Some Families Dive Further Down Than Others

Jodie's showing excellent form for Women's Dive Day, but I'm sure her parents will find fault with it somehow. Maybe they'll complain that she should have been studying on the way down?

In any case, the Landons will not be celebrating Perfect Family Day, but then again none of the other families in Lawndale really qualify, either. The Grififns are a nightmare, Helen can't get along with her sisters for even a minute, and the Taylors...well, let's not even get into that one. It could be that the Lanes have the right idea: stay on different continents and everyone gets along much better.

Fanfic Update!

• Alone, by Doggodoaattack (part 13): "Daria took a deep breath and began to recount the events that led to her nightmare."


• Daria: Cynic the Superheroine, by meesterlee (part 1): "'So you’re really going back?' said Clarise Sparrow. Clarise had been one of Earth Intelligence’s interrogators put in charge of debriefing her after she arrived on this world after her unintentional translation from Earth Bet."


• The Engineer and the Time Lady, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 20): "Nina thought more about the rescue. There was certainly more to it than that."


• Friend of a Friend, by Doggodoaattack (part 4): "Sitting in the back of class, Daria found herself unable to focus, her new discovery swarming her mind."


• Grant Writer's Block, by welltemperedclavier (parts 5 and 6): "'I didn’t know Sandi was still in Lawndale,' Quinn said. It was almost midnight, and a steady rain pattered on the roof. Daria lay on her bed with her phone to her ear." (Part 6)


• There and Back Again, by Shanejayell (COMPLETE!): "Quinn Morgendorffer sighed softly as she rode the elevator up, her light brown hair flowing gracefully over her shoulders. She was not looking forward to this."

"Swim, you cow! Swim!"

Jodie looks uncharacteristically serene for Esther Williams's birthday, and the way that alter ego is drawn I'm not entirely sure if Jodie is jumping into the water or rising up out of it. Either way, it's nice to see her doing something fun for once in her overworked life.

Fandom News!

• Share your thoughts on the QAnon conspiracy theorists.


• Jesse was mentioned in a self-help book on autism. What do you think about it?


• Talk about songs you wish they had made music videos for.


• Vote in the Deadliest Warrior poll between Twiki/Dr. Theopolis and H. E. L. P. e. R.

Getting In Over Her Head

Jodie is having fun portraying the late swimmer and actress Esther Williams, who was born on this day in 1921. Either that or her parents found yet another activity to drag her into and the girl has just completely snapped.

Also, on this day in 2011, Racked published an "interview" with Daria: Daria Morgendorffer's Greatest Retail Regret, Plus a Brand-New Original Never-Before-Seen Daria Portrait. It's...an interesting look for Our Heroine.

Fanfic Update!

• A.R.C Chapter 10 Imprisoned, by ST91 (part 1): "Getting out from the white car Daria almost forgot to say bye to Andrea and Jane and to thank Mrs. Ruttheimer for taking her home. Yet it was understandable, the last hours had been an emotional rollercost for her."


• Drake And Jane Diaries, by James the Lesser (part 2): "Yo, Journal I love art, and there is a competition. Drake said he'd help me with it."


• Dylan, by J-D (part 36b): "Dylan was glad that Tracey didn't try to make small talk. She concentrated on the driving. Tracey also seemed to have the sour attitude to life in general that he appreciated. He was almost feeling relaxed, for the first time since Rod called."


• Rude Awakening #14: And she was gone...., by DIsaac (part 2): "(WHUB Studios) [Interior-DAY] (Mack is hosting his Saturday Afternoon Shift when Jodie comes in) MACK: All right, we got some new stuff form Portugal, The Man, LCD Soundsystem and how about I put in a double play of Nine Inch Nails for ya. That is all next on WHUB 98.5. The Alternate for New England."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef : MMORPG, Lawndale style), by Waylander (part 22): "The way he talked about quitting... I hope I'm wrong. Darlene decided to do something uncharacteristic for her real-life counterpart – to seek out Singh and warn him."


• Unnamed story (LLH - Short Entries), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "Tiger Beat Interviewer: I'm here with Legionnaire Michael Jordan 'Mack' Mackenzie - September's 'Man-Spread'. Mack: Let's spread it."


• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria fanfic should have: 600 Years Afterward.....), by WacoKid (COMPLETE!): "'OK, so I was wrong.' 'Big of you to admit that, amiga. Now pay up.' 'But I have to ask ....' 'Ask way, just as long as you put money in my hand while you do it.'"


• Unnamed story (World's Shortest Crossover, Part XIV: The Crossover Awakens!), by Wraith (COMPLETE!): "I've got the music. Currently I'm running to the not-so-fast-paced song, 'Heathens' by twenty one pilots. I love it."

Jodie Dives Into Yet Another Extracurricular

Jodie's adding yet another activity to her transcript by emulating Esther Williams, who was born on this day in 1921. I don't care how committed Jodie is to the swim team; I seriously doubt she's going to match Williams' record-breaking swimming skills.

On this day in 2011, Racked posted the article "Daria Morgendorffer's Greatest Retail Regret." We got to see Daria's latest fashion statement, which I'm sure had Quinn screaming in agony.

Fandom News!

• GlitterShrooms is looking for advice and recommendations on learning a new language.


• What would have happened if Daria followed a Helen/Jake divorce instead of the Triangle storyline?


• Is Lawndale High students' behavior really that bad? Give your opinion in the thread.


• Roentgen poses Chekov's dilemma, a hypothetical situation. Make your choice!

Diving into One More Extracurricular Activity

Happy birthday to Esther Williams, retired competitive swimmer and actress. Jodie is trying to follow in her footsteps, but I think she's got a lot of work ahead of her if she wants to beat Williams's track record.

Fanfic Update!

• Armored Cynic Daria, Episode 3: Class in Session, by RX-87 (part 1): "O'NEILL: Hello there, kids! Welcome to the first session of the Special Armor Development Program! I'm Msgt. O'Neill and I'll be in charge of supervising you kids. We're gonna have a lot of fun and hopefully learn a lot, both about these emerging new technologies we'll be working with... And about ourselves."


• The Creepyling Chronicles, by Charles RB (part 3): "'Oh Tom, why don't you take Mafalda with you to the country club?' Thank you, dear, thank you very much."


• Daria & Son 3: Freakin' Friends Redux, by Erin M. (part 3): "Helen gives her a sympathetic expression. HELEN: Daria, that boy has been a major part of your life ever since Mark was in the third grade. He's practically your second child. DARIA: ...I'm not taking it well either."


• Ethan Yeager in Lawndale: Ch 9 Soaking Up Summer, by Shiva (part 8): "Coyote then decided to check on his wife who was taking a nap, but when he opened the door to their bedroom he heard the sounds of sobbing."


• Family New, by RLobinske (part 8): "'How did it go?' Daria let out a heavy sigh. 'Everyone was walking on eggshells around me, making me even more of an outcast than I was already. My English teacher had a breakdown and ran out of the room. The principal is planning a memorial for Quinn tomorrow.'"


• Fielding 2015: A Poor Roll of the Genetic Dice (Scenes that should be: Polite Requests), by Walter Kovacs (COMPLETE!): "'Huh huh hey Jake watch me set fire to the headmaster's car' said Angier Sloane II, the auburn-haired half of the Sloane twins as he poured gasoline on the car and tossed a lit match."


• Hot For Student (Scenes no Daria fanfic should ever have: Trip Cyclone), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "'Pay... attention.' She said to cover her silence and then pointed at the board, 'Your... regular... teacher... assigned... a play... do you know... what it was?'"


• The Hunter Home from the Hill, by DeacBlue (part 17): "By the opening night of the coffeehouse, everyone in school had heard about the production that the club was going to put on, and the place was packed. The house lights went down, a violin (played by Scarlett) began playing, and Daria's voice carried over the PA system into the twilight. 'How one person changed the world.'"



