Audio Broadcast | April 23rd

[lonelysmiles]

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for tuning in once again to 66.6 AM! This is Alastor, your resident Radio Demon!

Another quiet week in our dreamy little town though these big ears of mine have been catching a lot of sniffling and sneezing. It seems all of the flowers around here are starting to give quite a few people nasty cases of hayfever!

If you're tuning in and suffering from such a malady, today is your lucky day! My guest for this afternoon is none other than one Princess Zelda who has some potential good news on that front!

While she gets settled in, here's "Fever" by Peggy Lee!

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INTERVIEW: Princess Zelda

[lonelysmiles]

Thank you for joining me, princess. Why don't we start off by having you introduce yourself and tell our audience a little bit about what you do around Reverein?

[multidisciplinary]

[ Even though Zelda understands (more or less) how this whole 'radio broadcast' thing works, it's still a bit strange. As a princess, she's used to speaking to crowds, but usually the crowd is right in front of her. Fortunately, it's easy to fall back on proper manners when in an unfamiliar situation. ]

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to use your radio to spread my message, Alastor. My name is Zelda and I am princess of the kingdom of Hyrule. Like many of us here in Reverein. I am also a student of the natural and technological sciences and I work to the good of dreamwalkers and fae alike.

[lonelysmiles]

[Alastor had learned from his previous interview, so his microphone in a shorter version of itself sits on the table between them. It's more or less just a prop at this point, but if it helps her focus, he'll do what he can.]

Speaking of that goal, you've been working on something quite specific recently as I mentioned to our listeners earlier: some sort of treatment for allergies to combat all the pollen. What sort of treatments have you been working with and how successful have they been so far?

[multidisciplinary]

[ The physical microphone indeed helps, thank you. Zelda has already mentally noted to herself that she wants to get a closer look at it after the interview. Her eyes are always drawn to an unfamiliar piece of technology. ]

Indeed I have. With the recent dreamshift, Reverein is currently enjoying spring on a scale likely magnified from what would naturally occur here during the season. I could not help but notice that many of our number are afflicted with hayfever, especially at the flower festival. While hayfever is not known to be dangerous or even fatal, it takes a miserable toll on all who suffer it. So I felt compelled to utilize my knowledge of medicinal herbs to develop several treatment options for those experiencing the illness.

There are four medicines in total. Two are a liquid concentrate which, when added to a steam bath, will vaporize, allowing the patient to simply breathe in the medicine. For those who cannot tolerate a gaseous curative or simply do not prefer it, there are also two liquid medicines, which should be consumed orally at the appropriate dosage.

I will admit that the trial phase for these medicines has been [ A momentary pause. ] short, but patients are expected to experience moderate to significant relief from most hayfever symptoms.

[lonelysmiles]

I'm sure there are many in our audience who are relieved to hear such a thing, but I have to ask why there are two of each type of medicine? You said two are for dissolving in the bath and two are for taking orally. If I wanted to take the liquid medicines, would I need to take a dose of each or just one or the other?

[multidisciplinary]

You should use only one type of medicine for your treatment. I have developed four different medicines in order to offer a variety of treatments based on the needs of the community. One blend of medicine is of lower potency and is designed for patients who are suffering from mild symptoms of hayfever. The other blend is much stronger and should be used only if your symptoms are severe or are not alleviated by the first medicine. Using two different medicines together at the same time can be very dangerous; when medicines are mixed, their ingredients may interact in unintended ways and lead to severe illness.

[lonelysmiles]

Good to keep in mind!

Anything else our listeners should take under consideration? Side effects, potential interactions with other substances...?

[multidisciplinary]

As these medicines have only just been developed, they may adversely interact with other substances in ways not observed during testing. It is best to err on the side of caution and abstain from consumption of alcohol, caffeine, and any recreational drug use.

As far as side effects, well... [ There's a pause as she considers the most diplomatic way to describe them. ] Being that these medicines, as well as our own bodies, are comprised chiefly of dream energy, the side effects are more, ah, unique compared to what patients may have experienced before. Subjects occasionally experienced element-based reactions, such as bloating that caused the body to float, headaches accompanied by miniature stormclouds, and fever that singed their clothing.

