Will you push Gi-hun?

(align:"<==")+(box:"=XX=")[ <img src="https://yardmargs.neocities.org/gameimages/sangwoo-bridge-credit.jpg">]Playing as Cho Sang-woo, you are one of the last players left alive on the glass stepping-stones bridge. Behind you are player 067 and another player who is not going to matter. In front of you is your childhood friend, ''Seong Gi-hun'', who has somehow also made it this far. In front of him, is the ''final pair of glass panels before the finish line''. On the clock, (text-colour:red)[1:30] is counting down... ##[[Let’s do this.]]

(align:"<==")+(box:"=XX=")[ <img src="https://yardmargs.neocities.org/gameimages/gi-hun.jpg"> ] So here's your problem: Gi-hun isn’t moving. He's just standing there frozen (aside from the nervous quivering) staring at the two tiles in front of him. This is the first decision he's had to make on the bridge and—//dammit Gi-hun//—he's |A>[choking. ] You look back at the clock. You’re so close to the end, so close to making it through... You're going to have to do something. (set:$behindhim to false)[[say something to Gi-hun|say something]] (set:$earlygame to true)[[join him on his tile->jump onto his tile]] \(click-append:?A)[(text-colour:red)[//(''Of course'' he's choking now. Why does he do this?? Why is he like this? Ugh, so annoying.)//] ]

(if: $behindhim is true)[You're hovering behind Gi-hun on his panel. What can you say to get him to stop choking and move?](else:)[What can you say to get Gi-hun to stop choking and move?] [[It's okay, you've got this, bro :)]] [[You've gotta move or we'll all run out of time!!]]

Push him?? It pops into your head like an intrusive thought. But yes, you //could// push him. The way he just looked at you, he wouldn't be expecting it... Sure, you //would// be condemning your childhood friend to a 50/50 chance of falling to a gruesome death. ''But'' it would all but gurantee you getting through this game in one piece. So like, how bad would that be, all things considered? You look at the timer again. What do you think? [[Okay, not yet |Let's save pushing Gi-hun for a little later]] [[Sounds like a good deal, actually |I don't care, I want to push him now]]

//I want to push him so bad//, you think. But you're not out of time yet, you //might// have 30 seconds to talk him into it if you play your cards right. [[threaten to push him]] if he doesn't go (t8n-arrive:"shudder")+(t8n-time:1s)[[fuck it, I'm pushing his ass now->fuck it, I'm pushing him]]

$behindhim[ "Gi-hun hyung!" You touch his shoulder. "You can do it! I know you can. There's only ''//one step left//'', then we'll be at the finish line together. Just like we planned." You try to smile warmly but who knows what it actually looks like. Gi-hun looks very pale. He doesn't respond aside from looking at you fearfully. You think about how long he spent dithering over what number vest to pick before this game started. How has he survived this long?? //He's going to get you all killed at this rate...// "I don't know if I can do it," he whispers. ](else:)[ "Gi-hun hyung!" You yell it loud enough that he jumps, so at least he heard you. When he looks back over his shoulder, you try to smile warmly but who knows what it actually looks like. "You can do it! I know you can. There's only ''//one step left//'', then we'll be at the finish line together. Just like we planned." Gi-hun looks very pale. He doesn't respond. You think about how long he spent dithering over what number vest to pick before this game started. //He's going to get you all killed at this rate...// "I don't think I can," he whispers.] [[Keep trying to coax him nicely|Keep trying to coax him nicely]] [[Say "You have to move or we'll all run out of time"|You've gotta move or we'll all run out of time!!]]

"Look at the clock!" you yell. "If you don't move now, we're all going to run out of time. ''We're all going to die''." You gesture to the players behind you on the off chance they matter more to Gi-hun than you do. 067, whose name you haven't bothered to remember chimes in. "Come on, Ahjussi, we have to hurry!" Her voice seems to reach Gi-hun where yours did not, and he jerks around to look back at you both. "Right or left?" he asks you, like you have more info than he does. (if:$behindhim is true)[ [[Pick a panel for him.]]] (else:)[ [[Pick a panel for him.]] (set:$couldapicked to true)[[Join Gi-hun's on his tile just in case... |jump onto his tile]]]

#YOU PUSHED GI-HUN. Is that really what you wanted to do?? You don't have much time to regret it as you watch him lose his balance in what seems like slow motion, twisting back to look at you (t8n-depart:"slide-up")+(t8n-arrive:"fade-down")+(t8n-time:3s)[[as he falls towards that last glass stepping stone... ->Gi-hun's fall]]

Yeah okay, pushing him at this point is a little extreme. The sacrifices you make for this man. [[say something]] instead.

