#keymates

[nulliustram-webfiction]

Intro Post

Figured I might as well introduce myself lol.

I'm @indigo-brainspark on main (@indigosabyss is my fanworks blog) and this is my writing sideblog!!

I have a post-apocalyptic LitRPG serial on RoyalRoad which is linked here, but on Tumblr, I have two main ideas going on. Here's a link to a list of ideas I had going a while back!

KeyMates, which is a story about two psychics whose only ability is an unconscious mindlink that allows them to automatically find keys the other person is looking for, and the queerplatonic relationship they foster as they get through this world filled with assumptions of romance and expectations. Snippets of this are all over my blog, but the main story hasn't started yet, so... no link for that.

There is also Surviving Nulls, which I'm currently doing using the 'For the Love of...' snippets. The overall story is about a loveless aplaroace girl trying to learn magic in a system that says that all magic must be fostered out of relational love, and her battle against strange void-like creatures called Nulls who serve to steal human's magic and love because they are incapable of creating any of their own. Or at least, that's what she's told.

My friends are really supportive of these projects, and every so often you'll see something on here that they've drawn or helped edit. I'll get them to introduce themselves if this blows up lol.

Maybe this sounds like wishful thinking, but I want to make a living off writing eventually. But that's a long way coming. For now, here's my ko-fi for donations and my Patreon for early access.

[indigo-brainspark]

My school has these lockers which require individual keys to open the locks. If you lose the key, there's no master key to get inside to your books, so you need to keep a close eye on that really small key, because if you don't, you're never getting into your locker again until someone is brought in with a sledgehammer.

There is one other solution though. Some of the students have keys that manage to open another person's locker. Not a random person's locker. Just that the build of the key was similar enough to open one other lock in the whole grade. If you lose your key, you just need to find the one (or two) specific people in your grade which has a key that can open your locker so that you don't fail. Then, once you find them, you end up having to be nice to each other because if either of you forget your keys, then your grades are resting on the other person's goodwill. Or get the sledgehammer guy, but who cares?

So, where am I going with this??? Hear me out: Not-Inherently-Romantic/Monogamous Soulmate AU, where your soulmate(s) coincidentally just always happen to have keys that are able to open your locks as well. The locks are restricted to only the type of locks that are cheap, mass-produced, somewhat breakable and not meant to be high-security, that way there's plausible deniability on how you keep on getting the same linked pairs of keys.

[indigo-brainspark]

Lock & Key Soulmate AU

I talked about the inspiration for this here, but basically the Keymates AU is about how the small locks you own, which aren't very high security and the factories usually make several copies of the same design, are just sold randomly. Yet, somehow, one or two or even three other people happen to get a key that can open your locks, which you can borrow if you ever lose your keys, or vice versa. This isn't a one-off coincidence, as these two could go to two different countries, and randomly buy a small lock, only to meet back up and find out the other has an exact copy. Every. Single. Time.

It's a probability anomaly that drives mathematicians crazy, and I want you to know that any soulmate au I ever write will be using this, and this only.

But aside from that, I just find the idea fascinating??? Like, how would that affect society? I'm imagining people would use terrible pick up lines relating to this like, "if you've lost a key, why don't you try mine" or something idk, I'm aroace, leave me alone.

People who dislike social interaction in general will be clutching the key ring to their chest like, "if I lose this, I'll have to talk to someone, and I physically can't handle that."

People who have this anomaly, but hate the other person, so they just use the same-key privileges to mess with the other one.

Schoolchildren will be making up nonsense like "if you have the same keys, you need to get married." And all the aro/apl folk are like "pls I just forgot my keys and need to open my locker, leave me alone"

It's just intriguing, is all. PLEASE discuss with me more about this, because I would love to talk.

[nulliustram-webfiction]

Nulliustram Webfiction is Moving From Tumblr!!!

After some contemplation, I realized using Tumblr for my main writing platform was. a terrible idea.

Hence, I've started a free Substack, and the first chapter of KeyMates has been posted there. The full chapter. Not the bits and pieces I put on the blog. You can subscribe and follow along here:

[nulliustram-webfiction]

He was late to class, and got saddled with a detention. Should have bunked entirely, but he never built up the nerve to blow off authority figures that completely before, so he wasn’t going to start now.

The only thing was, he couldn’t get a detention today.

“Yes, yes, you all live very busy lives.” The student affairs officer rolled his eyes, “I’ve heard it all before, kid.”

