#this is what happens when you hyperfixate on your own oc | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

averagewriter-inthedark · 2 years ago

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Heart of the Ocean 💙 | Teen Wolf Miniseries Part 1

Takes place in between 3A & 3B of Teen Wolf

Teen Wolf Masterlist | part 2

Characters & Pairings: Hale/McCall Pack x supernatural!reader (female/platonic), eventual Peter Hale x reader (romantic), reader x male!oc ( past romance) & reader x supernatural!reader (platonic). Characters in this imagine: Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin, Allison Argent, Isaac Lahey, Derek Hale, Peter Hale.

Content Warnings: light angst, profanity, references of historical event disaster, mentions of death, blood, murder | afab!reader (she/her pronouns) | wc: 3.1k

Requested 📨 yes/no (rules for requests)

Premise: Suspicious deaths were a common occurrence in Beacon Hills—especially after things seem to be actually looking good when a previous problem is fixed. Now Scott and the pack are having to investigate a string of murders happening that not only reek of supernatural, but linked to an renowned event they’ve learned in history class.

Note: I’m hyperfixating on Titanic as of late so I have a lot of ideas involving AU’s and retelling with various fandoms. I just did a TGM au with Bradley Bradshaw and currently have a Twilight one in the works so expect a lot of Titanic in my works when I’m not writing requests.

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Riddles were a tricky little thing. And when used in a malevolent way where to find the answer to a solution one must crack the code, riddles can become a person’s worst enemy.

And the one laying on the table of Derek’s loft was becoming their enemy.

Murders, which was becoming a common occurrence lately in Beacon Hills, were happening where the people were nearly drained of their blood by cutting their throats and wrists before letting them hang upside down. Stiles' father was overwhelmed with stress. Not to mention he was having to come to terms with the reality his town was a beating heart for supernatural creatures. Like how his sons best friend since childhood was a fucking werewolf.

And while it was presumed a human serial killer was responsible for the murders, the pack had an inkling it was more sinister. Investigating on their own they found more suspicious reasons to believe it was supernatural.

Only problem, they had no clue who or what it was.

They were all gathered over the table—save for Peter who was nestled on the couch. Stiles was rubbing a thumb over his lip, becoming frustrated as he was usually on top of solving riddles. Lydia was beside him, deep in thought as she read over the paper silently.

“He just left this here?” Scott glanced at Derek, who was standing with his arms crossed on the opposite side of the table.

“Right outside the door. Like he wanted us to find it.”

“And you heard nothing?” Stiles’ question earned him a glare. “Super hearing and you didn’t hear someone stabbing a piece of paper into your front door?”

“If I did you think I would’ve let him leave the damn note?” Derek spoke harshly.

“Riddle.”

“—knowing all it is is a distraction so he can kill more people.”

“It’s not just a distraction,” Allison interrupted the two bickering, staring hard at the note. “It’s an order. He’s asking us to find someone.”

“Yeah,” Isaac scoffed, “who we have no idea is.”

“Read it again,” Scott sighed, running a hand through his hair. With a huff, Stiles took the paper in his hands, clearing his throat before reading aloud for all to hear.

Have you figured it out yet?

Were my clues not enough?

You’re thinking too hard now,

Let me show you it’s not so tough.

Our faces the same,

As they were the day we changed.

Only the eyes no longer its color,

A price for the exchange.

You’ll find it almost disheartening,

When you learn of what we do.

Our nature is uncanny,

But it’s not so far from you.

Find the one I’m looking for,

And I’ll stop the chaos and the pain.

Are you ready?

Here’s your hint.

Time is of the essence,

So you better make it quick.

Wearing the Heart of the Ocean,

She’s closer than it seems.

For I seek the one I turned,

Who was on the Ship of Dreams.

Silence fills the loft, everyone thinking hard of what it could mean. There were so many clues but so vague it was difficult to puzzle them together.

“Well we know it’s someone supernatural,” Isaac hummed, attempting to lighten the situation.

“Yeah we got that genius,” Peter muttered.

“And he’s looking for a woman,” Allison added, ignoring Peter’s sarcasm. “Someone he turned. And was on a ship?” It comes out more like a question, “that could mean a lot of things.”

“Could it be a werewolf?” Scott turned to Derek

The man shook his head, “I don’t think so.”

“But the thing about the eyes—.”

“Many shapeshifters' eyes are like ours. That doesn’t mean it’s a wolf. Plus he said they’re not wolves.”

“How do you know?”

Derek rolls his eyes as though it were obvious, “he wrote, ‘our nature is uncanny, but it’s not so far from you,’. If they were wolves he would’ve said so.”

“Maybe another Kanima?” Allison suggested, “the master looking for his puppet?”

Stiles cuts in, narrowing his eyes on the last verse, “Why would he bold the first and last line of the last clue—these ones,” he places the paper flat on the table. Lydia, the closest to him, leans in as his finger points to the verse. “Heart of the Ocean and the—.”

“Ship of Dreams,” she finishes, voice going low as realization hits her. All eyes turn to her, confusion in their gaze until the name leaves her lips. “Titanic.”

“What?” The question came from Scott, but all were thinking the same. There’s no way she was talking about the most famous shipwreck in history.

“Titanic,” Lydia repeated, this time more confidently. Her own finger came up to point where Stiles' finger had been. “They used to call it the Ship of Dreams.”

“Titanic?” Isaac’s tone was full of doubt. “You mean the ship that sank a century ago?” He couldn’t help but add, “And the movie Leonardo DiCaprio dies in.”

She rolls her eyes, “I don’t recall any other having the same name.”

“The anniversary is coming up,” Derek starts to say, deep in thought like it was all coming together. “It would make sense.”

“Wait—hold on,” Stiles lifts a dramatic hand. “We’re talking about THE Titanic—like Isaac said—that sank a hundred years ago. A hundred,” he repeats to show his point. “Anyone who is alive—even if they were a werewolf or shapeshifter or whatever the hell you want to call it,” he glances at each of them, “would pretty much be on their last breath of life. If this woman were a newborn baby at the time she’d be at least one hundred years old by now.”

In the debate none had noticed Peter moved from the couch to the window. The chuckle leaving his mouth caught their attention. Stiles makes a sound, “I’m sorry, do you wanna share with the class what you obviously know that we’re missing?”

“Our faces are the same,” he says the opening line of the second verse, only drawing confusion and annoyed looks from the others. “As they were the day we changed.” The man pauses, letting it sink in before continuing, “If the woman he’s looking for was on Titanic then she likely was an adult. Considering he turned her, probably by saving her from freezing to death or drowning, and she wears the same face she did the night she was turned…” Peter steps away from the window, now facing the group.

“She’s not aging. At all. Meaning…..she’s immortal.”

The silence following his confession is eerie, eyes flicking over each other to see if they were reacting the same. Immortal. Though the term was familiar it felt almost foreign. Never had they dealt with someone immortal. Unable to die and was walking the Earth acting as though they were human. Now Beacon Hills had two in its possession. They needed to work fast and the riddle only had pieces of the puzzles.

So who—or more like what, was immortal?

"What are you getting to?” Scott narrowed his eyes, Wanting a straightforward answer to what they were dealing with.

Peter clasps his hands behind his back, slowly inching forward,” It’s not shapeshifters you’re looking for.” He takes a step closer, “or a Kanima and its master.” Another step, “or a dark Druid.” Another step brings him right next to Derek, eyes flicking to the paper. “There are few creatures blessed with immortality—or cursed if you look at it another way. But most of them are born with it. Take Gods and fairies for example.”

