expiationnet | 006 ✤ video (during the AU event)

[ The video opens with Mitama, your local hard-working high school girl at the top of her class, currently taking a small break from her studies (if you squint hard enough, you might see some textbooks lying around on her desk) to address the network, waving her hand as a greeting. ]

I know there have been some weird happenings observed lately, but I would like to urge everyone to stay calm! This is Aldrip, after all; our lovely little town is as perfect a place to live as can be, so I'm sure whatever caused those will pass soon.

[ Obviously, she can't know that for certain, but it's hard not to assume that. After all, nothing bad ever happens here, so things will go back to how they usually are soon and they can all laugh about it later. ]

In the meantime, would anyone care for a little game to distract ourselves from all that and cheer ourselves up? I figured we could all use a bit of harmless fun, so I'd like to announce the first official round of Aldrip's very own Hot or Not!

[ The girl holds up a handmade sign to the camera with a bright smile. God only knows where she came up with this idea, but she's nothing if not resourceful, so you can probably expect this to become a big thing some time in the future...! ]

So! What are the rules, you ask? It's pretty simple! Just leave a comment here with your name and a picture or two, and other residents will rate your attractiveness! They can do so either signed or anonymously, for those who'd rather not reveal their identity just yet~ Oh, and if you know someone who's too shy to post themselves, feel free to do them a favor and drop their name below!

Oh, and remember: this is all in good fun! Be polite, okay~? ♥

[ ooc: "But how can we ever make an IC Hot or Not meme canon," the discord lamented. "Hold my green tea, I have zero restraint or self-respect," I said, and here we are! Feel free to namedrop characters + their pictures (preferably linked, to spare this post from becoming picture-heavy), discuss, gossip, take advantage of the AU settings for characters who wouldn't participate otherwise ─ in other words, just go wild and have fun! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There's only one person who would have made that sort of response -- ]

Oh. Hi Ange.

[ Caught red-handed huh... ]

Has business been a bit better today?

[ Like how well is the ad working? Come on........ let's hear....... ]

I haven't seen anything more than the usual.

And now everyone thinks my big brother is a..

[ ... The 'someone is typing' indicator sure appears for a long time there, huh.. As if Ange keeps changing her mind, or just can't write a certain word.

Hence why she abandons it to instead write: ]

They're thinking INAPPROPRIATE THOUGHTS about him!!!

[ And he watches that "someone is typing" indicator for every second it's displayed. ]

Oh. Maybe people haven't seen it yet then.

[ In due time though, in due time... ]

Inappropriate thoughts? Like what...?

[ Is he doing this on purpose? Genuinely wants to know what she thinks is going on in other people's heads? A mix of both? ]

[ Minato, you are absolutely killing her. Ange isn't equipped for this. ]

Don't you know?? Don't you know what people think the moment they see a picture like THAT??

Don't you feel something when you see it?!

[ Granted, the answer to that is.. dangerous.. If you're thinking inappropriate thoughts about her brother, she might have to do something about that, Minato.. ]

[ Then it's a good thing his answer is: ]

No.

[ Hm... ]

Should I be thinking or feeling something when I see Ragna like that?

Definitely not. You should be feeling nothing at all.

[ So if you really are feeling nothing, Minato, then-- good. That's exactly what Ange wants to see here!

.. even if it's hard to believe he would have posted that picture if he thought it wouldn't have some sort of effect, but still.. This is better than hearing him having strange thoughts about Ragna too, okay. Ange would have to ban him from the store forever. ]

Ragna is just Ragna. It's fine if people see him and realise he's such an amazing guy that they would love to be friends with him, but anything beyond that is absolutely off-limits!

[ Whoa... Talk about overprotective... ]

That's up to others and not up to you though, isn't it?

[ It's not like she can control whether or not others see or think of Ragna as more than a friend. ]

[ There's a slight delay in her response, just a moment of nothing, but then her reply arrives. ]

Do you have a sibling?

[ The answer should be "yes," but Minato falters. It should be yes, right? Sha-Ming was his brother, wasn't he? ]

Yeah. An older brother.

[ The strange feeling passes soon enough. ]

Then you should know.

[ Apparently there's nothing strange about his response to her - especially when Ange doesn't notice anything that might be going on over at Minato's side. ]

Wouldn't you do anything for him? I know I would for Ragna. And he would for me. If siblings aren't going to keep each other safe, then who would?

[ Wouldn't he do anything for Sha-Ming? There's some truth in that statement, even though both Minato and Sha-Ming would mutually throw each other under the bus, sell each other for one corn chip, the whole gamut, even if they would have each other's backs at the end of the day. ]

Ragna must mean a lot to you.

[ ... ]

Is it just the two of you, then?

Yeah, our parents died a long time ago.

[ She doesn't answer the other statement - mostly because she feels like it's pretty obvious, rather than this being some usual Ange tsun denial.. She's not hiding her affection for her brother here. ]

I hardly even remember them. I only really remember Ragna being there for me the entire time while I was growing up.

[ That certainly explains a lot of her attachment to Ragna. ]

I don't really remember my parents very well either.

[ Or rather, ]

I don't remember my first parents very well.

[ He has a handful of memories of the second pair, only because he was just old enough to remember what they were like. But they're long gone now, and it's just him and his brother too. ]

[ ... ]

Your first parents?

[ There is a very clear implication of at least a second pair there, even if Ange can't fully figure out what it means. ]

Were you adopted?

Yeah.

[ It was some freak accident that left him and Kotone as orphans. They'd been separated, adopted out by different people. Maybe Kotone got the better end of the deal, given that Minato's second set of parents didn't last particularly long either. ]

It's just me and Sha-Ming now though.

I'm sorry. That sucks.

Not that you're stuck with him, I mean.

[ Not that she's sure what kind of brothers they are, but-- Minako knows how it feels to at least have her brother by her side, even if they've lost their parents. That part's nice. ]

More that it happened to you twice. That's some serious bad luck. Or maybe the world just sucks.

It's okay. It wasn't so bad. You had Ragna, didn't you? Then maybe you understand.

[ The brothers could definitely be at odds with each other, and maybe there were times when it felt to Sha-Ming as though Minato were completely out of his reach. But at the end of the day, they were always there for each other. ]

I guess the world could be better though.

[ ... ]

Yeah. I understand.

Especially the fact that it could be worse. Imagine being all alone instead and then still having to deal with all this.

006 ✤ video (during the AU event)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject