The Doctor, the Morgendorffer sisters and Peter Parker begin investigating Lawndale for who may be responsible for the portal. Team Possible also enter Lawndale through the portal and investigate themselves. Kim and Ron run into the Doctor after a mysterious flicker affects Lawndale's electrical infrastructure.
fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14486471/2/Convergence-on-Lawndale
Archive Of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/67097887/chapters/173246860
Challenge #9
Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)
Post your answer to today's challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
For your reference:
Fanlore's List of Tropes in Fanworks
Popular Tropes this week at TV Tropes
AllTheTropes.org
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Slice of Life: The characters in their usual day to day lives
Introspection: The characters reflecting on their lives.
Alternate Universes: For Want of A Nail most often. It is fun to figure out how events might have gone differently.
Worldbuilding. Figuring out the details beyond what the canon sets out.
Crossover. Figuring out two different canons would work together is part of the fun.
18th
Communion
Philippians 2:5 - 11
Sermon
Psalm 36
The nature of evil
People obsessed with power and wealth unaware of the damage they are doing.
vs 1
Fear of God - A healthy respect for God as Who He Is, including as judge.
vs 2
We have the examples of Jesus and the Bible.
But without those - self righteousness leads to self-justification
We need to keep our eyes on God so that we don't loose perspective.
vs 3
Addiction to winning.
We are to love our enemies.
There is evil and bad things, but we have a God who loves us.
Challenge # 8
Talk about your creative process.
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
I'm a plantser. I often write according to my muse, while also planning out where the story would go. But it varies from story to story. Sometimes I plan, other times I don't.
I post first to forums and my blogs, but these days there is hardly any feedback on the WIPs that way. (Most likely because I'm writing for a niche fandom, or if for a more popular fandom, writing a niche storyline or in a niche genre for that fandom.)
Then it would go to beta once an installment (or a sufficient portion of an ongoing saga) is complete, but that can be hit or miss.
While we’re busy celebrating fandom, it’s good to remember to celebrate ourselves, too. Fandom is all of us! I know it’s often easier to talk about what we like about other people than it is to talk nicely about ourselves, but challenge yourself here --
Challenge #7
LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
I'm Kind.
I'm Creative (kind of obvious if one is involved in fandom and writing original fiction, as well as creating alternate history maps.)
I'm Resilient. Being neurodivergent has never been easy, but others, especially my family, have been supportive. (And my faith has been a big part of that.)
That Freya had remembered what
they had looked at while in the Information Science Section the previous week
didn’t surprise Alexia. Once Freya had lead them to the area, she found a shelf
of the University blueprints that had been published over the last century. “I
hope you’re right,” Alexia said, otherwise we still won’t know where we’re
going.”
“That may be the case anyway,”
Janara said.
“Surely you don’t go blindly
into areas in your games?” Alexia asked.
“More times than you’d expect,”
Janara said. “Sometimes that’s the point, especially in early stages of Real
Time Strategy and Four X games.”
“I’m not familiar with that
latter term,” Alexia said.
“Explore, Expand, Exploit,
Exterminate,” Freya explained. “The acronym only makes sense in English of
course.”
“But it makes for a good
mnemonic,” Janara said.
“Of course,” Freya said.
It didn’t take Alexia long to
find a promising book. “Here we are,” she said.
“It’s from the turn of the
millennium,” Janara commented.
“Not too recent, but also not
too old,” Alexia said. “We want to be certain that it contains the information
we’re after.”
Freya sketched as she waited for
Alexia to look through the book. ‘We’re missing something else. We haven’t
talked to Talia and David today. Is that it? Or will Olivia?’
But it was Janara who brought
that up. “Should we fill the Library staff in on what we have found so far?”
she asked.
“We probably shouldn’t tell them
that you and Olivia sneaked into a staff only area,” Alexia said as she looked
up from the book.
“Of course not,” Janara said.
“That we went over Aurora’s
history and AAUA’s layout?” Freya asked as she continued sketching.
“We haven’t done that much, have
we?” Janara asked rhetorically “This would be barely ten to fifteen minutes in
an RPG.”
“That long?” Freya asked.
“Sometimes the lore is scattered
about the map,” Janara said with a shrug, sometimes in locked chests.
“We’ll tell them about our
meeting yesterday evening,” Freya said to Alexia.
“Sounds good,” Alexia said.
Janara found Talia in the Nordic
Section.
“Janara?” Talia asked.
“We still haven’t any idea where
the manuscript is.”
“But you have an idea?”
“Somewhat. That it could be
hidden somewhere in the hidden corridors beneath the campus.”
