Voice Mail || Deer Country

[faithfulson]

Skywalker here. Leave a message, and I'll get back to you.

Comments

Christmas Delivery

[lightthedarkness]

[Wrapped up in a bright red and white box is a plate of bought snowflake cookies and a black men's coat that is much warmer than it appears.

Attached is a note with a little rabbit doodle:]

Happy Holidays!
Love,
Usagi

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 Luke's gift, a dagger made out of a sharpened deer antler, where he's sure he'll find it whether he's spending the day at Maul's house or not. It's accompanied by a small note.]

There have been months before where our lightsabers do not work in this town. Deer antlers are very effective at repelling monsters and dealing out damage. Seek me out for a lesson sometime. Merry Christmas. ~Maul

[VIDEO]; UN: [USERNAME NOT SET]

[demonicbeauty]

[Ariadne's been putting it off. Not just because it's Luke but...what she did is just so unlike her...

Guilt has been making her uncomfortable in her skin. Itchy and awkward and unhappy.

Telling the truth won't make it less her doing or her responsibility but...

Well, she wants to be honest with Luke. She's never lied to him. Which is more than she can say for almost everyone she's ever known.

So she calls, curled up on the floor in front of her bed, knees pulled into her chest.]

I yelled at him.

[A pause. She realizes it makes no sense without any context.]

I yelled at Anakin.

UN: JustLuke

[faithfulson]

[ Ariadne is... well, he can see the guilt and shame on her face, not to mention hear it in her voice. He wants to ask what's wrong the moment she appears on his omni, but he lets her talk first, and... well, he can't say that he's entirely surprised why. ]

What did he do?

[ Look, he loves his father, but he also knows that... well, it's his father; the chances of him starting issues were pretty high. ]

text; un: R.BECKET April 1st

[righthemisphere]

Hey Luke, my name is Raleigh, I'm a friend of Ariadne's. We've been working on an agriculture project and she tells me you're interested in building a greenhouse. I've got land and some promising crops from last month. Are you still interested or looking for work? I could use the help.

Thanks,
R

[Text | UN: JustLuke] (Sorry for the late reply!)

[faithfulson]

Hello, Raleigh!

I'm always willing to help out a friend, especially Airy. The issue is right now, I need to build a forge. There's plenty of sand on the beach to glass, but without something to get it to the right temperature, I can't do much other than build the frame for the greenhouse.

Text; un: Reaper

[no_reload]

You weren't stupid enough to actually die when I found you in the forest, were you?

[That might be as close to an apology as Luke might receive.]

Text; un: JustLuke

[faithfulson]

[ Luke stared at the message in his inbox, his eyes slowly widening. There… was no way that creep would actually text him after all that, right? Not to mention be such a jerk about it. ]

[ Right? ]

Sorry, who is this?

[ He could handle this.]

audio ; un: a.solo

[hopesparks]

[ Anakin is just meditating, minding his own business, when suddenly there's a disturbance in the Force. It's so sudden and so loud that Anakin is halfway to his front door without noticing. Just as he's about to leave, the panic is replaced with... embarrassment?

Okay, maybe there's no mortal danger, unless his uncle is planning to die of embarrassment. Still, he should check in. ]

Hey, Uncle Luke. Are you okay?

[faithfulson]

[ Oh Force help him, why did he have this kind of luck? It takes an amazing amount of control to keep himself from squeaking out a reply. ]

I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine.

[ You know, he’s a terrible liar on a good day. On a bad day? Yeah… ]

Voice; un: lothrat

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Skywalkers can be so loud in the Force. And while Ezra does not ever plan to say it to Luke's face - that he spend the better part of a year around an infant version of Luke with no emotional control, and was one of the adult-ish figures that helped soothe those overwhelming feelings, well -

Maybe that meant he's a little extra attuned when an older version was overwhelmed with something unexpected, too.]

Luke, are you - [No, stupid question.]

...could you use some help?

[faithfulson]

[ Could he use some help. What a loaded question after what just happened. He’s very grateful everyone is calling him as opposed to popping up on visual; he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to handle anyone seeing him blushing as hard as he was, not to mention… well, everything else. ]

N-no, no; I’m fine.

voice; @skywalker

[facultative]

Did no one teach you how to not project your feelings everywhere?

