Overmorrow [draft 1]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[It's not dark. You can't see, but it's not dark. It's not light, either. There is static all around you. It's sharp, like broken glass, and it tastes like a headache. Do you have a head? Or even a tongue, with which to taste?] (align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[I feel like I should.]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[I feel like I shouldn't.]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[I do, but it's not mine.]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[I don't know.]] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You get the sense that you're missing something that should be there - you're not whole. Not yet.] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p3]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You get the sense that there's too much of you where there shouldn't be anything - you're not whole, not yet, and everything feels ill-fitting.] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p3]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[What's a head? What's a tongue? What are you, even? When you try to grasp for the answers, your mind skips and stutters - the information just isn't there.] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p3]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You cannot shake the feeling that everything about yourself has been borrowed. Someone else came before you, and they have left behind a long, cold shadow.] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p3]](set:$FAITHFULNESS to it + 1)

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[These concepts exist in you somewhere but you don’t know where they come from. They can’t be in your head, since you probably-maybe don’t have one. And it can’t be in your mind because… … Who are you?] (align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[I don't know what my name is.]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[I don't know what I am.]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[I don't know who came before me.]] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You're not even sure if you have a name at all. You can feel the idea of a name somewhere in you, but it is entirely uninviting. It sits there like a pest in an attic, dead for days and gathering flies.] (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[+1 Mémoire]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p4]](set:$REMBER to it + 1) (set:$FAITHFULNESS to it + 1)

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You could be anything. No, literally - you can feel the potential for it, burning in place of your nonexistent skin. Perhaps it would be more reasonable to wonder what you're going to be.] (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[+1 Mémoire]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p4]](set:$REMBER to it + 1)

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[Because someone has surely come before you. You can feel the remnants of them, somehow always behind you even as you struggle to gain a sense of space. They would breathe down your neck, if they had any breath to give, but they don't. You know that. Definitively.] (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[+1 Mémoire]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p4]](set:$REMBER to it + 1)

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[Your existence is fraught with static. It is ten thousand shattering mirrors breaking under your teeth - the static is you and you are the static. You bite your lip - an anxious tic you don’t know the origin of - and your reflections, all ten thousand of them, bite you back. ] (link:"...")[The lines between what is you what what is not are blurred, but you can feel a difference between yourself and the rest of the static. It buzzes with a different song, a different tone. It's... (align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[Confusing]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[Painful]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[Beautiful]] ]] (if:visits >= 2)[(set:$FAITHFULNESS to it + 1)]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[There is a line between awe and fear, and you are failing to walk it. You are relieved to be living and yet unsure what living is supposed to be - why are you relieved? Why care at all, for something you do not know, have never experienced? There’s a lot of you that should be here but isn’t, you can feel that now - or, no, is it the opposite? There’s too much of you. Too much of you, left over from something.] (set:$FAITHFULNESS to it + 1)(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[What else is there?->p4]] (set:$FAITHFULNESS to it - 1)(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->sensations 1]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You are a thing rendered bright and burning in a world of ink and etherstatic. Your potential stretches out and out and out, you can feel it, a wind under your feathers and in between your ribs. ...No. That's a real sensation, isn't it? It's not just your imagination - in the deepest parts of you there is an aching, whistling cold.] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[Why do I feel so cold?->sensations 1]](set:$EDGE to it + 1)

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[''Welcome! '' You are in the correct place to play the first draft of (text-colour:#9775fa)[Overmorrow], a scifi-fantasy text adventure currently in development On the next page, you will see the Chapter Start. On every Chapter Start screen, there will be a link to a playlist for you to listen to, if you would like musical accompaniment to fit the tone of the chapter. This is optional, but may improve your experience! Please note that Overmorrow is extremely early in its development. A lot of stuff is still unfinished.] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[CONTENT NOTES AND WARNINGS (may contain spoilers!)]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[CONTACT THE AUTHOR]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[CHAPTER SELECT]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[CREDITS]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->intro2]] [(if:$end is not 1)[ (text-colour:#9775fa)[ ''LOCKED: see accumulated stats'' (text-style:"subscript")[you must complete the game to unlock this feature!]]] ] [ (if:$end is 1)[ [[UNLOCKED: see accumulated stats]] ] ] [(text-style:"subscript")[© Regular Dog 2023]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ (align:"=><=")+(box:"=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[(text-style:"underline")[''OVERMORROW''] (text-style:"subscript")[CHAPTER ONE - EULOGY] (link:"audio accompaniment - currently just a spotify playlist")[ [[https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7xUiSLyOM0QKsidrMaYoNI?si=6230f2ff4b564ab3&pt=c5b4a9e7fa97deb5ae6616b9cf5a6b71]] ] ] ] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [[INPUT CUSTOM SAVE DATA]] [[PROCEED->notdark]] ] (set:$REMBER to it + 0) (set:$TISM to it + 0) (set:$FAITHFULNESS to it + 0) (set:$EDGE to it + 0)