“Oh my God—those exist?” Stiles feels his mind implode, “Are we about to fight Gods?”

“No,” annoyed at being interrupted Peter rolled his eyes. “I just said those are immortals that are born with their powers. And I don’t know if they exist, I’ve haven’t met one yet. Anyway, this one—.” His finger touches the riddle, “was turned. And likely the person who did was too.”

“So what is it then,” Scott was becoming impatient. And who could blame him really. For all they know it someone was already being drained of their blood at that very moment. “What’s the immortal that’s turned not born?”

“Come one,” he scoffs, like he couldn’t believe they hadn’t figured it out. “Ever wonder why the victims were drained of their blood?” The one question had everyone's face become colorless. “Has Stiles's father not caught on the wounds were made after they were dead?” Why their throat was slashed….but had two little puncture holes on either side?” Peter glances around at every person, catching the nervousness of their gaze as though they already knew what he was about to say but wished it wasn’t.

“The creatures you’re looking for…..are vampires.”

The rest of the night the pack was gathering as much information as they could about the passengers aboard Titanic—all 2,240 of them—while also trying to figure out any other clues within the riddle. They still couldn’t believe it was a vampire responsible for the murders. And that he was hunting someone he created who, still to their shock, was a passenger aboard Titanic.

And with 2,240 people on the ship during its ill fated maiden voyage…they were in for a long night.

“Okay so we know they’re vampires—our killer is the one who turned the woman he’s searching for into a vampire. She was on Titanic when it sank meaning—,” Stiles wrote furiously across the notepad, the riddle next right beside it. “He was on it too. Now we could narrow this down several ways. Either by searching through the passengers class or going through who survived because as Lydia pointed out,” the hand holding the pen points to the redhead, “RMS Carpathia recorded the names of the survivors before they reached New York.”

Either method was good, but there was a problem with the latter. As Allison pointed out, “but what if they never knew she was there? I mean having a newly turned vampire on a ship filled with people is a recipe for disaster.”

Derek nods, agreeing with her, “Her eyes would’ve made it obvious.”

“How so?” Asked Isaac.

Peter is the one to explain, “Vampires in our world are different from what you see on TV. They aren’t these pale, corpse-like, individuals who look like they belong in the morgue. They’re rather human-like if they’re equipped with a special glimmer that allows them to come off as mortal.”

“Glimmer?” Lydia raised a brow, finding the word a bit comical given the creature they were dealing with.

“We’ll get to that. But any vampire who’s newly turned will have red eyes—blood red eyes.”

“How fitting,” Stiles couldn’t help but groan. “So what, are you saying she’s likely wearing contacts to hide her eyes.”

“Possibly,” Peter hums with a shrug, “wouldn’t be surprised if she is. This day in age makes it easier for vampires to conceal their nature. But considering our little vampire was turned in 1912…her creator probably hid her on the Carpathia—or as outrageous as it sounds, swam her across the remainder of the Atlantic ocean.”

Derek closes the book in front of him, detailing the events of the RMS Carpathia rescue of Titanic’s passengers. “However he saved her can wait,” he leans his hands onto the table, “We need to figure out the last clue of this riddle.” Moving the riddle to him, Derek reads, “Wearing the Heart of the Ocean, she’s closer than it seems.”

Lydia bites her lip, typing away on her laptop. “If I didn’t know it any better…it sounds like he’s trying to reference a piece of jewelry. Probably a necklace or something.”

Peter rubs his jaw deep in thought, “That could be the source of her glimmer.”

“The necklace?” Stiles wonders aloud.

“Usually most vampires would prefer a ring or bracelet,” he waves a hand, “It’s small and concealable. Very easy for a Druid to enchant the item and allow the vampire to give off the effect to other supernatural beings they’re human. Prevents them from being obliterated by the sun. That’s their glimmer. Sealed within the jewelry to act as a camouflage. So long as they have it on,” he shrugs lightly, “you’d never know what they truly are.”

“And she’s been passing off as a human in Beacon Hills. For God knows how long,” Lydia opens a separate browser, hands hovering over the keyboard. “If her necklace has a name like Heart of the Ocean it shouldn’t be too hard to find. We find the Heart of the Ocean, we find her.” Her words have Allison come over beside her, realization crossing her face.

“Isn’t that the name of the necklace Rose wore in the movie?” Right as she finished her sentence, the image popped up on the screen of said necklace after Lydia typed the name into Google. “So it was real after all?”

“Appears to be,” Lydia was just as amazed. Stiles leans over her other side, eyes bulging at the sight of the large blue heart-shaped diamond surrounded by tiny little white ones.

“That’s gotta be worth a billion dollars.”

“350 million to be exact,” Lydia reads off. “At least today it is. Back then it was worth probably not even a quarter of that price—but still big for its time.”

“So…” Isaac taps his finger to his mouth, glaring up at the ceiling from where he was seated, legs perched on the table. “We’re looking for a vampire—probably at least 120 give or take a few years—who is passing off as human because of a magic necklace worth more than our entire lives. Wonderful.”

Scott takes a glance, letting out a whistle, “That had to have belonged to a first-class passenger. I’d say we start there.”

“On it,” Lydia begins to search records of the names aboard Titanic with First-class tickets. While she’s doing that the pack gathers to the makeshift board Stiles had created, adding notes to it as they go.

Stiles tapes the new information on the necklace to next to the verse on the copy of the riddle they made. “Heart of the Ocean a.k.a the magic necklace making the vampire appear human. To be honest, if someone were wearing a necklace that extravagant in Beacon Hills it’d be noticeable.”

Scott agreed, “She’s probably keeping it under her clothes. I mean I would. Lydia, did you find anything on who it belonged to?”

The redhead makes a huff, “from what the article says,” she clicks on a link, “it belonged to American socialite Y/n L/n as a gift from her husband Theodore Ford on their wedding day. He had it custom made overseas on a trip to France.” Lydia’s eyes widened at the next line, “She was the niece of John Rockefeller and he was the nephew of Henry Ford.”

“Good God,” Stiles made a sound, many of the others showing a similar reaction. “What a match made in heaven…and money.”

“Great,” Peter plops onto the couch, “our vampire was a once billionaire socialite—well maybe not billionaire. That’s a far reach. Since she was only the niece of Rockefeller and her hubby was a Ford she probably only had a snippet of their families fortune.” The man rolls his neck, hands clasped on his lap with his legs kicked up. “She shouldn’t be too hard to find then. All we need is a picture.”

Derek gives his uncle an annoyed look, “We don’t if it’s her or not. Maybe the necklace was stolen by her creator and that’s how she got it.”

“What else does it say?” Allison turns her attention back to her best friend. In her head she couldn’t help but feel there was something missing. That they were so close to the answer.

Lydia continues on, “It says here that they married in 1901–Y/n aged nineteen and Theodore aged twenty-one. They had a son, Benjamin, born 1905 and Theodore died six years later in 1911 from a car accident.” She scrolls down a bit, brows furrowing a tad and makes a sound of ‘eureka!’ “Y/n was gifted two First-Class tickets for her and her son aboard Titanic by her uncle John Rockefeller. They boarded the ship during Titanic’s first stop to Cherbough, France….survivors of Titanic recall last seeing Y/n place her son Benjamin into a lifeboat before being denied entry since it had reached maximum capacity,” a feeling of heartbreak fills the redhead, soon followed by defeat as she reads “It is believed Y/n L/n drowned as the ship submerged beneath the surface on April 15, 1912, as her body was never recovered as one to have perished from hypothermia in the freezing waters. Nor was she listed on the records of survivors on RMS Carpathia. Her son Benjamin was soon taken in by her mother where he remained in New York City until his sudden death in 1918 by influenza.”

