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#lil ventures comics

issacballsac · 5 months

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ASHLYN AS YOUR SISTER

Masc Reader

Constantly being spooked by her unintentionally

Having the genetic chance of being ginger

All pros of being her brother!

Along with being a mini fucking soldier

What’s not to love?

Depending on your age is your reaction to the monsters

Older - a bit concerned but nothing too serious

Same age - scared as shit absolutely pissing your pants

Younger - no care in the world

If you’re younger than her disregard but if you’re older you’d be fucking TRAUMATIZED by her birth

Going back to some lighter things

Your parents are pretty open to everything so any venture you wish to pursue you’ll have their full support!

If you’re still in school prepared to be investigated by Aiden

Not as much as Ash tho but still a lil too much for comfort

Do NOT lie you would be TERRIFIED of Ashlyn at times

Like yeah she’s ur sister and everything but she gets pretty damn scary

Look at all of that hair.

Your fingers will be GONE after helping her braid all of that even just ONCE.

Following up on this she doesn’t particularly ASK for help often

She’s pretty independent and doesn’t like relying on others

Has the leadership qualities that you undoubtedly lack💀

When/if you get dragged into the dreamworld she’ll plan things out with you

She’s constantly stressed so you’ll have to calm her down most of the time

If you have a hobby your passionate about she’s watch you do it actually interested

Despite having some differences between you two you’ll always come together in your daily sibling sessions

Every night.

The same time.

Either her or you room.

Doesn’t matter

The two of you will sit together on the floor or bed(personal preferences)

Sharing stories of your day

Any games if you play

Comics

Pop culture if you’re interested

Music

Anything and everything

You guys definitely had a cooking competition and you both lost(it was hazardous)

You guys have exactly ONE matching outfit that you’re parents bought thinking it was the cutest thing ever

You’ve both outgrown it and it’s ugly as hell💀

#fanfic #fanfiction #x male reader #x masc reader #platonic #platonic headcanons #sbg x reader #x reader platonic #school bus graveyard x male reader #school bus graveyard #school bus graveyard ashlyn

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yugsly · 1 year

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what are some of your lil quick tips for writing / making comics (or webcomics)? I'm struggling greatly on making my own and thought "hey, i should ask yugo (because their writing style is absolutely GLORIOUS!)". (if you answered this before, you could link where you did answer.. not forcing you to answer in great details of course!)

Sure thing! My methods aren't perfect but it's all about getting Structure before you venture out in drawing your comic! Do everything in stages! Don't try to write the Whole Thing in script form or in prose on your first try. You’ll only get frustrated. Write an outline first- summarizing the general plot/arc of the story (I got all of BKMN down in about one page!). Don't worry about being too detailed at this stage, that’ll come later. This is also a good time to think about character arcs, beginning to end. Arcs are very important and can leave the story feeling bland without them. How does your character grow over time? What prevents them from growing? How do they overcome it? Do they struggle and not overcome it? It all depends on the kind of story you're going for but these are questions you might want to start off with thinking about. One thing that helped me with this was making a character arc graph annotated with several defining moments in the story as well as tracking their overall mood from beginning to end of the story. This helped a lot, and helped me refine my outline. After this, using your outline, you can now break it down into chapters and write slightly more detailed summaries of each chapter. From there, you can choose to write a script- every word and action you deem necessary to be able to actually draw your comic. You don’t actually need to bust it out in full script format, but you can if you choose to. I wrote BKMN in a style somewhere in between script and prose- it worked really well for me. Try to have your comic planned out fully before you begin. You can always change along the way if you need to. But having a full roadmap is endlessly helpful. I’ve seen too many people give up because they started without the end in mind and had no idea where to go. You can kind of do whatever you want though, this is just my advice! Hope that helps!

#be kind my neighbor

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hanasnx · 1 month

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hey! i’m a little late to the party. would love some clarification. so indy is..you? and people/you are writing smut about you? or am i completely off the mark. please help. i feel so out of the loop. otherwise, i love your mordecai and dc comics stuff!

thank you for liking my content :) yes my name is indy, indy is me.

people are writing smut about me and asking me to write smut about me for them. it’s been a fun lil venture we’ve been doing since my birthday in february, im real vain so i love ppl asking me to fuck them literarily

#indy shoots the shit #thanks for the msg!!#anon

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gipepers · 2 years

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Update on Project 100 Robots

All 100 robots have been outlined and placed!

11-45-G - Love Death & Robots

Astroboy - Astroboy (2003)

Atlas - Portal

Atomic Robo - Atomic Robo

B.E.N - Treasure Planet

Bastion - Overwatch

Baymax - Big Hero 6

BB8 - Star Wars

BD-1 - Star Wars

Bender - Futurama

Bigweld - Robots (Movie)

BMO - Adventure Time

Boyd - Duck Tales (2017)

Brainiac - DC Comics

Bubo - Wrath of the Titats (1981)

Bumblebee - Transformers

Butter Robot - Rick and Morty

C3PO - Star Wars

Carl - Carl (Webtoons)

Carl - Meet the Robinsons

Chappie - Chappie

Clank - Ratchet and Clank

Claptrap - Borderlands

Codsworth - Fallout

Cylon - Battlestar Galactica

D-O - Star Wars

Darrell - OK K.O

Digit - Cyberchase

Dog - Half Life

Dor-15 - Meet the Robinsons

Echo - Overwatch

EDI - Mass Effect

Eve - Wall-E

Fender - Robots (Movie)

Frobo - Amphibia

Gir - Invader Zim

GladoOS - Portal

Goddard - JImmy Neutron

Guilty Spark - Halo

Gumball Guardian - Adventure Time

Hal 9000 - 2001: A Space Odyssey

Helper - Venture Bros

IG-11 - Star Wars

Iron Giant - Iron Giant

Jethro - OK K.O

Johnny 5 - Short Circuit (1988)

K-9 - Doctor Who

K-VRC - Love Death & Robots

Karen - Spongebob Squarepants

Larry 3000 - Time Squad

Legion - Mass Effect

Lil Bulb - Duck Tales (2017)

Lopez - Red vs Blue

Marvin the paranoid Android - Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Movie)

Mechagodzilla - Godzilla Franchise

Megaman - Megaman

Metal Sonic - Sonic the Hedgehog

Mo - Wall-E

Moby - Brainpop Webseries

Neptr - Adventure Time

NF Robot - Lost in Space (2018)

Norm - Phineus and Ferb

Omnidroid 10 - The Incredibles

Optimus Prime - Transformers

Orisa - Overwatch

Peabody - Portal

R.O.B - Nintendo

R2-D2 - Star Wars

Rattleballs - Adventure Time

Raymond - OK K.O

Red Tornado - DC Comics

Roberto - Futurama

Robot Babysitter - Benjamin McFadden and the Robot Babysitter

Robot Boy - Robot Boy (TV Show)

Robot Devil - Futurama

Robot Jones - Whatever Happened to Robot Jones

Robot Model B-9 - Lost in Space (1965)

Rodney - Robots (Movie)

Rosie - The Jetsons

Rover - Planet 51

Rush - Megaman

Santa - Futurama

Shannon - OK K.O

Snowball - Overwatch

Sonny - I, Robot

Terminator T-800 - Terminator

Trashcan - Astro Boy (2009)

Turret - Portal

Ultron - Marvel Comics

Uran - Astro Boy (2003)

Vision - Marvel Comics

Wall-E - Wall-E

Weebo - Flubber

Wheatley - Portal

Xbot 4000 - Love Death & Robots

XJ-9 - My Life as a Teenage Robot

XR - Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

Zenyatta - Overwatch

Zima - Love Death & Robots

Zog - Astro Boy (2009)

