All I know is any time I've been stuck it's the only thing that gets me out of it. And hot peppers, they helps loads as well! But it's up to you, kid. Did you say you invented the forklift? That's actually amazing! You should come up with more stuff like that. You know, more updated and everything.
[given the way Varrick has started pacing, it looks like ideas are starting to sprout up.]
This is the problem with being stuck like this! I can't get inspired by the same surroundings all the time!
I wouldn't say I invented the forklift. The Fire Nation had some pretty high tech military equipment and compared to that my forklift wasn't all that hot. I'm sure there were others with similar ideas. The hot pepper thing sounds plausible, though.
[ He watches Varrick pace. Seems a lot safer than the telephone pole idea. ]
What kind of scenery would help? There's this neat shopping area called Little Ba Sing Se that you've... probably heard of since you're familiar with this place. I guess my point is that even though the barrier's keeping us trapped here, this place is so full of culture that you shouldn't have too much trouble finding an inspirational backdrop for ideas.
Little word of advice, kid. You want to seriously make it in the world, don't undersell yourself. You had a hand at developing a technology people are still using today! That's great! Fantastic, even! I wouldn't shut up about it, if I were you.
[everyone is aware of your ego, Varrick, calm down. The pacing may be safer than hanging upside down, but it's less fun really. Varrick's in one of those moods today where he's vibrating with energy and no outlet for it, and alas as the closest person within earshot you're going to get the brunt of it, Satoru.]
It's not the same, though, being stuck in one place, makes my skin crawl after a while. Don't you feel like that, kid? I was your age I took the first ship out first chance I could, there's too much to see and so little time to do it all in! I can't keep making money in just one city.
[There was a point back there somewhere, just give him time.]
[ Satoru smiles apologetically at Varrick. The guy has a point. And besides, no one wants to hear "Well it's not THAT great." It'd probably get annoying after a while.]
I did end up leaving the Fire Nation shortly after the war ended. It wasn't exactly because I was yearning for adventure, though. Still, it gave me a lot of time to think. It opened a door for me, too. My uncle found me in Ba Sing Se's lower ring a few months after I'd left home and offered me a job as an engineer.
[ For a moment, he debates telling Varrick that he enjoys his job as an engineer because it's fun and exciting, but he has a feeling that telling Varrick the money didn't matter seemed like... a very bad idea. ]
Maybe we could work together to build something to take down the barrier? Like something that sucks up spirits, at least temporarily? It seems a lot thinner than before with all those spirits leaving the barrier, and if the barrier goes away, you could make money in more than just Republic City.
[open your mind, Satoru. Being an engineer can be fun and exciting AND make you lots of money.
Still, he likes the way he's thinking. Varrick pauses from pacing to lean onto the phone pole again. ]
If we're gonna draw out Spirits we need to find a way to do it without possible them off. Make it worth their time to let go. Believe me, you don't want an angry spirit on your hands.
You do any engineering back in the Fire Nation or only after your uncle found you?
[ But his passion is engineering! Money can't buy that! ]
Mm, you're probably right. An angry spirit doesn't sound very appealing.
[ So basically their choices were waiting it out or pleading with them. The power's out of their hands. But Varrick's right. Even if it wouldn't make them angry, the spirits could still probably get hurt. Aang would never forgive him for that, and he might have trouble forgiving himself, too. ]
I've always been interested in engineering, but I never really had the opportunity to get my hands dirty until my uncle took me in. I'd always buy heaps and heaps of metal and other materials and just do small designs. At the refinery, I was able to help design conveyor belts and all sorts of machinery to help both benders and non-benders process all kinds of ore. It all just... really fascinates me. And seeing that non-benders were able to perform nearly as well as non-benders was inspiring.
As I figure, with the way technology's going these days, being a bender isn't the big deal it used to be.
[Not that he has anything against benders, but maybe there's a little smugness that he can do just as well.]
