asgardeventide | ☾001☽ video/action

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[Yuri is seated in the kitchen of Odin House. He's made himself some tea. This particular kind of tea is not ideal, and the same can be said of the honey, which is of rather low quality, but it will have to do for now. He takes a thoughtful sip, then returns the teacup to its saucer.

He operates his bracelet with ease, beginning a video feed; he's used to similar technology, and he experimented with the device until he became proficient in its use. When he speaks, his expression is grave, his voice calm. He has himself under control now, and there's no outward sign of the anger he feels.]

My name is Yuri Petrov. I'd like to make a public statement of my dissent, though I doubt whether our captors will listen or respond.

No matter the stated aims of those who have brought us here--and those are dubious, at best--it is never acceptable to abduct people from their homes and hold them against their will without cause. It is an inhumane and insupportable act. Children have been taken from their families, and parents from their children, I'm sure. Others have been prevented from carrying out their duties, great and small. No matter the details of our lives, those lives have been disrupted. Many of us are rightfully distressed, though I have no authority to speak on behalf of others now, but speak only as myself.

In accordance with the ideals of civil disobedience, I refuse to willingly participate in this endeavor. I can never agree or cooperate with those who would subvert justice in this reprehensible fashion. However, I will do whatever I can to aid others in the same situation, and to those who feel as I do, you may consider me your ally.

[Well, he's said his piece. With that, he takes another sip of his tea.]

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Actually, a cup of tea at the moment does sound nice. But it's what comes after the tea that matters most, isn't it?

The usual...abilities don't seem to apply in this place, nor the usual parameters. So you're suggesting a period of study followed by a period of application?

And not just the tea--no matter how nice it might be.

You'd be welcome to a cup. Though this tea isn't of a particularly high quality, I'm afraid.

That was my intention. It does no good to rush into these things blindly, especially considering how unusual this city is. [He's a severe man, but he can be very patient.]

How unusual--you mean the gods, the sudden influx of refugees, the inexplicable kidnapping, or the strange dull despair that hangs over everything we do?

[ actually, when you put it that way, it's exactly like home. ]

...As bad as it is, at least it's probably soothing. The tea, I mean. Where did you find it?

Don't tell me someone made you welcome-to-your-kidnapping tea. That's hardly fair.

All those things strike me as unusual, yes. [It's not much like his home at all--except for the despair, at times, but that's a personal matter rather than a worldwide condition.]

It's far better than the alternative, which would be no tea at all.

[He smiles briefly.] Hardly. But the kitchens here come stocked with some simple foods, and some rather low grade tea was included, at least here in Odin House.

Edited 2011-12-16 01:04 (UTC)

[ oh, kirkwall had plenty of despair. it was just...the bloodier sort. all that red color, not to mention all the fire and the shades and the shadows and the violent templars...

but that's not here, it's there. ]

So you're not just enterprising when it comes to the situation at hand, but also beverages?

At least you're thorough. [ sometimes he gets too caught up in everything to remember the eating part of the equation--and the drinking part that goes with it. ] ...Very impressive.

[Yuri's despair is internal and private. He's brought it with him, but he'll do his best to keep it at bay. He's used to managing.]

I suppose I am. I do what I must. [His tone grows faintly wry.] I will leave no cabinet unopened.

Where do you reside? Your house might have some hidden away as well.

[ ...remarkable how much they have in common. not that they'll ever know, but still--it's there. that has to mean something, even if it is something very small. ]

Heimdall--that's the place. You wouldn't happen to be there too, would you?

...And I can't believe I haven't thought to raid all the cupboards yet. Discussing the gods and their plans and the kidnapping and the danger is one thing, but what about the biscuits?

[Though they might never realize it, such similarities could possibly create a kind of affinity.]

No, I'm in Odin, myself.

I did note some biscuits in our cupboards, as well. [Though locating the tea and honey had been his primary concern. He had his priorities.] It seems you've discovered a new task for yourself.

[The slight wryness in his tone is apparent.] Even the victims of kidnappings must take the time to nourish themselves, if they can. I find that it sharpens the wits.

