oh god oh fuck

Terror washes over Chara's face as Chloe nudges them, seeing as, to their knowledge, they're still in the Rosen Catacombs pre-imminent-explosion. However, they quickly recall that dwelling on such undefined details could get them both killed, so rather than stand there all perplexed, they just halt the passage of time and hastily accept the egg, taking their time to savour the taste. When that is done, they finally register the questions directed at them.

CHARA: Thanks for that. Really running low on sugar over here.
CHARA: I'm...
CHARA: Well, I don't want to burden you with my stuff™, but I guess I can phrase it this way.
CHARA: Do you ever think about how this whole ordeal would play out if you weren't here?
CHARA: If fate never brought you to this planet to be a hero, and you instead spent your days living as you did before?
CHARA: That's as close as I can summarize my current feelings without causing you headache. And, well, I really doubt anyone would call me a hero.

CHARA: ...also.
CHARA: I never asked. Do you have any favorite food I could treat you to?
CHARA: It feels wrong to keep accepting sweet cocoa flavored charity without giving anything in return.
CHARA: Just don't ask for any home cooking. Unless you happen to be poison resistant, that is.

---

@Dedomeni

A lightbulb manifests above Fran's head in the mirror's reflection, looking as cartoony as one would expect it to in such a context.

FRAN: Oh, you were asking about Echoss?
FRAN: Yeah, I uh. I honestly didn't even hear/read/yes any of it. I think I heard/glossed over/no something about him exploding, literally or not, but this argument that everyone's on about has completely escaped me.
FRAN: Which is bad, because Piono dearest is the only one trying to read everyone's posts, and I should at least honour him in that way.
FRAN: But yes, damn stepsis, I'm stuck, etc. etc.
FRAN: Please bring that hammer of justice upon me and grant me sweet release.
FRAN: Regular or of death, both work, but I'll be slightly offended should you choose the latter.
FRAN: And grandpappy Freud might be as well. Or maybe he'll find it inspiring.
FRAN: Why am I still ranting.

---

Dops in the past, but not many...

Chara once again commits necromancy upon their conversation with Omorika. Specifically, their last relevant interaction was...

QUOTE (Irecreeper @ Apr 9 2020, 12:41 AM)

OMORIKA: ...Non-time? That sounds... dangerous. OMORIKA: How about we meet tonight, after miss Needleworker makes dinner? Marron, I mean. OMORIKA: I assume she's cooking tonight. OMORIKA: It would be ideal to begin training on a full stomach, I would say.

CHARA: Oh, after dinner is more than fine.
CHARA: Do we have a designated place as well, or will some unused room have to suffice?

...

Deciding that now is as ideal a time as it's gonna get, and thoroughly scanning their surroundings for any potential intruders, they proceed to pose a risky question in a voice audible only to her.

CHARA: Say...
CHARA: I do not mean to pry into your personal life. Far from it. But I need to fact check something, if you don't mind.
CHARA: A little bird told me that, at some point in the past, our dear friend Auth has tried... wooing you.
CHARA: Not sure how apt a descriptor that is, considering said bird is a deranged wretch who is now pretending to be a mirror for absurdist comedy's sake. But whatever the case, I am told he came onto you with more than friendly intentions.
CHARA: Care to tell me what happened, in any level of detail?

---

Time to be religion intolerant~

Or not, because that would be dickish even for Chara.

QUOTE (Irecreeper @ Apr 9 2020, 12:41 AM)

TAEDA: H-Helix has his reasons for how he acts! TAEDA: He is known to be a god of many, many voices and minds, and I believe that his power is fueled by worship, to some extent. TAEDA: A few years ago, the eldest priests and priestesses noticed that Helix's gifts had suddenly grown stronger, almost as if the lord had suddenly made himself known to thousands, if not millions... TAEDA: I don't know how that came about. Nobody can really explain it.

QUOTE (Irecreeper @ Apr 9 2020, 12:41 AM)

TAEDA: There are three main ways he makes himself known. TAEDA: One, my church's powers come from his blessings. TAEDA: Two, Helix makes himself known through his blessed creatures, the Mollusks. Maybe you've seen a few on Sussui? TAEDA: And three, he appeared in "person" to face the Godmodder... and died. TAEDA: ...He got better, though. I doubt he used his full power back there.

CHARA: Truly interesting.
CHARA: I feel myself compelled to ask. What with the ongoing warring and terror, is his power waxing or waning?
CHARA: Are people more likely to convert en masse for the chance at salvation, or to abandon his teachings in favor of something concrete and tangible?
CHARA: And, should the latter be the case, would it be right to use propaganda to draw in more followers, so the race may stand a better chance at victory?

CHARA: Alternatively, just tell me to begone and not ask questions such as these.
CHARA: You have all the right to.

---

Ah. You are mother fucker?

QUOTE (Irecreeper @ Apr 9 2020, 12:41 AM)

NANA: I-Isolation? W-Why? What would t-that do? NANA: I-I don't want to be left a-alone! That'd be a-awful! NANA: What... w-what do you want from me? NANA: Y-You're... scaring me. J-Just, the way your wording things, t-thinking I can't... "develop", w-whatever that means! NANA: I-I'm... getting braver, d-day by day! Y-You think I-I'm hopeless, d-don't you? NANA: How cruel of you!

A mirthless chuckle escapes Chara as what they have been suspecting is confirmed outright.

CHARA: Hopeless?
CHARA: Far from it, child.
CHARA: I, the Apprentice Witch of Hope, wouldn't be approaching you in the first place if I had no hope in you. In your ability to better yourself. To become more.
CHARA: But several others fail to share the sentiment.
CHARA: You see, the nature of how the world should be dictates that, sooner or later, you will gain the courage and power to stand your ground on your own.
CHARA: But if the others have their way, that will come to you suddenly. It will occur exactly once, at a suitably dramatic moment, and then all that independence will be cast aside again. You will revert to the pure, precious, blushing maiden who must be protected at all times.

CHARA: Just now, you've shown me that you are still afraid of being alone. But here's a fact for you, girl.
CHARA: You won't always have someone to shield you from all harm. You won't always have someone to rely on to defend you every step of the way.
CHARA: Sometimes, you are the only one who can get your own self out of a predicament.
CHARA: Sometimes, you have to take the reins of your own life and future, instead of letting them drag you and reacting accordingly.

CHARA: I will be straightforward with you.
CHARA: Should you choose to accept my tutoring, I will not hold back. I will show you up front exactly what you need to get over, and you won't be getting any help save for guidance, and that's only if it's necessary. I will take it as slow as is within the bounds of reason, but eventually, we will work over every single fear that might hold you back.
CHARA: I guess, at the end, it all comes down to this: Do you wish to continue letting some strangers you know only partial aspects of dictate your destiny, or do you wish to be the one in charge of it?
CHARA: Oh, and before you try, don't even think about turning that question against me. I am open to revealing my entire life to you, if that's what it takes you to trust me on anything.

<ROUND 227>

First, we'll handle some stat-based stuff...

---

Generic claims a bed. The dice he throws into the chest all manage to roll... whatever their highest value is. Unfortunately, such a display of dumb luck will not be witnessed by anyone.

---

Echoss does some work. First, he merges together two golems, and punches the defending cultist at the Tribal Barracks. This sends them flying directly into the spider nest, most likely killing them. The two remaining tribals pull out an unreasonably large amount of wooden spears, and begin to chuck them at the approaching golems, not leaving their position. A few of these connect- painful, but they're golems. Maybe it's not so bad?

Meanwhile, in the basement of the House, Echoss Proper decides to throw 8 Titanium Ingots at the door for the room which Linseed is in, highly reinforcing it. Then, in the Everground, Pionobot loots the rest of the ore vein in the wall, and punts a large chunk of fluxflesh into a hole. As it begins to slip into the hole, two Tamura leap out of it, and onto Pionobot! They begin to rip at him, dealing (3) damage. Deal with them, quick! Getting infested wouldn't be ideal...

---

Rosemary breaks and enters! Or uh, the door was unlocked, so maybe she just enters. She decides to settle down on the couch, and... wait, someone's tugging her leg. A cyan-haired figure is looking her up and down, examining her.

NIA: Um... hello?
NIA: I don't recognize you. Are you new here?
NIA: Marron said that like, lots of random people just sorta end up here, but...
NIA: I dunno.

