#were any of the spriggans good?

[fairytail-whathesays]

it's not the most well-written or popular of arcs, but I want to know, what were some of your favorite things about the Alvarez arc?

When it ended.

[heyyallitsbeth]

Ghost of You

The sun beamed down on the two lovers resting on a giant mushroom top in Alfheim Online. They had been working on clearing a bunch of side quests with their party that day. But to one of the two, it felt off. His movements were sluggish, his body disconnected from the avatar it resided in. To most, it would seem normal, his movements still had the disciplined form of someone who had spent his life training in combat, despite him giving up the sword in the real world long ago. But to his partner, both in combat and in soul, she could tell he was struggling. 

“Kirito, are you feeling alright?” The autumn-haired girl stoked the dark hair of the noir boy who laid his head on her stomach.

“Hmm? Yeah everything’s fine Asu, why?” While his demeanor was calm, she could tell there was something eating him up inside.

“Honey, I’m your wife, and your partner too. If there’s anything troubling you, I’ll be right by your side to fight it with you.” The raven haired spriggan closed his eyes and weakly smiled. He knew that Asuna was his true other half, a partner in life and in love, but he was worried about something that might tear them apart.

“Asuna… I need to convert my account over again. I might be gone for a bit, so if you could… While I’m gone, please give Yui and Strea twice the amount of love as normal.” He thought of his daughters, and hated the thought of needing to leave them behind for any time, but he knew there was something he had to face alone.

“Of course honey, but call them every night at least okay?”

“Heh, been doing that since we escaped SAO. I can promise that won’t change one bit.” But some other things might.” He left the thought to himself, he wasn’t ready to commit to any real change, but he needed to see the truth for himself.

“Do you need me to look after Excalibur for you? You lost most of your items the last time you converted over…”

“Haha, nah that’s not an issue. Sinon's already got that covered, after all, it’s her sword, she just knighted me with it.” He laughed seeing the flustered face of his wife, even though their situation was more open and fluid than most, she still got a little jealous of the girl’s hanging off of him, especially the teal sniper who taunted the two of them the most. “And if she converts, it should default to Yui now since she’s taken my inventory any other time I convert.”

“Alright, we should get back to the others to continue the quests now, good chance for you to say bye before you log off for a while anyway.”

“Of course. Dontcha go marryin someone else without my permission first~”

“H-hey!”

“Oh come on, I’ve seen how Liz stares at ya Asu. I’m sure she’ll take great~ care of you while I’m gone~” He giggled, imagining the sight of his wife and Liz locked in an embrace together.

“Even if she does, you’ll still always be my beloved partner, promise~”

“Heh. Didn’t take much convincing- you’re so cute.”

The spriggan rested on the undine, never wanting to leave her. But today, he needed to face his fears. Alone. A mission for the solo player. 

…

A year prior, an event stuck itself to Kirito’s brain like a parasyte. He could never fully escape the thought of it. He had logged into Gun Gale Online in order to investigate the DeathGun case. Due to the gacha system that determined avatars in the game, Kirito had awoken to the sight of his hair in his face. Long streaks of grey locks adorned him, framing his soft face. Staring at his reflection in the windows of nearby shops in the dark brutalist environment, he noticed things in himself he was afraid of. His figure was soft and feminine, far from the typical soldier of this world. It was not too dissimilar to his real life appearance, but the pronounced hips and narrow shoulders made him shift in place uncomfortably. He stared at his visage, noting he looked as if he was Sugu’s big sister instead of her big brother. He slowly met his own gaze. His eyes had always been a dark grey, something his adoring sister always teased him for, calling him a zombie with the dead gaze that adorned him. But that day he saw something different in them, where a blank glaze once covered his view, there were now highlights visible for the first time, and a deep purple hue that left him breathless. He grasped at his chest over his heart and was hit with a deep pain, and an even deeper longing. But he had to move forward, he had a mission.

A week ago Kazuto had been out with his sister Suguha, though they were only related tangentially as cousins. That became something Kazuto had become fixated on, as throughout their day out, multiple people had stopped them, asking if they were twin sisters. Kazuto didn’t look his age due to his years in Sword Art Online, his body permanently stunted by his inability to move for so long. But he was really wondering if he truly looked that similar to Suguha because of it. He recalled that as he was young, they were confused for twin girls all the time, but they were younger then… It made sense right? Kazuto stole an old skirt from Suguha’s closet one day as she was out practicing kendo. She hadn’t worn it in years, he figured she wouldn’t notice if it were gone… He slipped it on and stared himself in the mirror that spanned the back of his bedroom door. Despite the clear difference in their “endowment” Kazuto had seen as bright as day the connection. Even if his chest wasn’t voluptuous, even if his hips weren’t as pronounced, he saw the obvious connections between him and his sister. His face was soft and round like hers. And in the center of it all, he saw it again, his dead eyes replaced with the loving purple gaze he’d seen back in Gun Gale. He threw off the skirt in a fit of anger at himself. He stashed it beneath his bed, he didn’t wanna look at it. But… his heart longed for something regardless.

Today, as Kirito logged out of Alfheim Online, he converted his account over to Gun Gale Online once more. He needed to spend more time there… She needed to see herself again. 

…

A dark raven was prone atop a clocktower, aiming down at the streets below. Through the scope of their Hecate sniper rifle, they could nearly see the stubble on the men in the party stories below them.

BANG!

A single clean shot had decimated two of the party members.

“I’ve gotten good with this thing… heh.” The shadowy figure smiled to themselves as they lined up another shot. “Maybe now I can give her that duel I promised…”

BANG!

A full party wiped in such a short amount of shots. Too easy. The slender gargoyle on the roof brushed their long locks behind them, the deep grey shimmered with silver highlights despite the soot and ash coating it. Suddenly, they heard someone ascending the wall in front of them. They prepped their shot, but they were caught off guard by a blur of seafoam green, before their eyes met a familiar smiling face in their scope.

“Hey Sinon, come here often?” A playful taunt escaped their lips.

“Yes actually, I do believe you’re in my spot after all Kirito.” She giggled, a sight Kirito had grown to love as Sinon had opened up more and more. “I’m surprised you’re using a real weapon instead of wildly flailing your photon sword about.”

“Oh you just miss seeing me with my sword in my hands dontcha?” Sinon blushed and angrily pouted, another adorable sight. “Well, my lovely partner here in GGO taught me so much, I figured I’d honor her by using the same weapon as I practiced. I need to give ya a good duel sometime after all.~”

As he grew closer to each of his friends, the one-sided teasing evolved into a playful banter between them, learning how to push each and every one of their buttons.

“So that’s why you left ALO huh? Trying to get a headstart on training for our next B.O.B. huh?”

“I think you’ve got years ahead of me Sinonon~ One week away won’t save me. But truthfully that’s not the full reason.” Their eyes shifted away from Sinon, and towards the floor before smirking and shaking the thought away.

“I’d hope so, it’d be such a shame if my Star-Crossed Soldier was training without me~” She playfully pouted at Kirito.

Ever since the last B.O.B. ended, article after article dubbed the two winners as the Star-Crossed Soldiers, after Kirito’s embrace with Sinon in the trials, their close encounters in the cave and Sinon’s literal fiery embrace at the end to claim their tied victory. Liz had given Kirito an earful before the articles came out with how close he’d been to Sinon, but after the nickname appeared online, Kirito became convinced Liz and Asuna would actually kill him. Up until Asuna proposed the poly arrangement at least.

“Jeez, don’t let Asu hear you callin’ me that, otherwise I won’t be the only one getting pierced by her rapier.”

“Oh don’t worry, I’m not lookin’ to get inbetween ya- in that way at least~” The look she gave Kirito with that comment seemed to literally take health off the poor player.

“Anyways, why’re you here if not to train to win over me?”

“...” Kirito shifted his look away from her, and with that motion he accidentally revealed the accessories adorning his hair. Sinon snickered.

“Ah, I see you’re just here to play dress up huh?” Her eyes wandered and looked over the rest of the boy. He still had his trademark carbon fiber cloak, but now his outfit beneath was…

“Kirito… is that my outfit in black and silver?”

The noirette blushed a vibrant crimson, and smiled.

“I think there’s someone you need to meet Shino.” The girl was surprised by Kirito’s use of her real name ingame. He typically tried to refer them as their avatar’s name. This was deeper, this was personal to her. 

Shino grabbed the hands of the shadow before her and looked into it’s eyes.

“I think I know who you mean.” She smiled with pride as they drew closer. “What’s your name? Who is my partner in this world?”

The eyes of purple and blue had met, a synthetic gaze between them escalated into a whirlwind. In a moment, they were back in that cave again, holding eachother close, the heat of their bodies pressed against eachother.

“In this world… And all others… My name is Kiriko.”

With those words, Sinon saw Kiriko revert back to how she saw her initially. Another girl, just like her.

They spent the next week training for the upcoming B.O.B. ingame, and shopping for Kiriko in the real world. The night of the battle, Kiriko had stayed at Shino’s apartment, so they could celebrate their victory.

…

A flurry of gunshots was silenced by the cruel end of a photon sword. Despite her training with a sniper, Kiriko decided to return to the classics for most of the match. Her and Sinon made for a perfect duo as front line and supporting fire. Her favorite moment had been when Sinon and her had been cornered, with Sinon facing her while she had her back to two enemies. Sinon fired at Kiriko, and she split the bullet just like in their trial duel, with the two pieces finding their home in the skulls of their attackers. It was a game now, just for fun, and they wanted to perform.

“I suppose that is the last of them huh?”

