[That pulls a laugh out of Mello, low and dark. Friends. The number of people he classifies as such can be counted on a single finger, and his name is Matt. There's Halle too, of course, but she's more of a strategic alliance than a friend - necessary for gathering information about Near's movements, but that's all. (Almost all.)
In truth, in Mello's mind, alliances are more important than friendships. The House that raised him encouraged competition, which is antithetical to any kind of close companionship, and life on his own after he left the House did nothing to convince him of any inherent merits friendship could provide. Matt was an anomaly because he didn't care about competing, and he didn't care much about winning, but he was intelligent enough to keep up with Mello, and he was willing to work with him toward his ultimate objective. And there was a shared history to consider, too. Friendship requires openness, honesty, trust. The House bred these traits out of the high-achieving children who hoped for the possibility of laying claim to L's title, replacing them with a deep reverence for secrecy and lies. How do you make a friend of someone who won't talk about who they are or what their past entails? You don't.]
I've seen enough.
[He'd kept surveillance on Amane for long enough to see she too was a creature of frivolity, well past her teen years. Girls here like Ebihara were cut from the same cloth, in Mello's opinion.]
[He's quiet a moment, unimpressed with the response, and he considers arguing the point further... But he feels like that's probably pointless, by now. So instead he'll just give a word of advice--sort of--and if it's a bit condescending then that's just a somewhat immature bonus.]
Yeah. Sure.
I hope that like, you figure out how to realize you might be wrong about something before it's a little more serious than what teenage girls think about.
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In truth, in Mello's mind, alliances are more important than friendships. The House that raised him encouraged competition, which is antithetical to any kind of close companionship, and life on his own after he left the House did nothing to convince him of any inherent merits friendship could provide. Matt was an anomaly because he didn't care about competing, and he didn't care much about winning, but he was intelligent enough to keep up with Mello, and he was willing to work with him toward his ultimate objective. And there was a shared history to consider, too. Friendship requires openness, honesty, trust. The House bred these traits out of the high-achieving children who hoped for the possibility of laying claim to L's title, replacing them with a deep reverence for secrecy and lies. How do you make a friend of someone who won't talk about who they are or what their past entails? You don't.]
I've seen enough.
[He'd kept surveillance on Amane for long enough to see she too was a creature of frivolity, well past her teen years. Girls here like Ebihara were cut from the same cloth, in Mello's opinion.]
no subject
Yeah. Sure.
I hope that like, you figure out how to realize you might be wrong about something before it's a little more serious than what teenage girls think about.
no subject
[If he's wrong about something, it will take more than verbal hand-wringing to convince Mello of it - he'll need to be shown facts.]
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And Chris just rolls his eyes, though it fortunately can't be seen through voice, and hangs up.]