Thursday, January 17, 2008

Yet More Unfinished Stories I Have Loved (Part 3)

Let's finish this up, shall we? It's eating my brain.

People Who Need People, by LOTR_Dan: This Tom/Stacy shipper (if that is the right word for it) startled a lot of readers when it appeared. I still have to know how they woke up together, if you get my drift. I think we all want to know.

The Pro, by TheEleventy: Daria, Jane, snowboards, and a helpful instructor who makes Daria blush. TheEleventy was extremely good at adding in sensory details that made the stories he told as lifelike as life, and he hammered it down here. I would like another five or six chapters of this, please.

Same Drum, New Tune, by Roentgen: Jake and Helen retain their hippie lifestyle when they move to Lawndale, kids in tow. This struck me as an attempt to wrestle with class values, which became important to Daria only when she began dating Tom Sloane in the series. Here, the Morgendorffers seem to be even lower on the economic scale than the Lanes, and that is saying something. Roentgen has served notice that he intends to finish this one, and I eagerly await the results.

The Secret Life of Penny Lane, by TheEleventy: Penny Lane is not who she seems to be, and the terrorists and revolutionaries who go up against her don't live long to regret it. A fast-paced thriller about a CIA agent who doesn't know when she's beaten. Nice cameo with Andrew Landon, too.

Sponger, by TheEleventy: This story and “Daria’s Goodbye Wave” painted Daria and Jane as surfer bums after they drop out of college, disenchanted with their lives and looking for something more. They find it riding the waves. TheEleventy pulled it off rather well and created a fine read, while it lasted. Sigh.

The Unlikely Match, by TheEleventy: Kevin/Amy says it all. Kevin is a bit out of character, not as totally dumb as he is in the series, but he's much more appealing here and I am inclined to forgive the OOC. Shipping him with Amy Barksdale was a master stroke. The story sucks you in and that's all she wrote. Shame it ended just before Daria found out (WTF OMG!).

Where is this one going?, by RedlegRick: Daria battles a world of post-9/11 paranoia in this well-handled tale that badly needs a new title. Daria is very much in character as a college student wrongly accused of having terrorist sympathies after she is caught up in a police sweep following a riot. This is a terrific read, highly realistic, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. MORE!

and . . .

Iron Chef: Conversation with Dumb People (unnamed story, Daria as radio DJ), by NightGoblyn: I forgot what NightGoblyn planned to call this AU story, in which a very antisocial Daria comes to Lawndale but doesn't make friends with anyone at all, not even Jane. She puts together a low-watt radio station and broadcasts from her family's basement, answering letters she gets from her fellow students at high school. However, the other kids don't know that the voice on the radio is actually Daria. The fragment of the story that exists is a real trip; you have to read it if you haven't already. This could be a really great work.

That's it for now. If I come across any other unfinished stories I want to see finished, you will hear about them here. (I haven't brought up the various Daria series that I want to see finished. That for later.)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In my notes, it's named The Walls of Jericho.

The Angst Guy said...

Me like title very much, thank you. :)

LOTR_Dan said...

Due to my large ego, I was googling my username today, and this post came up. I know, I know, it's ancient, and no one will see this comment, but you have no inspired me to dust off my story and try to finish it for good this time.

It's been a WHILE, but I think I'm a better writer now, and I can get to the ending I had in my head.