2025-10-17: The Heart of Style
- Log: 2025-10-17 The Heart of Style
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Ann Takamaki
- Where: Shujin Academy roof, Tokyo
- OOC Date: October 17, 2025
- IC Date: July 27, 2012
- Summary: Ren asks Ann to help them get better at using make-up--and in the process of doing so, comes out to her as non-binary. After a brief romantic misunderstanding, Ann does precisely that. Beauty ensues!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Friday... Each day that passes this week feels like an eternity to Ren Amamiya--as if they were twice as long as they should be. That's exam season for you, one supposes. When they put down their pencil at the last exam of the day and pass their sheet forward for the teacher, they lean back in their chair and stretch, then breathe out a long sigh. Just one more day. One more day, and they're finally free of exam hell.
...Today's subject might've gone worse than some of the others this week. Ren made gains on math, and they were already good at English and Japanese lit, but history and science are still tough for them, and social studies is fucking terrible.
As tempting as it would be to hang their head back and ooze in their seat, though, someone sits behind them, so they force themself to sit upright. Morgana, hidden in their desk, gives them an encouraging nod, and they give him a faint smile back before leaning forward. Today was rough, so they'd like to do something to raise their spirits before finishing off the exams tomorrow...
They glance forward at Ann. Discreetly, they tear a strip of paper from their notebook--Morgana moves his foot to let them do this--and write a brief note that they pass forward to her.
It reads: "Meet me on the roof in 5?"
~ * ~
The advantage of finals week is that most people, teachers included, are too wrung out to pay much attention to what anyone else is doing. It's thus not hard to just walk up to the technically-off-limits rooftop and hang out there. The door isn't kept locked--especially not now that Makoto is part of the team--and so Ren can slip up there for a quiet lunch, or, in this case, to talk to a friend in private after classes.
They're leaning on one of the massive A/C units there when Ann arrives, messing with their smartphone as Morgana hangs out atop a nearby desk. At her arrival, they look up and smile as they put their phone away. "Hey," they greet her. "Sorry to call you out all of a sudden, but I had a question. It's a little personal, so I wanted it to be just between us..." Morgana excepted, but he already knows what Ren intends to ask. It's something they've been meaning to ask for a while... but seeing Tsubasa yesterday helped them make up their mind to actually do it.
"Can you help me learn how to do make-up well?"
...There, it's out--before Ren can second-guess themself. They tuck their hands in their pockets and keep their expression schooled in casual neutrality as they wait for Ann's reaction.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Exam week.
Is there any greater moment of suffering in the entirety of the human race?
Ann Tamaki firmly and passionately says NO, THERE IS NOT!
She may revise this opinion shortly after exam week is finally over and her personal feelings on the matter are no longer applicable BUT FOR NOW IT'S A HEINOUS CRIME AGAINST HER YOUTHFUL HEART
With her only good subject long-since over, today has been a day of dread and suffering for Ann, who now firmly believes those Enchanting Academy Car episodes she watched as a child were lying to her and there is absolutely nothing magical about science at all -- just a bunch of words that cluster too many confusing consonant-pairs together, is all it REALLY is!
As such, by the time Ren is refusing to give in to the post-exam malaise, making good on a thing they promised themself --
they'll find Ann Takamaki in front of them, slumped into her seat like a bag of bones, head hanging back and (quietly!) groaning like her soul was actively leaving her body.
Paper nudges against her sleeve. The groaning stops. Ann blinks, looks down at that offered note and, with a curious stare, discretely plucks it up.
Blonde brows furrow at the note question. Phantom business, maybe? No, then wouldn't everyone else go? Or... hm...
Ann, a thieving -pro-, drops her hand to give a subtle 'ok' sign of agreement as she chews over the possibilities.
~ <3 ~
By the time after school has officially begun and the five minute mark has passed by, Ann Takamaki is like 99.999999% sure that Ren Amamiya is going to confess to her.
Which is weird, because she has -totally- not gotten that vibe from them -at all-. It's part of what made them so easy to talk to! Wouldn't someone be drawn in by the Shujin bad boy thing by now, anyway?! Oh god, what if Ren is a player and she didn't even know it! How embarrassing!
None of this sounds even remotely right, but what else could it be? What could it POSSIBLY be?
She's trying to convince herself that Ren just wants to hang out by the time she reaches the roof and offers up a slightly hesitant smile. "H-hey," she begins.
Ren has a question! Oh god!
It's a little personal!! Oh god!!
JUST BETWEEN THEM!!! OHMIGOD!!!
No one has personal questions just between them for a hang sesh! He's even got MORGANA here to act as an OBVIOUS wingman! (wingcat--?)
Oh no! This is so awkward! She was right! How is she going to let Ren down gently and not spoil the party dynamic--?? She needs to approach this carefully...!
Can you help me learn how to do make-up well"I don't like you like that sorry!!"
A second passes in which what Ann presumed was going to be Ren's confession and her kneejerk overlapping rejection just kind of linger in the air until she realizes that is not at all what they asked.
"Wait. What?"
