_tsunami_:

Sylvie was the sister Cait never had. The two had known each other since they were in diapers and Cait wasn't about to let Sylvie's birthday pass without some fanfare. Cait had the gifts ready well in advance and had put her sewing skills to work to make Sylvie a new blouse and a matching long skirt. She had also got Corey's help in creating a necklace of polished colored stones.

Cait of course made a batch of Sylvie's favorite cookies along with cupcakes. She made sure the one for Sylvie had a candle on it and gave the rest out to the other X-ers.

nextgen_holiday:

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." -- Unknown

aaronwyatt:

Aaron was in the kitchen going over some job applications and resumes. He had finished up college about a month ago and had been looking into a bunch of different prospects and had settled on a few different options that seemed like good fits to him.

He’d be lying if he didn’t say he wasn’t nervous about all of this. Job hunting could be such a pain in the ass and making sure that these applications and resumes looked good was equally difficult but he was going to get through this.

_tsunami_:

Cait had made two dozen of Rachel's favorite cookies and had put them in a small basket. She also made Rachel a new emerald green dress that would go well with her hair and eyes. The last thing Cait got one of her oldest and closest friends was a $25 gift card to iTunes. She put the items and a card in Rachel's room.

nextgen_holiday:

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

_tsunami_:

Today was Aaron's birthday and Cait was going to make it a special day for Aaron. She started by making him breakfast with eggs, bacon, home fries and homemade muffins and serving it to him in bed. She had contacted his mom to see if she would be up for Aaron and Cait coming over for dinner. Cait was happy when she was agreeable to the idea and Cait had made arrangements to borrow one of the school's vans for the evening. Lunch would be a picnic lunch provided the weather stayed nice.

For a gift she had manage to save up to get him a Kindle and his favorite books on it. It was costly, but she had been planning this for awhile.

nextgen_misc:

The resort looked like any other Caribbean resort except for the people walking around. Some openly displayed use of their powers while others sported opening physical mutations. They laughed and talked, clearly having a good time, unaware that more sinister things were happening not far away.

When the X-Men arrive they will be greeted with smiles, but no one will have any information on their two missing members.

aaronwyatt:

The flight hadn’t been to bad getting to Cozumel and the device he had gotten from the school help to make sure his powers wouldn't interfere with the plane's instruments and customs was pretty easy to get through too but Aaron was glad that Cait and him had finally arrived at the Resort that Cait had picked out. He was very happy to be in the warmer weather and couldn’t wait to change into some shorts but first they had to check in.

“Well we finally made it,” Aaron says as he went to grab both of their luggage from the bus that had taken them their.

quadrimanial:

Sylvie and Corey had called each other about this. He was there that afternoon with a cake and a stone bracelet. Sylvie had a book full of pictures of ice sculpture.

Cait wasn't getting away without some celebrating.

_tsunami_:

It was a busy month for festivals and celebrations in Cait's religion, but she didn't forget about Valentine's Day. She had made some chocolate (shade grown of course) covered strawberries, some chocolate chocolate chip cookies, and some brigadieros and put them all in small packages to hand out to the folks at Xavier's.

For Aaron she made for him a small package of the goodies and also a few coupons worth one night out to dinner and a movie on her along with a coupon for a massage. She went looking for her boyfriend.

nextgen_holiday:

There's a piece of paper and a pen attached to a bulletin board. Across the top is written:

New Year's Resolutions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
+

Anonymous entries accepted.

_tsunami_:

Trips to see Grandpa William and Grandma Madeline were always taxing on the Drakes. They had to be on Grandpa William manners and behavior, which meant no teasing each other, no tormenting each other, no picking on each other, and no using powers. It was also the first time Grandpa William saw Cait's blue hair. She tried to explain that it wasn't a dye job and she couldn't dye it back to its normal color. It was just blue and it would be that way. Grandma Madeline loved it though and thought it was a very nice shade of blue.

