honestly I'm willing to believe Astarion has abs because 1) visible abs have very little to do with strength and he's a vain bitch, 2) he does start the game with a 17 DEX, he's probably muscular in some way, and 3) there is no universe where this man is properly hydrated. like even putting aside him being canonically a vampire whose only source of food for two centuries were rats and other vermin, if someone reminded him to drink water, he'd be like "don't tell me what to do >:€ (<-angry face w. vampire fangs)" and immediately down his eighth cup of black coffee that day. this man has not once drank a cup of water in his life.

hi do you write mysme? if so can you write seven x (fem but it doesnt matter that much) reader who self harms? like since hes watching them from the security camera he realizes that theyre literally cutting themself up and then coming to the chatroom like “heyyyy isnt it such an amazing day??” while still looking so down or something .

sorry if you dont write seven or self harm btww thanks already

i do all three of those yes! sorry this took a few days, i usually try do requests like these instantly due to their topic,

nonnie i hope youre doing okay <3 if you, or anyone else here struggles with self harm, recovery is hard but it's possible! been there, done that, almost out the other side - so i can assure you, its rough, its not fun, but it is possible, and it is worth it, so set small goals, and try <3

- mod kokichi

saeyoung [707] x reader

-> self harming reader [c-tting to be exact]

cws : self harm, knives,

for plot pretend there's a camera in the kitchen,, he said theres one outside? and none in, and he had nothing of saeran breaking in, but also he talks about being able to see you - so either you step out often to wave hi, or maybe there is a little one inside? dunno, again just pretend theres one

you hadn't been thinking really. you usually kept this to the bathroom, hidden and away.

today the knives looked especially... appealing. the soft water drops left from the recent wash that fell down the sleek metal, the sunlight that flicked through the window and hit them at a pretty angle. it looked like a painting, it felt like they were whispering to you, teasing you, taunting you. the blade looked too sharp, just a gentle slice would draw blood.

you lay it against your wrist, you pressed it lightly and took a sharp breath, then hissed in pain once you quickly slid it across. bad idea, the blood was instant, pooling out the new wound. one or two more, and then you shoved it under the tap, trying to recall where the bandages were.

your phone dinged your usual notification sound. you glanced over at it, placed on the countertop. the messenger gave you unclear messages, you guessed it was part of its secrecy, so all you saw was 'One direct message'. but it reminded you of something, it reminded you of why exactly you had recently taken to hiding in the bathroom.

because you weren't at home.

and there were cameras here.

you grabbed your phone, rushed into the small room, and locked the door as though someone might burst through. as though, he might burst through. your fingers shook as you ignored the second message, rushing to cover your cuts before any blood fell to the floor, before the stains stayed as evidence, just in case this time you couldn't remove it. you felt sick, your chest ached, your whole body was shaking now.

you didn't want to check the text. you didn't. you hoped it was a coincidence, that even if it was him, he hadn't seen you.

even though he checked every 0.2 seconds.

the longer you ignored it the more obvious it was. maybe you could play it off as a mistake, you were sure the cameras weren't super clear, right?

your hands shook, you stepped out, pacing around the small apartment as you opened the text, just avoiding the camera.

it was him. your throat felt dry. what would he think of you?

"did you accidentally cut yourself while cooking? ahh, that's the worst! there should be plasters in the cabinet, unless they've been moved."

"???" - that must have been in response to you running.

there was then a gap. a moment of time with nothing. then your name. you could feel the serious tone.

"could you call me, please?" he'd worked it out. or maybe he'd checked the footage. you replied, taking forever because trembling fingers led to typos, and typos seemed suspcious.

"don't worry, seven ! i'm fine haha, i won't distract you from work, you said you had a lot, let's call later! ^^"

"i'm not busy. not when it comes to you." the quick reply made you jump, he was clearly waiting. you began to type out a reply, about how it was all just a silly mistake, but your phone screen was replaced by the calling icon instead. you took a deep breath, you didn't trust yourself for long replies, so you answered with a simple "hi".

"i can't come right now, so i can't keep a full eye on you, nor can i force you to stop. but i know what you were doing, and i'm telling you right now, its not worth it. any sort of satisfaction you think it gives you - it's not worth it."

"seven. i..." there goes your voice cracking. "i wasnt.. doing that."

he only sighed. "i'll see you soon. at the party, or maybe sooner if i get a break. it'll be a few days at most, that's a small goal, right? try stay clean for that long, just those few days, see if you can. and if you feel you might not, then call me, and we can talk about something else. i'm good at multitasking, i can talk to you and work, alright? and even if you don't make it, i just want you to try. that's all."

"i... yeah. okay. i'll try." his voice was soothing, he wasn't disgusted, or angry. just caring. worried?

"promise me?"

"i promise."

"good." he sighed again. "did you deal with it? clean it up?"

"um, yeah." you were crying now, something about having someone both know and be trying to help felt... nice. you didn't feel strong enough to recover, and you suspected it would be hard. in fact, maybe you both knew you would do it again. maybe even in an hour. but somehow... with him there, you felt a soft hope that maybe... just maybe... you might be alright.

"don't cry..! don't cry, you'll be okay. i won't tell the others if you don't want me to, but i could tell yoosung you're not feeling well, and to go visit you? ah... but the location is a secret... maybe you could go visit him? the others are busy, he's likely just gaming"

"thank you, seven, but i think i'm okay."

"are you sure?"

"yeah."

"i can stay on the line if you want? we don't have to speak the whole time, but it would like being in the same room."

"that'd be nice. thank you." you wiped your eyes, smiling at the idea.

"anytime."

(☁️)

HIIII it's 3 am and i'm trying to sleep but brain went brr with ideas n shit and oh well- thing is ; i was wondering if i could make my first request? (smth simple if u want to, no need to be very long or anything + pls don't rush nd take ur time AND don't feel pressured to actually do my request :] ! ) maybe smth ab faceless art streamer! y/n [they/them]?? (if u could add that the reader is like an indie game dev or works for smth like that u'd be sosososososo cool omg) with maybe quackity, tommy, dream, ranboo, niki and/or jack?? idk brain did the storming and its all messy hsdnshhfjsjz (btw! i know it's a lot of CCs so feel free to remove some or do the ones ur only comfy with !!! take care nd stay safe !!! luv ya <3 (/p))

AS SOMEONE WHO LIKES TO GAME DESIGN, CHARACTER, AND PLOT DESIGN YOU BET I CAN MAKE THE READER AND INDIE GAME DEV (and aaaa ty for adding jack!!! I think he's really neat and not enough people acknowledge him :))!!)

Multiple x indie game dev!artist!y/n

pairings: quackity, tommy, dream, ranboo, niki, jack manifold (separate) x indie game dev!artist!y/n

pronouns: they/them

other information on the reader:

. faceless

. knows how to code

. artist

. streams them drawing video game characters

. minor

. makes indie / horror games

form: headcanons

genre: platonic, fluff(??)

warnings: horror games / horror mods, ranboo enderwalk lore in his section

abbreviations: y/n -> your name

quackity

okay let's get the obvious out of the way; definitely going to be the type of person that's like "I'm going to play this game first after you're finished" yk? playfully ofc, n playfully fight with anyone who says the same thing (*cough* Wilbur, tommy, dream *cough*)

he probably wouldn't be on your art streams often – he doesn't really enjoy watching people draw, but he would want to see the finished pics

he would happily be on voice chat with you while you're drawing though!! :D

would be proud to answer any questions you have about character / scene / etc designs!!

"quackity!! so for this character – check your dms for a current picture – would red or purple antenna be better? also, two or four antenna?"