A moment of silence passes as they take in the information. For Allison and Lydia, they couldn’t help the sadness for the woman they didn’t even know. To have to say goodbye to your child, likely promising them you’d get on the next boat and would be reunited shortly, only to never see them again.

The redhead suddenly straightens her posture.

“What is it?” Scott hears her heartbeat quicken. Worry takes his features when Lydia appears as if she saw a ghost. Everyone else looks the same when she brings a hand to her mouth. “Lydia?” There’s a slight tremor in her hand when she pulls it away.

“She’s closer than it seems.” She whispers the line from the final verse. Tone filled with near distraught.

Allison takes a hesitant step forward. From where they were all standing they could also see the light of the screen hitting Lydia’s complexion. Whatever was on it was hidden from their view. “Lydia…”

“I-I thought it meant that by finding the Heart of the Ocean we’d be able to spot whoever was wearing it. That we’d have to maybe knock on every door in Beacon Hills until we find whoever is hiding it—as stupid as that sounds. Because who in their right mind if they knew they were being hunted would just hide in plain sight? But….” her breath picks up, slight horror and astonishment as she stares back at the screen. “He knows where she is—h-he wants us to find her, because she can lead us to him.”

“Lydia….” Stiles slowly draws closer to her. Peter moves to stand from the couch, expression unreadable as was Derek’s.

But Lydia’s eyes never move from the screen. “The riddle—it was just his game. He knows exactly where she is. He has to. Because she’s been under our nose all along—closer than we could’ve imagined.” Finally the redhead looks up to the anxious eyes of everyone, revealing the shocking truth with the slow turn of the laptop.

“She boarded Titanic as Y/n L/n,” the screen shows a sepia image causing Allison to gasp, Isaac to mutter ‘holy shit’, Stiles to drop his marker, and Scott to feel his stomach drop. Derek and Peter shared a look, Derek more anxious than his uncle. “But she’s been living as Loretta Andrews.”

There on the screen, listed as the socialite Y/n L/n and wearing the jaw-dropping necklace called the Heart of the Ocean, was a woman whose face the teenagers had seen every Monday to Friday for the last three months. Who looked no older than the age of 30 like in the picture and had arrived in Beacon Hills shortly before the spring semester.

Their English teacher, Loretta Andrews.

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writing-for-life · 1 year ago

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Sandman Master Post and Intro

Hi, I’m so glad you’re here! This started out as a small blog but has developed a horrifying (^jk) life of its own over the past two years, so it was about time I organised the links and tags to all my Sandman stuff for you to make it easier to find your way around.

I love getting asks, about analysis, about my fics, prompts or generally just to chat, so see this as an encouragement to slide into my inbox…

[For quick reference:]

[The Ultimate Sandman Character Tag Library]

[The Women of the Sandman Tag Library]

[Sandman Comics: Original Artists Library]

[Sandman Reread (Comics)]

[Sandman Rewatch (Netflix)]

[Sandman S2 News, Casting and Speculation]

[Sandman Reference: How to Collect the Comics, Companion Books, Annotations/Reference Literature etc]

[In Light of Recent Allegations]

Ordered by topics (recommended):

Sandman Meta-Analysis (general "sandman meta"-tag, also contains contributions to other people's posts. My analyses are grouped into literary/conceptual/psychological, musical and art, and I definitely recommend perusing both links and the main tag)

The Sandman Book Club Community: Just follow the link if you’d like to join

Sandman Fics (m/f and f/f, both OC and canon pairings) & Poems

I’m also Dream’s Therapist. I think we all agree he needs one

Sandman Art (general tag that contains all art posts. I have also grouped them into my own art and art of others). Separate tag for official Sandman artists

Sandman March Mania was an event we specifically ran for the comics art lovers, so check it out

Sparkle Content Curation (a not-quite-serious collection of Dream/Morpheus thirst-trap fan-art and unhinged posts). Please also peruse the tags #contraceptive sparkles, #glitter herpes and #murphy and his cool hat (yes, I am sort of responsible for the #muhulhu tag on here) if this hell-site has left you in a state of being desperate for laughs

A Little Intro…

…and why this blog will keep on existing

Once there was a girl with so many words, so many images, so many songs in her head that had no place to go. So she decided some of them will just go here…

Well, that sounds a bit contrived, but it’s not entirely untrue. Apart from the “girl”-part, because I’m at the younger end of Gen X. Or the “no place to go”-part, because some of my work actually *did* go places. Just not the stuff I decided to put on here…

Which is mostly Sandman stuff right now, let’s be honest (I fell in love with it when I was 16, and it still has a tight grip on me three decades later). And the fact that my blog a wild mix between my metas, my fanfic and a bit of my doodling already shows the pull in different directions I have experienced for most of my life:

I’ve worked in science/academia, creative/performing arts and mental health. I guess I’m just a multi-hyphenate who can’t make up her mind what she wants to do with her life, so she tries to do it all and ends up burned out half of the time.

Somewhere along the way, I managed to publish a few novels under a pen name, and only a select few people know about it. And I intend to keep it that way.

I used to draw much more (mostly pencil and ink), but between working and having a family, something had to give, and if I have to choose, writing always comes first. But I doodle and experiment a lot in Procreate, and it usually helps me when I procrastinate on my writing. I drop the odd drawing in here (like my profile pic), but I don’t see myself as a fine artist, and I’m in perpetual awe of the talent I see on here.

This is just an account for unapologetically being me, with all my hyperfixations—and undoubtedly some pointless shitposts just for fun…

In light of recent happenings, I explained my personal stance and, by extension, why this blog will keep on existing.

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popfizzles · 1 year ago

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Hey Hey!! Was just wondering if you had any tips for getting started on tumblr - also love your stuff :D

okay so first of all thank you for the compliment. now on to the long ass post of me analyzing tumblr for you

first tip: your dash (short for dashboard, the main body of the site, what you see when you first open the site) will 98% be posts from you and people you follow. if you do not reblog or post things, other people's dashboards will be empty, and the posts will never reach other people. this is why everyone advocates for reblogging posts! tumblr may be a broken mess of a hellsite but its the single most functional site when it comes to keeping the algorithm away. nowadays there is a for-you tab, and blazed posts (posts people pay to show up on other dashboards), but when you first log in to the tumblr dashboard, the majority of posts you see are because THE PEOPLE YOU FOLLOW put them there for you to look at. so do not hesitate to reblog things. if you have a specialized aesthetic or a themed blog, make a sideblog dedicated to reblogging random bullshit you like. here on tumblr, WE are the algorithm. we all have to do our part.

second tip: tumblr is super fandom-oriented. this is the fandom site. original works do not get as much traction here compared to already popular content. if your plan is to make it big as a comic artist or an author, I suggest you build an audience first, doing fanworks of things you like. once you've found a niche and a supportive following for yourself, its okay to branch out and introduce your own original content. subject your followers to your own blorbos, force them to look at your special little guys. from what i've seen, once people are used to your content, a majority will be more accepting to learning about your ocs. i know for a fact that i have gotten people into fandoms they have not followed me for. it becomes a community moment--OUR hyperfixation. but, i suggest starting by finding a place in a fandom community first, and getting your foot in the door.

