LOG TIMESTAMP: 20251128

AUTHOR: Roz’berry Bioluminescence Natasherd Clover Way

LOG SUBJECT: New Irons, Old Flames

// ig everyones reading my shit anyway so i might as well do this blog style. hello minotaurs. time for me to re-introduce myself

So, yesterday (at the time of writing), the South Ontonaut earned another part to her title. According to JR, the maze, her, and many of you, her title is now The Rememberist of Quests. She told me quite a lot about what this means. She was really excited. Supposedly, it’s an acknowledgement from JR of her search for the target, because Quests is associated with the Hunt, which has something to do with some podcast none of us have listened to. Blah, blah, blah. Point is: JR gave her a role about the fear she embodies, and apparently that fear is the fear of being chased. So my coworker is an officially-ordained Zampanio-approved JR-acknowledged chaser. Good job, O-S. We’re all so proud of you.

Shit-talking aside, though, this is not the win she thinks it is, because our goals are not aligned with JR’s. That motherfucker has been more interested in mocking me than helping, and I keep finding files with screenshots of my shit and their gigglesnort responses. They’re basically the head minotaur around here. If you’re reading this and you’re not JR, JR probably took your name, or will soon if you play your cards wrong. You’re at a crossroads right now -- you can keep on marching towards a center that doesn’t exist, or you can do something else.

There’s still time to change my mind. Time to talk to me. Sign my guestbook and you and I can rendezvous about whatever you like, including Zampanio. Go crazy. Failing that, though… just stay tuned, okay? I’m working on a plan to get as many of you out of here as possible when I extract the target, and even if that’s not what you want right now, I know there’s a part of you that remembers what it was like before you were here. Before you were obsessed. Before you were a minotaur doomed to wander the same few rooms, repeating the same patterns each week, spiraling into an infinite rabbit hole that'll never lead you anywhere… Is that where your life led? Is this all there is? Zampanio, Fridays, and the occasional water break?

I’ll let you figure that out for yourselves. I have good news: the target is contained for the time being, and I’m just moving a few pieces around to make the extraction go as smoothly as possible. I’m getting involved in some pretty interesting things that aren’t the maze, and maybe -- just maybe -- they’ll interest you, too. Now that the target is contained, I’m turning my attention away from all the things in the maze I was looking at. I know where that leads. Not my speed, thank you very much. Instead, please enjoy perusing my new set of profiles. I think you’ll like this one.

[ SIDE Z°: IMMATERIAE ]

ONTONAUT-A Edwin Arnoldson of the ACES Squad

Okay, this one’s interesting. So, first profile we’ve got claims to be another Ontonaut. And not just any other Ontonaut -- one of the fallen members of the lost ACES squad, the team from some other branch of the Ontonaut Program that supposedly was the only other group to ever cross paths with Zampanio. This squad’s the reason the maze is infamous, and every time this narrative came up in the program I heard people whispering about the Compass Squad being the next ACES. So it would be really easy to fake being one of the survivors, especially since so little’s known about them. And what’s more: this guy claims to know me, including having read my file from this squad -- which means he has current access to information as it’s coming out.

I smell a liar, but maybe I’m wrong. You be the judge. Whether he’s legit or not, he showed up to warn me about a cognitohazard -- something to do with a crescent-shaped head, and the effects Zampanio’s having on immaterial vs. material beings. There’s a lot to unpack there, and I’m curious to see where it goes. Edwin, if you’re reading my stuff and you see this: nothing personal. You’d be suspicious of me too if you were in my position, dude. I just need more proof.

Puppet

AMBINARRATIVELY ENTANGLED?

There’s a place between worlds, with a campfire and a guitar, and the Puppet hands out there. Apparently, that place between worlds can move like a ship -- and even hang out in the space between arcs, which’ll make it a very valuable extraction tool. I’ll have more to say about the Puppet after a current plan I’m working on is finished up -- but this is someone you want to be friends with.

infiniteDemonics [ID]

Someone I’m building a close friendship with as of recent, infiniteDemonics is a very interesting character. ID’s partners with someone named subtleTerrors, but ID’s the one doing most of the interesting talking. I won’t say a lot about what we discussed, but I do have an abridged transcript up of our conversation. To read it, all you have to do is sign the guestbook and there’ll be a link on the back cover. We’re kindred spirits in a lot of ways, so look forward to further collaboration between the two of us. ::)

Side note: ID and ST appear to have played SBURB at some point. They don’t know I know what it is. So if they’re reading this: now you know! They also told me some really interesting information about a certain someone you all talk with quite a bit that I’m going to keep private for now. Just another reason to be friends with me ;;)

Lies

So, Truth has a counterpart, and I don’t mean the false face. In one of the South Ontonaut’s logs, she spent forty minutes talking to this very peculiar entity who introduced themself as “Lies,” which they said was just as true as “Truth” being the concept of truth. So, debatable. They proceeded to wipe the fucking floor with my beloved teammate for the better part of an hour, completely steamrolling her questions and getting her to question a lot of things she hadn’t before. Popcorn material. The good shit.

They seem to be up to a few things themself, and they’re certainly someone to keep an eye on. They tend to haunt places where there’s a lot of choices, lurking at the edge of canon. I wouldn’t be surprised if we crossed paths directly eventually.

“Mycele” of Spores

Hasn’t introduced themself to me since their class disappeared under mysterious circumstances. They are interesting. This is my friend the mushroom, except… I think there’s more immaterial components here than I anticipated. They appear to have some sort of spore-related ability, and whatever it is, it’s comparable to nerves. I’m not surprised to hear that they’re prolific among you minotaurs, who happen to be a proven group of susceptible followers. I know the South Ontonaut and the Puppet’s ambinarrative counterpart both are part of the “Network.” My question: who else is, and just how powerful is this mushroom?

We’re friends right now. I’m not planning to conspire against them. But if they’re able to turn a few heads away from the maze… well. We can all stand to mutually benefit. For now, I recommend everyone just takes a deep breath.

[...And that’s everyone for now. For reasons that’ll be apparent in due time, I’d have a hard time writing up the Materia section right now -- so this is all you get. If you think I’m missing someone and you get the theme I’m going for here, shoot me a message at silvapolitanCosmonaut. I’ll be around some of the time, when I’m not busy making shit happen, so poke the South Ontonaut if you need to get my attention.]

[Watch out for cognitohazards, and stay tuned for further updates from your favorite Ontonaut. Oh, and wish the robot a safe voyage into the center of the maze! She made a radio broadcast about it, I think. She’s popular with you all, isn’t she? Yeah, maybe she lost the popularity poll in a landslide to me and the target… but I don’t know. Maybe you ought to send your well wishes, just in case. Who knows what could happen on a perilous journey like that?]