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seasonsgreetings2023-10-13 12:35 am
seasonsmods) wrote in seasonsgreetings2023-10-13 12:35 am
Entry tags:
Test Drive Meme #5
Test Drive Meme #5
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
You arrive in an unknown space, dressed in white clothes (player choice what kind of clothes, as long as they cover everything). Whatever was happening to you before no longer happens. It's like everything was put on a pause and you were transferred away from the situation without you realizing it happened.
The space that you find yourself in is one of these four options:
An empty landscape filled with snow and ice, almost like a blank canvas.
A field with cherry blossom trees and spring flowers.
A sunny beach near an ocean that seems never ending.
A quiet forest with falling autumn leaves.
All of the spaces seem to continue endlessly. No matter where or how far you walk it almost seems like you're not moving at all. There are no animals here - just those who happened to wake up there at the same time, in the same place. Everyone is wearing the same kind of plain, white clothes.
Despite the possible rollercoaster of emotions you might be feeling, the place somehow feels familiar. Like somehow you belong there.
And it looks like you're not alone.
After half an hour has passed the surroundings change as everyone is teleported into a room with all the other new arrivals, no matter what space they woke up in. It's a large place with plenty of seats to sit in and beverages to enjoy. Medical attention is offered to those who need it and the doctors here are very prepared for any challenging situations.
Here, in this room, everyone gets an answer to where they are and why. A hologram of a man appears at the center of the room, waiting to be heard. He brings a message on behalf of the leaders of Ellipsa.
The Message [ Click to Expand ]
Hello, my name is Olwen. I'm one of the leaders of Ellipsa as it currently is. I'm also one of the four who summoned you here.
Our world is in trouble and we need your help. I apologize for tearing you away from your world and forcing you to come here but I hope you understand. The magic we used doesn't let us ask in advance, nor does it let us choose who we bring here.
This world is composed of four Seasonal Segments. All of them represent one of the seasons. They were the places we used to get our resources from, but now they're dangerous places no one should go into unless they have the power to fight back. All of them have their own sets of powerful monsters and natural catastrophes.
We used to have plenty of people here who could control the powers of the four Seasons. We called them Seasonal Power Holders. Unfortunately, due to a tragedy you can read about later, we lost almost all of them. Now only four of us remain and the world is in chaos. We have done our best to protect the world, but we need more power holders to do that.
That's where you come in.
All of you have been assigned to one of the seasons. Whatever space you were in just now is what season you represent. You will learn different skills based on the season and those skills are going to help you save this world.
These powers don't interfere with your own natural powers. They use a new energy that has formed inside of you. It's harmless to your health, but it's vital to your seasonal powers. Your own powers should still work, even if the dark energy outside the city might interfere with them.
Unfortunately bringing you here wasn't as simple as it sounds. We couldn't do anything about how to keep you anchored to this world other than making a simple spell that helps with it. That is, you need to touch someone else who is not from this world ideally at least once a day. It will help you stay in control of your powers and boost your magical energy. If you don't, the consequences aren't very good. But as long as you hold someone's hand or give someone a handshake, you should be fine.
That's all I have to say about the situation. The staff of the Research Center will give you more information about housing and other necessary things. I will, however, promise that you will be sent home once the situation becomes better. That's the least we can do.
The hologram can be viewed in private in a separate room later, should someone wish to look at it again. For now, the staff of the Research Center hands everyone their new smartphones with their small flower lucky charms (the flower is anything the player decides). They're also told that the building next door is where everyone can find a room assigned to them with some of their belongings there and possibly even any animal companions. Those concerned about their mount-sizes companions are welcomed to the stables downstairs to see if their friends are there. The mounts are allowed to stay there until you find a place more suitable for them.
In the Arrival's hall there are also several stands with information pamphlets.
First type of stand is for the local Guilds and about the benefits or joining one.
Second type of stands is for the Welcome Center that aim to show otherworlders what the world is like and help guide people in the beginning of the journey and helps in getting settled into the new world. They even have people to help if you're unfamiliar with the new phones.