The skills you got, kid, you shouldn't have needed your uncle to bail you out. Even the small stuff can make you enough money to get started, believe me.
Boss Man Varrick, you're a pretty swell guy, you know that? You're a successful adult in the world and probably busier than most people can even imagine, but you still find the time to talk to people like me. I just hope I'm not bringing you down too much.
[ The last thing he wants is to stifle Varrick's creative mind. ]
...But... thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it and... it's nice to hear.
[Isn't it great that all these new people in town don't know about that pesky attempted kidnapping. Makes impressing people do much easier.]
Ask anyone, kid, I'm not big on compliments. I only say stuff if I know it's true.
[There's a bench near by and Varrick throws himself onto it with more twitching on long limbs. It seems unlikely he'll stay sitting down for long, he's got too much energy for that.]
It may shock you to know it, but I wasn't always the fabulously wealthy and successful individual you see before you today. And I didn't have anyone jumping in to give me a swanky job. You got the chops to get to the same place, kid, but you gotta be ruthless about it.
[ Satoru follows Varrick to the bench, looking rather surprised he chose to sit down. Just a bit ago he was dangling upside down off a telephone pole. Energy like that doesn't just go away. ]
Yeah.... That tends to be how it works, isn't it? My uncle has that kind of... ability. He's brilliant and good at finding "untapped opportunities" to take advantage of. But I don't think I have the same thing in me. As long as I have food to eat and a roof over my head and a place to work, I'm pretty content. Which, yeah, I know. It's a terrible mindset for business.
But... can I ask you something? I know it couldn't have been easy getting were you are now. You can't have a successful business without stomping out the competition sometimes. So what gave you the drive? To decide what you want, take your life by the reins and just go for it?
[varrick takes a moment to size Satoru up, seeming to be making up his mind over whether or not he wants to answer that honestly.]
Lemme tell you a story about that. I grew up at the South Pole. I don't know how much you know about the South, but when I was a kid it wasn't exactly rolling in money. The Northern Tribe claimed they would try to help rebuild the South after the war but they were never really all that interested in sharing their resources. My dad was a seal hunter, because that's all you could do if you were dirt broke in a frozen tundra. Had a canoe he bought before I was even born; and other than that we lived in an igloo with barely any clothes on out backs let alone food.
So one time this big kahuna rich guy from the North comes down, and he commissions my dad to get him all these seal pelts. Don't remember how many it was, but it was a big deal. I guess he was covering all the seats in his ship or something and our little town was just the first place he pulled into.
So my dad's got the pelts, goes down to this guy's ship to drop them off and get paid. This guy's steward just hands him some bag of cash, not fussed about it. My dad takes it home and the ridiculous pedant that he was he counted it all that night.
And would you believe it, the guy over paid him. Not by anything huge, not for a rich guy's standards. But for us, yeah it would have made a difference. The man was loaded, he wouldn't have ever noticed the mistake I'm sure, and he was leaving the port the next day.
Sometimes I even think he did it on purpose, he figured he was being charitable.
But my father marched down right away and have the extra money back. That money that might have been fuel for our fire or food or a damn new canoe that didn't have any holes in it. And do you know what happened then?
He died. Two months after that, of a fever because we couldn't pay for a healer to come to us.
[Varrick leans himself back into the bench again, arms crossed over his chest.]
I was never gonna end up like him. And that's a hell of a motivator, kid.
[ Varrick's story has apparently created a miracle: Satoru is silent. It really puts things into perspective. Satoru may not be a little kid anymore, but compared to Varrick? He is. Varrick's had it rough, and Satoru certainly can't blame him for the mindset he has, especially after that story. To go from probably barely scraping by to owning a successful corporation? It's not just impressive. It's amazing, something only one in a billion could pull off.
Still silent, Satoru takes a seat at the far end of the bench. The look on his face is obvious that he's trying to come up with a response that. But he can't. He's just some kid. The son of parents who worked for Fire Lord Ozai's government. He didn't want to be part of that so he ran away.
