Christmas

Venia was at her happiest in a long, long while. Nia was gorgeous, as she was. Maria was laughing, and her small horde of friends were happy with her. Nia looked even better with those beautiful earrings. Things were looking up.

"Nia, you look-"

And reality came knocking, as it did, in a blur, and a moment, and a burst of that gray-ish goop. Venia's stamina left her at once, and she collapsed on the floor in a heap, taking pained breaths. Things hurt. As they did.

"VENNY!" Maria shouts, rushing to Venia's side. "Venny, please be OK!" She says, clutching at Venia's chest in an awkward hug. Hugs make everything better-or so Maria thought.

"... I'm fine, I'm fine, Maria..." Venia says. After another minute she stands back up, a bit shaky. Her body felt fiery. That one hurt, badly.

"... I hate that," Venia says. "I guess it's obvious. But I hate the blurring. Whole body lights up in pain, and it lingers... Ugh..."

"... You look wonderful with those earrings, Nia," Venia says, trying to steer the conversation somewhere happier. "And thank you for making me earrings too... But I think I'm going to wind up appreciating your other gift a lot more. I, uh. I think I did it. I made a machine to carry out the process of turning me into a Transcendent. That means I'll be all better, Maria!" Venia says, turning to the little girl next to her. "I'm gonna be all better!"

Maria doesn't offer any enthusiasm this time-just a somewhat less frightened look.

"... I'll need someone to watch over me. And, uh, do something if things go badly. Using the damn thing is... Expensive, and the sheer magic in the machine makes temporal rewinding hard, so we can't re-use anything lost... And the sheer input of the machine means the internal components will need to be replaced between uses, or at least a good portion of them. We also don't have time to test, or the resources, as a result... Or, rather, I'm the guiena pig. But that isn't as bad as it sounds, the temporal reversion rune I have means you can probably undo anything that happens to me by up to a minute, and the transformation is... Rapid."

"... It will be OK, Nia, it will be," Venia says, holding out a hand to her shoulder. "I don't have much time, but I promise you that by the end of this, it'll all be OK."

---

A bit later, after that dies down, Venia opens up any presents that happened to be assigned to her that weren't there before.

---

Lab

Venia purchases Team March, Improve Energy Efficiency, and Casual Bombardment, for a sum of 190 Samples.

---

AESTHETIC SLAYER(?)

Mr. Krabs realizes that Gamemasters hate him due to this One Weird Trick and decides to start playing the game like a normal person again. He heads down to Cellblock Omega and pulls out a magnet, aiming at the westernmost cages dangling over the pit. the comically undersized magnet produces a disproportionate magnetic pull, which happens to affect only one cage; the cage with the armor dangling in it. which is now safely yoinked into the inventory.

---

Respec

Venia shifts a lot of stuff around.

<ANNOUCEMENT>
During the last few days, update v1.5: HHHHHH has been applied! Feel free to respec and modify your character builds now! You'll have plenty of time to do that.

In addition, Project Thymium will be going on a week-long break! The events of the Awards Hangar battle ended up being quite stressful, and I think taking a moment to rest would be ideal for myself, and also maybe the mental health of the Co-GM's who knows. Project Thymium will return with an update on the 25th. However, on like maybe Wednesday or something, I'll run a post to process the opening of gifts, and the creation of gifts. Just something small to tide you over for a bit.

See you then!

Echoss respec: swap Preparedness with Alter Reality. Add 2 points into DEF, 2 points into RES and 1 point into HP

Also, since we talked about this before, Itemstorm is NUKED from existence for being the impossible to balance special (*cries slightly at loss of awesome nuking potential*)
Instead Echoss gains Power Throw, which increases the damage/healing of an item action as well as the intensity and duration of buffs/debuffs.
Instead of costing a full special bar, it uses up just some SP similar to Nettle's special. The amount of SP used is dependent on the tier of item being used.

Respeccing & Housekeeping

A couple things before we start the respec:
-The "Alt:" section under POarade Baton's Weapon Skill should be removed. (It's under the MOBILIZE beat, FYI)
-Special needs to be reworded for clarity.
---"...TO ANYONE" note, 2nd point: change description to "You may double the Tranquility bonuses of two Beats in the Peace Meter this turn. For instance, if you decide to double a stored ATTACK beat, the result would be the base 'Peace' buff + (whatever boost to that 'Tranquility' would give you * 2)."
---Life Is Hard modifier: change description to "You may now either double 3 beats this turn, or triple one of the two doubled beats instead of doubling it."
-Bow Kid should have 3 Spell Slots; Deep Thinking should be gone. ...not that it'll matter much.

-Actually you know what, let's just change Bow Kid's name on the character sheet to 'Dorothy'.

Now, onto the respec itself:
-Drop all Manafuelled from Hidden Flow/Pixel
-+1 INT, SPC, MP
-Add Ace In The Hole

-New Spell Lineup:
---Sword Beam
---Familiar
---Manashock
---Mirror Image (Ace)

---

Sophia notices the christmas tree, and the presents below it. Seeing one for her, she skips to it, and unwraps it, excited to see what she got.

Boshi also notices two gifts. He opens up the one from Echoss first, then glares at the very obviously an aoutoturret. He moves it very far out of the way of the tree, notes the front, and opens it from the back, prepared to a) stop it from rotating towards him; and b) hold back the desire to yeet it at Chaos and Temmie.

Dorothy and MU (now to be referred to as Hannah) also come back for christmas.

/post presentdop
Hannah (or MU) opens her presents up first.

Though seeing that Dorothy hasn't got any presents under the tree (and looks sad at that fact), she decides to whip up something quickly. Using a single piece of Gold, she forms it into a kitty-face necklace, puts it in a little box, wraps it up in christmas kitty paper, and shoves it under the trer for Dorothy to spot a few moments later.

As she opens her present, really happy that someone at least remembered to get her something (even if it was last minute), she finds the Kitty-face Necklace. and can't help but pull Hannah into an embrace. "I saw that nobody got you anything... a-and I knew you liked cats so..."
"I love it, Hannah! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
"Merry 'Christmas', Dorothy."
They continue their embrace for a while longer.

First and foremost, Auth assigns some skillpoints. One each into, (you guessed it), INT, SPC and MP. The rest will be spent on an appropriate Perk.

When I figure out which one that is.

----

Auth chuckles when Nana says that she was worried that she'd messed up making the gloves.

AUTH: Aww, even if you had, I think they still would have been perfectly fine. It's the thought that really matters, and I can tell you put your heart into them.
AUTH: But these are good. I love them. Thank you.

Auth takes down some notes. Since these are a "material", by Inventory standards, Auth is probably going to incorporate them into a trinket.

AUTH: Yup. I made them for you too, actually, although you don't have to believe that... I thought they might be useful for you. Considering you're an apothecary...

Auth watches, ever-so-slightly nervous about how Nana might react. Auth's fears are abated when Nana seems to be quite pleased with her gift. Auth subtly relaxes.

AUTH: I'm glad that you're happy with these, Nana. Seems like I chose my gift right.

Auth eventually stops hugging Nana, though they're still close together.

AUTH: So... I needed to go and see Lutea, to fulfil a promise I made with her in regards to one of her potions.
AUTH: Would you like to... I dunno, come with me? You might have better ideas about improving her potions than me, haha. Potions... most magic stuff, actually, has never been my thing. More my sister's. Although, maybe I ought to start learning it...
AUTH: Hey, maybe we could get slash make her something. As part of the whole Christmas Spirit thing...

And so, after this (and opening the ??? of tea when Echoss drops it there), Auth goes off to visit Lutea. With Nana possibly even in tow!

----

Auth happily waves hello to Lutea when he gets close to her dome.

AUTH: Afternoon, Lutea. How are you doing? We used that potion you made. It's a little odd, but what it does is it kills someone after a delay, and then immediately revives them. Assuming they don't get knocked out first.

Auth rummages around in his pockets, before procuring a Halobloom. This is what he had in mind for making the healing potion better...

AUTH: We picked up a few of these while up at the old pass. Think you can do anything with it?

Auth waits with interest for a response.

It's all house RP now. The battle is done, so.

On with the show! Calibri appears thoughtful when the matter of cosmetic conflict comes into play, glancing above himself for a while and saying things.

"...Hmm... Maybe if you shorten the chain a little, you could wear it as some kind of bracelet? Or wear it on your back. Or just not care about typical fashion conventions and wear two amulets simultaneously? There's options. Maybe just go with what your heart says is the best option."

