cons

Your eyes open– when did they shut? You don't remember. There is blood on your hands. [[YOU: Whose blood?]] [[YOU: Oh.]]

There is iron in the air. Your hands feel tight, like something has dried in their crevices. [[YOU: (Open your eyes.)]]

(if:(history: where its name contains "YOU: Whose?")'s length is not 1)[It is not yours. Not mine, either. ]I am ███, citizen of the city. I am a murderer. You live within me. We're a murderer now. Sorry. (set: $whatrwedoing to false) [[YOU: What the fuck?]] [[YOU: Holy shit I'm going to die.]] [[YOU: We're...?]]

Disorientation is expected. No worries. Maybe a few, actually. You're here to help me, and you'll need to perform excellently to do so. We're a team, you and I. [[YOU: We're...?]]

//Consen.// You will not. My mind is your safe harbor. And I am already dead– my stay in the city is proof enough of this. There will be nothing to endanger us until the ($context: "JUSTICIAR.", $justiciar) We're safe. You can trust me. [[YOU: We're...?]]

(if:$whatrwedoing is false)[We're, yes. I can hear you. You can hear me. Apologies for the pretense, I suppose. I wanted to acclimate you to this environment. The 'game' framework you're operating in. You are welcome to skim my messages for ($context: "context.", "(text-colour:grey)[(text-rotate-y:350)[(text-style:'blur')[Like this like this like oh oh there's there's echo echo echo e]]] Ahem. Like this.") I trust it will make sense. Eventually. ](if:$whatrwedoing is true)[Yes? ] [[YOU: What sort of pretentious ass fucked up piece of shit game *is* this?]] [[YOU: These dialogue options suck.]] [[YOU: What are we doing here?]]

Blame that on my wish, not me. [[YOU: Your wish?]]

(set: $whatrwedoing to true)We will leave my apartment shortly. My other neighbors have no doubt sensed that someone has ($context: "diminished", $diminished) and will come to investigate. After our egress, we will do a series of good deeds for the public. The Consensus should take interest in this moral contradiction. It will buy us time with the ($context: "JUSTICIAR,", $justiciar), enough for them to notice you, acknowledge my various apitudes, and accept me into their fold. I will narrate for you. Your visuals seem to be... limited. Okay? [[YOU: Okay.]] [[YOU: That's a stupid plan.]] [[YOU: Wait...->YOU: We're...?]]

It is the type of game where the stakes have real-life consequences and the stakes in question involve my acceptance into the most prestigious cohort there is. Does this help? [[YOU: Can't be real-life. You're not real.]] [[YOU: Not really.]]

Yes. I wished for something to augment my chances of becoming part of the ($context: "Consensus.", $consensus) Something other than the Consensus answered. It was clear that something peculiar had happened. I knelt in front of the ($context: "censer,", $censer) backflow incense blessing me, and knew something had changed. I felt the framing device you are using develop, limited and rigid. Then I felt you. I do not think the Consensus is aware of what exactly you are. I felt them flinch away from me. The ($context: "tile", $tile) in my kitchen nearly shattered. They fear you. I will need to apologize to them when I join them. Still, I suppose the options the 'game' is giving you will be sufficient for our needs. (set: $whatrwedoing to true) [[YOU: Wait...->YOU: We're...?]]

(text-colour:(hsl:0,0,0.5333,0.25))[Something is wrong. Something is wrong. Something...] [[YOU: What is wrong?]] (set: $whatrwedoing to false)

If that is what you want to believe. I don't have to be alive to be real. Every single one of the |city>[city]'s residents is dead. What matters is that I need your help. //Consen//. Shouldn't be that difficult to follow along. (set: $whatrwedoing to true) [[YOU: Wait...->YOU: We're...?]]

Okay. All in due time. (set: $whatrwedoing to true) [[YOU: Wait...->YOU: We're...?]]

Let's go. [[US: (Proceed.)]] (set: $proceed to 0) <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/dither.png"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/dither.png"></div>

There is no pain in your extremities, no torn flesh oozing hurt in any portion of your body. It isn't yours. [[YOU: Oh.]]

(text-colour:(hsl:0,0,0.5333,0.25))[Something is wrong.] [[YOU: ...]]

\(if:$proceed is 0)[We're leaving the apartment. The world around us swirls discordant, a dissonance in the soul-plane. One of my neighbors calls out to me– our clothes are soaked in iron, ($context: "dark and already stiffening.", "With luck, we will not have to go through the ordeal of washing them. The Consensus-blessed do not have bodies to dress.") Pay them no mind. We have important business to attend to. ](if:$proceed is 1)[We are going down the stairs. One of our dress shoes is more recalcitrant than the other, sticking to each step due to the dried blood on its sole. We are wearing a suit. No tie. ($context: "If you care.", "I hope they will find me presentable.") ](if:$proceed is 2)[The light assaults our vision. Passersby stop and stare. There is still blood on our hands. No matter. The ($context: "JUSTICIAR", $justiciar + " This needs to work. This needs to work. Please.") is waiting. My humanitarian displays, too, I suppose. ](if:$proceed is 3)[There's a pigeon trotting along the road, the shadows under its feathers subtly blue. We don't have real birds, down here. It's the Consensus who pilots them, ($context: "through and through.", "They are exalted beings. The elderly woman who lives in my apartment complex enjoys feeding them; I dip my head in respect as she does.") I will miss them. [[YOU: Focus. Good deeds, remember? Consensus's waiting.]] [[YOU: Take a closer look at it, if it's really your last time.]] ] (set: $proceed to it + 1) (if:$proceed < 4)[[US: (Proceed.)]]

