AWASH IC INBOX

[heartsteals]

#B91600

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#3630FF

[messianic]

[What up, Lupin, here's a very blue message in your inbox.]

This is Lupin-san, right? It's Minato. I just wanted to check in--a lot people went into the woods recently and got into a lot of trouble, it seems like.

Are you okay?

[Still in one piece, Lupin, the wise one who didn't go diving head first into danger...]

[heartsteals]

Monsieur Minato,

I'm glad to hear from you. I must tell you that there is no need to worry over me, however; I am not a man who can be so easily bested by tricks and traps, nor even by skilled gunmen. Do the records of me not say as much? I am fine, aside from hungering for more palatable food and a gentler landscape.

Unfortunately, my roommate who goes by Akechi is not as crafty, and has been taken by a poison or illness most foul. The color has all left his body, and he is hardly here with me at-all. I have no idea how he might be helped. I'm worried about him. What of you? Are you unharmed?

- Lupin

#3630FF

[messianic]

[wow it's me again.]

Hey, Lupin-san, you know Dave, right?

[He has Seen Them Interacting on the forum.]

[heartsteals]

[ minato his #1 fan ]

Hello, Minato! I do know him. Why do you ask?

- Lupin

#B9536C

[scooptimistic]

Hello! Is this Lupin? This is Maya, you showed me a great time the other day.

[ Maya. Stop. ]

[heartsteals]

[ why do you have to PUT IT LIKE THAT-- ]

It is indeed Arsène Lupin you are contacting; I applaud you on your fine investigative work finding me by number alone, mademoiselle. Is there something that I can help you with?

- Lupin

#0000E6, hello

[pursestrings]

(color)


u been spotted by.........the $ MONEY GOO$E $
send the $ MONEY GOO$E $ to 3 people or u get scorched

[heartsteals]

[ jesus ]

What does this mean, Okuyasu?

#81CDC8 [1/3]

[ditherer]

u have been CHOSEN by.........the $ MONEY GOO$E $
send the $ MONEY GOO$E $ CURSE to 300 people or you'll succumb to the ever-burning FIRES OF HELL

[ditherer]

u have been CHOSEN by.........the $ MONEY GOO$E $
send the $ MONEY GOO$E $ CURSE to 300 people or you'll succumb to the ever-burning FIRES OF HELL

[3/4] jk

[ditherer]

u have been CHOSEN by.........the $ MONEY GOO$E $
send the $ MONEY GOO$E $ CURSE to 300 people or you'll succumb to the ever-burning FIRES OF HELL

[ditherer]

Please direct all complaints to Miss #922B21.

a week after the sirens

[tropism]

[ lupin will get a wake-up call, one morning.

it's a parrot. there's a parrot near wherever he's sleeping. it's going to screech, and then it's going to start saying: ]

GOOD MORNING. RISE AND SHINE. GOOD MORNING. RISE AND SHINE.

[ after that, it's going to tap impatiently on his window, expecting to be fed. if he doesn't wake up right after the screeching it's going to leave. ]

[heartsteals]

[ WHY.

considering Lupin usually gets up early in the morning to go for a run, this parrot must be here at an ungodly hour. A light sleeper, he wakes up immediately, ready to strike at the unfamiliar voice to defend himself the moment he's conscious; fortunately, he's not the type to lash out before getting a handle on the situation, and so, he soon sees that the "intruder" is actually a nosy parrot.

Which still doesn't make sense, actually. He groans, sitting up just enough to lob a crumpled-up ball of paper near his bed at the window. They just got done with some other nonsense last week. It can't be starting up again already, right? ]

#EA0000 | Late in the month

[theshowsover]

You might already know, but Yusuke's gone. Just letting you know.

[heartsteals]

[ he did not know, actually - he's not as close to Yusuke as he is to Akechi and Akira. Or, rather, he was not. Not for the first time, he wonders where people go when they disappear; despite his usual optimistic outlook, he has a bad feeling about it. ]

My condolences, Akira.

Perhaps this is a sign that we should start investigating the phenomenon in earnest. He has to have gone somewhere. I'm no fan of living day-to-day wondering if myself or my friends will be next to mysteriously vanish, besides.

Are you all right?

- Lupin

action, sometime after the event

[finalize]

[ being around for a fair while, she's been... trying to get accustomed to Life Here in general, which in her case involves familiarizing herself with others' schedules. and, well... aigis's noticed a familiar face coming around a fair bit in the mornings.

she's kept her greetings short and sweet whenever she's been around. today? not so much. when that little jogging session of lupin and minato's is done, aigis shifts from Looming Shyly In The Background to Shyly Approaching lupin when he's about to go do... whatever it is he does after the usual morning routine.

no, really. there's aigis, following lupin as he's leaving the house. ]

Um, Lupin-san... May I accompany you for a bit?