50 seconds left on the countdown clock. Do you ''//really//'' have time for this? You didn't get this far by being nice. [[No, but I owe him at least that much.]] [[YEAH, no more Mr. Nice Guy!|threaten to push him]]

(enchant:?page,(bg:(black))) Do you really owe him anything? Honestly, what has he even done for you in the last ten years? Isn't he just, in the words of Gotye, //somebody that you used to know//? Oh no ...why did you have to think of //that// song? Goddammit, Gi-hun. [[You're having gay thoughts now]] [[You're definitely not having gay thoughts now]]

"We've come too far to die like this here!" you hiss. "If you don't go yourself ''I'm going to have to push you''." His eyes widen, like he is genuinely surprised at this turn of events. "I should have known," he says, looking like a betrayed puppy and wasting everyone's precious time. (if:$couldapicked is true)["20 seconds!" 067 yells behind you. You...] (else:)["Less than 50 seconds!" 067 yells behind you. You...] [[Try yelling at Gi-hun too->Yell "Just go! For fuck's sake JUST GO!"]] (t8n-depart:"pulse")+(t8n-arrive:"pulse")[[[Say "Well, I warned you" and PUSH HIS ASS onto that right panel->fuck it, I'm pushing him]]].

(if:$pickedright is true)["Then we're in agreement," you yell. "For fuck's sake JUST GO!"](else:)[ "Just go!" you yell. "For fuck's sake JUST GO!"]  And Gi-hun actually nods. Somehow you got through to him. Wait, actually he's looking at Player 067, not you. Doesn't matter though because it looks like... //Yes!! He's staring down the specter of imminent demise! He's finally going to jump! // Your eyes snap to the clock. Less than 20 seconds left and Gi-hun is looking at the next glass stepping stone, the one on the right(if:$pickedright is true)[, the one //you// chose for him]... You think he might look back again but he doesn't ###[[he just jumps->Gi-hun finally jumps]]

(set:$pickedright to true)"The right one," you say. "The one in front of you!" At first, he nods, and you see him draw a deep breath. //Finally,// is he going to go? He laughs incredulously instead, the bastard, shooting you a look that suggests he might not trust you. "You were always so quick. Even to bet my life." UGGGHHHH. //Why is he acting like this?// Why does he always act like this. "It's a 50/50 chance either way!" you say. "Do you expect me to jump for you?" "Of course not," he snaps back, "I know you'd never do that." [[Ouch, that kind of stings->You're taken aback, that kind of stings]] [[Say "Then we're in agreement. ''//GO.//''"->Yell "Just go! For fuck's sake JUST GO!"]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:black)+(bg:(gradient: 0, 0,#6382e6,0.2252,#ffffff,0.7219,#78dfb3,1,#ffffff)))You look at Gi-hun and remember... [Sophomore year at ~~Yale~~ SNU you had this one hot month. But then you got restless. So you got up the nerve to break his heart. You told him "There's this dreamy exchange student from Pakistan who wants to...//you know...//" And he got this //look//. He said, "''I knew I couldn't hold your interest''", which, of course, made you feel like the shallow bitch you've always been. Then he said, "''But what makes me want to cry is I'm losing the best friend I ever had.''" [[And when he said it, you knew you felt the same.]] ]

Yeah!! Of course you're not. You're just getting emotional because you think Gotye is such an amazing artist. You can definitely name more than one of his (her?) songs, you just choose not to. All your thoughts are, and have always been, very heterosexual. (if:$behindhim is true)[(t8n-arrive:"rumble")[[Prove it by pushing Gi-hun->fuck it, I'm pushing him]]] (else:)[[[Prove it by jumping forward to push Gi-hun->fuck it, I'm pushing him]]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:black)+(bg:(gradient: 0, 0,#6382e6,0.2252,#ffffff,0.7219,#78dfb3,1,#ffffff)))So //you// cried. For maybe the third time in your life. And you kissed him. And you've been best friends ever since. For nine years, you saw each other through everything. Losing jobs, losing parents, losing lovers. Travelling all over. You had the best times. [[The best times of your life, maybe...]]

You close your eyes right before he hits the glass. You expect to hear a crash. [[Instead, you hear a...]]

(enchant:?page,(bg:(black))) #(text-style:"fidget")[SERIOUSLY?] ###YOU DON'T HAVE TIME FOR A FLASHBACK! 067 and the other player are yelling behind you, snapping you out of it. (text-colour:#b92700)[Only 12 seconds are left on the clock]. Uh...shit... (t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-time:2.9s)[[Push Gi-hun?->Fail to push Gi-hun]]

##But, you can't do it! You can't bring yourself to push Gi-hun. [[I can't?->You can't??]]