"*gasp* you're asking me?? 🥺" /j

"y'know what, nevermind, chat wh-"

"NO WAIT WAIT"

"so what do you think?"

also, if you do end up sending him the finished pics of the art he will hype you tf up !!!!

would try to get you make joke games – not like actually, it's just an ongoing bit between you two!

if you make a game for him – or give him a sneak peek of a game before anyone else he's going to freak out!! and he won't really know what to say bc putting feelings into words is hard

if y'all ever meet up and you're fine w hugs he's gonna give you a huge hug, hoping that makes up for the lack of words to describe how just,, proud of you he is bc he really really is!!

you're not even in your 20s yet and you can make video games, or help with them?? not to mention how creative you are with the characters and story line??? he's amazed by you

might actually cry /pos if you base a character off of him

like let's say a part of a puzzle is to get a rubber duck and place it into a pond to get the next hint or thing you need – only when he plays it on stream, he doesn't know anything about the game, so you're watching and waiting for him to get there

when he does get there – he finds out the duck has a beanie and has a white ring appear around it that flashes to life before fading out after picking it up, signifying it was the right thing to get

at first he doesn't really notice the ring, "oh! that animation is different than normal" he notes, but mainly focuses on the beanie, comparing it to himself before he glances at chat to see them freaking out over the planet duck reference

then he's just talking about it, shocked of course but flattered, and then you type in chat "you helped me a ton with things I couldn't decide during this game, I couldn't not add you! :)" everyone's just :(((( !!! /pos

overall supportive n proud, maybe a bit loud about games in progress, but just a really nice guy in general :)

tommy

he is ABSOLUTELY loud about your games in progress!! if you don't want something said you have to tell that to him before telling him or else he's going to brag about how cool it is the next time he streams

"chat!! chat, y/n is making this new game and they told me that one of the outfits you can collect for the player is going to be based off me!- right!! that sounds pog!!"

if he ever accidentally let's anything slip on stream that he was supposed to say, everyone who's a fan of you is just like "wow! suddenly! I cannot hear anymore!", sometimes they're like that even if it was okay to say

the just like being surprised :)

as for art streams, he'll try his best to tune in but obviously won't be there all the time! he's usually very active in chat too! likes being on call with you while you do art streams if you let him!

he once convinced you to make a texture pack and a shader (meant for both to be active at the same time), the fans loved it and a lot of them use it more often than the original!!

tommy however, not to much, proud of you bc that must've been a ton of work!! but at some time it slipped his mind that you make indie and horror games; I think we all know he doesn't do well with horror games

so you liking horror and such made the textures look more ominous and just make it look like and area you don't want to be in, and the spook goes up even more with the shader!! it's darker than usual, there's unusual fog, the portals look too dangerous now, so on and so forth yk

so,, tommy didn't use the texture pack for long;;

if you ever raid him after you're done streaming and he has a question, he's literally just gonna ask you on stream

"y/n raid? oh! are they still here?" when you confirm you're in chat, he continues "great! okay I had a question about your new game that's going to be available soon and how to download it-"

fans love how casual you guys are about game information, like you had to teach him how to export a game character he made on the website you usually make yours on (it was for a fun stream) and it was just a simple back and forth but everyone's like omg :((( omg them :((

also if you're the type of person to go insane over tiny details in other games, he will absolutely tease you for it

like you can just be going on and on about how this game had a sentence at the start that had a backhanded meaning by the end and he's just gonna call you a nerd (genuinely thinks is cool how much of the small things you notice in games though)

dream

COMPLAINING ABOUT CODING AND HOW HARD IT IS 🤝🤝

and if you took other coding classes hoping that I'd help with video game coding he'd just listen to you talk about it

"I actually took robotics for a while before because the school didn't have any video game coding classes and I was hoping it'd help either way" "oh?" "it,, it didn't help, it's so hard to code robots and considering how fast I caught onto video game code you think it'd be easier to understand the robot code" "yeah, that sounds reasonable" "NOPE,, WHY R THEY SO DIFFERENT I ALMOST FAILED" "D:"

fanartists like those moments, if one of those talks happen expect a bit of fanart of just dream and you chilling while you talk and he listens, the art always gives off comfy vibes n it's just cute :)

offering him to play a semi-rough draft of the demo so that he could see if it's good or what you needed to do to make it more enticing for the player

power duo fr fr o/

people like comparing y'all to hackers sometimes bc y'all know how to code???

you play into the bit with the fans though and honestly it's so fun !!!

fans: omg,, hackers (affectionate),,,

you next time you stream: hacker voice; I'm in

AND THEY GOT SHOCKED??? LIKE THEY FORGOT YOU CAN SEE THE STUFF THEY POST????

wouldn't be able to watch your art streams for long because he would get side tracked, the streams are just too under stimulating for his brain to focus on, but he'd hang around as long as he could though :)

would be glad to be on call with you while you're doing an art stream – though if he has is game sounds on you may occasionally have to repeat a question that was aimed at him

you're also in his streams when you can :)

also, you like sending donations to communicate rather than chat

one stream dream turned off his donos because you wouldn't stop giving him money 💀

being friends with such a popular creator and being a game creator yourself has it's downs as well

nothing thats too hard to deal with – the most common one is actually kinda funny – some people will slide in your dms acting like they're dream and just got locked out of his account, trying to get you to make them a game

like ??? do they think that dream would mssg you over Twitter or insta?? he has your phone number bro ,😭

also!!! when dream plays through new games you made he complements the small things and complements how hard something must've been to code :)

and I'm ngl, he kinda sucks with every game he plays at first but he's a quick learner so dw :)

would be glad to help if you're having a difficult time choosing between things too! except he'll answer right away without any teasing

"dreammm" "y/nnnn" "for this area should I do like shattered stone walls or mossy stone walls like with vines n stuff?" "depends on the vibe you want, shattered stone would give it a dangerous and uneasy undertone and mossy stone would be more of ominous, if that makes sense?" "oh! okay, thank youuu!!"

ofc if you didn't have a specific vibe or couldn't choose which was better he would just give a straight up answer so you didn't stress out trying to choose one \o/

would absolutely like being a guest in a drawing stream, he isn't the best at art or character design but it's fun to see him try

maybe you both plus some friends do a "drawing Minecraft mobs from memory" stream? ,, with that the thing is; his would mostly be relatively accurate if you could understand wtf he was drawing 😭

dream may or may or have some of your art as his phone homescreen, he loves your style so much :(( /pos

ranboo

first off; he's incredibly impressed!! like!!! you made this game?? this playable game, completely from scratch??? how??

also you may or may not have made a small Minecraft mod for him to tryout on stream,, little gift from you to both chat n ranboo 🤲

its literally all based off his lore,, if you get close to obsidian and crying obsidian fallen down from Undertale starts playing, if you splash water on yourself 1) you get hurt 2) your screen blacks out and when it comes back, your in a different place than before, some things art taken, maybe a few extra things are added

and there's a 50% chance that when you go into your "enderwalk" state (the blackout) you blow something up, so there may or may not be an explosion somewhere nearby, you also have a 20% chance of building something small in you enderwalk state :)

he found it so incredibly cool!!! chat was crying while complementing you while ranboo thanked you and complemented you over n over again

he won't shut up about how cool the mod is for several weeks, maybe even a few months, it's just so cool!!

will absolutely use it as a comeback if you let him; "oh? you got first place? well y/n made me a really really cool mod, so who's the actual winner here?"

will absolutely play every single game you come out with – it doesn't matter if it's his style or not – and he thoroughly enjoys all of the games as well

as for art streams, he will absolutely try to tune in every time he can!! active in chat and donos!!

doesn't really like being in art streams – like in call is fine but actually drawing? not really, he just doesn't love drawing in front of a ton of people

but will join an art stream if you ask

will listen to you rant about whatever, even if he doesn't understand it! like will listen to you go on and on about how well a game set up the atmosphere or maybe talking about how difficult coding is, and he'll converse back with you but won't really understand yk?

"ranboo I just played a really cool game do you wanna hear about it?" "yeah yeah- of course!!" "ok so like, the atmosphere was so well put together- like it was a horror game and I didn't even see the monster but the vibe was so well put together that it was still unnerving!!" "that's awesome! how did the atmosphere get set up the best and when you saw the monster, was it scarier?"

yk what I mean? like engages in convo so you don't feel bad about talking so much, plus shows his interest without the constant "hm?" "cool" etc a lot of people do and even though he does talk more than the acknowledgment sounds many people make he also manages to almost never sidetrack you and when he does it's on accident :)

if your way of learning is teaching then he'll gladly be the person you teach it to if you want! most likely won't use the information therefore his brain won't retain it but that's not on you, and the whole reason is so you can learn, not him, so! ^^

will make sure to take care of yourself, and he has a through way of telling if you have or not bc he's known you for long enough to know that even if you try to hide it a little bit of your tired voice shows so he knows if you've been sleeping like you should

also friends with you on discord, where you have your Spotify attached,, you like listening to music while you work on things that aren't sound related and if it's active later than it should be he's going to confront you

overall wholesome mixed in with a little pain bc both of you are like "ah yes, lore <3" and like to see fans cry /lh

niki

I feel like this is expected but if you need to get extra motivation she would probably be your go-to

she hypes you up but like, in a sweet and quiet kinda way, where as everyone else here would probably be relatively loud ;;

honored to be on an art stream if you invite her :')

and would absolutely watch your art streams when she can :D hypes you up in chat

also compliments, tons of compliments!

might call you a prodigy? bc you're so young but can already make games?? and make income off of them?? and do really good art??? and so much more??? like tell me that's not prodigy energy,

if you make a video game character based off her she might cry,, like in a positive way obviously but like at the same time :(( no don't cry!!