[ she wants to know more about minato's friend... more than what she's already gathered from her brief talk with him, anyway. ]

[heartsteals]

[ naturally, he's noticed that Aigis is often hanging around Minato, too; he at least knows they're from the same world after asking Minato about it, but little more than that. They seem close, though, and he's glad for it. As kind as Minato is, there's something lonely about him, too. It'll be good for him to have someone around.

Lupin is... probably planning to go home and take a bath, honestly, but he stops at the sound of her voice, turning to look at her. ]

But of course, mademoiselle. I've always got time to spare for a lovely lady like yourself. [ a smile. ]

#030066 | early december

[passio]

Lupin.

May I ask you a favor again? It won’t be anything as frightening as the last time, but it does need to be in person. I received a personal quest from #FFFFFF, asking me to show my abilities to a red.

I trust you.

[heartsteals]

A personal quest? This is the first I have ever heard of such a thing - tell me how did you receive it? A letter, or perhaps someone spoke to you as they did in the woods?

Whatever the answer may be, I am of course happy to assist. Name a time and place and I shall appear.

- Lupin

#C1BA57 now its my turn to flood your inbox

[unghost]

[ As much as it pains them to ask for help, this situation has gone completely out of control from the moment it happened. It doesn't help that Lottie is so panicked over it, and they have no way of knowing how long it will last. So, they swallow their pride, and send what might come off as something pretty ominous. ]

Are you busy right now?
Something happened

how the turn tables...

[heartsteals]

[ lord. Luckily, it doesn't take Lupin too long to see this - something that he, himself, is grateful for, because of course reading that immediately makes him start worrying. It is exceptionally rare for Cairngorm to ask for anything, let alone help; therefore, whatever that "something" was, it must have been serious. ]

I will come over immediately. Are you okay?

#3630FF

[messianic]

[So Minato did say that he'd keep Lupin posted on how things go.

But.

He's not really sure how to say it, either, now that he's here. "She said yes" sounds so much like a marriage proposal deal that he shies away from it, especially when really it took them forever even just to agree to date.

... .... ...

Ultimately he settles on:]

(´ ∀ ` *)☆

[messianic]

[SHIT WAIT LUPIN IS FROM YE OLDEN TIMES]

forward dated to...a few days after event end :pensive:

[unghost]

[ So - as it turns out, the well actually did heed their request and gave them what they asked for without any hijinks. They think. They've shown the camera to Lottie to make sure it's proper, but they guess they won't actually be able to tell for certain until it actually takes a picture... it'll be extremely embarrassing if they went through this effort and it turns up for naught. Not to mention extremely disappointing.

No, they don't know very much about this month having some holiday dedicated to love, nor do they really care. He had a request, and they had a way to fulfill it. It's that simple. They would've done this at any other later time if that's when they became aware of it... it's only a little awkward because gems don't really give gifts like this. If they truly had things their way, they'd just leave it somewhere for him to find so they didn't have to do this part, but surprisingly enough it's way harder than anticipated to guess where he'll be at different times in the day (new respect earned for how he broke into their house so easily.)

The only choice left then it to try and make handing it off as casual of an affair as they can. Not that it isn't a meaningful thing, or that they didn't do this out of truly wanting to please him; it's just... they don't know. They haven't felt the pressure of wanting to give someone something and being unsure if they'll like it or if they'll take it the wrong way.

But they don't let any of their nerves show on the day they plan to give it to him - they wait for a convenient, mundane, routine day where he comes by in the morning time. Lottie's holed up in her room and Phos is still asleep (or doing something that they're not going to interrogate.) They don't want either of their housemates to interrupt, so right after greeting him, they take charge of the situation: ]

Before whatever you have to do today... [ Yes. They should frame this as only taking a quick second, so he doesn't think something dramatic is coming. ] There's something that I should give you while you're here.

goomy is so CUTE!!!

[heartsteals]

[ and Lupin is blissfully oblivious to Cairngorm's struggles over this. He doesn't even have an inkling that they're trying to get him a camera after that conversation a few months ago - they already attempted to give him a photograph before, and while that incriminating image of Frankenstein is still sitting in his room, it didn't quite work out. His understanding of Cairngorm is that they give up pretty quickly on things that don't work out. So even if he thought they might have had the idea, he'd also think they'd moved past it already.

He is less oblivious towards Valentine's Day, although he might not know exactly when it falls here without a proper calendar. Imagine his surprise when he comes to Cairngorm's door and they beat him to the punch. ]

There is? [ he tilts his head, but sounds more than a little interested. They don't give gifts often. He's almost worried it's something serious. They deliver good news and bad news all in the same manner. ] All right. What's up?

#B9536C

[scooptimistic]

Lupin!! Do you want to toss me in the sea???

[ No hi, no how are you, Maya has no time for pleasantries. ]

[heartsteals]

[ maya why are you like this

luckily, he actually knows what she's talking about, because he keeps an eye on those quests posts, and also, because this makes literally no sense otherwise. ]

Maya,

I would not dream of doing such a barbaric thing to you; that is, unless you agree to take proper revenge, and do the same thing back to me.