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ (link:"What can I smell?")[Wet grass. Something muted, something cold. The unmistakable scent of a wide open space, water and mulch and frozen ground. Snow. The word comes to you slowly, a whisper in your mind - a memory, but not your own… (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[remember...->memoire 2]]] (link:"What can I hear?")[A light wind skirts by your ears. It overtakes most other sounds, but as you lay there you try to listen for softer noises - something is digging around a small ways from you, something which skitters and snuffles and whose heart beats a fast, fluttering rhythm. You don't hear anything like that coming from yourself - in fact, you can't hear anything coming from your heart at all.] (link:"What can I feel?")[Two limbs, four limbs, six limbs, seven - you try to keep track of yourself. The number feels wrong - and then, there, a memory surfacing in your mind - a memory that isn't yours, of a conversation you haven't had... (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[remember...->memoire 1]]] ] [ (if:(history: where its name contains "memoire 1")'s length >= 1)[(link:"What else can I feel?")[There is a buzzing, electric thing somewhere inside of your chest, and gradually it is becoming less a thing of static, and more a thing of you. As it gains tangibility, reality spreads slowly along your spine - it reaches your shoulders, and at once you are aware of an aching-pulling sensation there. Instinct whispers at you to stop lying on your side, so you roll over onto your front, and the ache becomes a weight instead. Your limbs are numb and heavy - on the left side more than the right, as though something has pooled there, and weighed you down. Bringing your head upright is dizzying and accompanied by the distant taste of bile. [[There's something else...]] ] (if:(history: where (passage:)'s tags contains "bp")'s length is 0)+(if:visits is 1)[(set:$FAITHFULNESS to it - 1)] ] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ (link:"Try to stand.")[You bring your paws to either side of your chest. Your keel is pressed uncomfortably into the snow, and it’s clear that the muscles there would now be too stiff to support you on the air. Flight would not be an option, even if you had the energy for it. Levering yourself up onto your shaking legs is a challenge, but you get there - for all of a moment. Vertigo brings nausea onto your tongue, and starbursts into the vision which you still do not have. Brilliant stygia burns your eyes, which is, at least, confirmation that you have eyes at all. When the stygia clears, you are alone in the nothing again. (link:"Keep trying.")[You’re on the ground once more, but you’ve managed to keep your footing enough to stand. You sway; your left side nearly gives out - first one ankle and then the other, as if no singular part of you is capable of moving in sync with anything else. You briefly attempt to shake out a foot, but you give up when your sense of balance is, once again, almost overtaken with vertigo. ]] (link:"Try to orient yourself")[Shoulders, legs, paws - there is enough sensation in you now to count off each body part, if you concentrate; haunches, tail, claws. A weight on your head - if you arch your neck all the way back, something solid bumps your shoulders - horns. Standing has exposed your underbelly to the cold. The joints of your legs strain under unfamiliar weight. You shiver, and your hackles raise. You really, truly need to get somewhere - anywhere - better than this. (link:"Where can I go?")[A better question: where is this mythical ‘inside’? You feel you should know this. You cast about for direction - for a moment, the encroaching stygia returns; this time, however, you are in control. For the briefest moment, you keep a firm hold on it: perfect etheric vision, clarity of the world; bright points over darkness, clinging to every surface. ] ]] (more:)[ [[What's out there?]] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ (text-colour:#9775fa)[I am lying half-buried in the snow. For now, it melts from my body heat, but I know that if I don’t move soon, I will become too tired to thermoregulate and the snowmelt will fill the cavity in the dirt beneath me, and then it will re-freeze I will be stuck, and cold, and hurting. … I don’t know how I know any of this, but it is definitive, solid, final. I have to move. I have to get inside. I don’t want to stick around to find out what happens if I don’t - and somehow, that thought leads to another; two simple words, weighty with fatigue: (t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"[...]")[Too late.] ] ] (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[+1 Mémoire]] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[The memory fades.->sensations 1]](set:$REMBER to it + 1)

(text-colour:white)+(bg:black)[I am arguing. It's not a serious argument but I am invested in it anyway. I always am, with- (text-colour:#516BA7)[???: No, no, listen-] (text-colour:#9775fa)[Me?: You listen! A tail doesn't-] (text-colour:#516BA7)[???: Shut up, yes it does-] (text-colour:#9775fa)[Me?: A tail doesn't count as a limb if you can't use it to hold things and you cannot convince me otherwise-! ... I don't know who I'm talking to. They're my friend, I think. They're tall, and thin, and they don't have wings; these are things I consider important, apparently, but I couldn't say why. I do not know them and I cannot see them. I can feel the shape of their name vibrating in my throat - I try to spit it out, but the shape of my face won’t keep still and I can’t figure out how to open my mouth, so there it stays, humming, half-a-hiss; the static of my gums drips like wax, and cold air whistles through the new holes in my face, the spaces between my teeth, the cadaverous stillness of my tongue. The sensation of breath in my lungs is new and painful. Most of me is new and painful, I think, I think…] ] (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[+1 Mémoire]] [[The memory fades.->sensations 1]](set:$REMBER to it + 1)

