# nvl chara defs (in case there's more than one i guess?)
define nvlnarrator = Character(None, what_outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)], kind=nvl, line_spacing=0)
define nvlred = Character(None, what_color = "#ff0000", what_outlines= [( 2, "#bb0000", 0, 0)], kind=nvl, line_spacing=0)

# adv chara defs
define advnarratorslow = Character(None, what_outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)], what_slow_cps=15, kind=adv)
define advnarrator = Character(None, what_outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)], kind=adv)

define incidental = Character(None, what_prefix="「", what_suffix="」", what_outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)], what_slow_cps=22, kind=adv)

define null = Character(
    "NULL DATA; <name> is empty",
    color="#ff0000",
    outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)],
    
    what_prefix="「",
    what_suffix="」",
    what_outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)],
    
    what_slow_cps=22,
    kind=adv)

define irida = Character(
    "Irida",
    color="#df7c7c",
    outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)],
    
    what_prefix="「",
    what_suffix="」",
    what_outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)],
    
    what_slow_cps=22,
    kind=adv)

define combined = Character(
    "IRIDA",
    color="#ff0000",
    outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)],
    
    what_prefix="「",
    what_suffix="」",
    what_outlines= [( 2, "#000005", 0, 0)],
    
    what_slow_cps=22,
    kind=adv)

# chara displayables

layeredimage null boast:
    attribute base default
    group face auto:
        attribute smugopen default

layeredimage irida stiff:
    attribute base default
    group face auto:
        attribute stare default
    group clothing auto:
        attribute shirt default

image ol neutral = "ol_neutral"
image ol scared = "ol_scared"

# transforms
transform bouncetransition(duration=0.25):
    easeout(duration / 2) yoffset 5
    pause .1
    events False

    easein(duration / 2) yoffset 0
    events True

transform rightfar:
    xalign 1.40
    yalign 1.5

image noiseimg:
    "static_1"
    pause .03
    "static_2"
    pause .03
    "static_3"
    pause .03
    "static_4"
    pause .03
    repeat

image red = "#AF0000"

# misc... ??
define config.nearest_neighbor = True
default preferences.text_cps = 30
init python:
    renpy.music.register_channel("ambient", loop=True)

label static(duration=1.8):
    stop sound
    stop ambient
    stop music
    show noiseimg
    play sound static
    pause duration
    return

# scenes begin here
label start:
    jump prologue
    jump act1
    jump act2
    jump finale
    jump epilogue

label prologue:

    scene ceiling with fade
    play ambient base_noise1 volume 0.1

    nvlnarrator "My eyes widen suddenly, waking me as if I was dreaming, except my body doesn't have the energy to bolt up in shock.{w} The rest of my senses lag behind, so at first I'm not sure what has me wide
    awake so late at night."
    play sound heartbeat_single
    nvlnarrator "Soon I feel my head starting to pound.{w} At first it's only unpleasant, but after a short moment it feels like someone's holding a drill right to the center of my forehead."
    play sound heartbeat_single
    scene ceiling_red with vpunch
    nvlnarrator "My vision turns blood red.{w} The world becomes dizzying... I hold onto my bed like I'm bound to be thrown around by gravity..."
    nvlnarrator "Logically, I know it's just my body acting up, probably some kind of sickness, but when the whole world's twisting around me, all coated in red, I can't help but wonder if the world itself is
    writhing in pain, about to meet its end."
    play ambient heartbeat_strong
    nvlnarrator "Every second the feelings bathing my body become harder and harder to ignore.{w} The pain, once localized right at the center of my forehead, now feels more like a saw going through my head.{w}
    Is my brain splitting in half?"
    scene black with dissolve
    nvlnarrator "I turn, clutching my pillow to the sides of my head."

    nvl clear

    scene cg_meeting_empty with dissolve
    nvlnarrator "Turned to the side like this, my negligence stares back at me in full display by the way of the sheer state of disrepair I've left every inch of my apartment in.{w} But even now I can't bring myself to
    care. I get overwhelmed enough just making sure I'm home safe from work already..." 
    nvlnarrator "For a dead-end like me, a living situation like this is nothing short of suitable, though if whatever is troubling my body now happens to take my life, I'll definitely have wished to die with my
    sight set on something a bit more beautiful."
    scene cg_meeting_empty with dissolve
    stop ambient fadeout 1.0
    $renpy.pause(0.5)
    nvlnarrator "Time keeps passing.{w} The pain doesn't dull, but my awareness does.{w} After all, how long has it been since I've been staring out that window?"
    nvlnarrator "The unchanging nature of these walls starts messing with me...{w} Every once in a while I think I see something in the corner of my eyes, a bug, or sometimes something gross and fleshy, writhing
    and unreal.{w} A desperate fleeting thought makes me wonder if there's a monster hiding somewhere inside, causing me to be sick..."
    nvlnarrator "... but I think I'm much too boring to be the target of anything like that.{w} What fun is there in watching your target hide under her covers and her pillow until the pain ends?"
    nvl hide Dissolve(0.5)
    scene cg_meeting_empty with dissolve
    $renpy.pause(0.5)
    advnarratorslow "My perception of time continues, warped as it was."
    advnarratorslow "The wall writhes, every second more violent, in the corner of my eyes."
    advnarratorslow "There's a strange feeling to it..." 
    advnarratorslow "I've become desensitized to my own body, all while inhabiting it and feeling its pain."
    advnarratorslow "It feels like being encased in a cocoon."
    advnarratorslow "But it's just when I think I'm completely ready to dissociate that I see it."

    scene cg_meeting_peek with dissolve
    play music t1 fadein 1.0
    $renpy.pause(1)
    null "...... {w}Hello? {w}May I come in...?"
    advnarratorslow "At that point, I need to put in effort to regain perfect motor control."
    advnarratorslow "It takes me a second to ask her."
    advnarratorslow "At first, nothing comes out..."
    advnarratorslow "And then a vague, pained whimper."
    advnarratorslow "She looks concerned."
    null "Aha... {w}You're really not okay, huuh?"
    advnarratorslow "Finally, the words come out right."
    irida "Wー{w} Who are you... ?"
    null "You hesitated...{w} you wanted to ask 'what are you' instead, didn't you?"
    irida "Well..."
    scene cg_meeting_greet with dissolve
    $renpy.pause(2)
    advnarratorslow "Only now that she stands so clear in front of me that I stop to think about her appearance."
    advnarratorslow "I couldn't tell if this girl really was glowing, or if it could be just my imagination."
    advnarratorslow "The light radiating from her, along with her sudden emergence, gave her a very otherworldly presence."
    advnarratorslow "In that moment, there was something I found beautiful about it."
    null "Really, I don't know either!"
    null "But all I feel is that I'm happy to meet you..."
    null "And that somehow...{w} hm,{w} how should I put it?"
    advnarratorslow "Before she spoke, I could already tell what she meant."
    advnarratorslow "That even with this distance, this physical distance, between me and her..."
    advnarratorslow "It felt somehow like we were within each other."
    advnarratorslow "Now, somehow aware of how quickly I came to understand, she nods and smiles at me."
    null "It seems crazy, right?{w} Well, I think I must be inside you or something..."
    advnarratorslow "With this in mind, it's hard not to start connecting the dots."
    advnarratorslow "The pain, starting from my forehead."
    advnarratorslow "This girl's sudden appearance."
    advnarratorslow "The weird, grotesque details all over her..."
    advnarratorslow "Something must've entered my brain, right?"
    advnarratorslow "She must be the representation of some foreign thing in my brain..."
    irida "You're a parasite..."
    null "Hmm..."
    null "I guess that would kinda make sense, wouldn't it?"
    null "I guess that's what I am then!{w} A parasite..."
    null "Well...{w}If we're stuck like this, I hope we can still get along..."
    irida "......." 
    stop music fadeout 1.5
    scene black with Fade(2, 1, 0)
    extend " Parasite..."

