WORLD SHOULD BE, PART 2

[https://soundcloud.com/splitsuns/world-should-be]
[The recent past is recalled for the benefit of the myriad...]
[Your name is JEFF MASON. As was previously mentioned, you currently reside in PROJECTION, the headquarters of MTT INDUSTRIES. You function as an enforcer of the late OVERSEER's wishes, and also serve as a repository of ALL OF FICTION'S KNOWLEDGE AND POWER. Recently, a divine robot named GOANNA invaded your base, telling you that ADAM MASON MUST BE STOPPED. You threw him in one of your many VAULTS in response.]
[Inspired by the plan of BILL CIPHER, a notorious dream demon, you've taken to contemplating using a BLANK GREY DOOR that you recovered from yet another VAULT and placing VARIOUS MEMORIES WITHIN IT, allowing it to function as a PORTAL ACROSS SPACE AND TIME. Why? Who knows! Maybe it could give you the edge in the eventual fight against BILL. Maybe it's just to tell a cool story.]
[It's up to you — and YOU — to find out.]
[When you last left off, you had just informed OCTOTHORPE of your plan within the GRAND LIBRARY. He seems eager to JOIN THE CREW, as it were. But what do you do now?]
<0>
GENERIC: >worry about the agent
DAGOTH: > shit on the door
JOE: what if go in door without draw anything on it? Am recall if green-pink-luigi did would be real?
ETERNITIES: \colour #1960a1
BOMBER: >Pose like a team because shit just got real
GENERIC: (also op doubles as voıce)
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 6 CP
MANIAC: forward slash sorry
KARP: > Draw an icon of your pants on the door
JOE: AS is need do / not \.
CRYSTAL: > Forward slash the door.
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 6 CP]
[JEFF MASON 6 CP]
[> Pose like a team because shit just got real.]
[You contemplate the shit that was shat in VAULT A-76 earlier, and realize that yeah, that WAS pretty real. So you pose LIKE A TEAM. Not much of a team, though. You've only got two people.]
[OCTOTHORPE: "You know... We're not much of a team. We're o—"]
["Yeah, yeah, keep up with the monologue," you say.]
[> Draw an icon of your pants on the door.]
[> Forward slash the door.]
[> Shit on the door.]
[You feel like you should avoid taking any action with the TALL GRAY DOOR until you've cleared it with, like, a MAJORITY of the SUPERIORS first. It would be nice to have supervision, and maybe they'd want to come along for the ride? Plus it'll be hilarious for you to see their idiosyncracies.]
[> what if go in door without draw anything on it? Am recall if green-pink-luigi did would be real?]
Hey, JOE, could you not roleplay in a caveman voice? Thanks.
<0>
CRYSTAL: The next time you do that, you're getting kicked, JOE.

KARP: > Assemble the superiors!
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 9 CP
GRACIE: > get the gang together for one hell of a quest ahead
BOMBER: >Open the door. Stop having it be closed.
GENERIC: >Contemplate whether "YOU" ıs relevant to thıs journey
DAGOTH: > yell for the other superiors to come get their meatloaf
CRYSTAL: > Find the rest of the Superiors.
ETERNITIES: > Superiors assemble!
MANIAC: > Ignore that idea and do something to the door. I don't know, play tic-tac-toe with it?
LEAH: > Do you need their permission? You know everything.
GENERIC: we're not touchıng the door
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 9 CP]
[JEFF MASON 9 CP]
[> Contemplate whether "YOU" is relevant to this journey.]
[Sure you are. YOU're always relevant when the second-person is involved. That's just how these types of adventures roll. But you aren't gonna complain about it or anything. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.]
[You're one of the most powerful AGENTS OF THE CONFLICT, after all. You think you probably couldn't defy you even if you tried.]
[> Do you need their permission? You know everything.]
[You KNOW everything, sure. And you could DO everything too, if you wanted. But it's just not feasible all the time. And it's a lot more complicated than simple "omniscience" and "omnipotence," anyways. It would be VERY nice to clear things with the other SUPERIORS first. After all, they already killed ONE Interrobang...]
[Something tells you that you're significantly more powerful than HE was, though.]
[Call it a hunch.]
[> Ignore that idea and do something to the door. I don't know, play tic-tac-toe with it?]
[You contemplate for like twelve seconds.]
["You know," Octothorpe says. "Twelve is a significant number in many cultures. Take, for example, Jesus and his a—"]
[You literally couldn't care less and by the time OCTOTHORPE says even that you've already stapled a piece of paper to the door and begun playing TIC-TAC-TOE on it.]
[The grid is drawn. NOT with a LEAKING PEN, mind you. But with, like, a normal PENCIL. You're not a MASOCHIST. CURRENTLY.]
["You're going to ask me to play tic-tac-toe with you, aren't you," OCTOTHORPE says, resigned to his fate.]
["What do YOU think?"]
[Do you choose <0>s or [x]s?]
<0>
DAGOTH: > realize you were somehow playing Monopoly when you thought you were playing Tic-Tac-Toe
CRYSTAL: pffffff
CRYSTAL: > <0>
SPLASH: >Try to defy yourself anyway
KARP: > Play in the center square. You always play in the center swuare.
ETERNITIES: > The top hat
BOMBER: > <0>
GENERIC: <0>
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 12 CP
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 12 CP]

[JEFF MASON 12 CP]
[> <0>]
[Sure thing.]
[> Play in the center square. You always play in the center swuare.]
[You don't know what a SWUARE is. Maybe some weird THETA-PRIME thing that the FOUNDATION is always babbling on about when they think you can't hear. But you won't judge.]
[ | | ]
[ | 0 | ]
[ | | ]
[You contemplate how AWFUL that looks and move on.]
["Your move," you say.]
[OCTOTHORPE ponders for seventeen seconds.]
["Did you know that I'm not gonna bother you with some inane comment on the mystical powers of the number seventeen?" you say.]
[He glares at you.]
[ x | . | . ]
[ . | 0 | . ]
[. | . | . ]
<0>

GENERIC: >declare . the wınner of the game
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 15 CP
LEAH: Top right corner.
GRACIE: go in all 9 squares at once, thereby activating o o o o /o\ o o o o
GENERIC: >also tıc tac toe ıs bs anyways ıt's always a tıe
CRYSTAL: > .: Win.
MANIAC: > go top right
DAGOTH: > wonder how you can hold a pencil with massive dragon claws
BOMBER: >Just win the race.
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 15 CP]

[JEFF MASON 15 CP]
[> Wonder how you can hold a pencil with massive dragon claws.]
[You stopped being a DRAGON right after you used that power to control your flame output. You're perfectly capable of swapping between DRAGON and NON-DRAGON FORMES at will, though, so you demonstrate this ability for funny.]
[You turn into a DRAGON and the PENCIL you're using snaps into shards.]
["Fuck," OCTOTHORPE says very helpfully.]
[Then he just takes out another pencil.]
