Auth nods to Irongutta.

uA: If it counts, I know exactly who I'm... "stomping", as you put it. Where I come from, medics generally take an oath before they can do their thing, called the Hippocratic Oath. One of the core tenets of it is to "first, do no harm". So I actively try not to do that when fulfilling my role as a medic.
uA: Er, that is, I try not to hurt, let alone kill, anyone.

Auth sighs.

uA: Even outside of that, I don't like hurting people, or watching people get hurt or anything. It's why I always tend to Legionnaires after we fight them. They haven't really done anything wrong, they're just unfortunate enough to be in the way.

Auth thinks for a second.

uA: My mother? She's not a threat, since I'm here. If not for the Thymefield, I bet she'd be fighting on side, but I believe right now it'd be like trying to punch things while underwater. But either way... she's hard to read. I think I'm generally pretty good at getting into the thought process of other people but I can never tell what she's thinking.
uA: Her entire demeanour can flip on a dime. She's unpredictable. Which makes for... interesting situations, I suppose. 'Specially as it comes to EN...

----

Auth decides he's going to actually do something useful. At least, as it comes to potential situations further down the track. He sends a Spectre off to see Omorika, in Zone 4. Auth looks marginally concerned at the snow.

uA: Hm... chilly. I'm... not sure if my coat's going to be enough to handle the cold... it's what I have though, oh well.

Auth turns to Omo, ending his musings about the cold atmosphere the Old Pass happens to lay in.

uA: So, Omorika. It's nice to see that you're holding up well. You are holding up, right?
uA: The Old Pass... it's a Chairian town, right? There's people living (hopefully) on the other side of those walls.

With the faint indication of Iti on that other side, along with a rebel base and an incoming transport... it doesn't bode well for the people over there. To say the very least...

uA: I think this is something I might've asked already, but I figure I should ask before we go into a more populated area.
uA: Would it be much of a bother to you if you could inform me of any Chairian customs I should be aware of? Specific faux pas, or conversely, expected statements or actions in social interation. What may or may not accidentally be a proposition of love. That sort of thing.
uA: I think trying to fit in is more likely to make people more likely to be open to me. Which is what I want.

Auth takes a moment to think again. Quite thoughtful, he is, considering he punctuates his every few lines with a lengthy pause to think.

uA: Ah, I believe handholding is a thing that is to be avoided? I'm ashamed to admit that's about the extent of my knowledge.

Auth waits, with baited breath, to hear Omo deliver wisdom that will ensure Auth can be as respectful as possible to the everyday Chairian.

----

Meanwhile, in the house, Auth seems quite happy that Marron sees his cooking as acceptable.

uA: I'm glad that you find it acceptable. Though, I admit that I'm surprised you didn't know I could cook.
uA: You remember... about halfway through Nightmare Mountain back in the Mindscape? I made some food back there and I think it turned out well. It seemed to work fairly effectively as a healing item back then...

Auth closes his eyes, reminiscing on that time. He smiles, slightly. Positive memories of that time. A brief time.

uA: Yeah, I'm British, though I don't see how that's congruous with cooking ability.
uA: I'm one of two people who can actually cook in my home. There's five constant residents there. Two of them are EN - yes, that one - and my sister, and they have about equal cooking ability, and then there's a dragon who can't cook because... dragon.
uA: So yeah. If I'm eating, I'm cooking.

With Ette, Auth has a quiet anger as Ette explains what happened to her.

uA: That's so mean! Not only because she cheated but also because you got locked in the bathroom!
uA: If I see her, would you like me to bring her to you?

Auth frowns, distressed by this.

uA: Are you going to be okay, Ette? Is there anything else I can do for you to make you feel any better?

----

That was a buncha RP. Yay.

IN BATTLE!

Auth flies to I19, and casts Purify on himself.

Crya spawns at the Spider's Roost at D8, runs to F7, and shoots at the Cocoon with her Ice Blaster.

After a while of Pit not doing things, Keiko joins the battle at the Spider's Den and equips the Hands-Free Paper Portal while doing so. Not to wake anyone, she simply moves to G7.

Hex slaps Yume with his shoes again.

"Curse that dodge!"

Brutishace maneuvers away from the Chain Knight over to P14. He's going to take that attack lightly, even if it didn't hit him, and he swiftly retaliates with Twin Jolts to zap the offending Chain Knight.

Brutishace then moves a step to O14.

Summa feels quite lonely so far away from the fight. She makes a skip, hop, and a jump for P10, or O10, however far she can go!

<ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT>



Not much in that spoiler today. Ever onward!

---

Pionobot notes that they COULD ask Mari. Ette nods, asks Pionobot to stay put for a bit (which is probably what he was gonna do anyway), then runs off to grab Mari, pulling on her lab coat sleeve to get her attention.

ETTE: (Mari, Mari, Mari, Mari, Mari!)
MARI: There's almost certainly a less annoying way to get my attention.
ETTE: (I mean, sis would've thrown a rock at you!)
MARI: Not my point.
MARI: So, what do you want?
ETTE: (There's a robot upstairs that needs a new arm!)
MARI: Uh, alright.
MARI: I'll take a look, then.

The scientist adventures upstairs, and soon finds Pionobot resting on the carpet. She begins to examine the bot.