NIA: Anyway, you know there's like, a whole set of bunk beds to the east, right? Just gotta go up a floor.
NIA: They're pretty cozy, far as I can tell.
NIA: I mean, I'm gonna reserve the queen's suite for Venia and I, but...
NIA: Well, a couple needs a proper bedroom, right? Eheheheh~
NIA: But anyway, what brings you here?

---

JOE works down in the tunnels. He throws a large amount of free resources into a pile, then adds 3 minced Barkfin into the mix. He then throws in 2 Aurora Crystals for heating reasons, and prepares that whole pile of stuff to degrade into compost. Alright.

---

Auth grades Nana's lockpicking an 8 / 10. She seems both proud of herself... and disappointed.

NANA: Hurray!
NANA: A-Although... w-what could I have done better? I thought I did well...

The two then discuss the doll for a moment. What is it? Nana turns and flips the doll around through manipulating the mass of wood.

NANA: Um...
NANA: Maybe it's a... v-voodoo doll?
NANA: Y-You know what those a-are, right?
NANA: C-Creepy...

The two of them leave the catacombs soon after, exhaustion beginning to take both of them. Or at least, it's beginning to take Nana. Poor thing isn't suited for endurance. Or maybe even really combat. Elsewhere, perhaps in another segment of the catacombs, Magnolia and Auth discuss ethics for a bit. How would Magnolia feel if someone were piloting the body of someone she really cared about? Magnolia still seems confused.

MAGNOLIA: Eh?
MAGNOLIA: I guess it'd be a bit weird, seeing Father being piloted around by someone.
MAGNOLIA: But I'm sure that they have a reason for doing it, right?
MAGNOLIA: Just like why I have a reason to have a body!

Auth then enlightens Magnolia on the wonders of swapping sets of clothes. Again, Magnolia seems confused.

MAGNOLIA: Isn't it easier to just wash the stains out by jumping into the tub?
MAGNOLIA: That's how I clean myself, and my clothes!
MAGNOLIA: It's super smart, right?

Magnolia's eye radiates a smug grin, somehow. Shortly after, Auth comes across the Godblossom Extract! He scoops up as much as he can into three vials: it's roughly all he can harvest. Still, it's something! These are thrown into the inventory. Auth then notes to Magnolia that he can go look for a body now. The axe cheers.

MAGNOLIA: Hurray!~
MAGNOLIA: You can work on it if you want! As long as it's not a boy!
MAGNOLIA: Boy bodies feel really weird!
MAGNOLIA: ...Do you feel really weird, Mr. Author? Is that how boys always feel?

It is unclear as to what this "feeling" is. Anyway, once he returns to the house, he invites Maple into the living room. Marron and Omo arrive as well.

MARRON: Sup, Auth.
MARRON: Still would've appreciated more notice, but... whatever.
OMORIKA: I am always happy to serve, sir Author.
OMORIKA: Now, shall we begin?
MAPLE: Yes please!
MAPLE: I wanna see properly again!

Maple sits down in the middle of the living room, legs criss-cross. She rocks back and forth happily, as Marron goes over the ritual procedures once again. She's using the modified version of the spell that she used on Toast, which calls for some blood! So, she rather suddenly pricks Maple with a needle without warning, drawing a small amount of sap. Marron immediately scrapes it into her mixture.

MAPLE: A-ACK!
MAPLE: W-What was that for!?
MARRON: Hey, I need your blood! Or sap.
MARRON: Ritual stuff, basically. Don't question it!
MAPLE: W-Well, you could've given me some warning!
MARRON: ...Yeah.
MARRON: Sorry.
MARRON: Last time I did this, the patient actually just sorta had a jar of their blood sitting around, so-
MAPLE: Who keeps jars of blood lying around?
MARRON: I-I do! A-And so does my girlfriend, a-apparently!

Without much more in terms of discussion, Marron completes the mixture! However, instead of it glowing a vibrant red, it glows a mesmerizing green.

OMORIKA: Ah. It's green this time. Perhaps it's due to the hue of-
MARRON: No gorilla, sherlock.
OMORIKA: ...Who is this "sherlock"?
MARRON: I... think he's a detective?
MARRON: Holy gorilla, I actually have no idea.
MARRON: ...Still gonna use the expression, though.
MARRON: Anyway, let's get this over with.

Without another word, Marron shoves Maple over (not before giving her warning, though), and pours the solution onto Maple's burnt eye. Surely enough, the ritual takes effect! Maple's old, burnt eye is suddenly ejected from her body, smacking Marron in the face. The surprise causes her to fall onto her rear, dropping the bottle she mixed together the ritual ingredients in. Omo manages to snag it from the air before it smashes into Maple's face.

MARRON: O-Ow! M-My eye!
MARRON: O-Or, y-your eye!? W-Whatever!

MARRON: S-So... is it working?
MAPLE: A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!
MARRON: I'm... going to take that as a tentative "yes".
MARRON: I sure hope that's a yes, anyway.

A few moments of painful convulsion later, Maple lies on the ground, motionless save for the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Her right eye seems to have fully regenerated, and the burns around her eye have faded. At the very least, Maple's HIT skyrockets! Marron flops backwards onto the ground from her sitting position. Seems that the ritual used a lot of blood, again.

MARRON: g-god i hate doing this
MARRON: just... let me...

A quick cast of Transfusion on a bottle of her blood later, and Marron's restored herself to health. She sits up, and stretches.

MARRON: Anyway, I'm done here.
MARRON: Kinda surprised she passed out, but... dunno. Guess she's not used to the pain?
MARRON: Omo, can you look her over for anything weird?
MARRON: I'm not an expert on Chairian biology, or anything.
MARRON: ...I'm not even an expert on human biology.
OMORIKA: Certainly.

OMORIKA: Ah, yes.
OMORIKA: Sir Author, could you please assist me in finding a place to lay Maple down?
OMORIKA: I believe that she'll need the rest after this operation.

...It's time to find a place for this poor Scarlet to rest. Preferably somewhere comfy. And private. Gotta respect the girl's wish for a private bedroom, right?

---

Despite getting slapped, "Fran" continues to chat up Marron. The replicant's words confuse the puppeteeer. Same face? Different forms?

MARRON: Um... what?
MARRON: You're making no sense. Like, at all.
MARRON: I knew you were weird, but at least you made sense before!
MARRON: If you keep saying weird stuff, I swear to god I will slap your gorilla again!

She's then handed a phone number. It's unlike anything she's ever seen, and the quotation marks around "Fran" cause her to raise her eyebrows. Without a moment's hesitation, she slaps this "Fran" again.

MARRON: S-Seriously!
MARRON: D-Do you want to brawl again?
MARRON: I'll floor you this time, for sure! No mercy!

Were Ette not a reasonable, sane person, she'd be cheering "fight fight fight" or something. Still, it seems the ex-puppet doesn't realize what's going on, either. Nia meanwhile, is barely containing her laughter, and is probably silently cheering "fight fight fight" to herself.

---

Bauhaus-93 enters the house. Is anyone there? As it turns out, yes. Lots of people are running about the house. Nia finishes with pulling on Rosemary's leg, and decides to chat up the new person.

NIA: Whoa, Marron was right! Lots of people!
NIA: I wonder why there's so many new people here...

NIA: Anyway, hiya! I'm Nia!
NIA: What brings you here, sir?

Nia bobs back and forth gently, rocking around on her heels.

---

Hannah continues her work in the mines. She lobs a Searing Cluster into a pool of Thyme Matter, lighting it ablaze. A few minutes later, and the pool has burnt away to nothing. She then moves to set up a tent, patching up a ruined tent in the inventory with some iron and silkweed. It should be adequate. She then hops in, and takes a nap...

As Hannah naps, Boshi throws some bait to the fisherman: 50 Spider Meat! They view the pile they've just obtained with curiosity- that's likely enough spider meat to feed a family for a few weeks.

FISHERMAN: I'm thankful for the bait, but...
FISHERMAN: That's... a lot of dead spiders.
FISHERMAN: That's an excessive amount of dead spiders.
FISHERMAN: Wow.
FISHERMAN: You can keep most of that.

FISHERMAN: Still, though. Thanks.
FISHERMAN: It'll be a nice change of diet.

...45 units of Spider Meat enter the inventory. The Fisherman decides to begin grilling a piece over a nearby campfire, and then slices up another chunk for use as bait. Once again, they return to fishing. As Boshi leaves, the fisherman waves goodbye to them, Boshi hauling his two boats away back to the river. Once he docks, he throws his Corvette back into the inventory for safe keeping, and ties his new boat to the dock. He also patches it up with some green sap.

