It Was a Long Wait, but It Finally Happened!

It's a big anniversary for fandom: three years ago today, the first fans started receiving their Daria DVDs. The DVDs themselves may have been a little disappointing, but you can't deny that the release had a major impact: soon after, lots of new fans arrived on the scene. Hooray for the DVDs and hooray for the new faces!

Fandom News!

• Erin M. asks if anyone else keeps getting a forbidden error when they try to edit a post.


• Read MrMagnum's basement rant and share your own flooding woes.


• Who would win in a fight between.... Discuss your hypothetical character fights, starting with Helen and Ms. Li!


• SacredDust wonders what everyone thinks of the musical episode.


• Two Iron Chefs have been posted in Creative Writing: DIsaac's Things that will never come out of Jodie's Mouth... EVER and PrecambrianStudios's Ad Air.

Two Years Later, It's Still Awesome!

Happy anniversary, Daria fans! Two years ago today was the official release date for the Daria DVD set, although several lucky fans got theirs a bit earlier than that. It's still an important day for fandom, though, and one that should be celebrated with all enthusiasm!

Also on this day, in 1998, The New York Times published an article about Daria. Check it out for some interesting remarks about the show from the creators and writers.

Fandom News!

• Have cats or like them a lot? Check out Austria's new cat cafe!


• LadieT officially announces a Cheer Lord and Angst Lord wedding, and also asks for advice.


• Can you help explain political parties in the United States?


• Roentgen wonders if fanfic characters can really be "shared."


• TheExcellentS continues to update the 2012 Finished Daria Fanfiction List. Thanks, TES!

Two Years Ago...There Was Much Rejoicing!

Today is the anniversary of the day fans first began receiving their Daria DVD sets in 2010. Woo hoo! It's been two years, and fandom has only kept growing since that day. Welcome, new fans!

Fanfic Update!

• Andrea's Tears, by BrownEyedBagel (part 4): "It’s hard to look back at it all now. The day I left, the things I’ve seen, none of it prepared me for what I would find when I came back. I really thought I was ready to take it all back. I was stronger and more confident, I had everything in line, and I had someone other than myself to fight for. Brandy made me stronger. There wasn’t a god damn thing I couldn’t do. Well...except for predict this anyway."


• Birthday Surprise Mini - The Bank, by DeacBlue (COMPLETE!): "Daria and Jane walked into the bank, Jane rubbing Daria's back. 'Dammit, Jane, all this crap is giving me the mother of all migraines.' She rubbed her head. Too bad this is too much to fit in the mattress.'"


• Daria - Double Down, by neonhomer (part 36): "'Sup?' asked Jane as she was tossing covers off the bed looking for the remote. She found it on the floor and pointed it towards the TV to turn it on. 'Not much. Uhh... Me and Tristan want to go with Trent and Daria.' Said Tilly. She could hear something clatter to the floor. 'Jane?' 'Run that by me again?' 'Me... Tristan... date.' Said Tilly. 'That’s what I thought you said.' Said Jane, picking the remote back up."



• Daria, in "X-ed", by Aloysius (COMPLETE!): "Daria lowered her newspaper enough to look at the businessman at the next table, her eyes narrowed. He seemed to be in his own world. Well, him and his cell phone. He was not only oblivious to her, but to the other patrons who looked at him with varying degrees of disgust and horror. We’re just a part of the furniture to this moron, she thought. I’ll give him a chance to tone it down...before I act."


• Dylan, by J-D (part 4a): "To the rhythm of a ghostly trumpet playing 'Pop Goes The Weasel' in his mind’s ear, Dylan marched in to see FitzPatrick and volunteer. FitzPatrick naturally adopted the most disgusting interpretation, that Dylan wanted to perform at the coffeehouse, perhaps by reading one of his essays. Dylan wasn’t that far gone yet. He explained that he’d been thinking more of helping to raise the funding."


• Ethan Yeager in Lawndale: Ch2 Ye Olde Madness, by Shiva (parts 1 - 3): "'You know if she just hawked some of the unused security equipment she’d have enough money for two new libraries.' Ethan said just loudly enough for the entire room to hear him. 'But that’s crazy talk,' Daria added, cutting into the silence, 'Because without that new polygraph machine how would she sniff out the Body Snatchers?' 'We have Body Snakes?!' Kevin asked in panic. Britney did everyone a favor by hitting him." (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Hell is Crossed People, by Aloysius (COMPLETE!): "Daria Morgendorffer had heard the stories, but until she actually seen some of the...events, until they actually happened in Lawndale itself, she hadn’t really believed them. How could anyone normal believe that anything like this happening?"


• Lawndale and Sandi Griffin’s Genie (Chapter 7), by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 2): "'Um, something has appeared to the south of here. It looks like it could be a mountain of ice-cream.' 'Ice cream?' Daria asked incredulously. 'Well, either that or mashed potato.' 'I’ll have a look.'"


• Lawndale School of Magic Part Two: Brittany's Party, by Reven384 (part 3): "No one noticed the door open, but they’d soon know who it was that was coming through the door. Upchuck smiled as he entered the party unnoticed. Time to crash the party. 'Hello ladies and gentlemen,' he yelled over the noise, 'It’s me. I’m here to entertain the lot of you with impressive feats of magic. Hello Brittany miss me?'"


