ladytakamaki | inbox ( recolle )

[ there are two reasons mary picked ann to talk to about this. well, three, technically. she's got all of three people she'd actually call "friend", for one. two, ann is one of the people she trusts the most in all of recolle, and three... she knew she might understand.

she's kept a watchful eye out for ann since she told her about her high school life. anyone who even dared to breathe a negative word in her direction received the wrath of mary saotome, who couldn't believe people could be so cruel to someone so kind, someone so thoughtful and--someone so great, really. for the tables to have turned feels strange, but, that's why mary can go to her, isn't it?

she takes a deep breath. ] I got one of those memories yesterday. It was... [ threatening?? violent?? ] ...different. [ fucking nailed it. ]

[ ann is generally an understanding person despite what others may have thought of her, having been brought up by two stereotypically rich parents. her mother and father can be cold, at times, and distant. maybe that's why ann cares so much about other people. she doesn't want people to be left behind like she was.

she's pretty oblivious to mary's defense but if she knew? she'd get a giant hug. ]

Yeah?

[ "different". that's...never really a good sign. ]

Do you wanna talk about it...?

[ no, her gut instinct says. absolutely not. it's stupid, and she knows it's stupid.

mary's usually pretty confident in herself. she knows exactly who she wants to be and does a good job projecting herself as that person, most of the time. but it's been impossible to shake the feeling of strange, existential dread from her bones ever since the memory showed up in her head. even talking to sena didn't help, because mary refused to unclamp on her iron grip on her real emotions. it felt too..girly to tell him. too insecure, too silly.

she comes out of the bathroom with her hair out of her pigtails, winding the ribbon of one of them around and around her index finger. it gives her something to stare at. ] It's probably unhealthy if I don't.

[ better to make a snappy remark than to actually admit to it. she leans against the doorframe, keeps her eyes on her hands as she talks. it's like slowly wrenching a screw loose--it takes a little time. ] It was... weird. I think the--other me, or whatever, was a high school student. And that's fine, I guess, but there was something screwed up about the school she. I? She went to.

[ it's not like mary to talk about something like this, ann knows that, but she's not about to turn her away. regardless of whether or not mary thinks it's girly and insecure, ann is here to listen without judgment.

well. judgment on mary, anyway. if she has to kick someone's ass for her, ann totally will. ]

Yeah. No pressure if you don't want to, but...

[ it really is unhealthy, and she's always struck ann as the type to deal with her emotions by herself, and that's not healthy at all. ann...she can't say she's much better, but she's at least been pretty transparent with akira about her memories. she's glad mary's deciding to do the same. at least right now. ]

Go on. I'm listening.

[ jeez. for a normal person, maybe this wouldn't be so hard, but for mary, it's tough. still--unpacking things with sena helped, and she takes a deep breath, winding her ribbon around her fingers a couple of times. ]

I don't know. I guess I pissed someone off. I was standing in front of my desk, and people had written graffiti all over it. [ there was also a doll with its arms and legs cut off, but, you know, maybe ann doesn't need to know that part.

she pushes a lock of her hair over her shoulder, just to have something to fiddle with. ] Ugly, washboard, no one likes you. Stuff like that.

[ which is why this felt so trivial: what a silly thing to get so upset about. she's mary saotome, future politician, gambling queen. not some quivering little girl who cries when someone calls her a mean name. ]

What?!

[ it's clear by ann's tone that she's actually pissed off on mary's behalf; who would say something like that about mary? sure she may be a little tough, but nobody deserves to be treated like that. it's cruel, and ann nearly starts to shake in her anger. ]

Do you know who did that to you? That's so not cool, even if it's just a memory!

[ mary has every right to be upset over this; nobody wants to be told they're ugly, not liked, unloved. she is none of those. mary is her beautiful roommate and ann never wants her to think otherwise. ]

[ ann getting so angry isn't surprising, but it's definitely touching. a smile tugs at mary's mouth, just a little, and she drops the ribbon in her hands to finally look at her for a moment, to see her practically shaking like that.

jeez. things like this just affirm that massive, neverending crush she's had on her younger roommate. she waves a hand, as if clearing the air. she feels a little lighter now that it's out, too. ] No, no. No idea. I saw the desk, and then the memory went away.

That was it, really. [ well, not really, but she doesn't want to overwhelm her when she doesn't know all the facts. mary needs to find out what the hell a "housepet" has to do with her before she moves forward at all. ] Like I said, it was dumb.

[ when mary turns to look at ann, ann's looking right back at her with understanding and compassion despite how upset she is. ann had always been alone, but she was never bullied like that. it's just wrong, cruel beyond belief, and she turns back after a moment to stare down at the coffee dripping inside of the coffee maker. ]

I'm sorry, Mary. It's not dumb. It's hurtful.

[ well. it's dumb on the bullies' behalf, but mary's feelings are valid and she has every right to be upset over this. ]

You're not any of those things. I promise.

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