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tiny-cloud-of-flowers · 4 months

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Xeno Femslash February Day 1: Beginning (Lora/Aline)

Following a lead discovered by Haze, Lora travels to the small hamlet of Torigoth in search of her mother, Rynea. Although she is shocked to find the village left in ruins, she is determined to find survivors - and manages to find a Driver hidden in the nearby forest. (2360 words) Takes place near the beginning of Torna ~ The Golden Country. This piece was written for the “Beginning” prompt of the Xeno Femslash February event.

My friend @artificervaldi is running an event/prompt list for this month, aaand.. well, I wanted to have a go at writing some selfship pieces for some of the prompts, so this is my piece for the first one! I hope that this is alright ^-^

(Anyone is welcome to comment on and/or reblog my work if they want to, as long as my DNI is respected!)

Tag list and document transcript under the readmore:

Document transcript:

Travelling with the lord of Aletta himself was a vastly new experience to Lora - as was the might of the Blade he had resonated with. Everything was so different, from the decoration of the inter-Titan transport to his refreshing and light-hearted banter. It was quite clear that Jin was unsure of how to see the situation, but Haze's confidence in the lead she had found was granting her Driver the strength and the hope that she dared to let build up in herself. She found herself enjoying Addam's demeanour, even if Mythra's standoffish nature made for a stark contrast - yet even she had her moments of more genuine appreciation.

When the party, as they could perhaps now be termed, landed on the grass of Gormott, Lora was amazed by the Titan's rolling plains and verdant scenery. Despite the drizzle drifting down from skies above, the wide-open views felt no less dreary; if anything, the plant life seemed almost more invigorated for the water. It was not cold, but neither was it humid - a clear freshness punctuated the air and put a spring in everyone's steps as they made their way to their destination. At times, there were a few tense moments of keeping watch for Ardainian or Coeian forces potentially skirmishing over resources, but these groups were not a strong presence in the local vicinity. Everything felt that little bit new and exciting.

It was only as Torigoth came closer, and the mists of rain had risen into stormclouds as dark as the plumes of extinguished flame-smoke, that the tone of the mission plummeted completely.

Lora found herself gripped by worry that dived headfirst into panic once she realised what had happened, fears rising almost as strongly as if she had stumbled upon her birthplace torn to shreds. Her pace picked up into a sprint as she flew along the path leading to the razed hamlet, not slowing even as she passed through the thick stone walls and further along the path and forwards into what should have been a lively and calm village square but was instead now.. no more than a mere clearing amidst piles of blackened timber and burnt remnants of buildings. There were glimpses of fallen townsfolk, here and there in the chaos; these were peaceful farmers whose lives had been gluttonously cut short by looters.

"Oh, no.."

"Here, too?" Addam wondered aloud from behind her, staring grimly at the carnage wrought before him. "Gormott's an attractive target, but this? Whoever did this.. clearly had no compassion or respect for the people they killed.."

Mythra seemed decidedly less affected by the scene, even if she was frowning slightly as she examined it. "Whether it was Malos, or someone else. Either way, clearly they're all toast."

This casual dismissal earned her a chiding look from her Driver. "Mythra.."

Meanwhile, Jin had become keenly aware of how distraught his own Driver had become, despite her face not being visible from where he was standing. Mythra had reminded Milton before that Drivers and Blades were one in body and soul, and in that moment it certainly did feel as though some of her distress was tangibly adding to his concern.

"Lora.." he began, wondering whether to approach her.

There was a moment's pause before she spoke up. "It's.. It's okay." she then said, mustering up what levity she could. "Mother.. could have run away somewhere safe.."

Her words held little hope or confidence, and everyone would likely have settled into an uncomfortable silence had that silence not been punctured by the sound of armoured footsteps running up to the group.

"You there! A moment, if such may be spared!"

All attention gladly turned from the destruction, the party looked over to one side to see a very tall figure approaching from a side path. They were dressed in quite extravagant white and golden armour, with a long cape and skirt that came down to above their knees, plus silver gauntlet-like gloves and greaves - all of which combined to make an impressive first impression. They were also almost completely soaked through, as could be seen from how much their hair was dripping pitch-black from the rain.

