"Merry Christmas, you wonderful old garden gnome!"

No, it isn't really Christmas. On this day in 1908, actor Jimmy Stewart was born. At least two references were made in Daria episodes to one of Stewart's most well-known movies, It's a Wonderful Life. The first was in "Depth Takes a Holiday," when St. Patrick's Day tells Daria, "You see, Daria, you really had a wonderful life." Daria's response of "What the hell are you talking about?" wasn't in the original movie as far as I can remember, though.

The second reference was near the end of "Jake of Hearts," when Jake, excited by the revelation that his father was dead at his age, runs outside to celebrate in much the same way that Stewart's character did when he realized he was alive.

In addition to the above, Beavis and Butt-head also did a take on the movie in the episode "It's a Miserable Life." It turns out the world would actually be a much better place if Butt-head had never been born. Especially for Daria.

New Fanfic!

• A Conversation (Iron Chef: Daria and Quinn, Best Friends), by JPAGC (COMPLETE!): "'Quinn, that's the most ridiculous argument I've heard. People aren't fashion products!' 'No, you're right, they aren't. They're good writers... and good at fashion... and sometimes...' Quinn had become solemn '...sometimes they're great painters and runners, with big hearts and huge talents, who're not so good at math.' Daria looked down as a set of memories invaded her mind."


• Daria & ..., by HeirOfNorton (part 2): "Daria thought. The box was too heavy. She would need some way to move something that was too heavy to carry. She remembered Dad moving a bookshelf once with a big L with wheels. He called it a dolly, for some reason, like it was one of Quinn's Barbies. Daria didn't have that kind of dolly, but maybe if she had something else with wheels. She didn't have a wagon. She didn't have a shopping cart. The only thing she had seen lately with wheels was Quinn's..."


• Daria, or the Confession of a Single Lonely Male, by Arena del Sur (part 5): "What I transcribe here is what I remember of the letter, (including that affected Spanish). My first movement was one of repulsion and retreat. My worst nightmare, that a foreigner woman elder than me could fall in love with Ariel the Aristocrat hung over my soul. My second was like a friend's calm hand falling upon my shoulder and bidding me take my time. I did."


• Down Hill Spiral (Long Story Challenge #4, Round 1), by OverlordMikey (part 1): "I was sitting alone in my room when I got the call from my cousin Monique. The two of us had been close since we where kids; so it wasn’t shocking to get a call from her. What was shocking was what she asked me. You wanna start a band with Trent, Jessie, and me?"


• Eye of the Beholder (Iron Chef: Popular Daria), by Hyrin (parts 1 and 2): "'GUYS!' They stopped bickering and looked at him. 'This is what we did wrong last time! We were fighting amongst ourselves, and we made all three of us look like jackasses. We've got to play it smooth if we're going to have any luck this time.'" (Part 2)


• God Save The Esteem ep30: Dance Noon, by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): "'I wonder if you understand what the culture you're in is about. The self-scribed mythology is that you're standing against the powerful and that the powerless should stand up. And how do you do that? Using it as an excuse to put down and intimidate women and then act like this is a rebellious act and not just a cruder version of what quote The Man unquote does. You're a disgrace.'"


• God Save The Esteem Ep31: Lanes in the Butt, by Charles RB (part 1): "'Hey, you know, it's the weirdest thing! I can't feel my arm!' Daria glanced at her father, saying 'what does-' and then stopped as she saw how red he was getting. 'Dad?' He fell face first into his plate. Everything stopped."


• John Lane 50: Boxed In, by RLobinske (part 1): "'Didn't we have a refrigerator box when I was a kid? I seem to remember spending a lot of time playing in one.' After a brief laugh, John said, 'You know, I remember having one, too. Helen, can you keep an eye on things for minute?' 'I guess. Why?' 'I've got an idea.'"


• Mad Dog's Legacy Chapter 9: Hard Time, by Hyrin (parts 1 and 2): "Helen stepped over and looked, seeing the mugs. Without removing her eyes from them, she reached over and plucked a small branch from Daria's hair. 'Busted,' she said, no humor in her voice as she turned her lawyer gaze on her eldest." (Part 2)


• My Weapon, My Friend, My Lover (AUs, Brain Farts and other stuff), by Wassersauefer (COMPLETE!): "I have never been a very strong character. My parents and my friends knew it, always trying to shield me from the evils of the world and any sort of trouble. In High-School, I was neither popular nor a real outsider, just a faceless part of the masses. I'm neither dumb nor smart, neither athletic nor slob, just plain and boring. Not even worth of being remembered. The only reason boys ever spoke to me was because I'm not ugly and one of the few black students at Lawndale High. I'm not beautiful either, I'm just plain."


• Not So Different 24: Alone Again, by J-D (COMPLETE!): "'All right, Dad.' Sonny looked away from his father and then back again. 'Jane's pregnant. We have to decide whether to try to beat the odds against teen marriages.' Jake laughed. 'That's a good one, Sonny!' He stopped laughing. 'You are kidding, aren't you?' 'I don't know how many times I've told you, Dad. I don't date anybody. But if somebody called Foxy Mamma rings up, it's for me.'"


• Not So Different 25: Looking Another Way, by J-D (COMPLETE!): "'Look', Sonny said, his subconscious mind having been chewing over what Trent said to him outside about bullies, 'if I actually had a reason to want to get pierced, I wouldn't stop because some people might make fun of it or pick on me. I'm not going to avoid a piercing because of the way it makes me look to other people on whom I'm not financially dependent, but I'm also not going to get a piercing because of the way it makes me look to other people. Right now I look the way I am, and why should I change that?'"


• Parts of a (Bung)Hole, by RX-87 (parts 1 and 2): "Jane had never seen anything like the images that lay on her desk before. The best words she could use to describe them would be 'organized chaos'. They were a wild jumble of seemingly random splashes and angry strokes of paint, ink, charcoal, crayon wax and whatever other materials the patient had gotten his hands on. It was a total mess. And yet..." (Part 2)


• Quinn's Code - 02: Invite of the Geek, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (COMPLETE!): "Quinn, her friends and the Three Js left the mansion via the back door and went towards the adjacent woods. 'Are you sure its safe?' Joey asked. 'That Metalmouth story involved some woods on the edge of town...' 'It's a gated estate, of couse it's safe!' Quinn said."


• Rude Awakening Ep 5: Switching Formats, by DIsaac (part 4): "JOEY: Macy, Wait. MACY: That's the problem! I have been waiting! I can't wait for you to come around anymore. I've got to make the next move for me. JOEY: Damn. I have been successful in everything I did but love."


• (Un)forgettable, by thatLONERchick (COMPLETE!): "'I'm forgettable.' Trent slung an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. In the cool morning air, the warmth of their bodies was comforting and comfortable. 'I could never forget you, Daria.' Daria sighed, expression ambivalent as she watched the sky lighten through one of the dingy living room windows. 'We'll see.'" (SFMB)