Talia sighed. “Those come up
sooner rather than later.”
“What do you know.”
“I have been in some, but my
experiences were when I was a student here, and it would be irresponsible of me
to tell you how to get down there. It’s certainly likely that it would be a
completely different part of the campus you and your friends would be sneaking
into.”
“I understand,” Janara said,
although with a slightly mischievous tone.
“Thanks for telling me.”
Freya saw Janara come back. “You
found her?” she asked as she bounced up.
“Yes. I kinda hinted at what
we’re doing, but it seems she did the same when she was younger.”
“Maybe most students sneak
somewhere they aren’t allowed to at least once.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me,”
Janara said as she glanced at where Alexia was engrossed in her research.
Alexia found something. “Here we
are.”
“It shows the hidden corridors?”
Freya asked excitedly.
“It does,” Alexia confirmed, as
she showed Freya the page.
Freya looked at the page, and
turned to Janara. “So, show me where you and Olivia got to last night.”
Janara looked and pointed to the
spot. “Here.”
“It does show a passage there.”
“But not where the door would
be.”
“I guess we have to wait and see
what I might pick up,” Freya said.
“Or maybe Alexia will find a
blueprint with more detail.”
Freya looked and saw that Alexia
was looking through another book.
They spent another half hour
looking through the books. Alexia kept herself busy sketching her own maps of
the various levels of the Library.
“I think this is it,” Alexia
said. “There are contradictions, which is to be expected, but this is as close
as I can get at this time.”
“This is really good,” Janara
said. “We should be able to find our way.”
Freya looked more closely at the
map. “I’m sure I’ll be able to help,” she said again.
“I’ll tell Olivia,” Janara said.
Freya returned to Sigrun
Sigurdottir Hall at the usual time. She had already decided to fill Dana in on
the plan. But she would do more sketching before dinner.
At the same time, Janara caught
up with Olivia back in their room.
Olivia had had a long day of
classes, but was ready to hear what Janara had to say. “So, what did you three
find?” she asked.
Janara handed her several
photocopies of the floor plans Alexia had found. “Freya said that she’s sure
that she’ll be able to help.”
Olivia looked at the floor
plans, despite her dyslexia making the small print impossible to read. “This is
where we were?” she asked as she pointed at a spot.
“Yes. As you can see, there is a
corridor marked behind where we stopped.”
“And Freya did say that she’ll
join us.”
“She did,” Janara confirmed.
“And when?”
“The same time.”
Challenge # 6
Top 10 Challenge. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
The category(ies) you choose are up to you. You can give top 10 Fics you read last year, the top 10 songs to create to, the to 10 guest stars on your favorite show, top 10 characters in your favorite book series, top 10... well, you get the idea.
Can't think of 10 of anything? That's okay, 10 is just an abstract. It's totally up to you.
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Top 10 novels on my shelves I recommend in no particular order.
The Lord of the Rings (The trilogy as an omnibus) JRR Tolkien at his best.
The Hunt for Red October. Tom Clancy hitting the ground running.
Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen holds up.
Great Expectations
Little Dorrit. Both are Charles Dickens near his best.
Ringworld. Larry Niven introducing the concept very successfully.
Master and Commander. Patrick O'Brien started the Aubrey and Maturin series very well.
Treasure Island. Robert Lewis Stevenson. A classic for a reason.
Rebecca. Daphne de Maurier. An excellent example of gothic fiction.
Bridge to Terebithia. Katherine Patterson.
11th
Proverbs 3:5 - 6
Psalm 62
Trust in the LORD
Trust
- Something that I am prepared to stake my life on.
vs 1, 2
David acknowledged that his soul found rest in God.
It is secure because it is from God, not from David's own efforts.
vs 7
God is your Rock or Fortress
vs 8
Trust to pour your heart out before God.
vs 9, 10
vs 11, 12
A deeper understanding of who God is.
Expectations
What outcome to expectations
David's expectation
- That God will be God.
- That God will provide according to His timing and means.
We should trust God for everything.
Trust in God and God alone.
Ephesians 3:14 - 21
Challenge #5
In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it and include a link to your wishlist if you feel comfortable doing so.
Be sure to check out other people's wishlists. Maybe someone will grant your wish! Maybe you will be inspired to grant a wish! If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Links to my works for the first two.
fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/11790/
Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fardell24/works
1. Fan art or Podfic of my works.
2. Reviews or comments for my works that have no reviews or comments. (But the art scammers have muddied the waters in being able to check if a fic on fanfiction.net has reviews or not at a glance, so even if a fic appears to have reviews, it may not.)
