What are you?

Caveat lector: very, very unfinished. Content warnings: child death, heavyhanded metaphors. # You are very nearly alive. (set: $anthro to 0) Are you water or clay? [[I am made of water.]] [[I am made of clay.]]

# You are water, dissolving and renewing, weathering and refreshing. Are you a river or a lake? [[I am a river.]] [[I am a lake.]]

# You are clay, easy to mold first and easy to shatter later. Have you truly been brought to life? [[I am a child.]] [[I am a doll.]]

# You are a river, tumbling through yourself endlessly. (set: $waterType to "river") Are you in flood or in drought? [[I am in flood.]] [[I am in drought.]]

# You are a lake, deeper than you look, with no escape to the ocean. (set: $waterType to "lake") Are you in flood or in drought? [[I am in flood.]] [[I am in drought.]]

# You are a child, of boundless potential and endless ignorance. (set: $clayType to "child") (set: $anthro to 10) Are you loved? [[I am beloved by all who behold me.]] [[I am wholly and entirely unloved.]]

# You are a doll, beautiful and breakable and inert. (set: $clayType to "doll") (set: $anthro to 1) Are you loved? [[I am beloved by all who behold me.]] [[I am wholly and entirely unloved.]]

# You are a $waterType in flood, thunderous and deadly. It has been a hard season. This latest storm has tipped the balance. Everything is too much, and your shores are beset by destruction. Is it your fault? [[It is my fault. I am sorry.|floodfault - sorry]] [[It is my fault. I am not sorry.|floodfault - not sorry]] [[It is the fault of the storm.|floodfault - weather]] [[It is the fault of the people.|floodfault - people]]

# You are a $waterType in drought, low and quiet. It has been a hard season. The rains have not come, not enough, and your waterline is the lowest it has been in a good long while. You are not enough for all the (dropdown: 2bind $sympathyFor,"people","plants","animals") in your watershed. Are you still trying? [[I struggle to provide for those who depend on me.]] [[Too much has been taken from me, I will give nothing more.]]

# The rain is what causes this. You can only hold so much within yourself. (set: $anthro to $anthro + 1) You do not have this problem in the dry season. You have no control over the weather. It is what it is. [[I wish they wouldn't blame me for this.]] [[I wish I could handle it better.]] [[I wish they could handle me better.]]

# It is their fault, for they knew the risks and were still caught unprepared. (set: $anthro to $anthro - 1) You are a $waterType. Of course you flood. They should know better. [[I feel nothing at all.]] (if:$anthro>=0) [[[... but.]]](else:) [... but.]

# You should have held the water back. (set: $anthro to $anthro + 1) You would have, if you truly loved those who live on your shores. Wouldn't you? [[I could have, but I chose to vent my temper.|floodfault - not sorry]] [[I do love them. I tried.|floodfault - weather]] [[I want to love them. I tried.|floodfault - people]]

# You could have held the water back. (set: $anthro to $anthro - 1) You would have, but you hold no love for those who live on your shores. You watch them drown and their homes collapse, and feel no sorrow for them. What do you feel? [[I feel only a fierce joy.]] (if:(history: where its name contains "... but.")'s length >= 1)[I do feel a little bad.](else: )[[I do feel a little bad.|... but.]] (if:$anthro<=0)[[I feel nothing at all.]]

# You never liked any of them. (set: $anthro to $anthro - 1) Your floodwaters crash through the village, leaving behind mangled, bloated corpses and piles of rubble. Few escape. [[The waters recede eventually.]]

# You are a $waterType. Of course you flood.  [[The waters recede eventually.]]

# It is in your nature to flood. You can't help it. You dislike the flood being referred to as "wrath," when it's merely what happens when the world gives more than you can take. You aren't angry, you're just -- full. [[It's all right. They may think as they like, I know the truth.]] [[I hate it. I want a way to make them understand.]]

# Surely you are not so difficult to deal with. (set:$anthro to $anthro-1) There are ways and means. You do not know them (as you are a $waterType, such things are not your concern) but you know they exist. (if:$waterType is "river")[Some places along your length have buildings that can endure your wrath. You know it is possible. ]That these people have not taken such measures should not be your problem. [[There is no reason for any of this to be my problem, really.]] [[But even the foolish deserve life.]]

# The people who live on your shores deserve your wrath. (set: $anthro to $anthro + 1) But their (dropdown: 2bind $sympathyFor,"pets","fields","children") do not. (if:(history: where its name contains "It is my fault. I am not sorry.")'s length >= 1) [Yes, they do.](else: )[[Yes, they do.|floodfault - not sorry]] [[I wish they did.]] [[I wish I could spare them.]] [[I will drown them anyway.]]

# It would be easier, wouldn't it? If every creature hurt by your hurts had some reason to deserve it. If you could be sure you would harm no innocents, only the cruel and lazy and foolish, you could let yourself rage without thinking so hard about it. You could simply exist as a $waterType, and not worry about the consequences. [[But I can't be sure.]] [[But even the foolish deserve life.]] [[But even the lazy deserve life.]] [[But even the cruel deserve life.]]

