The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword, Except in a Sword Fight

Also on this day, 67 years ago, Hungarian inventor László József Bíró filed a patent for the ballpoint pen in Argentina. He had actually invented it a few years before, but this time he and his chemist brother founded a company to produce ballpoint pens, which proved to be wildly successful. In many counties today, the ballpoint pen is known as a biro or birome, after its inventor. The pen that Jane used in "Speedtrapped" to draw a flag on a fellow inmate's arm is depicted above. (It came from an old MTV website.) MTV used the drawing as a reference for artists who were creating the episode.

More fanfiction appeared today. A few stories posted on FF.net have already appeared on PPMB, so the links to those were placed with the most recent mention of the same stories in this blog. Lots to read, so enjoy and stay tooned!

FF.net

• Brittany Wants Daria, by a440 (Parts 3 and 4): Coming home, Daria checked her email and found one that took her by surprise. It read, "You have been cordially invited to eat with me at Joe T. Garcia's in Fort Worth, Texas, as my way of saying thanks for everything and as a gesture of goodwill, along with the fact I got bored, that is, and got two round-trip plane tickets to Fort Worth—if it's OK with your parents, that is. Love, Brittany Celine Taylor." That threw Daria for a loop. Her hypothesis on Brittany having a crush on her was right.
• Cross Over Madness, by Agirl2Nerdy (Part 1): "Drowning a cat?" Jesse asked. "Yeah. At first it's all nice and purring and nice, then when it gets wet it starts screeching." "Ohhh." Meanwhile... "Good news everyone!" the ancient professor cried as he emerged in the meeting room, just as Fry and Bender were in the midst of a whale impersonation contest. (Daria/Futurama)
• The InDark, by MedianCat (Parts 7 to 10): "Move some furniture," Daria said. "Why?" "To block the door. We're on the third floor: at least 25 feet off of the ground. The Bringers can't fly, but they and their boss out there are perfectly capable of battering down a door. Yes, that would mean other people, my aunt's neighbors, would hear what was going on, but it's not going to do us any good if the police arrive five minutes after the Bringers and Tommy Sherman have slaughtered us and fled the area." (Daria/Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
  
• Perfect, by age4age4 (Part 1): "So, what brings you here? Last I heard you were in Connecticut trying to become a doctor or something." "I was," Mack replied while ringing up Jane's purchases. "But then I found out after my first year at Vance that my heart wasn't really into it so I decided to focus my energy on something I really wanted to do: computer programming." Knowing that Raft was known for its computer programming program caused Jane to put two and two together. "That's cool, but it must suck for Jodie now the two of you are even farther away from each other." Mack shrugged a little. "Not really. We decided to take a break during Christmas vacation last year, but we still talk every other day. No big deal." Jane couldn't believe for one second that the two high-school sweethearts breaking up was no big deal to Mack. It was a huge deal.
  

PPMB

• Bringing Up Baby Lane, by GlitterShrooms (Part 1): “Hello,” said Penny’s recording. “To whichever one of my family members currently resides in Casa Lane, I have exciting news. As the loner in a family of loners and failed relationships, I have in the last few months finally united with what you could call my soul mate.” “Whoa!” interrupted both Jane and Trent. "And if you’re listening Mom, or Dad, you don’t have to worry about our money situation. Fernando’s father is a multi-billionaire involved with some of Mexico and the world’s most powerful corporations. We were even hoping to buy Casa Lane. Fernando always wanted a large family.” “What the Hell!?!” screamed Jane.
• Judith Strikes! Opening Gambit, by Erin M. (COMPLETE!): "We know you're hiding there!" A presumed squad leader called out. "If you surrender now, we'll simply wipe your memory and you can go home. No harm, no foul!" Judith smirked under the hood of her cloak, and reached into it's folds. She withdrew a futuristic looking grenade, and thumbed a button on its surface. "But I LIKE harm!" she called out, "Especially when it's sanctimonious reality cops like you getting it!"
  
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Mini: Benefactor and Inventor, by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): If there was one thing that Andrew Landon hated, it was being at someone’s beck and call. He had hoped to be the boss of Lawndale, but was now realizing that there was a “servant” in “public servant.” Dynell and Landon walked to the green. “So how is life,” asked Dynell, “in the mayoral business?” “Rotten,” said Landon. “There’s no way I can get anything done. Everywhere I turn my hands have been tied by someone.”
• Unnamed story (Flinging Fourth the New Ideas Thread), by Ranger Thorne (Part 1): “Don’t worry about it,” Jane said with a wave of her hand. “I won’t tell anyone Daria has an ugly sister.” “Hey!” Quinn scowled at her, put her hands on her hips, then stated, “Daria and I look exactly alike, so how could I be the ugly one?” (Daria/Sky High)
• Unnamed story, by Teeki (Part 3): Quinn dipped a tortilla chip in guacamole. "We'll find the right coat! I just want something that is soft, the right color pink, and has that fur around the hood." Daria, who had been concentrating on her burrito, looked up. "We saw at least three coats just like that." She glared at her sister. Quinn took a bite of rice and spoke with her mouth full. "But Daria! Those coats had fake fur. I'm looking for real fur, so I'll look just like a bunny!"