Reality rebounds. And Ann--
"HahahaaaA! I-I-I mean! Of COURSE I can! T-that's, like, so doable, like crazy! Don't worry about what I said before! Ahaha!" she laughs a very normal laugh and waves a hand dismissively, hopping DIRECTLY on the actual subject to distract from WHATEVER was going through her head -- before the actual question actually, fully catches up to her with a blink of sky blue eyes.
"--You want to learn make-up? Is this for some kinda cosplay thing...? Or -- or -- infiltration stuff?? Oh! Like disguise kits?!"
Disguise kits! Why didn't she think of that??
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Everyone knows that the worst possible thing that could ever happen to you is the bad thing that is happening to you right now.
Ren is at least Understanding enough to not snort a laugh when they see Ann draped on her desk like she is dead and dying. It's still funny, but they don't laugh at it. When she signs an OK back at them, they give her a tiny smile and nod.
And then...
In all fairness to Ann: it does, initially, have sort of the vibe of a confession. Exams almost over, a secret note just for her, a stop on the rooftop where no one else will be because they're Bad and no one else is, a lovely view with a breeze... Sure, Ren has never tried to hit on her or even acted like they're into her like that, but still! (They do think she's hot, but that's because it's an acknowledgement of an objective fact. Ren's friends are all ridiculously good-looking. Even Ryuji has those bitchin' cheekbones.)
Ren does see her starting to freak out, but they're hoping their question will clear up any problems--except Ann doesn't so much jump to conclusions so much as dives head-first into them with assault rifles ablaze.
They raise both eyebrows at her. "Uh."
'Wait. What?'
"Did you think I..."
And Ann bursts into nervous laughter before waving them off. Ren smiles. Ann's still their funniest friend. ...Good thing they weren't trying to confess to her, huh... That would've been a heart-shattering reaction. As it stands, it's just kind of hilarious.
That smile does turn a little awkward when Ann asks why they want to learn make-up. Those are all very good excuses, especially the disguise kit one. Normally, they'd just nod and let her assume what she wants, but... Ren shares a long glance with Morgana. (Ann was right about one thing: Morgana's here to be Ren's emotional support. She just completely failed to guess what kind of emotional support. (Ren would never be so cruel as to make Morgana wingcat for them for the girl he's got an obvious crush on...))
"Go on, then," Morgana says encouragingly. Ren nods once, then looks back at Ann.
"No... Well, disguise kits are a good idea, but..." They take a deep breath and let it out. They... want to be more free and honest about who they are, like Tsubasa. At the very least, if they can't be out to the general public, they want to be out to their closest friends. On top of being their friend who's best at make-up, Ann's a supportive and open-minded kind of person. Starting with her should hopefully be a good temperature gauge for the team. Hopefully. Here goes...
"...Let me ask you this first. Do you know what being X-gender is?"
...okay, okay, but if she does, that'll save a lot of time.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Did you think I...
"M-moving on!!"
Look. It's called 'getting ahead of the issue' and it is HIGHLY EFFECTIVE except in cases where you completely misjudge the issue! Ann was just being efficient! ... Inefficiently!
(yes; ann would be unintentionally brutal to be rejected by)
But! Through the sheeer power of 'being Ann Takamaki,' Ann Takamaki pushes past this and gets to the heart of the issue: Ren wants to learn makeup. But: why? Really -- the why of it isn't a dealbreaker to Ann so much as a curiosity. She assumes - again, for perfectly understandable reasons - it might be because of some hobby of Ren's that she doesn't know about because they have like hundreds of them and it's kinda dizzying -- OR that this has to do with their work as Phantom Thieves. Which, again: genius. Cognitive disguise! (nevermind that they're already cognitively disguised, this would be different! and cooler! and femme fataley!)
But it's as Ren shares that glance with Morgana that Ann gets the intuition that her assumptions aren't quite on the mark, once again. Brows furrowing, she glances between the two as Morgana encourages Ren on. She very astutely does -not- triumphantly point out that she was right and Morgana really -is- a wingcat because even she knows that would derail the conversation in -several- ways, so instead?
She just waits, patiently. The awkwardness of the previous faux pas behind her (seriously it was like a minute ago, that's all in the past now), Ann just clasps her hands behind her back and tilts her head to the right. She only has -one point- where she feels compelled to interrupt:
Well, disguise kits are a good idea, but...
"For real, right??"
But it's for entirely understandable reasons. Otherwise...
Do you know what being X-gender is?
Blonde brows lift. Does Ann of all people really know--
"Um... oh! Like... genderqueer? Or non-binary I guess is getting a lot more popular now... err. Like that?"
--
Well. Apparently yes. She might not know the Japanese terminology as well, but with the circles her parents travel in, and all the places she's lived -- maybe her having some exposure to these ideas isn't -too- surprising.
Either way. Time -- saved!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
And Morgana had a front-row seat to this brutal rejection...
