001 ♑ [video]

[drecks]

What a waste of time.

[ a rather gruff voice complains before the picture has turned on and become focused, revealing the speaker's face. he looks slightly more irritated than usual, though there aren't many who would recognize that. ]

We're supposed to talk to each other using these things, huh? [ he turns away, seemingly annoyed at the very

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[knightnomore]

[Any real strike at the gods probably did put everyone at risk somehow, since there was no way of predicting how they might react. Since the gods had proven themselves to have a stunning lack of logic, he wouldn't put it past them to do something harmful to completely innocent people as a form of retaliation. The most he could do was make sure that the gods being crazy was the only way other people would get involved.]

Sounds like a good plan. [Though maybe he somehow caught that thought about time being a problem. Or maybe he just remembers what the original post sounded like.] But let me guess--that's not fast enough for you, right? [This isn't judgment in his voice; he understands needing to get home as soon as possible. But as of right now, he doesn't quite trust this guy not to do something too drastic.]

For what it's worth, time seems to work a little differently here than you might be used to. [Not that he'd quite figured it out, but it certainly isn't as straightforward as time passing the same way in other worlds as it does here.]

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[drecks]

[ limiting risk and exposure only made sense, and even asch wasn't fond of letting innocent people suffer for his own transgressions. even if he'd started out resolved to do anything, the definition of "anything" has quickly narrowed. perhaps not as much as others might have liked though. he wouldn't let other captives be put at risk, but in his mind everything and everyone else was fair game. an us or them mentality. ]

No, it's not. [ he had no reason to hide it. ] I have a lot to think about, but I don't plan on taking nothing but small steps either. [ within reason, but still rushed... was that even possible? it came down to his own judgment, which most back home at least would know was prone to recklessness. ]

What do you mean...? [ he hadn't heard of that, but it was an interesting thought. ]

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[knightnomore]

That's what I thought. [Yuri wasn't quite sure what to make of that, honestly, not being able to read the other man's mind. Even if he could, he generally found that "us versus them" taken to any extreme was sort of a dangerous mentality. He didn't hold anything against those few people he'd met who seemed to actually be native to this world... though even he would admit to not caring about them in the same way. What he didn't understand was why the gods felt the need to trap people from other worlds to do things for them when it looked like they had people here already.] Just remember you're not the only one trying to get home and I don't think we'll have a problem. [He certainly wouldn't mind making progress. As it stood, he thought this guy might be a nice ally to have in this crazy fight against the gods, as long as he didn't go overboard.

As for that question, it's a little difficult to answer.] I can't say I really understand it, myself. When I got here, someone else I knew was here already. The last thing she remembers from our world is earlier than what I do, but things don't quite match up beyond that. The time between when she was taken from our world and when I was doesn't match how long she was here before I was, and the weirder part is that as far as I recall, she never disappeared from my world. [Given that the gods were able to manipulate thoughts, it was possible they'd manipulated one or both of their memories somehow, but he couldn't see why they would. In that case, wouldn't it make more sense to do something to make them think they didn't want to go home? Not that any other explanation he could come up with seemed any more plausible.]

It doesn't make much sense, but I guess that's pretty normal for this place.

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[drecks]

Of course. [ yet at the same time, he would prioritize his own need to return home first. it was an egocentric, selfish way of looking at things, but in his mind his need was simply greater. helping others was fine, but he wouldn't do so at a cost to himself. he was no good samaritan and he recognized that about himself. ] If a way can be found to return everyone, that would be preferable. But if that isn't possible... [ he just shrugs his shoulders slightly. others could blame or curse him; he wouldn't care. though the real question was... would he choose his own escape if he knew it would directly harm others? that was a bit more troubling. his people and his country needed him, but that couldn't be used to entirely justify hurting other captives here either. a troubling thought. ]

...I see. I've heard that... someone I know was here previously as well. [ now that he thought about it, if luke had been here at some point in time, asch certainly didn't know about it. luke's absence from their own world would have been noted; he would have felt it himself, due to their mutual connection. but there hadn't been any time where luke was missing; someone could account for his whereabouts in auldrant at just about all times. ] I hadn't considered what the implications meant, but you could be right that the flow of time here is altered compared to our own. [ ...there were other possible explanations too, but that seemed the most straightforward. ] If that is the case... [ then there was no need for him to hurry. he could approach their problem here more carefully. ] I'll have to look into that further to confirm it.

Considering everything these Twelve seem to be capable of... it isn't impossible. [ strange, but not impossible. ] If it's true though, that's perhaps the first good news I've gotten since coming here.