alchemistake

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, VARIAN. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55 * CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS has joined 018.07.154.55 <thealchemist>**This thing is SO COOL okay- hey, hi, Varian here! If you're seeing this then you've reached my channel for messages. Leave me one if you need something!

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From:

yellecaster

Y'think there might be a chance all that magic's just stuff people haven't researched, then?
Like Pokémon and the stuff they can do.

[Not everything is understood about Pokémon - and she's definitely not one of the people to ask about how it all works - but she knows it's at least considered scientific.
Realistic. It's an energy, after all; not some sort of mysterious force no one understands.]

... Though, I guess there's a chance yer researchin' that, right?

From:

alchemistake

[Varian nods, his nose wrinkling before he shoves another spoonful of curry into his mouth. That face he made wasn't at the curry though, he promises.]

I don't have much of a choice.

[That's. Cryptic. But as he says that, the small sparrow wings on his back flap briefly.]

Ever since I changed, the wind around here has picked up. ...until I realized, the weather's been perfectly fine all month. It's only windy around me.

That's when I realized...I'm pretty sure it's coming from me. ...magic, as much as I hate to admit it. No idea what kind of monster I could be, though. I haven't really met anybody with wings as small as mine are...

[Even the winged monsters have wings they can fly with. Varian's are completely useless for that.]

From:

yellecaster

Well, like we're sayin' - it might not be magic magic, yeah?
What if it's just some kinda energy no one really gets yet?

[Y'know... like Pokémon.]

And personally, I kinda like the small wings. I bet you could find a way to fly with'em, even if they're puny; you're a smart guy.

From:

alchemistake

[Don't flatter him Marnie, he's trying to be MAD about it...though he does sort of deflate a little after she says that, propping his chin up in his remaining hand.]

Yeah, maybe...I just have to figure out how it works, first. So far it's just sort of happening whenever it wants with no input from me. I can kindof...encourage where it goes with my wings, but that's about it so far.

[That's probably at least partially how it's meant to be used, but he'll just have to figure that out on his own as he gains new elemental magic over time. Wind is just the most complicated one since it's not...really tangible.]

Speaking of all of that...I guess you haven't started changing yet, have you?

From:

yellecaster

[A small shake of her head follows that question, just enough to make her pigtails wobble a little.]

Nah, not yet. No clue what I'll be changin' into, either.
'S not as forward as Pokémon evolvin'; no one I've seen has changed into anythin' like how they looked before.
Gettin' stuff like big Woobat wings or fuzzy Raboot ears...

All I can really hope for is I don't turn into whatever the guy that broke my arm was. Seriously ugly bloke.

From:

alchemistake

I don't think you will.

[HE...has no way of knowing for SURE, but...he'd rather reassure her than be like "oh no yeah you'll be hideous.

Before he can think of more to say, Ruddiger graciously breaks the silence with a loud belch after licking his bowl clean again, prompting Varian to take it from him before Marnie thoughtlessly gives him even more.]

Thaaat's probably enough for you for today, buddy...

From:

yellecaster

[- Which... is a good thing, because she'd even just started to reach for the ladle again.
She even looks confused for a second. Just a second.]

Ahh, sorry. I'm a little used to just fillin' up empty bowls as they come; Morpeko would've eaten half this pot by now.

[She clanks the handle of her ladle against it, just as a way to gesture to it.]

He can't handle big meals, then? Hope he doesn't end up sick or somethin'...

From:

alchemistake

Usually he's okay? I mean, he eats garbage...but yeah, it's the quantity more than anything.

[Varian figures the most he'd get is a stomachache, which. Ruddiger's own fault, usually. He'll set the bowl next to the pot for Marnie to collect later, still eating the last of his curry from the bottom of his own bowl.]

Thanks for dinner, though. Usually I try to find someplace in town to eat.

[He'll go to the bakery too of course, but that's not exactly dinner material.]

From:

yellecaster

Well, you can always come here if you'd like. I'll try not to make six-person pots anymore... but I wanna start tryin' to make things like stews and porridges, too.
Curry's more of a lunch, yeah? So it's only right to figure out breakfast and dinner, too.

[Not that... she knows how to make literally any of this. She'll figure it out though, she believes in herself.
Somehow.]

Next time, though... what kinda things do ya like? I'm gonna look into gettin' the recipe even closer to how it is back home, but Galarian curry's pretty flexible.
I can add just 'bout anythin' to it.

From:

alchemistake

Me? I mean...pretty much anything. I actually did more of the cooking back home than dad, usually...cooking and alchemy aren't that different, after all. Cooking is just alchemy with instructions.

[Varian snorts, finishing off his curry finally so he can put his bowl with Ruddiger's. Ruddiger, meanwhile, is taking advantage of the new empty space to pull himself up heavily into Varian's lap for a nap.]

This one here loves apples, though.

From:

yellecaster

Apples it is, then. 'S actually pretty common to grill a couple apples and add'em in, from what I know... a lot of'em drop back in the Wild Area, so they're cheap and easy to get.

[She's used a couple herself, at this point! ... Of course, Morpeko went bonkers for it.]

Maybe next time I'll call you up before I start cookin', too? Wouldn't hurt to have extra hands around here.

