(Well, this was incredibly well timed given the announcement of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 just last night, I got this picture a few hours before the stream).

Art and story by  Redflare500

Zeydaan excitedly threw open the package they had received in the mail this morning, straight from their friend Sammy it was a brand new invention 'cosplay companion! A guide to REALLY get into character' a special device she had built to help her friends experience what it would be like to be characters from their favourite series.

They put the device down by their side and began checking the box for instructions, but rifling through the box they couldn't seem to find any. Shrugging, they picked the silver device up and it let out a little BZZT! sound and a puff of smoke. They yelped and dropped it from the shock, was it supposed to do that? They barely pressed a button, surely it wouldn't break so easily...

'What on earth?' Zeydaan muttered, prodding it with their foot, nothing happening further from it.'Piece 'a junk, what does Sammeh think tryin' to push this junk on mee' they exclaimed, their accent seemingly to slip suddenly to a rather more welsh sounding one.

'Iv'e a mind to let 'er know this thing doesn't work a bit! What's it supposed to do any'how' they rubbed their chin, some hair starting to receed and fall as they did so. Meanwhile their hair slowly began to change shape and style, becoming paler, their body begining to shrink ever so slightly, and their more furry-features becoming more humanoid, ears becoming more cat-like atop their head.

Though not a massive change, a hundred tiny alterations were happening to Zeydaan's body all over. Their fur and skin were taking on traits not unlike Nia from their favourite game, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but the change was definitely slow enough to not alert the now much more agressive tomboy-ish persona they seemed to be unsurfacing.

They huffed, muttering in welsh as they stormed off to grab their phone and call Sammy to complain, meanwhile tiny bits of a costume grew from the tufts of receeding fur. Who knows how much it would continue over the day, and if Zeydaa-nia would begin to notice their changes...

---

Some time had passed, that fateful day had some huge implications on the now semi-transformed lupine/catgirl. Over the days since they'd still not received any messages back from her around the 'cosplay companion' or how to stop or reverse these odd changes happening to them.

Today, they looked down in the mirror, they'd shrunk by several inches since the last time they measured themselves. Their ears now completely feline, their nose and muzzle shrunk, skin was softer and paler, and well, visible. Hair becoming lighter and falling out to form into a more gormotti hairstyle. Changing into Isabella showed how strong this change was, despite the more draconic elements replacing the wolven parts, the invasive changes persisted in both forms.

Beneath their clothes, a new outfit had slowly, and continuously started to form out of their body, yellow fabric, white gloves, a red/white leather shoes made wearing any old clothing impossible in day to day life. Even their tail was changing to becoming a simple accessory to their costume- To a standard observer it looked as if they was halfway through dressing up ready for a comic convention!

Their family and friends had started to notice odd changes as time went on, the other Hawkmoths and members of the maiden menagerie confused by their sudden dip into extreme welsh-ness, and cat-like hotheaded tendencies becoming a cause for concern to their parents, wondering why this particular transformation was both taking so long, and having this of an effect on their personality.

They sighed, looking over themselves in the mirror, they scoffed 'well Nia, 'nother day of this then eh?' They paused, what? why did they refer to themselves as Nia? They were Zeydaan! Why did they keep forgetting their own name? They weren't Nia... weren't they? Rubbing their eyes they didn't seem to know WHO they were anymore. They definitely weren't a fey-wolf any more, between his legs he didn't seem to have anything there anymore rather just sensitive flat fabric, given his permanent cosplaying fate.

They shrugged, brushing some hair from their eyes and walking out of the bathroom.

'Honestly' Zeydaan's voice, now fairer, softer, and 200% more welsh than it ever used to be scoffed 'That bloomin Sammy'll get an ere full from me when I see 'er! They meowed cattily, pacing along their room, an odd energy seemed to glow from him as the changes continued unabated...

---

Now fully adopting the name 'Nia' admired herself in the mirror. It had been several weeks since Sammy had gifted her the insta-cosplay package, and all traces of the former Zeydaan or Isabella had fully been overwritten, with today being the final day the last grey hairs or yellow scales had been smoothed away, and all the new memories fully settled in her head.

The new Gormotti girl stood in Zeydaan's old room, her ears pricked up as she straightened her permanent outfit, ready to head out. She'd finished selling off all this strange 'zeydaan's old things to make enough coin for a quick interdimensional transport to Alrest to meet up with her friend Rex, and today was the day for action.

At first it had been a shock to everyone to see Zeydaan slowly transition into Nia, their parents had been a challenge for the first few weeks, their friends were confused, but most had made peace with this change now, especially the Hawkmoths now with a decicated healer. They'd joked about their welsh accent, their strange attire, and eventually her new cat ears and fangs, but Nia was Nia after all, and there was no going back!

it was almost as if the insta-cosplay had a hand in affecting everyone's perception of the ex-zeydaan/ex-isabella and assiting in their change, as now nobody seemed to bat an eyelid as Nia and Dromarch walked down the street together. She remembered quitting her job, meeting her special blade, all a blur of the last few weeks, but it all seemed so...right? As it was meant to be.

She smiled, a weight seemed lifted off her head as all those old worries of her conflicted old existance evaporated, she was ready for adventure! She leapt up on the back of her blade and rode away into her new life.