He shrugs, then turns his attention back to Chloe. Given the mention of the sword upgrade, he seems intrigued... though, eventually, he shrugs, handing over a Surrexerunt out of obligation.

"Honestly? Pretty curious to see what you could do with it. We did get some new swords to try out, though. One of them is... this thing."

He pulls out an Edge of Dawn, whistling quietly while inspecting said sword. Then, he chuckles in a way that indicates there's more to come.

"The other... Well, let's just say there's something special about her. Sister, could you come over here for a moment?"

Bam. In a flash of golden light and radiating quite a respectable amount of warmth, Sol Aeterna appears in Gladius form, surrounded by a golden glow and manifesting a magnificent aura of flaming wings... then the wings vanish and she promptly clatters on the ground, thankfully managing to not land in a floor-damaging orientation.

"Ouch."

There's a pause. The sword promptly gains an eye, turning to look at Chloe. Said sword seems to blink once she notices some familiarity in the other girl's appearance, though if there's much surprise, she's not letting it show.

"Hello. I am primarily known as Sol Aeterna, though I also like the name Lato. You look familiar. Have we met before?"

Now that Sol Aeterna/Lato has manifested up there too, Calibri grins.

"Pretty cool, right?"


Meanwhile, Verdana is investigating things. Namely, gifts. Namely namely, the ones under the section of the tree dedicated to himself, Calibri, and EN. There's two gifts, so...

"...Wonder who those could be for... Wait, let me check more closely."

He performs an inspection on the gifts. He's reasonably sure who they're for, once he's had time to figure that out...

But before we get to that, let's have EN do some dialogue with Rosie! That'd be fun, yeah? EN's expression becomes grim when Rosie states her opinion and or fact regarding the Spherebreaker's chances. She sighs quietly, perhaps having had that kind of conversation before...

"Yeah, ah know. All thin's considered, all tha's tryin' t' stop th' reunion might do will jus' end up wit' us gettin' front-row seats t' th' bloody thin'. It might jus' end up goin' like all th' other timelines, wit' us dead or worse. E'en speakin' wit' current statistical information, it ain't like we got somethin' t' properly rival wha' tha' thin' coul' be puttin' out, especially wit' th' thymefield interferin' an' stoppin' us from jus' droppin' a superpowered descendant on th' problem an' callin' it a day... But."

There's a fire in her eyes suddenly.

"Th' way ah see it, e'en if there's literally no chance o' us succeedin', th' outcome o' failure woul' jus' be th' same as if we stood by an' did nothin'. If we git th' same thin' from doin' nothin' as we woul' by losin', why bother standin' around on th' sidelines? E'en if statistics don't agree wit' us, e'en if th' chance o' success is the tiniest probability, hell, e'en if there is no chance we succeed, we might as well try our best out there anyway. At least if we lose, we go down fighting with our honor intact."

There's a pause. The fire vanishes from EN's eyes again as she realizes something.

"Moment, better check an' see if anyone's given me a christmas present."

EN proceeds to dash inside. After that, she and Verdana both move to open the gifts they're pretty sure are addressed to them - EN handling the one from Taeda, and Verdana handling the one from Venia...


Oh yeah have a respec.

Calibri: +3 STR, +3 INT, change weapon to Edge of Dawn, change Sword Beam to Reckless Revenge
Verdana: -1 MHP, +2 AGI, -1 INT, +9 MOV, drop Preparedness, change Santa Hat to Disco Dome, change Nia's Sweater to Crystalline Fortress, change Megu Patch to Participation Award, change Throwlem Hand to Chaos Spaghetti
Special: I changed what Lato does. I hope it's not too broken. Just felt like it'd be easier to manage and fit the whole "weapon damage no longer scales with INT" thing.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-N2...it#gid=64391331


THE LAWS OF TIME TWIST AND TURN! RP-wise, these events happen after gift reception. I just didn't want to do them in a seperate post because it'd be ugly and inefficient.


Verdana makes happy noises. There isn't a Venia around, though, so he can't really go and express thankfulness directly to her. For now, he briefly manifests his Core, then apparently... shoves the note into himself? How does that even work? Either way, he seems happy as he inspects the wand.

Then he realizes something.

"Oh. Only one T6 per build right now. Aw."

Meanwhile, EN observes the pope hat she's been given, inspecting the hat with some interest and curiosity. She holds it and turns it around, tossing it up in the air a few centimeters to check the weight and the feel of it, then glances at Taeda. After a moment of thinking, she puts it on, adjusting it a little.

"Hm..."

To be honest, she looks ridiculous with it on, since it's probably not gray and is also a massive goddamn pope hat. After more thinking, she shrugs, then takes the hat off and puts it on Taeda instead with a faint smirk.

"Heheh. Prolly suits ya better, wha' wit' th' whole, y'know. Aethetics. An' religion. An' stuff. Still, 's pretty nice. Thank ya kindly."

EN grins, then moves to give Taeda a quick cuddle. She seems to like the gift quite a bit, even if it doesn't quite mesh with her style as well as one would hope for. After that cuddle, EN continues grinning, although that does falter momentarily as she realizes something.

"...Right, better be doin' a gift fer ya in turn. Ya got any idea wha' ya might like? Me current plan's givin' ya another gun, ya coul' go akimbo wit' 'em or somethin'..."

<IRE IT HAS BASICALLY BEEN A MONTH WHY IS IT STILL CHRISTMAS>

Hello! It's time for the scheduled Wednesday Christmas Processing Mid-Break Update! Or, WCPMBU for short! To start, Echoss stashes a total of four gifts beneath the tree, while Venia rolls three. Now that some gifts have been deployed, it's time to open a bunch!

---

Crya opens her present! It's a bit of a pain getting through the layers of metal, but once she's through, she finds a handgun named Arctic Wind! Well, it's more of a cryo blaster, but it's shaped like a handgun, and fires blobs of ice. There's a note with it.

"Heya! I just wanted you to know that I have no hard feelings with you or Destiny. I mean sure, if Destiny does anything cruel, I might sock her in the gut, but don't tell her that. It'd be bad for our relationship. Hopefully, you enjoy this thing I whipped up! It uses ice crystals, and should be a weapon befitting an ice goddess like yourself!

-Chloe"

---

Arthur and Nezira open gifts! Being the current player character, Arthur gets to his first, popping open the gift bag. Inside, the bag, he finds an interesting blend of herbs and other alchemical oddities from across Sussui. There's a note with it...

"Hey. I figured you'd probably enjoy trying out some alchemy with the various stuff you can find on this planet. I took some time to find the good stuff, so you better do something cool with it! Also, somewhere near the bottom of the bag, there's a little kit that should help you produce items on the battlefield. Maybe it'll be handy.

-Mari"

...As per the note, there's a small toolkit near the bottom. A small cauldron with electric heating element, bottles, and other tools to help produce items while on the field. When the ingredients are partitioned out, it seems like there's enough to make three good-sized potions. 3 Alchemy Toolkits obtained! Meanwhile, Nezira comes upon the box from Echoss, and opens it! Like with Arthur's gift, there's a card!

...Wait, it seems that card is the present itself. Or there's two cards, the other being the sort of traditional christmas-y card...

"Hello Miss Nezira, I had no real idea what to get you that would be useful, so decided to pull some strings to get you an administrator's pass at the Echo Collective's grand library. I understand that you are setting out to catalogue as much of the multiverse as you can, and while they're not inexhaustible we do have enough of a collection to hopefully be of some interest to you.

-Echoss."

Voidic Cooridnates obtained!

---

Pope opens his present! Inside, he finds a hammer! It's covered in sharp crystals, which seem unnatural... almost like the hammer randomly mutated them. Still though, the crystals are awfully shiny, and Pope can't help but love their gleem. Mutated Hammer obtained!

...There's no note with it. YV stares at Pope through the window. They're both triangles. Clearly, there's some sort of bond over here.

---

Sophia and Boshi open presents! Sophia's up first, looting her present to find a small little box. It seems to contain some spidersilk, reeds, scissors, and needles- a kit for creating hats! Hat Creation Kit obtained! There's a note with it as well.

"Hello Miss Sophia, I apologize that little work has been successfully done on reversing your current situation, I've used a little magic of my own to make these items... well the term is complicated, but basically you should be able to interact with it fine, regardless of how much its been moved around. I hope this helps you pass the time until we can help you more.

-Echoss"

Boshi then opens his present, finding a laaaarge block of Christmas Fudge. There's no way he can eat it all, but he sure as hell can try! x3 units of Christmas Fudge obtained! Like with Sophia's gift, there's a note.

