EXTRACT_DREAMS

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Your name is [[NOELLE HOLIDAY.->ROOM_ENTRANCE_YOURNAME]] You are having a [[DREAM->ROOM_ENTRANCE_DREAM]]. This dream is being [[SIFTED THROUGH->ROOM_ENTRANCE_SIFT]] by intruders. In this dream, you are a little girl again; your antlers are short, your dress is sparkly, your smile lights up every corner of the room. [[>>LOOK_AROUND_ROOM->ROOM_ENTRANCE_examine]] [[>>CHECK_INVENTORY->INVENTORY_1]]

A feast for the eyes. A feast for the fingers. A feast for the heart. A feast for sore souls. A feast a feast a feast a feast a feast [[OPEN WIDE->ROOM_ENTRANCE]]

Dad liked oldies. //Real// old oldies. One of them went like this: "In dreams, I walk with you. In dreams, I talk with you. In dreams, you're mine. All of the time. We're together, in dreams." Dreams used to be a source of tremendous relief for you, Noelle. It's unfortunate that this is no longer the case. [[GO BACK>>->ROOM_ENTRANCE]]

Your name isn't NOELLE HOLIDAY. You are her dream-self from a night ago, extracted through technologies you will never understand, frozen eternally in data. Right now, you are being inhabited by a USER. This user is wearing your identity; effectively, you are the same. When this exercise ends, the user will discard you. Don't worry. This has happened to you many times. It is not painless, but you will not remember. [[GO BACK>>->ROOM_ENTRANCE]]

Your inventory consists of

LAUNCH PLACEHOLDER ACCESS: DREAM_EXTRACT (subj.Noelle_Holiday_B) <<set $numberRemaining to 6>> <<set $wordVariable to "CHILD">> <<set $phraseVariable to "The value">> <<print $numberRemaining>> remaining. You are a <<print $wordVariable>>. [[>>->ROOM_ENTRANCE]]

It's so rickety. Kris keeps going. I don't know why. Vicious little shit.

INITIALIZE DT_EXTRACTOR 39%...61%...62%...63%...65%...66%...81%...100% /* <set $funCode1 = ("Lugubrious","Torso", "Pleasant". "Daffodil", "Mousy", "Solidus", "DEADGIRL", "Tricky", "Fragrant", "Powerful", "Hopeful", "Dreamful" , "Exhorbitant", "Inevitable", "GONER", "Snooty", "Glooby", "Smirking") <set $funcode2 = ("Snail","Goobus", "Snorkeler". "KNIGHT", "Antlered", "Outcast", "Killer", "Hero", "Sorceress", "Cryomancer", "Emo", "White Mage" , "Heart", "Jester", "Scientist", "Apologizer", "IMSORRY", "MOTHER") YOUR VIRTUA HYPERCLASS FOR THIS SESSION IS: <$funcode.random()> <$funCode2.random()> <print: $funCode1.random()><print: $funCode2.random()> */ LAUNCH PLACEHOLDER ACCESS: DREAM_TRACE (subj.Noelle_Holiday_B) <<set $wordStatus to "CHILD">> Your status is <<print $wordStatus>>. [[ENTER APPLE->rm_apple]] /* <<set $numberRemaining to 6>> <<set $phraseVariable to "The value">> <<print $numberRemaining>> remaining. */

You squeeze into the cramped, sweaty plastic chairs of the apple-go-round. Dess is on one side [[barely bothering to turn the table.->rm_apple_dessdumped]] Kris is on the other, going what one might describe as "hog wild on this baby beluga," wearing a light-up horn headband Dess just won that'll burn out in a day. Next to Kris is Asriel, [[who is dutifully turning the plastic table without showing off,->rm_apple_asrielGood]] although you know enough about him to know that he could kill it if he wanted to. The end result of this [[fruity table chaos->rm_apple_chaos]] is that your rickety fairground apple-go-round is spinning like top that is being spun by a really big, strong guy. Just a huge fella. Gargantuan! Except it's //actually not a big dude at all!// It's you and your awesome sister and her nice notaboyfriend and [[scary->rm_apple_scaryKris]] awesome Kris. That's really [[stopThatNoelle<-badass.]] The machine clanks loudly. Brakes hiss. The ride is coming to an end. Kris and Dess keep trying to turn the table anyway, and even get the thing moving a few inches before some failsafe triggers and the apple comes to a full stop. Every festival year, this is the secret best ride. But this year is going to be different... [[DISEMBARK APPLE->rm_festival_entrance]]

