nightingalesong:

It doesn't take long Qamar long to unpack his things into his quarters. It's not like he's got a lot of things in the first place. Clothing, a couple school books, his laptop, and his costume. At least the... accessories for the costume won't get strange looks if people find them in his closet.

With everything packed away, he grabs his laptop, sits at his desk, and begins to work on his school work. It's not due for a few weeks yet, but when you're a superhero, you never know when your time will suddenly vanish due to alien kidnapping or what have you.

nightingalesong:

Nightingale's conversation with Moon Knight's son has been replaying constantly in his mind.

Khufu sent dreams of Marc Spector, the old Moon Knight. Qamar had been guided to old abandoned lairs. All up to a certain point, and then... nothing.

He researched into what had happened to Marc Spector, but could find nothing. Nothing! He owns a corporation, but Qamar never found a sign of him.

...or did he? Had the information been blocked from his mind by an ancient Egyptian god?

Nightingale almost doesn't feel like... him. Like she's a totally different being.

And then there's that story about the old chosen of Khufu having mental issues. Like... multiple personalities mental issues.

And that's starting to sound really familiar.

He's scared of telling anyone about this. But he's got to.

So he finds himself knocking on Sammy's door in the middle of the night.

ryanspector:

So far it had been a very quiet night for Ryan on his patrol. Ryan was almost a little bit disappointed. It’s not that he didn’t mind the fact that there was no one going out and breaking the law what he really wanted was someone to hit because his last few big fight had not ended well for him, one end with him in la la land after getting head butted by a godling making him the only guy to lose his fight and the other involved him knocking out a girl then almost immediately ringing himself out of the fight and into the freezing Hudson river for almost a half an hour how he got out of that without frostbit he still was not sure.

Considering how quiet the night had been it seem like wasn’t going to be getting a break any time soon on that either. It was either that or he was so off right now that he just couldn’t spot any criminals which scared him a little bit. In the back of his mind a voice was nagging at him telling him that maybe he just wasn’t good enough to be doing this type of work and that he was just a fool playing hero when he wasn’t even close to one. Ryan was ignoring that voice but with ever thing that had been happening to him of late it was getting harder and harder even with his self confidence.

From the roof top he was standing on from the corner of his eye Ryan spotted what looked like a mugger following closely behind a young woman. Maybe he wasn’t as out of it as he thought he was. Using some free running to get down off the roof top to the street to incept the mugger before he could do anything Ryan thought, Time to get to work.

anyastark:

Anya had tried to make it a point to remember birthdays, but occasionally one slipped by her. This time it was Qamar whose birthday slipped past her. She was two days late.

When he got back to his room he would find presents waiting for him on his bed.

A card from Anya included two tickets to the symphony, dinner for two at Casa Mono, and a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.

sammyfury:

Everything Sammy knew about Valentine’s Day romance she learned from Nick. Flowers and candy. A really nice piece of jewelry. Reservations to Mom’s favorite restaurant. A late night slow dance on the terrace under the stars. Sneaking upstairs past the kid’s room and closing the door to the parents’ room. If she’d been dating a girl, she would’ve known exactly what to do, minus the kid part.

That Valentine’s Day was just around the corner didn’t really register with her. It wasn’t a holiday that she’d ever been involved with other than grade school card exchanges and ‘helping’ Dad pick out a gift for Mom. Also, she was distracted by a second request from Brendon Hill and this time he had a carrot to dangling in front of her. He would help her track down the escaped Zodiac members. Clearly she needed to talk to someone. This was what boyfriends were for, right?

nextgen_misc:

Friends, family and loved ones are bound to notice the disappearance of some females.

old_saint_nick:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Christmas Day is a Christian holiday, it's true, but it also has become increasingly secular. It is an opportunity for love, charity, and goodwill, even in New York City, arguably the most skeptical city in the country.

There is some debate within mystical circles if there is indeed such a creature as the embodiment of Christmas Giving known as Santa Claus. But whether or not there is such a being, the spirit of giving itself is very real, be it incarnated in a fat man in a red suit or not.

Throughout this small blue planet of Earth, people have brought trees into their homes, decorated them with lights and ornaments, and placed them in locations of honor. Stockings have been placed on the chimneys. And gifts have been placed under the tree.

Some are looking forward more to the receiving than the giving. But for many, it is the act of giving which warms them, which fills them with the holiday spirit.

Each person, in their own way, becomes a part of this spirit of giving. Each person, in their own way, becomes Santa Claus.

The Avengers mansion is decorated in lights, made all the more beautiful by the snow capping the roof and lying on the ground. As for the Avengers themselves...

swashbuckler:

Turnabout was, as they said, fair play.  So Steve had gathered the Avengers guys (and put in a call to Vincent of the FF since Val and Andrea had attended the girls' night, as well as Misha), set up the projector, provided plenty of unhealthy snakes, and generally had quite the time playing party planner. 