MARI: Huh.
MARI: You kinda look like that guy my sister obsesses over sometimes.
MARI: Except, y'know, without an arm.
MARI: I could hook you up with something, if you want.
MARI: It shouldn't take... too long? Of course, I'll need to take a look at your interior systems for scientific reasons and also maybe future plagiarism.
MARI: How about it?

The scientist begins to mutter things to herself- probably planning for her future constructions. In another part of the planet, a vacuum goes to suck up all the remaining Thyme Matter in the Whispering Library. +26 Thyme Matter! Then, one of Echoss's butterflies opts to scan the Spiralfloof. It poses for what it thinks is a camera. If the scanner was truly a camera, it'd be magnificent.

>Codex Updated!

Echoss also sends Chloe out on a harvesting trip to go and get credits. She eventually returns with a small bag of about 400 Credits, and a few bandages wrapped around her body.

CHLOE: So, I wasn't really sure how I'd go get money, so I went and asked around...
CHLOE: That Lutea chick was apparently afraid that some Iti would attack her, so she offered to pay me if I took them on!
CHLOE: I did.
CHLOE: It wasn't exactly a clean hunt.
CHLOE: Fortunately, she didn't charge me for medical services!
CHLOE: Anyway, here you go~

She also dumps 3 Amphi Aura Extract into the inventory as a bit of a bonus from her hunt.

---

Chara meets Nia! The cyanette seems happy to have another ally.

NIA: Yes! Knew you were here to help!
NIA: There's like, a lot of us here! We call ourselves the Spherebreakers, by the way.
NIA: Welcome to the team! You can come right on in!

She happily allows Chara into the house, but the two of them continue their little chat.

NIA: I guess we could talk over tea.
NIA: Didn't expect you to be the tea-type, for some reason.

She guides her to the kitchen, where it seems breakfast is still booming.

NIA: Oh, help yourself to some porridge.
NIA: We've also got some fruit, and ceiling crepe!
NIA: ...Ceiling crepe sounds bad, but it's probably fine!

Nia, despite probably already having had a bite to eat, helps herself to a bit of fruit. Yummy! Also, it seems there's a few others in the room- mostly just Marron, but maybe there's other players she could talk with?

---

Letsid pays a visit to the Gaiadiamond Mine. I assume you're just visiting the zone, and not the mineshaft itself, because the mineshaft is a very high level of suicide. Actually, the zone itself probably isn't very safe, but it doesn't warrant the "Unsafe" rating.

---

Daskter explores Zone 4 in a more thorough fashion, stumbling upon the Information Center in its entirety. It's also boarded up, and there's very, very definitely something inside of it. Might be worth taking a look when you're done one of your current battles!

---

Mustache Girl continues her delve! She timelocks a Mortar Shell near the edge of the dam, and then proceeds deeper into the cave, mining a block. She also tosses a mortar shell down into the Seekers below, slaying them... and the nearby trees. They're probably not important, so oh well.

Bow Kid also hugs Ette. Once she falls asleep in her arms, Ette gives her a headpat, before gently placing her on Couchtron. She also throws a blanket over her, which she got from who-knows-where. Maybe she has a stash of them?

---

Venia traverses a maze. Before departing, she shares her thoughts with the Explorer. He jots a few notes down as she talks.

EXPLORER: ...
EXPLORER: ...
EXPLORER: That's nice. We'd need codes to try, though.
EXPLORER: The sequences are also probably decently long, if me wandering around hasn't triggered any yet.
EXPLORER: Good luck.

She heads north nineteen times and then east once. Instead of entering a ladder room like she might've expected, she immediately enters a rather tight cubby full of... crates. How unsurprising. She tries leaving the room, and immediately ends back where she started- the ladder room.

EXPLORER: ...
EXPLORER: ...
EXPLORER: ...Oh, welcome back.
EXPLORER: Any findings?

On a different stage, Venia continues her talk with R-8733. She notes where the Ashstormer is aiming.

R-8733: That's...
R-8733: Actually, that is pretty dangerous.
R-8733: I mean, I'd probably move before the attack, but aiming over here before the attack arrives is a blatant breach of safety.
R-8733: He needs a stern talking to.

Venia then rolls to recruit! It doesn't seem he's entirely convinced yet.

R-8733: An interesting offer!
R-8733: I don't know if I should, though.
R-8733: I'm not really like most of the other Rebels. Like, I'm not totally fanatic about blowing up the Sphere- I mean, blowing up the Sphere actually sounds fantastic and I want to do it, but... you know what I mean, right?

R-8733: How about... if you prove you're a woman of culture, I'll follow?
R-8733: Blow something up, all real nice like. We're talking multi-tiered, colorful explosion. All explosions are valid.
R-8733: Of course, you'd probably alert the caravan if you performed something so awesome right on this pathway, so... maybe demonstrate it somewhere safe? We'll see.

He'll likely follow you to somewhere else within this zone if you're willing to prove your cultured-ness.

---

Toast notes her cooking skills. Marron gently giggles at her.

MARRON: And I'm better at cooking food than eating it.
MARRON: Clearly, we're the perfect couple~

The puppeteer then tosses her a casual question as she begins to finish up her meal.

MARRON: Oh, how were the crepes?
MARRON: If you liked Auth's crepes, maybe I'll whip you up some proper ones tomorrow.

After the two polish off their food, they make preparations to go and attack Yume's position, resolving a timeline. Unless of course, there's something else that Toast would like to do with her.

