[It Bothered Her, so here comes deathmum again contacting duckgirl. She's using voice this time just because texting will give her too much of an excuse to halt or post ridiculous pictures instead. It's a gentle tone she's taking, very much like a British nanny inexplicably.]
I didn't find it appropriate to keep on discussing that over the network, so...
Mm...how do I put this?
[Botan is an Adult, she reminds herself of that.]
Dear, you're projecting on Phantump, and that's all right because I did it too. It's my job to keep spirits safe and guide them to a better afterlife, of course I was bothered by them existing at all in this world. If something as precious as a life could be manifested as something different here, what did that mean for my own life I wondered? I'm not even a real person, I thought. I was fortunate, then, that I had someone who supported me through that dark spot.
I won't pretend that just saying any of that is going to help you come to terms right away, that's an insult to your intelligence and feelings, just know that very few Phantump actually are spirits of the dead. I communicate with each one I see and find the ones that are good homes. If they can't pass on at least I can help them find something better than being lost in the woods.
As for you, Miss Lena, I won't pretend to know what your circumstances are either, just the hint that you were a spirit and possibly deceased in your own world. If you need someone to talk to that was also less than corporeal and has some idea of afterlife business, I'm always available to listen.
And if not me--of course, I'm old--my Phantump are always keen to talk to other kids in their age range, though they might lean a bit young for you.
[Lena had been planning to let this message rot in her inbox. She doesn't really like talking abut her feelings, or too much personal stuff with people she barely knows. It may bleed out at times in certain conversations, but never on purpose; even around Webby, there's a lot of things she just doesn't say. But then this weekend happened, with that terrifying moment where she woke up being dragged into her own shadow, and the day she spent trapped in the Burned Tower. It was hell, going back to the dark again, and even though she could talk to people this time around, being unable to touch anything... it was almost worse. Like that one myth. Tantalus? Having things you want more than anything right in front of you, but unable to grab them.
Lena doesn't want to believe she's traumatized. That's just stupid. But so is talking to other people about her stupid feelings. Ugh.]
I'm not a spirit. [Technically true.] I'm not dead. [Also technically true.] I'm not anything.
[... Debatable, and some would disagree, but that's how she feels.]
[Ah, it's like looking into a mirror. A surly teenager with dyed hair mirror, and not actually looking since they were speaking. Nonetheless it's all things Botan had said to herself before, barring that she isn't a spirit since that is unmistakably what she was in her own world. The response time is unsurprising, it wouldn't have been a shock if Lena had never directly come back to the message or taken up the offer. The timing is equally unsurprising since a certain recurring weekend had just happened, and since Lena was new to it...]
"I don't really exist, I'm not a real person, I'm not anything, I don't matter, I will just fade away and be forgotten in the end."
Those are the sorts of things I would end up saying to my friends myself. It's a bleak outlook but ultimately the truth for my fate, I'm not even allowed to go to the afterlife, you know?
But for a moment, humor me if you will, imagine if the person dearest to you was saying that about themselves. What would you have to say then? Without saying anything harsh about yourself in the process, just focus completely on them. You wouldn't agree with what they're saying, would you? "Yes, that's right, you're not anything, you don't matter."
Yeeeah, except she wouldn't say anything like that. She's a normal person [OKAY WEBBY BEING NORMAL IS DEBATABLE BUT DETAILS] with a cool family so that's a pretty moot point.
[It's kind of weird being.... open about this, because she had to spend her whole life hiding this. But this place just blew her secret wide open so what's even the point now?]
Look, I'm not just being emo and self-hating about it [even if she does hate herself a lot] but it's literally the truth. I'm not any of that stuff.
That wasn't entirely the point of me asking you to imagine that, it was so you could think of how your friend would feel if she heard that herself. She wouldn't like it, right? I wouldn't accuse someone of being...um, "emo."
[Emo???]
So, your friend, she has a "cool family"--but you have a surname, which means you have, or had, a family too. Are they responsible for your state of being in your world? If you're comfortable telling me about that, at least.
I don't have an issue with it if you're willing, dear. But I won't guarantee that I won't talk about wanting to brain any family members of yours with a bat if they're scoundrels. It's up to you.
[And she sounds so perky talking about inflicting violence, too.]
Pfft, get in line. My family's nothing but trouble, and totally obsessed with this like... centuries-old blood feud with this old rich dude's family? Those kinds of people don't usually have good parenting skills, y'know.
