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[the_horror]

[This is the Inbox of one Ben Hargreeves. Alive and well. Hopefully that is.]

[Please leave a message if he doesn't answer right away!]

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[obediences]

[ The fact that he can, at any moment, decide to grab his communicator and send a casual message to his Dead Brother Ben is... still a lot to process. And Luther can't help that nagging feeling that Number One should be doing something more, something bigger with all these opportunities, but. He's also weary, and ready to let the heroing thing rest for a little bit. Instead, he's talking to people on the network and learning stuff about the world they've landed in, and for one of them, the first person who comes to mind is Ben— ]

Hey. Have you heard of these things called "escape rooms"?

[the_horror]

[He's BORED. He needs to get out and do something but no one ever wants to do his plans and ideas. When his device goes off he reaches over his cat to grab it, flicking it open to see Luther of all people!]

[He grinned and turned it on, hearing about escape rooms? He beamed.]

I red about them recently actually. Couldn't get Klaus to go to one. Five wasn't interested either, and I figured Vanya wouldn't be keen on a small room so... yeah. Haven't done it yet.

Hi by the way.

[obediences]

Hi. [ A rueful smile at his communicator, though Ben can't see it. ]

Someone on the... network? Told me about them, and that there's one in De Chima. Where I live. It reminds me of the exercises Dad had us do as kids. I don't expect Klaus or Vanya to be interested, but... I could try something like that, I think.

[ Because of course that had been childhood for these children: jumping through hoops for Sir Reginald, solving puzzles as quickly as they could before the bomb placed in the room exploded with them. (98% sure that it actually was a real bomb, too.) And yet claustrophobic rooms weren't going to be everyone's cup of tea, and understandably so, knotted with bad memories as they were. He'd suffered through one of his own for years, too, but the loneliness had been the problem more than the moon base itself. ]

[the_horror]

[He's beaming, and the smile comes through on his words.]

Aw man, yes! I've read up on a few of them. Some are themed and some are just puzzle rooms. I hear the themed ones are where it's at. Like pirate ships and breaking out of prison or a clinic or something. It honestly sounds fun, unlike Dad's exercises. And you know I like puzzles.

Wait, you'd really like to try one?

[obediences]

Yeah. Need to keep my skills sharp, right?

[ Luther. ]

May 30 - text;

[hellogoodhigh]

bro i need an out like now
guy i've been hooking up with's roomie wants us to eat breakfast together
we are not that serious
it is awkward
please give me a fake emergency to respond to i'm begging u

[the_horror]

bro, it's just breakfast.
Free food, eat up.

[hellogoodhigh]

ben
benothy
bennifer
you don’t have breakfast with one night stands
we don’t even drink coffee together okay
this isn’t the osso bucco guy okay i’m not sleeping with him for food

[the_horror]

that's sad.
you can't even enjoy pancakes the next morning before blowing off forever?
How are you suppose to enjoy life if you can't blow a guy then have pancakes?

tell them your brother is sick.
vomiting at how much your life sucks right now.

[hellogoodhigh]

love u too asshole

backdated to July 15; text;

[hellogoodhigh]

hey bro
r u alive
b/c i don't think i am anymore
fuck i am ddrunk

[the_horror]

that's a hell of a question.
what's wrong?
why so drunk?

[hellogoodhigh]

y not
i don't think i've stoppedd since sunday

guy i was seeing was the exact kind of asshole we stopped as kids
karma i guess

i miss ddave

[the_horror]

ouch, that's a bit, bro

the ginger? he didn't seem so bad. What happened?

I know bro. i'm sorry. i wish there was something we could do about that here.

[hellogoodhigh]

yeah
well

guess taste in terrible men runs in the hargreeves bloodline

dave was a fluke
i didn't deserve him

Action-ish (backdated to before the swear-in)

[bookshopped]

[Because Ben is a nice guy who was also nice enough to help get rid of those bad plant-killing crystals when he was a bit laid up, Ben is getting a souvenir from Aziraphale and Crowley's recent trip to Paris.

So he'll find in a little brown bag left on his doorstep a book (in English but stamped specifically from Shakespeare and Company) that appears to be a detailed travel guide to Paris and the lesser known sights to see, given their earlier talk of travel. The note with is is simple. 'You really should visit Paris! - Aziraphale']

[the_horror]

[Ben finds the package and is very happy about it. He loves books after all. And this was sweet. He remembered their conversation.]

[Ben will send a physical 'Thank you' card, stating that he loves it, and that he hopes he had fun in Paris. The book? It will sit on the mid high shelf behind him and will show in video's when he vlogs. Just a small Easter egg catch in his videos.]

text;

[justaddh2o]

Have you got any plans on the 14th?

text;

[the_horror]

What's that, a Monday? I might have work but that's easy to get off. What's up?

text;

[justaddh2o]

Yeah, it's a Monday. Lacey is having a Canadian Thanksgiving and I said I'd come round, but I wondered if you wanted to come with? I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I brought a friend.

( Short pause between texts. )

Also, she asked me to bring a bottle of wine and when I went to the liquor store yesterday, they wouldn't sell it to me. America sucks. But mostly just because I thought it might be fun.

( Yeah, because it isn't like they spend enough time together already, right? )

text;

[the_horror]

Oh! That's a thing, isn't it? Sure, I'd love to come with you. Though, I have no idea who Lacey is, I think.

... LOL. yeah, America has this stupid age rule for alcohol. I mostly get around it with a fake ID. Shh, don't tell. Haha. But sure, I can totally do that for you.

untraceable text

[maskormods]

\\

h-s•-n-i
o-n-’
t-o-t-s
t-s•-h
s•-s•-r-:-n-t•
d•-v-i-e-o-l
i-t-t-g-a
e-h-s•

12/ 9, around 2:00 AM

[hellogoodhigh]

[ Something wasn't right.

It was more than just the pervasive fear that keeps creeping up his spine, grasping ahold of his nerves as if to flay them- that's nothing new. Not the cold sweat as he hears the same distorted music, the whir of the helicopter blades, the sound of roaring fires and breaking bombs set to the soundtrack of a symphony.

No, that's relatively normal when he finds himself in the dark hours, reliving waking horrors that he's usually been lead out of by remembering to breathe, to find something solid, listening to Ben's voice- which is why he fumbles with his phone as he tries to ignore the spectre that doesn't belong there, like a wretched ink blot spilled across his psyche, dragging him farther down. ]

hey are u up
i need help getting home
i think someone spiked my drink

dads here

[the_horror]

[He had seen some weird shit today. the horrors broke out of his belly, wrapped around Rikki and snapped her neck, only to realie he snapped one of the cat trees instead, only to realize he hadn't done anything at all and they were all okay.]

[then he had a long conversation with Dad himself. Worthless. Barely missed once he was dead. A failed subject.]

[Something was wrong. so he went to bed, trying to drown it out. But the beep of his phone made him roll over, checking it.]

Are you okay?
I can come get you, I think.

You too huh?

Delivery | December 25

[desmodusdraculae]

[Merry Christmas, Ben! Kirk has sent along a series of poorly wrapped gifts. In one is a Cthulhu plush, in the second is a book on how to be a good boyfriend, and in the third is a laser tag set.]