[You realize very quickly that you won't be able to play TIC-TAC-TOE again until you stop being a scaley, which you will NEVER EVER EVER DO.]
[But you then realize that none of that matters.]
[> Declare . the winner of the game.]
["LOOK," you say, your DRAGONSHOUTS shaking the very foundations of the GRAND LIBRARY. OCTOTHORPE makes no movements because he technically DOES NOT HAVE EARS. He just Hears at a higher level.]
["Oh, shit," OCTOTHORPE says. Once again, insightful commentary. "Looks like THE OVERSEER wni gaain."]
["I am going to strangle you one day," you say.]
["I'll drink to that," he says.]
[...You should probably go round up some of the other SUPERIORS, huh.]
<0>

KARP: > JEFF MASON 18 CP
SPLASH: > Time for a classic heist movie recruiting montage!
ETERNITIES: > Put together an advanced, superior crew.
MANIAC: > Alright enough fucking around. Lasso some superiors.
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 21 CP
GENERIC: > Go look for some staırs and/or superıors
BOMBER: >Spin the wheel on which superior to visit next.
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 21 CP]
[JEFF MASON 21 CP]
[> Spin the wheel on which superior to visit next.]
[You've already seen LOZENGE, OBELUS, and AMPERSAND, and none of them know about your IMPENDING DOORHINGE PLOT. So you suppose you should go talk to THEM before ANYONE.]
[You have a KEEN SUSPICION (by which you mean you are certain through omniscience) that ASTERISM will be chilling in THE OBSERVATORY, PILCROW and DAGGER will be watching TELEVISION in a REC ROOM, and CARET will be PRAYING.]
[Motherfucker ALWAYS prays.]
[Where to?]
<0>
KARP: > TO THE CHAPEL!
DAGOTH: > Meet Asterism, and then go meet Asterisk
SPLASH: >two birds with one stone, go to the rec room
TRICKLE: > twelve steps forwards, twelve steps left
GRACIE: get lozenge first. hopefully his geometry powers can shorten the rest of the journeys.
GENERIC: > JEFF MASON 24 go vısıt ampersand.
BOMBER: >Backtrack to Lozenge by skateboarding backwards.
LEAH: > To Caret!
MANIAC: > Decide to watch TV. Oh hey Pilcrow and Dagger what are you doing here?
[x]
[> Get Lozenge first. Hopefully his geometry powers can shorten the rest of the journey.]
[You suppose this would be the LOGICAL thing to do, but seeing as you TRANSMOGRIFIED YOURSELF INTO BEING IN THE LIBRARY through SHOOTING YOURSELF, you can pretty much TRAVEL AS FAST AS YOU WANT. It would be nice to go inform him of THE HAPPENINGS, though.]
[> JEFF MASON 24 go visit ampersand.]
[JEFF MASON 24 CP]
[> Decide to watch TV. Oh hey Pilcrow and Dagger what are you doing here?]
[You decide to head to a REC ROOM. It doesn't matter which one, you've got like what, twelve of them? There's six on the LEFT WING and six on the RIGHT WING. You know for certain that PILCROW and DAGGER are in LEFT WING-ROOM 4, but you could check out other rooms.]
[For some reason.]
<0>
DAGOTH: > Go to left wing room -4
MANIAC: > Go to all of them. At once.
NEDBEN: > All of them at once sounds lovely, let's do that.
LEAH: > Go play more angry birds.
SPLASH: >Wonder why you have twelve rec rooms when there aren't even twelve of you
GENERIC: > JEFF MASON 27 uhhh play SUPER HEXAGON
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 27 uhhh play SUPER HEXAGON]
[> JEFF MASON 27 CP]
[You contemplate playing SUPER HEXAGON, because you remembered how fun it was earlier! You also remember that it potentially constitutes BLASPHEMY OF A RELATIVELY HIGH ORDER, seeing as it depicts HEXAGONS being turned into PENTAGONS and SQUARES. This is bad for reasons that are OBVIOUS TO YOU.]
[This, of course, does not stop you from playing it anyway.]
[You make it about THIRTY SECONDS in before a GIGANTIC BLAST OF LIGHTNING tears through the ceiling of the GRAND LIBRARY, throwing the long shelf before you into total disarray. OCTOTHORPE is knocked over, but the TALL DOOR stays put.]
[You look up. It seems that you've pissed someone off.]
["WHO *DARES*," CARET yells as loud as his voice can withstand.]
[OCTOTHORPE points to you. Dick.]
["Interrobang," CARET thunders. "Need I remind you that engaging in material which defames the iconography, imagery, personality, and mythology of The Overseer is STRICTLY prohibited within the halls of Providence?"]
["But... But Super Hexagon is a fun game," you protest.]
[The words sound weak as they leave your mouth.]
["NONSENSE. How could something that, intentionally or unintentionally, DISRESPECTS OUR GOD be "FUN???"]
[You grimace. It's not like you're in any REAL danger from CARET, beyond being BORED to death. But now that he's here, you might as well recruit him.]
<0>
GRACIE: tell him you're gonna tinker in the omniverse's brain, ask if he's in
GLOBAL: > "Hey Caret, if you're so eager to see me die, why not join me on this super dangerous magic-door related quest?"
MANIAC: > Transfer your idea to Caret's... mind? Eh, just let him know by throwing the idea to him like a basketball
GENERIC: > keep playıng Super Hexagon
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 30 CP
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 30 CP]
[JEFF MASON 30 CP]
[> Keep playing Super Hexagon.]
[Out of what seems like a total state of disrespect for your mental state, you keep playing SUPER HEXAGON. At least, you ATTEMPT to. It seems that CARET's divine judgement has seared your PHONE to a perfect 901º F. You can still hold it because you're not a COWARD, but you sure as hell can't USE it.]
["I guess that makes this a burner phone!" you say excitedly.]
[About twenty seven thousand books in the GRAND LIBRARY spontaneously open and begin LAUGHING.]
[Then they stop.]
[> "Hey Caret, if you're so eager to see me die, why not join me on this super dangerous magic-door related quest?"]
CCC made UC an OP.
[You tell CARET exactly this. He seems like he's about to retort, but then he stops and ponders your words.]
["Hmm. Seeing you die... I might enjoy that." He grins, baring his teeth. None of their HUMAN REPLICA FORMS have FANGS, but you feel like he almost pulls that look off.]
["Alright then," CARET says. "You've convinced me."]
["Wow, really? That quickly?" you say.]
["Of course! What I wouldn't give to see such a detestable blasphemer perish?!"]
["Hey, uh," OCTOTHORPE says. "You almost used an interrobang there. Might wanna—"]
["Shut up," CARET says dismissively.]
[CARET walks over to you in large strides, his coattails moving aggressively. You don't know how that's really possible.]
["Hey now," you say. "Whatever happened to teamwork, huh? MTT INDUSTRIES, ending your eternal suffering. We're all on the same side, we're all trying to avenge the Overseer! You and I and everyone else KNOWS that, Caret."]
