[Video, psychic bridged to the walkabout]

[neverfeltthatway]

This is Armin, attempting to reach the Travelers on walkabout from the jaunt in Harrogate.

What's going on over there? Where are you, and is everyone all right?

We're still working out what's going on over here. It's 123 years later than the last time we were here, the year 2020 - in many ways it seems like a modern earth so many Travelers are familiar with. We arrived during the funeral of a local beloved celebrity. There are a number of ghosts hanging around, and several Travelers are investigating or infiltrating as ghosts. We're investigating several leads as to the cause of this, as well as to the hints of eldritch dealings at work.

I can only keep this connection open for about half an hour. I may be able to contact you all again in a few days - but I have to use psychic bridge to speak with the investigators on the ghost side of things as well, so that's not a promise.

...Is Eren around? [Because, of course, that was second half of the motivation for making this connection - and for bringing Mikasa along.]

Comments

[callyourname]

.... Should I try to burn them?? [Or she could try punching the yellow asshole]

[rustyhonesty]

You damn well know he would be a help to you! Maybe not in solving problems, but as a moral support! And even if it's just that, he'd think it'd be worth it.

If we don't bring him back and he hears about this, how do you think he'll feel then?! Do you think he will be fucking happy that you told us not to bring him back to at least try and help you out?! Do you think he'll say "Thank you for protecting me" or some other bullshit?!

Eren would rather be there and face the same dangers with the two of you than be here taking it easy!

[neverfeltthatway]

No. I don't think he'll be happy we protected him. I don't think he'll feel good about it.

What I do think is that he'll be alive. I think that he'll be sane.

This isn't like other jaunts. This isn't something where we might get hurt or killed, and maybe it'll be traumatic, but the Arcana will bring us back and we'll be fine afterward. These are forces of madness beyond our understanding, ones that rival the Arcana - what if you change Eren back, and he comes here, and he's driven insane? There's not always a way back from that.

Or what if they struggle with the Arcana? Last time they took over both the network and liminal space. What if they interfere with the process that lets them bring us back when we die? If Eren dies here, he could die forever.

That isn't worth moral support.

[callyourname]

Yeah, he'd be angry as hell and that's a fucking huge understatement but I'll rather keep him alive, sane and safe and let him rage at us later.

[ . . . And then apparently she is not fine at all with the words Eren dying forever when until then she is listening carefully (So that and possibly a lot worse is how bad Harrohell is) until then and after it ....

..... Silence.

That might be worse than Mikasa saying anything, something... Nope, sorry boys, noping the fuck out of that possibility while she is trying to keep herself together. She is still here, probably, big girls should keep cool and stay calm all the damn time, so why does she feel like she is near breaking for the second time in this Jaunt? Not that she would be fine with any of them dying here at all even with how they come back but... Forever? Nope her the fuck out of that from happening to any of them. ]

[rustyhonesty]

[Mikasa going silent is expected, considering how the conversation took an even more morbid turn. Great. This conversation was going so damn great. If possible, Jean's now even more pissed off for Armin unintentionally hurting Mikasa so badly in a place like that.]

Looks like you're not helping one bit with the insanity factor. Great fucking job, Armin. If something happens to Mikasa I'm holding you responsible.

[Look he might apologize for a lot of things after Jauntabout. Like saying it will be Armin's fault if something happens now, since he wouldn't likely say that if he was less pissed off.]

You're also in the same fucking danger of madness and dying permanently. Can he rage at you both later if you're gone? How will he feel if he can't ever see you again? What if he loses you while he could have helped prevent that?! He'll be tormented for the rest of his life, because for all he knows, he could have protected you somehow!

Besides, all of those are what if's. You have no way of knowing what will happen.

[neverfeltthatway]

I may have pointed out the potential danger to Eren, but you're still the one trying to put him in it. [Hearing that may have hurt Mikasa, but that's nothing compared to how she'd react if it actually happened to Eren - and that's exactly what he's trying to prevent.]

I don't care what you blame me for. I'm going to protect Mikasa to the best of my abilities, and that doesn't include sending more people over here I have to watch out for, more potential targets for the forces at work.

I know we're in the same danger. You think I don't know the risks? Fine, I don't know what will happen, but I know better than anyone else. I know better than you, or Eren. I'm fucking living it, Jean, and I've lived it before! I felt my overlay going mad, last time. I was fucking strangled to death! Yeah, he'll be devastated if something happens to us, but with this kind of danger, it won't be less likely with him around.

He can't protect us from this, Jean! Maybe he'll be tormented for the rest of his life, but at least he'll still have a life.

[rustyhonesty]

Paint me as a bad guy if you want, but I'm trying because I know he wants to be able to make a choice! Eren knows the danger, yet he wants to be brought back and not be unaware of everything! There's no denying that you both need him there, even if you don't want him to be there.

[The bit about being strangled to death is new, but Jean keeps himself from actually being too shocked over it. He'd have time to feel bad later and apologize to Armin about everything. Everything about this. To both Armin and Mikasa.]

Yeah, you're right. I don't know anything at all. I don't know about the hell on that side. Eren doesn't know it for himself either.

[He'll change the tactic. If they're going to hate him for this, might as well give them more reasons to do so. He can play the bad guy Armin is clearly making him be. Hence his voice turning cold, channeling his past overlays for the bastards they were.]

I say... so what. If that suicidal bastard wants to come over there and live it for himself, I have no right to stop him from doing so. You'd have to be crazy to want come over there and crazy fits that idiot well.

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin opens his mouth to shout back, then abruptly shuts down, regaining control of himself - seething fury in his eyes.]

...I know what you're doing. And I can see that nothing I say will change your mind.

[And just like that, the connection is dead.]

[rustyhonesty]

[Jean can definitely sense how angry he is. Of course he'd be. That's the whole point of Jean saying things like that. Just as planned. That's all Jean can think of.

It hurts more than he'd imagined.]

[callyourname]

[ Mikasa stays silent in her so called corner to the end, a little surprised and sometimes shocked at everything that they are yelling at each other.

Geez, she is from a family where her parents never had a fight in front of her, it's still weird to hear people yelling at each other like that.

Once it is over-- and sure, she is surprised at how fast Armin closes it but then again, not really -- her first reaction is to pull Armin into a hug and kiss his cheek. No words, not yet. She will try to calm (them both) down first.]

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin stays where he is when the connection closes - still and silent, staring off into space as if he were still speaking on the network. When Mikasa pulls him into a hug, she'll be able to tell he's actually shaking, and breathing unevenly.

After a long moment he closes his eyes - angry, helpless tears leaking out the sides - and eventually puts his arms around her in return. He doesn't say anything either, yet - trying to come to terms with how helpless he still is to protect his friends, after all this time.]

[callyourname]

[She doesn't even need to hug him to know that the shaking and breathing like that will be there. It's part of the big reasons why she hugs him so soon. She's here, at least, even if some others can't be...

And she'll just hold him tighter and tighter as moments go by. She can't really deny feeling helpess too, this place is most likely going to hurt a lot sounds like a huge understatement and she's nooooooot sure if there's anything she can do about it. Because really, she and Eren might both be the kind of reckless idiots who'd go try to set ghosts on fire or whatever, punch things that they shouldn't punch or try things they shouldn't even try. And usually that works, she's pretty sure it won't work against ghosts or insanity though. Aside from that one time, when she accidentally made Rogue knock itself out with a punch and they got Eren back in control of it after that but that also was not a ghost...

Uh, how does this comforting people thing go again? She pets his hair and rubs his back. ]