Yours,
Lupin

#E6E600

[oomfies]

hiii lupin, real super quick question!
but i was wondering if u were a red?

[ ok WAIT... there's a very obvious pause between messages as Lottie realizes the color of his hex code only Confirms the theory and she might look both illiterate AND dumb, ]

..a red who wants to do a quest!!!
is what i MEANT by that!

[heartsteals]

[ lottie... ]

I would consider "want" a strong word, but if you're asking for my help, mademoiselle, then consider me ready and able to Assist with whatever it is that you may be struggling with alone. What's the matter?

- Lupin

before the event, for the loyalty quest!

[theshowsover]

[When Akira had seen the quest on the board, he'd given it some thought, but an idea had come to him quickly. Really, when he thought about it, there was only a handful of people he felt like he could do this quest with, and one springs to mind immediately.

So he shows up one day at Lupin's house, letting himself in because, well, when you're having sex with one roommate and soulbonded with the other one you're At That Point.]

Arsène? Are you home?

[heartsteals]

[ He hears the door swing open, but he recognizes Akira's footsteps, at this point; for one thing, it's a talent of his, and for another, he's here often enough that it'd be hard not to memorize the sound. Lupin appears at the top of the stairs to the second floor soon enough, descending as gracefully as ever with a wave. ]

Not even a good afternoon? You've got a long way to go before you're a real gentleman. [ it's said with good humor and a grin. ] Yo, Akira. You need something?

action, sometime after the event in august, real eyes realize real lies

[unghost]

[ Following his offer to follow him back home to London, they've been in a bit of a daze. They suppose they've never really tried very hard to wrestle with their pent up feelings towards their obligations— they've only ever begrudgingly accepted them as fact. His offer changed that.

They're questioning why they have to live this way. If they could find some sort of reason, some justification for it, maybe they wouldn't feel so torn about the possibility of having to refuse his offer. That's what leads them to the frozen lake in Flavo, to a search for an explanation or an excuse.

What they see there only makes things worse.

It's a small miracle that the lake in Flavo is not too far from Gem Haus, because it only takes them the better part of an hour to make their way back to the front door as opposed to half a day. They started out slowly walking, then moved to kneeling, and finally slowed to a crawl when they got to the house's vicinity. One eye has been more or less neatly plucked out, the empty socket still in tact for the most part, while the other reveals all flat and jagged edges, any sign that there was an eye there to begin with completely gone. Truthfully, they can barely see. It's similar to looking through a heavily fogged glass, and thus, they're only barely able to make out the familiar tulips that grow outside their home, before they make their way to the door.

Of course, they don't call out for help. They only scrabble at the door for a few beats, patting around blindly for the doorknob with their marred hand, sharp and missing knuckles from what they'd done to themself. It probably doesn't produce a very reassuring sound from the inside, as it only sounds like something trying to get in as opposed to someone.

Whether he's already at the door when they finally manage to twist it open or not, they don't see or hear him. They only push the door open weakly with their arm and feel around for the doorway so they can drag themself over the threshold, leaving the door swung open. For the time being, they're convinced they're alone. ]

[heartsteals]

[ since moving in with Cairngorm, he's learned that they tend to come and go as they please - much like himself. Having them vanish for a few hours isn't really anything unusual. When he wants to find them, he can find them; he's confident in that. And if Cairngorm wants to be alone for a while, he can't blame them for that, either. There's been a lot to think about, between the trouble with those dummies emerging from the well and the matter of what happens next. Lupin's continued to treat the matter with a light hand. As always, he doesn't want to force their hand, as much as he does want to drag them along. He can wait for a while. Let them sort out their issues.

Because that's what they are, in his mind: issues, mental blocks, and nothing more. Nothing less, either, but certainly nothing that can't be overcome in small steps with a helping hand along the way. Cairngorm's troubled; Lupin's always known that, and he's patient, sensitive, or he tries to be, at least. Their lack of self-worth and guilt complex will take a lot of time and tenderness to heal. If he can simply push them over the starting line towards that goal of healing, though, he thinks they'll be able to make it. With him, in London.

He certainly wasn't expecting the problem to be like this.

His trained ear picks up their approach before they even reach the door - not that he recognizes the dragging and crawling as Cairngorm. It's not until he takes a furtive glance out the window to see what the town's thrown at him this time that he realizes it's them - and that makes him far more nervous than any fairytale monster could. He rushes down to the door with fearful speed, adrenaline pumping heavy through his system, and as he skids to a stop, he's able to see the full scope of the damage. ]

-- Cairngorm! Good God, what happened?!

[ if he were made of softer stuff, he'd probably be terrified of the ghoulish sight of their mangled face and hands and their eyeless stare. As things stand, he's only terrified of what's befallen them now. Lupin sprints to their side, crouching down in front of them with none of his usual flair and reaching forward to grab their shoulders, eyes wide and searching for some hint of what befell them. ]