diff --git a/rowbot b/rowbot
index 368b46a..c16e5cf 100755
--- a/rowbot
+++ b/rowbot
@@ -17,30 +17,57 @@ put_array() {
   # The variable named array is a nameref to an array
   # shellcheck disable=SC2178
   declare -n array=$1
-  declare -n scalar=ARR_${1^^}
-  local key
+  declare -n scalar=RB_A_${1^^}
+  local val
 
-  for key in "${!array[@]}"; do
-    scalar+=${#key}:$key${array[$key]}$'\n'
+  for val in "${array[@]}"; do
+    scalar+=${#val}:$val
   done
 
-  scalar=${scalar%$'\n'}
-  export "ARR_${1^^}"
+  export "RB_A_${1^^}"
 }
 
 get_array() {
-  declare -n scalar=ARR_${1^^}
   declare -n array=$1
-  local entry idx_size
+  declare -n scalar=RB_A_${1^^}
+  local len val idx=0
 
-  while read -r entry; do
-    idx_size=${entry%%:*} entry=${entry#"$idx_size":}
-    array[${entry:0:idx_size}]=${entry:idx_size}
-  done <<< "$scalar"
+  while [[ $scalar ]]; do
+    len=${scalar%%:*} scalar=${scalar#"$len":}
+    val=${scalar:0:len} scalar=${scalar:len}
+    array[$idx]=$val
+    (( idx += 1 ))
+  done
+
+  unset "RB_A_${1^^}"
 }
 
-is_good_variable() {
-  [[ $1 =~ ^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]+$ ]]
+b64_encode() {
+  local idx=0 numerics table_idxs table_idx encoded
+  local table=( {A..Z} {a..z} {0..9} + / )
+
+  for (( ; idx < ${#1}; idx+=3 )); do
+    read -ra numerics < <(
+      printf '%d %d %d\n' "'${1:idx:1}" "'${1:idx+1:1}" "'${1:idx+2:1}"
+    )
+
+    (( table_idxs[0] = numerics[0] >> 2 ))
+    (( table_idxs[1] = (( (numerics[0] & 0x03) << 6) | (numerics[1] & 0xF0) >> 2) >> 2 ))
+    (( table_idxs[2] = (( (numerics[1] & 0x0F) << 4) | (numerics[2] & 0xC0) >> 4) >> 2 ))
+    (( table_idxs[3] = numerics[2] & 0x3F ))
+
+    for table_idx in "${table_idxs[@]}"; do
+      encoded+=${table[$table_idx]}
+    done
+  done
+
+  if (( ${#1} % 3 == 1 )); then
+    encoded=${encoded::-2}==
+  elif (( ${#1} % 3 == 2 )); then
+    encoded=${encoded::-1}=
+  fi
+
+  prints %s "$encoded"
 }
 
 # code reloading helpers
@@ -62,12 +89,8 @@ get_option() {
   fi
 }
 
-is_parent() {
-  (( BASHPID == $$ ))
-}
-
 is_reloaded() {
-  [[ $RELOADED = yes ]] || (( LORE_LIVES > 1 ))
+  [[ $RELOADED = yes ]] || (( RELOAD_COUNT ))
 }
 
 # message classification
@@ -196,34 +219,6 @@ url() {
   prints %s:%s "${config[server]}" "${config[port]}"
 }
 
-b64_encode() {
-  local idx=0 numerics table_idxs table_idx encoded
-  local table=( {A..Z} {a..z} {0..9} + / )
-
-  for (( ; idx < ${#1}; idx+=3 )); do
-    read -ra numerics < <(
-      printf '%d %d %d\n' "'${1:idx:1}" "'${1:idx+1:1}" "'${1:idx+2:1}"
-    )
-
-    (( table_idxs[0] = numerics[0] >> 2 ))
-    (( table_idxs[1] = (((numerics[0] & 0x03) << 6) | (numerics[1] & 0xF0) >> 2) >> 2 ))
-    (( table_idxs[2] = (((numerics[1] & 0x0F) << 4) | (numerics[2] & 0xC0) >> 4) >> 2 ))
-    (( table_idxs[3] = numerics[2] & 0x3F ))
-
-    for table_idx in "${table_idxs[@]}"; do
-      encoded+=${table[$table_idx]}
-    done
-  done
-
-  if (( ${#1} % 3 == 1 )); then
-    encoded=${encoded::-2}==
-  elif (( ${#1} % 3 == 2 )); then
-    encoded=${encoded::-1}=
-  fi
-
-  prints %s "$encoded"
-}
-
 ###
 # configure rowbot's environment
 ###
@@ -902,8 +897,12 @@ irc_who() {
 # plugin api
 ###
 
+plugin_is_good_variable() {
+  [[ $1 =~ ^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]+$ ]]
+}
+
 plugin_reg() {
-  if ! is_good_variable irc_plugin_array_"$1"; then
+  if ! plugin_is_good_variable irc_plugin_array_"$1"; then
     return 1
   fi
 
@@ -927,7 +926,7 @@ plugin_run() {
   # This is a false positive.
   # shellcheck disable=SC2178
 
-  if is_good_variable irc_plugin_array_"$1" && [[ -v irc_plugin_array_"$1" ]]; then
+  if plugin_is_good_variable irc_plugin_array_"$1" && [[ -v irc_plugin_array_"$1" ]]; then
     declare -n plugins=irc_plugin_array_"$1"
     shift
     local plugin