video | un: echo

[individualized]

[It may be hard to realize this is an actual video feed at first. The Omni seems to be resting on a blue table or desktop. On the far edge of the screen, a small book sits open. It looks very much like a journal of some sort. If you pay careful attention, you could realize that someone is actually writing in it right now. The movement of the shadows, the occasional appearance of a hand or a pencil. Nothing on the pages is legible, however.

What it does have a very good view of is a photograph resting just next to the diary.]




[The photo is very old-fashioned and not in color. The right side mostly features a girl in her young to mid-teens. Her hair seems to be a lighter shade of some sort, and her bangs drape just over her eyes while longer tufts of hair line her face. Her clothes are masculine and well-made: a formal white jacket over a dark vest plus a bowtie. She doesn't smile, but holds two fingers up to the camera in a "v" shape. Despite the lack of a color spectrum, it's still pretty obvious her cheeks are flushed.

On the left is someone who is clearly wearing a bear costume and has one arm around the girl's shoulder while posing with the other arm straight up. The costume is some very odd and kind of morbid mascot. The bear has empty eyes and a line of drool dangling from its mouth. A rope is wrapped around its neck and extends down to a noose at the other end which is partially in the frame. Whoever is wearing the costume is probably only a few inches taller than the girl at most, but otherwise there's nothing identifiable about them.]

[The screen features this picture for several minutes. There is no sound apart from the soft friction of handwriting as the unseen figure continues penning whatever they're writing.

Finally, a hand appears and picks up the photo. They flip pages backwards until reaching a specific one, carefully place the picture inside, and shut the book. After this, the hands pick up the Omni. For a moment it seems like there might be a nice segment of floor watching, but suddenly the picture spins around.

Staring straight into it is obviously the same girl from the picture, albeit dressed differently. The initial surprise on her face quickly turns to a more mortified expression as she continues looking silently right into the camera. At least with color on this picture, you can obviously see how red her ever-worsening blush is!

Eventually she attempts to speak, but she is either having trouble finding words or getting her mouth to move properly, or maybe it's both. After a few more awkward moments, she finally manages to loudly stammer something.]

D-Don't...bother!

[Right as she finishes saying this, she very quickly (and almost desperately) turns off the feed.]

Comments

un: YOURFRIENDSCORPIA

[cuddlery]

[It's a very delightful video feed! An adorable photo, plus the sounds of writing sound oddly soothing? Scorpia's just confused by the ending! She looks on with a surprise and an apologetic smile.]

Oh, sorry! I- didn't mean to bother you! [Assuming that's what she meant!] I was just enjoying your cute little livefeed there. That picture of you? Absolutely precious! Who's your bear friend?

[individualized]

[She was trying to say something along the lines of "never mind" but she's not used to doing that.

Echo is still quite red, and is pretty clearly embarrassed as she forces herself to answer.]

Y...yes. But it is not— It was very unusual circumstances.

And that is... [There's a really long pause here. She's not sure she wants to give either answer. But finally she picks one of them.] ...Jyanta-san.

[cuddlery]

I guess taking pictures with bears isn't a thing that's very usual...

[She says that with contemplation, before going on.]

Jyanta-san! That's a nice name. One I've never heard before, but a nice one all the same! ...You must miss them. I'm sorry if this makes you sad!

[individualized]

["How does she know?!" is Echo's first thought. But just in case the person in the suit isn't about to announced to Trench, she'll see if she can make the details more clear.]

N-No, he is... Jyanta-san is a character. Merchants use this likeness to sell a variety of products.

[cuddlery]

Oh! A character? But then... what's he doing posing with you? That looks more like a living being than a product to me.

[individualized]

[This may be the first time in her life that Echo is the one shocked at someone else's ignorance. She blinks a couple of times as she tries to form her answer.]

...You have never heard of a costume before?

video; un: ushiromiya

[entreats]

[ .. huh.

It's not too intense of a reaction to seeing this video being posted on the network, really. That faintly emotionless 'huh' is just what comes up in Ange's mind as she sees it - first the photo, and then Echo's reaction to it. It may just be the most emotion she's seen the other express, other than that one time they were fighting that odd twin-ghost-copy of Echo. ]

Is it that embarrassing? [ Ange therefore just plainly asks.

It doesn't seem that embarrassing to her, and Ange is an easily embarrassed person. Maybe it's just that the mascot on that photo is a little.. odd. Is that what's bothering Echo? ]

[individualized]

[She's a bit taken aback by the question. Echo has been figuring out the "what" of her feelings, but she hasn't really considered "why" all that much.

