diff --git a/assets/test_prelude.ld b/assets/test_prelude.ld
index 186f1f5..6129593 100644
--- a/assets/test_prelude.ld
+++ b/assets/test_prelude.ld
@@ -22,19 +22,20 @@ fn coll? {
 	(_) -> false
 }
 
-fn ordered? {
-	"Returns true if a value is an indexed collection: list or tuple."
+fn indexed? {
+	"Returns true if a value is indexed (can use `at`): list, tuple, or string."
 	(coll as :list) -> true
 	(coll as :tuple) -> true
 	(coll as :string) -> true
 	(_) -> false
 }
 
-fn assoc? {
-	"Returns true if a value is an associative collection: a dict or a pkg."
-	(d as :dict) -> true
-	(_) -> false
-}
+& for now we don't need this: we don't have pkgs
+& fn assoc? {
+& 	"Returns true if a value is an associative collection: a dict or a pkg."
+& 	(d as :dict) -> true
+& 	(_) -> false
+& }
 
 & &&& nil: working with nothing
 
@@ -121,13 +122,13 @@ fn fn? {
 
 & what we need for some very basic list manipulation 
 fn first {
-  "Retrieves the first element of an ordered collection--a tuple or a list. If the collection is empty, returns nil."
+  "Retrieves the first element of an ordered collection: tuple, list, or string. If the collection is empty, returns nil."
   ([]) -> nil
   (()) -> nil
-  & ("") -> nil
+  ("") -> nil
   (xs as :list) -> base :first (xs)
   (xs as :tuple) -> base :first (xs)
-  & (str as :string) -> base :slice (str, 0, 1)
+  (str as :string) -> base :first (str)
 }
 
 fn rest {
@@ -136,7 +137,13 @@ fn rest {
 	(()) -> ()
 	(xs as :list) -> base :rest (xs)
 	(xs as :tuple) -> base :rest (xs)
-	& (str as :string) -> base :rest (str)
+	(str as :string) -> base :rest (str)
+}
+
+fn last {
+	"Returns the last element of a list or tuple."
+	(xs) if indexed? (xs) -> base :last (xs)
+	(_) -> nil
 }
 
 fn inc {
@@ -178,6 +185,21 @@ fn any? {
 	(_) -> false
 }
 
+fn at {
+	"Returns the element at index n of a list or tuple, or the byte at index n of a string. Zero-indexed: the first element is at index 0. Returns nil if nothing is found in a list or tuple; returns an empty string if nothing is found in a string."
+	(i as :number) -> at (_, i)
+	(xs as :list, i as :number) -> base :at (xs, i)
+	(xs as :tuple, i as :number) -> base :at (xs, i)
+	(str as :string, i as :number) -> base :at (str, i)
+	(_) -> nil
+}
+
+fn second {
+	"Returns the second element of a list or tuple."
+	(xs) if indexed? (xs) -> at (xs, 1)
+	(_) -> nil
+}
+
 fn list? {
 	"Returns true if the value is a list."
 	(l as :list) -> true
@@ -185,7 +207,7 @@ fn list? {
 }
 
 fn list {
-	"Takes a value and returns it as a list. For values, it simply wraps them in a list. For collections, conversions are as follows. A tuple->list conversion preservers order and length. Unordered collections do not preserve order: sets and dicts don't have predictable or stable ordering in output. Dicts return lists of (key, value) tuples."
+	"Takes a value and returns it as a list. For atomic values, it simply wraps them in a list. For collections, conversions are as follows. A tuple->list conversion preservers order and length. Dicts return lists of `(key, value)`` tuples, but watch out: dicts are not ordered and may spit out their pairs in any order. If you wish to get a list of chars in a string, use `chars`."
 	(x) -> base :list (x)
 }
 
