#sabina tkachuk | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cecilsstorycorner · 3 years

Text

(Now I changed stuff up I had to work out a new Juno intro whoops. Here’s hoping this one can stay canon oh boy. For context, they’re following music coming from a weird tower-house thing and Sabina is reluctantly going to check if the resident Spirit has kidnapped someone again)

With each floor they climbed, the shapes forming the rooms got less and less consistent, more abstract and folded. The clutter continued throughout, though the images on the torn canvases and twists of clay coated wire became stranger, less grounded in any reality Ollie could recognize. One canvas had what was almost a face, it’s left side torn away, single remaining eye staring straight at him with a depth that didn’t seem quite natural. He shivered, picking up his pace.

At last, they reached a large wooden door, once red paint peeling away, the frame cracked and warped. From the tiny circular window in the cubby beside them, Ollie could see the treetops stretching out below, the lean of the tower giving a stomach twisting angle down.

Sabina stepped up to the door, gripping the ornate brass handle. Without warning, she froze, the smallest frown beginning on her face.

It only took a moment for Ollie to realize why.

“...It’s stopped,” he whispered.

Sabina glanced back, an uncharacteristic uneasiness in her eyes. She pushed down on the latch, all holding their breath.

“Dear gods have you no bloody taste?”

The three jumped as the voice rang out from within. Loud, clear, and deeply irritated. Without another seconds hesitation, Sabina shoved the door open and stormed into the room beyond.

“What the fuck are you doing now?” she demanded.

Two figures looked back at her. One, distinctly inhuman, hunched over an easel, it’s countless eyes fixed on the intruders from their places up and down it's several arms. A long hand was frozen above the canvas, charcoal gripped between bony fingers.

Beside it was a young man, dressed in the distinct reds and golds of the South, rich brown skin to match. His dark hair was pulled back in a small ponytail, several strands floating loose around his incredulous face. In his hands was a lute, polished and intricate, clearly handled with the care of a newborn child. He did not seem terribly pleased at the interruption.

“Well, excuse me,” he said, in the same overly posh voice as they’d heard before. “I’m in the middle of a highly necessary explanation of the arts at the moment and I’d appreciate if I wasn’t so rudely interrupted!”

Sabina stood, completely baffled. This, it seemed, was rather outside her wheelhouse.

“...What?” was all she could think to say.

“I do not need an ‘explanation’!” the Spirit said, voice cracked and raspy as it glared the man down with every single eye. “I am a master! I am creation itself, and I do not need your horrendous squawking while I am making masterpieces!”

The man scoffed. “Oh don’t kid yourself. No master of the arts would have so many discarded pieces, it’s a bloody hazard.”

“I am on the quest for perfection, you insolent worm! Something you’ve clearly never pursued with your wretched crooning!”

“Okay-“ Sabina snapped back into action, stepping forwards and holding up both hands. “-both of you need to shut up.”

The two whipped around, glares now firmly fixed on her. She didn’t flinch.

“Look, Creation,” she said. “Just- let the guy go, and this can be done with.”

“Let him go?” Creation balked. “He will not leave! I have been begging for nothing but peace since I was cursed with this fool's presence!”

Sabina frowned. “What?” She looked to the man, who raised an eyebrow in what was almost a challenge. “He’s not keeping you here?”

“Of course not!” the man said. “I’m simply doing what’s right as a performer- educating those who don’t see the true value of the art!”

“Oh fuckin’ hell,” Sabina muttered.

The man turned to Ollie, who instinctively took a small step back. “You get it, right? Somebody must get it here besides me!”

“I don’t think I want to be a part of this,” Ollie said quickly, as the man’s gaze bore into him. The man threw up his hands in frustration.

“Great!” he said. “I’m working with two uncultured idiots and a coward! Don’t tell me it’s the child who can back me up!”

There was a pause.

The man leaned towards Twig a little. “That’s when you start backing me up,” he said out of the corner of his mouth. Twig took him in.

“You seem kind of annoying,” she said.

The man’s mouth fell open, and he gave the most mortally offended gasp Ollie had ever heard. “Wha- how dare you-“

Sabina stepped forward and grabbed the man’s arm, yanking him to his feet. “Time to go.”