TO BE CLEAR YOU'D NEVER SAY THAT WORD OUT LOUD YOU KNOW IT'S A BAD WORD AND GOOD GIRLS DO NOT USE BAD WORDS, AND LOGICALLY SINCE GOOD GIRLS IS A STATUS THAT INCLUDES YOU, YOU CANNOT USE THOSE WORDS (Even if Dess does. Which is //so unfair.)// [[Anyway, back to the apple.->rm_apple]]

Maybe that's overstating things. It's just a little chaos! [[RETURN TO APPLE->rm_apple]]

There was this girl in an art class that Dess was talking to. Dess thought they liked each other. The girl gave her a rainbow flag sticker, and it turned out to be a prank. Dess didn't say anything more about what happened. "That's fine. Girls or guys, I'm universally swagless," she said to you. You were sitting in her room listening to something angry, not talking, when she finally talked. You know she wanted you to laugh, so you did. You didn't feel happy, though. [[RETURN TO APPLE->rm_apple]]

Not really scary. More like those theme park haunted houses where the ghosts are all laughing. You crouch in the cart as it rolls past the scares. All in good fun. You loved that one from a few years ago, the Ghostly Theater. There was this hunched over ghoul in the waiting room, an animatronic, playing a pipe organ and spouting lines that you knew were recorded. You //knew// it was a ride, just a joke, just...playing around. Kris is like that. Sometimes they're a little scary. Just a little. Then you laugh with them--the joke's on you a bit, sure, except it's also on Kris for bothering to do it in the first place. Kris is a good person, even if they're a little...weird. So are you. So's Dess and so's Asriel. Weird people need each other. [[RETURN TO APPLE->rm_apple]]

Asriel and Dess are not dating, which has to be true because both of them don't stop saying so. This is apparently how relationships work? It doesn't make much sense right now. Probably one of those things you'll get eventually. Still, you don't know //why// they're not dating. It's hard to ignore the way they look at each other. Once, when Mom had Mrs. Dreemurr over for grown-up drinks, the two of them caught Asriel and Dess coming downstairs from her room. They weren't even doing anything weird! But Mom just looked at Mrs. Dreemurr and Mrs. Dreemurr looked back and they both started laughing and laughing. You thought Dess might die of embarassment! [[RETURN TO APPLE->rm_apple]]

You're a little dizzy as you step out of the apple. Your hoof hits one of the stairs oddly, you feel yourself [[rm_festival_entrance_falling<-falling]]-- "EEP!" --only to feel hands catch the collar of your sweater. Dess. Your head is still spinning. She helps you down. Holds your hand to steady you. The four of you exit the ride area and go back into the festival proper. Everybody immediately starts arguing over what to do first. You're just happy to be here with everybody, which means you're stuck being the tiebreaker. [[WELCOME TO FESTIVAL->rm_festival]]

FEELS FAMILIAR :) DON'T IT :) [[GO BACK->rm_festival_entrance]]

Smells like fried dough. Everybody is busy and loud. You can see [[teachers->rm_festival_teachers]], [[classmates->rm_festival_classmates]][[,->THEREISNOGIRLHERE]] and all kinds of walking around the festival. The moon is an apple-white slice. Two stands play the same songs at different points of time, a radio hit from last month that Dess wasn't too cool to enjoy. By the way, [[rm_festival_dessapplechoice578<-your sister doesn't get to make a choice this time]]. It's all you. The rides: [[GO TO APPLE AGAIN (DESS'S CHOICE, INACCESSIBLE)->CantGoBack]] [[rm_festival_bigslide<-GO TO BIG SLIDE (ASRIEL'S CHOICE)]] [[GO TO CAROUSEL (NOELLE'S CHOICE)->rm_carousel]] [[GO TO FERRIS WHEEL (KRIS'S CHOICE, POINT OF NO RETURN)->rm_ferriswheel]]

