poly_chromatic | [ 011 ]

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dexter - isaak sirko

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[You might suspect this to be an accidental post. You might not be wrong. Isaak is sitting in a comfortable armchair, his device clearly recording from a table beside him. He's not looking at it; he's reading a book, while classical music plays rather loudly in the background.

After a time, he looks up-- not at the camera, merely away from his book, and says--]

The coming and going does become tiresome, after a time, doesn't it.

[And a moment after, without looking, reaches over to turn off the feed.]

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[ Oh, Mr. Isaak. Behave. ]

Shame I can't say the same for myself.

There's little to experience here beyond irritation and apathy.

[What, what? He's as innocent as the driven snow, Hei.]

Oh, by and large I've had great fun, really. Pity you don't seem to feel the same.

[ And Hei is so chaste even Moses couldn't part his zipper 8| ]

There are high points. [ Like his sister returning to him. ] But overall it's a tedious flatline.

[ Especially if you're used to pushing yourself. ]

[Perhaps, but do we really want to go about comparing magical staves?]

Vacation disagrees with you. Perhaps you need a more strenuous occupation, hm?

[It's halfhearted teasing at best.]

[ Nope. Between the snakes and the staffs there's enough fodder, tyvm. ]

No vacation should last this long. [ A shrug. ] Perhaps. As it is, ambition seems like a recessive trait the more I hang around here.

It's a matter of altering one's goals, I think. In a place where one cannot rule the world one can still rule himself.

[Lighten up, 'Li,' or he'll have to teach you to have fun.]

It seems Pavel Andreievich has left us. You knew him, I think?

Edited (How does I htmls) 2013-08-12 15:07 (UTC)

[ Fun? Oh no. Last time he did that here, people died. ( ... Which wouldn't concern him if they weren't people he knew personally.) ]

My track record for self-rule is reasonable. [ It's just the curses that ruin it. A beat, before he adds, in a rare moment of almost-honesty, ] I have an opportunity to try new things here. Time and freedom too. But even those are double-edged.

[ At the question, ] I did. Maybe he's in a better place now, but from what I gleaned about his homeworld's events, it's doubtful.

[And who said you didn't have a soft side?]

All roads lead to boredom, you mean? [Isaak might even chuckle.] Certainly this place at least shakes one out of one's habits, though perhaps it breeds worse ones.

I thought as much. That's the peculiarity here, of loss-- one shouldn't begrudge others their return to their rightful reality, I expect, and yet it's rather a bother, isn't it?

[This is as unguarded as he'll get, really. Enjoy it while it lasts. Isaak avoids lies whenever possible, but usually he's unlikely to share the truth.]

[ Hei's been layered by years of cold experience like a glacier. But there's still a heart somewhere in there -- still beating, still wringing warmth into him, still wrestling back against the world. He's learnt to use even that as a weapon in his repertoire. The Syndicate is a monster that devours anything soft. To survive, you have to beat it to the punch. Become a barbed and unstable element -- something it can't swallow without choking. ]

'Habits' weren't always luxurious I could afford, back home. [ One more novelty in the City. The chance to be predictable without consequence. ] Developing one at all suggests a personal falloff. [ He'll never admit how much it bothers him. Is he reconnecting to rusty facets of his humanity -- or going irreparably soft? ]

It is. [ He matches Isaak's semblance of candor with a half-smile. ] "Folsom Prison Blues." Isn't that what the song's all about?

Hmm-mnn.

[Classically contemplative and difficult to read.]

Denying a luxury on principle suggests a failing of a different sort, I think.

[ He shrugs a shoulder -- dismissal, disagreement, or neither. ]

I've gotten by without the luxury before. What I need is purpose, and I can usually find that within myself. [ But things like missions, agendas, cohesive teammates -- (Pai) -- are what offer him a daily trajectory. ] I'll start worrying if that ever stops.

Getting by without and rejecting are entirely different matters. But as you will; it's a waste of energy to argue it, I think.

One purpose is as good as another to me.

[That's not quite true, but it's close. The only motivation that matted is lost to him.]

[ He's well-acquainted with loss and its vagaries. Having Pai back, while it hasn't given him that cliched Lease on life, has cleared away all the piles of superfluity and rubbish in his head. He doesn't take Isaak's answer at face value. But it does make him curious. ]

And how is the present purpose suiting you?

The occasional spate of wallowing aside, I'm enjoying it. There's enough novelty in what one can do here to keep me entertained. I could not have run an establishment like mine at home.

I'm always surprised by how tolerant the Citizens are here. But I do wonder if it's genuine goodwill, or fear of a common threat.

[ Certainly, with the City's high-level aura of instability -- the curses, the monsters, the (absent) Deities -- it's wiser to make allies, not enemies. Nothing holds as many cards as fear does. ]

Either is useful.

[Isaak doesn't much mind if it's merely fear that keeps people in line; that, he is more or less accustomed to.]

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private; what is that typo I don't even :|

private; there are no typos there have never been any ever

private; I concur Oi

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