Date: May 15 2021 2:38 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
I've realized, but neglected to ask until now, that at some point Sihil dreams about her home. She mentions her father, but no mother. Did she have the (unfortunately common for a medieval period) unfortunate fate of dying in childbirth? Was she carried off by hostile wildlife? Succumb to illness?
... Was she eaten by a "giant"?
... Did Teagan eat her?
Author's Response:
Survivability isn't high for most people in the highlands, where giants haven't quite been driven out as thoroughly, and the land not as fully tamed. Sihil's mother passed away, although not at the hands of Teagan.
Date: March 09 2021 10:13 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
My sincerest apologies. I binged this story almost a year ago now and I am just now getting to reviewing it. I gotta get better at this. You don’t keep the same ideas when so much time has passed by. That being said, I shall reread every chapter of this story to review it the way it deserves to be reviewed.
First things first I have to get something off my chest that has bothered me since the first time I read this. I don’t know why, I think it’s because of the word “tomkin” the way it looks and sounds but every single time I think of a tomkin the mental image of a Tontatta from One Piece comes to mind. I don’t know why. It’s been that way since I started reading this. In fact despite no references to tails or otherwise and in more recent chapters they calling each other, humans implying there is no physical difference between them and humans it is still the first image that comes to mind. In my mind Sihil looks like Princess Mansherry despite being pretty much the complete opposite of her in appearance. I know Sihil doesn’t appear until chapter 2 but this has always been a thing with me and I just have to voice it now before I get started.
My mental image of tomkins aside, let’s get down to business; the beginning of a truly amazing story. I love this story will all my being. This is one of my favorite ongoing stories and one of my favorite stories, in general, within this community. Anytime I get a chance to bring this up, I will. This story is great.
Starting with the authors note, thank you! I think that’s one of the reasons I gel with this story so much. I absolutely love it when the victims in gts stories are more than faceless playthings, in fact reading some stories where they are just “the faceless masses” actually kind of bores me. Seeing events play out from their views, seeing the threats the way they see them, that’s what I want to see and one of the things this story does so well! Second, the character work is pretty phenomenal but the worldbuilding? Oh boy are you being mighty generous with “degree of worldbuilding”. There are subtle references throughout this story hinting at things, places, character, events that we don’t see that make this world seem so much bigger and lived in, I don’t know how to fully quantify it. I kid you not, you punch out some of the pros with the way you can just sprinkle in a line here or there that just sells your world all the more. Worldbuilding is a constant with this story and something I return for as much as the giantess interaction stuff or the character building.
And speaking of characters, man you have some complex ones. I’m getting ahead of myself. I haven’t even got past the author’s note yet. I’m sorry, I really really love this story.
Another peculiar thing about me reading this. For whatever reason I had always read her name pronounced ‘Tee-gan’. It was only recently that I realized it’s just like Reagan but with a T. Correct me if I’m wrong but her name is pronounced ‘Tay-gan’ right? It’s been an ongoing debate with me for some time now.
So now we’ve met our longform protagonist, gotten a bit of insight into her and her habits. We have also come to a persistent constructive criticism of mine. At times the story moves too fast. Granted this chapter may not reflect the writing now as it is the first of like 27 and growth from then is most certainly assured but something I notice a lot of how fast paced things can be, like this scene. Teagan patches herself up, eats dusky hair, sleeps through the night where we hear of trackers chasing her and then is awake in the morning already on the move in like less than two paragraphs. Like I said this is more to the early chapters but I’ve noticed it in some of the recent chapters as well. Hence some constructive feedback I would offer is to slow down a bit, smell the flowers. I want to experience these events, not just hear about them.
And then we’re done. The first chapter was a lot shorter than I remember. It doesn’t necessarily invoke the feelings of everything the story will become but it does enough to establish the main character, a few things about her (she hates tomkins) and her goal. All in all a modest beginning to a great story.
Date: February 20 2021 2:46 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
A chapter on my birthday, nice. Though, I do have a question, do you have any plans on ever writing a scene inside Tegan's stomach after she swallows someone?