3. Feedback for the WIPs in my Dreamwidth or Tumblr (given that I'm hardly getting any feedback on the various forums I'm posting them to.)
4. Recs for new fandoms that are either slice of life (dnw soap operas), Space Opera, or LOTR style fantasy.
5. Recs for forums where WIP fics can be critiqued.
After sunset, the Enigma looked out over Lawndale
from her roof. The normal appearance of the suburbia belied the tensions and
changes that were happening. She looked at some of the brighter stars that
managed to peak through the cloud cover. ‘Lawndale is continuing to change,’
she thought. The downfall of Lynn Anders was only part of it. She then grabbed
her yearbook, which she had brought up with her. “Lara Edgars on Friday night,
after that fake interview,” she said to herself. “Next is Therese Edwards.”
She grabbed the energy drink and downed it. “Findu
mann hem heiter: Therese Edwards!”
She found Therese at the Historia, having dinner.
At the same time, Ninja Talon and SpiderGirl met at
their spot below the Jefferson Bridge and unmasked.
“You did it?” Brittany asked.
Quinn nodded. “Yes, I did it. It’s up to Mrs.
Jericho now. It might be in tomorrow’s paper. Or Tuesday’s.”
“You sound like it went well.”
“More, that I’m relieved.”
“But there’s still who’s behind the robo-dactyl,”
Brittany said.
“I hope Andrea found something.”
“I’ll be at her place around midnight.”
“Then we can meet back here towards sunrise,” Quinn
said with a yawn.
“Or maybe before school?”
“It will be fine. It’s that these last two weeks
have been more busy than usual.”
Before she got into bed, Fields opened her closet
and looked at the fake SpiderGirl suit she had brought home. ‘I could use it,’
she thought. ‘Not as SpiderGirl, of course, but as a new vigilante, countering
Oscorp, after I dye and make changes to it.’
She thought about it some more. ‘But that will take
time, which I’ll use to train myself.’
It was after midnight when Ninja Talon arrived at
Andrea’s. She didn’t get there any earlier, as she was sure that Ashley-Amber
was suspecting something after the hospital admission the previous week. ‘But
my leg is feeling better,’ she thought as she opened the Hecuba’s back door.
Andrea turned and saw Brittany enter her room and
close the door before unmasking.
“Hey Andy.”
‘Still with the nickname,’ she thought. But
Brittany was unlikely to stop using it. “Hi, Brit.”
“So, did you find something?” she asked as she sat
on the bed.
“Yes,” Andrea answered as she brought up a collage
of screenshots from the footage she had put together.
Brittany looked. “There is a controller there, but
it’s otherwise blurry.”
“I agree, there weren’t cameras very close to her
position, but it does prove that someone was controlling it.”
Brittany looked through the footage. “All I can say
is that she’s as white as we are.”
“That’s not much to go on at all.”
“Still, maybe Spidey would make more of it.”
“I’ll burn you a copy,” Andrea said.
It didn’t take long for Andrea to burn another CD.
Brittany was patient, and listened to her radio through an earbud as she
waited.
“Here,” Andrea said.
“Thanks.”
“I hope it helps.”
“We’ll get something out of it,” Brittany said, as
she fidgeted with her mask. She then put it back on. “Later, Andy.”
Lawndale Sun-Herald
Monday March 5, 2001
What Really Happened to Lynn
Anders?
Melinda Parris
SpiderGirl in Her Own Words
Penelope Jericho
Quinn finished re-reading her interview as Brittany
arrived where she had been waiting beneath the Bridge.
“Hey Quinn. Is your interview there?” Brittany
asked.
“Yes, right here,” Quinn answered as she showed
Brittany.
“Andrea did find something,” Brittany said as she
looked at the interview.
Quinn could tell it wasn’t entirely good news. “But
it wasn’t much?”
“No,” Brittany answered as she handed over the
disk. “We could see that there was a controller, but we couldn’t see the lady’s
face.”
Quinn thought about it as Brittany read the
interview. They were nowhere near solving that mystery. Was it Oscorp, or was
it something unrelated. And there was still the question of why someone would
try to draw her out in that manner.
“You did very well,” Brittany said.
“Thanks.”
“But we still don’t know.”
“No, but what is happening in Lawndale may have
drawn the attention of others,” Quinn said. She looked out where the dawn was
appearing.
Brittany nodded.
“Anyway, I need to get back before breakfast.”
“Same here.”
Quinn entered the kitchen early to see her mother
reading the interview article.
“Quinn! You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t get back to sleep,” she said truthfully.
She was wondering if Ted had managed to come up with the retraction article in
a satisfactory manner.