(if:$behindhim is true)[You land flawlessly on the tile next to Gi-hun. Then you adjust your feet, take a deep breath and ^^—by the power of love—^^ ###[(text-style:"sway")[[take a flying leap for the left panel!]]]] (else:)[You adjust your feet, take a deep breath and ^^—by the power of love—^^ ###[(text-style:"sway")[[take a flying leap for the left panel!]]]]

You open your eyes.(live:1s)[(set: $whoopsTimer to $whoopsTimer + 1) (if: $whoopsTimer is 2 or $whoopsTimer > 2)[//Gi-hun is sprawled on a glass tile. It didn't break!!// ] (if: $whoopsTimer is 5 or $whoopsTimer > 5)[You chose right! You let out half a sigh of relief—but you have (text-colour:red)[seconds left]...] (if: $whoopsTimer is 8 or $whoopsTimer > 8)[Gi-hun is still getting to his feet when you jump onto his panel. He yells something at you like (text-colour:#a8d6f1)["What the fuck?! Seriously?!"] ](if: $whoopsTimer is 11 or $whoopsTimer > 11)[but you are too focused on making that last jump [[to the finish line...]]] ](if: $whoopsTimer is 9)[(stop:)]

(enchant:?page,(bg:(black)))You're a little taken aback. Is that really what he thinks of you? It does sting, to see that he means it, even after all these years. It wasn't always like this between the two of you. (text-style:"smear")[Do you remember?] [[I do...->You're having gay thoughts now]] [[No, and we're getting off track here->No, and we're getting off track here]]

#(text-style:"rumble")[THUNK] [[Open your eyes]]

###RIGHT, there's no time! The last ten seconds are ticking down and you've got to survive. You've got to make it to the next round, so... (t8n-depart:"pulse")+(t8n-arrive:"pulse")[[Push Gi-hun->fuck it, I'm pushing him]]

Correct, you //can't// push Gi-hun now, not when you're remembering (text-colour:#e799b1)[every tender, romantic detail] from that time you two were in that rom-com in the 90s. (text-colour:#e799b1)[|B>[//''If only''//...] ] ##But there's no time now!! If you could stop and analyze the situation, you would realize how stupid this decision is but the last ten seconds are ticking down. (if:$behindhim is true)[So how about you...[[Pick a panel and make the jump yourself->Pick a panel and make the jump yourself.]]](else:)[So how about you move to Gi-hun's tile and... [[make the next jump yourself...->Pick a panel and make the jump yourself.]]] \(click-append:?B)[(text-colour:white)[^^(//If only// you'd repressed this all for a little bit longer, amirite?)^^] ]

As your feet leave the panel, you half expect your life to flash before your eyes. But you can only think of what you've seen already: cracking glass panels, players falling like bad stock options and splattering on the pavement and there's a 50% chance [[that could be you->Jumping for him]]

You jump onto Gi-hun's tile.(set:$behindhim to true)\ ##BOING! What's your plan? (if:(history: where its name contains "You've gotta move or we'll all run out of time!!")'s length >=1)[[[try being nice->Keep trying to coax him nicely]]](if:visits is 0)[[[say something->say something]]] [[threaten him->threaten to push him]] (if:$couldapicked is true)[[[just push him->fuck it, I'm pushing him]] ](else:)[[[push him->push him]] ]

(set:$yTimer to 0)(set:$zedTimer to 0)(live:1s)[(set: $xTimer to $xTimer + 1) ###[(if: $xTimer is 1 or $xTimer > 1)[There he goes! ] ] (if: $xTimer is 3 or $xTimer > 3) [He's got a 50% shot...] (if: $xTimer is 5 or $xTimer > 5)[As if in slow motion, you watch Gi-hun land on the panel...] (if: $xTimer is 7 or $xTimer > 7)[(text-style:"rumble")[The panel quivers...] ] (if: $xTimer is 9 or $xTimer > 9)[ ###[(link-goto: "annnnd...", (either: "he falls", "he lives"))] (if: $xTimer is 10)[(stop:)] ] ]