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[Now that you have a destination in mind, the prospect of travel feels… [[Daunting]] [[Wondrous->p5.2]] [[Necessary]] [[Agonising->p5.3]]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[It's too far. It's way too far. How could you ever expect to make it? You've barely managed to stand, let alone walk all that way.] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p6]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[The world is twice-new, memory upon fading memory, experience had and forgotten and had again. You are as close to living as you have ever been - has it always felt so raw?] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p6]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[A new kind of cold under one of your paws brings your thoughts to a halt, and you realise that you’ve taken an involuntary step forward; the feeling of snow brings back the familiar-unfamiliar fear from your earlier reverie, and it spurs you into another. Now that your steps are happening on purpose, they’re clumsy - you wobble when you try to bring one of your back legs forwards, and your wings drag uselessly on the ground. (t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"...")[You’re not sure how long the journey really takes. It feels like forever. It feels like nothing. It feels like you’ll never arrive anywhere, and also like you’ve already overshot your only hope. You feel no warmer now than you did before, but now you have a new fear - what if you’re walking in circles? What if your heavy limbs are leading you around, listing ever more left - or what if it doesn’t matter? What if there’s nothing else out here after all, and you just made it up and you’re all alone and there never will be any inside to get to? (t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"...")[ But then - on the wind - you hear something - a noise - voices - panicked. You can’t understand most of them, but someone - it has to be a someone, surely - makes a noise which is high and thready and rings across the landscape, and some part of you recognises it as- (t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"...")[(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#ffa8a8)[''???:'' //Are-you-there? Are-you-there?//]] (t8n:"dissolve")[And a name, attached to it - a name, strung out on the wind. It's a call meant for you - but it's wrong. You don't have a name yet, but if you did, this wouldn't be it.] (align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[(t8n:"dissolve")[''What do you do?'' [[Choke on my words.]] [[Choke on my breath.]] ]] ]]] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You try to call back, but your face still feels foreign to you, and all that happens is an ineffective falling open of your jaw. You say a sound which isn’t words, but might roughly mean, //I’m-here-I’m-here, help-me-help-me-please-now!//] [[PROCEED->p7]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You try to call back, but the rush of cold into your throat and lungs shocks the voice out of you - not that it matters; language has abandoned you. When you try a second time, you say a sound which isn’t words, but might roughly mean, //I’m-here-I’m-here, help-me-help-me-please-now!//] [[PROCEED->p7]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[tbc//] (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[PROCEED->p6]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[Your clarity doesn’t last long, but it’s enough - a warmth in the distance, stark against the cold-dark of the snow. (link:"What can I see?")[You catch the faint impression of rocks, high into the sky, and small homes built in and around the cliffs. You manage to glimpse a further warmth, below several measures of stone - basements and hearths, safely underground.] (link:"What can I smell?")[ Woodsmoke and freshwater - there’s a river not far from you, and it runs towards the houses. If you turn your head right and inhale deeply enough, you can even smell something cooking. It smells of fish and spices.] (more:)[(link:"What else is there?")[A vast tundra. It is mostly flat, - the occasional outcropping of rocks, sparse plant life, small animals tunnelling through the snow. It is empty - both of obstacles, and of help. ]] ] (more:)[ [[PROCEED->p5]] ]

(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[The voices come closer. The etherstatic nearest to you begins to split into more distinct shapes: buzzing silhouettes vibrating around bright points. Whoever they are, they’re just like you - you’re just like them. You’re not alone.] (link:"What can I hear?")[The voice - the person - closest to you chitters and mutters. They’re saying words, probably, but you can’t understand them; they’re little more than noises to you, scrambled on the way between your ears and your brain. ] (more:)[(link:"Figure out what they're trying to get across.")[Not in any kind of meaningful language, but there are emotions there that you can pick out: anxiety, hesitancy, fear - and something hopeful. It is a bittersweet, self-perpetuating combination. Something about this, something about this //person//, reminds you of something. ](set:$TISM to it + 1)] [[Try to offer comfort]] [[Go limp. It's safe now. [proceed]->p8]]

* Dissotiation/unreality/unreliable narrator * Body horror - not very explicit I don't think, but may not be good for very young or easily disturbed readers * Memory loss and overall themes of memory related troubles (includes confusion about a character's identity) * Implied character death * Feelings of being lost or alone * Some instances of strong language [[Return to intro->intro]]

Hi! Since you're here, you can call me Penrose. If you'd like to get in touch with me, refer to one of the following: Tumblr: snippyschnapps, greatproblem or regular-dog Discord: Snops#3310 Email: yesternightproject@gmail.com You can reach out for inquiries related to this work, or you can just come hang out. I've also got a public discord server dedicated to Overmorrow and its sibling works, which you can join by clicking this link -> [[https://discord.gg/GhHmR8HskY]] (and if that doesnt work for any reason, feel free to shoot me a message asking about it) [[Return to intro->intro]]

test value [ (set:$variablename to 0)(t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"set")[ set! ] ] [ (set:$variablename to it + 1)[[set 1]] ] [ (set:$variablename to it + 3)[[set 2]] ] [(set:$variablename to it + 0)[[n/a]] ]

(set:$counter to 1) (set:$result to "n/a") [[test 1]] [TEST PAGE SAMPLE TEXT BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#fca487)[+1 perception]] ]

(set:$counter to it + 2)[[test 2]]

[(if:$counter is 2)[(set:$result to "test success!")]] [(if:$counter is > 2)[(set:$result to "test success!")]] [(if:$counter is < 2)[(set:$result to "test fail!")]] [(if:$result is "test success!")(print:$result)] [(if:$result is "test fail!")(print:$result)]

[control test] (if:$variablename > 3)[(link-reveal:"can you see this?")[ Yes!]]

