{
(track: 'palemoonlight', 'loop', true)
(track: 'palemoonlight', 'playwhenpossible')
}
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Hello, darling."
She takes a long draw from her cigarette, then allows the smoke to escape. It smells sweet, like strawberries and woodsmoke.
"That little seal was cute but it really isn't up to snuff if you want to keep a lady like me from her prize."
1. [[Who are you?]]
2. [[What seal?]]
3. [[What do you want?]]
4. [[I want to go back.]]
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Oh phooey, sweetheart. You know who I am. Cut the deck and pull from the middle. Turn it over. Is this your card? Yes, yes I am."
She laughs and it is light and intoxicating, like the crystal shards of a chandelier tinkling together in a smoky ballroom.
1. [[You didn't answer my question]].
2. [[Fine, be as vague as you'd like->Start]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"The 'secret seal of King Solomon'. Old-school apotropaics. You know, warding magic. Good enough for the little fish, but babydoll, I'm a shark."
A smile creeps up the side of her mouth and reveals milk-white teeth, sharp as the points of a star.
1. [[Are you here to hurt me?]]
2. [[Are you here to help me?]]
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"You were having so much fun poking about and I wanted to join. Are you gonna deny a gal her fun?"
She giggles and taps her fingers on the table in sequence, from pinky to index.
"Now, I want to talk with you about what you were just reading about."
1. [[Entheogens?->yesentheogens]].
2. [[Dreams?]]
3. [[Crackpot Professors?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"You're a real party-pooper, aren't you, hun? That's okay. I like all types. Go ahead, hit the back button on this tab. I'll be waiting for you when you come back."
1. [[I'm back]].<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Welcome back, sweetheart. I knew you couldn't stay away. Shall we continue?"
1. [[Let's continue->Start]].<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
Her grin stretches into a crescent moon.
"I'm the urge you get to have just //one more bite//. I'm the cigarette you have after sex. I'm the shadow in your gut that you never quite digested."
She pulls a deck of cards from nowhere and then begins to shuffle them like a poker pro. Slowly but surely, she deals you card after card. As they flip past, you notice that this isn't a standard deck of playing cards. No jack or joker to be found.
The Magician, the Hierophant, the Sun, the Chariot. The cards hit the table and then turn to ash in seconds. Finally, she reaches the last card in the deck. She places it face down and slides it over to you.
1. [[Turn it over]].
2. [[Nevermind, I don't want to know]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
The card reads: "(text-colour:red)[THE DEVIL]"
She giggles and licks her lips.
1. [[You mean like...Satan?]]
2. [[Ask something else->Start]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
She shrugs.
"Suit yourself. You asked, hun."
1. [[Continue->Start]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"If I am, then its only because you lot made me that way."
She takes another long drag on her cigarette and keeps it clenched between her lips as her starry eyes flash at you.
"Thought and form, form from thought."
1. [[Form from thought?]]
2. [[Ask something else->Start]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"If you ask real nice, I might."
She laughs and smiles widely, no sign of bluffing in her eyes.
"But I'm not your enemy if that's what you mean. At least not tonight, sweetheart."
1. [[Can you please hurt me?]]
2. [[Let's be friends]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Well, hun, that will depend on you."
She smiles at you broadly.
"Do you want my help?"
1. [[Yes please->yeshelp]].
2. [[No thank you->nohelp]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Gosh, I love it when you're polite."
She smiles like cat who is holding a mouse by its tail.
"Now, I want to talk with you about what you were just reading about, okay hun?"
1. [[Entheogens?->yesentheogens]]
2. [[Dreams?]]
3. [[Crackpot Professors?]]
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"That professor dame has got it right. Entheogens //are// dangerous."
She stares into her champagne glass for a few seconds, then her starry eyes flash back up to you. Her lips purse into a sultry pout.
"But you like danger, don't you?"
1. [[I like danger]].
2. [[I prefer to play it safe]].<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Well, aren't you just a wet towel..."
She takes a sip from her champagne flute.
"At least you were polite about it. If you don't need me, then you can just scurry off back to where you came from, hun. The back button is right there."
1. [[I changed my mind. Please help.->yeshelp]]
2. [[I'll be fine on my own]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
She grins.
"You've got a screw loose, honey. Just my type. But there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now I want to talk with you about the topic you were just reading about."
1. [[Entheogens?->yesentheogens]]
2. [[Dreams?]]
3. [[Crackpot Professors?]]
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Good. Very obedient."
She folds her hands into steeples and taps her pinky fingers against each other.
"Now I want to talk with you about the topic you were just reading about."
1. [[Entheogens?->yesentheogens]]
2. [[Dreams?]]
3. [[Crackpot Professors?]]
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Mm, yes, we just love to trip the light fantastic, don't we?"
She wiggles her fingers in the air with playful mock drama.
"But I love dreams too, sweetheart. Dreams are how someone like me gets real snug with someone like you."
1. [[Am I dreaming right now?]]
2. [[Are you a nightmare?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
She giggles.
"Ain't she a sweetheart? I love visiting her. Very few people have looked at us like she does. It's a little flattering, having a spotlight. Look at me, baby. Don't I have a face for the silver screen?"
1. [[Yes, you do]].
2. [[No, you are repulsive]].
3. [[No comment]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Flattery will get you everywhere, sweetheart."
