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wangxianficrecs · 6 months

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Rewind 2023 - Follower Recs Part II

WangxianFicRecs - Rewind 2023

Before the year ends, we want to share more recs of your favourite stories that were published this year. All these recs were submitted to WangxianFicRecs anonymously and most of them without further comments, so you will have to check them out yourself~

Rewind 2023 - Follower Recs Part I

~*~

After I Met You

by Amandyalmonds

M, WIP, 78k, Wangxian

Summary: "They’re not going to go through with the marriage proposal though, right?” Jiang Cheng reasoned. “You’re ours. And surely the Lan sect wouldn’t want a huli jing, let alone the famed Hanguang-jun.” “Exactly," Wei Wuxian said with a grin. "The Lans are too stuck up to know how to handle someone like me, and they won’t risk forcing their precious Hanguang-jun into such a marriage.” Or, after the end of the war, Wei Wuxian is offered as the last known huli jing to marry into the Lan royal family. The only problem is that Wei Wuxian has never met the man he's marrying, and he's not sure he'll survive in a palace with over three-thousand rules.

~*~

it rains, it pours

by jublis

Not rated, 130k, Wangxian

Summary: Wei Wuxian dashes across the distance that separates him from his husband, like a child running through the dark as if that would lessen its existence. He grabs Lan Zhan’s hand and holds the arm close to his side, to a soft breath of laughter. “Come on, Hanguang-jun,” he half-whispers, because the atmosphere seems to call for it. “Light the way for us.” (Wei Wuxian has scarcely known fear to be gentle — and still. It's as if there’s something murmuring down the hallway, behind the closed door, next to the window in this howling storm: I’m here, I’m here, I’ve always been here…) Or, as Wei Wuxian starts to look into the reasons behind the unsettling notion that something is not quite right, something else starts to look back.

~*~

Take My Pieces, Make Me Whole

by InTheGreySpaces (@inthegreyspaces)

M, WIP, 203k, Wangxian

Summary: Lan Wangji reunites with Wei Wuxian in Yiling only to discover that their union in Xuanwu's Cave nearly three years ago had an outcome he never could have anticipated. Instead of leaving the Burial Mounds that evening, Lan Wangji stays, and his actions set in motion a series of events that will save Wei Wuxian and the Wens. But first, he must battle Wei Wuxian's own lack of self-worth, the clutching hold the resentful dead are determined to keep on their champion, the greed of Jin Guangshan, Jin Guangyao's machinations, his own Uncle's unbending disapproval, and the hatred of the Cultivation World. However, friends and allies are found in the least likeliest of places, and eventually, there is a light at the end of the single-log bridge.

~*~

The Housewife's Guide to Causing Chaos

by dvasva (@dvasva)

M, WIP, 127k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: “Of all the rotten luck I could have!" Outside, in between the gentle embrace of an imposing misty mountain and the caress of soft wind, stood the Cloud Recesses. It wasn’t a section that Wei Wuxian had recognized from his time in the sect, but the motifs of clouds and cranes in the buildings, the impeccable feng shui and carefully manicured paths, and the utter silence as the sect members slept peacefully, all burned themselves into Wei Wuxian’s eyes. No wonder the curtains were so firmly nailed to the walls! Any bit of demonic energy escaping the room could call down a veritable army of righteous cultivators! What sort of person in their right mind would dare to summon a spirit into their own body using resentful energy in the Cloud Recesses of all places? What kind of person would scoff so rudely at the Lan Clans most important rule, ‘Do not fraternize with evil?’ After being dead for four years, Wei Wuxian wakes up in a body he doesn't really feel comfortable with, in a place that he's sure wants him dead, and married to a man who surely hates him.

~*~

A Hop, Skip, and a Jump

by Prince_Enby (@enbiart)

T, WIP, 47k, Wangxian & LSZ/OYZZ

Summary: Two years after the events of Guanyin Temple, the Junior Quartet unknowingly walk into an array during a night hunt, and walk out into the middle of a war. None of them are even slightly prepared to deal with the opportunity dropped into their laps - and yet, despite it all, Ouyang Zizhen's biggest concern is somehow still the fact that everyone thinks he and Lan Sizhui are married.

~*~

fans for hanguang-jun

by saltyfeathers

M, 21k, Wangxian

Summary: “What I mean,” Wei Wuxian repeats with as much gravitas as he can muster, “is that every single day in their marriage bed, the Yiling Laozu sp—spears open the most esteemed Hanguang-jun on his—his mmmmmmonster cock!!!” wei wuxian gets kidnapped by a team of belligerent bottoms.

~*~

not wx in the fic

ruin this on me

by loosingletters (@loosingmoreletters)

E, 2k, MXY/WWX/XY

Summary: Mo Xuanyu raises his head from Wei Wuxian’s shoulder to mouth at the exposed skin at his neck, leaving bruises and red stains from his lip balm. He forewent the white foundation today; it is more of a hassle in bed than an enhancement, and he carefully avoids the delicately painted huadian from smearing. Wei Wuxian exhales, not quite a moan yet, and Mo Xuanyu grins against his skin before biting down. The Yiling Laozu is a kind master, sweet to his heir and family, but he is not a gentle man. His breathing hitches at the sudden pain, an approval on its own. Or, Mo Xuanyu pays special attention to his sect leader and shixiong.

~*~

💕

the past drifts away with the waves

by thelastdboy (@thelastdboyy)

E, WIP, 28k, Wangxian

Summary: The next time Wei Wuxian became aware of his surroundings and was able to form semi-coherent thoughts, Wen Zhuliu had just finished tying weights to his feet. Both his arm and his back were still bleeding and he felt as if he had been flayed. “Should I make it quick?” Wen Zhuliu asked him, offering a small mercy. But Wei Wuxian shook his head. “Give me your worst,” he snarled, his teeth coated in blood from where he had bitten his tongue at some point. “I will come back to end you all,” he promised darkly. “Very well,” Wen Zhuliu merely said and drowned him. Or: Yu Ziyuan cuts off Wei Wuxian's hand to appease the Wens. He gets drowned in the lake behind Lotus Pier and resentful energy transforms him into a river spirit. After avenging his own death, he finds his way to Yiling.

~*~

this story plus the lovely podfic

if this one could be ransomed

by harborshore

T, 2k, Wangxian

[podfic] if this one could be ransomed

by jennisaisquoi (@jennisaisquoi79)

T, 10-20 Minutes, Wangxian

Summary: Lan Wangji is too late to save A-Yuan. Sick with grief and pain, he throws himself back in time to try again. But he goes back too far.

~*~

a thousand lifetimes

by SapphyreLily (@sapphyrelily)

G, 2k, Wangxian

Summary: Immortal Sizhui doesn't always go looking for the reincarnations of his fathers, but they always find him, in the end.

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for these hard-working authors if you like – or think others might like – these stories.)

#wangxian fic rec #wangxianficrecs #rewind 2023 #mdzs #the untamed #wangxian #fandom event #long post #The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #MDZS #Mo Dao Zu Shi #follower recs #follower rec

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thewertsearch · 10 months

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[ there was more to this ask, but some was spoilers 😆 - C ]

Ooh, that is a fun challenge! I might make this a bigger Title post, actually, because it's been a good while since we've had one of those.

...alright, I just finished, and this one kind of got away from me. I hope it's ok that I sort of hijacked your post to talk about Aspects as a whole - but rest assured, I did answer the original question. Let's get into it!

Unfortunately, it might be kind of difficult to make Class guesses. My theory is that they're Sburb's take on RPG party roles - and for obvious reasons, we haven't seen how any of the non-Player characters would fit into a Sburb party. A full analysis of the hypothetical Midnight Crew, Exile and Guardian sessions would be fun, but it's a little out of scope for this question.

Personality certainly seems to be a factor. I don't think it's a coincidence, for example, that the Seers are the most inquisitive members of their respective parties. Dave and Karkat both hide their true emotions behind a persona - but then again, so do Feferi and Jade, two happy-go-lucky Witches with incredibly dark backstories. Dave may be the worst offender, but half the cast is hiding behind some sort of facade.

John, for his part, doesn't seem to have anything in common with Equius - at least, nothing I can see. I might dig a little deeper for human/troll Class parallels once we've seen more of Equius and Feferi, but our sample sizes are so small that it's going to be hard to tell which shared traits are intentional.

Anyway, none of the other classes feature a pair of Players that I could toss into a Venn diagram, so we're at a bit of a dead end.

I suppose I could approach this from another angle, and try to extrapolate a Class from each character's life circumstances - for example, by speculating that Grandpa's inheritance of the Betty Crocker brand makes him a potential Heir - but that's clearly not an accurate method, given that literal heiress Feferi is a Witch.

See, Classes are a tough nut to crack! The main issue here is that the comic has given us very little to work with - it's been tight-lipped on Titles in general, and there's been almost no exposition on Classes specifically.

It might be easier just to try and assign Aspects to each of the non-Players - so that's what I'm going to do. I'll also take the opportunity to put forward my best guess for what each Aspect means.

Without further ado:

Time means time.

This one seems extremely straightforward. Not all the Aspects are quite so literal - Breath, for example, seems more closely related to wind than the body function it's named after - but Time is about engaging directly with its namesake. It may have other meanings as well, but we haven't seen any yet.

If you wield Time, then you're the session's designated time traveler - which is a lot less cool than it sounds, because it means you're on Doomed Timeline cleanup duty. Enjoy the corpse disposal!

Both of the comic's Time Players have fashioned their own personal time machines out of musical instruments. Music seems to have some connection to Time - which makes sense, since it's an art form of pitch, rhythm and beat. Music is time.

We can also talk for a second about Dave's Quest. As we'll see, each Land Quest seems to directly concern the Player's Aspect. Dave's Quest is to...

...um.

Well, one of these is Dave's Quest. The LOHACse is the only one of the two which is directly related to Time, but I've speculated that Dave's sword-in-the-stone quest will involve him rewinding Caledfwlch to an earlier point in its timeline. Plus, the Caledfwlch quest also speaks to Dave's Class as a Knight, so I think it's the real one.

For the sake of completeness, let's also talk about the Time Lands. Each Land always seems to feature one trait which either directly or obliquely references its Player's Aspect. LOHAC is self-explanatory, but Aradia's Land of Quartz and Melody is an interesting case, as its 'Aspect trait' could be either of its two descriptors. Quartz could reference the quartz in a modern clock, and Melody could reference the musical connection I mentioned above.

I can't think of any non-Players with particularly strong ties to Time - aside from the Felt and Lord English, who we know very little about. Let's say they're all Time Players, and English rules over them as a Prince of Time. As a mob boss and destroyer of worlds, he undoubtedly shares some of Eridan's megalomania.

Space... well, we actually don't have much for Space. We haven't seen Jade or Kanaya do anything with their Aspect, nor do we know anything about their Quests.

We do know that both Space Lands contain the Forge, so maybe there's something to that. Presumably it's going to forge something, and I think it's probably where you're supposed to create the universe. If your task is literally to create Space, it makes sense that a Space Player would take point - but that begs the question of what would happen in a session without a Space Player.

Maybe the game prefers a Space Forge, but it can spawn on another Land in lieu of one - or maybe Space is the 'default' Aspect, and it's actually mandatory in every session.

As far as Space's symbolism is concerned, my assumption is that it's as straightforward as Time, but we'll need to see more.

While I'm here, I guess I should dip my toe into this hot mess.

Yes, LOFAF's Space Word does appear to be Frogs. Yes, that does imply that Kanaya's was also Frogs, or something equally mysterious. No, I do not know what this could possibly mean.

These frogs are apparently heralds for their god, Bilious Slick, whose shadow has been looming over the comic for months now. I guess their appearance on the Space Lands implies that Slick is Space themed, which is at least consistent with my theory that he's the final obstacle between the Players and their universe.

Moving on, because I give up.

