You need to kill them. The corrupted, the ones she's taken over.

Kill them, the gods will cleanse their souls, and things will be fine again.

That's what Loki told us. That's the only way it will stop.

[It's late when the video flickers on, Rapunzel is seated near a window with the stars in view, along with the dim light revealing more of her paintings. Pascal is curled up asleep at her lap nested in her hair, let loose from the daily braid at night.]

So, those apples are....different? But...if I believe what the red one showed me, I guess I'm not so scared about going back home, meeting my real parents. You know what I mean? I haven't tried the others, but there seemed to be a few different colours. I hope nobody had anything too bad happen with them?

[Rapunzel seems genuinely a bit concerned there, with the warning on the bark and all. She doesn't know what the other colours might have potentially done to people. She figures even her own red one could potentially have been a lot worse, if it does really show the future. Even if she will now forever be traumatized by Eugene dying there, she at least has the reassurance of the kingdom and her parent's welcome for her at her return.]

A-anyway, I wanted to ask, since I'm kind of having trouble sleeping for some reason, what sorts of stories does everyone know from home? I only had three books in the tower, so I'd love to hear some from everyone.

[ Eugene turns on the communication and the first thing everyone will see...is white. White white white white -- and one big brown bag of opened flour and -- ]

Uh. I promise I'll clean this mess up after I'm done. [ Eugene the White Flour Man says next to the counter, looking very, very, very guilty. From the waist up, he's covered in flour. And the kitchen of Freya's House is not any better. Yes. That is the kitchen. See the outlines of the counters and the sink and the cabinets? Everything is covered in flour.

One can surmise by the larger amounts of flower circling the bag that it was forced open with enough strength that it exploded flour everywhere. Well, at least on the half of the kitchen where Eugene's standing with a bowl and spatula, wearing an apron that says KISS THE COOK over his usual attire.

It is going to take hours to clean up this mess. ]

In my defense, bags of flour shouldn't be that hard to open.

[ He puts the bowl and spatula on the counter. ]

Anyways, anyone with actual baking skills available to help me with a recipe?

Jack! Jack Jack Jack! Doctor, Miss Tardis! And just... just anyone! [Alice is practically spinning never mind jumping and bouncing. She has drawings all over her walls of the three guardians she met.]

I met them! I met Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny and even the Tooth Fairy! I met them all and they're incredible and amazing and so much better than the stories ever said! Did anyone else get to meet them while they were here!

[She suddenly gasps although not in surprise but in excitement.]

AND HE KNEW! Jack, Doctor, Miss Tardis! Father Christmas knew! [Knew what is left unanswered but she's too excited to explain.]

THEY WERE HERE! I hope everyone got to meet them!

[The video turns on and there's River, eyes bright and grinning. She looks happy, like she wouldn't' want to be anywhere else.

Which is untrue. She would rather be with her crew but if she had to have her crew gone to have this, this peace of mind that she'd longed for, then it's...Well, not a fair trade but she hasn't quite realized that yet.

She should probably bother with some kind of an introduction but that doesn't matter. She's more excited about the new place and people and the silence. So, instead of offering up a name, a greeting or anything else, River just smiles into the camera for a moment before speaking.]

Someone should come explore with me.

[Alice offers a quick curtsy before she begins.]

Hello! I do beg your pardon, Asgard, but has anyone thought to spy on the giants in a way that the spy wouldn't be caught?

[Considering Alice isn't entirely sure what happened to the spy she is curious if anyone thought to spy on the giants in turn.]

[Video / Action Freyr District]

Buon pomeriggio, Asgard.

[(Good afternoon)]

I have a small announcement to make, actually... it is very exciting! Maybe I should just show you.

[Leonardo stepped away from the 'camera view screen' and the angle was readjusted to show off a moderately sized building. ]

This is my new workshop! It is in the Freyr district in the area close to the center of town.

I thought I would open it up to accepting apprentices, if there is anyone out there who would like to learn the methods of art. But, there is enough room here that I could also rent out work-spaces if there are artists or craftsmen who would just like a place to work in.

Oh and one more thing! I had some time to work on this...

[The bracelet cam was suddenly moved as Leonardo entered the building. One might catch a glimpse of a newly begun painting of a handsome young man riding an eight-legged horse as he passed by the easel the new piece was situated on.
But the camera fully focused again on a machine. It had wheels, a nozzle at one end, and a copper vessel on the back that had been secured to support water and the steam it would eventually hold.]