Just when Cait thought things had calmed down, Dad had to mention that she had a boyfriend and Rufus had a girlfriend. The first reaction out of Grandpa William was him asking if they were normal. Of course they were normal if you counted being able to electrocute someone and being able to shapeshift as normals. Which the Drake kids did. Grandpa William didn't appreciate the fact that they were dating people who were like them.

Cait was relieved to be back at the mansion. Mom and Dad would be sticking around until April. It was the most hated time of the year for Dad. TAX SEASON. Which meant they all steered clear of Bobby Drake when he had a certain gleam in his eye.

She walked the grounds of the mansion. The cold air felt good and was quite refreshing. More importantly she was taking note of the snow and where would be the best positions for the upcoming snowball fight. It was Cait's favorite day of the year and she had started planning for this one last January 2nd.

nextgen_holiday:

Christmas. Yule. Saturnalia. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. Many cultures have celebrated and still celebrate a winter festival. There have been many names for it over the millennia. No matter the name it is a time to come together and celebrate with feasts and gifts with friends and loved ones.

Each culture has a legendary figure who would deliver gifts to children during this time. In Russia and some Slavic cultures he is known as Ded Moroz, Grandfather Frost, and comes not on Christmas but on New Year’s along with his granddaughter Snegurochka, or ‘”Snow Maiden”. In the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe he is known as Father Christmas. In the Netherlands and Belgium he is known as Saint Nicholas or “Sinterklaas” and in France he is known as Père Noël. In the United States we know him as Santa Claus.

No matter the name or who is delivering gifts, it is the season of peace, joy and togetherness. It is the season for thinking about loved ones, friends and those less fortunate. It is a time to witness the goodness and generosity the human race is capable of. It is a time for peace on Earth and goodwill toward man.

nextgen_holiday:

“We’re here outside the Four Seasons Hotel in New York where the who’s who is gathered tonight. Celebrities, royals and superheroes have all turned out for the annual Maria Stark Foundation Winter Charity event benefiting Toys for Tots.

It’s truly an all-star gala here tonight.

New York’s own princess, Anya Stark, was seen being escorted by what appears to be her new flame, actor Austin Cain. Her brother and currently second in line to the Russian throne, Mikhail Romanov, was seen entering the party with Lyta Worthington, heiress to Worthington Industries. Tony and Natasha Stark, parents of a new baby, are making their first public appearance since the birth of their son.

Mackenzie Rider, a prince of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, is escorting Ms. Andrea Denker of the Fantastic Four tonight. Kristoff Vernard, leader of the Fantastic Four, was seen in attendance with his wife Cassandra and their son Scotty. Vincent Amorason, heir to Latveria, arrived alongside his brother and was seen escorting a member of the Defenders, Asleif Thorsdottir. The rest of the Fantastic Four are here too with their dates, though Miss Valeria Richards is not in attendance. Franklin Richards is in attendance and is escorting one Miss Gill.

Los Angeles’ own superhero team, the Defenders are in attendance as well. Arriving with her team is Grace Danvers, daughter of Hollywood hunk Simon Williams and she is being escorted by teammate, Eiltin. The two Asgardian princesses and daughters of Thor, Asleif and Aridis, are also attending the festivities with their team.
Akilah Munore, the crown princess of Wakanda, is here tonight with her steady flame, Daniel Sherwood a member of the Young Avengers. The other Young Avengers are in attendance tonight with their dates, alongside the adult Avengers.

Donald Trump arrived with his wife and is one of many other famous faces to arrive. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Hugh Jackman, Jack Nicholson, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift are just a few celebrities who have made an appearance here tonight.

It’s truly a party of the who’s who and it’s all for a great cause.”

_tsunami_:

Mid to late December was a busy time of the year and not just for the Christians. Saturnalia for Cait, Corey and Rufus started on the 17th of December and unlike Christmas that lasted one day, Saturnalia lasted for seven days. Tradition was to make and give out small gifts. Each year Cait hit the kitchen and baked favorite treats of the residents of Xavier's.

