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[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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[alchemistake]

Oh yeah. He's an absolute pain sometimes- [That's said with a little tweak of the raccoon's ear, which earns him an angry bout of chittering before he immediately returns to eating.] -but...he keeps me on my toes, and he's helped me out of more than a few scrapes.

He's...kept me company during some tough times, too.

[Varian brings his hand back to himself, stirring his bowl a bit with his spoon. Ruddiger went with him when he was carted off to prison, after all. He would have been there an entire year, alone, if it weren't for Ruddiger.]

Back home, raccoons are seen as pests. I was trying to actually keep him out of my house for a long time, but he just kept coming back...I'm glad I ended up keeping him around, in the end.

[yellecaster]

So that's what he is. [A "raccoon". She hasn't heard the word.] I've been thinkin' of him like a Zigzagoon... they're not too different from Ruddiger, really.
Just a lot more ready to rock than he is.

[She's seen her fair share of a Zigzagoon pack headbanging outside of the Gym while her brother was using it.]

Though, with how fast he jumped into the fray when I told'im to... maybe I'm a little off on that.
He's a good little guy, really chomped at the bit to fight with ya. I'm glad you've got him here, too.

[alchemistake]

[Hm. Zigzagoon kindof sounds like "raccoon". Maybe they're a similar type of species?

Not that he knows what being "ready to rock" means exactly.]

Hah, yeah...he's pretty scrappy. You should have seen some of the stuff he's done back home.

[Some stuff he did with a little...help from Varian, but still.]

Honestly, I was worried that it might seem a little selfish of me to bring him to a place like this...but I figured if anyone could handle it, it'd be Ruddiger.

[yellecaster]

Well, it helps that he's got you here to support'im. Ya both sound like two peas in a pod, a real Falinks kinda duo.
I'm sure he must've missed you the whole time before he's shown up here.

Right, little guy?

[Said as she just... very gently pokes the side of Ruddiger's round little belly.]

[alchemistake]

[Ruddiger lets out a sort of squeaky exhale when he's poked, already somehow having eaten through his entire bowl of curry to the point where he's licking the thing. His face is also just...completely covered in it, which prompts Varian to rub a hand down the side of his face, smirking.]

More like it's a wonder he survived without me there to mooch off of.

[He's joking, clearly. Varian would honestly do anything for Ruddiger...he's a good boy, even if he's a stinky trash panda most of the time.]

Enough about us though- it looks like you've made this place pretty nice for yourself, so far.

[yellecaster]

I had a little help. Had some guys come in an' clear out all the dangerous stuff so I could call it home.
But the decoratin's been all me, if that's what you mean!

[Even though her face doesn't show it, her voice is bright and cheery with pride saying that. The dissonance is probably a little weird.]

I'm thinkin' about lookin' through some local pawn shops, later. They always have the best stuff.
I could always drag you guys along if you want.

[alchemistake]

[It's a little weird, but he's starting to get used to it. Some people don't show a lot of emotion and you know what, that's totally fine.]

I think we could squeeze you into our schedule.

[Which is to say: yes, he'd love to come. He might actually be more busy soon than he's letting on, but like...the opportunity to find some junk he could tinker with on the cheap isn't one he's going to pass up.]

I'd definitely like to see if I could find some of those things- [He points at the neon sign she has hanging up.] -because I've really been wanting to study how they work.

[yellecaster]

... A neon sign? Don't you have those in your world?

[Alright, he's getting SOME emotion - namely some bugeyed surprise, just about the only face she does make from time to time.]

[alchemistake]

[Varian shakes his head, though he doesn't seem offended by her surprise. He's found out that...his world is pretty behind, technologically.]

Iiii only just got hot running water working throughout the kingdom, if that gives you any idea.

[yellecaster]

[She actually winces a little at that, shaking her head a bit.]

