nextgen_media:

It was a normal day in Los Angeles and at the Defenders' Compound. Or so it seemed. It only took a few minutes, but the compound was transformed into a castle with part of it looking like a skull. Castle Grayskull now stood where the main building of the Defenders' compound once stood. Around the castle a thick woods sprang up and surrounded the castle.

One one side of LA Skeletor and his crew started heading for Castle Grayskull. He wanted to get inside and learn all of its secrets.

On the other side of LA Hordak and his crew started headed for the Whispering Woods. He wanted to capture She-Ra and her rebels.

anyastark:

Anya had spent Thanksgiving with her team and with her family. Early dinner in Boston and then dinner with the family in New York in the evening. It was great having two Thanksgiving Day dinners. The best part of the holiday after the food was the day after Thanksgiving. It wasn't for the shopping or the deals, but for the time honored tradition of rating the male members of the superhero community.

Anya had the rec room of the Avengers mansion all prepared. Pizza, snacks, drinks of the soft kind and other various items for eating and drinking were laid out. Electronics were all prepared for the event. All that was left was for the guests to arrive.

shield_maiden:

Svalin still didn't quite understand the reason why people on Migard celebrated the day of one's birth, but her wife's birthday would not go by without something from Svalin and Solver. Sydney had helped Svalin and Solver find a gift by taking them out shopping. When they didn't find anything they liked, Sydney showed them how to shop on the Internet. It took some time, but eventually Svalin found something she thought her wife would like. The vintage butterfly brooch was quite beautiful.

Svalin wrapped the gift in a silk scarf and Solver made the card.

shield_maiden:

Svalin knew what tomorrow held for her and would face it with valor as always, but this evening she would push it to the back of her mind and spend a nice night with her family. A night out would help both her and her wife push tomorrow to the back of the mind.

She put on a sun dress her wife had bought and put into her closet on along with a pair of sandals. Heels, well, Svalin could do a lot of things, but walking in heels wasn't something she was good at. Sandals were better, but boots were still the best.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door to her wife's bedroom. "Milady?'

shield_maiden:

Svalin woke to find herself lying on the ground. She blinked. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was being attacked. She didn't see the attacker, but the world went black and she woke up here. Where was here?

Svalin pulled herself to her feet and looked around.

The world was desolate and had been destroyed at some point. Where in Hel was she and what had happened?

shield_maiden:

Svalin still wasn't sure about the whole celebrating birthdays, but Zoey insisted they celebrate all the birthdays of the Defenders. Kael would find Asgardian mead and a dagger Svalin had forged.

shield_maiden:

Svalin still didn't quite understand why mortals celebrated the day they were born, but she did like the idea of presents. Giving that is. She found a good pair of leather boots for Aridis and Hal. Asleif was the hard one, but in the end Svalin settled for a leather pouch to hold spell components.

nextgen_cosmic2:

The Collector was always searching for unique and unusual items to add to his personal collection. He had numerous worlds filled with items he had collected over the eons. His attention had wandered away from Earth for awhile, but that changed. Now something unique caught his eye and he was determined to add it to his collection.

He landed on the front porch of the Defenders' compound. He blasted the door into oblivion and walked into the building.

shield_maiden:

When Svalin needed to think she headed to the training room. Smashing and killing things, in a sense, helped her clear her mind. When she was fighting things she blocked everything else out and focused on the task in front of her.

butterflybullet:

Still reflecting -- and fuming, yes, some fuming -- on what she had overheard, Vernique this time just doesn't bother trying to confront her wife to start with. She stalked outside to where her favorite brother-in-law was.

"Hal, I need help."

nextgen_holiday:

"A simple 'I love you' means more than money." – Frank Sinatra

shield_maiden:

There were a lot of things on Migard one could indulge in, but Svalin only had two. The first was chocolate. She couldn't get enough of it and loved it in any form. The other was a shower. Svalin loved showers. She took one every day, not because training and working with the horses worked up a sweat and usually left her quite fragrant, but because she loved the feel of hot water falling down on her.

Svalin stepped out of the shower and quickly toweled herself off. She wrapped the large turkish bath towel around herself and stepped out into her bedroom. Now to find something to wear. What did one wear on a date?

nextgen_holiday:


You are cordially invited to attend the 28th annual Maria Stark Foundation's Winter Charity event.