[There is no warmth in CARET's eyes.]
["You died to me the moment you forfeited our GOD's life and allowed an EGG to swallow him whole," he says. "I'll go along with your scheme if it can help kill CIPHER, and if it can put an end to YOU. But for no other reason."]
["...Hacker voice," OCTOTHORPE says.]
["What."]
["Say hacker voice I'm in. Come on."]
["No."]
["Please?"]
["Why would I possibly do that?"]
["...I dunno man, I thought we could like make a running joke out of it." OCTOTHORPE seems defeated.]
["Forget it, the moment's gone," he says.]
["You... you sure?" CARET says.]
["Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure."]
[CARET seems weirdly perturbed. He turns on the spot, and with a CRACK, he vanishes.]
<0>
DAGOTH: > Contemplate if killing Bill Cipher technically counts as killing your Gods successor, and thus would be blasphemy
BOMBER: >Default dance.
GENERIC: > wow stop showıng your cracks
MANIAC: > Fortnite dance in victory for how well that went.
LEAH: > Sans dance.
GRACIE: > proceed to the tv room, whistling focus from super hexagon all the while
NEDBEN: > Non-default dance. Pull a Shiva and dance like it reveals the universe.
GENERIC: > JEFF MASON :33
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 36 CP
[x]
[> Default dance in victory for how well that went.]
[Absolutely not. You have a better idea.]
["Yo, Sonic!" you yell.]
[SONIC THE HEDGEHOG materializes in the GRAND LIBRARY. You're perfectly aware that he RAN REALLY FAST, but it LOOKS like he just sort of blipped into existence, which is COOLER.]
["What's going on, my amigo??" SONIC says in his insufferable voice that makes you want to tear out his throat.]
["Default dance for me," you say.]
[SONIC default dances for you.]
["Thanks, man. Remember, every time you Fortnite dance, it's five less seconds all of your animal friends get to spend screaming in the ROBOTICIZATION CHAMBERS."]
["Of course!!" SONIC says, wiping the tears from his smiling face. You blink, and he's gone.]
[> JEFF MASON 36 CP]
[JEFF MASON 36 CP]
[> Proceed to the TV room, whistling Focus from Super Hexagon all the while.]
[You modify your VOCAL CORDS so that you perfectly re-create the song, waving to OCTOTHORPE as you leave. He nods solemnly, then takes the TIC-TAC-TOE PAPER off the DOOR, crumples it up, and eats it.]
[You walk up the SPIRAL STAIRCASE that leads to the GRAND LIBRARY and find yourself in the SECRET OF THE FOYER. To your left is the LEFT WING, and to your right is the RIGHT WING. Should you go LEFT, you'll find the REC ROOM with PILCROW and DAGGER.]
<0>
SPLASH: >Go left, young man!
DAGOTH: > duplex
PARADOX: JEFF MASON 39 CP, Go Left
BOMBER: >To the left to the left
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 42 CP
MANIAC: > Run downstairs, rip over Octothorpe's chest, and eat the half digested paper. Then calmly walk back to the SECRET OF THE FOYER.
GRACIE: > go to the left wing faster than a disenfranchised ex-conservative
GENERIC: >maybe don't antagonıze more of your coworkers than necessary
[x]
ETERNITIES: > Pivot left
[> JEFF MASON 42 CP]
[JEFF MASON 42 CP]
[> Go to the left wing faster than a disenfranchised ex-conservative.]
[You enter the LEFT WING. It's a pretty spacious room with multiple paintings of your ADVANCED and SUPERIOR EXPLOITS. You as a collective, that is. Lining the wall are FOUR DOORS, each of which leads to a different REC ROOM. On opposite walls are much larger doors. The left wall has the door to the FUCK ZONE, and the right wall has the door to the CHAMBER OF INNERMOST SOLITUDE.]

(/afk break)

[We now return to your irregularly scheuled program, already in progress.]
[The recent past is recalled for the benefit of the myriad…]
[Your name is JEFF MASON. You have a plan to go on a MYSTICAL DOORHINGE QUEST, and are currently talking to the other nine ADVANCED SUPERIORS that reside in the headquarters of MTT INDUSTRIES, "PROVIDENCE," to get their aid. Right now, OCTOTHORPE and CARET have agreed to join you.]
[Currently, you are in PROVIDENCE'S LEFT WING. It features four REC ROOMS, the FUCK ZONE, and the CHAMBER OF INNERMOST SOLITUDE. PILCROW and DAGGER are in REC ROOM L-3 watching TELEVISION.]
[What's your move?]
<0>
BOMBER: >W-what is the FUCK ZONE
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 45 CP
GRACIE: > play out an elaborate monty hall problem that ends with you going to door 4
CRYSTAL: > Ponder what the heck the FUCK ZONE is.
GENERIC: > You know exactly what the FUCK ZONE ıs. Go ınsıde.
SPLASH: > Keep things clean, just Park yourself in Rec Room 3.
NET: > Charge 3 charge points
ETERNITIES: > Enter the CHAMBER OF INNERMOST SOLITUDE - nahhhhhh.
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 48 CP]
[JEFF MASON 48 CP]
[> You know exactly what the FUCK ZONE is. Go inside.]
[You're right! You DO know exactly what the FUCK ZONE is — which is why you know you can't enter it without proper clearance. Sure, you COULD just waltz on through, but FORMALITY is the name of the game here.]
[You can feel some malformed growth in the back of your mind say "ECHtually, the name of the game is 'World Should Be,' and you momentarily wish that you didn't exist so that you couldn't contemplate your own hypothetical stupidity.]
[The door to the FUCK ZONE is tall and needlessly ornate. Images of SKULLS, GARGOYLES, and DEVILS wrap around the frame. In the middle of the DOOR is a RECEPTACLE meant to fit a SPECIFIC OBJECT. There is also a KEYPAD with all TWENTY-SIX LETTERS OF THE LATIN ALPHABET.]
[> Enter the CHAMBER OF INNERMOST SOLITUDE - nahhhhhh.]
[Yeah, that's not really in the cards for you right now. Besides, "innermost solitude" is literally a categorical IMPOSSIBILITY for you. Not as long as you've got the chucklefucks.]
["It's sad, but it's true."]
[> Play out an elaborate Monty Hall problem that ends with you going to door 4.]
[You do so. You wonder what could possibly, conceivably be behind DOOR NUMBER FOUR.]
[You open it.]
[REC ROOM L-4 contains a BEAN BAG COUCH made from RESTRAINED VEGETAL, an XBOX 721, a FENESTRATED TELEVISION, a RECORD PLAYER WITH AN ASSORTMENT OF RECORDS, GOOP™, a CHANDELIER, and a WARNING SIGN.]
<0>
ETERNITIES: > Examine the FENESTRATED TELEVISION.