third tip: please for the love of god, use tags correctly. like i said before, there is extremely little algorithm here. putting your posts into popular, vague tags does not work, it just makes people frustrated. when i search a tag on tumblr, i should ONLY see posts regarding that tag. the search function barely works as it is. if a character is not mentioned on the post, do NOT put their name in the tags. you're just bloating the tag with unrelated shit and drowning out the actual content. and you do not want to be that guy. extra point for the third tip: it's considered more polite to add comments in the tags than in the body of the post. people on tumblr like to read tags for compliments or silly comments :) its like finding a nice treat that was hidden. full sentences in the tags are a-okay and encouraged!

fourth tip: don't get discouraged when your works that you've spent hours upon hours on get ignored, and the shitty joke post you made at 4 AM blows up with thousands of notes. that just happens here. sorry.

good luck sorry for the long post <3

#fizzles talks #so if you are the astute type; this is what i mean when i say comments in tags #feel free to just add random shit here #i love reading tags its like enrichedment for me

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saphstories · 26 days ago

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✨Welcome to the Sapphire Storybook! ✨

My little realm of make believe! Feel free to leave reality at the gate. 😁🥰💖

My name's Saph, Saph the Dragon! I'm so happy you decided to check out my blog page, where I share my imagination and love for all my fandom craziness! You'll find all the need-to-knows and directory under the cut! Have fun! 😘🥰

Main Info:

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: Late Twenties.

Spirituality: Christian. (I only mention this to give you a better understanding of who I am, what makes this little dragon tick!😁)

I am the creator formerly known as SkyWriter. If you've come looking for her, you've succeeded!

My Ask Box is OPEN.

Requests are CLOSED.

Hyperfixations: Currently? ALL THINGS SONIC!!! 😂🥰 SHADOW MY BELOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

Current Project:

The Three Sovereigns: A tale of war, a tale of hope, a tale of Sovereignty, and of course, a tale of our favorite hedgehog trio! 💖 No promises, but I hope to release Book One in the holiday season, so stay tuned!

AUs:

The Three Sovereigns (In Progress)

Next-Gen AU (In Progress)

Second Chance AU (Casual; Unwritten)

Ghost House AU (Casual; Unwritten)

Blue Myosotis AU (Casual; Unwritten)

Go Find Me:

AO3: Saph_Stories

Ko-Fi: saphstories

Wattpad: Saph_Stories

General Rules:

No NSFW or Explicit Content. Keep it PG-13 or put on a Maturity Filter or Trigger Warning, please!

No Real-World Political Content. This is a world of make-believe, it exists to have fun and tell stories, not to debate about the state of the real world.

No edits, recolors, reposts, or blatant theft of my work. I pour my heart and soul into my works, guys. If you wanna share it, reblog it!

I say yes to fanworks of my work! If it inspires you that much, I'm honored! So fanart, fanfic, videos, any type of fanwork of my works is very much allowed and encouraged, so long as the OG is credited and I'm tagged so I can see and squeal over it! 🥰 (If you aren't sure what qualifies between these two rules, feel free to check with me!)

Be Kind. Be Respectful. Be Mindful. Hatred and Nastiness is NOT TOLERATED in the Storybook. First time offenders get a personal, single warning. A second-offender? You will be blocked and reported. This is your ONLY warning.

Request Rules:

ALL GENERAL RULES APPLY.

If the Directory states that Requests are CLOSED, then REQUESTS ARE CLOSED. DO NOT HARASS ME ABOUT OPENING OR TAKING REQUESTS WHEN THEY ARE CLOSED. I open requests when I have time, in between major projects, because I choose to. Harassment about opening Requests will lead to immediate banishment from the Storybook.

I reserve the right, as the author, to refuse any request for any reason, with or without disclosure to the submitter. Basically: I can and will say no and don't have to explain why.

I do retain ownership and all creative licensing as the author for any and all fic requests written. As such, I retain the right to post them on any such of my platforms as I choose as my own work. Reposting of any sort is prohibited. No exceptions.

DO NOT HARRASS ME ABOUT WHEN YOUR REQUEST WILL BE POSTED. I write requests in the order they are received. Please, for the love of all that is holy, be patient. I will get to your request when I get to it and not a moment before. Harassment about posting schedules will result in your request being denied and banishment from the Storybook.

If there is a theme or prompt list, please do your best to stick to it! Some outliers or deviations are okay, but if I decide on a theme or prompt list, do your best to keep your request within those parameters, please!

Be as specific or as vague with your requests as you like! If there's a specific scene or character dynamic or anything you want to see happen, please do tell!

If the request features an OC and/or Content from a third party (Not owned by me the Author or you the Submitter), I will be verifying they have given express permission for their OCs and/or Content to be used! This is to protect my credibility as an Author and my DMs from accusations of theft. If they have not given express permission, I will not be writing requests with any OCs and/or Content they own.

I WILL WRITE ✔️:

(Listed below are the Mains, if you don't see something specific that isn't outlined in the ✖️, feel free to ask! 😁)

Types: Canon Explorations or Divergences; Fix-Its; Character Studies; Alternate Universes; Crossovers.

Fandoms: Sonic the Hedgehog (I feel like this one was obvious 😂), Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Doctor Who (Specifically the Nine and Ten (TENNANT MY BELOVED) Era, but I won't object to Eleven if I like the Request enough. 😊), the Bad Guys, Phineas and Ferb.

AUs: Second Chance, Ghost House, Blue Myosotis, The Murder of Me (Not Mine, but Gigi has stated that she allows fanworks.).

Characters (Canon or OC): Just about Any from the Fandom List, along with most of my OCs and AU Alternate Characters.

Ships: Generally: Any CanonxCanon, CanonxOC, or OCxOC (So long as they have compelling chemistry!😊 Mind the WNW✖️'s) Specifically: Sonamy, Shadouge, Shaph(...What?), Silvaze, Zutara, Tenrose, TenSaph(Whistling Innocently), Phinabella.

I WILL NOT WRITE ✖️:

(These are the Mains/Umbrellas and are Non-Negotiable. If you don't see something stated or that falls into these categories, feel free to ask me!)

Explicit or NSFW Content of ANY Kind.

Romantic Non-Consensual Ships and Content.

Incest or AdultxChild ships.

LGBTQIA+ Ships and Content.

Real-World Political Content.

CanonxReader Ships and Content.

Non-Fiction. (I feel like this should be obvious.)

Horror. (Think Texas Chainsaw or Friday the 13th. Things like that.)

Overly Complicated/Headache Inducing Time Travel. ('Nuff Said.)

✨️ These Rules and Guidelines, both General and Request, are subject to addition and revision at any time as I, Saph the Dragon, Owner and Author of the Sapphire Storybook, deem necessary.

You are loved. You are valued.

Have fun. ♥️

#the sapphire storybook #introduction post #welcome!#saphstories #saph the dragon #main info #pinned post #formerly known as skywriter #ask box is always open #have fun gang!#saph's world of make believe #introducing me #rules of engagement #please make sure to read those guys #requests are currently closed #blog directory #sapphire storybook table of contents #sapphire storybook index

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astor-and-the-endless-ink · 2 months ago

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Thank you for tagging me @illarian-rambling!!