[control test] [(if:$variablename > 3)[ Can you see this? ]]

[(set:$variablename to 0)[[Untitled Passage]] ]

(after:0.5s)[(text-colour:#ccffcc)[MEMORIES EXPERIENCED: (print:$REMBER)]] (after:1s)[(text-colour:#ffcc99)[SITUATIONS UNDERSTOOD: (print:$TISM)]] (after:1.5s)[(text-colour:#ff99cc)[EDGINESS: (print:$EDGE)]] (after:2s)[(text-colour:#9775fa)[OVERALL MOONISHNESS: (print:$FAITHFULNESS)]] (after:3s)[''Wow! So Cool! Yippee!!!!''] (after:3s)[[[BACK->intro]] (link:"See extra stats & data (for save data purposes - may contain hints of spoilers)")[ (after:0.5s)[(text-colour:#977489)[CORNERS RUN FROM: (print:$TchekimiFail)]] (after:1s)[(text-colour:#c66060)[NAMES GATHERED: SIGI calls you... (print:$SIGINAME)] ] ] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[The inside of the lodge is warm and cozy. Its flooring feels like it's made out of some kind of thatch or tight whicker, and it makes a pleasant //patter-scratch// sound when you walk on it. It smells like someone has set out scented wood chips over the hearths. ] ''WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?'' [(align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[[Mingle like it comes naturally]] [[Find a corner to hide in]] [[wallow in anxiety and indecision]] ]]

[[CHAPTER ONE - EULOGY (wip) ->intro2]] [[CHAPTER TWO - VIGIL (unwritten) ->chapter 2]] [[CHAPTER THREE - WAKE (wip) ->chapter 3]] [[BACK->intro]]

[(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[Game under construction - Return to start; chapter two has not been scripted yet. ->intro]] ]

(text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[+1 perception]] (set:$TISM to it + 1) (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ All around you, voices blend into an incomprehinsible chatter. It's... (if:$TISM >= 3)[A little overwhelming, but not unbearable - just take a moment to get it together. You can do this. In fact, there's a part of you - small, but ever-growing - that almost feels //made// for this.] (if:$TISM < 3)[Just plain overwhelming. With every raised voice, your fur bristles a little more. Still, needs must - get it together! How are you supposed to branch out if you can't even find someone to talk to?] (more:)[Surely, there has to be someone around here you can befriend... (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[^^hint: you will be able to return to this area later. ^^]] (t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"In the corner?")[ (if:(history: where its name contains "Panic")'s length >= 1)[The thought of showing your face here again makes you feel like screaming. Just a little bit. A little scream. ] Alone and apparently content that way, one individual is focused on the table in front of them. The motions of their paws are too small and fast to make out what exactly they’re doing, but you don’t think it’s a meal - in fact, there’s a plate pushed away from them, not empty, but definitely long since gone cold. Nobody around them seems to have any interest in getting close, but as you watch, someone walking by cranes their head to look at whatever the lone one is doing; a sharp turn of their head sends the snooper scampering away. Laughter rings out from the table they run off to - mockery, or lighthearted commiseration? You can’t be sure.] (more:)[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"At the counter?")[ Surprisingly, not many people seem to be gathered at the bar. There's one person at the end, hunched over so much that you can't make out what's in front of them. Behind the counter, a lithe individual sits on their haunches and cleans out a glass. Their antlers are very pretty. Like, so pretty. How come you don't have antlers like that? You should go ask them how they do that. This is definitely an advisable course of action with zero downsides.]] (more:)[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"By the hearth?")[ Someone is hogging the space right in front of the fire, stretching out on the rug there with a fold-out journal - and wow, it's definitely folded //out//. The back cover has been pushed aside, and between it and their current page, a tower of zig-zag pages has gathered, gained height, and then evidently toppled over again. It's looking awfully close to the fire. If they don't stop turning pages soon, their impressively overzealous journalling may just go up in flames.]]] (more:)[''Who to bother?'' (align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [[CORNER GUY]] [[ENVIABLE ANTLERS]] [[HEARTH HOGGER]] ] ] ] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[Unfortunately, all but one corner seems to be thouroughly occupied - and the one that isn't still has a lone inhabitant. Alone and apparently content that way, one individual is focused on the table in front of them. The motions of their paws are too small and fast to make out what exactly they’re doing, but you don’t think it’s a meal - in fact, there’s a plate pushed away from them, not empty, but definitely long since gone cold. Nobody around them seems to have any interest in getting close, but as you watch, someone walking by cranes their head to look at whatever the lone one is doing; a sharp turn of their head sends the snooper scampering away. Laughter rings out from the table they run off to - mockery, or lighthearted commiseration? You can’t be sure. ] [[PROCEED->Mingle2.5]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[Come on, now. You're really just going to stand there? After you came all this way? (link:"But I don't //like// socialising!")[''But I don't //like// socialising!'' How would you know? You've been cooped up with your gracious hosts since you woke up. Maybe you love socialising. Maybe it's your favourite thing in the world.] [[Maybe I should try... ->Mingle2]] [[No. I'm not doing this. I want to go home.]] ] (set:$FAITHFULNESS to it -1)