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blueiight · 1 year

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How do you think Lestat's career and musical style for the modern era will be like? I am very curious about what celebrity musicians they are gonna use to base the personality and career of that man.

i love this question omg. and its pretty hard! idk how much of a need our modern age has for a david bowie& the like who clearly inspired the book’s rockstar lestat, especially considering that being ‘famous’ in our day & age goes by so quick. outside of beyonce & her cohort , maybe bts or them types , theres very few artists in our era i can think of that have that same sort of global reach.. when we also think about lestat’s motives for being the book rockstar lestat which were lestat antagonizing humanity and the old guard of vampires , seeking out the attention, love & admiration of his most beloved vampire/s to the point of one being a muse for a song of his, as well as his repeated insistence on ‘updating’ his brand of evil for the particular age hes in, in iwtv 76 which is in the 1800s vs. tvl-qotd in what was then the author’s/audience’s modern day the 1980s. the insistence on living by his own rules mapped to the era. an anachronistic bratty prince fr. i dont rly have a good sense on the exact style or inspiration behind the aesthetics or music style of a modern rockstar lestat would have , but my semi serious somewhat half thought out take on a modern show canon rockstar lestat’s career path could be that hed develop an ardent cult-like fanbase (but not a literal cult , just adjacent tactics. is it any wonder armand went to lestat+ gabi for vamp career advice) thatd hyperanalyze his every lyric, every outfit, whod blow him up to infamy in part bc his innate lust for controversy helps their very dedicated online presences. n what if he literally blows up on a mysterious concert night in chase center. fans develop theories saying the nba killed the vampire lestat and draymond green on his podcast is like wtf no hes literally a vampire. u have to wonder also how show interview would be perceived in a modern era which ive comically alluded to a few times, cuz another implicit aspect of lestat’s motive here imo was responding to what louis said+ generating a counterpart for the culture in response to the Vampire™️ posited by louis in universe interview. louis wasnt operating on the same knowledge of the vampire g code that lestat had, and u have to wonder how much show louis knows (or omitted, or suppressed by someone/thing) in contrast to show lestat.. so however the show’s modern era v analogous to our present responds to louie lou’s lil vampy book will imo set the course somewhat for our les and his novel writing band starting ventures.

#yn.#yn answers #iwtv #iwtv speculation #this isnt even iwtv itd be the tvl/rockstar part of qord season #lestat de lioncourt #Sorry i only listen to certain kinda of music💔💔💔💔 im a stereotype in that way& several

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soleminisanction · 6 days

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i just wanna say you and a few others that i follow on here are one of the biggest reasons i finally ventured into reading dc comics and getting to know the source material. i wanted to be able to understand what y’all were talking about 😭 y’all’s metas/headcanons/analyses/etc were so interesting and thought-provoking, but i couldn’t fully appreciate it bc i didn’t have the context behind it. tim drake is my blorbo (really an understatement— i was immediately infatuated) but i got hooked on him in fanon. (one of the reasons) i hesitated to read the comics was bc i didn’t think i’d like him anymore if i knew how he was canonically. i’m glad i didn’t let that stop be tho, bc not only do i love tim drake even more, but it allowed me to have so, so, so much love for the other batfam characters, their motivations, their personalities, their relationships to one another, their messiness.

i’m still relatively new to reading comics, it’s only been a lil less than a year of me actively reading them so i definitely don’t see myself contributing to y’all’s conversation anytime soon. the batfam are also my comfort characters, so i’m really struggling to venture out (im getting there tho). but i’ve read enough now where i get it. i get why y’all are so critical and passionate about these characters. i’m so excited bc there’s so much material to read, i get to experience the batfam in so many different and interesting ways, the good and the bad. i haven’t felt this much love and excitement for fictional media in years.

anyways i’m gonna stop here bc i’ve already written a short novel, but i seriously cannot thank you and others like you on here enough. if i could, i’d thank every last one of them too, but you were on my dashboard and i’ve been meaning to say this for a bit. please please please continue giving your insights, your discussions, your criticisms. i enjoy them as much as i enjoy reading the comics ❤️

🥰🥰🥰 I'm so delighted to hear it! I hope you're enjoying yourself, there really is so much to explore. If you don't mind I want to highlight this part of what you said in particular:

i’m so excited bc there’s so much material to read, i get to experience the batfam in so many different and interesting ways, the good and the bad. i haven’t felt this much love and excitement for fictional media in years.

Because this perfectly encapsulates the appeal of this fandom to me. There's so much variety and nuance and different perspectives, with the scope of those POVs growing in diversity and inclusion as the decades go by. And sure, some of them are gonna suck, but some of them are going to be transcendent, and others will be satisfying, or so terrible they're hilarious, or mediocre, or just kinda fascinating. It all adds up.

So, thank you for the lovely message. I hope you continue to enjoy your explorations of canon, wherever they take you. <3

#dc comics asks #comics fandom meta #ask me stuff #fandom #comics

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rudnitskaia · 7 months

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Invincible

A few days ago my dear @lansayn asked me about how and when Rocky and Mau (my Lackadaisy OC, here is the character sheet) would have showed their devotion to each other for the first time and as an answer I wrote a short fic for him (860 words in total). Its concept mainly relies on the Lackadaisy comic pages Whirlwind and Doggerel.

You can find it under the cut. ✨

“Good evening, Miss Maura,” sounded the familiar voice at the entrance. “The weather's a little rough, isn't it?”

Rocky hadn't shown up at the Venza’s eatery in a week, and frankly, for Mau it had been one of the most unpleasantly silent weeks in St. Louis. She wasn't expecting him to show up today, either; it was only a dozen minutes before the eatery was about to close. Mau had even thought about taking a break in the next few days and going to look for Rocky herself, considering that in one of their recent conversations he had finally accidentally mentioned the name of the café where he worked. Luckily, now it was possible to properly question him without doing so.

“Had the wayfaring Mister Rickaby decided to…?”

But when Mau, who had been tucking the cups under the counter, looked up, the smile on her face faded as quickly as it had appeared.

The eyes of the sickly pale Rocky seemed bottomless glassy because of the dark circles under them. And his smile... that formerly cheerful smile had turned into eerie one. The way he tensely leaned on the counter and glared at Mau made everything inside her shatter. Beneath the fedora that he hadn't bothered, or rather hadn't wanted to take off at all, a fresh wound was visible on Rocky's forehead.

No matter what exactly had happened, it was clear that it was no good.

Mau silently grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. He didn't pull away his own, but shook his head and murmured with a grin:

“What if the formidable Mister Venza sees us?”

“It would be an occasion to introduce you then.”

So many worries, so many questions swirled in her head, but they all melted away from the fact that Rocky was alive. Mau stared at his face for a while longer, and he was looking into her eyes, too, with a strained, crooked smile. It was as if he was trying to brush the unspoken questions off with that look; it's no big deal, just a trivial case. But it was plain as day that it was just an empty bravado. Rocky lowered his gaze to their hands and began to drum his fingers as if playing a tune on the back of Mau's hand.

“I'm afraid I'm in a time crunch. I would like to pick up one ginger biscuit before it rains, so he doesn't soak too much. His dear mother will put me through the wringer if he even sneezes. But it seems your coffee is the only thing that can relieve me of my deathly drowsiness. Spare just a lil?”

With a frown, Mau pulled her hand away.

“What do you think of yourself, coming in here like this and pretending that nothing has happened?” she whispered frustratedly, almost not caring if her father heard them from the kitchen. “You expected that I won't notice your condition? That I’d probably start to jokingly rant that your forehead is like an overripe pumpkin?”

Rocky shrugged and hummed, looking away.

“An eggplant. Given the way you've phrased the sentence, it is better to say 'like an overripe eggplant'.”