• Immortal Blood, by Shiva (part 10): "'Feelings...' Skylar said to himself, 'I wonder how he’d like this feeling.' He then focused on that strange energy inside of him and imagined the strange runic symbol that would cause O’Neill to feel... 'Ahhhh!' O’Neill suddenly screamed as he hugged himself while his eyes welled with tears as his body was seized by a completely random burst of pain from the top of his head to the tips of his toes."


• Irony (A kinda-sorta IC - No Gas!), by BF110C4 (COMPLETE!): "Jodie knew irony when it hit her in the face."


• Love in Few Words (Scenes no Daria fanfic should ever have: Trip Cyclone), by thatLONERchick (COMPLETE!): "Daria sat on the edge of the bed she had shared with her husband for three and a half years, reading the last note he had ever written for her over and over again."


• The Mageborn Cynic, by peetz5050 (parts 12 and 13): "Jane sat and buttered some toast for herself. She took a swallow of tea to moisten her mouth and began. 'I have a confession to make to you... in some ways I'm no better than the Upstart Ruttheimer. It was no accident that I spoke to you in class yesterday, my Father put me up to it...'" (Part 13)


• Misery Machine, by NightGoblyn (part 3): "'How about something about overcoming adversity?' Stacy asked, turning back to the blank canvas. 'Achieving your dreams, I dunno. How's that sound?' 'Hm,' Jane said, also turning to look at the canvas. 'That could work. We could . . . .' 'How about Sandi Griffin is a total bitch?'"


• On The Road with Julia and Quinn (LLH Mini), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "That led to several more weeks of constant requests of rides for a litany of purposes – and soon afterward, 'Legion Transportation Services' made its debut."


• Sailor Daria (Scenes no Daria fanfic should ever have: Trip Cyclone), by BF110C4 (COMPLETE!): "Daria had this weird look, between annoyed and resigned, just as if she was forced into double family time. 'Jane, why don’t you run outside until I dealt with this pest?'"



• Sexy Daria: Lab Lockdown Sex, by Shiva (part 2): "As soon as she stepped through the door she saw something that perked her right back up. 'Looks like the little dominos are falling along quite nicely,' Daria thought with glee, 'And it only took a minimum of effort, god these people are too easy!'"


• This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things (LLH Mini), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "Amorette’s smile widened as Daria’s head dropped in shame. 'It’s not like that’s the only time you’ve been – anxious – when it came to guys, right?' A glare of annoyance washed over Amorette as Daria lifted her head. 'I suppose you and yours are a bit more controlled.' 'Here? Hardly.'"


• Undying Love, by BrownEyedBagel (part 11): "She mused on how strange it really was to be holding a literal part of yourself in your hand; knowing that its destruction meant your own. She recalled on how they just about tore Lawndale apart juggling the possibility that they had forged part of Jane into something else; some random object somewhere else in town. A very uncomfortable six months."


• Unexpected Hookup: Underneath It All, by Shiva (part 4): "Daria opened her mouth to speak but her mother said, 'Please Daria I have something to say first, then you can yell at me.' Daria shut her trap and her eyes betrayed her surprise at that last, this wasn’t like her mother at all."


• Upchuck's Sex Bomb! (Scenes no Daria fanfic should ever have: Trip Cyclone), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "Charles Ruttheimer the Third, otherwise known as 'Upchuck' to everyone smiled fiendishly at the thought of his latest plan to get those feisty ladies of Lawndale to truly appreciate him."


• A Vision of Other Possibilities (LLH Mini), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "'Okay, let’s get started,' a tall, unusually slender young man spoke, looking over the gathered cadets. 'The year’s first meeting of the "Unusual Twists Club" is called to order. Rachel-Renee - thanks for making sweet tea. Derek, Sam – likewise, for scaring up snacks.'"

Keeping Her Head Above Water

Happy birthday to Esther Williams, born on this day in 1921. Jodie, as an alter ego of the famous swimmer, has apparently added yet another activity to her full schedule. At least she seems to be having a good time!

New Fanfic!