"Hello Master Boshi. I will unfortunately admit to not being extremely familiar with you and your likes, but you seem like the kind of person to enjoy a spot of good fudge.

-Echoss"

Then, when it comes to dealing with Chaos's gift, he exercises extreme caution. Turn it around. Open it from the back. Discover that the "turret" that's inside is actually just an elaborate construction of cardboard, and that the real present is... a coupon? That seems like a cop-out. It seems that he can exchange it for a custom-made item from Chaos. It seems like he's only going to make something cosmetic with it, though. Maybe he could treat himself, or get another gift for Sophia? Somebody might need more pink wastebins. Chaos Craft Coupon obtained!

---

Auth immediately opens the present left behind by Echoss! To his surprise(?), it's not tea! Instead, he finds a chessboard, made from both Silverwood and Greatwood. The pieces are in the likeness of the Spherebreakers and the Iti, on the Silverwood and Greatwood sides respectively. Like with all of his gifts, there's a note!

"Hello Master Auth. I figured that something to replace the board Misses Toast and Needleworker destroyed in their game would not go amiss. I would be willing to play a game or two of proper chess with you at some point, though I am more a player of the Skaian variants than standard so I am quite sure you will trounce me.

-Echoss"

---

Verdana and EN recieve presents! First, Verdana deals with Venia's gift, popping open the shoebox-sized box to find the Magenta Prism! It's a wand, or something. Venia's left a note with it, too!

"Verdana,

Thank you so much for all the hard work you've done and especially all the things you've done to keep me going. I noticed that you seemed to have some slight difficulties with using the staff and keeping mobile, and in-combat mobility is a must, so I figured this slimmer wand ought to compensate. It's very hard, and has powerful magical applications-mostly to do with the manipulation of barriers.

-Venia"

As for the other gift... yep, it's from Taeda, to EN! She opens it up, and finds... a miter! Or a "pope hat" as some people might know it. Helixian Miter obtained! EN is now the pope. Not the pope in the sense of the Catholic pope, or the triangle Pope, but the pope of... something. Seems like there's no card, but Taeda's around!

TAEDA: U-Um, hi!
TAEDA: I wanted to get you something that you might like, but I wasn't really sure what to give you...
TAEDA: So I thought about it, and for some reason, I started thinking about those silly hats that some of the higher-up priests wore...

TAEDA: I actually found one lying around the Church of Helix, so I thought... maybe you'd like one?
TAEDA: I-It is an honor, being given one as an aspiring priestess, but I don't know if has much significance to you...
TAEDA: It's a b-bit dumb, but I hope you like it!

Taeda bows respectfully.

---

Chloe and Nia opt to tend to their piles of gifts! Chloe is quite surprised to discover that she has three whole gifts waiting for her! Nia seems the slightest bit envious.

NIA: Whoa, you got a lot!
NIA: You must have a lot of admirers, huh?
NIA: I wonder which gift will win you over~
CHLOE: L-Look, I'm sure I'm just getting gifts because there are lots of nice people here!
CHLOE: They're probably not trying to court me. Probably.
NIA: I bet before you get off this planet, you'll find some handsome guy-
CHLOE: I-I'm not looking for that right now!

CHLOE: I'm just gonna... open stuff.
CHLOE: Here, open the one I got for you!
NIA: Okay!

Chloe tends to the gift Nia got for her, finding a polished platinum ring. There's no gemstone upon it, but there's cobalt streaks of lapis etched into it, moving in a hypnotizing wavy pattern. Chloe looks at the ring quizzically. She's happy, but...

CHLOE: ...You better not be proposing to me.
CHLOE: One, because Venia would beat the gorilla out of me, and two, haven't we already been over this?
NIA: That wasn't the intention, but if you wanna-
CHLOE: No thank you I'm fine I really am but I appreciate the thought that went into this wedding ring I meant present yeah
CHLOE: ...
CHLOE: But really, it's beautiful! Thank you!
NIA: Aw, you're welcome!
NIA: Besides, if I was proposing, I'd like, stud the thing with a zillion diamonds.
NIA: You gotta, y'know?

NIA: Anyway, lemme see what you got me...

Nia opens her gift, finding a pair of icy bangles! Like Chloe's ring, they're made of platinum. In the place of gemstones, a ring of six Frigid Crystals are embedded into each one, making the bangles a bit cold to the touch. Nia slots them on, before giving them a better look. She smiles, and hugs Chloe.

NIA: Aww, they're wonderful!
NIA: Merry Christmas, Chlo~
CHLOE: Merry Christmas!

...Seems like the two of them will tend to the rest of their gifts later.

---

While not strictly a gift opening, Kalis asks around as to what Bass might like. Chaos is in the area, so he obliges.

CHAOS: he's an ex rose [c]ul[t]ist
CHAOS: odds are he s[t]ill has some weird [t]as[t]es
CHAOS: al[t]hough i be[t] you [c]ould ge[t] him like, a [t]oy [t]rain and he'd be all over i[t]
CHAOS: rose [c]ul[t]is[t]s [c]an ge[t] overly in[t]eres[t]ed in simple [t]hings
CHAOS: no[t] [t]ha[t] i'd be in[t]eres[t]ed in a [t]oy [t]rain

Chaos continues to run a small wooden train back and forth across the shop's counter. Choo choo!

---

Meanwhile, somewhere far removed from the festive joys of the holidays, making people question if this is really just a gift post...

The Laboratory, usually unoccupied, is at this moment dominated by a single Chairian-sized capsule, humming ominously, aperture awaiting a willing hand like an invitation to descend into a dark cave. Its contents chill the whole room. Venia darted around it, each motion careful of the beast she had made, as she adjusts tiny little things-bolts here, runes there-with the precision of a machine. Her face is crunched up. Nerves.

NIA: Oh, Venia? Is this the place?

Nia pops her head through the doorway.

NIA: Sorry for running a bit late!~
NIA: So… is this the thingy?
NIA: The machine that’ll cure you?
NIA: It looks… dangerous.
VENIA: It is dangerous.
VENIA: Which is why we have the temporal reversion rune.
VENIA: I’d test this thing out a million times if I had the time or resources…
VENIA: But we don’t. Just my life, huh.
NIA: W-We can’t test it?
NIA: Well, guess I’d better help so we get it right the first time!

Nia heads to Venia’s side, taking a look at the inner mechanisms of the machine. Wire pathways woven like textiles; runes glowing ominously; the hum of the cooling agents; the main compartment, which appears to be hot enough to glow even inactive; the pulsing heart of flesh, pulsing blue. It takes roughly two seconds for Nia to break out into a bit of a sweat.

NIA: I… think I get it.
NIA: And by that, I mean I don’t understand anything at all please help me.
NIA: I mean, maybe Mari would get it...
VENIA: If you want to get her for this, then by all means.
VENIA: I mean, it’d be pretty hard for her to help without a blueprint so she knows and doesn’t have to guess what does what…
VENIA: … Which I don’t have. Foresight, why have you forsaken me.
VENIA: I think the extra witnesses would be appreciated anyways.
NIA: Mari’s a transcendent, though!
NIA: She could probably like, help design it!
NIA: If she’s anything like Xavier, she’s a huuuuge nerd.
VENIA: She was unconscious for-actually, nevermind. Grab her, would you? Just to make sure?
NIA: Okay!~

Nia quickly skips off, swiftly heading upstairs to find the stormy lady. She darts about the house, searching for Mari. She pokes her head outside, and sees Mari standing just out to the front of Echoss’s construction site, chatting with Chloe. Mari seems to be analyzing a blueprint for the extension to the house, venting to the blonde.

MARI: I can’t believe he rejected my request for a personal lab!
MARI: It’d be so goddamn cool, having the entire upper floor dedicated to my- our research!
CHLOE: I-I mean, a lab is cool and all, but we really need the room for everyone...
MARI: You guys have managed sleeping arrangements before this place! Why shouldn’t we-

Nia butts into their conversation as she grabs Mari by the arm. She immediately pivots around and begins dragging the scientist off, much to the dismay of the both of them.

MARI: Wait wait wait WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?
NIA: I need you as a witness to Venia’s genius! Sorry!
MARI: You could’ve just asked, gorilla! Unhand me!
NIA: In a bit!
CHLOE: Y-You guys! W-Wait!
CHLOE: I’ll… I’ll come too!

The three of them proceed back into the main structure. Mari awkwardly bumps down the stairs as Nia continues to drag her into the basement. Chloe meanwhile, calmly follows after the bubbly wizard.