“That seems to be the problem lately. Sometimes I
dream that he’s still here…”
“I have similar dreams. Where Lawndale is the same
as it was.”
“If I knew the town was going to change so much, I
would got a place in Oakwood,” her mother said.
“That would have been different,” Quinn said,
quietly. “But what do you think about that interview?”
“It makes sense that SpiderGirl would want to put
her own story out there in a way that she could control, especially after what
happened with Lynn Anders.”
“I agree.”
“But there is something I’m missing,” her mother
said in a pondering tone.
“What’s that?”
“I’m not sure. It’s like the phrasing of the
questions is reminding me of something.”
‘Oops!’ Quinn thought. “It’s probably nothing.”
“You may be right,” her mother said as she turned
the page and took a bite from her toast.
Lawndale Lowdown
March 5, 2001
Retraction of Previous Article
Quinn isn’t Into Kevin
Most of the students of Lawndale High were talking
about the fake interview and the fall of Lynn Anders as they arrived at school.
In homeroom, Quinn read through the retraction
article. Ted had done a rather good job, effectively refuting what Jamie had
written. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“You think Kevin is going to get it?” Aleecia
Nibblet asked.
“I hope so,” Quinn answered, “but I’m sure he
will.”
“Or maybe that kidnapping has affected him,”
Aleecia suggested.
“I’m sure it did in some way.”
Quinn met Ted on the way to her first class.
“Morning Quinn.”
“You did well with the article.”
“Thanks, but I hope that it got through to Kevin,”
Ted said.
Quinn giggled a little. “I hope so too. But if he
doesn’t, it’s not a failure on your part.”
“But would Ms. Li see it that way?”
“I’m sure she’s read it by now.”
It wasn’t until lunch time when Quinn crossed paths
with Kevin, after getting her food.
“Hey, Quinn!” Kevin said in a tone that was
contrite for him.
“You read the Lowdown?”
Quinn asked rhetorically.
Kevin nodded. “Yes. It seems Jamie was lying.”
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“He misunderstood something. He thought I liked you
when I didn’t,” Quinn answered. “Do you understand?”
“A little.”
“Good.”
“But now I realise that I was kind of, what is it?”
Kevin started.
“Rebounding.”
“Yeah, rebounding from Brittany. I wasn’t, still
not sure what to do.”
“Take time, Kevin,” Quinn said, although she knew
that he would ignore that advice.
“Maybe, but SpiderGirl! She’s cool.”
‘Oh great!’ Quinn thought. “She is cool, but she’s
busy.”
“I know what they say, that her secret identity is
here at the school.”
“She could be anybody.”
“I mean, she’s really cool!” Kevin clarified.
“You’re not just saying that because she rescued
you on the weekend?”
Kevin was then in thought. “Probably,” he admitted.
“But I have to say, she’s cute.”
“I’m not going to repeat that,” Quinn responded.
“The fourth vigilante, not that cool. The Violet
Fierce wasn’t either.”
‘The Violet Force,’
Quinn corrected mentally. “I guess not,” she said with a giggle.
Then someone called out for Kevin at the end of the
cafeteria.
“Oops, gottta go!”
“Weird,” Quinn said when she had sat with Stacy,
Tori and Tiffany.
“That Kevin is now crushing on SpiderGirl?” Tori
asked. “Not that much.”
“But at least Ted got through to him with the
article,” Stacy said.
“Totally,” Quinn said.
“So, that’s the end of that,” Sandi said to Daria
and Harry as she reread the article.
“Yes, Kevin knows Quinn doesn’t like him in that
way,” Daria said. “Which is a relief, but it seems that he now has a crush on
SpiderGirl.”
“Well, he was rescued by her,” Sandi said.
“But it doesn’t seem that he also has a crush on
the fourth vigilante,” Harry added.
‘Thank goodness,’ Sandi thought.
“Probably because she doesn’t give her hero name,”
Daria responded.
“And probably her attitude turned him off,” Sandi
added.
“That too,” Daria said with a slight smirk.
Tania then joined them. “Talking about Kevin?” she
asked.
“A little,” Daria said. “More the weekend.”
“I lost track of how many phone calls after that
interview,” Tania said. “Was it worth it to destroy Lynn Anders’ career?”
Daria considered Tania’s question. “She didn’t
deserve it, even if she might have been manipulated into giving the interview
and kidnapping Kevin.”
“I agree. Something happened,” Tania said.
“I have my suspicions,” Daria said.
“My father?” Harry asked quietly.
Daria nodded. “No proof, just a hunch. I’m sorry.”
“True, and he’s out of the hospital tomorrow. It
appears that he has completely recovered,” Harry said.
