The Call Is Coming From...Helen's Cell Phone!

It appears that Daria is already celebrating Campfire Day, but I don't think that her companions will enjoy the stories she's preparing to share. As long as there are s'mores, I'll be happy to stick around, though!

There will be bonus points if her stories include clowns in honor of National Clown Day, even (or especially) if the clowns are creepy. Even better, they could be dead clowns who (according to Mystik Spiral) can no longer clown. Just don't bother with the crying clown paintings, because Art in the Park has already done that theme into the ground.

On a less humorous note, the infamous episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling" aired on this day in 2000. Like any good scary story, it started with a girl getting into a car that she really shouldn't have entered.

The Kiss Heard 'Round the Fandom

Today's moment of horror is brought to us by the anniversary of the episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling," which aired on this day in 2000. I sometimes wonder if the edgy artistic side of Jane might have actually dug this look, once she got over the shock of it. Then again, if she had then none of the Triangle drama would have happened and...wait, what was my point here?

Today is also National Coloring Book Day, but don't tell Jane. If her distaste for paint-by-number kits is anything to go by, her reaction to her hair would be nothing in comparison.

Fandom News!

• R.I.P, Nichelle Nichols.


• Sheila Wisz Ellayn shares The Complete Guide to Happy Girl.

Ride the Roller Coaster of Friendship

Let's all relive the moment when Daria met her soon-to-be best friend in honor of National Friendship Day! Awww, what a sweet holiday and a very heartwarming moment.

Now...let's remember that today is also the anniversary of the episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling" in 2000. Daria takes that friendship and just sends it right through the shredder. Not so sweet, and not so heartwarming.

Fortunately for Daria, today is also International Forgiveness Day. Unfortunately, Jane doesn't go in for those manufactured holidays. Oops. This has been a post full of ups and downs, hasn't it?

Fanfic Update!

• Backseat for No One, by EntrancedCat (part 10): "As Brittany drove away from Schloss Morgendorffer, Quinn turned around in the Mustang's bucket seat to watch her sister watching them drive off."


• Bearing the Summer, by Lady Evil (part 1): "'Dana! Hurry up with that coffee!' 'It’s brewing now, sir.' Daria never cared to learn the names of her interchangeable co-workers so she just called all of them sir. It wasn’t like they bothered to learn her name either."


• Daria: In Another World?, by starwater09 (part 8): "A lot had changed over the past few months for Kevin in ways he'd never thought possible in the past."

Ninety-Nine Bottles of BEER!

Brittany's right on time for International Beer Day! Where's Kevin? Well, he started celebrating hours ago and is already in the hangover stage. Quinn the Keg Queen will be swinging by later with some additional refreshments, though!

Speaking of doing things you'll regret, today is also the anniversary of the episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling" on this day in 2000. Daria was not drunk on beer or anything else when she kissed Tom behind Jane's back, but I'm sure she was tempted to drown her sorrows afterward.

Fandom News!

• neonhomer wonders about the creative process.


• mailorderannie and macross are looking for fanfics.


• Watch a video that explains why movie swords are always wrong.

A Dire Anniversary...Get It?

Jane's reliving one of her worst memories in honor of the anniversary of the episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling," which aired on this day in 2000. Okay, finding out Daria and Tom stabbed her in the back not long afterward was probably worse, but damn that was one messed-up dye job. As in, the stuff of Fashion Club nightmares.

Fandom News!

• Discuss Mike Huckabee's call to repeal the 17th amendment.


• Vote in the Deadliest Warrior poll between Kwai Chang Caine and Little Joe Cartwright.


• Brother Grimace wonders what the active writing/archive sites are.

Well, THAT Didn't Go As Planned

Jane's shocked that it's been 14 years since the episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling" first aired. That was just one of several surprises Jane got in that episode, and not a single one of them was good. Considering how intensely controversial that episode was in fandom, I can safely say she's not the only one who felt that way, either.

Fanfic Update!

• Alienation, by malakite (part 17): "Daria repressed sighed her way through breakfast, ipoded her way through some minimal physical exercise and wobbled her way through finding the right balance of flirtatiousness and practicality for what she was going to do next."