• The Mageborn Cynic : Daria & the School of Magic, by peetz5050 (part 10a): "'Out with it.' 'My sister has some friends over too, we can go to my room afterward but we'll have to eat with them, sorry.' 'Don't fret about it, half the families in Lawndale owe my Father money so I'll just eyeball them and make them uncomfortable.' She grinned evilly. Daria looked at her with a sardonic smile 'OK, now I know why you were in Parity of Esteem class.'"



• Operation: Double Deep Cover (Iron Chef: Waking Up Melody), by BrownEyedBagel (COMPLETE!): "She got out of the shower and hurriedly dried herself off. She found her target a few months ago. Timothy O’Neil was about as red as they came. His small display outside the school saying that the Communist was the ultimate team player was not a good choice of words. Mr. O’Neil was a dead man; he just didn’t know it yet."


• A Resentful Cynic Ch. 3 The Curse of Middleton, by ST91 (parts 1 - 3): "Heck, Sometimes it is annoying to be always right. Daria thought before saying, 'Mom I don’t need to attend a college prep course. My 4.0 GPA will be enough to get me into a good college.' 'Maybe yes, Daria, but if you don’t get into a decent school your life will be ruined.' Oh, you don’t need to worry about that mom; you, Dad and Quinn have already done plenty to ruin my life. Daria thought." (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Runaway Daria: Fallout Lawndale Edition, by Vukodlak (part 5): "In a few more hours her little brother or sister would be born. The idea of a little sister brought back memories of Quinn and the family she left behind years ago and a deep nagging fear she’d be left alone and abandoned. And in her mind a biological daughter had an obvious edge over an adoptive one."


• Sandi :: Well... This Sucks :: Chapter 16, by Fhujeth_x (part 2): "'Trent!' Jesse called behind him, 'I think this girl scout wants to sell you cookies.' He walked into the house leaving the door open, 'What kind should we get?' 'Get me three boxes of Samoas!' An unfamiliar voice shouted out from the background, 'Oh, and a box of Tagalongs!' Quinn grew frustrated quickly, as she had come to ask Trent about something as insane as werewolves and mythology, and not be thought of as a girl scout, 'I'm not a freaking girl scout, alright!'"


• WaM, Ma'ams, Dark Paladin, by DeacBlue (part 3): "Daria sat up, stretched, and got out of bed, where she saw Jane at the vanity, reading. 'This Mike Harmon is just a little bit twisted, isn't he?' she remarked as Daria kissed her good morning. 'I mean, besides being this rough, tough soldier type, besides being more than a little into bondage and girls half his age, he's got one hell of a hard-on for his universe's analog of Bush the Younger, and a heck of a dislike for the guy who signed most of his checks, Clinton.'"


• We Are Spyticus (Iron Chef: Waking Up Melody), by TheExcellentS (COMPLETE!): "'...the buses were headed for Jim's Paintballing Jungle when a drunk driver heading in the opposite direction swerved in their lane. Fortunately there were no fatalities, but there are reports of severe concussions to several students on both buses...'"


• Unnamed story (IC : Daria and the School of Magic), by Waylander (prologue): "This time the cards weren’t dealt in his favor. He wasn't the ruler of the United Kingdom of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, hero of the Second Battle of Hastings. IHe wasn't ship tycoon and philanthropist from Portland. He wasn't world’s famous comedian. He was just Artie Simmons, pizza delivery guy. Nothing special, except for knowing what could have been."

One Year Later!

Today is the first anniversary of the Official Daria DVD Release Date! Well, Region One release, anyway. Also, technically a lot of people got their DVDs before that day, but it's still an important date to recognize!

Even if some of us are still holding out for a DVD release with the original music.

Fanfic Update!

• Angry (Possible Iron Chef: Maimed/Scarred Quinn), by Wassersauefer (COMPLETE!): "People do what they like and can do best. Evil Knievel jumps with a motorbike above cars. Stan Lee draws comics. Charles Manson kills people. And I'm pretty. At least, I was. Before Dad had one drink too many before driving us home. Before the crash. Before... yeah, you got the picture."


• Ask for Slice (Possible Iron Chef: Maimed/Scarred Quinn), by Pashupati (COMPLETE!): "I first met them at the Lawndale Art Gallery, where was held an exposition called A Cultural Fashion Show, in association with Random Charities, of which Quinn was member, and the Lawndale Fashion Society, of which they were both members, to win money to make advertisements promoting A Good Look On All Sizes. The funniest part would have been the gawking when Quinn arrived at the Share Your Definition of Beauty talk. Gawks all around her face, arms and if she had worn a skirt I could tell you!"


• Between The Boards: Daria, by LadieT (COMPLETE!) : "'Ms. Li gave me the option of doing this or attending self-esteem class for the seventh time. Now, I'll have more time after school to work on my art and watch Sick, Sad World.' 'I love that show. I would come home from hockey practice and immediately turn the tv on and if we had a game, I would record it.' Jane smirked at the shorter girl, 'This looks like the start of a beautiful friendship.'"