@@ -257,7 +279,9 @@ fn keep {
 }
 
 fn concat {
-	"Combines two lists, strings, or sets."
+	"Combines lists, strings, or sets."
+	(x as :string) -> x
+	(xs as :list) -> xs
 	(x as :string, y as :string) -> "{x}{y}"
 	(xs as :list, ys as :list) -> base :concat (xs, ys)
 	& (xs as :set, ys as :set) -> base :concat (xs, ys)
@@ -265,7 +289,7 @@ fn concat {
 }
 
 fn contains? {
-	"Returns true if a set or list contains a value."
+	"Returns true if a list contains a value."
 	& (value, s as :set) -> bool (base :get	(s, value))
 	(value, l as :list) -> loop (l) with {
 		([]) -> false
@@ -363,18 +387,13 @@ fn downcase {
 }
 
 fn chars {
-	"Takes a string and returns its characters as a list. Works only for strings with only ascii characters. Panics on any non-ascii characters."
+	"Takes a string and returns its characters as a list. Each member of the list corresponds to a utf-8 character."
 	(str as :string) -> match base :chars (str) with {
 		(:ok, chrs) -> chrs
 		(:err, msg) -> panic! msg
 	}
 }
 
-fn chars/safe {
-	"Takes a string and returns its characters as a list, wrapped in a result tuple. Works only for strings with only ascii characters. Returns an error tuple on any non-ascii characters."
-	(str as :string) -> base :chars (str)
-}
-
 fn ws? {
 	"Tells if a string is a whitespace character."
 	(" ") -> true
@@ -395,16 +414,24 @@ fn strip {
 	(x) -> x
 }
 
+fn condenser (charlist, curr_char) -> if and (
+		ws? (curr_char)
+		do charlist > last > ws?)
+	then charlist
+	else append (charlist, curr_char)
+
+fn condense {
+	"Condenses the whitespace in a string. All whitespace will be replaced by spaces, and any repeated whitespace will be reduced to a single space."
+	(str as :string) -> {
+		let chrs = chars (str)
+		let condensed = fold (condenser, chrs, [])
+		join (condensed)
+	}
+}
+
 fn words {
 	"Takes a string and returns a list of the words in the string. Strips all whitespace."
-	(str as :string) -> {
-		let no_punct = strip (str)
-		let strs = split (no_punct, " ")
-		fn worder (l, s) -> if empty? (s) 
-			then l
-			else append (l, s)
-		fold (worder, strs, [])
-	}
+	(str as :string) -> do str > condense > strip > split (_, " ")
 }
 
 fn sentence {
@@ -804,35 +831,6 @@ fn range {
 }
 
 & additional list operations now that we have comparitors
-fn at {
-	"Returns the element at index n of a list or tuple, or the byte at index n of a string. Zero-indexed: the first element is at index 0. Returns nil if nothing is found in a list or tuple; returns an empty string if nothing is found in a string."
-	(xs as :list, n as :number) -> base :at (xs, n)
-	(xs as :tuple, n as :number) -> base :at (xs, n)
-	& (str as :string, n as :number) -> {
-	& 	let raw = base :at (str, n)
-	& 	when {
-	& 		nil? (raw) -> nil
-	& 		gte? (raw, 128) -> panic! "not an ASCII char"
-	& 		true -> base :str_slice (str, n, inc (n))
-	& 	}
-	& }
-	(_) -> nil
-}
-
-& fn first {
-& 	"Returns the first element of a list or tuple."
-& 	(xs) if ordered? -> at (xs, 0)
-& }
-
-fn second {
-	"Returns the second element of a list or tuple."
-	(xs) if ordered? (xs) -> at (xs, 1)
-}
-
-fn last {
-	"Returns the last element of a list or tuple."
-	(xs) if ordered? (xs) -> at (xs, dec (count (xs)))
-}
 
 fn slice {
 	"Returns a slice of a list or a string, representing a sub-list or sub-string."
@@ -843,12 +841,14 @@ fn slice {
 		neg? (start) -> slice (xs, 0, end)
 		true -> base :slice (xs, start, end)
 	}
-	(str as :string, end as :number) -> base :str_slice (str, 0, end)
-	(str as :string, start as :number, end as :number) -> base :str_slice (str, start, end)
+	(str as :string, end as :number) -> base :slice (str, 0, end)
+	(str as :string, start as :number, end as :number) -> base :slice (str, start, end)
 }
 
 fn slice_n {
 	"Returns a slice of a list or a string, representing a sub-list or sub-string."
+	(xs as :list, n as :number) -> slice (xs, 0, n)
+	(str as :string, n as :number) -> slice (str, 0, n)
 	(xs as :list, start as :number, n as :number) -> slice (xs, start, add (start, n))
 	(str as :string, start as :number, n as :number) -> slice (str, start, add (start, n))
 }
@@ -858,6 +858,54 @@ fn butlast {
 	(xs as :list) -> slice (xs, 0, dec (count (xs)))
 }
 