---

Auth does like seriously a lot of roleplay. First, he goes to visit Miss Omorika in Zone 4. She gives him a curtesy as he passes by.

OMORIKA: Ah, sir Author. It's a pleasure to see you again.
OMORIKA: While it's quite chilly, I believe that I am able to weather the... weather.

OMORIKA: The town not far from us was evacuated the moment the Sphere proved itself to be a significant problem.
OMORIKA: Most of its citizens are safely within the Citadel's walls. It's a bit tight in there nowadays, but it's better than being exposed to waves of Iti.
OMORIKA: At this moment, there's likely a couple dozen Iti within the Old Pass's walls, as well as other things may may have gone unchecked.

He then asks about Chairian social customs. She raises an eyebrow at him, before beginning to recite a few things.

OMORIKA: As far as I know, the social customs of Earth and Sussi are mostly similar.
OMORIKA: Many are familiar with the customs of the planet, which makes it a good reference point for other customs.

OMORIKA: For instance, you've heard of the social norms of handholding, but there's a few more aspects to it.
OMORIKA: For instance, brushing your shoulder against theirs is considered to be highly romantic.
OMORIKA: Stroking their arm is outright lewd, and generally reserved for when you're... indoors.
OMORIKA: With all this in mind, try not to stare at their arms. It's generally suspicious.
OMORIKA: Note that legs aren't held in any regard, so you don't need to worry about your knees touching or anything along those lines.

OMORIKA: Another common standard:
OMORIKA: If you're say, visiting a restaurant with someone you deem special, or sharing a homecooked meal with them, it is essential that you acquire a glass of water for them, no matter what other drinks you may be consuming that evening.
OMORIKA: Water is essential for the health of our bodies- more than a human, in fact. It keeps our foliage luscious, prevents our bark from rotting away, and other various benefits.
OMORIKA: Then, you must gift your glass to them. It is a sign that you care greatly for their well-being.
OMORIKA: Also, if they're feeling particularly dehydrated, do not be surprised if they pour the glass over their head. While typically a bit less polite, and certainly a deal messier, it's incredibly refreshing, and serves about the same function as drinking it.

OMORIKA: There's quite a few random tips that I could share, but I'd like more guidance.
OMORIKA: Specifically... who are you seeing? What occasion are you going out on?
OMORIKA: ...Is it romantic? Are you attempting to perhaps... u-um...

OMORIKA: ...Disregard. It is impossible for you to do what I was thinking of.
OMORIKA: Anyway, specifics. Specifics are appreciated.

While his specter is out learning etiquette with Omo, his actual self is showering in Marron's praise. He's an acceptable cook! He notes that he's made something before in the Mindscape, though.

MARRON: ...That was like, a month ago.
MARRON: I can't be expected to remember some random dish you've made like, once.
MARRON: ...Also, I've heard Brits make really, really good cups of tea, and also apparently incredible crumpets...
MARRON: Is it like, a racial boon, or something? That's how nationality works, right?

He also visits Ette, and expresses his frustration. He offers to bring Letsid to Ette if he sees her. Ette smiles deviously... or at least tries to. Cons of being a puppet.

ETTE: (Yeah! And then we'll lock her in the washroom!)
ETTE: (Except that's mean, so we'll just put her in there for five seconds.)

He then asks how he might make her feel better.

ETTE: (I'm okay now, but I'm actually really in the mood for somethin' shiny.)
ETTE: (Could I have a new hat? I like hats.)
ETTE: (They're the only thing that doesn't look silly on my body.)

A crafting request. Will he follow through? Will he give Ette an adorable hat? Probably.

---

Ziah goes to meet Ette. She seems chipper as she pulls out her tablet to talk.

ETTE: (Hi, Ziah! I'm Ette.)
ETTE: (I'm Marron's younger sis! She thinks its dumb that I'm taller than her, but I think it's funny.)
ETTE: (Because she made me this way.)

He asks what she's doing here in the kitchen, because she's in the kitchen now as he's eating breakfast. She shrugs.

ETTE: (I'm being social!)
ETTE: (It's hard for me to eat... anything, because I don't have a mouth.)
ETTE: (Or a need to eat.)
ETTE: (It's sometimes nice to sit down and smell the roses, even if I can't smell anything.)
ETTE: (Everyone here is really happy, and it's nice!)

ETTE: (So...)
ETTE: (What are you doin'?)

The puppet rests her arms on the table, palms holding her head up. She idly kicks her legs around as she awaits an answer.

---

<THE NEXUS, ROUND FOUR>
Nothing too much has happened here, but you're on track for that achievement now! Just don't get overwhelmed by the now 12 Dream Iti on the map! Also watch your positioning; getting nailed by a good Effect: Witch might make it impossible to properly survive Yume without spending A LOT of time on dispelling yourselves!

<THE TOWN ARMORY, ROUND THREE>
More rebels, more beavers, more madness! Your main concern here are the two new Fell Beasts, who appear to want to devour Leaf and her Sapsqueal. Your other primary concern is the rather terrifying Mechonis, which is basically a Rebellion-owned hovertank! It packs a punch, and should be taken down as soon as possible.

<SPIDER'S ROOST, ROUND TWO>
Quiet now. There's a Migi in the cave. It'll likely cause a massive ruckus should it take over a spider. You should try and deal with it discretely... and maybe take precautions to ensure that you don't get overwhelmed by spiders- don't wake more things than you need to, and certainly try and avoid waking up anything more threatening than a Splinter Spider!