I say might bc it's dependant on how she feels that day yk? like she might just have the almost-cry wobble to her voice or she might actually, if that makes sense?

she genuinely loves your art style!! even if it's pointy and kinda creepy she really likes it!!

yk the "awww (name) :(" /pos she does sometimes? 100% does that with you

there are a few compilations of just "aww y/nnn" on YouTube and all the comments on those videos are just crying over y'all /pos

would be happy to help if you're stuck between some options in a game, but would feel kinda bad bc it's your game, you're supposed to be the one choosing the stuff

assure her that it's okay n stuff n she'll be ok tho !

I can't decide if she would play your games or not

bc on one hand she's a huge supporter of you and your work and would like to experience it first hand

but on the other hand she isn't the best with scry games,,

so maybe she'd do both? maybe she'd react on stream to a playthrough, maybe your playthrough? or maybe she would only play some of your games? I haven't decided so up to you I suppose!

jack manifold

genuinely amazed by your talent and will make it quite clear!!

can and will go on tangents about you on stream if someone brings it up

everyone is so :(( <333 /pos bc of it

will play the games you've made as soon as he can

if there are different games that line up in a story he'll make sure to play them in order :)

people also sometimes compare you two to hackers bc you code a ton and he kinda looks like a hacker

difference here is that both of you play into the bit, it's tons of fun!!

listen, I know he doesn't draw much but I am a firm believer that he will doodle his favorite character(s) from your games after he's done playing them

like after he plays a game of yours then expect a small doodle in your texts :)

you compiled a bunch of these doodles into one picture and made it you phone background and he only found out after y'all met irl and it caught the corner of his eye and he registered "oh hey wait that looks familiar"

he found out while recording the vlog n when editing, the editor was like "hey let's leave this in, it'd be funny if the fans knew right?" ,, the fans were crying for two weeks,, /pos

and speaking of drawings; he would like to be on a drawing stream with you, thinks it's be tons of fun!! :D

and he's usually free to call while your streaming and doesn't mind so if you wanna talk to him while drawing just call :)

and he will watch the streams he can make it to!! he may leave a bit early but he stays for the majority of it

if you make a character based off of him he's going to constantly thank you and brag about how cool you are anywhere he can

"hello manifolders, if you haven't done it already go download (game name)! I'm there!" with a ss of his character from the game and he'll reply to the tweet on his alt to talk more about the game and how much he really liked it :)

another that'll help you were you need it! he'll make it into a joke before anything else, but he'll get to the point

taglist (sorry i forgot to do it on the past two): @cvsmixplant // @l0ver0fj0y // @youngstarfishdinosaur

Hi!! Could you please do “don’t stand up yet” with Claude?? Thank you so much for your hard work and sharing your writing with us all :)

okok listen this isnt angst but it was what came to my head im sorry

also it gets a lil steamy but not NSFW -Mod Bunny

 Prompt: “Don’t Stand Up Yet”

 Word Count: 2,582

  Claude struggled to get to his feet. Where was he? Where were his allies? His friends?

 “Don’t stand up yet. You’re still hurt, seeing as that injury on your leg got infected.” He turned himself towards her, seeing what looked to be a bandit. She had an axe leaning against the wall, and hanging from it was… Failnaught? “Your bow and the clothes you were wearing were pretty fancy. What’s your name?”

 Shit. He needed a good lie, one that wouldn’t make him desirable to the Empire. “Lorenz Hellman Glouscter.” He stated. His friend from school had become allies with Edelgard. He watched her pick up her axe from the ground, leaving Failnaught where it had been.

 “Oh, the Glouscters are allied with Edelgard, right? Then, I can probably sell you to Duke Reigan of the Alliance at high price once you’re healed up. I wanna make an ally of that man.” She began shining her axe, checking the blade.

 “Hmm? Why’s that?” Claude pried. 

 She laughed. “It’s stupid… But I’m from the Alliance. With this war going on, I want a chance to fight in the war for my homeland. Plus, some of our allies in the territory have said the new Duke is pretty attractive, and that’s a sight I’d like to see.” She joked.

 Claude had to stop a blush from rushing to his cheeks. Of course, the girl he was talking to wasn’t exactly unattractive. “I wouldn’t say you’re not too pretty yourself. What do you think of me? Think I could stand against what you’ve heard about Duke Reigan?” 

 She laughed a bit. “Well, I’m sure I’ve seen more of you then I’ll ever see of Duke Reigan from when I put your bandages on. But, from what I have seen,,, I’m sure you could give him a pretty good run for his money.” She smiled. “Anyway, I’m gonna go get a drink before I go to sleep. Want one?”

 “No thanks. I don’t drink.”

-

 Funnily enough, Claude and Y/N became pretty good friends. Sometimes, they would make each other laugh and laugh (Usually, more so when Y/N would drink). She was pretty good at treating his wounds, as well as cooking as he came to find. 

 One night, Claude was having trouble with his back. Maybe it was from the lack of walking, or  being forced to sleep on such a hard surface. He saw Y/N come into their tent and told her, “Hey, I’m in a good amount of pain. Don’t suppose you have anything to help me with that?” He asked.

 She laughed. “You’re getting brave asking me for extra pain management. I really shouldn’t give it to you.” She went over to her bag, which was in a separate corner from the weapons she was keeping. “This is a bit that I keep for myself, but I figure I can share just this once.” She pulled out a glass bottle, which seemed to contain a viscous, clear liquid.

He sat up, watching her walk behind him. She removed his shirt. “Thank you for this. Is that oil?” He asked her. He pulled one leg closer to him, but kept his infected leg stretched out. He heard the clink of the glass bottle opening, and then heard her rubbing her hands together. 

 “It is. We got them while stealing from some Noble’s place. He had a whole assortment of them.” She placed her hands on his shoulders, beginning to massage his shoulders and neck. She felt his breath becoming slow and heated, obviously enjoying the sensation. “Now tell me, how is that leg of yours doing?”

 “It’s getting better, I’m sure all thanks to you. The attention you’ve been giving me has been nothing short of spectacular. You’re even better than most of the nurses back home, even if you aren’t a nurse.” He expressed. He felt her hands travel down his back, and could feel her use more oil whenever she needed, but only ever removing one hand.

 “Thank you for the praise, even if I’m not sure it’s deserved. How are you feeling? Are you doing okay?” She asked.

 “It’s incredible, thank you.” He couldn’t help but moan a bit in pleasure as she hit a certain spot on his back. She smirked, sitting forward so that her head was hovering just next to his ear, and rubbing the spot a bit harder.

 “Does it really feel that good? You should give higher praise if you’re going to moan like that in front of a lady. Oh, and that reminds me.” She began to whisper. “I heard a little rumor from some Northern Tribes, who do trade with a few Northern Pirates from Almyra.”

 He could hear the little noises he was making, not even really paying attention to what she was saying. “Oh, well what did you hear?” He whispered back. What was in that oil?

 “I heard that Claude Von Riegan… Looks quite a bit like Crown Prince Khalid from Almyra. But, you wouldn’t know anything about that… Would you?” She moved herself to his front, straddling his waist and beginning to rub his abs and chest, meanwhile making eye contact. “You, with such lovely tanned skin and brown hair. Your eyes are like jewels as well. And that white Wyvern we found while someone was delivering messages to us this morning…” 

 She pieced it together. She, who had only known him for 2 weeks. She had his wyvern? “I don’t know anything about Claude in that sense, but I doubt he’s from Almyra.” He stated, trying to stay calm as she hung her looseley arms around his neck.

 “I’m no fool, Khalid, as much as I’m sure you wish I were by now.” She watched his smile fade. “Don’t worry, I have no reason to out you, and I have no plans to either. Although, I wish you hadn’t lied by calling yourself the name of some Imperial Dog. If I hadn’t known who you were, I would have killed you for being Lorenz, even if we are in Imperial territory.”

 “It’s been a long time since I’ve been called that name…” He trailed. “Why are you so close to me? I know I’m attractive, but usually pretty girls don’t sit in my lap after giving me massages.” He winked at her, causing her to blush and laugh a little. 

 “I just told you that I know some pretty serious information for you to be teasing me like that.” She looked off. “Do you ever miss your home?”