"Might I presume thee to be travellers?" they continued to ask as they ran, stopping upon getting close enough to speak without having to call out.

Haze had been standing closest, and so was primed to step forward to address the stranger while they stopped to catch their breath, crosier in hand. "Are you okay? What happened here?"

In response, they simply shook their head, though it was more in a dismissive way than a negative answer. "Pray be not concerned as to my status. 'Tis that of my Driver for which I would deign to seek thine aid."

"So you're a Blade, then.." Lora mused - but at the sound of her voice, he frowned. He looked up after a moment only to find himself locking eyes with her - and his brow furrowed even more fiercely at the sight.

"Art thou not Lady-?" Then his voice caught in his throat, and he had to take another moment to reassess the situation. This caused Lora and Haze to glance between each other confusedly.

Mythra, on the other hand, was eyeing up the Blade with an unusual amount of interest, looking over the gleaming gold of their armour and the blue sword-shaped Core Crystal set in their chest. "Sure don't see Blades like you in places like this.. Who's your Driver, the lord of Gormott or something?"

"Do not jest so, lest thou receivest the wrong impression. Her name is Aline - a woman of Gormott, whose hair and height art alike to yours save in length." they explained. "She is dressed in verdant green, which may yet aid in her concealment from my view.. I bid her flee for safety at first sight of the brigands responsible for this travesty, yet she is wont to fear all conflict, and mine endeavours in dealing with such scoundrels hath left me wholly unknowing of her location."

The party listened carefully to his description, committing the details to memory. Addam was keen to take charge, his expression more serious than Lora had seen it since first meeting him.

"Right then." he declared as they finished. "A blonde Gormotti girl wearing green. Don't worry, my good fellow - we'll do what we can to find her."

"Full glad am I to hear this." replied the Blade, before pausing as if remembering something. "Ah! Pray forgive my discourtesy. Mine urgency did prevent the proper introductions; you all may address me as Avalon."

"It's good to meet you." Lora said quickly, though her mind seemed to be elsewhere. "I'm thinking that- since there are a few of us, we could split off into pairs to cover more ground. Maybe.. Jin, would you mind staying with Avalon?"

The ice-element Blade, who had clearly been rather taken by their attire, frowned slightly. "..Not outright, but will you and Haze be alright on your own?"

"Yes, don't worry." she insisted. "If anything happens, or you find Aline or anyone else, come back here to the square. I saw that the forest here encroaches on the village quite a bit, so.. if Haze and I look through there, you can check over the immediate area, and then Addam and Mythra can search in the fields to the north. Sound like a plan?"

Everyone quickly gave their assent, and set off to search for the girl.

==========

The rain had not relented, splashing down in heavy raindrops through the towering trees overhead. Haze and Lora were quickly but carefully picking their way through the drenched forest, expressions tense with apprehension. Neither woman was familiar with the flora or fauna of the Titan, and it also had not been clear whether Avalon was able to successfully rout all of the brigands, so the pair kept close together in order to observe without drawing too much attention to themselves. It was a tricky and tentative situation, searching for someone they had never even seen in an environment where she would be almost perfectly-camouflaged.

Trying as she might to concentrate, Lora's mind was racing too quickly to let her focus properly. The way in which Avalon had faltered at the sight and sound of her was unsettling, and most unexpected - yet the more she dwelled on the moment, the more she wondered if it could have meant something. It had been far too long since she last saw her mother, and.. the thought suddenly came to her that it was possible the two could share some resemblance. Which, of course, meant that Avalon was familiar with her. ..She didn't quite know how to feel about that, let alone right in this moment.

Meanwhile, Haze was looking around nervously, but finding the details of her surroundings difficult to discern in the driving storm. "My lady, do you think we should call out for her?"

"I think so." Lora replied. "Avalon said she might be scared, so if she's hiding, it might not be easy to find her ourselves. Besides, we don't want to startle her.."

The Blade gave a dutiful nod, and opened her mouth to cry Aline's name - but it was then that Lora's attention was caught once again, and she failed to hear it.