• Crashteemsters (Iron Chef:The Grim Plot Reaper), by malakite (part 2): "7000 beeps later she heard squeaky footsteps. She tried to say 'hello?' but what came out was more like a strangled rasp. It seemed her mysterious visitor had heard her though, because he asked 'You're awake?' in an almost startled sounding voice."


• Daria: College Pains Redux, by James the Lesser (part 19): "Daria is at Jane's dorm room as they wonder who the roommate will be. 'Maybe she'll be ok. You don't know. Lindsey is a good roommate.' Jane smirks at Daria. 'After all the times you called me to keep you from killing her?'"


• The Empress Dowager (IC: Daria and No Americas), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "In the Forbidden Cities' Inner Court, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager were holding the daily Imperial Audience, the various advisers and chancellors were on hand as one of the petitioners, the Ambassador from the vassal state of Maratha was speaking the words of his King."


• Fleeting Innocence, by Princess-Pasta (part 1): "'It's such a shame, really. She was doing so well. But what can you expect?' 'Helen probably feels responsible. How couldn't she? After all, a girl takes after her mother.'"


• Open Wide (Scenes No Daria Fan-Fic Should Have: No longer in the 1%), by ognawk (COMPLETE!): "'Sure,' Leanne responded, as she arrived at the cradle for the phone, 'Listen, I've got to get going. I've got a big Biology project to work on. Speak to you soon, Ashley.'"


• Possibilities, by Sureia (part 12): "Matt said nothing. He'd said nothing for the entirety of the walk from their home. Of course a little detail like this wasn't going to deter Daria. She was of the frame of mind that silence was further evidence of guilt."


• The Prussian Girl (IC: Daria and No Americas), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "The flickering light of a new word processor made Daria blink for a second before her eyes adjusted to it. She thought about turning on the light before shrugging it off, 'It's not like you can print it off until morning anyway.' she thought to herself."


• Unnamed story (IC: Daria and No Americas), by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "When Tazi Morgendorffer climbed out of the car, she got everyone's attention. Her hair was done up high, a ponytail falling from a knot tied up high behind her head. She wore a braided choker. Her bracelets added accent to the uniform of a typical English/American schoolgirl."

A Hair-Raising Episode

It's a day that will live in fandom infamy. The episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling" first aired on this day in 2000, and you could probably hear the cries of shock and outrage all over the world. And really, can you blame us for that reaction? I mean, those hair puns were awful. Oh, and there was something about a kiss or whatever, too.

Fanfic Update!

• Attack of the Show! 2 Shows, One.......uh..........whatever (Scenes No Daria Fan-Fic Should Have: Why, oh God WHY?!), by PrecambrianStudios (COMPLETE!): "'Good morning, everyone,' Daria said as she gave her trademark smile (which was painstakingly faked) to the camera. 'Me and Jane have the pleasure of welcoming to the show the head of Butt, Montana-based "The Late Show with Butt-Head." And here he is......Butt-Head!'"


• Darius Taylor, by Shiva (part 14): "Ashley Amber had enjoyed watching her step children and Tom let loose at the shooting range, granted the first few times Steve had taken her had been a little scary, but she had gotten used to it."


• Dylan, by J-D (part 24a): "Coach Norris had gym class practising something called 'ball skills'. He insisted it was part of the curriculum, but he didn't explain why the balls they were practising these skills on—throwing and catching—were footballs."


• Fallout Takedown (IC: Todd and Jane Ianuzzi -Takedown), by Vukodlak (COMPLETE!): "So the couple whose love for one another was surpassed for the utter disregard for the lives of most everyone else fled into hiding with their adoptive children. Or that had been a plan; they were speeding down the Highway heading for Canada. When there was a bright flash and they found themselves in quite a different world."


• FOG (Scenes that should be: Polite Requests), by peetz5050 (COMPLETE!): "'... and now I'd like to call on Mr. Angier Sloane to say a few words.'"


• Glenngary Glen Eichler (Scenes that should be: Polite Requests), by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): "'The good new is you're fired. The bad news is you've got, all you've got, just one week to regain your jobs, starting with tonight....'"


• A Grave Task (iC: Good Questions. Silly Snarky Answers), by Dennis (COMPLETE!): "The headstone of the overgrown grave had long since worn down. Only the word 'Johanssen' was visible to the black-clad men who sank their shovels into the turf."


