A Probability Experiment Turned Me Into A Clockwork Girl And I Really Don’t Know What To Make Of It All

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Stuart doesn't really know why he's going to college. He doesn't know why he's in the metamorphic-science program. In fact, he doesn't really know why he's doing *anything,* other than a vague sense of obligation and persistent existential angst. But when he and two of his classmates are caught in a freak lab accident, he suddenly has much bigger things to worry about instead. (Well, make that "in addition to.") With he and his lab partners stuck trying to cope with unfamiliar new bodies, deal with angry *and* curious faculty members, re-integrate into campus life, and come to terms with their own personal issues, it's anybody's guess where it will all end up for them...

The first standalone novel from the weirdo who ringled a number of long-running and highly eclectic interactive stories on Fiction Branches and elsewhere, it's a (hopefully more structured and focused) slice-of-life mad-science gender-bender dramedy full of introspection, emotional growth, and what another author in the community refers to as "gender feels" (plus some good old-fashioned mildly sexy hijinks and dirty jokes.) Don't miss it! Or miss it, whatever, it'll still be here. C'mon. You know you want to.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2021
Author: nothingsp

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 288
Views: 187,535

Chapters(41 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(8)

notaspy11Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A meticulous and very human exploration of what makes up an identity, what might get in the way of a person having a solid sense of self, and several of the ways in which a change of self might not go the same way it does in all the rest of these stories.
I also like the story because it is complete and does not overstay its welcome or try to stretch out into more than it is.
JeddestRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
...Wow.
This is a contender for one of my favorite novels. Period. I've said that on more than one book here on RR, but it bears repeating!
I was initially drawn in by the unique title and plot summary, but
Sue
's internal struggles with
her identity, gender, species, and everything in between
are genuinely heartwarming/breaking to read, making an all together beautiful story. I genuinely cried once or twice, though I'm not sure if that just speaks to my emotional frailty or if this book is just that good. Maybe both, idk :/
To anyone on the fence about diving into this novel, do it. NOW. You are being magically, hypnotically, and emotionally compelled to read this. There's nobody out there who won't gain anything by reading this. Excluding transphobic people, I guess, but even they might be able to develop some basic empathy through this.
Not sure how those spoilers are going to look when this is posted. Bear with me, lol
Random PhysicsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
While the summary says, "(plus some good old-fashioned mildly sexy hijinks and dirty jokes.)" I found a succinct lack of that, and the work is all the better for it.
This is a story of someone coming to terms with change. This is about a change that they didn't ask for and don't understand. Nevertheless, change can lead to a better understanding of oneself than ever before.
Maybe Stu could have learned to overcome his challenges on his own. Maybe he could have been perfectly happy going with the flow as he was doing. There are plenty of people that do just that.
This is a story of coming to terms with change, and making peace with it. I loved it. I've followed a similar course in my life, and I was happy to see it represented here. (FYI 100% cishet)
The author's attention to detail is superb. The clockwork aspect isn't played for laughs, or as a gimmick, it is another essencial part of the story.
cliffrootRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Genuinely amazing and an incredible fiction / just an amazing job but the author / omg I am *I'm love* with these characters and this setting
slow pace may be off-putting for some but I personally love it.
The authors put in a lot of work to make the world written feel truly real and the characters inside this world are truly a joy to follow in their exploration of self, the title really sais it all, and yet the author just couldn't let thing go and wrote a throguhly enjoyably piece that I'm going to be following regularly as of now
ExrionRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I absolutely loved the story, the characters, the writing, the setting are all really well done! The writing is absolutely amazing and so was the pace and storytelling. I loved the growth and development of the MC and to see them understand themselves and their identity throughout the fiction had my full attention. I have to confess that I teared up on some chapters too.
Teja SunkuRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'd first like to say that I'm not entirely sure how to classify this story. It's definitely a transformation story, but it's not entirely clear that it's a trans story. And I think it's in that ambiguity that this story thrives. Our protag Su gets turned into a mechanical appearing-as-woman-according-to-current-norms person whereas they were previously recognized as a flesh and blood adult human man, and they have to deal with the identity crisis it adds to their already existing identity crisis. The crisis seems genuine, and I like the way it is handled.
Style
I think this is a place where the story really shines. The imagery really works, and the way Su's thought processes are written out is both detailed while also not being overbearing. I'd also like to complement the world building. There's the feeling that there's a lot more to this world than we currently see and it feels lived in, for a lack of a better description.
Story
To be honest, the plot isn't terribly complex, but it really didn't need to be. If you're the sort of person to need twists and turns, this might not be the story for you. However, I think that it was good for the themes that it was trying to explore.
Grammar
I am not the best at evaluating grammar, so I will only say that there was never a time when poor grammar took me out of the story
Character
This is another place where the story really shines. The people in this story are all unique, and all have complex characters that the story examines in detail. People actually have differing opinions in this story, and it results in interesting conflict that is serious while also not being world-ending.
Overall, this is a story I would recommend reading.
UriahRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I love the detail in each character and how they respond to their circumstances. Some might be bored by the small things like shopping etc but I like it. I almost wish I could be in MC's place to experience the world in that character, it's so fascinating. Love it!
SerendipitalRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
This is definitely an early review, but I'm enjoying this story so far. The characters seem solid; the main character especially is relatable, and the transformation themes are all handled with good taste. The worldbuilding that we've seen so far is interesting, and there's clearly been a lot of thought put into how various monster-people would work. The beginning was a bit slow, and some of the information could have been sprinkled throughout, but by no means was it bad, and it's certainly worth continuing reading. I'm looking forward to where it goes from here!