The trailing ends of a long grey scarf were fluttering in the wind that had just picked up, and their sudden movement drew her gaze to spy a startling peridot gleam just above where they began. As quickly as she had glimpsed it, it fled from view behind a tree whose bark almost shone in the low light from being so rain-saturated.

"Lady Lora? Is everything alright?"

Haze had now stepped into her field of view, her golden eyes examining Lora's own with some concern.

"Wait there a moment, Haze. I think someone else is here.."

As carefully as if she were approaching a sleeping Pippito, Lora kept her sights set on the scarf tails that were even now still just about visible from around the back of the tree trunk, and stepped forward slowly to investigate.

"We're not here to hurt you, if that's what you're worried about." she said to the tree trunk after a moment. "Avalon sent us.."

This seemed to have been the right thing to say, as a hand slowly crept its way around the side of the tree. Following it was the face of a shy young woman, whose drenched blonde hair was poking out from under her grey hood that had pockets for feline Gormotti ears. She was wearing a rustic sort of dress with light, puffy sleeves - and a green skirt and bodice, just as Avalon had implied. Her face was frozen by worry, wet with what could have been rainfall or tears, and her eyes seemed to catch what little light there was in the forest to shimmer with brimming anxiety.

Lora couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief from having found who she was looking for, but she could tell that the young woman was very shaken, and so maintained as gentle a kindness as possible.

"Hello there; my name is Lora. It's alright - I promise you don't need to be scared of us."

"Ah! I'm sorry!" she replied suddenly. "Um, I- I'm Aline.. And I think I might already know a bit about you, Lora.."

This remark caused Lora to blink in confusion as Aline nervously drew back from the soaking tree bark. She noticed that her heart was racing, and had to place her hand over her chest to try and settle it. Meanwhile, Haze had crept up behind her Driver, giving a gentle smile and wave that seemed to ease Aline's worries somewhat.

"My name is Haze." she said softly, after seeing her relax a bit. "I'm really glad we found you, Aline. You're not injured or anything, are you?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you. But- thank you for asking." she stated. "Sorry, I'm not.. normally this anxious, I promise.."

"Oh, please don't worry about that!" Lora exclaimed, almost sheepishly, to try and reassure her. "You'll be safe with us now, that I can assure you. Avalon is, too, in case you were worried - they'll be pleased to see you again, I'm sure."

This remark made Aline's eyes widen. "I didn't want to just leave them alone! But they insisted on this being safer, and.. I-I don't know whether anyone else managed to get out.."

Tears began to well up in her bright green eyes once again, and she raised a soaking-wet hand to unsuccessfully try to dry them. Lora felt a rush of intense pity for her, and quickly tried to sift through her things for a not-yet-completely-soaked handkerchief to use. She had meant to offer it to her, but Aline could do instead was blink as she felt the soft fabric on her face, and her eyes instinctively darted away in every direction to avoid being faced with Lora's.

"Thank you very much-!", she squeaked, causing Lora herself to feel slightly mortified. Why had she done that? She stopped herself and pulled backwards, taking in Aline's expression in full - and then realised the answer, as the fearful aura clouding her had now finally vanished. Haze, meanwhile, couldn't help but chuckle at the kind and instinctive gesture; it was clear that Lora had been worried about her wellbeing, on top of everything else going through her mind. Above them, the rain also began to ease slightly.

There was still a blanket of worry hanging over the three as they decided to make their way back, and each was bracing for a difficult scenario upon their return to the others. Even so, the fact that Haze and Lora had found at least two survivors of Torigoth felt like it had to be something - and that feeling that dared to feel positive was persistent in its slowly-rising nature. With Aline's wealth of experience as guidance, they found a straightforward path back out through the forest, returning to the ruined- but, at least, no longer smouldering - remnants of Torigoth.

And thus, girl met girl.

#heart of the void #creations from the void #selfshipping #this post is okay for anyone to reblog as long as my DNI is respected #love: knight of the people (lora)#selfship: to fight for what matters (lora/aline)#(or at least the beginnings of it - since this is how the two met!)#self‑insert: hope without courage (aline)#and also featuring #friend: shattered light (avalon)#who is my OC for this game! I.. tried. when it came to their speech patterns.#friend: windfall memories (haze)#plus others but to less of an extent #platonic F/Os #of gods and titans (xenoblade chronicles)#some of the dialogue here is directly taken from when I rendered a part of this in the past #I probably could have added those images back in actually.. but oh well #if you see them in there after the fact then that's what I have done!