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You begin to approach the person in the corner of the room. As you weave through the other patrons and draw nearer, you begin to be able to pick out more details. Unlike yourself and many of the people you've met so far, this one doesn't seem to have any bare skin at all, just a short, bristly coat of fur; it doesn't look especially warm, despite covering a much broader area. There is a pile of fabric next to them, apparently discarded and forgotten about in a haphazard pile. You can't see any mask to go with it, but it's //probably// snow gear. (link:"Keep looking? (optional)")[''Keep looking'' The stranger seems, at first, to be without any wings, but at further consideration, you realise that there are hard, unfamiliar shapes on their back. There's some kind of frills or membrane coming from underneath... Actually, they kind of remind you of beetle wings. They don't seem capable of flight, though. Must be a fashion statement or something. (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[+1 perception]] (set:$TISM to it + 1) (link:"Keep looking? (optional.)")[''Keep looking'' Your sense of nervousness is vanishing in the face of learning more about this random stranger. It's not even that it's them, specifically, but an insatiable curiosity has started to well up from somewhere. You focus your attention. You're close enough now to actually be able to pick out their paws - rather than holding something, you can now tell that on the end of just one claw, there is a small, metal attachment. It's long, and sharper than would be practical for daily living; they seem to be periodically dipping it into a small jar, and using it to write. (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[+1 perception]] (set:$TISM to it + 1) (link:"Keep looking? (not necessary!)")[''Keep looking'' You probably shouldn't stare too much more. You've almost reached them, now, and they're bound to notice eventually. Their horns are long. Their shoulders are broad. Their eyes are wide, but not with real anger; their face just seems naturally caught in an odd, almost frenetic scowl. It doesn’t look voluntary. Occasionally, their expression twitches, in accompaniment to bursts of even faster writing. (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[+1 perception]] (set:$TISM to it + 1) [["Keep looking? (seriously?)]] ] ] ] ] [[PROCEED->cg2]]]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You begin to approach the bar. It's less difficult than you'd expected - the only people between you and it are in the process of coming and going, and most of them are already focused on staying out of everyone else's way. (TO WRITE: mouti finds their way to sigi and strikes up conversation; sigi recognises mouti as iikor but has a measured response, and is open to being asked questions.) ] [[PROCEED->ea1]] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[The energy you spent walking catches up to you all at once - first one leg and then the other, you’re stumbling and falling over yourself, and you gasp sharply when you list too far to the left and dig your knee into the feathers of your wing. This time, when the nausea comes, you can’t push it back; the strength in your neck gives out, and you are treated to a mouthful of snow. (more:)[(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[Game under construction - Return to start; this is near the end of this chapter anyways though ->intro]] ] (text-colour:#69708f)[BEFORE YOU CLOSE THIS TAB: ''OVERMORROW DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY SAVE YOUR PROGRESS!'' you can choose any chapter from chapter select if you want to play it without accumulated stats, but if you do want to save your progress between chapters, here's how you can do it manually: Go to SEE ACCUMULATED STATS on the menu page (linked above) Write down/copy the results it gives you somewhere else (a notepad, a digital document, whatever). This is now effectively your personal "save file." ''To load your save:'' When you select a chapter, instead of clicking PROCEED, click on INPUT CUSTOM SAVE DATA on this page, you will be given a list of stats with dropdown menus next to them. select the number you want from the dropdown menu for each stat. ''Then, click save.'' If you don't click save, the game will try to save your stat as a string instead of an integer, which will stop those stats from working. NOTE: yes, this function can be easily abused. If you wanted to, you could totally put in any old stats and breeze through the game with maxed out points. Since I'm only working with Twinery and not my own coding knowledge, though, it's the best I can do for now. You can cheat it if you want to (I certainly cheat a lot in my own singleplayer games so I can't fault you for that lol), but if you'd like the intended experience, just use it as a save file. It's up to you! Just have fun!] (set:$end to 1) ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ Bit by bit, your throat unsticks: you can feel the words almost-there in your head, but they continue to tangle with each other into an incomprehensible mess. You settle for just making a quiet noise instead. It is meaningless. You try to say something kind with it anyway. (link:"...")[ [That ball-thing in your chest vibrates a complimentary frequency - open, calm, soothing. You watch the silhouette before you relax slightly. ] (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#fca487)[+1 perception] (set:$TISM to it + 1) ] ] ] (more:)[(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[PROCEED->p8]] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[SPECIAL THANKS TO: (after:1s)[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[BeeMoth - helped come up with cool ideas and figure out coding aspects]] (after:1.5s)[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ENCHANTINGBAT / Rosemary - long-time rubber duck expert & putter-upper of infodumps]] (after:2.3s)[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You!!!]]] [[BACK->intro]]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ All around you, voices blend into an incomprehinsible chatter. It's... (if:$TISM >= 2)[A little overwhelming, but not unbearable - just take a moment to get it together. You can do this. In fact, there's a part of you - small, but ever-growing - that almost feels //made// for this.] (if:$TISM < 2)[Just plain overwhelming. With every raised voice, your fur bristles a little more. Still, needs must - get it together! How are you supposed to branch out if you can't even find someone to talk to?] (more:)[Surely, there has to be someone around here you can befriend... (t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"In the corner?")[ Alone and apparently content that way, one individual is focused on the table in front of them. The motions of their paws are too small and fast to make out what exactly they’re doing, but you don’t think it’s a meal - in fact, there’s a plate pushed away from them, not empty, but definitely long since gone cold. Nobody around them seems to have any interest in getting close, but as you watch, someone walking by cranes their head to look at whatever the lone one is doing; a sharp turn of their head sends the snooper scampering away. Laughter rings out from the table they run off to - mockery, or lighthearted commiseration? You can’t be sure.] (more:)[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"At the counter?")[ Surprisingly, not many people seem to be gathered at the bar. There's one person at the end, hunched over so much that you can't make out what's in front of them. Behind the counter, a tall individual sits on their haunches and cleans out a glass. Their antlers are very pretty. Like, so pretty. How come you don't have antlers like that? You should go ask them how they do that. This is definitely an advisable course of action with zero downsides.]] (more:)[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"By the hearth?")[ Someone is hogging the space right in front of the fire, stretching out on the rug there with a fold-out journal - and wow, it's definitely folded //out//. The back cover has been pushed aside, and between it and their current page, a tower of zig-zag pages has gathered, gained height, and then evidently toppled over again. It's looking awfully close to the fire. If they don't stop turning pages soon, their impressively overzealous journalling may just go up in flames.]]] (more:)[''Who to bother?'' (align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [[CORNER GUY]] [[ENVIABLE ANTLERS]] [[HEARTH HOGGER]] ] ] ] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[+1 you're just insatiable, aren't you?]] (set:$TISM to it + 1) ''Keep looking'' They've definitely noticed your attention by now - a sharp jerk of the head, and they're looking back at you, somewhere between confused and accusatory. Maybe, in a different situation, you’d be able to stutter out some kind of introduction, or maybe an apology for interrupting. Too late, though - a (link:"memory")[memory (link:"begins")[begins ] ] (more:)[ [[to]] ] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ (text-colour:#9775fa)[-has always been a good friend, even at a distance. We both forget to stay in touch more often than not, but it doesn’t feel like it matters. I’ll visit them at their home and we’ll share meals just the same, letters or no letters. Still, sometimes I wish they’d take me up on the offer to travel. It’d be nice to have them with me, just once. At least I have their wayward scholars to talk to, for the few times we meet - such a strange lot. They’ll all say it’s research they’re gathering, but anyone with any sense at all would know it’s all just gossip. I can’t help but wonder what they want with it all. I’ll have to ask, next time I’m in- (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[+1 Mémoire]] ] There's so many names that you're failing to grasp. Is this - the stranger? A friend of your predecessor? ... No. That doesn't fit right. Wrong place, different vibe. But they're related, somehow. 'Scholar' definitely feels like it fits. [[The memory fades.->cg2.5]](set:$REMBER to it + 1) ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#977489)[''CORNER GUY:'' Hey? Excuse me? //Hello?//] ] ] It would seem the object of your attentions has been trying to get //your// attention - for quite some time. [[Apologise]] [[Bluster onwards]] [[Panic]] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ (text-colour:#977489)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[Corner Guy will remember this.]] (set:$TchekimiFail to it + 1) You've really fucked it this time. There's nothing for it- [[run away->Mingle3]] ]

