Books, Bones McCoy, and Benefits

Happy International Literacy Day, everyone! Daria will of course be celebrating by reading a book or five, and I encourage the rest of you to do the same.

Today is also the 35th anniversary of the debut of Star Trek, a science fiction TV series you may have heard of. Apparently it has enjoyed a bit of popularity, particularly among "people in funny outfits who talk about peace and love and stuff." Live long and prosper!

Finally, September 8th was the day of the The Starry Night Ball that Kay Sloane planned as a benefit for the Lawndale Art Museum. Pity Helen couldn't make it.

Remember to observe International Literacy Day by reading the latest fanfic!

• Bump in the Night, by Smijey: "Daria shivered a few times as the night-time breeze brushed her exposed skin, sending goosebumps up and down it. Autumn was in the air, and she had another school year of being surrounded by morons to look forward to. An older van, brown, with a few dents and scratches, pulled up on the roadside next to her. 'Hey, little girl, you lost?' asked the man inside. He was overweight, balding, wore thick glasses, and looked completely unthreatening, yet everything about him screamed 'predator'. 'You want me to give you a lift somewhere?' he asked helpfully."


• Daria, or the Confession of a Single Lonely Male, by Arena del Sur: "I loved you. I was a monster, but I loved you. I was despicable and brutal, and turpid, and a devil damned in perversity, ¡pero te quería, te quería! And there were times when I knew how you felt, and it was a hell to know it, my little one. Little Da, turned into brave Daria Morgendorffer."


• A Different Look at 1111, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 3): "'What's so romantic about the Guest Room?' Tom asked as they entered the guest room. 'It's not the guest room itself, it's where it leads to,' Daria said enigmatically. Tom wasn't sure of what to say."


• Esteemster Series, by TheExcellentS (part 11): "(Suddenly Daria reaches up and grabs Sue by the throat, cutting her off mid-sentence) Daria: 'Up yours, Il Douche!' (Holding Sue's throat the entire time, Daria gets to her feet. She then knees Sue in the midsection, causing her to drop the mic, before throwing her back into the ring) Barch: 'Whoa! Where did this mean streak come from? This is almost Mad Dog-like!' O'Neill: 'Morgendorffer has simply had all she can stand, and she can stand no more! With the blood of her Hall Of Fame parents and her legendary grandfather running through her veins and down her face, she is destroying --- with these fists! --- can't defend herself at all here!'"


• General Semantics, Private Angst, by gwrtheyrn (part 41): "Changes on the wall display seemed glacially slow, almost undetectable, yet Enro had lived less than two metabolic days since the Monstrator’s death. The allied forces were actually coming together at staggering speed; so, perforce, Enro’s improvised response had to, as well. But, so far, in this theatre, the League’s Grand Committee was displaying more focused, purposeful strategy than the upstart military genius could match."


• Is It Ours Yet?, by RX-87 (part 6): "'Eeew...' Tiffany said once more. 'How...? How can something that big move like that?' Jodie wondered nervously. 'Maybe where they come from the square/cube law is more of a suggestion.' Daria pondered, her sarcasm a defense against her own growing apprehension. 'Gravity and inertia aren't nearly so daunting with the right knowhow.' Kokopelli said nonchalantly, 'But never mind that. It's our turn to strike...'"


• The James Lane Chronicles Chapter 6, by InvisibleDan (part 7): "The next few days were a blur for James. Later, when trying to remember that time, he found it hard to distinguish what happened when. There was a memorial service at Lawndale Community College which he attended. Hans was buried on a Sunday, and as much as James wanted to go he couldn't make himself. He spent that day alone in his bedroom, lying in bed and wishing Daria didn't have to work at the pool all afternoon."


• Rude Awakening Ep.8: Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust, by DIsaac (part 10): "DANI: No talkie today? You wanted me here. What happened? (no response from STACY) DANI: Hey, what's up? Talk to me. STACY: I think I did it with your brother."


• Save the Last Trance for Me, by jtranser: "Daria began to laugh hysterically as the introduction of Budoon's cigar smoking friends accompanied by Vegas trade show models who walked up/down/sideways on a red carpet to the six surfaced dais. 'Look, Jane, it's all so Titanic!' 'Well, yes, that part of the casino is. The architect was trained by M.C. Escher, so everything is either tesselated, or endlessly looped, or packed with asymmetrical congruent polygons plus all sorts of topological wack."


• Settling Into A New Life, by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): "Aware that something was amiss, Cat said, 'Dean Xao said that he had declined the lecturer position that he had been offered with your hiring, stating that he had employment elsewhere.' 'That's news to me,' Daria said. Oops. I'm guessing it's a big surprise and he wanted to surprise you.' Daria said, 'It had better be a good surprise, because Michael knows how much I dislike surprises.'"


• Trix of the Trade, by Kristen Bealer (part 1): "Daria pointed accusingly at her. 'When you got your glass of milk last night, did you put the carton back in the fridge?' Quinn glanced nervously at the milk and then back at Daria. 'Um...yes?' Daria glared. 'Sure you did. Then who took it back out of the fridge, so it could sit out overnight and spoil?' Looking everywhere but at her sister, Quinn answered, 'The Trix Rabbit.'"


• Unnamed story (IC: What would Lawndale be like if...), by Greystar (COMPLETE!): "Trent - Um... hello, Aunt Bernice. (lowers sunglasses) I like your hat. (Jane puts her hand to her head in an 'ah, jeez' gesture, then gets up to leave) Jane – I’ll be in the lounge."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Daria on the Oregon Trail), by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): "Along the old Oregon Trail, a lone gravemarker, the carved words on an oaken plank still readable after a century of harsh weather...."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Daria on the Oregon Trail), by Greystar (COMPLETE!): "The rampant epidemic of dysentary has broken out among the fleet's population continues unchecked. Of ten thousand colonists, four thousand three hundred and sixty five have become infected. The death toll is now at one thousand fourteen."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Daria on the Oregon Trail), by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "'Wow,' Stacy said, 'I lost five pounds! This is great!'"


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Daria's Trash freakout), by untra (COMPLETE!): "'Mom, can I talk to you?'"


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Quinn goes steady), by Greystar (COMPLETE!): "Quinn - But I can't cancel all my other dates. I have to stick to my commitments. Besides, I wrote them down in pen. Skylar - Wednesday, Eric? But he's my best friend! And who's Bob?"