Can't even imagine that... Spikemuth was pretty dark n' grimy, but even a place like that had some good technology kickin' about.
We were known for our neon. Right dark place, but it lit up so nice with all the neon signs everywhere.

[... Hence why she had to get at least one ASAP.]

Kingdoms and stuff, though... Galar apparently used to have a kingdom, a long, long time ago.
So your world's like that, huh?

You ever think you replied to something but didnt

[alchemistake]

[Varian nods, eating a bit more of his curry between words because he forgot about it for a second there.]

Yeah. You see, we don't have cars, or laptops, or just computers in general really. No screens or holograms or...anything like that. We do have magic though, which some people I guess would consider advanced in a way...

[But Varian makes a face when he mentions it.]

But it's not as good as good old, regular science and technology. We're getting there, it's just...you know. I guess I never realized how far back in time we are.

And my home, it's called Old Corona. It's not even in the kingdom, so...things there are even less modernized. It's just a bunch of farmhands living off the land, for the most part.

oh dude literally all the time. literally.

[yellecaster]

[And Marnie listens politely, nodding once or twice... though she still looks like she definitely doesn't like the idea.]

And this place is even worse off than my home was...
Y'know, on that thought, lemme make a suggestion: don't take the idea of cars back to yer kingdom unless you can wean'em off of the gas power.

Air here's so thick, I can hardly stand it. Galar was so much cleaner...

[It makes her wish she had a way to teach people how to switch, but like.
She's a sixteen-year-old girl from a walled-and-roofed city who probably hardly left home. She probably doesn't even know what the fuck a combustion engine IS.]

[alchemistake]

No, yeah...I mean, I didn't realize that's what it was until people told me about cars and stuff. The air quality, I mean.

[It's different when that concept just flat out hasn't been invented yet, but Varian still has to wonder...]

I'd like to think there's a better way, though. You know...some kind of energy source that wouldn't be so excessive.

[He hates to say magic, but. It could be magic...]

I feel like we'll be using horses and carriages for a long time to come, though. Alchemists like me aren't really as plentiful in Corona as inventors and engineers are here. I...wanna say they used to be, back in Demanitus' time, but...

[yellecaster]

Wish I could tell ya what to use instead, but where I come from, we get our power from some kinda particles just floatin' through the air.
Or somethin' like that.

[Not exactly easy to just suggest, especially when it's just known as "Galar particles".]

... Who's Demanitus? Someone important?

[alchemistake]

Oh! Yeah, sorry. He's an ancient engineer from way before my time...and he saved our world from an evil sorceress by combining both alchemy and magic to create a machine he built deep in the mountains. Not only did it have the power to change the direction of the wind, but it contained a chamber with a portal that could trap evil spirits in completely different realms.

[He gestures with his spoon as he talks.]

I really wish I could have had the opportunity to meet him...there was a, uh. A complicated sort of spell thing he used to transfer his consciousness into a monkey, apparently? At least that's what Rapunzel told me...she and Eugene actually got to talk to him for just a little while.

[Any of this making sense yet Marnie, because it probably won't.]

[yellecaster]

... I don't know what a monkey is.

[So no, it's not making any sense. At least she's honest!]

It sounds to me like he did a lot of important stuff for your world, at least. Can't say I followed any of it, but I don't need to, to get it.

Is he why you're tryin' to be an inventor?

[alchemistake]

Nah.

[He shakes his head a little. Demanitus was never his original inspiration for inventing, because he really didn't know of his work as much early in his life. No, his priorities lay elsewhere...]

I wanted to make life better for the people in my village. And...I wanted to make my dad proud of me.

[His dad the farmhand, who time and again looked at him with disappointment after he'd accidentally blown up their basement, or set something in town on fire, or something that no doubt embarrassed the single father in front of everyone else...Varian wasn't a normal child, despite being driven and hardworking. It took him a lot of trial, error, and huge mistakes to earn that admiration.]

[yellecaster]

...

