue too obvious with the way that I wrote the chapter, and I think you might have a good idea of where I'm going with this. She'll certainly need more than a little encouragement to get past what's bringing her down. In any case, that main issue will become obvious (and be outright spelled out) in the next chapter.

I think you've nailed down Duncan pretty well, and you're right: Despite admitting that Callie's issues are a bigger deal than just grades, Duncan's are way more serious, although I he might not be quite as on top of them as first appears (we'll get into that next chapter as well). He's definitely confident yet cautious, with the latter being just as much the result of his life before shrinking as it is the horrors he went thought post-shrinkage.

I also really, really like that you brought up (multiple times, even!) the question of how Duncan shrank! That was obviously glossed over in this chapter, but that's something that's going to play a part in this story as it progresses. I've read plenty of stories on this site that take that "Groundhog Day" approach (I really like this comparison for that type of story, by the way), and I'm not knocking them (in fact, there are some that I really liked), but it kind of bothers me when things like shrinking or growing are left completely unexplained. It's like stumbling into a mystery only to leave it unsolved.

Anyway, thanks for the generous review!