Mau’s lips formed into a thin line. As Rocky avoided her question, she gave him a long intense stare, unable to put into words the storm of emotions that raged inside her. She was angry. No, she was furious from helplessness. What she could say to him? Don't go? He won't listen. Press his conscience that he was dragging his cousin into dangerous ventures? As if he wasn't aware of it himself. Tell him that some paltry booze isn't worth a ruined life? But from the shards that Mau gathered from their talks it was clear that this was exactly the thing he was currently breathing with. You can't take away a man's air, even if that air was much more alike to a stifling smoke.

This time words were useless. Words won’t convince, won’t give any significant reasons.

But maybe the actions could.

Gathering all her courage, Mau stepped out from behind the counter and stopped in front of Rocky. He looked at her curiously at first, and then with surprise as she took his fedora off him and dropped it on the counter. Carefully, without touching the stitches, Mau adjusted his slightly messy hair to keep it from falling over the wound, and then gently pressed her lips to his forehead. Before Rocky could say anything, she calmly stated:

“Here's the thing, Roark. We're closing up. I promise to make you some coffee tomorrow. But I hate to break my promises, so whatever reckless thing you’re going to do tonight, do your best to save me the trouble of selling my soul to the devil to fulfill it.”

Rocky took a step back. Silently grabbed his fedora from the counter and slowly moved toward the exit. Even though he still was visibly unwell, now his whole figure was filled with some kind of impulse. It was as if something subtly lit up in his eyes. A confidence.

“Miss Venza, count it as a vow. I know I’m invincible now.”

#they actually could have sneaked out on smth like dates even before but in my opinion these were the first clear unspoken signs of devotion #and yes calling her Miss Venza instead of even Miss Maura is a preference because Mau and her father are hiding their surname #and telling it to Rocky is another hidden 'i trust you' that he returns to Mau by telling her his full name Roark :3 #if you find any mistakes (especially with tenses) dm me please I will be very grateful <3 #romaunce #lackadaisy fanfiction #oc x canon #lackadaisy oc x canon #lackadaisy oc #rocky rickaby #lackadaisy rocky #rocky lackadaisy #maura venza oc #heldig writings

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loopeyfluff · 1 year

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I’m gonna have a stroke,,, I just like mass posted a bunch of art onto my inactive twitter and it should be counted as a form of torture,,, whats with the tagging system??? Why are images formatted so poorly on there? Why do I gotta do that dumb (1/2) (2/2) if I wanna post an entire lil comic? I’m only doing this because I’m always so sad at the idea that I have to venture onto other social medias to see art that I’m missing out on cause they’re like mostly twitter users and basically inactive tumblr users ; - ;!!! So I’d imagine the other party would also be sad to have to venture onto tumblr,,, but idk if this is worthit man

#rant #twitters tagging system makes me so angry i dont understand it #how do i look for art for a specific fandom on someone's twitter???#i dont wanna have to scroll thru all their retweets and stuff...#urghahfhds tumblr is just so easy to navigate for me... i love tumblrs tagging system ; - ;#well it cud definitely b improved on but for the most part its vry easy for me to use #WARUESUAHTST THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR CHOOSING TO BE A TUMBLR USER IN 2016 INSTEAD OF A TWITTER USER #WHY COULDNT I HAVE JUST BEEN A NORMIE????#(lol jk im so glad im not over there as my main social media)

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mikunology · 1 year

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Sits in the ask box

I have fallen deep into your vocaloid hero au stuff and i love it sm!!! Aaa!!! Its such a wonderful au and i love reading all the lore about it

My question is (if you haven't answered it already): where do you think this lil story will go? Will it stay a casual au or do you plan on doing more with it? I assume an actual show is out of reach but I'm curious as to if you had a different route you wanted to take with it

aaaa, thank you!! I'm super happy you're enjoying it ;v;

great question! hmm...

well, to give a short answer, I'm planning on keeping it a casual AU for now. See, I actually wanted to make the series into a webcomic, but I really have a hard time staying focused on things and I wasn't satisfied with any of my drafts for the AU's plot at the time, so I ended up giving up on that venture. I thought about turning it into a long fanfiction (which, y'know, isn't impossible, but when you're making a cartoon that's more based on visuals I felt some of my ideas would be lost) but I ended up scrapping that too after a bunch of attempts. It's something I've been chiding myself for, lowkey, because I'm like, "aaaagh, just pick something and do the work!" but I don't really know how.

Now, to be fair, something I've thought about doing this current year is looking over Aviutl and other editors and figuring out how to make PVs, and maybe see what I can do there for the AU, since PVs are another thing I've really wanted to do. We'll see how it goes on that front, though.

At least, this way, keeping it as a casual AU will allow me to essentially fool around without setting everything For Sure In Stone™ in case I get a better idea, and when I am ready to make something a little bigger (like a short comic or a short PV) I can do that with no pressure. Vocal Android is in a lot of ways a... experimentation ground, I guess? for me, so as much as I (admittedly desperately) wanna do something more with it, keeping it like this is the most fun and least stress-inducing.

#idk maybe a lot of that can be translated as 'gatari you're just lazy and not as good at writing as you think'#but it's what I'm doing and that's that #hopefully all of this made sense #asks

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8-bit-britt · 1 year

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Thoughts on Sonic Frontiers?

Oh man where do I even begin.

The wait for this game was a roller-coaster of emotions for me. I wasn't too interested in it at first and had no means to play it anyway since I didn't have my PS4 yet. But the more that was revealed, the more excited I got. I've always wanted to run around as Sonic in an open world and Frontiers kept looking more and more promising. But with hype came anxiety too. Part of me feared that the first Sonic game I've been excited for in years was gonna flop horribly and that all my hype would be for nothing. It did not disappoint.

I love this game. It's moody and atmospheric. The way the game is first presented to you through the tutorial level is perfect. Sonic starting in a dark, closed off corridor with no direction but to go towards the blinding light up ahead, slowly revealing the world to you as your eyes adjust but only a small strip of the island to get the players comfortable. I loved the somber music and the rain, it really added to Sonic's feeling of loneliness in an unknown location. Then once you get out of that tutorial area, you get this huge pan view of the actual island and the real game starts.

The funnest part of the game for me is how it encourages you to find certain landmark puzzles in order to unlock more of the map. Until then, you're running around blindly and venturing wherever your little heart desires. I love how as you progress through the story, the island theme changes with it. It gives you a sense of progress and keeps the exploration engaging in a sense. I appreciate finally having a Sonic game that has both atmospheric music that's part of the actual gameplay while still having your typical Sonic jams in the cyberspace levels. Stillness and Motion is the perfect way to summarize the feeling this game gives, coming from the title of the ost, having both high octane fighting and speeding through levels while also having a lot of downtime to just soak in the surroundings.

The bosses, good LORD. Easily the best super Sonic fights we've had in years, this is peak power. I love seeing other people's reactions to the music because it goes HARD. Metal music in a Sonic game, we love to see it. There were moments in these fights that legit gave me chills with how cinematic they are. Incredible.

Lowest point is easily the cyberspace levels. I found myself putting them off until I had to do them, they just stopped interesting me after awhile. I would much rather explore the islands than do these really short and easy levels. They just felt kinda tacked on last minute. You would think that the levels being short would be a good thing since I don't feel like playing them much but it just further makes it feel like there wasn't much time and thought put into them. Could just be me being spoiled on having played Sonic Unleashed recently but who knows.

