Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On

William Shakespeare, a writer without peer in the English language even now, passed away 394 years ago today, after being born almost exactly 446 years ago today. Drama, comedy, history, tragedy, poetry: he did it all. Mack at right does his superb portrayal of this legendary figure.

Several Daria episodes owe a great debt to the Bard for their very existence. "Cafe Disaffecto," "Lucky Strike," "The Lost Girls," "Ill," and "Quinn the Brain" all mention or describe the works of Shakespeare. Brittany at upper left reenacts the role of Juliet in "Cafe Disaffecto." Last year Richard Lobinske listed a number of Daria fanfics that owe a debt to the Bard as well for using quotes or his works in the text. There are more, however, too many to name individually (including essays), so we'll do it by numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40. I am positive I have not named them all. (LATE EDIT: I've just been reminded that I left out some major stories, and I have now added them in. I am positive there are many more out there. AUGH!!) William Shakespeare is, I believe, the most often referenced writer in all of Daria fanfiction. Having a bit of Shakespeare in your Daria story is almost a requirement.

William Shakespeare. He was The Man.

And today is also the Feast Day of St. George, famed dragon slayer and patron saint of much of Europe, particularly England. If you happen to be in London right now, I would be green and sick with envy over it, but here is a webpage on great events happening around you today. Damn, wish I could be there!

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• NEW! The Cast Meeting, by LadieT (COMPLETE!): "We are going to shake your character's world upside down. Lesbians are BIG right now, so we have decided that Quinn should come out of the closet." "WHAT! Gawd! What did I do? Why can't Daria be gay? I mean, she is dating Brittany off the set—or even Jane, or would that piss Kevin off too much?"
  
• The Dream of the White Darkness, by jtranser (continued): "You're not going to tell me we're up against someone whose name cannot be spoken aloud without dire consequences?" "No, Jane. We're up against someone whose name can't be spoken because no one knows what it is."
• NEW! Finn Morgendorffer 43: A Tale of Three Schrecters, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 6): "Did something happen here?"
• NEW! The Secret Shame, by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "I didn't mean to do it!" Upchuck grabbed Mack's T-shirt and with inhuman strength lifted Mack off his feet. Upchuck's face was contorted with anguish and fear. "I didn't mean to do it! Oh, God, you have to believe me! WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME?"
• NEWER! Shining Star: Temporal Conundrum, by RLobinske (Part 7): Archangel laughed. "She's got the touch in any universe." Daria turned to him. "Okay, now that's one of the things that's creeping me out. You keep talking like I'm the center of the universe or something." Richard turned a display of his desk computer to show the hypersphere of universes under his supervision. "You are what we call a nexus. Basically the center of a multiverse. You exist in every one of these realities."
  

And the Day Keeps Dragon On

Today is the Feast Day of St. George, famed dragonslayer and patron saint of much of Europe, particularly England, which is a cool place in my book. Some fun things to do today in Britain are listed here, and assorted other news about this almost semi-holiday is here. I wanted to write about dragons in Lawndale once and even had part of a story involving Joanna the python and Trisha Gupty, but that one petered out, too. Dang.

It so happens that this is also World Book and Copyright Day, per UNESCO, which means it is a legitimate holiday but only for those of us who still like reading books. The day was created in honor of Shakespeare and Cervantes, both of whom either died or were born around this day, depending on which calendar system you use. That's right, tell whomever you are working for today that this is a legal holiday for readers, and if you are found reading a book and not doing any real work, UNESCO says that is all right with them. Daria would totally do it, you know she would.

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• A Little Vacation, by Doggieboy (Part 18): I haven't a clue where this is going given the last major twist, but thanks again to the author for leaving us hanging there, beating our computers in sheer frustration. (Part 17 uploaded to FF.net)
  

Moar . . . um, more soon.