• Books with Identifiable Covers (Possible Iron Chef: Maimed/Scarred Quinn), by Stripey (COMPLETE!): "'I'm Sandi.' The first girl said. 'Like, what happened to your eye?' Quinn fingered her eye patch for a second, surveyed the three unflinching girls, then pulled it to the side to display her empty eye socket. Sandi didn't flinch. The girl with the plaited froze and yelled 'Eep!', while the Asian girl wrinkled her nose and said 'Eew,' in a low, monotonous voice. "


• Crossing Stars, by Silver: "Her terminal started to ring, and she brought the call up without even looking. 'I'm sorry, but you've reached a wrong number.' 'Ha ha, very funny.' Her sister's voice came through. 'Are you going to bring up the video, too? Or am I wasting ISK here?' Daria turned and brought the video online. 'Okay, I'm listening.'"


• Daria 40k: Is It The Black Crusade, Yet?, by RX-87 (parts 1 - 4): "Colonel-Commissar DeMartino surveyed the motley crew of Planetary Defense Force troops, Guardsmen, Sisters of Battle and Space Marines of the redoubtable Lions Chapter who would be participating in the joint operation to eradicate the vile forces of Chaos from Lawndale. It was time for the rousing speech." (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)


• Daria, or the Confession of a Single Lonely Male, by Arena del Sur (part 4): "I knew I had fallen in love with Daria forever; but I also knew she would not be forever Daria. She would be thirteen on November 1995. In two years or so she would cease being a wolphet and would turn into a 'young girl', and then, into a 'college girl' –that horror of horrors. The word 'forever' referred only to my own passion, to the eternal Daria as reflected in my blood."


• God Save The Esteem ep30: Dance Noon, by Charles RB (part 1): "'Hello, students – just to let you know, we're still looking for someone to head the dance committee for the school's upcoming dance! And, uh, someone to... work on the committee.' He rallied quick: 'To volunteer is to say "I care"!' 'That might explain the lack of volunteers then,' said Daria, which someone had to say."


• Hothouse Flower, by RX-87 (parts 1 - 3): "He could make out the village through the tall grass. An eclectic mix of traditional straw huts and more modern, though slapdash structures. Prefabs donated by some foreign relief agency or other, no doubt. No lights were on, though he could see a lookout patrolling about in the moonlight. Until, that is, he fell to the ground when the pointman slashed his achilles tendon. Now there was nothing to stop them." (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Inner Life (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: It's Friday!!), by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "'Mack Daddy is pretty cool,' Kevin said. 'I'll bet he's thinking about the game on Friday. Mack Daddy's always got his mind on his business.' At his desk, Mack was daydreaming....."


• Jake's Night (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: It's Friday!!), by GlitterShrooms (COMPLETE!): "'Oh God,' whispered Jake as she lit up his cigar in the privacy of his own bedroom, 'How could I even possibly consider this?' He continued to pace around her bedroom. It had been almost a year since Helen had divorced his ass, and two years since Quinn left for college."


• Life After Highland Ch. 1: Rush This!, by LadieT (part 3): "The rest of that week was whirlwind of classes, fencing, work, and rush parties. Daria was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Thursday after work, she and Monique talked about when she attended Lawndale State. On Friday, Andrea, Daria, and Jane got together for pizza when Quinn came running into the Pizza King carrying her cell phone. 'Daria - mom's on the phone - it's important.'"


• Lighting the Fuse (a God Save The Esteem mini) (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: It's Friday!!), by TheExcellentS (COMPLETE!): "'Wait wait wait... so not only are you Death Rowe, but you're in the Fashion Club, as well as being a soccer goalie AND Jeffy's girlfriend?' Stacy nodded again and started to cry. Mack shook his head. 'Next you thing you know you'll probably be that paintball vigilante that's going around town.' 'Actually...'"


• Not So Different 17: 'Admit Impediments', by J-D (COMPLETE!): "'This is the kind of thing you worry about? You're a twisted little cruller, aren't you? That's why I'm proud to be your friend.' 'Thanks.' 'And as a friend, I'm glad I came along today to witness your discomfort. I know you wouldn't want me to spare you by not confirming that you do look good in a tuxedo. Don't worry, five minutes talking with you will be enough to cancel the effect. Probably only three for most people.'"


• Not So Different 18: Selling Out, by J-D (COMPLETE!): "'What did she say?' 'It's not so much the words as what was behind them. She didn't actually say “hormones running wild, teenagers out of control, young loins are hot”, but she might as well have.' 'She really doesn't know the same Sonny Morgendorffer I know, does she?'"


• Not So Different 19: Truth Meets Power; Both Lose, by J-D (COMPLETE!): "'Ms Li, I just wanted to thank you again for agreeing to help us with this project', Jane said. 'When Mr O'Neill told us he was going to assign us to make a movie, we just knew we had to tell the Lawndale High story. But how could we tell that story without you, its star?' 'I'm just pleased that you're both so keen to work on something which will honour … Lawndale High, and glad that I'm able to help you.'"


• Quinn of Hearts, by Kristen Bealer (part 2): "The other three girls in the room simply stared at Quinn. Sandi arched an eyebrow, forgetting Stacy for the moment. 'Where did that come from?' she asked suspiciously. Quinn froze. She knew exactly where it had come from: one of the many medical books she had studied after her father's heart attack. She hadn't thought any of the information had really stuck, but apparently she'd remembered at least a few things. Oh, crap. I can't tell them about that! All they'll hear is the word 'study' and it'll be all over!"