 “Tons. I know I’ll return someday, but I really do miss it seemingly more every minute. I was taken to Fodlan one day, and forced into a Lord role I’m not quite sure I was really meant for. Now I can’t seem to go home until this war is over.” He explained. “Dimitri and Edelgard, even despite their questionable sanity, are much more cut out for leadership than me.”

 “Okay Master Tactician, then tell me,” She stood up, and Claude almost missed her warmth as she did. “Why did Hilda and her crew send me a correspondence saying they would pay any amount to have you back? They even detailed that even if it may take several weeks, they’ll get as much money as necessary together for them to be allowed to get you back.”

 His eyes widened. “They said that? They wanted me back that much?” He asked.

 “Believe it. Of course, I didn’t charge them a thing. Sent a message today for them to send a team ASAP to get you back to the Alliance free of charge.” She smiled at him, as his mouth hung open a bit. “Don’t be dramatic, I just wanna go back to having my own tent. Maybe if you’re lucky they’ll be here in a week. Maybe.”

 “Thank you…” He said quietly. She seemed to be telling the truth, even if he didn’t expect her to do something like that. She was someone he couldn’t read, and certainly didn’t understand. Was she actually out for herself?  Or was there another motive to everything she did?

 She sat down behind him again, and he heard the clink of her glass bottle once more. “You’re going to keep going?” He asked quietly.

 “Do you want me to stop?” 

 “No.”

-

A week later, his leg was basically fine. He could walk, and even run. He found out Y/N had been the one caring for his wyvern when he couldn’t, and it had taken quite a liking to her. She could scratch his neck and he would flip over for her to be able to rub his belly. This was a trick he had only really done for Claude in the past. 

 He had been caring for his wyvern alone when she came to him. “One of my patrols spotted a pink hair girl with a group headed this way. Is that your crew, or should I get worried?” He stood up to face her. “Those are my people, yeah. I guess it’s time to go then, unless you wanna keep me a little longer?”

 She shook her head, laughing. “Nah, I can’t. Besides, you’re too pretty to be in my business. I wouldn’t feel right keeping you here.” She stated, starting to walk away. He pulled her back, holding her close to him firmly.

 “You really think I’m weaker than you just because I’m pretty? Because if so, you’ve underestimated me.” He held her arms behind her back firmly. Their faces were so close… it was a strange feeling. They seemed to get this close almost too often now, as though it were a habit. Khalid’s natural flirtatiousness always made her wonder whether he was messing with her or not, which bothered her to a great extent.

  “Fine, you’re stronger, can you please let me go now?” She asked. In less than an hour, he’d be gone, and she wouldn’t need to worry about him anymore. Why was she worried to begin with? He was just… Claude Von Riegan. Not Khalid. Not extremely attractive, secretly Almyran, Khalid. He was just a Lord from the Alliance.

 He moved his face closer. She could feel his breath on her mouth. “No.” He stated. Why was he doing this? What was his game? Was it just teasing her? 

“Do you want me to kiss you?” He asked after a considerably long pause.

“...”

“You’re not saying no.” His voice was low, and his grip was strong. She couldn’t think enough to say anything in the moment. There weren’t words that were coming to her in the moment. She could feel herself blushing brightly as she closed her eyes.

 His lips were so soft.

  “Claude!” Someone else called. He quickly disconnected from her, letting her go, but still standing next to her. They saw a girl with green hair, and a boy with green hair run towards Claude. “Claude!!” She exclaimed again, jumping up and hugging him. 

 “Hilda was really worried, and so was I.” Green hair explained. “We spent a while searching the area, but figured something had happened when we couldn’t. We kept sending out scouts, and just when we were about to give up, someone found their leader with your Wyvern. He sent us back a message, and judging by how nice he was, I guess we really lucked out.”

 Hilda looked over at Y/N. “And who are you?” She asked.

 “I’m the person who found Claude’s Wyvern. I’m sure if you’ve been running the alliance, I’m sure you can do the math.” She crossed her arms. This was not the first time people had been expecting a man there to greet them.

 “Oh, apologies. I’m Ignatz, and this is Hilda. Thank you for keeping Claude safe, it’s a debt we may never be able to repay.” He bowed, a bit embarrassed to have misinterpreted her gender right in front of her. She couldn’t make them pay for Claude now, right?

 “Wow, you’re really pretty!��� Hilda said, walking up to Y/N. “How did you end up here, anyway? Do I know you from someplace?”

 “You’re Goneril, right? That’s where I grew up. My dad was from there, my mom did this her whole life. Mom dies and tells these folk I exist, and I get a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel and do as I please. That means with or without the law to guide me.” Y/N explained. “Maybe I went to school with you at some point.”

Hilda nodded. “Ever think you’ll return home?” She asked. “You could come back with us. Fight for the Alliance some? It could be a great thing to, y’know, have another pretty girl around to pick up some of my slack.”

  Y/N smiled, looking at Claude. “No. I think I’ll stay here. Keep the fun going, though, Hilda. There needs to be more pretty girls like us to show these men how to operate.” She gave Hilda a pat on the shoulder, before walking away.

-

 There was no one but him. Not now. He had asked his friends to go with Dimitri once he had given him the Alliance. The next part of the battle was his own to bear, not theirs. 

 It had been so long since he had this quiet. Not good all the time, but he had to admit, his mind kept drifting back to her and her tent. What had she wanted? It wasn’t actually to return home, or she would have. What had he wanted? Why had he gotten so close to her?

 He heard the front door open, and the tap of shoes against the empty floor. Who was there? He turned around, being greeted by a familiar face. “You sure bet a lot on his royal Highness. I can’t imagine myself doing that, but I guess that’s what makes you the master Tactician.”

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” He asked. He ran up in front of her. “Everything has been a mess since you left, but it seems to be clearing up now. Dimitri and Teach will make good leaders, and I-”

 “You get to go back to Almyra. Is that your big plan?” She asked.  

 “You guessed it. I’m going home to start struggling all over again. Nader is going to meet me there to help me. I want to make things better for my people, just like I’m sure Dimitri will do here.”  He smiled as she hung her arms around his neck.

 “Well, I heard that a final battle was happening for Derdriu. I thought I’d make sure you were okay, and it seems like you turned out alright. Of course, now you wanna leave alone…”

 “But?”

 “You think there’s a but?”

 “Am I too hopeful?” He asked, placing his hands on her hips. 

 “No.” She said. “The but is that I’m coming with you. I’m ready for a new adventure, and I always like to say I’ve been everywhere but Almyra. Besides, someone pretty great is going to start something there, and I’d like to see that vision come to pass. Whatever that vision is, anyway.”

 He sighed. “You’re from Fodlan, and I’m not 100% sure that’s gonna fly.” He said. She gave him a look, and he knew she wasn’t taking ‘No’ for an answer. “But, I guess I’ll figure something out.” He got close to her face again, smirking. “Now, about that kiss in the woods…” 

Hi! I was the one who asked about Ring and Arkan’s relationship a while back. I would like to learn a bit about Frost. (Also, congrats on getting 1,000 followers! 🥳)

Hello! :) Thank you.

Frost has an interesting creation story.

She was actually someone else’s OC to start with - her name was Janie. She was the OC to my best friend at the time and she appeared in my murder/mystery website A Dinner Game. The person and I became close friends and began doing side-roleplays together, the most major of which was a cop/killer AU featuring Janie and my character Yasuhiro. Janie had the curse that Ring does - she was reborn over and over again. At the age 10, she regained all of her old lives. She connected deeply to Yasuhiro, who had a connection to the fourth dimension which allowed him to know all possible timelines for himself.

But we also did another roleplay, a nonary game (from the video game 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors). Yasuhiro was the mastermind behind this game, with Janie serving as the main character. The climax of the roleplay featured Janie having to use her rebirth ability to enter a higher dimension, where she found Yasuhiro’s friend Takehiko stuck. She rescued him and returned back to the nonary game. Yasuhiro rejoiced... but was promptly erased from existence due to angering the time god (Nightmare).

Janie was very hurt by this and decided she wanted to find and save him, so we led into our next roleplay: an AB Game (from Virtue’s Last Reward, a sequel to 999). It featured our characters from the first game several years later, as well as some new faces. I don’t remember this very well, but the ultimate end is that Janie managed to find where Yasuhiro was in the multiverse and traveled there to get him out.