[That's more brusque than he intended so he tries again.]

What happened?

[faithfulson]

No.

[ His response is a lot more blunt than he intended, and also a bit of a lie. He knows how not to project his feelings, than you very much; it’s just a little hard when someone drops something like what Reaper did on him. Also, he may be a little annoyed about how many people so far picked up on this. ]

Nothing happened; I’m fine.

[ Getting steadily more embarrassed by the second, but he’s fine! ]

Voice; un: darkness

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul sounds like he's just rolled out of bed even though it's closer to noon than it is to actually being morning. He'd been awoken by sensing some very strong feelings from Luke in the Force. He can't help the sleepy tone in his voice as he speaks.]

Is everything-- [He doesn't even bother stifle the yawn that comes up.] --everything alright? You're not in any danger, are you?

[Does he need to go out and kick someone's ass?]

[faithfulson]

[ Should he tell the man that went to rescue him that the person that attacked him contacted him to make sure he didn’t die, and kind of sort of harassed him by reminding him of his own actions during that event? Certainly. Is he going to? ]

[ Absolutely fucking not. ]

No, I’m not. Are you okay? You sound like you just crawled out of bed.

[ Changing the subject away from himself was a good way to keep details to himself, right? ]

accidental video; un: tsabin

[decoyqueen]

[ It was near dusk on Naboo.

Candles and lanterns lit the archways of the buildings in Theed, a solemn glow lighting the way for a quiet procession. This was not a small gathering- it looked as though the entire city, if not more, were gathered. Crowds lined the stone bridge with mourners watching the procession as it passed. Four gualaar leading an open casket through the city.

Padmé Naberrie Amidala lay lifeless- her hair splayed around her with petals of flowers placed in the curls. Her hand rested on her stomach and held the japor snippet necklace a young Anakin Skywalker had given her years ago.

No one spoke.

Padmé's family followed, as did Queen Apailana in a gown styled after one of the former Queen's looks. A nod to her respect for the late Queen and Senator of Naboo. Padmé's surviving handmaidens were among those walking behind the current Queen. Rabé, Saché, Yané, Dormé, and Sabé did not speak a word to each other... nor anyone else. Their devastation was too great. ]

video; un: JustLuke

[faithfulson]

Mother...?!

[ The word is out of Luke's mouth before he can stop to think about it -- alarmed, uncertain, his voice cracking slightly as it slowly dawned on him exactly what this was. By now he had seen Maul's accidental broadcast to the entire network, but he didn't think the same would happen in private. ]

[ Once he managed to process all of that, he was grateful for it. No one else needed to see this. ]

Who is this?

accidental video ; un: a.solo

[hopesparks]

[ Anakin barely lets the landing ramp set down before he's bolting through the crowd, pushing people aside, terror on his face. Despite being pale and tired, he's running as if his life depends on it. He rounds a corner too fast and has to push off against the wall so he doesn't smack right into it. He finally makes it to a turbolift, but his knees buckle and he looks like he's suddenly about to faint from pain. Undaunted, he throws himself out of the turbolift the moment it stops and skids to a halt right outside of the med ward where half a dozen people are milling about. Anxiety, nerves, restlessness crackle in the air.

"Aunt Mara!" he gasps. "What's wrong with Aunt Mara?"

A woman embraces Anakin, but there's no sense of sadness to her, just concern and affection.

"Mara is fine. Where in space have you been? Is Corran with you?"

Slowly, the conversation unravels-- the source of Anakin's pain earlier hadn't been his aunt's illness about to take her, but was labor pains instead. Anakin barely has time to calm down before the door opens and a very tired-looking Mon Calamari announces that they can come in, a few at a time. Immediately, the woman-- Mirax-- and Anakin walk in.

An older Luke Skywalker is kneeling by the bed of a red-headed woman with jade-green eyes. She looks sick and exhausted, but there's a palpable happiness radiating from both her and Luke. It's clear what the source of joy is-- the little bundle resting in the crook of Mara's arm.

"Luke, Mara. Look who I've brought."

Luke looks relieved and somehow even happier. "Anakin! You're okay! Are Corran and Tahiri with you?"

