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.

nextgen_holiday:

Each year toward the end of December people come together with friends and family to celebrate and exchange gifts. The atmosphere is light, merry and there is plenty of cheer to go around. Holiday music fills the air while bright colorful lights light up the nights. Mistletoe is placed in strategic locations and people are willing caught under it.

It's a time of celebration, even for superheroes.

nextgen_holiday:

“Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers and fathering is a very important stage in their development.” – David Gottesman

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.

marlow:

In the Life According to Wong, young sorcerers are known for two things. Misbehaving magic and the inability to stay full for very long.

Correction - three things. The worst timing and problems with boundaries of all sorts.

All right, so that's four. Young sorcerers weren't big on logic.

It was the second reason that had Marlow up in the middle of the night checking her tiny kitchen for chocolate or pretzels, or even kale chips if it stopped her stomach from rumbling. She tried to be quiet so she wouldn't disturb Martin in the guest room. It looked like they'd managed to clean everything out of the cupboards during their movie marathon.

nextgen_misc:

The trail eventually led the Avengers, Future Foundation and the Defenders to the other dimensional realm that served as the home of the Greek gods. They traveled to a few realms that were home to other gods only to find them destroyed and in ruins. Olympus wasn't in ruins, but it was under attack. Battle raged all around and the skies thundered and were lit up by lightning bolts.

nextgen_misc:

Once the Champions returned to their headquarters and destroyed the Quantum Mirror returning all the heroes to normal. Once that was done they called a meeting of the superhero teams. Irina transported the Champions to the Avengers Mansion and volunteered to provide transportation for the other teams.

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:

Lady Sydney had declared that it was time to decorate the main building and the grounds for Christmas once the Migard calendar said it was December. Svalin didn't know much about decorating, but she could carry the boxes of decorations and reach the high places for Sydney. She was always eager to lend a hand and enjoy watching Zoey and Solver's faces light up at the sight of twinkling lights and shiny decorations.

She was carrying the last box of decorations down from the attic.

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.

magic_hands:

Martin adjusts his hat and grins. They were going to visit Dr. Strange! He didn't get to go to Earth's dimension often, and there was so much fun to do with magic. Even better? Clea would be escorting them there which meant for the first few days? Lots of long errands (which they generally ignored) and no supervision!
What should we start with? I hope we stay long enough to finish our fun stuff to-do list.

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.

nextgen_holiday:

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart." - Seneca

In America today is a day for being thankful for the things in people's lives. Today was a day to celebrate family, friends, prosperity and health with food, family and friends. It is a time to reflect on what is important us and to recognize the gratitude we hold for having those things in our lives.

nextgen_holiday:

All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween as it has been come to be called, is a popular holiday with children and adults alike. It is a holiday that had its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain or Summer's End. Samhain celebrated the end of the "lighter half" of the year and the beginning of the "darker half".

On this evening the barriers between this world and the Otherworld were believed to be thin and the spirits, good and bad, of the dead could pass through. The spirits of the family's ancestors were welcomed in while evil and bad spirits were warded off by the wearing of masks and costumes. The costumes and masks disguised one as a harmful spirit and avoided harm from others.

It was also a harvest celebration and time to take stock of food stores for the winter. Livestock were slaughtered and the meat prepared for storage. It was the final harvest of the year and the crops were then stored for the winter. Celebrations included bonfires and tales of the family's ancestors.

It was a celebration of the dead and of the harvest.

Today we dress up in scary and not so scary costumes and masks and go door to door for candy or attend costume parties. It is a night for revelry, pranks and fun.

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.

nextgen_misc:


You are cordially invited to attend

Terra Nova Charity Fundraiser

Twenty-Fourth of September Two Thousand Twelve

New York Botanical Gardens' Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

Seven pm until one am.

Formal dress required

magic_hands:

There was not enough Marlow Appreciation. This needed to be fixed.   

