Early Life
Remi's earliest years were spent with her mother, Ryln. Her mother often struggled with her mental health, but always made time for Remi. Some of her fondest memories were of Ryln's worst days; she would curl up with her mother under the covers of her bed, a game console in one hand and her head resting on her stomach. No matter how many questions Remi had, Ryln always had an answer and rarely ever grew impatient with her. She was the ultimate advocate for her child, willing to put aside her own struggles to give Remi the best life possible.
The day Ryln took her own life, she first dropped Remi off at her sister Riza's home to avoid any undue trauma. It wasn't until no one had heard from her for over 24 hours that the police were involved. They stopped by for a check-up and found her deceased by an overdose of medication. Remi was inconsolable when she learned she'd never get to see her mother again. Just the day before, on her fifth birthday, Ryln had taken Remi to the zoo, made her favorite food, and gave her a locket with a picture of the two of them inside of it. Remi cherishes it more than almost anything else.
A few days at Remi's aunt Riza's turns into months and then, later, when custody is obtained, years. She's a single woman, more focused on her budding career in childcare to have want of a partner. Remi's addition is difficult, but therapy helps smooth out the ragged edges of her grief until it's something she's capable of moving on from. It helps that Riza and Ryln lived near one another, so the relationship between Remi and Riza was already strong, trusting. They make a habit of pizza day once a week, where they turn on one of Remi's favorite shows, and talk about the characters.
Riza becomes a staple in Remi's life, leaving an imprint even larger than Ryln's. They go to festivals together, particularly medieval ones (and pride!). Riza buys Remi fancy dresses with a bodice and a corset. They beam as they walk around, and one of the pictures taken that day when Remi is twelve ends up inside her mother's locket, opposite the one of Remi and her mother cuddling. Riza buys a new, sturdy chain for the locket and Remi wears it under her clothes, over her heart. Other than stimming with it, the only time she takes it off is to clean it. She's even taken to sleeping with it, her hand wrapped around it as she curls onto her side.
The cancer diagnosis sets into motion a series of events that end with Remi acting out and, eventually, back in therapy. Riza is given six months, but lives for three years instead. They make the most of their time when Riza ends up on disability. She's unable to work and supplements her paydays with her savings. It drains quickly, but not so much that there isn't any left by the time she passes. It goes into a trust for Remi to access when she's eighteen. They spend all of their free time together, Remi eventually becoming something of a caretaker for Riza when she becomes too sickly to take care of herself. It's only when she ends up in hospice that Remi's grandpa is contacted. It's the first he's heard of the situation and, despite his pension not providing him what he needs to fly down, arrangements are made for him to pick up Remi from a train station the day after Riza's funeral.
Current Day
Remi is sixteen the day she arrives in Poteet, Texas. Her Grandpa Ronn has to pick her up an hour and a half away from the small rural town. She's sullen as she slips into his vehicle, and silent the entire trip back to his ranch house. Ronn tries to start a conversation several times, and when she refuses to indulge him, he takes to talking at her instead of to her. Remi is quick to discover how different their perspectives are. She frets over how she's going to continue getting her estrogen shots, but it's quickly resolved when her Grandpa tells her that she comes with a monthly stipend, and he's going to spend it entirely on her needs — all of them.
The hardest part, aside from living with someone in the middle of nowhere, is the unreliable, shitty internet. She has dozens of online friends she needs to check in with, but the abrupt disconnects during Pesterchum conversations sees her seething. Even worse are the twenty-minute or longer gaps where she has to wait for it to come back. It makes conversation irritating at best, and fury-inducing at worst. Remi has to cancel the D&D campaign she'd been running with her friends for the last year because of it, and she sulks for months afterward, much to her grandpa's scoffing befuddlement.
The day she's invited to play Sburb with friends, she initially turns it down. Not because she doesn't want to play, but because she's not sure if it's possible with her internet connection. Remi is reluctant to get her hopes up, only to end up burned yet again. She has to be convinced to play, but it's not difficult to appeal to her eternal boredom in Texas, her mind constantly craving stimulation. She hops onto Pesterchum to chat about it with her friends and immediately curses all the gods she doesn't believe in when the connection drops ten minutes later.