* Morgana will remember that. In a bad way! (unless you dislike confrontation, then it's a good way)
But it's not like it was directed at him, and Ren takes being told 'let's just be friends' by a good friend in their usual aplomb. It's the question about the make-up that has them more nervous... though it isn't really about the make-up, per se. They have excuses if they really wanted one--Ann even helpfully handed them several--but they want to tell her the truth. Their truth. They want one of their best friends to know who they really are. S-so...
They ask her if she knows what being X-gender is, and wait nervously for her response. They don't really expect a positive response--at best, it'll be a neutral 'no, what's that?'--and that's fine and better than what it could be, but Ren really hates explaining things that are deeply personal to them, and they're already trying to think of how to do so in the briefest way possible--
Except not only does she already know, she knows foreign words for it too.
Ren blinks twice, taken aback.
"Uh. Yeah, actually. That's it exactly," they utter. (Being good at English and interested in languages means, fortunately, Ren knows those terms and what they're supposed to mean, so there isn't counter-confusion about different languages.) "Um... Huh! Sorry, I--" They rub the back of their neck. "I was kind of expecting you not to know, so I'm a little surprised..."
"Ren," Morgana says, a touch reproachful, a touch exasperated.
"Right, right. Uh. I guess I'm stalling a little." Ren slips their hand back in their pocket and looks down at the ground. The way Ann talked about it... it sounds like it's something that doesn't weird her out. Probably. It might hit different if it's someone she knows. But they won't know that until they say so, and they're too deep in it to back out--not that they wanted to back out, but now it would be weird if they chickened out. They lean back on the A/C unit, then meet her blue eyes.
"...So, in short, I'm genderqueer. Specifically, I'm genderfluid," they say, to-the-point and using the English terms. "Sometimes I'm a guy, like how I look, but sometimes I'm a girl, and sometimes I'm both and sometimes I'm neither. It all kind of flows for me. Uh, if you wanted to know, the Japanese word for that is futei-sei." They pause long enough to make sure Ann has time to absorb this. "...Anyway, since I'm all those things, I don't mind getting mistaken for male, since... I'm that at least some of the time. But it kind of sucks to get mistaken for that all the time, and I was thinking recently after I met a couple people like me... it'd be nice to get more in touch with my femininity..."
They feel their face heat. They manage to keep their temperament calm all the same. They trust Ann. They've decided to trust her about this side of themself. It's like Tsubasa said: they're not stealing from a finine well of womanhood by asking to be treated like a woman. They're--she's--just being true to herself. "...and I thought, one way to do that would be learning how to get better at make-up, and no one I know is better at make-up than you.
"So... can I count on you?"
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
There's a lot of things in life Ann Takamaki does not know about. Don't ask her about the history of World War I unless you want to be depressed at her being surprised there was a first world war. Don't ever ask for her advice on algebra. Chemistry? She should have professional oversight just in case she accidentally creates mustard gas.
But the social parts of life, especially compared to most of her peers? ... Ann is downright worldly.
It's similar to the way she takes Ren's confusion in good stride ("h-hey, it's not that surprising!" okay, mostly good stride). She just (mostly) settles an expectant look at Ren, brows lifted and head cant and pale fingers unlacing at her back to drop to her sides in a more relaxed stance.
Morgana urges Ren on, with a single utterance of his name. And Ann, despite now starting to formulate a better idea of what this is all about with her new previously-unavailable evidence, offers a little prompt:
"So this has to do with your question...?"
But otherwise she doesn't push it. She gets the sense - especially given that first question - that this is a sensitive topic. And she should know -- it's much easier to let people come to -you- about those kinds of things, than to try to force it out of them. After all-- that's exactly how it worked with her and Ren when they met, isn't it?
So she waits, otherwise. And when Ren explains, those sky blue eyes of Ann's flutter in a little blink. "Hum. Futei-sei... So kinda like... the way you want to express yourself changes from day-to-day?" she ventures slowly, considerately. It might be a moment where how the opposite party feels about all these revelations hang on an unknown of anticipation, and yet--
"Aheh. Sorry, I'm still kinda learning the Japanese terms for all of this!" --for Ann, anticipation is just dashed on the rocks of the casual way she scratches her cheek, and the lopsided smile that touches pink lips. Awkward not because of what Ren reveals, but because she feels bad for not knowing the proper terms for them -here-.
It's not a profound statement of acceptance or rejection, but a simple, more natural one: the kind of casual follow up that comes from someone who's already accepted you for who, and what, you are.
So when Ren talks about wanting to get in touch with their femininity - about wanting to learn how to do make-up - there's that same period of pensive silence from Ann that could be damning for anyone else. And yet--
"Hmmm... --oh! I know!"
Ann's eyes widen. She snaps her fingers like a Eureka Moment. You can practically see the lightbulb flash.
"Sit over there for a sec, okay?" Pink-and-blue lacquered nails gesture towards that messy assemblage of abandoned desks and chairs near the ventilation systems; soon enough, she's swinging her satchel around, unzipping it.
"So, like... make-up can be really complicated if you make it that way. And it is, like, super tricky to master, but in a lot of ways, the simpler you keep it, the better. Ssssooooo..."