(text-size: 0.9)[(print: (passage:)'s name)]\ \(track: 'click', 'play')\ \(enchant: "city", (text-colour: #79abff) + (text-style:'bold')) \ \(enchant: "crucible", (text-colour: #79abff) + (text-style:'bold')) \ \(enchant: "blue", (text-colour: #79abff) + (text-style:'bold'))\ \(enchant: "Consensus", (text-colour: #79abff) + (text-style:'bold'))\ \(enchant: "JUSTICIAR", (text-colour: "yellow") + (text-style:'bold'))\ \(enchant: "yellow", (text-colour: "yellow") + (text-style:'bold'))\ \---

How old am I? How old are you? When did I–? ($context: "I don't remember.", "I don't want to.") ($context: "I don't.", "I don't think I don't //not// want this to end.") (live: 0.1s)[(either: "Our", "My")] breathing becomes ragged inhales. From the exertion. [[YOU: Calm down.]] [[YOU: I don't want to die! *I don't want to die.*]] <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/pigeon.gif"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/canvas.png"></div>

(if:(history: where its name contains "BOTH OF US: –to die! We're going to die.")'s length is 1)[//there's blood on my//– ](if:(history: where its name contains "US: (Pilot the body.)")'s length is 1)[We can't– ]I can't. I can't. I \ \($context: "diminished", "Killed. Again. Sent them somewhere the Consensus could not reach. Sent them out of the city. Gouts of dark venous-arterial fluid leaking into the solid wooden floorboards and flooding my pores.") \ \($context: "someone", "I didn't look at their face afterwards. It should have been clinical but I didn't account for the noise of it. The //exercise// of it. The iron got into me, crawled down my throat and made it gustatory. It was—") \ \to get here. The ($context: "JUSTICIAR's", "The crucible itself. The city, bearing down on us with the weight of thoughts and minds.") coming after us. //God//. //Consen//, I can't. (set: $gore to true) There's still blood on {(live: 0.1s)[(either: "our", "my", "my", "my")]} hands. I did this. (if:(history: where its name contains "US: (Pilot the body.)")'s length is 0)[[US: (Pilot the body.)]] [[YOU: It was for your Consensus.]] [[MOSTLY YOU: I'm sorry.]]\ \(if:(history: where its name contains "US: (Pilot the body.)")'s length is 0)[<div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/pigeon.gif"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/canvas.png"></div>]\

I can't do this. //Consen,// I can't do this. We're going to die. We are going to– [[BOTH OF US: –to die! We're going to die.]] [[YOU: Take a breath.]] <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/pigeon.gif"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/canvas.png"></div>

($context: "It's a lovely plan.", "Fuck off.") Anyways. [[YOU: Ha.->YOU: What are we doing here?]]

It was. [[YOU: Did you know them?]]

I... Yes. [[YOU: Did you know them?]]