Look! It's all of your classmates! There's Jockington and there's Catti and there's Monster Kid and there's Temmie and therrre's everyone's favorite characterrrrr Snnowy and and there''s ◼◼◼◼◼◼ The gang's al\l here! You say hi. ◼◼◼◼◼◼ says "LOREM IPSUM DOCET." What a smile wha a smile! You just gotta ho`wl! ◼◼◼◼◼◼ says you shouldn't have done that with the pillow. Everyone SCREAMS with laughter! [[AND WE ALL FLOAT ON ALL RIGHT->rm_festival]]

What was that? Did you see that, out of the corner of your eye? Tall and dark in the crowd. Sharp teeth. No, there was no one. It was only your imagination. [[No, we won't think about her anymore.->rm_festival]]

Mr. Boom and Mrs. Dreemurr wave from a nearby booth. They're raising money from the school. Mr. Boom looks kinda tired, but his smile is always nice to see. [[RETURN TO FESTIVAL->rm_festival]]

She already picked the apple ride earlier. This took place before we started the DT_extractor, so the data is inaccessible. I'm sorry about that; all of those dream_traces are real messed up. I'm doing the best I can, I promise. Sorry. [[MEH WHATEVER->rm_festival]]

The carousel of the Hometown festival is lined with pink and golden lights. The beasts circle the center going up and down, impaled by great metal posts that force them to churn in an endless circle. Is this really where you wanted to go? Why is the carousel making you sad? Kris rides the pony ahead of you, flailing a balloon sword in your direction. It's a shame you don't have a weapon. You fish around in your pocket, find the cheap glow-in-the-dark ring you picked up from a game earlier in the night and pose as you slip it on. [["Freeze ring,"->ha.]] you tell Kris solemnly. A motor kicks on with a loud clank. The painted ponies begin to move. [[rm_carousel_ride<-PIP PIP RIDE THE CAROUSEL GAME]]

What are you talking about? You already rode the apple. Pick one of the other ones. I'll even let you replay //those// if you want. Just move on. You can't go back. [[GO TO FESTIVAL->rm_festival_false1]]

Smells like fried glass. Everybody is busy and loud. You can see [[teachers->rm_festival_teachers]], [[classmates->rm_festival_classmates]][[,->THEREISNOGIRLHERE]] and all kinds of walking around the festival. The moon is an apple-white slice. Two stands play the same songs at different points of time, a radio hit from last month that Dess wasn't too cool to enjoy. By the way, [[rm_festival_dessapplechoice578<-your sister doesn't get to make a choice this time]]. It's alllllllllll youuuuuuu. The rides: [[GO TO APPLE AGAIN (DESS'S CHOICE, INACCESSIBLE)->CantGoBack2]] [[rm_festival_bigslide<-GO TO BIG SLIDE (ASRIEL'S CHOICE)]] [[GO TO CAROUSEL (NOELLE'S CHOICE)->rm_carousel]] [[GO TO FERRIS WHEEL (KRIS'S CHOICE, POINT OF NO RETURN)->rm_ferriswheel]]

The apple-go-round smells like rot. You squeeze into its cramped chairs, feel the rotten fruit give beneath you. Dess is on one side. [[She isn't moving. She isn't moving, why isn't she moving.->rm_apple_dessdumpedROTTEN]] Kris is on the other side, slumped over the table in the center of the ride. They aren't moving either. Their skin is the pale blue of a corpse. Next to Kris is [[a hole in the world where a brother once was.->rm_apple_asrielGoodROTTEN]] [[This rotted fruit of hell->rm_apple_chaos_ROTTEN]] won't stop spinning. You can hear the worms wriggling in the walls. You begin to cry. No one notices. You begin to scream. No one notices. You can hear [[Kris sobbing gently, face-down on the table->rm_apple_scaryKrisROTTEN]] [[What is wrong with you, exactly?->stopThatNoelleROTTEN]] It dawns on you now that the rotting apple is going to collapse on you. You are going to be buried in the rot. The ride is coming to an end. Every festival year, this is the secret best ride. Year after year after year after year forever and ever, Amen. [[ANGEL IN HER HEAVEN AND ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD->rm_festival_reentrance]]

