The Mighty, Mighty Blue Jay: By a happy and shamelessly liberal, if rather fucked-up, couple. He does the long bits (mostly), she does the short bits (mostly), and somehow it all evens out. Enter a world where an unholy alliance of the religious and political fringes has taken power, where American culture has become homogenized and controlled by a supercomputer named Britney, where big business has subsumed the government, where New York City and the Toronto Blue Jays are the last bastions of freedom, where to be different is to be marked for death... and where a few brave souls are determined to bring the system down. Incomplete, but meant to be read in episodes. Fics listed in their universe’s chronology.
General warnings for the series: mature themes, drug and alcohol use, profane and offensive language, sexuality. There's a lot of discussion of homosexuality, and religion, and more such hot-button issues will come up.
Want the appropriate ambiance for this? Read the news first. All of it, not just the sports section or the comics (but those are important to the story too). Then turn on some music. Most stories have a song or two attached to them, and those notes will be up shortly, but if you can't download one of the ~70 songs on the combined Blue Jay playlists, these albums will suffice: "American Idiot" by Green Day, "Vapor Transmission" by Orgy, or either of the Rock Against Bush compilations.
Introductory notes and background- by him
A detailed timeline of the events leading up to the series. By them.
Count to 10: Capsule descriptions of what you'd find on TV in 2020. By him.
When the Night Falls: When the night falls, that's when the stories come out. By her.
Intro to Urban Studies: Professor Fei Sánchez introduces her students to New York City, in much of its glory and details. By her.
The notes of Nikeh Johnson: The journal of Sister Nikeh, Historian to Suffolk County. By her.
Secrets of Times Square: A handy guide to everything and anything going on in Times Square circa 2020. By him.
Prequels, backstory, and miscellany, pre-Episode 1
Dreamville: One of them wanted to be president, and one of them wanted to be a doctor, and one of them wanted to be a hero, and one of them thought he’d be daddy’s heir on the farm. By her.
Salvation: What is lost can never be saved, and sometimes the answer isn’t obvious. By her.
Hangman: The symbol of fear takes many forms. By him.
The Days of Love and Loss: Helen's backstory. By him.
Never Say Goodbye: You want to know the answers, no more lies. By her.
The Dangerous Escape: Recognizing the threat is easy for a political scientist and a statistician. The trick is being able to follow through. 2009. By her.
Believe Me, Natalie: The death of Esther and her unit... or if you prefer, the birth of Natalie and the 10 Commanding Comics. By him.
Dreamless: Gina Stewart's never been good at dealing. By her.
Ebb and Flow: It's a slow process, but the undertow always has its way. By her.
The Stalker: The more you don't know, the more you know. By him.
Offseason Conditioning: A peek behind the walls of a legendary HOPE camp. Not for the faint of heart, this is the embedded version of a story that will also be told as a standalone. By him.
HOPE: Vera Brown tells all about the Great Hill. By him.
Vera Hope: After months at the HOPE camp on the Hill, real hope is hard to come by- until she reaches New York. By her.
City of Ladies: New York’s strength comes from its women. By her.
The Understudy: Brittany Carlson has a world of talent and an unbreakably Channel 1 worldview. Only Louiza of the Thespians Union knows how to save her… y ella no dice nada. By him.
The Verdict: New York passes judgment on Britney! The Musical, and the cast waits with bated breath.
The Wall of Fame: The Thespians of New York have a tradition of remembering their own- all of their own.
Gray Lady: She’s a rebel, she’s a saint, she’s a vigilante, and she’s dangerous. By her.
Lady Liberty: She stands tall and proud in the harbor, but who remembers who she was? By her.
Half a Life on the Road: Emily looks over her life. By her.
Firebird Suite: The love and death of the Firebird, in three movements. By her.
The Fire Within: Between 8 and 11, the fire is prepared, waiting for the spark to bring the flames of blind hatred to their height. By him.
The End of Slash: The final showdown at the Amazons’ hideaway, referred to in The First Mission. By her.
No Way Out: Opportunity knocks once, but change always rings twice. By him.
Beautiful: The rise and fall of a star; the highs and lows of a life. By him.
Huntress: The Gray Lady has her price, but she also has her limits. By her.
Song for the Lonely: Shimmy can’t shake her regrets. By her.
Coda: Whatever happened to those escapees from Charlotte? Kimara Brown and Bev Sinclair discuss the matter ten years later.
Opening Day: Well, when you've got no pro league and no college sanctioning, something's gotta give. By her.
Explain It All: Clarissa has all the answers, but what are the right questions? By him.
Steel and Stone: Not a hero, but a person out to do a job, and kill with calculated abandon. A trip into the disturbing and disturbed psyche of the Gray Lady. By him.
Flo's Children: Flo will protect and nurture the family she's created- at all costs, to the bitter end. By him.
Volume 1
Episode 1- Baby... One More Time: Todd makes a bit of mischief, and uncovers the government’s most recent nefarious scheme for killing off undesirables. By him.
Episode 2- Anatomy of a Girl: Life in Channel 1 World, a father/daughter bonding moment, and Todd's introduction to his stalwart band. By him.
Episode 3- The First Mission: Todd and his stalwart band plot to bring down the sinister machinery of a small town in Connecticut. By him.
Episode 4- A Night for Young Lovers: Valentine’s Day in New York City is a time for romance, for tender kisses... and for pride and rebellion in the ruins of Times Square. Three couples from different backgrounds are thrown into the maelstrom. By him.
Episode 5- Spring Training: The Toronto Blue Jays make their first appearance, Whitey figures out ASHLEE’s fatal flaw, and Todd and Eva discuss why they’re doing this in the first place. By him.