And here, Ann tosses something out of her bag and into the air. It glints against the rays of the sun before it snatches it from gravity's embrace and presents it:
A bottle of rose pink NAILIST ('this item makes your nails beautiful.' it reads) rose pink nail polish.
"Let's start with the basics!"
Because to Ann, the answer was already a foregone conclusion.
Of -course- she would help.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It is exactly how it worked with her and Ren. Of their group, Ann and Ren are by far the most socially intelligent (another reason why Ren's come to her for this)--Ann for her intuition, Ren for their observant nature. The more they talk, the more they see Ann settling in after that initial confusion, and the more encouraging that is to them. She might have gravely misunderstood things at first, but that's fine--the fact that she just comes out and says what she thinks means that misunderstanding didn't have any chance to fester, either.
"Yeah, more or less," Ren replies of futei-sei--literally 'indeterminate gender,' for the record. They smile at her apology, because it is a symbol that she's already accepted them for who they are--that she understands, or at least understands enough to be embarrassed more about not knowing the language. Intellectually, they figured it would be like this--it'll probably be like this with all their current friends--but emotionally... it's hard to shake that fear of rejection.
Aloud, they reassure her, "I'm sure I don't know all the terms either. I had... someone, once, who helped me out with queer stuff, but he wasn't X-gender, just gay. I know what I know because I looked it up. Amazing what you can find on the internet, huh?" They shrug a bit. "Oh, and for pronouns--I'm okay with whatever, so you can keep calling me 'he' if you want, but 'they' and 'she' are welcome too." They pause. Ann has paused to think, so they add, "But, uh... after Morgana, you're the only one in our group who knows, so... keep it to yourself for now?" They rub the back of their neck. "...I want the chance to tell them myself."
She snaps her fingers and directs them to sit. They do so, seating themself at the one desk-chair combo. Morgana hops over to a chairless desk nearby and turns to watch--both Ren, and Ann as she triumphantly holds up a tiny, glinting bottle of--
"Nail polish?"
That's what Ren says as it rises up and then falls back down into Ann's hands. There's a bit of a glint off their glasses, but only a flash, and only for a flash. It doesn't hide their eyes from view at all. On the contrary, they're soft as they smile again and present their hands.
"...That's perfect."
Pink is not necessarily their color, but beggars can't be choosers--of course this is what Ann would just happen to have on her right now. Plus... Ren finds she's eager to start now that they know for certain that Ann will help. For her part, when Ann approaches and sees her hands, she'll find that Ren keeps her nails a little bit long. Not so long as to stand out--especially given that she tends to keep her hands in her pockets--but long enough to be noticeable, now that she's looking at them. Certainly longer than a cis boy would keep them.
"I've experimented with make-up before, back home. Dresses and skirts too," she adds. "But, you know... Always in my bedroom with the door locked. So I have a feel for it a little? But not enough to be good at it. Especially since... it's been a while." She meets Ann's eyes. "I'm just fine with starting over with the basics."
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
"Mm-mm. The internet's got a lot of surprising stuff on it! Though some of it is, er. Kinda dodgy. ... and social media can be kinda exhausting..."
Ann is losing the plot here.
"--but for this kinda stuff, it's great!"
There we go.
As Ann speaks, she rifles through her bag, a smile on her lips. "It's good you had a friend for this kinda thing though," she notes as she works. "I didn't really have friends exactly, but I kinda met a lot of people in those circles thanks to my parents' work. The times I got to join them, anyway." Her brows furrow, faintly. "A-anyway... it's not like super uncommon in modeling culture, so I did a lot of learning through 'ozymandias', I guess."
Osmosis.
... she means osmosis
where did she even
REGARDLESS -- once Ren makes her request, and she's officially snatched her nail polish and revealed it unto her? The blonde is swift to snap a sideways v-sign next to her face and stick out a victoriously cheeky tongue, wink and all.
"Of course~! Your secret's safe with me, Ren. I'm like a vault!" Shut up. She IS. ... When it matters!!
She beams a bit here, though, arms dropping to swing about in a little motion of giddiness.
"Hee hee... It does make me pretty happy to know you'd trust me with this, though."
With that, she settles down next to Ren at those desks. Unscrewing the top of her polish, she listens to her friend, head bobbing as she does.
"Stuff like this is all about learning by doing. It's such a confusing thing at first," she offers by way of encouragement. "But eventually, y'know? It just kinda becomes second nature." She pauses, head lifting and scratching her cheek. "... Though to be honest, I never really thought about what 'dressing feminine' means though... huh." She knows the styles, the differentiations, the gradations, but. It's different when you actually think about it, isn't it? It's such a broad spectrum -- what does a feminine style of dress really mean...?
Eventually, she shakes her head, removes herself from the weeds, and focuses on the task at hand: the nails! "There's a couple steps besides this you're probably gonna wanna learn, and I'll walk you through 'em too -- like, um, for example, buffing your nails beforehand! For beginners, liquid latex is so great -- if you apply it around your nails it helps to keep the paint off your skin and cuticles if you're still getting used to things, or you have a shaky hand, or whatever." She beams an eye-shutting smile.
