It's Kind of Complicated

Welcome to May Day, the spring festival day that celebrates pretty much everything. In the U.S. this is also Law Day (with a nod to Helen Morgendorffer), Loyalty Day (with a nod to Ms. Angela Li), Join Hands Day (fraternal groups helping society), Lei Day (Hawaii only, not in Bermuda as Sandi Griffin thinks), and In the Heart of the Beast (Minneapolis giant puppet show).

Worldwide it is also Beltane (or Samhain across the uninhabited southern zones of the planet), International Workers' Day (what it sounds like), EuroMayDay (like May Day, except not), the founding day of the Illuminati, the optional feast day of St. Joseph (patron saint of workers and fathers), the 203rd anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire, the 170th anniversary of the first adhesive postal stamp (YES!), and the 158th birthday anniversary of Calamity Jane (who is mentioned here only because her name was Jane, like Jane Lane, who was far more interesting).

It is also the day when, 18 years ago, Rodney King made his famous appeal for calm during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. Whatever other faults he may have, Mr. King did a great thing at that moment, and it is worth reflecting on that. Thank you, Mr. King.

AND... because it is the first Saturday in May, it is Derby Day (what is likely to be a very muddy Run for the Roses) and more importantly Free Comic Book Day! Get yer butt down to your local comic book store and get one while supplies last!

Whew. Go thou and party.

FF.net

• NEW! The Fate of the Duels, by A440 (Part 2): Once safe in room 403 on the fourth level of the motel, Brittany looked over the interior, which was white and pink plaster with a clean white deep carpet, a decent bed with red sheets, a high-def TV on the wall, and a equally clean red-tiled bathroom with a pull-up window shade over the toilet. From there, the blonde turned on the TV and tuned to ABC Nightline, then unwrapped her bundle, revealing two five-foot-long katana-type samurai swords in their sheaths, gold armor on the swords, and a black pearl finish on the scabbards; those she carefully placed in the closet.
• NEW! Flight, by Bear-Bell (Parts 1 and 2): Trent wondered what had happened. He wasn't exactly content with his lot in life, and he'd always had a generally negative outlook of the world, but this feeling of dissatisfaction had never been so acutely understood before. Janie's gone, he immediately thought. What was he supposed to do without her?
• NEW! Kid Sister, by Cacophonysundae (COMPLETE!): "Sorry, Janie," he tells her. "Monique and I broke up again." "I heard." Janie doesn't bother to hide the scorn in her voice. She's pretty cool for a kid sister, but sometimes she gets into these moods where she thinks she has to be the mom and he hates it because she's good at it, and she always makes him feel like he's some unruly kid that needs to be scolded.
• NEW! One Night, by Charliefox2012 (COMPLETE!): I sigh inwardly, still drinking my soda. Really, it's just to be doing something. I know I should let it go, just move on. I mean, she has. It's like nothing ever happened, and that bothers the hell out of me. Nevertheless, I can't complain if I want to keep her by my side. I was stupid. I am stupid. I should have refused her. So she kissed me; I should have stopped her there. I didn't want to though. I wanted it. [Revised from original version on PPMB from 2009.]
  

PPMB

• Finn Morgendorffer 44: My Three Young Women, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 4): “Dammit, Jane, sometimes I think you want me to cheat on you.” “Excuse me?” “All this talk about being around other girls, who, by the way, I haven’t even kissed them. I’m just around them. How would you feel if I came to all those gigs you take Trent to and point a shotgun in the face of every guy who flirts with you?” “They don’t flirt with me. Which is more than I can say for you.” [NOW COMPLETE! Last part here: “Finn, I’m a perfect lady. Nothing happened. Besides, I know you have a girlfriend.” “Well, that does make me feel a little better. At least I didn’t cheat on Jane.” “Well, not a perfect lady. I did manage to sneak a few peeks.” “Eep!” “You don’t need to get so mad. For what it’s worth, I was impressed.” “You’re not helping.”]
  
• NEW! The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 26): "I cannot believe this!" said Helen. It was six o'clock in the morning. Helen, Jake and Quinn were holding an impromptu discipline session. Quinn thought that she would be able to sneak in unnoticed, but when her room was checked at 5:30 am, she was immediately woken up and called down stairs to face her punishment. The smell of Quinn's breath would guarantee a contentious session. "So I'm going to ask you again, Quinn: where did you get the alcohol?" (FF.net)
• NEWESTER! A Health Unto Our Heroine! by Gwrtheyrn (COMPLETE!): [A songfic you simply have to sing!]
  
• NEW! It Ends Tonight, by GlitterShrooms (COMPLETE!): It was on one of the western cliffs that the crowd decided to have its final parties. In particular, Miss Jennifer Burns sat on the cliff’s edge and watched the sun burn. “Yo! Burnout!” yelled her friend Angel, “You know what they say about staring at the sun. Don’t wanna go blind, do you?” “Like it matters,” yelled Jennifer back, “It’ll all be over soon enough. Besides, I’m wearing sunglasses. Hey Scarlett! Any word from Andrea?”
  
• NEW! True Art Is Angsty, by Yogi (COMPLETE!): Daria scowled at the words on the page: “Once upon a time.” ALL Fairy Tales began with that. It was so obvious, so overused, it was almost like the words lost meaning and were just what people began fairy tales with. Sure SOME people would be satisfied with that, but Daria was EIGHT. Her first story could begin with something more highbrow than THAT. (Daria/Princess Tutu)
  

SFMB

• Daria Race War, by Bliss Ticks (continued): Kevin took his dad’s truck to what he thought was the seediest section of Lawndale. Although it was closely monitored by the police, there was a liquor store here and several of the homes were for sale or had weeds growing semi-unchecked on their lawns. He had it all figured out: he would go down to the slums, buy some drugs, plant them on Mag, then report him to Ms. Li. It was foolproof. All he had to do was find a dealer.