There was this girl in an art class that Dess was talking to. Dess thought they liked each other. The girl gave her a rainbow flag sticker, and it turned out to be a prank. Dess didn't say anything more about what happened. Before she abandoned you, she was abandoned too. Better not to think about what happened to her, in the end. [[RETURN TO APPLE->rm_rotten_apple]]

make it stop [[RETURN TO APPLE->rm_rotten_apple]]

IN DREAMS, YOUR MIND ALL OF, THE TIME [[LORD THOU PLUCKEST ME OUT->endingAAchieved]]

Check it out: this is DA BIG SLIDE. You can tell because of the giant plastic balloon-lettering at the top of the structure, which explains its purpose with the words "DA BIG SLIDE." Azzy has always, since you and Kris were very little, insisted on boarding da slide. Even when Dess started talking about how lame it was, that it took like five seconds, that racing somebody on da slide was dumb because there was no strategy involved, Azzy stood firm. Dis is da big slide, boss, and you are going to ride it with Azzy. [[CLIMB DA BIG SLIDE STAIRS->rm_festival_bigslidestairs]]

Then, at last, the moment we're all waiting for: the ferris wheel. Kris picked it. You wonder in the line--[[there's such a line->ferris_line]]--if they picked it because they knew you were scared of the things. Then again, you're scared of everything, aren't you, Noelle? Are you sure they did it to torment you? Or are you merely easy to torment? You probably can't hear me, although I'm sure [[helloAudience<-someone is listening.]] Dess and Azzy debate whether to share a cart with you and Kris, decide against it without telling either of you why. [[Same as it ever was.->beingAChild]] A cart lowers. People leave it. Kris offers their hand. You take it. You walk into the cart. [[GIVE YOURSELF TO THE AMUSEMENT MACHINE->rm_ferriswheel_time]]

[[ha.->rm_carousel]]

"Let's ride," you whisper to your beautiful steed, [[Epwna.->regretNothing]] Her plastic is a little dirty in the flashing lights, but the details of the paint job are rather fine. You suddenly think, for one of the first times in your life, about the fact that almost everything around you has been crafted by someone with their own lives and interests. Your nemesis, the Blue Knight Kris, raises high their gleaming blade. You raise your arms like the wizard mouse from the old cartoon and blast 'em. This goes on for a while, it's a pretty good time. There's an old mechanical band in the center of this vintage carousel. Cymbals are clashing, drums are beating, there's an automatic glockenspiel. Magic is real here, and everything is exactly just like you always wanted. [[THEN THERE'S A SOUND->rm_carousel_friendlaugh]]

[[awesome.->rm_carousel_ride]]

It wasn't a laugh so much as a parody of one. Came from the mechanical band. You and Kris heard it. Did Dess? Did Azzy? Neither told you. Deep shuddering animal brain fear took you for a moment. The lights flickered in that moment. You looked into Kris's eyes (how oddly they gleamed red in the dark) and saw your own horror in them too, perhaps even worse. They flailed in the air with their balloon sword, swung at the air again and again, and you could hear the laugh echoing on the air, the laugh that no one noticed except for the two of you. Kris lunged with their balloon and fell flat on the bed of the carousel. Then, very slowly, they gave a thumbs-up. The carousel kept moving. This was a funny moment, actually. You used to laugh about it with them. You used to think it was really funny, for a while. [[RETURN TO FESTIVAL->rm_festival]]