• Rude Awakening Ep. 4: It's That Kind of Day, by DIsaac (parts 7 - 9): "DARIA: I have been labeled a problem caller by the station. JANE: Is it because of your monotone? DARIA: (with a Mona Lisa smile) It was my dirty mouth about the Yankees that did me in. There are some things about the Yankees you can't say on radio – even if they are true. JANE: Daria Morgendorffer, The intelligent but belligerent sports fan. I still can't believe it." (Part 8) (Part 9)


• Save the Last Trance for Me, by jtranser: "'If you're going to mark human time by a series of progressive revelations you have to use messengers to spread the news. This usually requires the use of a prophet. I have to tell you now, Daria, if you don't select somebody to spread your Word, other people will do it for you. Especially with End Of The World prophecies. That's how we wound up with all that Rapture business, as well as a lot of other apocalyptic break dancing.'"


• Second Chance for Tommy, by Wassersauefer (part 2): "'Yo, dude, chill out,' the bald guy said and stepped up to him. Now that Tommy could see him better he seemed kind of... off. It was like he wasn't supposed to be there and yet he was, a bit too clean, a bit too white and a bit too bright. He smiled and his teeth were sparkling clean, like he was making commercials for toothpaste. 'I'm kind off your probation officer.'"


• These Scarred Walls (Possible Iron Chef: Maimed/Scarred Quinn), by Jim North (parts 1 - 3): "Manson waited, but it soon became obvious that though the girl had technically answered the question, she had no intention of actually volunteering a story. The main reason this was obvious was the fact that Quinn had pulled out a small pocket knife and started flipping it end over end between her fingers. The folded knife clacked noisily against the faux wood of the table, jarringly loud in the silence that filled the rest of the room." (Expanded part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Tridecadal, by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): "'How was your day?' 'I'll wait until you're done playing with fire and can sit down.' 'Can't be bad, you're smiling. Or, it was bad and you've already buried the body.'"


• Unnamed story (Bits & Pieces that just BEG to be made into Daria FanFic), by Ixmythot (COMPLETE!): "The solo continued, shifting between melancholic and low, to fast paced and frantic, full of energy, the man's position changing with every minute, from atop the speakers, to simply beside them, to raising the guitar over his head, to hunching over it as if to protect it from the crowd. Eventually though, the song finally ended, and with a mighty scream, the man brought the guitar down over the speaker with a savage blow, causing the guitar to shatter, and the speaker to erupt, wiring and plastic flying everywhere."


• Unnamed story (Bits & Pieces that just BEG to be made into Daria FanFic), by Trscroggs (COMPLETE!): "The forest clearing was quite and empty of everything. Then without anything as trite as a flash of light or a strange sound, the clearing was occupied by a lone figure. Calling it a figure would not do it just, however, for this person was clad from head to toe in white armor that would have a sci-fi writer drooling."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Unlikely Team-Ups), by RX-87 (COMPLETE!): "'Wow, way to look inconspicuous.' 'Can the sarcasm, kid. With my son's taste in women I've seen more than enough snarky lolitas for one lifetime. Do you have the stuff?'"


• Unnamed story (Possible Iron Chef: Maimed/Scarred Quinn), by Erin M. (COMPLETE!): "'You know, Daria,' Jane said, as the three of them walked home from the last day of school, eager to start summer vacation,'I have to be honest with both of you. I DID kind of have an ulterior motive in talking to you the first day you were here.'"


• Unnamed story (Possible Iron Chef: Maimed/Scarred Quinn), by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): "She smiled and went to her room, unlocking the door. Inside, Fran saw a tiny, thin girl, dressed all in black, sitting on a bed. She was facing away and sorting through a suitcase.. Her red hair fell to the bed and spread out a foot around her. Fran smiled and said, 'Hi, I'm Fran Lawrence.'"


• Wait (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: It's Friday!!), by Jim North (COMPLETE!): "'Behave yourself for the nice gentlemen, honey, and if they don't behave themselves, remember you're wearing reinforced toe boots!' Helen waved, then she, Quinn, and Jake were all gone before Daria could tell them she had been kidding. She looked up as one of the big, sweaty, hairy moving men walked up to her. 'If you're going to serial murder me,' she told him, 'please have the decency to bury me deep enough that the coyotes can't get at my bones.'"


• Worldburner Finale: The Heart of the Matter, by Erin M. (part 1): "There was another flash and a column of red light, tinged with black rose from the pedestal and formed itself into a large ring. An image appeared of a handsome middle aged woman clad in a blue robe and long golden cloak. NegaJane's eyes widened. 'Holy shit, boss! Isn't that the same kind of cloak the Order--' Judith held up a hand, cutting off her lieutenant, not taking her gaze off the projection. The woman took a deep breath and began to speak."

We've Come a Long Way, Baby!

Exactly one year ago today, the very first Daria DVD sets were received by fans. Hooray!

So, what has changed since that momentous DVD release? I have several thoughts, but I'd rather open it up for discussion. What effect do you think the DVDs have had on fandom? Talk about it in the comments while I update the latest news:

• News and reactions are being shared about the tornadoes in the Southern U.S.


• Interested in attending or helping to organize Midwest Dariacon 2011? Post in the thread!


• Derek posted some exciting news about space exploration.


• What are your top 10 movies you don't ever want to watch?


• The latest Doctor Who episode is being discussed now.


• GardenStateMachine is looking for recommendations for running music.


• Some new activities in the Creative Writing forum: GlitterShrooms's Daria: The Last Woman. IC/Discussion and psychotol's God sez: (Round robin challenge: Why would she do this?).

