diff --git a/include/notcurses.h b/include/notcurses.h
index c2572cc18..297be8ec9 100644
--- a/include/notcurses.h
+++ b/include/notcurses.h
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
+#include <stdarg.h>
 #include <stdbool.h>
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
@@ -16,36 +17,29 @@ struct cell;      // a coordinate on an ncplane: wchar_t(s) and styling
 struct ncplane;   // a drawable notcurses surface, composed of cells
 struct notcurses; // notcurses state for a given terminal, composed of ncplanes
 
-// A cell corresponds to a single character cell on some plane. At any cell, we
-// can have a short array of wchar_t (L'\0'-terminated; we need support an
-// array due to the possibility of combining characters), a foreground color,
-// a background color, and an attribute set. The rules on the wchar_t array are
-// the same as those for an ncurses 6.1 cchar_t:
+// A cell corresponds to a single character cell on some plane, which can be
+// occupied by a single grapheme cluster (some root spacing glyph, along with
+// possible combining characters, which might span multiple columns). At any
+// cell, we can have a theoretically arbitrarily long UTF-8 string, a foreground
+// color, a background color, and an attribute set. Valid grapheme cluster
+// contents include:
 //
-// FIXME i don't care for this (large) static array one whit. we're not bound
-// to X/Open, and owe cchar_t no fealty. i do like the attrs and colors being
-// bound up with it, though. this definition is almost certain to change. we
-// could overload some invalid UTF-8 construction (say a first byte greater
-// than 0x7f) to escape out to some attached storage pool, using the
-// difference as an index into the pool. we would have 25 bits, after all...
+//  * A NUL terminator,
+//  * A single control character, followed by a NUL terminaotr,
+//  * At most one spacing character, followed by zero or more nonspacing
+//    characters, followed by a NUL terminator.
 //
-//  * At most one spacing character, which must be the first if present.
-//  * Up to NCCHARW_MAX-1 nonspacing characters follow. Extra spacing
-//    characters are ignored. A nonspacing character is one for which wcwidth()
-//    returns zero, and is not the wide NUL (L'\0').
-//  * A single control character can be present, with no other characters (save
-//    an immediate wide NUL (L'\0').
-//  * If there are fewer than NCCHARW_MAX wide characters, they must be
-//    terminated with a wide NUL (L'\0').
+// Multi-column characters can only have a single style/color throughout.
 //
-// Multi-column characters can only have a single attribute/color.
-// https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/007908799/xcurses/intov.html
-//
-// Each cell occupies 16 bytes (128 bits). The surface is thus ~2MB for a
-// (pretty large) 500x200 terminal. At 80x43, it's less than 100KB.
-#define NCCHARW_MAX 1
+// Each cell occupies 16 static bytes (128 bits). The surface is thus ~1.6MB
+// for a (pretty large) 500x200 terminal. At 80x43, it's less than 64KB.
+// Dynamic requirements can add up to 16MB to an ncplane, but such large pools
+// are unlikely in common use.
 typedef struct cell {
-  wchar_t cchar[NCCHARW_MAX]; // 1 * 4b -> 4b
+  // These 32 bits are either a single-byte, single-character grapheme cluster
+  // (values 0--0x7f), or a pointer into a per-ncplane attached pool of
+  // varying-length UTF-8 grapheme clusters. This pool may thus be up to 16MB.
+  uint32_t gcluster;          // 1 * 4b -> 4b
   // The classic NCURSES WA_* attributes (16 bits), plus 16 bits of alpha.
   uint32_t attrword;          // + 4b -> 8b
   // (channels & 0x8000000000000000ull): inherit styling from prior cell
@@ -156,52 +150,44 @@ void ncplane_move_top(struct ncplane* n);
 void ncplane_move_bottom(struct ncplane* n);
 