"Lucky for you, I'm pretty awesome at this~."
Polish is pulled out. She wipes once, twice, and once satisfied, gets to work, talking casually as she does.
"There's a process to all of this, but some products simplify it. This one's a five-in-one polish, see?" she plucks up the bottle and jangles it around demonstrably here "So you don't need to worry about applying a base or a finishing coat with it. Pretty cool, right? But I think there's value in going through all the steps and learning how to apply a base, too."
And here, that brush presses down, on the center of Ren's index finger. It strokes one short, confident brush stroke down the middle. "First the middle," she instructs, "then one side..." Down the right, now, "... and then the other..." down the left, "... and then you blend it in!"
It's as she's making a few calm strokes to make sure that layer is even that she mentions, as if reading Ren's mind, "Mm. I don't think pink is really your color, but it'll have to do. For you, I'd probably like... alternate red and black, maybe? Red and black really pops with you. I don't know why. Maybe it's because of your whole vibe...? Anyway! Go with what looks nice to you. When you get -really- good at it, you can make cute little patterns, too. Even nail polish can do such a great job capturing and emphasizing your personality."
Ann: Make-Up Guru.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren gives Ann an emphatic nod about social media. After their conviction, they chose to delete all their online accounts. There wasn't anything or anyone they wanted to hear from anymore at that point, and it's frankly been quite peaceful since then. They aren't in a hurry to get new accounts. The things they need the internet for, they don't need social media on top of that. At least for now.
"Ozy... what?" she utters, blinking twice. "Isn't that a poem...?" (It's also a comic book character, but Ren is about books before they're about manga. Either way, she's confused about what an English sonnet has to do with Ann learning make-up.)
Well, it's not a huge deal either way. Ren's otherwise content to listen to Ann explain about her own experience, and grins when she poses and sticks her tongue out cutely.
"I was scared," they admit, of secrets and trust. "But I figured if anyone would be understanding, it'd be you." Of all her friends, Ann's the one she met first--even before Ryuji, albeit only by a few minutes. "Morgana already knows, but he overheard it. You're the first one in the group I've told." A muted smile. "...You trusted me, back then." When she admitted what was going on with her and Shiho and Kamoshida. "I wanted to trust you back."
It's so hard for Ren to trust others with deeply personal matters. She's so relieved this is going well.
Likewise, it's reassuring to hear Ann say make-up is confusing to begin with, too--that it's something you learn by doing and you get better by gaining experience. It makes her grateful for those first fumbling experiments; it makes it feel like they weren't a waste, because at least she has that initial feel (and also knows what not to do). "Really? That's kind of surprising, given that you're a model," Ren remarks, curious. "I'm interested in fashion too, to be honest. It's fun to wear something cool and stylish." Knowing Ann's issues with her cognitive costume, Ren does not bring up how 'cool and stylish' is exactly how they feel about their own, but that's what they have in mind. "Turning heads is fun, yeah? I like that kind of attention."
There is nail-painting to be done, though--and before the nail-painting, the nail-buffing and other tricks of the trade. Ren had no idea about either of these things, and she nods her head in interest. "How d'you buff your nails?" she asks. The liquid latex might or might not be useful later--Ren is confident in the steadiness of her hands. (At least, when she's not terrified and/or reliving trauma...) It wouldn't be bad to have just in case, though.
She grins at Ann's deserved boasting. "That's why I came to you," she says.
From there, she keeps her hands still as Ann gets to work. Five-in-one... Damn. There's a lot of steps that go into nail polish. She honestly had no idea... "Yeah, that's convenient," she replies. "I'd like to learn the full suite later, but it's good knowing there's something simple I can buy for myself later. Oh--speaking of, where do you recommend going to? I've seen stores in the Underground Mall in Shibuya, but I don't know which are best."
The brush presses down on Ren's nail. First the middle, then one side, then the other, and then you blend it in. Ren watches closely, and when it's done, she holds up her hand, fingers splayed, to admire the even coating. "Black and red are my favorite colors," she remarks. "And I bet pink and red are yours?"
Red looks good on both of them, honestly. It's a flashy color, but that's part of what Ren likes about it. Maybe she'll start with black, though. If she's going to paint her nails and leave the paint on afterwards, black feels easier to explain away to judgmental normies.
"I like it, though," she adds. Cute patterns... "That's something to look forward to. I've seen some amazing nail patterns in magazines before, but I thought those were the realm of professionals." She lowers her hands again and smiles at Ann. "When you're done this hand, can I try the other one? After I've seen you do a few more, I want to give it a shot."
After all, it's all about learning by doing.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Isn't that a poem...?
"I-is it?" wonders Ann Takamaki, eyes flying wide with surprise! She takes a moment. Digests this new knowledge. Taps her chin exactly once.
"... Maybe that's where the word came from...?"
And learns absolutely nothing.