“That is good news at least,” Sandi said as she
took a bite.
“But the question is; what does he have planned for
Lawndale?” Daria posited.
“That he hasn’t said,” Harry said.
“And he’s unlikely to say,” Daria added.
Challenge 4
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
On many of the fannish websites we use, our history is easily compileable into "pages". When we look back through those pages, sometimes we stumble upon things that we think are rather cool.
Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page
Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
<a href="https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/">Alternate History</a> and <a href="https://althistory.com/">Althistory</a>
Two Alternate History forums. The former has other aspects to it, including a fandom subforum, but writing and discussion of alternate history is the focus. I have been involved with the communities related to alternate history about as long as I have been writing fan fiction.
Challenge 3
Today’s challenge is a chance to express your love to fandom, and what better way than a love letter? If you feel really creative, the letter doesn’t have to come from you. You could write as your favourite character, someone completely fictitious or your past or future self - or just as you in this moment.
Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers if you wish.
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Fandom: More than just expressing oneself creatively by engaging in one's interests. It is a community or group of communities. This allows for support and interactions over those interests. This varies from fandom to fandom, but this is the core of what the experience should be.
Challenge 2
Challenge #2: Pets of Fandom
Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Actual pets
I'm more of a cat person than a dog person.
I do have a cat. Her name is Cass, and shortly after I moved into this house (sometime during COVID) she was hanging around as the previous owners might have abandoned her. Therefore the mutual adoption occurred.
Fandom pets
Not an exhaustive list.
Daria
No canon pets in Daria, but I did write a ficlet about Daria having an unexpected pet.
An unexpected friend; of the Aquatic Variety
Jane followed Daria into her room. It was exactly as she had described it, with padding on the walls and bars in the windows. "Wow," she said. She took it in. A poster of a half-unearthed skeleton, a plain bed, a television on a trolly, models of a heart and a slice of cheese, another televison on a ceiling mount and a bookshelf with a computer set-up. Not to mention a Kafka poster. However, between the computer and the books was a small aquarium.
Jane went over to the aquarium and looked in it. It was unlike any other pet fish that she had seen before. "What sort of fish is this?" she asked.
"Talon, he's a Siamese fighting fish," Daria replied.
"Fighting Fish, huh? That's different."
"Definitely different to Quinn's goldfish, that's for sure," Daria said as she opened a box of food.
Jane chuckled.
Doctor Who
Does K9 count?
How to Train Your Dragon
Toothless (and the other trained dragons); enough said. Hiccup's interactions with him are the core of the movies (both the animated series and the remake)
I have started to write Dragons fic.
Kim Possible
Rufus being an equal part of the team with Kim and Ron.
Pokemon
Mostly various parts of the anime. But some of the games to.
(Especially Ash and his Pikachu)
Scooby Doo
Scooby and his support for Shaggy.
(Also have started to write Scooby Doo fic, not just the crossover with Daria.)
Star Trek: The Animated Series
The scene in Yesteryear with young Spock and I-Chaya.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Data has his pet cat Spot, which makes for interesting storylines.
Star Trek: Enterprise
Porthos, Captain Archer's beagle
Superman
Krypto in the most recent movie was depicted very well.
Scarlett
Investigates
Scarlett
O’Connell hadn’t expected to be investigating a sabotaged play. She just wanted
to learn to improve her art while investigating minor campus mysteries. She had
made some backdrop pieces for the campus production of The Tempest and
had arrived at the college’s theater to find something wrong. The stage was a
mess. She saw that the curtain had fallen completely. “Something’s not right
here,” she said as she fidgeted with her tablet.
“It’s a
curse,” someone said nearby,
Scarlett
turned, and saw that it was Daniel Fields, a theater student on her floor.
“What do you mean?” she asked, as she fidgeted with a keyring in her pocket.
“Minor
incidents have been occurring all week.”
“All
week?”
“Yes,
mostly broken props, but now the curtain has fallen,” Daniel answered.
“Sounds
like sabotage,” Scarlett said as she sketched the scene.
“What do
you mean?”
“That
these incidents aren’t just the normal chaos of theater.”
“How can
you be sure?” Daniel asked with skepticism.
“I’m not
certain,” Scarlett admitted. She was certain, something about the curtain
having fallen and Daniel admission of minor incidents, piqued her interest and
she knew she wanted to find out what was going on. “I’m going to investigate,”
she declared.
“Wait,
Scarlett,” Daneil said as she ran off. “You can’t just…” He paused as she
dashed through a door backstage.
Backstage,
Scarlett wondered where to start. “I’ll need to know who’s involved in the
production. But who would have the cast sheet, and would it be comprehensive?”
she asked as she absentmindedly sketched the scene around her.