“No, you don’t get it!” Flynn replied, “I have an appointment. An important one. Can’t miss it.”

“If it’s a doctor’s appointment, then your parents are needed to sign off on your exit.” The officer droned, much too practiced with this spiel.

Flynn gritted his teeth. So reasoning didn’t get him anywhere. That was fine. He could wait them out. Or, more accurately, he could wait until his file handler had had enough and called him about his tardiness.

As if summoned by the gods of luck, an electronic beeping started from somewhere inside. Yes! His get-out-of-jail-free card!

The officer looked at him, raising an eyebrow, “I’ve got my eye on you, kid.” They warned, turning around to pick up the phone. They listened to the other side’s side for a few moments, face slowly draining of color as they spoke.

“I- I’m sorry, but who is this?” They finally asked.

Flynn couldn’t hear what was being said on the line like other psychics might be able to, but he knew all the same what the answer was.

A Representative from the Federal Organization for Psychic Manipulation Research.

Similarly, he couldn’t read what was happening in the officer’s mind, but he could tell the exact moment he thought: oh shit.

He put the phone down with a clank and turned to face Flynn shakily, “You can go for today. Cover for your detention tomorrow.”

Part 3 of KeyMates <<First | <Previous | Next>

[nulliustram-webfiction]

Despite the ‘getting shoved into a locker’ incident, Flynn was actually somewhat popular in his school.

Most of this popularity he attributed to Anne. She was level-headed, serious in most situations, but also had a sense of humor. She was also straight up cool, with her dyed messy bun and fishnet armbands. She always had the latest video game consoles, and the fanciest sneakers. People liked her. As they should.

Not that Anne knew that. She didn’t even seem to realize that half the school was obsessed with her.

He still didn’t understand how a girl like that ended up as his… soulmate. Eurgh. Technically the term was ‘Uni-Sensing Psychics’ but it was a mouthful that no one recognized.

But the attention being in her bubble got Flynn was more trouble than it was worth. He hated the spotlight. Even the fringe of the light was too much.

“You know what this means, right?” She asked, tugging him along, “We gotta prank the guy who did this right back!”

“Absolutely not!” Flynn cried, “I have a class!”

“Fine, go to your class.” She waved off, “But spill the name and then I can fill their shoes with itching powder.”

“You’re going to get me in trouble again.” He hissed, “Please, you can’t just keep going off to exact vengeance on every joker.”

“So you didn’t see their face?” Anne guessed. Damn. She caught onto him immediately.

“Your psychic powers are progressing.” He told her, “You’ve begun worming your way into my mind. No way you figured that out yourself.”

“Listen, if I could do anything more than pick up matching keys, I would be yelling from the rooftops in excitement.” Anne told him bluntly.

“…Right.” Flynn laughed nervously, “Listen. Exact revenge on your own time. I gotta go. Class.”

<Previous | Next>

[nulliustram-webfiction]

Flynn Westing was in a locker.

Correction: he had been shoved into his locker and the latch had shut behind him. He didn’t want to be in a locker.

From his cramped position, he banged on the door as best as he could, trying to catch the attention of someone, anyone, who might be wandering outside.

“Hey!” He choked out, “Someone get me outta here!”

A girl’s voice responded, by some miracle, from the other side of the metal wall, “Flynn? What’re you doing in there?”

“Not enjoying myself, that’s what!” He replied, arms still pinned. It was getting hard to breathe now.

“Uh… do you have the key on you, or is it lying about somewhere?” She asked.

The weight of it burnt in his pocket, and he cursed, “Yeah, I have it. Think I might be able to sneak it through the gaps in the window-”

“Don’t bother. I think I might have a copy.” There was a clicking sound, and then the door to the locker creaked open, letting Flynn fall out, gasping in grateful breaths of… pungent teenage musk. Gross.

He turned to look at his savior with a displeased frown, “You think you have a copy?” He repeated.

Anne Livingston grinned back, “Yeah, how lucky was that?”

He shoved her, “You knew you were going to have a match. That’s, like, our whole thing.”

Anne laughed, “I mean, that’s the one thing this damn mindlink is good for. I bet our lives have been leading up to just this exact moment. So that I could free you from that locker and then ride off into the sunset together.”

It was exactly the kind of thing that Anne hated.

Lucky for them, that wasn’t where the story ended.

(This is the beginning of the canon series. I will be updating this as much as I can.)

Next

[nulliustram-webfiction]

half considering calling mica and olivia combined the plot girlies. these two are the only ones getting anything done.