Third type of the stands is for The In Touch Support Group that is led by the Otherwordly Ambassador, Kamisato Ayato. The pamphlets have contact information for businesses looking to help Otherworlders. They also focus more on the lore of the World and what they have discovered so far, as well as a guide on what to think about when preparing to venture out to the Segments.
Once you get your smartphone and necessary information, you're urged to go out and find your apartment. After that whatever you want to do is up to you.
Part 3
The building next door is where everyone can find their new apartments. As you enter, you're told by a friendly native that for the first two months you can live anywhere rent-free and five meals a day are paid for you. After that they get a monthly payment that helps with some of their living expenses, but otherwise they have to have a job to support themselves.
All of the apartments are comfortable, two bedroom apartments with all necessary utilities. They are also completely soundproof. Sometimes the magic system, however, does glitch and you might find yourself rooming with a stranger. This is not the intention and the staff will immediately prepare you your own room if you ask them. But maybe having a roommate isn't all that bad?
In the Arrival's hall there are also several stands with information pamphlets.
First type of stand is for the local Guilds and about the benefits or joining one.
Second type of stands is for the Welcome Center that aim to show otherworlders what the world is like and help guide people in the beginning of the journey and helps in getting settled into the new world. They even have people to help if you're unfamiliar with the new phones.
Third type of the stands is for The In Touch Support Group that is led by the Otherwordly Ambassador, Kamisato Ayato. The pamphlets have contact information for businesses looking to help Otherworlders. They also focus more on the lore of the World and what they have discovered so far, as well as a guide on what to think about when preparing to venture out to the Segments.
Once you get your smartphone and necessary information, you're urged to go out and find your apartment. After that whatever you want to do is up to you.
The building next door is where everyone can find their new apartments. As you enter, you're told by a friendly native that for the first two months you can live anywhere rent-free and five meals a day are paid for you. After that they get a monthly payment that helps with some of their living expenses, but otherwise they have to have a job to support themselves.
All of the apartments are comfortable, two bedroom apartments with all necessary utilities. They are also completely soundproof. Sometimes the magic system, however, does glitch and you might find yourself rooming with a stranger. This is not the intention and the staff will immediately prepare you your own room if you ask them. But maybe having a roommate isn't all that bad?
All throughout the city, a festival is taking place. It's the festival to honor the dead. The areas are decorated with aesthetically appropriate lights and different flowers. Upon a closer look it becomes clear that all the flowers are bundles of flowers, based on the otherworlders' flower charms. Where a characters' flower is depends on their Season, but all of the appear in the Nightwake Center district.
The main part of the festivities is to light candles in various places. There are even floating lanterns, that can be either launched to the skies or put on surfaces of water. Those who have lost (= to death) someone at any point in their life will receive a message from them in their dreams and otherwise pleasant dreams about them if they light up a candle during the festivities.
Those who have died before (back in their world or on Ellipsa) will receive a protective light around them if they light up a candle. This light will also let the natives know to treat them with kindness and respect during the festivities. They will even receive special bonuses at some of the shops and restaurants, like discounts or extra items. The light itself will decrease any damage done to them for the rest of the month. The light will dim "when needed", but even as it's not easily noticeable, it will continue to protect.
Characters may receive both of these effects.
The second part of the festivities involves making small ghosts made out of paper or cloth. These crafts are for the local ghosts to possess so they can be seen by everyone. Once the ghosts have possessed the crafts they will hover around the place, experiencing the festivities better than in their ethereal form. Only ghosts that wish to move on to the afterlife will possess the crafts.
Some of the ghosts gather at the Blossomcrown Park where magical crests have been set on various tables there. These ghosts are those who have been waiting for this moment to pass onto afterlife. Everyone visiting the bonfire will be given a special flower wreath. The goal is to wait for one of the ghosts to move and take hold of the wreath (literally holding onto it with their craft ghost forms) before placing it on the crests together with another person. This will help the ghosts to cross the border into afterlife. The wreath disappears after the ghost has passed on. This ritual can only be done at this time of the year, as the air is filled with a mysterious essence that helps with passing on. The scientists have yet to properly determine what the essence truly is, but it seems to concentrate on the park and at least it's not dangerous for the living.
The park also has some places to just sit down and enjoy the atmosphere at the park. There are also some food and drink stalls.