To ascend to the slide entrance (the Slide Mouth, in Slide Enthusiast Parlance), one must climb a set of rickety metal stairs that go up the slide. This is, to you, the most exciting part of the ride because it actually offers up a little tension. But Azzy is smiling ear to ear, and now so is Dess and so is Kris and so are you. Azzy's not worried about grades or track, not worried about being a good big brother to the only human in Hometown, not even worried about Dess. He's got one concern, and that concern is a gigantic slide that he's way, way too big for these days. At the top of the stairs are a few nasty sacks. You've got to tuck your legs into one and ride it down or you'll just get suck.. Such is the way of DA BIG SLIDE. [[GRAB THE NASTY SACK->rm_festival_bigslideWHEEEE]]

You forget every bad thing you thought about the slide while walking up the stairs. For about two seconds, you soar through the air like a winged thing. You voice your approval of this experience: "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Azzy is right about it every year. Da Big Slide rules. On Da Big Slide, you don't have a single worry. But now it's time to [[RETURN TO THE FESTIVAL->rm_festival]]

One cart comes down, the next group loads in. Another cart comes down, the next group loads in. [[FERRIS WHEEL->rm_ferriswheel]]

[[rm_ferriswheel<-Hello there.]]

You climb the rusty steps of the ferris wheel carriage and seat yourself across from Kris. The carriage shakes. The wheel rises. You look out at the crowd. December is staring at the stars. Asriel is pretending not to stare at December. You climb higher. Kris slumps over. Their messy hair shrouds their eyes. The red horns on their headband flash on and off. Red light on a green sweater. Unmoving Krismas. Not looking at the crowds below as they grow ever smaller, ever farther away. The carriage takes you higher. You reach into your pocket and touch your plastic ring. You think about slipping it on. Instead you just worry it with your fingers. The ring has gotten sweaty now. The carriage takes you higher. [[AND HIGHER->rm_ferriswheel_higher]]

This can't be right. The ferris wheel can't go this high. And yet the machine moves. Your carriage shakes and shudders under the cold high winds of night. Below, the forest is changing color. The leaves are withering. August becomes a golden autumn. The trees turn skeletal. Fingerbone branches. [[Kris stands up.->no no no no no no no no no]] The carriage rocks as they move. You want to tell them that they're not //allowed// to stand up, to tell them that it isn't safe for either of you to stand. However, you cannot move. You cannot stop looking at them. [[YOU->rm_ferriswheel_theireyes]] [[LOOK->rm_ferriswheel_theireyes]] [[INTO->rm_ferriswheel_theireyes]] [[THEIR->rm_ferriswheel_theireyes]] [[EYES->rm_ferriswheel_theireyes]]

Being a child is an interesting experience because you get to have thoughts and feelings while simultaneously not getting to be seen as a real person, even by those in your life who are not that older than you. [[FERRIS WHEEL->rm_ferriswheel]]

[[no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no->rm_ferriswheel_higher]]

Their stare is a pin impaling a butterfly. You are paralyzed. Kris sways back and forth in the carriage like a flower in the wind. The swaying turns to a lurch. The carriage is shaking. A layer of sweat forms on Kris's skin. You are paralyzed. Kris slams themself bodily into the side of the carriage. You are at the top of the ferris wheel. The world below is so distant that it may as well not exist. Kris slams their body against the side of the carriage again, and then [[AND THEN->endingBStart]]

t h e i r h e a d c o m e s o f f. [[PROCEED->endingBCont]]

there's an absurd popping noise when their head comes off. there is no blood. it would be better if there //was// blood, if they didn't look like plasticine now. in the place where their head is supposed to be is a hovering RED HEART-SHAPED OBJECT. and it is looking at you. kris's body rocks and slams and now the carriage is moving too fast, swinging too hard. for a moment you manage to tear yourself away from staring into the OBJECT and look at the ground. kris's head rolls obscenely across the floor, slams into your legs, slams into their own legs. you realize with a twinge of nausea that their head is looking at you. their is an apology in their eyes but //they cannot speak.// [[PROCEED->endingBCont2]]

One last body slam against the side of the carriage. Everything turns over. You are in the air. Kris's body is in the air. Kris's head is in the air. You are all in the air, falling faster and faster, and no one--not Dess, not Azzy, no one at all--can catch you. Everyone is gone forever. You will plummet through dark eternities in utter solitude, and it is all your fault. [[CONGRATULATIONS->endingBAchieved]]

ENDING B ACHIEVED. YOU DID A GOOD JOB. YOU MAY RETURN TO THE MAIN DOCUMENT.

