"Do these horizontal stripes make the flag look fat?"

Tiffany Blum-Deckler, as Betsy Ross, dresses up for Flag Day in the United States. She must have been paid a lot of money to wear that tacky gray outfit.

Today is also auspicious in a global sense. On this day, 187 years ago, a paper was published by the Royal Astronomical Society in which inventor Charles Babbage proposed the creation of a "difference engine," which was basically the first modern math calculator. It was hand cranked. He later proposed a more advanced version he called an analytical engine, more like a true computer. How might history have changed if the computer had caught on over a century earlier than it did? There is a Daria fanfic that attempts to find out: Legendeld's "Other Side," the only existing steampunk fanfic in this fandom. Would a steampunk world be better than ours? Jane Lane doesn't think so.

FF.net

• John Lane 40: Starry Eyes Open (COMPLETE!): Ms. Li's voice announced over Lawndale High's P.A. system, "Welcome back students and remember, the school nurse is in and ready to take your voluntary urine sample. Show your Lawndale High spirit with the gift of urine!" Walking down the hallway with Daria, John looked up at one of the speakers. "She didn't really say that, did she?"
• Just Friends, by Pinkminx (Part 11): "Daria? Is that you?" Jane's voiced echoed through the expansive flat, followed by the sound of rushed steps as she descended from the upper level meeting Daria in the hall. "Great, you're finally home. So, how'd it go?"
• Unfavorite Daughter, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): "Oh, don't bother," one of two boys said as an auburn-haired girl walked by them. "It's that brainy chick." The 16-year-old girl didn't give them a glance as she snapped, "Darn, and I wouldn't have been able to resist your manly good looks."

PPMB

• Apocalyptic Daria: Scarlett's Tale, by Doggieboy (Part 10): After their meal, it was fully dark outside. Roger and Scarlett deposited the bowls in the kitchen sink. At that time, he looked out the window at the car and asked, “Is that your car? Or does it belong to your parents?” She shook her head and blinked as she looked down. “It belonged to John,” she said. “I took it from him when I k--, I mean, escaped from him.” (SFMB)
• Caught, by Legendeld (Part 1): The kitchen table jumped when Quinn Morgendorffer stuck both palms onto its surface. “Daria, tell Jane she’s being unreasonable.” Daria rolled her eyes as she lifted her novel higher to block the fighting duo from view. “All I said is that I think it would be cool if you acknowledged me at school.” Jane pulled out a chair from the table and plopped down in it. “You’re the one that wants to keep our dating a secret. You don’t get it both ways.”
  
• Expecting Trouble, by Legendeld (COMPLETE!): Quinn sat between her sister and Sandi Griffin as the television show came back on. “She looks so strong,” she whispered to Sandi. “I wish she had gone with her hair up though. The pigtails are making her look childish.” Sandi whispered back.
• Gimme Skelter, by TAG and Brother Grimace (Part 7): Between those interruptions, as his left arm throbbed and a warm dry breeze blew over him from the driver’s view port, Mackenzie found himself falling into a different world. A few pages of typed commentary were appended to the main body of paper-clipped text, which was a carbon-copy transcription of what Daria, whoever she was, had been transmitting from California. (HTML)
  
• Lawndale's Finest: Action Stories Issue Three: Two Knights Defense, by NightGoblyn (Part 1): The hallways of Lawndale High were filled with students milling around, talking with friends, and unloading books into lockers. The traffic was mostly headed in a single direction, and carried Jane and Quinn along with it. “What are we being dragged into the auditorium to listen to this time?” Jane grumbled. “Heck if I know,” Quinn answered with a shrug. “I still have flashbacks to the riot that broke out after our self-esteem speeches.”
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): [Looks like Luhrman is going to be a bit tied up in his work.]
• Things Fall Apart, by Doggieboy (Part 16): On his first flight over Svalbard Island, Martin Peters took Tatyana Petrova with him. He concentrated on scanning the area for any undead, while she was ecstatic from the thrill of the experience. “I can’t believe this!” she said and looked at him. Her expression showed her happiness. “Doesn’t this thrill you?”
• Two Halves, by Dark Kuno (Chapter 4, Part 1): Jane opened the front door of her home and greeted her two best and only friends with a semi-lucid “Yo.” “Morning to you too, sunshine,” responded Daria dully, drawing a smirk from her brother.