Stocke is another constant grounding figure for Mike. While he's never opened up to Stocke like a couple others, he's never seen a reason he really needs to. Even before Mike became an official delivery dog for the Devil's Nest, he's regarded Stocke as sort of a business acquaintance/his Sane friend. He's dependable, logical, and just OVERALL GOOD? Mike also still feels indebted to Stocke for stopping his revival rampage, and if he was called on for a favor, Mike would probably do it in a heartbeat. Stocke is also the only shade Mike would let possess him willingly--he trusts him enough not to actually manipulate him into doing something.
Still, Stocke is also a go to for just some chill, stress free interaction. Way back when the carnival happened, Mike LOVED just having a companion to play dumb carnival games with, and more recently, introducing Stocke to cars has just opened up the floodgates. Stock strikes Mike as someone who knows how to balance out work and play, and always seems to be level headed no matter what he's doing. That said, the only reason Stocke isn't Mike's default first person to go to for antics is because Stocke seems to have his shit together. While he's still loose and casual, Mike is far better behaved around Stocke than some of his friends, because he respects the guy too much to accidentally tick him off or mess up something he's got going (like with his FLESHBOOK quest or in the mirror maze). He recognizes Stocke's got a load of history on his shoulders he's not too keen talking about, and Mike's content to let that be so long as his history isn't poked either.
As of their last thread, Mike's also a little more curious about how Shades and their soul eating/revenge seeking works. It was a new side of Stocke to see and it seemed fitting but also pretty dang intimidating. He would not want to be on the bad end of a soul hunt.
tl;dr Stocke is sort of a cool senpai to Mike lets hang more.
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Stocke is another constant grounding figure for Mike. While he's never opened up to Stocke like a couple others, he's never seen a reason he really needs to. Even before Mike became an official delivery dog for the Devil's Nest, he's regarded Stocke as sort of a business acquaintance/his Sane friend. He's dependable, logical, and just OVERALL GOOD? Mike also still feels indebted to Stocke for stopping his revival rampage, and if he was called on for a favor, Mike would probably do it in a heartbeat. Stocke is also the only shade Mike would let possess him willingly--he trusts him enough not to actually manipulate him into doing something.
Still, Stocke is also a go to for just some chill, stress free interaction. Way back when the carnival happened, Mike LOVED just having a companion to play dumb carnival games with, and more recently, introducing Stocke to cars has just opened up the floodgates. Stock strikes Mike as someone who knows how to balance out work and play, and always seems to be level headed no matter what he's doing. That said, the only reason Stocke isn't Mike's default first person to go to for antics is because Stocke seems to have his shit together. While he's still loose and casual, Mike is far better behaved around Stocke than some of his friends, because he respects the guy too much to accidentally tick him off or mess up something he's got going (like with his FLESHBOOK quest or in the mirror maze). He recognizes Stocke's got a load of history on his shoulders he's not too keen talking about, and Mike's content to let that be so long as his history isn't poked either.
As of their last thread, Mike's also a little more curious about how Shades and their soul eating/revenge seeking works. It was a new side of Stocke to see and it seemed fitting but also pretty dang intimidating. He would not want to be on the bad end of a soul hunt.
tl;dr Stocke is sort of a cool senpai to Mike lets hang more.