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 51 CP
DAGOTH: > suplex
BOMBER: >Play Stupid Horse on the record player.
GENERIC: > Pıck up the GOOP™
SPLASH: >Read the Warning Sign
NET: >Examine WARNING SIGN
PARADOX: >play One Step from Eden on the XBOX
GRACIE: > realise 721, 901, 1207, and even the dreaded 1801 (as well as 46, whatever it may mean) are all multiples of 9 + 1. resist the urge to break down over this discovery
CRYSTAL: > Examine Restrained Vegetal.
[x]
[> Examine WARNING SIGN.]

[The WARNING SIGN resembles a cautionary yellow sign that you'd see in a building to denote a wet floor. This floor, of course, is TOTALLY DRY, so some other MYSERTY must be AFOOF. You read the sign.]
[CAUTION! MEMETIC KILL AGENT DISPLAYED ON TELEVISION. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USE.]
[You look up. The TELEVISION isn't CURRENTLY showing anything anomalous, but you suppose it must have been prior. If you were to turn on the fenestrated device, it would likely start beaming GOD KNOWS WHAT into your retinas, resulting in the FORCEFUL EXPULSION OF ALL PLAYERS.]
[This is inadvisable. [citation needed]]
[> Examine Restrained Vegetal.]
[You walk up to the BEAN BAG COUCH and take a close, if not MICROSCOPIC look at it. It seems as though the BEAN BAG COUCH is made of LONG GREEN BEANS with CARTOONISH FACES and WRIGGLING LIMBS. Normally, they would be jumping all over the place and playing OBNOXIOUS BASS BOOSTS because you would have just been BEANED, but MTT INDUSTRIES has, thankfully, RESTRAINED their vile ways.]
[> Play Stupid Horse on the record player.]
[You take out the album 1000 GECS from the RECORD SHELF and begin playing "STUPID HORSE."]
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YO5ruvFSCU ]
[You, of course, begin DANCING UNCONTROLLABLY. Your limbs spasm at angles perpendicular to all THREE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS, and colors begin spinning through your vision at sickening degrees.]
[You quickly pause the song about THIRTY SECONDS IN because any further dancing would be inadvisable. [another citation needed]]
[> JEFF MASON 51 CP]
[JEFF MASON 51 CP]
[> Pick up the GOOP™.]
[You want this GOOP™, you want it bad. You take the GOOP™ and POCKET it.]
[INVENTORY: 8-BALL / LEAKING PEN / GOOP™]
<0>
TRICKLE: > pocket 1000 GECS
GENERIC: > Turn the televısıon... repeatedly. Spın ıt rıght round baby rıght round lıke JEFF MASON 54 CP
NET: >CHARGE!
GRACIE: > combine (LEAKING PEN, GOOP™)
DAGOTH: > remove the ink from the leaking pen and replace it with goop
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 57 CP
LEAH: > combine (LEAKING PEN, GOOP™) (repeat)
CRYSTAL: > Transform WARNING SIGN into N GIN WAR sign
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 60 CP]
[JEFF MASON 60 CP]
[> Pocket 1000 Gecs.]
CUC made PB an OP.
[You take 1000 GECS off the RECORD PLAYER and POCKET it. Never know when it might come in handy.]
[INVENTORY: 8-BALL / LEAKING PEN / GOOP™ / 1000 GECS]
[> Turn the televısıon... repeatedly. Spın ıt rıght round baby rıght round]
[You TURN the FENESTRATED TELEVISION, spinning it... like a RECORD.]
[1000 GECS begins inexplicably blaring from the FENESTRATED TELEVISION. The glass shatters.]
[You recoil and fall onto the BEAN BAG COUCH. The 21st-CENTURY SCHIZOID TUNES of the GECS snap the RESTRAINTS on the VEGETAL within the fabric. They burst out, causing the room's foundations to buckle under the strain.]
["BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT BITCH U GUESSED IT"]
[You are accosted by the INFINITE VEGETAL. Oh no.]
[POCKET | PURVIEW | PUNCH | PROTECT | PACE]
CRYSTAL: > open HELP menu, access descriptions of options
[> Open HELP menu, access description of options.]
[You're pretty sure you don't see a HELP menu anywhere, metaphysically or otherwise, but you take your best shot at the COMBAT DESCRIPTIONS regardless.]
[POCKET opens your INVENTORY and allows you to utilize the ITEMS within.]
[PURVIEW allows you to examine any and all POTENTIAL THREATS, as well as your own STATS.]
[PUNCH is how you attack. Simple enough. You can attack in any way you wish, though PUNCHING is usually your go-to.]
[PROTECT is how you defend. Again, simple enough.]
[And in case you just don't feel up to fighting, you can PACE outta the situation.]
<0>
LEAH: > POCKET -- Burn it's face off with the LEAKING PEN.
GENERIC: > Delıberately mısınterpret the POCKET command and put the VEGETAL ın your pocket.
GRACIE: > PUNCH with a fist wrapped in kaleidoscopic fire.
CRYSTAL: > PURVIEW
TRICKLE: > Pocket > Unleash your thousand General Engineering Consultants upon the foe
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 63 CP
SPLASH: > PURVIEW
SPLASH: > or PROBECT, I like that one
ETERNITIES: > "You can attack in any way you wish" Wait. Is this secretly a DTG game?
[x]
CRYSTAL: > PUNCH -- summon Meme Man and have him declare No Vegetal
[> "You can attack in any way you wish." Wait. Is this secretly a DTG game?]
[Uh-oh. Busted.]
["It's not my fault that my powers let me do anything!"]
["Or, rather, let YOU do anything. It's... complicated."]
[> PURVIEW]
[INFINITE VEGETAL: 20,000 HP. A buzzing, malicious swarm of tiny green beans hellbent on tagging you and all of your friends to totally bean you!! They're small, but they're many.]
[INTERROBANG: HP‽]
[> JEFF MASON 63 CP]
[JEFF MASON 63 CP]
[> Delıberately mısınterpret the POCKET command and put the VEGETAL ın your pocket.]
[Not one to allow the RULES to RULE your life, you run up to the INFINITE VEGETAL and POCKET some of them. The swarm quickly reacts to you, hissing and fleeing to another corner of the room.]
[You obtain 100 UNRESTRAINED VEGETAL.]
[1,000 damage to the INFINITE VEGETAL.]
[> PUNCH - Summon Meme Man and have him declare No Vegetal.]
[You crack your knuckles. MEME MAN descends from the heavens and stares down the INFINITE VEGETAL with quizzical eyes. Laser beams blare from his face as his mouth twists into a frown.]
["N O V E G E T A L ."]
[8,000 damage to the INFINITE VEGETAL!]
[The INFINITE VEGETAL cackles and swoops down to attack you, but they merely phase right through your body. Hm. That accomplished nothing.]
[POCKET | PURVIEW | PUNCH | PROTECT | PACE]
From now on, assume that you can act when I post the battle menu.