• The Great Genderswap of Lawndale!, by Shiva (part 10): "Darius didn't feel completely like crap the next morning as he and Quinn both ate a disturbing large breakfast of frozen waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, orange juice, and some leftover fruit."


• Kelly Thompson: Party Time Sibling Style, by LadieTAG (part 2): "'Kelly Thompson - is she related to Kevin Thompson?' her mom asked. 'She's his twin sister,' Daria replied. A rare smile came over Helen's face at that news. 'It's about time you started working on your social skills.'"


• My Dad the Director XXX (Iron Chef: My Dad, the director), by macross (parts 1 and 2): "'Okay Morgendorffer spill it. I've heard you mention once or twice that the reasons you parent are always flying off to California is because their involved in 'the business' but you've never actually explained what business that is, or what they do in it. So spill already.'" (Part 2)


• A New Direction (Iron Chef: My Dad, the director), by peetz5050 (part 2): "Jane got up at her regular time - 12.30 - and went for a run. After a shower and a bite she set up a new canvas on her easel and stared at it for a while. And another while. And then for a while longer. The she gave in and fired up her laptop and Googled Daria Morgendorffer."


• Something (Slightly) Wicked Ch2, by macross (part 7): "A few minutes later Monique and Penny arrived at the bar for a few celebratory beers when the Morgendorffers approached them. 'You guys were amazing,' said Helen. Monique smiled, 'thanks, we try.' Jake turned to the girls and asked, 'If you don't mind me asking, are you signed?'"


• Tom Sloane, Lax Bro, by Shiva (part 15): "'This is a surprise,' Jane said with an amused grin as she stood in the doorway of the Lane's kitchen, 'You're awake. So what's the occasion?'"


• Two Lonely Souls (Scenes that should be: Polite Requests), by Shiva (part 1): "Another night in which Jodie had bailed on him, another night in which Kevin had called, getting his blood pressure up by calling him 'Mack Daddy' over and over again."


• Unnamed story (iC: Good Questions. Silly Snarky Answers), by JPAGC (COMPLETE!): "Amy carefully looked left and right as she exited the car, keeping her head down as much as possible. The sunglasses, fedora hat and raincoat with the lapels up should cover as much as her face was possible, but she really worried about being recognized."


• Unnamed story (iC: Good Questions. Silly Snarky Answers), by SinisterExaggerator (COMPLETE!): "Daria and Jane stood in the backyard, looking at the large cardboard box on the ground. 'Well, you spoke the truth,' observed Jane. 'It's a box, all right.'"


• Unnamed story (IC: Tom Sloane, Lax Bro TAKEDOWN!), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "Kay Sloane looked at the infant in the cradle with growing horror and dread."


• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria Fan-Fic Should Have: Why, oh God WHY?!), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "'Sorry Danny,' Stacy sneered at the bound and gagged figure of Danielle 'Danny' Todds on the table in an icky abandoned building on Dega Street, 'But I've had first dibs on Quinn for too long to let some Johnny-come-lately Mary Sue bitch like you steal her from me!!!'" (continued by DIsaac)


• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria Fan-Fic Should Have: Why, oh God WHY?!), by Silver (COMPLETE!): "It was an ice cream shop."


• Untitled Random Story #4 (Scenes No Daria Fan-Fic Should Have: Why, oh God WHY?!), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "'I'm sooooo hiiigggghhhh!' Daria droaned and groaned as she moaned and sloaned all over Tom Sloane."


• Victor Morgendorffer, by Shiva (part 19): "In a dorm room with some decent knickknacks, but the otherwise bland generic look of all dorm rooms, Victor found himself the only male in a room full of some pretty good looking girls. He was enjoying every moment of it."

La La La La La, My Darling

"Dye! Dye! My Darling" appeared on the air for the first time 10 years ago today. By far the most controversial episode ever aired in the Daria series (even more so than "Daria!" or "Depth Takes a Holiday"), DDMD has never lost its ability to drive the fandom nuts.

A year ago this day I uploaded a bunch of links through the WayBack Machine to old MTV website pages of Daria goodness. There's the link to them. Go and have fun.

Happy August Long Weekend to everyone in Canada. Enjoy the day!