But Anakin is clearly focused on the newborn, answering his uncle with an absent "Yeah."

He steps closer, as if entranced. "Wow," he whispers.

"Hello, Anakin," the woman says. "I knew you'd be here."

His attention is immediately drawn to her-- to Aunt Mara.

"I thought you were... Can I come closer?"

"Sure."

He moves closer to his aunt's bedside, his eyes never leaving the bundle in her arms. He gets his first good look at his new cousin and blurts out-- "Are they all that ugly?"

The woman fixes him with a look. "You'll want to rephrase that, after what I just went through. Think in the general direction of antonyms."

"I mean, he's--"

"His name is Ben," Luke says, helpfully interjecting before Anakin can stick his foot further in his mouth.

"He's beautiful. In the Force, and... But he's sort of squinched and wrinkly."

"Just like you were," Mara says.

"And you're really okay?"

The woman smiles, happiness overtaking the exhaustion on her face.

"I've never, ever been better. Everything is perfect." She looks down at little baby Ben. "Perfect."

The med ward has become its own little world. Fear and worry are replaced by hope and love, and everything is perfect. ]

[faithfulson]

[ With everyone's personal memories laid out to bare on the network recently, Luke knew it was only a matter of time before one of them ended up with something so personal out there too. To see it was from Anakin, seeing his older self... and... ]

[ Luke can't help but stare at the video for a long while after it finishes, wishing he could capture the image of the lovely woman and their son in his memory forever. Even with it being just a video, he could feel the love and affection -- they loved each other so much it was a light all its own in the Force. And a child... Ben. Luke found himself pressing a hand against his mouth, struggling against emotions and the sudden realization that he wanted that so much. ]

[ And trying to ignore the little voice in the back of his mind whispering that wasn't the future he was meant for. ]

Anakin... that... that was...

[ He can't even get words right after that. ]

accidental video; un: JustD; cw: mind control, blood drinking, orgasmic biting

[distant_one]

[The memory is of D, trapped by so many thousands of strands of long, dark hair. In some kind of cavernous underground pool. The beautiful women's faces hover near his, and one gives him a kiss.

That's the moment D's eyes go from black to glowing with a lurid red light.

"Show me your throats." D says, his voice low and rusty instead of smooth as it usually is.

The three heads atop serpentine necks are quick to obey.

"Undo your hair."

He's immediately released from the long black hair binding him, and he returns his sword to its sheath.

"A trap baited with pleasure," D muses. "But who caught whom?" With his hands free, D pulled the three lengthy serpentine necks to himself with both arms. "I don't like doing this, but it's the only way to find a way out of here. Someone's waiting for me."

His eyes roll back, and his mouth opens to bare long fangs. The three heads cry out in pleasure, and the long serpentine tail beats the water. The three heads fall into the water to lay there limply, one after another.

"Arise."

At D's command, the three heads and serpentine torso rise again. Their skin is even more pale, with shadows under their eyes, and their skin appears bloodless. More unnerving is the look of utter devotion and adoration in their eyes.

D wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, and commands them to lead him to an exit with words that sound almost like a moan of pain, as if what he'd just done caused him genuine agony.

The memory fades out slowly there, with D following the strange three-headed serpent.]

[Video] [UN: JustLuke]

[faithfulson]

[ D wasn't exactly the talkative type, so it was surprising to see a video in his messages from him. He realized pretty quickly that this was one of those surprise memory shares that no one wanted to deal with, but the content of that... ]

[ Luke found himself blushing so hard that his droid took notice and actually let out a worried warble, concerned that something may be wrong. It took him a moment to wave the droid off and find his voice enough to respond. ]

D, I um... I know you didn't want to share that, but... um...

[ What the hell did he just watch??? ]

Accidental video; un: darkness

[survivalthroughhate]

[The memory starts off in a hangar full of ships on Naboo. The doors at the far end open up and there's Maul at the end. There's such hatred and sheer rage in the way he presents himself, both physically and in the Force, that Leia will still be able to pick up on the traces of it decades later. All of his bearing brings it home: this is a Sith Lord and he is here to kill. Across from him are a tall, long-haired and bearded Jedi about sixty years old and beside him, younger than Luke will have ever seen him before, is a clean-shaven Obi-Wan Kenobi not even yet out of his padawan braid. He ignores everyone else in the room, including the queen he was sent there to capture, in favor of these two. All three seem to realize the gravity of the situation as Maul pulls out his saberstaff, almost showing it off to the Jedi as he ignites the blades. This will be a fight to the death. It is the fight that will change the lives of both young participants and set the galaxy on a completely different course.

This Darth Maul is far different than the chatty, affable Sith Lord that has come to grow quite fond of the young Jedi. This one is cold, merciless, silent, an assassin with little thoughts of his own and his only goal being to carry out his master's will. He fights with precision, no taunts or threats here as he does his best to kill the Jedi, though there are traces of his personality in some movements, the flashier ones clearly designed to show off.

Maul and the Jedi's fight spills out of the hangar and further into the inner workings of the building. Though it's not obvious at first, to an outsider observing it will be clear Maul is leading them somewhere, deliberately retreating and going on the offensive, whatever it takes to get them where he needs them to go. The fight is pretty even-handed even with the odds two-on-one. Despite the grimness of the battle, Maul seems to be enjoying himself to some extent as he uses his saberstaff to parry both lightsaber blades. He's just waiting for an opening to enact the final bits of his plan.

He gets it when the two are stuck on either side of him. For anyone else, this would end up with them disarmed or killed. Not Darth Maul. He kicks Obi-Wan hard enough to send him plummeting down off the narrow walkway. There's the painful sound of the padawan Jedi's fall being arrested as he slams into a walkway down below. Before he has a chance to deal with the older Jedi, Qui-Gon has used his larger frame and superior height to hipcheck and then smack Maul hard enough to knock him right off as well. There's anger in the movement, a clear message that no one touches his padawan like that and gets away with it. Maul lies there stunned for a moment, having fallen onto his back. Qui-Gon jumps down, about to end this fight, but Maul's quick to kick him in the face. He glances around and realizes they're right where he wanted to lead them to.

Maul lead Qui-Gon into a series of laser shields. Halfway through, they end up separated. At the far end, Obi-Wan has caught up. The three wait, each choosing to bide their time in their own way. Qui-Gon meditates, serene and calm despite the grim nature of the combat. Obi-Wan is tense and at the ready, a good padawan wanting to help his master. And Maul? Maul paces like a sand panther, all lean grace and full of fury, just wanting to kill somebody.

When the fight begins again, it's clear that Maul is starting to gain the upper hand. Despite the brief respite, Qui-Gon's strength is starting to fail. He's not a young man anymore and his lightsaber style, while having powerful blows, require a lot of energy to keep up. On the other hand, Maul seems to have boundless stores of energy without end. All it will take is one mistake. He finds it, stunning the old Jedi with his saberstaff hilt. He runs him through and can hear Obi-Wan howling out his pain in the background as if his heart has been rent in two. Maul doesn't even give Qui-Gon the courtesy of watching him die, instead choosing to face his other opponent.

As he paces about while he waits for the laser gate to open, Maul is openly smirking, proud of being able to defeat one of the Jedi. The look seems to infuriate Obi-Wan and he's openly struggling with his anger. By the time the gates open, he's bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready and willing to hurt Maul. This time, the moves the two of them make are much faster and more graceful. Maul's not facing an old man, now his opponent is a young Jedi in his prime just as the Sith is as well. The movements are practically a blur, the two of them nearly beyond able what a human eye is able to follow. Obi-Wan scores a near victory when he severs Maul's saberstaff in half, but Maul's quick to get back up and continue.

He waits, confident the padawan will make a mistake just as his master did. He does as their two blades lock together. Maul Force-pushes him over the edge of a reactor shaft. Obi-Wan is barely hanging on and Maul is quick to dispose of his lightsaber. Certain of his victory now, Maul waits for his opponent to fall. But much like his own master, overconfidence is this Sith Lord's weakness. The time he takes taunting Obi-Wan by showering him with sparks gives the Jedi time to think. Maul can feel him using the Force and the confident look on his face fades to one of confusion. What is he up to....? Then he moves like a blur, jumping over Maul. Before he can parry the next blow, he's slashed right through at the waist. The pain is agonizing and almost anyone else would have screamed at the should-be fatal blow. Not Maul. There's just a small grunt of pain from him and then he falls back into the reactor shaft, both halves of him disappearing from sight.