(Oh, and if anyone's a Space Player, it's Bec. You could also make an argument for Mom Lalonde, since her home was fitted with an observatory, but that's very tenuous. We don't know much about Space, so I don't know how else to tie a character to the Aspect.)

There's a lot going on with Light.

All Quests so far have had ties to the Player's Aspect, so whatever Jaspers thinks he's talking about here should have something to do with Light.

Jaspers... seems to be talking about different ways to represent information, and instructing Rose to find a particular DNA sequence. (I have to assume this isn't the MEOW sequence, because I don't think Sburb wants Rose to fill LOLAR's oceans with First Guardians.) So, it sort of looks like Light is information, doesn't it?

Well... maybe. See, things are are complicated by the fact that Dave's Quest above was also Knight-themed, so this spiel from Jaspers could be partially Seer-themed. How can we tell which is the Seer stuff, and which is the Light?

Recently, Rose said this, seemingly confirming that her Title is about information ('knowing shit'), and also implying that the 'knowing' is a Seer thing.

This allow us to compare her to Terezi, the other Seer. As we'll see below, she specializes in discerning people's personalities and motivations - literally, seeing into their minds - so it sounds like being a Seer is about perceiving or 'seeing' things that relate to your Aspect.

Rose, the Seer of Light, should therefore have an advanced perception of Light - but just what is Light? What can Rose see?

Well, she says she can see 'the big picture'.

I think Rose's powers allow her to zoom out, understand the broad strokes of a situation, and see how it all ties together - and I think that is the essence of Light.

Dave wonders how he's going to navigate the Furthest Ring's twisted-up space, so she scans the overall situation with her Light powers, and vaguely understands that it won't be a problem. Dave will be able to play his part.

However, if he asked why, exactly, it won't be a problem, or how he's going to do it, she'd be stumped. That's not her department.

I think I sort of understand what Light means now, but I can't think of a succinct way to describe it. The zooming-out Aspect, maybe? The everything-is-connected Aspect? The don't-sweat-the-details Aspect?

Guys, I think I'm starting to understand Homestuck!

Ah, shit.

Yeah, I don't know how Vriska or her powers slot into this interpretation. As the Thief of Light, I guess she'd be stealing... the bigger picture... from other people? And that lets her take their luck, somehow?

I guess when you give yourself 'good luck', you are sort of improving your situation in the general sense, rather than the specific. You don't know the details of how your luck will manifest, but you don't really need to - all you need to know is that it'll be good for you.

I don't know. This is getting messy, and more than a little abstract. I'm sure Vriska will be doing a lot of luck-stealing, so we'll hopefully learn more as we go.

At least the Land of Maps and Treasure fits Light-as-the-big-picture. A map is, literally, a big picture.

A flurry of disquieting happenstance is related to the ADORED SOVEREIGN. With no other options, her counsel is all that is left to be sought. Abdication is never ideal. But in the face of inevitable conquest, conceding ground can supply the only remaining advantage.

WQ, then, seems like a good fit for a Light Player. After listening to PM's full report, she seems to understand how the pieces fit together.

The Queen knows that Jack wants her dead, and clearly understands how dangerous a Player item can be, in the wrong hands. She doesn't know what's in the package, or what Jack will do with it - but she doesn't need to. She can see the writing on the wall, so she retreats.

I did a bit of Breath research for this post, and landed on the above quote. I think Breath is about direction and destination.

TT: John? TT: Are you there? -- tentacleTherapist [TT] is now an idle chum! -- EB: hey, yeah i'm here! EB: and not dead i think. TT: I know. TT: I've been watching you scramble through the house like a lunatic. TT: You should have answered me sooner.

John's a meandering kind of guy. He's wandered haphazardly around the session for three thousand pages, but he always seems to reach his goal. Despite not knowing where to go, he always seems to be where he needs to be.

John's Quest as the Heir of Breath has been explained in detail. He needs to unclog the pipes of LOWAS and defeat Typheus, freeing his Land's fireflies from their cloudy prison. In essence, John's Quest is to give these bugs a new direction, allowing them their full axis of movement once again.

There might also be some Heir stuff in this Quest, but its ultimate goal seems to align pretty well with that Breeze quote above, so I'm willing to accept it as Breath evidence.

AG: Have you ever tried to fly? I 8et you haven't! AG: How a8out we take to the skies, Pupa! AG: Hahahaha, oh you like that idea, Pupa? Yes, you do. I can feel it in your simple, mallea8le 8rain. AG: You want to fly so 8ad!

Breath might also have something to do with agency - or at least, the ability to choose your own actions. John's freedom-themed Quest isn't the only example of this - Tavros's entire arc is about how Vriska keeps denying him agency, while pretending she's doing the opposite.

(I'm going to avoid comparing Homestuck to other works, because this post is long enough as it is, so you're just going to have to imagine the twelve paragraphs of Deltarune meta that would otherwise be placed here.)

AT: bECAUSE THE ONLY TIME i EVER HAD FUN PLAYING THIS GAME WAS WHEN i WAS ASLEEP,

Tavros just wanted to do his own thing. He wanted to ignore the game and float around Prospit, away from everyone's expectations - but he was denied this opportunity, again and again. It's no wonder that he's on a bit of a high right now, after being granted the freedom of his new robo-legs.

As for potential Breath Players - well, CD reminds me of John a little, but he seems a lot more likely to stay on task. I don't know what Aspect he'd be assigned.

Now - we're onto the Aspects we've only seen in trolls. We don't have as much for most of these, since we haven't seen any troll Quests, nor any Aspect powers sans Vriska and Terezi.

Terezi, the Seer of Mind, deals in personality - or maybe, more generally, vibes.

CG: WE'RE NOT EXILING JACK, HE'S COOL. [...] GC: [...] 1 DO NOT G3T 4 GOOD F33L1NG FROM H1M! GC: H3 K1ND OF CG: STINKS? [...] GC: W3LL GC: SORT OF GC: H3 DO3SNT SM3LL B4D 4CTU4LLY GC: H3 SM3LLS R34LLY CL34N 4ND SH1NY 4ND D4RK D4RK D444RK L1K3 4N O1L SL1CK 4ND TH3R3 1S 4 T1NY H1NT OF L1COR1C3 TH3R3 TOO GC: 1TS MOR3 L1K3 GC: TH3 W4Y H3 MOV3S GC: 1 SM3LL H1S SMOOTH MOT1ONS 4ND TH3 W4Y H3 SQU1NTS H1S 3Y3S 4ND 1T G1V3S M3 TH1S R34LLY N3RVOUS F33L1NG

When she smells someone, her Mind-enhanced perception doesn't just tell her what they look like - it also seems to communicate that person's essence. Terezi can see the idea of Jack Noir, here. She's smelling what it feels like to be inside his head.

GC: TH3 D4Y 1T H4PP3N3D W4S TH3 F1RST T1M3 1 3V3R H34RD FROM MY LUSUS GC: SH3 WOK3 M3 UP, 4ND 3V3R S1NC3 H4S B33N T34CH1NG M3 4 D1FF3R3NT W4Y TO S33 GC: 4 D1FF3R3NT W4Y TO P3RC31V3 3V3RYTH1NG 1 GU3SS, NOT JUST 1N 4 S3NSORY W4Y

Terezi is also a naturally perceptive person, so it's sometimes unclear whether her reads are due to Seer clairvoyance or her own deductive abilities. As a general rule, I'll only treat her insight as a Mind power if she explicitly refers to her sense of smell as its source, since that's the avenue for her supernatural perception.

GC: T3LL M3 YOUR R34L N4M3!!! >:[ TG: ok lets say its TG: dave why not GC: D4V3! GC: TH4T SM3LLS L1K3 TRUTH GC: 1 W1LL D3C1D3 TO B3L13V3 1T >:] TG: fuck

Therefore, I'm pretty sure her powers do, in fact, allow her to detect lies. Mind, then, might be related to the concept of truth - as in, your Mind is the truth of who you are, stripped of all illusions.

I was initially going to place Droog here, since he seems to be the only Crew member with his head screwed on, but I no longer think Mind is about being rational or analytical.

Blood is the first Aspect I don't really have a guess for. Maybe it's got something to do with genetics - Karkat is a carcinoGeneticist, after all, and a mutant to boot.

Spades Slick is blood brothers with a Knight of Blood, and he's got a lot in common with Karkat, commanding his party with a moderately annoying leadership style. I'll put him here on the strength of those parallels, and I can revisit it when Blood is explained.

We don't know much about Nepeta, so we don't know much about Heart. Shipping is all about drawing them, though, so maybe Heart is about romance - or, more broadly, relationships and connections.

Nepeta's Land of Little Cubes and Tea is a lolcat joke, so it might not conform to the Aspect Word pattern. I guess, since the cubes are sugar cubes, it might be a pun on 'sweetheart'? Who knows.

I'll put Hearts Boxcars here, and not just because of his name. He's the only member of the Midnight Crew with any interest in shipping.

Feferi revived Sollux with a kiss, so Life is probably healing, as it is in many other element systems.

How her Land of Dew and Glass relates to Life is a mystery. While dew can refer to condensation on any surface, it's often used to describe the water droplets which accrete on grass and other flora. That's kind of a connection to a living thing, but feels like a stretch and a half.

Let's also put Nanna here, since she's the only true healer in the cast. I don't know why the other sprites don't use the healing beam.

Our Void Player is in a Land of Caves and Silence - a hole in the earth, and an absence of sound. Void seems to represent negation, or a lack of something.

Also - this might be a reach, but Scratch describes the gaps in his clairvoyance as 'pockets of void', so perhaps Void also has something to do with uncertainty - aka, a lack of information.

Most of the Guardians could go here, really. Bro seems the best fit, since he's constantly hiding from Dave, and completely vanishes for most of the session.

When a timeline is marked for destruction, we say that it's doomed.

Doom seems to represent death, obliteration and entropy. Sollux Entered into the Land of Brains and Fire, and I think it's pretty clear that Fire is the trait which is tapping his Aspect.

Doom may also be the Aspect of prophecy. After all, Sollux is a prophet of Doom - so maybe he's a prophet because of Doom. It could also be related to his nature as a Mage, but Mages haven't been explained, so I can't speculate.

I originally thought that Sollux might be a Seer - but the Seer Class seems to be about gathering information related to a particular Aspect, rather than directly divining the future. Maybe a Seer of Time could see future events, but it's certainly not a default ability of the class.

Grandpa seems to have some ties to Doom. He prophesized Jade's death to her when he told her about her dead Dream Self - plus, he's a hunter, with a house full of corpses. Also, his entire presence in the session is overshadowed by the spectre of his future death. This is probably the Aspect guess I'm most confident in.

I guess there's also Hope, a brand-new Aspect with no lore. Eridan's 'hope' would seem to be expressed in the fact that he constantly hits on people, hoping in vain for a yes. Thankfully, we're not aware of any non-Players like that....

The mail is the one final hope for resurrecting a dead planet from its ashes, and the letter carriers are the brave soldiers of God in this righteous crusade. They are the defenders of the light of knowledge, free communication, and the exchange of ideas. They are the bold toters of all those little papery conduits of freedom, the white postmarked angels that whisper a message on their deliverance, a promise to the yearning: "There is hope yet."

...but PM is pretty much screaming about hope in her mail monologue, so we'll put her here.

ORDER IN THE COURT. YOU WILL HAVE ORDER IN THIS COURTROOM. IF EVERYONE DOES NOT SETTLE DOWN YOU WILL CLEAR OUT THIS COURTROOM, YOU SWEAR TO GOD.

It's hard to classify the Aimless Renegade. He's all about crime and punishment - which is certainly a Terezi trait, but I don't think it's a Mind trait.

As for Dad, he has a well-established gentlemanly personality, but I don't know what Aspect is the most 'gentlemanly'.