She traces her fingers along your arm and you notice that her nails are sharp like talons, even through her elbow-length black velvet gloves.
"Now back to the topic at hand."
1. [[Entheogens?->yesentheogens]]
2. [[Dreams?]]
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Good boys and good girls don't tell lies, honey."
She swirls the champagne in her glass and it sparkles like diamonds.
"Now back to the topic at hand."
1. [[Entheogens?->yesentheogens]]
2. [[Dreams?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Silence says everything, babydoll," she says, winking slyly at you.
"Now back to the topic at hand."
1. [[Entheogens?->yesentheogens]]
2. [[Dreams?]]
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"No one ever is. But you can learn that the hard way if you want."
She sighs dramatically, clearing enjoying playing the diva for you.
"I'll be right here when you come back. Now scram."
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Mhmm. I have a fancy coat of paint, but I'm not taking my morning bath in Hellfire. No scent of brimstone on me, sweetheart. Lean close and take a sniff if you want."
She traces one taloned fingernail along your collarbone.
"I am what you make me. So make me happy, babydoll."
1. [[Ask something else->Start]].
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Mmm, how very brave of you, sweetheart."
She takes another drag from her cigarette.
"But that professor warned you against a very specific entheogen, didn't she? Starts with 'A', ends with 'A'. Well let me give you some advice. The //aya// part means spirit, sure. But it also translates to (text-colour:red)[//corpse//]."
She taps her fingers on the wood grain of the table and scrutinizes you for a moment.
"What are you thinking, hun? That this advice conflicts with my motives?"
1. [[Aren't you the sort of entity that benefits from people using entheogens?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Mmm, how smart you are. But every once in a while, you don't get a choice on when to play it safe. Sometimes you just have to cut a rug. Dance with the devil. You know how it is."
She takes another drag from her cigarette.
"But that professor warned you against a very specific entheogen, didn't she? Starts with 'A', ends with 'A'. Well let me give you some advice. The //aya// part means spirit, sure. But it also translates to (text-colour:red)[//corpse//]."
She taps her fingers on the wood grain of the table and scrutinizes you for a moment.
"What are you thinking, hun? That this advice conflicts with my motives?"
1. [[Aren't you the sort of entity that benefits from people using entheogens?]]
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Yes."
She smiles softly.
"But honey, I am one Hell of a jealous lover. Entheogens open that front door wide open and sweetheart, I want to be the only one holding the key."
She traces her finger along the dust that lines the table.
"So can you make me a promise, hun? No ayahuasca. It's to your benefit too. There are far worse things than me out there."
1. [[I promise]].
2. [[No promises]].<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Disappointing."
She leans away from the table and motions to a waiter that isn't there.
"Your time is up, doll. Beat it."<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Mmm," she says, purring. "Look how good you are."
She pours you a glass of champagne.
"Now, was there anything else you needed from me, honey?"
1. [[On the topic of dreams...->Dreams?]]
2. [[About the professor...->Crackpot Professors?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Nonsense, honey."
She pinches the back of your hand lightly.
"See? Wide awake."
1. [[Are you sure you aren't a nightmare?]]
2. [[Then what is happening right now?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
She laughs, light and airy.
"No, that ain't up to me. You get to pick."
She leans in and lowers her voice conspiratorially.
"So, what am I, hun? A good dream? A bad dream? A wet dream?"
She pauses, letting your face turn bright red. Then she leans back and cackles.
"Gosh, you're fun to tease."
1. [[If this isn't a nightmare, then what is happening right now?->Then what is happening right now?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"I'm talking to you. But these things are complicated. Pathways, roads, rivers, and estuaries are being rewritten. Brand new synapses firing. So your brain's making sense of it the only way it knows how. Pull the wool down and make the puzzle pieces click together, y'know?"
She taps her temple with her pinky finger.
"No going back now, dollface."
1. [[What happens now?]]
2. [[No going back?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
She laughs, light and airy.
"I'm sure. That ain't up to me. You get to pick."
She leans in and lowers her voice conspiratorially.
"So, what am I, hun? A good dream? A bad dream? A wet dream?"
She pauses, letting your face turn bright red. Then she leans back and cackles.
"Gosh, you're fun to tease."
1. [[If this isn't a nightmare, then what is happening right now?->Then what is happening right now?]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"Now, you'll go on with your life. Maybe you'll go back to Kitty-Kat's little haven. Maybe you'll walk away entirely. But the pathway has been carved. Can't be undone."
She smiles.
"We'll see each other again. You might not recognize me, but..."
She uses her index finger to tap your forehead with each word.
(text-colour:red)["I'll"
"Know"
"You."]
She stubs her cigarette out and the room goes dark around you.
"Sweet dreams."<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Mluggy.gif">
"She warned you. When you entered the site, she warned you."
She smirks and pours you another glass of champagne.
"Think of it like this, hun. Say you're building yourself a road. You get all that sweaty hard work done and then stand there, satisfied. Its a pretty solid road. It'll stand the test of time. Now you can use that road any time you want. But here's the part that the road builder understands that you do not."
She traces one sharp finger across your knuckles.
"Other cars can use it too."
She finishes her own glass of champagne and licks her lips.
"Beep, beep, honey."
1. [[So what happens now?->What happens now?]]palemoonlight:https://files.catbox.moe/21jgmj.mp3
(text-colour:cyan)[[[//Take it from the top, hun?//|Start]]]