“Suppose so.”

The two stood against the other, scratched, bruised, covered in virtual blood of both their own, and of others. And now with all cameras on them. 

“You ready to give the girls at home a show Kiriko?”

They smiled devilishly at each other.

“Always.”

In a swift movement, Kiriko removed her heavy black cloak, revealing the matching outfit with Sinon’s own. It was practically bikini armor, except for soldiers instead of for knights, despite Sinon’s insistence it wasn’t. Sinon revealed a photon sword of her own, and as the cloak hit the dusty ground behind Kiriko, both lept towards eachother with fire in their eyes. The clash of purple and green blades sent small debris around them flying, each strike was more powerful than the last. But it was less of a duel, and more of a dance. Every movement, despite the power, was elegant, with perfect footwork and seamless motion. They circled eachother, blade against blade. With every strike forward, the other responded with a dodge and their own strike. Neither had grazed the other, only their sword’s connecting the two. The chorus of slashes against slashes sent both blade’s flying, as Kiriko caught Sinon’s and Sinon caught Kiriko’s, and they continued their masquerade. They drew closer and closer together, despite the blade’s repelling eachother, their bodies had called to eachother. In a flash both lights extinguished, and the two embraced. They smiled at eachother, aware of the camera right beside their faces. They closed their eyes and their lips clashed against eachother. Love blooming on the battlefield. Sinon pressed Kiriko’s blade against her back, and ignited it, impaling the two of them together, as they tied another B.O.B.

…

The pair awoke from their brawl back in the real world. Both had imprints on their faces from where their Amusphere’s had sat on them. They giggled to eachother as they traced the marks, holding eachother’s faces. 

“I’m glad you got Asu’s approval before all that, I know that Liz’ll still tear both of us apart though” Sinon snicked, imagining the pink leprechaun’s stunned face watching their dance.

“Hehe, yeahhhhh. Just because me and Asuna are poly doesn’t mean the jealousy’ll ever just up and leave. Liz is probably upset that I managed to steal both Asuna and you for myself.” 

“Oh I think she’ll be more jealous of me, after all, I was the first one with the new girl in the group.” She laughed at the thought, knowing all of the girls’ not-so-subtle-crushes. 

“Oh yeah, speaking of, I guess tonight they all get to meet Kiriko at the party in ALO huh?”

“As long as you’re not nervous, and I’ll be there supporting you always.”

“With you by my side, I’ll always be ready. Let’s hop over and meet them.”

An evil grin reached Shino’s lips.

“Welllllll you and I both need to transfer our accounts back over, so you should set that up real quick.”

“Right, right of course. Better not keep them waiting-”

Kiriko turned away from Shino to her laptop, starting the slow transfer of their accounts. With her attention away, Shino slipped out of her top and pajama bottoms, and waited for Kiriko’s full undivided attention.

“Alright we should be good in around twenty minu- HUH!”

Kiriko’s face was lit ablaze by the sight of the scantily clad girl infront of her.

“Hehehe, whatcha waitin for? I know we got the cash prize, but it’s time for our real~ reward now.”

She unbuckled the back of her bra and let the garment slip down, exposing her modest, but perky chest with a light bounce.

“We won’t keep them waiting long- but I already told Asuna- I get first dibs tonight- which means I get first ever dibs on Kiriko~”

She pounced on Kiriko, pinning her to the bed. 

They showed up in Alfheim, an hour later than everyone expected.

…

Sinon entered the main living space of the home their party had shared. Luckily everyone was enjoying themselves already, but she still stammered out an apology for being so late. 

“Jeez, is Kirito not coming?” Liz said in a huff. “I suppose he just doesn’t wanna show after that little stunt you two pulled.”

Sinon blushed heavily, knowing that stunt was far from the worst thing they’d done. Asuna crept behind Sinon and pulled her in, kissing her on the cheek.

“Mwah~ That’s for stealing away my poor innocent Kirito~” She playfully toyed with the cat, happy with the new arrangement they’d found. But the cat’s face lit up, imagining how there was no innocence left in either of their bodies laying beside eachother in the real world. She shook the thought away.

“Hehe, just borrowing her~ she’s yours again tonight”

The party went silent

“HER?!”

As if on queue, a new cait sith appeared from the door. She was adorned with a black cloak and risque armor set. Her signature long grey hair fell down her back, looking just like Kirito in GGO. And she could barely look up at the party as she announced “H-hey everyone. My name’s Kiriko…”

Before anyone had the chance to say anything, Asuna, Yui and Strea all embraced the girl.

“Yayyyyy I get two mommies now!” Yui cheered

“Ah well that explains the armor choices…” Leafa sputtered out.

“We leave Sinon alone with Kiriko for a week and she comes back a girl… Yeah that tracks actually.” Liz was practically beaming.

“I was wondering about Kiriko’s choice of attire in GGO… But now I can’t wait to see her choices in here~” Philia dreamed of all the different event cosmetics and rare treasures Kiriko could now be adorned in.

Silica and Argo were hovering around the new cait sith in their presence. 

“So was I the only one who suspected Kii-gal was a girl?”

“Maybe! But now I get an adoptive big sister!” 

“Hey! Kiriko’s my actual big sister!”

“We can share!”

The crowd started talking inbetween themselves, talking about all the fun things they can do now that Kiriko’s a girl, and Asuna took this as an opportunity to pull her to the side.

“So this was what you were worried about earlier huh?”

“I was worried that you’d leave when you found out what I’d been going through… I’m glad I can still be yours.”

“Oh honey… I love you, husband, wife, partner, I didn’t fall in love with a boy, I fell in love with you. The hero who saved us from Aincrad, and the caring parent to our kids. This is just a new side of you I get to love, and I’m going to love every second of learning about you Kiriko. Now ummm. After the party can I head over? It’s been a bit since we um.”

“Heh- about that… If you wanna head over, you’ll have to ask Shino if she’s okay with you staying…”

“Sh-Shino? Are you diving from her apartment?”

“Hahaha, well, she did call first dibs…”

Asuna laughed and pulled Kiriko into a kiss. She was glad that Kiriko was still hers, even if she was being shared between a few others. Since for the both of them, regardless of all the others they would come to love, they were still that happy couple from back in Aincrad, soulmates from then, to forever.

[borrowedtimeandspace]

Facts and Folklore

Alien

Inspired by this list of g/t prompts

AU: The Donna Trilogy; A Patient, and Time; set after Worth the Wake and before Perspective Taking