Four Seasons Hotel
57 East 57th Street
New York, NY 10022

Friday 21st of September
Seven O'clock pm - Midnight

Formal dress required.

Please bring a donation for Toys for Tots.


The grand ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel on 57 East 57th street was festively decorated for the holidays. A series of lit candles on every table gave off warm light and the dulcet tones of a jazz ensemble filled the room.

People, the upper elite of New York society, Hollywood celebrities, musicians, politicians and even superheroes moved around the room. People sat at tables and talked, while some moved gracefully around the large dance floor.

Tables loaded with unwrapped and unopened toys lined one wall and at one end stood a very large decorated Christmas tree. Wrapped presents sat under the tree, but they were just empty boxes wrapped for decoration. Mistletoe hung from the ceiling near the tree and people stopped to kiss.

The air was light and the mood happy and festive.

shield_maiden:

Svalin didn't sleep during the night as she never could sleep on the eve of battle. Instead she waited with armor and Vigfrior ready. This would be the toughest battle of her life so far and though she knew she'd lose, she wouldn't go down without putting up a fight. She didn't know when she would be whisked away, but she would be prepared for when it did happen.

One moment she was in the small bungalow she shared with her wife, son and Brandr and the next was at the base of Yggdrasil.

shield_maiden:

How was one supposed to feel knowing that tomorrow they would die? Svalin was fully aware that when she went into battle there was a good chance she wouldn't come back. This was different. She was going to die tomorrow. There were no doubts. It was unsettling to know death was certain, but Svalin had other things to focus on.

Her wife and son.

Today would be a day she was going to focus on them and not on tomorrow. She had the day planned out, but there was one thing she had to do before spending time with her son and wife.

She got the number from Sydney and called Jordan Bochs from Alpha Flight.

shield_maiden:

It was a rare occasion when most of the Defenders were out of the compound and elsewhere. Today that happened as most were out shopping or doing other errands. Christmas and Yule were coming and some still had gifts left to purchase/make. Svalin had been done for days since she knew she wouldn't be here. She was taking advantage of the quiet to get some chores done. There were stalls to clean out, horses to groom, saddles to oil, weapons to sharpen and other chores.

Right now she was grooming Snowflake outside while he grazed.

anyastark:

The annual Maria Stark Winter Charity Ball was coming up and Anya didn't have a thing to wear. Sure she had a closet full of evening gowns, but she couldn't wear one of those. She had to have a new one, not to mention her sister needed a dress. That only meant one thing. A shopping trip. Not just any shopping trip, but a worldwide one.

She sent out invites to Vernique, Toni and Lyta. It would be a shopping trip like the ones they used to have before their lives got busy.

She had the Stark plane readied and had Sunny make the hotel reservations. London, Paris and Milan were on the agenda for this trip. Sunny of course could come if he wanted to. Anya found that she couldn't live without the man.

When it was time she headed for JFK and the waiting jet.

nextgen_asgard:

Eir Einmyriasdottir waited until the middle of the night and almost everyone was asleep or elsewhere. She crawled out of bed and quickly dressed. In multiple layers. The winds were bitter cold and the snow was piling up. It was a winter like she had never seen in her life. The last item she put on after her fur lined boots was a fur lined cloak.

She walked over to the door and opened it a crack. The hallway was silent and she didn't hear or see anyone. She opened the door wider and darted across the hall to her sister's room. The door opened silently and she slipped into the room making sure to close the door behind her.

"Astrid," she said as she gently shook her sister awake.

shield_maiden:

The recent trip to New York had been fun, but it meant time away from chores and practice. She missed her nightly sparring session with Brandr. Not only because he helped her improve her skills, but because she missed him too. The man had caused her a lot of confusion lately and had spent a lot of time in her head.

She was lost in thought as she groomed Tryggvi.

anyastark:

Traditions were important.

For a lot of people the day after Thanksgiving meant hitting the stores and getting great deals on items that would most likely be Christmas presents. For the female Avengers and others the day after Thanksgiving meant a different tradition. They would gather and rate the hunkiness of the male members of the various teams.

