Halfway Through the Year, We Answer an Old Question

July 1st, it is today, and we celebrate all sorts of holidays and anniversaries as a result, to include:

• Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day
• The 31st birthday of the Sony Walkman, beloved of background character Dawn (at left)
• Canada Day in Canada
• Moving Day in Quebec
• Tartan Day in Australia and New Zealand
• The 7th birthday of Paperpusher's Message Board, ver. 2.0
• Financial Freedom Day (as celebrated by Daria and her Montana Cabin Fund at right)
  
• Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day in Hong Kong
• The 49st birthday anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales (beloved of Sandi Griffin, and here's proof)
• July Morning in Bulgaria
• The 141st birthday anniversary of William Strunk, Jr. (yes, that William Strunk, Jr.)
• The 67th birthday of Tokyo, which is technically not a city though you would never know it to look at it
  
• The 102nd birthday of the SOS signal
• and I forgot, something else, whatever.

What a day! And I haven't even written in the fanfiction yet. Speaking of which...

Remember the good old days almost exactly a year ago, when we used to argue over whether Daria fandom was dying? Remember how we would commiserate over the inevitable wasting away of our happy little suburb, one day soon to vanish in the great megacity sprawl that is Fandomland? Don't those days seem kind of... well... premature?

At the moment there seems to be a literal explosion of new fans and new fanfiction and new everything thanks to the DVD set. I mean, seriously, I can barely keep up with the surge of good reading that's hitting the Internet. The number of DFB2 followers leaped from 9 to 38 in one year, and 95,000 hits to 176,000 in about the same time period. Blammo.

So, to answer the old question if Daria fandom is on its last legs, the answer would appear to be...

Thank you.

FF.net

• College Wry, by LibertyxIsxLove (Part 3): Nick scratched his head, newly dyed blue, and for the tenth time took a look around Trent's basement. "Um, guys?" he finally sputtered. "Where're our instruments?" "Some other criminales prol'ly heard how hard we are!" Max began shouting. "And they wanted to stop us before our music could change the—" "Shouldn't we call Trent and tell him his house was robbed?" Jesse inquired anxiously. Nick rolled his eyes at this idea. "Nah, he's in Australia. It's not like he'd be able to hear us."
• The InDark, by Mediancat (Part 21): Amy Barksdale said, "I believe you." "You say that as though there were some doubt," Daria said. "No doubt," said Amy. "It's a legitimate explanation. It's just one I hadn't thought of."
• NEWER! Fresh TV—The Musical! by Mikata88 (Parts 2 and 3): Chef Hatchet: "Emma! What the Sam Hill are you still doin' here? There's a got-dang hurricane a-comin'! You know... I've never told you this... [sings] Emma, Oh, Emma, You're a gem... a... [looks at watch] Man, this is eatin' up a lot of time. [exits] Don't forget to lock up." (Daria/Total Drama/6teen)
  

PPMB

• NEW! Anti-Trope, by Minx (continued): Dean walked through the house but his search for Quinn had so far been unfruitful. As he came to a less crowded hallway he saw a long row of framed photos ranging from the year prior all the way back to the mid sixties. Each one depicted a similar scene: a young, good-looking woman being held up on a group of young men’s shoulders. Under each snapshot was a small gold plaque reading ‘Keg Queen’ with the name of the queen and year the photo was taken. As he walked along viewing each photo he stopped dead at 1975’s winner. His mouth dropped open as he read the inscription: Keg Queen – 1975 Helen Barksdale. (FF.net)
  
• NEW! Daria: Hunter 6—Infectious, by Jim North (continued): "I KNEW those rumors were true!" DeMartino crowed. "And you were HOLDING OUT on me this entire time! For SHAME, Miss Morgendorffer! For SHAME!" "Yes, yes," Daria said with sarcastic long-suffering, "I'm extremely sorry we didn't let you know we were secret agents. I'm a horrible person."
• NEW! Finn Morgendorffer 51: A Matter of Trust, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): And then, Jeffy remembered during sophomore year, near the end of the school year when Finn left for a weekend visit to some spa place. When he came back, the guy was a total wreck, barely able to function. When questioned about it, Finn just shrugged and said he hadn’t been sleeping well. He got a bit better, but he was a mess for the whole school year. How the hell did I fall for that? Jeffy wondered.
• NEW! Grove Hell on Earth, by Charles RB (Part 7): Things were going badly. They continued to go badly as the trio walked into the concert, right past the hordes of pierced rockers and alternative fans (alters?) who were having a blast, all love and laughter and life. Everything Daria was destroying was on display, a joke at her expense. She wondered, against her will, if she would soon view Grove Hills with nostalgia. There, she had Amelia to write to; there was an escape. Where was she supposed to go when she’d pissed on that escape? (Jane? Who was Jane? How long would it last before she drove Jane away to?)
  