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averlym · 11 months

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pleaaase may i have 28 and 29 aramour angst ✨ i crave it

28: “Move out of my way before I make you.” // 29: “You deserve better.” (prompt list here)

click for better quality!

#the brainrot!!! so strong. anyways. fellas is it gay to confront the woman dating your ex when there's super high tension #anyway!!! highschool(?) modern au where the popular girl/ queen bee is whoever resident king henry is dating.. hm..#oh the tension between someone who used to serve you. now having taken your place. and you knowing the ins and out of that position..#especially that it's not all it's cooked up to be!! lots of thoughts about this au #art-wise i drew these as storyboards before i realised i cant video format well without audio so they're just here in storyboard form #i drew these in sketchy drafts and then in sketchbook then spent 2h lining them digitally bc the scans were yikes. anyways. i lost a frame #somewhere and it was before the “you deserve better” and it was like. “take it from someone who knows #fun fact!! i showed this to multiple irl friends without dialogue as i was drawing it. neither of them know the characters but.#immediately pinpointed exes vibes. and enemies to lovers. and basically homoerotic arguing tension.#remarkably pleased at how that was conveyed (and also amused. i love my friends). anyway if i were to do this again? then i'd draw in the #frames instead of re-doing the sizing after tracing. yikes that was an experience.#anyway!! (x3) anon i hope you enjoy the aramour angst. i hope it has something. i craved it a lot as i was drawing this #six the musical #six the musical fanart #catherine of aragon #jane seymour #also the characterisation was lowkey based off how mean girl seymour is absolutely a thing in the show. some of her lines. savage.#parallels!!! in show the "oh boohoo [..] i DIED'' and attacking aragon.. the rivalry here.. aaaagh #also!! the last line is a slightly paraphrased letter from aragon to her father(?) i think. found it online while looking for how she wrot #because i wanted her to sound more queenly... you also see it in how she's unbothered and rather unimpressed throughout seymour's posturing #the confidence in herself. meanwhile jane is defensive and a bit more prone to being flustered <parallels emotion in show script>#i'm just. very proud of these drawings together. narrative can be so very nice. the last two frames are kinda like a postscript.#sometimes the brainrot really gets you!! alright have a nice day.. comms are open and the fact that no one is taking them up rn feels a bit #sobering. but it's okay! i'm not in a rush.. it's more for the experience. hm. i wonder who wrote yes in the poll though #(can you. tell my ego is a little bruised?) nvm onwards!! eventually i'll get good enough to actually sell my stuff :OOO #oh an addendum: lowkey inspired by all the bathroom girl-on-girl confrontation scenes. one off the top of my head is the one from heathers #but there's quite a lot of those tbh #aramour

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krabkrab-wontshutup · 2 months

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Just gonna stick the script im working on for an mcd rewrite here. its very long, almost 1200 words, so be warned!!

[Aphmau wobbles through the forest, and we see her in front of the entrance to a village, though its a little ways away. it’s in bad condition — but so is she. She’s bleeding from a wound on her side.]

APHMAU

Just… a little—

[she falls to the ground and passes out.]

[some time goes by, and two shadows are suddenly over her.]

GUARD ONE (garroth)

Zenix, what did you do?

ZENIX

Nothing, sir Garroth! I swear, I just found her like this!!

GARROTH

She doesn’t seem like a threat… but —

[Garroth kneels at her side, and carefully turns her on her back]

She’s wounded, but breathing. And she looks exhausted, she must have been walking for a while. Give me your cape.

ZENIX

What?? No, I just got this-

[Garroth rips the cape off Zenix’s back]

GARROTH

It wasn’t a request. I’m going to bandage her up. Carry her.

ZENIX

Wait, we’re taking her? to the village?!

GARROTH

We’re not leaving a defenseless girl to fend for herself in the wild!

