Planarcadia's "Happiness Surgery": The Work of the Family
Spoilers for the side quest "A Bouquet for the Blessed".
Very soon after we entered Planarcadia, we were greeted by a blissfully happy Lady.
Bear in mind this is in the Main Story quest, not some optional interaction. She creepily introduces the concept of eternal happiness to us, which we will later learn happens through the "happiness surgery".
We reject her offer, Sparkle even derides her offer of eternal happiness as the "best joke she's ever heard", but she is completely unfazed. From this, we can conclude that this lady has taken the surgery herself. Because Bequea, an NPC who takes the Happiness Surgery and documents her experience with it has this to say:
Someone is openly crticising/chastising her and she \"doesn't feel bad at all\".
She then tells us she's from the Research Society of Happy Smiles, the place that administers the Happiness Surgery, and invites us there.
However she, just like Bequea post-surgery is adamant that the "eternal happiness" they received is the blessing of the Laughter (Aha). And I think they are both sorely mistaken.
Let me first draw your attention to the Family's prayer to the Blissful Ball from a hymn of Charmonic Strings.
Even though the Beatriz is an embodiment/face of Xipe the Harmony, she is one that has been inextricably tied to the idea of Elation. After all her full title is Beatriz, MERRYMAKER of the Blissful Ball, and "merrymaking" (notwithstanding the word's obvious connection to elation) has literally just been introduced as the premium way to buff elation damage ingame.
So my question is...
Is it truly the will Aha that they have heard?
Or...
Final evidence: Bequea's Happiness Report, Day 73. She starts feeling a compulsive need to "go find something". But she doesn't know what.
The Clock Ticker you can speak to inside the Dream of Gnawing Oak says this:
And after you "solve" it...
\"off to find another block to fill that void\"
I believe it a perfect metaphor for how the Harmony alters minds. A Happiness Surgery offered to the masses that makes the sensation of pain a impossibility is undoubtedly the work of this path.
As for why this branch of the Family felt the need to lie to everyone about the surgery's true nature...
\"Aha will tell you jokes in your head\"
I believe its because they are looking to take over this Paradise of Elation in the name of Harmony, by surgically altering its residents. Just like how the IPC is strangling the planet in the name of the Amber Lord. The citizens of Planarcadia, an elation planet do not take kindly to the IPCs meddling, and so would naturally be hostile to joining the Hive Mind of a Harmonic Emanator (Beatriz's Ball of 'Boundless Happiness'). Therefore through deception (yes this surgery is totally the will of Aha he'll totally be telling you jokes all day) they can progress in their takeover of Ahatopia from behind the scenes.
Posted Feb 26, 2026, 1:57 PM UTC