Leaf spots a Sapsqueal fleeing the fight, and figures it's as good a time as ever to go and tame it. More allies are always good. She dismounts the Splinter Spitter, which she tells to move to N11 and ready its Corrosive Mix. Leaf dashes to S9 and tames the Sapsqueal. It moves to T9, where Leaf climbs onto it, having it charge to S9 and finally Q6, where it rams into Rifler1 (200% damage due to its trait.) Leaf then generates a large amount of sap in her palms, flinging them at the potential threats; the Fell Beasts, which she can tell she cannot tame. Her sap bombs land at N3, Q3, T3 and Q5.

Meanwhile, Laranei dashes to L13, and uses Yaron's Fury at E15 to do some burn damage, which she'll likely follow up on if she feels like it.

-=+=-

Ziah heads for the kitchen, but notices Ette, deciding to go and start conversation with her before getting breakfast. He approaches her slowly, as to not startle her.

Ziah: Hiya.
Ziah: Don't believe I've... properly introduced myself, actually. Ziah: I'm Ziah!

Ziah offers his hand to Ette as a sign of friendship and also a sign that he really doesn't know how to greet people.

Ziah: You're... Miss Marron's sister, right?
Ziah: I meant to come speak to you earlier.

He pauses for a moment.

Ziah: Whatchya doing, anyway?

<FOR ABOVE UPDATE>
==BATTLE==
Nezira moves down to N5 and uses Nullpoint on Yume.

<FOR CURRENT UPDATE>
Nez moves over to K5 and zaps Hound1 with a Proximity Burst.

Echoss swaps out Cure for Zillycharm, as I forgot to make that change when I originally respecced upon my recent stat changes.

As per asking the others, I ask Chloe for credits. (this is an OOC request I feel bad about having Echoss ask her to go dangerous things like this constantly)
I was gonna do some upgrades with Nia, but apparently Maria has dibs on that.


Pionobot nods when Mari comes to investigate him. "I probably look like him because I was designed to be a robotic duplicate of him. Sorta. There's a bunch more Pionobots wandering around the Multiverse I think but..." he trails off and begins staring into space.
"Yeah, you can take a look if you want. Dunno if it'll do you any good, even with an internal manual that explains everything I can't make heads or tails of the tech. I think anything that'd work for a regular person will work for me if you can't figure it out. There's some kind of flesh interface function built into the joint machinery that hopefully the thymefield won't take issue with."

As Mari looks over the machinery she immediately discovers that she has no grounding with which to start understanding the technology that Pionobot is built from. It's very clearly technology, but it's also very clearly technology that takes advantage of several hundred different interactions between the tech systems of different universes, not to mention a number of magic systems as well.
The metals are alien and nearly unrecognizeable, and while she can identify the central pieces acting as the major joint motors the method by which they function is completely bizarre... and actually come to think of it may just be a secondary function and not how they're moving the body in the first place!
Strange flowing red energy pours through counduits, and which may be related to power, or to something else but is definitely important. The machinery appears to be self repairing, even with Pionobot's complaints about nothing working, but two of the conduits have leaks in them that just don't seem to be patching up. Every so often a little bit of the red stuff inside the conduits leaks out in tiny droplets. Those droplets fall away from Pionobot's body and disintegrate into purple smoke that reeks of thyme well before they reach the floor.
"Any luck?"


The conversation with Rosalina (see Darkside's post) ends and Echoss slips the pad into the inventory (probably doesn't need to be listed, it's mostly just for RP stuff), and stands up. "I need to keep moving... Too much left to do still." He, now no longer needing to worry about the pretense of normal travel, bursts into a cloud of butterflies that beeline for the Old Pass.

Battle action:
Echoss arrives in the spider's roost, spawning with 3 Holy Dews in his player crafted inventory at C9. Once Wyvern spawns in Echoss slaps him with a celefruit then moves to E9 and self-casts Zillycharm shoots the cocoon before retreating to F9. Whichever Chibi Nia spawns to assist him will then take up place at E9.
*cries in losing all tactical advantage from zillycharm*


Overworld Actions:
With the butterflies coming back in full force a bunch of them climb into the team inventory and disassemble Mari's escape pod, they pull out the comfy chair and carefully remove the windows, pull out the electronics, and molten down the shell itself into ingots once the whole thing has been disassembled.
Not like it's gonna be used again anyways.

More butterflies flutter down to the basement, and merge into minigolems in the basement apartment corridor. One of them morphs again, turning into a shining golden pickaxe, which the other golem picks up and slams into the vein of iron ore with gusto. Hopefully Taeda's a heavy sleeper.
If the iron ore vein is fully removed with action power left over, the minigolems begin making a little headway into hollowing out space for the 6th room.

Echoss creates a quick crafting recipe for mana vials! He gathers up some of the blue sap in the inventory, and a handful of the manablooms. The manablooms are mashed together into a fine paste that is rich in mana, and then combined with the blue sap that is even more rich in mana. These two things, now combined, basically make liquid mana. Hence, mana vials. Half of them are in bowls or bottles or whatever but hey they match the item description/effect so whatever.

1.
"Hey, by the way, Auth, thanks for cleaning up after us."
She pauses, glancing at Marron.
"...after me."