La La La La La, My Darling

"Dye! Dye! My Darling" appeared on the air for the first time 10 years ago today. By far the most controversial episode ever aired in the Daria series (even more so than "Daria!" or "Depth Takes a Holiday"), DDMD has never lost its ability to drive the fandom nuts.

A year ago this day I uploaded a bunch of links through the WayBack Machine to old MTV website pages of Daria goodness. There's the link to them. Go and have fun.

Happy August Long Weekend to everyone in Canada. Enjoy the day!

PPMB

• Grove Hell 2: All the Lawndale People, by Charles RB (Part 5): Daria and Jane walked up to the Morgendorffer house, deep in philosophical discussion. “No, you’ve not thought this through. Alien bleeds acid blood, Species is just a woman who can’t remember how to put clothes on. She’d never survive. Alien all the way.” “Ah, but if she borrows Predator’s blasters, she’s got long-range!” “Touche. It’s not like he’ll want them after the Krites have eaten them.” Daria opened the door, took a brief listen, and winced. “You better take a hike. My mom’s talking to my Aunt Rita. This isn’t gonna be pretty.” (FF.net)
  
• Inner Universe, by Malakite (Part 6): "I've said it before, I'll say it again: you have the coolest room." This comment rose above the somewhat muted sound of twangy guitar and piano accompaniment coming from Jane's television. As she painted (the palette for today was heavy on greys with a touch of green) and intermittently sketched she decided, "It's got pros and cons. You can't hurt yourself in here, but you can't hurt anybody else in here, either." Jane smiled at this as she rapped her hand lightly against the nearest wall. "I wish there'd been a schizophrenic shut-in living in our house before we moved in. Of course, we've got Trent there now. That's almost the same thing."
  
• The Lane That Wasn't, by LadieT (Part 12): Jane continued to look at the screen in front of her. The old man studied her expressions. He noticed how a look of pain came over Jane when she watched the scene the where she had told Daria about moving. He saw jealousy flash in her eyes when she saw the drawing Daria did of Melody Powers. She tried to stay expressionless but couldn't. She turned to him. His eyes had changed colors again. This time they were matching Daria's dark brown eyes. She looked down at the road that stretched ahead of her. She looked at him with a curious face. "I have a question," Jane stated. "Ask away." The old man shifted his gaze to the sky.
• Raft College: The First Year, by rglovejoy (Part 20): Daria left Professor Federova's office feeling a bit shell-shocked. It was clear that she had made a lot of mistakes in writing her first paper, to impress her teacher with her thoroughness. It was pretty easy to snow someone like DeMartino or O'Neill, simply because they were not used to any sort of academic rigor from their students. DeMartino would have been happy if someone merely knew that Robert E. Lee's wife was not Sara Lee.
  
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Real Esteem), by Kristen Bealer (COMPLETE!): "Students with low self-esteem will be exterminated!" (Daria/Doctor Who)

Hooray.

The poster hanging above Daria's bedroom desk depicts author Franz Kafka, who would be 127 years old today if he hadn't died first. He is famous for his unique existential works that place human protagonists into bizarre and often unresolvable circumstances, such as in The Metamorphosis, in which Daria turns into a bug. And there was great rejoicing.

It was a year ago today that the future release of the Daria DVD set was finally announced. And there was great rejoicing.

PPMB

• Delete the Press, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): "Representative Landon, is there any truth to the rumor that you're considering a run for Senate in the near future?" "I can safely say I'm not considering a run this year. As far as the future, it would be irresponsible of me to speculate. Right now, I'm focusing on doing the best job I can for my constituents." "So you're not ruling out a Senate run in 2012?" "As I said, it's far too early to rule anything in or out for 2012. I'm not thinking about the Senate at all. I'm thinking about the job I was elected to do in the House of Representatives." "But wouldn't it be a good time for you to run? After all, your profile has never been higher." "Are you talking about the DVDs from that stupid reality show I was forced to take part in as a teenager?"
• Daria/Dorian, by LadieT (COMPLETE!): A couple of minutes later, Kevin and Brittany walked in along with Jodie and Mack. Brittany looked over at him and waved. Jodie and Mack grinned as they sat down in front of Jane and Dorian. A few moments later, the bell rang. Mr. DeMartino closed the door and made his way to the front of his desk. "Class, we have a NEW STUDENT here today. Dorian Morgendorffer. Dorian, raise your right hand." Great... welcome to Lawndale Hell all over again. Dorian reluctantly raised his right hand. "Well, Dorian, as long as you have your hand raised. Before our break last week, we were discussing the Amendments of the US Constitution. Perhaps you think its UNFAIR to be asked a question on your first day of class." "Excuse me?" Deja vu. Dorian waited for the question. (FF.net)
  