Note: A short and sweet one for an interaction I've been looking forward to ^^

~~~

“So… are you another one of them aliens?”

“Gramps!” Donna hissed indignantly.

“What? Honest question, innit?”

Between them sat a third cup of tea, and next to that stood the borrower in question. Zepheera sipped slowly from her own makeshift cup partly to help calm the natural nervousness of meeting a new human, and partly to hide an amused smile.

Despite her misgivings around unknown giants, this being one of the first she'd formally met since rejoining the Doctor and Donna on their adventures, she already found Donna's granddad Wilfred to be a delight. She could see why her friends thought he'd be a good person with whom to start her acclimation process.

“Fellow Earthling, I'm afraid,” Zepheera answered with a shrug.

Wilf nodded, scratching thoughtfully at his short, grey beard. “And you're not one of the fair folk, neither? No pixies, brownies, spriggans…?”

“No. And, not that I'm aware of,” she said carefully. Zepheera might have been around for over a century and a half, but traveling with the Doctor showed her that things weren't always as they seemed. Even on Earth.

Her tea was already gone. It would cool so fast in her much smaller cup if she wasn't quick with it. She took one more scoop from the human-sized cup that was still nice and warm. Feeling a little more comfortable, and having been reassured by the others that Wilfred could be trusted to keep meeting her a secret, Zepheera made her way closer to Donna.

“I'm called a borrower,” she found herself explaining to Wilf. “Basically just like you, only a bit shorter. We usually stay a secret from humans, so… honestly, some of that folklore is probably based on us. The hidden people, and all that.”

With a quizzical tilt of his head, Wilfred asked, “Why's that, then?” 

“Why do you think, gramps?” 

Zepheera gave a shrug. “It's not our world, is it? We're just surviving in it.”

She'd laid all this out to the Doctor (who later passed it on to Donna) not long after she'd accepted the offer to live in the TARDIS. It felt like necessary information at that point, and they built enough trust that Zepheera at least believed they wouldn't mishandle the information.

There was plenty of trust, now. So much so that Zepheera felt perfectly comfortable approaching Donna's folded arms where they rested on the table. With hardly a thought, she hopped up to take a seat atop Donna's forearm.

“Best way we learned to do that was to scavenge from whatever humans left around,” Zepheera continued as she got comfortable. “Nothing too valuable, just easily replaceable things like food and–”

“Batteries?”

The gentle interruption from Wilfred threw her off her explanation, but she considered the suggestion. “Yeah, sometimes, I suppose.”

“Said so, didn't I?” Wilf crowed, shaking a finger Donna's way. His playful tone and smile melted any tension that had cropped up in Zephera. “I kept tellin’ ya the batteries were disappearing! But did you and your mother listen? Oh, no.”

Donna gave a sigh and said, “Alright, grandad…” 

Zepheera took a pull from her tea to cover up her own grin. She didn't look up, but Donna's eye-roll was audible in her tone.

Perhaps it was a mistake to meet Wilfred as her first new human acquaintance, she pondered as she downed the rest of her drink. She had a feeling few could live up to the standard he was setting with this meeting.

[fangsandsoftgrass]

4, 8, 14 For the beloved Cirwedh 🥹

RAHHHHHH BROO

4. Does your OC have a failed friendship or relationship they still think about? What happened? Is it an unresolved regret or is there a chance for reconciliation?

Absolutely LOL. There was no regret or anything though it was mutually beneficial in the end. She was actually supposed to be married at some point before the soulburst made anchors pop up all over. (MARRIED can you believe it LMAO). Arranged marriages aren't super common among Bosmer I imagine (with one of their key values being freedom) but her parents really wanted the security of having their family tied to another since none of her siblings had married by then. She had literally just returned from her ✨11 yrs✨ of self-induced isolation and so as you can imagine being told only a year later that you're probably gonna be married soon was a shock. Cirwedh of course had every intention of going through with it because she wanted her parents to have that security as they got older. It didn't end up happening because the bride-to-be ran off with Cirwedh's sister when she left to join a Herma Mora cult in Reapers March LMAO. There are no hard feelings though, because Cirwedh didn't really want to be married anyway she was only doing it for her parents and bc her brothers wouldn't.

8. What was your OC's most embarrassing moment? Does it still bother them or are they able to shrug it off?

To be honest Cirwedh has had a lot of embarrassing moments but I can't think of any that are more than the others. Shes tripped over her own foot in front of the High King, one time she had bits of Pelidil in her teeth when she spoke to Queen Ayrenn. She lost it and had an emotional breakdown in front of Lyris and Sai during which she swallowed a fly and almost choked. She doesn't deal well with embarrassment overall either. She gets defensive and usually resorts to saying some form of "shut up" because she can't hide the fact she's embarrassed easily and she knows it. The tips of her ears get red and her leaves either get riled up or shit starts growing in her hair LMAO.

14. How important is friendship to your OC? Do they prefer to have one or two close friends or a large group of casual friends? Or do they prefer their own company over that of others?

Cirwedh likes having a few close friends and a collection of trusted acquaintances. Growing up the only friends Cirwedh had were the wild inhabitants of Valenwood like animals and the occasional Spriggan. She didn't talk to any of the other kids in both places she lived before running away because she couldn't control how her magicka reacted to her emotions and was quite volatile despite only wanting to do good and be a spinner LOL. When she got older she made a few good fighting companions in the Vinedusk (most knew of her mother's reputation and wanted to know if Cirwedh was the same) but most people found her too weird tbh LMAO I mean she's hanging off branches making animal noises and takes a giant bear everywhere she goes, and kinda smiles weird (think uncle Pedro from Beverly Hills Chihuahua) since Coldharbour though, and kinda becoming a hero, she has met plenty of people she'd be happy to call friend everywhere she goes. These are more like mutuals tbh! Her real friends though, are few. Those who she trusts wholly and can be her truest self around. Ppl like Lyris and Sai, Gwendis, Eveli, Fenn of course, and a few others (Alethia included 👀)

[moltensmusings]

Is there a specific historical era that's influencing your redesign of fairy tail attire?"

Very short and simple answer: no not really.

Longer more in depth answer: Within the modern day tiimeline no. Initially when I started doing redesigns back in 2022 I thought about doing a more general medieval fantasy like I like to draw for my own stuff but opted out of it because I wanted to keep the "anything goes" fashion we're familiar with.

There are exclusions where I specifically went for historical costuming even in the modern day. The spriggan 12, layla/other nobility, several of Erza's armors.

For the Zero crew I do try to stick much closer to general medieval fashion. But once again I'm kind of adding my own twists in the same way I do with my dnd characters. If I were to draw them in casual clothes I wouldn't draw jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes, etc.

For zeref and other ancient Mildian characters I would pull specifically from ancient Greece for any fashion. I like to imagine zerefs current look is an amalgamation of time moving on and him needing to alter his wardrobe and what people wore when he was mortal.

I think part of what sells fantasy with medieval, elizabethan, Renaissance inspirations is that the fashion has an edge of not really being able to exist within our own reality. I know people often like a more solid time for clothes to exist within anything medieval fantasy related, but I'm one of the gremlins who can suspend my disbelief as long as the designs look good.

[heyyallitsbethfanfic]

The Ghost of You

The sun beamed down on the two lovers resting on a giant mushroom top in Alfheim Online. They had been working on clearing a bunch of side quests with their party that day. But to one of the two, it felt off. His movements were sluggish, his body disconnected from the avatar it resided in. To most, it would seem normal, his movements still had the disciplined form of someone who had spent his life training in combat, despite him giving up the sword in the real world long ago. But to his partner, both in combat and in soul, she could tell he was struggling. 

“Kirito, are you feeling alright?” The autumn-haired girl stoked the dark hair of the noir boy who laid his head on her stomach.

“Hmm? Yeah everything’s fine Asu, why?” While his demeanor was calm, she could tell there was something eating him up inside.

“Honey, I’m your wife, and your partner too. If there’s anything troubling you, I’ll be right by your side to fight it with you.” The raven haired spriggan closed his eyes and weakly smiled. He knew that Asuna was his true other half, a partner in life and in love, but he was worried about something that might tear them apart.

“Asuna… I need to convert my account over again. I might be gone for a bit, so if you could… While I’m gone, please give Yui and Strea twice the amount of love as normal.” He thought of his daughters, and hated the thought of needing to leave them behind for any time, but he knew there was something he had to face alone.

“Of course honey, but call them every night at least okay?”

“Heh, been doing that since we escaped SAO. I can promise that won’t change one bit.” But some other things might.” He left the thought to himself, he wasn’t ready to commit to any real change, but he needed to see the truth for himself.

“Do you need me to look after Excalibur for you? You lost most of your items the last time you converted over…”

“Haha, nah that’s not an issue. Sinons already got that covered, after all, it’s her sword, she just knighted me with it.” He laughed seeing the flustered face of his wife, even though their situation was more open than most, she still got a little jealous of the girl’s hanging off of him, especially the teal sniper who taunted the two of them the most. “And if she converts, it should default to Yui now since she’s taken my inventory any other time I convert.”

“Alright, we should get back to the others to continue the quests now, good chance for you to say bye before you log off for a while anyway.”

“Of course. Dontcha go marryin someone else without my permission first~”

“H-hey!”

“Oh come on, I’ve seen how Liz stares at ya Asu. I’m sure she’ll take great~ care of you while I’m gone~” He giggled, imagining the sight of his wife and Liz locked in an embrace together.

“Even if she does, you’ll still always be my beloved partner, promise~”

“Heh. Didn’t take much convincing- you’re so cute.”

The spriggan rested on the undine, never wanting to leave her. But today, he needed to face his fears. Alone. A mission for the solo player. 

…