ZENIX

You have got to be kidding me-

[Garroth glares daggers at his apprentice. Zenix’s eyes glimmer red.]

-Listen. With all due respect, Sir Garroth, Please;

hear me out. We're bringing an outsider into the village. With everything going on, do you think the people are going to keep listening to you? They're already blaming you for the death of our lord.

[Garroth stands up, looking like he’s about to smack Zenix in the face.]

GARROTH

There was NOTHING I could do abou-

[Zenix flinches]

(sigh)

…I did everything I could. The least I can do now is ensure that nobody else dies.

[Garroth walks towards the forest, before looking back at Zenix, who is kneeling down to pick up the defenseless girl]

GARROTH

We will talk more about the village situation later. Right now let's get this maiden to safety. Now, let's move.

ZENIX(whisper)

i hope you know what you’re doing, sir Garroth

[A pan-over of the very small, worn down village.]

CAPTION

The small, peaceful village of Phoenix Drop had recently lost its lord in a terrible fire. After that, many villagers moved out. The village still held strong without a lord, however.

Well, somewhat strong.

[Aphmau lays in a bed, her wounds bandaged properly now. as her eyes open, two people converse at the foot of her bed]

GARROTH

What I mean to say is, Thank you for still trusting me, Donna.

[He clasps his hand together. the woman he’s speaking to glances at Aphmau, noticing her eyes are open, and sighs.]

DONNA

Garroth, the people are losing faith in you.

GARROTH(not a whisper, but quiet)

I know.

DONNA

This village cannot exist without a proper ruler, so unless you yourself want to become the Lord-

GARROTH

I don’t want that!

…I’m sorry. Can you care for her for now?

[Donna smiles]

DONNA

My pleasure.

[Garroth exits, and Donna sits down next to the bed.]

He’s gone now. Come on, sit up.

[Aphmau slowly sits up, and makes eye contact with Donna for a moment.]

You ain't gotta be afraid of me. I'm probably less intimidating than a big ol' man in armor holding a giant sword. What's your name?

APHMAU

…

DONNA(insisting)

Where are you from?

…Cat got your tongue?

APHMAU

I-

I don’t want to talk about it.

[this startles Donna for a second. She stands up, and fetches aphmau a bowl of soup]

DONNA

…Alright. You know, It's not important you remember who you are. Well, at least not in this day and age.

Hell, it's all about the name you make up for yourself, you know?

Eat up, there's plenty more.

[Aphmau carefully takes a sip of the soup. Her eyes light up, and she eats happily.]

I ran away from my momma's house some time ago to become a merchant. Only moved here a few months ago.

Heck if I'm lookin' back on the past! So, my opinion? No need for one!

APHMAU

…My name is Aphmau. Aphmau… Eostre.

DONNA

(chuckle)

It’s a start. I’m Donna.

[The two shake hands.]

Your eyes… Are you from Fu’kui?

APHMAU

No, but my mother was.

DONNA

Interesting. You know, I'm not as worldly but a good friend of mine who is.. is in town right now for a bit. I was gonna go talk to him anyway, but if you wanna come with me you can. you need some fresh air?

[Outside, Aphmau notices the dead fields]

APHMAU

The crops are barren…

Why is that?

DONNA

‘s a long story. But basically, this town is dying.. Heck, lots’a towns are. Merchants say rumor has it things ain't been right with the world lately. That's not my concern. Ain't a guard or Lord to give two bull corns about it.

APHMAU

…Lord?

DONNA

Glue of any village. Person who keeps things together with their guards. In fact, the Lord of this village recently died.. most people you talk to here will probably be leaving soon.

APHMAU

Oh…

[They enter the village square.]

DONNA

Visher!

VISHER

Donna! Good to see you!

[She rushes over and they hug.]

VISHER

So is this the village you settle?

DONNA

(laughs) Not a chance!

VISHER

I heard everything going on from this lad here.

[He gestures to a young man in a suit of armor, with dyed blue leather straps, and a blue cape]

DONNA

Hey, Brian. Sorry your dad's drunk again.

BRIAN

At least sir Dale is only an idiot when he drinks.