Once he arrives home, he decides to hop into the Duneyrr, and looks for what damage remains. While the outer plating is fine, the interior of the ship needs some work. Plenty of the floors and inner walls were blown to bits, and the inner consoles seem to have been damaged during the fight. Hopefully, he's a skilled electrician, or some of this stuff might be hard to fix.

---

Venia decides to purge Bass's Mindscape. She speaks to Bass as she kneels down, saying that he doesn't give himself enough credit.

BASS PLUSHIE: I mean, the power of the Butterfly is pretty powerful.
BASS PLUSHIE: It's all I've known for awhile, too.
BASS PLUSHIE: It'll be hard, living life without it... but it's for the best.
BASS PLUSHIE: Let's go. Do it.

Venia plants the Calm Mind Shard upon Bass's forehead, and allows the purifying light of Ordo to envelop Bass's body. It slowly spreads throughout his entire being, the theater that Venia is in slowly glowing brighter as the light continues to envelop Bass. Any bit of the entropic corruption that's scattered about the room begins to bubble and boil away in a red mist, which begins to fade from existence as it expels itself from the mindscape. Suddenly, Venia's vision is consumed with white...

Back in reality, Venia snaps back to attention here too, her connection having been forcibly disrupted. Bass twitches and convulses, red mist leaving his body. It doesn't leave fiercely like it did with other flux-infused entities- rather, the flow is gentle and slow. The mist condenses into what seems to be a scythe blade as it plumes against the ceiling. Soon, the blade finishes forming, and it plummets down into the floorboards, splintering them slightly. Venia loots it. Reaper's Blade obtained! Bass sits still for a few moments on the bed, before springing back up to a sitting position.

BASS: Ow.
BASS: That hurt. A lot.
BASS: Like, mentally, physically, and possibly spiritually.
BASS: At the same time though... everything feels odd. A better kind of "odd", though?

BASS: I'm... also quite tired.
BASS: Feels like my head's swimming...
BASS: I think what you did there helped... but I can't really... tell yet?
BASS: Maybe I should sleep on it.
BASS: It's late, anyway...

Without another word, Bass flops backwards onto his bed, nearly instantly falling asleep. Having witnessed the proper cleansing of a Rose Cult member, Venia thinks she could potentially... find a more efficient way to do something like this? This unlocks the ability to research the Purger perk. Perhaps she could even go and save others...

Finally, within the Rosen Catacombs, Mr. Krabs asks the cultist if the blacksmith down there is an apprentice of the guy.

CULTIST: i have no idea
CULTIST: his apprentices usually contract people to make equipment for infusion
CULTIST: either he's an apprentice, or a contractor
CULTIST: i guess you could ask him?

...Maybe he could get a lead on Magnolia's father.

---

Asha finishes upgrading Marron's scarf! This uses a Core Regalia, 3 Gaiameld, 3 Electrum, and a Barrel of Unseasoned Hours. After a bit of rigorous crafting, the gift is complete! She heads over to Marron, and gives her back her scarf. In an instant, Marron swaddles herself in the scarf, getting snug and cozy with it. Marron's coziness skyrockets by a factor of eight.

MARRON: Ah! This is great!
MARRON: Thanks so much, Toaster!
MARRON: It means a lot to me, y'know...

The seamstress pulls Asha close, her scarf unraveling around her neck through magic. It then wraps itself around both of their necks, holding them together. A gentle peck on the lips, and Marron pulls back, her scarf still holding them close together.

MARRON: Anyway... I'm feeling kinda tired.
MARRON: Wanna grab some dinner, then head off to bed?
MARRON: I haven't had anything yet, because I've been busy cooking...
MARRON: I did have a cupcake, though-
MARRON: Oh, right!

Marron produces a cupcake from her pocket.

MARRON: Cupcake! Want one?
MARRON: It's from Echoss. He made them for me.
MARRON: They're actually really nice.

Cupcakes, dinner, then bed. A nice little proposition, isn't it?

---

Ziah asks about the Glyphs. What are they, exactly? Chloe responds by pulling one out of the inventory. The Ender Glyph. A wooden glyph that's been seemingly charred black.

CHLOE: They look kinda like this.
CHLOE: I wouldn't touch it if I were you. They have some amazing abilities that you could accidentally activate.
CHLOE: Although, I think it's spent for today. Still, don't touch it!

After Chloe heads off, Ziah asks if Ette tending to him is stopping her from doing anything. Ette shakes her head.

ETTE: Oh, I don't mind at all!
ETTE: Doing this is basically my job!
ETTE: I'm one of the team doctors, so this is what I should be doing.
ETTE: Don't you worry about me~

ETTE: ...Although, I don't think there's much more I can do for you at the moment.
ETTE: I think we just need to give you a bit of time to rest, and then you'll be golden!
ETTE: I'm gonna go eat something now, because I need to do that now.
ETTE: Food's weird, y'know?
ETTE: I can grab you something too, if you want!

Ette hasn't had lasagna before. Would she like it? Who knows. Probably.

---

Chara talks with a lot of people. Wow. Necromancy at its finest. To begin though, Chara chats with Chloe, having had their nerves soothed via chocolate egg. How would the swordswoman thing things would play out if she wasn't here? She gives this some thought.

CHLOE: U-Um...
CHLOE: I'm... not sure.
CHLOE: While I'm probably replaceable in terms of battlefield prowess, I have no idea what'd have happened to Nia if I wasn't here...
CHLOE: And, I'm not sure what'd happen with Xavier, either...
CHLOE: That's a big question...

Chloe continues to burn her mind trying to think about this scenario, at least until Chara pokes into her train of thought. What does she like to eat? Her answer is quick and snappy.

CHLOE: Burritos!~

CHLOE: Or... really, I just like meat.
CHLOE: Meat's good. But burritos are the best kind of meat.
CHLOE: You can probably buy them from Yung Venuz, or something.

Around the same time, Chara pulls on Omo, asking if there's a designated place to practice the woodmancy.

OMORIKA: I don't believe there's any truly ideal space...
OMORIKA: However, there are some forests near our base. Those would suffice.

The child then poses an interesting question: was Auth trying to hit on her? She gives this a few moments of thought, then nods.

OMORIKA: I... do believe he was interested in me for a time, yes.
OMORIKA: Truthfully, I was worried about how I would turn him down, if he did approach me.
OMORIKA: Fortunately, nothing much came of it, so there's not much else to speak of.
OMORIKA: In addition, divulging in such information would be disrespectful to the Author.

Omo points towards the woods. Are the two of them ready to set off? Elsewhere, with Taeda, Chara asks if Lord Helix's power is waxing or waning. Taeda can't really seem to answer.

TAEDA: Well, I can't really tell. Only the highest priestess could tell, I'd think.
TAEDA: Devouts like myself aren't given too much of his power, so we can barely tell how he's doing at the moment.
TAEDA: And...

The priestess shakes her head at Chara.

TAEDA: W-Why are you asking these things?
TAEDA: I'd rather not answer.
TAEDA: Not only are these questions making me uncomfortable, they're also out of my realm of expertise!

The priestess pouts towards the child. Religious intolerance directed towards the priestess? How rude. It seems that these questions are actually beginning to chip at her Morale stat, dealing 10% damage to it. Finally, with Nana, Chara gets really upfront with Nana. Despite the child's warnings not to, Nana attempts to spin the question.

NANA: W-Why do you want to do this, anyway!?
NANA: I-I don't want to go off with some stranger I just met o-on some weird quest t-to... c-change me!
NANA: I don't want to go with you! S-So, back off! Please!

Her eyes dart around the room. Where is Auth when she needs him? The stress is seriously starting to get to her, and she needs an adult. Not that Auth is an adult, but she still needs an adult, anyway.

---

And with that, the round is over! Since you'll be taking off for Zone 5 soon enough, maybe it'd be worth trying to upgrade the airship? It'll be hard to make it there without a proper vessel. Anyway, unless there's popular demand, Chapter 5 will launch next round! I hope you'll enjoy this next leg of the story!