(set: $friend to "#A8A8A8")\ \(set: $consensus to "Millenia's worth of human souls, compounded into something almost divine in nature. Contained in the crucible. Multiple aspects, including the JUSTICIAR, the WYRM, the WALLS, and our tiles.")\ \(set: $diminished to "Died. Again.")\ \(set: $justiciar to "An aspect of the Consensus. Our city's judge.")\ \(set: $censer to "A hanging shrine for the Consensus. Crucible-blue enamel suns grace the sides. You place backflow incense into the vessel and kneel in the smoke to pray.")\ \(set: $tile to "Celadon tiles, large enough to lay on, on which the Consensus manifests our amenities.")\ \(set: $dialogue to (macro: str-type _speaker, str-type _dialogue, str-type _color, [\ \(output:) +(font: 'Courier New')+[|dialogue>[(text-colour:_color)[_speaker:] “_dialogue”]]]))\ \(set:$justtext to (macro: str-type _dialogue, [\ \(output: ) + (font: 'Space Mono')[|dialogue>[(text-colour:"yellow")[𖤓 ::: “_dialogue”]]]]))\ \(set: $whatrwedoing to false) (set: $pigeon to false)\ \ \(set: $babble to (macro: num-type _num, [\ \(output:) +\ \[(live: _num)[(text-color: "yellow")[(either: "húæpÜƒüJIÁVÅKm® d iíšŒ", "‰œ• šùíqmÜ»²J¬ 6• Ê[®Xt¸šÏ } ÆÉÚbbÚ I ÀQ‰W", "PORTRAIT OF", "EDIFICE OF", "THE", "THERE", "ITS", "THOSE", "IT IS", "COMPOSED OF", "BASAL", "THE", "A HIERARCHY OF ", "", "MANY SO MANY", "AMASSED: ", "HORROR-TERROR", "TEEMING", "A INFANT-RIDDEN MOTHER SPIDER ") \ \(either: "PORTRAIT OF", "███ ██████ ████", "EDIFICE OF", "THE", "THEIR", "ITS", "THOSE", "IT IS", "COMPOSED OF", "BASAL", "THE", "A HIERARCHY OF ", "", "MANY SO MANY ", "AMASSED: ", "HORROR-TERROR ", "TEEMING ") \ \(either: "", "█████", "YNž*4í„¡ŽÊÚž»5åÂ<x +lz¤ˆ½Tæû‘y", "Y\Ù½ &®0 ‹Yf¥Ú!8®YK", "FLORID", "MORIBUND", "FILTHY", "PURE", "DEVASTATING", "BEAUTIFUL", "HALYCON", "HIDEOUS", "STATIC", "TURBULENT", "BITTER", "JAGGED", "SONOROUS", "STARRY-EYED", "MANY-HANDED", "INCOHERENT", "SALIENT", "LUCID") \ \(either: "","","","","", "FLORID", "MORIBUND", "FILTHY", "PURE", "DEVASTATING", "BEAUTIFUL", "HALYCON", "HIDEOUS", "SQ sµÒ‘•ù56Õã ²pSYÙæ jÊ", "STATIC", "TURBULENT", "BITTER", "███ ██████ ████", "JAGGED", "SONOROUS", "STARRY-EYED", "MANY-HANDED", "INCOHERENT", "SALIENT", "LUCID", "SERAPHIC", "BLUE") \ \(either: "","","","","", "ó„¿ ¬M‰ôÊú«„ºŸ—¨µµ›ü æµ ç#œš‚ßƒÚÂW# $R", "SI§ û 46Ri·xdT)dr‡ hi±Ÿ™îz c zð®", "FLORID", "MORIBUND", "FILTHY", "PURE-INTENTIONED", "DEVASTATING: ", "BEAUTIFUL", "HALYCON", "HIDEOUS", "STATIC: ", "TURBULENT", "BITTER", "JAGGED", "SONOROUS", "STARRY-EYED", "MANY-HANDED", "INCOHERENT", "SALIENT", "LUCID: ", "SERAPHIC", "CRUCIBLE-BLUE") \ \(either: "", "LOPING", "WINDING", "SOARING", "TEEMING", "MACERATING", "WHINGING", "COWERING: ", "SIMPERING: ") \ \(either: "WEEPING", "WAILING", "HUMMING", "AUTOMATING", "AGGREGATING", "CLICKING", "CLACKING") \ \(either: "██ ████ ██", "MASS", "CITY", "WINGS", "HANDS", "SELF", "EYES ON EYES", "EYE", "STALK", "JESTERS", "TILES", "STATIC", "VELLUM", "AREA", "CATACLYSM", "TIDAL LOCK", "SPRING", "BLEEDING FONT", "TOASTER", "LIVING LIVES", "TREBLE", "BASES", "POINTER", "FINGERS", "FORMS")]] ]]))

(text-style: 'blurrier')[//Consen// ''Holy //fuck//'' we're going t''I'm scared''o die. I don't understa''I don't understand''nd. ''I just got here and we're being hunted do''there's blood on our ha''wn.''nds, there's blood on my hands, there's ''Yes, there's blood on your–?''blood on my hands] [[We need to->YOU: Calm down.]]

I can't– our lungs, they're defective, it won't let us breathe. I'm– we can't breathe. We can't breathe. We can't breathe. We can't breathe. We can't breathe. [[US: (Pilot the body.)]] <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/pigeon.gif"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/canvas.png"></div>

(set: $pigeon to "yea") (if:$proceed is 4)[Its feathers reflect the sunlight. ](if:$proceed is 5)[Subtle iridescence. ](if:$proceed is 6)[The sun is shining. ](if:$proceed is 7)[... ](if:$proceed is 8)[|context>[My god.|blurb>[(live: 0.05s)[(either: "我的妈呀", "dios mío", "Боже мой", "meu deus", "o mijn god", "o mój boże", "何てことだ", "맙소사", "diyos ko", "gedet'ye")]]] ](if:$proceed is 9)[My god, the sun is shining. The sun is shining, bright and hot on my once-dead skin, soon to be deceased twice over.] (if:$pigeon is "yea" and $proceed is 4)[($context: "[[YOU: We should pet it.]]", "This is a test. Going down this route will allow you to pet the pigeon, but you'll have to restart the game immediately afterwards.") ]\ \(set: $proceed to it + 1) (if:$proceed < 10)[[US: Proceed. ->YOU: Take a closer look at it, if it's really your last time.]]\ \(if:$proceed is 10)[[BOTH OF US: I don't want to die.]] <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/pigeon.gif"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/streetshake.gif"></div>

Right. Yes. Sorry. It's awfully bright out. It must be clouding my judgement. First thing. We're going to to (text-colour:$friend)[██]'s house. An old friend of mine. [[US: Do good.]]

I did($justtext: "They didn't.")n't. Oh //shit//. [[YOU: What?]]

escalator: https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/escalator.mp3 oscillator: https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/No%20One%20Really%20Listens%20To%20Oscillators.mp3 click: https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/click.mp3 amb1: https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/noises1.wav amb2: https://file.garden/ZmNPliOgiFXI9d-u/noises2.wav

(click-goto:?page,"FOUND YOU")($justtext: "Found you.")