PPMB

• Grove Hell 2: All the Lawndale People, by Charles RB (Part 5): Daria and Jane walked up to the Morgendorffer house, deep in philosophical discussion. “No, you’ve not thought this through. Alien bleeds acid blood, Species is just a woman who can’t remember how to put clothes on. She’d never survive. Alien all the way.” “Ah, but if she borrows Predator’s blasters, she’s got long-range!” “Touche. It’s not like he’ll want them after the Krites have eaten them.” Daria opened the door, took a brief listen, and winced. “You better take a hike. My mom’s talking to my Aunt Rita. This isn’t gonna be pretty.” (FF.net)
  
• Inner Universe, by Malakite (Part 6): "I've said it before, I'll say it again: you have the coolest room." This comment rose above the somewhat muted sound of twangy guitar and piano accompaniment coming from Jane's television. As she painted (the palette for today was heavy on greys with a touch of green) and intermittently sketched she decided, "It's got pros and cons. You can't hurt yourself in here, but you can't hurt anybody else in here, either." Jane smiled at this as she rapped her hand lightly against the nearest wall. "I wish there'd been a schizophrenic shut-in living in our house before we moved in. Of course, we've got Trent there now. That's almost the same thing."
  
• The Lane That Wasn't, by LadieT (Part 12): Jane continued to look at the screen in front of her. The old man studied her expressions. He noticed how a look of pain came over Jane when she watched the scene the where she had told Daria about moving. He saw jealousy flash in her eyes when she saw the drawing Daria did of Melody Powers. She tried to stay expressionless but couldn't. She turned to him. His eyes had changed colors again. This time they were matching Daria's dark brown eyes. She looked down at the road that stretched ahead of her. She looked at him with a curious face. "I have a question," Jane stated. "Ask away." The old man shifted his gaze to the sky.
• Raft College: The First Year, by rglovejoy (Part 20): Daria left Professor Federova's office feeling a bit shell-shocked. It was clear that she had made a lot of mistakes in writing her first paper, to impress her teacher with her thoroughness. It was pretty easy to snow someone like DeMartino or O'Neill, simply because they were not used to any sort of academic rigor from their students. DeMartino would have been happy if someone merely knew that Robert E. Lee's wife was not Sara Lee.
  
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Real Esteem), by Kristen Bealer (COMPLETE!): "Students with low self-esteem will be exterminated!" (Daria/Doctor Who)

CRINGE!

Kara Wild wants to know what you think are the most cringe-worthy character moments in Daria. "I'll forgo naming a really obvious one," she writes, "and just say that I cringe whenever I think of Jane's reaction to Daria's botched hair dye job in DDMD!. 'You did it on purpose! To take Tom away from me!'" What do you think? Read and post!

What would be my response... Jane not slapping the living crap out of Daria in the same episode. Yeah, that would be it.

I came across an interesting news item on the 'net about the DVDaria release. Check it out.

PPMB

• Add-on ending to The Fight (by TheSharpie), by Ranger Thorne (COMPLETE!):
• And Goes Well With Fish? by Sandi Griffin, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): “Picking the right color is really what fashion is all about. You want to draw the eye, but in a good way, not like those horrible chunky girls who wear orange spandex and pink tops. That just makes you look horrible."
• Anti-Trope, by Minx (continued): “Wakey wakey, hands off snakey!” Jane slowly opened the door to Dean’s bedroom and saw his sleeping form under a mess of blankets on his bed. Dean groaned and rolled over. “Go away, Quinn,” he mumbled and pulled the blankets over his face.
• Finn Morgendorffer 40: Higher Learning, by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): “This is the part where you tell me not to talk about my sister like that.” “I don’t when it’s true, Finn. I don’t when it’s true."
• NEW! Finn Morgendorffer 41: It's Called Boston, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “A trip? Where? School’s still in session.” “I know. I wanted to go to Boston.” “Finn, why on Earth would you... wait, this was the plan you thought of with Jane?” “I wanna take Jane to BFAC. I want her to tour the campus, to see the sights. Talk with people really learning art. Not drunks like Lindy.”
  
