ladytakamaki | inbox ( recolle )

[It's one of his favorite pho shops. While he doesn't make it a habit of eating out very often, with his left arm bandaged up in a sling, it's obvious he's not cooking anything for awhile. Or, he's not cooking anything well.

But compared to how he felt when he sent out that distress signal, he can't complain. And pho-- and maybe a beer, honestly- would be a good destresser.

He waits for Ann outside, casually scrolling through his phone, to see what he missed... and also keeping an eye out for if anyone calls for help. It's not like he hasn't had to, after all.]

[ ann's a little late to arrive, but it looks like she'd rushed there, placing her hands on her knees and panting a little as soon as she gets to the restaurant. ]

Sorry I'm late!

[ admittedly she also got a little lost trying to find the place but she did it!! she made it.

when she looks up, though? she sees the sling around his arm and frowns. ]

That bad, huh?

Edited 2017-08-14 06:20 (UTC)

[he gives a one sided shrug.]

Don't worry about it, and... Honestly, this is nothing compared to this afternoon.

[he puts his phone in his pocket, and kicks away from the wall, turning towards the main entrance.]

Have you been here before?

Nope! And honestly? I've only ever had pho once in my entire life.

[ ann...you are missing out girl. she's more of a ramen person but pho still works and it's filling, which is exactly what she needs. ]

But I'm down to try new places!

Just once? Don't tell me you only ever do ramen, [he jokes as he holds open the door for her. Pho... was cheap. Not only was it cheap, it was fast, and you could customize it any way you wanted.

Ramen was good, but there were so many negatives compared to pho

it's not like this was tokyo or somewhere where ramen was common and cheap, that'd be too much to ask for]

Because you're missing out if you do.

What, do you only ever eat pho? You're totally missing out too, y'know!

[ ramen was saltier and ann honestly preferred that kind of taste? and depending on the place, it could be customizable, too! she'll fight the good fight if she has to.

she thanks him as she walks through the door, getting them a table for two. once she's in her seat, she leans back and lets out a long, audible sigh. ]

What a week, right? Sounds like you had it a lot rougher...

Sometimes, but I've definitely tried it more than once.

[the people at the shop seem to recognize him. At least one of them says something to him in Chinese, and he responds back easily. The guy points them to a booth and says something back. Mako glances at Ann]

He says he'll get us some menus in a minute. But we can sit there.

[which he does!]

And you're telling me... This week's been a nightmare. This afternoon was bad, but earlier I got knocked off a roof by one of the monsters. I'm lucky I didn't break anything then.

Oh! You speak Chinese?

[ cool cool! she didn't know.

the booths are pretty comfortable, kind on her back. she could almost fall asleep here from the combined comfort and exhaustion. ]

You got knocked off a roof?! What were you doing up there in the first place? How did you not break anything?

[ IS SHE BEING A MOTHER HEN?? maybe.... ]

Yeah-- my mom and dad were from there. I try to keep up with it, but I'm not as fluent as I was as a kid.

[this is a lie. he's totally fluent. he just feels like he isn't because he occasionally runs across a word he doesn't recognize. But, the waiter sets the menus down for them after that. He wasn't kidding about just a minute.]

It's... We ran into these ghosts that if you touched them, they made you feel bad about yourself. I'd just one-hit-KO'd this stealing cow, and accidentally touched one. The girl I was with took it as a point of personal insult that I was downplaying what had just happened, and decided to go to the roof to call another monster that I could one-hit-KO.

[he sounds... exasperated? amused? a little of both?]

We got in over our heads with that one.

Yeah, I get you. I'm that way with Japanese. My dad's from there and I used to be able to speak it pretty well, but...not so much anymore.

[ that's actually true! ann usually talks to her parents in only english and never really gets the chance to use japanese. she's...kind of lost it. ]

Oh, those stealing cows are so annoying! I would've had my phone broken because of them if Chiyo hadn't caught it for me!

[ but otherwise, uh. ]

...Yeah, okay, maybe just a little. Sheesh, you're a lot more reckless than you look, aren't you?

[ teasing, of course! ]

[he looks like he might protest that one. He knows he has somewhat of a reckless streak... But normally, he's a careful planner Then, he shrugs.]

Sometimes, I guess.

Anyway, that's cool. There's a pretty big community of Japanese people here, huh? [he knows he's heard it a lot, spoken at the office, and it's hard not to notice it. But, then again, he tends to stay in his cultural circles as much as possible.]

You and my brother would probably get along. He doesn't really speak it either.

Yeah. A lot larger than anyone would expect.

[ most of the classmates she's met are japanese, but ironically, she's never actually spoken the language with them. truth be told, she'd be embarrassed to because of her lack of proficiency, but it'd be nice to find a practice partner. ]

Is he your younger brother?

Yeah. [ok he won't talk about his parents, but he absolutely will gush about his baby brother if you let him, so don't let him]

He's attending college out of state right now. He got a partial scholarship for football. [Mako foots the rest of the bill, tbh.]

[ she's going to let him. ]

Oh, that's so cool! Is he going pro then? You two sure are athletic, huh?

[poor Bolin. Mako leans forward, resting his elbow on the table as he gestures]

I don't know. I know I'd rather he do something practical, but he's a good showman. He makes me look bad with how good he is at inspiring people. So, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes into radio or acting, or something like that.

[he's a mother hen, but mostly... he really wants Bolin to do what will make him happy.]

Acting, huh?

[ ann sounds a little...uncomfortable when she says it, but quickly brushes it off. strange. ]

If he does, I can totally help him out. My mom's an actress so we actually have a lot of connections in the industry. And hey, if he's good at it? That's more than practical enough.

[he catches that discomfort. It was, well, hard to miss.

He nods at her offer-- and then the waiter comes up, and asks him something. All he does is nod, and the guy writes something down.

To her, he asks in English, "Are you ready to order, miss...?"]

[ ann orders what's indicated as the most popular item on the menu. if it's popular then it should be good, right. the waiter fills up their waters and leaves immediately after.

she turns to look back at mako, taking a sip of her water. ]

Hey...can I ask you something? Have you gotten really...weird memories before from Retrospec?

Edited 2017-08-14 19:40 (UTC)

[yes, yes he has. He looks a little surprised, but it vanishes from his face really quickly.]

I've gotten a few, actually. And I'm definitely not the only one.

[well, he's gotten one violent one and a bunch of benign... but weird ones.]

Is everything alright?

Yeah. I figured...

[ she's definitely not alone in this boat but where does she begin to explain the memory she'd gotten? ]

Sort of. I mean...it's...more disturbing than anything, I think. I talked to a few people about it already, but I just... I can't get it out of my head.

[a frown. does he dare push...?

well, she seems to be inviting him to, so...]

What happened?

...Well...

[ she sighs and starts to fiddle with the corner of her napkin. ]

I had a memory of a man who was a teacher at my school. He wanted...things from me. If you know what I mean.

[oh...that's probably more disturbing, since it's close enough to real life that it could happen here.

He frowns, his hand closing into a fist for a moment, before relaxing.]

I'm sorry. [he can't say that those memories are fake anymore, after everything, but...] That's probably worse than most of my memories. At least I know those could never happen here.

He'd follow me around, call me on my phone, and I remember doing everything I could to stay away but...

[ boy, and not to mention the rumors that followed--though she doesn't remember that part yet, but man... ]

I know that he made school a living hell for me. I just...I don't know the details. Why would I remember something like that, though?

... [he sighs.]

I don't know. But according to the Retrospec employees, those memories are true "somewhere." Why we're remembering, and why that particular somewhere... I don't know.

But it's not true here.

08/14

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