Fortunately, there's just -no time- to learn a new fact, like 'what words actually are' because -- it's nail painting time! And in this much, Ann's confidence and blithe certainty is at least on topics she actually knows about! Extensively! And friendship -- which she hasn't has quite as much experience with of late thanks to the joys of xenophobia, but takes to like a natural. See also, the way she "hee"s out a happy little titter as Ren talks about trust, even as she settles into her work on her classmate's nails.
"And you listened to me," she says back, her expression warm. "The least I could do is show you how to do a super cool make-up routine, yeah?"
And she -is- quite good at what she does. Even with the little things: after she applies that second coat of pink, she swipes the underside of the free edge of Ren's nail with her polish brush, gathering any excess polish and give the nail a smooth finish in a gesture as natural and second-nature as breathing. As Ren expresses surprise, though, Ann offers up a lopsided little smile, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand.
"Hum. Well, you know, it's a side gig," she feels almost compelled to point out, as if needing to cement that it isn't serious for her (even if she is -incredibly passionate about fashion-). "But like -- okay, see, like, sometimes I have shoots where I'm wearing a super crisp, professional business suit, yeah? Like slacks and button-up and fancy tie and everything, as a stylistic thing for the shoot? But I don't -- feel like I'm dressing less feminine. There's a lot of traditional stuff that people say is masculine or feminine, but maybe to me it's more about... how you wear it." She pauses, brows furrowing faintly. "D-does that make sense?"
Still...
Turning heads is fun, yeah?
"Mm," Ann exhales softly, before she concedes: "It is. ... Or... it can be. I like being noticed, I like feeling like I'm sexy and strong like all those cool femme fatale types! Even though I'm mostly just dressing for me. But... you always have to remember the heads you're turning aren't always nice ones, y'know?"
But, not wanting to linger on bad memories and ever-present realities, Ann waves a hand through the air and immediately pivots. "Oh! So, like, check this out -- big insider tip~!" And here -- she sets her nail polish aside for a moment to fish around in her bag, eventually pulling up nail polish remover and -- a small painter's brush?
"So, see," she begins, unscrewing the cap. "Keep a little brush on hand when you're doing nails, and you can dab a -teeny tiny- amount of nail polish remover on it, and..."
And here, she takes the brush, and deftly follows the path of Ren's cuticle, the cool feeling of the polish remover lingering as she removes any uneven lines.
"... there!" She grins, eyes squinting with her beam. "See? You just follow the polish line and you can really give the finish a real professional look. Looks so crisp and clean."
With that, Ann begins to work on the rest of Ren's nails, answering questions as she goes so smoothly she might as well be on autopilot. "I use a traditional foam buffer, but there's a few options out there," she says, about the nail buffing. "Like there's even some really fancy nano-glass files, but those are pretty pricey. The buffer block will work fine -- but! Nail buffing is pretty delicate and you want to make sure you don't overdo it. You want to stick to buffing out any flaky or uneven spots on your nails, and to seal the free edges. If you buff too much you'll end up weakening the nail."
As for -where- to go, well... on Ren's ring finger, Ann advises: "Honestly? Body Chop in the Underground Mall will work just fine if you're starting out. They've got a lot of great products and the selection is pretty streamlined so you won't feel, like, super overwhelmed. When you're ready to up your game, I'll take you to some other places! There's a great cosmetic shop out in Hibiya I like to shop at, and for fashion, there's a -lot- of good options out in Ginza or Harujuku or Shimokita."
Brush brush, brush brush, swipe, finishing touches. From one to the next, Ann swaps between nail polish and polish remover seamlessly, a little smile dancing at her lips as she gets to Ren's pinky. "Mm! Pink and red are great! Though there's nothing wrong with branching out, too. Moving away from the stuff you're familiar with is a great way to find new looks that pop. See?" She wiggles her fingers, and those alternating rose pink and sky blue nails. "Blue, yellow, purple... there's a whole lot of color combinations that can totally change the kind of statement you're making and bring out entire different sides of your look. It's all about finding the range of stuff that works for you. You know -- experiment!"
And so -- as she reaches Ren's thumb, and Ren makes that request, Ann blinks. She's putting on the finishing coat when she pauses -- and then gives a grinning, enthusiastic nod.
"Oh, heck yeah! Let's see what you've learned! I'll be your severe and merciless instructor overseeing your first exam, hee hee~."
Do severe and merciless instructors say 'hee hee~'? Well. -They do now-.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"...I'm not so sure about that... but maybe," Ren says diplomatically. She's the one who's fluent in English. Maybe she's right.
Maybe she should look that up later...
For now, though, she smiles, and then grins, as Ann giggles happily. "That's what friends are for," she says of make-up routines. She doesn't know what she could teach Ann back if Ann needed something like that--but sometimes it's enough to have someone listen without judgment. Ren did that for her, and Ann did that for her back. That alone really does help.
She watches that natural, casual way Ann continues to paint her nails, swiping at the sides and leaving a smooth finish. However serious or not serious Ann is about modeling, she really does know her stuff when it comes to cosmetics. She really was the right choice to approach first.