3. "Crepes were good, real good. Never really had this kind of food before meeting you guys, so its a nice change."
She finishes off her crepe. Her fingers are a little sticky, and since licking sharp objects is a terrible idea, she washes them in the kitchen sink. Assuming there is one.
"So, I'm about to go chuck a portal beacon in the gardens, in the past, then maybe see if I can't do anything about that thyme pond we saw. What are you gonna be up to?"

5.
Toast nods as Auth tells her his plans for the day.
"Isn't coffee more of a breakfast thing? Like, I know Omo just has it always, but she's kinda odd like that."

7.
"Oh. Huh. Well, uh, have fun with Nana then."

She suddenly recalls what little she knows about the Charian. Which is pretty much just her blade arm.

"Oooh, question: what's she like? 'Cause like, she has deadly arms like me, so maybe we'd be good friends!"

9.
"She sounds cool enough. Maybe I'll talk to her when I get a chance."
(arm gang arm gang)

~~

Toast activates Controlled Chaos, getting Eagle Eye and Guiding Hand. She also activates her Weapon Skill, moves to E14, basic attacks Yume, then dodge rolls to B16. She also takes a sip from Yggdrasil's Vessel.

Alrighty! Let's get this party started.

----

Toast and I have arranged a thing. We'll be bouncing back an forth with RP, so to reduce clutter I'll keep responses in this spoiler. Cool? Cool.



---- Other Things Later ----

Auth laughs quietly as Omo mentions that she'll be fine.

uA: Of course, I'm glad you will be, although I'm not confident I myself am prepared for it. I'm sure we have some extra gloves or something somewhere though.

Auth sighs in relief that the citizens got evacuated well before the Spherebreakers arrived.

uA: That's a relief, that there are few people in danger. Hopefully the damage here isn't too extensive so the people can come back to relatively little grief. I haven't seen the inside of it so I'm keeping my hopes up. We'll be the ones to check that which has gone unchecked, right?

Auth gives a quiet laugh to ease the tension there a little. Auth is fairly nervous, apparently, even though he has nothing to be nervous over. As Omo starts to describe things he should be aware of, Auth decides that physically writing down the things that Omo suggest specifically in regards to dealing with other Chairians.

uA: So most of the things I'm used to will convert appropriately... that's a good start. Most contact should be avoided with arms outside of... intimate circumstances. Don't stare at arms. Provide glass of water when having a meal with others, no matter what else is being consumed... giving yours shows care of other person. Pouring glass of water over head is not a concern, beyond making a mess.
uA: I believe that's an adequate summary of what you've just told me. I appreciate it...

Auth pauses when Omo asks for more specifics about his situation that he's specifically asking about.

uA: I was being truthful, actually, when I said it was about dealing with Chairians generally. However... there is something I would very much appreciate advice on.
uA: I have a... date, I suppose would be the correct term, with Nana later today. Over coffee.
uA: I don't... think it's a romantic thing. I think it's just so we can talk. But... I dunno. Any and all advice is welcome, frankly.

Auth raises an eyebrow as Omo flusters herself trying to ask what Auth's doing. Auth can't help but ask, though he did at least try to show some restraint and wait for Omo to finish. He did supply specifics already...

uA: I'm not sure what thing you're thinking of, Omo, that would be impossible for me to do, but...
uA: Hm, we have a saying where I come from. "Where there's a will, there's a way". You shouldn't just assume something's impossible before its at least been tried.

----

Auth looks a little sad because nobody seemed to remember the thing that Auth was really proud of cooking really well. Though, Marron does point out an interesting thing.

uA: Teatime is a nationally recognized break period. You literally can't find a place that won't have everyone immediately stop whatever they're doing for tea at noon. Take that how you will.

Auth suddenly has a craving for a nice cup of tea, but he puts that aside for later.

----

uA: Hah, alright. I'll try and grab her if I see her. I'm glad you're feeling better.

Auth thinks on Ette's request, having a sudden lightbulb come up after about a minute of in-depth thought.

uA: I have an idea! Something shiny, right? Do you mind if I use that scarf you're wearing as a base for my idea?

Auth is going to wait for more details from Ette before actually making a start on smacking random bits and pieces together for a new piece of equipment.

----

IN BATTLE:

Auth flies to E17, and casts Liberation on Yume. Now that he's out of MP, he's going to have to move and meditate.

On behalf of Specta, Summa moves to C12 using the Warp Ring, and casts Flicker of Insanity on Yume.

Huh. Good that the GM personally warned Letsid before entering the mineshaft...
otherwise she would have just entered.
Having being warned by god himself, Letsid does not enter the mineshaft.

Instead she screams "YAAAAA HOO" into the mineshaft, probably dodges whatever wants to get some of that lean meat and plays tag with the Iti by running away while they chase her.
If no one comes out, Letsid continues pestering the annoyed Iti.

Candy:

Following behind Nia, and ever-so-slightly swaying as she walks, Chara sits herself at the table, grabbing a bowl of chocolate porridge and immediately going at it

No words escape her mouth. She doesn't even make pauses to breathe. Hell, it's a miracle she hasn't passed out at some point while shoveling the meal into her mouth.

Everyone stares in horrified silence as the spectacle comes to an end. Completely unfazed, Chara wipes her mouth with a napkin. Only then does she even look at the others sitting at the table.

"Greetings everyone! The name's Char-r-r-"

...and freezes when her eyes fall on a certain Chairian seated across her.