(The farm isn't listed as having been harvested in the sheet! the deathcaps harvest round should read 236, Yggherm 234, one Manabloom 232, Tornadopetal match the Deathcap, and the last manabloom I harvest now, so its round should read 234, I believe.)
JOE takes a brief excursion around the farm to head to the Cavern Entryway. In the High-quality and lightly watered Soil located there, he begins planting plants. These plants aren't for Farming, though! No, these are for Base Defence. First, he uses the Shovel, you know, the acidic one which creates dirt, to add some highly toxic dirt to AV55. He casts deep thinking to make himself smarter, then, On this tile, plants a Deathcap Mushroom. Around it, he plants around 10 frostleaves, and 10 Goneblossoms. You see, the very deep think I am having here is that mushrooms n' mycelium and what not, they connect with their thin roots to all the plants around them, and they try to share nutrients and help out, right. So, when the Deathcap mushroom connects to these magical plants, maybe it'll modify them into poisonous varieties. In this way, he intends to make poison protect the farm from this direction! He also uses 9 Manabloom seeds, planting Manablooms on AW 56. These manablooms are here for one purpose only: To power a magical carving he carefully adds to the walls, using some simple iron which he inlays into those carvings with terraform. The purpose of this carving? To keep the Frostleaves and Goneblossoms from dying from the acidic poison before they adapt into poisonous variants. and also make it possible for them to adapt into poisonous variants. I'm going somewhere with this.
(SUMMARY: expend 1 deathcap, 10 frostleaves, 10 goneblossoms, 5 iron, and 9 manablooms to make a bunch of poisonous foliage and whatnot on AV55, via forcing the frostleaves and goneblossoms to adapt to acid-dirt and deathcap, and keeping them from actually dying with magic from the Manablooms. This is step one of a plan, sort of. of course, setting up a poisonous area to harm anyone foolish enough to want to attack the farm is its own reward)

RP: Upon noticing the person pulling her leg, Rosemary looks down at the source, not expecting to meet someone new already. “Oh, uh...thanks for letting me know! A bed would probably be better for my back anyway...W-Wait, I haven’t even introduced myself!” The smol woman gets up, and strikes a pose. which she thinks makes her look cool, but actually makes her look like a dork (which she is.) “Name’s Rosemary! Nice to meet you...” And conveniently, as Nia greets the stranger entering the door, she hears her name as well. “Nia!”





Also, later on in the night Rosemary asks Marron to help craft her a copy of Love You More Dead.

The chest bursts with light from rolling an impractically large number of 8s... or at least, it would if the dice still worked. Oh well. I continue sleeping.

Another respec thing I forgot to do:
Echoss swaps spawn point out for pow hammer.


Fighting in the catacombs:
Echoss's golems seem unperturbed. One of them standing in front and catching the spears in its torso. The other one stands behind it and pulls a couple of spears all the way through. It then steps out in front and lobs the spears, the first one punching clean through the head of the cultist closest to the door, the other pinning the second cultist to the wall.


Everground:
Pionobot desperately cleaves about himself, trying to get the Tamuras off, until suddenly one of them bites into one of his power lines. A pulse of seething red energy ripples out of him in a sphere of pure annihilation that blasts the Tamuras away and leaves Pionobot standing in a perfect semicircle of a crater.


Go loom ominously over Chara's shoulder:
Chara, currently distressing Taeda, suddenly becomes aware of a presence standing behind them.
"I think that's enough, Dreemurr."
Presumably they turn to face Echoss, who has a very good glower going on.
"It's time that you left Miss Loblolly, and well enough, alone."
(edited based on a post just below the update)
Echoss is promptly buried in chairs and Chris Hansens. Right about the time Chara finishes their "one liner", a chunk of chairs explodes violently and the rest of the pile collapses in on itself, whatever form of nonsense had been supporting the entire apparatus collapsing in on itself and collapsing all of the chairs and Chrises into dust. Echoss walks out of it, brushing himself off and looking quite cross. Chara exits stage left.
"Hmph, that child is going to be a pain.
Are you alright Miss Loblolly? I'm sorry I didn't arrive sooner, if I'd known what was going on I'd have stepped in."

ROLEPLAY

@Franciacorta
"FRAN": Very well. One freedom, coming right up.

My "sister" finds herself freed from her reflective prison in short order, shards of glass littered across the floor as a consequence. I take a little solace in my breaking of taboo, although breaking a mirror, while more relevant to my personal interests, is not as anathema as destroying (gasp) a clock. Add that to the list.

---

@Marron (and Ette (and Nia))
Marron's second slap stings just as much as the first one -- or, it would, if I weren't ready for it this time. The slap slides harmlessly off of a kaleidoscopic forcefield extending from the fingertips of my outstretched arm, lazily positioned as if to brush against Marron's hand. Grinning, I tap the wrist of the shield-generating arm with my other hand, causing the runes to spark into visibility with arcane power. The shield extends into a hemispherical wall, surrounding Marron and Ette.

"FRAN": Unlike my actual sister (translator's note: "actual" means "slightly less fake"), punch-outs aren't really my style.
"FRAN": I'm more of a "secure, contain, protect" type of gal.
"FRAN": Not to imply that I work for the Foundation, because fuck those guys.

I wink, my iris suddenly inflamed with every color of the rainbow.

"FRAN": To tell you the truth, I originally just wanted to get to know you better. Nothing else!
"FRAN": The "calling you sister" and "arguably flirting with either you or your real sister" parts I came up with on the spot.
"FRAN": You'll have to forgive me, but I really just, just find your anger hilarious. In an adorable way.
"FRAN": Don't worry. You don't have to speak to me ever again if you find me repulsive.
"FRAN": Although I do still want to talk to darling Ette at some point. But we'll have time.

I carefully retrieve a crystalline hand from my bag and slide it onto my face like a mask. As I do so, my features seem to warp and distort, until they bear the visage of

THE REFLECTOR: time spiraling infinitely back and forth forth and back like a nonlinear symphony of colors and sounds!
THE REFLECTOR: we really truly must do this again, needleworker darlings.
THE REFLECTOR: i can't wait to see how it all ends.

---

@Plague126
Rosemary quickly discovers that she has another visitor, as I walk into the room with elegance and poise. I definitely do not trip over Nia as I rush in, and I find my writer's implicit accusation that I did so preposterous.

"FRAN": Hello, Rosemary! So glad to finally meet you.
"FRAN": You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to show up.
"FRAN": No, wait, that sounds creepy. Formally retracted.
"FRAN": But where are my manners? My name is Fran. Patron of witches, poster of shits, and charlatan extraordinaire.
"FRAN": Just pretend I don't already know your name so we can make this introduction less awkward.

Boshi scribbles down some notes on a notepad about the tank, then heads back inside for some rest before his inevitable night shift.

Rosen Catacombs

Mr. Krabs heads back down to the busy smith. "Matey, I have one other question to ask of ye. Just the one, wouldn't want to detract from your work here, ahahaa. Anyways: you happen to know Magnolia's father? Or put another way-you happen to have any apprenticeships to or contracts out for a certain Rose Cultist smithy out and about in some secretive retreat?"

---

The House

Venia monitors Bass's condition, before realizing that she doesn't know Chairian biology enough to seriously tend to his wounds, so instead she just leaves a note on the table, almost sure that Bass knows what'll happen.

[i][font=times new roman]"Bass: If you feel any different when you wake up, tell me immediately. If you feel really bad, go to Taeda or Auth and have them get me too. Thanks for letting me do that, by the way-it's helped me understand a lot, and it might mean I can fix up a whole lot of other Rose Cultists in the meantime. Best wishes, Venia."

She then does some timeloop resolution that I no longer care to seriously care for, other than the note that it is now resolved as of this moment, somehow. Either way, Venia emerges from all of her timeloops and heads back into the house, leaving Bass be and instead heading up behind Maria.

---

Mariaaaaaaaaaaa

"I've been a good girl," Maria says. "I want a candy." She adds, hopefully looking at Chloe.

"Only after dinner, little muffin," Venia says, scooping up Maria from behind. "Cushion was a very brave boy, he was a good boy, but please don't send him with me again unless I tell you too."

Maria seems to have missed the last part. "I did a good! I did a good! Where's Cushion? I wanna give him a treat for being a good boy. Best boy."

"Cushion is very sleepy and wants a nap. It's time for dinner, Maria." Venia says, corralling Maria into the dining room and for dinner.

Bauhaus-93 responds to Nia.

"I was informed about a huge problem going on around here."

He looks outside the window, at the Sphere.

"The last giant floating ball I heard about was some sort of magical entity that granted powers or something. Is that the case here?"