“You
there!”
Scarlett
turned. “Um, I’m investigating,” she said to the girl who was coming towards
her.
“You
shouldn’t be here!”
“I know,
but I can help!”
“How?”
the other girl asked, as she tossed her long brown hair back like a supermodel.
“I
notice things that others don’t. I’m Scarlett by the way.” Scarlett then held
out her hand.
“You
don’t know who I am, Scarlett?” the other asked in faux surprise.
“Should
I?” Scarlett asked with a slight bounce, her eyes wide.
“I’m the
lead actress of this production, playing Ariel.”
“Still
no clue.”
“I’m
Victoria Calder! I can’t believe you don’t know who I am.
“Oh,
that Victoria Calder!” Scarlett said. She had indeed heard of the theater major
who was known for her diva attitude and epic tantrums when her demands weren’t
met in a timely manner. “Sorry, I hadn’t put face to name.”
“Unbelievable!”
Victoria said with a huff. “Still, Scarlett.”
Scarlett’s
attention had wandered.
Victoria
snapped her fingers. “Hey!”
“Sorry.
ADHD,” Scarlett said.
“Right.
You shouldn’t be here.”
“You
said that before. But I can notice things others miss.”
“You
seem sincere,” Victoria said. “But only if I supervise you.”
“No.”
“What
was that?” Victoria responded, tears coming to her eyes.
“I said
no,” Scarlett said, not wanting Victoria to be a possible millstone.
“I can
help!” Victoria added with her voice raised and actual tears beginning to flow.
“No!”
“Victoria balled her hands into fists and
started to screech.”
Scarlett resisted the urge to block
her ears . It was too much. ‘Not an overload, not now!’ she thought.
“Alright,” she said. “You can help.”
Victoria calmed down and wiped her
tears with a handkerchief embroidered with her initials. “Thanks,” she said.
Scarlett was still little
overwhelmed. “What have you noticed so far?” she asked as she fidgeted with her
sketchbook.
“Some things,” Victoria answered.
“We can talk in my dressing room.”
“That would be good.”
Victoria’s dressing room was
chaotic, but it was quieter than the backstage complex outside. Scarlett
relaxed a bit, although she was still overstimulated.
She sat on one of the side chairs.
“Now, what do you know?”
Victoria began. “It was during the
initial read through. There was a loud crash that interrupted us as we reached
the scene where Caliban recruits the two sailors.”
Scarlett sketched the scene, showing
Caliban as bestial. “Maybe someone is objecting to the way Caliban is
portrayed,” she blurted.
“No differently than the way the
Bard originally wrote it. Just’s not jump to conclusions!”
“Sorry. I was musing aloud.
Something I do. I don’t have much of a filter,” Scarlett admitted as she tapped
her stylus against her tablet.
“Must
you do that?”
“Do
what?”
“The
fidgeting,” Victoria exclaimed.
“Sorry.
It helps me focus.”
4th
Psalm 102
Lament
A prayer expressing deep sorrow, pain or confession to God. Uniiquely, it is a God-centred cry that moves from distress towards trust in God's promises.
'To cry is human. But to lament is Christian.' - Mark Vroegop
vs 1 - 11
The Psalmist talking about -
Lament is reliant on being honest with God.
Lament being repentance.
Hope in God must be bigger than the distress
vs 12 - 22
When our prayer is a prayer of lament, we will start to feel what God is feeling.
vs 23 - 28
Lament is far more thana good old winge or complaint.
Lament is God centered.
Enables us to hold onto hope of something better whilst living in the pain.
Snowflake 2026
Challenge #1
The Icebreaker Challenge: Introduce yourself. Tell us why you're doing the challenge, and what you hope to gain from it.
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
*I know some people do Snowflake differently, and aren't looking for engagement (and that's totally valid), so reacquainting yourself and stating your intentions with your pre-established circle works for this challenge too. ❤️
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Participating in the Snowflake Challenge allows me to start off in the new year in a way that would give me opportunities to interact with various other fans.
Andrea arrived at the Historia for breakfast.
“I’m still not sure why you wanted to be here this
early,” her mother complained.
“I’m meeting someone, but I wasn’t sure when she’d
be here.”
“So you’re going to wait all day? Is it SpiderGirl
or Ninja Talon?”
“Could be the latter,” Andrea said.
Her mother turned towards her. “Don’t think that
their visits have gone unnoticed, Andrea,” she said quietly.
“I thought you and Dad were asleep.”
“Only one time, but I heard you talking to both of
them in your room. I didn’t hear what you were talking about though.”