Anya had been up at the crack of dawn and readied the Thunderbolts' headquarters. Normally this would take place in the Avengers Mansion, but the boys would be holding Rate the Babe there and the girls needed their own space. She made travel arrangements for everyone invited. Avengers, X-Men, SHIELD, Future Foundation, Alpha Flight, Champions, and the Defenders.

Anya had the event catered by a local restaurant, not wanting to make the Thunderbolts chef have to feed so many people. She had even made sure that all of the Kelly's guns were unloaded.

Everything was ready for their guests.

shield_maiden:

Svalin shouldn't have been surprised when Mr. Denning and Rory showed up out of the blue because Mr. Denning loved to see his grandson and Rory was usually with him. Svalin offered to watch Solver if Mr. Denning wanted to go out and spend some time with V, but he said he wanted to stay here and spend time with V and Solver. Rory asked Svalin if she wanted to go out to dinner and she accepted.

Now it was time to leave. She was dressed in a blouse, jeans and a pair of boots her wife insisted would make the outfit.

"Ist there anything thou wouldst like me to bring back?" she asked her wife and Brandr who were sitting in the small living room of the bungalow Svalin and V shared.

shield_maiden:

It was a perfect autumn day in Los Angeles and perfect for shopping, at least according to her wife. Vernique didn't miss the fact that Brandr had all Asgardian clothes, what little of those he had, and no Migard clothes. There was a statement that bodyguarding couldn't be done if one stood out. So shopping it was.

Svalin was on Solver duty for shopping. She knew next to nothing about Migard fashion or clothes in general and someone had to keep Solver from flying around the stores. Vernique was the expert shopper in the family and Svalin was more than happy to let her take point and say where they went and what they bought.

With toddler in arms and distracted by animal crackers, Svalin followed her wife and Brandr.

shield_maiden:

There was no such thing as too much practice in Svalin's mind which is exactly why she made it a point to practice as much as she could. Today she was working a difficult session in the practice room. The room was filled with trolls. They swarmed Svalin and it was all she could do to keep them back.

She yelled and took the head off of one, not pausing before moving on to the next.

shield_maiden:

They returned to Migard and Svalin and Vernique got Brandr settled into a room. When he had his things all put away, they started the grand tour of the grounds. First stop was the main house. Hopefully some of the Defenders were around to meet him.

butterflybullet:

Solver was pappoosed to her back, and she carried two thermoses of cocoa as she knocked with her foot on Marlow's door.

shield_maiden:

It had taken days even on Tryggvi to cross the continent to Nornheim to the forest where the Norns lived. Skuld, Urd and Verdandi were three sisters who lived at the base of Yggdrasil near the Well of Urdr and draw water from it to pour over the roots of Yggdrasil.

Svalin dismounted Tryggvi when they drew closer and she led him the rest of the way on foot. Vigfrior remained at her side and sheathed.

butterflybullet:

After checking the decryption, and that things were quiet, Vernique fired up the videocall to Jordan on schedule.

French has some really great idioms for frustration with life, and she'd used several within instants of the "Hi."

butterflybullet:

Vernique was livid. How could she not be making herself clear? Since when was she bad at communicating? She heads straight for the first person she can think of whom she loved and couldn't stand the reasoning of as much as Svalin.

"HAL! If you've got a moment, I need help with a translation!"

shield_maiden:

Svalin spent days (and nights) mulling over her father's words and still hadn't come to an answer. She hadn't slept much and picked at her food. If she seemed distant or distracted it was because she had a lot on her mind. Even the rigors of the practice room hadn't helped to clear her mind or help her come to a decision.

On one hand she could ask her sister to take over responsibility of being the heiress presumptive and Svalin could join the Valkyries. It may, a big may, give her more freedom to protect her wife and son. Svalin didn't like the thought of passing responsibility off on her sister. Svalin had a streak of responsibility a few miles wide and this went against her nature.

On the other hand she could keep things like they were. It could put her son and wife at risk and she would always have to put Asgard as a higher priority. She would be doing her duty, the thing she was taught to do since she knew what duty was, to Asgard and would help her people. Did the needs of Asgard outweigh the needs of her wife and son?

She was one person and was being pulled in many directions.

