diff --git a/src/chats/serenity.yaml b/src/chats/serenity.yaml
index 4116438..f2fed59 100644
--- a/src/chats/serenity.yaml
+++ b/src/chats/serenity.yaml
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@
 
 
 - chat: Icarus
-- if:
+- if: $talked_before
   then:
   - Oh hey, you're back!
   - Nice to see you again!
   - goto: back
 - Oh hey, you're awake!
-- set: talked_before
+- set: $talked_before
 - label: back
 - I found you drifting out cold, and thought, I better watch over you.
 - Took us here behind that moonlet, to shield you from the micros.
diff --git a/src/var.rs b/src/var.rs
index 7c22713..2913b5d 100644
--- a/src/var.rs
+++ b/src/var.rs
@@ -237,13 +237,30 @@ impl GameVars {
         self.db.insert(key.to_lowercase(), value);
     }
 
-    #[allow(dead_code)]
-    pub fn set_in_scope(&mut self, scope: &str, key: &str, value: String) {
-        let key: String = if key.contains(SCOPE_SEPARATOR) {
-            key.to_string()
+    pub fn set_in_scope(&mut self, fallback_scope: &str, key: &str, value: String) {
+        let parts: Vec<&str> = key.split(SCOPE_SEPARATOR).collect();
+        let key: String = if parts.len() == 1 {
+            // we got a key like "foo", turn it into "<scope>$foo"
+            fallback_scope.to_string() + SCOPE_SEPARATOR + key
+        } else if parts.len() > 1 {
+            // we got a key with at least one "$"
+            // extract anything before the last "$":
+            let scope_part: String = parts[0..parts.len() - 2].join(SCOPE_SEPARATOR);
+
+            if scope_part.is_empty() {
+                // we got a key like "$foo", just prefix the fallback scope
+                fallback_scope.to_string() + key
+            }
+            else {
+                // we got a key like "Ke$ha$foo" or "$$foo" (which is the convention for
+                // global variables), leave the scope intact
+                key.to_string()
+            }
         } else {
-            scope.to_string() + SCOPE_SEPARATOR + key
+            // we got an empty string. this is bad, but handle gracefully by prefixing scope
+            fallback_scope.to_string() + SCOPE_SEPARATOR
         };
+
         let key = key.to_lowercase();
         self.db.insert(key, value);
     }