Deer Country IC Inbox

[eudaimonikos]

INBOX text / audio / video / action Hello, this is Michael. I can't pick up right now, please leave a message. code credit

Comments

voice

[siriusly]

Hh, hey, Michael? Hi--um. [he can't pick up right now, just leave a message, jeez!]

I, I heard you...helped out while I was...Y'know. I mean--thanks for the clothes. It helped. Sorry I haven't...been much around. I'll be more...that. Soon. I think.

So.

[...]

Ye-yeah. Thanks again. Hope things are okay.

un: eudaimonikos; audio

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael's been a little busy with stuff lately, so it's not too surprising that he missed the call. Nonetheless, he'll just call back as soon as he gets the message!]

Hey! Yeah, no problem, man. How are you feeling?

[siriusly]

Oh-- [that was. that was fast! unexpectedly so, considering how off-guard Manabu sounds.] He-hey, Michael. I, um. I'm...better, yeah. Thanks. Are you? Good?

Christmas Delivery

[lightthedarkness]

[Wrapped up in a bright red and white box is a plate of bought snowflake cookies and a men's bowtie.

Attached is a note with a little rabbit doodle:]

Happy Holidays!
Love,
Usagi

text; un: eudaimonikos

[eudaimonikos]

[The response doesn't come until after the start of January, at the earliest. Michael almost doesn't send anything at all...but that seems rude, and he's got enough to feel awful about.]

Thanks for the cookies and the tie.

Text;

[lightthedarkness]

I'm glad you like them.

un: lumine

[traversal]

[ because she promised to message him when she gets a guitar (which is going to be forward-dated a bit) ... ]

I found the music shop and someone recently gave me a guitar as well for Christmas. Even if it doesn't seem like it's being celebrated here.

Are you still up for those lessons?

[eudaimonikos]

Oh
My god
I forgot about Christmas

[They don't really celebrate it in the afterlife, for obvious reasons? Should he get people late gifts or something???]

Yeah, I'm totally still up for it! Sounds fun! （＊＾Ｕ＾）人（≧Ｖ≦＊）/

[traversal]

Do you celebrate Christmas too?

[ people will appreciate gifts even if it's not christmas, so. fire away, michael. ]

That's great! I can send over the directions to the music shop. It's around Willful Machine so it shouldn't be too far off from your shop. We can meet up there if you wish.

Action; Backdated to Christmas

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul's fiendish delight in the holiday means he's once again broken into people's houses and used all the stealth he possesses to leave those he likes a gift or two. Sometimes, he even goes right down the chimney like a demented version of Santa Claus. He leaves Michael's gift where he knows he'll find it, along with a short note.]

This seems suited to your tastes. Merry Christmas. ~Maul

[eudaimonikos]

[Well, Michael's kinda out of commission around Christmas anyway, but he'll get to this eventually.]

Hey, thanks for the book!

[Seems like he fully doesn't care about the breaking and entering!]

audio, un:yuuki

[siriusly]

Hey, ah-- Michael? When you get a chance, can you give me a call? I need to ask a favor.

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah, what's up?

text | un: zing zang voombah [backdated - right after the chaos in Cassandra]

[spiritwalks]

Michael

please, let me know when you get (and can read??) this message

I'm worried about you, man

[eudaimonikos]

[It takes a couple days for Michael to respond.

Most of that is time when he just genuinely didn't see the message. Of course, he wasn't checking his omni as a beast. Obi-Wan and Ezra got to him pretty quickly, all things considered, so that didn't last too long. Even afterwards, though, he didn't think to check his texts until well after he'd limped his way back home and taken a very long depression nap - easily the longest he's ever slept in his life.

Once he does see it...he stares at it for a while. He feels awful. About a lot of things, sure, but particularly about having made what was already a terrible situation for Vyng and his family even worse. It's very tempting to just ignore it a while longer.

That urge to hide away is probably part of what got him that far in the first place, though. And he knows Vyng too well - he knows he'd just worry.]

