[ she deflates a little, there. she's … been pretty hyper-focused, hasn't she? it's hard to disagree, and suddenly, she feels a little ashamed.

it occurs to her in a pretty substantial way that this exact situation is what she has repeatedly tried to convince keith he's good at and qualified at and what he keeps rejecting as something forced and affected for him, some imposter syndrome about his own leadership skills.

but if she segues to that, she's pretty sure he'll just get up and walk away again. ]

You mean Finn and Poe. [ this is said sort of flatly, like she's been caught out. the earnest optimism and idealism just evaporates. this is the hard work and self-reflection hour. ] I'm talking to you now.

[ not said to shove it in his face, but rather to demonstrate that she understands that she's been fucking up in a big way there. weird how having two people turn around and walk away on her gets that message home. ]

I'm not sure Poe wants to talk to me. [ she knows this won't get her out of the dog house, and she knows it shouldn't, so— ] I'll think on how to approach it with Finn. Okay? This has ... helped. [ go figure ]