5th [action and/or video network post]

[angewiesen]

[Jean has been spending most of his time either at Armin's Gym, or the Casa de Voltron, so this situation was entirely unavoidable. The ocean is everywhere, and he's the curious type, especially about Pokemon. It was only a matter of time before he was able to touch one of the swarming Basculegion.]

[His feelings on this situation were mixed.]

[The first person Jean saw was Marco. This alone unnerved him quite a bit. He wasn't sure if he should be elated, or frightened. On one hand, he still missed him terribly, and wanted to see him again. On the other, he was afraid that Marco would... disapprove, of the man he had become. When he was nothing but a memory, at least that was what he would stay. Forever.]

[It didn't help that his image couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be the young, freckled face he remembered, or the 3/4ths of a corpse he found lying on the streets of Trost.]

[Anyone is welcome to somehow find them speaking with each other again. (I could even contrive a reason for his gear to turn on without him noticing.)]

[If they're not in the neighborhood, however, they might see the post he makes some time later.]

These ghosts. How exactly are you supposed to get them to go away?

[Jean's expression is extremely tight with forced composure, and at this angle, with his back against a wall of some kind, only his own face can be seen.]

I don't want this anymore.

Comments

[nightyorb]

No clue. I've tried everything I can think of and he won't go away.

[Not that there is a ghost visible on Riz's end. All the camera manages to capture is a scaled, towering red leg(?) behind him. Faintly, there are the sounds of roaring and "Trickle Down Economics is the best economic system." (???) coming from overhead.]

Though right now I'd settle for just finding a way to shut this guy up.

[angewiesen]

...Is that the dragon you killed?

[Yes, Jean remembers that conversation.]

Weird. I haven't seen any Titans.

[The only guess he could make at that was because by the time he got to them, they weren't really sapient anymore?]

[nightyorb]

Yeah. Wish I could kill him again but--

[Riz just reaches back, waving his hand through Goldenhoard's leg. It stings and prickles a little, but eh. He's felt worse.]

Well, I've several other people too, and they haven't shown up, so maybe it's just random?

[Riz is definitely talking way too casually about murder.]

[angewiesen]

You seem pretty relaxed about all this.

[Jean is, most definitely, not relaxed. Riz's attitude is raising his hackles a bit.]

[nightyorb]

About which part? The killing or the ghosts?

[video]

[captainash]

Have you tried asking them politely?

[Ash has also very carefully positioned the Gear so only his face can be seen.]

I mean, it didn't work for me, but maybe yours are more cooperative than mine.

[video]

[angewiesen]

I've tried being nice.

I've also tried being not-nice. Doesn't work.

[video]

[captainash]

Could always try looking for a consecrated place and see if they can't follow you there. Doesn't help much if you have things to do at home, though.

[video]

[angewiesen]

What's a "consecrated place"?

[video]

[captainash]

A place that's considered sacred. A church, a synagogue, a mosque, a temple... Even a cemetery might count. ...Or maybe not, in this very specific case.

video;

[singlespacedad]

I'm assuming they'll go away on their own.

[Mando isn't being so careful with his camera, and Jean will be able to see a whole menagerie of weird characters behind him. What the hell kind of canon world is Mando from, anyway, with such a wild assortment of life forms? There's even, lingering on the very edge of the group, a droid.]

[For all that Mando enjoys antagonising Jean, his tone is calm and gentle today. Jean might be obnoxious, but he's also still just a kid, and Mando knows those first few deaths hit harder.]

I tried talking to a few of them. The ones without much to say went away after I told them to go.

[Those were the ones who Mando had no connection to, who were just business. He very pointedly hasn't tried to talk to the droid, or the small Ugnaught next to it.]

video;

[angewiesen]

[When it comes to crisis, Jean isn't choosey about who tries to help him. Besides, Mando might find him obnoxious, but Jean definitely saw Buckethead as more friend than enemy.]

[Part of his love language was definitely picking fights and being a little shit in general. He was starting to understand that that part of himself didn't translate well with most people.]

[That didn't mean he felt like changing it, though.]

Most of them don't talk.

[He already noticed that only people he knew talked to him, which was mostly a blessing. If the people he killed suddenly started wailing at him for his crimes against humanity, he wouldn't be able to deal with it.]

I still don't want them around, though.

video;

[singlespacedad]

[Mando would probably like Jean better if he didn't insist on calling him Buckethead. Then again, he's not exactly rising above it by calling Jean Landlocked.]

Were you a soldier?