Author's Response:
okay so I totally want to do this as I really kind of just want to touch on every aspect of the overall size genre at least once but there are a few problems I have, namely
1. i've never done it before and im pretty sure it would be mediocre at the very best which gives me pause every time i consider doing such
2. i'd need to figure out how to justify the tomkins not just literally killing teagan from the inside, and
3. its gonna be DARK in there. like im sure i can write a few paragraphs based on sensory input alone but i feel like a description of the agony of being digested alive would turn off just as many readers as it would turn on (although to be fair given the violent content of my story as a whole this is probably the least important of the three)
so my final answer isn't quite a yes but it's rather likely to happen at least once
Date: December 31 2020 3:19 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
Well based on the way they're dressed I'm gonna guess humanity's not as extinct as Teagan thinks it is.
Why has Teagan not asked Sihil about the tablet thing she stole from the monastary, you didn't forget, did you?
NONE OF THIS SHIT MAKES ANY SENSE
I dunno how to feel because everything and everyone is so fucking GRAY, in what way were the Old Lands so terrible that what seems to be every fucking tomkin ripped a hole in reality and an enormous world is the better alternative? They've clearly beaten this landscape into submission, the Old Land couldn't have been that bad.
and I have a feeling you're making shit up as you go along and actually have no idea how this is gonna end. LOOK I GET THAT THE MESSAGE IS THAT GENOCIDE ISN'T COOL
I HATE FUCKING EVERYONE IN THIS STORY except *~*~Precious bean Sihil~*~* but the poor girl's never gonna be the same again
i am so frustrated
Author's Response:
My thoughts are more or less that Teagan may start asking Sihil more once she's out of mortal peril as it stands. She's still injured from her fight with Wulfric, and the scuffle with the Akritai certainly didn't do her any favors either. Teagan is certainly curious about tomkin culture moreso now than ever, but her main priority as it stands is reaching Whitebreeze Keep, or at least somewhere with some degree of shelter. I can give you my absolute guarantee that I'm not just making things up as the story goes on! Really, I swear, I know exactly where the story is headed! It's just that the route it takes to get to that ending I have planned out is a bit more vague... and might be somewhat circuitous. I PROMISE things will make more sense later. And c'mon, surely there's, like, maybe one or two more likeable characters... maybe... hopefully...
[Report This]Date: December 26 2020 2:18 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
I feel bad for not writing a review earlier. I discovered your story a few weeks ago and read every chapter with such eager and vigor. Such a great, professional story. I love the adventure plot, I love Teagan and her complicated relationship with Sihil, and I aboslutely love all the vore. Keep up the fantastic work. I'm always happy to see when your story gets a chapter added!
Author's Response:
Hey, no need to feel bad - I'm just glad that you're enjoying the story! Thanks for the review, and I appreciate the kind words.
Date: December 19 2020 8:49 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
Love the chapter and their interactions with each other! I can't get over how well you write world-building. I mean writing all of these characters must be hard! And you are doing amazingly well at it. I will be at the edge of my seat waiting for the next update!
Author's Response:
Thank you! I put a lot of my thought into the creation of the world and I didn't know if people would like it, so I'm glad to hear that it adds to the story for you. I'll be sure the try and get chapters up at least somewhat regularly.
Date: December 12 2020 9:02 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
Yay a chapter! I do think this magical understanding of the tomkin language was a bit rushed. And hopefully the two will gradually get closer. But it seems a bit weird to rush into a relationship between them when Sihil was so against her a few chapters ago. Maybe make it like Stockholm's syndrome, or sihil merely adapting to Teagans change. Add in a little PTSD and gentleness on Teagans part and this will work fantastically to make Sihil grow affection for her. Love the Volkhard interaction, hopefully he can join them. Love the chapter tho! (^~^)/
Author's Response:
Yeah, I absolutely agree about this linguistic revelation being a bit shoddy - to be honest, I wanted it to be a lot more drawn out, maybe have an entire chapter dedicated to an internal sort of dream sequence corresponding to the shift responsible for the deus ex machina, but I'm honest getting to the point where I want to wrap this story up so I decided to cut that bit. In retrospect, it didn't work out great and it's a bit more obviously hasty than it seemed when I was proofreading while a bit tipsy. That being said, I figure if I've made it this far with the story, no point in rushing the ending, right? In any case, thank you for the review, and I'm absolutely thinking of making the relationship between Sihil and Teagan very prone to sporadic change a la Stockholm syndrome.