Finally, the story. The story is great! I was excited to hear from the start that comic writer Ian Flynn was on board and I got exactly what I wanted. Uncovering the mystery of the Starfall Islands and seeing how it all connects to previous mainline Sonic games and seeing the characters written in a way that makes them feel real and fit the overall tone. Character depth that had been missing from the cast for so long. The way Sonic interacts with his friends here felt so genuine, both with it's light-hearted segments and it's more serious ones. Sonic not only helped his friends by freeing them but also helped them discover something more about themselves along the journey. In the game where we play off of Sonic being stripped of any sort of community in a foreign place, he in turn helps them realize what journey of self discovery they want to pursue and Sonic supports their decision to go their separate ways. At least for a little while. There's something so beautiful and bittersweet about that. The story arc with Tails is the best example of this, how Sonic didn't anticipate for his lil bro to grow up so quickly and is a little hesitant on seeing Tails venture out to become his own hero, but Sonic fully supports him. It makes me so excited to see the future of this series and how we can see these bonds further develope.

Also THE MODEL EXPRESSIONS, HELLO??? THEY ANIMATED SONIC'S EARS!

To try to wrap this up, I overall thoroughly enjoyed Sonic Frontiers and recommend it to anyone looking for a more engaging story within the series. It's a fun, chill game with its intense and heartfelt moments when needed.

#asks #anonymous #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers

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thesilentmedium · 1 year

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Into the Bat Cave

Timing: Before Broken Wings Location: Cass' Cave Parties: @magmahearts & @thesilentmedium Warnings: None

Jonas’ had only meant to go out and get some ingredients the bakery was in need of, he didn’t even make it down the street when a figure appeared before him begging for help. It was obvious the person wasn’t alive from how their feet seemed to sink into the sidewalk, but more importantly he could hear their voice clearly. That wasn’t something he could do with the living. Jonas couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man, he went spelunking and got trapped in a cave, his body was still in there or what was left of it by now. He needed help getting his body out of the cave and properly buried. Jonas couldn’t really say no to such a request and went to grab his things to perform a seance and a bag to get whatever remains there were to collect. If Lil was around the ghost would have been exercised by now to force it along, but he preferred the more gentle method.

He knew Wicked’s Rest had several caves but he wasn’t expecting the man to get stuck in the one near Serpent's Flat. Even before he left, Jonas never liked venturing here. The ghosts were particularly loud in this area, when he was younger he couldn’t even get near the place without forming a nosebleed. For a moment he considered asking the ghost to find someone else, but who else would be able to help? Lil was off somewhere doing another job and he didn’t know any other mediums or exorcists in town that weren’t a part of his family and they were all missing. His hand went to the lucky charm he carried in his pocket. He was never sure if it did anything but it offered him comfort nonetheless as he stepped into the cave, careful not to touch any part of the rocky wall that looked to be covered in the weird mineral.

A flashlight clicked on and he took a few steps in before Blue popped out of his shadow moving in front of him and pointedly looking behind. Jonas had missed the cave owner coming in but the barghast didn’t. She was moving to place herself between Jonas and the stranger as the man turned around. He paused at the sight, clipping the flashlight to his shirt before signing, “Hello?”

—

All the best superheroes had cool lairs. The Batcave, the Fortress of Solitude, Avengers Mansion, the Baxter Building… In comics, a hero’s base was often as iconic as the heroes themselves. Cass’s cave in Wicked’s Rest wasn’t quite on par with the Batcave, what with the lack of cool gadgets and fancy butlers and the fact that she lived there instead of in a cozy mansion above it, but she liked it anyway. The rocky terrain and earthy smells comforted her more than she’d care to admit, and while Serpent’s Flat wasn’t quite as volcanic as it might appear, it was close enough to make her blood hum with a familiar warmth.

So maybe she was a little protective of her space. What did it matter? Plenty of nymphs hated anyone trespassing in their domains, and most of them were a lot nastier about it than Cass was. A rock slide designed to chase someone away from her home was a lot nicer than the whole ‘drowning’ thing that a lot of water-based nymphs were so fond of. If she really wanted to be a jerk about it, she’d break out the magma. Humans should be grateful, really, that she liked them as much as she did. A volcanic superhero was cool. A volcanic supervillain would be pretty scary.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t tempting to… react poorly when she felt someone enter the cave. They were veering dangerously close to the chasm where she kept her meager belongings, and the last thing she wanted was for someone to make off with her comic books or the sleeping bag she’d so carefully lifted from a display at the sporting goods store. It was with a mixture of caution and curiosity that Cass moved through the cave towards the quiet sound of footsteps, practically a part of the cave wall with how well she blended into the shadows. No human would have likely been able to spot her, but… the creature following the man in the cave seemed to find her easily enough. Cass tensed, the rocks hanging from the ceiling above the stranger and his pet trembling for a moment as she weighed her options. She could just drop them on him. It’d be his fault for coming in here. But… her curiosity had always outweighed her sense of self-preservation. And when the man clipped his flashlight to his shirt and began moving his hands, that curiosity only grew.

Sign language. She’d had some of it shoved at her through the pack, but only ever for things that made her feel a little nauseous after. The real interest in the language came much, much later, with a few worn comic issues and characters who were different in a way that she understood. It was still a work in progress. She definitely wasn’t fluent, and it was far less comfortable than Hawaiian or English, but she thought she might know enough to get by. She’d just never had a chance to test that theory before now.

Never one to pass up an opportunity, Cass stepped forward, allowing herself to be seen in the dim light of the man’s flashlight. Her glamour was up, because people tended to freak out when it wasn’t and she didn’t really want to freak the guy out. (Not yet anyway. She’d totally freak him out later if he sucked.) ‘Hello.’ Her sign language was far less smooth than his was, uncertain and a little slow. She took a moment to think about it first, to try to translate it in her mind before her hands moved to communicate the thought. ‘Why here? Should not be.’

—

Jonas smiled at the young woman. It was always nice to see someone trying to sign even if they weren’t particularly great at it. Everyone had to start somewhere. He spoke though, as he signed, to save the young woman the trouble of trying to decipher his signs. His words came out slow and awkward but could still be understood well enough. “If you come closer so I can see your lips, you will not have to sign. I am trying to find something. It was lost in the cave and I was hired to retrieve it.” He wasn’t lying by any means even if it was a little vague, he was looking for something and he wasn’t about to just say it was the body of a dead man. Not everyone believed in ghosts, even if they did most wouldn’t understand why he would go to such trouble just to help one move on.

Jonas knew however, that it was better to get a ghost that was willing to move on to move on. A poltergeist was something best avoided. They were more than just an angry ghost, they were dangerous and could hurt someone. This one in particular could end up luring others to share his fate, leaving to even more troubled ghosts haunting the cave. If he could avoid that possibility he would, plus less poltergeists meant less work for Lil which was always a good thing in his opinion. The older twin worked herself hard enough. Though if she heard about him delving into a cave on his own she was sure to fuss, even if Blue was with him.

Jonas liked to pride himself on being prepared for most situations, he never liked rushing into things. Even with the cave he planned to send Blue forward once he got to a spot he was sure would keep him from safely going forward. The ghost dog could go where he couldn’t. Speaking of the dog, Jonas moved forward and placed a hand on the large beast's neck. He was a little glad the stranger didn’t seem to know a barghest when they saw one. Blue was a bad omen to most people, in fact she appeared to the twins just before their family went missing. She didn’t leave though and Jonas ended up making his first pact with her. The bear sized dog relaxed under his touch and sat wagging her tail at little at the girl, almost begging for pets.