[And the worst part about that is Lena thought Magica's treatment of her was normal. It wasn't until she saw Webby and her family, the way they squabbled but still loved each other and protected each other, that she realized how messed up her relationship with her aunt really was.]
I wasn't going to say anything about it but I'm guessing by the very subtle name of "Magica De Spell" that she's some type of sorceress?
[Hoo boy, she can see where all of this is going. And it's good that Lena is aware that how she was treated isn't okay and if plausible her family would receive retribution for it, because sometimes...]
Gee, that's some serious deductive prowess right there.
[Even when dipping her toes into her trauma, Lena still remains as snarky as the worst teens.]
Yup. The ~mistress of shadows~ [said in her spoookiest voice] because if you're gunna be an evil jerk with magic, then you have to have a suitable name, I guess.
What else do you want me to say? That she's not even really my aunt, but my creator? That she made me out of her shadow so she could use me to get revenge on that rich old guy after he sealed her away and didn't care if I got eaten or something? Man, if you think that stuff's nuts, that's not even the worst of it.
[She's not sure why she's telling a relative stranger about this, when even Webby doesn't know the full extent of how badly Magica abused her. It's sort of... easier, this way? She doesn't care what other people think about her, but she cares what Webby thinks. She cares if Webby cries because of her, and she knows if she told Webby about the really bad stuff, the other duckling would absolutely cry. So... better to unload all this on someone who doesn't seriously care, yeah?]
It's like I said, whatever you're comfortable with--or not, but just want to get out into the open. Thank you, that much can't have been easy to share.
[It isn't pleasant by any means, and it's nothing violence would solve, it's nothing big words would solve. But maybe small words can help, just a little.]
Just a hunch, but I'm supposing you don't want to share this with your friend because it would upset her, correct? Because you know that she would mourn that you were mistreated and used as a tool, that you don't have much of a future after your "use" has ended.
[Honestly, it had never occurred to Botan that she should hesitate sharing such things with her own friends for that reason. They had always been much stronger than her, and while she didn't want them to worry it never struck her as something that would really harm them emotionally. It was just a nothing sort of topic, like herself, a nothing.]
There's no way to keep her from being upset, I'm not going to insult your intelligence by saying there is, especially not with the nature of this place. But, Lena, humor me for a moment? She'll be sad, yes, but she'll want to find a solution to your unhappiness. She will believe in you no matter what your nature dictates, and that's more important than anything your aunt could have machinated. It doesn't matter what that witch did, you're here now and someone believes in you, someone loves you.
It'd upset her, yeah, and it's just... I dunno. I don't think she'd really get it if I talked to her about it? She has a super cool family that loves her a lot so it's easy for her to get angry, because she doesn't know what it's like to be scared of your family.
[There's a fwump sound on Lena's end of the call; likely her flopping down on her bed, 'gear still in hand.]
Wanting to help sure is nice, but I dunno if there's really a solution to all of this. Magica's not here, and even back home, I'm pretty sure she's run sniveling home like the sore loser she is, but... it doesn't feel like anything's been fixed.
I know, and there isn't really, especially with the impermanence of this place. And it's certainly not going to happen quickly.
Hey, it's all right. She might not fully understand but that doesn't mean she cares about you any less, you're not "nothing" to her.
[How to put this? It's a little harder when trying to put it in words, especially to someone certainly not native to her version of Earth.]
And even a shadow isn't "nothing." Where I'm from, there's a spirit in everything--it's called "kami", technically I'm a kami, there's kami in trees and water, there's even kami in sound and the air. The Pokemon are very similar to my culture's concept of kami. They're paid tribute to and regarded as something very much real. So...honestly, you're a kami from my perspective.
I heard about that kind of thing. Not super specific, 'cause that's not the kind of magic my family's into, but. It's a thing I kinda know of.
[And it's a nice thought. Really. That she could be her own spirit. But the facts laid out here are that she's really not; no matter what Botan or Webby or anyone else says, it's the complete and utter truth that she's only a piece of Magica that her aunt cut off and later discarded. They can try and be as introspective and reassuring as they want, but they can't change those facts.]
But uh.... a shadow is a lot different from trees or water or animals. I mean... it's part of a person. That's like saying someone's hair has a kami.
Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. There is such thing as hair spirits, believe it or not. And it's not magic, it just...is, it's nature, it's spiritual. Your aunt wouldn't have thought of it because, frankly, she sounds like a selfish dolt with her head up her bum, but even random "nonsense" gestures like that create kami.
Belief can create a lot of things, that's all I'm saying. And even if your so-called creator doesn't believe, well throw her off a cliff, you've got people that believe, and I know that sounds like a fairy thing but it's also legitimate. Still, I know, it's a lot to try and cope with, I suppose what I really want to ask is, what do you want to do now? With this life you've been given, with your friend.
... Wait, seriously? Oh man those must be some weird spirits.
[Aaaand there's the real question. The whole freedom thing. Honestly, being free kind of scares her about half as much as everything about her normal life does, because it's one huge, dark (or maybe light?) unknown.]
I never really thought about it. What I'm going to do after Magica I mean, because... I dunno. I did some pretty bad stuff 'cause she told me she'd set me free if I helped her, but even though I did it, I don't think I really believed that she'd just let me go? So I didn't make plans or anything.
[... There's some more dark stuff there about what exactly Magica was doing to this poor kid, but she's talking about it almost casually....]
[Azalea Town was small, and there wasn't a whole lot to do other than train her Pokemon. But there's a badge that needs winning, and Webby's got the winning strategy.
Lots of fire. That's the strategy.
But today, she doesn't feel like doing any of that. So she tracks down Lena, who's probably minding her own business and doing stuff around town, and that's when she sneaks up behind her and just
slips her hand right into Lena's, beaming happily. While holding hands is something Webby would never be shy about anyway, today she just really really wants to do it. It doesn't even occur to her that this could be out of the ordinary.]
[To say that Lena is touch-averse isn't really true. She's fine with casual things - high-fives and fistbumps, friendly punches and all those sorts of play-fighting that kids their age do. But stuff like hand holding, or hugging? That's what's weird to her. Not uncomfortable-weird, but she's just so unused to it that her brain kind of goes ????? when it happens.
Especially when Webby does it. Then again, Webby is the only person who's this affectionate with her, sooooo yeah. But this... this kind of feels different? There's that usual erratic th-thump in her chest whenever Webby does stuff like this, but also an intense urge to not let go that's somewhat startling.]
Uh... hey, Pink. What's up?
[Just be cool like you usually are, it's all good...]
What... take a walk into the creepy bug forest? [Lena lets out a snort.] Actually, that does sound like your thing.
[Yeah, just keep joking, Lena! Keep on avoiding the fact that you're very aware of Webby's hand in yours, and as awkward as it is, you don't want to let go!]
There are probably some chumps in there we haven't beaten, but I might need my hand back if we fight 'em.
[Lena's poor sweater; it's already thin and full of frayed threads as it is, but her free hand is currently worrying at a loose thread on the hem. Man, what is going on today??? Is there something in the water???]
[As soon as Webby's hand leaves hers, there's a sharp pang in Lena's chest. Sure, she's always felt a little disappointed whenever they stop holding hands, for reasons that haven't really fully sunken in for her, but that... that kind of intensity is new. And before Webby can let her hand fully drop away, Lena's own shoots out to grab it.
So here they are again. Holding hands. Totally not awkward or anything.]
.... Uh.
[PLAY IT COOL LENA, LIKE NOTHING EVER HAPPENED.]
Y-Yeah, I think so. Dunno if you're gunna find anything good in there, though... I only saw those lame-looking worms when I was passing through last time.
[Webby's eyes light up for a moment. She's not sure why she feels so strongly about this, but holding Lena's hand just feels like the right thing to do. Her cheeks feel a little warmer than usual, but she continues on like this is normal.]
Well, we'll just have to find out! By going to the forest and showing those bugs who's boss!
[This is good this is fine. Let's just ignore these stupid human bodies and how their faces get all red when they're embarrassed and ARGH. At least when she was still a duck she could easily explain away a case of ruffled feathers, but this...! This is just too weird!]
Heck yeah! We'll squash 'em flat!
[TOTALLY PLAYING IT COOL.]
I call dibs on the first super cool thing we find.
[She might have argued about who gets "dibs", but she's more than a little distracted and gives Lena's hand a squeeze. Despite the warmth in her face, she's happy in a way that she can't quite put into words.]
Then... I'll call dibs on the second coolest thing we find! Oh, I hope it's a tiny village full of Pokemon insect warriors!