set perception ("situations understood") to... (dropdown: 2bind $TISM,"0","1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9","10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18") set mémoire ("memories experienced") to... (dropdown: 2bind $REMBER,"0","1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9","10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18") set edginess to... (dropdown: 2bind $EDGE,"0","1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9","10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18") set overall moonishness to... (dropdown: 2bind $FAITHFULNESS,"0","1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9","10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18") set corner guy embarrassment to... (dropdown: 2bind $TchekimiFail,"0","1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9","10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18") set corner guy embarrassment to... (dropdown: 2bind $SIGINAME,"Hïro","Möti","Ko-Anomei Xo-Nobaloz") (link-repeat:"save")[(set: $TISM to (num: $TISM)) (set: $REMBER to (num: $REMBER)) (set: $EDGE to (num: $EDGE)) (set: $FAITHFULNESS to (num: $FAITHFULNESS)) (set: $TchekimiFail to (num: $TchekimiFail))(set: $SIGINAME to $SIGINAME)] [[HOME->intro]] [[CHAPTER 1 - EULOGY->intro2]] [[CHAPTER 2 - VIGIL->chapter 2]] [[CHAPTER 3 - WAKE->chapter 3]] (set: $TISM to (num: $TISM)) (set: $REMBER to (num: $REMBER)) (set: $EDGE to (num: $EDGE)) (set: $FAITHFULNESS to (num: $FAITHFULNESS)) (set: $TchekimiFail to (num: $TchekimiFail)) (set: $SIGINAME to $SIGINAME)

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[You're back near the entrance, where the crowd is slightly thinner. All around you, voices blend into an incomprehinsible chatter.] (more:)[Surely, there has to be someone around here you can befriend... (t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"In the corner?")[ The thought of showing your face here again makes you feel like screaming. Just a little bit. A little scream. //Small.//] (more:)[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"At the counter?")[ Surprisingly, not many people seem to be gathered at the bar. There's one person at the end, hunched over so much that you can't make out what's in front of them. Behind the counter, a tall individual sits on their haunches and cleans out a glass. Their antlers are very pretty. Like, so pretty. How come you don't have antlers like that? You should go ask them how they do that. This is definitely an advisable course of action with zero downsides.]] (more:)[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"By the hearth?")[ Someone is hogging the space right in front of the fire, stretching out on the rug there with a fold-out journal - and wow, it's definitely folded //out//. The back cover has been pushed aside, and between it and their current page, a tower of zig-zag pages has gathered, gained height, and then evidently toppled over again. It's looking awfully close to the fire. If they don't stop turning pages soon, their impressively overzealous journalling may just go up in flames.]]] (more:)[''Who to bother?'' (align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ (t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"CORNER GUY")[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"Nope. No way. Not after THAT tragic display.")[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"But they seemed *interesting*... and you're so curious...")[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link:"You think deeply for a moment about recent events. You walked over to a person, who seemed content to be alone, and then stared at them for so long that they asked you what you wanted. And then you ran away.")[(link:"And yet, curiosity prevails...")[[Are you seriously gonna go back there?]] ]]]] [[ENVIABLE ANTLERS]] [[HEARTH HOGGER]] ] ] ]