Date: November 08 2020 10:30 PM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
I agree with Jimbob. Teagan changing to be more regretful and potentially less violent for the sake of it is the natural consequence of her epiphany about her being love-starved.
Also just so you know the sex parts don't even have to happen I am 100% about plot right now.
Date: October 31 2020 10:46 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
Okay, after a solid mulling over and a couple of what I'm sure are the stages of grief (anger, denial, acceptance), I've come to terms with the fact that Teagan was arguably justified in what she did. They did attack her first and it really is an apocalyptic scenario where every truce is uneasy. They didn't let her sit down and talk about it, at least Isaac was right in that the box had holes so they could see out, but the bag was thick canvas/deerskin and completely dark, plus tomkins obviously couldn't understand what they were saying. Hell, if she had told the others that she liked to torment tomkins first by dragging them off for a few days of captivity, no doubt that they would have understood that sadism, and also probably would have let her go.
BUT
After having watched everyone you love die or be enslaved with fresh memories of the war (or fresh-ish) maybe even a few being combat vets, their rabid hate for tomkins is understandable because they lived it. ... and damn that's actually a really good depiction of war and stuff because you have overarching contempt for a certain group as a whole but indivduals force you into a new perspective. Teagan's going to crack at some point or another, the dichotomy of justifying her actions is fucking insane. She can't keep it up forever. Her mental state is clearly scrambled ("I'll kill my own kind to protect Sihil" "I'll slaughter tomkin children because I feel like it")
.... I also have a sort of... I guess wonderment would be the word, just about how tomkins speak of the war as if it's almost legend like, like a modern 20-something talking about the world wars or vietnam, where the tomkins only have second or third hand information and yet, the humans that made it to be in their 30s or 40s or older (old guy living in the peat bog who gave Teagan the map, Isaac, and the guy who tried to presumably rape Teagan) are almost definitely combat veterans who remember it, firsthand, like it was yesterday. AND THEY'RE STILL YOUNG.
I really do want to know how you're going to develop Firkon's character. Just because I started thinking about how the empire's propoganda is cracking. Could he ever come to regret his actions against humans? Or will he contest until the day he dies that his action is justified? (for reference, I'm referring to an incident specifically. He speaks to a Senix and says that Teagan is "much smarter than the giants we fought it the war" and given how (relatively) young Firkon is, the army he was fighting definitely had at least a few kids in it. That's right Firkon. The reason the humans seemed stupid is because you were slaughtering children. Firkon is a babykiller, will he ever have to confront that, or is he going to eventually have to regretfully admit he killed kids (albeit in a war...)(maybe with a few manly tears?) or is he going to be one of those bitter bastards who swears he did nothing wrong until his last breath?
Author's Response:
Teagan isn't a master of rationale given how hard she struggles to justify her actions to herself, so doing so for others is quite the challenge. Part of Teagan's willingness to straight up slaughter Wulfric and Co. was probably from the quarrel she took to the leg, a wound that could have very easily been fatal had it hit an artery. That being said, most of it absolutely came from her desire to protect Sihil, a sentiment that Teagan herself recognizes as strange and irrational. She doesn't quite yet understand why she's been so drawn to Sihil, but she's almost started to recognize Sihil as a human being on the same level as an actual human, and so she's absolutely willing to kill a few people she deems unsavory for her tiny companion's sake.
And the war! Yes, the time can seem a bit... wonky, but the way I've thought of it, the war proper has been over long before Teagan was alive; the tomkins are just stomping out the last pockets of resistance at this point, so it feels a lot more like a war for the few remaining beleaguered humans that it does for the tomkins, whose numbers are so nearly endless that those few people who do live on the borders and see a giant firsthand will simply find their voices lost in the sea of propaganda and misdirection that's been established for years, spreading like wildfire in every dense urban center. More on that later - there's a reason for it.