As Rosemary takes in the house, the robotic Hexagon strides up to them.
HEXAGON: HELLO, FELLOW ORGANIC LIFEFORM. I AM HEXAGON, A FELLOW BREATHING HUMAN LIKE YOU.
HEXAGON: WELCOME TO THE HOME OF THE SPHEREBREAKERS. DO YOU REQUIRE ASSISTENCE?
ROSEMARY: Oh, uh. Well...Hi there! Uh...I could use an upgrade or two to my gear if that isn’t too much.
HEXAGON: TASK ACCEPTED.
Hexagon glances over Rosemary's equipment, and snatches the Outbreak Coordinator.
HEXAGON: BEGINNING TASK.
Crafting Materials Used:
- x4 Liar’s Flesh
- x3 Deathcap Mushrooms
- x2 Locustgrowth
- x3 Widow’s Venom
- x1 Chernobyl Regalia
- x7 Sulfuric Acid Vials
- x1 Entrophy

Hexagon marches over to a workstation, and grabs the above items from the inventory. They take off the top of the Coordinator, and fiddle with its internal parts, removing whatever it uses to dispense poison. Taking the Vials, the Mushrooms, the Venom ,and theLocustgrowth, he very carefully pours all these poisons into the bowl, quickly casting a spell to stop any of it from getting out of control. Hexagon then.. Retrieves a copy of Armistyx from the inventory, transforming it into ULTIMATE POISON WHISK MODE, stirring the extremely dangerous poison into a toxic mush. They then drop a Chernobyl Regalia in and let it dissolve to give it that extra tinge. Of searing pain. Then they wrap the Liar’s Flesh around the Coordinator, forcing it into a durable state. Iti flesh is probably good for poison. Yeah, this is a logical decision
Then they stick the poison back into the coordinator, and add a Entrophy on top, hammering it in with the Armistyx.
They lift up their new war crime, walk back to Rosemary, and toss it to them.
HEXAGON: AS REQUESTED.
Outbreak Omnitool crafted! Hopefully. Probably should've gotten some sleep before trying to write.
Anyway! It's a upgrade of the Outbreak Coordinator, and the stats are on Rosemary's sheet. It does not follow the Geneva Convention.

---

==RP/DINNER/CRAFTING I GUESS???==

Crystal decides to help Marron out with dinner.

He takes some wheat and grinds it up into flour using a convenient grindstone, then adds some eggs (or, well, the closest substitute to eggs he can find, which in this case is probably green sap) and kneads it out into a dough. He rolls it out into successively thinner sheets, and bam! Pasta, specifically lasagna noodles.

He then helps Marron turn the homemade noodles into a couple more trays of vegetarian lasagna.

For meat lasagna (for those in the party who prefer meat), he takes some Yggcrawler Meat and chops it fine to turn it into an approximation of ground beef, cooks it up, and folds it into the remaining lasagna filling, before baking that as well.

For a side dish, he peels, boils, and mashes some Gaiaroot Potatoes, adding some inexplicable butter and garlic (along with a secret ingredient that's really just a few spoonfuls of yogurt) to turn them into perfect, fluffy Gaiamashed Potatoes, mounded up in a big bowl.

For quasi-dessert, he breaks into a Barrel of Fresh Fruit. In fact, he literally breaks into it, splitting it down the middle lengthwise and turning it into a serving dish for the fruit inside, which he peels, slices, arranges in patterns, and brushes with a slight glaze of Blue Sap to add a little sweetness.

Suddenly, in a puff of predicate logic, a teenage magical girl pops into existence in the house, next to the "slidy glass door".

Nemuri Tsuzukinashi: Character sheet

To conserve the minds of people who do not wish to be exposed to ridiculous levels of de-abstracted math, the following spoiler is optional reading.


With that done, she looks around, and wonders what in the name of God she's gotten herself into.

<ROUND 228>

JOE continues his farm work. He grabs some Manablooms from the ground, harvestplanting it for a netgain of 18 Fresh Manabloom, and 9 Manabloom Seeds. After that, he decides to spend some time planting... plants in the cavern entryway. Specifically, a poisonous combination that probably violates the Geneva convention once again. What is it with you and violently and potentially lethally poisoning everyone who tries to break into this place?

---

Rosemary strikes a pose! Inspired, Nia strikes a pose as well, thrusting her right hand into the air, fingers splayed out. Her hand sticks at her side, balled into a menacing fist.

NIA: It's nice to meet you, too!
NIA: Anyway, if you'll follow me... the beds are this way.

She takes Rosemary by the hand, and drags her upstairs, to the right side. It's a humble little barracks of sorts.

NIA: Here we go! Beds! Lots of them!
NIA: Take whichever one you feel like! They're all the same. Probably.
NIA: Anyway... I should probably get to bed, too...
NIA: And eat something.
NIA: See ya!~

Nia skips off, down the stairs. Before perhaps heading off to bed, Rosemary grabs Mari's attention, asking her to produce a weapon according to her specification. She shrugs, then nods her head. It's not the first time she's provided armaments to random strangers. 120 credits later, and Mari has assembled Love You More Dead! She lobs it off her bunk, spiraling towards Rosemary. She barely has time to react and catch it.

Echoss continues his assault on the tribals. His golems counterattack with the same spears the tribespeople threw at him, slaying both of them. With the tribespeople eliminated... what should happen now? He could always annex their lands, take their (nonexistent) women, and destroy their heritage. Good things.

Elsewhere, Echoss looms over Chara's shoulder, bullying them away from Taeda. Of course, a post waaaay down below buries Echoss in a pile of chairs and copies of Chris Hansen, who promptly implode a few seconds later due to the Thymefield. With the eccentric child out of the way, Echoss queries as to whether the priestess is alright or not. She nods, although somewhat shakily.

TAEDA: I-I'm fine!
TAEDA: W-What a strange child, d-defying c-common sense with those antics...
TAEDA: I can't h-help but wonder... what sort of d-dark entity gave them those powers?
TAEDA: Scary...

TAEDA: Thanks for the help, though.
TAEDA: It means a lot!

She quickly bows towards Echoss, giving him a smile before heading off to do her pre-sleep prayers to Helix. Whilst thinking about that, Echoss decides he should do some prep too, rotating Spawn Point out for Pow Hammer.

Finally, down in the Everground, Pionobot's strategy for dealing with the Tamura is to let himself get nipped in the power source. This cause a detonation, erasing the Tamura but striking him for (9) damage. While the threat is gone... he can't help but feel that something's squirming around inside him. That's because something is. Tamura eggs. And they're already beginning to incubate and hatch. The fact that he's on 1 HP doesn't really help matters much. What to do about this...?

---

"Fran" deflects Marron's slap! A barrier causes the puppeteer's blow to instead slide across a glassy forcefield. Marron stares at the wall in disbelief, before deciding the best course of action is to punch it again. She slugs it, only succeeding in hurting her hand.

MARRON: O-Ow!
MARRON: What the hell!?

As "Fran" comments about how adorable Marron is, her eyes bursting into a beautiful sea of rainbows, Marron grows increasingly weary, her eyes darting around the area. Unfortunately for her, "Fran" has placed a barrier around the entire area.

MARRON: W-What's your problem!?
MARRON: A-And who are you, a-anyway-

Soon, "Fran" reveals herself as the Reflector. Marron screeches and jumps backward away from them, whilst Ette seems mostly unconcerned with this turn of events. She waves to them.

ETTE: Hi hi!
ETTE: I dunno who you are really, but we can talk now if you want!
ETTE: Do you wanna?

Marron continues to bap on the barrier fruitlessly, while Ette's more than happy to just stand around, smiling gently.

ETTE: Also, please let sis go.
ETTE: You're really spooking her, and she doesn't like it.
ETTE: It'd mean a lot to me if you did!

---

Boshi writes some notes down about the Duneyrr. Big spider tank. Eight legs, with one missing at the moment. The area he's been in is the upper deck- there's actually a lower deck which is a cramped little space dedicated to weapons systems, like the frontal heavy cannon. There are a few weapon ports, which while usually armed with conventional gatling guns, could easily(?) be replaced with something more... menacing.

---

Mr. Krabs and Venia continue their activities. First, the crustacean returns to the smith. Does he happen to know Magnolia's father? Or, does he do some work for a certain Rose Cultist smithy? They nod.

SMITH: YES. AT TIMES.
SMITH: THIS PIECE IS NOT FOR THEM.
SMITH: I HAVE HOWEVER, RECENTLY FINISHED WORK ON A BOW FOR THEM.
SMITH: THAT WAS PERHAPS A FEW MONTHS AGO, THOUGH.
SMITH: PERHAPS EVEN A YEAR?
SMITH: DOWN HERE, YOU TEND TO LOSE TRACK OF TIME.