ENDING A ACHIEVED. YOU DID A BAD JOB. YOU MAY RETURN TO THE MAIN DOCUMENT.

What are you talking about? You already rode the apple. Pick one of the other ones. I'll even let you replay //those// if you want. Just move on. You can't go back. What are you trying to accomplish? [[GO TO FESTIVAL->rm_festival_false2]]

Smells like fried dough. Everybody is busy and loud. You can see [[teachers->rm_festival_teachers]], [[classmates->rm_festival_classmates]][[,->THEREISNOGIRLHERE]] and all kinds of walking around the festival. The moon is an apple-white slice. Two stands play the same songs at different points of time, a radio hit from last month that Dess wasn't too cool to enjoy. By the way, [[rm_festival_dessapplechoice578<-your sister doesn't get to make a choice this time]]. It's all you. The rides: [[GO TO APPLE AGAIN (DESS'S CHOICE, INACCESSIBLE)->CantGoBack3]] [[rm_festival_bigslide<-GO TO BIG SLIDE (ASRIEL'S CHOICE)]] [[GO TO CAROUSEL (NOELLE'S CHOICE)->rm_carousel]] [[GO TO FERRIS WHEEL (KRIS'S CHOICE, POINT OF NO RETURN)->rm_ferriswheel]]

What are you talking about? You already rode the apple. Pick one of the other ones. I'll even let you replay //those// if you want. Just move on. You can't go back. Who do you think you are? [[GO TO FESTIVAL->rm_festival_false3]]

Smells like fried dough. Everybody is busy and loud. You can see [[teachers->rm_festival_teachers]], [[classmates->rm_festival_classmates]][[,->THEREISNOGIRLHERE]] and all kinds of walking around the festival. The moon is an apple-white slice. Two stands play the same songs at different points of time, a radio hit from last month that Dess wasn't too cool to enjoy. Do you really think you can see in the dark? The rides: [[GO TO APPLE AGAIN (DESS'S CHOICE, INACCESSIBLE)->CantGoBack4]] [[rm_festival_bigslide<-GO TO BIG SLIDE (ASRIEL'S CHOICE)]] [[GO TO CAROUSEL (NOELLE'S CHOICE)->rm_carousel]] [[GO TO FERRIS WHEEL (KRIS'S CHOICE, POINT OF NO RETURN)->rm_ferriswheel]]

YOU DECIDED TO GO [[BACK->rm_rotten_apple]]

Asriel and Dess were deeply in love. Everyone could see it. No one got to be happy. When you... When Azzy died, you saw a unique look on Kris's face: total abject surrender. A loss so complete that it shattered them for the rest of their brief life. And the worst part of it, the part that makes you queasiest, is what you thought at that moment: //Good. You understand my hurt. You finally suffer like I suffer.// Pretty sick stuff, Noelle. You will never make up for any of it. [[RETURN TO APPLE->rm_rotten_apple]]

Kris was never quiet, despite their reputation. Their actions were loud, their words were both carefully chosen and often laugh-out-loud funny. When you noticed that something was wrong, why didn't you act? You froze like a deer in the headlights. Now look at them, sobbing in silence, face pressed against the decaying central table of the apple. Maybe that's what happens to weird kids. Maybe they all just break. Maybe we all can only break. [[RETURN TO APPLE->rm_rotten_apple]]

WELL YOU'RE A MURDERER AND A LIAR AND A DEMON WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO START WITH [[i'm sorry->rm_rotten_apple]]