Child's Play [Text] [Reboot]

>Unsa Daw

Names are special, because they mean something special; its a word, noise, or image that refer specifically to you.

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SpoilerIdk how the rest of the forum feels about long meta posts, but I liked it :) It’s making me think of a few different places I could take this adventure in the future. Currently torn between different plot ideas depending on user input and where the story goes. Would you rather have a more recognizable story with human characters or more of this random abstract stuff? Also I know nothing about rocks and am getting mildly sick of writing about them so much so your input is welcome :P

Uga Huras

“You can be Unsa Huras,” I say, sliding two rocks against each other in a different way than I had for my own name, with the harsh hissing of the wind-driven raindrops for background. “Seriously, you should have a name. It’s special. It’s something that means you, no matter who says it.”

“But who is there to say it?” He asks, his question hitting me in a bit of a sore spot. “It’s not like there’s anyone else around here.”

“We can tell Mother, next time she comes! And who knows, maybe I’ll find someone else someday?”

He looks a bit confused, then snorts at that second part. “As if. But maybe we do need a name for Father, just so you can stop calling him that. He’s more like me than you, I can tell. How come you don’t see it?”

“No, Mother is more like me!” I argue. “I dare you to ask her the next time she comes to visit.”

“Sure, whatever. It’s not like he’ll be here for ages, if he shows up at all. I bet he’s abandoned and forgot about us by now. We got too heavy or too loud and he just dumped us here!”

“That’s not true!” I say. “You just need to do something to make the time pass faster, and she’ll be back in no time! Like, destroy something that isn’t one of my things. Are you sure you haven’t seen any stacked rocks? If you put stone next to water, it starts dissolving. Maybe it’ll make some cool shapes if you give it long enough.” 

“Maybe,” he sighs. “But I’ve been all around this island and all the ones around it. With all the volcanoes, the lava just wipes out all the rocks every time they look like they’re starting to get old. I mean, I like volcanoes, but that’s kinda annoying.”

“Destruction doesn’t have to be fast. Just try being patient!” Wow, I’m being a huge hypocrite, what with my own lack of patience. I guess that word shouldn’t be reserved just for Brother anymore. “Seriously, there are tons of other things you can break. Like have you ever looked underground? The pressure down there can make some really pretty things.” Reluctantly, I uncover a shallow hole containing one of my stashes of small objects and pull out a crystal, its intricate latticework seeming to shine as the droplets of water bounce off of it.

“What’s that?” He grumbles, but I can tell he’s interested despite himself. I give him the crystal and wince internally as he immediately snaps it in half to look at the inner structure.

“You can have it,” I insist. “Just as long as you leave me alone till the next time Mother comes to visit.”

“Hm. Maybe. I’ll go back to the volcano for now. Maybe if I don’t let it erupt for a while your stupid rock towers will just magically appear out of nowhere.” With that, he vaporizes the crystal into powder and stalks away in the other direction.

I relax as soon as he’s out of range. Talking to Brother -or should I say, Unsa now- is always a bit draining, so I don’t do anything for the next little while except watch the sky. The storm looks like it’s dissipating, but the clouds persist.

Sometimes, when I stay very still and make my thoughts go quiet like this, I think I can see a faint image of myself in the future. Future Me is all the things Present Me can’t be yet; smart, purposeful, focused. She has plans and goals for each day and never lets anyone get to her. I can never tell if I’m really linked to her or if it’s just a figment of my imagination, but even if she’s not real I can sometimes get great ideas just by thinking of her for a while.

This time the idea is, what if I make something that doesn’t let Brother destroy it? Something that can move away from him on its own? Or at least something that can do things without me in even the smallest way. I get a brief, blurred image of such an object; a giant tower of some unknown material that drinks rain and turns sunlight into energy. But I have no idea how to even go about such a thing. I need to start smaller.

What should I do?

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