—

For a moment, Cass hesitated. She’d always been a little more trusting of humans than most fae, much to the dismay of the aos sí she’d lived with as a child. Throughout her life, humans had treated her better than other supernatural species and this was something that stuck with her. But she wasn’t an idiot. She knew that some people out there wanted to hurt her just for being, knew that trusting everyone on a whim would be just the same as signing her own death warrant. And Cass didn’t want to die. There was so much left to do. She glanced down at the creature at the man’s side, then back to the stranger himself with a wary expression. Slowly, she inched forward. Not enough to be easily grabbed or ambushed, but enough to be seen. Unless he could sense fae, he’d have no reason to think she was anything more than a particularly dirty human. Hopefully, that meant he wouldn’t attack.

“What are you looking for?” She spoke slowly and deliberately, trying to ensure that she was understood. Cass hadn’t had much experience with hearing loss outside her enjoyment of fictional characters, but she figured lip reading was probably easier when you enunciated. Which… wasn’t the easiest thing for her to do, but this was important. If there was something in her cave that a stranger was trying to remove, she needed to know what it was and why he wanted it. “There’s nothing in here that you need.”

She did her best to look authoritative as she said it, though it probably wasn’t successful. Though Cass liked to think of herself as an intimidating person, most people wouldn’t agree at a glance. Without her glamour, and to someone with no knowledge of her abilities, she just looked like a kid. A scrawny twenty-year old who was technically homeless, living in a cave without access to regular showers or clean clothes. But this was her cave. She wouldn’t let anyone take anything from it.

—

Jonas looked at the young woman as she approached. She was dirty and while he originally thought she might be with the group of people who always seemed to get angry anytime you even got near the Serpent’s Flat, he was beginning to think he had walked in on the home of a squatter, though he really couldn’t see any signs of that from where he was standing. The ghost who had asked him for help was getting nervous, shuffling in the background and asking Jonas to just ignore the girl, almost as if he was afraid the girl would chase off the only chance he had at getting out of the cave.

While Jonas was stuck trying to figure out how to breach the topic of what exactly he was looking for, Blue on the other hand was eager to meet the new friend now that it seemed clear that she wasn’t going to harm her boy. The dog stood the same height as the girl and quickly laid down on the cave floor, Jonas’ hand sliding off her neck as she wiggled over, trying to seem as friendly as possible. Eventually she closed the small gap and flopped on her side in front of the young woman’s feet, tail thumping against the cave floor and looking up at the stranger with expectant eyes.

Jonas didn’t seem bothered by this, hardly paying attention as the large gray dog continued to try and look cute for the stranger.Finally Jonas sighed and decided that being fully honest might just be the best way to go even if it did sound a bit strange. “I am here to retrieve a body, or um what is left of one.” He finally managed to get out. “I work as a medium.” He pulled out the family business card as well as one for the bakery, offering them over to the girl. “I am not here to disturb the Flat or take anything you might deem valuable. Just out to help a soul trapped.” He wasn’t sure if that would reassure the woman or make her more suspicious of him but he really didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t want her to chase him out, he could still do a seance for the soul but it would be much easier with what he could get of the man, he was sure if he tried to do it without them the ghost would become angry at him for not even trying just because some girl told him to leave. But Jonas also wasn’t the confrontational sort and he knew that if the girl did ask he’d find another way to put the ghost to rest.

—

The animal at the man’s side moved towards her, and Cass eyed it curiously for a moment. She had some experience with animals, of course; in the aos sí, they had naturally been allowed to roam free. Often, they’d been more accepting of her than the nymphs who were meant to be raising her. Animals didn’t care if you snuck out to watch humans on the beach or dreamt of a mother everyone claimed was just as bad as the rest of the humans on the island. When she’d ‘left’ the aos sí, it was the animals she’d missed more than the people.

But she’d never seen an animal quite like this before.

Wicked’s Rest was full of interesting things like that, strange new things that were exciting in a way the library in town or the movie theater had been back when she’d lived in the aos sí. She had the feeling she’d know more about it if the nymphs she’d grown up around had cared enough to try to teach her, but she tried to push the bitter feeling away as best she could. It wasn’t like it mattered much anymore. She could teach herself just fine.

Reaching down, she touched the creature carefully, movements slow as if she was worried it might snap at her. When its human companion spoke, she looked up at him with a curious tilt of her head. “You’re looking for a body?” She took the business card, reading it slowly. Literacy, after all, was not something that had been particularly valued in either of the communities where she’d grown up, and learning on her own was a slow and ongoing process. Humming, she tucked both cards into her jacket pocket. “Which one? There are a lot of bodies here.” None left by her, though her tone didn’t make it sound like that. That, too, was something Cass was still working on.

—

Jonas was a little surprised at how nonchalantly this stranger seemed to take the news of him looking for the body, even offering up the information that there were already a lot of bodies in the cave, which would certainly make his job more difficult. He turned to the ghost behind him looking for any details that might help make this search end faster, “It would most likely be bones by now, um he uh has a red backpack with the name ‘Finn’ on a tag. Have you seen one like that? Oh! Yes. I am Jonas by the way.” His manners seemed to slip past him when stuck in a cave with a strange girl and a needy ghost.

As soon as the girl placed her hands on Blue, the dog pressed against them going as far as to roll over and expose her tummy for rubs. Her tail never stopped wagging as she soaked up the attention being given to her. “That’s Blue, um named after her eyes.” Jonas thought the name was fine when he first chose it but now that he had to tell someone other than Lil he was starting to feel like he could have come up with something a little more creative. Maybe something more majestic would have fit the barghest more, but it was a little late now given that the ghost dog answered to Blue without hesitation. He often wondered if Blue had a name before he gave her one, it was a little hard to ask something that couldn’t talk back in a language he understood.

—

Cass hummed at the description. Of course, she’d explored the cave top to bottom throughout her time in Wicked’s Rest. She’d found everything there was to find, bones and all. She knew where the body the man was looking for was. She also knew that the red backpack was no longer with it. There hadn’t been anything great in the pack, but Cass had taken it without thinking, anyway, figuring she’d probably get a lot more use out of it than ‘Finn’ would. Hopefully, she could come up with some excuse as to why the pack was gone. But first and foremost… “What’s it worth to you?” He seemed like a nice enough guy, but it was always best to get something when you could. Offering him a bright smile at his introduction, she stuck out a hand. “I’m Cass.”

The dog-like creature didn’t seem interested in biting, and Cass let out a small, satisfied squeak as it rolled over. She rubbed its stomach, expression utterly fascinated as Jonas introduced Blue, too. “What is she?” The question was a little blunt, but Cass’s questions usually were. She had to pick her words so carefully, most times, that getting straight to the point when possible kept her from growing tired too early in a conversation.

—

“What is it worth to me?” Jonas was taken aback yet again by the woman’s frankness. He shook her hand and mumbled out a nice to meet you as he tried to figure out what he could offer Cas in exchange for her cooperation in finding Finn’s body. He didn’t really have any cash on him to offer, he’d left his wallet in the car and he was sure Lil wouldn’t appreciate him spending money just to find a body. He fiddled with his hands, before coming to a deal he thought would work for her. “How about a few free meals from the bakery?” Granted that meant the meals would all be pastry related but a savory pastry for breakfast was worth it in his mind. Plus the bakery was mostly his work, with Lil sitting in the front. He was grateful she was there to handle customers.

“I can um also paint something for you.” Jonas really only had the three talents; painting, seances and baking. He was hoping one would appeal to Cas. “Oh Blue she is..” He tapped his chin to try and think of the best way to describe what Blue was exactly. “Well she is a barghest. A type of supernatural dog. She normally only shows herself as a bad omen but I um have a contract with her so I think that does not apply too much now.” He didn’t want to ruin the whole moment the two were having. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company and any friend Blue made was good. It would help her shake any stigma that might linger around her for being what she was.