label act1:
    nvl clear
    play ambient fanloop fadein 0.5
    scene black with Fade(0, 2, 0)

    nvl show Dissolve(0.5)
    nvlnarrator "I should've known from that moment that living like this would destroy my life."
    nvlnarrator "After all, it should've been obvious from her ghostly appearance.{w} She's a monster.{w} She's something that exists to haunt."
    play sound finger_snap volume 1.5
    scene ceiling with Fade(0, 0, 0.3)
    extend " Well, I had no choice, so I let this foreign presence haunt me for the rest of time."
    nvlnarrator "It's been more than a year now...{w} I can't remember the exact day. Time became hard to keep track of alongside everything else."
    nvlnarrator "The trash in the house just kept piling up worse and worse, as did everything else.{w} Things were always hard for me, sure, but never impossible.{w} Lately even the bare minimum has been
    impossible.{w} I'm living on borrowed time..."
    nvl hide Dissolve(0.2)

    null "Iridaaaa..." 

    nvl clear

    show null boast sohappy at right with dissolve
    extend " Wake uuuup!!!!"
    advnarrator "I feel that thing's finger poking my cheek."
    advnarrator "I know she's not physically there, but I still feel her..."
    advnarrator "This weird fleshy thing is staring right at my sleepy body."
    advnarrator "Seeing her at this angle, down from the comfort of my bed..."
    advnarrator "Being able to watch the shaky, noisy ceiling fan above her,{w} everything framed by the darkness and the trash thrown around the room..."
    advnarrator "She seems really weirdly imposing."
    advnarrator "I'm not exactly scared of her, but...{w} To say the least, this is not a calming first thing to see after waking up."
    advnarrator "Furthermore, to think someone like this could show herself to me anytime she feels like it..."
    advnarrator "Ahh, what a pain..."
    irida "You're so annoying.{w} Just give me a second..."
    show null boast annoyed at bouncetransition
    null "Give you a second?{w} Don't you know how late it is?!"
    advnarrator "I squint, staring right at the parasite in front of me."
    irida "...No??{w} Do you?"
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "Well, no, but..."
    show null boast annoyed at bouncetransition
    null "Don't you feel our tummy rumbling?{w} It's like nature's alarm clock..."
    show null boast pout at bouncetransition
    null "Our body needs foooooood..."
    show null boast annoyed at bouncetransition
    null "Nutrition is serious business, you know?{w} Take that body of ours seriously or you'll lose it!!"
    irida "Lose it, huh..."
    advnarrator "I exhale a bit...{w} I lost it the instant you became a part of it, didn't I?"
    show null boast pout at bouncetransition
    null ".{w}.{w}.{w} I hear you."
    irida "Whoops."
    hide null with dissolve
    nvl show Dissolve(0.5)
    nvlnarrator "Still, I suppose she's right.{w} Today was the day I set aside in my head to sign my severance agreement.{w} I can't be wasting too much time."
    nvlnarrator "Every time I think about it, it bothers me.{w} Just what year are we in that I have to haul my ass to an office to sign this kind of thing?{w} What reason could there even be to do something so
    inconvenient?"
    nvlnarrator "I guess the corporate ladder thrives off inconveniencing the people it leeches from.{w} Tire me out, lay me off, and then finally make it so I can't be bothered to get my dues, right?"
    nvlnarrator "Even at a time where things are at their most comfortable, these kinds of exploiters will find problems to create for people.{w} To inconvenience everyone, then sell them ways to stay stagnant and
    unflinching, hardly ever mustering up a thought of their own."
    nvlnarrator "...{w} The world is doomed.{w} I want to be taken away by catastrophe already."
    nvlnarrator "But I might as well live while I'm here."
    scene black with dissolve

    nvl clear

    nvlnarrator "Shrugging NULL off, I get up, making my way through the living room to get to the kitchen." 
    play sound waste_cans
    extend" Every step I take must be careful, lest I step on a trash bag or any other sort of
    bullshit thrown about."
    stop ambient fadeout 10
    nvlnarrator "Most common are the plastic cups all around, all of them still with a few drops of sweet drinks clinging to their rims.{w} Some were tucked inside various takeout and plastic bags, which were also
    thrown about in ample amounts."
    play sound waste_cans
    nvlnarrator "Everything that could be piled up is piled up.{w} There are a few pockets of trash that might as well be makeshift pillars.{w} Even in the rim of my own bed sits a pillar of filth."
    scene kitchen with dissolve
    nvlnarrator "I used to tell myself the day would come where I'd regain my energy and bring it all back to the way it should be, but by now I've accepted it...{w} I will die taking in these sights, and smelling this
    very stale moldy air."

    nvl clear

    nvlnarrator "I bend down and open a cupboard filled to the brim with canned food, immediately annoying NULL."
    nvlnarrator "At some point I stopped having it in me to cook every day,{w} and after that stopped having the energy to go out to eat.{w} So one day I just went and got myself a big stockpile of these
    cheap pieces of shit.{w} I think that was the last time I ever left the house."
    nvlnarrator "Well, NULL is a picky and annoying brat so it doesn't shock me how quickly she's become sick of eating canned food.{w} I suppose I would be too, if my survival instincts weren't so fried now."
    nvl hide Dissolve(0.1)

    show null boast annoyed with dissolve
    null "Are you fucking serious?!"
    irida "What? It's food, isn't it?"
    irida "Would you rather I go without eating entirely?{w} The pantry's looking pretty sad..."
    advnarrator "I gesture my hand towards the open cupboard."
    advnarrator "Just a glance inside makes it hard to argue against what I'm saying."
    advnarrator "Of course, that's by design though.{w} And the parasite knows as much."
    show null boast pissed at bouncetransition
    null "And whose fucking fault IS THAT, Irida?!"
    null "I've got half a mind to wipe that smug look off your face!!"
    show null boast annoyed at bouncetransition
    null "Acting so proud of staying malnourished..."
    null "As if you're not eating for two!!!!!"
    show null boast pout at bouncetransition
    null "Can't you show a little consideration?!"
    irida "Hmmm..."
    advnarrator "I deliberate...{w} But of course, no matter how much she protests, I'll probably never be happy to accomodate for her in my life."
    show null boast annoyed at bouncetransition
    null "You lazy, selfish fucking..."
    show null boast pissed at bouncetransition
    null "UGH!!!{nw}"
    hide null boast with dissolve
    nvl clear
    advnarrator "With a pissed off look, NULL disappears from my view."
    advnarrator "I wish she'd at least be a little less loud when she's upset."
    scene black with dissolve
    irida "......{w} Huh?"
    advnarrator "I start to feel something wet and writhing wrapping itself around my arms."
    advnarrator "No...{w} Not this...{w} Anything but this."
    advnarrator "The can I was holding is unceremoniously dropped onto the floor,"
    # impact sound
    extend " making a loud metallic sound upon impact."
    advnarrator "Looking down at my hands, I can see..."