“Good.”
Andrea ordered her breakfast and read the paper.
She found that it was Melinda Parris who had wrote the article on Anders’ fall.
‘I suppose Penelope Jericho is taking her time with her more detailed version.’
It wasn’t until she had started drinking her coffee
that Brittany arrived. “I didn’t think you would be awake this early.”
“Practice,” Brittany said with a yawn.
“So, you have been going without enough sleep?”
“Most nights.”
“That’s not good,” Andrea said with concern.
“But I need to do it. Lawndale and Spidey rely on
me, as their second superhero and her friend.”
“But you don’t have powers.”
Brittany shook her head. “No, but I have trained.”
“I know. SpiderGirl might be more obvious, but your
exploits are also recorded.”
It wasn’t until after 9:00 that Mina arrived at the
café. She saw Andrea and a blonde girl with pigtails in a corner of the cafe.
‘Wait, is she the one playing Ariel?’ She ordered something and then went over
to them.
“Hi, Mina,” Andrea said.
Mina sat next to Andrea. “This is?”
“Brittany,” the blonde said. “I’m also looking into
what’s happening in Lawndale.”
There was something about the way she said that.
‘Brittany sounds like she’s deep into it,’ Mina thought. “I suppose you know
about what Andrea asked me about.”
Brittany nodded.
“And your answer is?” Andrea asked as she raised
one of her eyebrows.
Mina sighed. “I’ll let you use my account for
trying to find out about the robot pterodactyl. But it will be a one-time
thing. Once is risky enough!” she said quietly.
“Looks you you’ll need broadband,” Brittany said to
Andrea.
Andrea nodded. “I have been asking Mom about it.”
Brittany twirled a pigtail. “I suppose you could
use mine, but Ashley-Amber is a light sleeper.”
“You didn’t say that before,” Andrea said.
“You didn’t ask, and I didn’t think of it,”
Brittany said.
“You can do it after lunch,” Mina added. “But will
you be there?” she asked Brittany.
“No. I’ll be doing something else.”
Ninja Talon met SpiderGirl on the roof shortly
afterwards. “Hey, Spidey.”
“Hey, Talon,” SpiderGirl said she looked out over
the town.
“Mina allowed Andrea to use her account. They will
look through the Mall’s footage this afternoon.”
“That’s good. I hope they find something.”
Ninja Talon noticed that her friend was slightly
pensive. “Something on your mind? Besides the robo-dactyl and Anders?”
“About Anders, in a way. I was thinking, after last
night, that we have been reacting to things since Anders and Jamie had decided
to interview me.”
“Not entirely true.”
“That was Daria and most of the teens of Lawndale
calling each other,” SpiderGirl said. “But that was a good thing.”
“So, what is your idea.”
“I put together some questions earlier that Mrs.
Jericho can interview me with.”
“Mrs. Jericho?” Ninja Talon asked. “What about
Jamie?”
“I know Jamie would want to ask further questions.”
“Wouldn’t Mrs. Jericho?”
“She’ll respect my intentions a lot more than
Jamie,” SpiderGirl responded.
“That’s a good point. It’s still risky, but I agree
that we have to do something.”
SpiderGirl nodded. “I’ll try to talk to her this
afternoon.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“But then she’ll want to interview you too.”
“That’s a good point,” Ninja Talon said. “I’ll
patrol around here and wait for what Andrea may find.”
It was after 1:00 when Andrea arrived at the same
computer lab she had used with Scott Ashworth over a week early and found Mina
waiting outside. “Let’s do this,” she said.
“Quickly,” Mina said as she swiped the door open
with her Student ID.
“This can’t be rushed,” Andrea responded as she
entered. “It took me hours last time.”
Mina sighed. “Just as well I brought my laptop.”
“Something due this week?”
“Later in the week, and midterms are before
Easter.”
At the same time, Tori answered the doorbell. She
didn’t quite believe her eyes. “SpiderGirl?”
“Hi, Tori,” SpiderGirl said. “Is your mother in?”
“You want to see her?” Tori asked, surprised.
“Yes. It’s like I want to tell my own story. Not
the one Anders, and whoever put her up to interviewing a fake, wanted to tell.”
“I can understand that.”
Penelope was as surprised as her daughter. Seeing
Lawndale’s first superhero in her living room was nearly a shock. “I suppose
you found me through the phone book?” she asked.
“Of course. Jericho. P. Not hard to find,”
SpiderGirl said.
‘Or she already knew as her secret identity, but
Tori knows most of the students at that school,’ she thought. “So, you have
written out something then?”
“Of course,” SpiderGirl answered as she handed over
a piece of paper.