She looks up when Ann explains about what fashion is to her as part of her modeling, with a reminder that it's just a side thing for her. Ren nods--she does remember that--and when she's done, she murmurs a soft, "Hmmm." After mulling it over a moment, she nods once. "Yeah, I think I get it. It's all about owning the look you've got on and making it work for you. Right?"
Which is heartening, really. Ren is comfortable in her body, one of the reasons why it doesn't hurt her to be mistaken for cis male, but it's nice to think that beauty doesn't have to be pain.
She sobers, likewise, when Ann reminds Ren that not all the heads one turns are... respectful. That's one thing she hasn't had to deal with personally, and thank god for it. "You're right. I should remember that." Especially since there'll be heads that turn because they want to do her harm.
This should be an empowering moment, though, so when Ann moves past, Ren moves right with her, leaning in a little to better see the insider tip as she demonstrates it for her. The smell of acrylic is powerful, but she keeps focused on the brush to the side of her cuticles. "Ohhh--that does look very nice," she says, impressed. Crisp and clean is It. She holds up her hand and admires what's left behind. "I'll have to remember that."
She lowers it again to let Ann get to work and listens to her advice. ...It's hard to follow sometimes, honestly, but she memorizes the main points: go for a 'traditional foam buffer' (foam?? like Styrofoam???), stick to buffing the nail into evenness and don't overdo it, seal the free edges (as in the nail tips?)... Maybe she ought to pick up a book on make-up so she can understand the basic terms better. Ren's always learned best by reading, and it'll help her make the best use of Ann's lessons and tips.
"Body Chop. Got it," she says aloud, nodding once. That might well be where she and Ichika dropped by that one day--she doesn't remember off the top of her head. She smiles and adds, "I've heard a lot of good things about the fashion scenes in those places. Harajuku in particular seems famous for it. I'll forward to when I'm ready for it."
Ann makes a fine point about experimenting with colors. Ren nods as she looks at her wiggling pink-and-blue nails. "The blue looks good on you too though. It matches your eyes," she remarks. "I guess I'm lucky my hair and eyes are both so dark. Everything goes with black, right?" She grins. "So experimenting sounds fun. I'll have to get a few different colors, see what I like." Even if black and red are her favorites, she might well find something else that works for her. Hell--maybe this particular shade of pink doesn't work that well for her, but there's others out there that might work better... and maybe it's just a matter of finding the right outfit so this shade will complement it. As she already acknowledged: everything goes with black. (There is skin tone and such to consider... but Ren is still a newbie at this sort of thing. She'll think of that later, the more research she does.)
For right now, it's time for her to show off what she's learned from Ann. She grins back and reaches for the polish brush. "You don't sound convincing at all with that giggle... but I know better than to underestimate you," she replies. "Well then, Takamaki-sensei--it's showtime!"
That's probably a more grandiose declaration than is truly necessary for painting one's nails--but Ren's fired up now. Taking care not to smudge the job Ann's already done, she'll take the nail polish, the polish remover, the brushes and the caps, and do her level best to recreate on her left hand the works of art Ann has already set on her right.
She does a pretty good job by the end, too. Ren has a steady hand and an observant eye. It's not perfect, but she was clearly paying attention, and most of her mistakes, she's able to use that insider tip on the polish remover to fix. When she's done, she leans back with a satisfied sigh and holds out her hand for Severe And Merciless Instructor Ann to pass judgment upon.
"...How's that?"
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
It's all about owning the look you've got on and making it work for you. Right?
"Exactly! I knew you'd get it!"
She's glad. Sometimes - often - fashion, to her, isn't nearly so technical a thing as it is for many of her peers in the business. For her it's something so much more intangible -- difficult to grasp or explain but, for her, easy to evoke.
So it makes her happy to know someone else can see it despite her difficulty trying to properly express it.
For now, though -- Ann fluidly moves past more serious topics like the potential consequences of turning heads to focus more on the simple joys that make-up can bring to a person, and their sense of self-confidence. Some of these pointers and terms are definitely things Ren will want to look up later - some of this has been a part of Ann's life so long she doesn't even realize 'basic words' could possibly be confusing (LIKE OSMOSIS); but at the very least, she is thorough in teaching by doing, and providing the tips she can. For example:
"Oh! One more thing: invest in some nail polish thinner, too. Polish can kindaaaa clump a bit as you use it more, and the thinner helps you get a llllot more mileage out of a bottle than you might otherwise. And it's pretty cheap! Total life saver."
It's a tutorial she takes a detour on - of course - when Ren compliments her nails. She preens proudly, fanning those nails next to her face so as to frame one of those light blue nails next to those aforementioned eyes, helpfully winking to draw attention to the display. "I know, right??" she enthuses. "But there's -such- a big combination of details that can affect what colors make your nails pop the most. Definitely keep it simple with a color you're comfy with at first, like black, but when you're feeling more confident, start expanding your options!"
She lowers her hand, opens her eye -- and then winks -again-! "And if you need a second pair of eyes to weigh in -- I've totally got your back!"
She can't be stopped!!
