as a lesbian............ally

mari zuko. 22 years old. the closet gay.

[mari-zuko]

{ KAIA GERBER, 22, CISGENDER FEMALE, SHE/HER } Is that MARI ZUKO? A JUNIOR originally from BOSTON, MA, they decided to come to Ogden College to study LITERATURE & CLASSICS. They’re THE CLOSET GAY on campus, but even they could get blamed for Greer’s disappearance.

THE ESSENTIALS

Mari Zuko, the younger daughter of the dean of Ogden College, has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Or at least the weight of her parent's expectations. Desperate for validation and acceptance, Mari bends over backwards to try to live up to all the hopes and dreams they pinned on her, perfecting the facade of the picture-perfect sorority president with ease. In reality, she's constantly masking who she really is - including her sexuality - and how hard she always has to try.

CHARACTER INSPIRATIONS

morrigan (acotar) - leighton murray (sex lives of college girls) - blair waldorf (gossip girl) - jordan baker (the great gatsby) - sydney sage (bloodlines series) - gabby windey (the bachelorette) - eloise bridgerton (bridgerton) - margaery tyrell (game of thrones) - santana lopez (glee) - abby littman (ginny and georgia) - brittany (bottoms)

TROPES

THE CLOSET GAY - transparent closet - lipstick lesbian -girly girl with a tomboy streak - hard-drinking party girl - hypocrite - weight woes - deadpan snarker & stepford snarker - always second best (to her sister bryn & in some ways to greer) & successful sibling syndrome - jerk with a heart of gold - aloof dark haired girl

OGDEN COLLEGE 2022-2023

MAJOR:

Literature & Classics

MINOR:

Art History

EXTRACURRICULARS:

KKG President, Undergraduate Student Council, Art Club, Writing Club, Ballet Company

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Mari Zuko

NICKNAME(S): Mar, but usually she just goes by Mari

DATE OF BIRTH: february 1st, 2001

AGE: twenty-two

ZODIAC CHART: aquarius sun, scorpio moon, libra rising. also pisces mercury, cancer mars, pisces venus, gemini jupiter, taurus saturn

OCCUPATION: student at ogden college

HOMETOWN: boston, mass

NATIONALITY: american

ETHNICITY: white (unspecified), ashkenazi jewish

LANGUAGE(S): english

GENDER & PRONOUNS: cis female, she/her

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: lesbian.....ally, bc she's straight, she's soooo straight (she's gay)

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

FACE CLAIM: Kaia Gerber

HEIGHT: 5′10″

EYE COLOR: Dark brown

HAIR COLOR + STYLE: dark to medium brown, occasionally highlighted blonde, but usually worn long with layers & curtain bangs

ACCENT + INTENSITY: TBD

TATTOO(S): TBD

SCAR(S): TBD

PIERCING(S): TBD

GLASSES: TBD

CLOTHING STYLE: TBD

PERSONALITY

MBTI TYPE: TBD

POSITIVE TRAITS: meticulous, captivating, intelligent

NEGATIVE TRAITS: reckless, standoffish, controlling, selfish, aloof

SKILLS: deceit, making the patriarchy work in her favor, being the life of the party

GOALS/DESIRES: TBD

FEARS: TBD

HOBBIES: TBD

HABITS: TBD

SMOKES? yes

DRINKS? yes

DRUGS? yes

EXPANDED PERSONALITY:

Mari Zuko may not have been the typical sorority president. She was sardonic, dry, brash, and most importantly - never caught dead in a pastel. But it became clear from an early age that Mari was the one who her parents pinned their hopes on. Bryn, her older sister, made it obvious she wasn’t going to indulge their father - the dean of Ogden College - and did the exact opposite. In fact, she didn’t even apply to college. So the pressure all fell on Mari. And it’s not that she exactly cared…maybe ambition was too strong a word, considering Mari’s goals weren’t motivated on any personal level, but she certainly had goals. They just were motivated by her desire for others admiration, envy, and, of course, their approval. 

HOW SHE EMBODIES HER CHARACTER TROPE: THE CLOSET GAY

Mari is the second daughter of two parents with extraordinarily high expectations for their children. While Bryn, her elder sister, always was able to shake them off without much effort, Mari often felt like she was collapsing under the weight of what they wanted for her. It didn’t help that her father was the Dean of Ogden, his ever sharp eyes on what the going ons on campus were. Not to say Mari didn’t have moments of weakness - she absolutely did. And Greer was one of those moments.