Whack. Whack. They continue crafting their entropy-resistant armor. Elsewhere, with another cultist, Venia continues to monitor Bass's condition. He's not actually wounded though, so it seems that he's fine. The process of expunging the entropy was just... painful. She tells him that if he feels any different when he wakes up, to go grab someone.

BASS: okey dokey doctor

Venia also thanks him for his service. This was a valuable experience.

BASS: i mean, i think i should be thanking you
BASS: although i guess i don't really know what you've done yet, so maybe i shouldn't yet
BASS: but odds are, i'll be fine
BASS: so uh, thank you

Bass immediately returns to sleeping. Flips on a dime, that lad. Back upstairs, Maria asks Chloe for "a candy". Chloe nods, and rummages around in the inventory. She lobs her a Sapfilled Cookie.

CHLOE: It's not exactly a candy, but it's really tasty!
CHLOE: Marron made it, so it has to be really good!
CHLOE: Also, don't listen to Venia: cookies are great before dinner!
CHLOE: Sweets are great, y'know?

The swordswoman giggles towards Venia. Then, out of the blue, Nia jumps Venia from behind, pulling her into another hug.

NIA: Hiya, Venia!~
NIA: So, tonight... could we share a room?
NIA: Maybe we could even have some fun, and make o-

Nia's eyes meet Chloe's. A blush has taken over the blonde's cheeks. Nia stutters for a moment.

NIA: And... uh, m-make a place for Maria to sleep, and have a... s-sleepover...?
NIA: That's what I meant. Totally.
NIA: But... yeah! You. Me.
NIA: How about it? It'd be fun!~

Nia continues to cling to Venia, awaiting her answer.

---

At a probably different time than above, Bauhaus asks about a problem: a sphere. Is that the case here? Nia nods.

NIA: Ooh! Looks like you're educated already.
NIA: Big wooden ball. Spawns monsters. Has a crazy guy in it.
NIA: You're here to help with that, right?

---

Hexagon smashes an item together! Throwing together 696,969 Liar's Flesh, 3 Deathcap Mushrooms, 2 Locustgrowth, 3 Widow's Venom, 1 Chernobyl Regalia, 7 Sulfuric Acid Vials, and an Entrophy, he creates the biggest breach of the Geneva Convention yet! Outbreak Omnitool created, and gifted to Rosemary. Sure, you'll probably end up saving the world, but all of you are gonna serve one million years dungeon.

---

Crystal aids Marron in making dinner. He grabs whatever other materials Marron had on hand, and aids her in the formation of more pans of lasagna. Marron blushes gently.

MARRON: I-I didn't need your help, you know!
MARRON: But... thanks anyway.
MARRON: Feeding like, twenty people by yourself is damn hard.

He even manages to produce a tray of meaty lasagna, which is sure to be a huge hit with anyone who's name isn't Marron. He also creates a pot of fluffy Gaiamashed Potatoes with 10 Gaiaroot Potatoes, and some Sapdrizzled Fruit with a Barrel of Fresh Fruit and 3 Blue Sap Blobs. Marron drools a little at the sight of the potatoes, and sneakily scoops some into a bowl, before munching away at it.

MARRON: Tasty.
MARRON: Guess everyone in this party is secretly a chef, huh?
MARRON: Except like, Asha.
MARRON: But she'll get there eventually!

Nom. Marron's happiness raises by 5.

---

Nemuri Tsuzukinashi joins the game! Hell if I'll remember how to type her last name without looking it, but nonetheless, she's been added to the game! Welcome! Anyway, she decides to look around at the chaos she's gotten herself into. At her particular location, there's a sliding glass door. Remarkable. What's even more remarkable is what's beyond the door- or rather, the scent that's coming from behind it- lasagna. Also, there's a floating triangle merchant not too far from their position, who appears to be idly playing solitaire. It is unclear as to whether this is a normal sort of situation or not.

Actually, it's really rather peaceful at the moment. Huh. Not what she expected.

---

Auth carries Nana out of the catacombs. Their flight back home is rather peaceful, thanks to the death of the First Sin. If Nana were more calm, she'd fall asleep in Auth's arms. Unfortunately for her, she's too busy clinging to Auth for dear life, afraid she might fall. Even though she has trust in Auth. Heights are scary, alright?

With Magnolia, Auth notes that Magnolia might feel uncomfortable wearing wet clothes. Magnolia nods.

MAGNOLIA: Ooh, good point!
MAGNOLIA: Wet things are really, really heavy!
MAGNOLIA: At least I can't get sick, though!
MAGNOLIA: Since the bodies I inhabit are dead, they're naturally immune to disease!
MAGNOLIA: And if they're not... I still don't care!
MAGNOLIA: It's really practical, I think!

As the two investigate the catacombs for potential bodies, they continue their talks. Magnolia scans the area with her one eye, while Auth asks about the voodoo doll he found. Magnolia nods.

MAGNOLIA: The spiky dolly!
MAGNOLIA: I haven't used it, but it's a magical item!
MAGNOLIA: If someone's sap gets on it, it becomes a voodoo doll of them!
MAGNOLIA: Except it's like, a weird reverse voodoo.
MAGNOLIA: The spikes appear on the person, and if the person gets hurt, the doll gets hurt!
MAGNOLIA: Touching the doll doesn't do anything, unless you bleed on it.
MAGNOLIA: It's really cool! It was a shame somebody threw it in the spike pit, because they thought they'd be best friends!
MAGNOLIA: Silly person. The animate spike pit is in the northern wing of the catacombs!~

The two continue their trek. They do find a few scattered bodies- any one of them could work for the process! They're all in various states of cut to shreds by the party though, so odds are, those might be more pain than they're worth. But maybe it'd be worth trying, anyway? Finally, over where Maple had her eye restored, Auth approaches Marron with a cup of tea. She happily accepts, blowing ripples across the steaming hot surface before taking a sip.

MARRON: Thanks.
MARRON: Hey, what brand of tea is this?
MARRON: I'd imagine that wherever you come from, you have some pretty fantastical drinks.
MARRON: Anyway, I'll go rest soon. I still have plenty of energy, so you don't need to worry.
MARRON: I HAVE been lazing around for most of the day, so... yeah.

Slurp. Slurp. The tea's quite good. Leaving the puppeteer to enjoy her tea, Auth grabs Maple, and carries her upstairs to the-

NIA: W-Wait, Venia and I were gonna share that room!
NIA: Can't you find someplace else...?
NIA: Sorry for being so greedy, but... I want this. A lot.

...Okay, maybe not! For now though, Auth places her on the couch. It'll have to do for now. Finally, Auth decides to explain the meaning of a certain phrase to Omorika. Sherlock is a detective. Omo gives him a single, respectful nod.

OMORIKA: Ah. I figured it was a sort of cultural reference.
OMORIKA: Thank you, sir Author.

The two of them watch over Maple. Seems like she's out cold for now, at least. Maybe she'll wake up tomorrow, all rested and happy?

---

Nidra takes Schemer. It was a good way to go.

---

And that marks the end of the update! With the next update, the time of day will shift! This auto-completes researches and other things like that, so be prepared for that! We won't be delaying the timeshift any more, so... this is the real last call! Also, one last chance to work on the airship before taking off: you'll be taking flight soon, so now's the time to upgrade it! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Auth smiles faintly.

AUTH: Aha. Don't worry, it was still good! I think it might need a little more of a show, though. Something slightly more dramatic.
AUTH: But still, that was really good, Nana! Don't worry about it much.

Auth considers Nana's suggestion that the doll might, in fact, be a voodoo doll.

AUTH: We can test that. Have we seen anyone with injuries akin to what this would cause?
AUTH: ...Actually, if you can think of anyone who resembles the doll, that would be easier. As I recall, voodoo dolls need to resemble their target to be functional...

Auth looks at the heavily stabbed doll. He doesn't seem to enjoy having it near him, so he puts it away.

AUTH: Let's get out of here. I don't think either of us particularly enjoys the atmosphere around here.

Auth frowns at how tired Nana seems to be, and lifts her into a bridal carry as he flies out of the catacombs, back to the house.

---

AUTH: Well, for most people, that "weirdness" is probably the biggest thing that they'd feel.
AUTH: And I want to avoid putting people in that position... trying to come to terms with that, at least.
AUTH: Not to say that you shouldn't have a body, I believe you should.

Auth considers the prospect of just... jumping in the bath and washing clothes that way.