From:

alchemistake

Sure, if you want! I could probably do with a break from working, because I'm definitely not going to want to stop on my own otherwise...

[He's a damn workaholic, this one.

That reminds him, though...]

You should come see my lab sometime, too! It's still a work in progress, but Mana put a lot of good beginner stuff in it, so I've already got some things in the works. I'm on track for a test-run of my new prosthetic in just a few days now, once I iron out a few kinks.

From:

yellecaster

Prosthetic? Like... for your arm?
You're just buildin' yourself a whole new arm?

[Sorry, the rest is interesting too - but this is more important.]

From:

alchemistake

[Varian nods, looking over at his right arm, the sleeve of which is currently tied up against what's left.]

Everything else grew back just fine. ...except my arm, which I kindof need to work.

[His ire isn't directed at Marnie, though he sounds plenty frustrated. He's had to relearn everything, using his left arm only.]

So, I'm doing what I usually do to fix problems...I'm building a solution. I just don't know yet what I'm going to do to get the fingers to move, but I'll think of something. Having something there is a start, you know?

From:

yellecaster

... Wicked.

[There'd be a smile on her face if it, like, could do that.]

So you really are some kind of genius about all this stuff, then. I'm glad I've got you around; I'm useless when it comes to tech an' all that.
I could probably tighten some bolts on somethin', but that's 'bout it.

How long d'you think it'll take to finish? Yer arm, I mean.

From:

alchemistake

If we're talking just the arm without any moving parts...it should be ready in a couple days.

[He's hoping the sling he's devised to attach it to himself will work, but he'll adjust that too as necessary. It shouldn't be visible beneath his clothes either way.]

But getting it to work like an arm should might take another month, unless I can figure out a more graceful solution than some sort of pulley system. I might ask some people here who know more about circuits and things than I do...there's probably an easier way.

[Another reason he wanted a car to take apart: so he could study circuits and connections and things himself.

What Varian doesn't yet know is that fresh with his next round of changes, he'll be gifted his first bit of luck from the Fog God in the form of instinctual knowledge of a spell that should achieve what he wants...just maybe not perfectly at first.]

From:

yellecaster

I know you can figure it out. All ya gotta do is learn how to do it, right?
You sound like a proper genius, the real deal.

And I'll support ya however I can, too.

[Mostly by, like, gifting him with scrap technology she finds while scavenging for decor...]

From:

alchemistake

...thanks. That means a lot.

[Like geeze, way to flatter him...

Ruddiger would have probably rolled his eyes at that if he weren't already asleep thanks to a curry food coma.]

What's the junkyard like, by the way? I haven't had a chance to head there yet myself.

From:

yellecaster

[No flattery intended - she just calls it how she sees it!
But his question gets a shrug.]

Dangerous, mostly. Lots of sharp metal an' broken glass juttin' outta piles of trash.
But there are a lotta big, broken-down machines, too. Think I saw a couple of robots?
I dunno - I confused'em for Pokémon at first, but they're not that at least.

We can go there together whenever you wanna check it out, if ya want? Wouldn't mind pickin' through for a bedframe or somethin'.
The sleepin' bag's nice, but kinda hurts after a few nights...

From:

alchemistake

Hm, yeah...sounds like a junkyard alright-

[Can't have "junk" without the danger of cutting yourself on jagged metal or broken glass or something.

But that causes Varian's thoughts to come screeching to a complete halt because wait a minute-]

There are robots there?!

From:

yellecaster

I said I think... could'a just been big toys, too. I don't know.
But they sure looked like robots.

[That's a fun fact that gets overlooked a lot - Bavan has robots, they're just... rare in the city itself.
So for a spare few to end up in the junkyard isn't completely unheard of.]

... I take it you're a robot kinda guy?

From:

alchemistake

[I cannot BELIEVE nobody told me this!!]

Well, I wouldn't call myself an expert exactly, but...back home we unearthed an automaton protecting an underground part of Rapunzel's castle sometime last year- [Or maybe it was somewhere else, I can't remember exactly but the details don't matter.] -and after we stopped it from killing us, I was able to take the parts and reverse engineer them to build my own, new and improved versions. They were...pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

[He also used them as murder robots, but. Again, more details that don't matter.]

Basically what I'm saying is if I can find one mostly intact, I might be able to do the same here.

From:

yellecaster

Now that's somethin' I'd wanna see. You'd make me one too, right?

[There's almost, almost a cheeky tone to that. Almost.]

I can't imagine you won't end up with too many of those things if you started buildin'em, though.

From:

alchemistake

Assuming I found more than one? I'd be happy to work on a couple.

[Varian doesn't have quite the extensive robotics knowledge some people do here, so he can't just jump out there and build his own without any base to work with. Now, if he gets a little toutoring, that may change...]

As much as I'd much rather be back home, I gotta say...this place has some weird benefits I wasn't expecting. I mean, I at least have all of these technological breakthroughs to keep me busy.

From:

yellecaster

...

[Her face goes a little soft hearing that, for some reason.]

Y'know... maybe somethin' I should ask Mana for is a Rotom.
I think you'd go nuts havin' one of those around; I've never had one myself, never even had a Rotom phone or somethin'... but they sound like the kinda Pokémon that's right up yer alley.