The final part of the festivities is the multi-day Costume Party Masquerade happening in the largest airship of the city. The ship circles around the whole city of Nightwake, occasionally stopping at the dock and taking new passengers (or letting old ones out) before continuing on again. The airship is special, as it has a giant ballroom in the middle. There are also cabins, some more private and some more communal for those who just want a quick place to crash rather than a proper room.
Everyone who boards the airship must wear some sort of a mask, but they also have to be in a costume of some sort. Those who don't have either or both will be guided to a dressing room where the magic will pick them whatever they are missing at random (= of player's choosing) and dress them (their current clothes will be waiting for them at the airship station later). No one escapes the rule of a costume and a mask around here!
A magic is also applied to everyone's mask, making it harder for anyone to recognize the person wearing it (possibly even those who know them very well). This is said to add some level of mystery to the evening. Of course the spell will pause whenever someone takes off their mask and that may reveal a secret to someone. No one will just automatically forget if they saw someone take off their mask.
The music encourages people to dance and be brave in asking a stranger to dance with them. Thanks to the atmosphere of the masquerade, touch energy will feel even better than usual, even if you'd be "fully loaded".
Another sort of magic sneaks into the party, as people's costumes start to take over their personalities. Someone dressed up as a king might start acting all regal, while a vampire look-a-like might try to bite someone in their neck. Some might even lose the sight of who they really are and completely take on their new roles for the time they're in the airship and in the costume.
Fairies will start trying to bomb people gone weird with water balloons, as a splash of water on their faces will wake them up from the trance (even if the said person is wearing a mask). They're even teleporting water balloons for others to toss - especially if it looks like someone is acting a bit too dangerously.
Another way is to strip them out of their clothes, but that might be something reserved for the privacy of a cabin, rather than the ballroom.
Even once someone has been freed from the spell they can unfortunately be spellbound again later on - but it's just less likely.
- Ask your questions related to the TDM here.
- The TDM is available only to friends of the mods and their friends. If you want to play in the TDM, please leave a note here to inform us who invited you over. We will get to you as soon as possible.
- Test Drive is open for current characters to make a top level as well. New characters can add TDM on their subject line to indicate they're new!
- Current characters cannot access the starting area again to meet new arrivals. They can, however, be at the Research Center when the newbies are teleported in.
- The TDM is game canon so anything in the TDM can happen for your character(s) in the game as well.
- Smut is not allowed on the TDM. You can play situations leading to it, but if the thread is turning into smut, please move it to a private space such a post in your character's journal, or a locked post in the game's log community if you decide to app!
- Check Locations: City to find more areas to explore inside the city. Every place in the districts are open.
- Similarly, Locations: Segments is useful for outdoors adventures.
- You can find monsters to encounter on Beastiary.
- FAQ has information on characters' smartphones as well as general things about the world that might be handy.
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The tears definitely keep coming, especially since he sees Marco crying, too, and apologizing. Jean wipes his eyes with his sleeve, a futile attempt at making his tears stop.
"... I..."
Words get caught in his throat. It's a scene he's played in his head more often than not. Apologizing to Marco. Even after finding out how he died, he has still seen a dream where he begs for his forgiveness. For not staying by his side. For not making sure he stayed alive.
But he never saw dreams where he's been validated by Marco. Encouraged and reminded of the better times, sure, but never validated like this. Even if he's received plenty of validation from others by now something about Marco saying it just makes him emotional.
"... I always wanted to believe you'd be proud of who I became. That I didn't choose the easy way out. It helped me get through the worst situations."
He's held Marco's word and just his friendship close to him through all these years, carrying him with him.
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Marco closes his eyes, letting the tears fall for a moment.
"I'm glad that you carried me with you. That you didn't forget."
That he didn't forget about Marco, that he kept his words close. He thinks it sounds a little cruel, even as he says it. He knows it must have hurt Jean to carry him in his heart all this time. But that's all that would have remained of him - a memory. Carried in Jean's memories. In Mikasa, and Sasha's, and his sisters and mother's.
"I - I think the worst thing would have been for no one to remember me."