AUTH: I guess that works, if you don't have to worry about getting sick through the cold.
AUTH: If it works for you, I guess. You probably wouldn't feel uncomfortable for wearing wet clothing for a prolonged period.
AUTH: Maybe I'm too used to being within my own body to be able to relate to how things work for you. With all the "possibility of getting sick" and needing to do... alive-people things.

Auth nods, walking through the Catacombs, looking for any suitable bodies for Magnolia.

AUTH: Hm... I'm not quite sure what you mean, Magnolia, although I have an idea if I had to guess.
AUTH: I think it would have been like if I was pushed into a female body... at least, possibly before... this morning.
AUTH: I can't really say I feel anything strange anymore. When I briefly transformed into a Chairian, nothing felt particularly weird, although maybe it should have now that I think about it.
AUTH: It frustrates me that I don't really know more about myself.

Auth has a brainwave, though, that while he has Magnolia he should ask about that doll. He shows the spiked doll to Magnolia.

AUTH: Keep an eye out for a fitting body, but...
AUTH: Do you recognize this doll? We found it a very short time ago, and we didn't know what it is. I thought you might know.

---

AUTH: I apologize, Marron, there wasn't much warning I could have given though.
AUTH: I'd only just discovered Maple's injuries recently, and I gave you as much notice as I could have... sorry.
AUTH: Thanks for being here, Omo, I appreciate the extra help.

Auth isn't able to help much with the ritual, so he stands back and watches Marron do her thing. Auth doesn't want to be an interruption or a distraction, so he decides to step away from the ritual and make some tea while Marron does that. After Marron finishes, and performs the transfusion on herself, Auth offers some of it to Marron.

AUTH: Here, maybe it'll help a little. You might wanna go lay down for a little while, I'm sure someone else will be willing to take over cooking.
AUTH: On the topic of the ritual, though, is there any way I can help with it? If there's any way I can limit the strain on you, please let me know, I'd be happy to help.

As for Maple, Auth walks over to her and checks that she's okay. She's fine, and the burning around her eye is not able to notice. He smiles, considering that the useless burned eye came out already, so her eyes probably function as normal again. Auth carries her around, looking for somewhere to keep Maple that's comfortable and private. Nobody's in the farther bedroom upstairs just yet, so Auth walks upstairs and places her on the bed. He leaves a sign on the door...

"Maple is recovering, please do not disturb."

Auth then walks down to Omo.

AUTH: Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective from where I come from. He's a master of abductive reasoning. An icon, basically.
AUTH: Hence why people say "Sherlock" as a sarcastic way of referring to someone mentioning the obvious.

Auth keeps an eye on Maple with Omo for a bit. He doesn't seem to be getting tired in the evening...

Nidra takes Growing Strength: Schemer.

@Dedomeni

With the surface shattered, the Real Slim Fran exits the mirror frame, trying not to pay attention to the stark black void that seems to be contained within it. Rather, she pretends to dust herself off, clumsily readjusting to being able to move at all. Then, rather than waste time on something inconsequential, she swiftly reads through her double's latest actions.

FRAN: ...you know.
FRAN: There is a delicate, delicate line between flirtatious teasing and straight up being a [Denied].
FRAN: A general guide I set for myself to prevent any crossing into the latter is "Don't do the former with more than one person in the same place."
FRAN: Not critiquing you too much exactly, but keep that in mind. Otherwise, you're doing God's work.
FRAN: Or, my work. For me. Seriously, thank you. I'm getting you a raise and maybe a promotion. Wouldn't you like that?~

FRAN: Also...
FRAN: I'm a bit disappointed you didn't burst out singing the actual song Rosemary's named after. Guess I'll have to do it, as soon as I pick up the motivation to socialise.
FRAN: But I've thrown it aeons ago, and Tobdog's most likely buried it somewhere.
FRAN: All hail introversion. All hail Britannia.

---

@pionoplayer

Just as the foreboding narration of authoritativeness predicted, Chara indeed turns to face Echoss... and just as it failed to predict, they hug him. A full hug, their arms reaching as much around him as made possible by both's physiques.

CHARA: Daddyyyyyyyyyyy!~
CHARA: I knew you'd come back! Mommy didn't believe me, but I knew you would!
CHARA: Did you at least get the cigars you left to buy?

Only then do they look up and into Echoss' eyes, letting out a terrible cry. Instantaneously, they pull some sort of string attached to the left shoulder of their sweater, and back away from the intruder - not even out of panic, but out of necessity, as the ceiling above him opens like a circular gate. Was there even ever a ceiling wherever they are? Who knows. That's the wonders of never defining anything. But what is known is that, even if there were, the blinding blue light radiating from the other side would never be something to naturally exist above it.

With a thunk, a chair falls out of it, landing perfectly on its four legs. And at the same time, on the opposite end of the circle, a sharply dressed figure lands onto his own two. It is Chris Hansen. "Why don't you take a seat over there?" he says, his voice a flowing crystal. Shut up, I am a fanfiction writer and can turn anything into a profound descriptor. More importantly, another chair lands in another cardinal point, then another man. It is also Chris Hansen. "Please have a seat." Which seat will Echoss take? Whom would he rather disappoint, Chris or Chris? Not helping this dilemma in the slightest, a third chair falls from the heavens, followed by another instance of Chris Hansen. "Have a seat." Oh, the pressure! The tension! What could possibly top this? How about another chair falling, with its own guardian Hansen? How about making it two? Five? Seven, at which point a chair lands on a Chris Hansen and perfectly balances sur sa tête, just like its opposite end's chair now has a speaking Chris atop it? How about we continue on and on, until Echoss is fully encased in a wall of Chris Hansens and alluring wooden rests for his weary behind? Yes. Yes, that would be the only fitting end to this nonsense.

Scoffing in this Tower of Banbel's general direction, Chara turns to face Taeda once more, with a snakelike expression.

CHARA: Good heavens, is it always a joyful occasion when a tryhard tries acting high and mighty just by knowing my adoptive family name.
CHARA: "Dreemurr" this, "Dreemurr" that. The only thing more annoying than it is the constant "demon who comes when people call their name" fangirling I get from aspiring edgescholars.
CHARA: People just can't let go of the DeviantArt tier past, can they?
CHARA: Well, I'm off to engineer the downfall of capitalism and maybe love itself. Or something along those lines. Sorry, I should probably compile a register of chuckle raising departure one-liners in advance, so I don't humiliate myself like this.
CHARA: 'til then, enjoy your internal turmoil!~

And then they were gone.

---

Chlololololololololololololololololololololololoeeeeeeeeee

The speed at which Chloe answers the question, and not to mention what the answer is, throws its submitter the slightest bit off.

CHARA: Burritos, huh?
CHARA: I'm not sure how much I want to deal with the rapping triangle, but I'll make sure to remember that if I ever require a peace offering.

Of course, they haven't forgotten the other, heavier matter at hand.

CHARA: Yeah, see... not only is it a matter of what would've happened without you, but also one of whether you would've lived a happier life had you just stayed.
CHARA: It certainly would've been a more peaceful one, but would it have been just as fun? Exciting? Fulfilling?
CHARA: I'm not asking you to split your head while thinking about this. I'm just... trying to find the words to express my dilemma, I guess. Though, I have that on two levels, both for entering Sussui and for leaving my home in the first place.
CHARA: It was a rash decision, but... I never would've lived to see any of this without it, for better or for worse.
CHARA: And I can't judge which one of the two it is. Feel like being the witness?
CHARA: Or should I just, just stop moping around and go check if Joseph's set half the planet on fire while trying to fry an ant with a magnifier.
CHARA: Wouldn't be the first time.

---

Nana

CHARA: Heh.
CHARA: Funny how people are always insistent on disregarding demands given mere moments ago, across just about everywhere I've been.
CHARA: Let's see. Why am I doing this? Multiple reasons. Because you deserve better. Because everything is stagnating. Because it would be fun to have the precious little cinnamon roll chairwaifu evolve into the most powerful individual on the planet. Because you really, really deserve better than the current situation.
CHARA: Or if you don't believe me on any of that, I guess you could pretend your existence personally insults me, and growing as a person would get you off my naughty list.
CHARA: Now, this thing about changing you? Change is essential to life, child. You aren't still a sapling, at least not physically. But this isn't a type of change to completely destroy and rebuild you, nothing like that. It's just, well, I said it. Growth. Growth into a next stage that you otherwise would've only dipped your toes into, before running off screaming how cold the water is.
CHARA: No, I am not letting go of my fancy allegories. Let me feel sophisticated, damn it.
CHARA: Lastly, where is Auth when you need him? Everywhere and nowhere, yet decidedly not with us two. That is, unless he decides to pop up behind me and lecture me on not messing with what's his like Echoss just tried. Or, sorry, I should answer only the questions you directly pose, but I suppose I've gotten ahead of myself.
CHARA: In any case, I'll be off now. But if you ever get sick of playing princess, or if Charming disappoints even one too many a time, remember. You have the tape. And Rumpelstiltskin's business costs, but is always fair.

