diff --git a/public/scripts/power-user.js b/public/scripts/power-user.js
index 8eba7a939..b5ac27f9d 100644
--- a/public/scripts/power-user.js
+++ b/public/scripts/power-user.js
@@ -547,7 +547,7 @@ async function CreateZenSliders(elmnt) {
     var sliderMax = Number(originalSlider.attr('max'));
     var sliderValue = originalSlider.val();
     var sliderRange = sliderMax - sliderMin;
-    var numSteps = 10;
+    var numSteps = 20;
     var decimals = 2;
     var offVal, allVal;
     var stepScale;
diff --git a/public/scripts/variables.js b/public/scripts/variables.js
index 8ec5abe4b..2bbf275f6 100644
--- a/public/scripts/variables.js
+++ b/public/scripts/variables.js
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import { chat_metadata, getCurrentChatId, saveSettingsDebounced, sendSystemMessage, system_message_types } from '../script.js';
 import { extension_settings, saveMetadataDebounced } from './extensions.js';
 import { executeSlashCommands, registerSlashCommand } from './slash-commands.js';
+import { isFalseBoolean } from './utils.js';
+
+const MAX_LOOPS = 100;
 
 function getLocalVariable(name, args = {}) {
     if (!chat_metadata.variables) {
@@ -301,8 +304,7 @@ function listVariablesCallback() {
 }
 
 async function whileCallback(args, command) {
-    const MAX_LOOPS = 100;
-    const isGuardOff = ['off', 'false', '0'].includes(args.guard?.toLowerCase());
+    const isGuardOff = isFalseBoolean(args.guard);
     const iterations = isGuardOff ? Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER : MAX_LOOPS;
 
     for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) {
@@ -319,6 +321,19 @@ async function whileCallback(args, command) {
     return '';
 }
 
+async function timesCallback(args, value) {
+    const [repeats, ...commandParts] = value.split(' ');
+    const command = commandParts.join(' ');
+    const isGuardOff = isFalseBoolean(args.guard);
+    const iterations = Math.min(Number(repeats), isGuardOff ? Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER : MAX_LOOPS);
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) {
+        await executeSubCommands(command.replace(/\{\{timesIndex\}\}/g, i));
+    }
+
+    return '';
+}
+
 async function ifCallback(args, command) {
     const { a, b, rule } = parseBooleanOperands(args);
     const result = evalBoolean(rule, a, b);
@@ -666,6 +681,7 @@ export function registerVariableCommands() {
     registerSlashCommand('decglobalvar', (_, value) => decrementGlobalVariable(value), [], '<span class="monospace">(key)</span> – decrement a global variable by 1 and pass the result down the pipe, e.g. <tt>/decglobalvar score</tt>', true, true);
     registerSlashCommand('if', ifCallback, [], '<span class="monospace">left=varname1 right=varname2 rule=comparison else="(alt.command)" "(command)"</span> – compare the value of the left operand "a" with the value of the right operand "b", and if the condition yields true, then execute any valid slash command enclosed in quotes and pass the result of the command execution down the pipe. Numeric values and string literals for left and right operands supported. Available rules: gt => a > b, gte => a >= b, lt => a < b, lte => a <= b, eq => a == b, neq => a != b, not => !a, in (strings) => a includes b, nin (strings) => a not includes b, e.g. <tt>/if left=score right=10 rule=gte "/speak You win"</tt> triggers a /speak command if the value of "score" is greater or equals 10.', true, true);
     registerSlashCommand('while', whileCallback, [], '<span class="monospace">left=varname1 right=varname2 rule=comparison "(command)"</span> – compare the value of the left operand "a" with the value of the right operand "b", and if the condition yields true, then execute any valid slash command enclosed in quotes. Numeric values and string literals for left and right operands supported. Available rules: gt => a > b, gte => a >= b, lt => a < b, lte => a <= b, eq => a == b, neq => a != b, not => !a, in (strings) => a includes b, nin (strings) => a not includes b, e.g. <tt>/setvar key=i 0 | /while left=i right=10 rule=let "/addvar key=i 1"</tt> adds 1 to the value of "i" until it reaches 10. Loops are limited to 100 iterations by default, pass guard=off to disable.', true, true);
+    registerSlashCommand('times', (args, value) => timesCallback(args, value), [], '<span class="monospace">(repeats) "(command)"</span> – execute any valid slash command enclosed in quotes <tt>repeats</tt> number of times, e.g. <tt>/setvar key=i 1 | /times 5 "/addvar key=i 1"</tt> adds 1 to the value of "i" 5 times. <tt>{{timesIndex}}</tt> is replaced with the iteration number (zero-based), e.g. <tt>/times 4 "/echo {{timesIndex}}"</tt> echos the numbers 0 through 4. Loops are limited to 100 iterations by default, pass guard=off to disable.', true, true);
     registerSlashCommand('flushvar', (_, value) => deleteLocalVariable(value), [], '<span class="monospace">(key)</span> – delete a local variable, e.g. <tt>/flushvar score</tt>', true, true);
     registerSlashCommand('flushglobalvar', (_, value) => deleteGlobalVariable(value), [], '<span class="monospace">(key)</span> – delete a global variable, e.g. <tt>/flushglobalvar score</tt>', true, true);
     registerSlashCommand('add', (_, value) => addValuesCallback(value), [], '<span class="monospace">(a b c d)</span> – performs an addition of the set of values and passes the result down the pipe, can use variable names, e.g. <tt>/add 10 i 30 j</tt>', true, true);
diff --git a/src/endpoints/characters.js b/src/endpoints/characters.js
index f21c29a5f..9e0956c04 100644
--- a/src/endpoints/characters.js
+++ b/src/endpoints/characters.js
@@ -22,8 +22,25 @@ const { importRisuSprites } = require('./sprites');
 
 let characters = {};
 
+// KV-store for parsed character data
+const characterDataCache = new Map();
+
+/**
+ * Reads the character card from the specified image file.
+ * @param {string} img_url - Path to the image file
+ * @param {string} input_format - 'png'
+ * @returns {Promise<string | undefined>} - Character card data
+ */
 async function charaRead(img_url, input_format) {
-    return characterCardParser.parse(img_url, input_format);
+    const stat = fs.statSync(img_url);
+    const cacheKey = `${img_url}-${stat.mtimeMs}`;
+    if (characterDataCache.has(cacheKey)) {
+        return characterDataCache.get(cacheKey);
+    }
+
+    const result = characterCardParser.parse(img_url, input_format);
+    characterDataCache.set(cacheKey, result);
+    return result;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -32,6 +49,13 @@ async function charaRead(img_url, input_format) {
  */
 async function charaWrite(img_url, data, target_img, response = undefined, mes = 'ok', crop = undefined) {
     try {
+        // Reset the cache
+        for (const key of characterDataCache.keys()) {
+            if (key.startsWith(img_url)) {
+                characterDataCache.delete(key);
+                break;
+            }
+        }
         // Read the image, resize, and save it as a PNG into the buffer
         const image = await tryReadImage(img_url, crop);