[Despite the embarrassment, Lena's happy too. Real happy. Like... a kind of happy that she never really thought she could feel. Even in the days where she could fool herself into thinking she really could get out from under Magica's thumb one day, she never really thought she'd be happy like this. She always thought she'd just live her life as a drifter, doing whatever she wanted.
So it's... nice. Even if this feeling also wants to make her run away and jump straight into the Slowpoke Well.]
Tiny warriors, huh.... you think they're at war with other tiny warriors, or really big insect warriors?
[Webby feels you, Lena. This is the kind of affection that Webby would enjoy normally, but something about this feels special.
...
This is what best friends do, right? That's why she's feeling so happy?]
Big insect warriors, of course! They're threatening to take over the tiny insect warriors, and only the adventurous, number one fan of Scrooge McDuck, and her fast-thinking best friend can help them!
[Totally. This is absolutely normal and nothing not platonic about it at all.]
Psh, of course they'll need our help. I mean, how else are they gunna even reach the big guys? They'll be stuck climbing them all day and won't even be able to fight back if we don't help 'em up!
[Ah.... yeah, that sudden change of phrase didn't get past Lena. And yeah, it's awkward on some level because she still dreams a lot about what happened during that fight with Magica, but.... she hates feeling so awkward about it like this. Ugh.]
C'mon, don't give up on your dreams of some awesome heroic sacrifice for my sake. It's not that bad, y'know.
[Probably the wrong thing to say in response to that, Lena!]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[voice] hello this be around the time of Lena's initial arrival
I didn't find it appropriate to keep on discussing that over the network, so...
Mm...how do I put this?
[Botan is an Adult, she reminds herself of that.]
Dear, you're projecting on Phantump, and that's all right because I did it too. It's my job to keep spirits safe and guide them to a better afterlife, of course I was bothered by them existing at all in this world. If something as precious as a life could be manifested as something different here, what did that mean for my own life I wondered? I'm not even a real person, I thought. I was fortunate, then, that I had someone who supported me through that dark spot.
I won't pretend that just saying any of that is going to help you come to terms right away, that's an insult to your intelligence and feelings, just know that very few Phantump actually are spirits of the dead. I communicate with each one I see and find the ones that are good homes. If they can't pass on at least I can help them find something better than being lost in the woods.
As for you, Miss Lena, I won't pretend to know what your circumstances are either, just the hint that you were a spirit and possibly deceased in your own world. If you need someone to talk to that was also less than corporeal and has some idea of afterlife business, I'm always available to listen.
And if not me--of course, I'm old--my Phantump are always keen to talk to other kids in their age range, though they might lean a bit young for you.
[voice; purposefully like a month late]
Lena doesn't want to believe she's traumatized. That's just stupid. But so is talking to other people about her stupid feelings. Ugh.]
I'm not a spirit. [Technically true.] I'm not dead. [Also technically true.] I'm not anything.
[... Debatable, and some would disagree, but that's how she feels.]
no subject
"I don't really exist, I'm not a real person, I'm not anything, I don't matter, I will just fade away and be forgotten in the end."
Those are the sorts of things I would end up saying to my friends myself. It's a bleak outlook but ultimately the truth for my fate, I'm not even allowed to go to the afterlife, you know?
But for a moment, humor me if you will, imagine if the person dearest to you was saying that about themselves. What would you have to say then? Without saying anything harsh about yourself in the process, just focus completely on them. You wouldn't agree with what they're saying, would you? "Yes, that's right, you're not anything, you don't matter."
That would be cruel, unfair, untrue, right?
no subject
[It's kind of weird being.... open about this, because she had to spend her whole life hiding this. But this place just blew her secret wide open so what's even the point now?]
Look, I'm not just being emo and self-hating about it [even if she does hate herself a lot] but it's literally the truth. I'm not any of that stuff.
no subject
[Emo???]
So, your friend, she has a "cool family"--but you have a surname, which means you have, or had, a family too. Are they responsible for your state of being in your world? If you're comfortable telling me about that, at least.
no subject
Lady, that's a can of worms I'm not sure you wanna open.
no subject
[And she sounds so perky talking about inflicting violence, too.]
no subject
[And the worst part about that is Lena thought Magica's treatment of her was normal. It wasn't until she saw Webby and her family, the way they squabbled but still loved each other and protected each other, that she realized how messed up her relationship with her aunt really was.]
