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

[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]

[angewiesen]

Oh. I don't buy into that stuff, but... [It might be worth a shot???] I don't know of anyplace like that nearby.

[video]

[captainash]

I have no idea if buying into it is necessary to make it work, to be honest.

[He hopes not, because he might be considering that option himself.]

Lavender Town's radio tower used to be a cemetery, but as an office building I don't think it counts anymore.

[angewiesen]

I'm literally on an island in the middle of nowhere. Armin's gym.

[captainash]

That's somewhere in the Sevii archipelago, right? There's got to be at least one island with some sort of religious building out there, but I have no idea which is the most likely option.

[angewiesen]

O... kay. I guess going for a fly is a secondary option. I get the feeling they're gonna be following me somehow, but it might be a distraction in the meantime.

[captainash]

Watching ghosts fly behind you could be entertaining, if nothing else. Especially if they were afraid of heights in life.

[angewiesen]

[That actually gets a small chuckle out of Jean.]

One thing I do know is that none of them were afraid of heights. You can't when you use the ODM.

[captainash]

The ODM?

[The term means nothing to Ash, but he's not surprised. Technology does vary greatly between worlds, after all.]

That some sort of vehicle? A pilot who fears heights wouldn't be much use, that's true.

[angewiesen]

It's like a... Like a jetpack. [Thanks Mando.] But instead of just going straight up, you have to grapple into something tall first. It's what we use to move around in 3D and kill Titans.

[captainash]

['Jetpack' is apparently the magic word, because Ash nods immediately.]

Does the grapple direct the lifting, or does the jetpack bit boost the grappling? I mean, you probably need both parts either way, but people must have used one or the other to kill those Titans of yours less efficiently at first?

[angewiesen]

The grappling causes most of the momentum. The gas is mostly for course corrections and to soften landings.

[captainash]

Sounds tricky to use, though effective. And the range is great enough to immediately eliminate any candidates that are afraid of heights? Those grappling cables must be terribly resistant.

[angewiesen]

Regular Titans can be up to 15 meters tall, and you have to make a cut at the nape of their necks to kill them, so...

[captainash]

...Those things are just a bit shorter then mobile suits? I can see why you'd need something sturdy. Hell, I'm surprised your arms can withstand it.

[angewiesen]

It's not something everyone can do. People die in training pretty regularly, usually from falling wrong.

The grapples shoot from the hips though, so it's more core strength than arm strength.

[captainash]

Even with the known risk of regular, fatal training accidents, people still want to use them? All the other options must be worse, then.

[angewiesen]

Well, for Titan killing, it's basically all we've got. The gear is-- well, was-- probably the most advanced piece of technology we had in Paradis. Invention from necessity, I guess.