But regardless of her relationship with Greer, Mari knew her coming out wouldn’t be all that accepted or welcomed. She was a sorority president. She was the Dean’s daughter. She had high standards she had to live up to, and as her sister had already discarded those, the expectations for both Zuko sisters fell on her. Regardless of her feelings for Greer, Mari knew they weren’t enough to be ready to come out. Especially when some days, it seemed like half the campus felt the same way

CONNECTIONS

some wanted dynamics -

an angsty tense frenemies situation - do i want to be her or do i want to be with her vibes

more homoerotic friendships. always more homoerotic friendships. it's a closeted queer girls right !!!

any wlw dynamics. like, literally any lmao

someone mari is using to try to get over greer - could honestly be someone masc (rip) or femme, but it's very much just about mari trying to move on

speaking of mascs, ummm, more sad hook-ups bc mari is trying to be straight are always fun (read: angsty) to write !!!

the npc she hooked up with and called greer at the beginning of the year xoxo

still would love a bearding relationship tbh

this would be a past connection, but mari's first girl experience - probably someone from high school, another charged homoerotic friendship for the girlies

men she butts heads with tbh

um ... friends. female friends, specifically, but friends in general would be cool.

RELATIONSHIP TO GREER: 

Mari knew that she wasn’t straight, but something about Greer - who she became close with their freshman year, having met several times when they were younger thanks to the Morrison parents being Ogden alumnae (and of course, Mari's father being the Dean) - sharpened all of that. The way she commanded attention in a crowd, the way she lit up a room. Mari fell hard, and fast. But Greer always had boyfriends. Greer was straight. At least publicly.

That was something that Mari felt they had in common, for a long time. That they were straight. Or at least, they weren’t out. But behind closed doors, regardless of what their relationship statuses may have been, the two girls were…together. They passed it off as being close friends, Mari a sorority girl with a penchant for partying that slid right into Greer’s inner circle, but the two of them knew that wasn’t the case. That it was something more.

BIOGRAPHY

TBD

FAMILY

family page tbd

SOCIAL CLASS: upper class

FATHER: Dean Zuko (Timothy Olyphant FC)

MOTHER: Ruth Zuko (Rachel Weisz FC)

SIBLING(S)? one older sister - Bryn Zuko (Emily Ratajkowski FC)

SOME FUN FACTS

when mari starts feeling defensive, too vulnerable, or anything along those lines where she feels like she's somewhat backed into a corner, she tends to default to sarcasm so she can hide it

mari holds herself together pretty well, and seems like she's well behaved to the public eye - but girl can party, and when she goes out? she goes hard.

tw eating disorder thanks to her parents never-ending pressure growing up, and feeling like she has to live up to her older sister, one thing mari felt like she could always control was her diet, and she's teetered on the edge of a serious eating disorder for years

she's a huge lit nerd and loves poetry - specifically, vaguely sapphic poetry. emily dickinson is her favorite !!!

she can get pretty manipulative and petty and passive aggressive - it takes a lot to push her there, but she will get there, and usually once she's there with someone, she stays there. exhibit a - monty

she is not very athletic but she did pretend to play tennis freshman year to check out greer (see: slocg when leighton is trying to get with tatum)

she did used to dance ballet, and quit before coming to college. her parents didn't think it was a serious enough career

neither do they think studying poetry is serious enough - so if anyone asks, mari wants to be an editor or something

but in reality, she takes every poetry or feminist lit class she can

FALL SEMESTER TOUCHBASE

let's see - after homecoming with the texts, mari thought "g" might actually be greer - and nearly lost her damn mind

she ran into the very drunk, publicly allowed to be freaking out naive newcomer and it made her very angry and jealous and everything bc she felt like she couldn't act out like that, since no one knew the truth about her and greer