The man tried to pull his arm away, but Sabina’s grip didn’t slip one bit as she stared him down. “Unhand me!” he said.

“No. We’re leaving.”

“Though-“ Creation cut in. “May you perhaps gift me a better muse, Weaver Child, so that I may take back the lost creativity sucked by this talentless sack?”

“Absolutely not,” Sabina said before the man could get in a retort.

“What do you mean by ‘muse’?” Ollie asked, before he could gather the good sense to stop himself.

“Ollie, don’t-“ Sabina started, but Creation had already broken into a wide grin, his mouth stretching off his face as his eyes all widened. He curved over the easel in front of him, long torso twisting and contorting like the tail of a curious cat. He placed a few of his hands down to brace as he stretched out towards Ollie, all the while still remaining in his seat.

“A muse, my dear thing,” he said, voice shuddering with barely contained excitement, “is one as versed as I in the way of creation, who understands the deepest intricacies of creating something from nothing, a power like that of which a god.”

“Oh,” Ollie said, immediately regretting several life decisions. “That’s fun.”

“Leave him be,” Sabina said. “We’re getting the bard out of your hair, isn’t that enough?”

Creation ignored her, only leaning ever closer to Ollie, now backed up against the wall. Twig didn’t seem at all bothered, looking up at Creation with a relaxed curiosity. Ollie did not share her feelings on the situation.

“What about you, strange boy?” Creation asked, lifting up it's front arms to give yet more eyes a better look at their subject. “The bard is a self important fool, the Weaver Child disinterested in the ways of the arts, and the young Spirit not yet ready for such a task. But you, perhaps? Tell me, do you create? Have you crafted with your own hands, understood the endless toil and trails of creation?”

“Uh-“ Ollie looked to Sabina. She gave him the smallest shake of her head. “...No,” he said, in what was probably the least convincing tone he could have possibly come out with.

“Hmm,” said Creation. “Disappointing.”

“Mm. Yeah. So sorry,” Ollie said, beginning to inch his way along the wall away from Creation’s much too close face. Twig stifled a giggle. “Really such a shame, but I guess we can just- get going-“

“Actually,” Creation said. “I don’t think you can.”

Taglist: @oceancold @zielenbloesem @henrike-does-writing-sometimes @dramaticvoiceover @andiwriteunderthemoon @feathered-inkling @piyawrites @halfbloodlycan @kalis-scribbles @swirley-whirley @chayscribbles @ladywithalamp @metanoiamorii @alicewestwater @nsanleyawkward @little-boats-on-a-lake

#excerpt #tbobs #the book of broken strings #doodles #tw eyes #tw body horror #tw scopophobia #tw trypophobia #<- as suggested by a friend #ollie alimose #sabina tkachuk #twig #juno goldspire #creation #so much of this worked *great* in my head comedically #but just refused to work in prose #but i did the best i could

23 notes · View notes

cecilsstorycorner · 3 years

Text

Sabina Tkachuk ~ The Book of Broken Strings

23 - she/her - trans lesbian - judgment - dark blue string

Story

Sabina has been watching the strings for her whole life. Watching as her grandmother wove the tapestries of peoples lives, experiencing a sonder unlike any other. Growing up in the Neskinchen Forests, she’s well aquatinted with Spirits, and especially those who were once like her. She knows what risk she and her grandmother are taking, staying in this gravity well, but they’re prepared for that chance, and she’s not afraid. Now, after living in one house in the middle of nowhere for her whole life, her grandmother has convinced her to see the world. She can always come back if she decides it’s not for her, but she’s a fiery girl with a lot to offer, if she only let herself go and give it.

Personality

To put it bluntly, Sabina doesn’t have time for anyone’s shit. She knows what she wants, she knows what she’s doing, and if people try to put up a fight, it’s their lost- she’ll just go ahead without them. When she has a thought, she’ll say it as bluntly as you could imagine. Her grandmother never minded, and it was the only way to ever get through to the Spirits, although even that sometimes wasn’t enough. As most ‘tough gals’, though, she cares a lot more than she’d like to let on. She’s got friends now, goddamit, and she’s not gonna let their dumbasses get themselves killed when she has anything to say about it.