Aunt Magica was the worst of them.
no subject
[Hoo boy, she can see where all of this is going. And it's good that Lena is aware that how she was treated isn't okay and if plausible her family would receive retribution for it, because sometimes...]
no subject
[Even when dipping her toes into her trauma, Lena still remains as snarky as the worst teens.]
Yup. The ~mistress of shadows~ [said in her spoookiest voice] because if you're gunna be an evil jerk with magic, then you have to have a suitable name, I guess.
no subject
[It's semi-playful sarcasm mostly actually serious.]
Suppose that's classier than "of the Evil Eye" but go on.
no subject
What else do you want me to say? That she's not even really my aunt, but my creator? That she made me out of her shadow so she could use me to get revenge on that rich old guy after he sealed her away and didn't care if I got eaten or something? Man, if you think that stuff's nuts, that's not even the worst of it.
[She's not sure why she's telling a relative stranger about this, when even Webby doesn't know the full extent of how badly Magica abused her. It's sort of... easier, this way? She doesn't care what other people think about her, but she cares what Webby thinks. She cares if Webby cries because of her, and she knows if she told Webby about the really bad stuff, the other duckling would absolutely cry. So... better to unload all this on someone who doesn't seriously care, yeah?]
no subject
[It isn't pleasant by any means, and it's nothing violence would solve, it's nothing big words would solve. But maybe small words can help, just a little.]
Just a hunch, but I'm supposing you don't want to share this with your friend because it would upset her, correct? Because you know that she would mourn that you were mistreated and used as a tool, that you don't have much of a future after your "use" has ended.
[Honestly, it had never occurred to Botan that she should hesitate sharing such things with her own friends for that reason. They had always been much stronger than her, and while she didn't want them to worry it never struck her as something that would really harm them emotionally. It was just a nothing sort of topic, like herself, a nothing.]
There's no way to keep her from being upset, I'm not going to insult your intelligence by saying there is, especially not with the nature of this place. But, Lena, humor me for a moment? She'll be sad, yes, but she'll want to find a solution to your unhappiness. She will believe in you no matter what your nature dictates, and that's more important than anything your aunt could have machinated. It doesn't matter what that witch did, you're here now and someone believes in you, someone loves you.
no subject
[There's a fwump sound on Lena's end of the call; likely her flopping down on her bed, 'gear still in hand.]
Wanting to help sure is nice, but I dunno if there's really a solution to all of this. Magica's not here, and even back home, I'm pretty sure she's run sniveling home like the sore loser she is, but... it doesn't feel like anything's been fixed.
no subject
Hey, it's all right. She might not fully understand but that doesn't mean she cares about you any less, you're not "nothing" to her.
[How to put this? It's a little harder when trying to put it in words, especially to someone certainly not native to her version of Earth.]
And even a shadow isn't "nothing." Where I'm from, there's a spirit in everything--it's called "kami", technically I'm a kami, there's kami in trees and water, there's even kami in sound and the air. The Pokemon are very similar to my culture's concept of kami. They're paid tribute to and regarded as something very much real. So...honestly, you're a kami from my perspective.
no subject
[And it's a nice thought. Really. That she could be her own spirit. But the facts laid out here are that she's really not; no matter what Botan or Webby or anyone else says, it's the complete and utter truth that she's only a piece of Magica that her aunt cut off and later discarded. They can try and be as introspective and reassuring as they want, but they can't change those facts.]
But uh.... a shadow is a lot different from trees or water or animals. I mean... it's part of a person. That's like saying someone's hair has a kami.
no subject
[She corrects herself.]
Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. There is such thing as hair spirits, believe it or not. And it's not magic, it just...is, it's nature, it's spiritual. Your aunt wouldn't have thought of it because, frankly, she sounds like a selfish dolt with her head up her bum, but even random "nonsense" gestures like that create kami.
Belief can create a lot of things, that's all I'm saying. And even if your so-called creator doesn't believe, well throw her off a cliff, you've got people that believe, and I know that sounds like a fairy thing but it's also legitimate. Still, I know, it's a lot to try and cope with, I suppose what I really want to ask is, what do you want to do now? With this life you've been given, with your friend.
no subject
[Aaaand there's the real question. The whole freedom thing. Honestly, being free kind of scares her about half as much as everything about her normal life does, because it's one huge, dark (or maybe light?) unknown.]