(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ All around you, voices blend into an incomprehinsible chatter. It's... (if:$TISM >= 2)[A little overwhelming, but not unbearable - just take a moment to get it together. You can do this. In fact, there's a part of you - small, but ever-growing - that almost feels //made// for this.] (if:$TISM < 2)[Just plain overwhelming. With every raised voice, your fur bristles a little more. Still, needs must - get it together! How are you supposed to branch out if you can't even find someone to talk to?] (more:)[Surely, there has to be someone around here you can befriend... (t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"In the corner?")[ It's the same corner you were examining before - maybe they wouldn't mind the company?] (more:)[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"At the counter?")[ Surprisingly, not many people seem to be gathered at the bar. There's one person at the end, hunched over so much that you can't make out what's in front of them. Behind the counter, a tall individual sits on their haunches and cleans out a glass. Their antlers are very pretty. Like, so pretty. How come you don't have antlers like that? You should go ask them how they do that. This is definitely an advisable course of action with zero downsides.]] (more:)[(t8n:"dissolve")+(link-reveal:"By the hearth?")[ Someone is hogging the space right in front of the fire, stretching out on the rug there with a fold-out journal - and wow, it's definitely folded //out//. The back cover has been pushed aside, and between it and their current page, a tower of zig-zag pages has gathered, gained height, and then evidently toppled over again. It's looking awfully close to the fire. If they don't stop turning pages soon, their impressively overzealous journalling may just go up in flames.]]] (more:)[''Who to bother?'' (align:"<==")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [[CORNER GUY]] [[ENVIABLE ANTLERS]] [[HEARTH HOGGER]] ] ] ] ]

[ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''ENVIABLE ANTLERS:'' Is there anything you'd like to know?] ] ] [Ask about... [[Do I know you?->eaq1]] [[Do I come here often?->eaq2]] [[How do you get your antlers like that?->eaq3]] ] ] ]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' How do you get your antlers like that?] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''ENVIABLE ANTLERS:'' How do I... what?] ] ] [Wordlessly, you gesture at Enviable Antlers' very enviable antlers. ] [ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''ENVIABLE ANTLERS:'' Oh... I just, er, do it, I suppose. Unless you mean a particular part...?] ] ] [They're not getting it. Which is a shame, because you're not actually sure what's so enviable about them - you just saw them and were immediately struck by the perfection before you. Maybe it's...] (link:"The patterns?")[ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' The patterns?] ] ] ] ] [ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''ENVIABLE ANTLERS:'' You noticed? Thank you! They're not as complicated as they look, though. They just follow the shape. But with more, you know, spirals. I took inspiration from that old tree in the middle of town - all sorts of whorls and eyes on that thing.] ] ] ] ] ] ] (link:"The size?")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' The size?] ] ] [ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''ENVIABLE ANTLERS:'' That was honestly an accident. Sänsi keeps saying it's getting ridiculous, but I don't know, I think it's fine.] ] ] (link:">>")[//Their head bobs as they speak, and a peculiar scratching noise catches your attention. Looking up, you realise there's a mess of ether buzzing along the ceiling right above the bartender's head - it must be collecting at the edges of the grooves they've been leaving there. They do not seem to be taking notice of this.//] ] ] ] ] ] ] [(link:"The shapes?")[ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' The shapes?] ] ] ] ] [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''ENVIABLE ANTLERS:'' Oh, um. They're just antlers, really.] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[//That's all very interesting, but HOW do they do it?// (link:"How, though?")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' HOW, though?] ] ] CONVERSATION END TBC: sigi gives a short insight about shapeshifting.] ] (more:)[ [[Alright, you've heard enough. You have other questions. ->ea2]] ]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' Do I know you?] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI (ENVIABLE ANTLERS):'' You might! But, actually, I’m not sure. You used to, but you might not remember me… I’m ''Sigi'', and I tend the bar here most days, unless my sibling is covering for me. ] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//"Sigi"… do you remember that name? … No. It’s hard not to wish that you did, though - behind their jovial tone, Sigi regards you with a strange hesitancy. It’s a reaction you’re becoming increasingly familiar with, and increasingly uncomfortable with, too. //] ] ] [(link:"I don't remember you.")[ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//"You explain to Sigi that you do not remember them. Their open countenance falters slightly, but they seem more resigned than upset. //] ] ] ] [(more:)[(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' That’s alright, Ïkor, you don’t have to. Not everyone does, after…] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]{ (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(if:$TISM >= 3)[ (more:)[ [ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//after what?//] ] ] ] ] ] ] }(more:)[ [[That's not my name.]] [[Sibling?->cr3]]]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' Do I know you?] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI (ENVIABLE ANTLERS):'' You might! But, actually, I’m not sure. You used to, but you might not remember me… I’m ''Sigi'', and I tend the bar here most days, unless my sibling is covering for me. ] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//"Sigi"… do you remember that name? … No. It’s hard not to wish that you did, though - behind their jovial tone, Sigi regards you with a strange hesitancy. It’s a reaction you’re becoming increasingly familiar with, and increasingly uncomfortable with, too. //] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' Sibling?] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' Sänsi. We co-own the place. ] ] ] ] (more:)[ [ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//You try to explain to Sigi that you do not remember them. Their open countenance falters slightly, but they seem more resigned than upset.//] ] ] ] [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' That’s alright, Ïkor, you don’t have to. Not everyone does, after…] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]{ (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(if:$TISM >= 3)[ (more:)[ [ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//after what?//] ] ] ] ] ] ] }(more:)[ [[That's not my name.]] ]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' My name isn't "Ïkor".] ] ] ] ] [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' It’s not? Hm. I’ve heard of that being the case, for some ghosts. What should I call you, then?] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[//Uh-oh. You haven’t figured that one out yet - maybe you should just make something up?// [[No, tell the truth.]] [[Spout some bullshit.]] ]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' Do I know you?] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI (ENVIABLE ANTLERS):'' You might! But, actually, I’m not sure. You used to, but you might not remember me… I’m ''Sigi'', and I tend the bar here most days, unless my sibling is covering for me. ] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//"Sigi"… do you remember that name? … No. It’s hard not to wish that you did, though - behind their jovial tone, Sigi regards you with a strange hesitancy. It’s a reaction you’re becoming increasingly familiar with, and increasingly uncomfortable with, too. //] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//"You explain to Sigi that you do not remember them. Their open countenance falters slightly, but they seem more resigned than upset. //] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' That’s alright, Ïkor, you don’t have to. Not everyone does, after…] ] ] ] ]{ (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[(if:$TISM >= 3)[ (more:)[ [ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [//after what?//] ] ] ] ] ] ] } [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' Sibling?] ] ] ] ] [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' Sänsi. We co-own the place. ] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[[[My name isn't Ïkor->That's not my name.]]]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[//You tell the truth.//] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' I haven't decided on one yet...] ] ] ] ] [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' No? Well, I could just call you by your family name for now, then. If that's alright?] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[ [[No, wait - bullshit's still on the table!]] [[Yeah, that's fine.]] ] ]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[//You spout some bullshit.//] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' I am ''Ko-Anomei Xo-Nobaloz!''] ] ] ] ] //Sigi pauses, incredulous, and you are unable to keep back a sound of amusement; when they catch it, Sigi laughs uproariously, and slaps the counter.// [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' Don’t test me, friend, or I really will start referring to you as “Sir Nameless The Sexy”. And anyway, we already have one ghost called Anomei - According to Leilop, anyway. Out in the Vilothe ruins. I could just call you by your family name for now, if you haven't figured it out yet?] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[ [[Double down.]] [[Accept 'Hïro' as a nickname.->Yeah, that's fine.]]]