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It definitely hasn't been easy, carrying a memory of Marco with him. Sometimes it felt unbearable. But... the thought of letting him go was even more so. He couldn't do it. Never even consider it. No matter how hard it got.
"I could never forget you. None of us could."
Even if none of them talked about it, Jean knew none of them had forgotten Marco. None of them could forget the funeral night, when they put all of the deceased to the pyre and watched the flames go high up to the sky. Of how they had to say goodbye to so many of their friends. Say goodbye to Marco.
He almost falls into the pit of saying how sorry he was, but bits his lip instead a little.
"But I'm not that good of a person not to have cursed everything under the sun sometimes for choosing to join the crazy squad", he says, trying to lighten up the mood at least a little.
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"I'd ask who replaced you if you hadn't," he says once his voice is steadier. He wipes at his own tears again, eyes still red and it's possible he'll end up choked up again, but they're lighter now.
"What happened after you joined the Survey Corps?"
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"A lot of things happened in a very short time. Our first expedition outside. Then we figured out Annie was one of the titan shifters that broke through the walls. We caught her, but she and Eren wrecked Stohess while fighting in titan forms and we couldn't get any answers out of her since she encased herself in a crystal." Does he sound bitter about that? Yes. Yes he does. "Not long after that we also found out who the Armored and Colossal titans were, Reiner and Bertholt, and they tried to kidnap Eren. Ymir was also a titan shifter, even if she wasn't on their side. But she left with them anyway for some reason I still don't know."
Jean sighs. It was all a lot to take in then and it was still a lot to swallow now. The betrayals would always sting, no matter how close he got with Reiner here.
"We got Eren back, but we didn't get any time to rest after that, since we got into another set of trouble right after." That he would get to once he lets Marco process through the information. He did mention his killers quite a bit there.
And if Marco wanted to take a break and hear the rest later, he would respect that wish, too. It was a lot to take in.
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When Jean tells him, it makes a lot of sense. Bertholdt, tall and always warm. Reiner, broad shouldered and protective. Annie, quiet and quick and dangerous. They had put that hole in the wall. That's what he'd overheard that Reiner had killed him for, made Annie help.
The break is appreciated. Marco raises one of his hands to grip his left shoulder - the side that he'd been missing when Jean found him - and shudders, a little.
"So that's..." He starts, silences, finishes the sentence in the privacy of his own mind. Why they had decided to kill him.
"More titans?" He asks after a long moment, a few deep, ragged breaths that even out. "I mean - more trouble with titans, is that what you got into?"
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Once Marco's ready again, he lets his hand fall back, but still keeps it near Marco.
"Not this time." Jean sort of still wishes it had been just titans. "First, you'll need to know that... the king you wanted to serve was not the real king. Instead, he was just a fake figure head to keep the actual royal family safely hidden. The real royal family being the Reiss family."
That's the important 'lore' part he needed to get out before explaining the next part.
"After we returned from rescuing Eren we ended up joining the Levi Squad - me, Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Sasha, Connie and -- Krista." He would let Krista tell her true name to Marco on her own, rather than telling him. It was only fair. "The Reiss family wanted both Eren and Krista, who's the heir of the Reiss family. So we were meant to protect them from the Military Police special squad that was assigned for that. The Anti-Personnel Control Squad."
Jean hesitates, here, but gathers himself. "... we had to get our hands dirty to protect each other from them. Armin saved me by shooting someone in the face. After that all of us resolved to kill if it was to protect our friends. And... we did. We had to. To save Eren and Krista, who they managed to take from us."
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But it seems, while everything's a mess, they may as well knock Marco's metaphorical knees out from under him. The king being a false figurehead is bad enough. The heir being Krista, who had always seemed so sweet, if a little distant sometimes? That's another huge surprise, his eyes going wide.
Jean had fought the military police, in essence. Marco can picture it in his own mind - Jean hesitating and Armin having to make the choice to kill someone instead. It's a choice he would have made. It wouldn't have been easy.
He lets go of his arm to reach over and rest a hand on Jean's knee, giving it a brief squeeze. "That's... Sina, that's a lot. To have to choose to kill someone else..."