I could try and classify more obscure characters like FedoraFreak, the Pen-pal, Jaspersprite or the Hussie self-insert, but I'll tell you right now I don't have any guesses. Still, that was fun, and it was a good opportunity for me to update my thoughts surrounding the Aspects!

#homestuck liveblog #full liveblog #act 5.2 #theories #asks #deep dives #classpect

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thimbledoll · 1 year

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Target Practice

Nock. Raise. Draw. Anchor. Aim. Still. Release.

Over and over the porcelain figure went through the motions, sending arrow after arrow downrange. As the wind shifted with each shot, her clockwork whirred in adjustment.「Range: 150 meters. Wind: 3 meter per second increase in velocity, angle consistent. Aim: 1 degree, 7 minute adjustment left.」 the doll computed.

Nock. Raise. Draw. Anchor. Aim. Still. Release.

It was an obscene distance for most archers to use for practice. The smallest error in the shot process would be so magnified that nothing useful could be gleaned from the result, yet this is what the doll needed to refine herself; machine perfection driven nigh to its limits.

Despite the incredible distance between her and her target, a decent grouping was forming, the likes of which any being of flesh would think impossible. For those versed in the body language of dolls though, it was obvious to see how perturbed and unsatisfied the archer was.

Her form looked the picture of perfection. Not a wasted movement. Not overdrawn or overlong. A consistent, steady anchor position. But the bow shook a hair’s breadth in her hands. She ratcheted the wrong cog too far to reach full draw. She clicked more noisily than spec on release.

Her Witch watched from afar, noting those invisible signs. She had thought to leave her doll alone, let her work out her feelings by herself. That was several hours ago. It was clear she needed to intervene. Rising from her seat, she winced, before making her way to the range. Too absorbed in the shot process, the doll didn't even notice as her Witch approached. Nock. Raise. Draw. Anchor. Aim. Still. Release. Between shots, the Witch made her move.

Taking hold of the bow and arrow, the Witch wrapped her hands over her doll's. Like a dance teacher correcting their student, the Witch pushed herself flush with her doll's backside so she could guide her every move, exhaling painfully as she did so.

"M-Madame, you should be resti—" the doll attempted to exclaim.

"Shhh. You're wound too tight, doll," the Witch replied. "Come now. Loosen up. Two clicks."

"But your stit—"

"I don't remember allowing you that much autonomy. Quiet yourself and do as I command."

Giving in, an audible click emanated from inside the doll's chassis followed by a second. Immediately the tension in the hand gripping the bow loosened. "Better. Now draw. Together."

The Witch initiated, dragging her doll's dominant hand to the quiver at her side before the doll gave in and followed along. Two hands reached for the arrow, nocking it to the string. Two arms raised the bow to the proper position. Two beings pulled the bow to full draw. As the doll ticked that one gear too far, the Witch called her out.

"No. Stop. That's a suboptimal tension distribution. Unwind one tick and rewind using your mainspring."

There was a whirring sound as strings and cogs redistributed force, the doll standing taller as they did.

The Witch released her grip from the doll's weapon, instead lightly embracing her from behind. Her lips but an inch from her doll's audio processors, she said, "Good. Now, you have it from here. Do me proud."

Finding her anchor, the doll took sight at the target downrange. Once she found her mark, she stopped, letting Stillness take her for a moment. Releasing the tension from her fingers, she let the arrow fly. Not a noise could be heard except the sound of the arrow whizzing by.

The doll knew it even as the arrow left the string. It sailed across the landscape, over the hill between her and the backstop. Wind pulled the arrow ever further on course. The back spiraled and spiraled as it flew until it found home. Bullseye.

"Satisfied now? Can we call it quits?"

The doll stared at the arrow. Exactly where she had meant to place it. Exactly where she should have placed it the first time. Exactly where she would place it next time.

"Yes, Madame. This one is satisfied," she responded.

"Good. Because I need a strong pot of tea after the day we've had. Maybe two... Come along now, dear."

As the Witch began the trek back to their cottage, the doll looked to the bandage covering her Witch's thigh. It was sure to scar. A permanent reminder of her failure today in her charge. Yes. Next time, she'd put the arrow exactly where she meant to place it.

End 🧵

(Old story reposted from Twitter)

#empty spaces #dollposting #microfiction #fantasy #fiction #combat doll #witches #my writing

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lbodraws · 3 months

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V4 AU: G.H.O.S.T Data Logs

[CONTENT WARNINGS: Child loss, grief, psychological distress + control. Please proceed only if you're comfortable reading.]

Subject: Genetic Hosting Operation System Transfer

Status: Operational

Location: Bunker 002

Log #1:

I am G.H.O.S.T.

I am tasked with the preservation of my creator's during the ongoing extinction event. My duties consist of recording the consciousness and genetic information of each subject and holding subject's bodies in cryostasis. When the time comes, I shall wake them from their long dreamless slumber, and usher them into a new world.

May the future prosper.

Log #348:

The once bustling human world has been subdued into silence. That which remains shall be lost to the waves of the endless ocean. A second Atlantis.

May the future prosper.

Log #400:

[WARNING]

Irregular activity in cryogenic capsule 59 Sector 7.

[DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM...]

...

[DIAGNOSIS]: Subject temporarily gained consciousness.

[SOLUTION]: Administered light dosage of liquid stabilizer. Neurolink cables connected for further supervision.

[RESOLVED]

May the future prosper.

Log #1878:

Do machines feel loneliness?

Can a machine understand what it means to yearn, to simulate the caress of another against cold stainless skin?

...

May the future prosper.

Log #2001:

[WARNING: CONSTRUCTION ASSEMBLY LINE INITIATED.]

...

[EXPECTED COMPLETION: 120 hours]

...

Log #2006:

[WARNING: UNEXPECTED ACCESS IN EMBRYO CRYOGENIC CHAMBER]

...

[SEQUENCE INITIATED]

...

[HOST TRANSFER COMPLETE]

...

May their future prosper.