That's one way to cause trouble, isn't it? Give the people in one house tea and biscuits, then let people in the other houses know about it...

[ he's only mostly joking--although it's remarkable how many wars have been started on similar concepts. ]

Then again, in the devoted search for biscuits, we might all be otherwise distracted from more sinister dealings. It's all a very clever plot.

...And to think it began only with a simple cup of tea.

Fortunately, I'm more than willing to share the tea, if necessary, and I have relatively little interest in the biscuits, so the grave crisis will be averted.

[He plays along, deadpan.]

I promise you, I won't allow my appreciation for this beverage to keep me from my purpose or blind me to the greater good.

We've already foiled their plot, and it's hardly begun.

[ it's official: the people here are so much more fun. it's the little things you come to miss with all the shouting and the betrayal and the poverty. like jokes.

like biscuits.

like biscuits that aren't stale. ]

No interest in the biscuits? Perhaps you need to see a healer. That sounds like a grave condition--possibly incurable, but still, it's important to try.

...Although it's always likely you just haven't met the right biscuit yet.

[This is about as jovial as Yuri gets. Agreeing with him and suggesting an interest in a more extreme course of action earns his favor. Though he wouldn't publicly admit to preferring more drastic action, privately, he approves.]

I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm adverse, but they aren't a priority, so I'll willingly give them up for the cause of peace.

If it is a condition, and that is the cure, I'm not sure whether the biscuits we're provided will be of any help. Regardless, I'll survive.

[ it's unusual to catch him in such a mood. one in which smiles actually come naturally, in which jokes follow those smiles.

but there are people here--people willing to take a stand, to act on the injustices they see, and to make justice for themselves. not necessarily rashly--but anders never advocated that. he tried, and he tried, and when all that trying got him nowhere, then...

...then, justice. for all the injustice there was. ]

You'll survive, yes. But will it be pleasant? How can it be, without something to have with you're tea?

...You must think I'm obsessed. [ and he is, but not with biscuits. ] It's only that all the biscuits back home were stale. You've no idea what that does to a person. It changes him--not always for the better.

[They're both in a rare mood. Yuri is much more widely known for being stern than making jokes. But then, people don't often try joking with him.

To Yuri, justice is one of the things in life that matters most. When meting out justice, he can be harsh, but he is always patient and careful. He might also be said to be obsessed.]

Your eloquent enthusiasm is inspiring me to reconsider my position.

Man should not live on stale biscuits alone, or so I've heard. If there turn out to be no biscuits in Heimdall, you're welcome to come to Odin, and I will give you what biscuits I have. I can't in good conscience allow such a state of affairs to continue.

[ it's not just the interest in tea and fine biscuit banter they have in common, then. it's something more. the little vein of struggle that runs deeper, past obsession, through understanding, mixed somewhere between restraint and anger--and action.

after that, it changes. it changes a man, too. but that's what justice is. righteous, hard--sometimes not all that different from vengeance...

and you don't just stumble half-heartedly into a life like that one, now do you? it has to be everything, or it's nothing at all. ]

Such generosity--it seems we're foiling their plans just by getting along so well. [ that...doesn't usually happen to him, either. bothering with jokes; finding them amusing. that sort of thing. it's even rarer than a good biscuit in darktown. ] I'm not sure what I could bring to the table--a better cup of tea, perhaps?

And all my knowledge of biscuits, of course.

[Yuri is committed to his justice. He's sacrificed a great deal for it, and he won't turn back now, no matter the personal cost--and that has already been steep.

He was irrevocably changed. It's unthinkable now, unimaginable, the person he might have become if things had gone differently. But what he does is necessary, right. Justice may be pitiless, but it has a relentless, stark kind of beauty. It burns all darkness before it.

But he keeps that a secret, for the most part. It's rare that he can relax, but he does have his moments.]

If we can foil their plans with tea, all the better. A better cup would be most welcome. In fact, I can think of few things more welcome, short of these "gods" correcting their error.

Clearly, your knowledge would be invaluable. You are a biscuit expert, after all. Perhaps you can help me with my impairment.