Now. I... can’t really say where he was because I try to keep this blog relatively SFW. Around this time I had discovered a pornographic game that, while yes it had porn, it also had a very compelling plot to me and interesting gameplay. So I just kind of ignored the boobs and played it. So anyway, I joked that Yasuhiro was put in the world of that game, because it was funny to imagine and worked for the lore that he was stuck somewhere. So, he was. Janie arrived at the planet, where she learned Yasuhiro had lost his connection to the fourth dimension but had instead gained a level of rebirth memory (though he couldn’t remember more than a few years, instead of everything). However, Yasuhiro was pretty satisfied with his life and didn’t want to leave, so they spent a long, long time playing cat and mouse. On a side note, my friend was asexual and disinterested in sex, so there wasn’t any of that in the roleplay. We played it completely serious. And honestly? Iconic.

So, anyway. Eventually, Janie and Yasuhiro entered a bet. Yasuhiro was frequently a demon in his lives, while Janie was the opposite. They decided that life to switch - Janie would be a demon, while Yasuhiro was not, and they’d see who’d break first. But during this time, Yasuhiro was vulnerable and naive, and the residing king of the area. Not a good combination. So for drama, I had him be attacked and taken prisoner.

Sounding familiar? Yeah, this was the invention of Arkan, Wortel, and that entire saga, haha. Forbidden lore, Wortel was originally from this weird pornographic world. It... probably still kind of reflects but oh well.

Well, anyway, Janie eventually invaded the castle and rescued Yasuhiro, who had suffered greatly. His body was also changed. Janie tried to talk to him and rekindle a form of connection, but flubbed at one point and caused him to get afraid of her and act submissive and scared. Ashamed of that, she fled, and Yasuhiro vanished into the wild. Janie took up an isolationist life in the woods. She found it pretty healing, actually - she was away from all of the stresses that’d plagued her very, very long life and just spent this time relaxing. About 16 or 17 years later though, a young dragon-humanoid (Umeji) found her hideout and befriended her. This eventually led to her and Yasuhiro meeting again, though Yasuhiro still refused to go home, not wanting to abandon his son. Janie’s own daughter from her home had arrived to the planet as well, and was pressuring Janie to leave. Janie ultimately decided to and left Yasuhiro behind, so long as he promised to come home one day.

It was a bitter goodbye, having to leave her friend (and by this point, love) behind, but it happened. Janie woke up in the AB Game and went with everyone to escape. But upon arriving at the exit door, she found Yasuhiro sitting outside of it, holding a baby Umeji in his arms. They left, and spent the rest of their life together.

... Phew! That was a long long ramble, but I promise it adds context. Also I just wanted to write that up.

So, Frost! Her backstory has changed a lot, but she’s an angel of Xefaa. As of current edition: She was originally born into the Terrakin valley a long time ago. A stranger once came to her town though, who brought with them modern technologies. Frost was very interested and ended up making a lot of expeditions to the city, where she became enraptured by all these advancements they didn’t have back home. So, she decided to bring them there. She became a mechanic and nearly single-handedly brought Terrakin valley to a more modern era. Unfortunately, not everyone was as gung-ho about this all, and also a lot of people didn’t understand it. When she was a young adult, a fire broke out that almost destroyed the entire valley. Frost took lead to evacuate people, as well as rising massive earthen walls to contain the fire. This plus her original decision to modernise the valley caught the attention of Xefaa, who asked her to become an angel. It... took a good while to convince her, but she eventually agreed. She now lives in the northern forest as a bit of a cryptid, maintaining a natural garden and keeping an eye on the demonic activity in the Meletta government. When Arkan seizes power, Frost rescues Ring and leaves him to trusted people to take care of (though he runs away). Umeji eventually finds her in his many expeditions and she teaches him magic.

“That doesn’t sound anything like what you just said.” Because her backstory has changed a lot. She used to have a partial rebirth curse like Yasuhiro had, and was tasked by Nightmare to keep an eye on Ring. Janie as her original self was replaced with my character Misa Takeda - they had similar appearances and personalities, and when my friend and I stopped being friends, I needed to replace Janie. Frost by this point was too integrated into Ring’s story for me to just drop her, so I didn’t just remove her. Misa’s backstory is being part of a traditional mountain village, where Yasuhiro sought her out and showed her city life. She fell in love with it and moved out, working for him instead. Though in original drafts of the story, she was trying to bring modern life to the village.

Frost is now sort of an amalgamation of Misa, Janie, those roleplays, and my own tweaking to fit her with current Wortel lore.

By the way, the name Frost comes from the nonary game. Janie had the number 6, so she chose her nickname to be Frost, because snowflakes have 6 points. Yasuhiro was number 5. He chose the nickname Ring, because of the 5 Olympic rings. Though my friend had thought it was because of “5 golden rings”... Actually, it was also just short of ringmaster and the Olympic rings thing was a panic-induced explanation Yasuhiro gave >:3 Before I decided to fully axe Janie, I called her Frost so it felt less like stealing. Also because I was putting Ring and Frost into a mod of the original game that inspired Wortel (this was dropped, sorry if you wanted to play it).

That was probably nothing of what you asked, but I hope you enjoyed the lore anyway.

Sunrise

Shin is sitting up on the roof, sketching the sky, it was kinda cold up there but his inspiration was speaking

There is the sound of footsteps. “Oh, is someone here already?”

He seems to be sketching something

She sits down. “What are you drawing?”

“I was sketching out a shirt for the line i’m going to release,”

“Oh, nice.” She said. “Why are you here so early?”

“I just love the colours of the sky this early on, that and it’s just kinda nice up here,”

“Oh.” She said, playing with her jacket. “Okay, then.”

“So how are you?..”

“Fine, considering everything. Kinda homesick, but I have my friends and this is the best I could ask for.”

“Hm,” He sketches in his notebook

She looks at her feet before taking out her knife and starting to play with it between her hands.

“do you always have a knife on you?”

“Yes.” She simply said. “Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering, i always see you with one,”

“Usualy I keep it under my skirt, but yeah. It’s always in my reach.”

“Speaking of that I love your skirt, goes well with the colour palet you have,”

“I just tried to pick things that looked like my sister’s clothes at first… And then found out I like the colors.”

“It suits you well, goes well with your hair, If you want I could try to make something for you?”

“I’d love it!” She said, spinning around. “I don’t have much clothes here. I’d love if you made me something!”

“Cool!. Is there anything you need?”

“I won’t wear short sleeved shirts or pants, but I’m pretty open to anything besides it.”

“Ok!” he looks around in a cloth kit he brought up, taking various red and black fabrics out and gets to work

Sora watches him work, humming while she does it, a song that won’t be written to another decade at least

Shin finishes it, adding a small bit of flair. It is a black overcoat, looks like leather with a zipper with what appears to be a little ceramic blood drop as the zipper. the inside a nice red silk. also in said jacket is a sewn in knife sheath “Thank you!” She hugged him, removing her regular jacket to put the new overcoat

“You like it?” he feels proud

“I love it a lot!” She smiled. “It feeds my inner goth.”

a cute giggle snort comes out of his mouth, him quickly becoming embarrassed at his laugh

“What?” She asked. “Is something wrong?”

“My laugh…” he’s embarrassed

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Did you listen to it?”

“Yes? It was cute?”

“No its not… its weird…”

“I don’t think so.” Sora said. “But, of course, my standart of weird is probably very different from yours.”

“I guess…”

He checks his phone, glaring at the screen as he sighs at the screen quickly panicking a bit after “Oh…. god fuck…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ohshitohshit oh shit”

“Are you okay?”

“Fuck… My dad… he’s going to stop paying for hope’s peak…”

“Wait, what? Why?”

“Something about teachers, and the over all attacks… FUCK”

“Which teachers? And do you want to stab your dad?” She sounds completely serious.

“ He just said the teacher… and yes…"Shit is this cause i was sneaking around at the house? course that fucking ass clown”

“Ask him to expend about the problems before we go to drastic measures.” She offered. “Do you not stay in the boarding school?”

“I stay in the boarding school…”  he quickly texts, back at lightning speed. “He says that i have to get into his fucking banking shit… I don’t want to… the fucking shitwad…”

He texts back stating his displeasure and that he refuses

“I… think this is the point in the dialogue where I remind you I am thirteen and I think my parents would prefer me to not hear that many curses in one sentence.” She half joked, trying to light the mod.

“I guess, sorry… Of course, banking banking, banking, does he only think about money?” he lets out an exasperated sigh “I knew he was up to no good before this but really? cutting off funds for the school trying to suck me back home to be his puppet?”

Sora grabs his hand, pressing it. “It will be okay.”