Maybe it was time to talk to someone about this.

The bungalow they shared was quiet and she knew from the time that Solver was taking his daily nap. It was a good time to have a serious talk. She knocked lightly on the door to her wife's room.

butterflybullet:

Vernique had been staying with Solver in the main building more and more lately, because Svalin watched them like a weary hawk when they weren't, and the quiet between them was... too much. But Vernique couldn't start the conversation that hung unsaid between them. It hurt too much.
She avoided some of the others, too. Not Marlow, to whom she'd always be grateful, or Kael, who'd tried to make amends. But Aridis... who'd laughed at some in-joke while Solver was in Klatu-barada-niktoheim, and Aslief... whose cold voice she could still hear dismissing her panic. Even Hal, dear Hal, could never understand why she hurt like this.

So she stays in the house except when Solver needs his sunlight. And more and more, they stay in the nursery. But right now, they've ventured to the kitchen. She fixed Solver a sippie-cup.

olympian_elf:

 Kael made his way along the now familiar Defenders compound. He knew where he needed to go, but was nervous. He didn't have the Aesir sense of bravery, but it was something that needed doing. He knocked on the door to the room he knew Vernique and Solver were occupying.

"Vernique, it is Kael. ...may i come in?"

nextgen_asgard2:

The Hulk and Algrim were taking care of each other and were gone from Asgard. The threat that loomed over the city and her inhabitants was almost gone. The city was still on guard against Frost Giants and other enemies of Asgard, but for now they had a short respite.

It was time to see to the wounded and repair what they could before the next attack came. It was also time to celebrate a marriage. Alfveror had petition Lady Frigga for her permission to have the wedding and the Goddess of Marriage had agreed.

Despite the hard times they had just face and most of Asgard's warriors sporting injuries and quite a few dead, the city had a festive air about it.

Svalin had left to find her wife and son as soon as she got Hal back to the city and had gotten him medical attention. Her sister would see to Asgard as a queen's duty.

The wedding was about to start.

shield_maiden:

Birthdays were always a challenge. Asgardians really didn't celebrate them and so finding appropriate gifts could be a challenge. Svalin knew what kind of gifts to give for Yule, but birthdays, according to Syndey, one could give anything.

Svalin struggled with what to get her wife until Sydney made a suggestion. One that seemed very fitting. With Sydney's help Svalin was able to arrange everything and was quite pleased with the gift. With Solver walking along side of her, he was ten months old and now walking when he wasn't flying, they went to find Vernique.

nextgen_asgard2:

Alfveror made his way from the council room through the great hall and out into the city proper. Despite all of the destruction and the threats that still loomed, he walked like a man with confidence through the rubble. The frost giants, trolls and other beings that had caused the damage had retreated for now, but Alfveror knew they would be back. It was guaranteed that they would be back.

He smiled as he slipped through a hole in the wall that surrounded the city. His contact should be arriving soon.

nextgen_asgard2:

Alfveror arrived on Migard just outside the main building of the Defenders' Compound. He was inside the fence and the unexpected arrival tripped the alarms. A loud warning signal filled the air and was deafening to heightened senses.

He stood still and waited.

godlierthanthou:

When the need for the Defenders to remain on Earth by obligation had been lifted, Aslief had quietly slipped away from Midgard.  Oh, certainly, she had left the small mortal a way in which to contact her if there was true need (and occasionally less so, to which she proved quite capable of fielding small child small talk), and she also returned from time to time to court with Vincent.  Though that relationship was on a brief hiatus, as she had uncovered volumes of history and spellwork which required her undivided attention.  She would see him again soon enough, in the grand scheme of things.

Her own spellwork had improved, in the intervening time.  Such as layering her rooms in Asgard over the room kept for her in Midgard.  She could cross the space between worlds simply by crossing the threshold.  And she had done this, of course, without telling anyone.

And frankly... she could use the change of scenery.  The Golden Realm was quite grand, in its way, and Midgard was noisy, dirty, smelly, and fool of unimaginative, brief, fools.  But she was also quite tired of the contempt mixed with fear mixed with suspicion.  Time and time again, she had given of herself to defend the realm, and time and time again, she received not half the praise or thanks her siblings did.  T'was assumed she acted simply because she lived there as well.