Other people had birthdays and such where you could get them all sorts of presents and show how much you liked and appreciated them but Marlow didn't have a birthday. It wasn't fair that people didn't have that day to show her how awesome she was. So Martin usually picked a random day each year to get her a present (though sometimes he forgot if he'd brought one that year and she ended up getting more than one). This year though he was determined she'd get a whole Appreciation Day.

Arriving on the grounds of the Defender's compound, Martin is positive he has the right location. Usually with teleporting there was always a little doubt but the place had her magic all over it. So with his usual blue flames he'd arrived right outside where he could sense her magical protection spells.

Of course it was still within the scope of the non-magical security.

Yep, right place. Those blaring alarms couldn't be wrong. It worked so much better than a doorbell too.

butterflybullet:

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

son_of_hercules:

Irina having dropped him off, Argo felt the need to visit his friends and fellow gods of the Defenders.  It had already been a good time since his return to the mortal realm (though he had been unusually quiet in discussing what, exactly, had caused him to leave Olympus).  He had drank many beers, he had told many stories, and he had been with many women.

Some of the fangirls had been rather enthusiastic about his return.

But for now, he wished to see his other friends.  He'd heard there had been a baby born while he was gone.  To Svalin, no less!  He'd thought her only slightly less frigid than Asleif, unable to be warmed even by the Lion Cub of Olympus.  Who could have reached her so?  His helm was off to such a master of woo, whomever he may be.

He rang the bell.

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.

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.

magic_hands:

 Bumping along a dirt road in  what, to any sane person, was probably the most outlandish and least safe car ever, Martin looks out the window at all the wheat fields. Now surely somewhere in there was a demon. There had to be! The detector in the car said so! Granted, at the last stop it had lead them to the ghost of some old lady that was very dull, and her dog which had just been noisy, but still...it should work eventually. He needed to tell Marlow how much he liked this car again. Charmed to the brim meant: bonus! He could touch stuff. And hey, that was a rare thing with him. 

Anyway, they were better than the Ghostbusters. You had to call those guys. Nobody had called them!

The Great Demon Hunting Road Trip continues!

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.

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?

marlow:

Everything had been checked and double-checked. Marlow had practiced the spell until she could see the runes in her mind in just the places she wanted them. It was going to be GREAT. She'd help the team by increasing her own size for limited periods so she wouldn't just be a puny human sorceress learning to fight. She'd be an /Asgardian/ sized sorceress and really show the bad guys who they had to watch out for in a fight.

Sitting on the grass in front of her bungalow, she closed her eyes and recited the words and waited.

She didn't feel anything. Not a thing. There should've been some sort of sensation when her body became bigger, but everything seemed fine. With a sigh, she mentally prepared herself to work on the spell some more and try again later.

When she opened her eyes, a sense of euphoria and wrongness filled her. She was looking down at a body that wasn't hers. The spell had worked, sort of, but... whose body was it?

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.

Anonymous Entries Accepted

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.

At the Defenders compound the ground was covered with snow and the Defenders celebrated Christmas and Yule playing outside in the snow.

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."

anyastark:

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 sent out invitations to the females on the other teams well in advanced and made arrangements for food and refreshments.

Once the day arrived she and the Thunderbolts traveled down to New York and gathered at the Avengers Mansion. Anya readied the slide show and waited for everyone to assemble.

nextgen_holiday:

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues." - Cicero

In America today is a day for being thankful for the things in people's lives. Today was a day to celebrate family, friends, prosperity and health with food, family and friends. It is a time to reflect on what is important us and to recognize the gratitude we hold for having those things in our lives.

marlow:

Dusk at the Defenders compound. Marlow stood barefoot on the grass in front of her bungalow. She had originally intended to go to the main house for dinner, but had to stop and watch the sunset. For days she'd felt a shift in the world. It had saddened her for some reason she couldn't put a finger on, but the magic won out. It had to go somewhere and if she didn't let it out there would be consequences.