A year prior, an event stuck itself to Kirito’s brain like a parasyte. He could never fully escape the thought of it. He had logged into Gun Gale Online in order to investigate the DeathGun case. Due to the gacha system that determined avatars in the game, Kirito had awoken to the sight of his hair in his face. Long streaks of grey locks adorned him, framing his soft face. Staring at his reflection in the windows of nearby shops in the dark brutalist environment, he noticed things in himself he was afraid of. His figure was soft and feminine, far from the typical soldier of this world. It was not too dissimilar to his real life appearance, but the pronounced hips and narrow shoulders made him shift in place uncomfortably. He stared at his visage, noting he looked as if he was Sugu’s big sister instead of her big brother. He slowly met his own gaze. His eyes had always been a dark grey, something his adoring sister always teased him for, calling him a zombie with the dead gaze that adorned him. But that day he saw something different in them, where a blank glaze once covered his view, there were now highlights visible for the first time, and a deep purple hue that left him breathless. He grasped at his chest over his heart and was hit with a deep pain, and an even deeper longing. But he had to move forward, he had a mission.

A week ago Kazuto had been out with his sister Suguha though they were only related tangentially as cousins. That became something Kazuto had become fixated on as throughout their day out, multiple people had stopped them, asking if they were twin sisters. Kazuto didn’t look his age due to his years in Sword Art Online, his body permanently stunted by his inability to move for so long. But he was really wondering if he truly looked that similar to Suguha because of it. He recalled that as he was young, they were confused for twin girls all the time, but they were younger then… It made sense right? Kazuto stole an old skirt from Suguha’s closet one day as she was out practicing kendo. She hadn’t worn it in years, he figured she wouldn’t notice if it were gone… He slipped it on and stared himself in the mirror that spanned the back of his bedroom door. Despite the clear difference in their “endowment” Kazuto had seen as bright as day the connection. Even if his chest wasn’t voluptuous, even if his hips weren’t as pronounced, he saw the obvious connections between him and his sister. His face was soft and round like hers. And in the center of it all, he saw it again, his dead eyes replaced with the loving purple gaze he’d seen back in Gun Gale. He threw off the skirt in a fit of anger at himself. He stashed it beneath his bed, he didn’t wanna look at it. But… his heart longed for something regardless.

Today, as Kirito logged out of Alfheim Online, he converted his account over to Gun Gale Online once more. He needed to spend more time there… He needed to see himself again. 

…

A dark raven was prone atop a clocktower, aiming down at the streets below. Through the scope of their Hecate sniper rifle, they could nearly see the stubble on the men in the party stories below them.

BANG!

A single clean shot had decimated two of the party members.

“I’ve gotten good with this thing… heh.” The shadowy figure smiled to themselves as they lined up another shot. “Maybe now I can give her that duel I promised…”

BANG!

A full party wiped in such a short amount of shots. Too easy. The slender gargoyle on the roof brushed their long locks behind them, the deep grey shimmered with silver highlights despite the soot and ash coating it. Suddenly, they heard someone ascending the wall in front of them. They prepped their shot, but they were caught off guard by a blur of seafoam green, before their eyes met a familiar smiling face in their scope.

“Hey Sinon, come here often?” A playful taunt escaped their lips.

“Yes actually, I do believe you’re in my spot after all Kirito.” She giggled, a sight Kirito had grown to love as Sinon had opened up more and more. “I’m surprised you’re using a real weapon instead of wildly flailing your photon sword about.”

“Oh you just miss seeing me with a sword in my hands dontcha?” Sinon blushed and angrily pouted, another adorable sight. “Well, my lovely partner here in GGO taught me so much, I figured I’d honor her by using the same weapon as I practiced. I need to give ya a good duel sometime after all.~”

As he grew closer to each of his friends, the one-sided teasing evolved into a playful banter between them, learning how to push each and every one of their buttons.

“So that’s why you left ALO huh? Trying to get a headstart on training for our next B.O.B. huh?”

“I think you’ve got years ahead of me Sinonon~ One week away won’t save me. But truthfully that’s not the full reason.” Their eyes shifted away from Sinon, and towards the floor before smirking and shaking the thought away.

“I’d hope so, it’d be such a shame if my Star-Crossed Soldier was training without me~” She playfully pouted at Kirito.

Ever since the last B.O.B. ended, article after article dubbed the two winners as the Star-Crossed Soldiers, after Kirito’s embrace with Sinon in the trials, their close encounters in the cave and Sinon’s literal fiery embrace at the end to claim their tied victory. Liz had given Kirito an earful before the articles came out with how close he’d been to Sinon, but after the nickname appeared online, Kirito became convinced Liz and Asuna would actually kill him.

“Jeez, don’t let Asu hear you callin’ me that, otherwise I won’t be the only one getting pierced by her rapier.”

“Oh don’t worry, I’m not lookin’ to get inbetween ya- in that way at least~” The look she gave Kirito with that comment seemed to literally take health off the poor player.

“Anyways, why’re you here if not to train to win over me?”

“...” Kirito shifted his look away from her, and with that motion he accidentally revealed the accessories adorning his hair. Sinon snickered.

“Ah, I see you’re just here to play dress up huh?” Her eyes wandered and looked over the rest of the boy. He still had his trademark carbon fiber cloak, but now his outfit beneath was…

“Kirito… is that my outfit in black and silver?”

The noirette blushed a vibrant crimson, and smiled.

“I think there’s someone you need to meet Shino.” The girl was surprised by Kirito’s use of her real name ingame. He typically tried to refer them as their avatar’s name. This was deeper, this was personal to her. 

Shino grabbed the hands of the shadow before her and looked into it’s eyes.

“I think I know who you mean.” She smiled with pride as they drew closer. “What’s your name? Who is my partner in this world?”

The eyes of purple and blue had met, a synthetic gaze between them escalated into a whirlwind. In a moment, they were back in that cave again, holding eachother close, the heat of their bodies pressed against eachother.

“In this world… And all others… My name is Kiriko.”

With those words, Sinon saw Kiriko revert back to how she saw her initially. Another girl, just like her.

They spent the next week training for the upcoming B.O.B. ingame, and shopping for Kiriko in the real world. The night of the battle, Kiriko had stayed at Shino’s apartment, so they could celebrate their victory.

…

A flurry of gunshots was silenced by the cruel end of a photon sword. Despite her training with a sniper, Kiriko decided to return to the classics for most of the match. Her and Sinon made for a perfect duo as front line and supporting fire. Her favorite moment had been when Sinon and her had been cornered, with Sinon facing her while she had her back to two enemies. Sinon fired at Kiriko, and she split the bullet just like in their trial duel, with the two pieces finding their home in the skulls of their attackers. It was a game now, just for fun, and they wanted to perform.

“I suppose that is the last of them huh?”

“Suppose so.”

The two stood against the other, scratched, bruised, covered in virtual blood of both their own, and of others. And now with all cameras on them. 

“You ready to give the girls at home a show Kiriko?”

They smiled devilishly at each other.

“Always.”

In a swift movement, Kiriko removed her heavy black cloak, revealing the matching outfit with Sinon’s own. It was practically bikini armor, except for soldiers instead of for knights, despite Sinon’s insistence it wasn’t. Sinon revealed a photon sword of her own, and as the cloak hit the dusty ground behind Kiriko, both lept towards eachother with fire in their eyes. The clash of purple and green blades sent small debris around them flying, each strike was more powerful than the last. But it was less of a duel, and more of a dance. Every movement, despite the power, was elegant, with perfect footwork and seamless motion. They circled eachother, blade against blade. With every strike forward, the other responded with a dodge and their own strike. Neither had grazed the other, only their sword’s connecting the two. The chorus of slashes against slashes sent both blade’s flying, as Kiriko caught Sinon’s and Sinon caught Kiriko’s, and they continued their masquerade. They drew closer and closer together, despite the blade’s repelling eachother, their bodies had called to eachother. In a flash both lights extinguished, and the two embraced. They smiled at eachother, aware of the camera right beside their faces. They closed their eyes and their lips clashed against eachother. Love blooming on the battlefield. Sinon pressed Kiriko’s blade against her back, and ignited it, impaling the two of them together, as they tied another B.O.B.

…

The pair awoke from their brawl back in the real world. Both had imprints on their faces from where their Amusphere’s had sat on them. They giggled to eachother as they traced the marks, holding eachother’s faces. 

“I’m glad you got Asu’s approval before all that, I know that Liz’ll still tear both of us apart though” Sinon snicked, imagining the pink leprechaun’s stunned face watching their dance.

“Hehe, yeahhhhh. Just because me and Asuna are poly doesn’t mean the jealousy’ll ever just up and leave. Liz is probably upset that I managed to steal both Asuna and you for myself.” 

“Oh I think she’ll be more jealous of me, after all, I was the first one with the new girl in the group.” She laughed at the thought, knowing all of the girls’ not-so-subtle-crushes. 

“Oh yeah, speaking of, I guess tonight they all get to meet Kiriko at the party in ALO huh?”

“As long as you’re not nervous, and I’ll be there supporting you always.”

“With you by my side, I’ll always be ready. Let’s hop over and meet them.”

An evil grin reached Shino’s lips.

“Welllllll you and I both need to transfer our accounts back over, so you should set that up real quick.”

“Right, right of course. Better not keep them waiting-”

Kiriko turned away from Shino to her laptop, starting the slow transfer of their accounts. With her attention away, Shino slipped out of her top and pajama bottoms, and waited for Kiriko’s full undivided attention.

“Alright we should be good in around twenty minu- HUH!”

Kiriko’s face was lit ablaze by the sight of the scantily clad girl infront of her.

“Hehehe, whatcha waitin for? I know we got the cash prize, but it’s time for our real~ reward now.”

She unbuckled the back of her bra and let the garment slip down, exposing her modest, but perky chest with a light bounce.

“We won’t keep them waiting long- but I already told Asuna- I get first dibs tonight- which means I get first ever dibs on Kiriko~”

She pounced on Kiriko, pinning her to the bed. 

They showed up in Alfheim, an hour later than everyone expected.

…