# You find me in the silt, your waves lapping gently at my feet. Am I alive? [[You are a child, escaped from your minders to sit at the $waterType-shore.|living child intro]] [[You are a child, escaped from your minders during the storm.|dead child intro]] [[You are a doll, lost during the storm.|literal doll intro]] [[You are a doll, escaped to sit at the $waterType-shore.|animated doll intro]]

# I lie still and silent where you left me. Are you sorry? (if: ($sympathyFor is "children") and ($anthro>=0))[ [[Yes, I'm so sorry, child.]]](if: $sympathyFor is "children" and $anthro<=1)[ [[... Yes, I am.]]](if: $sympathyFor is not "children" and $anthro>=0)[ [[I am sorry.]]](if: $sympathyFor is not "children" and $anthro<=1)[ [[No, I'm not sorry.]]]

# I like you. I do not see why I should be afraid. The water is cool and clean, the air is still and hot, and the storm is long over. Do you like me back? [[Yes, you are familiar.]] [[Yes, you are strange.]] [[No, you are boring.]] [[No, you are strange.]]

# There is always the chance that your violence reaches those it was not meant for. (set: $anthro to $anthro - 1) [[The waters recede eventually.]]

# You suppose there's always the chance they do learn something from this. If they survive. [[The waters recede eventually.]]

# You suppose there's always the chance this builds them some character. (set:$anthro to $anthro+1) If they live. [[The waters recede eventually.]]

# You are a $waterType, not an executioner. (set:$anthro to $anthro+2) All of the humans, even the worst of them, are people. You do not kill them because they deserve it, but because you are a $waterType in flood. This is nature, not justice. [[The waters recede eventually.]]

# You wish you had more to give, but you don't. The $sympathyFor drink what little you have. Your empty spirit lies on your bank, waiting, senseless but for your thirst. You think of those who suffer for your lack, and wish you could weep. Is this your fault? [[It is my fault. I am sorry.|droughtfault - sorry]] [[It is my fault. I am not sorry.|droughtfault - not sorry]] [[It is the fault of the absent rain.|droughtfault - weather]] [[It is the fault of the people.|droughtfault - people]]

# You will give no more to those who will not give to you. The $sympathyFor drink what little you have. Your empty spirit lies on your bank, waiting, senseless but for your thirst. You try to believe you will be back someday. Is this your fault? [[It is my fault. I am sorry.|droughtfault - sorry]] [[It is my fault. I am not sorry.|droughtfault - not sorry]] [[It is the fault of the absent rain.|droughtfault - weather]] [[It is the fault of the people.|droughtfault - people]]

# You should have had more to give. You are a $waterType. To run out of water is a failure of catastrophic proportions. If you are quite honest, it shows a lack of moral character, in your opinion. How could you do this, if you truly love those who live on your shores? [[I could have, but I chose to save what is left beneath my bed.|droughtfault - not sorry]] [[I do love them. I tried.|droughtfault - weather]] [[I want to love them. I tried.|droughtfault - people]]

# You could have given more. If you didn't mind emptying yourself entirely. If you loved those who live on your shores more than you care for your own spirit. But you don't. And you won't. You'll save this scrap of yourself beneath the earth, and come back when you are ready. [[It rains again eventually.]]

# It is their fault, for they knew the risks and were still caught unprepared. You are not infinite. They should have stores sufficient for such times. They should know how to handle this, but it seems they don't. They die on your shores in droves, of thirst and of hunger, as the land around you goes thin and brown. What do you feel? [[I feel only a fierce joy.|drought fierce joy]] [[I feel nothing at all.|drought indifference]] [[I do feel a little bad.|drought regret]]

# If the rains had come on time, none of this would have happened. You cannot pour forever without being refilled. The rain will come when it comes, and no amount of wishing will bring it faster. It is what it is. [[I wish they wouldn't blame me for this.]] [[I wish I could handle it better.]] [[I wish they could handle me better.]]

# It simply is not your problem. (set:$anthro to $anthro-1) You watch dispassionately as the destruction ebbs and flows. The tide changes. [[The waters recede eventually.]]

# You are content. (set:$anthro to $anthro-1) The storm has passed. The debris it stirred up begins to wash away. [[The waters recede eventually.]]

# You eddy uneasily, discontented with the world. How would you communicate such a thing? (if:$anthro>=5)[ [[I will speak with them. How hard could it be?]]] (if:$anthro>=0)[ [[I don't know, but I will find a way.]]] [[I don't know. I don't think I can.]]

# As your waters recede, you search for a human to speak with. (set:$anthro to $anthro+2) [[I found something.|The waters recede eventually.]]

# As your waters recede, you consider what a human might understand. (set:$anthro to $anthro+1) [[I found something.|The waters recede eventually.]]

# Humans are strange creatures, and you are not convinced you and they will ever understand each other. (set:$anthro to $anthro -1) [[The waters recede eventually.]]