Buttercups? What sort of sick joke even is this? I have spent a grand total of one hour existing here, and an angel of death is already sent against me?! Or, no. This is probably Francia's work. She keeps assigning me that same motif, ad infinitum, never understanding just how distasteful that is. So, would that mean she is to be my guardian spirit?" the child asked itself, overtaken by paranoia. If only it had taken a better look at the flowers, it would've realised that they are much different to the buttercups it despises so. But alas, instead it goes on a whole spiel about its master, before taking over the narrator role, kindly asking her to leave her alone, and then letting the narration flow unbiasedly again.

"...Chara. The name's Chara."

The others don't fail to notice how their speech is a tad slurred. Of course, using Song Magic does that to you. It is entirely based off emotions, so an uncontrolled, directionless feeling of success and pride from, say, successfully creating a magical death-weapon could accidentally be transformed into something else. In this case, that would be another feeling: intoxication.

Of course, as nobody knows that, and Chara isn't even aware of it, they just assume that a drunk teen just strolled into their house.

"W-well, I am the newest addition to the Spherebreakers! Neat name, by the way. And as such, I guess I should go ahead and narrate my 'heartwrenching backstory' for all to hear. So, listen, and enjoy."

"I was born in a cozy little village. And by 'cozy' I mean 'fecid piece of gorilla.' It was actually ridiculous, just how bad it was. The only vegetation at all (that wasn't the grass) were the local farm, and a bed of golden flowers, nested in the middle. Everything else, the villagers themselves would tear down. I took up the hobby of gardening out of hope to make the village prettier, but the reason I continued with it at all was to spite them. Eventually, the passive-aggressive game just became commonplace for us.
"If I were to be honest, it seemed a bit like the entire place existed to insult me, make me miserable. And I'd claim that too, if the people themselves didn't hate how gorillay it was. And yet, they only ever upheld the status quo, never did or allowed anything to make things better for themselves. Everything was robbed of meaning, rancid, rotten. But not all people complied to that fanatical worship of the present. Some sought to break the monotony of it all. And so they did, by killing.
"Do you know how hard it was? Living in a dead-end world where someone could kill you at any moment, but with a quick LOAD back to a point before that, they're clear of all charges and punishment? The insult was double if it was you who escaped by LOADing. And the worst didn't come if someone just went back- it was if they gave up and disappeared. An hour of mourning, and soon it gets forgotten that you existed. I mean, come on, I know mom and dad weren't the most talkative people around, but they still… they still deserved more, y-you know?"

She takes a moment to get herself back under control. A tremendous task, for someone so inebriated.

"So I ran. I decided I wasn't gonna live out my life in a world where everyone thought they were above the consequences. I decided, ‘gorilla you, I'm gonna run off to the death mountain and become a hermit.’ I scaled the mountain rumored to be the final resting place of many. And even though I did not care whether I survived there or died, I could not help but feel afraid once I slipped and fell into the maws of the mountain.
“To make a long story short, I got adopted, and then loved the gorilla out of by a family of goat monsters. And then I died.
“Looking back at it, my grand plan to free monsterkind was actually quite stupid. Kill six humans? Really? We could have just waited for one bastard to murder another, and then snatch the soul before it vanishes or LOADs. But no, the dumb misanthropic kid I was, I wished for a direct approach. And promptly got served. Like a dudette on the gorillatiest island in the Butler Ocean.
“The first few hours of being dead were hell. Mummified and buried, my will writhed. I begged. I clawed. I screamed.”
“But nobody came.”
“Until someone did. But even then, of my only two visitors, one couldn’t hear my pleas, and the other was too busy suffering to do so. Thankfully, it only took a few months to finally give up and go into an inert state. For the first time in what seemed like eternity, I could finally rest, even though it wasn’t the rest. My essence was still passively consumed by hatred, so it remained there, buried under golden flowers.”

“And then, years and years later, someone finally arrived to wake me.”

“Someone who was the same age as I, when I fell. A clumsy, naive child, who had the same type of soul I once did. I simply couldn’t help but attach myself to them, and follow after them as a guide.
“To make a long story short, we ended up fighting my anime villain adoptive brother and releasing monsterkind onto Earth.
“And we were happy, really. That is, as happy as I could be living as basically a damn tulpa within their body.”
“I could never tell mom how much I missed her cooking.”
“I could never tell dad how I missed catering to flowers with him.”
“I could never tell all my friends just how much I missed cracking dumb jokes with them”
“All I could do was beg them to live that out for me, and make it as non-awkward as possible. But that wasn’t enough.”

“Until one night, a visitor appeared on our windowsill.”

“I’ve come to make a proposal, sleeping lion.”

“Her words confused me. Was she really talking directly to me? It could not have been that. I must’ve misheard.”

”It gets boring, doesn’t it? Being even less than a soul, just an afterimage of someone, that can’t even embrace its loved ones?”

“Terror washed over both me and my ‘roommate.’ Her words were alluring like honey, but they felt as if the were tainted by poison from deep within.”

”I will make a deal with you. I shall scavenge the fragments for your soul, and return it to you. I shall separate you from your dear companion, and give you your own body. I shall allow you to frolic around for a whole day, doing whatever you want, with whoever you want.”

“And then, I shall take you.”

“Neither of us could muster up a response. There was just too much to unpack. But she just kept on talking.”