It's not as if they hadn't known that'd be a risk. Hell, it might have been a risk in the interior anyways, where food was more abundant and crime would have been a problem. But it's easy, when you're younger, to think it's just the Titans you'll have to face.
no subject
It's like he's stating the obvious, but he's unsure what else to say about it at this point. It's a heavy subject for him, still, but he's learned to accept that he's killed. And would kill again if it meant protecting his friends again.
"We ended up succesfully overthrowing the government and Krista was made Queen. But that's... not all there is to the story. There's some titan-related shit, too. It might be better if I told you about it later - or maybe Armin could explain it better than me. He's here too, along with quite a few others. Your call."
Though before Marco makes the decision if he wants to hear it from Jean and now, he adds. "After all that we came up with a plan to use Eren's newfound hardening powers to seal the holes in the walls and reclaim Wall Maria. I've been away from home from the day we set out to Shiganshina, but Mikasa told me what happened there. We succeeded, but lost a lot of Scouts since we fought the enemy side the traitors belong to."
no subject
Also, they overthrew the government and that's not even the complicated part of the story? He supposes he can get that side from Krista - their new queen.
"I think," Marco says after a moment, "I'm gonna need time to absorb all of... that. But I'll talk to Armin, Krista, and Mikasa about it later, once I'm ready."
Jean's told him a lot - he doesn't want to make him retread paths he doesn't know and that are hard for him. He's still reeling with his own death as well. His feelings are - well, complicated. And instead of working through them right now, he's repressing the hell out of everything.
"You mentioned you've been away from home, in other worlds like this." Prompting Jean to turn to what he hopes is a happier subject.
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By now Jean's tears have dried, for now. He feels more stable, even if he's that could change at any moment. It wasn't everyday you got your best friend back. He perks up a little, too, with moving onto the next subject.
"Yeah. It's been... over four years now. I'm nineteen, now." Which is an age he sometimes thought he would never see, considering he joined the Corps. "I first arrived to a place called Empatheias. Mikasa was with me, there. It was just the two of us there and on Avalon, another place we arrived to together. We... grew closer in those worlds and... got married, even."
There's a very happy blush on Jean's face. And he does wear his wedding ring on his left ring finger that he shows. He's just gonna wait and see his reaction to this sudden news.
If anyone knew how bad Jean had it for Mikasa when they were trainees, it would be Marco. So getting to tell him that he eventually got the girl was... special.
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"Now you're the older one," he teases gently, but he doesn't wait for a response when Jean mentions getting married to Mikasa, showing off the ring. Jean had it bad for Mikasa, and a lot of people dismissed it as puppy love, but his heart was truly in it and Marco knew that.
"Oh-! I'm so happy for you two," he says, and the bright, cheery smile on his face speaks to the truth of it. He reaches out, lifting Jean's hand to examine the ring. He assumes Mikasa has a matching one, maybe even more lavish. Jean seems like the kind of guy who might insist - or maybe he knew she'd always be the type to fight and wouldn't want to break something.
"I'm glad you two got the chance to grow close. She's always been a impressive woman."
no subject
"Yeah, she really is. She makes me-- We both make each other so happy." Having Mikasa by his side all of this time is what kept Jean sane, to be honest. It was likely the same the other way around, too. "I actually have pictures of our wedding on another device. So I can show them to you later, if you want."
He really needs to figure out how to transfer the pictures over to his current one.
"But yeah, it was just the two of us for ... over three years. Others started arriving here after we had been here for a while. Eren, Levi, Hange, Krista, Armin... most recently even Commander Erwin."
But there is one name he's left unmentioned and his expression changes slightly at the thought of needing to say it. He doesn't, yet. He wants to keep this happy feeling around a little longer, at least. But he absolutely needs to.
no subject
"I can't wait to see them," he assures Jean, listening to him talk about being alone for a while. "So you've been here almost as long as we've been in training," he noted wryly. He knows Jean was other places than here specifically, but 'here' will suffice for the time being.
He looks pleased at the names that Jean lists out. "Commander Erwin and Captain Levi of the Survey Corps! Wow..." His starstruck expression makes him miss the expression on Jean's face. Jean can put it off longer, if he wants - or he can tell Marco now.
no subject
Jean takes a deeper breathe and puts his hands on Marco's shoulders. There's no easy way to say it, but luckily Jean has years of practice of being blunt so he's just going to say it as it is.