• First Born, by RLobinske (Part 2): Hearing the warning, Jane slowed her minivan down to just below the speed limit to avoid unwanted attention. Not that the brightly colored van didn't attract attention with the large "Three Art Chicks" logo painted on each side. Except for her hair worn longer and in a single ponytail, she was little different from her college days. Even the mischievous glint remained in her blue eyes. "Just the radar detector," she said into the miniature headset fitted to her right ear. "Karen warned me about the small towns around here and I'm taking her at her word."
• Raft College: The First Year, by rglovejoy (Part 13): "Hey," she said softly as she approached him. Sam merely smiled back—at least now he could recognize her. "So, where are we going?" "We are meeting at a Chinese restaurant on Massachusetts Avenue, near the campus. It is called Mary Chung's. I have eaten there before, the food there is very good. Do you like Chinese food?" "Yeah, I guess so." Daria sort of liked the stuff, but after that weird dream she had of meeting holidays and traveling to Holiday Island via the Good Times Chinese Restaurant, she had a few misgivings. "You'll have to tell me what to order, though."
• Sleepwalker, by Jim North (continued): As soon as she was sure all of her roommates were asleep, Brittany poked her head out the door and scanned the area with the eyes of a hawk. A nighthawk. That could see well at night. Confident that her movements would be unobserved, she slid out and locked the door behind her. With careful tip-toe steps and a continued alertness, she made her way to the corner of the building. Only a few doors separated her room and that corner, but her insistence on a high level of stealthiness made the journey stretch out over several minutes. She made not a sound, not a whisper, not a—
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Daria and Jane pregnant at the same time), by Minx (COMPLETE!): Daria set a weary gaze upon her family, the time had come. It was now or never. Oh how she wished never was a possibility. Unfortunately, time had run out she only had another three, maybe four weeks and it would be obvious. Daria inhaled deeply and turned to her bemused parents, "Mom, Dad..." her gaze dropped to the ground, unable to look them in the eyes, "I'm pregnant."
  

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?"

Babysitting in a Pinch

Thirteen years ago today, "Pinch Sitter" made its MTV debut. We learn a little about Jane's past, Daria's past, and weird families who seem to have come from outer space. And we saw Daria in pigtails. That was fun. My favorite line: "Hitler ate sugar!"

NuZ!

• "I'm having an interesting reaction to our favorite show upon viewing the new DVD set," says Daria fan APGilmore in a new PPMB thread called Re-viewing Daria. Check it out and add your two cents.
• NEW! Outpost Daria has updated again, with more stories, news, and art!
• NEW! What movies do Daria fans like best? Roentgen proposes a very interesting exercise in groupthink that you will likely enjoy. Click the link and try it out.
  

PPMB

• Back in Cynical Black, by Peapotmaster (preview): "It's Daria's biggest adventure yet, as she must save herself from the evil Cornollio Mafia! With special guest stars; Johnny Gomez, Nick Diamond, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Beavis and Butt-Head in a battle to save the cynics!"
• Daria/Dorian, by LadieT (Parts 4 and 5): "Thanks for bringing Jane over and being here last night. Thanks for the clothes too." "No problem. How are you doing?" "I feel like I have been hit by a bus while it's being hit by a freight train. Look, there are going to be times when I'm going to need someone to talk to who isn't a female or my father." "You mean like a big brother." "Yeah, and I have it on good authority that you're not half bad in that department. So, I was kinda hoping you could fill that role."
• Finn Morgendorffer 48: Filling Sacks of Failure, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 7): Daria sucked the life out of the conversation with one sentence. “My roommate makes her own tampons.”
• For Life, by LSauchelli (Part 1): Daria Morgendorffer closed her eyes as the presiding juror read the verdict. She could only hear buzzing in her ears, she didn't want to listen. She knew already that she was going to go away for a long, long time. After all, had she not killed her family in cold blood? Had she not left countless clues to the clueless detectives on the scene? Had she not written a confession in her diary? No, of course none of these things ever really happened.
• Jacob Morgendorffer, Esq., by CAP (Part 11): The Wakefield Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association meeting ground to a merciful halt by eight-thirty... Jake looked about the auditorium as he slid on his jacket. Across the room, he spied his youngest daughter was chatting with some friends. His wife and eldest daughter begged off being present. Helen had some work to do and Daria said that she needed to count her toes. (FF.net)
  
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Mini: Cop, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): Given their recent run-ins with Ringbearers, Legionnaires, reapers, zombies and roving packs of teen lesbians, nothing surprised the Lawndale PD anymore...
• Morgendorffer, by Lord Akiyama (Part 3): Daria and Jane stood by patiently. They were to one side, watching with great disgust as Princess Augusta sat in one of the garden tables with her high society friends. The three girls were Lady Sandi of Griffin, Lady Stacy of Rowe, and Lady Tiffany of Blum-Deckler. The two maids were to serve whenever one of the four girls called for them. What made the situation of their occupation even more unpleasant was that they had to listen to every word the brats were saying. (FF.net)
  
• Unnamed story, by Aloysius (preview): The man who was being interviewed looked like a stereotypical Texas oilman, Melody thought as she watched the TV. Which, of course, he is.
• Unnamed story (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: Ouch Time), by Kristen Bealer (fragment): Standing near the now-disabled Tank, Daria, Jane, Trent, and Jesse discussed how they were going to get to Alternapalooza. "There's a noise wall up ahead," Jane said. "There must be houses behind it. Daria, you and Trent stay here; Jesse and I will find a phone and call for help." She leaned toward Daria to murmur, "Great plan, huh?"
  

Welcome to the DFB2! (a message for the new fans)

From the time MTV announced it was releasing the Daria DVD set, this blog's followers have more than doubled in number, and it has now collected over 165,000 hits. Lots of new fans and former fans were drawn in by the DVD set. You are always welcome here, and the fandom is glad to have you.

It might help to say a few general words about this blog and the Daria fandom's other party places on the Internet.

This blog was set up about 2.5 years ago, long before anyone know of the DVD release, as a multipurpose watering hole for this fandom. (Yes, there was a DFB before this one, but is is now inactive.) The giant links directory at left was put together to help people find the current hot spots as well as get nostalgic over the long-ago sites of glory. A lot of the Daria art here was recovered from long-extinct MTV and fan sites using the WayBack Machine, which is why it looks official (it was, at one time) but possibly unfamiliar. The sounds bites that play when you click on certain images came from the Daria's Sick, Sad Life Planner CD and various WAV collections online. And my colleagues and I add little notes about famous (or stupid) things that happened each day, usually related to Daria or just quirky enough that Daria would have liked them seeing them on Sick, Sad World. This blog thus imitates the SSLP, which also announced interesting anniversaries and holidays.

The main day-to-day function of the DFB2 is to list newly completed Daria fanfiction, as much of it as can be found. I might have missed a few recent stories, sorry, but am fixing that. If you know of a website where new Daria fanfiction is appearing, let me know.

EXTRA NOTE: I also frequently update and correct postings in the blog, so check back in every so often to see what's new, especially looking for NEW! tags.

And you can comment on anything Daria-ish here using the Comments section below each post. Try to stay current, because not many people will backtrack to read it.

The main message board for actual written conversation is at the PPMB (see links at left). Going off topic at least once in every thread is a requirement.

Any questions or comments are welcome. Glad to have more fans here! Now let's see if that Mystic Spiral TV series can get going...

FF.net

• Secret Plans and Clever Tricks, by Fringeperson (COMPLETE!): Every Saturday that Quinn had a date, Daria slipped into the overly pink and frilly room, tip-toed her way to the closet, and removed something. It didn't matter much what, but she carefully picked things that she was certain Quinn wouldn't miss – that is to say, things she had bought long enough ago she had probably forgotten about them. This item she then carefully photographed and folded, then put up for sale over the internet. As a small support for her father, she carefully divided the money from the sales and deposited a third into his bank account. Admittedly, Quinn would probably just spend it before their father even noticed the money had gone in, but Daria figured that if it spared her another trip into some national park where they would try to be one with nature, and just end up high on berries, then it was worth it.
• Technicolor Dream, by Miss Pennyfeather (Part 2): Trent sank his head under the pillow and stopped thinking. Soon he'd be in dream land and he'd forget everything about this unannounced interruption into his otherwise peaceful, uneventful life. He wasn't sure whether he had locked the front door, but he didn't care. He was going to fall asleep. But one eye remained open, one eye refused to close. He was staring at the darkness around him and he was thinking. Was it the music that was getting to him? Was it the gig? Was it the fact that he couldn't remember his mom's face? Was it the annoying mail box in front of their house? The name "Mystic Spiral" made him depressed too, but it had never caused personality deviations before.
• That's What You'll Take to the Grave, by Mediancat (COMPLETE!): After two rings, the person on the other end picked up. "Hello?" "G, it's Daria. I got a favor to ask." "Certainly. How can I be of assistance?" "Tell me what you know about todhunter demons." (Daria/Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [Story completes saga begun here and continued here.]
• While the Bat's Away: The Substitute, by Echopapa (continued): After Principal Li gave Ms. Dahl directions to her classroom, she closed the door behind her and went over to the picture window overlooking the Lawndale High campus. True, she could see more by studying the security monitors, but sometimes there was nothing like surveying things one's own eyes to give one a feeling of power. Another crisis averted, she thought. My efforts to keep Laaawndale High running smoothly never end... "Eh?" Her reverie was interrupted by the beeping of her phone. (Daria/DC Justice League)
  

PPMB

• The Dream of the White Darkness, by jtranser (continued): The magazine was one of Daria's guilty little secrets, one she indulged in only when at conferences out of town, away from anyone she knew. She'd go to the local book/magazine store, pick up a copy, pay for it, have it sacked and then take it directly to her car. Later, in her hotel room, she'd fix a mojito, turn on her mp3 player loaded with Martin Denny tracks, stretch out and read the latest issue of Modern Popular Culture Magazine. Within were such articles as: "Desperate Suburban Homemakers and Desensitized Robots equal Disappointed Love!", "Astral Freakout", "Repressed Hostility and Guilt: Your House Plants Know!"
• NEWER! The Ephemeral Ties that Bind, by Thecoffeeguru (continued): "Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Mrs. Manson and I am the student psychologist at Lawndale High. It is my job to..." "What kind of school employs a psychologist? Shouldn't you be an ex-hippie with a made-up certificate in motivational counseling?"
• LAST NEWEST! Eye of the Beholder, by GlitterShrooms (Part 2): After a brief phone call, Helen stood up in her office. She looked around with a smile. It was that time of week. Walking around, Helen closed her office’s blinds, and dimmed the lights. It wouldn’t be too long before she heard that sacred knock. Knock. Knock. “You can come in,” Helen said. Sandi Griffin entered the room wearing her French maid costume.
  
