003 🔥 VIDEO

[insinerate]

[When the broadcast begins, the scene is an unfamiliar one for most imPorts. A small, tidy shop, complete with glass display cases and well-dressed mannequins standing alongside the walls—and not a customer in sight. Plenty of boxes, though. Some closed and taped, set aside upon the glass counter top or on the floor, and some open...one of which is presently being filled by Yuri, color-coordinated and packed spools of thread being neatly tucked away with no word as to why.

Not that the answer is difficult to extrapolate.]

For nearly two years I have lived in this world, but there is very little I have allowed myself to celebrate with the abandon I've witnessed in so many others. [If this fact upsets him, he gives no indication. Only the briefest of glances up from the task at hand, to address an audience not actually before him.] Most holidays were either wrought with disaster of my own creation, or spent alone. For so long solitude was preferred to the company of those I might someday be required to pass judgment upon. I could not risk becoming...attached.

[And it seems not much has changed.]

However, in a few days...

[Here, he pauses to examine a beautiful wooden box full of ornate watchbands, of which only two appear to be missing.]

Well, I'll be another year older on the twenty-fourth. This will mark my second birthday in this world, the first having been spent nursing an injury I sustained in Greenland Park, Heropa...but I've no desire to relive that experience. In fact, I was hoping to spend the day doing something I seldom seem to have time for: unwinding.

[The wooden box is packed away, its lid closed softly and without a sound. Leaning then upon the counter, Yuri gives those listening his undivided attention.]

So, I find myself curious. How is it you all prefer to spend the commemorative occasions in your lives? Perhaps one of you has a quiet suggestion that will appeal.

Comments

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[brushoff]

Dammit! [ Dorian huffs ] I'm going to have to buy you a gift. Why didn't you tell me earlier?

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[insinerate]

You don't need to do anything of the sort.

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[brushoff]

Of course I do. It's the proper thing to do, after all, and occasionally even I care about propriety.

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[insinerate]

News to me, Dorian.

voice;

[slightlyoffchilt]

How depressing. Your whole... Thing.

Depressing.

voice;

[insinerate]

I suppose I can see how it may seem that way to you.

voice;

[slightlyoffchilt]

Isolating yourself so as to avoid complicated feelings if confronted with the need to destroy your peers?

Glad you can see it from my perspective.

[douchebag]

Two years? You've been here that long?

[ Despite Felix sounding simply curious, he's actually relived. Maybe this means he won't be randomly transported back to his death and he really will be able to get a second chance at life. ]

You ought to go out somewhere nice. Have an expensive meal.

[insinerate]

More or less. A very small handful of months shy, and there was of course the period during which I was Ported out...but yes. In total, nearly two years.

[In other words, don't expect your stay to be without hiccups, Felix.]

An expensive meal sounds [expensive for a man closing up shop] like an idea worth exploring.

[douchebag]

[ So a person can leave and come back... Interesting. ]

It's even better if you can rope someone into going along with you. [ Since it sounds like maybe he's not enjoying the solitude so much. ] You don't look like an idiot talking to yourself and you've got someone you can con into paying.

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[oceanthief]

[Lapis is aware of birthdays in the same way that most people are aware of deep sea exploration - it's easy enough to understand what they are from the name, but they really don't gave any effect on daily life.

and so, while she does listen to Yuri talk, most of her attention is on watching him pack up the store. over time her head tilts to the side delicately, weighed down by the thoughts brewing in her mind that eventually surface as a very important question.]

Do I have to give back the hat?

[it seems more relevant than counting something as paltry as years, anyway.]

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[insinerate]

[And that earnest question earns Lapis a genuine smile.]

Of course not, Ms Lazuli. That was a gift.

[oceanthief]

Oh, good.

[in return he receives a genuine expression of relief, albeit unintentionally. she hasn't really worn the hat out anywhere, but it's so much nicer to look at sitting squarely in the middle of her otherwise empty desk than the skates had been.]

I wasn't sure if they were one big set or not.

[specialized equipment often had to be returned back to the distributors after the mission was completed or someone else required use of it, after all. it seems logical to assume the same here.]

voice;

[hisheartsdesire]

An early happy birthday, then! [There's a very genuine, very pleased smile in his voice.] We should meet up to celebrate.

[Look, he hasn't had a birthday in so long that he doesn't know when it is.]

And... do you need any help packing things away or moving things out?

voice;

[insinerate]

Thank you, Tobias.

[Awww, look at that. He actually sounds sincere when he speaks to Toby! Unlike when speaking to a certain other somebody.]

Assistance isn't required, but I wouldn't refuse it if you wanted to lend a hand. You're familiar with my shop's location, after all. And I'll be here for a while.

[A pause, and then...]

What sort of celebration did you have in mind?

[hisheartsdesire]

[Toby can tell! He's seen the conversation between Yuri and his husband.]

In that case, I'll be able to pop on by sometime after eight this evening. [Sundown in Nonah is some minutes after that in Maurtia Falls.]

Anyway, I was thinking we might be able to take a stroll through a museum or gallery. Or, if that doesn't suit your fancy, then we could go for a walk in one of the many parks, or on the beach. Something nice and simple, is all.

[Alternatively, he could try to get Yuri into playing video games with him...]

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[andtherevolution]

[Oh hey! It's that guy from Maurtia Falls. And now she has a name for him, too: Yuri Petrov. Huh, that sounds kind of Russ- oh. Uh. Wow, talk about someone stuck in an awkward situation. She shoves those thoughts aside and focuses on working her device, and in a minute Yuri will get a stunning closeup of Utena....'s eyeball. Hey, working the camera is hard, alright?]

No offense, but if anyone here needs to unwind, it's probably you. Anyway, I've got something-

[The camera shakes, giving Yuri a brief glimpse of a room with a messy bed and a pile of dirty clothes, before it shows Utena's hand holding a familiar umbrella]

This is yours, isn't it? I wanted to give it back to you sooner, but I didn't know where to look, so...

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[insinerate]

[Recognition doesn't come as quickly as it might if Utena's handling of her camera were a little better, but as soon as Yuri hears the young woman's voice and sees that umbrella, the pieces of the puzzle connect themselves.]

Ah...it's you.

[If he finds her comment rude at all, he doesn't show it. Instead, a subtle nod indicating an answer to her question is given, followed by a succinct reply.]

I'd forgotten all about my umbrella.

[andtherevolution]

[Utena points the camera back towards her, and this time, she's showing her face! sort of. Instead, he gets a closeup of her nose and mouth, and her hair is spread out as if she's lying on a flat surface of some kind]

Well, do you want it back? I appreciate you letting me borrow it and all, but I don't want to keep something that belongs to somebody else.

[And she turns the camera towards the umbrella, waggling it for emphasis. And oh look, now Yuri can see the ceiling fan in the background.]

( text )

[classification]

[ It's interesting, he thinks, that someone has been here two years. He doesn't know the extent of time many have been here, and he supposes in that regard this network is worthy of sussing out information without having to really work for it. After what he's been told that they could randomly leave at the whims of whatever brought them here...

Well. It's just interesting is all.

Anyway, he can't help but offer a ( totally useless ) suggestion; ]

It has been longer than I can remember since I had cause for celebration. At this point, spending them alone in quiet solitude would be a gift unto itself.

( text )

[insinerate]

Too much excitement in the life you led before coming here?

[Not that Yuri thinks there is anything at all wrong with spending time by oneself. After all, he's not very fond of people.]

[classification]

[ Neither is Locus. It's not that he can't work with people, he just doesn't care to. Because they usually fuck it up. Or they're annoying. Or they fuck up and they're annoying. Logically, he knows if he's alone he can get things done as they need to be done and not have to wait around for anyone's theatrics. ]

That isn't exactly the word I would use, however it does hold some amount of truth.

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[marriedmedium]

I spend them with a drink! I also spend the unspecial occasions with a drink.

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[insinerate]

[Alcohol...

Yuri has no great love of the intoxicant. Quite the opposite, in fact. But if he disapproves at all of Sadie's habits, he keeps it skillfully under wraps. Thus, his inquiry seems harmless, borne of only simple curiosity and no reproach.]

Any particular reason?

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[marriedmedium]

....a reason?

[She understands the concept of a reason, but not as it applies to alcohol. To Sadie, that's asking why a fish is wet.]

I suppose because each day has something new to offer—why not toast to it?