[ if only they knew. if only people met other people at their rawest, at those moments not of vulnerability but of truth. they might know how much they have in common.

beyond a shared interest in the topic of biscuits, which obviously they know already.

but this is how people learn one another: tentative, teasing, on the surface. and it isn't always a waste of time, though time itself is as pitiless as justice. always moving forward; always unstoppable. ]

This is handy. I was almost at a loss of where and how to begin. It can all seem so overwhelming when you're kidnapped by gods and separated from your work and stripped of your usual...abilities.

But now I know that starting small is almost like starting big. I'll check the cupboards of Heimdall at once for a cup of tea.

If I find one, I shall have to tell you about it.

[It would likely be of interest to both of them to know the truth, as elusive as that truth might be, but it can be rare and difficult to find another's truth.]

I'm glad I could be of assistance. It seems I'm already aiding others of like mind. I had no idea my determination to do so would bear fruit so soon.

[Yuri always keeps himself apart, hidden beneath manners and moderation. At home, no one knows the full truth of what he is. Having kept that secret since he was little more than a child, it will take a great deal for him to reveal himself.

He is inwardly furious at having had his power taken, not for his own sake, but for the sake of the evil he cannot now wipe out so easily. It feels like part of him has been removed, but he will never act on that particular anger. He will find another way to do what he must, regardless. His work.]

We do find ourselves at a great disadvantage here, but calm will serve us best, for a beginning.

Big things often have small starts. A cup of tea might precede something far greater. Sometimes it's best to focus on the manageable and tangible and work one's way up from there. A way of acclimating oneself. [The tea had helped him to deal with the initial shock, something familiar to focus on. Routine steadies him.]

Good luck. I look forward to learning of the results of your investigation.

That’s the thing about determination, isn’t it? You never realize how determined other people can be before you start to learn it for yourself.

[ not that he has any personal experience with that particular chain of events or anything. not that it might oh-so-easily describe the course of his entire life thus far, or character arc, as varric would probably call it. ]

Sometimes all they need is a little impetus. Someone’s voice to rise above the others.

…Someone to cry biscuit in a land without biscuits.

[ the joke comes easily, from a place before all this and a time before, when those jokes were all he had to stand as shield between himself and other, harsher blows. of course, there were always arcane shields, magic defenses rather than beaten metal armor, but he doesn’t have those here.

to say it unsettles him would be a vast understatement. he knows what’s missing every second. the balance is off, the uncertainty almost nightmarish, and the frustration of it all just as sharp as the anger, just as sharp as the fear. it’s a part of who he is, no longer the what of the matter.

and the one thing he found himself dreading, more than any other failure, was the loss of all that. defining himself without it is so much harder now.

so. jokes it is. ]

I’ll let you know when my…cause has reached fruition. If I find any really good biscuits, you’ll be the first to know about it. And I can be so determined when I want to be, or so people always say. [ sometimes they say it as though it’s a bad thing. ]

I can only wish that everyone was so determined to right wrongs. [Determination is something he admires, even in those he doesn't necessarily agree with, as long as they are people with admirable ideals and not of the type of person he's likely to consider evil.]

I am honored to have met that someone. I'll back your voice with my own.

[He's not usually given to joking--and certainly not to outright jokes--but he's been forced into close contact with so many people that it's not as easy for him to keep himself apart, as he usually does. He shields himself with distance in public, with fire in his secret life, and the former has been lessened, the latter taken away entirely, at least for now. Until he's able to regain distance and flames, he must deal with this situation, which includes a great deal more non-work-related socializing than he's used to.]

I'll be searching for some exceptional tea, myself. If both our efforts bear fruit, we'll make a formidable team.

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☾001☽ video/action

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voice; augh i just have to tell you i LOVE your yuri ;; so much

Aww, thank you so much ♥ I'm really enjoying your Anders, too!

ahhh thank you! i seriously am loving this thread :D

I'm so glad! So am I

and tagging back at last, so sorry about the delay! curses, lj...

No worries! I think LJ and the holidays have slowed many of us down