 // Replace the cell underneath the cursor with the provided cell 'c', and
-// advance the cursor by one cell *unless we are at the end of the plane*.
-// On success, returns 1 if the cursor was advanced, and 0 otherwise. On
-// failure, -1 is returned.
-int ncplane_putwc(struct ncplane* n, const cell* c);
-
-// Retrieve the cell under the cursor, returning it in 'c'.
-void ncplane_getwc(const struct ncplane* n, cell* c);
-
-// Write a series of wchar_ts to the current location. They will be interpreted
-// as a series of columns (according to the definition of ncplane_putwc()).
-// Advances the cursor by some positive number of cells; this number is returned
-// on success. On error, a non-positive number is returned, indicating the
-// number of cells which were written before the error.
-int ncplane_putwstr(struct ncplane* n, const wchar_t* wstr);
-
-// The ncplane equivalent of wprintf(3) and vwprintf(3), themselves the
-// wide-character equivalents of printf(3) and vprintf(3).
-int ncplane_wprintf(struct ncplane* n, const wchar_t* format, ...);
+// advance the cursor by the width of the cell *unless we are at the end of
+// the plane*. On success, returns the number of columns the cursor was
+// advanced. On failure, -1 is returned. 'gclust' only needs be specified, and
+// will only be used, if 'c->gcluster' has a value >= 0x80.
+int ncplane_putc(struct ncplane* n, const cell* c, const char* gclust);
+
+// Retrieve the cell under the cursor, returning it in 'c'. If there is more
+// than a byte of gcluster, it will be returned as a heap allocation in
+// '*gclust', and '*c' will be 0x80.
+void ncplane_getc(const struct ncplane* n, cell* c, char** gclust);
+
+// Write a series of cells to the current location, using the current style.
+// They will be interpreted as a series of columns (according to the definition
+// of ncplane_putc()). Advances the cursor by some positive number of cells
+// (though not beyond the end of the plane); this number is returned on success.
+// On error, a non-positive number is returned, indicating the number of cells
+// which were written before the error.
+int ncplane_putstr(struct ncplane* n, const char* gclustarr);
+
+// The ncplane equivalents of printf(3) and vprintf(3).
+int ncplane_printf(struct ncplane* n, const wchar_t* format, ...);
+int ncplane_vprintf(struct ncplane* n, const wchar_t* format, va_list ap);
 
 // Draw horizontal or vertical lines using the specified cell of wchar_t's,
 // starting at the current cursor position. The cursor will end at the cell
 // following the last cell output (even, perhaps counter-intuitively, when
-// drawing vertical lines), just as if ncplane_putwc() was called at that spot.
+// drawing vertical lines), just as if ncplane_putc() was called at that spot.
 // Returns the number of cells drawn on success. On error, returns the negative
 // number of cells drawn.
-int ncplane_hline(struct ncplane* n, const wchar_t* wcs, int len);
-int ncplane_vline(struct ncplane* n, int yoff, const wchar_t* wcs, int len);
+int ncplane_hline(struct ncplane* n, int xoff, const cell* c,
+                  const char* gclust, int len);
+int ncplane_vline(struct ncplane* n, int yoff, const cell* c,
+                  const char* gclust, int len);
 
 // Erase all content in the ncplane, resetting all attributes to normal, all
 // colors to -1, and all cells to undrawn.
 void ncplane_erase(struct ncplane* n);
 
-// Retrieve the cell under the cursor, returning it in 'c'.
-void ncplane_getwc(const struct ncplane* n, struct cell* c);
-
-// Write a series of wchar_ts to the current location. They will be interpreted
-// as a series of columns (according to the definition of ncplane_putwc()).
-// Advances the cursor by some positive number of cells; this number is returned
-// on success. On error, a non-positive number is returned, indicating the
-// number of cells which were written before the error.
-int ncplane_putwstr(struct ncplane* n, const wchar_t* wstr);
-
-// The ncplane equivalent of wprintf(3) and vwprintf(3), themselves the
-// wide-character equivalents of printf(3) and vprintf(3).
-int ncplane_wprintf(struct ncplane* n, const wchar_t* format, ...);
-
 // Set the current fore/background color using RGB specifications. If the
 // terminal does not support directly-specified 3x8b cells (24-bit "Direct
 // Color", indicated by the "RGB" terminfo capability), the provided values
@@ -224,11 +210,8 @@ int notcurses_palette_size(const struct notcurses* nc);
 
 // Working with cells
 
-// Copies as many wchar_ts out of 'wstr' and into 'c' as it can, according to
-// the rules of cell composition. If the leading part of wstr is not a valid
-// cell, -1 is returned. Returns the number of wchar_ts copied, not including
-// the terminating L'\0' (if 'wstr' is empty, zero is returned).
-int load_cell(cell* c, const wchar_t* wstr);
+// Breaks the UTF-8 string in 'gcluster' down, setting up the cell 'c'.
+int cell_load(cell* c, const char* gcluster);
 