Sinon entered the main living space of the home their party had shared. Luckily everyone was enjoying themselves already, but she still stammered out an apology for being so late. 

“Jeez, is Kirito not coming?” Liz said in a huff. “I suppose he just doesn’t wanna show after that little stunt you two pulled.”

Sinon blushed heavily, knowing that stunt was far from the worst thing they’d done. Asuna crept behind Sinon and pulled her in, kissing her on the cheek.

“Mwah~ That’s for stealing away my poor innocent Kirito~” She playfully toyed with the cat, happy with the new arrangement they’d found. But the cat’s face lit up, imagining how there was no innocence left in either of their bodies laying beside eachother in the real world. She shook the thought away.

“Hehe, just borrowing her~ she’s yours again tonight”

The party went silent

“HER?!”

As if on queue, a new cait sith appeared from the door. She was adorned with a black cloak and risque armor set. Her signature long grey hair fell down her back, looking just like Kirito in GGO. And she could barely look up at the party as she announced “H-hey everyone. My name’s Kiriko…”

Before anyone had the chance to say anything, Asuna, Yui and Strea all embraced the girl.

“Yayyyyy I get two mommies now!” Yui cheered

“Ah well that explains the armor choices…” Leafa sputtered out.

“We leave Sinon alone with Kiriko for a week and she comes back a girl… Yeah that tracks actually.” Liz was practically beaming.

“I was wondering about Kiriko’s choice of attire in GGO… But now I can’t wait to see her choices in here~” Philia dreamed of all the different event cosmetics and rare treasures Kiriko could now be adorned in.

Silica and Argo were hovering around the new cait sith in their presence. 

“So was I the only one who knew Kii-gal was a girl?”

“Maybe! But now I get an adoptive big sister!” 

“Hey! Kiriko’s my actual big sister!”

“We can share!”

The crowd started talking inbetween themselves, talking about all the fun things they can do now that Kiriko’s a girl, and Asuna took this as an opportunity to pull her to the side.

“So this was what you were worried about earlier huh?”

“I was worried that you’d leave when you found out what I’d been going through… I’m glad I can still be yours.”

“Oh honey… I love you, husband, wife, partner, I didn’t fall in love with a boy, I fell in love with you. The hero who saved us from Aincrad, and the caring parent to our kids. This is just a new side of you I get to love, and I’m going to love every second of learning about you Kiriko. Now ummm. After the party can I head over? It’s been a bit since we um.”

“Heh- about that… If you wanna head over, you’ll have to ask Shino if she’s okay with you staying…”

“Sh-Shino? Are you diving from her apartment?”

“Hahaha, well, she did call first dibs…”

Asuna laughed and pulled Kiriko into a kiss. She was glad that Kiriko was still hers, even if she was being shared between a few others. Since for the both of them, regardless of all the others they would come to love, they were still that happy couple from back in Aincrad, soulmates from then, to forever.

[dalishthunder]

Talos of Atmora

Pairing: Nebarra/LDB (gender neutral reader) Rating: Teen Words: 1056 Additional Info: So, this was meant to be smut, but my hand slipped and it became hurt comfort and I have a lot of ideas I want to explore in Destiny Waits for No One instead of in a little one shot lmao

Injuries were inevitable in your line of work. That's why restoration spells and healing potions existed. But it didn't change the fact that you were holed up in a shack with possibly the worst of your companions. Xelzaz would have been able to heal you. Lucifer and Kaidan would have at least been pleasant company. What did Nebarra bring to the group? An impressive sword arm, and an even more rancid attitude.

It was your own fault really for thinking having some alone time together would help you turn that frown upside-down. Make you closer. Something.

But no, here you were, stuck in a damp old shack, leg out of commission as you tried to explain to Nebarra how to make a rudimentary healing poultice.

"Tell me why you can't just do this again?" He sneered.

You rolled your eyes. "Because I dislocated my damn shoulder in that last fight, and my leg is too messed up for me to stand."

The mer pounded halfheartedly on the blue mountain flowers and marshmerrow in the mortar and pestle. "Maybe if you-"

"Maybe if I what? Maybe if I what, Nebs?" You hissed. "Maybe if I hadn't saved your ass, that spriggan wouldn't have left a festering wound in my leg? Hmm?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd asked you to jump in front of a twisted, evil tree. Let me just adjust my attitude." Each syllable was punctuated by the pounding of the ingredients. "The last time I checked, I didn't need your dumb heroics."

"Okay, next time I'll let you die. Fine."

"Fine."

He was absolutely impossible.

"Now add a tiny bit of canis root." Not enough to paralyze, just enough to numb and take the edge off as you healed.

He did as instructed, grumbling all the while.

"Let me see it." You said after a few moments.

Your companion held it out to you, and you dipped your finger in, testing the consistency before pulling out your waterskin. "Fill this up a third of the way to the brim, but you have to do it slowly. Mix in a bit at a time."

"Gods, you're picky."

You were going to bite him. Just sink your teeth into his flesh and rip and tear like any good dragon would. "If you don't do this right and it becomes infected and I die, I'm going to haunt your ass. I'm going to haunt your ass and make sure that wine is always out of reach for you. Just break every wine bottle I find with my little ghostly hands."

"You wouldn't dare." Though you couldn't see his face, you could practically feel his glower.

"Don't test me, mal fahliil. Zu'u du hi sili.*" You narrowed your eyes at him, lips curling over your teeth.

"Graxifalas kynd." He shot back. "You're not the only multilingual person in the room."

You hated that you somehow just couldn't manage to get along with this stupid mer. It wasn't like you hadn't tried, and it wasn't even that you didn't like him.... Or at least... you wanted to like him, he just made it so miserably difficult. Fighting you every single step of the way.

After a few moments, the pounding of the mortar and pestle slowed, and he showed you the poultice once more. You gave it the okay when you felt the gentle numbing sensation from the canis root. You held out your hand for him to hand it over, but he just set it down next to your leg and worked on applying it to the wound.

"I can do it..." You said, but he didn't seem to pay you much mind.

"Just like you can defeat a spriggan by yourself? Hmm?" His drawl was grating... and just a bit endearing.

"There were two of them."

"And two of us."

You rolled your eyes. He had a point though; You'd defeated dragons... how the hell were you unable to defeat two spriggans together. Well, you had defeated them, but your wounds weren't anything to sniff at. He began to bind your leg.

"You have very poor form in tight quarters." Nebarra tightened the tourniquet and you winced. "You rely too much on range and being able to shout at things."

A sigh caught in your chest.... He was right. You really weren't great up close. "... Yeah."

"Ohohoho backing down without a fight? Finally admitting you're not some god?" He seemed to admire his handiwork for a moment.

Was that how he thought you saw yourself?

The floor was very interesting. Probably full of splinters.... "... I never said I was a god."

"Oh please, spare me the soliloquy, Dragonborn. You let them call you Dragon-Made-Flesh. The Dragon of the North. The Child of Skyrim." He muttered as he took a seat on the floor a few feet away, each title held more vitriol than the last. "You don't have to call yourself a god. You just let people think it."

You chewed your bottom lip... he wasn't wrong. People had begun to murmur.... You tried to deny it when you could. But it had already started to spiral like a snowball down a hill, gathering strength and momentum.

"Do you even know what those titles mean, Adma'na?"

You finally looked over at him.

"Talos. They think you're the bloody incarnation of Talos. They think you're the reincarnated avatar of a false god." He spat.

You winced again. "... I can't really control what everyone else thinks of me. I've been trying to tell people but-"

"Try harder."

"Look at me, Nebs. Do you think a god, let alone THE Tyrant God-King, would be sitting here, bleeding, at your mercy? I... won't lie; I don't know what I am, but if I am a god, I'm a pretty pitiful one."

Nebarra was silent for a long while, and when he spoke again it was softly. "I'll give you that one. If you are a god, you're pretty pitiful."

"... Did you really think I saw myself as a god?"

He didn't answer.

You looked down at the bandaging on your leg.

"Well... I'm sorry if I led you to believe that.... Thank you for helping me." The corners of your lips curled up in a slight smile. "And for what it's worth, I'm glad you're here."

*mal fahliil. Zu'u du hi sili. - (Dragon-tongue) Little elf. I will devour your soul.

Graxifalas kynd. - (Altmeri) Disgraceful child

Adma'na - (Altmeri) Poor listener

[bisquicklite]

WIP Wednesday! (Tuesday? Lets Pretend its Wednesday :3)

Oh dear. Oh goodness. I have been selected for sacrifice tagged by @lili-spots! Thank you for the tag, my sweet lil mutual! :D

Okay so I don't really have any active projects that I'm working on (actively) at the moment. But! I do have a bunch of projects that I've been meaning to start and a whole bunch of google docs that I want to turn into completed stories and projects!

One specific project is at the top of the 'Things I'm Definitely going to Write When I Eventually Get Down and Start Writing them' is my hand crafted wolchefant meet-cute between my adorable catgirl Osha and my favorite French catholic elf Haurchefant.

Now I have written an amount of said meet-cute, but I have not looked at it for months. Its stuck in the limbo of needing to be edited/rewritten/cannibalized into a standalone story.

Below the cut is going a tidbit of that work that I like the look of! :3

Hand Crafted Meet-Cute: Feat. Osha 'Pickaxes-are-Valid-Weapons-if-You-Use-Them-Right' Qhantari, licensed Miner and alleged Warrior of Light, practicing irresponsible cave exploring to save a spriggan she found a few bells ago.

They may not have been friends long, but Qiggy had come to her needing help. Osha promised she would help get them home. She had promised she would keep them safe.

Somewhere behind her the small collection of knights were talking amongst themselves, strategizing how they could get down there to deal with the wyrm. If they had acknowledged her, Osha wouldn't have noticed.

All at once she was leaping to her feet, her stride smooth but strong. Wing-Ding regarded her with a quirked head as Osha dug through the chocobo’s saddle bag. Though the pouches were perpetually in a state of controlled chaos, it was easy enough to find the length of carefully coiled rope.

There weren’t any trees or stumps close enough nearby to tie it to, and she wasn’t going to burden Wing-Ding with trying to lower her down a hole.

But there was a gaggle of Ishgardian knights within reach. All of them weighed down with chainmail, some of them looking to be a perfect counter-weight to her much slighter frame.