We are at their house. I knock on the door. [[YOU: What are you going to do?]]

Shh. ($context: "They're here.", "My friend. I think.") The door creaks open. They stick their head through the door, tilted like an ($context: "errant crow about to take flight.", "Weight on the balls of their feet, arms spread slightly and neck craned forward.") I have half a mind to mock them for it, ($context: "like I always do,", "They had a brief but all-consuming ornithology phase where they would tell me the intricacies of tens of species a week, and I would fashion absurd nicknames from each one: little wren, little crow, little Andean condor, little wallcreeper.") but their eyes, striking in the blistering midday sun, carry a— resentment? Yes, a resentment, an irritation; a caution that makes the words dry in my throat. ($dialogue: "███", "██...", "white") ($dialogue: "███", "It is good to see you.", "white") They stare at me, ($context: "affronted.", "I hope I'm wrong. Expressions are difficult.") ($dialogue: "██", "Is that blood on your hands?", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "...Nevermind. I won't ask.", $friend) (set: $playertip to false) (set: $socialanxiety to false) [[███: "I came here to apologize."]]

(t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: That's your good deed?")[(track: 'click', 'play') Yes. What of it? (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: Nevermind.")[ (track: 'click', 'play') Quiet. I've got to focus. It is more difficult than I anticipated to remember what I had prepared. The JUSTICIAR's imminent-eminent arrival grates at my nerves like styrofoam on skin. ($dialogue: "███, STALLING", "For multiple things.", "white") ($dialogue: "██", "Such as...?", $friend) ($dialogue: "███", "Firstly, for...", "white") (if:$playertip is false and $socialanxiety is false)[[███: ...What do I even *say*?]] [[███: "...departing soon and not telling you in advance."]] [[███: "...not contacting you in some time."]] (if:$playertip is true) [[MOSTLY ███: "...that one time where..."]]]]\ \(if:$playertip is true)[ ($dialogue: "███, STALLING", "For multiple things.", "white") ($dialogue: "██", "Such as...?", $friend) ($dialogue: "███", "Firstly, for...", "white") [[███: "...departing soon and not telling you in advance."]] (if:$playertip is true)[[███: "...not contacting you in some time."]] (if:$playertip is true)[[MOSTLY ███: "...that one time where..."]]]

Time does not make sense in the city. 'Some time' is as close as I'm going to get, and they know it, but their eyes still narrow— it's instinctual irritation, left over from decades of scolding living acquaintances for their vague language. I press onwards. ($dialogue: "███", "It was not my intention to ignore you, but...", "white") [[███: "...I was plotting a murder."]] [[███: "...I didn't have the energy to contact you."]] [[███: "...things happened."]] (if:$playertip is true)[[MOSTLY ███: "I'm going to die soon and I wanted to apologize to you in one final act of grandstanding bullshittery so I can get into the Consensus. Ha. So there."]]

($dialogue: "██", "You're departing soon?", $friend) Ah. ($dialogue: "███", "Um.", "white") ($dialogue: "███", "Yes.", "white") (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: *Asshole*.")[(track: 'click', 'play') Shut it. (text-color: $friend)[██] stares at us, eyes wide but unreadable. My assessment doesn't mean much—I've never been good at analyzing faces in any context—but I watch them carefully as they take a deep breath in and blow it out. ($dialogue: "██, SLOW AND MEASURED", "Why did you come here.", $friend) [[███: "I wanted to say goodbye."]] [[███: "...things happened."]] [[███: "...I can't tell you."]] [[███: "It doesn't concern you."]] (if:$playertip is true)[[MOSTLY ███: "I'm going to die soon and I wanted to apologize to you in one final act of grandstanding bullshittery so I can get into the Consensus. Ha. So there."]]]

not done lol

More vague language. They sigh, a gusty thing, a wind-up toy on the verge of falling off a rickety table. ($dialogue: "██, TIREDLY", "Things have always been happening with you, huh.", $friend ) ($dialogue: "██", "Care to explain, ███? It's— Consen strike me down, I can't keep entertaining this. Explain or clear off. Please.", $friend) ($dialogue: "███", "...", "white") [[███: "...I was plotting a murder."]] [[███: "...I didn't have the energy to contact you."]] (if:$shittytip is true)[[MOSTLY ███: "I'm going to die soon and I wanted to apologize to you in one final act of grandstanding bullshittery so I can get into the Consen. Ha. So there." ]][[███: "...I can't tell you."]]

It's almost true, really.

The JUSTICIAR is coming. I'm running out of time. I had a script for this, I had one, but it's not enough. |context>[It's not enough.|blurb>[This conversation is going to sentence me.]] Holy //shit// what do I say. [[YOU: I have a few ideas.]] [[YOU: I don't know what's happening and it's not my problem.]]

Please do tell. (set: $playertip to true) (set: $socialanxiety to false) [[███: Where were we...?->███: "I came here to apologize."]]