Varrick didn't run. Something terrible happened to him and he took the knowledge and experience from it and made this life for himself. It almost makes Satoru ashamed that he grew up with such an easy life, especially considering there was a war going on.
Eventually, he manages to bring his gaze toward Varrick. There's definitely a glint of new understanding in his eyes now. ]
I'm sorry.
[ Satoru shakes his head and glances away again. ]
I get it now. I do.
[ Frowning fiercely, he tightly balls his hands into his fists on top of his knees. ]
[ Satoru buckles slightly under the slap on his back. ]
In the face of adversity, it looks like you took the bullpig by the horns, so... I hope someday I can be a little more like you. You're brave and you're strong and... it's really admirable.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Well... if you think there's a chance it'll work...?
[ In other words... seems dangerous.... ]
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[given the way Varrick has started pacing, it looks like ideas are starting to sprout up.]
This is the problem with being stuck like this! I can't get inspired by the same surroundings all the time!
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[ He watches Varrick pace. Seems a lot safer than the telephone pole idea. ]
What kind of scenery would help? There's this neat shopping area called Little Ba Sing Se that you've... probably heard of since you're familiar with this place. I guess my point is that even though the barrier's keeping us trapped here, this place is so full of culture that you shouldn't have too much trouble finding an inspirational backdrop for ideas.
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[everyone is aware of your ego, Varrick, calm down. The pacing may be safer than hanging upside down, but it's less fun really. Varrick's in one of those moods today where he's vibrating with energy and no outlet for it, and alas as the closest person within earshot you're going to get the brunt of it, Satoru.]
It's not the same, though, being stuck in one place, makes my skin crawl after a while. Don't you feel like that, kid? I was your age I took the first ship out first chance I could, there's too much to see and so little time to do it all in! I can't keep making money in just one city.
[There was a point back there somewhere, just give him time.]
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[ Satoru smiles apologetically at Varrick. The guy has a point. And besides, no one wants to hear "Well it's not THAT great." It'd probably get annoying after a while.]
I did end up leaving the Fire Nation shortly after the war ended. It wasn't exactly because I was yearning for adventure, though. Still, it gave me a lot of time to think. It opened a door for me, too. My uncle found me in Ba Sing Se's lower ring a few months after I'd left home and offered me a job as an engineer.
[ For a moment, he debates telling Varrick that he enjoys his job as an engineer because it's fun and exciting, but he has a feeling that telling Varrick the money didn't matter seemed like... a very bad idea. ]
Maybe we could work together to build something to take down the barrier? Like something that sucks up spirits, at least temporarily? It seems a lot thinner than before with all those spirits leaving the barrier, and if the barrier goes away, you could make money in more than just Republic City.
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Still, he likes the way he's thinking. Varrick pauses from pacing to lean onto the phone pole again. ]
If we're gonna draw out Spirits we need to find a way to do it without possible them off. Make it worth their time to let go. Believe me, you don't want an angry spirit on your hands.
You do any engineering back in the Fire Nation or only after your uncle found you?
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Mm, you're probably right. An angry spirit doesn't sound very appealing.
[ So basically their choices were waiting it out or pleading with them. The power's out of their hands. But Varrick's right. Even if it wouldn't make them angry, the spirits could still probably get hurt. Aang would never forgive him for that, and he might have trouble forgiving himself, too. ]
I've always been interested in engineering, but I never really had the opportunity to get my hands dirty until my uncle took me in. I'd always buy heaps and heaps of metal and other materials and just do small designs. At the refinery, I was able to help design conveyor belts and all sorts of machinery to help both benders and non-benders process all kinds of ore. It all just... really fascinates me. And seeing that non-benders were able to perform nearly as well as non-benders was inspiring.
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[Not that he has anything against benders, but maybe there's a little smugness that he can do just as well.]
The skills you got, kid, you shouldn't have needed your uncle to bail you out. Even the small stuff can make you enough money to get started, believe me.