Right, that one looks sturdy, she thought, eyeing up a particularly tall Elezen knight with silver hair and enough muscles that holding her weight should be no problem. Osha didn’t break her stride as she pressed the other half of the rope into his chest, startling him enough for his very blue eyes to widen when their gaze briefly met.

“Hold this.” She instructed simply, offering no further explanation as she continued towards the steep opening the friend disappeared into, holding tight to the other end of the rope in her grip.

“Excuse me?- Wait!- miss?” That must have been the knight she had charged with holding the rope, and he was trying to talk sense into the situation. “Surely you don’t mean to-”

“Do not drop me.” Osha cut him off, and before he or the other gathered knights had a chance to even try to stop her was already leaping down the hole. Her gloved hands gripped the rope and her body jerked to a stop, the world narrowing to rock walls coated in ice pressing in around her. The sky above her was but a strip of overcast gray that shrank the further down she went.

Thank you again for the tag! I've never done this before so I'm just going to viciously assault tag a few folks! (apologies if you've already done this or have no interest) @unchangingeverchanging, @irisopranta, @snotsloth, @sasslett, @jarael

[quicksilverdrabbles]

A Monster in Chains, A Healer in Pain

Courier: Oh, hey there! I've got a notice for you!

Merlyn: Have you? Let's see it, then. What's it for?

Courier: Some shifty man. Said to give this letter to anyone who might be seeking a monster for a bodyguard.

Merlyn: Whyyyyy on earth do I look like I fit that bill?

Courier: *looking at her party behind her* ... Just a hunch.

Merlyn: Right. Well. *digs into her purse and gives him 50 septims* Y'know, you should really stop accepting deliveries from suspicious people, who knows how it could go.

Courier: Duly noted. Have a nice day, ma'am.

Lucien: A monster? How intriguing.

Inigo: What does the letter say?

Merlyn: Let's see. *ahem* 'For Sale: One monster for any adventurer's needs. Can serve as a carrier, a warrior, a healer, or...'

Kaidan: Merlyn?

Merlyn: '... Or as a punching bag, to let put the day's frustrations.' ... Who the hell wrote this?

Caryalind: Whoever they are, they certainly lack the required eloquence to make a good sale.

Merlyn: But even so, this is.. What sort of 'monster' are they talking about anyway? It couldn't be a troll if it can heal... 'If interested, please make your way to the location indicated at the bottom of this letter. The recipient of this letter is sworn to secrecy upon reading and, if we happen to hear of our operations being leaked, will be punished severely. Price to be negotiated upon arrival.' Egh.. That's unnerving.

Kaidan: What do you think? A black market operation?

Merlyn: Something like that.. It doesn't feel like a regular monster they're talking about.

Xelzaz: No, typical monsters cannot act as healers. Unless they've somehow taught Spriggans to use Healing Hands, or something along those lines. There's something odd about this.

Merlyn: Hm. I say we check it out. Play the part of a buyer in order to get information, then shut it down if need be.

Lucien: You're the boss, boss. We're right behind you.

~

Lucien: What do you mean we can't go with her?!

Slaver: If she's the one buying the product, it needs to only be her to see it. You all can wait out here until the purchase is complete.

Kaidan: That's bullshit! I'm going in there!

Merlyn: Kaidan, stay here with the others.

Kaidan: What?!

Merlyn: I'll only be a moment. Shouldn't take too long.

Kaidan: ... Fine.

Slaver: Ha. You've got your guards well trained already. I must admit I'm surprised. *leads Merlyn inside the cave and shuts the door behind them, locking the others out*

Merlyn: *playing along as a cruel master* I have experience with difficult types.

Slaver: A good skill to have, with this one. He's a recent capture, so he's not very well tamed. Been very eager to meet a new master, though.

Merlyn: Shall we hurry this along? I'd hate for my men to get antsy.

Slaver: Of course, right this way, miss.

Merlyn: *eyeing several guards they pass as they move through the cave* Quite heavy security for one monster.

Slaver: Ah, you know how it is. Can't have the Jarl getting on our asses if they find out about this little operation. We like to keep things under wraps around here. Besides, it can be quite hard to subdue such a beast, as I'm sure you know well enough by now.

Merlyn: Well enough, yes. I apologize for asking so late, but the notice didn't exactly specify what sort of monster you were selling, and I'd like to know what I'm dealing with before I negotiate a.. price.

Slaver: Ha, smart woman. Allow me to introduce you to our monster. Only one of the fiercest beasts in all of Skyrim, hell, probably even all of Tamriel. Wild and barbaric, and especially vicious, but this one seems to have a soft spot for healing. I present to you... *stops in front of a hollowed out cell in the rock, with a figure huddled amongst the growing ferns*

Merlyn: ... An Orc.

Slaver: That's right! Such terrifying beasts, but they can be exceptionally loyal if properly trained. I'm sure for a.. beauty such as yourself, that would hardly be an issue.

Merlyn: 'Train'? *steps away from the cage, eyes wide with shock* Monster- Orsimers are not monsters-! They are an intelligent race! What on earth makes you think you could just sell one?!

Slaver: The same way the Dark Elves would sell Khajiit and Argonians in Morrowind to the Great Houses, I'd assume.

Merlyn: This is not an age of slavery anymore! Nobody deserves this!

Slaver: ... Are you saying you refuse this offer? Even with your own slaves outside? The Khajiit, the Argonians, that big brute and those elves?

Merlyn: They're my friends! My family! I've never once seen them as things for me to control!

Slaver: Hm. That's quite a shame. *draws his sword, pointing it at her* I'm afraid we're going to have to kill you now, pretty miss. You and your 'family' waiting for you outside. See, you're not the first to refuse this offer. And every time somebody tries to escape, they threaten to tell the authorities. At this point, we've simply stopped taking chances.

Merlyn: *gasps, looking around rapidly at the men surrounding her now* Shit..

Slaver: Any last words?

Merlyn: ... Maybe. *raises a hand, electricity flowing from her fingers. Some of it rebounds, and burns her own skin* I'm going to save that man. And kill all of you. *her eyes glow as the lightning grows to surround her*

Slaver: Haha! You really think you can kill all of us?!

Merlyn: I think I'll take my chances.

Yaksha: *looks up to investigate the light flooding the cave, crawling away from the lightning enveloping the iron bars* What..?

~

Lucien: ... It's been quite a while, hasn't it? How do you think it's going?

Xelzaz: I don't think she's in grave danger. If she was, Roovi would have found us by now.

Kaidan: I don't like this. It's just another den of snakes.

Caryalind: Perhaps, but Merlyn's always been good at acting. Surely she's playing her part in this well enough that they haven't discovered her intentions yet.

Inigo: *ears perking and twitching, angling in several different directions* ... There is fighting in the cave.

Taliesin: So much for playing a part.

Khash: Let's go!! I wanna make sure Lyn's okay!

Xelzaz: Hold on, now. Inigo, how does it sound?

Inigo: Like she is fighting with lightning. Several people run at her, but fall to the ground seconds later.

Kaidan: With lightning? But Destruction magic hurts her..

Lucien: We should go see what's happening. Is the door still locked?

Taliesin: Obviously. That man locked it as soon as he had Merlyn in his grasp.

Kaidan: Don't say it like that, gods- I'm breaking the fuckin' thing down.

Caryalind: I'm not opposed. Shall we?

Khash: Come on! Lyn is going to kill all of them by the time we get there!

~

Merlyn: *panting, standing in the midst of dozens of dead bodies, magicka completely drained* Shit... *holds her hands to her chest, wincing at the electric burns littering her hands and forearms*

Yaksha: *watching her from behind a plant, frowning nervously*

Merlyn: *sighs* ... Alright. *looks up into the cell* Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?

Yaksha: ...

Merlyn: I'm going to come in, alright? I saw you were injured. *picks up a key from the dead slaver and unlocks the cell door* ... Unless you don't want me to come in? I can just leave it unlocked and leave if you want.

Yaksha: ... Don't.

Merlyn: Oh shit you can speak- Great! Um- *walks into the cell and kneels down near him* My name is Merlyn. What's yours?

Yaksha: ... My name is Yaksha. Are you.. my new master?

Merlyn: What? No! No no no- T-That was all a lie, I promise! When I got the notice from them I thought it was strange they didn't specify what 'monster' they were selling, so I was acting the part of a buyer to investigate.

Yaksha: So you are not here to buy me?

Merlyn: No, the primary goal was kinda to.. save you.. *trails off, staring at him with a worried frown* You really are injured. *reaches out and gently brushes his cheek, careful to avoid the remnants of his black eye* I have some potions, but we'll need to get you out of here before we can take care of you properly.. I can't even begin to imagine what they did to you.

Yaksha: *leans into the gentle touch unconsciously* ... You are injured too.

Merlyn: Hm? What this? *holds up her burned hand* Nothing a bit of Snowberry salve won't fix when we get outta here, don't worry about me. Hm.. speaking of which, it'll be hard to carry you myself. I just learned the Telekinesis spell, but I doubt I can carry a full grown man yet.

Kaidan: *kicking the door of the lair down* MERLYN!

Merlyn: Ah, there's our solution. Over here, Kai!

Kaidan: Gods above woman, you seriously scare me sometimes. Inigo said you were fighting off all of them at once and- who's that?

Merlyn: *shifts so Yaksha is resting his head on her shoulder, falling unconscious* The 'monster' they were selling. His name is Yaksha.

Xelzaz: They were trying to sell you an Orc?!

Merlyn: Evidently. Help me get him up, we've gotta get back to town before his injuries get infected. I can't imagine laying in the dirt in a disgusting cave like this will be any good for him.

Kaidan: Got it. *lifts Yaksha up, carrying him piggyback with Inigo and Lucien's help* Gods, he's heavy. All muscle.

Merlyn: Poor guy, he's exhausted. I bet-

Yaksha: *grips onto Merlyn's sleeve weakly* Don't.. leave...

Khash: He spoke! Is he awake?

Merlyn: ... *reaches up and takes his hand in hers* No, he's asleep. Let's get out of here.

Kaidan: Aye.

Caryalind: You've hurt yourself, dove. *takes her other hand and examines the burns carefully*

Merlyn: I'll be fine. It was worth it if he'll be okay.

[spotofmummery]

Know the Mun/Blogger - Wren

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yes - I was told I was named after Erin Moran, an actress on Happy Days.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Probably recently. Probably over some silly video on the net that got me emotional. It's a pretty typical thing for me.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope. Just a cat named Spriggan.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Depends on who I'm with. Even then, I think most my sarcasm is pretty mild. I don't tend to be witty enough on the fly to pull it off, IMHO.

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

Have never been much of a sports player. Did enjoy badminton with the family as a kid, though.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?