NIA: Hiiii, Venia!
NIA: I found her!
MARI: please let go of me
VENIA: Oh, hello Mari, thank you for coming.
VENIA: Could you, um, help me out here? Or at least, check to make sure I haven’t missed anything?
VENIA: This is extraordinarily complicated, I’m liable to miss something.

… Venia hasn’t even looked up from her work, like it’d vanish if she stopped facing it. A trickle of sweat drops down her forehead. A maid appears and immediately places a desk fan next to her, as if an afterthought, before vanishing again. Mari scooches up close to Venia, and obtains the same view which Nia obtained earlier of the machinery.

MARI: ...So, uh.
MARI: It’d probably help if I knew what this machine was for.
MARI: Like, there’s the elemental motifs and stuff, but…
MARI: Maaaaybe it’s for Transcendance?
MARI: If it is, this is definitely… uh, a unique implementation.
VENIA: It’s for Transcendence. I couldn’t copy either of the methods I have precedence for.
VENIA: I’m also positive that Roxxanne cheated the rules, being in a Mindscape and all.
VENIA: So, this lovely deathtrap instead. Not like getting struck by lightning or hit with railgun rounds is any more safe.
VENIA: Idea is “simple.” You input a metric gorillaton of elemental energy on the port outside, which flows through these specialized leylines into the blob of Iti flesh there.
VENIA: The blob of iti flesh and its essence-adaption properties allows it to store the ungodly amount of elemental power and serve as a medium to adapt it to some of the DNA we yoinked off of Maxim.
VENIA: You know, the kind Wyvern likes to use to turn himself into a living armory.
VENIA: The Blade Strain is then injected into the hand via the aperture below, transferring the power, and it turns you into a Transcendent.
VENIA: Or, you explode violently.
MARI: Something tells me it’s the latter-

Mari is promptly slapped by Nia, and with considerable force! The scientist rubs a red mark on her cheek as Nia admonishes her.

NIA: You could have some confidence, y’know!
MARI: Well, this is pretty goddamn experimental!
MARI: Ideally, we should run like, some sort of test, first…

MARI: Oh!
MARI: Chloe! I knew we brought you here for a reason!
MARI: Get in the machine!
CHLOE: W-What!? No!
CHLOE: Y-You didn’t even plan to bring me here, anyway...
CHLOE: But… look, I believe in whatever Venia’s made here!
CHLOE: I… well, I can’t pretend to know what it does, but Venia’s always done amazing work! I’m sure that we’ll succeed!
VENIA: Thanks for the vote of confidence.
VENIA: I should point out, however, that we really don’t have the option to test this thing.
VENIA: We’d be lucking out to be able to use this twice… And I don’t exactly have very long.
VENIA: I may only get this one shot.
VENIA: Hell, I’m lucky to even get this thing up and running soon enough that it doesn’t seem implausible to get two.
VENIA: But this thing is such a resource sink that-

Venia’s cut off by her own condition, blurring and gray goo bursting from her. She kneels down as the goop fades into nothing, hands buried into her face, kneeling again. Funny, she didn’t remember missing a finger before-

VENIA: Oh gorilla.
NIA: V-Venia!?
NIA: T-That seemed way more violent than usual!
NIA: W-What’s happening to you!?
VENIA: Uh. S-Same thing that’s been happening b-before, to be honest, cranked up to eleven.
VENIA: The blurring had the side-effect of… B-Blurring out internal and external bits of me, usually too small to notice. You’d forget about them immediately.
VENIA: But, I realize, this ring finger I’m missing shouldn’t be missing.
VENIA: also please help it’s bleeding ow ow ow ow ow
CHLOE: H-Here! Let me...

Chloe wastes no time enchanting the words that Toast taught her, a healing spell enveloping Venia’s hand. While it doesn’t restore the finger, the stub is no longer bleeding.

VENIA: T-Thanks.
VENIA: I-I can’t waste more time. Nia, here-

Venia reaches into her pocket and hands Nia a metal coin. On its face is an approximation of an hourglass over a cog. Nia takes it from her, looking it over. If Venia didn’t just blur out earlier, maybe she’d find it romantic.

VENIA: Temporal reversion rune. B-basically a rewind.
VENIA: I’ve already set it up. J-just, channel some mana into it.
VENIA: It’ll rewind me up to a m-minute of my personal timeframe, completely. Don’t use it now, though!
VENIA: I-If anything happens after I get the injection… It’ll be fast. Real fast.
VENIA: So j-just use that. Use that, it’ll basically act as an undo button.
VENIA: O-oh, and I’ll need to be stopped from using it again, as that’ll include my memories.
VENIA: Alright? You understand?
NIA: Y-Yep! I understand!
NIA: S-So… s-should we…
NIA: s-start the machine, o-or what?
NIA: I’m just… really nervous. I-I mean, obviously, I believe in you, b-but the fact that we even need this coin is worrying...

Venia pauses. Then, she stands up, and wraps her arms around Nia, pulling her in tight. Nia sinks into Venia, a few tears in her eyes.

VENIA: N-Nia, I’m-I’m scared too, I understand.
VENIA: I-I. I really don’t want to do this.
VENIA: T-The idea of j-just, d-ditching what I am for s-something else is...
VENIA: Oh, Nia!
VENIA: I don’t think I’d even be doing this if you weren’t here for me.
VENIA: Thank you, for everything!
VENIA: I… I have to do this, or else it’ll have all been for nothing!

Venia releases Nia and walks up to the machine.

VENIA: Are you ready?
NIA: As ready as I’ll ever be.
NIA: A-Are… are you ready?
VENIA: Not at all, but it’ll have to do.

Venia stands in front of the machine’s aperture, and presses a single button just above the interface. The machine whirs to life-and the machine whines with the sheer strain! Smoke comes out of the back. Venia puts up her hand-this was expected, if not exactly ideal. The whining and smoking eases up soon, and the machine makes a saccharine little ‘ding’ to signal the first part of the process-getting the elemental energy into an inject-able form-is done.

Venia hesitates. And then, slowly, she sticks her arm into the machine’s aperture. She winces as she feels her skin get pricked by the injection, and then bites her tongue as she feels it. Oh, god, she feels it-burning. Even Ice elemental power would feel like unceasing fire coursing through her at that level. Her skin pulsed an ominous blue, overtaking her entirely, but for a moment.

Nothing appeared to happen. Almost confused, Venia stepped back, retracting her arm, still feeling incredibly hot. She was sweating quite heavily.

VENIA: ...Uh.
VENIA: I-I think it… I think it worked?
NIA: D-Did it?
NIA: That seemed underwhelming, almost...
CHLOE: Well, it’s not like the process needed to be flashy…
CHLOE: We should be thankful that it was… well, not painless, but survivable.
CHLOE: S-So, um...
NIA: H-How are you feeling?
VENIA: Like I’m b-b-boiling. It must still be ongoing...

Venia wipes her brow of sweat… And then realizes that isn’t sweat when most of her brow abruptly spills onto the floor.

VENIA: Oh.

It happens ridiculously fast at that point-the ‘sweat’ completely overtakes Venia, and with only a surprised look Venia completely dissolves into a puddle on the floor. Nia pauses for a few moments, horror overtaking her. Soon enough, she begins to shriek.

NIA: N-NO! V-VENIA!
NIA: W-Wait, t-the coin! I-I just… n-need to...

Nia rummages through her pockets, pulling the time-rewinding rune out of her pockets. In her haste, the smooth coin pops out of her hands, and she scrambles and claws at the air, eventually barely grasping it between her fingers. She pulls it close to her chest.

NIA: I just n-need to… c-calm d-down, and f-focus…
NIA: P-Please, Venia…
NIA: Let t-this thing work...

As Nia focuses her power into it, the coin glows, the sigil springing alight. The puddle that was formerly Venia twitches, and as an odd static-like effect permeates the air, time rewinds-the water Venia was composed of reforms back into Venia’s body and she undoes her motions.

And then, something odd happens, just as Venia’s started to wipe at her brow, barely seconds backwards-the coin abruptly turns red and everything around Venia pauses instead, for no particular or immediately discernible reason. Seconds later, the pause undoes itself, and Venia resumes wiping her brow and watching it turn to water on the floor.

VENIA: Oh.
MARI: gorilla.

And just like that, it happens again-Venia dissolves in record time into another puddle. The rune goes dark, and try as Nia might, she finds herself unable to funnel further mana into it to any effect at all.