AESTHETICS || Snow blowing through an open door, thick shawls, muttered insults just a little too loud, ancient traditions given new meaning, heavy boots, the echo of an axe hitting a log through the woods, eyes peering through your window that you’ve long gotten used to

SONGS || The Queer Gospel - Erin McKeown || Station Wagging - Pretty Balanced || The River, the Woods - Astronautalis

#tbobs #the book of broken strings #writing #writeblr #character intro #fantasy #wip #sabina tkachuk #doodles #here she is! promoted from one off character to major supporting #ill explain more of her role in the story in the update post #once again the portrait doesn’t really look like how i imagine them #but hopefully i can get closer in future art #her grandmother is called petra by the way! lovely lady

23 notes · View notes

cecilsstorycorner · 3 years

Text

I spent New Year’s Eve drawing these and it was a good choice

#tbobs #doodles #the book of broken strings #draw the squad #ollie alimose #lavender vikhrova #sabina tkachuk #juno goldspire #meme #these are so fun im definitely gonna do more

10 notes · View notes

cecilsstorycorner · 3 years

Note

happy storyteller saturday!!! how would your characters react to a heartbreak or a betrayal? -crystallized-ink

Oooh thank you! This caught me off guard because it’s still Saturday here lol but this seems very fun to answer! (edit I just realized this says Saturday I’m a fool. Feel free to bully me) I’m gonna keep myself to just the tbobs crew so this thing isn’t ten miles long because oh boy I have a lot of little fellas running about

Twig doesn’t fully know how to handle emotions yet, being, y’know, seven. So that usually means it comes out in anger as she doesn’t know how to stop all these awful feelings and needs to get them out, as well as just being scared. She’s already been dealing with one heartbreak of realizing she may never see her mother again + the dawning understanding that she may not have been the wonderful goddess Twig made her out to be from lack of other examples, so anything else piled on top of that, especially if with another trusted adult/parental figure, would be a lot

Sabina also gets angry too, but more with herself then whoever caused it, though that’s certainly still part of it. She closes off, tries to distract herself from the Bad Feelings, until it all builds up and she just breaks down. It’s a time and a half an I’m looking forward to writing it

Juno has two ways of reacting depending on the situation: pretend it doesn’t bother her and that she totally doesn’t actually care about it shut up. Or, at least with betrayal, she fuckin goes off. Ripping the source a new one and making sure she has her sweet sweet revenge. For heartbreak though (from loss or something, not from romance which she’d treat more like betrayal), she’s never actually dealt with anything too strong there before so any actual case of it would just shut her down. She just wouldn’t know how to function with it and therefore won’t.

I left Ollie for last because hoo boy is this lad a mess. He’s been experiencing like... micro levels of both for years, which has slowly worn him down and made him think that’s just a normal part of life/relationships. But bigger ones, those earth shattering moments and revelations, tend to just break him. Everything spirals and he just totally loses himself and his grip on the world. It’s not easy to watch and even harder to pull him back from. Fun times!

Anyway I love me some character psych! I had to keep it simple here to not clog up people’s dashes lol but believe me I think about this a lot. Thank you for the ask!

#ask #storyteller saturday #tbobs #the book of broken strings #twig #sabina tkachuk #juno goldspire #ollie alimose #aw man this was fun i should get more into these weekly ask things

5 notes · View notes

cecilsstorycorner · 3 years

Note

🌳 for any OC!

Danke! I’ll do Sabina as I quite like her and feel like I should ramble about her more!

🌳 What is your OC’s favourite way to relax after a stressful day? Do they have a favourite book to curl up with? A hobby? Or do they have a nice bubble bath and have an early night to bed?