####[You land.] (live:1s)[(set: $helloTimer to $helloTimer + 1) (if: $helloTimer is 2 or $helloTimer > 2)[(if: $helloTimer is < 4)+(text-style:"rumble")[The panel shivers]](if: $helloTimer is 4 or $helloTimer > 4)[The panel shivers (text-colour:#a8d6f1)[and your soul; almost leaves your body] ] (if: $helloTimer is 5 or $helloTimer > 5)[''But the panel holds!''] (if: $helloTimer is 8 or $helloTimer > 8)[ With seconds left on the clock, you extend a hand back to Gi-hun](if: $helloTimer is 10 or $helloTimer > 10)[ and he reaches out too .. ] (if: $helloTimer is 12 or $helloTimer > 12)[Gi-hun leaps forward to take your hand and together you jump from the last panel to safety! ''To the finish line''! ] (if: $helloTimer is 15 or $helloTimer > 15) [''You made it! You lived!'' (link:"And you didn't have to push Gi-hun!")[''And Gi-hun lived too!''] ] (if: $helloTimer is 17 or $helloTimer > 17)[###//That's the power of (link:"love")[(text-style:"smear")[gay love] ], baybeee!//] (if: $helloTimer is 20 or $helloTimer > 20)[ (if: $pickedright is true)["Hey," Gi-hun says later, "Why'd you choose the left panel when you told me to pick the right one?" You tell him it made actually makes sense, "Like the Monty Hall problem," because there's no way he knows what that is and it makes you sound smarter than admitting you were winging it. Hopefully you won't have to kill each other with knives later or anything, that would sure suck.] (else:)[Hopefully you won't have to kill each other with knives later or anything, that would sure suck.] --- thanks for playing (set: $couldapicked to false)(set:$behindhim to false)(set:$pickedright to false)[[play again |Start]] ] (if: $helloTimer is 21)[(stop:)]]

(live:1s)[(set: $pissedTimer to $pissedTimer + 1) ###[(if: $pissedTimer is 1 or $pissedTimer > 1)[And you've done it! ] (if: $pissedTimer is 2 or $pissedTimer > 2) [You've survived!] (if: $pissedTimer is 3 or $pissedTimer > 3)[Congratulations!!] ] (if: $pissedTimer is 5 or $pissedTimer > 5)[Gi-hun seems pissed though.] (if: $pissedTimer is 7 or $pissedTimer > 7)[^^This is going to be really awkward now, isn't it?^^ --- (if: $pissedTimer is 8)[(stop:)] thanks for playing (set: $couldapicked to false)(set:$behindhim to false)(set:$pickedright to false)[ [[play again |Start]] ] ]]

(live:1s)[ ##[(if: $yTimer is < 3)[(text-style:"shudder")[THE GLASS BREAKS]](if:$yTimer is 3 or $yTimer > 3 )[THE GLASS BREAKS]] (set: $yTimer to $yTimer + 1)(if: $yTimer is 3 or $yTimer > 3)[Gi-hun barely has a chance to look surprised before he's plummeting down, down, down... ] (if: $yTimer is 6 or $yTimer > 6)[You wince as he hits the ground with a quiet but disturbing //crunch//.] (if: $yTimer is 9 or $yTimer > 9)[(if: $couldapicked is true)[Guess you should have told him to go left. But now //your// path is clear!](else:)[But now //your// path is clear] ] (if: $yTimer is 11 or $yTimer > 11)[With seconds left, you take a leap for the still-intact left panel and //jump safely across the finish line with seconds to spare//!] ###[(if: $yTimer is 14 or $yTimer > 14)[You've done it! You've survived! Congratulations!]] (if: $yTimer is 17 or $yTimer > 17)[//Thanks, Gi-hun!//(text-colour:#a8d6f1)[ (t8n-time:1s)+(link:"Maybe you'll pour one out for him later...")[Nah, fuck that. You've survived on your own merits and won't hear of it otherwise.] ] ](if: $yTimer is 18 or $yTimer is > 18)[ --- thanks for playing (set: $couldapicked to false)(set:$behindhim to false)(set:$pickedright to false)[[play again |Start]] ](if: $yTimer is 18)[(stop:)] ]

(live:1s)[(set: $zedTimer to $zedTimer + 1) ##[(if: $zedTimer is < 3)[(text-style:"shudder")[THE GLASS HOLDS!]](if:$zedTimer is 3 or $zedTimer > 3 )[THE GLASS HOLDS!]] (if: $zedTimer is 3 or $zedTimer > 3)[Gi-hun is still standing!] (if: $zedTimer is 5 or $zedTimer > 5)["GO NOW!" you holler. ] \ (if: $zedTimer is 7 or $zedTimer > 7)[And finally //he listens//! ](if: $zedTimer is 9 or $zedTimer > 9)[And you follow him off the bridge, ''to safety!'' (if: $couldapicked is true)[Good thing you told him to go right.]] ###[(if: $zedTimer is 11 or $zedTimer > 11)[You've done it! You've survived! Congratulations!]] (if: $zedTimer is 13 or $zedTimer > 13)[Thanks, Gi-hun!(text-colour:#a8d6f1)[ (link:"Maybe you should be nicer to him next game...")[Nah, fuck that, you're in the end game now. Eyes on the prize, baybee!!]] (if: $zedTimer is 15 or $zedTimer > 15)[ --- thanks for playing (set: $couldapicked to false)(set:$behindhim to false)(set:$pickedright to false)[ [[play again |Start]] (if: $zedTimer is 16)[(stop:)] ] ] ]]