DONNA

Well look at you, calling your dad 'sir'! You're gonna make a fine full-fledged guard someday Brian.

BRIAN

Th-Thank you, m'lady.

DONNA

oh! Visher! Take a look at my friend here. She’s new ‘round town, and I was hoping you could give her some advice about the world and all that.

VISHER

Donna, why you asking me when I'm simply a merchant? Don't this village have a decently known librarian you can ask?

DONNA

Oh right, the crazy one obsessed with the matron.. Heh. Gosh, it slipped my mind..! Mostly because she's a bit-

VISHER

AH- D-Donna! there are children about!

[He gestures again to Brian, who crosses his arms.]

BRIAN

I'm 16!

VISHER

Oh. ..Then uh, eat your vegetable more, kid. Trust me. But Donna, really, what advice can I give a girl who I don’t know?

DONNA

Well, that’s just the thing, I hardly know her either. She ain't talkin’ about her past.

(whisper) I think somethin’ bad happened to her.

VISHER

Oh no, come here poor girl..!

[He hugs Aphmau tightly, even lifting her off the ground for a moment.]

Hm… You need new clothes! Your shirt is all torn- (laughs) Wait here, sweetie. Uncle Visher will grab you the best garb I have.

[He goes through his wares and presents Aphmau with a change of clothes, which she puts on.]

DONNA

Wow, Visher! You don’t even give me clothes for free.

VISHER

I would never hear the end of it from my wife if I did not help a lady in need.

DONNA

(laughs) Merida is a good woman.

#some of the dialogue is taken directly from diaries rebirth #but not all of it because my aphmau doesnt have those markings and also didn’t spawn from the ground.#my writing #long post #writing #writer #aphmau #aphmau rewrite #minecraft diaries #minecraft diaries rewrite #diaries rebirth #mcd #mcd rewrite

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theygender · 9 months

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The funny thing about playing BG3 right after its release is like. Usually with RPGs I obsessively look up the dialogue for every interaction to make sure I choose the Right Thing but since this game just came out those kinds of guides just... don't exist yet. Like sure I can look up general walkthroughs for different quests, but there's not any articles detailing the approval/disapproval rating for every character on each individual dialogue option like there is for, say Dragon Age, so I'm having to actually fuck around and find out for once

#rambling #my urge to research all the dialogue choices before picking anything is bc of the autism im sure #when you live a life where its very difficult for you to know the right thing to say and you often get misinterpreted #its nice to have a break in a fantasy world where you can know exactly how youll be interpreted and be confident you chose Correctly #if these resources already existed for baldurs gate i would 100% be doing the same thing rn #(even tried a few times with no luck lol)#but since they dont... im actually like. playing the rpg as an rpg for once. and im having FUN with it too #figuring out my characters voice from the perspective of what they would say instead of the outcome i want them to get #making choices with the same knowledge they have about the situation instead of acting as some sort of omnipotent puppeteer #its funny that its taken me this long to just. play a game normally ahdjsksk. and really im doing it against my will. but i like it!#this is also the first time ive actually played something right after it came out #usually i end up waiting like months or years after the hype dies down before i get into it bc i just keep putting it off #playing a new game as it comes out without like a librarys worth of wiki articles to reference is an entirely new experience for me lol #who knew it could be fun?#(AN: the answer is Everyone Who Is Normal)

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svtskneecaps · 1 month

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literally it's 3am where i live and i'm on mobile but FUCK IT i haven't posted any actual writing in like a YEAR on this blog whose description include the words "I WRITE" and i can't tell if i'm even going anywhere with this so fuck it under the cut is the prospective absolute mess of the first chapter of the flipo family time loop fic. (for clarity, flipo family as in slime, mariana, and juanaflippa) this covers loop 0, aka the relevant parts of canon. words: 1630

parts of it i popped off with and other parts i hate; up to you to identify them. also the italics and other formatting got erased when i copy pasted and i'm re-adding all of it by hand so if i missed a spot, no i didn't. if i missed an accent on a letter in spanish that was a typo, if i missed a ¡ or ¿ that may have been on purpose.

oh and for obvious reasons, content warning for mentions and mild descriptions of child death and child murder. no blood, and most of it is a three word mention; i'd say the brief paragraph beginning "Tilín didn't scream" is most of the reason this warning exists.