I never really thought about it. What I'm going to do after Magica I mean, because... I dunno. I did some pretty bad stuff 'cause she told me she'd set me free if I helped her, but even though I did it, I don't think I really believed that she'd just let me go? So I didn't make plans or anything.
[... There's some more dark stuff there about what exactly Magica was doing to this poor kid, but she's talking about it almost casually....]
[action] backdated to like 9 days ago sobb
Lots of fire. That's the strategy.
But today, she doesn't feel like doing any of that. So she tracks down Lena, who's probably minding her own business and doing stuff around town, and that's when she sneaks up behind her and just
slips her hand right into Lena's, beaming happily. While holding hands is something Webby would never be shy about anyway, today she just really really wants to do it. It doesn't even occur to her that this could be out of the ordinary.]
Hi Lena, my beautiful best friend!
[Also that's normal too right.]
[action]
Especially when Webby does it. Then again, Webby is the only person who's this affectionate with her, sooooo yeah. But this... this kind of feels different? There's that usual erratic th-thump in her chest whenever Webby does stuff like this, but also an intense urge to not let go that's somewhat startling.]
Uh... hey, Pink. What's up?
[Just be cool like you usually are, it's all good...]
[action]
Weeeeelll... I thought maybe we could go for a walk!
[A nice, holding hands kind of walk.]
Maybe we could go battle some of our Pokemon? There's gotta be some trainers around that we haven't fought yet!
[action]
[Yeah, just keep joking, Lena! Keep on avoiding the fact that you're very aware of Webby's hand in yours, and as awkward as it is, you don't want to let go!]
There are probably some chumps in there we haven't beaten, but I might need my hand back if we fight 'em.
[Lena's poor sweater; it's already thin and full of frayed threads as it is, but her free hand is currently worrying at a loose thread on the hem. Man, what is going on today??? Is there something in the water???]
[action]
[Webby reluctantly pulls away her hand, and places said hand against the back of her neck. Her cheeks feel really warm, for some reason.]
Yeah, let's take a walk through the bug forest! We could catch some Pokemon that would help us with...
[Webby trails off, squinting and trying to remember what bug types are good against.]
Psychic, Dark, and Grass Pokemon?
[action]
So here they are again. Holding hands. Totally not awkward or anything.]
.... Uh.
[PLAY IT COOL LENA, LIKE NOTHING EVER HAPPENED.]
Y-Yeah, I think so. Dunno if you're gunna find anything good in there, though... I only saw those lame-looking worms when I was passing through last time.
[... Smooth.]
[action]
Well, we'll just have to find out! By going to the forest and showing those bugs who's boss!
[And holding hands while doing it she guesses.]
[action]
Heck yeah! We'll squash 'em flat!
[TOTALLY PLAYING IT COOL.]
I call dibs on the first super cool thing we find.
[action]
[She might have argued about who gets "dibs", but she's more than a little distracted and gives Lena's hand a squeeze. Despite the warmth in her face, she's happy in a way that she can't quite put into words.]
Then... I'll call dibs on the second coolest thing we find! Oh, I hope it's a tiny village full of Pokemon insect warriors!
[action]
So it's... nice. Even if this feeling also wants to make her run away and jump straight into the Slowpoke Well.]
Tiny warriors, huh.... you think they're at war with other tiny warriors, or really big insect warriors?
[action]
...
This is what best friends do, right? That's why she's feeling so happy?]
Big insect warriors, of course! They're threatening to take over the tiny insect warriors, and only the adventurous, number one fan of Scrooge McDuck, and her fast-thinking best friend can help them!
[action]
Psh, of course they'll need our help. I mean, how else are they gunna even reach the big guys? They'll be stuck climbing them all day and won't even be able to fight back if we don't help 'em up!
[action]
They'll ride us into battle, one of us heroically sacrifi...
[Webby pauses. Uh. Maybe "heroic sacrifice" isn't something she really wants to bring up.]
I mean, we'll kick their butts!
[action]
C'mon, don't give up on your dreams of some awesome heroic sacrifice for my sake. It's not that bad, y'know.
[Probably the wrong thing to say in response to that, Lena!]
[action]
She tries to pick up on Lena's energy, offering a big smile.]
Well, this time, I'll do the heroic sacrificing. We should at least take turns on this kind of thing, you know?