—

Free meals were certainly tempting. Cass often struggled to find food around Wicked’s Rest, and while digging through dumpsters often proved fruitful, she’d wound up with an aching stomach more than once after eating something that was thrown out for a reason. Not having to worry about that, even if only for a few meals, was a little too good to pass up. Definitely worth showing a medium where a pile of bones were located. The offer of a painting sealed the deal. Cass liked human art. Maybe she could convince the man to paint one of the characters from her comic books for her. Mind made up, she offered him a small, hesitant smile. “You’ll really give me free food? You promise?” It was probably a little mean to try to bind him, but she couldn’t have him going back on the offer.

Even if he did have a cool dog. Or… barghest. Cass hummed at the explanation, fascinated by the dog’s presence. A bad omen who’d made a contract with a medium. Now that was pretty cool. It reminded her of something she might read in a comic book, or something she might have seen on TV back when she was living with Kuma and had access to such things. “That’s pretty cool,” she said, flashing Jonas a grin. Straightening back up, she nodded in his direction. “Okay. I can show you where the bones are now.”

—

Jonas had learned a few things from growing up in Wicked’s Rest and he knew better than to make promises with a strange girl living in a cave. “Um well no I do not promise. But I will give you food if you show up.” He was doing his best to circumvent the tricky wording while still making it clear he had no plans to back out of the deal. He really could use her help, but he wasn’t going to make promises to do it. He felt like his mother would show up and give him a few choice words if he did, though knowing his mother she’d be very soft in her discipline, more worried about how to release him from the binding more so than he had messed up. It would be nice if she did pop up though, would save him from worrying about where she was right now. Perhaps that was why he’d been so easy to agree with Finn, a distraction from the fact that everyone but his uncle and twin were currently MIA for all he knew they could be trapped in this cave just like the ghost.

Jonas frowned as he thought about it but was brought out of his spiraling thoughts by Cas speaking up again. “Cool? I’m glad you think so.” It was better than having Cas be nervous all the time around Blue. He grinned at her next words, “I appreciate it.” Blue huffed as Cas straightened back out, standing back at her full height before moving over to Jonas and sliding back into his shadows to pout about the end of a good petting session. “She can pet you later Blue.” The only thing he earned back was another huff.

—

Smarter than most humans, then. Cass was a little disappointed in his refusal to make it a promise, but she moved forward all the same. She wasn’t sure she could trust that he’d really hold up his end of the bargain if she helped him — humans were notoriously bad at that, capable of lying and scheming in a way fae weren’t — but her stomach growled in a way that told her it was better to accept the risk than to pass up a free meal. Even if he went back on his word, it wasn’t as if she was losing anything. She had no attachment to the bones in the cave, especially not when the former owner of them might turn poltergeist if she didn’t have them removed. “Five free meals,” she said firmly. “And no little boxes that hurt the Earth.” The plastic that humans used so often was terrible for the environment, and while Cass’s rocks, caves, and volcanoes were strong enough to withstand them, the world surrounding them often wasn’t. Her connection as an oread might not have extended to the trees and the sea, but that didn’t mean she wanted to see them hurt.

With one last fond glance at Blue, Cass stepped further into the cave, motioning for Jonas to follow her. She turned to walk backwards so she could face him as they moved, allowing him to read her lips. It might have been dangerous for anyone else, but Cass knew this cave like the back of her hand and knew it would never do anything to trip her up or hurt her. Every wayward stone was lovingly mapped inside her mind, every inch accounted for. She could navigate it blind without issue. “It’s pretty deep inside,” she warned Jonas. “Your friend wasn’t very smart. The cave doesn’t like it when people poke around without permission. I bet he wouldn’t have liked it, either, if someone was poking around inside him without asking. The backpack isn’t there anymore, either.” She offered no reason as to why, since it wasn’t as if she was capable of lying about having taken it and she didn’t want to admit to the theft.

—

“Five free meals and no plastic boxes, I’m sure we can do that.” He offered a smile glad she didn’t press the issue further. Jonas couldn’t hear the rumble of Cas’ stomach but he could tell from how she looked that a good meal was in order. Maybe access to his shower would be required too, though he wasn’t sure if he could offer that without coming off as rude to the young woman. He wasn’t trying to rub her the wrong way especially since she was the only one who knew the way in and the way out of the cave he was currently walking deeper into. Most people would be horrified at how easy he followed a ragged looking girl into a dark crevasse filled with dead bodies, but Blue didn’t seem to think she was a danger and that was good enough for Jonas, Blue was a bad omen detector after all, granted she was one for something happening to your loved ones rather than yourself still she would protect him. She had even warned him about his family going missing or tried to in her own way, it was hard to tell exactly what the ghost dog was there for when she couldn’t speak.

Jonas offered her a smile when she turned around to face him, though he was initially worried about her tripping she seemed to know the cave like the back of her hand and the worry faded. “I’m sure he wouldn’t and I’m sure he’s sorry for coming in here. The backpack isn’t important so much as the uh bones. He just wants to be buried outside of the cave and to move on. I can help with both, I’m glad you’re helping too.” Even if Cas had to be bribed with food, a helping hand was a helping hand. “I’ll throw in an extra 3 meals if you come along to help bury him.” Jonas was sure he could dig a grave by himself but it would be faster if Cas came along and dug as well. She might even know a good spot for it.

—

Cass nodded as Jonas confirmed the deal. Not a promise, but as close to a guarantee as she could get without one. “Okay,” she said. No thank you, of course; she was careful not to bind herself to anyone, no matter how kind they might seem. She might be more trusting than most fae when it came to people, but she liked to think she wasn’t stupid. Though… she was starting to wonder if Jonas was. He followed her into the cave without much argument, despite the fact that Cass could have been planning on burying him in the rocks. She wondered if he was always this trusting, felt a strange sense of concern at it. Humans were so fragile. Their skin was easy to break through, bruised like a fruit. Didn’t he know that?

But he was just… following her. Smiling, even. Smart enough not to make a promise, but not smart enough to ask for more details about all this? It was so strange. Humans were so strange. There was a strange thrill of excitement at the thought. “Why does he want to be outside the cave?” To Cass, it made little sense. If she were to die in this cave, she’d want her bones to remain here, to become a part of it. She couldn’t imagine anything better. “I can help, I guess. They won’t help the plants as much as his body would have before, though.”

—

“Hm that’s true but I think it’s more of a…symbolic thing.” Symbolic was hard to say so Jonas opted to sign it and hoped Cas could catch on from how his lips moved while he did. “Humans like to choose where they’re buried when they die. It brings them peace. Being stuck in a cave was not his idea of a good place to die.” Jonas knew that he wouldn’t like to be stuck in a cave either when he died, he’d much prefer to be around loved ones, preferably in his bed and then buried under the willow in the backyard. It was a cliche ending but a good one that would keep him close to the house where his spirit would be immediately expelled by the protections in place around the house but that was fine with him. He didn’t mind moving on right away, he’d sent so many people on that he really didn’t fear it like others might. Perhaps that contributed to how easily he seemed to put himself in a dangerous situation. It wasn’t that Jonas didn’t fear death, no he much preferred being alive, but it was more he had already accepted it. It was going to happen eventually and really no one controlled when it would.

“Do you have any foods you would like to have in particular?” Jonas may run a bakery but he was also a good cook, or Lil never complained when he did make their meals. Food and painting were his passions, benign a medium really was more of a job to him but one he took seriously. He had sat for hours before talking someone through moving on. It was draining and he often needed a long nap afterwards but it was better to talk than to force them on like Lil did, not that he hated Lil’s method he knew it was also important and had its place. Talking would never work with the angrier spirits causing trouble.

