Larger Than Life Reviews:

Review for chapter 11:

This was a big one, huh. You could even say it was... breaking through.

For real though, great chapter. I know some may be disappointed that it's mostly dialogue, EXPOSITORY dialogue even, but as it happens, that's just the kind of stuff I like. Dialogue has been one of this story's major strengths I believe, a dark horse if you will, and here it's particularly good, especially between Jason and June. They have a fun dynamic. Lot of personality on display too, like I definitely get a sense of Jason's ego. When he first showed up to help in the fight against Ava, I thought it was kind of funny, like he's just one guy - what's he gonna do exactly? But it turns out he's smart (although probably not as smart as he thinks, haha) and his strategy seems sound. I'm eager to see more of him in the upcoming chapters.

I like how reactions to the killing of Ethan Mercer were "divided." But I can't help but wonder how the world reacted to Caylin's murder? Unless that was already stated and I just don't remember. They have footage of it, right? Surely people would be more upset about an apparently innocent person dying than Ethan?

Naomi's revelations were illuminating, although not entirely surprising considering past events. And all the discord discussions trying to predict what was going to happen next lol

I'll admit, when I first started reading this story, I expected it to not have any explanation for Ava's growth whatsoever. It just seemed like that type of story, you know? One that's all focused on the consequences of the growth, but not why it happened in the first place. Finally getting the full explanation is very satisfying then, and I prefer it over any other way the story could have gone. Naomi having pulled the strings all along is just so compelling. You have done a very good job of making the most powerful person on the planet seem so... powerless.

Naomi's support for women's rights was clear earlier, so her motivation makes sense, but I wonder just how much she really believes in it and how much she just desires power for herself. Is Naomi willing to die to Ava if it benefits women's liberation in the long run? If not, that was certainly a risky gamble earlier. All else aside, she's very bold! I wasn't discounting the possibility that Ava was going to kill her right there and then, it was very suspenseful. Perhaps she's overestimating the degree of control she has over Ava? Heh. Another minor question on my mind is: where did she get the other chemical agents that she used to drug Ava?

Finally, Ava's last name has been revealed! \o/

And wow, the ending has definitely succeeded in making me excited for the next chapter! How are our two heroes going to handle a mass movement of this size?

> “So tell me, goddess… did you miss drawing a crowd?”

Another chapter ends with a banger Naomi line.

Review for chapter 11:

Despite the namesake revelations in this chapter, I now have even more questions than before.  You’re giving just enough information to keep the plot line flowing, while keeping enough things hidden to have me hooked and wanting to read more - in this chapter, and throughout the story as a whole.

Some of the questions I have going forward:

1: Is Jason the villain he’s been billed as, or an unlikely hero instead? 

A half chapter featuring Jason, and he isn’t any easier to read. It’s clear he still harbours resentment toward Ava for leaving him in the dust, but he’s now acknowledged that shady figures like Ethan (and now Naomi) made it possible for her to overshadow him in the first place. He also seems pretty adamant on not using lethal force against Ava.

Both Jason and Ava each started their relationship with some pretty heavy baggage that ultimately led to their breakup, but with how each of them have been unpacking that baggage over the course of the story, I could see an unlikely alliance forming down the line. I’d predicted since the beginning that one of the people hunting/following Ava would see her for who she truly was, and be an ally to her when she needed it most. Hector’s come close, but Ava hasn’t seemed to let him in (possibly due to Naomi‘s manipulation). Caylin arguably got closer, but Naomi (probably sensing the same thing) put a stop to that with the sacrificial ritual. Perhaps the third time will be a charm, and (as unlikely as it sounds) Jason will be the one to get through to Ava.

2: Does Naomi have a beef with Marlowe?

I just said that Naomi likely sacrificed Caylin due to her (seemingly) genuine care/concern for Ava getting in the way, but what if it runs deeper than that? Naomi said in this chapter that she went to the police to try and break the story about the growth formula but was dismissed, and while not directly mentioned in the story, I‘d imagine the cops were also informed of (and brushed aside) Naomi‘s dispute with her boss.

If it was specifically Marlowe who dismissed Naomi‘s claims, I wouldn’t be shocked if Naomi decided to make Marlowe her number one target, and used the strategy outlined by Jason in the beginning of this chapter to get her revenge - taking what Marlowe’s built/the people she loves and using them against her, leaving her isolated and suffering. Breaking up Marlowe and her partner, then luring her daughter into a cult, before topping it all off by having Caylin sacrifice herself… seems like a pretty solid way to accomplish the above strategy, and wouldn’t be that hard for Naomi to do, considering all the other diabolical schemes she’s pulled off.

3: Who’s Marlowe’s ex?

It seems very odd to me that Marlowe’s past relationship was only mentioned once so far, and in a mere passing comment from Caylin to boot. Maybe it simply doesn’t make sense to work in more info. The splitting of her parents clearly hurt Caylin deeply (she was probably separated from the parent she felt cared about her more, and stuck with Marlowe, leaving Caylin open to Naomi’s subsequent manipulation), so it’s understandable that she wouldn’t want to dwell on it more than necessary. In a similar vein, Marlowe seems focussed on her work to the detriment of everything else at the best of times, and the mess with Ava probably has her working 24/7 (if she wasn’t already). It’s not like she’d have lots of time to reflect on ex lovers, and probably wouldn’t want to even if she did.