And so, the master imparts her protege with all her (basic (oh lord we haven't even scratched the surface here)) knowledge. All that remains... is to see how she flourishes. It's a very sage thing, how Ann shuts her eyes, leans back in her seat, and nods with a solemn, "Go, Amamiya-kun, make me proud." She looks solemn. Serious! Wise.
and like a second later realizes
"oh crap wait i gotta keep my eyes open don't paint anything yet ren!!"
AND SO OTHERWISE THINGS PROCEED APACE with Ann keeping a -careful eye- on Ren's progress. When she's done?
Severe and Merciless Instructor Ann leans in. She gives it a -critical eye-. "Hmmmmmmmm..." All gravity in this earth is centered on the celestial body that is Ann Takamaki's expert opinion on Ren Amamiya's nail job, the world orbiting around her yet-unrealized opinion--
"It looks pretty good!"
oh
she just immediately lost the plot didn't she
"It's a -little- rough around the edges, but that's natural, y'know? The important part is you got the basics down -pat-. Keep it up and it'll come real natural to you, and we can start moving on to more advanced stuff."
As she speaks, Ann once more leans to her side, fishing around. Plucking out her smartphone, she starts to type.
"I'm texting you some of the brands and shades of black I think you'd like that I know that sell at the Body Chop. These are all multi-purpose polishes, so you don't need to worry about the coats just yet, but -- oh! Oh! I can't wait to get into all the neat things you can do with base and top coats!" Ann bounces in her seat a bit, giddy as can be. "Like matte gel, and cat eye gel, and -- oh! I saw someone who made took a base coat of black and applied a rainbow glitter gel over it and ohmigosh it looked soooo 'seriously pretty...!"
She looks to Ren, thoughtful. "I bet we'll be able to start more complex stuff, and other make-up, pretty soon. You're a quick learner! Hee hee, orrrrr I guess I'm a pretty good teacher, huh?"
Ann, enthusing about all the cool things she can teach Ren, pauses. She blinks, as if under a sudden revelation.
"Wait. Would I... be a super awesome teacher...?"
oh ann
"I remember watching this one movie where this teacher said he was gonna reach these kids -- and he totally did reach the kids! That would be so cool!"
oh ann no
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren, after all, is more interested in the heart of fashion--its ability to convey something about the person they are--than about the technical... points? prowess?... of the fashionable. It feels like that's Ann's interest too, especially given how she lacks a certain passion about modeling--and that means that's something they can bond over.
On top of, of course, the make-up lessons, starting with the nail painting.
"I feel like I should be taking notes on this," Ren semi-jokes when Ann mentions polish thinner as a 'one more thing.' "I'll probably have to ask you for a refresher later, but I'll do some reading first in the meantime." Even just painting her nails is this complicated... Ren knew that cosmetics are deeper than most give them credit, but she honestly didn't realize they were this deep.
Case in point: shades of black?? Shades of pink, blue, or red, sure, but BLACK? How! How does that work!! (Really they're shades of gray dark enough to be called black anyway. Ren, when she actually sees this, will understand the nuance better.)
Well, at least Ann makes it work. Ren grins back as she assails her with wink after wink. T-too charming! "Thanks," she replies. "This has been a lot of great advice--and I'll definitely ask you for more in the future. Right now, I think I'll start with leaving this on for a while, see how it feels." She raises her now painted hand, wiggling her fingers. "The school might end up making me take it off, but hopefully we'll hit summer vacation before it gets put at issue."
Fortunately, it's normal for Ren to keep her hands in her pockets, and there's only a couple days left 'til vacation starts in earnest. As long as she can stay under the radar... it's cool.
She laughs quietly as Ann bids her paint, before begging her not to paint actually because she needs to keep her eyes open. Ann really is her funniest friend, and it's wholly unintentional. That sincerity of hers--that force of her personality--can't help but bring a smile. How does anyone ever dislike Ann? It's baffling.
Especially since her verdict is anything but severe or merciless. Ren was kind of expecting that, though. Ann just isn't that, for all she joked about it. Ren nods at her follow-up--only the faintest whiff of a critique--and smiles as she admires her own hands for a moment while Ann texts. She looks up, eyes wide with wonder, at the mention of a rainbow glitter gel. "That sounds amazing," she says. She can already picture it: fingertips like the night sky full of stars... Yes, she's very interested in that look. "You're getting me excited too now!"
She was already excited, honestly--but now she's starting to show it more, with a vivacious sparkle in her dark eyes. Summer vacation probably is going to be full of part-timing for her, barring any Palaces they might find, but having the wide, wide world of cosmetics blooming like a rose before her is a thrill. "Maybe some of both," she suggests with a wink right back at her. "Make-up artists are a thing--and the more we work on this, the more we might actually come up with disguise kits for the team." Best of both worlds! And that way, Ann could reach the kids... after a fashion.
They'll have time to chat with Morgana about that, who has mostly kept his mouth shut this whole time to let things be about Ren; kits of any kind is more his purview (purrview), as are any other kind of thief's tools. Until then, though--
"How long does this take to dry?" Ren wonders then.
...They might be sitting here for a while.