[That would explain why he's got a body count, and why he's upset about it.]

video;

[angewiesen]

...Yeah. But I didn't expect to be killing people when I started.

video;

[singlespacedad]

... what were you killing if you weren't killing people?

[brokencode]

[Jean is a familiar enough sight around the gym that, at first, she doesn't think twice about seeing him in passing. What does make her stop is the man he seems to be speaking with. Thankfully, she seems to have come across him in a less corpse-like state, but it doesn't make his presence any less surprising.

The attire he wears, at least, is familiar enough. She'd seen it in passing during her time with Armin, and perhaps even the Jean that had come before this one. However, having not yet dealt with the Basculin of her own accord, she's not sure what to make of his presence beyond the obvious.]

Jean? [She breaks from her current path to stand beside him, hand resting upon his shoulder.] Is this a new arrival?

[angewiesen]

[Normally, Jean was very receptive towards Angel, so she should notice when her touch causes him to stiffen up rather than mellow out. While he turns toward her, he can't quite meet her eyes. He's mostly stuck on Marco, with a strange combination of fear-- both dreading that he might disappear the moment he looks away, or that something terrible might if he let him out of his sights.]

...No. [He answered her after a moment of inner conflict. Jean had already tried to touch Marco, and when his hands phased right through him, he realized that this was some kind of trick. Or maybe hallucination.] He's not... I didn't think other people could see it.

[What was happening seemed to be aimed at him specifically somehow, so it wasn't sure... Meanwhile, Marco's apparition looked perfectly friendly and agreeable, if a little curious about his surroundings. His pleasant demeanor didn't match up with how Jean was acting at all.]

[brokencode]

[From the moment he stiffens up, Angel knows that something is terribly wrong. Her fingers tighten against the back of his shirt, clutching at him as he refuses to meet her eyes. She feels her heart rise up within her chest, panic clawing at her belly. For better or for worse, Jean was typically unflappable. If something was bothering him, then it was something big.]

See it? [She casts a glance toward the young man, noting the expression he wore comparatively. It's hard to fathom someone looking warm and open could be cause for concern but... Clearly something isn't right. And as she isn't familiar with the young man, she'll turn to the person she does know.]

Jean, what's going on?

[angewiesen]

...I don't know. [He could tell that he was frightening her a little, and tried to get a better hold of himself. There really wasn't anything for Angel to be afraid of, and he didn't want her to get needlessly upset.] There were some weird fish Pokemon I've never seen before outside, maybe they have something to do with it.

[He'd explain further, but he didn't want to say that Marco was dead in front of him. That felt like a really bad idea.]

He's not... really there? I can't--

Jean, who's this?

[He jumped in place when Marco spoke, even thought they'd already been talking for a bit. The torn, dissonant look on his face grew more pronounced.]

...This is Angel. She's a friend of mine.

Friends, really? [There was an unspoken feeling of "how did you get to be friends with such a cute girl?" in Marco's reply, but there was absolutely nothing antagonizing about it either. If anything, he seemed very pleasantly surprised.] Hi, Angel. My name's Marco.

[He held out his hand for a shake.]

[brokencode]

[The calm Jean asserts over himself does indeed serve to put Angel's mind at ease. Though she remains partially shielded by his frame, she does lean around to glance at the man, not unlike a scared child cowering behind her mother's legs. The young man... sounds polite enough. And if she knows one thing about Jean, it's that he wouldn't put her at risk.]

Marco. [She thinks the name sounds familiar, from her discussions with the scattered few that had come from Armin and Jean's home. The specifics don't quite come to mind, but she at least that familiarity serves to relax her all the more.]

It's a pleasure to meet you. You... served with Armin too, right? He and I are... very close.

[Video]

[titanbabysitter]

[Levi appears to be a mixture of exhausted and annoyed. Which is usually his natural expressions, but it's more currently more appearant.]

I've been ignoring mine. Not that it's working....

[Video]

[angewiesen]

It's hard when there's so many of them.

[Many in Jean's opinion, at least. He couldn't even imagine Levi's body count, on top of all the comrades he's seen killed. There must be a whole regiment haunting him.]

Re: [Video]

[titanbabysitter]

I only wish to understand the purpose behind this nightmare.

Many?? Tch.

[Video]

[angewiesen]

I hate to say, there probably isn't one. Sometimes weird shit just happens here, no reason why.

...Okay, what you're seeing is probably way worse, but you have to admit, you're kind of an outlier.

Re: [Video]

[titanbabysitter]

Of course. Just like our reason for even being here.

[He made a face at the latest statement.]

And you're stating the obvious.