• Butt Monkeys in Paradise (Iron Chef: Guilty Pleasures Redux), by The Angst Guy (COMPLETE!): "'One lousy kiss!' Tom cried, his voice trembling with raw emotion. 'One lousy kiss, and everyone acts like I bent Four-Eyes naked over the hood of my Jaguar and gave her a rogering she'd never forget! And I would have, if Jane hadn't stolen my twelve-inch strap-on!'"


• Character Study (Scenes That Should Be: Breakfast of Zombie Champions), by The Angst Guy (COMPLETE!): "If I asked what she wished her name really was, the answer I got would be Rhiannon—not because of the song but because of how different and strange and wonderful the word sounded when you said it. She probably also knew all the words to the Kinks' 'Lola' because it pissed off her parents so excellently."


• Daria & ..., by HeirOfNorton (part 3): "When Daria came out, she found both her parents awake and in the kitchen. Mom was standing at the counter chopping up something. Dad was sitting at the table. He was dressed in a suit and tie. Daria hadn't seen him dressed like that since they all had to go to great uncle Josiah's funeral, and that was months and months ago. He was sweating and his legs were bouncing almost as much as Quinn."


• Down Hill Spiral (Long Story Challenge #4, Round 3), by OverlordMikey (COMPLETE!): "Trent sat alone in a coffee place watching the hurrying people rushing in and out. He remembered not to long ago her would be mocking those people for their busy life styles, however now part of him wanted that. Something to do was better than nothing. He wished for something, which was painful for him as he had spent all his life simply not caring. Some people say they miss their youth, but Trent; well still young, already hated it."


• Esteemster Series, by TheExcellentS (part 8): "Barch: 'For the love of God skinny get off the fence, will you? These people, which is a term I use in name only, should be in jail right now! And what's their excuse for doing all this? Because they were never given an opportunity in the LFC? These thugs don't deserve an opportunity if this is the way they are going to act!' O'Neill: 'Janet, I know how passionate you are on this matter, but what's done is done and it's all in the hands of Team LFC now.' Barch: 'All right... I guess I'll still have the pleasure of watching the LFC's finest physically eviscerate them! I can't wait!'"


• Ghost Girl chapter four, by Pumpkin Panic (parts 1 and 2): "'What are you doing out so late anyway?' Quinn said shifting a suspicious looking duffle bag from one shoulder to the other. 'Exorsising the poltergeist in tha cafe on Dega St.' She said completely seriously. 'What are you doing out so late?' 'What do you mean? I'm always out this late.' Quinn's eyes shifter nervously. 'You know me. Just out with um Jack.'" (Part 2)


• Is It Busted Yet? (Scenes That Should Be: Breakfast of Zombie Champions), by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): "'And so, I give you the winner of this year's Lawndale High School Diane Fossey Award for dazzling academic achievement in the face of near-total misanthropy... Ms. Daria Morgendorffer!' Daria took to the stage, and that was Angela's first clue that something was wrong. The little hellion looked confident. Like something had just happened that helped her."


• LLH Mini - Bent Tins, by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "The burst would have killed anyone human - but Black Majesty barely counted. He laughed as the bullets ripped through his unholy flesh, and all Jodie got from her trouble was Black Majesty's smile and a wisp of smoke from his lips. 'A noble attempt, little pawn - but utterly misguided! It's what I'd expect from a counterfeit!' 'We're real enough to stop you,' Brittany said."


• Remembrance, by HolyGrail2007 (part 16): "Andrea was lying on her back, eyes staring off into infinity. The knife wound to her abdomen appeared to be the cause of death, although the autopsy would be what confirmed that. She was dressed in a bathrobe, and, from a look around the house, it looked like she had a 'gentleman caller' before she died. Whether it was Upchuck or not could be determined by the CSI's."


• Reunion, by Hyrin (part 6): "'I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world!' Daria quickly answered her cell phone. 'Quinn?' 'I just landed at Lawndale Municipal Airport, and I'm about to get in the rental car! I'll be there as soon as I can!' 'Ok. Quinn?' Daria's breath caught in her throat. 'Hurry.' She hung up and set the phone to vibrate."