Charlie Slimecicle stepped off the train.

He’d been hoping for a bright, sunny day to start their vacation, but was sorely disappointed. The portal had apparently taken them pretty far, since they’d gone from noon to night time. Talk about jetlag. They hadn’t even been on a plane.

“What happened to the other guys?” he wondered aloud as he stepped onto the platform.

“Yeah no clue,” Phil said, scanning the empty station. “Thought they’d meet us here.”

“Guys!” one of the Spanish speakers--Vegetta, he’d said, when they’d all met up at the first station--called, from a lectern at the wall. “There is a book!”

They crowded around as he read the instructions aloud--something about pressure plates, Slime wasn’t paying that close of attention. He was a little more preoccupied with making sure it only felt like his brain was dripping out of his ears. That would be kind of embarrassing.

Which was not to say that he wasn’t enjoying the constant onslaught of people talking over each other using words he may or may not understand. In fact, it was the opposite; he was frankly thriving in the absolute chaos that kicked back up around him as a timer appeared in the wrist communicators they’d been provided along with their tickets.

“Como se dice ‘we are going to die now’?” He giggled, chasing Phil and Fit to one end of the station.

“¡Vamos a morir!” shouted Spiderman, echoed seconds later by the black bear in the collared shirt.

Giddy over the high of attempting to use his high school foreign language for the first time maybe ever, Slime absolutely didn’t contribute much to solving the puzzle, and before long the sound of the timer ticking down was accompanied by a loud buzzing alarm.

“It’s been an honor!” he shrieked at the top of his lungs. “It’s been an honor!”

The bear ran past them again, shouting, “I’m going to die!” in English this time.

“Adiós amigos!” Slime yelled.

The countdown ended.

And then his communicator buzzed, and there was a video playing on the screen, showing a cartoonish yellow duck in front of a blurry beach stock photo. He skimmed it absently--some generic welcoming message and another side quest for them--distracted by Maximus audibly losing his shit laughing across the station.

“Come on, I’m trying to take a vacation, I gotta work now?” Fit complained. “This is ridiculous.”

Slime wanted to jump on that bit, but the message cut off with coordinates marred by static and the noise of the emergency weather alert system and he lost his train of thought completely.

“I got the English book!” Spreen called, holding it with two fingers like it had personally offended him.

“English leader,” Vegetta said, seeming to find that amusing.

“English leader.” Spreen laughed and flicked the book away. Slime stepped back but somehow it still nailed him in the chest.

“Guess I’m reading then,” he said cheerfully.

“In Spanish?” Maximus said.

“Um.”

Vegetta called something, backing across the plaza with the book open in his hands. Phil backed up to the wall.

“Here,” Phil instructed, “we’ll read it here.”

“Okay okay.” He flicked it open. “So we have to get water wheel planks--”

Their peace lasted a grand total of thirty seconds as voices suddenly began shouting, overlapping in chaotic chorus.

“What is that?” Fit demanded.

“Is that coming from the other side?” Phil stared up at the top of the wall.

“This is the thinnest thick wall I’ve ever seen,” Slime said, giddy laughter bubbling out of him again. “Is this thing made out of pencil shavings? If I sneeze on it, is there gonna be a hole?”

“Nevermind, we’ll read it over here.” Phil dragged them away again, but the Spanish speakers were dispersing into the trees.

“Forget the book,” Fit said, “follow them!”

(In the end it was explosives that took the wall down, which in hindsight was a precursor to how a not insignificant portion of time on the island was spent. The first day, however, it was just funny, much like everything else.)

(That was to say, the first first day.)

The communicator had indicated that today there was something special planned, so he made an extra effort to wake up.

“Morning Jaiden!” he called to his upstairs neighbor.

“Hi Charlie!” He could hear her farming through the wall. “Glad you woke up on time!”

“Well you know, you know, El Backflipo couldn’t miss it,” he joked, sifting through his backpack. “Got any spare food? I’ll trade you uno backflipo.”

“I have so much toast, come here and get some, free of charge.”