• Fragments of an unnamed tale, by Staticblast (COMPLETE!): "You are now entering hell, Mr. Pickman." Daria gives a slight smile. "Please keep your limbs in the carriage." (Daria/Call of Cthulhu)
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 21): For Quinn, this was the moment of truth. Normally, one goes through five stages of mourning but Quinn was still stuck on the second stage - anger. She hated this whole stupid system at Fielding. She hated the snobby people. She hated the mean old teachers. She hated the endless attempts to need to keep up. She hated the stupid lack of fashion sense. She hated Pat Seven. She hated Sue Bentley and she hated Patty Clark and she hated Claire Davidson and she hated Jill Yardborough. When I get out of here, I'm going back to public school and no amount of money in the world will get me to go to private school again.
• Jacob Morgendorffer, Esq., by CAP (Part 7): The man smiled broadly. “Thanks, Captain,” he said extending his hand. “Charles Ruttheimer.” “Jacob Morgendorffer,” Jake answered as he shook hands. (FF.net)
• Lawndale's Finest: Action Stories #4—Power Struggle, by Jim North (continued): "Look," she said, "my fault or not, I think we need to just stop and take a moment here. This whole 'hold Lawndale hostage for money' thing . . . the zap you got must have scrambled you up or something. If you just come with me to S.T.A.R. Labs, they can try and get you sorted—"
• Musings on "The Last Virus," by Jim North (COMPLETE!): Despite my better judgment, and based on the most likely faulty judgment of my peers, I am submitting the enclosed short story "The Last Virus" for potential publication in Musings. One can only hope that your eventual rejection will only lead me into a gradual but inevitable spiral of alcoholism and drug abuse to blot out the pain instead of outright hanging myself from a rafter in my house.

The Lady and the Tiger

"Dye! Dye! My Darling" aired for the first time on MTV a mere nine years ago. Jane has this weird idea to dye her hair and be both a lady and a tiger, presumably to put more spice into her relationship with Tom, but whoa, do things ever get off course from there. A lot of AUs use this episode as their jump-off point. None of them use the tiger, though. Why? What if the tiger had jumped out of its cage and... no, we've abused Tom enough.

The tiger aside, is there anything new that can be said about DDMD, other than this? You tell me.

PPMB

• Falling Into College 69: Two Intents, by Richard Lobinske (Part 3): "This is Blythe Lincoln with Channel 12 News and I'm on campus at Raft University. With me is Raft senior, Ms Daria Morgendorffer, copy editor for the campus newspaper, The Mast and a bit of a local celebrity known for her tenacity and dedication to her friends. Now, we know that a little over five years ago she was the subject of an usual feature article in Val Magazine."
• Gimme Skelter, by TAG and Brother Grimace (Part 19b): Mackenzie found it difficult to believe his quest was over. Then he remembered that it wasn’t.
• Iron Chef: Daria is Raven's Apprentice, by NightGoblyn (COMPLETE!): "Oh! I see friend Daria is helping friend Arrowette II activate her superpowers."
  
• Regifted, by Ajar (Part 10): “It's just caffeine,” Marina lied. “It's no different than having a few cups of coffee, except it's at lot quicker and easier on the stomach.”
• Reunions and Introductions, by Tscroggs (Part 2): “We’re willing to overlook a certain incident as long as she continues to follow the rules. I saw you coming in Daria; Samantha is already on the way down.”
• Shadows of a Timeless Song, by Dennis (Part 4): The summons woke her from a dreamless sleep. In the grey light of predawn, she showered, dressed, and fed herself. She couldn't have said why she did this, only that it felt... necessary. It wasn't that she was being forced—she remembered everything and there was no mind or will overriding her own—but still she felt the need.

More gems from eons past, unearthed by the Wayback Machine

Before I do anything else, I apologize if some of the images are familiar to you because I posted them before. As far as I know, I haven't, but my memory is kaput, so... Okay, that's out of the way, let's take a look. At left is the video clip button that once took you to see Daria dyeing Jane's hair in DDMD. At right is... I'm not sure, looks like the button going to Space Daria's page. Nice hair.

Now we have a nice Daria logo that doesn't move (left), one with good color. Some of the old-time images look way off-tone, like Quinn with very pale blue-green skin, or Daria with hair so dark it's almost black. I used to think these images, found on other people's websites, were just badly rendered by the webmasters. I was wrong. Sorry.

The Space Fashion Club is "Coming Nov." but I am sure someone can change the wording quite easily. Have fun with it. The image of Daria at lower left (below this entry) was once able to move its eyes. I have all the eye GIFs, but can't put them together with the image. Oh, well.