• Rude Awakening Ep.8: Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust, by DIsaac (parts 3 and 4): "STACY: At Lawndale High, who was the last person in the world you expect to give a college lecture? DARIA: Kevin but he was also on the list of last person I would think of dating. Brittany Taylor had farts of smartness but I can't think of her lecturing to anybody at all. Porn, Yes by a mile. Academia, a big old NO! STACY: Brittany Taylor lectured my weather class today. (DARIA let that sentence soak in a little bit) DARIA: Can you repeat that? I don't think I heard you correctly." (Part 4)


• Settling Into A New Life, by RLobinske (part 4): "'Let's hope she sleeps through the night. Or at least most of it.' Karen said, 'If she's going to wake up tonight, I hope it's around midnight.' 'Sure, she can join the celebration,' Daria said. 'Never too young to start.' Karen said, 'I'm afraid I'm going to be saying that way too soon anyway.' 'Aren't I supposed to be the one saying that?' Derek said." (Part 5)


• Stacy's Day Parade (Scenes That Should Be: Breakfast of Zombie Champions), by Jim North (COMPLETE!): "'Woooooooow,' Tiffany droned, a perfect enough sentiment that nothing else needed to be said. Before them was a parade that stretched far off into the distance. The head of that parade was just coming toward them, and as it passed by they watched the first float in stunned amazement."


• Sweet Crank (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: Last Friday Night!), by thatLONERchick (COMPLETE!): "He couldn't stop. It had been an uphill struggle from the start, but once he started sliding, there had never been any hope. He sat now, huddled behind the wheel of his car, going through the powder in the small packages with frightening speed. Soon his face and shirt front were dusted as though with new-fallen snow, and he was so jittery he practically vibrated in his seat. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes as the high took him."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: And not a single care was given that day), by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): "Trent looked up at her. 'Daria, do you ever feel like maybe you're wasting your life?'"


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: And not a single care was given that day), by Jim North (COMPLETE!): "'Jane, I kissed your boyfriend. I kissed Tom.' Daria stopped in the middle of the hallway as a pair of sunglasses descended from the ceiling and fell into place in front of her regular glasses."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef - Daria's best friend is Huey Freeman), by Pumpkin Panic (parts 1 - 3): "Jodie looked at her and said 'Apparently there's two new black kids at school and Kevin keeps making a complete ass of himself and calling them both "Mack Daddy".' 'I here his mother drank heavily during her pregnancy with him.' Jane said." (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef - Jodie the Inventor), by Chris Tucker: "Preliminary test flights had established the aerodynamics of the plane. 'Smooth, all but flies itself' was a common statement. But at 300 MPH, the engine got squirrelly. 'Jittering', they called it. Catastrophic engine failure could occur. An automatic safety system would blow the engine out the back of the aircraft if the jittering got too intense. Once past a certain point, the engine would shred itself before the pilot could intervene. "


• Unnamed story (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: Last Friday Night!), by Greystar (COMPLETE!): "Mr. O'Neill - Hello... Timothy O'Neill here. If you are watching these last words, then you'll know that I'm gone and you've found this camera. Well, you already know that you found the camera, obviously, or how would you have the tape? Actually, if you found the camera, you must have found me. Unless you recovered the camera from looters, although I must say, it's a pretty heinous thing to steal from a frozen man. Although, come to think of it, it's not actually all that cold anymore. And the snow got rid of the pollen. You know, I feel pretty good! (hears scuffling sounds) Hello? Who's there? (O'Neil's eyes go wide) Who are you-"


• Unnamed story (Scenes That Should Be: Breakfast of Zombie Champions), by Doggieboy (COMPLETE!): "Whoa. That was nice...very damned nice. This would be even better. I'd wait until she's in full shower mode, then grab her by her arms and plant a big wet kiss on her lips. Just seeing her eyes open in full terror mode would be worth it. Then while she's screaming, I'd escape, get home and document my success."