This year she hit the kitchen in the middle of the night. It was the only time of the day where there wouldn't be people going in and out all of the time and she could concentrate on what she needed to do. The hours slipped by and Cait worked quickly and efficiently. She made enough to give to Rufus to hand out as well. She knew her brother and knew enough to cover his back.

Morning came and Cait finished up and then cleaned up after herself. She didn't want to leave a messy kitchen behind her.

She went to deliver the Saturnalia goodies.

next_avenger:

With Charlie gone and as a male member of the Avengers, in addition to being the leader, it was up to James to uphold a few traditions that didn't have to deal with battling bad guys. Though he had to admit that he would rather be fighting bad guys than doing this. It just wasn't his thing.

He wasn't as industrious as Anya, but James had managed to collect the necessary photos. It hadn't been easy and a part of him felt like he was cheating on Val.

Invitations were sent to the Avengers, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, Champions, Excalibur the X-Men and the Defenders guys.

With the help of Jarvis food and drink was laid in. James made sure they had a wide variety of pizza, chips, pretzels and drinks.

He loaded the photos in and took care of the security systems. The girls were not allowed to watch. Now all that was left was people showing up.

_tsunami_:

Cait was determined to have a nice night out with Aaron without something happening. She made offerings in the morning to Fortuna, the goddess of luck and fortune, that tonight would go a lot better than the last few times she and Aaron had tried to go out. Tonight she was planning on a quick dinner and a movie. It would go smoothly or she was seriously going to hurt someone.

Cait threw on a pair of jeans, shirt, leather jacket and a pair of boots and went to find Aaron.

aaronwyatt:

Aaron had been back to school for almost a month now and hadn’t seen too much of Cait. Since he had gotten through all of his class work early he when to see if he could find Cait to find out if she wanted to do something tonight.

_tsunami_:

Things had been hectic with the fall semester starting and Cait was getting used to being in school again after almost a year off. All the fuss over school left little time with Aaron. Cait was rectifying that tonight. Not another day was going to go by without the two of them going out and doing something.

Izzy had taken a like to Cassidy, so Cait decided to invite the two of them along after checking to make sure it was okay with Aaron. The four of them would go into the city and have some fun. They all deserved it.

Cait checked herself in the mirror one more time and then went to find Aaron.

mrfixit:

 
Arthur Pittman Dane-Drake took a deep breath before he approached the gate. It might of looked weird to anyone else that he didn't have any bags, just his body-suit that  he should go surfing with. He stretched and took a deep breath again, he was nervous...but he needed to stop stalling because his sister was the most important thing to him right now and he was her rescue.

He began to ring the bell numerous times. He hoped they were inviting...or he'll be on his own. Or going bak to Gio.

_tsunami_:

Cait had eaten enough food at the cookout that she thought her stomach would explode. She love the US Independence Day and the celebrations that went with it. While Brazil had an Independence Day (it was in September), it wasn't celebrated much in Nova Roma. The Nova Romans barely recognized themselves as a part of Brazil, let alone really celebrated the Brazilian holidays. Besides, they had enough Roman holiday to have something to celebrate during every week of the year. No kidding.

Today was Independence Day in the United States and a day of Pax in Nova Roma. The two mixed rather well, surprisingly enough. In the US people set aside differences and celebrated the birth of a nation. It was a rather peaceful day overall.

Cait wandered down to the edge of the lake to watch the fireworks. Others liked watching from the lawn, but near the lake the fireworks reflected on the water and it made them even more interesting. Cait settled the surface of the lake until it was as smooth as glass. Thankfully there wasn't a breeze and it was easier than it could have been.

She spread out a blanket and sat down. With any luck she'd have some company.

nextgen_holiday:

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,

He called it ... Dad

marvel_girl:

Galactus was gone, Chandrillar had been saved.  The Throneworld of the Shi'ar Empire and its royals were safe.  Saved by the efforts of the X-Men and the former guardian of the M'krann Crystal, the Phoenix.

The Phoenix, bonded to Rachel Summers of Earth, daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey, the former host of the Phoenix, counterpart of another Rachel Summers who had also hosted a measure of the Phoenix's power.