[She runs her spoon around her dish through her curry, looking down at it. That's not...
Really something she can relate to. All she's had for a very, very long time is her brother, after all.
And Piers is proud of her no matter what she does - sometimes it's even smothering.

The other part, however...]

... I think I kinda get that? Wantin' to make life better for your village, I mean.
That was kinda my goal, too, back home. Kinda had my original plan yanked out from under me, but it's still somethin' I'm workin' towards.

[alchemistake]

So what happened?

[Assuming she's willing to divulge...it sounds like there's a story here.]

[yellecaster]

Well, y'see...

[Seems she's plenty willing to divulge. ... Probably because he's about her only friend, around here.]

Back in Galar, there's this thing called the Gym Challenge. Trainers like me get all suited up to take it on, complete with a jersey and everythin'.
You travel 'round the region, battle the Gym Leaders, and get their badges - and if you get all the badges in Galar, you get entered into the Champion Cup.

[She's almost looking wistful, now, as she talks.]

The Champion's a big deal where I come from. Lotta people look to the Champion like a hero, someone to look up to and a spot to strive for.
So if someone's a Champion... there's a good chance the place they come from would get a good bit of tourism.
That'd be enough to get some blood flowin' in even the shabbiest place.

But... I lost in the semifinals of the Cup. Very first match...

[alchemistake]

[It's an interesting thing to hear about, since when Marnie says "battle" he thinks like...she's actually going in there and fighting people herself, which...doesn't seem right? She did mention she had a "team", so that likely has more to do with it than he understands.

Becoming Champion being a big deal in terms of Marnie getting more traffic in Spikemuth...it makes sense. So to hear she'd lost right at the very end...]

I'm sorry, Marnie. It sounds like it was a lot of work just to get that far.

[yellecaster]

It was. Even with Team Yell tryin' to help, it was still pretty hard.
But I had a pretty good win streak up until the end, there!

[So she can't say she regrets it, or that she isn't proud of it.
Sure, there's no smile on her face, saying that - again with the dissonance, her voice cheery while her face decidedly isn't - but she's still clearly proud of herself.]

And I even took my big brother's offer; I'm Spikemuth's new Gym Leader, instead. I'll bring people into town just by bein' fun to watch and frustratin' to battle with, that's my next plan!
Maybe see if I can't get some real bleachers made for the crowd... all we have right now are stoops to sit on, but I know that's not enough for the kinda numbers I wanna pull in.

[alchemistake]

If you could make this sewer system into a nice place to live, then I'd believe you could have a whole kingdom's worth of people visiting your home in no time, easy.

[Sure, Marnie may not be...at all a charismatic type of person, but when you have the determination to do something, you don't always need that.]

If you need any help brainstorming ideas to take home with you, let me know. Just give me a number and scale, and I could get some schematics for expansion written up for you in a day.

[yellecaster]

[Varian... what a sweet talker. It's almost - almost - cute.
For now, though, she just shakes her head with her flat look gaining just a touch of softness.]

I'll probably take you up on that. That kinda thing really ain't my strong suit.
For now, though, I think I'd actually like yer help more down 'ere.

[She looks up at the ceiling a bit, looking at all the cracked stone and the exposed wires the poachers used for power...]

This place ain't the safest. I keep thinkin' about findin' ways to make it more liveable - not just for me, but for whoever.
Even a rundown place like this could end up useful for people who need it.

But I'd need help rewirin' things, gettin' things covered up an' out of the way...
I dunno how to do any of that, I just know it hurts to step on a wire that's got a hole in it.

[alchemistake]

I could probably give it a look! Though, ah...fair warning...still getting used to the more modern power system around here.

[Things like wires and electricity...it's all really new, you know? But Varian's already made huge strides in figuring it out. He wouldn't be able to call himself much of an engineer if he couldn't figure it out.]

Though uh...you're positive everything the Poachers had got cleaned up from down here, right? The last thing we need is me accidentally busting a pipe that has more awful shapeshifting gas inside.