And just like that, they pull a Houdini on all present. What a person.

Nemuri, having appeared in a mysterious location that seemed to be the interior of a house, fiddles with her phone.

NEMURI: Aw, no signal?! C’mon...
ECHOSS: Ahem.

At the introduction of a new voice, Nemuri looks up from her phone and drops it, startled by the presence of someone else. She doesn’t yet notice anyone other than Echoss, who despite not attempting to be intimidating, still kind of is with his slightly ragged blue coat and somewhat worn-down appearance.

NEMURI: KYAAAA! You scared Nemuri, coming out of nowhere like that~
ECHOSS: Ma'am, I believe I should be saying that to you, given you nearly appeared right on top of me.
ECHOSS: I assume you are here because of the Sphere?
NEMURI: Sphere? What kinda sphere, is it a 3-sphere, or a 4-sphere? Or even a 5-sphere? Maybe a plain old 2-sphere? Nemuri isn’t very sure what you’re talking about~!
ECHOSS: 2-sphere, I believe, but I suppose given the powers we're dealing with the interior could be…
ECHOSS: Ah, pardon me. You're a drop-in then. I suppose I'll have to tell you what's going on around here then...
NEMURI: Oh, if it’s just a plain old 2-sphere, have you tried the Borsuk-Ulam theorem? Nemuri thinks it shouldn’t be too hard for a 2-sphere even if you’re not particularly good with higher dimensions~!

Nemuri is definitely way too excited and jumping to conclusions way too quickly, and it’s at this point that her phone buzzes, and she looks back down at it. She levitates the phone to her hand.

NEMURI: Oh no, Nemuri’s phone is running out of battery, too… something must be really off about this place! Does it not have analytic continuations?

Nemuri hears a voice behind herself, robotic in tone.

HEXAGON: DO YOU REQUIRE A CHARGER?
NEMURI: Ah, but Nemuri’s phone is supposed to never run out of battery, so Nemuri removed the charging port! Oh no...
HEXAGON: WHO IS NEMURI? WHY DO YOU REFER TO THEM.
NEMURI: That’s me~ Full name, Nemuri Tsuzukinashi! Very much both pure and applied mathematician~!
HEXAGON: QUERY. WHY DO YOU REFER TO YOURSELF IN THE THIRD PERSON.
NEMURI: Nemuri just likes to do it~ Some things aren’t worthy of rigorous proofs or questioning, yeah?
ECHOSS: Miss Tsuzukinashi, would you mind following me outside?
ECHOSS: I believe a visual aid may help in demonstrating the current state of affairs.
NEMURI: Sure thing! Nemuri would love to hear more~

Nemuri follows Echoss’ lead outside. As they walk off the patio, Echoss points upwards, towards the horizon. Even with night setting on, the great wooden silhouette of The Sphere is visible against the sky.

ECHOSS: That is The Sphere. A prison for a being once known as Irecreeper, who has since had his mind twisted by an ancient eldritch destroyer of entropy and code known as the Chaos Butterfly.
ECHOSS: In roughly two and a half days of time, the Chaos Butterfly will break free of The Sphere, and destroy… well, the lowest estimate is "one third of this universe", and the higher ranges of what it could do include destabilizing a significant chunk of the Multiverse.
ECHOSS: This house is the current base of the Spherebreakers. Our goal is to make our way to the Sphere and kill the Butterfly before it breaks free and kills everyone.
ECHOSS: There are a number of things standing in our way, such as the Iti, creatures of thyme and foul matter let loose by the Sphere to wreak havoc on the ground and making most of this planet rather dangerous.
ECHOSS: But that is, in essence, the basics of the situation.
NEMURI: Ah… So much to take in, Nemuri’s confused… Especially since Nemuri would have known if something would threaten the part of the multiverse Nemuri lives in! Oh, no… Maybe Nemuri’s equations had a mistake?
NEMURI: But at the same time, there’s… nowhere else to go... since Nemuri’s connection to the Great Space-filling Curve isn’t working! So… Nemuri thinks she’ll have to help… you… wait, who are you all, hmm~?
HEXAGON: HEXAGON, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
HEXAGON: HE IS.. ECHOSS. A COLLECTOR OF MANY THINGS.
NEMURI: Ah… Nemuri’s very pleased to meet both of you~
ECHOSS: A pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, Miss Tsuzukinashi.
ECHOSS: We aren't going anywhere tonight, as we've just finished clearing out something of a cult base.
ECHOSS: There are bunks in one of the upstairs areas, however, and plenty of food left over from dinner.
NEMURI: Oh, Nemuri doesn’t need to eat now, not when Nemuri just finished her breakfast before coming here! Ah, but Nemuri did stay up through the night working on proofs… Luckily I can just change the phase, like a sine wave~ No jet lag for Nemuri~
NEMURI: Nemuri’s sleepy… off to bed!

Nemuri walks back into the house, and makes her way to the bunk beds.

NEMURI: Ahh... Nemuri thinks she'll take this one~

She takes the upper bunk of the bed on the... top rightmost of the upper floor and claims it as hers. Before she goes to bed, however, she picks up the armor she has in her character sheet from the inventory. Nemuri's blatant raiding of the inventory is bound to be a reoccurring thing.

It takes a while, but Dorothy eventually finishes her meal, and heads up to bed, nervously peering to either side of her as she hears even the faintest noise. It's gonna be a long night for her...

---

Upgrades, featuring Hannah

...Something was nagging at Hannah as she slept. Her gear doesn't have the type of power she'd want. So, instead of sleeping it off, she decides to get up and upgrade stuff.

A Triangle Coupon disappears from the inventory, and the Apothecary's Tunic is purchased with it.

Then, Hannah gets to work.



Hannah equips the Biowitch's Dress, as well as the Primal Baubles (Resistances: Poison, Poison (What? There's nothing saying I can't). Weaknesses: Slashing).

If the Biowitch's Dress goes through as-is stats-wise, Hannah cycles 5 points out of HP, 1 out of MP, throws 1 into STR, and the last 5 into INT.

Once all these stat changes go through, Hannah refocuses her spell lineup: Mirror Image (oh god), Noxious Plume (please no), and Phial Burst (Dark/Psychic).

...
Satisfied with potentially having broken multiple laws on every planet ever, Hannah returns to bed.

Ah, good. Now that I have an overgrown patch of highly deadly poison blocking that path into the farm, I cast Terraform on the wall of rubble between the place I'm listed on the map and the tunnel leading to the cavern entryway, opening up a gap large enough for me to crawl through, so I can get behind the poison-plants without going through poison-plants.
More importantly, I go to AW52 and AW57, neither of which will be visible from the outside with the foliage in the way I think, and plant manablooms here. The Mana of these Manablooms, once they're grown,will power further defences of the farm! This doesn't go under the farms harvesting systems or try too, because if I harvest the bloom obviously they'll have to restart growing, so the manablooms I plant here will be more like magical power-generators then plants, for all relevant purposes. For the moment, though, they don't do anything, because they aren't grown yet, and I don't have anything to do with their mana anyway.

Ah, you asked "What is it with you and violently and potentially lethally poisoning everyone who tries to break into this place?". Well, y'see, the Violently and potentially lethally part is just a perfectly ordinary response to people breaking into your nice, peaceful farm. Really, they should know to stay off my lawn. But that doesn't address why poison. The answer there is that poison doesn't require moving parts, and serves as an area hazard. If I make a spike pit, that will also work, but if I make a spike pit, why not a Poisonous spike pit? It stacks. Plus, poisoned beings are likely to survive a little while, long enough to vacate the poisonous area, and likely to do so; if I make a spike pit which is deep enough, then they'll fill the pit, and then it won't work on the next person! Additionally, I'd imagine poison is easier to cure then being dead, and poison has a prolonged onset, making any mistakes more recoverable without requiring the placement of signs which may tip off enemies. It's an Area hazard in the sense that since I'm poisoning a tile, even if one person gets poisoned, if another person tromps across, they'll get poisoned too.
Does that answer the question?