It's Anti-'Shipper Day! Hooray!

Martin J. Pollard, webmaster of the renown Outpost Daria, invented the term "anti-'shipper" in an essay for this fandom eleven years ago this very day. Thus, today is and forever will be Anti-'Shipper Day. He created the term in honor of Kara Wild's story, "'Shipped Out," which he credits as being the first anti-'shipper tale in Daria fandom. Ms. Wild's tale was written in June 1999.

How does one celebrate Anti-'Shipper Day, you ask, and well you should. The day may best be appreciated by pausing to reflect on the elements working against any romantic pairing displayed either on Daria itself or in Daria fanfiction. Daria/Trent? She's too young, Trent's a bum, and Daria is too obnoxious anyway. Daria/Tom? Tom's a bit too conceited, and Daria is too obnoxious anyway. Daria/Anyone? Daria is too etc., etc. What about Jane/Anyone? Daria will sabotage the relationship to have Jane for herself. You get the idea: always blame Daria, because she deserves it.

Today is also the anniversary of a famous alter-ego birthday, and it is International Friendship Day. For more information on the latter, here is a refreshingly cynical essay describing it. Winnie the Pooh is the holiday's mascot. He is shown at left in a candid moment.

More shortly. Not awake yet.

GnuZ!

• Less than two weeks to go until Midwest Dariacon 2010!
• Tiffany: does she suffer from narcissistic disorder? Does a wild bear use Charmin in the woods?
• NEW! A year ago here, I had a sort of mini-contest for artistic fans to find creative things to do with an old MTV screen background I discovered using the WayBack Machine. Anyone up for trying this again? Can you turn it into a neat-o wallpaper for Daria fandom computers?
  

PPMB

• Daria/Dorian 6: Christmas Chaos, by LadieT (Part 5): "I called your house. Your dad said that your aunts brought you and Janey here. He told me about her ankle. Is she okay?" "Yeah, she's doing okay. She is going to be glad to see you. She's really missed you." "I missed her, too. Do you know what store she's in? I really need to talk to her." "Is everything alright?" "No."
• NEWER! Jane Lane: Ace Attorney—Turnabout Teacher's Pet, by LSauchelli (Part 8): Jane carried on: “Did you see the way she talked to me? Like I was just one of the little idiots we used to make fun of in High School!” She spared a moment to look at Charles, “No offense. But how dares she do that?! What the hell is her problem! I mean, I expect that kind of treatment from Sandi, I’d be retarded not to, but Daria?! Daria?! This is the girl I survived high school with!” “You do realize you’re starting to sound a lot like that old witch at the gym?” said Charles.
• NEWER! MST version of TAG's "Daria 2007: The Girl from Hope" by Charles RB (Part 1 of 9,000 parts): [Won't spoil it for you!]
  
• Pulp Fiction: A Cup of Tea, by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): It had been two months since the subway bombing, and James had been, as he put it, "busy". His contacts with Daria and Jane had been minimal, the odd phone call, a quick coffee 'date', and so on. So, it was with some surprise when Daria heard her name called across a noisy Downtown Crossing intersection in a very familiar voice. A quick embrace between friends. "So, what brings you 'round here?" "I got a Border's gift card from my sister for Christmas, and I've finally got some time to use it. I also wanted to get some bagels, too." "Care for an escort, dear lady?" "Why, thank you, kind sir!"
• Raft College: The First Year, by rglovejoy (Part 21): Daria's Thursday afternoon section with Professor Daniels went well enough. The professor asked her to read her story to the class; Daria did so as best as she could. The worst part was the passage where the protagonist, a disgraced Soviet railroad engineer and deserter, and the beautiful NKVD officer (who she named Zhanna Lanski) shared a steamy encounter in a bombed-out Stalingrad railway station. Daria's face turned crimson several times; she cursed herself for not recognizing that she was not the only one who would be reading the story.
• Regifted 2: I Put Away Joyless Things, by Ajar (Part 10): “Hey, David. No, don't turn around.” “But isn't eye contact generally—” “Keep it down, we're still in class. Don't worry about it, I just want to know if you've seen Daria today.” “Maybe.” “What do you mean, maybe?”
• Sleepwalker, by Jim North (continued): The first bus was easy to get into since the door had been left open. Once Daria stepped inside, she could see why. A small hatch just inside the door had been broken into, various tools sat just within. She felt certain that if she checked, she'd find that those tools did not include a tire iron. Once she was inside the vehicle, she quickly scanned the interior. She didn't see anyone, but as it was one of the rental buses and not a school bus, there were dividers under each seat, blocking her view. There could be anyone hiding behind one of the rows of seats, waiting for her to let down her guard.
• The Vision of the Burning Cities, by jtranser (continued): "So how did it go? New semester with the usual pack of eager smiling faces anxious to learn all about Dream Psychology and how to use it for personal discovery, psychological engineering and sexual exploitation?" "No, Jane, that was last night's class. Today it was all about Introductory Psychotronics." "Mind Control, eh? Did they ask you what The Frequency was?"
  