The blood of giants flowed through her veins.  The blood of Thor, and the blood of Loki.  She denied no aspect of who she was, and walked that thin path between light and dark, good and evil.  On the edge, where only the bravest ventured if they did not wish to crack.  And all she received was scorn.  Even the fates pondered just whose side she would be on, when backs were pressed against the wall.  Even her patient had limits.

So Midgard it was.

And in this case, Midgard was the breakfast table.  Breakfast was a grapefruit.  She was but who she was.

olympian_elf:

 Kael sat outside on the lawn, looking up at the stars. He knew he was honoring his mother by staying on Midgard. He knew she needed him safe until she could root out all of Malekith's traitorous supporters. But..he missed Svartalfheim..he missed his mother. Alflyse wasn't known as an affectionate ruler, such actions could be interpreted as weak, but when not being pressed by matters of state, she could be a very warm person. Midgarders would probably call him a "mother's boy", but he didn't care. There was no shame in loving and honoring one's parent. And living on Midgard was not so terrible. He had comrades, friends even, not to mention Vernque's bewitching company on occassion, but..it wasn't home.

nextgen_citizen:

Zoey loved birthdays and today there were three of them. Svalin, Halbjorn and Aridis all had their birthday on the same day and that day was today! They were three of her bestest friends and she made them each a present. She had her mom help with getting the frames for the picture of the Defenders that they had made and Zoey put the picture in each frame. Along with the photographs, she drew a picture of the Defenders for each of them.

She happily delivered her gifts.

shield_maiden:

Svalin had been very busy for the past two days. Vernique and she had traveled to New York to see Dr. Vernard and Mr. Stark to have Svalin's artificial arm attached. It had gone well, though it did take longer than expected due to some complications with the nanites working with her Asgardian physiology. In the end they got it to work and Svalin was able to use it almost as if it were her real hand. They had told her to ease into using it, but Svalin didn't have time. She had a wife and a son to protect.

It was awkward at first, but hours spent using it with her sword paid off and it was almost as if she hadn't lost most of her arm. It even looked exactly like a flesh and blood arm and Svalin couldn't see any difference between her natural arm and the replacement. She spent hours practicing and felt more comfortable with it.

All of her time was not spent practicing, however. There was the matter of her wife and their anniversary to attend to. In Asgard they didn't really keep track of anniversaries or birthdays for that matter, but Svalin knew on Migard these things were important. With that in mind she had made sure she had gifts for her wife to celebrate their marriage a year ago.


Svalin knew her wife loved butterflies and brooches so she had one specially made for Vernique. From Solver her wife would receive a pair of matching earrings.

With gifts in hands, Svalin went to find her wife.

shield_maiden:

Despite knowing she was getting an artificial arm at the end of the week, Svalin still wanted to improve her left-hand fighting skills. If anything, she was thorough in her fighting education. She also didn't know how well the artificial arm would work (she didn't trust technology all that much) and she wanted to be prepared just in case it didn't work as well as a natural arm.

She grabbed Vigfrior and went to find Kael.

butterflybullet:

The Doctor stuff for Svalin had been going well. The family had been great to see. Now Vernique was going to check out the Nevell factories producing and shipping her perfume. And she was going to bring Solver with her. Let him see something different.

...Let him see different people, in different circumstances, who absolutely were not window dressing.

So she carries him around the floor telling him what's going on.

butterflybullet:

Marlow sent the little family to New York City in the morning, so there was plenty of time to go by and see her parents before their appointment.

She hadn't realized, as she knocked at her Dad's New York office next to the Symkarian embassy, that he was with some of his crew.

butterflybullet:

If this was the way to do it, this was the way she was going to do it. Vernique put Solver to bed, made a few phone calls, and then knocked on Svalin's bedroom door.

butterflybullet:

Vernique had had flying time with Solver and was now trying to get him to settle down in the afternoon sun. Sometimes she thought things would be easier if she kept him inside more, but most days she willing to get a little exhausted.

