I am flesh and I am bone

[ Allison appears and she's in great spirits as she gives the camera a wave. ]

Hey guys! I just wanted to give you all a FYI that Claire is going to be staying with me for the next couple of weeks. If anyone wants to spend time with her, just let me know. You all know she loves hanging out with her Uncles and Aunties.

Who has my hot glue gun?

[ Honestly, it's probably best not to ask Charlie how she got all these numbers, but she did it. And she's texting everyone. Friends. Family. Friends/Whatevers of Family. Even Hazel. ]

I have a family project in mind, and I'm going to need as many volunteers as possible.

We're having a movie night. In the courtyard. It's all cleaned up and space has been made, but now I'm exhausted.

I have four white bedsheets that I've sewn together for a movie screen that needs hung up. I need someone to set up the chairs and hammocks, and I need someone to get together a mess of snacks and sodas.

And someone to help me figure out what movies we're watching.

Disney was amazing. I loved it. Now for something completely different.

They'd been doing well. The world hadn't ended, five was home, the house was full- they'd celebrated. They'd danced and laughed and lived and had fun as normal families do. They reached out to one another to build a better understanding, they spoke more than they ever did in their youth without the specter of Reginald hanging overhead. It'd been light in the mansion. Full of joy. Potential. For the first time since her creation Grace could say without a shadow of a doubt, she was happy. Without a single qualifier or exception. Happy except for the things she had to endure hearing Reginald say about the children. Happy except for how she wasn't allowed to truly be happy.

She was allowed to feel, to express that feeling. She was allowed to change her appearance outside of the strictly defined aesthetics painted onto her by her creator.



And then the ghost. The specter, the threat of everything she managed to recover, to build being taken away again. Of being pared down to the bare doll of a thing she'd drifted about as just after Reginald's death. Reminded in so many ways she has a place and a purpose and it isn't what she wanted- because she isn't meant to want anything.

She's a tool. There are rules.

It means resuming the old routine. The old appearance. All the lovely clothing the children, her children helped her choose folded away in her closet, unworn. Back to the old swingdresses and pincurls, the carefully painted lips and penciled brow. Back to stiffly, mechanically baking and preparing tea at a certain hour. Back to filling the dessert case, a single deviation from the old programming, because the kids are upset. They snack more when they're upset and cookies make everything better. How many batches she's baked now- she doesn't know. She's lost count. The counter and cooler are full of pies, cakes, and pastry, sweet after sweet kneaded, shaped, baked, and dusted with sugar. Flour on her hand and apron but not a curl out of place- not a single, lilting note sung under her breath. Grace bakes in absolute silence.

We need a family photo. A new one, with Mom center stage. Not in our stupid Umbrella uniforms. But still, dressed nice-ish. Bring your significant others. Why not? Mom loves them just as she loves us, right? And yes, every Klaus is coming. All of you. Even the house-guests and new residents are invited. We'll take the Sears family photo place by horrifying storm. Just like we've done to the poor Lyft and Uber drivers.

There was no way in hell Charlie would ever be able to make up the years spent pushing Vanya away. It was impossible. She felt that deep in her core. Deep and burning in her chest, something that regularly told her she could have done better.

She could have tried harder.

She could have been there.

She could have.

But she didn't. When it became too hard to shut emotions out, she spent time pushing others away. Vanya, included. But now, with their father alive and kicking and pissing an entire house full of already broken adults off, Charlie was going to start being a better sister to Vanya. One of the ones that needed the most love.

So the second she saw V and her father interact, she knew what she needed to do.

She needed to get out of the house for a bit, and take Vanya with her. Messages sent, Vanya asked to pick the venue, Charlie now waits in the back yard.

Several archery targets are set up, though there's neither bow nor arrow to be found, Charlie's been firing at these things for a while. There are scorch marks around the bullseye, the smell of burnt hay filling the air and Charlie tenses her hands.

One balls into a fist and fire arches outward, twisting and forming a recurve bow. In her other hand, an arrow made of white fire appears and she nocks it to the flaming string, pulling back and aiming and firing. She does this several times over until she hears something nearby and she turns to look, shooting her sister a soft but tense smile.

"I don't know about you, but I super need a lot of alcohol right now. It's tangible, all that anger and pain and distress in there." Charlie can almost see it and she doesn't want to.