Thanks. I really fucking hope the JUSTICIAR is watching right now. Heed my courage. Please. (set: $socialanxiety to true) [[███: Where were we..?.->███: "I came here to apologize."]]

What are you //doing?// ($dialogue: "██", "What? You're going to die. Soon?", $friend) ($dialogue: "███", "Consen, it's not death.", "white") ($dialogue: "██", "Oh, the Consensus. Right. You're joining the Consensus.", $friend) ($dialogue: "██, HALTING", "You've just, um, never described it as death. As //diminishment//. Or, um, grandstanding bullshittery.", $friend) Shit. ($dialogue: "██", "It's unlike you.", $friend) //Shit.// ($dialogue: "██", "Are you okay?", $friend) [[███: This is your fucking fault.]]

($dialogue: "██", "Then get out.", $friend) Another sigh. I think I feel bad. There's unease pooling in my throat. I fear I may drown in it. ($dialogue: "██", "...Asshole. Get off my porch.", $friend) (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: You fucked up.")[(track: 'click', 'play') I don't know what happened! Usually they let me... (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: They let you play coy and then drag the information out of you?")[ (track: 'click', 'play') ...Yes. (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: You're going to //die//. You can't do this.")[(track: 'click', 'play') ... [[███: "Wait, just..." (Try again.)]] [[███: "Okay." (Leave.)]] ]]]

Okay. Yes, I remember now. ($dialogue: "███", "...that one time where I took a nap on your ($context: 'tile', $tile) and left a dent in your ceiling when your afternoon meal appeared and the food propelled me out of its space.", "white") Their eyes crinkle faintly at the corners. ($dialogue: "██", "Better late than never, I guess.", $friend) ($dialogue: "███", " I suppose so, yes.", "white") (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: Nice.")[(track: 'click', 'play') Something is leaking from my chest, warm and content. I can picture it in my mind's eye, indistinct and sunlit, the gentle yellows and oranges of some abstract pleural effusion. It soaks into my hands and makes my fingers twitch, involuntary. ($context: "It *is* nice.", "I think I missed them.") (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: You're doing well.")[(track: 'click', 'play') Thank you. Where was I... [[███: "More than that..."]]]]

($justtext: "You are a dead man walking.") ($justtext: "You will be diminished.") ($justtext: "Do you understand me?") ($justtext: "You are going to die again.") Its voice is gentle, thunderous, tinny like a downscaled audio file; raw thought condensed through the mouthpiece of the sun-clad puppet. It is curiosity. Genuine curiosity. Their attention is wholly fixed on me. On us. ($justtext: "Tell us what made you do this.") ($context: "The answer boils out of my throat like scum-laden gutter water in the presence of fire.", "It's here, they're here, they're going to kill me. I'm going to die. It's close. I'm so close.") [[███: "I need to join you."]]

(t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: Oh my fucking god.")[ (track: 'click', 'play') ... What. ]

not done lol

(if: (passage:)'s tags contains "roombg")[<div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/rooml.png"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/roomr.png"></div>]\ \(if: (passage:)'s tags contains "justhall")[<div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/just.png"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justhall.png"></div>] \(if: (passage:)'s tags contains "outside")[<div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/streetlight.png"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/streetlight.png"></div>]

We stagger, sun-drunk and high on fear, into the shade of an alleyway. (if:(history: where its name contains "YOU: Calm down.")'s length is 0)[There is an iron band constricting our chest. The brick tiling tugs unpleasantly at the fibers of the suit. We are going to die. We... [[YOU: Calm down.]]]\ \(else:)[The relative darkness does us good, I think. The brick tiling tugs unpleasantly at the fibers of the suit, but it's better. Our hands are still trembling. ... We need to //move//. Shit, there's not enough time. [[YOU: Breathe first.]]]

The puppet tilts its head. ($justtext: "Join us.") [[███: "The Consensus."]]

($justtext: "Come here.") The space grows incoherent. The ($context: "WYRM's", "An aspect of the Consensus. It navigates the space in-between. I haven't — to have the JUSTICIAR and the WYRM's attention on me, it's near-inconcievable, it's divine, it's terrifying, it's— you can hear this. Shit, you can hear this. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.") doing. The skin on my back prickles like it's ready to slough off. Something in my chest is aching, like a ($context: "decrepit old machine content with its decomissioning.", "Am I—? I'm going to die. I'm content with it. I have to be. I want to be. I //am//.") I. I know where they are taking me. Us. [[US: Wait.]] <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/wyrm.png"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justhalldither.png"></div>

(text-style: 'shudder')[...] (text-style: 'shudder')[...] (text-style: 'buoy')[...] (text-style: 'buoy')[...] ($context: "...Okay.", "In and out and in and out and in and stave it off.") [[YOU: It was for your Consensus.]] [[MOSTLY YOU: I'm sorry.]]