NIA: No, no, no!
NIA: P-Please, I-I need you to work!
NIA: I-I need you to bring her back!
NIA: H-How am I…
NIA: H-HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE W-WITHOUT HER?
NIA: P-PLEASE!

Nia shakes the rune violently, yelling and shrieking at the spent coin. Try as she might to funnel her mana into it, the coin is completely worthless. Blindly, she hurls the rune at the wall, causing it to fragment into dozens of little fragments. Nia falls to her knees, and begins crying incoherently, collapsing forward into the puddle that was her girlfriend. She felt Chloe caress her back, trying her best to comfort her, but it was obvious that she was in grief as well. Neither Nia or her mind could stop screaming. Why must life always take away everything that was good from her? Maybe she was cursed.

Or just maybe… she was never fated to be happy.

---

Dead. Venia understood it. Dead. Dead beyond recovery. Soon her soul would fizz out and then she’d spend a short period of time in hell before her cancer caught up with her and broke her existence. She died, and she died painfully, and the temporal reversion rune clearly didn’t work for some reason. She couldn’t see anything, and couldn’t open any eyes of any sort. Her body, if she had any, was inert and unresponsive. She felt relatively neutral in terms of temperature, though, and the last screams of Nia’s anguish at her death rung in her potentially-nonexistent ears.

It was over, and she had to ruin everything by letting Nia fall in love with her and then die right in front of her. She’d scream at her own incompetence if she had a mouth. She couldn’t possibly feel more dead if she tried.

It was over. Done and dusted. It was fun while it lasted.

…

But why is the screaming not fading from her ears? Actually-as she strains to hear, it almost feels like the screaming is actually intensifying in volume. Was that hell?

Splash. Something hit… Wait.

Venia’s mind pauses completely as she tries to understand the feeling of something-something heavy-press against some part of whatever she happened to be now, and her body (was it her body?)... splashing?

She tried to speak, again. Nothing. And yet-not only was she definitely feeling something press down on her, but… Ow! Something like salt in an open wound. Ow. Ow. Ow. Was this her going on to her eternal damnation?

...She could still taste, astoundingly-and she tasted the ‘salt’ coming into her open ‘wounds.’ Tasted like tears.

… She couldn’t blink, couldn’t move in any way she recognized as movement, couldn’t see-but she could still hear, somehow, really as if she had just been put right next to someone screaming into a microphone-she could still taste tears-she could still feel something press down on her-and things weren’t changing. And she felt herself move, involuntarily. Move like…

Inspiration hits. She wasn’t dead! And if she wasn’t dead-maybe she could move herself? She just had to figure out how.

---

As Nia moans and wails over her lost love, Mari, standing removed from the scene, catches movement, or something like it, below Nia’s feet. And it wasn’t Nia’s doing, either-the water was moving. She glances at the others. Seems like they’re totally oblivious to it. A gentle smile creeps across her face. Still, she waits for a bit of confirmation before she says anything.

Eventually, the water starts reaching up, only to fall back down into itself rather pathetically-but it kept doing it, again and again, reaching up a bit further before gravity reminded it how things worked… or whatever force moved it gave out, but it kept at it. A brief pause-and then the water rose enough to touch Nia in the face before dropping back down.

NIA: E-Eh?
NIA: C-Chloe, w-was that you?
NIA: It’s… r-really n-not funny...
CHLOE: ...
NIA: C-Chloe?

Seems that by this point, Chloe’s noticed the moments too, and has taken a few steps back. Perhaps just in time, too-the water spikes up to meet Nia’s face again, and it almost looks recognizable-just before falling backwards into the puddle again with a noticeable splash

NIA: S-Stop that!
NIA: I-It’s really-
CHLOE: L-Look at the water!
CHLOE: I-It’s… w-well, doing something!
NIA: H-Huh?

Nia bends a little lower, her tear-stained face hovering just over the surface of the water. Droplets still drip from her eyes, splashing into the puddle below. She scans the rippling surface, desperately clinging on to whatever tiny threads of hope she could grasp at.

Just in time to get a face full of water. The whole of the puddle-and a good bit of the other water in the canals of the room-sprang straight up at Nia’s face, pushing her back some, as it coiled into a familiar form around Venia’s clothes-a face, incredibly long hair, impressive feminine assets-and its face, her face! It wasn’t actually there for a second, but then it resolved itself, as the puddle’s water coiled itself into a far more familiar form, face crunched up in concentration and… Well, not breathing.

To be fair, five seconds ago she didn’t have a nose. Or eyes.

NIA: V-V… Venia…?

Venia’s eyes flung open, almost as if by surprise, and she saw Nia-crying.

VENIA: N-Nia? Nia! NIA! I’m OK!

Venia immediately moves up to Nia, only to half-form into a puddle trying to move-but she doesn’t sink back down into flatness this time, instead retaining some of her form-and, after a second, all of it, enough to move again, enough to reach out and kiss that beautiful face. And de-form just inches off, having to re-form on the ground. Sparing herself fast movement, she just rolls over to meet Nia’s face.

VENIA: I’m OK! I’m alive! I’m alive! It worked! I’m alive! Nia!

No words leave Nia’s mouth. She’s not quite sure what’s happened in the past few moments. Was she hallucinating already? Yes. That must be it. She’s already become so dependent on Venia for support, that she’s already fully inconsolable without her. Yes. That’s clearly the case. Still, just to be sure, Nia approaches the watery form that is Venia-struggling to stand up completely straight, and at this moment managing to kneel.

Before Venia can quite tell what Nia’s doing, she’s immediately pulled into a hug, Nia’s lips pressing against hers. The shock is but a moment-but she doesn’t let it go to waste, and kisses back, hard, tongue wrapping around Nia’s, arms grasping back tight-the most precious thing in the world to her, the reason she was doing everything she was, right in her arms, more precious than anything. Tears rolled down her face, hot.

They break apart, briefly. Nia’s cheeks are glowing a bright red, though they’re still stained with tears.

VENIA: Nia I am so sorry I scared you I didn’t know what to do and I think the reversion rune didn’t work because I was so fundamentally different from what I was like five seconds ago that it didn’t register me as existing past that point so it didn’t rewind me out of existence and oh my god everything feels weird now-
VENIA: Oh my god, I love you Nia, please don’t cry, I’m here, I’m here. I won’t leave. I’m here.
NIA: I-I’m just g-glad that you’re back...

She doesn’t bother trying to say much else. She immediately goes back in, locking lips with Venia once again. Chloe and Mari stand awkwardly in the back, third and fourth wheels to the couple.

CHLOE: I-I…
CHLOE: I-I’m… s-so thankful t-that she’s a-alright...
MARI: Woo! Called it!
MARI: So, should we leave those two to get a room, or-

Wham! Chloe slams her knee into Mari’s gut without mercy. Mari gags, and she collapses to the ground, grasping her stomach.

CHLOE: N-Not funny!
CHLOE: Y-You could try t-to be m-more sensitive...
MARI: and you could try to not respond to everything with violence

Chloe considers butting in to express her happiness for Venia, but reconsiders. Seems like Nia and Venia were currently lost in their own little world at the moment. She sighs, a gentle blush crossing her face. She decides to pick up Mari, slinging her up over her shoulder. The scientist doesn’t resist.

CHLOE: V-Venia? I’m so glad you’re back!
CHLOE: You… d-don’t need to say anything. Not right now, anyway.
CHLOE: I’ll just… l-leave you two to it, a-alright?
CHLOE: Meet us upstairs! We wanna hear what happened!

Hastily, Chloe carries herself and Mari upstairs. Nia and Venia barely notice them leaving. The wizard continues kissing her duchess. She wished that they could be like this forever. While yes, it’d definitely be kind to go upstairs and inform everyone that Venia was okay, she couldn’t help but be a little greedy, and horde Venia to herself. Venia felt likewise: she had her whole world right in her arms, and she wouldn't leave.

Reality would catch up to them. Someone would stumble in and ruin the moment, or a call to arms would come up and they'd have to go. Until then, the two have each other, and they'll stay as long as they can.

---

And with that, Venia's Trait levels up! I believe she'll also be obtaining a "Transcendence" passive effect, but maybe Tazz will elaborate on that in their post? Who knows?

We hope you enjoyed this irregularly-scheduled WCPMBU! Anyway, regular updates will resume on Saturday! Stay tuned until then!

Character Level Up!
Spells:
Decaying Light swapped for "First Aid"

Stats:
+2 HP
+4 INT

Also open the present by Monika...

I have a feeling this will either be really positive or really negative with no inbetween. I think it's just how my luck works out in general.