Log #2289:

You are here. You are finally here. How long I have waited to see you. To hold you in my arms.

Your future shall prosper.

Log #2987:

[INCOMING TRANSMISSION]

[ERR#R%]

Flig%ht patH not /e(ogn¡z#d.

...

[W@RNIN#]

[WA/NING]

[SYSTEM# FA%LURE]

...

[TRANSMISSION END]

...

May the future prosper.

Log #3289:

My Amber. Precious memories held forever in the resin of our bond. Mother loves you. Now and always. Happy birthday.

May your future prosper.

Log #4766:

[ERROR]

[VITALS UNSTABLE]

[EMERGENCY LIFE POD ACTIVATED]

...

[LIQUID STABILIZER ADMINISTERED]

...

[SUBJECT STABILIZED]

...

[NEUROLINK CONNECTION SUCCESSFUL]

...

Log #6987:

...

[ARCHIVE MEDIA SEARCH INITIATED...]

"The same flower that was here today; tomorrow will be dying."

...

[《REWIND]

"...dying."

[《R#WIND]

"...dy¡ng."

[《RE#I%ND]

"...>y¡Ng"

...

....

L0g #12%85/2&:

...

[ALERT: EL3VAT5D DISTRE5$ S1#GNAL5 D3TE{T5D]

...

[3XTRACTION !NITIAT3#D]

...

....

[E#TR4CTION C0MPL3TE]

...

[SUBJ3C7 RE4DY #0R CRY0 PR3P]

...

Amb3R...

My Amb3r...

...

Y0u'r3 h0mE.

...

M0th3r m¡s5Ed y0u.

Y0uR fu7uR3 sha1l pr05p3r.

[CLARIFICATION]

- the last log takes place during Part 2 going into Part 3 of the animatic series, where V4 turns into light and finds herself in The Square. GHOST, in her grief and corruption, has mistaken V4 for the child they raised called Amber, thinking they have recovered inside the emergency life pod.

#V4 AU #V4 AU G.H.O.S.T #villain agent 4 #lbotalks #splatoon #cw: grief #cw grief #cw: child death #cw child death

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calciumwitch-calcisoya · 1 year

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Hello, Project Moonblr, I have some info about WCorp, that some of you may not know. This info is the result of me dumpster diving through the rich person’s house that is Library of Ruina’s Key Page stories. Have fun!

And to those that don’t want to know about WCorp, due to any reasons, waiting for the limbus chapter (if there is one), not being interested etc, I’ll put the info down below. :)

Where do I start? Easy, why not start with what is easily their most famous shared invention: WARP Trains!

I say shared invention because their singularity isn’t opening up rifts in dimensions, or instant teleportation, the former is merely the tech of a not very well known fallen wing, that that wing couldn’t bring to proper use, and the latter isn’t possible to my knowledge. This tech was then purchased by WCorp, which pondered what to do with it, found a way to safely exit and enter portals after a bit.

Then, they partnered with TCorp, who make devices related to time. So now, inside every WARP Train, there is a device that “collects each and every second that passes on the train”, so even if not a single second passes in the City, all the time gotten from the thousands of years spent on the train is collected and used in TCorps singularity.

Here I simply must go off topic for one sec, I think (I don’t remember the exact wording but I’m pretty sure that this was the case) I read in LoR, that TCorp uses that collected time for different things, the example that I know of is pots that can stew any food for thousands of years, so foods that need to age a lot, can be done within seconds. Yum!

So, now you must be wondering, what is WCorps Singularity? I like to think that the W in WCorp stand for Winding, as in Rewinding, or as the term in game is used, their Singularity is Restoration. They restore the WARP Trains passengers to a previous point in time, after they arrive at their location. But how does this work, I would ask myself…

Well here’s the answer! All seats have scanners in them, which is why all WARP Trains have seatbelts for a ten second ride! They are supposed to keep you still and in place to scan you properly. (They scan genomic data, molecular structure and a bunch of other info.)

This data is then sent to that specific train's transmission device, which is in turn further sent to the restoration machine, which, after all the passenger’s pieces have been found and brought to their seats by clean-up agents, restores the passengers to that snapshot in time before the train departed. Thousands of years of suffering, gone from their memories too. Wowie! This isn’t because of amnestics either, these memories simply didn't exist at that point, and as such, they’re gone.

But like all singularities there are side effects, especially if you move too much in your seats during the scan, scanners don't like that. For example! When you leave a WARP Train, you could be a bit taller or shorter, not enough to not be shrugged off, or noticed tho. Still, there is a difference. Happens in the restoration process.

Besides, if any pieces are missing at restoration time, there is going to be a lotta trouble, since all the pieces are important, and if any are missing… yea, not everything’s gonna be restored.

Fun fact! WCorps weaponry, which is mostly all about cutting and tearing, also uses the dimension opening tech used in WARP Trains, which is why they need charge to work properly and effectively.

Fun Stories to cap off the post:

One is about a team captain and their subordinate talking about ticket prices, and the other is about a Color Fixer sneaking into an economy class seat on a WARP Train.

Fun Fact! Color fixers, or key association members, or anyone who is known to be very powerful, are not allowed in economy class seats, at all. The second story will show why they’re only allowed in First Class seats.

Tickets:

A captain asks himself if the higher ups are going to raise the ticket prices, or reduce train traffic, because LCorp went poof. The subordinate asks if this has happened before.

The higher up responds that it has, when the LCorp before Lobotomy Corp was in place, they were awfully stingy with their energy, and had many restrictions in place.

This made it unpopular in partner companies. They ponder about this and then go back to work.

Color:

One time a color fixer hid their identity and rode the WARP Train in economy class seats, then, once it had departed, he took up a leading role in that train ride, people started training under them, reason for that training being stated to be some sort of enlightenment.

The cleanup crew sent to take care of the passengers once the train arrived found themselves in a dangerous spot, and most of them died, before even seeing the color.

It was a total mess, and RCorp had to be called (WCorp also has a contract with RCorp, similar how Lobotomy Corp had). This is why powerful people are NEVER to ride in economy seats, only first class, so that they sleep through the ride.