And that, in and of itself, embarrasses her even more. She gives a few awkward glances before she can decide on an answer.]

...I suppose so.

[entreats]

Why?

[ It's a simple question, but the answer probably isn't so simple, Ange figures. Especially for someone like Echo.

But maybe that's exactly why she's asking it in the first place. She isn't too sure if Echo would even ask herself why otherwise. If she would even fully realise why this feeling is coming to her in the first place. ]

[individualized]

[Yep, you hit the nail on the head there, Ange. Registering "embarrassed" is still a step for her in functioning normally. Figuring out the reasons for her own feelings is a completely foreign concept to her.

There are only subtle changes in her expression as she contemplates this, though they're probably more noticeable to Ange than most. Echo is silent for a good long while.]

I am not sure. Perhaps it is because it is similar to my feelings at that time.

[entreats]

[ Thankfully Ange is a patient enough person. If Echo takes a little bit too long, Ange may grab something she can idly do while she's listening and waiting - even if it's just grabbing a piece of paper and starting to doodle on it a little, just to give her hands something to do as she waits.

But the wait itself? She doesn't really seem to mind that, figuring that Echo probably needs this time, given how bad she seems to be at the whole emotions deal. ]

Yeah, I can understand that. Looking back on embarrassing moments always makes the feeling come back. [ It sure does for Ange, even though she sounds very cool and collected most of the time.. The truth is that she's very, very easily embarrassed. ] Do you remember why you felt that way back then? I guess that's a little harder, since it must have been a while ago.

[ Ange certainly doesn't remember something looking like that thing on the picture existing in this place, anyway. So maybe it's a relic from back home? Those wash up on the beach often enough. ]

[individualized]

[It came in her bag, actually, by extension of her diary. It has meaning for her, but unsurprisingly she's not sure why.]

As a start, I had been given an assignment and it was a very embarrassing job. It involved wearing costumes. The one pictured was by far the most tolerable. Also the people were very annoying.

[She wouldn't mind coming across them now that she's making her own decisions and finally slice them up like she'd wanted to...]

Then it only got stranger as the days went along. The photo was from a particularly unexpected portion of it.

un: gamemaster; voice

[chessboardturn]

Aw, that's cute! I don't think you need to be embarrassed about that.

[individualized]

It is not cute.

[Argument won, score one for Echo. ...Right?]

[chessboardturn]

Aw, it totally is! There's nothing to be ashamed of!

[ COUNTER. ]

[individualized]

[!!!]

You cannot judge something by a single glance. You know nothing of the circumstances around it.

[Poor kid still thinks that should end the conversation.]

[chessboardturn]

The circumstances are a very cute girl and a teddy, obviously.

[ He's going to keep arguing, good luck. ]

[swellter]

[ The nuisance of the entire scene is lost on him. He sees the photograph, but nothing of particular note seems out of place given the sharply worded response. ]

Don't bother what?

[ He's a little lost here. ]

[individualized]

[Don't feel bad, she's not completely sure what she meant either.

This is probably why it takes her a few awkward moments to phrase a response.]

Don't bother...asking questions...

[The complete lack of certainty in her tone along with the fact that she clearly just answered a question really does not support her statement.]

[swellter]

[ Okay... that's not exactly suspect at all. Even he can read through the lines... very faintly. ]

What kind of questions?

[individualized]

[She's still getting used to feelings and interacting with people, okay?]

About...the image this device displayed. When it had no authorization to do anything of the sort.

video | un: ilikemeat

[velvet_teen]

That's the silliest looking Chain I have seen and I have seen a lot of silly Chains!

[ What with other Alice and her creepy doll collection and some of the shit this Alice has seen in the Abyss she immediately assumes that Echo has found some sort of weird thing to contract with. Or it could be a costume but the more plain and sensible answer is that it is a creature from the deep abyss that possesses strange powers. ]

[individualized]

[Enjoy the glare you're getting, Alice.]

That is not a Chain, Alice-san. ...Or, well...

[...Technically she's not wrong, but not in the way she thinks she is. Better leave him out of this if she can, though.]

Are you truly not aware of Jyanta-san?

[velvet_teen]

No, if it is not from a book one hundred years or older or from Internet I do not know it.

[ She missed out on so much pop culture. Even if it is from Internet she probably does not know it. She does like the smurfs. ]

I bet I could take him.

[individualized]

[There's so much Alice isn't aware that she easily accepts that explanation. Echo has yet to do much on the internet on her own, though.]

No. You must not fight him! He is entitled to your respect!

[Which one is she talking about...?]