OC Headcanon Tag

Rules: use this website to generate headcanons for your OCs, then explain if they're right or not!

I'm only doing The Gift and the Ghostspeaker and This Blood Will Remember bc people liked tgatg and I'm currently hyperfixated on tbwr XD

Kai is going to hell.

This is incredibly ironic, he's one of the two main characters in The Gift and the Ghostspeaker who is a (fantasy world) Christian XD

Rhys can drive.

Yes? Kinda? The question is should he—

Sterling would succumb to the fog.

And frequently does!

Ellis believes in ghosts and insists on trying to summon one at every sleepover.

Also ironic, he's half-Ghost, and would do anything to prevent that from happening!

Val is unemployed.

Legally yes?

Nat has been canceled on Twitter.

Oh absolutely.

Gio wakes up on November 1st and starts decorating for Christmas.

Yep.

If someone they knew commited a crime, Evi would cover for them.

In a heartbeat

Devin role plays on discord.

Don't tell anyone but yeah.

Brynn likes to eat straight coffee beans.

What supernatural three year old doesn't?

Cam could easily survive The Hunger Games.

Totally XD

Juni is tumblr famous.

Very—

Dresden stole a lollipop at the checkout when they were 5 and they still feel guilty about it.

Mayyybe?

Indigo sucks at saying tongue twisters.

In English, he does. Not in his own language tho

Tagging @seastarblue and open tags!!

#open tag #tag game #writblr #creative writing #tumblr writing community #writeblr #writer stuff #writers #writers and poets #wip #words #writers life #this blood will remember #the gift and the ghostspeaker

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ketho484 · 2 years ago

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Hoi! This is gonna be the start of my personal version of the Welcome Home Actor AU made by Frillsand on Tiktok and inspired by the drabbles made by @wally-darling-hyperfixation (love your work! Keep being inspirational!). This will mostly follow Wally and my OC, Willow. I'll put up a character sheet or several for each story I have in mind at a later date. For now, let the show begin!

Au belongs to @frillsand

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

Chapter 1: The blue haired child

It was a pretty normal day in the busy city. Cars were full of people trying to get to work or trying to get kids to school. The hustle and bustle of the early morning was fairly common, albeit rather annoying. The city was a good place to live, but it wasn't without its flaws, to put it kindly.

The greatest flaw in this city would be its discrimination against puppets. See, in the late 1950s, a prideful puppeteer had discovered a way to bring what he created to life. Nobody knows how he did it, but the puppet population exploded rather quickly after that as the creatures spread out into the world. They were similar to humans in many ways. They can grow and develop from childhood like humans, their digestive tracts are like humans, they can produce offspring like humans, and they can bleed, be bruised, get hurt, and even die much like humans. However, nobody knows if they are a new race of humans or if they are a species of their own due to the differences they have. The puppets can be hurt, but they are significantly more durable than humans. They can heal rather quickly, needing stitches and casts for roughly half the time that humans need them. If the injury is grave, like, say, a limb gets cut off, they just need to stitch the limb back onto their bodies and it will work with no problem. It was a bit freaky, but people started accepting that as normal for puppets as time went on. Even still, discrimination is a bit of a problem in the city as humans still try to grapple with the existence of puppets living among them.

However, this story doesn't deal with that on the macro scale. Instead, this story begins a bit smaller, beginning in the city suburbs, where a small puppet girl worked tirelessly to meet a deadline set for her, hearing an argument between her human parents outside her work room door. She had yellow felt skin and dark blue hair that hung down to her back. She wore a ragged dress with long sleeves, but wore no shoes. She had a gift of mastering many creative arts, including singing and sewing. This little girl would hum to herself, just like right now, as she worked on costumes for this place her father had signed for called PlayFellow Studios, the home of her favorite show, Welcome Home, the cast of whom always needed new costumes, so her father made a contract with the studio owners to make them and dumped all the work onto this poor little kid.

It was rare that she was allowed any time with the TV, but sometimes her father would allow it if she had been very good. When that happened, she was always keen on watching Welcome Home when it aired. It was one of the few things that made her feel like an actual child, watching all of the friendly characters sing and dance and have fun. It made her start to daydream about how different her life would be if she went to that beautiful town to live there. It would be far better than this horrible place…

She shook her head and got back to work. These new outfits had to be ready for tomorrow or else her dad would punish her. She hated being punished. Her dad had set up a whole room for her punishments depending on the severity. If she didn't get this finished, then-

"Willow?" A gentle voice called from the door to her sewing room, the voice of the girl's adoptive mother

"Yes, momma?" Willow looked up, turning off the sewing machine for the moment to speak

"Hey, honey…Your father and I were talking and-"

"You mean arguing?" Willow cut her mother off, making the woman chuckle as she came closer

"Either way, I…I might've convinced your father to take you with us when we go to show these costumes to the cast" Her mother said with a smile that widened when Willow's smile came bright and beaming onto her face

"You mean I'm gonna meet them!?" She asked as she bounced in her seat

"That's right…though for your safety, I need to ask if the costumes are ready yet"

"Almost" Willow said as she calmed down, turning to her current costume project "I just need to finish the costume for Mister Darling. I know he didn't demand much, but I wanna make all the costumes really special and I can't help but feel like this one is missing something…"

"Like what?" Her mother asked as she looked down at the white shirt Willow was sewing

"I'm not sure" Willow said simply as she kept going with her project "That's the problem. I'm not sure what this is gonna need. I made everything right. What is it missing?"

"...Could you sneak something onto it?" Her mother asked quietly

"What?" Willow perked up as she took the finished shirt off the machine

"Try adding something as a personal signature" Her mother said "Something your father can't take credit for"

Willow started thinking. What could she add to make these costumes unique? Something to ensure people knew she made them…That’s when it hit her. Her mother had been teaching her this technique for a few weeks now, so maybe she could try it. She gathered all of her colorful thread, grabbed the knit sweater for Wally’s costume, a simple dark blue sweater, and started sewing some embroidery on it, specifically a nice rainbow wrapping around the body. Willow gave her adopted mother a nod and the woman left to let her work. Willow didn’t often smile, especially at home, but she was smiling now as she embroidered all of the costumes. Wally’s white shirt to go with the new sweater had some vine and apple patterns on the collar and shirt cuffs, Julie’s new dress got some flower embroidery on the skirt and neckline, Frank’s new vest got some butterfly embroidery, Howdy got some apples on the pockets of his apron while his shirt cuffs got some caterpillar imagery, Polly’s new costume got some baked goods imagery, most notably on the bottom of her baking apron but also on the skirt of a dress, Eddie’s shirt collar and hat both got some letters embroidered onto them, Sally got some stars on her skirt and a theater mask symbol on her dress pocket located on the chest, and Barnaby’s vest got some bouncy balls and dog bones on the bottom along with a rainbow on the chest pocket and a daisy embroidered into the new hat. Willow was going through a creative frenzy thanks to her mother encouraging her, and she finished it all just after her parents went to bed.

As usual, she had to feed herself, but there was nothing in the fridge, so she went and got some money from her mother’s purse to go buy a burger from a place down the street. The owner, Jerry, was there when he saw her come in and sighed. She looked worse and worse every time she went in to see him. She just ordered a plain burger, but he gave her a big combo meal including a burger, chicken nuggets, and a large holder of fries. He paid for it himself and bid her farewell after she thanked him. She ran home, but ate on the porch so her father didn’t catch her eating in her room again. Last time it happened…She shuddered and finished eating before throwing out the bag and taking out the still full trash. She then quietly crept to the room she had been sewing in and laid down on some fabric scraps, the softest of which was her pillow. She took a deep breath, smiling at the outfits she’d made, and closed her little eyes.

Tomorrow was another day…

#Welcome Home #OC #TW: Mentions of abuse #Actor AU

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thatmaxcontent · 6 months ago

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FnF sona, because I kinda fell in love with the game again :) and I like the funky style and self-inserting

OC/SONA INFO BELOW!! :D [All of this is PURE FANON AND SELF-INSERT, NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CANON!!!]

Maxwell is 18, AFAB Genderfluid with a STRONG male lean, he/him, Panromantic Asexual. He loves Goth, Metal, Pop, Hyperpop and Indie music the most, but overall listens to everything from Pop to Jazz. The hypothetical songs would each be a different style of Metal-inspired music mixed with another genre (in order, Indie/Metal, Pop/Metal, Goth/Metal, Hyperpop/Metal.) I had a hypothetical fifth song named "Godlike", that would've been like Gospel/Metal, but instead of holy Gospel worship it'd just be boss music /hj.

Maxwell has an undying love for all things Alien (particularly the emoji), and his male identity doesn't stop him from expressing himself however he wants. He's chubby and thick, usually covering up with styled baggy clothes.

He's good friends with BF and GF (also acquainted with Pico and his buds), the blue-haired peeps met three years ago when they were at a burger truck and there was only one burger left. Pico, who was BF'S, well, boyfriend back then kind of stood back facepalming as BF and Maxwell started rap battling for a burger. It devolved to them beep bopping one anothers spines so hard they fell to the ground bleeding and they watched as a little girl hopped over and bought the burger, feeding it to a nearby duck who morphed into a muscle duck after they ate the burger. The muscle duck and little girl took flight together while Maxwell, BF and Pico all looked at the scene. Pico was confused, meanwhile the blue duo were crying over the steroid burger.

Eventually the two got up and the trio made their way to a bench, where BF and Maxwell already forgot what happened and they shook hands only to bump their heads together thanks to being so dizzy from blood loss. Pico laughed at them and then lost his shit as they actually fainted and almost bled to death on the ground. When they woke up five minutes later they had a rap battle, exchanged numbers and waved each other goodbye for now. Pico had to carry boyfriend to his shitty ass apartment, meanwhile Maxwell crawled to his like an overgrown spider with scoliosis.

They met up every now and then, though they mostly ran into one another. Whenever they hung out, up until Pico and BF broke up, they'd do dumb shit that only amplified if Darnell and Nene pushed their asses along no matter how much Pico tried to beat the shit out of them not to come. Darnell taught Maxwell to spray-paint in exchange of Maxwell teaching him to do art with a pencil, because conveniently they had no fucking idea how to do what the other was a master at. Nene and Maxwell VERY OFTEN overshared on girl body problems and made the others throw up their tacos on the park grass.

When Pico and BF broke up Maxwell gave them both some space, and overall the hangouts pretty much disappeared. Some time after Maxwell hit BF up again, and they went ahead to get milkshakes or some shit when BF shared some tea.

"BEP BOP BOP"

"Bitch, no way, got your eye on someone new?? WHOMST, I MUST KNOW!"

"Bap BI BOP bop BAAAAP"

"DUDE, THAT IS SO COOL!!! Hold on how the fuck did you score a demon?"

"Bapip boop bi bap ba bop op boop"

"You're right, less questioning, MORE CELEBRATING, HELL YEAH HOMIE!!!"

From there Maxwell got to know GF, and also the extent of BF's and GF's dumbass energy (then again, he himself isn't much better). He still kept in contact with Pico and the gang, but overall he just vibes.

Maxwell is an enjoyer of singing/rapping, but he works as a baker part-time. He lives in a shitty apartment of his own, and hyperfixates an unhealthy amount on his own fantastical projects. They make his brains mush and make him go bepeboop.

I love him very dearly :)

#art #my art #artists on tumblr #fnf #friday night funkin #fnf self insert #fnf oc #long text

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chipper-asks · 2 years ago

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Hi! I've been following you for a good while now and have always rly admired the community you've build, and, your art itself, obviously, it's always very cozy in here. May be a strange question, but as a relatively popular artist on the interned, are there any tips you could share on how to engage and sustain an audience? maybe you know some recourses for artist to get their art seen? I've been an artist posting online for roughly 10 yrs and pretty much failed at accumulating any sort of prominent presence. I don't feel bad about it really, it's not why I do art per say, but these are pretty rough times and unfortunately other means of art monetization grow thinner with stupid updates & algorithms forcing anyone who can't afford payed adds or subscriptions out of business. I kinda have to make use of social media, even if it's not my element in the slightest. Feel free not to answer if you feel like it. Thanks in advance! Also big thanks for your shouts of my art overall, I really appreciate your support!

So I've had a post in my drafts for who knows how long detailing how to build and curate your audience online. But I haven't found a good way to go about posting it because I didn't want it to come off as tooting my own horn xD

BUT YOU HAVE ENABLED ME SO HERE WE GO!!!

(im going to generalize, you may already be doing some of these things but I think its good info for anyone who wants to build an online presence)

1. Engaging your audience

A: First, you have to think of the platform you're sharing your art on and what people use it for. Not even tumblr, but the internet as a whole. It is a place where people form communities and share information. It's also one of the most popular ways to mentally escape; from school, boredom, to the horrors of real life.

So if you want people to find you, make a space where they can escape/feel community.

This means: No callout posting, no venting, no doom posting, no politics, no guilt posting, no anything that would make you unfollow someone else if you were having a bad day.

It's okay to have an occasional vent or political post cause we're human, but trauma dumping is something thats very hard for someone else to read and honestly should you be putting that kind of information online, the internet is a place of community but it also isnt safe.

B: The Value of Fandoms

It's time for some metrics, featuring my own follower count.

I've been on tumblr for 9 years and I have been making an effort to grow my base as a way of getting money as a freelancer (like you) so I started doing this allll the way back in highschool. I can remember each milestone and which fandom I got them in

1,000 I got when I was posting stuff for Undertale

2,000 I got when I was posting stuff for The Property of Hate

there was a big break between these milestones where I was just drawing ocs and object heads and stuff, but nothing I was hyperfixated on

5,000 I got from Hollow Knight

but then something really unexpected happened.

In late 2021 and early 2022 I decided cringe was a worthless social construct and decided to fully indulge in my enjoyment of doodling dragons.

I juuust inched past 5,000 when 2022 started. I Ended Up With 12,000 as 2022 ended. That's more than double. As of posting this I am at 13,600 and its only February.

So how did that happen? I could tout along and say that it was simply luck and I wasn't really making an effort anyway but that's a big fuckin lie, i've been "selling out" this whole time (it's not fucking selling out to post in fandom. You like a thing? You go to the thing's community and post about the thing)

Posting in a fandom is essentially like, now bear with me, advertising for your blog. Fandom is where the eyes are and where the traffic goes. Big tags like #artistsontumblr #tumblrart #art are used OFTEN but they're too general and often people look for things that are specific. Fandoms like Hollow Knight, BNHA, Mob Psycho, The Owl House, etc are currently popping off and have a lot of traffic.