Penelope read through the questions twice. She
could tell that SpiderGirl wanted her side of the story told, but in a way that
protected her secret identity. ‘I’ll help her do that then,’ she decided. “I’ll
do it,” she said.
“You will?” SpiderGirl asked.
“Yes.” Penelope said.
“We can do it this afternoon?”
“I was planning to relax before the new week, but
yes, we can. And we can do it here in the living room or the home office if you
prefer.”
“The Living Room seems more natural,” SpiderGirl
responded.
“I suppose it is. I just want to prepare first.”
Tori sat across from SpiderGirl as her mother went
to prepare. “So, what do you think of Anders’ fall?”
“She made a deal with someone, and she paid the
price.”
“That makes sense, but what about the one who
actually impersonated you?”
“I met her, and she apologised,” SpiderGirl
answered. “And I forgave her.”
“That must have been awkward,” Tori commented.
SpiderGirl shrugged. “She found me on top of the
Historia.”
“I have heard that you’re there often.”
“That’s right. It’s provides a very good vantage
point of Lawndale’s downtown area.”
“It’s like you appeared out of nowhere back in
November, and Lawndale suddenly started getting crazy,” Tori said.
SpiderGirl thought about that. “More like, it
wasn’t until later, after New Year. More like Groundhog Day was the trigger
point, if that makes sense.”
“I guess so, but there are rumors of strange things
from before then.”
“That’s true.”
It didn’t take long for Penelope to prepare. She
read through SpiderGirl’s questions again before boiling some tea. As she
entered the lounge room, she saw SpiderGirl drink a cup of water quickly before
covering the lower part of her face again. ‘White, but that’s all I got,’ she
thought. Then again, Lawndale was majority white.
SpiderGirl turned. “You didn’t see that, did you?”
“Relax. It was no where near enough for me to guess
your secret identity.”
“Good. Only one other knows it.”
Penelope raised an eyebrow. “Ninja Talon?”
“Off the record?”
“Yes. I promise.”
“Yes and I know hers,” SpiderGirl answered. “But
that won’t be an official answer. She turned to Tori, who had just come back
into the room. “You’ll keep it secret too, right?”
“Of course,” Tori answered.
“Are you ready?” Penelope asked.
SpiderGirl nodded.
“First question: Your motto is ‘With Great Power
Comes Great Responsibility.’ Can you tell us why this is so?
The interview proceeded well.
“Finally, has Lawndale become more weird since
Groundhog Day?” Penelope asked.
“Yes. It’s not just the brownouts, what Quentin
Beck was doing or Oscorp’s plans. It’s something Talon and I are looking into.”
“Thanks for your time.”
“And now I need to be going,” SpiderGirl said.
Tori watched SpiderGirl swing away from her yard.
“Go get them, Spidey.”
At the same time, Andrea found something.
“What is it?” Mina asked.
“Someone was standing still, observing as Ninja
Talon and Dafoanairi fought it,” Andrea answered.
Mina looked closer. “I can’t make them out. They’re
in the shadows.”
Andrea nodded. “I need to find another angle. There
isn’t much to tell Ninja Talon about here.”
“Would there be a camera in the right spot, though”
“Only one way to find out.”
Ten minutes later, Andrea had loaded an image of
the same spot from a different angle. “They are more visible here.”
“Looks like a young woman.”
“That it does, but her face is hidden.”
“So, you’ll need to find a third angle?” Mina
asked.
“Possibly. We know it was five minutes between when
Dafoanairi responded to the robo-dactyl appearing, to when she and Ninja Talon
had put it out of commission. She may have moved around during that time.”
Andrea fast forwarded and rewound the footage. She
got a clearer shot at the young woman’s face, and the fact that she was holding
a large controller “it’s still not enough. The resolution isn’t clear enough.”
“It is quite pixilated.”
“But it is what Ninja Talon asked me to find. What
she and SpiderGirl will make of it, I’m not sure, but I’ll try to find another
camera that’s closer.”
Half an hour later, Andrea had found more footage,
but with a similar result. “Thanks for allowing me to use your account.”
“I just hope we weren’t caught,” Mina said.
“I made sure that we weren’t traced.”
Mina breathed a sigh of relief.”
Andrea logged off.
“I guess you’re going to meet Ninja Talon
somewhere?”
“She’ll probably just show up tonight at home.”
“She does that?” Mina asked in surprise.
“Both her and SpiderGirl, but not that often.”
“You know who she is, don’t you?”
“I’m not answering that,” Andrea responded.
“Relax, I don’t want to know.”
“I know, but I’m still not answering.”
