dear_mun | on his username / voice testing?

Actually there were only seven of them... but that didn't stop the whole town from panicking. And forming an angry mob.

Um... Eleven. Why?

...ouch. I've had experiences with angry mobs and they're definitely not experiences I'd like to repeat.

Ah, you know, just curious. You're pretty brave for an eleven year old kid!

I hope it never happens again either. They burnt the town hall down...

... U-um, thanks, I guess.

[He looks a little embarrassed. True, most 11-year-olds probably wouldn't stand up to the living dead and a three-centuries old curse, but he wasn't most 11-year-olds. Still, he's not completely used to the whole "being considered a hero" thing yet.]

What about you?

Pfft, wow. And people get after ME about property damage.

I'm seventeen, probably close to eighteen. I don't know exactly when my birthday is, so I kinda have to estimate.

You really don't know when your birthday is?
Why don't you know?

Nope. I've got amnesia, thanks to getting caught in the middle of a science experiment that exploded big time. And by "big time", I mean the stuff that was in it contaminated the whole planet once it got up into the atmosphere.

I was around ten years old back then and the only reason I have an idea of how old I am now is because my personal physician was able to figure that out. Estimating is one thing, though, pinpointing an exact day is another.

Whoa... That sounds crazy!

What about your family, though? ... Couldn't they have helped you?

[He frowns, rubbing the side of his neck a little.]

No... Both my parents...died in the explosion. And even though my older brother escaped in his mobile lab, the blast damaged the sub-light drive on it so that it got stuck on when he took off. It only took him about fifteen minutes to reboot it and stop it, but minutes going by for him was years going by for us.

So I didn't really have anyone to help me... Well, except the people I met while I was learning to survive on my own, I guess. My mind's rebooted a bunch of times since then, so I really only remember like the last couple years or so. [He shrugs.] Everything before that is a big blank.

... O-oh...
I'm really sorry.

Wait, "rebooted"? You mean like... a computer?

[He looks both sad and a bit confused. He's not totally sure what Rex means, but no matter what it sounds terrible.]

Yeah, well... Not like anything about them being gone can be changed.

[He can't even remember what they were like, which makes him feel guilty whenever he thinks about it for too long. Like he should miss them a lot more then he does, but can't due to lack of attachment.]

Sorta. Imagine that you've got a document program open and you're typing about everything that happens around you, every day...like an electronic diary. And it's supposed to auto-save for you so you don't lose anything, but then one day the computer crashes and BSoDs, so you've gotta reboot it. Then when you try to open the file again later, you can't because it got corrupted. It's still in there, it's just that you can't access it and use it.

That's kinda what my brain's been doing since I was ten, probably every time I go through some really traumatic experience. Sometimes I get bits and pieces of memories as parts of dreams and nightmares, so I don't think I lost everything? I just can't force myself remember any of it.

I... I'm so sorry.
I wish there was something I could do, really, but I can only--

...

Actually...
I think there is something I can do.

[Cue eyebrow arching. He very much doubts it, but it can't hurt to ask, right?]

Oh yeah...? Like what?

... I can talk to the dead.

You...

This has something to do with the talking tree and the zombies, doesn't it?

[Rex is quiet a moment after, rubbing the side of his neck with one hand.]

I don't... I dunno. To be honest, I'm not even sure how I'd handle that? Someone being able to talk to my parents. I know you're trying to help, but...

[He trails off, not sure how to convert what he's thinking and feeling into words. A lot of conflicting emotions, there.]

Yeah, I guess you could say that.

[Suddenly, he looks a little awkward. Maybe he shouldn't have brought up the idea...]

W-Well, it was... only a suggestion. I mean, if you wouldn't be comfortable with it... I'm sorry.
I just... I thought I would offer.

No, it's...it's fine. You don't have to apologize. You totally meant well and I've just never had anyone offer to do something like that. Trust me, it's more me than you in this case. I have trouble sorting out stuff regarding my parents, normally.

[He manages a bit of a smile.]

Thanks for the offer, though. I appreciate it.

Heh, it's... no problem, then.

[He manages to smile back a bit as well.]

Um, I'm Norman, by the way.
I don't think I ever got your name.

[Good to see a smile from the kid. He seems like a nice guy and after what he's been through, Rex doesn't want to upset him.]

[Oh, and proper introductions! Right. Rex holds out his right hand.]

Name's Rex. Rex Salazar.

[Norman holds out his hand also, shaking Rex's. Likewise, he finds the older kid rather admirable. He's gone through a lot of difficult and terrible experiences, it sounds like, but still manages to get by and be a really nice person. That's a pretty huge sign of bravery too.]

Nice to meet you.

Back atcha, amigo.

[Rex's handshake is firm, but he knows his own strength. And with that part done...]

So what's going to happen with you now, anyway? Your mun just running you around for fun or what?

[He finds it pretty cool you consider him a friend now too, Rex. It's really nice to have such a cool, brave older friend. But thinking about his question...]

I'm not really sure. She's said she's busy a lot and probably doesn't have the time to send us places, even though she'd like to.
I think she also just really likes, my... um, "canon" a lot? [That's what it's called, right? He's still learning all the terminology.] 'Cause there's two other people I know in her head...

[Rex does like making new friends...probably to make up for when he had hardly any at all a few years back.]

Ah, right. I get you.

Well...I dunno. It might be to your advantage if she doesn't want to send you somewhere. My mun picked me up over two years ago and has had a death grip on me almost the whole time. She gets a kick out of picking on me and making my life hard, but that's what these muns do sometimes when they really like us.

Not to say that it's all bad! It's not. It's just...tough sometimes.

[Norman feels similarly. He used to think he was fine with just ghosts, but it's actually really nice having living friends too.]

Yeah, you're probably right. It's not... so bad here. Well, okay, there's a lot of seriously crazy people, but at least there's some nicer people too.
I don't know if I'd really want to go anywhere either. There's only one person here that's in a... uh, "game", right now? And things aren't going so great for him, from what I've heard...
If that's how muns show they like us, it's a pretty weird way of showing it.

[Yep. Ghosts can't make you cookies, man. ...or hang out with you and eat pizza after a round of laser tag.]

Psh, right? "I like you, so here, lemme hurt you more!" My mun's got me and two other guys in the same game right now, but the rumor is she's dropping one of them before the month's over. Time to retire the dude, I guess.

Though, hey, if your mun ever does decide to send you somewhere? The game I'm in isn't as bad as some others. I guess some places don't let you visit home at all or it's like the norm to have terrible experiments performed on you. This place doesn't have those problems, at least.

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thetreetoldme - 2012-10-07 16:47 (UTC) - Expand

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deusrexmachina - 2012-10-07 17:04 (UTC) - Expand

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