(set:$SIGINAME to "Hïro") (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[Sigi will now refer to you as (print:$SIGINAME)]] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' Yeah, that's fine.] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[//Sigi seems pleased.//] [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' Well then, (print:$SIGINAME)! Is there anything else you wanted to ask about?] ] ] ] ] ] ] [(more:)[Ask about... [[Do I come here often?->eaq2]] [[How do you get your antlers like that?->eaq3.2]] [[Actually, there's something else...]] ] ] ]

(set:$SIGINAME to "Ko-Nobaloz") (text-colour:#fca487)[ (align:"==>")+(box:"=X")[Sigi will now refer to you as (print:$SIGINAME)]] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' My name, Ko-Anomei Xo-Nobaloz, is perfect and stunning and not at all grammatically weird, and that other Anomei can suck it cause they aren't here.] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[//Sigi seems amused.//] [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' I hope you don't mind me shortening it a little. How about (print:$SIGINAME)? Formal enough for you?] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[//You are being teased. They just don't understand your vision.//] [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' Is there anything else you wanted to ask about?] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[Ask about... [[Do I come here often?->eaq2]] [[How do you get your antlers like that?->eaq3.2]] [[Actually, there's something else...]] ]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[//You spout some bullshit.//] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' I am ''Ko-Anomei Xo-Nobaloz!''] ] ] ] ] //Sigi pauses, incredulous, and you are unable to keep back a sound of amusement; when they catch it, Sigi laughs uproariously, and slaps the counter.// [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' Don’t test me, friend, or I really will start referring to you as “Sir Nameless The Sexy”. And anyway, we already have one ghost called Anomei - According to Leilop, anyway. Out in the Vilothe ruins. Are you sure I shouldn't just call you Hïro? You can always tell me later if you think of something else.] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[ [[Double down.]] [[Accept 'Hïro' as a nickname.->Yeah, that's fine.]]]

[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' How do you get your antlers like that?] ] ] ] ] [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' How do I... what?] ] ] [Wordlessly, you gesture at Sigi's very enviable antlers. ] [ (t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' Oh... I just, er, do it, I suppose. Unless you mean a particular part...?] ] ] [They're not getting it. Which is a shame, because you're not actually sure what's so enviable about them - you just saw them and were immediately struck by the perfection before you. Maybe it's...] (link:"The patterns?")[ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' The patterns?] ] ] ] ] [ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' You noticed? Thank you! They're not as complicated as they look, though. They just follow the shape. But with more, you know, spirals. I took inspiration from that old tree in the middle of town - all sorts of whorls and eyes on that thing.] ] ] ] ] ] ] (link:"The size?")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' The size?] ] ] [ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' That was honestly an accident. Sänsi keeps saying it's getting ridiculous, but I don't know, I think it's fine.] ] ] (link:">>")[//Their head bobs as they speak, and a peculiar scratching noise catches your attention. Looking up, you realise there's a mess of ether buzzing along the ceiling right above Sigi's head - it must be collecting at the edges of the grooves they've been leaving there. They do not seem to be taking notice of this.//] ] ] ] ] ] ] [(link:"The shapes?")[ [(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' The shapes?] ] ] ] ] [ [(link:">>")[(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#c66060)[''SIGI:'' Oh, um. They're just antlers, really.] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] (more:)[//That's all very interesting, but HOW do they do it?// (link:"How, though?")[ [(align:"<==")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=======")[(text-colour:#9775fa)[''YOU:'' HOW, though?] ] ] CONVERSATION END TBC: sigi gives a short insight about shapeshifting.] ]