"no one" - link, ida, lennon, and sorta vaguely diego? knew i think that's it but if i'm forgetting we talked about your muse knowing PLEASE PLEASE message me again bc i feel like i am forgetting someone

she also then hooked up with someone to put greer out of her mind and accidentally called them by greer's name so that uh...didn't help

this year, besides the hook-up, ollie, jesse, kepler (....sort of, she's still denying it after those texts), & maybe milo (we'll see where the nye thread finishes up lol) have learned the truth (again if i'm missing your muse plz yell at me)

speaking of the texts, mari got blackmailed by g to send a text to all greer's hook-ups from last year during her bday party

she did not get any clues in the kkg haunted house - even though it's her chapter, mari flat out refuses to go through it every year so

but she knows about some of them - and she knows ollie suspected milo of being "g"

she then got a letter after thanksgiving, accused milo of planting it in her room, and shared it with jesse in a wholesome (read: drunken) bonding moment

realistically there's still more i one day would want to add to this, but !! for now !!! it's better than it was

[mari-zuko]

who: @montyrichler where: spring fling when: midway-ish through the night

Mari had been putting this off for as long as she had dared to, but with Spring Fling well on the way, and G's propensity for ruining events like this...she didn't dare ignore it any longer. She had downed a few drinks - perhaps more than she should've - her anxiety only increasing with each glass, rather than being soothed. But she found herself another one before she found herself at Monty's side. “Did you ever actually think we were right for each other?” Mari asked, blunt as she dropped the question to her ex, a wry sarcasm coating the words as she swirled the liquid in her drink - there wasn’t much of a need to ask, after all, was there? They so obviously weren’t, there was no way he had. 

[mari-zuko]

MARI ZUKO at the 2024 SPRING FLING

[bigmandiego]

Where: Administration Building When: Sometime in the Evening [ immediately after my self para ] Who: @mari-zuko

Diego walked down the hall back to the room he'd left the rest of the counsil in, noting the now opened door without any door handles on it, pushing it open wider as he stepped in. "Sorry everyone," he said, making it known he was back and glancing over at Mari with a nod of his head. "Sorry for taking up so much time of your night," he added to the building security who seemed prett put off by this whole ordeal. He thought an accidental lock in of student government members would make the night a little more interesting, but apparently it just made the guy annoyed. Fair enough.

Most of his peers had left, likely to go back to their rooms and finish the night. He gave a nod to the few people who had stayed before going to slowly gather his stuff, letting the rest filter out until it was only him and Mari left. "I don't know what I was supposed to find, but… I guess I found something." He'd been a bit vague in asking for her help, and telling her he'd let her in on why afterwards, but it was the truth. He did find something, and maybe it was what he was supposed to. "Thank you for the help, either way."

[mari-zuko]

Mari had been hoping that giving Diego some help wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass. With her luck lately, it certainly seemed like it might, but she had certainly been paranoid enough that it would. But she also wanted this all to end. And if this would help with that, whatever it was Diego was doing....then there was no way she could say no. When he came back to the room, she had let out a sigh, though really, it was only part of the worry, considering she still didn't really know what had happened.

She was fiddling with her phone, alternating between glancing at it and flipping through some of the papers from the council meeting they had been going through as she waited for the rest of members to filter out of their meeting room, her eyes darting back towards Diego every so often until it was finally just them. Her eyebrows slowly raised up on her forehead at his words, a slight look of confusion on her face. "What do you mean?" she asked. "What did you find? What did you even do?"

[anyaexe]

There's audible surprise in the inhale Anya pulls in following the other's revelation. She had expected .... truthfully, they weren't entirely sure. Some rapidly constructed lie, triggered by this ever-present sense of fight or flight Mari had seemed doomed to live under. It is not often that Anya finds themselves at a loss for words. A consequence of never taking anything seriously, there was always something to volley back, or comment on, or question. The silence that follows is prolonged, the cogwheels of her mind almost audible as they churn.

She should ask something clever, try something slightly underhand to get the answer she seeks, but all they can think to ask is this:

"Did, like, the two of you ... fuck?"

[mari-zuko]

A cough was quickly turned into a laugh, Mari giving Anya a surprised look, a hint of disbelief crossing her face. She was hoping it came off as if it was surprise that she was even asking, disbelief in the comfort level it would require to tip toe past the boundary of propriety that would typically stop such a conversation. "Why would you think that?" she asked, nearly scoffing out the question. Mari paused, lips parting slightly as she considered Anya, letting it appear as though she had some sort of realization. "Is this some sort of...jealousy thing?"