With a quick backflip and some toast to start the day, he popped open the map.

“There’s a lot of people down the wall,” he noted, their green dots so clustered they formed one. “Wanna check it out?”

“Yeah sure.” Jaiden tossed some seeds into a chest. “Do you know what this event’s gonna be?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted cheerfully.

She laughed. “Yeah, me neither. I guess there’s an egg involved, but that’s all I know.”

He dug around in his backpack for a paraglider, nodding along. “Yeah, yeah, un huevo, I get you.” Shuffling the landmine from Vegetta to one side, he yanked out his glider and threw himself out her window. “Let’s go!”

(nothing like getting struck by lightning to wake a guy up in the morning)

Slime fiddled with the communicator as he waited for the line of people to get through the ticket machine; he already had his own, a nice B for Backflipo. The new live translations still boggled his mind. He had to fight the urge to chant weird shit under his breath, just to see what the bubbles would say.

He paid a little extra attention when Mariana walked up to the machine. That guy seemed cool. They’d done that pequeño dormir together on day one, and he had a good sense of humor. Egg parenting would probably be funny.

He was thrilled to see the B for Backflipo on the ticket Mariana stepped away with, even if Mariana was decidedly less so. This was gonna be good.

(it was, and it wasn’t)

So, Mariana wasn’t exactly the coparent of dreams. Then again, Slime was pretty sure Mariana could say the same about him. In fact he was pretty sure Mariana had said the same, but in Spanish, when he wasn’t checking the translation.

It was great. They thought they’d killed a child immediately and then decided to fake their own child’s death to get away with it, and then confessed their sins to a bilingual angel and built a farm and then he buried himself beneath an improvised cross and went into a coma until his sins were forgiven, or something, except his sins weren’t forgiven in time to save his own child’s life.

And then Juanaflippa was dead. Dead at Mariana’s hand.

His bitch wife killed their daughter.

(Everything went faster, after that.)

Slime wanted to kill him.

Slime wanted to kill him for killing their fucking daughter, but of course, Mariana couldn’t even be bothered to be around to take care of her alive, never mind to pay for his crimes when she died by his hand!

(in a better world, his rage started and ended there. in a better world, the anger fizzled out with the lack of a target.

this was not that world)

There couldn’t be an Egg Event with no eggs.

If he killed them all, it would bring her back.

(in a worse world, he succeeded. in a worse world, the Egg Event ended there.

this was not that world)

They held a trial.

If he won, it would bring her back.

(in another world, he didn’t convince them. in another world, they left his daughter in Hell.

this was not that world)

Tilín was still before she hit the ground.

Tilín didn’t scream. Maybe they didn’t have time. It happened so fast. He was sure it happened fast. Almost too fast. But everything went so fast, now, even though Flippa was back. Yet, time slowed down for this, like a rubberneck driving past a highway accident, watching him desperately trying to shock their heart back into motion.

“YOU KILL MY BEST FRIENDS,” Flippa wrote. He begged her to understand. She wrote, “i can’t believe it.”

She wrote, “I HATE YOU.”

(in a better world, the error would have been caught in April instead of July.

this was not that world)

His daughter fell to his bitch wife’s sword. The same way. The next day.

They’d only just gotten her back. And Mariana killed her again.

He only left eggxile for the funeral. She wouldn’t stay dead, but he had to be there.

Time went even faster after that. He was Gegg, or maybe Gegg was him, or maybe Gegg was Gegg, or maybe. . . ?

He went back to eggxile.

He wasn’t leaving without them. Tilín. Juanaflippa. He would do whatever was necessary. He would pray to any higher power. Lil J still owed him a goddamn favor, but the guy wouldn’t pick up his calls. Maybe if he put more shit in the shrine; angels liked shiny shit, didn’t they? He went back to the mine, where the gasses swirled in his head. He built the shrine. He mined. He built the shrine.

He went back to the mine.

“This is where I sit, this is where my bitch wife sits, and this is where my daughter sits, if I had one!”

He’d said that before. No he hadn’t. Yes he had.

No, he just needed to clear his head.

Charlie Slimecicle went back to the mine.

Charlie Slimecicle stepped off the train.