    scene cg_takeover_hands with dissolve
    play music evil fadein 4.0
    advnarrator "Entrails coil around both my arms, wrapped tightly into helixes."
    advnarrator "I know well by now they're just in my mind, but still...{w} I feel them."
    advnarrator "They're disgusting, alive, the feeling is all too convincing, it's so wet, and it won't stop pulsating."
    advnarrator "I feel it all shifting up and down, sometimes wrapping tighter, eventually letting go."
    advnarrator "It grosses me out like nothing else in the world..."
    advnarrator "If I focus on it much longer, I'll get dizzy and pass out."
    advnarrator "I don't want this,{w} I don't want this,{w} I never wanted this..."
    irida "Please...{w} don't..."
    advnarrator "An annoying voice echoes in my mind."
    null "But how could I not?{w} If you're not gonna take care of us, it's all up to me, isn't it?!"
    advnarrator "My connection to my body becomes fuzzy."
    scene black with dissolve
    advnarrator "I've been cut off.{w} I lost control..."
    null "Hmhmmm..."
    advnarrator "NULL inspects herself all around, adjusting to our body."
    advnarrator "She wiggles our fingers and closes our hands."
    advnarrator "And then, satisfied, "
    play sound refrigerater3open
    play ambient fridge_hum fadein 1.0
    extend "she opens the fridge, pouncing on it like a predator."
    play sound refrigerater4open
    advnarrator "The contents of the fridge bounce around noisily, though there isn't much inside anymore beyond drinks and frozen goods."
    advnarrator "It's an irritating cacophony, but without controlling my own body I can't cover my ears.{w} I can't even wince."
    play sound refrigerater2open
    advnarrator "She flings the door to the freezer open, once again making the fridge sing its symphony."
    null "There it is!{w} My favorite..."
    show irida stiff shock at left with dissolve
    irida "D-{w} Do not, make us eat that...{w} please..."
    show null boast creep at right with dissolve
    null "But just think about all the protein we're lacking!!{w} You'll thank me later, I know it!!!"
    hide irida stiff
    hide null boast
    with dissolve
    play sound crinkle
    stop ambient fadeout 5.0
    advnarrator "Roughly, without a hint of hesitation, NULL takes a bag and tears at it with our nails."
    advnarrator "Inside, protected only by a thin plastic that will soon be torn apart, are a few cuts of uncooked steak."
    advnarrator "Despite not being in control I feel all that she does as if it happened to me, although faintly."
    play sound crinkle
    advnarrator "The plastic keeps getting caught on our fingertips, but she seems not to mind the feeling, not letting it stop her from tearing."
    advnarrator "But even from the outside looking in I can feel it hurting."
    advnarrator "I sit on the outside, unable to stop her from hurting me, forced to watch and, at most, powerlessly beg."
    advnarrator "And the worst has yet to come."
    null "Ahaha, here it is..."
    advnarrator "Having perforated a decent hole onto the plastic, NULL finally pulls one of the cuts of meat out of the bag."
    null "Aahh, I've wanted some good food for so long..."
    show irida stiff shock at right with dissolve
    irida "Please, if you r-{w} really want to take over..."
    show irida stiff nervous at bouncetransition
    irida "You could at least take the time to cook it, right?"
    null "Hmmm...{w} oh, but don't you see how good it looks already?{w} Who has the time, right?"
    show irida stiff megashock
    irida "Please, waitー{nw}"
    hide irida with dissolve
    advnarrator "Not paying any mind to what I say, NULL sinks our teeth into the uncooked meat."
    advnarrator "Like I said, I feel it all as if I was still in the pilot's seat."
    advnarrator "It's disgusting..."
    advnarrator "It's too soft, I feel it resisting under my teeth, forcing them back."
    advnarrator "But NULL pulls with force, making the resisting pullback from the uncooked chunk even fiercer."
    advnarrator "I can feel bits tearing apart while others remain, strung thin from NULL's bite."
    advnarrator "Fibers catch on my teeth, not completely unlike the plastic getting stuck on our fingers."
    advnarrator "Her bite is fierce, so it's only natural some would get caught in between."
    advnarrator "I feel our teeth sinking down to the point our gums touch the meat..."
    advnarrator "And I see her pulling, stretching the meat thin."
    advnarrator "I hate meat...{w} I hate anything alive..."
    advnarrator "How disgusting, to think I'm made of things like this."
    advnarrator "NULL always reminds me of that fact, and it makes me want to die."
    null "Rhhggh..."
    advnarrator "She snarls, pulling a large chunk apart, barely chewing before forcing it down our throats with a swallow."
    advnarrator "When she pulls like that, it feels like our teeth are mere moments from being torn off our mouths."
    advnarrator "I want to cower in pain and scream but I can't do a single thing now."
    advnarrator "I wouldn't wish this on anyone..."

    scene kitchenfloor with Fade(0, 0.5, 2)
    advnarrator "In the end, she only manages to swallow three chunks of raw beef."
    advnarrator "I feel countless beads of sweat sticking to our skin, but still I can't tell if she got tired or simply satisfied."
    advnarrator "That girl wouldn't let something like physical fatigue get in her way."
    advnarrator "...{w} Yeah, I guess she would only stop if she was satisfied after all."
    show null boast sohappy at right with dissolve
    nvl clear
    null "There!!{w} That should be plenty of nutrients for the day, right?"
    show null boast surprise at bouncetransition
    null "... Oh, that doesn't feel good."
    irida "Huh?"

    play sound knocking_a_wall
    pause 1.5

    nvl show Dissolve(0.5)
    nvlnarrator "Suddenly thrust back into my body, I fall to my knees."
    hide null boast with dissolve
    extend " At first I'm only disoriented, but the impact of my knees hitting the floor leaves me aware again."
    nvlnarrator "I glance down.{w} I glance down because my stomach feels heavy, and the room feels like it's shaking.{w} There's a burning, not quite in my throat, but threatening to reach it, inching closer by the
    second, making it feel hard to breathe."
    nvlnarrator "I sweat, even more than I already was, pulling as much air as I can with each loud breath I take.{w} I'd love to cuss out NULL right now, more than anything I'd love to tell her off, but I can't
    focus on anything but this increasing choking feeling."
    play sound gag2
    nvlnarrator "Unnatural guttural hurls leave my mouth.{w} My body becomes desperate to purge the poison it'd just been fed, no matter the cost.{w} I barely get any time to breathe between the violent hurling,
    and both my breathing and my gagging help in inching the nasty mass in my throat further and further up."
    nvlnarrator "Without any goal in mind I flail my arms around, grasping at the floor.{w} I go back and forth between cupping my hands around my neck and holding onto the floor,{w} Each time realizing anything I
    could do now is fruitless, but still responding to the natural impulse that tells me to do something quick."
    nvlnarrator "Well, naturally, all I ever had to do was wait for the bile to leave my mouth."