—

“Then why’d he come in here? Why’d he go so deep down? If he didn’t want to die in the cave, he shouldn’t have done that.” Humans had the strangest habit of going where they weren’t supposed to go and then getting angry about it. It was something Cass had noticed pretty soon after she’d started watching them. They’d go into the woods and get upset that there were bugs there, even though they’d intentionally gone to where the bugs lived. They’d swim in the ocean and scream if they saw a shark, as if it was the shark’s fault that there were strangers in its home. Why go into a cave, so deep down that no sunlight could reach you, if you weren’t prepared to stay there forever? Why be upset over the obvious happening? Cass liked humans, she did, but she understood, sometimes, why other fae didn’t. Especially nymphs.

But Jonas didn’t seem to be like that. Despite being here to find the dead man’s bones and remove them from the cave, he did seem to understand Cass’s plight with a little more ease than most. He wasn’t making excuses for the guy, wasn’t insisting that it was anything less than stupid. And he was going to give her food. That was important. “I like sweets,” she said quickly. She knew she ought to ask for something more substantial, something more likely to hold her over for longer, but… Sweets were the kind of thing she got to enjoy very rarely. They spoiled so quickly that by the time they made it to the dumpsters she frequented, they were usually already bad.

—

Jonas paused for a moment as he stopped to think of how to best explain why humans sometimes did dangerous things. “Well they uh…hm they think it is fun I suppose.” He started moving again, he never thought this day would lead to him explaining human behavior to whatever Cas was but he found that he didn’t mind. “Some humans like the thrill of going to unsafe places. There is a whole group of them that like to explore caves even if they are not very safe just because they enjoy it.” Jonas thought his life was plenty exciting enough so he never understood the need for such activities. Sky diving was another hobby he couldn’t wrap his head around. So many things could go wrong while falling through the air and the only end to that was the ground. Spelunking held similar dangers especially if one was going in alone.

“I will make sure to add sweets to your meals then.” Sweets were his specialty after all, he wouldn’t be a very good baker if he didn’t know at least some to bake every morning. Most of his sales came from the breakfast crowd and there was little better to wake up with than sugar. “Are there any I should not make?” He wasn’t sure if nonhumans had allergies but it was always better safe than sorry. He didn’t want Cas to come in for a meal only to die on something that could have been avoided with him simply asking.

—

Fun. It was a strange concept. Cass often enjoyed the thrill of danger herself, but humans were so much more fragile than oreads. And so much angrier when their fun got them killed, if Jonas’s ghost was anything to go off of. “But why get upset when it kills them? That’s what it’s supposed to do.” The cave had done what was necessary to protect itself. It had done it more than once, if the other bodies down among the rocks were anything to go by. Cass understood it, supported it in spite of how interesting and fun humans could be. It wasn’t like any of the ones rotting among the rocks were going to go on to write the comics she so enjoyed, anyway.

Cass gave a satisfied nod as Jonas confirmed that he would make sure to give her sweets, pleased with herself for brokering the deal even if she hadn’t managed to make it binding. The adults in the aos sí always used to say she wasn’t a particularly good fae, but she liked to think she was doing all right here. Of course, in order for them to agree, she’d probably have to kill Jonas and leave him in the cave, but… Cass didn’t really want to do that. Jonas was nice. And if she killed him, he wouldn’t give her any food. She hummed at his question, thinking of how those fae she’d left behind would tell her not to say anything that could out her as a fae. They were always so paranoid. “I’m allergic to iron,” she said with another nod. Again choosing to offer no further explanation in order to avoid saying too much or digging herself into a hole she couldn’t hope to get out of without lying.

—

Jonas was certain by now that Cas wasn’t human given how she talked especially as if the caves were alive, and maybe they were? He has seen a lot of strange things on the road, a cave being alive wouldn’t be all that shocking. “Well I guess it is because they did not die the first time they did it or the many times they have done it so they don’t think it will happen. Maybe they do not think the cave will hurt them if they are careful enough?” Humans did seem to think nothing could go wrong as long as they were careful enough and often they fell into complacency which led to the accident that took them. Jonas was starting to think he was getting a little complacent now that he thought about it. Was a little too late for that now though.

“Iron? Well I do not think any recipes call for that so we should be okay.” At least as far as Jonas knew the only iron in food was that which came naturally with it but he would make a case to try to find foods that were iron free and if not he’d just have to pick foods that were low enough as to not be a problem for the girl. “If you do not mind me asking, how long have you been in this cave?” She seemed to know it amazingly well given they’ve had no hiccups so far as they walked along.

—

“They’re never careful,” Cass replied, sounding as close to surly as she’d come in the conversation thus far. She liked humans, she did, but she couldn’t deny that they caused problems sometimes. She’d found plastic bottles and tin cans in the cave not long after she’d moved in, and broken glass and other garbage. Humans had a lot to offer the world — they were great at writing comic books and making cool TV shows — but she understood, sometimes, why other nymphs were so wary of them. She might not think they’d hurt her, but it was hard to pretend that they didn’t hurt the Earth sometimes. Even if it wasn’t on purpose.

There was some relief in how easily he accepted her ‘allergy’ and promised not to include any iron-rich foods in his recipes. More proof that, despite their flaws, humans definitely weren’t all bad. Fae were paranoid, that was all. She hummed at his question, side-stepping to avoid a loose stone she knew was on the ground just behind her. “I don’t know. A few months, maybe?” She really wasn’t sure. After Kuma kicked her out… Well. Things got a little hazy.

—

“I suppose not.” He certainly wasn’t being careful now, despite his best efforts to be before. He was watching his step to follow Cas’ steps but really the fact he was here proved he wasn’t as careful as he liked to think. Still Jonas would rather focus on getting this job done and getting home, maybe treating Cas to her first meal. He still needed to pick up the things he needed for the bakery and could always get the ingredients for whatever lunch she might want as well. Speaking of which, he was hoping Lil didn’t get back before him. He didn’t want his older twin to worry about where he was if he took too long to get back.

“A few months? That is quite the long time.” Though her appearance certainly supported that fact. Jonas paused in thought before for a moment, “Hm well if you uh ever want to come by the bakery you are more than welcome to even if it is not for one of your meals.” He wouldn’t mind the company and maybe even Lil could become a friend of Cas’ would certainly do them all good if that was the case.

—

Cass hummed in quiet affirmation, happy that Jonas hadn’t disagreed with her statement. She didn’t have as much experience talking to humans like this. Usually, she let them assume that she was human, too, even if she couldn’t make the claim directly. But, according to most of the media she’d consumed — which was a fair amount — plenty of them got offended by generalizations. Jonas didn’t seem to be like that. He wasn’t defensive or arguing or making excuses for the dumb ghost who’d died doing a dumb thing. He was nice. She wished she could drag him back to Hawai’i and show him to the fae who had cast her out, use him as an example that they were wrong. Humans were fine. They were nice. They weren’t trying to hurt her.

“Is it?” It didn’t seem particularly long to Cass. Not when she’d lived in far worse places for far longer stretches. In all honesty, the cave was probably her favorite place she’d stayed with the exception of Kuma’s house. It was lonely, sure, but she didn’t feel sick the way she had when she’d been living on the streets in the city, far away from the mountains and the naturally occurring rock structures. “Why would I come if I’m not going to eat?”

—

“Well for a human a few months is quite a long time.” Jonas wasn’t sure how long Cas had been alive for or what she was for that matter. Outside of ghosts and ghost related topics, Jonas was pretty blind to what was out there exactly. At least Cas seemed nice if a little confused by humans and their way of life. He was happy to answer any questions though, it kept his mind busy while walking through the cave. For someone like him whose brain never tended to stop it was good to have the distraction to keep him from wandering too far in his own thoughts, especially with the idea his mother could be in here rotting. He doubted it though at this point, it didn’t seem like a place the Ballards would normally do business.