+fn indices_of {
+	"Takes a list or string and returns a list of all the indices where the scrutinee appears. Returns an empty list if the scrutinee does not appear in the search target."
+	(target as :list, scrutinee) -> {
+		fn searcher ((i, indices), curr) -> if eq? (scrutinee, curr)
+				then (inc (i), append (indices, i))
+				else (inc (i), indices)
+		let (_, idxes) = fold (searcher, target, (0, []))
+		idxes
+	}
+	& (target as :string, scrutinee as :string) -> {
+	& 	let scrut_len = count (scrutinee)
+	& 	fn searcher ((i, indices), curr) -> {
+	& 		let srch_substr = slice_n (remaining, scrut_len)
+	& 		if eq? (scrutinee, srch_substr)
+	& 			then (inc (i), append (indices, i))
+	& 			else (inc (i), indices)
+	& 	}
+	& 	let (_, idxes) = fold (searcher, target, (0, []))
+	& 	idxes
+	& }
+}
+
+fn index_of {
+	"Takes a list or string returns the first index at which the scrutinee appears. Returns `nil` if the scrutinee does not appear in the search target."
+	(target as :list, scrutinee) -> first (indices_of (target, scrutinee))
+	(target as :string, scrutinee as :string) -> first (indices_of (target, scrutinee))
+}
+& 	(target as :list, scrutinee) -> loop (0) with {
+& 		(i) if gte? (i, count (target)) -> nil
+& 		(i) -> if eq? (scrutinee, at (target, i))
+& 			then i
+& 			else recur (inc (i))
+& 	}
+& 	(target as :string, scrutinee as :string) -> {
+& 		let scrut_len = count (scrutinee)
+& 		loop (0, target) with {
+& 			(i, "") -> nil  
+& 			(i, remaining) -> {
+& 				let srch_substr = slice_n (remaining, scrut_len)
+& 				if eq? (scrutinee, srch_substr)
+& 					then i
+& 					else recur (inc (i), rest (remaining))
+& 			}
+& 		}
+& 	}
+& }
+
+
 &&& keywords: funny names
 fn keyword? {
 	"Returns true if a value is a keyword, otherwise returns false."
@@ -865,6 +913,13 @@ fn keyword? {
 	(_) -> false
 }
 
+fn key? {
+	"Returns true if a value can be used as a key in a dict: if it's a string or a keyword."
+	(kw as :keyword) -> true
+	(str as :string) -> true
+	(_) -> false
+}
+
 & TODO: determine if Ludus should have a `keyword` function that takes a string and returns a keyword. Too many panics, it has weird memory consequences, etc.
 
 fn assoc {
@@ -872,7 +927,9 @@ fn assoc {
 	() -> #{}
 	(d as :dict) -> d
 	(d as :dict, k as :keyword, val) -> base :assoc (d, k, val)
+	(d as :dict, k as :string, val) -> base :assoc (d, k, val)
 	(d as :dict, (k as :keyword, val)) -> base :assoc (d, k, val)
+	(d as :dict, (k as :string, val)) -> base :assoc (d, k, val)
 }
 
 fn dissoc {
@@ -881,18 +938,17 @@ fn dissoc {
 	(d as :dict, k as :keyword) -> base :dissoc (d, k)
 }
 
-& TODO: consider merging `get` and `at`
 fn get {
 	"Takes a key, dict, and optional default value; returns the value at key. If the value is not found, returns nil or the default value."
 	(k as :keyword) -> get (k, _)
-	(k as :keyword, d as :dict) -> base :get (d, k)
-	(k as :keyword, d as :dict, default) -> match base :get (d, k) with {
+	(d as :dict, k as :keyword) -> base :get (d, k)
+	(d as :dict, k as :keyword, default) -> match base :get (d, k) with {
 		nil -> default
 		val -> val
 	} 
 	(k as :string) -> get (k, _)
-	(k as :string, d as :dict) -> base :get (d, k)
-	(k as :string, d as :dict, default) -> match base :get (d, k) with {
+	(d as :dict, k as :string) -> base :get (d, k)
+	(d as :dict, k as :string, default) -> match base :get (d, k) with {
 		nil -> default
 		val -> val
 	}
@@ -914,15 +970,14 @@ fn values {
 	(d as :dict) -> do d > list > map (second, _)
 }
 