Diving Right In

Today is the 88th birthday of mermaid-movie star Esther Williams. Jodie Landon is costumed as the water-maid at left.

On PPMB, Dulcinea asks a question about Daria that no one has asked before. Chip in with your thoughts, too.

An informal competition is also in the works on PPMB to take a large image found with the WayBack Machine and turn it into a unique Daria background for your computer. Join in the fun.

Historical Note: The current version of MTV's Daria website seems to date back to August 2001, with minor modifications. Just thought you'd like to know.

PPMB

• Don't Sweat the Mall Stuff, by Kristen Bealer (COMPLETE!): Theresa jumped between Quinn and Sandi, belatedly realizing that this could be a fatal mistake. "Stop!" she cried, nerves shot. She was completely overworked, now that every other clerk in the vicinity had apparently gone on break at the same time. (FF.net)
  
• Falling into College 69: Two Intents, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): "You've really gotten good at buttering me up, haven't you?" [No, this is not sex talk!]
  
• Iron Chef: Daria Is Raven's Apprentice, by NightGoblyn (COMPLETE!): "Friend Daria is right! You do have a trick arrow for everything." [Continued here!]
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): "Welcome to Sanryojinja. My shrine is *CUTE*. It's not completely finished yet, though. But I have many *CUTE THINGS*!!! If you do not appreciate *CUTE*, then My shrine will not appeal to you because I love *CUTE*. *CUTE* makes *HAPPY*, and everyone wants to be *HAPPY*!"
• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria Fanfic Should Have: Hump Day), by thatLONERchick (COMPLETE!): The warning lights blinked and he sighed. It was bad enough that he had to cross the tracks on his way home from AA every Tuesday and Thursday night, but every time he thought he might beat the evening freight the bar came down and he would waste eight minutes of his life watching box cars go by.
  
  

Make a Splash!

Today is World Water Day, so have a drink. I believe that's how it's celebrated. At right, Jodie Landon dives in, pinkly dressed as mermaid-movie star Esther Williams.

Updates on the way, from non-PPMB sources . . .


FF.net

• Daria in Wonderland, by ShogunEin (Part 1): Down the rabbit-hole one more time!
• A Little Vacation, by Doggieboy80 (updated to Chapter 10).
• One Night in Lawndale, by bhut (COMPLETE!): Exactly what the title says. A post-IIFY? story, with familiar faces.
  

SFMB

• Daria in Wonderland, by ShogunEin (Part 1): As per above. Sandi must be . . . of course.
  
• The Other Side of Time 1: Been Here Before, by The Sidhe (COMPLETE!): Last chapter posted. The saga has been renamed and become a series.
• The Other Side of Time 2: And All That We've Won, by The Sidhe (updated): Jane and Amy are treated to a bit of Southern Comfort.
• Size Does Matter, by BlackHole (updated to Part 17): Jane gets a friendly warning from someone's big little sister.

More updating on the way, plus random stuff as always.