The memory continues on for a little bit as the upper half of Maul remains conscious despite the devastating injury he was just dealt. His hatred and anger is great enough to allow him to survive, grabbing hold of part of the shaft and being able to direct his movements into a garbage chute. In one respect, he was lucky. The lightsaber cauterized his wound, otherwise he would have already bled out. He ends up stuffed into a tube full of garbage and goes into a deep trance in the Force, blocking out everything but his pain and rage. One word escapes his lips before he loses touch with the waking world and it is filled with hatred so great it will span decades of his life. "Kenobi....."

Maul figures out another memory has gone out, and when he realizes who has gone out to, he merely sounds resigned as he speaks.]

Well, now you know how it all started between us.

[faithfulson]

[ The moment he sees Maul in this memory, he feels like he should look away, turn it off and never mention it again. But the difference in this Maul draws him to watch in mute surprise as the events unfold, feeling his heart clench when the older man -- one of Obi-Wan's masters, he's assuming? -- dies, and again when Maul almost seems to, saddened that his rage refused to let him pass, despite the egregious injury that would have immediately killed just about anyone else. ]

[ Luke let out a breath as the scene ended, and he didn't move when he heard the current Maul speak, allowing himself to go over his thoughts and feelings over what he witnessed. He promised himself he wasn't going to let the experiences of others cloud his judgement, but... that was a lot to take in. ]

[ He finally looked up after a long moment, his expression gentle as always, but a bit sad. ]

It's amazing the two of you can even tolerate each other now.

[ It spoke to how the both of them had grown since whenever this took place, not just Maul. And really, Obi-Wan clearly had every right to want to lock Maul away from everyone so he couldn't hurt anyone else, which spoke volumes about him withstanding his presence. ]

How did you survive that?

Action

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul was not an easy sleeper. It was a simple fact of his life that he had accepted long ago. No one who had been raised the way he did would have been able to sleep well at night. Most often, unsurprising to anyone who knew him, it was nightmares of his master. Memory and fear would blend together and create a terror that would leave him thrashing, tossing, and turning until he'd startle awake in the night.

His sleeping habits had become slightly better since he'd arrived in Deerington. Nightbrothers were a social lot, with their own people if no one else, and they often slept together in family groups while on their own planet. Sleeping beside either his brother or Reaper most days had calmed some of the nightmares that plagued his dreams.

But tonight even having a couple of extra bodies around couldn't calm Maul's subconscious. He was in the throes of a bad nightmare, twitching and jerking about while he mumbled in his sleep.]

No....Master, please don't....I'm sorry, I won't fail....please don't, don't...!

[Then he'd curl in on himself as if he was trying to ward off whatever punishment he was experiencing in his mind.]

[faithfulson]

[ It hadn't taken Luke long to understand that Maul came from a social culture, one who's family -- or those that were close enough to be thought of as family -- did just about everything together. What took him longer was to realize he had been accepted as part of Maul's little family -- mostly due to how everyone else reacted to how he treated the former Sith Lord -- and even longer to feel comfortable enough to participate in such a family group. It wasn't the first time he slept with others he wasn't related to, of course -- running from the Empire had led to him sleeping in tight spaces with whomever he was at at the time, whether it was Han and Leia or Rogue Squadron -- but it was the first time he'd had to since his body had been so marred by the Emperor. ]

[ He hadn't wanted to at first, not only afraid of someone else seeing his scars but afraid of the reaction Maul would have to them. Eventually teasing and cajoling had dragged him into sharing a bed when they needed a group sleep, and... well, it had been good for him too. He had his own share of nightmares, and sleeping with others seemed to ease them. ]

[ Sometimes it didn't work for him, just like it wasn't working for Maul at the moment. ]

[ The desperate cries woke Luke before he could process the twitching and jerking beside him, and he jerked awake with a start, unconsciously reaching for Maul with the Force first before he rolled over. ]

Maul...?

[ He reached an arm around him, gently prodding at his mind with the Force, trying to pull him from the nightmare before it got worse. ]

C'mon, wake up...