ETERNITIES: > HP, damage, and CP. This really is secretly a DTG game.
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 66 CP
GENERIC: > POCKET even more VEGETAL.
TRICKLE: > Punch > First, distract target. Then block his blind jab. Counter with cross to left cheek. Discombobulate. Dazed, he'll attempt wild haymaker. Employ elbow block and body shot. Block feral left. Weaken right jaw. Now fracture. Break cracked ribs. Traumatize solar plexus. Dislocate jaw entirely. Heel kick to diaphragm. In summary: ears ringing, jaw fractured, three ribs cracked, four broken, diaphragm
hemorrhaging. Physical recovery: six weeks. Full psychological recovery: six months. Ability to spit at back of head: neutralized.
CRYSTAL: > PUNCH: Stir-fry the vegetals, then serve them up to a nearby cow with butter.
GRACIE: > PUNCH by roasting the vegetal and having them on the side of a good old steak dinner.
[> POCKET even more VEGETAL.]
[You flashstep in the middle of the swarm, but the VEGETALS scatter immediately! That trick won't work a second time.]
[> PUNCH: First, distract target. Then block his blind jab. Counter with cross to left cheek. Discombobulate. Dazed, he'll attempt wild haymaker. Employ elbow block and body shot. Block feral left. Weaken right jaw. Now fracture. Break cracked ribs. Traumatize solar plexus. Dislocate jaw entirely. Heel kick to diaphragm. In summary: ears ringing, jaw fractured, three ribs cracked, four broken, diaphragm hemorrhaging. Physical recovery: six weeks. Full psychological recovery: six months. Ability to spit at back of head: neutralized.]
[Couldn't have said it better yourself. You deliver a SENSELESS BEATDOWN onto the INFINITE VEGETAL, finishing off with a singular, signature KALEIDOSCOPIC HOOK.]
[INFINITE VEGETAL killed!]
[The VEGETAL SPIRITS slowly swirl into the ceiling.]
[It seems they have dropped a TAG.]
[Unfortunately, the BEAN BAG COUCH has been totally deflated. The FENESTRATED TELEVISION is also no longer spinning and playing 1000 GECS, but it is still QUITE shattered.]
[You guess it just stopped moving.]
<0>
ETERNITIES: > Tag yourself.
PARADOX: >be the Tag
DAGOTH: > Search the deflated bean bag for another Soul Gem
GENERIC: > Restraın the VEGETALS ın your ınventory.
[Oh.]
[> JEFF MASON 66 CP]
[JEFF MASON 66 CP]
SPLASH: > Craft the BEAN BAG COUCH into pants
SPLASH: Are pants even still a meme
SPLASH: Or am I behind the curve
TRICKLE: > Leave an upside-down L of GECS, 12 in length and 12 in height, at the scene of your murder
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 69 CP
GENERIC: > Nıce.
LEAH: > Investigate wreckage for loot. Were the Vegetals Magical Girls?
SPLASH: > Loot 500 of the GECS.
[x]
GRACIE: > cast the 1000 gecs into the void, where it will never cause any problems again.
[> Restrain the VEGETALS in your inventory.]
[All 100 VEGETALS in your INVENTORY are now RESTRAINED. That ought to show them.]
[> JEFF MASON 69 CP]
[JEFF MASON 69 CP]
[Nice.]
[> Investigate wreckage for loot. Were the Vegetals Magical Girls?]
[The only loot is the TAG, and definitely not. They didn't have any SOUL GEMS.]
[> Search the deflated bean bag for another Soul Gem.]
[This is ridiculous. You shrug and roll your eyes. None of the VEGETALS were MAGICAL GIRLS, so why would there be a SOUL GEM inside this shitty-ass BEAN BAG COUCH? It makes no se—]
[...]
[There is a periwinkle SOUL GEM within.]
[SOUL GEMS: 2/6]
[> Cast 1000 GECS into the void, where it will never cause any problems again.]
[You condemn 1000 GECS into the oblivion of the VERY BACK OF THE RECORD SHELF, WHERE NO ONE WILL GRAB IT. You think that's a fitting end.]
[...You then realize that you still haven't even entered REC ROOM L-3.]
<0>
GENERIC: > Inspect SOUL GEM and ıdentıfy ıts owner.
CRYSTAL: > Find out whose SOUL GEM this is. Then enter REC ROOM L-3.
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 72 CP
GENERIC: > JEFF MASON -3 CP
TRICKLE: > Poorly change the R in REC to a G as part of an elaborate jest
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 72 CP]
[JEFF MASON 72 CP]
[> Inspect SOUL GEM and identify its owner.]
[...That's very mildly disconcerting.]
[You don't know who this person is.]
[It doesn't seem like they've been in MASONIC FICTION before.]
[> Poorly change the R in REC to a G as part of an elaborate jest]
[You deface the sign of this room, changing it from REC ROOM L-4 to GEC ROOM L-4.]
[The perfect crime.]
[> Then enter REC ROOM L-3.]
[Not wanting to delay this any longer, you POWER-walk out of GEC ROOM L-4 and burst through the doors of REC ROOM L-3.]
["Do *I* have the STORY for YOU," you shout, startling PILCROW and DAGGER.]
[DAGGER turns around quicker than you can follow and something flies at you. You crane your neck to the side slightly and a dagger quickly wedges itself into the wall behind where your head had been seconds prior.]
["WHY NOW," PILCROW yells. "GOD. You scared the hell out of me."]
["The hell's been inside us all along, Pilcrow," DAGGER says, making a show of breathing even though you know he doesn't need to.]
[You chuckle. Seems you've disturbed their TELEVISION TIME.]
<0>
GENERIC: > Watch TV wıth them.
DAGOTH: > show off your neat new Infinity gauntlet and Soul Gems
TRICKLE: > Pocket Dagger's thrown dagger. "Shank you very much"
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 75 CP
CRYSTAL: > Examine what they're watching on television.
SPLASH: > Prescribe one copy of Doom, taken orally, to cure Dagger's hell overdose
SPLASH: ...not overdose, what's the word I'm looking for
SPLASH: This is a very exact science, you know
PARADOX: >turn the channel to Station 403
[x]
[> Pocket Dagger's thrown dagger.]
["Shank you very much," you say as you POCKET the MINIDAGGER. DAGGER scoffs.]
["Please tell me you didn't come up with that shitty line yourself. Please. You're better than that," he says as you walk over.]
["In a manner of speaking," you say.]
[> Show off your neat new Infinity Gauntlet and Soul Gems.]
[You proudly present GENERIC'S INFINITY GAUNTLET to PILCROW and DAGGER. PILCROW whistles with surprise. "An impressive heist!" he says. "How'd you get that done?"]
[You shrug. "I sort of just... reached over? And..."]
[PILCROW nods with understanding. "Say no more. Got any idea what you'll do when you snap it?"]
