the gayest video store in all of kaisou

[greatlydares]

WHO: Random Play's staff and regulars and anyone else!
WHERE: Random Play, Shopping Street
WHEN: early to mid-May
WHAT: come and hang out at Random Play! now offering: 20% discounts on video rentals featuring LGBTQ+ themes!
WARNINGS: none atm!

Comments

[greatlydares]

[Belle puts her movies off to the side for later, then comes over to sit next to Anby. She's missed her, and dearly at that—she's missed pretty much everyone, really, but the Cunning Hares were...she and Wise had been close to them, even with all that debt. Anby is someone she trusts implicitly, even now.]

I did my best, going off memory.

[But it isn't quite the same as it was. That's fine, so long as it's recognizable to the people who once walked the streets of New Eridu.]

You settling in okay?

[burgersplease]

You did a good job. There's some changes, but it's got the same feeling.

[It's a comfortable feeling. Like finding a trusty old blanket that you haven't seen in awhile]

... I don't know. There's a lot to get used to here. But I'm getting along with my teammates. Most of them are people I've work with before, so that's nice.

[greatlydares]

If you want, you can come and hang out here any time. Door's always open. [As for her teammates, she raises an eyebrow.] Oh? Tell me about your teammates, are they anything like the Hares?

[She does pause, because...well, now Anby's here, and Belle hadn't said this on the network because it was a public space. Here in the store, it's a little more private, because it's a slow day and the only other person here is Eous, who's taken up Belle's sorting duty with great gusto.

So, softly:] He doesn't hate you. It's not like before, with Soldier 11. He misses you. I didn't get to say it before on the network, because it felt too personal to air out there, but... [A breath.] That fire isn't going to burn him out.

[burgersplease]

Thanks Manager. That means a lot. [Despite her flat tone, she's sincere. She's really missed this place. At the question she gives a head shake]

No, there's no replacing the Hares. [no one can be replaced] But they're nice. We watch movies and do other stuff together. Asch shared his meal with me because he worries about my diet.

[Which she thinks isn't a big deal, burgers are perfectly nutritious, but it's nice of Asch to fret over things like that.

But then.... Belle brings up Masa-chan. Even without saying his name, she knows she's talking about him. She tenses and freezes a little, her cowardly side bubbling up. She wants to shut down and avoid this subject but... she does trust Belle. They were best friends in the previous life, and this Belle seems so much like the one in her memories. ]

... I know. I went to see him that day at his place. [That alone had been a big move for her. There was every chance she would've refused the offer out of fear.] He's made a nice life for himself. His home was nice, all his animals were sweet, and he's even brighter than I remember him. Even though he's sick, he was so full of life. I'm really proud of him.

[...She hesitates a little, figuring out how to word the unspoken "but"]

But... I don't have anything to offer him but disappointment. He admires and misses his sister Bee from his memories, but... I'm not as impressive as he thinks I am. And I never will be.

He's been through enough without me bringing my failings into his life.

[greatlydares]

You're welcome. [As for the Hares, she nods. There really isn't any replacing them, and she misses them dearly. She's about to say so when Anby casually mentions Asch and Belle briefly chokes on her shock.] Asch, like—redhead, kinda grumpy, Asch? That's my younger brother! One of them, anyway. I knew he worked in the Black Order but I didn't realize that meant he worked with you.

[Her baby brother!! No she's not still a little peeved about losing her status as the baby of the family, hush.]

Though I'm not surprised he worries about your diet, sometimes he'll cook for us too.

[As for Harumasa...Belle falls quiet for a while, thinking. She knows Anby means it, when she says she's proud of Harumasa. She can see how much she cares for and loves him. She can even sympathize with Anby not wanting to be a disappointment, not wishing to bring her failings anywhere near her brother—Belle herself sometimes wonders what Wise might make of her now.

She shakes her head, though.] Anby...he doesn't care about you being impressive or your failings. He only ever knew me as Phaethon before coming here, and my reputation is a lot bigger than I am. [Kinda literally, she's not that tall.] But I've never gotten the sense he was ever disappointed about it, just...glad to see me.

He has been through a lot, and I understand if you don't want to be a burden to him because of that. But if it helps—you do have something to offer him, and that's just being there. Just being a phone call away. That matters more than you might think.

[burgersplease]

Yes, Red Asch. [That is his name now. She does seem mildly surprised at that revelation] Is he? Ah, that explains some things. He's a good boy.

[Sure he's grumpy, but he's kind. Anby was fond of little Red Asch.

And she listens to Belle. She really is listening. But she... isn't wholly convinced. Belle has always been a younger sibling, after all. For a moment, she wishes Wise was here. He was the older one, he'd get it. Plus...]

... Being Phaethon isn't really the same as being an older sibling. And I don't know if he cares about Phaethon's fame, considering that one time he tried to arrest us.

[You know, before we all became bros united by the shared bond of trauma, health problems, and ACAB.

Point is, of course Masa-chan would just be happy to see Belle and not care if she lived up to Phaethon's reputation. The guy clearly cared for who the siblings were as people.]

But I get what you're saying. [She takes a breath] I'm going to be on this assignment for the foreseeable future, so.... I'll try to answer the phone.

[She's not making any long term promises for now. She doesn't trust herself to live up to anything like that. ]