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[ Yuri is very used to social media, but the network here isn't quite like the social media back at home. That doesn't stop him from trying to use it in the same way.

He posts a picture of himself in a simple all-black outfit in front of the skating rink. ]

First day back at skating.

#iceskating #yuriplisetsky #goingtokeepwinning

[ Nailed it. ]

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Yeah.
It looks pretty cool.
I haven't been on it yet.

That stuff is really true?

After everything you've seen, are you that surprised?

I guess it doesn't phase me as much since I've been able to use fire most of my life. 🔥

It must be safe to assume you aren't Sanguis if you haven't been affected yet.

I was hoping it was a lie. I don't want to turn into some kind of weird animal.
I met somebody who got turned into a cat. If that happens, it wouldn't be so bad.
What do you turn into?

It certainly isn't pleasant, but I've experienced worse. Some people are affected more than others, too, so you may be lucky.

I've changed into something different every time, so far. It was relatively tame the first time - a few dog features, yellow eyes, sharp teeth. During the triple moon I became half fish, with fins and a tail and yellow and white scales on my body.

Right now I'm part dragon.

[ At the start, the descriptions sound lame and definitely not something that Yuri looks forward to experiencing. Half-fish? Who the hell would want that?

The ending? That's pretty cool. ]

You're half-dragon?
Take a picture.
That's awesome.

Uh. Sure? Gimme a second.

[And Lio does send a selfie just half a minute later.]

My eyes aren't usually green, and it's kind of hard to sleep with the horns. I've got claws and a tail too, but that's harder to get a picture of.

That's pretty cool, though.
You're a fucking dragon.
Can you fly?

I don't have wings. So no.

Probably.

Actually I guess this isn't the first time I've been a dragon, technically.
But I was in a pretty bad place the last time.
Metaphorically, I mean.

[ With how easily he explodes, Yuri isn't really someone who talks over his emotions. The blonde is easily someone who shows instead of tells. It doesn't mean he doesn't care.

He likes Lio. ]

Not now?

Am I not in a bad place metaphorically now?
Definitely not.
This was before I arrived here.

It's probably not something you'd want to hear about, actually. Sorry I brought it up.

It's your secret.

[ Yuri won't pry. More than anything, he wanted to know that the guy who had been kind to him wasn't in a bad place himself. ]

Since you're already better, it's none of my business.

It's no secret, I'm fairly open about my past. It's just a bit sad, and complicated.

You already told me a little bit.

[ And it was something that Yuri could only see as tragic. Does it get worse? There's no pity; Yuri, perhaps more than most, isn't going to burden anyone with pity. ]

When we met in my apartment.

I told you I grew up homeless. There's more to it than that.

In my world there were people with the ability to manipulate fire, known as the burnish. I was one of them. The burnish were considered a threat to society, so we were hunted down and imprisoned.

At my lowest moment was when I created a dragon made of fire. I sort of look like that now, which is why I'm not really a fan of these changes.

But that's all in the past. Like I said before, I'm in a better place now.

Burnish? The name's a little lame, but they sound pretty cool.
Being able to make a dragon is definitely cool. You look awesome.
Hunting people down before they actually do something bad is screwed up.
There's a reason you're now allowed to do that shit in my world in most places.

[Lio was bristling. He knew Yuri was just a kid, and probably ignorant for it, but that really set him off.]

Watch your tone. It isn't some fun nickname. We were a race of people, and we suffered for our condition.

Who said anything about a nickname?
I'm not the person who did it.
I'm the one who thinks it's more like a superpower than a condition.

You can't insult the name of my people and expect me to be okay with it.

I get that maybe you don't fathom the severity of what we went through, but this isn't something I talk about lightly.

Maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all.

Human isn't a cool name either.

[ There's sincere surprise at the responses. In Yuri's eyes, he isn't mocking the situation. Lio is right in that he can't fathom what it was like, but who can without experiencing it? Even without being able to fully grasp it, that doesn't mean he's glad it happened. There are some similar things from his Earth, and the blonde didn't support it either. ]

What's the name have to do with it?
I'm not saying bad stuff should have happened because of the name.

[ He'd even been saying that he liked the things that scared the people who hurt him. ]

Right. Sorry, I didn't really think about the fact that you don't have the context.

Unlike 'human', the word 'burnish' isn't neutral. Phrases like 'burnish trash' or 'burnish scum' are common insults hurled against us. The term burnish itself wasn't even a positive word to begin with, but we'd reclaimed it as a people.

So when you insult the name we burnish take pride in, it comes off as an insult to us as a whole.

I get that you don't mean it that way, it's just that prejudices like that are what lead to us being slaughtered in the first place, so I'm sensitive to it.

[ This worls is more serious and more intense than the things he's handled in his own. Absentee parents, financial responsibility, rivalry with those older and with more experience? Yuri has experience in those areas and can understand them better. It doesn't go well with his tendency to hide his emotions behind the negative. Even if Lio deserves understanding either way, and he does, it's possible the blonde would have said too much if they hadn't gotten along well enough during their first meeting.

The text doesn't come right away. Yuri hasn't miraculously grown more mature in the last five seconds, but it's a serious topic concerning one of his less-than-explosive relationships. It's not like he can really compare it to the nicknames thrown at him but even those get him angry.

Maybe he doesn't know what to say. For one, most people don't seriously apologize to him. For another, he's not entirely sure it's fair to make Lio apologize, even if Yuri sincerely hadn't meant it as an insult. However, Lio hadn't insulted Yuri in return. He'd been more insulted than insulting. ]

Forget it.

[ It's about as close as Yuri can say to 'it's okay'. ]

I'd be pissed off if people attack me too.
Even if I wasn't.

[ Yuri doesn't fully understand, but he understands it hurt Lio. When the hurt is attached to a lifetime of abuse, it's hard to dismiss. ]

[There really wasn't any venom left in Lio after all that anyway. Because it really did seem like Yuri was just making an ignorant mistake and, like, Lio had grown pretty used to non-burnish just not understanding. Even Galo sometimes didn't get it, though he made his very best effort to try.

And Yuri was trying.]

I don't want to come off as overly sensitive. There isn't even really any point in me getting all defensive here. The power structures that were put in place to hurt people like me don't even exist in this world, and sometimes I forget that.

I'm actually thankful that you've never had to deal with heavy things like this. You're very lucky.

[ It's an odd sensation. Normally, Yuri would have reacted in anger, but Lio's situation is so intense and dark that even he realizes it's not something he yells at. It doesn't make Lio safe from all anger, but it does allow him more room than Yuri allows most. ]

It's not about me having good luck. Most people don't go through that.
Your world has shitty people.
Only shitty people do that kind of stuff.

Yeah, I suppose.

I've heard of too many instances of other people in this place having just as many troubles in their own worlds, unfortunately. It's enough to turn anyone into a cynic.

But I really am glad you've gotten to pursue something in your life you care about. I can't even really say I'm envious, I just admire your commitment to your passions.

Then their worlds are screwed up, too.

[ Though, if Yuri stops and thinks it through, there's definitely oppression in his world. People are still being hurt. He's just been lucky enough that he isn't in one of those classes. ]

You say that like you don't have something you're passionate about. Don't you?

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burningfree - 2020-07-03 05:48 (UTC) - Expand

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