Firkon is, at this point, at least, a pawn of a plan set in motion that's absolutely greater than himself, as we can see from Icaria's dialogue with Volkhard. It's going to be hard for him to change, especially now that Icaria is going to be reaffirming his beliefs given that he, in his current state, is exactly the kind of individual she was looking for. As for Firkon, well, I hate to say it but that's just a case of bad writing on my part. When Firkon says "we", I meant it moreso as him referring to tomkins as a whole than himself as his men, who are too young to even have fought against ragged militias such as the one Teagan's father died in, let alone the rank and file armies of old. Many of his men probably never even saw a giant before their encounter with Teagan, and Firkon himself knows most of what he does about them from second-hand sources.
Date: October 30 2020 3:35 PM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
a prediction I forgot to... predict
black haired hunter chick that threatened Volkhard is actually Aelia's granddaughter
Aelia survived (but is probably dead now from age)
Everything that fueled Volkhard's self righteous genocide will be revealed to be a lie
he will not cope well
Author's Response:
ok i think i can safely say that aelia was very deceased when adelaide killed her. it was a bit fucky because i tried to convey that volkhard was in denial but she was absolutely killed there
Date: October 30 2020 8:21 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
Is it wrong that I want Volkhard and her to be a dynamic duo? I can't decide whether it would be funny or angsty. Probably both.
Author's Response:
Wrong? That sounds like a pretty good idea to me, considering the similarities between the two. Honestly not even pretty good, just straight up good
Yeah I think I'll keep this little idea in mind for the next few chapters
Date: October 28 2020 10:57 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
@Zaximus Yes I do believe it's implied Volkhard was Adelhard in his childhood, he fully assimilated into tomkin culture once he decided humans "weren't right".
Also I missed the bit about Aelia being "probably dead", oh man if it turns out that she made it out alive and he fucking massacred his sister, shit a suicide's in order, I can't imagine what that'd do to someone's psyche. Like I keep imaging Volkhard's mom and dad and him just fucking abandoning or murdering them because they're human what the fuck.
Date: October 27 2020 2:35 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
OH WAIT A MINUTE
I know this
I know how this all goes.
That Chekhov's Gun?
Yeah you're gonna pull an Uno Reverse and make Sihil the one with the ability.
I got you figured out, smartman.
Author's Response:
i will neither confirm nor deny this prediction
Date: September 11 2020 6:46 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
W
WWWWAAAAIIITTT a minute. So we know that humans call tomkins "tomkins", and we know that the tomkins call humans "Erguni/ergund", but you never told us what the tomkins call themselves. I GOTTA KNOW I GOTTA KNOW
[Report This]Date: July 29 2020 12:06 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
another thing, I have no idea why but for some reason this chapter made me... come close to hating the tomkins just a little more, and actually pissed me off? Or Volkhard, or someone. Maybe it was the sorry abused state of that poor sap who apparently wasn't even allowed to kill themselves. Cool. Explain that? I mean I'd think that if the general goal of the tomkins is genocide, a member of the race being genocided killing themselves would be considered a suitable outcome.
And Volkhard. Does he know age magic? How long has he been living with tomkins? Since humans roughly live 4 times that of a tomkin naturally, does he just "pull a vampire" and uproot himself every couple years so the tomkins around him don't notice he's not aging?
Lastly... I think you did this to make Hassan, Aaliyah, and even Sihil realize that humans aren't monsters, despite what Teagan may have led them to believe. How could they be evil if such an esteemed pillar of the tomkin community is one of them? I unfortunately suspect a torrential downpour of doubt and guilt is coming their way, better bring umbrellas.
...what if Firkon gets hold of this information? OH SHIT HE'S GONNA FLIP. He's either going to threaten to murder Volkhard where he stands for being something along the lines of "a filthy monstrous barbarian traitor spy" or he'll go straight into denial and decide Volkhard is suffering some intense delusional mental illness.
Date: July 18 2020 6:40 AM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
This might be one of the, if not the, best stories on this site story-wise. The character development with Teagan and Sihil is quite intriguing, and the exceptional writing aptitude further fleshes the dynamic out. It's the very definition of a page turner, or in this case a next chapter button spammer.