[lonelysmiles]

[It's a credit to Alastor's professionalism that he doesn't snicker at the suffering of previous patients.]

"Unique" certainly seems to be the right word for that!

Anything else that you'd like to add?

[multidisciplinary]

[ Zelda was bracing herself for a snide comment or a joke at the expense of her (lack of) skills, so she's visibly thrown off when all he has for her is 'unique.' Is this really the same Alastor that calls her a narcissist just because she's the key to her kingdom's salvation?

Fortunately, she isn't thrown off for more than a moment. ]

Yes. Please come by the Reverein Communal Clinic if you are in need of treatment. I have developed this medicine, but Doctors Mikotoba and Mathis will be able to provide additional care, should you need it. If you experience any side-effects, please kindly share them with myself or the doctors. I hope to improve these medicines for the future.

END OF INTERVIEW

[lonelysmiles]

[He calls you a narcissist because you claim to be the key to your kingdom's salvation, dear.]

Well, thank you very much for joining us, Princess Zelda! Hopefully at least a few listeners will be able to find some relief.

And thank you all, dear listeners, for joining me this week! I'll be back next week for another broadcast though hopefully not my final one! And, as always, remember: Smile! You're never fully dressed without one!

[And with that, the eye on the microphone goes dark, the broadcast over.]

[multidisciplinary]

[ Look, she's 100% right about that. Except that she's one of two keys to her kingdom's salvation. Which is still big deal when you're the only key that doesn't work right!

Zelda, who has been sitting straight as a rod throughout the entire interview (even though she knows the audience can't see her), relaxes visibly as the broadcast comes to an end. She exhales pent up breath in a relieved sigh. It's been months since the princess was in a situation where she needed to exhibit the poise and posture expected of her station. Was it always so exhausting to do that? ]

Thank you again for allowing me this opportunity.

[lonelysmiles]

[Did anyone even try to find an alternative? Because you might have been the key for one possible solution, not the key to the only solution.]

[Alastor had been sitting in a position that was more or less "relaxed attention". He'd learned back when he was alive that talking on the radio for eight hours would've killed his back if he'd tried to sit perfectly straight for the entire session. It wasn't a slouch which would equally kill his back, but his muscles weren't tense.]

Oh absolutely! Gets the message out much faster and answers so many repetitive questions much quicker than having to write responses for each person!

[Alastor hums as he dismisses his microphone with a wave of his hand.]

And it's always good to dust off the old interview skills! Why, before Reverein, I hadn't had the chance to interview a guest in almost ninety years! The format I use in Hell usually ends up with my guest screaming in agony!

[multidisciplinary]

[ Aww, Zelda wanted to take a closer look at the microphone. Technology that can share sound across vast distances seems fascinating. ]

I would imagine it to be difficult to find guests willing to endure such a format, regardless of how useful radio transmissions are.

[ And she's not going to ask for details about what Alastor's Hell interviews entailed. She's pretty sure she doesn't want to know. Instead, she'll pivot. ]

You hosted radio interviews before your death? What was that like?

[lonelysmiles]

[You can always ask, Zelda. You realize that, right?]

It does take a bit of practice to get used to. Why, one of my guests back in the day got horrific stage fright before bolting out of the sound booth to be sick in the restroom while I stalled for time!

[He gives a little chuckle at the memory.]

As for what they were like in general, not too much different than our little sit-down. Though the microphone wasn't literally a part of me back then! Ha!

[His eyes lose their focus as he allows the memories to take over his thoughts.]

It was a bit more involved back then. I'd be reading the news, conducting interviews, playing music, commenting on current events, and reading off ads for eight hours straight five days a week. There was an entire staff dedicated to writing up the news reports to make sure I broadcast out the most up-to-date information. They'd slip in and out of the booth to hand me the updates to pass along to our listeners. Robby was my sound engineer who kept the equipment running while I kept the listeners engaged. Everyone heard me talking but there was typically at least ten people working off-microphone to keep the show going.

[He chuckles.]

I originally started out as the "gofer" for Robby's predecessor.