[ollieinoue]

Ollie pressed his lips together, turning his head away from Mari as he thought. "Here is the thing," He said, looking down at his hands. "You can send in my name, if you really end up not being able to think of anybody else. But this isn't about me." Maybe at one point he'd thought… But no, since his conversation with Eddie last October he was slowly coming around to the fact that maybe every single one of these secrets that reminded him… of something else, was not actually about him. "A part of me is worried that if you send in the wrong name maybe something bad will happen to you, and everyone who is wrong. That might just be paranoia and me over thinking as usual, though. So, yeah, I mean if you want you can send in my name. I don't really mind." What was G going to do about it? He didn't do whatever Mari's secret was about, so… Whatever. And, if he was being honest, G might even believe that Mari really found him suspicious if she came and questioned him. So, maybe nothing would even happen to her either. He had no idea.

[mari-zuko]

Mari frowned, thinking over Ollie's proposition. Perhaps she could send him in to G, and nothing would happen to her, and nothing would happen to him. She would just be...wrong. But perhaps he was right, and by saying the wrong name, something would go wrong for her. Or whoever she sent in. But regardless, she couldn't really worry about that, could she? Because at the end of the day, she could try to figure it out, but she had no way to actually know who did this. "Yeah," she said softly, head tipping back, eyes closing for a brief moment. At least if she said it was Ollie, she had permission from the person she was selling out. "Thanks. I don't want to screw you over though. We both know you don't have to do something to get blamed for it," she said softly as she glanced back in Olli's direction, shrugging up her shoulders. "But I appreciate the offer."

[bigmandiego]

Diego made a so-so motion with his hand. "I heard that you were sent messages from G about each other," he said. Other than that, Ollie had been kind of vague about it, whatever happened seemed to upset him. Diego hadn't really pressed for much more from anyone else. He figured that had been the problem though, not that more had happened, just that whatever the content of the message was had been upsetting. That was fair enough.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he listened to Mari, slowly taking the pathway step by step, and making the walk from Greek Row to the dorms last as long as it needed to. "Huh…" Diego said, thoughtfully. "That makes a little bit of sense, doesn't it? Last year when the stuff about Milo, and Link was leaked didn't G imply that maybe Link was blackmailing Greer as well? Or that he certainly could be if he was doing that to his dad." Diego didn't know anything about Link's life, he hardly knew Link, but it stood to reason that if he was threatening one person for money, he could be doing it more. "Maybe it really is that simple. I have no idea why they'd want Greer and my roommate to end their relationship, but maybe it doesn't matter if I know why or not."

[mari-zuko]

Mari gave a few nods of her head in the affirmative, not entirely recalling what the details were of everything last year with Milo and Link and all. Besides the whole turned out she and her roommate - and Diego, she supposed, the realization coming to her now that he was walking directly beside her - had been sleeping with the same person. A fact that made it a bit hard to focus on everything that was going on with other people. "I never got that impression, to be honest. That Link was holding something over Greer's head. But...again, it's obviously there was more going on with Greer than she let most of us know, so maybe she was just good at hiding it," Mari said, somehow able to prevent the words from turning totally bitter as she spoke, though her voice did quiet to a soft murmur. "And again, the fact that I was prompted to talk to them about it...makes me think there's more there. Couldn't tell you why either." Maybe it was that simple, and maybe it was more about the fact that Greer hadn't been in the happy relationship she had portrayed. Mari's stomach practically knotted as she thought about it, wondering if, yet again, this somehow came back to her. There had certainly been enough that had been dangled over her head to make her worry. "Or maybe it has something to do with why your roommate was really pulled out of school for a few months there," she said after a moment. Anything to point the finger away from the other side of that relationship.

[walshparker]

"no, right, exactly," parker was quick to answer. the hand with the rose swiftly came back to her side, the motioned filled with anger flimsily masqueraded as annoyance. "the amount of people i've met at a party that were like, greer invited me, greer told me to come, we met in class is heinous. and unrealistic. just like this stupid prompt." but even as she disregarded it aloud, parker's mind turned with possible interpretations. they spun behind her eyes like clothes in an over-stuffed washing machine until one happened to fall out.