"So how hammered should we get? Like on a scale of 'can probably walk maybe' to 'call an Uber driver and hate ourselves in the morning, even though it's probably worth it, all shit considered."

It really is about time you all stopped whining, don't you think?

It was their first birthday since averting the apocalypse, and as far as Klaus was concerned, that meant it was time to celebrate.

Granted, there were more reasons than just that, they were alive -all of them- and they were together, and they had saved the fucking world, and he was thankful once again that Five's brilliant, stupid, all-or-nothing plan had actually worked.

Of course, actually planning a party without his siblings finding out about it was going to be tricky, but he'd enlisted Mom's help -thankful again that whatever Five had done had landed them on the morning of their father's funeral all those months ago- because there was no way he could have done this alone.

Each of the siblings staying at the house -including Klaus, as not to raise suspicions- would wake up to a small carton on their doorknob, containing a single cupcake topped with a chocolate domino mask stamped with their number, along with a heavy cotton-paper envelope with their name written on it in Grace's immaculate handwriting, which contained a single printed sheet:
Magical Birthday Masquerade
Raid your closet, raid a sibling's closet, raid the attic!
Do whatever you need to do to put together your Very Most Magical outfit.
It's time we had a party!
Costumes mandatory. Bring a +1 if you have one.
Refreshments provided.
Grand ballroom, 7pm tonight.
Also included was a map to the ballroom, just in case none of them had ever been there, because Klaus couldn't remember having been there, and Grace had had to show him where it was.

( Party tiiiiime! )

[It's another free-for-all, thread about finding a costume, thread at the party, thread about not going to the party bc you're Diego A Loner, Dottie, A Rebel. Whatever y'all, figure we all needed a good-time, low-feels post, enjoy!]

I've been going through all of my old projects from before I moved out for college and I cannot for the life of me remember who asked for what. Nothing has tags on it. Just pins and chalk marks and notes for edits, but no names.

I was a very disorganised child, it seems.

Please claim the following:

One blue backpack with yellow bird appliques.

One set of dark green window curtains.

One quilt, red and white candy stripe pattern.

And I have an assorted pile of shirts in varying stages of done.

My bad, guys. Come get your stuff.


[ Private to Danny: ]



Would you consider it weird of me if I asked you out on a date? An actual date. Just the two of us.

It's two AM in the Academy. Most people are sleeping, the house is relatively quiet. It's pretty peaceful for a house full of Superheroes. They saved the world, they stepped backwards in time, they saved Ben. All was well and fine and dandy until about two-oh-one when every single radio in the house turns on and dials turn to stations full of white noise and static.

And, no. You can't turn them off, because whoever wants to be heard is going to be very stubborn about it. Oh, sure. Unplug it from the walls, try to turn the volume down. Nothing will work. Someone wants attention and they sound very, very terrified.

"...B--" Whoever is speaking sounds young, but the words aren't clear. The static covers them, followed by something that sounds like growling and animalistic screaming, followed by the panicked voice of a child.

"BEN?! BEN!" More static. More monster sounds and the sound of running as the voice moves from room to room, lights in the house flickering as if showing the path this person is taking to get from spot to spot.

Finally, the flickering leads to the foyer, the chandelier lights flashing on and off aggressively as the voice is heard once more.

"BEN! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

And then, it ends. Simple as that, right?

Most likely no.

Most definitely no. Don't worry. The flickering lights and strange radio activity will start again, eventually including a television that'll have flashes of a small girl with a shaved head running through somewhere that looks like the Academy, but dilapidated, rotten, foggy and full of probably some of the most terrifying creature sounds ever.


[ ooc: this is a reaction post! I won't be tagging anyone with Elle until some manner of rescue begins. meet ben's buddy from the dimension he's been in these last few years. she may or may not need some big damn heroes to do a big damn rescue! work it out how it'll happen! let's add another broken child to the fam, hmm? ]

It started with a shout.

No.

That's a lie. It started with a leash on a pint of Rocky Road ice cream that Charlie'd hidden in a large freezer in another part of the house. It started with Ben putting the leash on the ice cream as a sort of calling card for Charlie. His own 'haha got you'. And Charlie was entertained.