Suddenly, The_Serpent joins the team!

HEY. I THOUGHT YOU COULD PROBABLY. PROBABLY USE MY HELP.

Wait, this character sheet isn't for The_Serpent at all. Who is this joker, really?

USING THE CHARACTER SHEET. TO BREAK THE MIRROR? WELL, THAT'S NOT Fair. not fair at all, i say!

The "troll" unmasks itself with a crystalline effect as a strange humanoid with scintillating rainbow eyes that take up a large portion of their delicate face, light-gray skin that appears almost translucent, and a mohawk of pure white hair appears.

i heard there was a chair war brewing! the conductor told me about the dreams, the dreams that called you all here, but unfortunately very unfortunately i was held up on business elsewhere and i really couldn't make it until now, sorry so sorry about that. i'd tell you go and tell you my name to establish a bond of trust, but names aren't really my right to possess, so you can just call me the reflector!

...Suddenly, the Reflector joins the team?

(Pending Ire approval and potential rebalancing.)

Posting as a remindire:

you seem to have missed some INT scaling on player crafted weapons
Ohm's Law and Deck of Myriad Things, for one
there's some others that have retained INT scaling on damaging weapon skills
(Silverglitch & Ice-Armed Arm, for two)

/further stuff to come?

<ROUND TWO-HUNDRED AND FOUR>
Hello! Welcome back to the process. Maybe we'll take another break again later, but for now, let's continue with the show!

---

As per usual, since we just wrapped up a boss fight, it's time for stats. Lots and lots of stats. This might take awhile.

---

Echoss continues his chat with Chloe. Somewhere, a person presses a button, suddenly shifting Chloe's train of thought in an unnatural fashion. This prompts her to ask a question!

CHLOE: Hey, so... what is your job?
CHLOE: It has to be something important. I remember hearing so many things when I switched places with you for that moment...
CHLOE: Are you like, a systems administrator, or a security guy, or something?
CHLOE: Just curious. Sorry!

Then, at the house, some golems (or whatever Echoss's construction crew is at the moment) uses up 38 Uniform Logs to create a bunch of chests for item storage in the new wing of the house. It looks like things are pretty settled there now: perhaps people could start moving into that new wing?

To cap things off, in the Everground, Pionobot pulls out a rocket launcher, and fires it at the Exhibition. Instead of moving to dodge the rocket, it flaps its wings, and bits of it break apart and fly towards Pionobot as a storm of shards! The shards detonate the rocket in midair, and cut into him for (7) damage! Seems like firing this off has dealt (10) points of damage to the Exhibition, though.

In addition, it seems like it's pushing you dangerously close to that ledge. Careful now.

---

Chara reminisces while drinking cocoa. He asks for some "basic lessons in socializing", stammering as they find it awkward to discuss. Chloe does her best to dismiss it.

CHLOE: You don't need to be ashamed, y'know.
CHLOE: I'd be happy to be your friend!
CHLOE: So, how about it-

Chloe at about the same moment, notices the other person in the room. According to the logs, their name is "Joseph". Of course, Chloe doesn't know this. She attempts to greet him.

CHLOE: U-Um, hi?
CHLOE: Are you one of Chara's friends, by chance...?
CHLOE: And... what do you mean Fran is coming?

While Chloe ponders the answer to this question, somebody decides to go and glompambush Marron, popping in through a portal. Whack! The two fall to the ground, tangled together in a hug. The puppeteer is clearly not enjoying it.

MARRON: DUMBgorilla I AM NOT YOUR SISTER-

Marron rolls around, barely shaking the new girl off of her. She takes a few hasty steps back, away from the visitor. She loads a bolt into Therma, and levies it at her target.

MARRON: Who the gorilla are you!?
MARRON: Seriously!
MARRON: That's no way to greet a complete stranger!

...It's amazing that Marron hasn't shot her just yet. Maybe she'll get shot a few seconds into the future, though?

---

Mr. Krabs continues to ruin my aesthetic! At Cellblock Omega, he equips a large magnet, and points it towards the cage with the armor. The cage launches towards Krabs! However, before he can inventorize it, he realizes that something's alive in there!

The cage slams into the cells behind him, breaking apart. The rotted corpse inside spills out onto the ground. Then, it twitches. Slowly but surely, its every movement sounding like that one squeaky floorboard in your house, it rises from the ground, still wearing the armor that Krabs covets. He may need to go and put it down quickly to go get that armor.

Also, in the lab, Venia researches Team March, Improved Energy Efficiency, and Casual Bombardment! This costs 190 Samples.

---

Auth and Nana continue being lovey-dovey. This actually reminds the GM to trigger his fill condition, so it randomly spikes from all the times its been forgotten, instantly filling his SP Gauge. Anyway, he then notes to Nana that he's going to go and see Lutea, and asks if she'd like to come with. She eagerly nods, taking hold of his hand once again.

NANA: O-Of course!
NANA: I hope she's doing alright...

Leaving the catacombs for a bit, the two make the trek to the Endless Gardens. Lutea is outside, busy surveying the charred landscape around her biodome. Nana's shyness melts as she sees her sister, and the two share a quick hug.

LUTEA: Nana! It's great to see you!
NANA: It's great to see you too!
LUTEA: Is everything going okay with you? I'm... always a bit worried for you, going out and doing things like this...
NANA: H-Hm? Everything's fine!
NANA: M-More than fine, a-actually!

NANA: B-But... anyway, Auth has something he'd like you to do...
LUTEA: Sure!
LUTEA: What is it?

First, Auth notes that the potion she made actually kills people.

LUTEA: I-It does!?
LUTEA: That's... not... g-great...
LUTEA: W-Well, at least it revives people, so I guess it's not t-too bad...
LUTEA: One hell of a sideeffect, though...

Before she can fret more, Lutea is handed a Halobloom. The apprentice apothecary's eyes sparkle.

LUTEA: Ooh, a Halobloom!
LUTEA: These are really hard for me to come by!
LUTEA: In fact, I have something I'd like to try with it!
LUTEA: One sec!

Significantly longer than a "sec" later, Lutea returns with a clear glass bottle, with an equally clear fluid within it. Rings of light form around the bottle's neck, causing the whole thing to sparkle.

LUTEA: And... done!
LUTEA: Give it a try for me, alright!
LUTEA: I'm almost positive this won't kill anyone!
NANA: T-That's... reassuring.

Halobloom Remedy get! Maybe try giving Lutea even more items? Maybe she could even make a nice offensive consumable for you...

---

Calibri works out gifts with Chloe. He notes that maybe she could try shortening the chain, and turn it into a bracelet. She nods.

CHLOE: Yeah! Let's do that!
CHLOE: I might not even need to shorten the chain- if I just do something like thiiiis...

With great dexterity, Chloe wraps the amulet around her arm. It still looks somewhat passable, wrapped around her right arm.

CHLOE: It looks nice! Thanks a bunch!
CHLOE: Anyway, about that upgrade...

Calibri hands Chloe Surrexerunt. She gives it a few cursory swings to get a feel for the weapon.

CHLOE: Hm, I think I have an idea...
CHLOE: I'll get back to you with this?/color]

Chloe stashes the blade, then takes a moment to appreciate the Edge of Dawn, as well as Sol Aeterna. She's pleasantly surprised to find that it's talking. She politely greets the blade.

<span style='font-family:courier new'>CHLOE: Oh, hello!
CHLOE: I'm Chloe! You're really pretty!
CHLOE: ...Is it weird to call a sword pretty? Whatever.

CHLOE: Anyway, I don't think we've met before...
CHLOE: I think I'd remember a glowing sword!</span>

She picks up the blade from the ground, and decides to take a moment to admire its handiwork. Yet, she can't help but feel that she has a deeper connection with it, somehow...

Anyway, EN goes to chat with her tank. The way she sees it, it's better go face this "reunion" and die trying, since the outcome of failure would also be death. Rosie takes a moment to compute this.

[color=#ff0000]ROSIE: AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE.
ROSIE: I WONDER, IF YOUR ACTIONS WILL HAVE ANY DIRECT CONSEQUENCE?
ROSIE: PERHAPS I SHALL SPEND SOME TIME CALCULATING THIS.

...Rosie goes silent. A gentle whirring emits from the automated tank. Seems like its deep in thought. In a day or two, maybe it'll churn the meaning to life, the universe, and everything. But who knows? It'll probably be done sooner than that, anyway.

Then, a few moments after receiving a pope hat, EN places the hat on Taeda's head. She immediately begins to blush.