His smile grew a little at the weird question, “Well I would like your company if you would like mine. Plus I can answer any questions you have about humans that you did not get to ask today. Speaking of how far are we from the bodies?” This was all fun to Jonas but he did still have a job to do and Finn was looking more restless the longer they walked, or hovered in his case. The sooner the bones were buried and Finn sent on the better.

—

“I guess.” Although Cass was still very young, even by human standards, oreads could live into their thousands if left alone. A few months, by comparison, seemed remarkably small. Especially a few months spent in a cave where, arguably, she was supposed to be anyway. Her old aos sí had lived in the volcanic mountains of Hawai’i and while this wasn’t quite that, it was far more familiar to her than the streets of Wicked’s Rest. She could do a few hundred years of it, if she needed to.

Humming, she had to concede that Jonas made a good point. She did have a lot more questions that they probably wouldn’t have time for, especially since the body Jonas was looking for wasn’t particularly deep into the cave. “It’s just here,” she announced, turning a corner and stopping. The bones were a few feet from where she stood, though there were far more than just one body’s worth. Not that Cass really knew that; she had no idea how many bones humans were supposed to have. “Did you bring something to carry them all in?”

—

“I did. I came prepared, well as much as I could be.” He knelt down shifting the strap on his shoulder to bring the bag that was hanging down by his waist to his front. Out of it he tugged another bag, one that was folded, and a pair of gloves. Slipping the gloves on he ever so gently moved bones around as Finn guided him towards the right ones. He was doing his best to be respectful to everyone who was stuck here though he was glad it only seemed like Finn was the one who lingered. If he thought he wouldn’t offend Cas, Jonas probably would have come back for more of the bones to bury but it was probably best to leave those who had already gone to rest where they were.

Jonas stood once he was sure he had every bit of Finn tucked into the bag. “Let us go give him some rest.” He waited letting Cas lead the way back out as he carried the bag in his arms. Finn’s presence was already starting to feel lighter but he knew the spirit wouldn’t go until he saw himself properly buried in the woods. Jonas was glad Finn at least seemed smart enough to know that Jonas couldn’t just take him to a cemetery or return him to his family, if the man even had one. It was a little sad but there was no way Jonas could explain this to the cops of Wicked’s Rest without coming off as incredibly strange, he had learned over the years that the less he had to deal with law enforcement the better. It was also good that Cas was here, she might know the forest a little more than he did. He hadn't been in it since he left ten years ago, maybe she knew a nice spot perhaps with some flowers. That would be a good spot for the cave diver if they could find such a thing. It would be warm from the sun and a great place to rest.

#writing #Cass #magmahearts

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dejwrites · 2 years

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i hate being a journalism student cause bruh i do not care about no damn politics nor have no desire to venture into a career dedicated to politics. i just want to create my lil safe media space for nerdy people that like anime/manga, comics, video games, fashion, literature, & music !!!

#━━ ♡ here she go talking again [ rambles ]#i have it mapped out !#i do!#i want to do podcasts !#i want to highlight young writers and creators!#i just need the funds for it!

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andysandfordcomedy · 1 year

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5 Rules You Don’t Have to Follow, but will likely make you better at stand up comedy

***Ahoy-hoy! Mi llamo Andy & je suis comedian. Sometimes I will blog a lil comedy thingy like this and some people, likely comedians, tell me they find it helpful. That’s great, but a mere coincidence as I blog these blogs for me. As a reminder of my own principles/opinions/hard earned wisdom by way of experience (I’m old). I’m just putting this little caveat here to let the readers know that you may disagree with me, or think I’m super duper double bubble bug ass wrong…but idgaf, and I don’t wanna hear what you have to say about me bein so wrong. Also, you’re wrong, not me. I’m right about this stuff and little else. That said, here are some “rules” no one has to follow because there are no rules really. You can be as bad at comedy as you want.***

Rule 1: ask yourself, “am I *really* grinding?” Did you answer “yes?” Well, knock it off.

Who are you? This isn’t 8 Mile. No shadowboxing! No grinding! Nnno! a grind is a grind. It sucks. I do comedy all the time because it’s what I want to be doing. This getting a boner over how many sets you got in this week won’t make you a better comedian. It’ll make you think other people must think you’re working hard…does that do something for you? Well, it’s stupid and not anything to work towards. I guess the rule here is never forget that comedy is fun. No one asked you to do this. You don’t ever have to do comedy against your will. If it’s grueling, quit. For real, if what keeps you going is career accomplishments, or how cool you think you’ll look to Jimmy and Janey Applesauce: quit now. The Applesauces are worried about their own Applesauce bullshit. Also, one sure fire way to not do well is to not have fun. So have fun. It’s fun.

2.) Keep it simple. A common mistake many comics make is to try and weave some complicated tapestry that ventures way out the margins and “all comes together” at the end. I put quotes around “all comes together” because it doesn’t. And if it did, there’s no benefit to that. No audience will appreciate how aimlessly yonder bound your bit got in the middle. People, en mass, are kinda dumb (sorry people). It is true though that when people become part of a crowd, they are less discerning in their listening and more so become part of a single organism: the crowd. Do one joke, then the next joke, then the next joke. Keep doing this and don’t complicate it. It is simple (not easy). The more clearly and concisely you get your premise across, the better. Don’t add filler, identify it and cut it. Make yourself easy to listen to, and make sure everything you say is crucial to the joke. The effect of super concise jokes over time equals more than the sum of their parts. Trust me, or don’t. Moving on.

3.) Don’t be a dick to other comics. These are your peers, asshole. You don’t have to respect everybody, but treat everyone with respect. Only talk shit in a very tight circle of homies really late at night. Do not try to big dawg people and act like you having put more time into comedy buys you bully points. That’s gonna backfire real fast when the inevitably funnier comic who started way more recent than you bullies back and you can’t say a damn thing. Don’t be a dick. Don’t do it. Why ya wanna be a dick anyway? Be as cool as possible; especially to newer comics that are openly excited about things you forgot meant something to you once upon a time. Catch some of their comedy placenta goo and rub it in. That’s that pure shit. Being jaded is for fucking losers.

4. Don’t run the light. People often go way over time trying to get one decent laugh to dismount from a laughless set. Why?! Get outta there! It’s a wash. A gymnast doesn’t stumble around on the balance beam, arms flailing, racking their nuts, and then nail a dismount to save the routine. No, they blew it already, and imagining that is way funnier than your dismount joke taking you way into overtime. Also, the light is a light so that no one has to hear about it. Do not announce that you’re getting the light. It’s not clever or subversive in some way. It’s just unprofessional.

5. It is always a good time to be professional. I understand the temptation at an all comic open mic to be the kid at the back of the class giving the least fucks. I laugh at that person too and appreciate them, but I don’t ever wanna be them. It takes no balls to not give a shit. No skill. There is a different sort of satisfaction to go up 10th at a shitty open mic where everyone is throwing it and tryin to cool guy riff, and you just work out material like you give a shit and make the whole room feel dumb. That feeling is palpable, and it’s a different kind of killing. It’s what ya want, trust me. Or don’t trust me AGAIN. My point is, why do this thing just to not really be doing it in the face of it being hard? If it were easy, everyone would be great, but everyone isn’t. Very few are great, and when you see them you know. It takes time and serious effort and tinkering to get really good, but it’s the best tbh. Comedy is only more fun to me with almost 16 years under my belt. I don’t get that excited when I do well enough to find no fuck ups; I feel content. It’s better than feeling stoked because I know it’s not outside the norm. That’s that shit IMO.

Anyway, that’s all. Just bloggin around. Toodles.

-Andy

#StandUpComedy #comedy blog #comedy

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