The same Phoenix the Shi'ar had tried to kill or enslave numerous times.  The same Phoenix a rogue faction of the Shi'ar had so feared, they'd tried to kill the entire Grey family and would have, if not for the timely intervention of the X-Men.

As Rachel rejoined the others, still surrounded by a corona of cosmic flame, she could feel the unease from... well, virtually the entire world.

_tsunami_:

Cait looked at her reflection in the full length mirror again. She was a bit nervous to say the least. Tonight was her first official date with Aaron. It had taken some time thanks to world devouring individuals delaying it a bit, but Cait was finally going on a date with Aaron.

She checked her reflection again. Her outfit was simple. New-ish jeans, a white blouse and a pair of sensible shoes. Her jewelry was handmade and from Nova Roma. Cait didn't do fancy, but tonight she had made it a point to look her best without going formal. Sylvie had helped with her makeup since Cait didn't normally bother with makeup and would have ended up looking like a clown without help.

Cait wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. By Jupiter's beard she was nervous.

nextgen_cosmic:

Since his universe had ended and this one had begun, Galactus had fed.  His hunger had driven him, given him cause and purpose throughout the universe, in a way that the mortals who inhabited it would never understand.  He did not feed out of malice or even joy, he simply fed.  They tried to give motivations for him, but he was beyond their understanding, as necessary an element to the cosmos as Eternity and Death, the balancing point between those two extremes.

His feet touched the ground of Throneworld, and the whole of the populace seemed to tremble in fear.  Sharra and K'ythiri were called out for, but the gods of the Shi'ar would have no place here.  Here was only the Great Devourer of Worlds.  Here was only Galactus, assembling his terrible machine with which he would consume the lifeforce of the planet.

Galactus was.

weavingwizard:

Daniel had decided it was time to get to know more guys in the super hero community. So he had sent word out every way he could that he was hosting a male bonding night. People were expected to be good or he would open up a portal with a well placed spell to drop them on the front lawn.

He had done a lot of cooking. He had also managed to get drinks for any of the guys who might take him up on the offer who could drink.

And he also asked that they bring movies with them. He had a card table set up for poker if anyone felt like playing.

Now all he had to do is wait.

nextgen_cosmic:

The small ship dropped out of hyperspace, but had it arrived too late?  The usual space traffic that surrounded the Shi'ar Throneworld of Chandrilar was light, and what few ships remained were either warships, now actively engaged in battle, or trying to flee the immediate area.

What dominated their field of vision was a ship who's geometry was utterly alien, almost seeming to not exist in quite the same space as everything else.  Taa II, the worldship of Galactus, Devourer of Worlds.  Galactus himself, for the moment, was nowhere in sight, but as close to the planet as the ship had come, it would not be long.  Unless the X-Men could do something, the Shi'ar Empire's days were likely numbered.

nextgen_holiday:

Mothers are the place that we call home.
On them we rest our heads and close our eyes.
There's no one else who grants the same soft peace,
Happiness, contentment, sweet release,
Erasing nighttime tears with lullabies,
Restoring the bright sun that makes us bloom. - Anonymous

nextgen_shiar:

It was a modified kjethya scoutcraft. Big enough for passengers, but still small and simple enough for one man to fly.

Or, in this case, one seventeen-year-old princeling.  His Imperial Highness Starbridge Xavier Neramani hadn't been to the planet he was now orbitting since three summers ago. Various formal duties and complications had kept getting in the way of his visits with his father.

The father for whom he was mentally calling as his ship came screeching into the upstate New York sky. Starbridge managed to land safely at the Institute's designated area, but it was close. And until he'd gotten help, nothing counted as 'safe' anyway.

_tsunami_:

Cait had known that Aaron's birthday was coming up and she had made sure she wouldn't miss doing something for him. She didn't know what to get him outside of his favorite baked goods. Which is what she made. She put them in a basket and left them on his bed with a card wishing him a happy birthday.