    nvl clear

    play sound vom
    pause 1
    nvlnarrator "And so it did..."
    nvlnarrator "It's been a while now since I'd last fed myself properly, so what goes through my throat is mostly acid.{w} Of course, that means my throat burns like fucking hell, and it probably will for a
    while after this."
    nvl hide Dissolve(0.5)

    advnarrator "I don't have it in me to prop myself up anymore."
    advnarrator "My back hurts from arching down while I hurled.{w} Even my arms feel sore."
    null "Ohh, that's disgusting!"
    scene black with Fade(1, 1, 0)
    advnarrator "A cruel, unnecessary taunt is the last thing I hear before I crumple onto the floor."
    scene cg_vomit with Fade(0,0,1)
    advnarrator "I feel a wetness on my cheek..."
    advnarrator "I think I definitely laid on it."
    advnarrator "..."
    advnarrator "I fail to hold back another gag."
    advnarrator "And in bringing my arms forward to cover my mouth, I realize how sickly pale I am right now."
    null "Irida, you're so gross... why'd you go and throw up all over the kitchen?"
    null "Was all the filth not enough for you already?"
    null "Eeeewww... Ahahahaha!!"
    nvl clear
    stop music fadeout 2.5
    scene black with Fade(1.5, 1, 0)
    irida "Hhhnn......"

    nvl show Dissolve(0.2)
    nvlnarrator "I close my eyes, pretending not to care about the present nastiness.{w} I just need to rest...{w} Forget everything, and just rest."
    nvlnarrator "......" 
    scene bathroom with Fade(0, 0.5, 1)
    play sound waste_cans
    play ambient waterdrops fadein 1.5
    extend " The first thing I do when I get up is head to the bathroom, still needing to step carefully through the apartment, and wipe my face.{w} I don't bother with the puddle on the floor...{w}
    I don't have it in me right now."
    nvlnarrator "Desperate to get my throat to stop burning, I also sip some of the sink water.{w} It doesn't really help.{w} Not sure what I was expecting?"
    nvlnarrator "I also give a halfhearted attempt to brush my teeth.{w} It's good to do after throwing up......{w} S,{w} So I've heard."
    nvlnarrator "It's hard not to stare at the mirror after taking care of myself.{w} I was always one to let my eyes linger a bit, stare back at the me in the mirror."

    nvl clear

    nvlnarrator "It never felt normal, not exactly, but needless to say it's only gotten weirder to see myself, even putting aside my body's state of disrepair.{w} As NULL has been alongside me, the look in my
    eyes has only changed more."
    nvlnarrator "I'm sure the same questions would come up in anyone's mind...{w} really, it makes me kind of self-aware to give them any space in my brain...{w} but how would someone in this position not start to
    question where their self begins and ends?"
    nvlnarrator "When I see that parasite standing right beside me in the mirror, is it an extension of me?{w} If this burden only I can carry is a part of me, could that be said of anyone?"
    nvlnarrator "I guess it's hard to compare when most of other people's problems have the decency not to talk back to them.{w} And it's hard to imagine something so evil coming out of me...{w} What could I have done
    to deserve something like that?"

    nvl clear

    nvlnarrator "I was never good, not really.{w} It's always been hard to sit with myself.{w} I've always had some kind of bitterness aimed at whoever would be unlucky enough to get caught up in my life..."
    nvlnarrator "But still, I never let that define me, right?{w} Sure, I could be withdrawn at times, hide myself, I never let that get in the way of the lives of others.{w} And that should be enough,
    right?{w} I've always been sure that's just how it is."

    nvl clear

    nvlnarrator "Haaaah..."
    nvlnarrator "I breathe in heavily...{w} I gotta get myself ready.{w} I'm usually one to delay things until I can no longer, but I'll take any money I can get...{w} or else I'll fizzle out much too soon."
    nvlnarrator "I lifelessly splash water on my face."
    nvlnarrator "The feeling used to upset me, so I got used to only splashing enough to rub the dirt off my eyes, usually.{w} I don't think it'd bother me so much nowadays though."
    nvlnarrator "Turning to both my sides, I wonder what I should do with the uncontrollable mess my hair has become.{w} Better not to overthink it, or I'll overwhelm myself...{w} I'll just try tying it like
    I did back then."

    pause 0.5

    nvlnarrator "Well...{w} My hair continues to look unruly, the ribbons loose and frayed...{w} nevertheless,{w} it'll be better than nothing."
    nvl hide Dissolve(0.1)

    stop ambient fadeout 1.0
    scene bed with Fade(0.5, 0.2, 0.5)
    nvl clear

    advnarrator "Breathing out, I sit in bed, shifting some trash aside to look for half-decent clothing." 
    advnarrator "I feel my heart racing as it often does in these situations, increasingly noticeable the closer I get to actually heading out the door."
    irida "Hhh..."
    advnarrator "I whine, struggling to fit into some tights."
    show irida stiff closed outside at center with dissolve
    pause 0.5
    advnarrator "Guess I'm all dressed up now."
    show null boast smugopen at right with dissolve
    null "It's shocking to see you dressed like a person again, for once..."
    null "Your looks are kinda..."
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    extend " wasted,{w} on a loser like you, aren't they?"
    show null boast creep at bouncetransition
    null "You should get your act together already."
    show irida stiff stare with dissolve
    irida "You rag on every part of me, but never my appearance, huh?" 
    show irida stiff side at bouncetransition
    extend " That's kinda creepy..."
    show null boast pissed at bouncetransition
    null "Creepy?!{w} What's gotten into you!!!!!!!!!!!"
    show null boast blush at bouncetransition
    null "Your body's my body too, right?{w} It wouldn't make sense for me to be mean about it, right?!"
    show null boast pout at bouncetransition
    null "W, Weirdo..."
    advnarrator "I refuse to engage with her any further, "
    show irida stiff closed at bouncetransition
    extend "steel myself,"
    hide irida stiff with dissolve
    extend  " and head towards the door."
    scene black with Fade(1.5, .5, 0)

    nvl show Dissolve(0.5)
    nvlnarrator "My hands tremble gripping the door handle.{w} I try to remember the feeling of moving past this uncertainty...{w} but that was back before I lost the job.{w} When things were merely hard instead of
    impossible.{w} Before even repetitive, brainless tasks while staring at the screen weren't somehow too much."
    nvlnarrator "I wonder if thinking any of this is even worthwhile.{w} Did berating myself ever get anything done?{w} I guess it just feels like what I deserve...{w} A proper response to the inaction my body
    offers."
    nvlnarrator "...{w} I sure am lucky to have something else to share the blame with.{w} Huh?{w} No, that's obviously wrong, isn't it?{w} I'm not lucky to have her at all."
    nvl hide Dissolve(0.2)

    show null boast pout with dissolve
    null "You've been sitting there about to open the door for a while now."
    null "What's the matter?"
    show null boast creep at bouncetransition
    extend " Can't even do something as simple as swinging a door open?"
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "That's funny..."
    show null boast smug at bouncetransition
    extend " Isn't this the kinda thing other people do without thinking?"
    show null boast creep at bouncetransition 
    null "You couldn't possibly be that useless, right?"
    null "You're just tricking me, riiiight?!"
    show null boast closed at bouncetransition
    null "Real funny, Irida...{w} But there's a limit to how useless someone can believably be, y'know?"
    show null boast smugopen at bouncetransition
    null "Even someone like you..."
    show null boast creep at bouncetransition
    null "Ehehehehe!!"
    irida "..."
    advnarrator "Spite takes over,"
    # door opening sfx lol
    extend " and I swing the door open without thinking."
    advnarrator "I look back at NULL."
    show null boast smug with dissolve
    advnarrator "The look she returns to me seems smugly self-satisfied..."
    advnarrator "..."
    hide null boast with dissolve
    advnarrator "You're so annoying."