“Yeah… Yeah… I have my own money, maybe I can use some of my own funds to pay?”

“Is it for your studies, or actually funding for the school?”

“For my studies, I think… he wasn’t a huge funder, more allowing me to actually be at the school”

“Your dad sound awful.” She said.

“You don’t say?” he says sarcastically “I knew he was awful for a while… That fucking man… is evil,”

“Hmmm?” She asked.  "And… I guess it just feels weird to me?“

"Of course you do, you have parents that are decent  human beings… I… Have … you heard of a Steering committee?”

Sora nods her head. She heard a lot on the steering committee in her readings, and then almost everyone she asked had some… words of choice about them. Her mother actually cursed in front of her, which was rare.

“I Think… My dad was a member”

She covers her mouth. “Oh.”

“I was sneaking around his files during break… i found multiple things about talent… other members and hope’s peak… And the Kamakura Project…”

“Oh.” She said. “Those were fucked up, no?”

“Yep… Something about various experiments… trying to Inject talent into people…”

“There was a thing about subjects…”

“Eight subjects, almost nine.”

he pulls out his phone, he took pics…

“I was able to take a thing on possible subjects beforehand… i didn’t see the page because he was coming back, but i have the pic…”

“I’m pretty sure I read most of them.” Sora rejected him with her hand. “I was… what, seven? And had nightmares for a while.”

“Wait, subjects? I know on only one.”

“There was one paper… i haven’t looked at it, but… on the top it said it was a list of possible future subjects…”

he pulls out the pic of the document… “I… Don’t know if i want to see this”

“I don’t think you do.” She said. “I don’t think I do.”

“I mean, my dad is a fucking war criminal… oh god…”

he opens the picture…

“Don’t do it.” She begs. “It won’t do anything.”

He glances over the names… Shichiro Hayashi…Haruto Tsutada… Masayo Abe…

Shin reads the next one… And drops his phone in disgust, eyes almost bulging from his head “The Fucker…”

“He signed you as a subject.” She guessed. “You were what, 13?”

“He signed me up”

“You should talk to Nagisa about this.”

“I… I how? How do i fucking bring that up” he says, feeling a mix of rage and sadness “Hey my fucking dad signed me up to be a fucking human experiment?”

“I think it’d have better results then you might think, with Nagisa.”

“I just…” he felt like he was going to puke

Sora isn’t good with emotions of anyone but very few people, but she hugs Shin anyways.

“Oh god…”

“It’s okay.”

He just kinda sits there and accepts the hug, silent

“It’s okay. He didn’t get a chance, and now you are here and have something you can live from”

“Yeah… It will be okay.”

“I can’t promise things, but it will be okay.”