Voice

[ezra_of_lothal]

[backdated to a little after]

Hey. So. Uh. I caught your father's reaction to the memories of his...future possible death? And that conversation.

Do you want to talk about any of, um, that? Feel free to switch to text if that works better.

[faithfulson]

[ Ezra was met with an awkward noise. Guess who didn't realize that text communication could be public? Yup, this guy. And was he surprised his father didn't make an attempt to make it private? Not at all, if the groan that followed was any indication. ]

I... didn't realize that was public. I'm sorry you saw that.

[ Ezra and everyone else. Why was his family like this? ]

Action; Backdated to September

[survivalthroughhate]

[Trust Maul to just randomly show up one day to where Luke was staying like a stray cat that had just come in to make itself at home. It was due to the effects of what was going on with Vilebloods that month, the need to be around people and interact with them. So here he was like a great spikey cat having broken his way inside.

He announced his presence by saying:]

You really need stronger locks in this place.

I absolutely forgot what we were doing with this so YOLO

[faithfulson]

[ It was his first day back to the place he claimed for himself in awhile, so of course someone had to come in and interrupt his alone time. At least it was just Maul; he didn't have to feel self conscious of the fact that his jumpsuit was stripped back to show his tank top, which had come free and was riding up along his back due to how he was sprawled out on the blanket nest that passed for a bed. An array of various parts were spread out around him, looking more like they belonged to a clock than whatever application he was trying to piece them together for. ]

Why have locks when you can sense when danger is coming?

[ His response was distant: more focused on what he was working on than Maul. He finally looked up for a moment, sparing him a lopsided grin, before pushing himself up into a sitting position. ]

What brings you here?

Text; UN: Godisstilldead Misfire

[in_loveless_memory]

Seeing as I can't trust a word out of Maul's mouth... or claws in this case, how legitimate is his whole "call me if you need protection" comment? I rather he just leave me alone. Can we try strengthening our bond?

[Text][UN: JustLuke]

[faithfulson]

[ Luke stared at the message for a long moment, not sure who this was supposed to be. Since they mentioned Maul, he assumed this person was just contacting him because he was known to hang around him frequently. ]

Sorry, I don't recognize this username, but if you're worried about Maul, I can tell you that if he's offering help, he's being genuine about it. He doesn't offer protection to other people unless he means it.

Gift Delivery - December 25th

[lightthedarkness]

[Delivered to Luke (wherever he's couch surfing at the moment) is a handmade lightsaber necklace, a leather belt with pouches, and bakery bought cookies. Attached is a note:]

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS LUKE-KUN!

I hope you're staying safe and warm, let me know if you need anything! My door is always open to you, you're such a dear friend.

Love you,
Usagi

Gift Delivery - December 25th

[survivalthroughhate]

[This year, Maul had decided to behave himself when it came to giving gifts, unlike in years past where he broke into people's houses rather like Santa himself did. All gifts are left on the porch or front step of the recipient's home for them to find in the morning.

Luke received a handwritten and handbound book full of old Sith (and a scant few Jedi) legends. The script in it matched the note Maul had sent with it, showing he was the author. He also had included a sketch of the young man he'd come to see as family over the past year. Accompanying it was a note in blocky handwriting wishing his good friend a Merry Christmas signed from Darth Maul. There was a P.S. on it. 'Can we talk when you get the chance?']

gift drop; backdated to dec 25th

[hopesparks]

[ Luke will wake up to find a bag full of several gifts left outside his door.

1) a replica of Luke's X-wing made of thin pieces of metal and a little larger than his hand (the wings even move)
2) small bags of snacks, mostly dried fruit and fish jerky
3) a small set of jewelers' screwdrivers, meant to help Luke maintain his arm
4) a pair of well-fitting black gloves

Attached is a note:

Uncle Luke,

I know I've caused a lot of trouble since I got here, and I know you'd look after me regardless. It still means a lot anyway. Here are a few gifts for this place's version of Life Day. Hope you like them.

-- A. Solo ]

Voice; un: lothrat

[ezra_of_lothal]

Hey, Luke. Personal question, but also about Jedi stuff, if you're up for it.

[Voice] [UN: JustLuke]

[faithfulson]

Sure, Ezra; what is it?