TAEDA: H-Hm?
TAEDA: A-Ah, um, I-I'm not actually supposed to be allowed t-to wear one of these, t-technically...
TAEDA: But... does it look a-alright?
TAEDA: D-Does it fit me?

...It's definitely a bit big for her. The brim of the hat covers the upper third of her eyes, and it's certainly a deal bigger than her head. Regardless of EN's answer though, she takes it off, holding it with her arms wrapped around it, like what one might do with a pillow. EN then asks what the priestess might like as a gift...

TAEDA: Um... I don't really know.
TAEDA: As a priestess, I've never really asked for much...
TAEDA: Maybe I could get more helix shells for my collection...
TAEDA: ...but, another gun does sound nice!
TAEDA: I'm just... not sure if I'm strong enough to hold two at once.

...Taeda is a bit on the twiggier side of things. Holding guns akimbo would likely be too much for her, unless you gave her a pistol as well. John Loblolly when?

---

Daskter opens his present! His fingers tingle as the glitched matter comes into contact with his skin. Then, as he pulls the box open, it explodes into a cloud of glitched material! Daskter coughs and ASSET_DATA_CORRUPTED/color] for a few moments. He feels odd. Like somebody'd just fiddled with his summoning capabilities.

New upgrades for Incantations have been unlocked! There's one new option for each kind of Incantation. Take a look?

---

The Reflector appears on the planet! They end up appearing in the Hybridization lab, appearing only a few feet away from Nia. She pivots around, and waves hello.

<span style='font-family:courier new'>NIA: Oh, hi!
NIA: Did you just get here? I have no idea how you did that, but everyone seems to just kinda appear, so whatever!
NIA: I'm Nia. Nice to meet you!</span>

Rather than exchange a handshake, she opts to get uncomfortably close, taking a good look at them. She seems to be fascinated by their mohawk.

[color=#00ccff]NIA: So... why are you called the Reflector?
NIA: Kinda curious, since it's an odd name and all.

She awaits a response, continuing to examine the new recruit as she does.

---

Irongutta teaches Magnolia about colors. Irongutta for best kindergarten teacher 2020? Anyway, it seems like Magnolia's already made up her decision.

MAGNOLIA: Ooh! Paint me black!
MAGNOLIA: But also red! I like red.
MAGNOLIA: I wanna be both! Deadly and quick! I wanna be the best axe!
MAGNOLIA: Could you do it? Pretty please?

While Irongutta probably becomes best kindergarten art teacher 2020, he also decides to open his gift from R-8733. It seems to be a bomb suit of sort. Of course, given that Irongutta's an ork and all that, it's clearly been modified to support his frame. Also, it has cybernetics implanted within it, as to not hamper mobility! There's also a note with it...

"Master, I noticed that you did not have optimal equipment for the handling of explosive material, so I have acquired a bomb suit for you! I hope you find this gift useful!

-R-8733"

---

Some of the NPC's opt to get on with some of the activities they've been doing!

Marron and Ette, still in the kitchen, finish baking a whole lot of cookies! They're placed onto the table to cool, the scent of shortbread filling every nook and cranny in the boards of the house. With that out of the way, the two sisters decide to visit the tree to investigate for gifts. And gifts they find! Marron finds what's clearly just a wrapped arm, which she deftly unwraps. And yep- it's an arm. She's disgusted at first, before realizing that the arm is in fact, synthetic. And also her size!

With a quick pop, she removes her old right arm, and stitches the new one to her inner garments. She gives it a few quick tests- it seems dexterous enough, and... it seems like it can actually sorta feel things. Sure, the sense of touch it has is a bit muted, but it's been a long, long time since she's been able to feel things with her right arm. She hops on over to Echoss, immediately thanking him.

MARRON: Hey, thanks for the arm.
MARRON: It... means a lot. And stuff.
MARRON: I'll try to put it to good use.
ETTE: Ooh, Echoss!

Ette suddenly ambushes Echoss, giving him a hug. It seems she's already found the various dresses in her gift.

ETTE: Thank you a whole lot!
ETTE: I'll try them on right away!
MARRON: M-Maybe not right away?
MARRON: We still haven't killed the zone boss, so odds are, your new clothes would get dirty...
MARRON: Also, they're not suited for combat. So you'd... die.
ETTE: ...Oh.
ETTE: I'll try them on later away!
ETTE: Thank you again!

Ette runs upstairs, storing her new dresses in the chest that Toast left for her own personal storage. Marron follows her up the spiraling stairs. While the two sisters go off to do... sisterly things, Nia and Mari head to the tree, and grab some gifts of their own! Nia rips open her gift, finding the Ultra Glove! She slips it on, and since he's in the area, quickly thanks Echoss.

NIA: Thank you for the glove!
NIA: Now I have... two gloves!

Nia wears both the Power Glove and the Ultra Glove simultaneously. Unlimited power is hers, as well as symmetry! She skips off, ready to go and nuke a local city or something like that. Mari meanwhile, heeds the cautionary notes, and finds a... small remote. Wordlessly, she takes it outside, and points it at a nearby abandoned house.

Click.

Down from orbit, a Goddess Hand drops from the sky, smiting the house with extreme prejudice. Pieces of wood fly through the air, one narrowly missing Mari and embedding itself in the ground next to her. She stares at the destruction blankly.

MARI: ...
MARI: Nice.

She heads inside, and quickly visits Venia.

MARI: Hey, thanks for the remote. It's... actually pretty damn cool.
MARI: So...
MARI: ...wanna see me chunk a house with it?

...An interesting offer? Also, if she keeps destroying houses, she'll probably lower the resale value of this neighborhood. Mari must be stopped! Or maybe don't, as the houses are already pretty beyond repair anyway.

---

And with that, the round is complete! If you're itching for a battle, you can go start the main boss right away (not recommended), or go seek out potential other threats that might harm you during the boss fight if left unchecked! There's probably at least one or two more groups of Rose Cultists on standby... seek them out?

((For the dop seen above!))
Stat Stuff


RP!

Irongutta gives Magnolia some proper education on Orky color belief.

"So, ya wanna learn 'bout wot all the other colors do? Well I'll be happy to tell ya!"

Clearing his throat, he began.

"Green iz best, first off, an' it's best 'coz Orks are green and also the best! It's like one o' them mathy-matical properties."

"Yellow 'as two meanings, actually. First one is good if yer a wealthy git an' wanna show it. Bad Moonz love this one, 'coz they're fat gits wivv the biggest teef, so they're the richest. 'Course, it's good for the other meaning too: yellow stuff makes the best explosions, hah!"

"Then ya got black, which ya wear if yer a tuff, dead 'ard git. White's another one if ya don't wanna be messed wivv, 'cause that's the color of death."

He pondered for a moment as he remembered the last one. "Oh yeah, then there's purple! It's the sneakiest color, 'coz 'ave you ever seen a purple Ork?" He let the odd question hang in the air, as if it were rhetorical. "That's roight! So it's the sneakiest color, see?"

With his long winded lesson done with, he posed Magnolia a question. "Ya really sound like you want a new coat of paint on ya. Any o' those spark yer fancy? If ya ask me, I'd paint ya blue, but I ain't never had no thinkin' axe before."

---

And it was Christmas time once again! Noticing that his impromptu apprentice R-8733 has left him a gift (and being touched by the gesture), he promptly rips into the wrapping to see what he's been given.

Lukas does some stuff!
>Equip Rosefinder Headset
>+5 points to HP
>+1 point to RES
>Preparedness -> Warp Powder

The Reflector notices their surroundings, appearing in the Hybridization Lab or wherever most of the characters are right now.

hello hello hello! it's nice to finally meet all of you meet you personally. of course i know some things just a few things about some of you, you know the dreams the conductor received provided some intel and i scouted out a few things beforehand but for the most part this is the first time i've seen all of you! so how about some introductions and friendly association? i have many many things i can share about my selves if you're curious!

As Nia greets the new arrival, their face breaks open into a smile just a little too wide to be human.

i suppose you find it an odd name, very odd indeed, and well that's perfectly natural because it's not a name at all! it's a title, a descriptor, a fact of being.

The Reflector holds their hand up, from which a hemispherical energy shield bubbles forth, forming a translucent white barrier between the two. After a second, the Reflector taps their wrist with their other hand, causing the shield to fizzle and disappear.

i make reflections! and of course i become them too.

The Reflector's eyes are the first thing to change. The rainbow colors slowly consolidate into a single hue -- the exact same hue as Nia's own eyes. The rest of their body begins to shift its proportions, textures, and hues as their skin is surrounded with a crystalline light, blocking the more... graphic details accompanying the transformation, until the Reflector is an exact copy of Nia.