label act2:
    nvl clear

    pause 1.5

    play ambient car_streets1 fadein 1.5 volume 0.4
    scene street with Fade(0, 0, 1.5)

    nvl show Dissolve(0.5)
    nvlnarrator "It's the middle of the day.{w} All kinds of people from different kinds of lives all rush, passing by one another,{w} some chatting, some just hurried..."
    nvlnarrator "It's a powerful kind of noise, capable of swallowing me whole and never letting go.{w} I have to strain not to get lost in it."
    nvlnarrator "At some point the route to my old place of work had become extremely familiar, in a way not a lot of other things ever get to be.{w} There's something sad about that, maybe..."
    nvlnarrator "Nevertheless, every turn had become ingrained in my mind."
    nvl hide Dissolve(0.2)

    show null boast pout at left with dissolve
    advnarrator "NULL's been floating alongside me the whole way."
    advnarrator "Though at some point, she'd started looking dissatisfied."
    irida "...{w} What's bothering you?"
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "Oh?{w} Since when do you care?"
    irida "Just don't make me regret asking."
    show null boast pout at bouncetransition
    null "You just haven't been paying any attention to..."
    null "Well, anything..."
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "This is exactly how you got back when you used to work, y'know?"
    null "I'd always talk and talk until my mouth went numb,{w} but you only ever seemed to notice half the time.{w} Not even, more like a fourth..."
    irida "Wait, have you even said anything the whole trip?"
    null "No, but..."
    show null boast pout at bouncetransition
    null "It's because I recognized that look in your eyes..."
    irida "Can't you even go a few minutes without my attention?"
    advnarrator "When she's saying this kinda thing, she almost seems pitiable."
    show null boast annoyed at bouncetransition
    null "D,{w} Don't go getting the wrong idea again!!"
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "It just so happens you're the only person I could even have."
    irida "You should consider yourself lucky, y'know?"
    show null boast surprise at bouncetransition
    null "Huh?"
    irida "Existing carries a lot of burden.{w} Enough that it feels unfair."
    irida "I didn't sign up for any of this when I was born..."
    irida "Working hard just to live another day,{w} making space for others and having to take up space..."
    irida "Just maintaining the body is too much."
    irida "I've never been any good at it."
    irida "It's enough pressure to make me feel like I'm about to burst."
    irida "I used to be filled with so much more rage, and nowhere to direct it towards."
    irida "I guess until..."
    irida "Hm.{w} Well, anyway."
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "..."
    hide null boast

    call static(0.3) from _call_static
    scene intersection
    stop sound

    # prolly add a little bit more here later but idc rn
    
    advnarrator "The most distinct point along the way is this massive intersection."
    advnarrator "It's always busy, and it's close enough that I can see the building as I'm crossing."
    advnarrator "Knowing I've nearly made it there, I exhale."
    advnarrator "My legs hurt already..."
    scene black with dissolve
    irida "Haahh...{w} Here we are."
    advnarrator "Standing in front of a sliding glass door, I look up to read the sign just above it."
    advnarrator "Yeah...{w} This is the place, alright."
    advnarrator "Most people will never hear about them in their lives, but this unremarkable company's name is forever engraved in my mind."
    irida "Ahhhh......"
    advnarrator "Right...{w} Just walking here was easy enough, but now comes the really tough part."
    advnarrator "It's time to talk with some people..."
    advnarrator "My shoulders stiffen, and I step forwards."
    
    play sound sliding_door_o volume 0.5
    pause 0.5
    play ambient base_noise1 volume 0.1
    scene receptiondesk with dissolve:
        truecenter
        zoom 0.7
    advnarrator "As expected, I'm greeted by a receptionist across the room."
    advnarrator "The waiting room isn't exactly big, so she can easily beckon me from her desk."
    advnarrator "And besides her, I can already see..."
    show null boast smug at right with dissolve
    incidental "Welcome in."
    advnarrator "I swallow and pause, noticing NULL already looking conspicuous even before she's muttered a word."
    advnarrator "I'd expect the receptionist to find it weird, but she doesn't let my behavior break her professional smile."
    show null boast smugopen at bouncetransition
    null "Is something wrong, Irida?"
    show null boast closed at bouncetransition
    null "I'm being good still, right?{w} I'm being quiet..."
    show null boast smug at bouncetransition
    null "You should be proud!"
    show receptiondesk:
        zoom 0.7
        ease 3 zoom 1
    advnarrator "I step forward slowly."
    advnarrator "I try to play it cool, but really, my eyes dart around the room awkwardly when I try not to look at NULL."
    advnarrator "It's hard not to look at her.{w} In a room filled with people, I'd probably still find myself laser focused on her."
    show ol neutral at left with dissolve
    incidental "May I help you with something?"
    show null boast creep at bouncetransition
    null "Well, Irida?{w} May she?"
    play sound heartbeat_single
    irida "Ghh...{w} Ahー"
    advnarrator "I bite my lip before anything uncouth comes from my mouth."
    advnarrator "Hoping to trip me up, NULL begins talking as soon as I'm about to open my mouth."
    advnarrator "And I guess it worked...{w} You bitch."
    irida "Ah, um..."
    advnarrator "My eyes dart back and forth between the receptionist and NULL."
    advnarrator "I must look insane."
    advnarrator "Just focus, focus on what you have to say next..."
    irida "I have a meeting with..."
    advnarrator "...{w} Oh,"
    play sound heartbeat_single
    extend " my god.{w} Don't tell me I forgot already..."
    show null boast smug at bouncetransition
    null "Pfft...{w} Really?"
    irida "Umm,{w} for my,{w} s,{w} severance package..."
    irida "It's...{w} one, um,{w} one s, {w} second..."
    advnarrator "I reach for my pocket."
    play sound heartbeat_single
    null "You need to check on your PHONE?"
    show null boast smugopen at bouncetransition
    null "That's so disrespectful, Irida!"
    null "Surely it can't be that hard to remember someone you've worked alongside for the past year,{w} at LEAST?"
    show null boast smug at bouncetransition
    null "Your brain is REALLY fried, huuh?"
    irida "And whose faー " 
    play sound heartbeat_single
    extend " khh!!"
    show null boast closed at bouncetransition
    advnarrator "I bite my lip, almost finding myself retorting back at NULL out loud."
    irida "S, Sorry...{w} One second, please..."
    show ol neutral at bouncetransition
    incidental "Take your time.{w} Was it a long way here?"

    nvl clear

    advnarrator "Seems she finally took note of how flustered I seem.{w} But she's still keeping it professional..."
    irida "Something like that...{w} Ahaha..."
    play sound heartbeat_single
    advnarrator "Oh my god, what an awful response. What the fuck was I thinking?!"
    show null boast smug at bouncetransition
    null "Pfftttt....{w} Ahahaha!!{w} This is so much funnier than anything I could've expected!"
    null "You REALLY suck at this, don't you?"