"but if someone was lying about how they knew greer, she must've been letting them—or wanting them to. right? no way she'd let someone go around claiming something bogus unless it was better than the alternative."

[mari-zuko]

“Right…” Mari said, the word drawn out into several syllables, the slightest furrow appearing between her eyebrows as she mentally tried to put together the pieces of a puzzle she had no idea what the entire picture was of. "Yeah," she agreed again a moment later, her lips pressing together for a moment, eyes distant before she blinked her focus back to Parker. "I guess that's what you have to figure out. Or what whoever wants you to figure out. The circumstances that would've made Greer okay with it, rather than just...the run of the mill people trying to claim to be closer to her than they were." She paused, eyes widening the slightest amount as something, something nearly clicked in her mind, though she couldn't quite put grasp it, the realization nearly there but dancing away from her in the utmost frustration. "Or maybe it is about everyone lying," she said slowly, the wrinkle reappearing between her brows as Mari desperately grasped for some sort of clarity. "Sorry. I'm probably being even more cryptic than your anonymous note," Mari finally said, a delicate laughing slipping from her lips as she shook her head. "I just can't figure out what they want from us, you know?"

[milonavarroo]

He nodded his head. He would have to agree. It felt like just about everyone had probably said something about their parents disowning them at one point or another. "I have no idea who this could be about," he said, shaking his head. "Maybe G just over heard someone saying this one day and took it as fact." Maybe they really just were bullshitting and had misinterpreted some joke. "I could send myself in. That's how stupid this is." More like he could send his dad in, because if he ever left the Navarro family it would likely be of his own free will. "They couldn't be more detailed, I guess. They'd much rather be clever and send a stupid little poem."

[mari-zuko]

“Possibly,” Mari allowed, lips pursing out ever so slightly. Eavesdropping was as likely as anything, it seemed - G had to be collecting all this information somehow. She sighed, fiddling with the roses she had been handed for a moment, the very idea of what she might find upon opening them nearly making her wanting to toss the entire handful. "You think that's what they're doing? Just leaving things purposefully vague enough that we think they're talking about something that could really be...anything?" she asked, a wrinkle appearing in her brow. "Did she only think things were about her because...she knew they were? "I don't know," Mari said a beat later, immediately contradicting herself. "Feels like odds are there's someone who was close to Greer that is at risk of being disowned."

[montyrichler]

"Because you're a cunt!" That got a few heads turning. Others in the kitchen glanced over and then away, because it's just Mari and Monty, going at it like it was 2021 all over again. Best to give them a wide berth and let it be. He hated how easily he fell into the trap of routine, painfully aware that he was doing just what Mari accused him of -- causing a scene, playing the victim -- but he couldn't help it. Anger rose like bile in his throat, glaring in the face of her sickly sweet smile. "You're so fucking sanctimonious, you know that? Do you even hear yourself when you're speaking? Jesus!" Hands thrown outward in a gesture of exhaustion. "Both you and Greer, up in your ivory tower together. I fucking hate you."

Monty cracked first, predictably and right on schedule, Mari's perfect composure needling him where it hurt. "No," he answered with a snarl of a look, meant to be defiant, but it didn't mean much when he took a retreating step backwards at the same time. He'd brought this on himself, really, picking a fight with Mari because the one he'd tried with Ollie hadn't stuck. He didn't want her pushback, though, unaddressed guilt probing at the edges of his drunken logic. "There's nothing that I wanna say about Ollie. Not to you."

[mari-zuko]

"Fuck you, Monty," Mari snapped back, her voice sharp, louder than it normally would've been. Usually, in their frequent fights, she had let him be loud, let him be the one grabbing attention, while she just seethed and glowered and gave him the cold shoulder. And while, yes, he was drawing most of the eyes, her retorting at all wasn't exactly the norm.

Time had certainly changed since the days of their dating.

Her smile spread, sly as she realized how sore of a spot she had just touched on, one eyebrow arching up ever so slightly. "Well, that's rich," she crooned, her arms crossing over her chest. "Because I'd rather not say anything to you, and yet here you still are." At least Monty had taken a step back, Mari using the space to take one back herself, swiping a bottle - a full liquor bottle, not even bothering to disguise it - off the counter as she gave him a disdainful look over her shoulder, leaving him behind to disappear out of the kitchen and back into the party. Not that she much wanted to be there either.