”You will come with me to my realm, and there I shall teach you witchcraft. I will raise you cunning and powerful, legions will be under your command. And given enough time, you will surpass even the Lady of Certainty herself.”

"We thought about it long and hard. Well, as long as we could- we had to decide that exact night. We both wanted to accept the offer. For once, I would not be watching from afar, and could actually tell everyone how much I loved them. But then, I would be gone. Forever separated from everyone. My companion urged me to accept, since they cared for my happiness."

"And so I did."

"I will not go into details of how the day went. It passed all too quickly. I will just say that seeing their child come back to life does interesting things to a parent.
"The day finally ended, and as I waited for the lady to return, I… saw them crying. I saw tears in my friend's eyes, which they tried to hide. And that was the moment I came up with my most audacious plan yet.
"Just like the night before, she appeared in the window, her arm outstretched. I took a step forward.
“I pulled out a knife.
“I summoned up my new SOUL, and held the blade to it.
“And just like I predicted, she backed down, looking worried and confused. See, I knew that there must be a reason she would pick up a random child and promise me all this. But I just could not break my host’s heart, could not leave them alone after a whole year together. So I threatened the bargaining devil. Either I would end my existence right there, leaving her empty-handed, or she would allow them to follow me.
“Surprisingly, that was all it took. She burst into laughter. Said something about it being “just like in the fanfics” in-between the giggles."

"To make a long story short, I was raised by her as an Apprentice Witch and initiated into the elite circle of her most powerful accomplices, the Corte Francia. There are currently seven of us, though two of them practically count as a single member.
"I will be honest with you. No matter how much she tried, she failed in every aspect of being a family member to us. All of her interaction came off as… choppy. Awkward. And that is without getting into how we could not discern whether she viewed me as even a partner, or only a weapon to use in her constant strife with her rival.
"To further cement that, she had each member sent to a different world for the sake of bettering them even more. They were to learn all the world's secrets, obtain highest power within it imaginable, and come back as a master of the mechanics of its every major variation.
"Simply put, most of these worlds were incredibly deadly. My first one was entirely covered in a sea of fog that nobody ever returned from, and life only sustained at three points within it. I learned how to transform my emotions into raw power through song, and that even planets can deal with their inhabitants for only so long.
"The second world… was a mess, I'll tell you that much. The beginning was already off the rails. I found reality itself fighting against me, punishing me for an act forced upon me. But my determination does not waver, even if the world turns on me. I pushed through, and was in the end rewarded for it. It was an inspiring adventure, sure. But the stress put on my heart would not end.
"I had to keep fighting through more and more different iterations of that world. Each one seemingly more broken than the last. And through it all, I could only hope for it to end soon. To go back home, as much as it pained me to admit that complex became my home."

"This, I believe, is the third game, the third world that I'll have to get through. Many more versions of it await me once that is done. But I will make sure to savor my moments here, with all of you!"

"Now, do you have any more chocolate porridge? You can even keep the porridge."

…

...

Okay, I get the feeling that some things here weren't explained in detail. And that's likely true. So how about I clear some stuff up?

The second world is, of course, that of Sburb. The God Game. The great detestation in reality's underbelly. The first of the many sessions precious Chara went through was a solo one. As you know, Paradox Space does not take kindly to the haughty, even though she just kinda fell ass backwards into it. But nevertheless, the Muse of Heart preserved.

A neat title, that is. "One who inspires through Heart." It's what she did back in the Underground, guiding the Eighth through the journey via what remained of her SOUL. She even allowed for their SOUL's control over their shared body.. And it's what she's possibly doing now, inspiring others through her tragic story.

It's also how two Charas are running around just now.

Oh, that's right. I see she either forgot to mention, or flat out omitted, the sidequest where she traversed her home universe for alternate selves to make binding contacts with. Through pact, they became a part of her. The cute lass you're looking at is an amalgamation of thousands of souls, all making up a single entity.

I'd go ahead and explain just how her Witchhood affected these powers. But I already did, in the skelepost you all doubtlessly read. In fact, all of this is a waste of time as well! Goodbye!

Meat:

The Chara Splinter fast-travels to the Old Pass, since that Is apparently legal, and proceeds to the Spider's Roost. He spawns on C9, looking as calm and nonchalant as someone who probably doesn't even possess emotions.

"Greetings. Do not be alarmed, for I am on your side. There will be enough time for pleasantries later. For now, allow me to help you."

He then walks forward, onto G10... and sprints through the wall to I15, seemingly without much care for how he might wake up the spider right next to him.

What a charming and helpful lad.

I move to G15 and cast Twin Spires on Yume.

RP: Mariaaaa

Maria eventually stops hypnotizing herself on Cupcake pets and instead wanders off to see the newcomer talk with everyone. She tries to absorb everything.

"... I didn't understand any of that! I didn't understand any of that. I like you." Maria says. She turns to Nia. "... Are you Nia? Are you the person that commits 'Fraud' on the Field? Uh, the person who, 'up grades' thingies? I wanna have things be sparklier and awesomer! I wanna. Can you do that for me?"

Maria hands Nia her Snowball Wand and the Hammer of Banning +1. Two T0s going up to T1, so they shouldn't cost credits... though Maria somehow has enough to upgrade both if it comes down to it. She stares at Nia expectantly.