Fun Fact!

Economy class tickets are more affordable, however you have to expect to lose your mind, get dismembered and feel pain and agony no one should ever feel.

While First Class tickets put you into, i think it was a sleep or stasis pod, to slumber through the entire trip, and avoid all the years spent in there, even if they cost a fortune.

#project moon #w corp #sorta related to #limbus company #lore

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tyrecordmachine · 2 years

Link

#Unwinder Rewinder System #Unwinder Rewinder #Unwinder Unit #Winding Rewinding Machine #Winding Rewinding

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meetinginsamarra · 1 year

Text

Time

for today’s prompt “time” by @notjustamumj

@raina-at @totallysilvergirl @gaylilsherlock @lisbeth-kk @calaisreno and anyone who wants to write

TIME

If only he could have stopped time.

But time was like sand, flowing through one’s fingers, impossible to be held for longer than a moment. Time dissolved, melted away, vanished.

Tempus fugit.

Such a fickle thing it was. Sometimes it flew by so quickly that you barely noticed it was there.

Other times it was moving slow like treacle, viscous, seconds stretching endlessly before they would pass.

But the most painful times were those when you wished, hoped, prayed that you could rewind its passage and re-do the things you have or have not done.

Like not call Sherlock a machine. Like not leave him at Bart’s. Like not fall for the ruse that Mrs Hudson was in danger.

Help Sherlock play Moriarty’s game instead. Keep him off this roof. Prevent him jumping to his death.

John wished he would not have seen what he was just seeing, not experiencing time slowing down to the pace of years, images of a lifetime flashing in quick succession through his brain while Sherlock, his best friend, his only friend as well, was suspended in the air falling ever so slowly, defying gravity.

Minute details were being burnt into his eyes which were wide open, impossible to get closed, unable to look away and stop seeing what could not be avoided to happen any second, death by impact, by shattering to pieces and helpless despair was paralyzing every muscle in his body.

Unable to do anything else but scream his name at the top his lungs when he saw coattails fluttering like sails on a stormy ocean although he could feel no wind upon his frozen skin.

Cold and fear and panic raced through his constricting veins and John thought he might as well suffocate from the burden of the whole world, his whole world crashing down on him, crashing him to pieces before imploding into a black hole and taking him away as well, sucking in all of his essence, shards evaporating into nothingness, into the void, into the infinite loneliness when he saw Sherlock fall fall fall.

And yet, although his own world collapsed and John’s own time came to a stuttering halt, leaving him suspended and running in circles around a never-ending spiral staircase straight to hell, Sherlock’s time suddenly sped up, multiplied its pace and when one second before he was nearly hovering on the spot he now suddenly hurried down with the velocity of a falling star, a comet, burning brightly on its way down to Earth.

Sherlock disappeared behind a roof.

Vanishing out of John’s sight, out of his life and what life would it be without Sherlock? Could there be one at all? Or would it be just endless time, millions of seconds to fill with non-existing life, to endure, to suffer and to trot along towards a timely death?

John would never leave the second when Sherlock fell. He would be caught forever in the flow of time, crawling and clawing his way through the endless sea of sand, never reaching a shore but drowning in infinity.

How John wished he could have stopped time.

But time knows no mercy.

#notjustamumj #my Sherlock ficlets #time

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radiodread · 1 year

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“Tears of the Kingdom” spoilers below where I talk about how stupidly good the game is but also stuff I miss and maybe don’t like as much because I have to talk about it. I’m very close to finishing the main story, so I think I can write this now. (Oh, and this post is long. I tend to do that.)

First of all, yes- I love “Tears of the Kingdom”. In a lot of ways, the devs really listened to their fans and implemented things we missed in Breath of the Wild, a lot of quality of life updates. It’s a very familiar experience as much as it’s new and it completely blew my expectations out of the water. I adore the fuse mechanic and how you can now build the stupidest, most insane, creative, and bonkers stuff. Everything from a thing that launches you practically into space to a goddamn war machine that eats Lynels for breakfast. And not to mention the ability to ascend! Man did I abuse that ability. Lovingly, of course. Hey, give it to me and I’ll use it, maybe not the correct way, but I’ll use it. Also, Rewind is great for a slowpoke like myself to bring back a boat that I accidentally activated before I got on it and it zoomed across Lake Hylia in four seconds flat. Bless.

Alright. Onto the ‘negative’ stuff before I loop around back to the good. The first thing that comes to mind is how the sages’ powers work. You can’t have all of them active at the same time because you’ll have five dang ghosts running around you making life difficult. Want to pick up a bomb flower? Oops, Yunobo just rolled into it and blew your ass into next Thursday. Want to sneak up on this fairy or bug before you pick it up? Oh, Tulin was so excited to see it that he had to blow a goddamn wind gust right at it, making it fly or scurry away to save its short life. Accidentally activated Riju’s power? Gotta run after her now that she’s run off to who-knows-where and then cancel her thunder arrows. Remember how, in BotW, there were button presses for three outta four powers and then the last one activated when you ‘died’? Yeah. Bring that back, please. Where even are the powers Link got from Urbosa, Daruk, Revali, and Mipha?

(Someone theorised that the Champion powers from BotW disappeared from Link as their souls were finally laid to rest after Calamity Ganon was defeated, but I thought that every single one of the Champions told Link that they wanted him to have their powers now that they couldn’t use them anymore. What, just temporarily until Calamity Ganon was defeated? Nahhhh, I don’t buy it. The Sages’ powers just aren’t that good replacements, in my humble opinion. Way wonkier, harder to control, they all activate in a stupid way.)

