Mothers day was not something Rose Lalonde remembers much of. She knows that, when she was a whole lot younger, she and her mom would do something 'special' for the occasion. Such as going to the store and picking out a small gift, or getting dinner somewhere.
She knows all this because she's seen the few mothers day cards her mom received covered in dust upstairs. When her mom's drinking got worse, (Rose let herself believe it wasn't always as bad as it was, even if that meant she might be fabricating memories.) they stopped celebrating.
As the years passed, the day slipped her mind. Her mom didn't seem to care, more focused on her work and alcohol to remind her.
Then she played Sburb.
During the game, whlist on the meteor, Rose began thinking about her now-deceased mother and her relationship with her, which lead to her having a conversation with Vriska about mothers day
Rose had been sitting on the couch, spacing out. Something she'd found herself doing more recently. Vriska had walked in, confidiant as always, and placed herself on the other end, arms resting over the back of the couch.
"What's wrong?" No snarky comment, no hint of sarcasm in her voice, a question posed out of genuine consern. Although there was a small hint of annoyance in her voice.
"I'm-" She hesitated, not yet sure how to properly put her feelings into words, and also debating if she really wanted to have this talk with Vriska of all people.
"I won't laugh, go on, Lalonde."
Rose sucked in a breath, and sighed, "It's my mother, she's, well, gone. Dead. And I think it's all just hitting me now."
Vriska blinked, and looked away, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. One moment later, she offered, "Well, my Lusus died too, all ours did." Cold comfort, but Rose tried to appriciate it nonetheless.
"Same thing with our parents. I guess that's something we all have in common."
Silence settled between the two. Then Rose perked up, craning her neck to face Vriska.
"Can I ask you a question, Vriska? About Alternia?"
Vriska turned to face Rose, "What is it, Lalonde?"
"On Alternia, did you have any kind of 'Lusus appriciation day?'" Vriska gave a confused look, before shaking her head no. "Nope. No real reason for anything like that. Why, did humans?"
The use of past tense stings Rose in a way she cannot describe, but she doesn't aknowlege it. "Yes, we had two days, one for mothers and one for fathers. Fittingly, they were called 'Mother's day' and 'Father's Day' respectively."
"Interesting." Vriska shifted her position on the couch, turning her whole body towards Rose, "What exatcly did you do on those days?" She sat in a half crossed-legged position, leg dangling off the couch, arm draped over the back of the seat, her other hand settled into her lap.
In response, Rose turned her own body to face Vriska, pressing her back onto the armrest, keeping a stiff posture, "Well, humans would normally get a cheap card from a store, write something sappy in it, and gift it to the spesified parent. Then they'd perhaps go out for a meal at a local resturant." Rose paused, then added, "Many humans had different traditions and ways they'd celebrate. The card and dinner are what humans from my area would typically do."
Vriska gives a noncommittal 'hm', taking in what Rose said. "Did you and your human mom do all that stuff?"
Rose winced, "Not since I was maybe five. We.... Had a complicated relationship."
"Is that why you asked?" Vriska straightened, leaning in, giving Rose a scenere look she'd never seen from the troll before.
"Yes." Rose admitted. "I feel guilty, I miss her despite all the things she's done, and I wish I could've been a better daughter."
Both remained quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. After what felt like hours to Rose, Vriska broke the silence.
"My Lusus kinda sucked too, to be honest. She had me fed her a bunch of trolls." She paused, thinking for a moment, "I think I might miss her a little bit too, honestly."
Rose was used to hearing about all the differences between Earth and Alternia, but some things still managed to shake her, like this, for instance.
A part of her wanted to psychoanalyse what Vriska said, explore the fact that she missed her Lusus, despite making Vriska feed her live trolls.
However, another part of Rose could understand how Vriska felt, and why she did.It would be hypocritical to call her out on it, would it not?
They talked for a while after that. The conversation deraling into other things besides subpar mothers, such as the Light Aspect, and their fellow compainions.
Rose left that conversation feeling a bit better, knowing there was someone on the meteor who understood how she felt.
She also felt a bit closer to Vriska.