    nvl show Dissolve(0.2)
    nvlnarrator "Shut up."
    play ambient heartbeat_strong fadein 1.5
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "Maybe you had a point, earlier...{w} I wouldn't be having this much fun if I had a distinct body, right?"
    nvlnarrator "I don't care, so just shut up."
    null "Hey, Irida...{w} You and I must be the same, right?"
    nvlnarrator "There's no way that's true, so just shut up." 
    show null boast creep at bouncetransition
    null "I mean, just look at how bad you're fumbling this!"
    show null boast serious at bouncetransition
    null "Neither of us were meant to live in this world."
    null "Why else would it be that hard for you, right?"
    null "And just like only you can see me, I'm the only one you let peer into your real self."
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "Because you have no choice, right?"
    show null boast forced at bouncetransition
    null "Just like me!"
    nvlnarrator "Stop making shit up.{w} Shut up.{w} Shut up.{w} Shut up.{w} Shut up.{w} Shut up.{w} Shut up.{w} Shut up.{w} Shut up.{w} SHUT UP.{w} SHUT UP.{w} SHUT UP.{w} SHUT UP.{w} SHUT UP.{w} SHUT UP.{w}
    SHUT UP!!"
    show null boast serious at bouncetransition
    null "We must be made of the same stuff."
    null "Just two no-good girls that start nowhere and lead nowhere."
    nvlnarrator "I CAN'T FOCUS LIKE THIS SO JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!!!!!!!{nw}"
    stop ambient
    show ol scared at bouncetransition
    irida "Mrs. ◯◯!!!!!"
    incidental "I'm sorry?!"
    advnarrator "I realize quickly how loud I yelled that out."
    irida "S,{w} Sorry.{w} I'm sorry."
    irida "I meant...{w} I'm..."
    advnarrator "My face goes ghostly pale."
    advnarrator "...... I look down, and stammer."
    irida "I'm here to meet with Mrs. ◯◯."
    irida "... Sorry."
    show null boast smug at bouncetransition
    null "..."
    scene black with Fade(2, 1, 0)
    advnarrator "I don't wanna be here..."

    call static(1.8) from _call_static_1
    scene intersection_night
    stop sound

    advnarrator "..."
    advnarrator "The meeting went without a hitch, I...{w} I think..."
    advnarrator "My head feels heavy and cloudy.{w} There's a thick layer of noise that's hard to cut past."
    advnarrator "I noticeably rushed through the signing as fast as I could, but I think they were expecting something like that."
    advnarrator "It's hard to be in high spirits after getting laid off, after all..."
    advnarrator "Now the whole ordeal feels like it passed in a blink."
    advnarrator "I can't help but wonder if there's something I'm forgetting."
    advnarrator "In fact, I can't exactly summon any of the details in my mind right now..."
    advnarrator "..."
    advnarrator "I sit on the sidewalk, propped up on one of the buildings facing that recognizable intersection."
    advnarrator "My breath is ragged."
    advnarrator "I wanted to run, but I realized from the outset how ridiculous I'd look then."
    advnarrator "But still, I hurried to leave the building as soon as I was done signing."
    advnarrator "I left home later than I thought, it seems.{w} Enough that it's dark."
    advnarrator "Not a lot of people outside now, in fact I only seeーー {nw}"

    call static(0.1) from _call_static_2
    scene cg_intersection_girl
    show null boast smug at rightfar
    stop sound

    play ambient heartbeat_strong

    advnarrator "..."
    advnarrator "I, um...{w} I only see one person around now."
    advnarrator "I don't have to worry about people watching my freak-out."
    advnarrator "I'll sit in this corner, in the dark, far away from prying eyes."
    advnarrator "I'll draw ragged breaths until it all feels okay again."
    show null boast smugopen at bouncetransition
    null "Is that so?"
    irida "...{w} Don't talk..."
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "Oh, don't be so aggressive, Irida!{w} I'm only just thinking..."
    null "Wouldn't some fun do you good?"
    irida "Stop it..."
    show null boast smug at bouncetransition
    null "Creatures like us, we get fun out of such twisted things, don't we?"
    null "Yeah, I bet you could use some stress relief right about now!"

    nvl clear

    advnarrator "My head is pounding now...{w} I can't deal with this, please, not now{nw}"

    call static(0.3) from _call_static_3
    scene cg_intersection_girlandmeat
    stop sound

    play music breathing volume 0.5

    nvlred "Let's do it, Irida."
    nvlred "I don't have to spell it out, do I?{w} We're the same, after all."
    nvlred "In fact, I'm sure you thought of it too."
    nvlred "How interesting, huh?{w} You're waiting for me to say it, even though I know for a fact you thought of it the instant you saw her."
    nvlred "How inconvenient can one be, right?{w} Standing around loitering, at the exact same point where your legs give in and you can't walk any longer."

    nvl clear

    nvlred "Yeah, we must be the exact same.{w} Why else would you be having such violent ideas this entire time?"
    nvlred "You just want to tear something apart, don't you, Irida?{w} What pathetic display it makes, to see such a cruel and brutish animal who tries to look away from its own hideousness."
    nvlred "But I don't think it's hideous at all.{w} I think your wicked soul is beautiful.{w} Your biggest flaw is that you run from it, Irida.{w} That's what makes you so hard to look at."
    nvlred "You want an excuse, right?{w} Well, here I am.{w} You're afraid to get your hands dirty, so you may use mine instead.{w} I love you{nw}"
    nvl hide

    call static(1) from _call_static_4
    scene black
    stop sound

    nvl clear

    irida "A,{w} Ah..."

    play music cross fadein 1.5 volume 0.8
    scene cg_deadbody with Fade (0, 0.5, 2)

    pause 1

    nvl show Dissolve(0.5)

    nvlnarrator "There's a body...{w} Sat next to me, lifeless as a body could be..."
    nvlnarrator "My nice clothes are covered in bloodstains...{w} Maybe I should've put on some clothes I cared less about.{w} My hands are, of course, stained a deep red too."
    nvlnarrator "It'll still be a few hours until she turns cold so I still feel a bit of warmth coming from her.{w} Her shoulder is touching mine.{w}
    I'm not afraid to let her body lean on mine...{w} after all it was I who took her life."
    nvlnarrator "Yeah...{w} It was all me.{w} Nobody else could've done it but me."
    nvlnarrator ".........{w} I killed her......{w} It felt amazing."
    nvlnarrator "So amazing I didn't get enough just from choking her.{w} So amazing I just had to cut her apart afterwards.{w} For no reason except my own pleasure."
    nvlnarrator "Feels like a weight in my chest has been lifted.{w} Is it because I've been running from this side of me all this time?"
    advnarrator "I glance at the body to my side."
    advnarrator "I think normally I'd be throwing up, but today, I didn't even flinch."
    advnarrator "Just this once, I'm not letting a gruesome scene perturb nor disgust me."

    combined "But still, what a shame."
    combined "It's never a good thing to see a life go to waste, is it?"
    combined "...{w} Is that how I feel?"

    nvl clear

    nvlnarrator "The years of my life I spent thinking I could be a better person were all a waste, after all, weren't they?{w} Wasn't running from the ugliness in my heart only doing myself a disservice?"
    nvlnarrator "If that's how it is, I never had any control in the first place."
    nvlnarrator "Of course I never fit in with any of you.{w} The sight of all of you only ever served to piss me off, of course, how could it not?"
    nvlnarrator "If someone were to open me up like I did this lady, I'm sure only black sludge would pour out."
    nvlnarrator "There was never any helping it, was there?"
    nvlnarrator "Not a single part of me was ever decent."