I find it kind of hard to imagine that the tomkins managed to subjugate most of humanity though. Even though the tomkins have an overwhelming numerical advantage, I feel like hurling themselves at a well-prepared force would still result in the utmost slaughter. I guess they could pull an Agincourt and use massed stakes and archers, but I'd assume most human armor thicker than a planck length would render arrows effectively useless, considering how well an arrow to the eye worked. Heavy siege weapons wouldn't be too effective against armor, and even when deployed en masse would still be a logistical nightmare. Speaking of logistics, do the tomkins employ any smaller beasts of burden or cavalry of any sort? I doubt running around with an army of retainers is very fun. It'd be cool to know more about the backstory of the story, or better yet have its details slowly revealed throughout the story.
The only possible method of victory my deficient mind can comprehend would be for the Tomkins to slowly go about destroying food sources of various villages or spreading disease or poison, though only time will tell.
Keep up the glorious work, and with each new chapter I shed a tear of joy and anticipation!
Author's Response:
If I'm being entirely honest, when I first started writing this story in 2017, I thought it out about as much as my diminutive attention span would let me. Now that I've come back to the story and realized that the tomkins have woefully inadequate means to surmount a single soldier in a maille hauberk, I decided to throw in magic - that's a decent workaround, right? In any case, as much as I hate to say it, I guess a little suspension of disbelief is necessary when considering the story's background.
And cavalry, ooh, cavalry... I first thought about the tomkins bringing in their tiny livestock with them as they arrived, but in a world where the grass comes up to a man's head, grazing would be a significant issue. It's a shame, too, since I would have loved to throw a few horse archers at Teagan and pincushion her while she scrambles to catch them. Ah, well... I guess when you have waaaay too many people, retainers, wheelbarrows, and palanquins aplenty will have to do. Don't think too hard about how the tomkins managed to reasonably conquer what they did given such severely limited mobility, lest you poke more holes in my already shoddy story. I don't want it to fall down!
As always, thanks for the review!
[Report This]Date: June 22 2020 1:52 PM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
Very interesting pseudo-medieval setting! Usually it's the larger people that dominate, but here it's reversed. The writing is probably something I'd pay for, being a fine combination of vivid descriptions and exposition without having too much of either.
Though I haven't read far (not for long), it would be great to have the Tomkins employ some pseudo-medieval technology, like catapults, ballistas, etc. Something I would really love to see would be usage of something like Hussite war wagons, or maybe an ass-ault on a fort. Either way, great story and keep up the glorious work!
Author's Response:
Firstly, thank you kindly! I appreciate your feedback greatly, and I'm happy that you're enjoying the setting.
While I certainly do intend for the tomkins to make create use of catapults, ballistae, and other siege engines modified for giant-slaying, war wagons would be more akin to human technology than tomkin in this setting - the culture and weaponry of the tomkins are based heavily on Asia Minor, namely on the Eastern Roman Empire and Macedonia. That being said, that is a good idea, and I can see implementing it to good effect. Rest assured that you'll see more of my nerdy historical stuff later on :-)
[Report This]Date: June 08 2020 11:21 PM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
Keep up the great story! I did not expect such a great story here, but I will follow this story through to the end.
Author's Response:
thank you very much ^^
i honestly like to just write this so it makes me happy that other people dig it too
[Report This]Date: June 08 2020 4:24 PM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
One of the best stories on this site.
Well written with good story, characters, and world. I love how wildly unpredictable this story is and can’t wait for the next update.
Author's Response:
<3 you're too kind, that really means a lot
I didn't think a plot-centered story would catch on here, but here I am 18 chapters in! I'm really glad that you enjoy it, and I especially appreciate that (from what it looks like) you made an account to drop this review. Thanks for making my day :)
Date: May 28 2020 10:24 PM Title: Chapter 1: A Fallen Nation
WAIT
since apparently the barbarians got to Teagans earth through dimensional shenanigans
Humans are going in the other direction to wherever tomkins come from
I'm calling it right now