Hey.
You saw all that, huh

Omen Speak

[possessum]

( Susurrus knows Michael well. Even if he's stayed silent and hidden through most of Peter's time here in Trench, he knows everything the boy's spirit knows. And both Peter and Paimon have such a strong connection to this powerful being, that as the Omen begins to reach out, Michael's spirit is one of the easiest to find.

Susurrus is shy and cautious, but there's an alien intensity there too — some mixture of the boy and the demon that he belongs to. The mental voice is a soft hiss; he tries to find the entity attached to Michael, his Omen, wherever it may be at this moment. )

Greetingssss. Can you hear me?

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael's Omen rarely acts on its own. It's been content to be Michael's wings where he needs them, and little else; it's a part of him, after all. Everything he does, it is a part of as well.

Still, it's quick to shift into sharper awareness when prodded. There's a sensation of acknowledgement and curiosity - essentially, yeah, what's up?]

delivery — late December

[possessum]

( While Peter isn't one to... Do Holiday Things, there is technically a part of him that reaches out. Not because the ancient demon king of Hell has much interest in holiday celebrations, but Paimon has learned that it's a time when many people Gift Things, and connection with others is of a special importance to his spirit. The energy is right for it, and so, towards the end of the month, he bestows little gifts to people.

Left on Michael's doorstep, wrapped carefully in thin cloth, is another odd little doll, meticulously hand-crafted with an assortment of random bits and bobbles collected over time.

Set next to the doll, like a calling card, is a leaf — bearing Paimon's sigil delicately burned into it like filigree. )

[eudaimonikos]

[Wow - that is a real step up from the last creepy doll Paimon gave him!

Michael recognizes what this is immediately, even without the sigil. He remembers something similar happening during his Christmas in Deerington. It was the only one he ever spent there, making this his second in...whatever you want to call this universe. Sort of an odd occasion.

It's a shame: he actually took the first wooden doll back with him! He'd taken a few keepsakes like that, but of course they're all back in his own world now. Turning into a squid hadn't left many options for carrying stuff around. This'll be nice to have! In return, he'll leave a nice golden headpiece he's made - not at all Michael's own style, but he enjoys making things in styles he doesn't personally wear! It's fun and great for gifts!]

Gift Delivery - December 25th

[lightthedarkness]

[Delivered to Michael's door is a box of assorted bowties all bright and colorful as well as a plate of bakery bought cookies. Attached is a note:]

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS MICHAEL!

I couldn't remember if you ate or not, but feel free to share the cookies if you don't. Stay safe and warm this winter!

Love you,
Usagi

Gift Delivery - December 25th

[onebadapple]

[Delivered in a basket with a Merry Christmas tag written in beautiful handwriting is a peach pie.]

an action in feb!

[siriusly]

Michael? You in?

[the house, that is. Manabu's just bustled in and is set to wandering around the ground floor to see.]

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah!

[He is upstairs! But he's not doing anything important, he'll come down.]

What's up, man?

text; un: ushiromiya (backdated to late april/early may)

[entreats]

[ There definitely are some people Ange has contacted more quickly after finally coming down from her corruption at the beginning of April. But for some reason contacting Michael feels harder.

Maybe it's because she knows he was right. The entire time. And she was the one acting like a dumbass. Sure, it's the corruption that kept her from realising he had been right, but it doesn't make her feel any less dumb in the moment now.

She can't just ignore him forever though. It takes a while, but then Ange finally drags herself into texting him. ]

I'm sorry about everything.

You were right. Sorry that I couldn't see it back there.

[eudaimonikos]

[Ah.

Michael has, of course, been thinking about Ange and her household. But he couldn't get back in the weird pocket dimension, and the ranks of folks from Old Deerington have grown pretty thin. He wasn't sure who he could send in after them, or even what they might be able to do. The whole thing left him feeling rather terrible: worried, angry at himself, and even angry at Ange herself. If she could have just quit being a jerk and listened to him for twenty seconds, instead of rubbing it in that he's on his own here now -

It is unreasonable. She was corrupted. It's petty to be mad at her for it. So he just isn't going to be.]

Makes sense. You were corrupted.