 static inline uint32_t
 cell_fg_rgb(uint64_t channel){
diff --git a/src/bin/demo.c b/src/bin/demo.c
index bf9025c56..d7f9ff3ab 100644
--- a/src/bin/demo.c
+++ b/src/bin/demo.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
-#include <wchar.h>
+#include <string.h>
 #include <locale.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
@@ -28,14 +28,14 @@ int main(void){
   int x, y, rows, cols;
   ncplane_dimyx(ncp, &rows, &cols);
   cell c;
-  load_cell(&c, /*L"💣*/L"X");
+  cell_load(&c, /*L"💣*/"X");
   cell_set_fg(&c, 200, 0, 200);
   for(y = 1 ; y < rows - 1 ; ++y){
     if(ncplane_cursor_move_yx(ncp, y, 1)){
       goto err;
     }
     for(x = 1 ; x < cols - 1 ; ++x){
-      if(ncplane_putwc(ncp, &c)){
+      if(ncplane_putc(ncp, &c, NULL)){
         goto err;
       }
     }
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ int main(void){
     goto err;
   }
   sleep(1);
-  const wchar_t lstr[] = L"Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen.";
-  if(ncplane_cursor_move_yx(ncp, y / 2, (x - wcslen(lstr)) / 2)){
+  const char str[] = "Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen.";
+  if(ncplane_cursor_move_yx(ncp, y / 2, (x - strlen(str)) / 2)){
     goto err;
   }
   if(ncplane_fg_rgb8(ncp, 176, 121, 176)){
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ int main(void){
   if(ncplane_bg_rgb8(ncp, 255, 255, 255)){
     goto err;
   }
-  if(ncplane_putwstr(ncp, lstr) != (int)wcslen(lstr)){
+  if(ncplane_putstr(ncp, str) != (int)strlen(str)){
     goto err;
   }
   if(notcurses_render(nc)){
diff --git a/src/lib/notcurses.c b/src/lib/notcurses.c
index c4c7c93a6..5f628dea2 100644
--- a/src/lib/notcurses.c
+++ b/src/lib/notcurses.c
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ typedef struct ncplane {
   struct ncplane* z; // plane below us
   struct notcurses* nc; // our parent nc, kinda lame waste of memory FIXME
   uint64_t channels; // colors when not provided an active style
+  char* pool;      // storage pool for multibyte grapheme clusters
 } ncplane;
 
 typedef struct notcurses {
@@ -184,6 +185,7 @@ alloc_stdscr(notcurses* nc){
   if((p = create_ncplane(nc, rows, cols)) == NULL){
     goto err;
   }
+  p->pool = NULL;
   ncplane** oldscr;
   ncplane* preserve;
   // if we ever make this a doubly-linked list, turn this into o(1)
@@ -504,22 +506,43 @@ term_movyx(int y, int x){
   return 0;
 }
 
-// Write the cchar (one cell's worth of wchar_t's) to the physical terminal
-// FIXME probably want to use a wmemstream
+// is it a single ASCII byte, wholly contained within the cell?
+static inline bool
+simple_gcluster_p(const char* gcluster){
+  return *gcluster == '\0' || (*(unsigned char*)gcluster < 0x80 && gcluster[1] == '\0');
+}
+
+static inline bool
+simple_cell_p(const cell* c){
+  return c->gcluster < 0x80;
+}
+
+static inline const char*
+extended_gcluster(const ncplane* n, const cell* c){
+  uint32_t idx = c->gcluster - 0x80;
+  return n->pool + idx;
+}
+
+// Write the cell's UTF-8 grapheme cluster to the physical terminal.
+// FIXME maybe want to use a wmemstream
 static int
-term_putw(const notcurses* nc, const cell* c){
+term_putc(const notcurses* nc, const ncplane* n, const cell* c){
   ssize_t w;
-  size_t len = wcsnlen(c->cchar, sizeof(c->cchar) / sizeof(*c->cchar));
-  if(len == 0){
-    if((w = write(nc->ttyfd, " ", 1)) < 0 || (size_t)w != 1){ // FIXME
+  if(simple_cell_p(c)){
+    if(c->gcluster == 0){
+      if((w = write(nc->ttyfd, " ", 1)) < 0 || (size_t)w != 1){ // FIXME
+        return -1;
+      }
+      return 0;
+    }
+    if((w = write(nc->ttyfd, &c->gcluster, 1)) < 0 || (size_t)w != 1){ // FIXME
       return -1;
     }
     return 0;
   }
-  if((w = write(nc->ttyfd, c->cchar, len * sizeof(*c->cchar))) < 0){
-    return -1;
-  }
-  if((size_t)w != len * sizeof(*c->cchar)){
+  const char* ext = extended_gcluster(n, c);
+  size_t len = strlen(ext);
+  if((w = write(nc->ttyfd, ext, len)) < 0 || (size_t)w != len){
     return -1;
   }
   return 0;
@@ -548,7 +571,7 @@ int notcurses_render(notcurses* nc){
         pg = g;
         pb = b;
       }
-      term_putw(nc, c);
+      term_putc(nc, nc->stdscr, c);
     }
   }
   return ret;
@@ -585,31 +608,24 @@ advance_cursor(ncplane* n){
   }
 }
 