• Politricks Are Not for Kids, by Brian Taylor (Part 2): The bedroom is almost pitch black with the curtains drawn, but for the little blue glow of a bedside alarm clock. The phone continues to ring. Daria turns on a light and fumbles for her glasses on the nightstand. The phone keeps right on ringing. Securing her glasses, she settles them on her face—crooked—and glowers at the clock, which reads 3:30. Finally, she grabs the phone and holds it to her ear. A long pause follows during which we can hear a muffled voice talking animatedly on the other end....
• A Reality Parent Looks Back, by CR85747 (COMPLETE!): “The Daria years were a mixed blessing,” recounts Amanda Lane from her home in Lawndale, the famous “Casa Lane” that served as the base of the family as seen on the MTV reality show and is now the residence of the retired parents. “People kept calling me: 'Why weren't you there all the time?' There was too much to do. Besides, they took care of themselves fairly well—perhaps surprisingly to people who didn't know them firsthand.”
• NEW! Sleepwalker, by Jim North (continued): The overhead light flickered off, breaking Quinn out of her reverie. All of the girls jumped in surprise, and Quinn was fairly certain that she heard one of them—Tori, she hoped—squeal a bit. Beside that, everything was eerily silent. The light came back on a few seconds later, and the tension left the air as everyone relaxed. "I do believe that has proven my idea of a fashion lockdown was an excellent one," Sandi said as she went back to applying rouge on Tori's cheeks. "None of us would want to be caught outside if all the lights went out. No one would be able to see how cute we are." Quinn ruefully resumed her braiding. "When you're right, you're right, Sandi," she said with a sigh.
  
• NEWER! Unnamed story (The Hallowed Halls of Fielding), by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "God, the Strawberries and Creme flavor is rank!" Quinn cried. "Sorry, 'Kiki'. You're not getting any of my Maple and Brown Sugar flavor," Daria said. "Elsie, how are you doing with your oatmeal?"

Ice Cream & Randomess

Yes, the new fiscal year has finally begun. How are you planning to celebrate it? Wait a second! When did they change the fiscal year to October 1? YOU BASTARDS!

Okay, what the hell else is going on. Today is Canada Day, July Morning (only in Bulgaria), the 101st birthday of the S.O.S. emergency signal, the 63rd anniversary of test shot Able at Bikini Atoll that gave us the bikini swimsuit (seriously), the 66th anniversary of the day Tokyo stopped being a city.... oh!

Today is Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day! Instead of that fiscal year crap, write down in Comments your suggestion for a new ice-cream flavor based on something in Daria!

DrNoGood09 offers a unique Iron Chef: The Fashion Club's Very Unusual Love Problem!

More crossover ideas for your amusement.... and here's the fanfic.


FF.net

• Commitment Issues, by Fringeperson (Part 4): The next Monday, after Jane had left for school with Daria, Trent hauled himself out of bed. He’d set the alarm on his clock for once, and had been aware of the world for a while now. Shuffling to the hall phone, where all the numbers were kept, Trent looked up the “in case of Daria-type emergencies” numbers, and called Helen Morgendorffer’s work.
• Daria: The College Years, by Farren O'Blivion (Part 11): This day has gone rather well. It can't possibly last, Daria mused. She and the others were having a surprisingly good time at Pizza King, despite Nick and Max's constant bickering. Quinn, be still her heart, had actually ordered a black olive and mushroom pizza, complete with artery-clogging cheese. Daria and Jane had looked stunned but, in her defense, Quinn said only, “Curves are in!”

PPMB

• Gimme Skelter, by TAG and Brother Grimace (Part 13): Rather than say that the bridge wasn’t there, it would be more precise to say that about ninety percent of the I-40 bridge was not only there but reasonably intact. The problem revealed in the tanker’s cracked headlights was that the easternmost hundred-foot span of the bridge had collapsed, the part closest to where Mackenzie and Freeman sat in stunned silence. The remainder of the bridge from the first pier westward was still standing. [New thread begins here.]
  