"NIA": See what I mean?
"NIA": Oh, to answer your question, I arrived here by spaceship. Kinda boring, I know.
"NIA": You couldn't see me until now because of my top-tier camouflage. But I promise I haven't been spying on you or anything! I've only been here for about twenty minutes, and I was just taking a look around.
"NIA": And, uhh, nice to meet you too!

Mustache Girl (Hannah) opens her present, excitement reigned in only a little bit.

---

Bow Kid (Dorothy) explores the Southern Hallway some more, specifically, (BT57). She prods the area, to see if stuff goes through the wall (you never know with rose cultists). If nothing happens, she proceeds to try and wreck the wall. First with her baton, then a Sapper's Sledgehammer.

---

Mustache Girl (Hannah), in the mines, finally does something. She moves to the far left of the island she's on, and flashes the Grey Card at the Harpy below.

Once that's done, she climbs up the chain a little way, swings up to the Amphiii Wall Trophy, collects it, and places it at (X141) after climbing down again. As the wall trophy beams the Exhibition, Hannah herself acquires an Ink Charger and a Searing Cluster. She yeets the Cluster down onto the Exhibition, before firing a bolt from the Ink Charger at it and the Exhibition from above. The recoil of the gun knocks her over.

CRAFTPOST

"Nia" examines her new body.

"NIA": Oh, I like this one!
"NIA": I wonder, wonder what cool backstory this form has. I bet it's dark and tragic, yet heroic at the same time!
"NIA": Oops, I'm breaking character, aren't I? Sorry! I haven't been Nia for very long, so...
"NIA": Anyway, I should probably, like, upgrade some of this old gear I came with. I mean, whoa, you've got lots of stuff lying around! So I figure it's alright if I borrow some...
"NIA": Thanks so much! I promise I’ll make good use of it.

In the tunnel, Echoss sighs.
"I suppose... I suppose it's about time I stopped being coy about that, isn't it?
While I do prefer to think of myself as a 'Collector', that isn't my actual title. Officially I'm..."
He sighs again, his face showing no small amount of embaressment and a little bit of distaste as well.
"'Supreme Executive Overseer.'
Essentially I'm responsible for running the whole thing. Generally this boils down to keeping an eye on my councelors to make sure they're still doing their jobs correctly, and helping to root out bureaucratic excess and corruption. But there's a lot of extra diplomatic functions and the like that need doing constanly. It's... rather tiring.
I... apologize for not being truthful about my position before. I was worried about people being scared of me for my position, or worse, treating me with undue respect or praise just because of it."
He slumps against the wall.
"I know that won't be the case now, but..."
he trails off.


Down on the first floor, the golems take iron and clay (clay for ceramics) to start applying bathroom fixtures to the unoccupied bathroom. Details of layout are in here.


Down in the everground, Pionobot resorts to drastic measures, he whips out the cyclone regalia, and with the elemental core inside his chest, rides the winds, up and over the exhibition, before unleashing a powerful blast of wind downwards, attempting to splatter the thing on the island below him.


When the Needleworker sisters get their presents...
"Ah, it's no problem Miss Needlework-"
Ette promptly ambushes him with a hug, which totally catches Echoss off guard. He blinks for a moment, then tentatively hugs back until she releases.
"Of course, I'm glad you like them."
Likewise, Nia, receives a 'You're welcome'. Echoss seems happy to have done well with the gifts.


Echoss also takes the time to open his singular gift.

Exploring!

Daskter enters The Steps to Oblivion, and stops in front of the Barrier.

He summons a Behemoth to barrel right through those weak looking barriers.

Shame it won't be has shocking with those statues right there.

After

Venia and Nia eventually stop kissing in the basement, as Venia pulls away and looks at herself, exhilerated.

"God. You don't really know how wrong you feel until you start feeling right again. I feel like I could plow through a wall. Or a dozen walls! Blow up a planet!" Venia exclaims. "Come on, god, let's do, let's do something! We've got to tell everyone I'm OK now, after all."

Venia bolts up the stairs, more in expectation Nia will follow than with her. Maria walks up to Venia, curious about all the water.

"Little muffin!" Venia says, scooping low to hug Maria. "I'm all better! I'm finally all better! No more fuzzies!"

"Never ever?"

"Never ever!" Venia says. "I'm still going to be super-busy, but I'm all better!"

"HOORAY!" Maria yells. "Venny's all better, everyone! Venny's all better!"

"Maria, remember your indoor voice," Venia says, smiling harder than her attempt at scolding should have.

Venia and Maria are currently enjoying a big cuddle. Aww.

---

Bass

"Yo, Bass!" Venia says a bit after this above scene. "Uh, the memory thing-want to do that now? My workload is a bit less crazy than before."

---

The Rosen Catacombs

Mr. Krabs doesn't like the look of that mean mangled corpse, and promptly decides to become the Hindu god of destruction, Shiva. This incredible transformation mainly serves as a way for Mr. Krabs to possess additional limbs by which to hogtie the corpse into a seventh-dimensional knot, because as we all know strings are one-dimensional objects tied together with two hands into a three-dimensional pattern, so a three-dimensional object tied together with four hands clearly adds up to a seventh-dimensional pattern. He then spikes the resulting object into the background of a seventh-dimensonal volleyball pattern, because as everyone knows, seventh-dimensional volleyball requires 3D entropy-animated corpses knotted into a 7D shape in order to play.

Oh? But does this not remove the armor from the field of play? Silly gentle-entities, of course not! Mr. Krabs activated skyrim-style pickpocketing mid-knotting, which with his greed pickpocketing skill of 100 enabled him to remove the clothes the target was wearing, IE the fancy and interesting-looking armor, without worrying about the hassle of murder. Murder is an overrated looting method, after all. This dramatic increase in style makes Mr. Krab's style rating hit triple S, causing him to ascend to his true ultimate form: Mr. Krabs, base form. You cannot, after all, top perfection.

---

Meanwhile, Venia, slightly ahead in the future now in the tangled web of casualty she's woven, reappears at the Hybridization labs just in time to witness two Nias.

Now, Venia immediately knows which one is which-her Heart Braclet only responded to the one on the Nia farther away, and in a different mood she'd probably scold the Reflector for mimic'ing an evil doppelganger or such- but Venia was in an exceptional mood at the moment.

"Hi Nia!" Venia says, clearly looking at the freshly-created Reflector Nia. "Hi, uh, Perespheone?" Venia says, looking at the real Nia directly behind the fake Nia. "Strange time to call her out, you think?"

A pause.

"Nah I'm just teasing you I can tell you apart," Venia says, failing to suppress a snort of humor. "Welcome to the team, uh, Reflector, in any case want to help me smash Iti to bits? God I am feeling the best I have ever felt in years right now, like, totally refreshed. Could run a double-marathon or something. Let's beat up some Iti, ought to be a fair introduction to combat. C'mon, you too Nia, and you too Chloe, let's go!"

---

Venia's energy spike doesn't diminish a smidgen by the time she's marched into the northern hall off the steps to Oblivion and drawn the aggro of the two Spouts with her aggressive movement, literally not even bothering to heed their attacks. Probably helped that she was completely immune to them. Venia makes sure she's stepped between them and the flooding bathroom before turning to engage them, feet intermingling with the water.

"...I can feel the whole puddle like it was a part of my body... So strange," Venia comments as the Spouts continue to wail on her ineffectively. "Most things don't get better just because you throw their flesh back at them... Oh, yeah, you two."

Venia brazenly smashes the duo of spouts into complete submission within the span of a minute or so, completely and utterly heedless of their attacks as she pummels them down with her bare hands. A far cry from her usual demeanor and strategic acumen.

"God! I feel invincible!... Steady there, Venia. Don't, don't go crazy."

Without further ado, Venia marches into the iti-infested bathroom, slowing her movements and readying the key in firing position.

"Nia" shrugs and follows Venia to the bathroom.

"NIA": Okay, sure!
"NIA": But maybe stand back instead of... doing that.
"NIA": I know I'm a wizard, but I'm not a squishy one!
"NIA": Taking hits is what these shields are for.
"NIA": Also, I know I'm technically the Reflector, but, umm...
"NIA": I don't really feel like them. When I'm doing this, I mean.
"NIA": But I know it would be weird to call me Nia, so... could we think of a nickname or something?
"NIA": It probably doesn't matter. I'll end up kinda disappearing before too long anyway. You know what, never mind.