Their smile. Or lack of.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Both! I'm all up for a good scary movie. But sometimes you just need a happy ending, too.

8. Any special talents?

Uh... talents? Hobbies maybe. Nothing that I'd consider a true talent.

9. Where were you born?

Michigan, USA.

10. What are your hobbies?

I play video games. I write. I draw. I code websites. I like to do crafty things (crosstitch, diamond paint, crochet). Rarely a dull moment.

11. Do you have any pets?

As noted above, just one cat right now, named Spriggan.

12. How tall are you?

About 5 foot short.

13. Fave subject in school?

English/literature/writing.

14. Dream job?

Either a writer or an artist. I'm currently a tech writer, so I suppose I've landed about as close as you can come. I can't complain, to be honest.

15. Eye colour?

Blue.

Tagged by: @sundered-souls @ffxivtribehydrae @under-the-blood-moonlight - thank you! Sorry this took so long to answer! Tagging: I think most folks I know have done it, but if you'd like to talk a bit about yourself, feel free to snag!

[niuttuc]

This is wildly specific but, thoughts on the Kenruth's dual spark? Seems like it could have been really interesting to see how a spark shared by two planes walkers works but instead they got it yoinked

The whole "soul shared by twins" thing is always a bit weird when they're individual people, though at least they didn't take it too far and they were mostly annoyed at the shared planeswalking thing, like siblings that deeply love and bicker with each other. And their infantile resurrection helps justify it a bit too.

I don't think too much interesting was on the table with that tbh, mostly them showing up together, it's not like spark manipulation is a common thing that gets explored often, though more so recently. I do think things could have been explored a bit more in depth with Will and Rowan going their own ways in Wilds of Eldraine, if the set had had more than the five stories it got.

I will plug in some stuff I wrote in private back when those stories came out, because it illustrates where I kind of want this to go after.

Things I want to see next time we come back to Eldraine: a few years have passed, Will has become a wise king, Rowan a powerful witch, and there's something dangerous that forces them to work together again. They really don't want to, but they have to. Doing that, they see all that changed about the other over the years, and that they're now a mostly different person with completely different views of the world… But they also learn that they're both still good people, and how to reconnect as the new people they now are

"Don't even try to act like you did nothing wrong, I heard about Elstown, Ro!" "Oh yeah? And what did you hear?" "They were children, witch! How could you! And don't try to pretend it wasn't you, I saw what remains of their ancestral tree. Lightning doesn't strike the same place five times." "So you saw the tree, but you didn't even realize it was a Spriggan's nest! But of course you wouldn't see one of those in your castles and balls. You think yourself so clever." "What… And the children?" "This bastard had killed them long before I arrived! If you did your job, I wouldn't have to swoop in and take the blame. But I'm sure all those meetings and festivals are helping the Realm so much." "I… They do! When's the last time you heard about a dragon attack? About a petty war between two nobles sending hundreds to their deaths!" "People are still dying!" "People are always dying, but now it's less! You act like you're such a big hero, we didn't find any remains of those children. Spriggans don't eat bones, last I heard!" "I… I can use them. Save more people. It's worth it. It's not like I killed them!"

[drudeger]

beyblade burst manga review (arc 2)

so I finished the second valt arc of the manga last night (the part of the manga that would be adapted into the second season) and it was uuuuuh, ok i guess? LOL

look, morita's illustrations are really fun and oftentimes really good and his layouts and paneling are perfectly passable, but his scripting and writing are really really mediocre. I legitimately think it's a testament to the anime staff that we got the first two anime seasons as good as they were considering the source material.

for one thing, the manga's story is paced horribly. it jumps from battle to battle with basically no downtime in between and you get almost no time to just sit with what's happening. this creates a massive issue when morita wants to create tension or wants to write something that's emotionally impactful. (tbf, some of this may be because of the format of corocoro's monthly releases and/or the demands of takara tomy but it's really hard to say.)

additionally, character arcs are either flat or non-existent. for example, free in the manga literally never leaves bc sol. he's there for the entire arc doing nothing but being slightly mysterious and condescending and to be a thematic foil to valt (which he's really bad at up until the last like 1/4 of the story). we don't get any sense that he genuinely loves his team and will do anything if he thinks it's what's best for them. no sense that he's emotionally closed off due to his unwillingness to communicate with the people around him. no tension from the implications of his absence. he's just sitting there. being super strong and intimidating and condescending to everyone around him. they do give him a somewhat interesting trait, that being some form of like rage mode or emotional instability (the gross thing where he gets all veiny) that's glossed over quite a bit in the anime. yeah it's similar to the anime but it really isn't the same imo, and I think he could've been an even stronger character if they'd leaned into it more in the anime in addition to what was already written. that being said, morita doesn't do enough with it in the manga for it to be much more than what amounts to a gimmick.

silas has this issue too where he joins bc sol, wins some battles, and helps valt train like once. that's his character arc. they don't show him bonding with the team and learning to open up to them and care for them, it's a simple one and done "yeah ig I'll help you train lol." and it wasn't even during the world league, it was literally right before valt's final battle with shu.

shu's arc is mostly intact, but it isn't nearly as strong because we just don't get time to sit with him as a character and to really understand his struggle.

and this issue of flat or non-existent character arcs is only compounded by the first problem.

I can't even say I'm all that surprised or frustrated though. the first arc of the manga had similar issues, I just didn't talk about them at length because the first season of the anime, while a lot stronger than its manga counterpart, still wasn't even close to as strong as the second season.

at least that's what I would say, if it weren't for a few particular moments in the manga.

I've mentioned the poor pacing, flat writing, and mediocre scripting of the manga, and that's all true for the most part.

but there's this moment. the night before valt's battle with shu, free approaches valt who's still up late training. valt tells him he's afraid and they talk about how shu and spriggan requiem are terrifyingly strong opponents, and you get a sense that valt is really going up against impossible odds. but after saying spriggan requiem is the ultimate bey, free looks at valt and his expression softens. and he tells valt he can beat him.

this scene does not exist in the anime. it's well-scripted, well-written, and well-executed. it's a tender moment in a sea of constant, non-stop action.

there's some more examples of similar moments. they're brief flashbacks of shu and valt. here:

and these are the reason I'm so frustrated with the manga. morita shows his best not during moments of heightened emotions or action, but when he's really focusing in on character dynamics and relationships. so if we can get moments like this once or twice in the manga, why in the world can we not get them consistently thorughout it.

but yeah, the arc was alright. if you're an anime only, I can't really say you're missing out on much, at least not so far.

I'll continue reading through the manga and telling you all my thoughts!

[foxgirlbeans]

A Ninja's Guide to Eorzea, Part 3: Level 50 dungeons

part 1 | part 2

As we maintain our meander midst the microcosm of much-maligned mystic masking, we must meet the meat of the main game- the level 50 dungeons. coming into this, I assumed that since this was the endgame for quite a while, sneaking through enemies wouldn't fly here. while that is true for some dungeons, others were pleasantly perceptive to our plight.

that being said there are a lot of these things to get through, so forgive me for the lightning round.

DNF -Castrum Meridianum, the Praetorium, and the Lost City of Amdapor

the first two I'm simply not doing because I'm not sitting through an hour of cutscenes to double-check my assumption. they're almost certainly Ds though, the former practically forces you to fight every pull separately, the latter's a glorified boss rush. Amdapor, on the other hand was annoying. while I'm certain it will get a higher rating later, right now I simply can't kill the first boss with my ninja. I've gotten it to 1% multiple times too, it's very frustrating! I'll come back to that one after another level.

F -Amdapor Keep

everything and its mother can see through Hide here, and they can do it with 360 degree vision- that means it's actually harder to sneak past certain enemies with Hide than without it!

D- -Pharos Sirius

it's no worse than any other Ds, but I'm giving it its own rating bc it feels like you should be able to sneak in certain areas if only random crap being thrown at you didn't get in the way. very annoying dungeon. at least you can sneak between the third and fourth bosses.

D -Brayflox's Longstop, Halatali (Hard), Tam-Tara Deepcroft (Hard), Stone Keep (Hard)

nothing special about any of these, you just can't sneak worth a darn in 'em.

C- -Haukke Manor

it's mostly unsneakable, but there are a few sections you can wiggle your way through. wiping the floor with Halicarnassus is very cathartic after all the trouble it gave me in my zodiac book runs though.

B -Hullbreaker Isle

despite almost every objective involving fighting random enemies, you can pretty easily sneak past everything you aren't picking a fight with. again, definitely more rogue than ninja, but fun nonetheless.

B -Copperbell Mines (Hard)

I just had to give this dungeon its own section because *chefs kiss* what a glowup from the original. the spriggans throwing fire at you can't be avoided, but surprisingly the giant ambush can be if you break through the rock fast enough. I'm sure I'm inflating the score here purely based on how rough the original dungeon was, but it just felt good to get through this time around.

It actually took so long to get this part out I've finished the zodiac daggers and started working on the Anima relic, so I'll cover the level 50 dungeons needed for that (and the start of the HW dungeons) in part 4!

[reagan-the-saunders]

Just finished (I think), or at least the start of, a little story taking place on Solstheim during the Dragonborn era of Skyrim. I also have a WIP of one of the key scenes. Enjoyeth <3

CW: Nudity, Banter, TES Spoilers.