• John Lane 41: Friends and Rediscovery, by Richard Lobinske (Part 2): John looked over from his easel and said, "What did Trent just get talking into?" Helen said, "He's going along with you, Daria and Quinn to Camp Grizzly. Not that you need supervision or anything, but just in case anything happens."
  
• Lawndale’s Finest Detective Stories 2: Daughters of the Demon, by NightGoblyn (Part 1): Elsie glanced up from her great-great-grandfather’s journal when she heard the key rattle in the lock. She had enough time to conceal the antique volume among her school books before the door opened, and then turned towards her visitor with a puzzled smile. [Continued here: “Grovel,” Elsie said, smirking at her brother. “Beg for my forgiveness.”]
  
• Love is a Series of Burning Sensations, by Undefinedlust (Part 3): Daria sat quietly in Jane's room, trying to process the changes she saw in her best friend. Over the weekend, Jane seemed to have undergone a radical transformation. She looked different, but more importantly she just seemed like a very different person. Her new look, while a shocking departure was not as jarring as the hard edge Jane had seemed to acquire almost overnight.
• Regifted, by Ajar (Part 6): “Hello, Stacy,” Graham said. “You know you shouldn't be calling me on my cell,” Stacy said. “I don't know what would happen if Sandi found out about this.”
• Richly Dressed, by thatLONERchick (COMPLETE!): The door swung inward with a mournful creak and silhouetted in the scant light filtering in from the hall was a gruesome sight. Tom Sloane stood there, face blank, entirely nude. The whole of his body was swathed in nightmarish gashes, each pulled together with large, clumsy stitches.
• Tales of the Ringbearers: Sometimes, You Have to Wait, by Doggieboy (COMPLETE!): David MacClean lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It had been several days since he had been sealed inside the room and he had no idea when, or even if, he was going to be allowed out. It wasn’t a bad room, however. He had plenty to eat, a television to watch, and even books to read, if he so desired. The bathroom, in fact, was luxurious when compared to the one from his Lawndale apartment. Even a prison made out of gold is still a prison, he thought.
• Tales of the Ringbearers: [unnamed], by Ranger Thorne (COMPLETE!): “Ah, the Ringbearers,” said the zack's master. “I was wondering when your were going to show up.” “Is there a Sith newsletter we don’t know about?” Jane asked.
• A Taste of Hell, by Doggieboy (COMPLETE!): The only lights in Lawndale came from the fires that consumed more than half of the city. Todd Ianuzzi leaned on a nearby red-painted fencepost and looked at the dark silhouette of the woman who had killed his two partners and shot him in the leg. He couldn’t see her face at all, except for her glasses, and all they did was reflect the flames as they licked at the sky.
  
• Unnamed limerick (The Daria Fan Fiction Classification Test), by Magnuskrauss (COMPLETE!): [It's a limerick. If I repeat any of it, that will be the whole limerick.]
• Unnamed Story [That was low, really low], by NightGoblyn (COMPLETE!): Quinn had a headache. She slowly opened one eye, and then immediately closed it against the harsh, blurry light. Keeping her eyes closed, she tried to sit up and was shocked when her limbs refused to obey her commands. Her ankles were tied together, and her wrists were tightly lashed together behind her back. Slowly, she cracked one eye open again.
• Unnamed story (Crossovers Not Yet Crossed Over), by Pinkminx (COMPLETE!): A lone blowfly danced hypnotically around the back alley of McGrundy's. A wonderfully putrid smell had summoned it there, and it had yet to discover the source. Its attention was drawn to the the old screen door as it screeched open.
• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria Fanfic Should Have: TGIF), by Greystar (COMPLETE!): "Girls, I just want you to know your mother and I realize it's not easy moving to a whole new town—especially for you, Tom, right?"
  
• Unnamed story (Second Coming of the New Ideas Thread), by Trscroggs (Part 2, continued from here): “Agent D reporting in. How’s the signal home base?” “Spotty Agent D, but readable. What are conditions on the surface really like?”
• Wrylight, by Pinkminx (Parts 1 to 6): "I've been known to get my wits out on occasion," Daria deadpanned. A Mona Lisa smile ghosted her lips. "Oh, Daria, you shouldn't do that." Brittany leaned across the table and put her hand over Daria's. "it's only permissible when you’re really wasted or when the Girls Gone Wild cameraman is around." [Okay, that line was pure WIN.] (FF.net)