closed

[healstaffs]

CHARACTERS: Lissa, various
DATE: Throughout Mission Drakstaden
WARNINGS: N/A
SUMMARY: Catch-all, mostly for bounties

( Starters in the comments! )

Comments

[feytality]

[ Here's her designated Maya, who mostly agreed to it because she was very concerned about said consequences and side effects. She never would have agreed to this herself, but it's kind of moot to tell Lissa off now. She doesn't really know the other girl well enough to, anyway. ]

Try lifting up one of the chairs or something -- just in case you get super strength.

[ she waves her own hand in front of lissa!! .... as if this is supposed to do something. ]

[healstaffs]

[ Honestly, it's never occurred to her that said side-effects might include amazing things like SUPER STRENGTH and DARK VISION and other things usually limited to fairy tales. She perks right the heck up when Maya mentions that, nearly bolting out of her chair in excitement. ]

Really? You think so?

[ Wait a minute. A thought comes over, and she sits back down. ]

But wouldn't I feel something if I got super strength? Like the urge to lift a hundred chairs at once? I've never had super strength before...

[ Curiously, she peers at Maya. Maybe the other girl is speaking from experience. ]

Have you ever had super strength?

[feytality]

[ Look, what's the point of injecting yourself with serums if you don't get super strength or speed or whatever? Captain Lissamerica coming right up. ]

Actually, I did get it once... temporarily. I didn't feel like lifting anything, but I did feel like.... really confident? And full of energy?

[ moreso than usual, anyway. ] It was kinda fun, actually! I rescued a couple of people and held them up over my head.

[healstaffs]

[ Flexing arms emoji, coming right up.

But huh, that's actually good information to know. None of the symptoms Maya mentions are particularly applicable right now, but Lissa's more interested in the great stories that are surely lurking behind such an amazing lead-in. ]

Really? Wow, that sounds amazing! I hope I get super strength from this then, I've always wanted to be a hero. [ Instead of a delicate princess. ] Maybe I'll wait a little bit more then and see if I feel different.

[ Wait a few more minutes for UNBEARABLE SADNESS to kick in. ]

Were you sad when it went away?

[feytality]

[ it really depends on the source, though.... so maybe lissa will hulk out. ]

It was really fun.... and it was nice to be able to be heroic and rescue people. Usually I'm the one who needs rescue!

[ she sounds happy?? about that?? though. ]

So yeah, it did kinda suck when it wore off...... it happened while I was carrying a guy, too, so he fell on me.

[ sad trombone. she perks up again, though. ] Hey, if you get it, you can carry me around for a while! That could be fun.

[healstaffs]

[ Being heroic and rescuing people....the image pops into her head, of her running around and lifting up people without an ounce of effort, and she sighs dreamily at the thought. Then she could totally challenge Chrom to a fight and win!

It's the euphoria over this maybe situation that has her nodding ready agreement to Maya's question. ]

Of course! I'll take you anywhere you want to go.

[ Having super strength totally means she won't get tired, right? ]

I'm feeling pretty good, maybe I should try and lift this chair and see if it actually worked.

[ And she hops right off and wraps her hands around the chair arms and tries to lift—only to stumble backwards as the chair moves the barest fraction of an inch. Aw. ]

I guess whatever this was didn't give me super strength....

[feytality]

With our powers combined, we'll be extra cute and extra strong!

[ what is this "we" .... maya. thanks for having her back though!!! maya has lissa's too --- she instinctively catches the other girl as she stumbles backwards. ]

Oooh, rats.... Maybe it's gonna be super speed? Or invisibility? Or super smarts? Maybe I should try to find a crossword for you to solve or something...?

[healstaffs]

[ All very reasonable ideas, and the Lissa of normal times would certainly immediately regain her confidence, try one of the many different tactics suggested by Maya.

But this is not the Lissa of normal times, this is the Lissa that has made the foolish mistake of injecting some strange concoction into her body, and with terrible choices come....well, terrible side-effects.

She sags against Maya, all previous enthusiasm depleted. ]

I don't know...Maybe I'm just not good at anything. Maybe everyone was right and I'll never be strong or ladylike or...or—

[ This is spiraling downhill fast. ]

[feytality]

[ Well, that's... unexpected. This girl who was so cheerful and exuberant moments ago is now getting sad and unsure of herself and self-deprecating. Could this be the serum taking effect? Nah, clearly, Maya said something wrong and sparked this off.... somehow. ]

Hey, don't say that! Aren't you a princess? It was your idea to gather the royals and stuff, on Hanibara! Plus, you're plenty cute and lady-like.

[ not that maya is in a position to talk about that, yike. ]

[healstaffs]

[ It's too late, the serum has taken hold, but instead of making her Captain America, it's made her a sad useless lump of a girl. Lissa pulls free of Maya's hold just long enough to totter to a spot some feet away before she plops herself right onto the cold dirty ground.