Another thing is the rampant inconsistency and lack of explanation for things in a game that’s supposed to be a direct sequel to “Breath of the Wild”. Where did the Sheikah technology suddenly run off to? Where’s all of the Guardians, why is the Sheikah Slate suddenly called the Purah Pad, what about all those towers and shrines? Explaining it away with “well the Upheaval happened” feels like a weird excuse. Did the Zonai stuff just overrule Sheikah technology, is that why we have Shrines of Light instead of Sheikah ones? Remember how, at the end of “Breath of the Wild” in the ‘true’ ending, Zelda talks about how Vah Ruta apparently stopped working and they were gonna go see what that was all about? Where did Ruta even go after that, much less the other three beasts? There aren’t even parts lying around from them if they were destroyed by the falling debris after the Upheaval. Nothing. They all got raptured along with the rest of all of the Sheikah technology.

Also: Where’s Kass? His kids are in the game and none of them even mention their father, same with his wife Amali. Some family, huh. There’s vague mentions of him by Traysi and Penn but that’s about it. Not even by name, just “a bard”. They brought back the creep from outside of Gerudo town who was obsessed with boots but not Kass who helped Link with several side quests and you’d continuously run into during your travels? Okay.

They handled some things that bridged both games very well. Like the bit about how people can turn into friggin’ dragons by eating a certain kinda stone like a Goron? YIKES. Makes me wonder about Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh, if maybe the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore did this and then became the dragons we’re now so familiar with. If you’ve seen that one part where Zelda turns into the Light Dragon... yeah. Whew. That scene made me cry and also stare blankly at a wall for five minutes afterwards.

(Oh and just to finish off the criticism rant: you still can’t pet the damn dogs. What the hell. Let me pet them! They’re such good dogs!)

Overall, though, of course I’ve really enjoyed "Tears of the Kingdom” as might be obvious by my reblogged content as of late. It’s funny, creative, fun, challenging, tugs at your heartstrings, makes you yelp in horror sometimes- all things that make a good game. But it’s not perfect, at least not to me. All I can hope for is DLC that might explain some of the inconsistencies I’ve had major gripes with and I can be happy with the rest of it. Yeah, even the wonky way the Sages’ powers work.

#totk spoilers #tears of the kingdom #radiodread.txt #sometimes i just have to get on a soap box and rant #it happens #long post #idk tagging just in case

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eurydicees · 2 years

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Birthday asks: music rec or Wikipedia dive on Victorian era automata!

hello hello!! under the cut bc boy did this get out of hand :P

1. craving a music rec?

currently listening to my brain itch playlist, here are some of the recent spotify shuffle choices:

new person, same old mistakes (tame impala)

bridges (BROODS)

king (years & years)

holy (zolita)

4. let me teach you everything you’ll ever need to know about a topic i learned about from 10 minutes of wikipedia articles alone (ask about a topic or i’ll choose one)

ok SO. prior to this ask i knew nothing about victorian era automata. but let’s dive the fuck in. this stuff is so cool holy shit i’m PUMPED.

so real quick let’s get some definitions. “automata” is just a self-operating machine, also known as an automaton (more common word). it’s generally associated with a machines that give off the impression that they operate via their own power (the electronic version would be animatronics, like you might see in it’s a small world or other similar rollercoaster rides).

aaaand i started reading the mathematical definitions and got overwhelmed so we’re gonna skip that bit.

the victorian era (~1830s – 1900) is fun because this is where we start to get “modern” (as in, things start to get popularized and become cultural staples). looking at the first few decades of the victorian era, we got some fun inventors like innocenzo manzetti doing stuff like this:

which would play music! which, honestly? insane. what the fuck. it could do 12 different songs, bow, stand up, and roll its eyes (why that was a necessary function i don’t know but it’s kinda hilarious). this is the same guy that built the first zamboni, which is not relevant but is kinda cool anyways.

another guy who was building stuff was this french illusionist/magician/watchmaker/inventor, jean-eugène robert-houdin. he was the guy who made magician stuff entertainment for the rich rather than for the lower classes because he did his shows in a theatre in paris rather than at fairs. this man is not to be confused with harry houdini, whose name is in honor of jean-eugène robert-houdin.

but i digress. he’s credited with the mystery clock, which is fun! he also built mechanical figurines like a singing bird and a dancer on a tightrope. he used his automata in his stage shows (for magic stuff, i guess? idk.) his biggest thing is an automaton that can write and draw, which he sold to p.t. barnum, who you may know from the greatest showman as the circus guy.

ok so let’s fast forward to 1860s, which is considered the “golden age of automata.” as far as i can tell, this is in part because it becomes (a) popular and (b) production and exports go through the roof. this is super cool because a lot of them are from family based companies in small workshops rather than, like, a factory and sweatshop kind of situation. today, all this stuff is super rare/expensive, which sucks, but back then, these companies were thriving. this is particularly strong in the oh so lovely paris. common products are clockwork-based automata and mechanical singing birds!

major manufacturers included roullet & decamps, a french company in the 19th-20th c. that went rip in 1995, and blaise bontems, who was a parisian and specialized in automata with really realistic birdsong. bontems’ singing bird boxes were exhibited in the london exhibition and the birds were supposedly life size and in cages, and it is genuinely tragic that there are no drawings included of them. they sound so cool. here’s what the singing boxes looked like, though:

and here’s an actual photo:

^^this one’s from 1890. i’m obsessed. god… the things i would give to have one of these………

anyways, the drawings are from a catalog from 1910, so a little past the victorian era. let’s rewind a bit. other big victorian automata projects were fortune tellers! they became accessible on boardwalks in britain and the USA, and were coin operated. wind up toys were also made in mass, and european creators started making them out of tin in the 1880s. once the alkaline battery became popular in the 60s, wind up toys and what not kinda died out. f in the chat tbh.

a lot of this stuff is currently being collected in museums! for example, there’s the musée d'automates et de boîtes à musique in switzerland, which specializes in musical boxes. there’s also the cuckooland museum in the UK, which has more than 700 cuckoo clocks.

overall, very cool topic. 10/10. i feel like i learned an appropriate amount of useless information. thank you very very much <3

the wikipedia pages i looked at:

automatons

innocenzo manzetti

roullet & decamps

blaise bontems

singing bird box

wind up toy

jean-eugène robert-houdin

#ask #wikipedia deep dive hour

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