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD Akaso was born a late-generation Novahuman in the depths of Neo-Tokyo, a city gripped by the Yakuza - neither an all bad, nor an all good situation. Though they were, well, the Yakuza, they and their subordinated gangs kept the city running (mostly) quietly laundering funds into their own pockets. He was born into a small, albeit successful, biotech startup - simply named Akaso Industries - and as quite a few, he dropped out of school after he was no longer legally required to attend, continuing his education at home. Victor, his father, inadvertently drilled biotech into his son through exposure and interest, as body modification was picking up in popularity in the undercities at the time. He funneled all available funds towards improving products and furthering the development of his magnum opus, a possible solution to the drawbacks of classical body modification. EXCERPTS FROM THE DIARY OF AN INVENTOR'S SON Stardate 4522 April 16th Upped the caffeine dosage in my stimulant mix today. Dad said I'd have to pay for my own ZeroTolerance if I kept drinking the usual stimulant mix this often. I don't think he realizes he doesn't pay me for helping at the clinic. April 21st New customer came in, grown-ass man and didn't even have a body mod manager yet. Who goes for the better part of three decades without a single mod? Also checked the price on ZeroTolerance biomods. A kid could do better for less. Hell, I can do better for less. There is an .omt file attached, detailing a cobbled together but functional biomod with the same function as the expensive ZeroTolerance brand. By the trash code, it seems to be based on a hair regrowth modification. April 29th Asked dad to let me use the bioforge after we closed down for the day. Really makes you think just how primitive the tech was back when they designed these, fuckin' thing doesn't even have a VR API. At least the command prompts make sense. May 8th Why and how does modifying brain receptors change hair colour? It's a nice shade of pink though. May 13th I'll never get tired of the surprised looks first-timers give me when I start screwing in the supports for their chrome. As if we're some sort of ass-backwards ghetto clinic without proper pain suppressors. May 20th Dad's working on his "Big Project" again. Hasn't left the lab for almost three days. May 22nd Three arms, a BMM, and a re-engineering. Thank the Void we're allowed to put the kids down under for most of the process. Looked in dad's project files once the customers left. That much original code and he calls it "Project Shardlord", really? Like some cheesy newretropunk movie. April 16th Upped the caffeine dosage in my stimulant mix today. Dad said I'd have to pay for my own ZeroTolerance if I kept drinking the usual stimulant mix this often. I don't think he realizes he doesn't pay me for helping at the clinic. April 21st New customer came in, grown-ass man and didn't even have a body mod manager yet. Who goes for the better part of three decades without a single mod? Also checked the price on ZeroTolerance biomods. A kid could do better for less. Hell, I can do better for less. There is an .omt file attached, detailing a cobbled together but functional biomod with the same function as the expensive ZeroTolerance brand. By the trash code, it seems to be based on a hair regrowth modification. April 29th Asked dad to let me use the bioforge after we closed down for the day. Really makes you think just how primitive the tech was back when they designed these, fuckin' thing doesn't even have a VR API. At least the command prompts make sense. May 8th Why and how does modifying brain receptors change hair colour? It's a nice shade of pink though. May 13th I'll never get tired of the surprised looks first-timers give me when I start screwing in the supports for their chrome. Like we're some sort of ass-backwards ghetto clinic without proper pain suppressor staples. May 20th Dad's working on his "Big Project" again. Hasn't left the lab for almost three days. May 22nd Three arms, a BMM, and a re-engineering. Thank the Void we're allowed to put the kids down under for most of the process. Looked in dad's project files once the customers left. That much original code and he calls it "Project Shardlord", really? Like some cheesy newretropunk movie. Jun 6th Another new batch of mods, took me almost three hours to sort the templates and load 'em up. Turns out the horn growth capsule was the prototype, not the "Bombardier". Some sort of succubus/incubus themed cosmetic mod line, figures. Alright, let's see what the modpack has: - Black sclera is easy enough, so is changing the pupil shape and iris colour. - Bit iffy to get the shape right every time, but that's been worked out to perfection decades ago. - The horns should work fine, though the shape variations across pairs are a bit too much for my liking. - Pointy ears are child's play, considering you can do it without any actual genetic mods. Bit out of place to gender such a simple modpack, but I suppose including a temporary enhancement to the sexual traits of any given individual is difficult without a masculine/feminine distinction. And the "bonus features", don't even get me started. They must've dug into the scrap fields to get a template that still supports Pain Inversion. Pain Inversion was a technique which originated before the flight from Terra used in live genetic modification to "Invert" the immense full-body pain associated with such procedures into mind-numbing euphoric pleasure. It quickly fell out of use outside seedy mod junkie brothels once less potentially sexual forms of pain mitigation came into existence, and was never widely used by the inhabitants of Novahome in the first place thanks to their altered and considerably lesser natural perception of pain. Jun 10th New customer, kinda mousy looking. Had mostly covering clothes, though kinda suggestive. Long hoodie. Short shorts. Stockings with a garterbelt. Boots looked like sneakers. Reminded me of myself some three years back, actually. Bought the "Succubus" female pattern modpack. Asked me to hold off on the pain suppressants, apparently he trusted the mod to work. I mean, it did. But I'm the one that gets weird looks when a customer makes noise during a procedure. The mod turned out great, too. The guy went from kinda androgynous to perfectly passable, not to mention how well the horns turned out. Bent back and kinda to the side, textures like cracked stone. Jun 19th A really nice old man came in today, had no significant mods beyond the standard health upkeep stuff. Gave me the heartiest laugh I've ever heard and asked me to give him arms that can crush the turret of a tank. Had the proper licenses and power limiters installed so I didn't really have a reason to refuse. Lemme tell ya, hydraulic fluid will take your eye out if you overpressurize it. I'll have to hook up a cybernetic for the time being before I can tailor an ocular regeneration mod for my genetics. Jun 24th Looked in the demon-themed modpack at the bioforge. Most of the code was unencrypted, if messy. Apparently the eye modification is based on exactly what I need, so it should theoretically fix my eye if I fiddle with the code a bit. Jun 26th Pain Inversion is uh... Let's just say I get why the guy made noise. I think I must've activated trash code from the male variant because it gave me abs and toned most of my musculature, not that I'm complaining. Having control over my pupils is kinda fun too, not a proper wetware replacement but it's a nice bonus. Oh, one last thing. I like my horns. GENETIC DEFECTS Due to simple bad luck, Akaso was stricken with one of the few genetic defects Novahumans at the time were still yet to root out and cure. A degenerative skin disease which caused the skin to dry, crack, weep and bleed in places of movement such as under the neck, elbows, knees, et cetera. Akaso fell into depression as a result, becoming reclusive and antisocial. Around this time, Victor had left Akaso to run the clinic by himself while the man sunk all of his time and resources into finishing his Magnum Opus. This is where our story continues, and the Lord of Shards is born. EXCERPTS FROM THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN INVENTOR Thanks for buying - or as is likely the case - 'legally obtaining' my stupid little ego trip. In these voice logs I'm going to remove any semblance of mysticism or legend surrounding my upbringing, early life, and how I came to be, well, myself. My childhood was... Surprisingly normal and rather dull, actually. I did all the things a kid does, I slacked off from doing chores, I messed around with temporary 'mods, played games for days at a time, crawled around in the maintenance tunnels lookin' for shiny trinkets. Disappointing, ain't it? No tragic backstory, no motivation for revenge. It must go wrong somewhere right? There's gotta be a reason why I went through with imprinting the alpha mechafract swarm. 'Course there is, but that'll come a bit later. So teens, puberty, first permanent 'mods. Fun times. I don't think I've gotta go into details here, everyone knows the story behind how I look. Worked at the first - and at the time only - of our clinics to make my keep, that's when I learned to work a bioforge. Victor would always buy a replication license for some brand-name 'mod, and we'd sit over it for weeks filing in the scrambled code and improving the design. That's right, the big bad 'Akaso Industries' started out making off-brand gene mods of nebulous legality. We needed the money, Victor sunk everything into his 'big project'. His Magnum Opus. That revolutionary piece of tech that you, the listener, and everyone around you has coursing through your veins and keeping your body from degenerating like a Homo Sapiens would. Those precious, precious nanomachines that you have instead of bone marrow. Wanna know how they came to be? Well, there was this genetic defect, back in the day. It was a rare degenerative disease that affected a small portion of the population, and caused the immune system to react to benign materials and substances as if they were serious threats. An 'allergy' if you will. If you got it, your skin would start drying up in spots, reddening, and itching. Then it'd start cracking, weeping and bleeding. Even basic movement would cause discomfort, and the worst part? It was the only of its kind that slipped through genetic re-engineering. It always emerged again no matter how thoroughly they went through your genetics to look for defects. The only way to get rid of it was a complete bone marrow transplant, and without nanos... Even with our tech it was excessively expensive and took long to recover from. Even worse, it could cause permanent changes in body chemistry and personality. So as I'm sure you already know, I got it. When I was about seventeen, I got hit with a pretty severe case and my mental health kinda went downhill from there. Depression, anxiety, insecurity, what have you. I'd wear mostly covering clothes to hide my scarred, cracked skin. Victor started abusing stimulants, never slept, spent weeks in the bioforge. One day he told me not to open up and come see him in the back, that he had something to help with my skin. I don't think I've ever enjoyed pain more than that day, y'know. Nerve endings went first, then my brain. 'Ship of Theseus' sort of deal, to keep me going throughout the conversion even when my organs got tossed or replaced. Watching your own bone marrow getting mulched by ravenous nanomachines and rebuilt at the same time, and being able to feel it happening? It's an experience, let me tell you that. He died a few months later from a heart attack due to one of his veins getting plugged up with inert nanos, and that combined with his stimulant abuse caused him to just kinda drop dead. The marrow in one of his bones was partly converted. Mad bastard tested the nanos on himself until they worked. So there you have it, you wanted my 'dark secret'. I got an immunological defect and my father saw it as a sign I'm meant to carry on and finish his Magnum Opus. OVERLORD OF SHARDS Akaso would go on to slay several Subdimensionals through heavy firepower, dissect them, and frankenstein together a just-functional D-Coupler Core from the remains of organic cores, those of mere Subdimensionals being fragile and shattering upon their host's death. He used it as a power source for his mechafract at first, however lacked the technology and experience to effectively control it. Despite the immense power granted by the D-Coupler, Akaso still nearly killed himself using it to slay the eponymous Hyperbeast. It overloaded his body to the point where his legs and entire upper torso burned out, crippling him for several months. Thus began the work on the Overlord Driver to help tame the power of the D-Coupler. There is not much to say here, the project was largely successful. Over the course of several years, the Akaso Industries Headquarters would be proverbially scuttled and all hardware moved to a new site located in the scrap fields on Novahome, the property being dirt-cheap to the point where he bought out almost half of the continent upon which the scrap fields were located, and raw material as well as valuable tech being more than bountiful. Now, Akaso Industries exists in the form of an undisclosed, heavily fortified facility deep in the scrap fields, its existence only proven to the outside world by the massive amount of proxy-shielded network traffic going in and out of the fields. THE FIRST HYPERBEAST AFTER TWO DECADES After a long twenty-three years, Akaso was alerted to the presence of a growing subdimensional instability - the telltale sign that a Hyperbeast has appeared somewhere and is wreaking havoc. He used it as an opportunity to test his newfound abilities,  tracking it down with little to no effort and fought the beast in hand to hand combat. Despite its additional pair of limbs and unfathomable strength for its size, Akaso pushed his then still developing body to its limits and crippled the beast, ruining its joints by bending them backwards.   