She spotted her brother-in-law. "Hal!"

olympian_elf:

 The world of mortals was still alien to Kael. He wondered just how much longer he would have to stay here. Had his mother found any clue as to those who had created the shadow army that attacked Asgard? If not, then how long would it take? It wasn't as if it was all bad here. The Defenders were good people. Svalin was at least being more tolerant of him. Haljborn tended to be at least partially hostile most of the time. Vernique,, He turns slightly to the small woman holding her Asgardian son. He was fond of the woman. But still.. what was he doing here?

shield_maiden:

Svalin walked along her wife and son on their way back to the Avenger's Mansion after the incident with the dragon. Svalin carried dragon parts while Vernique pushed the stroller with Solver in it.

"Kael fought well," she said as they walked.

nextgen_citizen:

Zoey loved New York City. When they came to New York it meant that Zoey could visit Scotty. No matter what business her mother had in the city with her job, she always made sure Zoey had the chance to visit Scotty. Zoey brought all her Super Buddies toys with her and her favorite movie.

After they played with the toys and watched the movie they moved onto playing Hide And Go Seek. Scotty was it and Zoey ran to hide. She ended up in a room with a lot of gadgets and machines. She hid under the desk. Giggles came from her. Scotty would never find her here.

Zoey waited for what seemed a long time. Maybe she had hid too well and Scotty got tired of looking for her and was doing something else. Maybe he gave up and she would be waiting here all day. Maybe she should go see what he was doing.

She crawled out from under the desk. It was time to go find...what was that glowing square thing? It looked NEAT.

Zoey moved the chair over to it and climbed up on the chair. Pretty!

shield_maiden:

The training room at the Defender's compound had been designed to withstand all that the inhabitants could dish out. Today Svalin was inside and pushing the room and the program to its limit. The enemies she faced were just holograms, but force fields gave them the ability to hit and be hit. It also allowed the creation of unlimited enemies at unlimited power levels.

Sweat ran down Svalin's face and soaked her clothes. Her arms felt heavy and Vigfrior seemed to weigh more as time passed. She didn't know how many enemies she had face or how long she had been in the room, but she didn't feel like she was ready to stop just yet.

A troll charged at her and she ducked beneath the swing of his club and jabbed at the back of his kneed with the end of staff-Vigfrior. The troll stumbled and Vigfrior shifted into a war hammer and Svalin brought it down on the back of the troll's head. The troll went down and Svalin spun on a heel and swung the hammer at the troll that had been coming up behind her. It connected with the thing's stomach and it doubled over. Svalin spun the hammer around and brought it up in an upswing connecting with the troll's chin. The thing was lifted off its feet and went sailing through the air.

With the brief pause Svalin glanced over at the control room. Solver's carrier sat on a shelf next to the control panel and he was fast asleep sitting inside of it. Svalin smiled and turned back to a new batch of enemies.

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.

The stars and celebrities are out tonight to help a good cause.

Donald Trump arrived with his wife and is one of many other famous faces to arrive. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Ryan Reynolds, Julia Roberts, Chris Evans, Patrick Stewart, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift are just a few celebrities who have made an appearance here tonight.

Miss Anya Stark, the organizer of this event arrived with Mr. James Rogers and both had arms full of gifts. Other public heroes are out in attendance and supporting a good cause. Members of the Avengers, Defenders, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four and other teams are in attendance.

This party also has royal guests. His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Mikhail Loganovich is in attendance with a lovely lady on each arm. Princess Nimue of Atlantis is here tonight and is being escorted by Mason Jeffries of Alpha Flight. Prince Mackenzie of Atlantis is also in attendance and is escorting Miss Andrea Denker of the Fantastic Four. Vincent Vernard, heir to Latveria, is also in attendance tonight. We even have otherworld royalty in attendance as the children of Thor are here tonight as well.

It is a night to have fun and help a wonderful charity."

skald_iona:

Iona had spread the word through The Defender's base: Any ladies who were free and cared to join her were welcome to come on a shopping trip. She needed clothes. Midgard clothes, and wished to see more of the world, in general. Halbjorn would be taking her to his set, she wanted to fit it...and a small part of her wanted to look good with her, she'd seen the women they put in movies, they were truly beautiful.

So at the appointed time she was waiting in the garage, hoping someone else would accompany her, to lend a guiding hand...and show her where the mall was.