-& TODO: add sets to this?
 fn has? {
 	"Takes a key and a dict, and returns true if there is a non-`nil` value stored at the key."
-	(k as :keyword) -> has? (k, _)
-	(k as :keyword, d as :dict) -> do d > get (k) > some?
+	(k as :keyword) -> has? (_, k)
+	(d as :dict, k as :keyword) -> do d > get (k) > some?
 }
 
 fn dict {
-	"Takes a list or tuple of (key, value) tuples and returns it as a dict. Returns dicts unharmed."
+	"Takes a list or tuple of `(key, value)` tuples and returns it as a dict. Returns dicts unharmed."
 	(d as :dict) -> d
 	(l as :list) -> fold (assoc, l)
 	(t as :tuple) -> do t > list > dict
@@ -1118,7 +1173,7 @@ fn fetch {
 		let pid = self ()
 		spawn! (fn () -> request_fetch! (pid, url))
 		receive {
-			(:reply, response) -> response
+			(:reply, (_, response)) -> response
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -1495,7 +1550,7 @@ fn key_pressed? {
 	append
 	assert!
 	assoc
-	assoc?
+	& assoc?
 	at
 	atan/2
 	back!
@@ -1511,12 +1566,12 @@ fn key_pressed? {
 	cdr
 	ceil
 	chars
-	chars/safe
 	clear!
 	coll?
 	colors
 	colours
 	concat
+	condense
 	cons
 	console
 	contains?
@@ -1561,6 +1616,9 @@ fn key_pressed? {
 	hideturtle!
 	home!
 	inc
+	indexed?
+	index_of
+	indices_of
 	inv
 	inv/0
 	inv/safe
@@ -1589,7 +1647,6 @@ fn key_pressed? {
 	odd?
 	ok
 	ok?
-	ordered?
 	pc!
 	pd!
 	pencolor
diff --git a/pkg/rudus.js b/pkg/rudus.js
index 65e5e4e..5357d14 100644
--- a/pkg/rudus.js
+++ b/pkg/rudus.js
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ function __wbg_get_imports() {
         _assertBoolean(ret);
         return ret;
     };
-    imports.wbg.__wbindgen_closure_wrapper8157 = function() { return logError(function (arg0, arg1, arg2) {
+    imports.wbg.__wbindgen_closure_wrapper8160 = function() { return logError(function (arg0, arg1, arg2) {
         const ret = makeMutClosure(arg0, arg1, 359, __wbg_adapter_20);
         return ret;
     }, arguments) };
diff --git a/pkg/rudus_bg.wasm b/pkg/rudus_bg.wasm
index ee3a380..f45f304 100644
--- a/pkg/rudus_bg.wasm
+++ b/pkg/rudus_bg.wasm
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
-oid sha256:de73e134772464686f83ecc0389fb8661f8946f705edeb896cc493578814356e
-size 16770813
+oid sha256:2cd3cbbcbc8f12030dfd832a0adef051511837e7fd5c5c6fc6f8bad1a46f52ae
+size 16774601
diff --git a/src/base.rs b/src/base.rs
index 4292d0f..c2607ce 100644
--- a/src/base.rs
+++ b/src/base.rs
@@ -83,18 +83,9 @@ pub fn r#bool(x: &Value) -> Value {
 pub fn chars(x: &Value) -> Value {
     match x {
         Value::Interned(s) => {
-            let chars = s.chars();
-
             let mut charlist = vector![];
-            for char in chars {
-                if char.is_ascii() {
-                    charlist.push_back(Value::String(Rc::new(char.to_string())))
-                } else {
-                    return Value::Tuple(Rc::new(vec![
-                        Value::Keyword("err"),
-                        Value::String(Rc::new(format!("{char} is not an ascii character"))),
-                    ]));
-                }
+            for char in s.chars() {
+                charlist.push_back(Value::string(char.to_string()))
             }
             Value::Tuple(Rc::new(vec![
                 Value::Keyword("ok"),
@@ -102,18 +93,9 @@ pub fn chars(x: &Value) -> Value {
             ]))
         }
         Value::String(s) => {
-            let chars = s.chars();
-
             let mut charlist = vector![];
-            for char in chars {
-                if char.is_ascii() {
-                    charlist.push_back(Value::String(Rc::new(char.to_string())))
-                } else {