At right again is Space Kevin, coming in October or something. That should wind this batch up nicely.

Hope you are enjoying this as much as I am. I love playing Internet archaeologist!



P.S. This blog went over 100,000 hits some times ago. Thank you all!

Oops

While I was off in la-la land for the last two days, I missed some very important anniversaries for the fandom. You may suggest appropriate punishments for me in the Comments section below.

Anyway, this evening I will post the fandom holidays I missed in this work-in-progress post for the DFB2, plus all the new fanfiction, fan art, and fan et cetera that's been around. Here we go.

The 12th anniversary of the premiere of Daria itself, "Esteemsters," was two days ago. That day was also the 10th anniversary of "The Old and Beautiful" and the 9th anniversary of "Antisocial Climbers."

Yesterday was the 9th anniversary of an event that took place in a Daria fanfic spinning off from "Fizz Ed." Guess it?

Today is the eight anniversary of the premiere on MTV of "Fat Like Me."

That about covers the missed anniversaries. More anniversaries will be missed next week. Now for the news.

THE NEWS!

• Brother Grimace urges one and all to vote for the next Legion of Lawndale Heroes leader!
  
• Wouter posted a nice pic of Jane relaxing in the school yard on PPMB. Thanks!
• thatLONERchick is working on a Daria/Watchmen story. Hot holy @#$%^%$. Hang on for the shockwave.
• 1,181 fans at the Daria Fan Club. This thing sure took off. Needs more polls and quiz questions, hard ones. And thank you for the new pictures!
• Over 70,000 hits here. Whoa.
  
• The scenes that should not be have spilled over into the scenes that SHOULD be.
• The scenes that should be continue to spill over, but not into the scenes that should NOT be.
• Some new characters were added to Backgrounders, but for the life of me I can't remember who they were or when they were done. Dang.
  
• Lots more added to the thread called "Finish it Damnit! and Whose world do you want to play in?"
• Interesting DariaWiki additions: Scenes from a Lawndale Christmas, A Night to Remember to Forget, A Visit to Camp Grizzly, Starbears, and A Rookie Mistake. Oh, and Cobb pizza.
  
• We now return you to a discussion concerning the word "dunt" as it appears in a fanfic, already in progress. Srsly.
  

Enough of that. Now for the new fanfiction. In a minute.

FF.net

• 1800DARIA, by Smileyfax (Part 1): Jane was hunched over laughing on the couch. "Daria, you HAVE to be pulling my leg. You do NOT work at a porn hotline." "Not anymore."
• Falling into College, Year 4: Christmas in White, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): This is the only complete story in this listing. That means you are required by law to read it.

Lawndale Online

• Dennis has posted the stories from his Girls Together Sarcastically series. Check 'em out.
  

PPMB

• Accidents Will Happen, by undefinedlust (Part 3 finished): "Oh really?" Alison's voice perked with interest. "What's up babe?"
• Acts of Cupidity, by Disco316 (Parts 5 and 6): It being Saturday Night, Valentine’s Day went to his usual starting point, the Zon. He didn’t figure to find too many people he was looking for there, but it was as good a place to start as any. As he canvassed the room, he found two of the people he’d been looking for; unfortunately, they weren’t what anyone would consider a couple.
  
• The Exile Papers, by Gene (Parts 1-13): I hate this tent. It's smelly and cold. When Janie brought me sandwiches, she also brought a couple of quilts. She's as thoughtful as can be while Wind and Penny are just jerks. I won't say what I'm thinking of Mom right now. Too tied up with her art projects to say anything about what's going on around the house.
  
• John Lane 39: Leaving Summer, by Richard Lobinske (Part 2): BEST LINE BEGGING FOR AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE: "It's not like you were a bad kisser or anything." [Two stories featuring Alison? Whoa.]
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Special: Tokusatsu Team Up! by Lorenzo Sauchelli (continued): The red dragon-like monster the five robots were battling looked like it belonged in a Godzilla movie. It towered over every building in the area, and its wings gave the impression that the monster had the ability to swallow all of Tokyo in a few bites.
  
