002 🔥 VIDEO

[insinerate]

[The sun has nearly set, but from in between pearly white panels of lace curtains, the last of its molten glow is still visible, the horizon on fire—a befitting backdrop for one Yuri Petrov. Known to some, still a stranger to others, and so very weary despite the freshness of his fine-featured middle-aged face, he affords his audience a subdued smile, one that, were it not for his mismatched dress-outs, might give the impression that he is fresh from a spa visit and not a month spent in a power-dampened prison cell.]

I'll keep this brief.

[Or as brief as anyone as incessantly long-winded as him could ever hope to.]

My name, for those of you who do not know, is Yuri Petrov. Once, not all that long ago, I also called myself Lunatic and, in April of this year, I attempted and failed to take the life of Ken Kaneki. Shortly after confessing to this offense I was tried, found guilty, and incarcerated. However, the imprisonment of imPorts is unfortunately short-lived in this world, and as of today...I have been released.

I thought you all should know; call it a courtesy, if you will, the only one I am fit to offer you at present.

[Better it should come from him, in other words, lest people think that he's attempting to hide again, and that won't do at all. Not if he's hoping to appear, or actually intending to attempt being committed to change.]

It should please you all to know that my freedom is not without its limitations. I've been denied access to my abilities for the time being, a strict curfew has been implemented for me to follow, and as many of you who've been in my position know, I must also answer to an imPort probation officer. Jonathan Joestar will, I'm sure, happily receive your comments and concerns if you should have any.

[As the last of the sun's light behind him begins to fade and Yuri turns his head to gaze out the window, he concludes his broadcast with one final somber thought...]

I'm sure there are many of you with opinions you're eager to voice. Let's hear them, then.

Comments

video;

[brushoff]

Ohhhhh I'm going to have to take you shopping.

[ #priorities ]

video;

[insinerate]

[...that's insulting.]

These aren't mine, Dorian.

video;

[brushoff]

You are wearing two different thickness of stripes, [ said in a tone that's absolutely horrified. ]

video;

[insinerate]

I'm aware.

[Said flatly.]

I was told by someone [Read: Will Graham] that inmate blues didn't look terrible enough on me. That it wasn't justice.

I think this was the prison's way of rectifying that.

video;

[brushoff]

Whoever told you that was right, [ said with the critical frown of someone going full tilt Tim Gunn on Yuri right now. ]

Frankly, I miss inmate orange. That color looks hideous on everybody.

[slightlyoffchilt]

And does your parole officer suggest you pursue psychological treatment?

[insinerate]

Dr Chilton.

[An acknowledging tilt of his head.]

That is something I would encourage you to ask Jonathan Joestar.

[slightlyoffchilt]

Well, I would be most interested in his investment concerning your mental health.

[insinerate]

Is my mental health something you personally would care to oversee?

Video; private

[liverletdie]

Mr. Petrov. Remember me?

I'd like to talk.

Video; private

[insinerate]

How could I forget?

[This isn't as private as Yuri would like given who's in the next room, but he can keep his voice low.]

I have some time.

Video; private

[liverletdie]

Yeah? Enough to meet officially? I'm afraid I got a touch busy, but...

I'd like to meet up, maybe coffee, before your curfew?

Video; private

[insinerate]

[Regretfully, Yuri shakes his head.]

Tonight won't work. But I'm sure I can find time tomorrow if you're available.

voice; private

[attainment]

"Unfortunately short-lived". Tell me, Mr. Petrov, do you believe your sentence should be longer?

[There was a time when Barnaby's demeanor toward Petrov would have been considered distantly polite. And while he certainly isn't brash or informal, there's a noticeably frigid tone in Barnaby's voice now.]

In any case, thank you for saving me the trouble of announcing your release.

voice; private

[insinerate]

You know that in cases like these I would prefer the punishment to fit the crime, but with the nanites to resurrect us at virtually every turn, it seems all I can honestly hope for is a sentence that isn't so lax. Even with regards to myself. Does that come as a surprise, Mr Brooks?

[It shouldn't, although being honest about it feels a lot like shooting himself in the foot, but Barnaby knows him too well to believe anything else.]

And you're welcome. Wouldn't want to cause you any more trouble than I already have, now would I?

voice; private

[attainment]

Not exactly. At the same time, you carry yourself like an extension of justice itself, rather than someone who is subjected to it like everyone else, whenever you wear that mask.

In a world where nanites exist and are commonplace among imPorts, what type of sentence, exactly, do you hope for?

[After all, Petrov wasn't satisfied with life-long imprisonment back in Sternbild. Barnaby doubts that a few inconveniences in the form of advanced technology would change that.]

Rest assured, Mr. Petrov, any trouble you might cause now is merely a drop in the bucket compared to everything else you've already done.

[Months of dead-end investigations interspersed with more murders and the seemingly never-ending frustration that came with face-to-face encounters with Lunatic. That's not even touching on the war with his own feelings regarding Maverick's death...]

voice; private

[insinerate]

That mask...

[Something quiet, not quite a laugh and not quite a sigh, escapes Yuri.]

...that mask has been destroyed, Mr Brooks. Along with everything that belonged to it. The cloak, the costume, all of it is gone. But even when I wore that mask, I promised that one day my time would come. And so it has.

[He's quiet, and then...]

The sentence I had hoped for was the sort I doled out to criminals guilty of murder: death. But atonement with one's life isn't a price an imPort can pay in this world. And you ask me what I hope for knowing that?

I don't have an answer. This isn't justice.

video;

[mirrordarkly]

Curious. You seem more concerned with courtesy than remorse or forgiveness.

[noted idly. No judgement from the white-haired guy lounging on a beaten sofa.]

video;

[insinerate]

I choose not to insult the intelligence of those listening, that is all. The only remorse I feel is for the innocents who were harmed as a result of my actions, and as for forgiveness...

[Yuri shakes his head.]

I don't seek forgiveness for what I've done.

video;

[mirrordarkly]

Because you don't want it, or you believe it beyond you?

video;

[insinerate]

I have done nothing to earn forgiveness, thus, I do not deserve it.

[ Audio ]

[dualismum]

And now, what are you going to do, Mr. Petrov? [ fired and his hobby of killing people is a no. So what's left? ]

[ Audio ]

[insinerate]

[Not fired so much as struggling now to make ends meet. He owned the Haberdashery, after all. But business certainly wasn't the same now since he'd confessed and been incarcerated.]

Now?

[What a loaded question. He's expected to give a certain kind of answer, if not by Haise himself, then by the masses, expected not to behave, but to go back on his word and to return to his ideals...but he can't. And that's what makes this so hard. That's what makes giving any answer at all so difficult.]

Now, I find a new way to live, I suppose.

[ Audio ]

[dualismum]

And your... ideals?

[ Audio ]

[insinerate]

They haven't changed. But acting on them in the manner I did before...isn't something I plan to do any longer.