["Not exactly," you say. "How would that even work? Gotta admit, I'm sort of just following a hunch here."]
[PILCROW places his hand under his chin and checks out the GAUNTLET, up and down.]
["Well, all I can say is that it'd be one hell of a fuckin' wish."]
[> JEFF MASON 75 CP]
[JEFF MASON 75 CP]
[> Watch TV with them.]
["So!" You say as you plop in between PILCROW and DAGGER on the COUCH, completely disregarding their personal space because you're an asshat. "What's on?"]
[DAGGER grins. "We've got a front-row seat, man. DTGANGANRONPA."]
[PILCROW tilts his head. "It's... it's just DTGANRONPA, isn't it?"]
[DAGGER scowls. "Whatever. Semantics."]
<0>
GENERIC: > Skıp to V3
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 78 CP
CRYSTAL: > Bring up your plan.
ETERNITIES: > Oh yeah, that. DTGROPA can wait.
CRYSTAL: > Watch DTGANRONPA.
LEAH: > Watch DTGANRONPA,
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 78 CP]
[JEFF MASON 78 CP]
[> Watch DTGANRONPA.]
[You settle down and look up at the television.]
[BUILD: Ultimate Artist. "Okay, I know he was killed with a knife, so I—"]
[GODMODDERKUMA. "BUT CAN YOU *SPELL* THE WORD KNIFE?!"]
[BUILD. "...I—"]
[GODMODDERKUMA. "IN THIS FUN MINIGAME?"]
[BUILD. "I mean, I *guess*, if you want me t—"]
[CRUSHER: Ultimate Rules Lawyer. "That's enough, Godmodderkuma. Why do we have to keep going with this meaningless charade?!"]
[SERPENT: Ultimate Antagonist. "Go on, Build. Spell the knife."]
[GENERIC: Ultimate Gambler. "I bet he won't be able to spell the knife."]
[BUILD. "YOU'RE NOT HELPING"]
[You cackle to yourself. "Who died this time?"]
[PILCROW looks at you. "VERDANA, somehow. Every part of his armor was strewn about, and there was blood, like, fucking soaking the floor. It just came gushing out when they opened the room."]
["GodDAMN," you say. "Yeah," PILCROW says. "My money's on MONIKER. Call it a hunch."]
[> Bring up your plan.]
["Say," you say.]
["Would either of you be interested in my mystical doorhinge quest?"]
[PILCROW laughs. "Do you even need to ask?"]
[DAGGER looks at you. "What's in it for me?"]
<0>
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 81 CP
DAGOTH: > threaten them by saying you’ll make a new DTG game
TRICKLE: > Threaten them by saying the game mentioned above will be CTG2
ETERNITIES: > Spell the knife
GRACIE: > tell him that pilcrow's going, so if he doesn't come with you he'll have nobody to talk to about DTGronpa
GENERIC: > Just keep watchıng DTGANRONPA ınstead
SPLASH: > Say you seem to be finding an awful lot of SOUL GEMs, and wouldn't you like to know what the snop will do?
ETERNITIES: > Hey yeah just keep watching DTGANRONPA
[x]
[> JEFF MASON 81 CP]
[JEFF MASON 81 CP]
[> Just keep watching DTGANRONPA instead.]
[You know what? You're down with that.]
[You look up and see that a HANGMAN'S GAMBIT has started. BUILD indeed has to spell... SOMETHING. But it sure as hell isn't the word "knife."]
[BUILD: "I need a 'K.' There's no 'K.'"]
[IRECREEPER: Ultimate Twitch Streamer. "Believe in yourself, Build! You can find a K if you consult your inner voices!"]
[BUILD: "Shut the fuck up I need a goddamn K you talking isn't going to help me."]
[GODMODDERKUMA: "ALSO IF LETTERS TOUCH THEY START EXPLODING! OOPS!"]
[KAYNE: Ultimate Doctor. "In my honest opinion you seem to be suffering from Ktosis, which possibly results from a lack of Vitamin K in your diet. Perhaps if you had eaten better before coming here you would have found the K—"]
[BUILD: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH"]
[CRYSTAL: Ultimate Metafictionist. "I'm sorry, is it not obvious what's going on here?"]
[BUILD: "No, apparently not."]
[CRYSTAL: "Monokuma doesn't want to know the brand of the weapon. He wants to know the NAME of the weapon."]
[CRYSTAL: "Think about it. Eight letters. No K in sight. A signature, named weapon..."]
[BUILD: "What the fuck are you talking about."]
[CRYSTAL: "Maybe it's not a knife at all..."]
[BUILD: "No seriously who's Monokuma."]
[CRYSTAL: "..."]
[GODMODDERKUMA: "..."]
[BUILD: "..."]
[GODMODDERKUMA: "UH WE'LL BE RIGHT BA—"]
[The FENESTRATED TELEVISION shuts off.]
[PILCROW shouts. "FUCK!" DAGGER almost throws the REMOTE at the screen.]
["Ah, hell," DAGGER says. "It was definitely gonna be Ircuvci. They could have pinned it on Piono."]
["Well, now you've got nothing better to do," you say.]
[DAGGER contemplates this.]
["No. I guess I don't."]
[DAGGER and PILCROW nod at you, and then glide out of the room.]
[You take this as tacit agreement. Hacker voices. They're in.]
<0>
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 84 CP
ETERNITIES: > Laugh yourself half to death. Then laugh PILCROW and DAGGER half to death.
GENERIC: > Pose- waıt no they left the room. Pose by yourself. You're so fuckıng lonely.
DAGOTH: > Mock Dagger for having a name that sounds so close to Dagoth
GRACIE: > scour this room for another soul gem, JUST TO BE SURE
NET: > Then laugh yourself half to life. And them, because why not.
LEAH: > Check release date of next DTGANGANRONPA episode.
SPLASH: > Set the TV's anachronistic VCR to record, just in case the show comes back.
DAGOTH: > Also use the two soul gems you have to see if you can sense any soul gems in this area
CRYSTAL: > Search the room for a JIM SOUL.
TRICKLE: > Be disappointed that the show ended before everyone could get their cameos
[x]
ETERNITIES: > Also the above
[> JEFF MASON 84 CP]
[JEFF MASON 84 CP]
[> Pose — wait no they left the room. Pose by yourself. You're so fucking lonely.]
[You pose as a SOLO UNIT, because shit just got EXISTENTIAL. It's funny, though. Even without any other SUPERIORS in the room, you sure as hell don't FEEL alone.]
[Maybe you have some INNER VOICES of your own.]
[> Scour this room for another soul gem, JUST TO BE SURE.]
[You look around REC ROOM L-3. The ROOM has a GIGANTIC DELUXE SOFA (sans any RESTRAINED VEGETALS), a BUILD-YOUR-OWN-ZIGGURAT, a TELESCOPE PLUS WINDOW, a NINTENDO SWITCH, and a FENESTRATED TELEVISION.]