While the sun sank into the ocean, Marlow's body rose from the grass to hover several feet above the earth.

nextgen_asgard2:

Asgard. The Golden Realm. The Realm Eternal. One of the nine worlds. Home of the Norse gods. Darkness covered the land and the realm's inhabitants had retired for the evening. Peace and quiet had fallen over a land frequently subjected to strife and violence.

A blinding light shattered the darkness and Kang and his followers materialized from the portal. Kang took a second to survey the scene. The reshaping of worlds started here. Tonight he would have the one who would be a thorn in his side decades from now. Tonight gods would fall and die and the babe would be his. The last weapon to be collected and one that would help him reshape worlds in Kang's image.


"Kill them all," Kang said to his gathered forces collected from various worlds from various points in time.

The ones that had given the so-called-heroes the most problems. The new Mandarin, son of the former, at the height of his power before he made the mistake of getting involved with the Stark girl. Apocalypse plucked from time just before his defeat at the hands of the X-Men, X-Factor and the Avengers. Hyperion the titan of myth plucked from time before his defeat at the hands of heroes. These joined the deviants he grabbed before their defeat and a being named Mongul.

"The babe being born this night is mine," Kang said. The child would serve Kang and be the implement of Kang's will.

nextgen_baddie:

A bright light appeared over the Defenders compound and two figures emerged in the sky. A multitude of explosives rained down on the buildings below. A moment later numerous explosions broke the quiet of the day. The Earth trembled and fire and smoke filled the air. A crater now took the place of the Defenders Compound and the two figures in the sky disappeared.

Far below the Pacific Ocean the brides were clad in white and lined up in front of the altar. A semi-circle of priests stood behind the brides and were chanting. The magic in the air became more powerful as the priests chanted. A small circle appeared in the air before the brides and started to get bigger.

All around the chamber deviants fought heroes while the portal grew so the god Set could make his entrance into the world. Another portal formed on the far side of the chamber and the two beings that had appeared over the Defenders Compound were now in Lemuria.

marlow:

Marlow poured over the book she borrowed from Corey every chance she had, trying to read the handwritten pages until she gave herself a blazing headache. Her reading skills weren't the best. Her Latin was passable and she had a grounding in odd, sometimes alien languages found in magical texts she'd studied under Clea's tutelage in the Dark Dimension. She'd often had to puzzle through cramped handwriting, but this was becoming more than she could decipher on her own. English /was/ her first language, but it wasn't her strongest when it came to reading, and this didn't flow well enough to be understood. The drawings were distracting, too. Her non-traditional education emphasized controlling and redirecting energy, coaxing it into various forms and illusions, bending it to her will. After that, the three Rs just weren't all that interesting.

The writing would not bend no matter how she looked at it. It constantly changed styles and even languages, and in some places faded away completely. There were spells she could use to bring it out, but it was a borrowed book. Not the oldest she'd ever studied, but old enough that she was wary of damaging it. It might also be spelled for defense. It could hurt her if she tried to go that route.

She finally gave up and went to the main house to get something for her headache. She carried the book with her to see if Sydney or Dawn could help. Maybe they could help her read it, or at least tell her if she was on the right track. She left it on the table while she rummaged for something to drink and searched for a bottle of aspirin in the cupboards.

sandcastlegod:

Corey faced it. She deserved to know. He had to tell Marlow about this. So he called, holding the geneology sketchbook with him.

ng_olympian:

Between Marlow and Dawn the Defenders had managed to track the shadow demons who had abducted Svalin to the gates of Hades. Countless shades wandered on the shores of the river Acheron. These were the paupers and the friendless, those who did not possess an obolus to pay Charon.

A small boat floated on the dark waters of the river and the cloaked figure of Charon stood in the boat waiting to ferry souls across the river. A skeletal hand clutched a pole and the other was outstretched waiting to receive a fare for crossing.