(if:$justenter is 0)[...<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><b<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><b<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>Echoing silence.]\ \(if:$justenter is 1)[Our breathing is painfully loud here, in the quiet sun-drenched marble. The hall was not built for us. For humans.]\ \(if:$justenter is 2)[I shut our eyes tightly and ($context: "subvocalize a prayer.", "May the Consensus enlighten my mind. May the crucible alleviate the choking pressure in my heart and throat. May their presence prepare me to be present, through adversity and the unknown. Rescind my fear. May the JUSTICIAR alleviate me of it, snuff it out in scale with their infinite denomination. May the consensus uplift me. May the Consensus support me, if they do not. Please let this work.") ]\ \(if:$justenter is 3)[A sound behind us. Whirring and mechanical.]\ \(if:$justenter is 4)[The pressure in my head increases. Blue-shadow afterimages stain my vision.]\ (if:$justenter is 5)[Metal clacks behind me.]\ \(if: $justenter is 6)[($justtext: "Hello, citizen.") Shit.]\ \(if:$justenter is 7)[($justtext: "Turn around, will you?") [[US: Turn around.]]] (if:$justenter <7)[[US: ...]] (set: $justenter to it + 1) <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justhall.png"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justhall.png"></div>

The JUSTICIAR stands before us, haloed in ruddy-yellow gold. ($justtext: " ███, it's such a surprise to see you.") It— laughs, I think, the sound ($context: "refined to the point of pain.", "Too normalized, aggregated from billions of pitches to one near-monotone buzzing chuckle that makes my sullied bones itch.") ($justtext: "And for a //murder//, no less. We didn't expect that from you.") (text-style: "fidget")[($dialogue: "███, SHAKY", "I...", "white")] ($justtext: "Let us begin, citizen.") [[𖤓 ::: Preside.]]

You mean //what,// exactly? That it //is?// This isn't anything like that. You make this sound selfish. I'm not selfish at all. I'm doing this for the city. [[YOU: Really?]] [[YOU: Okay. Sorry.]]

What? [[YOU: You're trying to con your way into your heaven's secondary heaven by leaping between moral extremes like some supercilious job-seeking asshole manufacturing gaps in their resume for the *moral interest*.]]

...Okay. I keep forgetting that I really shouldn't trust you. [[]]

I wrest control over the body back from you. You're making them suspicious. You're making them concerned. All that— all that for a// joke? //Misinterpreting my situation, calling this 'grandstanding bullshittery?' [[YOU: I mean...]]

[[YOU: It makes you despicable.]] [[YOU: It makes you pathetic.]] [[YOU: It makes you a *coward*.]]

No, I'm not. [[YOU: You are— and you know what?]]

The flooring leeches the heat out of our clothed knees and ($context: "blood-sticky fingers.", "Sanctifying.") The ceiling is vaulted. The triforium windows are made of crucible-blue stained glass, arranged in helical patterns that make our head swim just glancing at them. Sunlight streams in through their panes, incongruously yellow and sharp-sharded. The shadows are just as (text-color: #79abff)[blue] as the glass. This must be the JUSTICIAR's hall. [[US: ...]] (set: $justenter to 0) <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justhallfade.gif"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justhallfade.gif"></div>

showControls: false

($dialogue: "███", "I'm sorry. For not talking to you.", "white") ($dialogue: "███", "You deserved better than this treatment and I failed to give it to you.", "white") Okay. I can do this. There are things I've wanted to say to them for a while now. (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: Such as...")[(track: 'click', 'play') ($dialogue: "███", "...", "white") ($dialogue: "███", "It's stupid, I know, but...", "white") ($dialogue: "███", "I wanted to see you again before I leave.", "white") I avert my eyes and stare down at the ground, filled with the pain-catharsis of pulling a rotten tooth. [[███: "I missed you."]]]

(live: 0.5s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[($justtext: "Firstly, citizen.")(stop:)]] (live: 2s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[($justtext: "You are ███, █ years old, living in apartment complex █████.") ($justtext: "You were known in your life as—") ($dialogue: "███", "!!!", "white") I flinch back, unease pounding in our ears. We almost trip. The JUSTICIAR pauses and cocks its head at us like a cat deigning to parley with a mouse. ($justtext: "...very well.") We dip our heads in acknowledgement and thanks. My hands are trembling.(stop:) (t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: ...what's that about?")[ (track: 'click', 'play') The name— is wrong, on some basal level. I can't stand it. It feels abhorrent to think about. I'm not that person anymore. I can't be. Consensus strike me down for my insolence, I can't.(stop:)] ($justtext: "As for your crime...") [[𖤓 ::: Proceed.]] (set: $jproc to 0) ](stop:)]