    nvl clear

    scene black with dissolve

    nvlnarrator "I lean my head back and breathe in.{w} But the air feels heavier now, making my heart ache for a second."
    nvlnarrator "I can't help but stop and think.{w} Think the things I usually think."
    nvlnarrator "Think about my frailty,{w} how close I get to passing out at the smallest of physical efforts."
    nvlnarrator "About the consequences of my actions,{w} not just for me, but for the lives of people around me,{w} those who are forced to make space for me."
    nvlnarrator "About the person I've been up to this point...{w} After all, even in my most hateful moments, I could never feel joy in bringing anyone else down with me...{w} or at least I've never tried."
    nvlnarrator "How could someone like me..."

    play sound heartbeat_single

    nvlnarrator "Hhgh...{w} my head hurts." 

    play sound heartbeat_single
    
    extend " Like it's splitting in half."
    nvlnarrator "I was wrong before, wasn't I?{w} It's not true that there's only me to blame...{w} how long ago was the real last time since there was only one of 'me?'"
    nvlred "Ahaha...{w} Can't say I didn't try{nw}"

    nvl hide

    call static(1.2) from _call_static_5

label finale:

    stop sound
    scene ceiling
    nvl clear

    nvl show Dissolve(0.6)

    nvlnarrator "I jerk up, finding myself back in my bed."
    nvlnarrator "Disoriented at first, I waste no time trying to recount every detail...{w} The last thing I remember..."
    nvlnarrator "Aha.......{w} I swallow a lump in my throat."
    nvlnarrator "There's no way that was for real, right?{w} I mean, with my frail body I couldn't possibly have...{w} And, the guts, how could I have cut into them, or even pulled them out...{w} They looked just
    like...{w} hers..."

    play sound gag1

    nvlnarrator "...!{w} I cover my mouth in a rush...{w} It's hard not to get nauseous even just thinking back on the details.{w} I take a breath and try not to dwell on the imagery..."
    nvlnarrator "Ah, I know.{w} I should look down and see what I'm wearing."

    scene black
    nvl clear
    show irida stiff outside megashock
    with Fade(0.5, 0.1, 0.5)
    pause 1

    nvlnarrator "...{w} So I did go outside after all...{w} Well, my hands don't seem to be covered in blood like I remember, at least...{w} Is there any way I could've cleaned them so thoroughly before reaching
    home?"
    nvlnarrator "Or...{w} would I really jump into bed right after murdering someone?{w} Did someone find me somewhere...?"
    nvlnarrator "Would...{w} Would SHE jump right into bed after murdering someone?"
    nvlnarrator "Ahh, that settles it......{w} I've been thinking about it wrong still, even after figuring it all out.{w} It wasn't me who would do that.{w} It'd never be me..."
    nvlnarrator "But the possibility that NULL used me to kill somebody so gruesomely...{w} And even if she didn't, just making me see that on its own..."

    scene bed with Fade(0.5, 0.1, 0.5)

    nvlnarrator "I force myself to get up, clenching my fists.{w} And then, looking forward, I address it with a stern voice."

    nvl hide Dissolve(0.5)

    irida "You didn't really make me do that, right?"
    irida "That's too far, even for you..."
    advnarrator "...{w} ......{w} Nothing?"
    irida "Are you above me now?{w} Done ruining my life, so now you're above even addressing me?"
    irida "Come out already!!!"
    show null boast serious with dissolve
    null "Say what you need to say."
    irida "Why the fuck are you acting like that?!"
    irida "What makes you think it's okay to ignore me even after doing that to me?!!"
    irida "Did you really make me kill that girl or not?!!!!!"
    show null boast forced at bouncetransition
    null "I wonder..."
    irida "......{w} Y'know, before all of that, I almost thought we were starting to understand each other better..."
    irida "I didn't think you'd change, or that it'd get any easier but..."
    irida "I really thought you were starting to get closer to me."
    irida "Or at least enough not to do something like this!!"
    show null boast serious at bouncetransition
    null "You didn't get it at all, did you?"
    null "We know each other better than anyone else could."
    null "Isn't that obvious already?{w} Or does thinking about it just scare you that much?"
    irida "..."
    null "Well, no matter.{w} It was stupid for me to expect you'd see it any other way."
    show null boast forced at bouncetransition
    null "I'm just the parasite after all."
    irida "You can't do that to me and then act sad about it..."
    irida "Is this your new way to get at me?!"
    show null boast serious at bouncetransition
    advnarrator "NULL seems to hesitate for a second, looking to the side in thought."
    advnarrator "But it doesn't take much longer for her to act like her usual self."
    show null boast smug at bouncetransition
    null "So you're tired of me?"
    null "Then, show me...{w} Do something with your own hands for once in your pitiful life!"
    advnarrator "She spreads both her arms, taunting me to come towards her."
    irida "You..."
    null "You don't even want to see me anymore, right?"
    show null boast smugopen at bouncetransition
    null "Then go on, get rid of me."
    null "With your own two hands, get rid of me."
    null "Motivate yourself, all on your own, to step forward and get rid of me!"
    show null boast creep at bouncetransition
    null "Can you do that?{w} I'd be surprised!"

    nvl clear

    scene cg_pinned_1 with Fade(0.1, 0.2, 0.1)
    play sound knocking_a_wall
    play ambient going_mad2 fadein 2.5 volume 0.7
    nvl show Dissolve(0.5)

    nvlnarrator "Before I know it, I find myself on top of NULL."
    nvlnarrator "It's almost funny...{w} how did I never think of that?"
    nvlnarrator "The most obvious response to someone who does you harm is to do harm right back at them, scare them straight.{w} But I never thought of NULL as within my reach.{w} Maybe it even felt a bit like
    I'd just be hurting myself if I ever tried."
    nvlnarrator "......{w} Well, that doesn't matter anymore."
    nvlnarrator "Just what was I to do now, on top of her?{w} I stopped thinking and just listened to my unspoken emotions."
    nvlnarrator "The rational, overly anxious Irida is taking the backseat...{w} and letting her emotions speak."

    nvl clear
    pause(1.5)

    nvlnarrator "I hate you.{w} I don't think it's possible for me not to hate you.{w} How can something so perfectly capture all the hideousness I hate in the world?{w} You're loud, brash, you fail to think of
    others at every possible moment, you're not capable of knowing when to shut the fuck up.{w} You seem to love seeing me in pain, you go out of your way to cause it.{w} You're like a predator sent here to devour
    me, eat away at me until there's nothing.{w} You're evil.{w} Evil.{w} Evil evil evil evil evil evil evil evil evil.{w} You're like everything I never want to be, all the traits I'd hate to find in myself.{w}
    Is that, then, what makes you feel like a mirror?{w} Like the worst parts of my brain twisted in the most perverse way possible.{w} That's what you wanted me to face, isn't it?{w} But I can't accept that.{w}
    It's impossible.{w} It has to be impossible.{w} To think I could have this kind of evil in me is impossible impossible impossible impossibleimpossibleimpossibleimpossibleimpossible.{w}
    And that's not even getting to the bottom of what I feel...{w} I think I'm still avoiding my true feelings, the natural conclusion to get to regarding the rage I feel when I see you..."
    nvlnarrator "I want to hurt you.{w} I want to hurt you so bad.{w} It feels titillating to imagine.{w} My heart flutters when I think of making you wince in pain."
    scene cg_pinned_2
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Just the thought of hurting you makes me so happy......"
    scene black with Fade(1.5, 0.5, 0)
    extend " I can tell it's deeper than just getting back at you.{w} At this point, that's obvious."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " It really, truly fills me with joy to see you like this."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " It suits you...{w} Maybe that's why you were always so cocky."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " So this moment would feel better.{w} So I wouldn't feel guilty wanting to fucking kill you for pleasure."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " If this was all you were good for this whole time, just do us both a favor and die already."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die."
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"
    play sound heavy_punch1
    extend " Die.{nw}"