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[ The last thing he wants is to stifle Varrick's creative mind. ]
...But... thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it and... it's nice to hear.
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Ask anyone, kid, I'm not big on compliments. I only say stuff if I know it's true.
[There's a bench near by and Varrick throws himself onto it with more twitching on long limbs. It seems unlikely he'll stay sitting down for long, he's got too much energy for that.]
It may shock you to know it, but I wasn't always the fabulously wealthy and successful individual you see before you today. And I didn't have anyone jumping in to give me a swanky job. You got the chops to get to the same place, kid, but you gotta be ruthless about it.
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Yeah.... That tends to be how it works, isn't it? My uncle has that kind of... ability. He's brilliant and good at finding "untapped opportunities" to take advantage of. But I don't think I have the same thing in me. As long as I have food to eat and a roof over my head and a place to work, I'm pretty content. Which, yeah, I know. It's a terrible mindset for business.
But... can I ask you something? I know it couldn't have been easy getting were you are now. You can't have a successful business without stomping out the competition sometimes. So what gave you the drive? To decide what you want, take your life by the reins and just go for it?
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Lemme tell you a story about that. I grew up at the South Pole. I don't know how much you know about the South, but when I was a kid it wasn't exactly rolling in money. The Northern Tribe claimed they would try to help rebuild the South after the war but they were never really all that interested in sharing their resources. My dad was a seal hunter, because that's all you could do if you were dirt broke in a frozen tundra. Had a canoe he bought before I was even born; and other than that we lived in an igloo with barely any clothes on out backs let alone food.
So one time this big kahuna rich guy from the North comes down, and he commissions my dad to get him all these seal pelts. Don't remember how many it was, but it was a big deal. I guess he was covering all the seats in his ship or something and our little town was just the first place he pulled into.
So my dad's got the pelts, goes down to this guy's ship to drop them off and get paid. This guy's steward just hands him some bag of cash, not fussed about it. My dad takes it home and the ridiculous pedant that he was he counted it all that night.
And would you believe it, the guy over paid him. Not by anything huge, not for a rich guy's standards. But for us, yeah it would have made a difference. The man was loaded, he wouldn't have ever noticed the mistake I'm sure, and he was leaving the port the next day.
Sometimes I even think he did it on purpose, he figured he was being charitable.
But my father marched down right away and have the extra money back. That money that might have been fuel for our fire or food or a damn new canoe that didn't have any holes in it. And do you know what happened then?
He died. Two months after that, of a fever because we couldn't pay for a healer to come to us.
[Varrick leans himself back into the bench again, arms crossed over his chest.]
I was never gonna end up like him. And that's a hell of a motivator, kid.
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Still silent, Satoru takes a seat at the far end of the bench. The look on his face is obvious that he's trying to come up with a response that. But he can't. He's just some kid. The son of parents who worked for Fire Lord Ozai's government. He didn't want to be part of that so he ran away.
Varrick didn't run. Something terrible happened to him and he took the knowledge and experience from it and made this life for himself. It almost makes Satoru ashamed that he grew up with such an easy life, especially considering there was a war going on.
Eventually, he manages to bring his gaze toward Varrick. There's definitely a glint of new understanding in his eyes now. ]
I'm sorry.
[ Satoru shakes his head and glances away again. ]
I get it now. I do.
[ Frowning fiercely, he tightly balls his hands into his fists on top of his knees. ]
I do.
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[Varrick gives him a hearty slap on his back, trying to lighten the mood.]
What doesn't kill us and all that. And things are great for me, now! I got everything I could ever want.
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[ Satoru buckles slightly under the slap on his back. ]
In the face of adversity, it looks like you took the bullpig by the horns, so... I hope someday I can be a little more like you. You're brave and you're strong and... it's really admirable.
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[ Thaaat might be a good part of the reason his uncle has 0 respect for him. ]
Thanks. I'll try not to apologize so much.