When we were discussing ways to fight against Thiazi and her creatures made of ice I thought my designs for the ice melting contest might be modified to make a kind of steam weapon. It has not been tested yet. Since it is dealing with steam I did not want to run the risk of explosion inside the city.

[After he mentioned the possibility that the thing might explode he felt kind of sheepish adding the next part. ]

Would anyone be willing to help me test it?

[ When the feed comes on, Allison's in the process of taking a final braid out of her hair with her right hand (since her bracelet's on the left). She's surrounded by various animals, all of which seem perfectly content to be beside her although they're definitely not the domestic sort. ]

Is anyone else dealing with this? Animals following them everywhere, I mean? [ Curses happen here, she knows that (hello baby Scott), but she's wondering if this is city-wide or if she's just lucky. ] If not, has anyone dealt with it before? I'd really like to-- [ A couple birds come into the shot and start braiding her hair again, which causes her to let out an annoyed sigh. ] This has been happening all day... Can someone just tell me how to get rid of them?

[ She tries to shoo them away with her hand - carefully, of course, so she doesn't accidentally smack them or anything - but they just dodge her and continue braiding. So she rolls her eyes and goes to turn off the bracelet only to remember something else she'd wanted to ask. ] I was also wondering if there's a record of the longest someone's ever stayed asleep here. Jo hasn't woken up in a while and even though I don't mind helping cover for her at the Roadhouse, it'd be nice if she would wake up. [ It's a little freaky, too. ]



ooc: allison is cursed as a disney princess because scott called her one recently. c:

I, Draco Malfoy, am a genius.

[The video flips around to show a very pleased Mr. Malfoy sitting in the back room of the apothecary he and Euri own before panning down to a variety of little bottles and boxes.]

I just wish it hadn't taken this long to actually get the formulas right. Anyhow, Asclepius has some new inventory. Ask me about it, I dare you. I'm just sorry I haven't finished perfecting my ultimate project. But just you wait. I'll have a grand unveiling soon.

[There…are a lot of other things Draco could talk about if he wanted to. Like the recent trip to Utgard. Or about how he and ??? had interrogated the caught spy. Or about how he had plans now thanks to a conversation with some of the gods.

But he won't. Because he's Draco, why would he ever share anything that didn't come across as incredibly self-centered? It's an act, first and foremost. He has to come off as arrogant and dignified as possible to pretend people didn't see his inner workings. It's probably a giant, failed attempt.]

In the meantime…let's pretend I actually care about the answer to this. Your greatest achievements. Tell me about them? Consider it fuel for another side project of mine…

[Filtered to Riku]

Got something you may be interested in.

[Filtered to ???]

Looks like you're not the only one creating things.

[Filtered to Hermione]

So…when would you like to meet for your first lesson?

[Filtered to Rapunzel]

Now that that's accomplished, how would you like to do some research with me about the rest I'm working on?

[Filtered to Jade]

How do you feel about surprises?

[ The video opens to show an annoyed young man, with his arms folded, and his jaw twitching with restrained anger. ] So after getting what I take is the usual introduction spiel, let me get this straight: I'm trapped in this city of gods because the gods need someone to fix their problems and I have no choice in any of this. Is that right? [ He unfolds his arms. ] Because if that's the case, then I'm going to have to decline the great lodgings and excellent living benefits, because I've got more important, particularly pressing matters to tend to back home.

[ Eugene closes his eyes, trains his jaw to not twitch and settles his feature. He wants to appeal to these gods, so he should be softer-spoken, right? Normally, Eugene wouldn't use this kind of manner with kidnappers, but as Rapunzel is back home, about to embark on a whole new chapter of her life with her real parents, he can't not take a risk. ]

Look. Freyja -- that's your name, right? Well, Freyja, you are supposed to stand for love, right? You not realize this but, I've got this girl back home who is pretty important to me. In fact...I think I love her. [ He reaches an arm behind his neck and rubs at it anxiously, looking away from the device, suddenly bashful, which hasn't happened since he was a kid. ] Her name's Rapunzel, and she's...she's everything to me. And I think she loves me, too. So...

[ He clasps his hands together and gives the device a very earnest look. ] Isn't it kind of counteractive to your station to separate two people in love?