(if: $jproc is 0)[I bow our head. Supplication. Our hands spasm against the floor uselessly; a brief flash of panic floods our body with enough surplus epinephrine to make us nauseous. ($justtext: "Murder of the first degree, and yet— mercy.") ($justtext: "*Guilt*.") ($context: "(text-style: 'smear')[(text-colour:yellow)[(text-indent: 30)[(text-style: 'emboss')[(text-size: 0.8)[(font: 'Space Mono')[𖤓 :: <q>(text-style: 'underline')[We saw it.]]]]]]]", "(text-style: 'smear')[($babble: 30)]") It tilts its head at us and leans forward, unearthly light glinting blue and yellow across the vanes of its crown as it moves(if: $gooddeed)[, and Consen forgive me it reminds me of |context>[(text-colour:$friend)[them.]|blurb>[Little wren, little crow, little Andean condor, little wallcreeper.]]](else:)[.] ($justtext: "You didn't want it to hurt.") ]\ \(if: $jproc is 1)[It seems unjustifiable of me to argue with it. ]\ \(if: $jproc is 2)[($dialogue: "███", "Yes. I didn't. It, um, it made me—", "white") ($justtext: "It made you sick. Sick to your stomach.") The JUSTICIAR's beatific face, infinitely benevolent and infinitely metallic, moves closer to ours. Its voice, bassy and reedy and bright and throaty, everything at once, feels like a knife to the ribs. (set: $gore to true) (set: $sh to false) (if: $gore)[($justtext: "You didn't look at their face afterwards. It should have been clinical but you didn't account for the noise of it. The //exercise// of it. The iron got into you, crawled down your throat and made it gustatory.")]\ \(if: $sh)[($justtext: "You didn't want it to hurt, but you used a knife. You sliced the belly of your forearm open when you were alive and seventeen years old, half on accident. You know well that lacerations //hurt//.")] ($dialogue: "███", "...", "white") It knew. It knows. ] [[𖤓 ::: Proceed.]](set: $jproc to it + 1)

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[<img src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justicon.png"> warnings for: profanity, death, blood, unfinished passages, implied self harm, bad writing ''as of writing this, //consular// has no ending. this is an active work in progress and will be updated periodically!'' pet the pigeon: (cycling-link: bind $pigeon, "no", "yea") ] [[YOU: Begin.]]

(if:(history: where its name contains '███: "More than that..."')'s length >= 1)[($dialogue: "██", "...", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "You're leaving.", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "You— you just came here to say goodbye, huh.", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "Consen. Curse it all.", $friend) I glance up briefly to see that (color: $friend)[██] is staring at the ground, too. Their](else:)[(color: $friend)[██]'s] knuckles are white where they're bunched in the fabric of their cargo pants. The sight nearly freezes me in place. (if:(history: where its name contains '███: "More than that..."')'s length >= 1)[Our jaw works uselessly; the corners of our mouth, which had twitched upwards at some point during our banter, fall back into neutral position.] A reluctant tear falls from their chin, nearly obscured by the curtain of hair that has fallen over their face, and forms a neat circle of damp grey on the smooth concrete patio. ...Shit. [[███: (Say nothing.)]] **(color: #645DBA)[~~███: "I'm sorry."~~]**

Words don't leave our mouth. I have nothing to say in the face of this, of what I've caused. ($dialogue: "███", "...", "white") ($dialogue: "██, ALMOST DISBELIEVINGLY", "//Leaving.//", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "Consen, I wish I could hate you. You're so...", $friend) ($dialogue: "███", "...", "white") ($dialogue: "██", "...you.", $friend) We blink, frowning. They blink too; it causes their tears to overflow. Two droplets this time instead of one; a total of three spots mottling their pavement, like a half-assed ablution. It... makes me feel //bad//, distantly, through the thick pane of glass that has been set into the negative space between me and my body. They glance up at me, eyes flitting over my ($context: "face", "Brows furrowed, mouth small, complexion surely wan."), and their own visage seems to ($context: "shutter.", "Two walls, only one of my own making.") [[YOU: You need to say something.]]

Fuck, my eyes are stinging. (if:(history: where its name contains "███: (Say nothing.) ")'s length >= 1)[It is uncomfortable, painful, to force the words through my teeth; they come out jagged and brusque in a manner that causes me to wince.] We step closer. My heart is beating with an intensity that almost hurts, each one counting down the unknown seconds before the JUSTICIAR— before //they// come for me, but. ($context:"This is worth it,", "I have gone entirely off-script. It's just been— stilted. Unpolished. Unfathomably undeserving of the JUSTICIAR's eyes, undeserving of ascension.") right? ($context: "It has to be.", "I send a fleeting thought to the Consensus, hoping that this minor desecration is worth it. My headache spikes.") (if:(history: where its name contains "███: (Say nothing.)")'s length is 1)[ ██'s jaw is trembling. ] ($dialogue: "██, MUTTERED", "I don't know what I expected.", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "You know I'll miss you. Shit.", $friend) [[███: "I'm really, really, sorry."]]

($dialogue: "██, WET AND SARDONIC", "I'm sure you are, pal.", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "//Fuck.// I hate you sometimes.", $friend) There's no heat in the statement. It's weary— empty lungs and emptier nests. My chest hurts in a distinctly strange manner. I am convinced, for one confounding moment, that the weight of my actions has created an entirely new mechanism of pain pathophysiology. [[███: It hurts.]]

