SEVERED FORTRESS (INDEFINITE HIATUS)

SEVERED FORTRESS - MASTERPOST

An interactive story ask blog by @fish-arcade (mod fish) and @yuri-organism (mod bird).

1968. A revolutionary new technology is used to sever the minds of 9 mercenaries, separating their memories between their work selves (innies) and their outside selves (outies). Here, within the fortress, they wage war against each other.

Sniper, the newest mercenary, struggles to adjust.

SEVERED FORTRESS HAS BEEN INDEFINITELY PUT ON HIATUS

Reading Guide:

PROLOGUE - Fic

Hi everyone, mod fish here. I'm really sorry for the news but it's been months of radio silence so I figured it was time to be transparent about it.

This project was a lot of fun but we haven't been able to find a way to run it in a way that would be easier for us. In the future I might continue the story as a fic instead of an ask blog, but currently I just don't have the capability to on top of my other previous projects.

Between my health issues worsening, mod bird going to college now, and financial struggles meaning I need to spend more time writing to earn money instead, neither of us are capable of continuing Severed Fortress in its current state. It was a beautiful dream the both of us had, but the load of the project was just too much between the two of us to handle, especially once it got more popular.

If you're interested in my main fic project, you can follow me over at @blu-engiespy. A lot of the portrayals of the mercs here are influenced by how I write the mercs in my fic canon, especially my BLU team. I know it's absolutely not the same, but I just wanted to offer the small amount of content I provide through occasional fic updates if you enjoyed my writing in this project. You can also follow @yuri-organism for more of mod bird's fantastic art.

"A few days? It's been weeks! What happened?"

An Explanation. TL;DR at the bottom if you don't want the extended cut.

Are you a fan of Severed Fortress? Have you wanted a space to talk with like minded fans, share art and theories, see a feed that updates on new posts, and get general Severed Fortress announcements?

-🥀

Hey everyone! Mod Fish here. Thank you all so much for the absolutely incredible amounts of engagement and everything so far! It's been a fantastic first 5 days in and out of the Severed Fortress (and even more real life days). I wouldn't be able to do all this without YOU all my beautiful anons and off anon askers!

So what's up? Usually I would start the next day right away as I have every other time, but here's the thing. We need a few days to take a break, work on some other stuff, not stay awake until 4 am (because I just can't put my phone down), etc.

I absolutely love running this blog but it takes a lot of work, from both me as the chief writer and bird as the chief artist. Mod bird was straight up dreaming about drawing more sprites the other night and I thought man... Maybe we should take a little break.

So for now, stay tuned for the next chapter of Severed Fortress. Asks will remain open though in case anyone has any questions or comments for me or Mod Bird!

ALSO! Absolutely do tag this blog and use #severed fortress on any fanart, memes, analysis posts, etc! We'd love to see it!

there's already a precedent for this, after all. the bionic hand blueprints would be a lovely starting point, no? and there can't be problems of 'clones' since the outtie can't ever get back to a Severed area once they're fired. a lovely positive reinforcement to dangle to counteract the evils of limbo too, to get the people moaning about it off your back too!

"..."

"I don't think telling them we're going to copy their consciousness into unfeeling metal husks will help the situation. They won't even get to really go there, only their copied consciousness would. The original version would still exist."

-💡

-🐐

"Dell-"

"I don't want to hear it."

"They don't understand our research. How important it is. You can't let them get to you."

"What if we're wrong? What if we've created something worse? What if the ends don't justify the means?"

"What was it you told me? About how your father didn't raise you, your grandfather did? Because he was too busy fighting in this war. This gravel war that's gone on forever. That even after, he wasn't the same anymore. Isn't that what you're doing it for? So nobody has to get hurt? Isn't that enough?"

"...Is nobody getting hurt?"

"They're not people Dell, they're constructs. Tools. They're divided portions of memory. They're clumps of neurons stored away in our brains. They don't exist outside of this building. They hold the war so nobody else has to. That's what you wanted. That's what your grandfather wanted."

"..."

"I thought you wanted Radigan to be proud of you. So stop acting like a coward just because someone suggested they're more like people than you think. Even if they were people does it matter? Think about revolutionary this is, just for a second, Dell."

"I ain't acting like a coward. Don't act like you're better than me because you're damn heartless enough to not care whether or not you're torturin' people. You're the one who had enough raw disregard for human life to lose your medical license."

"..."

"Du arschloch! You really think you can live up to Radigan's legacy like this!?"

"...Go home Herbert."

"No, you can't just tell me to leave after you- use that against me. Because what? You're so afraid of the feelings of innies that you'd question this entire project? I didn't know Radigan Conagher raised a fool who'd rather spit on his legacy."

"Get out."

"..."

(Medic in the void. -🐐)

And even then, you did it out of 'necessity' of research. Engineer endured it because of the simple care and empathy of another person.

but thatd be silly television isnt real. thank goodness for that!

"..."