It's where she belongs. ]

But I'm not! Everyone keeps telling me how I should try and be more like my older sister, and how I shouldn't slurp my soup, and how I should just stay behind so I don't get into trouble because I'm always getting into trouble.

[ She sighs, a very dramatic exhale of breath. ]

I bet that's why Lucina left, because she didn't want to be around me anymore.

[feytality]

Come on, Lissa --- at least sit down on the chair.... [ maya's gonna try to tug her to her feet!!!! ]

And none of that is true! Soup is meant to be slurped! [ maya really isn't the position to complain about soup being slurped or lissa potentially being a trouble magnet... ]

And Lucina's your friend! [ she.... assumes??? ] She wouldn't just leave you like that. I'm sure it had nothing to do with you.

[healstaffs]

[ Lissa does, in fact, let Maya drag her back over to her chair, though only because she's too Sad and Tired to protest. ]

Why else would she leave though? Everything's so great here on this team, and she has tons of friends, and a boyfriend that wasn't actually a boyfriend but still acted like one.

[ Truly a dream come true!! ]

She probably thought I was the world's worst aunt and never wanted to be around me again.

[feytality]

You're Lucina's aunt...? [ maya has to pause briefly in her aggressive support to contemplate the logistics of this..... isn't lissa younger than lucina?? ] W-Well, it doesn't matter how! I'm sure you're a great aunt to her!

[ she puts her hands on lissa's hands and tries her best to look into her eyes. ]

Listen, Lissa--- people leave for all sorts of reasons. It isn't your fault.

[healstaffs]

[ Time travel, man. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lissa doesn't even notice Maya's confusion, too caught up in her own woes to pay attention to anything else. (Thanks, serum, for making her so incredibly rude to this person she barely knows.) ]

That's what everyone says, to make me feel better. [ Spoilers: it never makes her feel better. ] They always treat me like I'm going to break at any second.

I guess I really am useless...you should probably just go and leave me behind.

[feytality]

[ it's okay it will end in girl bonding (??). ]

You're not useless and I'm not leaving! [ what was in that serum holy crap.... this is escalating. she takes a beat to squeeze lissa's shoulders. ]

And take it from someone who's been left behind all her life. I'm not just saying that make you feel better, 'cause it still hurts when people leave!

[ shoujo music plays in the bg. ..... maya looks a lil horrified as it dawns on her that she just ran her mouth. ]

.... Oops. I didn't mean to say that first part.

[healstaffs]

[ Okay, I can't write an entire hour of this, time for the horrible side effects to wear off.

Just in time too, because this girl bonding is about to come full circle. Said shoujo music swells in the background as Lissa first blinks, then frowns deeply. ]

Left behind all her life? But who would ever leave you behind?

[ She might only have known Maya a short while, but this girl is clearly one of the greatest things since sliced bread. ]

[feytality]

[ what convenient timing, val!! anyway, maya's face goes a little red. maybe at the shoujo music. time for backpedaling and handflapping!! ]

-- No one, nevermind! It's just that it's not anyone's fault, is all. There are a lot of reasons why people leave, even..... [ a little hesitance here. ] family. It hurts, but you can't take it personally.

[healstaffs]

[ B}b

Maya is welcome to handflap all she wants, but Lissa attaches to stray scraps of information like a dog to a bone, and now that she's heard about this other side of Maya, she's definitely not letting it go. ]

Yeah, I guess so.

[ The serum hasn't completely worn off yet, there's still a lingering sadness deep in her chest, but she's no longer incapacitated by it. Lissa inches closer to Maya, a very serious expression on her face. ]

Well, I wouldn't leave you behind, I promise!

[feytality]

[ top ten anime betrayals. anyway, it seems to have done the trick to help lissa feel better --- so maya doesn't mind her scooching closer. or commiserating, though she's reluctant to draw attention to her own mayanpain when she's trying to cheer lissa up. or in general, you know, even though she understands the feeling blue over people leaving pretty well. ]

[ lissa makes her smile too. ]

The same goes for me! So neither of us can truly be alone 'cause we got each other, how about that?

[healstaffs]

[ She'll weasel that Mayanpain out someday, just wait!! But for now, Maya is a free bird, removed from Lissa's tight clutches. ]

Yeah! I pinky promise.

[ Surely they're too old for pinky promises, but whatever. But importantly: Lissa stares down at her arms with a look of deep concentration. She doesn't feel anything buuuuut.... ]

Do you think I should try lifting the chair again?

[ You know. In case she's miraculously gotten her Captain America powers after all her suffering. ]

[feytality]

Pinky promise, huh.... that's super unbreakable. [ they're absolutely too old for pinky promises. but she's going to do it anyway, since lissa brought it up. ]

Yeah! Maybe now that you're feeling better, your true strength from the inside will come back!

[ and then they both died, the end.]