The writing is the first to go. Ballpoint pen ink, at least, does not eat through paper as it degrades; it merely fades as if worn away by the tide.
That alone would be enough to disrupt the talisman and keep it from working, but as the thanergy seeps into the doll, and the talisman paper -- as it is meant to do -- absorbs it and bonds tight, its yellow cast abruptly deepens to a withered brown. Fine cracks appear along its surface as the thanergy gnaws apart the cellulose, burning the paper without heat from the inside out. Soon, all that is left is a blank, brittle doll unmoving against the table.
Gingerly, Wei Wuxian picks up the paper doll. It flakes apart in his hands, crumbling to fragments too small to piece together.
"Damn," he sighs as the remains of the talisman sift between his fingers.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2020-10-09 11:05 pm (UTC)That alone would be enough to disrupt the talisman and keep it from working, but as the thanergy seeps into the doll, and the talisman paper -- as it is meant to do -- absorbs it and bonds tight, its yellow cast abruptly deepens to a withered brown. Fine cracks appear along its surface as the thanergy gnaws apart the cellulose, burning the paper without heat from the inside out. Soon, all that is left is a blank, brittle doll unmoving against the table.
Gingerly, Wei Wuxian picks up the paper doll. It flakes apart in his hands, crumbling to fragments too small to piece together.
"Damn," he sighs as the remains of the talisman sift between his fingers.