But something doesn’t quite add up for me. We’ve heard plenty about Ava‘s ex for the past five chapters, so hearing this little about Marlowe‘s ex Seems fishy, given how central she is to the story. I’ve got a hunch the reason we’ve heard so little about her relationship (and how it ended) is that it’s part of a key reveal/twist later on down the line. Right now I have no idea whoo Marlowe’s ex might be, but if I had to take a wild guess, I’d say it’s someone involved with the growth formula… Naomi can’t be the only person in the world who knows about its existence and has lived to tell the tale.

4: Will we learn more about the growth formula?

This chapter gave us lots of information about the nature of Ava‘s growth, but it feels like there’s so much more left to be answered. Is her growth permanent? If not, how is it reversed? Is there some kind of reversal mechanism/antidote, or does it simply wear off on its own? If the latter, how long does it take to wear off? The answers to each of these questions have really interesting implications for where the story could go (I won’t get into them here. - this review is already way too long as is).

In addition to how the formula works, i’ve got a bunch more questions that I hope get answered. How large is Naomi‘s supply of the formula? How exactly did she get her hands on it? Does anyone else know about it/have a stockpile? If Naomi and/or someone else has a stockpile, will they attempt to use it on themselves and/or another person? If they do, will it be successful?

5: How are giantess fetishists reacting to Ava’s transformation?

Yes, I know I’ve asked this one before, but I’m still curious. given the tongue in cheek critique of celebreties/fame in the story, and the fact that plenty of famous people in real life have folks posting art and stories about them on sites like this one, it only makes sense to include an homage to that aspect of things somewhere. For Pete‘s sake, we had a cameo from a foot fetishist in chapter 4… We were so close. I’m not expecting any of the main characters to come out as full blown giantess fanatics and show off their giantessworld and sizefiction accounts, but I think including something small would be great.

6: Will Ava sing in future chapters?

Last question, I promise. This might seem like an odd thing to ask, but I’ll ask it anyway. Even before her growth, it was clear that Ava‘s voice had an effect on people. In the earlier chapters, the descriptions of the power of Ava’s voice from simply speaking at her new size Really stood out to me. My interest was peaked even more in chapter 6, when Ava‘s impromptu performance managed to bring out Naomi‘s inner fangirl, despite her Supervillain-level scheming. It’s an intriguing dynamic that I hope gets explored more thoroughly, and I have a feeling it might be a key part of the story going forward. Exactly how, I’m not sure, but I remember Neon mentioning in the discord (shameless plug) that a sequel (if written), and by extension the ending of this story, would not be what anyone was expecting - I have a hunch that another performance from Ava at her new size will play a role in one of the upcoming twists/turns.

TLDR: Great chapter, I have more questions than before I read it, keep it up!

(Review for chapter 11)

Ha! I knew it!
Naomi clearly had this all planned out from the start, and it's great to see everything fall into place like this. The battle of wits was wonderfully intense, and I especially loved how Ava directly pointed out how Naomi was no better than the men she claimed to hate. If she really cared about shaking up the power structure of the world, why not just take the serum herself? Then she'd have had all the proof she needed.
But I suspect that's not actually what Naomi cares about. She a manipulator, and seems extremely comfortable in a position of power over others, even someone as powerful as Ava. She was really pushing her luck towards the end there. She was only bailed out by the arrival of the new flock. Though even then, there's nothing stopping Ava from just walking away from it all. Nothing physical at least.
It's interesting how Ava fully understands that Naomi is manipulating her. It's plain in the open now. Yet she still seems to be stuck in Naomi's grip somehow. The new worshippers certainly don't help that. If she smashed Naomi into a puddle now, the consequences are a lot worse.
Also, Jason proves to be as interesting as I suspected he'd be. He definitely falls squarely into that manipulator role, as so many of the antagonists of this story do. Him and Marlowe are a threatening teamup. It's interesting how Marlowe is probably the only person moving against Ava that doesn't have any fancy schemes or motives. She's straightforward with what she wants, and it's a nice break to get her honest anger in between Naomi's cleverly-constructed words.

TLDR, Super interesting power dynamics at play, this chapter rules. Can't wait to see what happens next. (Maybe Hector can help? I need a new theory now that my old one was right lol)

Damn it, Naomi lives ! But what a cliffhanger !
I really like that the world's current mess can be traced back to the simple fact that someone made a super-soldier serum but the budget was tight so it was killed.
Jason remains hard to read. I think he could be an ally of Ava but the pain and his own flaws prevented it. I do wonder if he won't manage to snatch some of the serum and uses it on Marlowe for the grand final.
Overall, the revelations are great and I can say the story went past the point of no return. Now, Ava and her foes will have to take drastic measures.

Man, this story just keeps getting better and better. So many twists and turns, I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen next. It’s very well-written, and I could visualize everything as if I were right there. This chapter was great. It answered all the questions I had.

It seems I was both right and wrong in my early predictions about how Ava grew. I had a feeling Naomi would figure out a way to prolong her imminent death. Man, this woman is just as calculated as I thought she was, planning everything out so meticulously.

It’s also great that Marlowe is finally starting to pay attention to the one truly responsible for her daughter’s death, beyond just Ava. I really hope she uncovers the truth for herself. But, man, the ending is what really scares me. It looks like the Ava cult is growing from hundreds to thousands and soon, probably millions. Talk about mass hysteria. But I get it, it’s better to be the right hand of the devil than in her path. I just hope Ava stays as levelheaded as she is now and doesn’t let her inner thoughts and desires consume her.

Besides all that, I can’t wait for the next chapter! 10/10 keep it coming! I’m definitely going to have to read this over again to catch any hidden clues I might’ve missed.