On the other side of the river stood a large three headed dog and a large two headed dog. Cerebus and Orthus guarded the entrance into Pluto's realm.

shield_maiden:

Svalin would admit that she wasn't the best at gift selection and gift giving unless the gifts happen to be weapons or armor. Those she could make herself and give to people, but her pregnancy prevented her from working the forge. Thankfully Svalin had some jewels and gold from her wedding gifts and Lady Sydney had helped her find a jewelry maker in the city.

The necklace was beautiful when it was done and Svalin hoped Vernique liked sapphires. She had almost went with rubies, but she thought the blue jewels were pretty and would look good on her wife.

She wrapped the necklace in a black velvet cloth and went to find her wife.

nextgen_misc:

Night had settled over the city of Los Angeles. A waning gibbous mood had risen and the light of the stars was blocked out by the thick smog that usually blanketed the city. The hours moved on and the city slowed down. Citizens were asleep in their beds and off to dreamland.

The same held true for the residents at 1800 Palos Verdes Drive.

They wouldn't stay asleep for long. Something stirred in the darkness outside.

sandcastlegod:

The little voodoo shop off Rampart was packed full of aesthetically fascinating stuff. Corey couldn't resist. Besides, from what he knew of it, the religion itself -- if not necessarily some of the associated magical practices -- made a lot of sense to him. Pouring out the first sip of milk or wine, offering up shot glasses of rum... he could connect.

He picked up a book of voodoun iconography and dusted it off. Under it was another, dustier book, the leather cover all scarred. Corey picked that up, too, and opened it. Oooh, nice pictures! All sketchy and... bizarre. Not quite Escher or Geigeresque, but interesting. There were family trees the back sections, with hand notes. ...And then Corey spotted the name 'Nicholas Scratch of New Salem.'

Wasn't that Nick's father's name? His really disgusting babykiller-wannabe father?

"Celeste, how much for the freaky antique history-sketchbook?"
"What? Oh, that. I don't even know where that came from; it was Mom's. Let's just price it the same as the art books."
"Okay...I think I'll take it."

brit_sorcerer:

There had been an invitation for Excalibur to attend a cookout with the Defenders for Independence Day. Quinn was a Brit by birth, but he had spent half of his life in New York. He considered himself a Yankee as well as a Brit.

When it was time he teleported all from Excalibur who wanted to go to the Defenders compound. Quinn was looking forward to a day in the sun, on the beach and watching girls in bikinis with a lot of good food on hand. Not to mention Asgardian mead. It would truly be a wonderful day.

They arrived in a flash right outside the gates to the compound. It was rude to arrive inside the gates and Quinn didn't feel like fighting. He was a lover, not a fighter.

team_mascot:

Zoey didn't think about how Andy and Titan were two separate personalities or why they looked different from each other, all she did know was that it was their birthday. She made them each a card complete with lots of hearts, rainbows and glitter and had Mom take her shopping for a gift. She got Titan a deluxe set of Uno cards and a set of regular cards. He promised her he would teach her how to play poker. For Andy she got him a new leather belt Svalin had helped her make.

She left the items on the table in the main building where he would see them.

shield_maiden:

Svalin was stretched out on one of the large couches in the rec room of the main building and was trying hard to enjoy sitting still. Her feet and ankles had started to swell and her wife wasn't going to let her do much besides sit and put her feet up as much as she could. Svalin had tried to argue but it didn't get her anywhere except sitting on the couch with her feet up.

She sighed and looked at the television. To Kill a Mockingbird was on and Svalin was still waiting for the killing to start. Why was kill in the title if there was no killing in it? It didn't make much sense to her, but it was one of her wife's favorite movies and Svalin would watch it.

Svalin focused on the television and was surprised by the sudden kick. She gasped and reflexively put her hand on her stomach.

marlow:

Or just the Sorceress!