• A Merry Invitation, by TheSecretSharer (Part 1): Daria as Shakespeare wouldst have done it. Rox yr sox.
• The Other, by TAG (Parts 1 to 7): They that are born on Halloween will see more than other folk.
• Size Does Matter, by BlackHole (Part 38): With a bowl of ‘Model Cereal’ in her hand, a glass of orange juice on the table in front of her, a pajama and bathrobe clad Quinn lounged in front of the big living room TV while the noon news interrupted the procession of the Sunday morning series. Quinn contemplated the motions required to reach for the remote and change the channel, but decided that skipping the news wasn’t worth the effort. (SFMB)
  
• Turnabout Confusion, Part II: All the King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): "Ms. Morgendorffer," Ms. Li said, "I know for a fact that you have been plotting with Mr. DeMartino to undermine my authority in this school. Now if you confessed your crime, I may be moved to be lenient." She loomed over Daria, her voice barely above a whisper. "You do not want to find out what will happen to you if I am not lenient."
  
• Two Halves, by Dark Kuno (continued): Quinn’s eyes went wide at the sound of her sister’s angry voice. She turned slowly to find Daria standing behind her with arms crossed and an expression that matched the older girl’s tone.

Current Topics on Less-Visited Message Boards

• alt.tv.daria - Don't even bother clicking.
  
• Bestuff - Someone admits to a crush on Jane. Someone female. (See below for Daria Lovers Unite!)
  
• Daria Fan Club - British Daria!
  
• Daria Lovers Unite! - Is Jane a lesbian? (Srsly.)
• Daria Shrine's MB - Daria appears in House of Tracks magazine.
• FF.net: Sick Sad World - Favorite characters, with digression about Jake
• IUFMB (Tanandaria) - Ranger Throne says hi.
  
• SFMB - Trapezoid Glasses Girl gets a real name.
• Television Without Pity - An actual real swear-to-God serious discussion about Daria. Srsly!
  

The Buzz on The Buzz

Remember Highland High Coach Bradley Buzzcut? What if he reappeared in Daria's life while she was in Lawndale or later in college in Boston? How might it happen they would meet again? Could he be a mighty superhero/villain from all the uranium he drank in the Highland water, or have we run that meme into the ground already? Maybe he's turned into a psychotic vigilante and thinks Daria was part of a plot against the government, because he heard that from Beavis and Butt-head. Run with it, I say.

Peter Guerin's essay, "American Animation's Finest Hour: Why 'Fire!' and 'Dye! Dye! My Darling' Have Reached a High-Water Mark for U. S. Cartoons," was written eight years ago today, shortly after DDMD aired. It makes for interesting reading in light of fan reactions to The Kiss.

Also, today is the anniversary of the birthday of Joseph Merrick, who became known as the Elephant Man because of his disease-caused deformities. In "I Loathe a Parade," Daria quotes something said by Merrick in a play written about him. That counts as an obscure reference to me. Wonder if she saw the play, read the script, etc. It figures she would know about it, as she had such an interest in biological deformities according to many canon sources. Might Daria have gone on to medical school one day?

More soon. Don't go away. Well, okay, for a little while then, but come right back.

How Disaster Looks in Animation

"I kissed Tom." Jane hears the words she's dreaded all along. Her instincts were correct: she was about to be betrayed by the two people she trusted most. Bang. It is the only time in the series that Jane cries, yet you never see her actually do it. You only see the instant before it happens.

This moment of animation caught my attention because, just from looking at Jane's eyes, you can tell at once what she is feeling and what she is about to do. I've long admired the ways that emotion can be conveyed in well-drawn animation, and this is one of them. The eyes do it all. Nice work, whoever you were that drew this. Nice work.

And you, too, Daria and Tom. Nice work indeed.

Smoochy Anniversary

Ah, yes. "Dye! Dye! My Darling" premiered eight years ago today. That was the very first Daria episode I ever saw. I got to watch about 20 minutes of it in a hotel in St. Louis that year, before Is It Fall Yet? came out.

I was stunned. It was amazing to see a cartoon like that. I had heard about it a few years earlier, but the reality really caught me off-guard.

The funny thing way, the first time I saw it, I liked the whole thing with The Kiss. It was pure angst. I was hooked, but I did not see more than 10 minutes of any other episode until long after Daria was off the air. I started writing fanfic on that basis alone.

Angst. It smells like . . . whoa.