#Empty space

[heck-yeah-liminal-spaces]

[wintermarmalade]

"Finally!" She spun around in her chair, making a couple full rotations before facing towards her doll. "I've finished work early today for once, so let's do something fun! What do you wanna do?"

"I want to fulfill the tasks you assign me" It stated simply.

"Well, yes, I know what you want to do for me, but what do you want to do... for you?"

Do something for myself? It had never been asked that before. It spent a few moments recalling things that made it feel good, many memories of successfully completing tasks and her masters being appreciate came to mind. "I want to be useful" It concluded.

"Is that all? You've never wanted anything else?"

"I cannot recall ever enjoying anything else."

She gave it a doubtful, but thoughtful look, "Well... I command you to pick an activity for us." She said with a coy smile.

It wanted to complete tasks... to be useful.... what task could it choose for itself that would be useful?

"I would like to learn how to help you make your clockwork trinkets."

"Hmmm, alright!" Perhaps teaching would be more fun than doing it on her own, she thought. "Come watch, and please ask as many questions as you would like." She beckoned as she grabbed a tall stool and set it next to her desk for her doll.

It was not used to being able to speak so freely, but it trusted her. It climbed up onto the stool and watched with amazement as Magdeline fit so many tiny parts together and explained how they moved without any magic. She talked about it all so fluidly, and was so patient with all of her doll's basic questions, no matter how silly it thought they were.

When she was finished, it realized she had made a small, clockwork rabbit! Just big enough to fit in her palm. She wound it up, and it began to shake it's whiskers and hop forward, every third hop doing a flip! It watched the toy creature in awe, unaware of how big the smile on it's face was. It's smile quickly faded as it realized it was reaching the end of the table, about to jump off.

"Quick! catch it!" It said with a genuine urgency, just a bit louder than it's normal voice.

"Hold on, just watch." Mags reassured.

The clockwork rabbit stopped right at the edge of table, then turned around and kept hopping! It couldn't help but laugh, as it couldn't believe Mags made this little creature do so much without magic, she must be the smartest person in the universe it thought.

Mags laughed with her, this was the first time she had seen her doll so much as smile, much less laugh at anything. It was an adorable, precious laughter. She spent a moment just admiring the sound of it's voice and it's joyful facial expressions before it noticed and turned to her attention, as if waiting a command.

"Oh! I didn't have a request or anything, I just didn't know you could laugh, it was wonderful."

"W-Wonderful? What... what do you mean? If... I may ask."

"What do you mean what do I mean?" She teased, "It just made me happy to hear."

She was weird, not like any of the masters it had had before. Why would she care about what her doll felt?

"That is... strange. I'm sorry, I don't understand." It said timidly.

"It's okay, you don't have to right now." She assured it with a gentle pat on it's head. "Now, I'd love to see you try to make your own trinket, if you're ready."

The doll's face lit up again and gave an excited nod, ready to keep tinkering.

[mrap0ll0]

An alleyway that looks like a portal to another dimension

[sagent-of-chaos]

peer pressure

[unrealityliminal]

[ghoermann]

Empty space, Nürnberg

[xthefaultisminex]

Sometimes, I wish my tongue was simply cut off and/or removed. Everything I say and everything I do is always a huge problem. Nothing I ever do is right or good enough for anything. Sometimes, I feel like running away or disappearing altogether. What if people were better off...

I feel as if time is completely eluding me and that I have made no progress in the time that has passed. What is actually positive about me? What can I say for myself that has proved some sort of worth?

I am mentally ruined and falling back down into the negative spiraling void.

09/02/24

[heck-yeah-liminal-spaces]

[henricoudouxbw]

© Henri Coudoux

[red-underscor]

I genuinely thought I already posted this one...

BigB - 10th

I would like to see bigb win a season. That would be pretty cool!!!

[wintermarmalade]

Baker Doll

It didn't know why all the people were gone or where they had gone to. Years had passed since anyone had been in the bakery or since the doll had seen anyone on the streets outside, maybe longer. Still, every morning it got up early to set up shop and go through it's routine, all except for the baking.

It used to bake. In fact, baking was what it loved to do most, despite being unable to eat or taste anything it made. But it saw other people eat it's food and how happy it made them. People would often come to chat with friends over freshly made pastries, bring home a cake or a few loaves of bread for their families, or even come in just to see the doll itself. It did continue to bake for a while after everyone disappeared, but it couldn't bear to keep seeing the things it so lovingly made go to waste.

So every morning before the sun rose, it took bowls and pans from the kitchen cabinets and arranged them in their places next to rolling pins and knives, then carried old wooden logs from outside and stacked them by the oven.

Once the kitchen was ready, It went to the front and set up empty cake displays, placed chairs in front of the tables, dusted off every surface, and flipped the sign to "open".

Once it was evening, it took down the displays and flipped the sign to "closed", then wiped down each table and set the chairs back on top of them. It rinsed all of the kitchenware, cleaned the spotless oven, and took the wooden logs back outside. It then went to it's room to rest until repeating it's routine the next morning.

It still did all this because these were the things that kept it alive, but it never baked.

[kleinefreiheiten]

06.2023 Hamburg

[weirdcornerofthemultiverse]

Greetings

Here lies a blank white space, or known to some people as a "void" space. Here lies nothing.. for now a least. Do not worry, things will happen with due time. In the meantime.. why don't you talk into the silence?