-                    return Value::Tuple(Rc::new(vec![
-                        Value::Keyword("err"),
-                        Value::String(Rc::new(format!("{char} is not an ascii character"))),
-                    ]));
-                }
+            for char in s.chars() {
+                charlist.push_back(Value::string(char.to_string()))
             }
             Value::Tuple(Rc::new(vec![
                 Value::Keyword("ok"),
@@ -210,6 +192,14 @@ pub fn first(ordered: &Value) -> Value {
             Some(n) => n.clone(),
             None => Value::Nil,
         },
+        Value::String(s) => match s.chars().next() {
+            Some(char) => Value::string(char.to_string()),
+            None => Value::Nil,
+        },
+        Value::Interned(s) => match s.chars().next() {
+            Some(char) => Value::string(char.to_string()),
+            None => Value::Nil,
+        },
         _ => unreachable!("internal Ludus error"),
     }
 }
@@ -232,6 +222,20 @@ pub fn at(ordered: &Value, i: &Value) -> Value {
                 None => Value::Nil,
             }
         }
+        (Value::String(s), Value::Number(n)) => {
+            let i = f64::from(*n) as usize;
+            match s.chars().nth(i) {
+                Some(n) => Value::string(n.to_string()),
+                None => Value::Nil,
+            }
+        }
+        (Value::Interned(s), Value::Number(n)) => {
+            let i = f64::from(*n) as usize;
+            match s.chars().nth(i) {
+                Some(n) => Value::string(n.to_string()),
+                None => Value::Nil,
+            }
+        }
         _ => unreachable!("internal Ludus error"),
     }
 }
@@ -264,6 +268,14 @@ pub fn last(ordered: &Value) -> Value {
             Some(x) => x.clone(),
             None => Value::Nil,
         },
+        Value::String(s) => match s.chars().last() {
+            Some(char) => Value::string(char.to_string()),
+            None => Value::Nil,
+        },
+        Value::Interned(s) => match s.chars().last() {
+            Some(char) => Value::string(char.to_string()),
+            None => Value::Nil,
+        },
         _ => unreachable!("internal Ludus error"),
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/compiler.rs b/src/compiler.rs
index 1256b94..e225b0b 100644
--- a/src/compiler.rs
+++ b/src/compiler.rs
@@ -1286,7 +1286,7 @@ impl Compiler {
                 let mut chunks = vec![];
 
                 for (arity, mut compiler) in compilers {
-                    compiler.emit_op(Op::PanicNoMatch);
+                    compiler.emit_op(Op::PanicNoFnMatch);
                     let chunk = compiler.chunk;
                     if self.debug {
                         println!("=== function chuncktion: {name}/{arity} ===");
diff --git a/src/errors.rs b/src/errors.rs
index cb0f72f..6f20cf6 100644
--- a/src/errors.rs
+++ b/src/errors.rs
@@ -98,9 +98,16 @@ pub fn panic(panic: Panic) -> String {
     // panic.call_stack.last().unwrap().chunk().dissasemble();
     // console_log!("{:?}", panic.call_stack.last().unwrap().chunk().spans);
     let mut msgs = vec![];
-    let msg = match panic.msg {
+    let Panic { msg, scrutinee, .. } = &panic;
+    let msg = match msg {
         PanicMsg::Generic(ref s) => s,
-        _ => &"no match".to_string(),
+        PanicMsg::NoFnMatch => &format!(
+            "no match against {}",
+            scrutinee
+                .as_ref()
+                .expect("expect a match panic to have a scrutinee")
+        ),
+        _ => &String::from("no match"),
     };
     msgs.push(msg.clone());
     msgs.push(traceback(&panic));