This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to join a popular fandom to post your work in to get followers, it just means that if you're into a show or a media, post it on your main art blog and don't make side blogs. Keep it all together

Why?

Because 5% of those fandom people stick around for YOUR STUFF and those 5% of people are the best goddamn people in the world. You want those 5% to see EVERYTHING you do and THEY'RE the ones who will recommend you to THEIR friends and do outreach on your behalf because they like YOU and not YOUR STUFF.

i fuckin love those guys

So as you hop from fandom to fandom, you're going to lose some people but that's fine. Everyone curates their experience online and if you head off in a direction they don't like then they can deal with it. The rest come along for the ride cause 1: they either really like your stuff or 2: are into the new thing you're getting into.

SO ANYWAY

posting in fandoms under one name is GOOD because it puts everyone in the same bucket that will see your stuff and there's a chance that a few will stick just for your stuff. It is not cheap, its how you reach out to people to help cheer up their day and escape from things stressing them out.

C: What should you post?

So this is something that isn't an exact science but if you're looking to increase your follower count, this is something you can keep in mind.

Because this is the internet and the digital word of escaping from stress, people flock to things that are

1: Familiar 2: Funny 3: Relatable

So i've already been over fandoms and that's something that goes into the Familiar category. Familiar can also mean generalized but still popular concepts, like werewolves, dragons, vampires, apocalyptic scenarios, etc.

The more you trail into something niche, like marine biology, the seelie/unseelie courts, object heads, etc, the less traffic you'll find. There are communities centered around these but they're not massive like certain fandoms.

Which is how you end up with artists who spend hours upon hours on every piece only getting like 14 - 32 notes per piece. It's not lack of people caring or lack of interest, its the fact that these artists haven't "advertised" their blogs in fandom. Those people who end up caring about more personal posts are those 5% you find from fandom spaces. Their Familiar from that fandom begins to include your artwork as Familiar and thus they're more likely to share it.

Funny is simple. Tumblr is a platform of shitposts and memes. Do you have a favorite character in a fandom? Shitpost them. 2 birds with one stone, Familiar and Funny. I can't teach you how to be funny, but if you see something that makes you laugh online, pause and try to find out why and see if you can replicate it. (You wont get it in one go)

Relate-ability is also simple. If someone finds something they can easily associate with they will eagerly tag #mood #me or @ one of their friends in the post.

What doesn't get people following just by itself is your skill.

This sounds really fucking depressing but hear me out.

Your skill in art is a multiplier. It can take those three categories from above and BOOST IT to fantastic new heights. People love things that are from their fandoms that are funny and relate-able. People go FERAL for shit that is from their fandoms that are funny, relate-able AND COOL AS FUCK. If art represented x5 in an equation and you have nothing else, you get 0. If you include any of those three other things and then x5, you get something grand.

2. Sustaining your Audience.

If you want to set up your blog as a platform to eventually gain freelance income from, you need to make it yours and not your audience's.

This is key to prevent burnout and feeling obligation to create for thousands of featureless faces and losing sight of what made you enjoy art in the first place.

It is REALLY EASY to fall into that pit, especially as you grow your audience. When you have a small audience, it's easier to interact one on one with someone. Engagement is exciting when you have a small audience! People? Interested in your work!! Fuck yeah!!

But as you reach those milestones, the vibe begins to change. More and more people demand your attention. People who are new don't see you as an artist they knew from another fandom, they see you as a content creator and that is the worst goddamn stone wheel to get stuck around your neck.

You can still respond to requests and answer silly questions, but now you have to keep in mind that if you draw this little dragon for someone, three other people are going to ask for their own little dragons. And that's fine because you love dragons and they asked so nicely. You make those dragons but now there's seven people asking for their own dragons and you actually want to work on something other than dragons-- but you made those dragon doodles for those other people so wouldn't it be hypocritical to say no-

It becomes a spiral.

So to prevent that situation from happening, you need to respect your boundaries as an artist and what you will do and what you will draw the line at. If someone doesn't like you for that, they can unfollow.

In terms of posting regularly to sustain your audience, i've found that it helps but ultimately doesn't matter.

(this is a tumblr centric view, i cannot say the same for other platforms)

The way tumblr works resembles a massive recycling facility. You will see shit on your dash from 7 years ago but you dont mind, its how this place works.

It doesn't matter how often you post. You won't lose priority on people's dashboards if you don't make your daily art post. What matters is that you just make the post.

Each post you make is like sending out a bucket of chum into the grand ocean of tumblr. The more buckets of chum you have, the more likely you are to attract fish. The more you post the larger your radius is. The more variety you make in spreading out to different fandoms the wider your range is. And these spots of chum don't go away! They're permanent brown spots in a big blue wasteland and fish will stumble across it and then try to find the source.

Basically, you can disappear for an entire month and then suddenly return out of nowhere and shove 57 posts into a week and then disappear again and people will show up and stick around.

THis post is getting really long and there are probably some things im missing but my hadns are getting achy and i think that's my call to stop :p

if you have anymore questions tho im very willing to answer 👍

#asks #long post #nofandom

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ourlordapollo · 1 year ago

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Okay well. Behold the products of the MvK brain rot that has consumed me these past few days.

(It's 3 oneshots.)

Hey it's about your straw villain. Yeah, a freak with ADHD hyperfixated on him and turned him into a twink. Yeah, they twinkified him. Yeah and theyre not sorry. No yeah you heard that right, they twinkified your straw villain. If it's any consolation, if you look really closely, you can see the monster he's destined to become.

Anyway @musashi thanks for the karma brainrot. It shows up a bit at the end there.

Rambling: Okay so the first oneshot is thematically distinct from the other two. The other two are all Twinkfred and some OCs.

Can't believe I have to say this but some of the characters in this work of fiction express views that I do not agree with and say things that aren't true. If that very concept blows your mind, this is not the fic for you.

Lastly, this is kind of a disjointed mess rn but I have an idea for a longer, more cohesive narrative i just don't have time for that kind of commitment rn. This is not the last of Twinkfred.

Content Warnings: one (1) very brief mention of hypothetical physical abuse, one (1) scene of not-upsetting dubcon kissing & grinding, alcohol use, non-graphic depiction of at-home ear piercing

Tea soaks into the napkins where Phoenix presses them down. It must be scalding him; it's still steaming, but he doesn't flinch. Not like Miles, who does nothing but flinch. It's not usually so obvious: a sharp glare, an unkind word. It doesn't usually produce a physical result.

"I'm sorry, Miles," Phoenix says, and his gaze moves from the damp napkins to Miles' eyes and Miles does not flinch. Does not allow it. Phoenix swallows. "Did..." The weight of his hesitation is so heavy that Miles knows what's coming next, the desperate cry for connection he's trained himself to anticipate and ignore. "Did he ever hit you?"

Slowly, Miles shakes his head.

—

Von Karma's hand has already begun to swell, the skin around the puncture wounds turning deep blue. His sharp cry still hangs in the air, heavy with the raspy authority he uses when training his dogs. Walther licks his palm and von Karma lets him, stilling his shaking hand.

But Miles sees, just for a moment.

"Sir?" Miles doesn't bother asking if he's alright. The answer to that will always be a stern 'of course.'

"Speak, Miles Edgeworth."

