The big picture was, in most situations, something to be ignored. Everyone talked about working towards a goal and not missing the forest for the trees, but Otabek liked the trees. You could understand a tree. You could look at it, and figure out what species it was, and notice how it was different from all of the other trees, and eventually you could say yes, I understand, I understand this tree.
The forest, however, was not something to be understood – one could get lost in the woods, if they weren't careful, if they just jumped into it without taking time to look at the trees and the path first. Plan for a hike, and before you know it, you're lost in hundreds of thousands of seemingly identical trunks with blisters and bug bites and a wolf gnawing on your leg.
That isn't to say that Otabek didn't have the same lofty ambitions as everyone else; quite the opposite, in fact, or he wouldn't be in Barcelona on the eve of the Grand Prix Final. He just liked to break the flying leap into smaller steps.
Befriending Yuri Plisetsky had many steps.
Step one: Get to the Grand Prix Final (see Appendix C, Competitions, and Appendix E, Training). Status: Complete.
Step two: Wait for an opportunity to talk to Yuri.
Anticipated results:
a) Get rejected immediately. (see Appendix F, Trying Not To Cry).
b) Succeed in initiating conversation – proceed to step three.
(While Otabek wouldn't wish Yuri's Angels on anyone, they did technically help with step two.)
Step three: Talk to Yuri.
Anticipated results:
a) Get thrown off the bridge. Proceed to emergency protocols (see Appendix H, Public Embarrassment).
b) Have an awkward conversation. Proceed to step seven: Get mildly drunk and try again at the post-competition banquet.
c) Have a nice conversation – Yuri does not seem to hate him as a person, is interested in further interaction. Proceed to step four.
("Yuri Plisetsky had the eyes of a soldier." Nailed it, Altin. Totally smooth.
"A soldier?")
Step four: Ask him to be friends.
a) Get rejected. See step two, option a.
b) Get thrown off the bridge. See step three, option a.
c) Become friends with Yuri Plisetsky. Proceed to step five.
Step five: Survive the friendship.
This procedure is under construction.
(In fact, Yuri only throws Otabek off a bridge once in the many following years, which is a – an accident, according to Yuri, b – highly deserved, also according to Yuri, and c – actually kind of fun, according to Otabek.)