"All right, gentlemen," he said to assembled group, "and I use the term loosely in some of your cases, we are here for one purpose and one purpose in particular.  Last week, our colleagues in crime fighting conducted the time honored tradition of "Rate the Hunks" amongst those of us on the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Defenders.  So tonight, we men-folk must unite...

"And...

"Rate...

"the...

"Babes!"

toni_rhodes:

It was, all things considered, a pretty good day.  No super-villain attacks, no mad Mandarins, no nothing.  Which was why Toni and some of the other Young Avengers had gone into the city for shopping

It was probably too good to last.

"Okay gang," Toni said.  "Lunch time is upon us.  Suggestions?"

nextgen_misc:

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.

The Avengers' mansion was decorated appropriately to celebrate the holiday. Spiderwebs (fake of course), jack-o-lanterns, ghoulish dummies of witches, mummies, vampires and other images right out of horror movies were strategically placed. Artificial smoke floated inches above the floor and swirled around objects and legs. The front stoop was well lit inviting trick-or-treaters.

nightingalesong:

It's been a long day.

It's clear that something's wrong with SHIELD. And clear that something needs to be done.

Nightingale needs some help. That much is clear. And Qamar is particularly disturbed about Sammy's behavior.

To think he had almost opened up to her... to tell her the real secret about Nightingale. But now... he's sure he'll never be able to. It wouldn't be safe... for either of them.

Assuming she wouldn't have been weirded out anyway.

It's probably better if he keeps the secret anyway, now that he thinks about it. She probably wouldn't understand.

He needs to think. Nightingale will need him later, but for now, he needs to think.

He steps into his apartment's tiny bathtub, filling the water with warm water. He puts on music and strips, sinking down to his nose in the warm water.

Some quiet time will help him focus and think.

_____

This scene takes place before Rallying the Troops.

anyastark:

The first day of classes was done and Anya was tired. She had about three hours of sleep the night before and she had forgotten what it was like to sit through a day of classes. It was amazing what could be forgotten during two months of summer vacation. She had been up at six am and been in the air on her way toward Cambridge by seven thirty. She got back to her room at the Hydrobase and fell onto the bed.

Despite the day being a long one, it had been a good one. Anya enjoyed her classes and looked forward to the challenges they were going to give her. It was an incredible feeling to have started on the next stage of her life. She had taken the first step on the next path to running the company.

She closed her eyes and smiled.

sammyfury:

Sammy was feeling restless. A different sort of restless than she was used to feeling. With several jobs under her belt, she wanted to take on another as soon as possible, but Mikel was holding her back. He said he'd call when it was time, but it was taking too long. Their father would hold her back and claim she was too young and inexperienced, but you don't get experience by burying yourself in school and following the rules. She wanted that degree, but she could do both. She was good. It was in the genes ... from him. They didn't have to like Nick Fury to use the abilities and training he'd given them.

She was tired of playing at being the perfect daughter as Mikel had instructed. She belonged with her brother and the others, but she was a member of his team and he told her to stay.

For now, she gathered food from the kitchen, a couple of beers from the fridge, and found a quiet corner to hit the books.

nightingalesong:

Qamar smiles across the table at Sammy as the waitress takes the menus.

"Thanks for coming, Sammy. I'm... glad my... friend didn't scare you off."

ng_zodiac:

Mikel didn't want too much time passing between visits to little sister, but at the same time he didn't want to make too much contact. She'd get more suspicious. All Furys carried the suspicious gene and it was best not to trip little sister's too much. That could bring the old man down on his heels and that was the last thing he wanted.

Mikel had Leo cross her path and it had gone reasonably well, but it was now time for Sammy to see another face and get familiar with them. Therese Jackson, Virgo, would now be his girlfriend as far as his sister was concerned and with any luck become one of her friends. Mikel wanted to get into her head more and what better way to do it than through another girl. Girls talked to each other, he had seen this with Virgo, Libra, Pices and Capricorn. Aquarius...not so much. Out of the four, Virgo was the best one to pose as a girlfriend.

He sent a text to his sister.

I'm in town. Dinner? Indian? Bombay Talkie 189 Ninth Ave. 7pm? Bring a friend.

nextgen_misc:

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." Clarence Budington Kelland

"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father." - Pope John XXIII

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

sammyfury:

With the summer stretching ahead of her, Sammy had to do something other than help clean the hydrobase and train. She told her parents she wanted the summer to relax and suspected relaxing meant a little more than wasting a few thousand rounds at the shooting range. A girl didn't get a life with a pair of noise-canceling headphones on.

She found her first outside activity in the paper. Rooftop Films seemed like it might be fun, and it was something she didn't need a date to see. The open bar afterward would be decided on when the time came.