"Why..." Even the question feels unimaginably cruel, but Miles persists. "Why didn't you hit him?"

Von Karma raises an eyebrow. "Do you think I should have hit Walther?"

"No, sir. But I know that other people hit their dogs when they misbehave." He'd seen it, a little swat on the rear of a dog that yapped at passing cars, an open-palm strike to a dog that pulled on the lead.

"We're not 'other people'," Manfred replies, eyes flashing. His voice makes it clear exactly what he thinks of 'other people.' What Miles should think of them, too. "Do you know what happens when you strike a dog?"

"No, sir."

"You make it afraid."

He pauses, and Miles repeats the word: "Afraid."

"A fearful dog doesn't think. A fearful dog acts without concern for anything but its own immediate safety. It lashes out in irrational panic, mindlessly attacking anything that moves." Von Karma's eyes are far away. "It undermines itself. It destroys. I do not raise frightened dogs."

"I understand, sir," Miles says, trying not to let his voice quiver.

Von Karma looks right through him. "Good," he says, exhaling. "That is good, Miles."

And by his sides, his hands shake.

The neon lights blot out the stars, which is just as well, because Fredi navigates by them tonight, the blinking and the flashing. The music calls to him, the driving thud of deliverance on the promise he'd made to himself.

Berlin would be different.

Clouds of cigarette smoke hang low over the group of people— his people— lingering by the gaping mouth of the club. He goes right in. No identification, no pause. He just walks in.

The music crawls inside him and vibrates under his skin and a thousand bodies move in tandem, rocking him deeper and deeper into their midst.

The lights flash, illuminating intertwined couples of all genders, wearing all sorts of clothing. All the things he'd promised himself. But still, his heart stops when he sees two men pressed close, their lips locked. What would Father and Mother say?

Hands find him, anchor on his hips. He reaches out reflexively and catches the incoming kiss with parted lips. His back hits the wall. The stranger's tongue is cold against Fredi's own, his palms hot under Fredi's waistband. The strangers thigh slots in between Fredi's, touching him— he freezes.

Everything stops, just for a moment.

In the colored lights, Fredi catches a look of annoyance as the stranger pulls back. "You have to say something if you don't want it," he spits, and staggers off.

The crushing weight of his failure dims the lights in Fredi's eyes— he'd done it wrong. Everyone here seemed to know how already, how to drink and dance. How to be queer.

His hands curl into fists but the stranger is long gone.

He's found again, later, by a bedraggled group who have created their own little atmosphere inside the club.

"How old are you?" someone shouts in his ear

"19," he lies.

This new person grabs his hand and drags him out a side door, where the air cools his skin and the music pulses with less violence.

"Let me ask you that again. How old are you, really?"

"I'm short for my age," Fredi says, glaring.

"17 at the oldest," says another member of the little group, and laughs. "What's your name?"

"Fredi." There's a pause, and he adds, "Fredi von Karma."

More laughter. She smiles. "Not your stage name, sweetheart."

"I like the sound of that," titters a third person. "Von Karma."

Fredi would roll his eyes if he wasn't so used to this conversation. Their family history had not been well-documented, and Father had never uncovered the reasoning for the strange name. "Did you want something?"

"Let us introduce ourselves first!" says the one who had first spoken to him. "Let's be polite, yes? My name is Timo. This is Maren, Zissi, and Wolf."

Wolf howls. Fredi only raises his eyebrows.

He stays quiet for a moment, examining them. Wolf and Timo wear earrings in their right earlobes. Maren and Zissi hold hands, their nails short and rounded. They all wear bright colors, Wolf's shirt unbuttoned low to reveal leather straps forming an X across his chest.

"What do you think?" Timo asks, flexing. Zissi laughs and leans over Maren to swat at him, her pupils impossibly wide.

"What do you want?" Fredi counters.

Timo's jovial manner drops. "To check on you, honestly. When you see a new face, a young face like yours..."

"With lipstick on his cheek," Maren adds.

"I'm fine," Fredi says at once.

"Where are you staying tonight?" Timo counters. "With Mama and Papa?"

Despite all his plans, Fredi hesitates for a second too long. And he'd made plans; he had a little money. It would be easy enough for someone like him to find a job and he'd always been frugal.

"Ah, Fredi, Fredi." Timo slings an arm around him, blowing whiskey-scented breath across his cheek. "Don't think we don't know what this is. You're a long way from Bavaria, you know."

"I know," says Fredi, looking from face to face. They really don't seem to mean him any ill; Wolf is dancing to the beat, Maren and Zissi are kissing.

"I'm just saying, we have a couch you can sleep on. We'll even feed you if you ask nicely."

Fredi swallows. His plan... His perfect plan. He'd spent so long picturing it, his little slice of paradise in Berlin.

His little slice of perfection.

But reality looms with sharper edges, slicing his fantasy to ribbons. He doesn't know what he's doing. He's young and alone in an unfamiliar city, and these people (his people!) have chosen to be kind to him.

Fredi looks at the hoop flashing in Timo's right ear. "I accept."

Zissi says, "Do you know what 'karma' means?"

"Lean your head on my chest" Timo says.

Fredi's head touches down just below Timo's collar bone. Vodka cools his earlobe. "It doesn't mean anything," he says. "There's no such place as 'Karma.'"

"Someone hasn't studied the Eastern religions," Zissi says, like she hadn't dropped out of university after less than a year.

Still, heat flares in Fredi's chest and he spits fire before he can even think of controlling it. "Why should I have?" And how dare she try to make him feel inferior? He has no reason to know anything about Asia.

His reasoning kicks in a second later and he catches her eye and softens his expression.

"This will feel cold," Timo murmurs, pressing ice to Fredi's earlobe.

"Karma is the sword of justice," Zissi says. "That which goes around comes around."

"Like the flu?" Fredi says drily.

"Very funny." Zissi rolls her eyes. "Timo, stab him."

A great pressure and a great release bore in and out of Fredi's numbed earlobe, then an uncomfortable wiggling sensation. A part of his body that had never been touched before is now open to the world.

It is the first piece of metal to pierce Fredi's flesh, but it won't be the last.

"You're sure you want both ears?" Timo asks. "The right ear is the gay ear."

"Both my ears are gay ears," Fredi retorts. It's not quite true, but he's found it's easier to just be one thing at a time. He was straight in Gersthofen; he is gay in Berlin.

"Fine," Timo sighs. "Flip over, then."

Fredi keeps his neck stiff so his ear doesn't press into Timo's chest. The cycle begins again: ice, vodka, ice, vodka. "What do you mean by justice?" he asks to keep his mind off the throbbing pain.

"The things you do, the actions you take, they have a way of finding their way back to you," Zissi explains. "Bad things will happen to bad people and vice versa."

It's a funny coincidence, that some typographical error could align so neatly with Fredi's path. He will be a lawyer and school starts soon. "Karma is the sword of justice," he repeats contemplatively.

The needle drives into his ear.

He barely feels it.

Karma is the sword of justice.

You could make a religion out of that.

#annoying ppl will be blocked on sight and vaporized in my brain 🥰#that includes puriteens and 'um akshually' guys #manfred von karma #maybe delete later??? idk im shy #n-e-way im so serious about the um akshually thing i had 3 400-level classes about the philosophy and function of several religions #including b.uddhism ja.inism and hi.nduism. the inaccuracy is on purpose. it's on purpose.#the warped maniacal mind of wizard glick at work

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