A Party Day If There Ever Was One

Today is Juneteenth, a holiday celebrated across much of the United States that has also spread beyond our borders to the rest of the world.

It began in 1865 in Galveston, Texas, when a Union Army general announced the end of slavery to the city's population. (Texans at the time did not want to end slavery and had held on to the practice until after the end of the Civil War.) Joyful celebrations were the order of the day thereafter, and the year after that, and so on. Daria and Quinn were likely familiar with the holiday from their time in Highland, Texas.

Today also marks the birthdays of two famous animated characters: the Tasmanian Devil (who turns 56) and Garfield the Cat (who is 32). Congratulations to both, but I still like Jane Lane better. Much better.

NuZ!

• J-D asks, "What is the origin of the use of the expression 'Partners In Crime' for Daria and Jane?" Offer your answer, if you know one.

PPMB

• Daria/Dorian, by LadieT (continued): Jane sat in the booth next to Tom. She hadn't planned on seeing him that day. As she slowly ate her slice, Tom looked over at her with concern. He placed his arm around her. "What's wrong? Are you still upset about Daria leaving? You said you've spoken to her, so you know she's all right. Christmas break will be here before you know it." He gave her a little squeeze. Jane heard nothing of what Tom had said. She was lost in her thoughts of Dorian holding her Sunday night. It was a lot different than the rough embrace Tom currently had her in. She lifted his arm up from around her. She thanked him for the slice and left. Tom sat in the booth wondering what he had done wrong.
• Finn Morgendorffer 50: Matters of State, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): The entire week passed slowly for Daria, not that she was complaining. Thanks to this State championship game, Finn wasn’t home for very much, and when he was, he usually took a shower and went straight to bed. He didn’t even need to be spoken too. Her mother had already informed her of their trip to Baltimore this weekend to watch the game, and that Daria was welcome to attend. Helen would pick her up from work and they would go to Baltimore together, and then, they would return home on Sunday morning. Daria had declined to attend, and she knew her mother would not force her. Still, Helen glared at her with a scowl every time the two locked eyes. Daria wasn’t going to be convinced to attend, however. She had no compelling need to go.
• Grove Hell on Earth, by Charles RB (Part 2): Mr Chen, the overly enthusiastic History teacher, nodded his head off. “Very good, Ms Morgendorffer! Perfect answer.” Daria punched the air. “Daaa, daaaa, dan-dah-dah, danananana daaa-nah dah.” She hadn’t meant to do that. “I... well, the praise is well deserved, Ms. Morgendorffer!” Chen hadn’t recovered well. He knew she hadn’t deliberately decided to celebrate a right answer with the chord from Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." He knew she knew he knew, right? Wrong? People had to be noticing. “Thanks, sir.” (FF.net)
  
• NEW! Judith Strikes!/Tales of the Ringbearers: The Gift of the Ringwraiths, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): “You are one sick woman,” Ian Lloyd chuckled, as Anastasia Rowe used her telekinesis to pull a clump of earth from the lawn, transforming it into ambrosia—the psychoactive substance that could be turned into any imaginable form of food—and then, transforming the ambrosia into a thick, rich barbecue sauce that poured slowly over the smoldering corpse, covering it thoroughly.
  
• The Soft Glow of Spring, by Brian Taylor (COMPLETE!): "Hey, Daria?" Monitoring technician Daria Jakobivna Mitrofonov swore under her breath. "Tell me, Konstantin," she said, not bothering to look up from the radiation read-outs she was copying down onto a clipboard. "What's it like knowing that the Gardener of Human Happiness would have plucked your family's line like a weed if he were still among us?" Konstantin stared at her blankly. "I don't know what that means," he finally said. "Of course you don't." She sighed and finished scratching down the radiation output of Unit 3 before looking up to greet the oaf. "What do you need, Konstantin?"
• NEW! Unnamed story (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: Ouch Time), by Derek (COMPLETE!): In the frozen land of Nador, they were forced to eat Lady Quinn's suitors... (Daria/Monty Python and the Holy Grail)