    nvl hide Dissolve(0.5)
    scene cg_pinned_3 with Dissolve(1.5)
    null "Haahh......{w} Haaaaaahh......"
    advnarrator "NULL's breathing is heavily labored."
    advnarrator "Her chest heaves up and down, a noticeable effort just to pull enough air."
    advnarrator "She's been staring right at me every moment she can."
    advnarrator "Though it's a bit creepy, it only makes the moments where I cause her enough pain to make her eyes waver satisfyingly."
    advnarrator "Yeah...{w} When she's looking at me all defiant, but as soon as I do something she can't help but wince..."
    irida "...... I need more..."
    advnarrator "A creepy voice I didn't know I could speak in, muttered under my breath."
    null "Creep..."
    advnarrator "It's no use anymore."
    advnarrator "You can say all you like."
    advnarrator "It all falls apart now.{w} Just looking at you makes the truth self-evident..."
    advnarrator "You are hopelessly, utterly, disgustingly below me."
    null "Aha......"
    advnarrator "I take hold of one of her tentacles."
    scene cg_pinned_4 with Dissolve(0.2)
    advnarrator "That got your attention, huh?"
    null "What are youー"
    advnarrator "Quickly, I wrap it around her neck.{w} I don't even give her the time to complain."
    null "Huh..."
    play sound rubber_squeeze
    advnarrator "I start squeezing.{w} Her hands come up, pulling at my wrists."
    advnarrator "She's already reached the point where she can't put up a fight a long time ago, though."
    advnarrator "Your puny attempt won't do anything, NULL."
    play sound rubber_squeeze
    advnarrator "I'll keep it tight around your neck until you're nearly gone.{w} Or maybe I'll keep going?"
    scene cg_pinned_5 with Dissolve(1.5)
    advnarrator "Soon enough, she can't even keep her hands on my wrists.{w} Her hands fall, resting on my arms unceremoniously."
    advnarrator "What a beautiful sign of defeat you've given me..."
    advnarrator "This side of you is so intoxicating.{w} The NULL that has no choice but to give up."
    play sound rubber_squeeze
    advnarrator "I'll kill you, okay?"
    advnarrator "What a shame to do it when you can't even look at me..."
    play sound rubber_squeeze
    advnarrator "You're choking for air too hard to even look my way, but I'll still kill you."
    advnarrator "......"
    advnarrator "Kidding."
    advnarrator "She starts sputtering as soon as I let go, her own hands wrapped around her neck."
    advnarrator "....Hm?"
    advnarrator "You're crying?{w} That's new."
    scene cg_pinned_6 with Dissolve(0.4)
    advnarrator "NULL looks at me,{w} well,{w} vaguely in my direction anyway.{w} I figure that's the best she can do."
    advnarrator "Tears are streaming down."
    null "Hh..."
    advnarrator "She coughs, then focuses, trying to regain her breath."
    advnarrator "Still, you have something to say?"
    null "Did...{w} Did that feel...{w} good?"
    irida "...?!"
    null "Make you feel better?"
    irida "What are you saying to me now?"
    null "...{w} It's all I wanted."
    null "I wanted to be what you wanted of me."
    null "And...{w} you made it clear from the start."
    null "You saw a monster in me, right?"
    null "You wanted something that could shoulder the ugliness in your heart."
    null "Did it bring you...{w} relief?"
    null "To beat that ugliness to submission?"
    advnarrator "Ahaha..."
    advnarrator "Even now, you manage to stop me in my tracks."
    advnarrator "......{w} I swallow."
    irida "NULL...{w} Just.{w} Just..."
    scene black with Fade(1.0, 0.5, 0)
    irida "Just stop already."
    pause 1.0
    show title with Fade(0, 0.2, 4.0)
    pause 2.0
    scene black with Fade(4.5, 3.0, 0)

label epilogue:
    play ambient busy_night_streets volume 0.6
    scene street_night with Fade(0.0, 0.3, 1.5)
    advnarrator "I've come to really appreciate the little coincidences in life."
    advnarrator "The ones that make it easier, anyway."
    advnarrator "The way to my new workplace wasn't too dissimilar to the one that came before, so I made short work of memorizing it."
    advnarrator "Though now I prefer avoiding the intersection."
    scene black with Fade(2.0, 1.5, 0)
    show null boast smug at right with dissolve
    null "Scared you'll run into someone else killable, I take it?"
    null "But really, I do get it..."
    show null boast smugopen at bouncetransition
    null "Anyone with a mind as frail as yours would be better off avoiding anything that could upset them, right?"
    null "Even just a little..."
    null "Poor, fragile Irida would just crumble remembering the time she killed someone in her mind!"
    irida "..."
    hide null boast with Fade(1.5, 1.0, 0)
    advnarrator "Today's a friday, so on the way home I stop by a corner stand and get myself a little treat."
    advnarrator "Lately I've found that doing little things like these for myself are the way to keep myself going..."
    advnarrator "That, and stopping to breathe whenever I can."
    show null boast smug at left with dissolve
    null "Because your life is just oh, so hard, right?"
    null "Poor Irida with her stable job, enough money to feed herself every day, and can't forget her cozy apartment..."
    show null boast thinking at bouncetransition
    null "If you're telling me even this cushy little life is too much for you..."
    show null boast creep at bouncetransition
    null "Then maybe you're just better off dead!"
    irida "..."
    hide null boast with Fade(1.5, 1.0, 0)
    stop ambient fadeout 5
    advnarrator "She just keeps on going..."
    null "Don't tell me you're still scared of being out in the dark?"
    null "What are you, fucking twelve?{w} Ehehe..."
    advnarrator "At this point, it's just amusing."
    null "You still cross the street when you see people coming your way, huh?"
    null "All those years and you're still the same anxious mess..."
    advnarrator "When you try, I just can't help but smile."
    advnarrator "Because I know you too well."
    play sound enter_house
    pause 1.0
    scene cg_meeting_empty with Fade(0.0, 0.3, 1.5)
    advnarrator "And by now you must be aware too."
    play music angel_bulb fadein 1.5
    show null boast smug with dissolve
    null "Welcome home, Irida..."
    null "How was your day?"
    null "... Frustrating?"
    irida "Yeah.{w} You could say that."
    scene black with Fade(1.5, 0.5, 0)
    advnarrator "I really never thought I'd be able to say this, but..."
    null "Then... w, what are you waiting for?"
    scene cg_meeting_end with Fade(0.0, 0.3, 2.5)
    null "Come destroy me...{w} like usual..."
    advnarrator "Even though it was always you making things worse..."
    scene black with Fade(1.5, 1.0, 0)
    advnarrator "Even though you were always everything I hated about myself..."
    advnarrator "Somehow, in the end, I'm so thankful I made you."
    pause 1.0
    call static(1.9) from _call_static_6