Episode 6- The Easter Games: Todd and Eva are off to Baton Rouge, while Whitey cooks up mischief back in Toronto. By him.
Episode 7- Daily Double: It's Opening Day, the biggest non-religious holiday in America. Naturally, Todd's stalwart band has a plan to wreck it. By him.
The Disciples of Saint Sue: Todd and Dee become acquainted with some of New York’s odder protectors. Set sometime after Episode 2. By her.
Mother’s Grief: She’s losing her daughter to what she feared most, and she can do nothing. Tied to episode 3. By her.
Colorblind: Love eventually conquers all. Tied to episode 4. By him.
Good Deeds: Whitey’s actions at Slash’s memorial have far-reaching consequences. Bridge into episode 5. By her.
Hag-ridden: Laurel knows what has to be done, and she can't do it. By her.
Haunted: Slash Stewart has a knack for not going away. By her.
The Runner: She has to run to be herself. Tied into episode 6. By him.
musings on immortality: Alaine's in a funk, and Laurel and Emily try to bring her out of it.
The Ladies' Room: These walls can't talk, but she can. By her.
Volume 2
Episode 1- Redefinition and Readjustment: Todd takes a vacation from sanity, while Whitey searches New York for a new hacker. By him.
Episode 2- Of Wolf And Man (1/2): The lines between good and evil, rebel and collaborator, sane and demented, blur when an atrocity is committed in the wilds of Westchester County. By him.
Episode 3- Of Wolf and Man (2/2): As the forces of both New York and the government home in on Rye, Todd and his stalwart band must discover for certain whether the Lone Wolves are friend or foe. By him.
Episode 4- Spin the Globe: It's off to Hollywood for Whitey and Ames, as well as for Todd and the remnants of his stalwart band, and the secrets everyone learns will be critical.
Episode 5- The Push For Excellence: Ames figures out why the good guys have been winning, and it ain't the rightness of their cause. It's off to Rio for Todd and his stalwart band, where they find themselves on the fulcrum.
Episode 6- Formation of a Newfound Glory: It's August, and the pennant race is heating up, even as rebellion seethes in the city and Todd and his stalwart band gather their forces. By him.
Episode 7- The Great Dilemmas: September's the time to call up the reserves, make hard personnel deicisions, and get in gear- it's time for the big time, after all. Oh, and the Blue Jays are playing, too.
Conversation and Confrontation: When a Disciple is savagely attacked, Alex decides to find out what happened to her- and to make sure that it doesn't happen again. By her.
Shiva: Death has its consequences for the living. By her
A Real Mother: The battle at Rye has unexpected ramifications for the Wraith, and for all the Amazons. By her.
Race Against the Machine: Andréa runs for her life. Tied into episode 12. By him.
A Higher Faith: Jacqueline Anderson always knew that she was one of God's chosen… until suddenly she didn't. By him.
The Endless Herd of Buffalo: Christina Hummingbird has a story to tell. By him.
Green Mountain: Gathering forces for the final showdown can be pretty dangerous sometimes, as Nita McKenzie finds out in the mountains of American Vermont. By her.
Ask Not: The bells are ringing, and Scarlet remembers the last time the bells rang.
Fear the Reaper: When everything is gone, there’s nothing left to lose. By her.
Post-series
Um... don't start reading this 'til we're done, 'kay?
Cover Story: Cindy Kedrick sits down with secret agent Mallory Kirk.
7 Deadly Sins
Lust: Love can be a force for good... or evil. Set in 2017. Extremely mature themes. By her.
Envy: She'll never be able to be who she wants to be. Set in 2013. By her
Avarice: All Veronica ever wanted was everything. By him.
Anger: Fighting evil is the only thing that matters, right? By him. Not suitable for the young'uns.
Gluttony: O'Reilly burgers cost more than they seem to. By him.
Pride: Bow down to him, for he is the creator. Set in 2018-19. By him.
The Lone Wolves
The Bizarre Case of Linda Wolfe: Linda Wolfe had a knack for making bad things turn out well for herself… a knack that led her into disaster and the world into chaos. By him.
Falling Again (For the Last Time): Sister D attempts to cope as her life comes crashing down around her ears, but a familiar face wrecks any chance at that. Blasphemous content. By her.
The Lone Wolves: The blood of the past is thicker than the drowning waters of Britney, and produces a greater evil. Not suitable for young'ns. By him.
Need to Feel the Sickness: Revenge is a dish best served from the top of a car engine. Not suitable for young'uns. By her.
Werewolves of New London: Despite the cheesy title, this is actually about old scores and buried memories, and is not suitable for the young'uns. By her.
What a Fool Believes: Keeping in touch with old friends is good. Keeping in touch with old friends who have turned into bloodthirsty sadists is mind-numbingly stupid. By her.
The Blindest of the Blind: The Lone Wolves go too far. Not suitable for young'uns. By him.
The Surreal Fic
The strangeness of the Bluejay universe occasionally inspires extremely strange ideas that cannot fit in the main timeline. These are listed below. All are her work, unless otherwise mentioned.
Spades (or, Things to Do When You're Dead: What happens when an undead hacker, a guardian angel, a martyred activist, and a murdered writer get together for a card game?
Tonight, Tonight: Two of New York's heroines join in the kiss-in.
The Last Day: Slash Stewart was oddly calm about dying...
Redemption: Everything gets totaled up in the end, and there’s never anything obvious.
Five Things That Never Happened to Gina Stewart: Just what the title says. By her.
Five Things That Never Happened: Just what the title says. By her.
Two Queens: The rulers of America and England take some time out of their busy schedules to catch up. By him.
Questions? Ideas? Suggestions? Comments? Flames? Requests or dedications? E-mail bluejayproject@gmail.com, the joint e-mail address exclusively for this project.