"Reiner's also here."
no subject
Reiner, who murdered him. Who held him down and ordered Annie to take away his gear - who left him on that rooftop to die. His expression breaks a little as he's looking at Jean.
Marco's head lowers for a moment, his bangs hiding his expression. When his shoulders shake a little, Jean might be expecting more tears. The hands in his lap ball up into fists, however, and when he raises his head again it's clear that Marco isn't crying.
No, he's shaking with barely contained rage, and when he looks at Jean his eyes are hard and flintlike, his brows drawn down.
"Where is he." It's not a question and Marco's voice comes from behind clenched teeth, each word enunciated sharply.
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But then Marco looks up and there's rage in his eyes that Jean's never seen in him before. Sure, Marco's been angry whenever cadets were doing dangerous things, but this was something completely different. Jean's eyes widen, not having expected it at all. It's enough to make Jean's grip on his shoulders loosen noticeably.
Where is he, words so sharp they feel like they could cut. Jean could make few educated guesses as to where Reiner might be right now, but he had no solid ideas.
"I don't know." It's not a lie. He doesn't know Reiner's exact location. Jean lowers his hands back to his lap, unsure what to really say or do.
Should he tell Marco about his initial meeting with Reiner? About how, after that, he and Reiner have bonded and become friends again? If he did... Would Marco feel like Jean betrayed him? Was he actually wrong to push through the hate and try to live peacefully? Of course, Marco has every right to be angry. With Reiner. With Jean, too, if it came to that. Of course, Jean never expected Marco would readily be able to forgive Reiner, if ever, but what if he had been wrong thinking he could eventually move past that once he talked with Reiner?
And what did it tell about him when he was still determined to be Reiner's ally, even if he had been wrong? There was no way he could abandoned Reiner now. Nor did he want to. They'd come so far.
Jean doesn't even realize he's mostly staring away awkwardly, stuck in his thoughts over the situation he's landed himself in.
no subject
Marco doesn't think Jean is lying; he knows Jean too well for that, he thinks, even if there's a few years stretching between him. He doesn't believe, though, that if Jean knows what Reiner did, he doesn't have some idea where he is. He wouldn't just let Marco's killer (their old friend, always like an older brother) wander around, would he?
His words are still sharp but blunted - Jean isn't the source of his vitriol. But he also might have no issue going around Jean to resolve it.
He lowers his head again, and - uncharacteristically for him - hits the seat of the gazebo with a closed fist, in a way that has to hurt.
"I deserve... I deserve to know why he did what he did. He didn't even - we didn't even get a chance to talk-"
But... the longer he speaks, the more the anger is starting to drain out of him, his shoulders pulling in again like he's about to pitch forward.
no subject
Jean is snapped out of his thoughts by Marco punching the seat. He reaches out for his friends' hand, but stops short. Marco's words cutting him deep again. The repeated final words making him feel even worse.
Jean hadn't asked why. Not yet. Not when he knew Reiner might flip out about hearing Marco's name again and revert back to memories from his soldier times. Now.. how would he react if he met Marco all of a sudden? Jean wanted to prevent that. He needed to at least try. For both of their sakes.
When Marco seems like he might fall any moment, Jean puts his hands on his shoulders again. Some of the usual clarity he has returning, with worry for Marco intensifying. This was all too much at once.
"You do, but you shouldn't rush into it. Not right away. With all this new information you've been getting, too... you should rest. After you have, I'll bring you to Reiner myself."
wanna start to wrap? unless jean wants to fuss over marco napping on his couch or something
"... You're right," he mumbles, raising the hand he'd hit the bench with to touch his own forehead. The knuckles of his hand are already an angry red, but he doesn't seem to have broken anything. "I'm sorry."
He doesn't specify why, tired as he is - but he means subtly threatening Jean while he was so angry.
we can start to wrap things up for now~
"Do you want to crash on our couch? Or do you want me to take you back to the starter apartments?"
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"If it's not a bother."
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"Not at all. Mikasa will be glad to see you, too."