---

RP: Best Girl

Venia's "Uhh,Sushi. Portable, has a lot of food groups in it, savory, nutritious. I guess it's a bid 'wide' but whatever, its amazing. I guess I'm a bit of a seafood person in general, really..." Venia says. "I do kind of have a preference to things I don't have to sit down to eat-anything that I can just pop in my mouth on the go, because, uh, I'm kind of always busy."

A pause. Her voice goes a degree quieter. "... I, uh. I also eat a lot of bugs. Like. Live bugs. The kind I just happen to find. I've not done it as much anymore, because, uh, duchess. But, like. I still do... I'll admit its weird, but I kinda like it. Not as much as Sushi though."

"Uh, my turn. Err, what kind of games do you play? Err, you could say I've got a retro bent, in a sense... But, uh, future. Pretty much everything's 'retro,' to me."

---

Research

Venia shills 5 Flux to gain Connection Break. Yay. That's it.

---

Maze

"Nothing other than a storage area. Not an exit. Code is nineteen 'eye' and one 'scale,' or nineteen north and one east. Check the small engravings on the floor to know which tunnel is which. I'd be careful, that area has recent signs of tampering..."

Venia's Maid inputs 19 Eye then 1 Scale, heading back to the storage area, and before leaving, checks whats in the boxes.

---

Battle: Town Armory

Turn orderrrrrrrr: Irongutta, then Omorika (who should always Null Somnum Irongutta), then Irongutta again, then Leaf. They don't have to be first, they just have to be in that order if they're not already.

"Irongutta! Move those Fell Beasts through the Sap Bombs and entrap them-and make sure they're far away enough that they don't free each other! Leaf, when Irongutta has them lined up, use your Noxious Plume to make sure they're crippled!" Venia says.

Venia grabs the Comlinked and huffs it to Q12, depositing them in the retreat zone at R12 and thus out of the combat. They'll be dealt with later. She then activates Affidavit Adjudication, targeting Fell Beast 4. Her soul manifests as monochrone lines of code manifest around the beast-entrapping it! Venia applies Root to it for 3 rounds, in other words. Feeling like she might have wanted to do this sooner, Venia also slaps Unify on it. She can change it later, after all. She then self-applies a Yggdrasil Vessel, restoring some HP and MP to herself. She wraps up her round with her actual action-SEND, to remove the potential for time paradoxes destroying her life.

"Nia! My summon needs your help to rocket into the rebel backlines and save Boshi's tail. Uh, say encouraging things at it, apparently that makes things move faster in here... I don't get it either, but your encouragement is really awesome so it'll definitely work!."

The Artist gestures at Nia and points at M13. The Artist moves to M12. Nia should hopefully Flirt the Artist twice-first to I10 (targeting it with Ever Onwards), then from there to E8. Once there, it falls directly onto its face, somehow perfectly balancing on it as the brush on its left hand (the one hiding his gigantic right arm) reaches towards the Magirifler... And paints a violin into existence right in front of his face in roughly 3 seconds. The Artist pulls his gigantic arm out of the brush to fling itself around its creation, full of enthisuasm and near-zero murderous desire.

"V I O L I N !"

Another second passes.

The violin then animates, violently smashing itself into the Magirifler's face before vanishing (IE a basic attack on its face). In case this downs the Magirifler, the Artist faceslies to G6, and gestures Boshi to (if he wants) position himself at G7 to not repeat the Eviscerators backstabbing him. If not, somehow, the Artist faceslides to E6 instead. He'll then attempt to toss Boshi a slice of the Princess Special if he's in range 1-3 of the Artist.

"... That thing is so weird and I love it."

---

Other

Bugfixes, ho.

- Nia's trait may need to have a "may only trigger once per round" condition, either on the whole trait or just the And Set You Free modifier. Free action spells like Flirt may otherwise break the system.
- There should be a route north from the Information center to mirror the route south from the town armory and west of the Outer walls in zone 4.
- R-8733 is still listed as R-8722 in zone 4.
- Not a bugfix but a reminder to change how Nia works to be equal to Marron (cooldown system)

The Man moves to R10, dragging the downed Ashstormer with him, dropping him on Q11, and then shoots Fell Beast 4.

"(That all ya got? Come on!)"

Boshi starts his turn off with a Timepiece Rewind - Health! This restores 21 HP (rounding down).

He then jumps to (J6), fires at Eviscerator2 with the Elemental Blaster (Electric) and baps Eviscerator1. He backs up to (I6).

---

MU, satisfied with her work as of right now, begins to mine out the nearby cluster of Sapphire (the usual way, of course), wondering where the other people working in the mine with her went... she gets so distracted by this she doesn't realize the time passing...

---

Bow Kid remains asleep on the couch for now. Sophia begins to see her, if only barely, as she remains still. She watches curiously...

---



---

A few minutes after the events contained in the Spoiler, the Comet Observatory circles around the planet, out of view from all parties; the Sphere, Adria, and all currently residing on that side of the planet, out of the way of the Sphere. And, true to her word, Adria did not even attempt to follow her, instead remaining up in the sky, unaware that she made a pretty massive mistake in coming here...

Adrian strafes to G13, and hits Yume with a Purge.

The Breaker DESTROYS Seeker2 with FACTS and LOGIC.

Nidra:
Note that your melody should be lower.
Power Nap Omo.
Move to Q15.
Tame Tumblefluffs.

Tumblefluffs:
Move to P13.

Nidra, again:
Toss Pillow to Tumblefluffs
Retreat to P14.