[There are no SOUL GEMS anywhere that you can see.]
[You don't think you'd find any even if you were to tear the room apart, either.]
[> Set the TV's anachronistic VCR to record, just in case the show comes back.]
[You don't see the harm. You set the FENESTRATED TELEVISION to record all future episodes of DTGANRONPA.]
[> Search the room for a JIM SOUL.]
[You find JIM'S SOUL festering in the corner where you left it LAST time. Sure was some METAPINATA, huh? You decide a few more months in the PAIN HOLD might do it some good.]
[You still have to hunt down ASTERISM, LOZENGE, OBELUS, and AMPERSAND.]
<0>
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 87 CP.
PARADOX: >consume a throat lozenge, and look for LOZENGE
LEAH: > Turn Jim's Soul to Grif Sid.
GENERIC: > Go look for AMPERSAND so you can make out wıth hım.
GRACIE: > try and figure out if lozenge is technically your boss or if your curse ranks you above him
ETERNITIES: > What CGG said
CRYSTAL: > What Generic said.
BOMBER: >^
DAGOTH: > 4 out of 6 (Not including you) is a majority. Begin doorquest!
GRACIE: > check your breath before any ampersand makeouts can happen
NET: >Just get everybody on board?
[x]
[> Go look for Ampersand so you can make out with him.]
[Last you saw, AMPERSAND and OBELUS were in the CORRIDOR outside of the COUNCIL ROOM. A cursory glance of your omniscience confirms that this is still the case. You wonder what they could possibly be doing up there!]
[You promptly and succintly turn into a STAINED GLASS PATTERN and materialize on one of the WINDOWS. You see OBELUS and AMPERSAND in a suspiciously close position and you freeze. Are... are you blushing?? No, there's...]
[You... Uh...]
[You shift from your glass phase into your normal phase, rolling out of the window and landing onto the ground with a harsh, metallic CLANG.]
[> JEFF MASON 87 CP]
["JEFF MASON 87 CP," you say.]
["What," OBELUS says.]
["The," AMPERSAND says.]
["Fuck!" you say. "Is probably not what you were doing so never mind. Um."]
[There is the loudest silence.]
["So... Uh. Interrobang. I'm going to assume this is about your door quest," AMPERSAND says.]
["Oh! You knew about that? Did Octothorpe tell you? Maybe Caret blabbed about it while he was a bolt of lightning or some shit."]
["No, I can read your mind. At all times," AMPERSAND says. His expression is inscrutable.]
[You desperately wish that you were ontologically rotting in LIMBO.]
["Which means," AMPERSAND says, jumping off from the windowsill, "that I know this could be key in defeating the wiles of Cipher. I'm in."]
[OBELUS shrugs. "I'll be damned if I don't follow along," he says. You stare interrobangs at him.]
[Two more down.]
[ASTERISM is still in the OBSERVATORY, and LOZENGE seems to be in the GARDEN OF GEOMETRY now, which is just beyond the door at the end of this CORRIDOR.]
<0>
LEAH: > use your powers to find out what they were up to. for. um. research.
GENERIC: > Good enough, but let's go hunt down some more SOUL GEMS.
TRICKLE: > Return to the Garden
CRYSTAL: > use your powers to find out what they were up to. for. um. research.
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 90 CP
GRACIE: > go for asterism next, because you just can't resist the metachronistic symbolism of saving the ninth curse for last
POPE: > use your powersto find out what they were up to. for. um. research.
SPLASH: > use your powers to find out what they were up to. for. um. research.
CRYSTAL: > go for asterism next, because you just can't resist the metachronistic symbolism of saving the ninth curse for last
DAGOTH: > Check for more Soul Gems
[x]
[> Check for more Soul Gems.]
[This is LITERALLY the LAST THING THAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR MIND RIGHT NOW.]
[But one glance wouldn't hurt.]
[You check up and down the CORRIDOR. Nothing. On each windowsill. Nothing. Wedged into the windows or something?? Nothing. Past the shadow on one of those windowsills? No.]
[...Wait, what?]
[< I don't think I'd go after these things if I were you, Jeffrey Mason. >]
[You turn back. A shadowy SHAPE is lurking on one of the WINDOWSILLS. It has two red eyes.]
[< You are aware of what happens when Soul Gems have almost run out of their luster, aren't you? Coveting and collecting such artifacts might be detrimental to your well-being. >]
[< But it would certainly pose an interesting experiment, don't you think? >]
["How in the actual fuck did you get in here," you say.]
[< Same as everyone does, right? I slipped through the cracks. The mason's mind is practically a melting pot of terrible ideas. >]
[< But that doesn't matter much. I just wanted to warn you and your confluence of stolen souls. >]
["...They aren't stolen."]
[< Hm. Then why are they chained to you? >]
[< Or maybe you're chained to them? >]
[You blink, and the SHAPE is gone.]
[You scowl.]
["Rat bastard."]
[> Use your powers to find out what they were up to. For. Um. Research.]
[Now THIS is the last thing that you want on your mind right now. You grimace as you put your hand up to your temple.]
[...Then you relax.]
[They were having a conversation. That's normal, right? Innocuous! People have conversations all the time, for a bunch of reasons!]
[You have no idea what OBELUS was talking about, though. What does he mean by "ANOTHER OBELUS?"]
[> Go for Asterism next, because you just can't resist the metachronistic symbolism of saving the BLACK SPERM 90 CPth Curse for last.]
[JEFF MASON 90 CP]
[Sounds good to you. You BACKWARDS LONG JUMP out of the CORRIDOR and into the OBSERVATORY, natural room progression be DAMNED. ASTERISM does not react to your presence in any funny way. He just waves.]
[The OBSERVATORY is dominated by its DOMED ROOF, which features the titular PROJECTION — one of the entire continuum of FICTION. It is here where the SUPERIORS meet to plan their next moves across the CELESTIAL EXPANSE. In the middle of the room is PROJECT COPERNICUS, a TELESCOPE that can view ANY PLACE IN FICTION. ASTERISM is leaning on it.]
<0>
GENERIC: > Attempt to sell a soul to Kyubey. You know he's stıll watchıng you. He's always just standıng there. Watchıng.
TRICKLE: > Make sure you sell high
LEAH: > Sell Goanna's soul to Kyubey for another Soul Gem.
NEDBEN: > Check COPERNICUS for any interesting interloper developments. If someone wasn't here and now they are, that might mean an event happened.
SPLASH: > Use COPERNICUS to look around for Soul Gems
PLAGUE: dab
[x]
[> Dab.]
[You hit the DEEPEST DAB that you've ever performed in your life. ASTERISM applauds you even as your back snaps in ten pieces from the strain.]
[> Sell Goanna's soul to Kyubey for another Soul Gem.]
[HARD PASS. You may need to RESUSCITATE GOANNA at some point to EXTRACT INFORMATION from him. And besides, the thought of turning him to YOUR side and having an UNSTOPPABLE, ULTIMATE HOPE on your hands... That's too good to pass up.]