END.

[jessehart]

Jesse made a disappointing tsk sound, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I guess I'll just pine and forever wonder what if." The teasing lilt in his voice drew a smirk onto his lips, glad that whatever, exactly, his relationship was with Mari, that they'd both arrived here in some strange semblance of comfort. They understood each other in a way that too many others couldn't and for that, he would always have her back.

His smirk grew into a real, genuine smile as she agreed and he slipped his arm through hers, tugging her through the party toward the drinks to salvage whatever they could from their night.

[mari-zuko]

END.

[ollieinoue]

"Well, only a few more months and it's all over," Ollie said. Although he knew that Greek like was kind of a thing you were always in, but it didn't mean you had to be involved. Maybe Mari could just keep making excuses that she was too busy to do any alumni things. No, sorry I'm super busy doing art history hoe things, or whatever Mari was planning to do after Ogden. If he was being honest he was one of those annoying 'do humanities degrees really lead to much of a career?' people, but he knew enough not to say that out loud.

Ollie shrugged his shoulders, and had to give a small laugh. "The whole purpose was getting them off of campus," he pointed out. "Because if they're found on campus that directly says it's someone on campus that is dealing. It says that half of us are on drugs. We don't need to deal with that." Maybe Mari didn't get the innate paranoia one could feel when dealing with the police when you knew you were so deeply entrenched with something that illegal. She probably didn't. "Did you know that it wasn't until then last year that Monty even considered what he'd do if he ended up in jail? Like I think about it literally all the time. That's crazy…" Right? It was him that was the normal one in this situation for sure. "Anyway, what everyone doesn't know won't hurt them. I'm sure having a party at your dad's former place will be like... a slap on the wrist if we're found out."

[mari-zuko]

"You think?" Mari mused, her voice quiet - not particularly cynical, but dry enough that it was clear that she didn't quite believe it. Be that because she'd never be able to get away, not with her father who he was (though his being fired certainly afforded a freedom she hadn't previously expected), or because she thought G wouldn't let any of them...well, it was a bit of both. Not that she'd elaborate on ay of that to Ollie. Or anyone.

A small snort of laughter left her, Mari's eyes rolling as nearly a reflex to her ex being brought up. "I too think about Monty going to jail all the time," she said, the quip conversational, a flash of an innocent smile on her face. She knew that wasn't exactly what Ollie was saying, but she couldn't resist. At least she didn't add the hopefully she wanted to. "But you're right. May as well. Not like anyone else is making use of the house," she said with a shrug, standing up again, unable to stay still for too long with the near constant stream of anxiety she had been experiencing. "What other details do we need to figure out?" she asked. At least there was the distraction of throwing herself into planning this party.

[ironlvngs]

link lifts an eyebrow, not fully suspicious, but curious. mari's timing on the questioning wasn't nothing. he studies her for a beat, not in a confrontational way — just enough to let her know he noticed. still, he lets it go as quickly as he thinks about it, shrugging off the weight before it settles. he leans back slightly, tapping the side of his glass with a knuckle, letting the tension bleed out of the moment. "champagne sounds like a better idea than talking about old ghosts. i won't stop you." he says with a small grin.

END.

[walshparker]

parker nodded in understanding. really, she didn't know what she'd originally expected. the conversation hadn't exactly aligned with a releasing of floodgates from either of them, even if the blonde figured she was a little more keen on opening up about all it. most of it, technically. but what was there to even spill about, anyway? greer was there one day, packing up her things, and the next she was god only knew where. if she'd said or done anything noteworthy or suspicious parker was sure it would've come out by now. no one could hold onto that throughout the last year and then some. not after penny.

right?

"yeah," parker chuckled flatly. "pretty sure we all assumed she was doing something else. something better." her eyes rolled, despite having casually revealed that specific insecurity. any shame wasn't evident, though, as she pulled into a parking space. just a sort of factual acceptance. "ready?"

[mari-zuko]

END.

[philosophybits]

“Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood.”

— Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

[montyrichler]

Having Mari so elegantly verbalize his worst fears -- that he was eternally on the outside, that he only served a purpose, that nothing he had at Ogden was real -- made him want to leap to defend his relationship with Greer, but how could he? He was the one that just called her a bitch half a dozen times in a row. And, besides, Mari would know best, wouldn't she? Even if by some slim chance Monty truly had been Greer's friend like he chose to claim, Mari had been her best friend. Greer was prominent in nearly every freshman year memory he had of Mari, and vice versa, the two of them a set pair in a way that he might've found enviable if he hadn't found Ollie. How many parties had he returned with drinks only to find Mari and Greer giggling together, telling him that it was nothing, he wouldn't get it? How many times had he been the 'nothing' they were laughing at?

As she shrugged out from under his touch, Monty's expression darkened. "No," he retorted, just as firmly as Mari had spoken. He slipped off the counter, crowding into her personal space with the intent to follow her step-for-step, no matter how far or how quickly she backed off. "I wanna talk to you. Because you suddenly have sooo much to say!" A seething sort of sarcasm coated his words, biting and hostile, no longer even attempting an artificial smile. "I think it's great, really, that we've managed to turn over this new leaf of honesty between us. Let's keep the ball rolling, right? Should I do one now?" The rhetorical question was followed by a mocking widening of his eyes, hand briefly pressed to his chest before sobering to continue, "Or, no - do you wanna tell me something new about my relationship with Ida? Or Penny, maybe? Since you seem to be the expert on dead girls."

[mari-zuko]

Mari took a step back as Monty slid into her personal space, though her chin quickly raised as he followed, refusing to back any further, even as he crowded her. She looked down at him, her eyes narrowing as his hand pressed to his chest with some attempt at an earnest portrayal, though it just had her scoffing. He really had no idea what he was asking for, saying he wanted honesty. "Oh, shut up, Monty," she said, the words bursting from her, a dramatic roll of her eyes following the statement. "You wanna play the victim now?" Mari's voice shifted into a conversational lilt, her expression turning sharp a she flashed a smile at him - toothy and near feral instead of any sort of expression of happiness. "Go ahead. Make a scene. You always did anyways, no matter my feelings on the matter. Why do you think I spent more time with Greer than you anyways?"

She paused, head angling towards one shoulder, this time Mari taking a step in towards Monty - they'd be eye to eye if she wasn't taller than him, the shoes she was wearing adding even more of a height advantage. "I'll pass on delving into your relationships with Ida and Penny, though," she said, her tone turning saccharine as she continued on. "Were there? Relationships, that is? Maybe we should just stick with talking about ones that are actually real. You wanna talk about you and Ollie? It's his birthday party too. And yet you're in here harassing me."

[jessehart]

Jesse gave a wordless nod and dropped the subject. Just like that. He was curious and he wanted to talk about it more, but he also knew that talk about shitty dads could very easily ruin a night, so. He'd drop it.

Jesse snorted when she said she wanted to get fucked up, a very big part of him right there with her. And he did consider it for a minute because he'd gone this long, he felt good. Why not prove to himself he was fine? And have some fun? And fucking forget just how fucked everything was and how sure he felt that his father was at least a little bit involved?

But he was smart enough to know that was probably why he shouldn't. Forgetting, numbing... those had been the reasons he'd sought out harder and harder shit. He didn't want to fall back into the patterns that had shown him that shit actually could get so much worse. And then she went and brought that up and Jesse's inward conflict evaporated as a surprised snort tore out of him. "Aw, you mean it wasn't as good for you as it was for me?" There was still a tinge of embarrassment when he thought about it, but he was far enough removed from that version of himself to not also feel the shame. "What if I watch you get super fucked up and make a fool out of yourself to make me feel better?"

[mari-zuko]

Mari reached out, giving Jesse a light pat on the chest, a simpering smile coming over her face as she leaned into the teasing of him - grasping any topic that wasn't her father, really. "Sorry, babe. Don't think I'll be giving you any second chances any time soon," she said, the curl of her lips giving away that she wasn't being serious.

Well, she was deadly serious about what she was saying - she just didn't mean it it as an insult.

"Honestly?" she said after a moment, raising an eyebrow as her expression turned more serious. "That sounds ideal. Just stop me before I make too much of a fool of myself, yeah?"