($dialogue: "███", "It doesn't concern you.", "white") ($dialogue: "██, SUDDENLY INCENSED", "It does, you Consen-cursed //piece of work!//", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "I thought we were close enough for you to tell me...this sort of thing. Even though you disappeared on me.", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "God. That should've been the first sign.", $friend)

(set: $test to (gradient: 90, 0, $friend, 1, #808080)) (background: $test)+(text-color:black)[SEGESGSEGEGRHR] <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src=" }assets/just.png"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="assets/justhall.png"></div>

... [[MOSTLY ███: "I'm sorry."]] [[███: (Say nothing.) ]]

It warps. The space in between, the WYRM's realm, is |context>[near indescribable.|blurb>[(text-style: "smear")[($babble: 80)]]] It is disorienting. I fight the urge to keep our inundated eyes shut. It is beautiful, the writhing ink-dark. It swallows us, drowning us in phosphenes,then sends us spinning-skidding to a stop in the material plane. (if:(history: where its name contains "US: (Pilot the body.)")'s length >= 1)[Alleyway bricks turn] (else:)[Neighborhood pavement turns] to nothing to everything to fine polished marble tiles. All we can do is |context>[wait for it to pass.|blurb>[(live: 1s)[$warptimer].]]\ \(set: $warptimer to 10)\ \(live: 1s)[\ \ (if: $warptimer is 0)[\ \ (stop:)\ \ (goto: "US: Arrive.") ]\ \ (else: )[\ \ (set: $warptimer to it - 1)\ \ ]]\ \ <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justhalldither.png"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/justhalldither.png"></div>

($context: "If you say so.", "!") The earthly concerns of contamination and acclimating the pigeon to our presence don't apply here. The care extended to each bird in the city has rendered it healthy and domesticated: plump underneath its glossy feathers, bright-eyed, and confident. It plods its way up to our feet expectantly, expecting a comestible tithe of some kind; we pat our thigh, searching for a cracker-laden pocket, before realizing that our slacks don't have pockets to begin with. The fabric sticks to our hands slightly and leaves them tinted red. Someone gives us a strange look again. We step into an alleyway surreptitiously before more people notice our bloodied clothes. The pigeon follows. ($dialogue: "PIGEON", "Coo.", "white") ($dialogue: "███, HUSHED", "Apologies. We don't have food.", "white") ($dialogue: "PIGEON, DISAPPROVINGLY", "Cooo.", "white") We stare into its eyes. It stares back at us blankly. If it weren't for the subtle blue under its feathers and ringing its pupils, I would declare it almost devoid of intelligence. [[YOU: Pet the damn thing already!]] <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/pigeon.gif"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/streetshake.gif"></div>

//Okay!// We squat down, using a crooked index finger to stroke at the delicate feathers on its head. It accepts the touch readily enough, eyes half-closing in what I hope is contentment. An incessant rumbling purr seems to emanate from its throat, like a cat. |deadman>[($dialogue: "PIGEON", "You're still a dead man walking.", "white")](live: 1s)[(replace: ?deadman)[($dialogue: "PIGEON", "RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR", "white")]] Must've been the wind. (link: "RESTART GAME")[(restart:)] <div id="portraitL"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/pigeon.gif"></div><div id="portraitR"><img class="responsive-image" src="https://aliettali.neocities.org/cons/assets/streetshake.gif"></div>

(mouseover: ?hover)[\ (replace: ?message)[(track: 'click', 'play', 'loop', 'true')]\ (replace: ?workarea)[(display: "hoverLogic")] ]

(set: $context to (macro: str-type _word, str-type _context, [\ \(output: ) + [|context>[_word|blurb>[(font:"Libre Baskerville")[_context]]]\ \]]))\

(t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"YOU: I'm not letting you out of this until you say *something*.")[(track: 'click', 'play') [[MOSTLY ███: "I'm sorry."]] [[███: (Say nothing.) ]]]

($dialogue: "██", "...", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "Okay. You're leaving.", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "Gracing me with your absence, huh.", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "Consen. Curse it all.", $friend) ... This feels wrong. [[███: "I missed you."]]

They're warm. Really warm. The heat licks through the fabric of my shirt, fire-like, thawing the places where we make contact. I take care to keep my bloodied hands floating above the back of their clothing. (if:(history: where its name contains "███: (Say nothing.)")'s length >= 1)[The pleural-effusion-warmth seems to surround me tenfold.] ($dialogue: "██, MUFFLED INTO OUR SHIRT", "Promise you'll think about me, asshole. If you can.", $friend) ($dialogue: "███", "I promise.", "white") (set: $gooddeed to true) [[███: "I'll ask them to manifest your food extra salty, little whimbrel."]] [[███: "I'll tell them about you, little red-eyed vireo."]] [[███: "I'll think about you *so hard*, little Balearic shearwater."]] [[𖤓 ::: FOUND YOU]]

($dialogue: "██, SNIFFLING", "How do you even //remember// that?", $friend) ($dialogue: "██", "Consen, I'll miss you.", $friend)

($dialogue: "██, SNIFFING", "How do you even //remember// that?", $friend)

I sliced the belly of my forearm open once, on accident, when I was seventeen years old. Remmants of that stinging pain seem to have lodged themselves in my heart, tugging tears from my eyes and sharpening with each beat and shooting dull visceral pain into the heels of my hands. It is— foreign. (set: $sh to true) It is an unfamiliar sensation and it really fucking hurts. Something hot streaks down my face. I raise one hand to my eyes and surreptitiously attempt to wipe away the trail of evidence. ($dialogue: "███, VOICE RELUCTANTLY THICK", "I'm...", "white") ($dialogue: "██", "Just give me a damn hug.", $friend) [[███: (Hug them.)]]