She’s very much a ‘flop on the couch and groan loudly’ person when getting home after a Day. She has to lie there for at least ten minutes to regain the will to move. After that, probably just tea and a book most nights! If she’s at home she’d do some half-chores like fixing up tools and making a new basket, which I say ‘half’ for because she like doing that so much that Petra purposely breaks stuff just so she can mend or replace them

#ask game #tbobs #sabina tkachuk #and of course theres the ‘ugh today sucked dont even ask’ and then when no one does she just launches into complaints anyway

2 notes · View notes

cecilsstorycorner · 3 years

Text

The Book of Broken Strings - Updated Intro

A love story without romance, a horror story without ghosts

Genres: Fantasy, horror, character study (of sorts)

Themes/tropes: Trauma/healing, abuse, found family, human nature, a frankly obnoxious amount of metaphors, sprits/monsters (that’s where at least half the metaphors are), love, growth, identity

Influences: Folklore/culture of Russia, Scandinavia, Ukraine, and Germany + some other sprinklings, also very Hill House/Bly Manor influenced in terms of themes and storytelling conventions

Content warnings: Horror, depiction and exploration of abuse of several kinds, as well as of mental illness/trauma, some violence

Summary

Ollie receives a note. A child has a dream. They have been led to each other, and neither know quite why.

The child, now given the name Twig, reveals she’s been told to find a place called Henkia Sanctuary. Their journey soon finds them in a woodland crawling with Spirits who once were not, two new friends in tow, and the distinct feeling of something more hanging above their heads.

Ollie, in particular, can’t seem to shake what drove him out into the snow all those weeks ago. And as it turns out, neither can the person responsible.

Characters

Ollie Alimose - The Tinkerer - 24: A very sweet, very anxious lad who’s been through a Lot and has learned the hard way the kind of effects that leaves. He has a lot of love in his heart, none of which he grants to himself. A skilled tinkerer, with a fondness for small mechanical toys, but it’s been a while since his hands have been steady enough, or such things allowed.

Twig - The Child - 7: A little girl absolutley brimming with curiosity for the wild, complicated world she’s been finally let out into. Has already found and happily embraced her snarky side, having no trouble saying just what she means whenever she very well pleases. Part Spirit, but doesn’t quite know what that means yet. Learning a little too much about the nature of trust for someone her age.

Sabina Tkachuk - 23 - The Guide: A rather tired daughter of a Fate Weaver, following what she assumes is her purpose by assisting those she can, as she attempts to find something beyond the woods of her home. Quite frankly does not have time for your shit, and will let you know. Has only had a reindeer and old woman as her friends for most of her life, and is a little out of her element when she notices new Postive Emotions towards these people.

Juno Goldspire - 19 - The Bard: An incredibly obnoxious teenager who is confident she knows everything, despite the fact she didn’t even know she was a woman until halfway through the groups adventure. Trying to make a name for herself as a preformer, all while crossing her fingers some old faces don’t recognize her as in fact not dead, as she would like them to believe. Deeply self centred. She’ll learn. Give her time.

Links

playlist - aesthetic board

Taglist + Extra info under cut

yes this is like the forth intro post im so sorry im gonna try so hard to make it the last

juno doesnt have a link yet because her intro post was the ‘minor characters’ one and has a bunch of outdated stuff so ill make a new one at some point

this is actually a trilogy that im calling in my head ‘string break series’ which let’s be honest isn’t very good. so for now just calling it by the first books name seems to work just fine

art tag is ‘doodles’! And the general tag is just ‘tbobs’ because I tend to only tag big posts with the full title, so that’s where you’ll find all the extras!

as it is currently, the setting and pacing change starkly from book to book but im trying to get it to work

basically just know this is extremely character driven even if it looks kinda adventurey on the surface, im working to get it more consistent

Taglist: @oceancold @zielenbloesem @henrike-does-writing-sometimes @dramaticvoiceover @andiwriteunderthemoon @feathered-inkling @piyawrites @halfbloodlycan @kalis-scribbles @true-trans-space-pirate @chayscribbles @ladywithalamp @metanoiamorii @alicewestwater @nsanleyawkward @little-boats-on-a-lake @crystallized-ink

#wip intro #writeblr #tbobs #the book of broken strings #fantasy #horror #queer fiction #tw abuse #(because if you have that tag blacklisted this is Not The Story For You)#doodles #fishtank #wtwcommunity #again i am So Sorry for yet another one #i just don’t want new folks totally lost #also im bad at summaries could you tell #okay im not sure if this is how i want it but if i don’t post now i never will #so here goes

49 notes · View notes