-int ncplane_putwc(ncplane* n, const cell* c){
+int ncplane_putc(ncplane* n, const cell* c, const char* gclust){
   cell* targ = &n->fb[fbcellidx(n, n->y, n->x)];
   memcpy(targ, c, sizeof(*c));
-  advance_cursor(n);
+  cell_load(targ, gclust);
   return 0;
 }
 
-int load_cell(cell* c, const wchar_t* wstr){
-  int copied = 0;
-  do{
-    if(copied == sizeof(c->cchar) / sizeof(*c->cchar)){
-      if(*wstr != L'\0' && wcwidth(*wstr) == 0){ // next one *must* be a spacer
-        return -1; // filled up the buffer
-      }
-      break; // no terminator on cells which fill the array [shrug]
-    }
-    if(copied && *wstr != L'\0' && wcwidth(*wstr)){
-      break; // only nonspacing (zero-width) chars after first; throw it back
-    }
-    c->cchar[copied++] = *wstr;
-  }while(*wstr++ != L'\0'); // did we just copy L'\0'? if so, we're always done
-  return copied;
+int cell_load(cell* c, const char* gcluster){
+  if(simple_gcluster_p(gcluster)){
+    c->gcluster = *gcluster;
+    return !!c->gcluster;
+  }
+  // FIXME gotta copy gcluster into storage pool, up through terminator OR
+  // next spacing character...
+  return strlen(gcluster);
 }
 
-int ncplane_putwstr(ncplane* n, const wchar_t* wstr){
+int ncplane_putstr(ncplane* n, const char* gcluster){
   int ret = 0;
   // FIXME speed up this blissfully naive solution
   cell c;
@@ -618,16 +634,16 @@ int ncplane_putwstr(ncplane* n, const wchar_t* wstr){
   cell_set_fg(&c, cell_rgb_red(rgb), cell_rgb_green(rgb), cell_rgb_blue(rgb));
   rgb = cell_bg_rgb(n->channels);
   cell_set_bg(&c, cell_rgb_red(rgb), cell_rgb_green(rgb), cell_rgb_blue(rgb));
-  while(*wstr != L'\0'){
-    int wcs = load_cell(&c, wstr);
+  while(*gcluster){
+    int wcs = cell_load(&c, gcluster);
     if(wcs < 0){
       return -ret;
     }
     if(wcs == 0){
       break;
     }
-    wstr += wcs;
-    if(ncplane_putwc(n, &c)){
+    gcluster += wcs;
+    if(ncplane_putc(n, &c, extended_gcluster(n, &c))){
       return -ret;
     }
     ++ret;
diff --git a/tests/ncplane.cpp b/tests/ncplane.cpp
index 81f78c9a1..b68282bc5 100644
--- a/tests/ncplane.cpp
+++ b/tests/ncplane.cpp
@@ -102,10 +102,10 @@ TEST_F(NcplaneTest, RejectBadRGB) {
 
 // Verify we can emit a wide character, and it advances the cursor
 TEST_F(NcplaneTest, EmitWchar) {
-  wchar_t cchar[] = L"✔";
+  const char cchar[] = "✔";
   cell c;
-  load_cell(&c, cchar);
-  EXPECT_EQ(0, ncplane_putwc(n_, &c));
+  cell_load(&c, cchar);
+  EXPECT_EQ(0, ncplane_putc(n_, &c, cchar));
   int x, y;
   ncplane_cursor_yx(n_, &y, &x);
   EXPECT_EQ(y, 0);
@@ -113,11 +113,11 @@ TEST_F(NcplaneTest, EmitWchar) {
 }
 
 // Verify we can emit a wide string, and it advances the cursor
-TEST_F(NcplaneTest, EmitWstr) {
-  const wchar_t wstr[] = L"Σιβυλλα τι θελεις; respondebat illa: αποθανειν θελω.";
-  EXPECT_EQ(wcslen(wstr), ncplane_putwstr(n_, wstr));
+TEST_F(NcplaneTest, EmitStr) {
+  const char s[] = "Σιβυλλα τι θελεις; respondebat illa: αποθανειν θελω.";
+  EXPECT_EQ(strlen(s), ncplane_putstr(n_, s));
   int x, y;
   ncplane_cursor_yx(n_, &y, &x);
   EXPECT_EQ(y, 0);
-  EXPECT_EQ(x, wcswidth(wstr, wcslen(wstr)));
+  // FIXME EXPECT_EQ(x, wcswidth(wstr, wcslen(wstr)));
 }