Reviewer: TerryLarka Signed
Date: September 19 2023
Title: Chapter 7: Chapter 7 - On Target
"[Titania] licked her lips and around her mouth, extending the tips of her tongue around her mouth far enough to go past her chin..." Jesus Christ! Wow! Damn! Giving Larkin Love a run for her money.
Loved getting Stella's inner monologue. She honestly has every right to be freaking out at what's going on around her, specifically since no one informed her beforehand, and as much as I (and our main characters) would love to be in this position, it's refreshing to get the "normal" perspective of not wanting to be shrunken to absurd proportions.
Jen was also really well characterized here. Her somewhat nervous enthusiasm serves as a great contrast to Stella's extremely nervous repulsion, and it was so satisfying to see her mentally shut down and disregard Stella's preaching. That brief moment with Kim where she reassured Jen she'd be safe was sweet, and I enjoyed the conversations they had with Claire.
It'll be interesting to see where the story goes with Elise inserting the forbidden protocols into Aidra (assuming she succeeds in doing that, which feels likely). The whole "the Fab Four are to show the investors everything mentality, including glitchy beta builds, is a huge oversight on Elise's/Vanessa's part (though it may very well fit into Vanessa's master plan, I'm still working out her exact angle). The thought of the Fab Four's hard work being sabotaged (potentially to disastrous levels) by their corporate overlord is frustrating and makes for a compelling narrative.
Criticisms for this chapter: The story gets difficult to visualize once it gets techy (namely, the ring and bowl around Dick's dick, and Elise activating the spider bot). It took me a while to figure out what was going on with Dick. I understood what the shapes were and where they were going, but having no clue as to their purpose (especially in relation to Ronnie) had me confused about what was happening until Dick started shooting. I got the impression you were being intentionally vague since this was from Jen's perspective, and while I loved that a couple chapters ago with Ronnie, here it just made it hard to parse what was happening as opposed to leading me to want to fill in the blanks. With Elise, I think some analogies/similes or more plainspeak description of what the drone looks like, what it's doing, how small it is, etc. would help (or it could just be me being dumb, it wouldn't be the first time). Also, there were quite a few typos this chapter. That's not something I'd normally note, but there were enough here to distract me from an otherwise solid chapter.
I think it's commendable that you kept up a consistent release schedule for as long as you did, and please feel free to break those deadlines with a sledgehammer. I could never be that orderly with my releases, and if I were, it would lead to a noticeable drop in quality. I respect that you've been really consistent up to this point with few signs of rushing. Personally, I find keeping a less strict timetable (something like once a week or so vs. every week on specific days) helps keep me on track without stressing me out, but I know everyone writes differently, so I hope you can find a schedule that works best for you. And yeah, this stuff does not take priority. Do whatever you need or want to do instead, the smut can come after. I will wait however long you want me too, so keep up the great work!
Author's Response: *Awkward head scratch* Ehehehe, yeah, this wasn't my best showing. I'd been away from my PC too long, and ended up banging out 80% of this chapter in the dark corner of a McDonalds on my phone's Notes app. The editing was... rushed, to say the least.
Regarding your wonderful feedback: Titania is big on the self-body modification, and tongue stretching and splitting are both real proceedures with varying degrees of effectiveness (varies person to person). Larkin Love would be a good comparison.
Stella is in a very real, if metaphorical, crucible. This is where Victoria gets to see just what kind of person she is when someone turns up the heat. Meanwhile we get that convenient reminder of just what a normal reaction to being tiny and at the mercy of strangers would be like (because I haven't played up this angle, but Stella knows NOBODY here. Except for a couple brief meetings in disguise, she's never met these people before.)
I'm glad Jen's personality is still coming across as intended. She's the youngest in the room (aside from Stella) and her income is entirely based on sitting her her room playing video games (gross oversimplification, I know, apologies to any streamers who read this), which means her exposure to potential physical harm, and to such an unbalanced power dynamic, is something she generally left behind. I think she's doing well so far.
Ah, yes, the sabotage. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.
As for the criticisms, they are 1000% valid. I shouldn't sacrifice on quality for the sake of a regular release schedule. This isn't a commission or a patreon.
I'll have to give this one a partial rewrite - not to change events, but to improve description. Clarify that the drone is basically a stout box with OLED panels for sides, six transparent legs manipulated by thin wires coming from the box, and a tiny camera on the end of a wire sticking out the front, and it's compact enough to fit in a lady's purse along with her other essentials.
As for Titty's toy, that was a last-minute choice from a pool of gadget ideas that had been bumbling around in my brain. I can picture Titty coming up with a concept for a cock ring that functions as a Cum Cannon. That's just who she is. I roughly conceptualized it as a tool to restrict flow and enhance a tiny's ability to aim, but again... I rushed this one.
And that rush showed itself in several ways, such as the myriad typos and really substandard descriptions. After all the help and encouragement I've received, I owe it to you all, and I suppose to myself as well, to give you quality, and this wasn't it.
Again and always, thanks for the review. It means a lot.