Oh, sure. She shouted his name through the house. A joyful but loud "BENJAMIN HARGREEVES, YOU DICK!" echoed through the dozens and dozens of bedrooms and dozens of bathrooms as Charlie chases Ben through the house.

All of their old training kicks in, and there isn't much that gets in their way, Charlie chasing Ben all over the place and both of them laughing. There are expert jumps over tables and couches, sharp-as-knives turns around corners and quick jumps up railings instead of stairs, shouting insults only siblings can use at each other, a massively entertaining chase that Charlie is enjoying more than words can say. She's laughing as they goof off, forgetting the entire week and shitshow that had been.

This was what they needed, honestly. This bit of good craziness to counter the strangest week they've ever had in their lives. A brief note of normalcy that they didn't get much of as children.

And speaking of forgetting! Charlie's so locked into the game she and Ben are playing that she's forgotten one Danny Torrance was going to make his way to her home to see how things were going and meet her family.

She's unaware of the front door of the house opening as she charges by at top speed, barefoot and hair flying behind her as she moves over, under, around, between objects in her path.

It's just a matter of her making a second run through the foyer when she notices the door and, embarrassed, she skids to a stop and looks at Danny with wide eyes.

"Oh, my God. Hi." One sec. "How long have you been standing there?"

hey.
this is klaus
this is a mass txt
do u no where i am?
cuz i dont
im lost
send help

He had been dead for over a decade now. Dead and gone for everyone but Klaus. Poor Klaus had to deal with his nagging and constant puttering around for so long.

( Cut for graphic death description )

[This post is open to any era of Ben's 'life'. Training. Battles and missions. THAT mission where he died. For a Five or someone to pull him back, or simply for reunion times with their long lost brother. Multi threads and Multi siblings welcome. Threadjacking welcome. Backtagging welcome. Do your best!]

((So what if at the very end, Five pulls the family through time to the Waverider which happened to be nearby, investigating the massive abnormality that would end all life? Open to anyone, I can toss in any of my Legends - Nate, Mick or Constantine or tag around as you see fit!))

Another day another disaster.
Captain is off doing.. something which means Mick Rory is prowling the corridors of the ship, beer in one hand and gun at his side. Gideon had mentioned some kind of temporal disturbance and he was going to check it out before alerting the others.

What he doesn't expect as he rounds the corner is arguing. Lots of arguing.
So as the Hargreeves family gets their bearings following a time jump they can find themselves greeted by one Mick Rory aiming his heat gun at them all.
.. not the kid though. Even in his worst moments Mick Rory has never laid a hand on a kid.

"Everyone shut up. Now," a pause to take a swallow from his beer. "Who are you, what are you doing on the ship and why should I care?"

So. That was it. The Old Man was dead. She'd known something had happened. She'd been uneasy for most of the day at home, but didn't have her phone with her to hear the news. She never did when she was working on projects. She kept the TV off, she kept her music to something from iTunes. It was a total social media blackout for her as she worked on Captain Marvel's costume, all the way in her apartment in Ohio.

When she did step out of her room to get food, she'd noticed several dozen messages from Klaus. From Vanya. From everyone. Even Pogo and Mom had called and that was when Charlie understood how she'd felt all day. It had been a weird sense of detachment, an odd sense of...she didn't want to call it relief, but that's what it felt like, and several varying degrees of 'oh, shit', but none of it was hers.

But now she understood. Now, she got it. Dad was gone and even from all the way in Ohio, Charlie picked up on her siblings emotions.

It was just a matter of throwing stuff in a bag, making sure she had money for gas and tolls, and telling her roommates what was going on and then she left.

Drove for hours. Stopped for coffee and food, but kept driving. It's now noon, a day later, and Charlie's standing in the foyer of the house. Listening. Shutting her empathy down as best as she can. Finally, after a few minutes, she calls out.

"Anyone home?"

Cuz if not, she can book a hotel somewhere. She doesn't have to stay here.

Boy, she doesn't even want to stay here.

What it says on the tin. Come introduce yourself, your character(s), what you're seeking, what you're loving, whatever you wanna throw in the ring!

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Player Contact:</b> <b>Character(s)+Journals:</b> <b>Important Links:</b> <b>Seeking:</b> <b>Any other important notes:</b> <b>Obligatory Gif Placement:</b>