Vyeshna looks down at her map with confusion, trying to mix her memory of Solstheim the last time she was here with the piece of paper she holds in front of her. “We need to go… general… that way- direction.” She says looking up, shaking her befuddled look off of her face, and she tucks her map into her pocket.

“Should we really be trusting her with our navigation?” Marina whispers to Viper as she trudges behind Vyeshna and the others. “I mean, Maevynn is better with maps and compasses and the like.”

Viper chuckles softly. “You may be right, but Vyeshna knows the land better than any of us. Were we travelling by sea, I’d actually have a reason to trust our good captain with something.” She laughs.

“I heard that.” Maevynn groans and rolls her eyes. “I just hope Val’s holding down the Silver Wing well enough.”

“I am sure he and Teldryn are doing just fine, captain. I thought you would put more trust in a man you decided to marry.” Nerivyne teases, walking slowly and gracefully as she reads Vyeshna’s movement plans telepathically. She chuckles when Maevynn simply grunts in annoyment.

“Hold on.” Vyeshna says, stopping them suddenly.

“What is it?” Marina asks, promptly jogging up to her. She sees it, standing lonely atop an ash hill stands a spriggan, she knows them well, but this one seems… wrong. Its vibrant greens are gone, turned only to browns and oranges, there are no animals flocking to it, and it is not hiding in a tree, awaiting anyone who should wish to harm its land. No, it's almost like it wants to fight something, not a defender but more of an offender. “A… spriggan.” Marina sighs suddenly.

“Not a normal one, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Burnt spriggans are spriggans that have been changed and warped by both Red Mountain’s hot lava and its devastating, corrupted chunks of rock, cursed by the Heart of Lorkhan I destroyed years ago.” Vyeshna sighs sadly. “We’ll have to kill it. We need to get to Fort Frostmoth, and sneaking around it won’t be possible in such a tight area with so many people.” 

“No.” Nerivyne says, walking up next to the two. “I know her kind, and they can be reasoned with.” She explains confidently. “I am not being a fool, Vyeshna, you do not understand this race like I do, corrupted though she may be.” Nerivyne then slowly walks up to the spriggan, and senses her anger and hatred as she approaches her, ready to attack. “I am not your enemy, spirit of the woods. I ask that you calm yourself.” Nerivyne speaks inside of the burnt spriggan’s head in its native tongue.

The spriggan shuffles for a moment, hesitating after hearing its own language after so long. It doubts Nerivyne’s intentions but stays its hand. “What are you?” It thinks.

“I am a nymph, a guardian of Kyne’s green Nirn, not unlike yourself. I fear you have been led astray, and I only wish to aid you.” Nerivyne says in its mind, and in the spriggan language again. She senses the disbelief in the spriggan, and quickly realises why. Nymphs do not typically wear clothes. Nerivyne gently pulls at the shoulders of her robe-like gown, and tugs until it completely falls off her body, leaving her entirely nude, with the gentle curves of her body gracefully outlining her every step, her bright white hair and the flowers she wove into it flowing behind her. “I know you are in pain, your body burning up from the inside out, unable to protect or govern over the wilderness I know you care for so deeply. Let me help you, spirit.” Nerivyne finally closes the gap between her and the spriggan, holding her hands close to her chest.

The spriggan is weary for a moment, pondering whether or not she should choose to believe the possibility of her healing, or to accept the fact that she might never be the same again. Somehow, her wooden facial features soften when she looks at Nerivyne with her burning eyes.

“I have a friend who is a healer, she may be able to aid you. If not, I will not rest until I find a way to return you to Kynareth’s embrace.” Nerivyne says telepathically. She holds her hand out towards the spriggan, showing no fear. 

The spriggan understands, and she quells the fire magic burning in her gnarled hands, and then gently grasps Nerivyne’s as best she can.

Nerivyne smiles gently when she feels the wooden grip of her new friend. “I am not going to hurt you.” She says in the spriggan tongue.

“Nerivyne.” Vyeshna says softly. “I’ll admit, I’m impressed.”

“S- so, wait, wait, wait a moment here.” Maevynn shrieks, shaking her head to try and stop blushing. “You just walked up, and tamed a s- spriggan?” Her eyes go wide and she flails her arms around wildly in disbelief.

The burnt spriggan flares her fires up slightly at being considered “tamed”.

“Easy.” Nerivyne coos and holds her arm out in front of her friend. “It is better to view this spriggan as a person, Maevynn, not an animal. I have promised to help cure her of the volcanic corruption she has fallen victim to, and then will return her to her people.”

“Hm, I did hear rumours that an island off the coast is actually teeming with unharmed spriggans. Maybe she could join them?” Marina says.

Nerivyne hears the words of approval inside the spriggan’s mind, who is currently too shy to speak aloud. “That would be… acceptable.” Nerivyne says for her.

“But how are we going to get it there..?” Maevynn asks.

“Well, captain, I suppose your ship is the only one in the area capable of holding a burnt spriggan.” Nerivyne says with a grin.

“N- now hold on a moment, I did not agree to this.” She squeals.

“No? Well, I suppose if you do not allow her aboard your ship, I will have to tell your husband how flustered and attracted to me you were when I dropped my dress…” Nerivyne sighs. “More is the pity, I suppose.”

Viper laughs when she watches Maevynn’s face go blood red. “Well, Maevynn?”

“Urgh, fine! Fine, she’s… welcome… aboard.” Maevynn hisses, stamping off in the direction they were originally heading.

“Good girl, captain…” Nerivyne says using her nymph charm in Maevynn’s head, just to rub it in a bit more.

“FOR SHOR’S SAKE, NERI, JUST GET DRESSED!” She screams, whipping around, her face now noticeably red and sweaty even from a distance, and it only grows when the group bursts out laughing.

And the WIP drawing <3

I also put small references to other media in here, let me know if you spot them. If you have any questions about my OCs after reading this, shoot me an ask!

[deadrlngers]

RENA I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR SKYRIM OCS LIKE YESTERDAY I BEG - talanahhs

VALL. LITERALLY THE LORE RUNS SO DEEP. i have 3 main ocs and they all are idiots with each other. i will give you some basics!!

hiraeth is our last dragonborn. they are a nord who's built like a tank and tall like a tree and acts like a big dog who's not aware of their strength. they wield a big ass sword and love poetry, music, chickens AND dragons..they sadly are very unhappy about the last dragonborn thing bc they dreamed of meeting a dragon their whole life and now that they did they also need to kill them..unfair. hiraeth's father died when they were little and they blame his death on themselves bc "they weren't strong enough to help him" (they were literally just a kid :c), family is incredibly important for them and they value it above anything else. sadly, their mom dies at helgen (sorry hiraeth..) so their younger sister (which attends the college of winterhold) is the only family they have left...until they meet sibylla & dervera <3

sibylla is the first companion to join hiraeth. a breton, ex-dragon priest, she betrayed the dragon lords when the 'alliance' wasn't any longer beneficial to her. died during the dragon war but a strange twist of fate that has to do with molag bal (that now wants her dead) brought her back to 'life' as a vampire. she spent all her life studying and striving to become the most powerful mage and let me tell you, she sure is Powerful. she's a lover of luxury and good food and has a gay little knight/lady dynamic going on with hiraeth . she joins them to stop alduin bc she's not a fan of having a tyranny of the dragons part 2. oh did i mention that it is believed that she had The Sight and could see the future? sibylla claims to have lost the ability, but who knows!! she has lots of secrets..

dervera is a dunmer that had to run away from her homeland to solstheim with her father after said father killed (well deserved) the guy that killed dervera's mom. they live on their own in the middle of nowhere of solstheim after the death of their father as well. she's been very unlucky and ended up thinking that no one to care about=no pain. a plan that went Not that well bc they ended up adopting an orphan as her little brother only for him to die bc of miraak. she meets hiraeth & joins them & sibylla to take revenge on miraak and when everything's said and done, and they have nothing else to live for, hiraeth asks her to go back to skyrim..with them :) also dervera has a super cool prosthetic spriggan arm, i love her

[loominggaia]

¿Cuáles son los efectos del santuario spriggan en otras especies? Pregunta esto por qué vi una publicación que hasta las ninfas se veían afectadas en esta region

(Translated via Google Translate)

"What are the effects of the spriggan sanctuary on other species? Ask this why I saw a publication that even nymphs were affected in this region"

Good question! It's true that the nymphs of Spriggan's Sanctum look unique compared to most other nymphs around Looming Gaia. They are described as looking more "masculine", "dangerous", or "like soldiers". They are bigger, more muscular, usually have thorns or armor-like plates, more vivid colors, etc.

That's because nymphs manifest from nature and take the appearance of whatever is in their local region. A daisy limniad manifests in a daisy patch. A lion-like faunae is born from a lion. A gold oread manifests in a vein of gold ore. And so on...

The flora and fauna of Spriggan's Sanctum looks "alien" compared to other regions. Almost all creatures living in this region, including the plants, are dangerous. As a result, many of the nymphs that manifest here also appear dangerous.

Examples of native creatures are unicorns and greedy greens. As you can see, they are both pretty scary looking...But this kind of appearance is normal for this region. Even the bunnies and flowers look like they will hurt you.

This natural process only affects nymphs, as they are born from the land. However, the local goblin tribes have adopted similar looks for themselves to keep invaders away.

Beneath the skin they look like any other goblin. But they dress themselves in armor-like clothing, modify their bodies with a lot of tattoos, scars, and painful-looking piercings, paint themselves with coal and war paint, and so on...These cultures also prioritize learning hazard spells and combat skills above all else.

Historically, most goblin tribes have been peaceful, prioritizing other things over military. But their peaceful ways eventually led to their worldwide oppression, and the goblins of the Sanctum feared they would be next if they didn't do something drastic.

Spriggan's Sanctum is like this because of Green Witch's influence in its early history. She used her divine powers to forge spriggans and alter the local wilderness, basically forcing plants to evolve in a certain way. These plants became more dangerous, so the animals naturally evolved to be more dangerous to survive, and then the peoples adapted to be more dangerous too.

This started an evolutionary cycle that ramped up over thousands of years, until Spriggan's Sanctum became the scary alien forest it is today.

*

Questions/Comments?

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