After dropping Andy off at Excalibur, Marlow sent herself to pub she'd heard about. She didn't know if Quinn or his friend would be there, but it seemed like a neighborly thing to do when in England.

She appeared in a corner and looked around to see if anyone noticed before making her way to the bar. She sat herself down and turned a smile on the person behind it. "Do you have mead?"

gammagodling:

Andy worked diligently at Scion for the last month in preparation for today. When Sydney got hurt, he thought his idea was dead in the water, but it turned out that he had to cut his time-frame short, but he was going to save a ton on air fare. Knowing a teleporting mystic made a lot things better.

When lunch time came around, he showed up ready at Marlow's bungalow.

"Hey, Marlow. I'm ready when you are." he says, knocking on the door.
 

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

shield_maiden:

To say Svalin didn't deal well with inactivity was a big understatement. She was not the type to sit still and do very little which made this pregnancy into a very taxing thing. The blood of warriors ran her her veins and it wasn't easily stilled. It made her irritable and restless.

Svalin was awake before the sun had risen. A nightmare, one of her son destroying Asgard and Migard and Jon accusing her of letting it happen, woke her and she found sleep elusive afterward. The words spoken to her by her grandfather on her wedding day weighed heavily on her mind. She could not easily ignore the possibility of her son being the cause of the destruction of two worlds.

Svalin made her way up to the main building and to the training room. Some exercise and practice would help calm her thoughts and help her center herself. She programmed the room to a low level setting and had it create some robot opponents. Svalin knew they were a creation of light and force fields, but they would serve her purpose well enough.

Vigfrior was a sword and she started hacking through the fabricated robots.

team_mascot:

Zoey was always happy when there was going to be a party. The Asgardians didn't have an exact birthday, but it was sometime in the spring. So today they were going to celebrate the Asgardians' birthday. Zoey of course wanted a party with balloons, streamers, ice cream and cake, but Mom had said that they would be having dinner of their favorite foods and then cake. Not a regular birthday party.

Zoey did help Sarah and Malinda make and decorate the cake.

Dinner came and the Defenders gathered around the large dining room table.

"Happy birthday!" Zoey said and handed each one of them a card she had made herself. She went shopping with Mom and the two of them had gotten the Asgardians some clothes.

gammagodling:

Titan limps his way toward Marlow's bungalow, still sore and in an immense amount of pain after his recent troubles. It'll be a few days, maybe even a week before he's whole again, but he's not going to wait that long to see her. He would have crawled all the way to her bungalow if he had to, but he's not going to let anyone know just how beat up he is, especially Marlow. She wouldn't be happy to see the bandages as it is.

He knocks on her door and hopes she's not out on the beach.

butterflybullet:

She'd never really pictured this happening. Of course, she'd married off her dolls as a girl, but the idea of her wedding had always brought with it the idea of really settling down with one guy, which had never been much on her agenda. This, of course, was different. This was Svalin. And she loved Svalin, and honestly wanted to be there for her and be a family with her. And while there would be sacrifices involved, it wasn't the same as Really Settling Down. A platonic marriage that still came with a fancy party. Nothing wrong with that!

Her parents had been brought up to Asgard, along with the Avengers and the Defenders.

The first royal wedding in a generation was the Event of the Season, with quite a bit of bustle about it.

...And the dress was going to be perfect.

But first, Spa day with Mom and the Mothers-in-law --two of them. Oh gosh.

She hoped Svalin was okay.

sydney_ashcroft:

Grace's birthday was on Thursday and Syd had made sure she they acknowledged the day, but they were saving the big party for Saturday. The Defenders as a team had gone out to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse. When they returned home anyone who wanted to watch movies camped out in the living room.

Syd had the two chefs, Hugh and Malinda, make Grace's favorite food for dinner and her favorite cake for dinner on Saturday. When dinner was over, Syd and Zoey brought the cake out with the candles lit.

"Happy birthday to you...." they sang as they brought the cake to the table.

Syd ignored her own birthday.