The still-living, but powerless reality warper was then taken to Akaso Industries HQ, and placed within a containment tank, perpetually being exposed to just enough Void energy that it survived in a state between life and death. Data obtained from the body of this Hyperbeast served as the building blocks upon which the synthetic D-Coupler cores were built, and made way for the development of Type-03. THE TYPE-03 PROJECT: DESIGNATION HYPERBEAST Aside from the manufacturing portions required to improve upon the previous design and its performance while separating the core and blade physically, a significant alteration to the Overlord System was discovered during maintenance. It was found that Akaso, in his attempt to take control over the Overlord Driver, had the still-living Hyperbeast Core installed in place of his heart instead of the manufactured duplicate, which was instead placed into the Overlord Driver. This way, the Overlord Driver can not function without Akaso nearby as the link only works over a short distance, while Akaso suffers no negative consequences as he appears to be capable of utilizing the Hyperbeast Core just as easily as a manufactured version. Of course thanks to this, the aggressive evolutionary tendencies of Mechafract have caused him to develop an exceedingly effective Voidlink interface, removing the necessity for creating one from scratch. It was also discovered that the Hyperbeast in question - the Alkahest Napalm beast, in fact - had overtaken the base programming of his Mechafract, and was the root cause for the existence of Type ZERO. Speaking of which, the original strain has gone extinct as a result of the fact that Akaso is the primary Body Modification Manager firmware update server, and the Hyperbeast strain has caused a significant increase in self-defense cases. The improvements and changes to the functionality of the Overlord Driver that stemmed from the Type-03 Project had rendered Vermillion type One obsolete, granting an end to the era of transformation-reliant heroics THE TRIUMVIRATE [The Faith's Crusade] After the Composite Titan fell, the more powerful of the Subdimensionals set a millennium plan in motion. While their children, who worshipped them as Gods, became little more than pests, the Old Ones sought out a new civilization. One impressionable enough to influence, untouched by the light of the Void. They would serve as the Old Ones' bulwark against the Novahumans. And so it is, that Novahome came under attack, in the name of "The Great Ones". Great ships of flowing grace, ebony and gold. The planet's Void Energy saturated atmosphere not a threat in and of itself, the Holy ships of The Faith pushed onward through the solar system, all the while being watched by the innumerable mining drones and solar high orbit satellites that the Novahumans filled their new home with over millennia. Down on the planet, in the megacities of Novahome, almost a trillion people waited with bated breath. Some fell into desperation, while others made their way to the starports, launching spaceships from mining corvettes to superheavy fighter carriers, in the case of PMCs. But alas, among the millions of ships, many were lost in the fight, with many more to follow, all the while the black ships of the Faith showed no signs of major damage. Not a single one. The Novahumans simply weren't prepared for large scale space combat against a normal ememy - in all their years, they only ever needed to combat the Subdimensionals, who fell to Void weaponry with ease, and while the very fires of creation raged against the black ships' hulls, they failed to penetrate. Thus, within the headquarters of Novahome's three largest megacorporations, three of the planet's most powerful people did things they wished they'd never have to do. The CEOs of Magnatron Mechanics, Neptune Solutions, and Akaso Industries collectively made their way to the deepest depths of their corporation's HQ, and spoke their piece of the key to a lock they all hoped would never have to be opened. "Thou who art the innocent rage." "The innocent fury." "The innocent sword." Three gigantic buildings on different sides of the planet shuddered with an unworldly energy as hidden Dimensional Couplers within their bowels spewed forth an unending stream of energy, undocumented shafts filled with prismatic crystal like blood within veins, and the three spoke once more, in perfect unison. "Become one with our souls, one with our bodies, and let us walk the path of destruction together." The image of three superstructures, each the size of an Old Earth city, leaving the atmosphere of Novahome with ease and grace left even those of The Faith perplexed. Their surprise became even greater when the three met in one spot above the planet. Metal flowed like water, geysers of the very forces of creation erupted from the merging of three titans into one. The resultant monstrosity shuddered and crackled with titanic arcs of golden lightning as part organic, part synthetic limbs emerged from the central mass accompanied by a skull-like head, the monstrosity decoupling a city's worth of material alone to reveal a matching torso. The remaining ships of Novahome's impromptu planetary defense force, as well as those of the Faith, received an overwhelming IFF signal the moment the giant humanoid finished forming. Novahome Defense Initiative First Regiment Absolute Decisive Supergigantic Humanoid Weapon for the Preservation of Humankind TRIUMVIRATE [The Day a Novahuman Cried] ”Triumvirate.” The gigantic machine ripples and shifts, even as it is still in the vacuum of space. Uncounted trillions of drones flow through and across its surface, repairing damage and improving its design even as the Triumvirate heads into battle. Gigatonnes of synthetic muscle and crystalline bone surge with untold energies, and the titan crosses its middle set of arms. ”I thought - I *hoped - that it would never see the light of day. That it would never have to be brought to bear.” As the Faith's holy ships draw nearer and nearer to Novahome, its now sole protector fires many thousands of dreadnought-class graviton thrusters embedded within its mostly mechanical legs and lower back. It shudders with the sudden surge of velocity, discharges of golden lightning dancing across Triumvirate's skinless musculature. ”I thought - hoped - that if it were, it would be against another Composite Titan, not the first nonhuman civilization we encounter.” The first wave approaches, and in rows, they all stop in their tracks. Triumvirate grabs hold of the Faith's flagship with its upper pair of arms, a miasma of pitch black ichor flooding across its golden surface. The fluid emerges from the creases in Triumvirate's musculature, flooding towards the flagship's weaponry and any other openings in its ull. Within minutes, the Faith's “worldkiller” cannon is plugged from the muzzle to the firing chamber, and the ship's interior is being flooded with hyperaggressive, perpetually evolving black goo. ”But all of that is in the past. The Triumvirate is assembled, and its auxiliary pilots are dead. Consumed by their thirst for power, they did not heed my warnings, or my pleas, and sought to become as I have become.” The destroyers and fighter esorts are merely swatted away with a few waves of the titan's lower arms, and those that get through are inexplicably struck by runaway arcs of golden lightning - vaporizing in a flash of golden light. ”It is our nature as the descendants of mankind that we pay for everything. Everything demands a sacrifice of some sort. Even I, the oh so mighty “Lord of Shards”, had to pay the toll. There is nobody back on Novahome waiting for the person behind this visage, only for the political and financial power my status brings.” Within the God-Machine, three Dimensional Couplers reside. Three gates into the infinity of the Void. Neither the first, the second, nor the third ever left Akaso Industries. In their pursuit of power, the first and third most powerful men on all of Novahome rerouted the output of the Dimensional Circuits sent to them as a part of the Novahome Defense Initiative by Akaso to flow through them before routing into the machine. ”I am almost fifty cycles of age, and I have conversed with people who remember making Landfall nearly two millennia ago. It irritated me when they treated me like little more than a child, but they were right.” The moment these men, these legends of industry, spoke the ancient words they had no understanding of, they had signed their death warrants. And now, all that remained was a veritable living nation unto itself, piloting the most destructive weapon in the history of mankind since her ancestors made landfall. ”I was hungry for power, just as the two crystallized corpses I have for copilots were. I thought myself larger than life. I suppose age does bring some wisdom, after all. Sitting in front of a veritable God, imprisoned and used for the betterment of mankind like some sort of artifact, and realizing that I had entire years just… Missing from my memory, how few actually memorable things I've done myself, something inside changed.” Triumvirate's torso rips open - its pectorals simply detaching to reveal millions upon millions of crimson, crystalline spikes, each the size of an ICBM missile. ”Should the weak and unfortunate come under oppression, I will lift even the sky itself to make this world a better place. If the weight of the sky becomes much to bear, I shall bring forth wider shoulders from the fires of creation that rage within me.” The first crystal is let loose, and thousands more follow. All six of Triumvirate's arms are shredded to bits as it holds the Faith's war flotilla at bay, both by their weapons and its own. ”And should the very stars in the sky seek to destroy our paradise… I'll cleave the heavens in twain.” In the end, all that is left is the remnants of a civilization, enslaved by the Old Ones and mobilized in its entirety into a crusade, and an armless, motionless machine-God, slowly drifting into Novahome's atmosphere and charring from re-entry. Upon the beaches of Novahome's dedicated nature preserve, a veritable nation unto itself lays. A being bearing the power to destroy cities with a word, a demonic creature with the power to destroy and create in equal measure. She stares into the sunset, and sheds tears of black ichor. [And At Last, I am Here] The Triumvirate has fulfilled its purpose, and now lays inert and shattered upon the beaches of Nova Eden - Novahome’s dedicated nature preserve. Its gigantic muscles charred and singed by the rigors of atmospheric re-entry, endoskeleton bent and broken, energy conduits burnt out to nothing. Its secondary cockpits, burst with volatile crystal, the primary abandoned by its pilot long ago. The veritable God-machine lays still, its sorry state a testament to a flaw so tantamount to the human condition, even millennia of self-modification did nothing to alleviate it. Mere minutes after Triumvirate begun its descent into Novahome’s atmosphere, thousands of opportunistic “Analysis and Retrieval” firms scrambled to analyze its flight path and determine where it will land, so that they may claim the wreckage before anyone else does. The vultures had an unflinching certainty of all its pilots being deceased, especially considering what it took to destroy the Faith’s invasion flotilla. According to all scientific knowledge pertaining to the Void, the sheer volume of Void energy the Triumvirate generated and solidified into stable crystal was impossible to survive. Even for one such as the Triumvirate’s main pilot, the load of creating 4,030,020 crystalline missiles would cause the aforementioned to, at best, turn to so much as shiny crystal sand. At least, according to available information. In reality, it took four cycles for the Triumvirate’s carcass to be finally discovered, and even then just because Akaso willingly shut down the machine’s signal scrambler systems. Indeed, despite its sorry state, the majority of supplementary systems were fully functional. The power source was still within conduitless power transfer range, after all. How did Akaso spend those four years, you wonder? So did the recovery crew when they finally arrived at the site. It was buzzing with life, but not of the organic kind. Constructs of stone, metal, even wood, all with a glowing crimson crystal within. In the epicenter of it all, Triumvirate - or what remained of it. The endoskeleton had been stripped clean of musculature, and its internal systems extensively modified into part living quarters, part what appeared to be a research and construction facility. As the recovery team approaches, Akaso's constructs freeze in place, before swarming the team and surrounding them. The horned Novahuman soon emerges from the depths of Triumvirate's corpse, jacketless. ”Took you long enough. Pack up and leave, this place is property of-” She sighs, looking at something just behind her. Akaso's voice shifts, losing its signature edge as she speaks again, almost emotional in tone. ”This is my home now.” Following the invasion of the Faith and the ensuing usage of the Absolute Decisive Supergiganti Humanoid Weapon for the Preservation of Mankind, otherwise known as Triumvirate, Akaso had come to a revelation. He would elect to remain at the landing site of what remained of the combined headquarters of the three largest megacorporations on Novahome, and build a fortress of his own design around it. Along his many constructs, Novahumans seek the elusive Triumvirate to gaze upon the sleeping god-machine and learn from the reclusive creator of modern body modification.