[> Check COPERNICUS for any interesting interloper developments. If someone wasn't here and now they are, that might mean an event happened.]
[You have a feeling you know exactly who the hypothetical INTERLOPERS are, and they're ALL AROUND YOU. Not a thing you can do about THEM, even if you wanted to. But you don't. It's a symbiotic relationship.]
[Still, wouldn't hurt to ask.]
["Hey, Ast!" you call to ASTERISM. He glances. "Spot anything weird on Copernicus?"]
["Disturbances surrounding Universe PMMM," he says, confirming your fears. "Why?"]
["Don't worry about it literally no reason ahaha," you say.]
["You know that means I *should* be worried, right?" ASTERISM says as he slowly walks across the OBSERVATORY to you. "You're genre savvy enough, I hope."]
["Of course," you say. "But eh. Don't bother. It's my fight, and my fight alone. *You're* not the one who has an innate urge to collect Soul Gems."]
["Soul Gems?" ASTERISM says, laughing to himself. "Funny you should mention that. I found one recently."]
[Your eyes light up. ASTERISM reaches into his pocket and takes out a jagged orange gem that glows with an unearthly light.]
[Your eyes darken.]
["Ast, that's... That's the Soul Stone."]
[ASTERISM blinks once. Then twice. "Oh."]
[He looks at it. "You mean, like. From Marvel?"]
["Yeah," you say.]
[He shrugs. "My mistake."]
["How did you even GET that?" you say.]
["Let's just say I doubt there's going to be a Hawkeye solo movie in the future," he says.]
<0>

GENERIC: > Trade a soul for a soul.
KYUBEY: > C o n t r a c t ? ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
"BLACK SPERM": > BLACK SPERM 93 CP
NET: >Kill the Kyuubey with fire
GENERIC: lmao the uwu face doesnt work ın courıer
LEAH: > CONTRACT! CONTRACT! CONTRACT!
GENERIC: rıp
TRICKLE: > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_Gems The Infinity Stones are in fact Soul Gems so you can take his
PLAGUE: put off that important group project til tomorrow
GRACIE: > rope asterism into the group adventure without even asking this time
CRYSTAL: > Ask about your adventure.
[x]
SPLASH: > Try and put the Soul Stone into the gauntlet to see if it works
[> Try and put the Soul Stone into the Gauntlet and see if it works.]
[...No dice. You find this PARTICULARLY crazy, seeing as the INFINITY GAUNTLET was literally DESIGNED to carry the INFINITY STONES. You suppose that your SOUL GEM QUEST has rendered the GAUNTLET capable of ONLY having SOUL GEMS.]
[> Trade a soul for a soul. C o n t r a c t ? ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼]
[You indiscriminately fire EIGHTY-SEVEN BAZILLION GUNS into every space in the room not currently occupied by your field of vision. The resulting racket is absolutely deafening and would blows out the ears of everyone within the neighboring universe.]
[ASTERISM grabs the sound and funnels it near himself, a shining, glimmering light materializing in his hands. He creates a BALL MONOKUMA.]
[You POCKET it without hesitation.]
[> rope asterism into the group adventure without even asking this time]
["Hacker voice I'm in," ASTERISM says without you even needing to ask.]
["Whoa, just like that?" you say.]
["I heard through the metaphysical grapevine," he says. "I'll see you there, Jeff." He jumps off the OBSERVATORY CATWALK and into unknown depths.]
[He's the only one who can get away with calling you that.]
<0>
LEAH: > Stuff Ball Monokuma into the Infinity Gauntlet.
"BLACK SPERM": whatabout the last charge?
GENERIC: > Trade the Soul Stone for Hawkeye's Soul Gem. Also I guess they're a gırl now. And younger?
SPLASH: > Stuff Ball Monokuma into the Infinity Gauntlet.
BOMBER: >Build up speed for 12 hours.
PLAGUE: admire ball monokuma
GRACIE: >go look for lozenge. eight hackers are in, and you're not giving yourself any ins and outs. you pull out now, and your shit is gone. (bitch.)
TRICKLE: > Infinity Stones were originally called Soul Gems and so should work
[> JEFF MASON 93 CP]
[JEFF MASON 93 CP]
SPLASH: > Take cough lozenge, choke, respawn next to Lozenge
NET: > BLACK SPERM 96 CP
"BLACK SPERM": > JEFF MASON 99 CP
[x]
NET: > Jeff Mason 102 CP
[> Stuff Ball Monokuma into the Infinity Gauntlet.]
[BALL MONOKUMA'S astounding girth is not even close to fitting into one of the INFINITY GAUNTLET'S slots. The count remains at 2/6.]
[> Admire Ball Monokuma.]
[You are perfectly capable of admiring him, though. Look at him! He's a friend! A truly POWERful friend.]
[> JEFF MASON 99 CP]
[JEFF MASON 99 CP]
You can only charge once per turn per player.
[> Take cough lozenge, choke, respawn next to Lozenge. Eight hackers are in, and you're not giving yourself any ins and outs. You pull out now, and your shit is gone.]
[Bitch.]
[LOZENGE is sitting on top of a SLOWLY SPINNING ICOSAHEDRON when you arrive. He does not respond to your presence.]
[You note that he is wearing NINE PAIRS OF PANTS SIMULTANEOUSLY, with all of them occupying the same physical space so that it looks like he is only wearing ONE.]
["So you're back," LOZENGE says.]
[You nod.]
["Goanna's secure in Vault A-Mason," you say. "But he gave me an idea as to how we can enter reality's mindscape. I think if we use the memory door and stuff it full of memories ourselves, we can revisit them in physical space."]
["Could you oversee the project, Lozenge?"]
[LOZENGE ponders this over the clipping noises his PANTS are making.]
["By the Overseer's grace, I shall."]
[You nod. That makes ten out of ten.]
["I left the door in the Library," you say. "But we should probably head to the Council Hall for the meeting."]
[LOZENGE nods, jumping off of the ICOSAHEDRON. "I will call this meeting to order momentarily. Octothorpe, to the best of my knowledge, is in the Library. He can bring the door."]
[He walks into the fifth dimension and disappears.]
[You grin. It's finally time.]
[...]
["I call this official meeting of the Advanced Superiors to order," LOZENGE says. "State your name and rank."]
["Octothorpe, Keeper of Words. Present and accounted for."]
["Pilcrow, Consumer of Shadows. Present and accounted for."]
["Asterism, Spirit of Voice. Present and accounted for."]
["Ampersand, Seer of Anachronism. Present and accounted for."]
["..."]
[There's silence.]
[You realize that you forgot to get BACKSLASH.]
[> END OF PART 2 <]

[WORLD SHOULD BE will continue on FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020, at 7:17 PM EDT.]
[I'm Interrobang, and I have to go fix my mistakes.]
[Jesus H. Christ.]
[Be there.]