• MOAR NEWEST! Falling into College: The Clip Show, by RLobinske (Part 10): Seated at her computer desk, Daria looked over her shoulder and sighed. "You know, after all this time, I should be used to the weird feeling that someone is about to do something very strange to me. Alien adoptions, supernovas, long-term amnesia. You name it, someone's done it to me. That's why I subscribe to Angst Guard. So that no matter what is done to me, I can bounce back in the next story as good as new."
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 46: Shields Up, by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): It did not take long for rumors to spread at the school. After all, Barch was unexpectedly gone. While the males of the school may have been grateful for it, they were also curious. After all, if something could be done to get rid of Barch just like that, anyone would want that sort of power. Finn wasn’t sure if he should tell the truth. Stories got distorted very easily...
  
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 30): The students in Goodlet's class still segregated themselves. There were the "brains," who were a small group to themselves. There were the "average" and there were the "low" —Quinn's natural group, consisting of herself, Patty Clark, and a girl named Madeline de la Rosa. Each group approached the material at a different level; Quinn, Patty and Madeline approached at "survival." Even so, Quinn found herself listening in to the other two groups. And, amazingly, Quinn could actually understand what they were talking about. The really smart kids were riffing on the material, their questions half-reinforcement and half "can you top this?" as if they were trying to give each other an impossible exam that would be even worse than Goodlett's. (FF.net)
• Into the Fray, by Minx (Part 10): "From what we’ve been told, they use the women and children as bait and bargaining chips to get the men that are fit enough to fight to cooperate.” Trent paused and looked at the three girls. “Which is why we need to be careful. For all we know this guy is using you three as bait and fooling you into thinking he is a good guy, to lure us out of hiding.” “Why would they go to all of that trouble? It sounds like a waste of time; this isn’t one of those cop drama movies or whatever,” Quinn said. “Really? ‘Cause last I checked we were running around in a would-be war zone. Didn’t it cross your minds that this Sam guy is playing the good cop role, promising to bring back news on your folks so that we would welcome him back, only to realize that it was an ambush?”
• LAST NEWEST! John Lane 46: Substitute Plans, by RLobinske (Part 1): Ms. Ruiz paced back in forth in Principal Li's office beside Ms. Barch and Mr. DeMartino. "Might I remind you that was part of what made me agree to hire on to your school?" Ms. Barch cut to the subject at hand. "Do we get our raise or not?!" Ms. Li calmly said, "Better! A new coffee maker in the teachers' lounge."
  
• NEWEST! Judith Strikes! Opening Gambit, by Erin M. (Part 1): It was a dead world, and had been for some time. Civilization had its time and had moved on, quietly and with little fanfare. There were still some traces though. A few buildings still stood relatively undamaged and were still structurally sound. One of these was a large, red brick, two story house on a quiet suburban street. While a majority of the windows were shattered and blown out, the rest of the house was still intact. The lawn was yellowed and dead. If anyone was still around to look in the garage, they would have found an old red SUV sitting in there, also long dead form disuse. The interior of the house wasn't much better. The elements had taken over in the years since the end and the furniture was rotted and unusable in most of the house. In the living room were the remains of six human skeletons, all jumbled together in a pile in the center of the room. They, too, hadn't been disturbed in years.
  
• NEWER! A New Set of Rules, by Dennis (Part 12): The next two days were only slightly more productive than her library foray, so Daria was in what could charitably be called a foul mood when the wall buzzer heralded Kevin's arrival for his study session. She expressed her irritation by greeting him over the intercom with a hearty, “What the hell are you bothering me for?” His puzzled response, “Uh, to meet your for our tutoring session?” did nothing to reduce her annoyance, but rather than unleash a blistering string of profanities, she turned around and stalked from her room without further speech. On her arrival at the check-in desk, Kevin gave her an attempt at a mollifying smile, but she chose not to accept it. Without even looking at him, she signed him in and turned back to the hallway with a grumbled, “Come on, dumbass.”
  
• Shining Star: Temporal Conundrum, by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): Ringbearer Jane led the others to the Gateway Café just off the main plaza of Terra Beacon One. "Now everybody, just have a seat and order what you want, on me." Daria said, "Where are you going?" "I've got to go explain to the Ringmasters why I've brought four unauthorized persons and a car here. I'm sure that they've noticed by now and… they'll have questions." "Blame it on me," Daria said. "Oh, I will," Jane said. (FF.net)
  
• NEW! A Sick Sad Interview, by Abe (COMPLETE!): How did I get myself into this situation, anyway? Oh yes, of course: Jane. "Hey, they've got positions available for a junior reporter/interviewer and an assistant animator/graphics artist! With any luck, we can work there together!" and "Come on, it's Sick, Sad World!" So we get hired, and they stick Jane in a cubicle in an office building, doing stuff only very distantly related to her art, and send me all the way out to this one-horse town to interview some nut-case.
• LAST NEWEST! Tracksuits, by Malakite (Part 7): Quinn made her way back to the STET's main hallways, then stepped past the dozens of people who had received the glorious gift of early Renewal. Most of the recoverable wounded had already been removed for processing, along with the obsolete. After a few minutes of growing irritation at getting yet more blood on her boots, she found the man she was looking for, "supervising" a clean-up crew. With her friendliest voice she called to him. "Hello, Preacher." "Ah, good day Agent." He paused, then with his gaze sweeping over the bloodied piles, added, "or perhaps not so good."
  
• NEW! Unnamed alternate ending (Finn Morgendorffer 46: Shields Up), by Brother Grimace and TAG, continuing a story by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): Twenty years later, Finn woke up in his bed to find a frazzle-haired figure beside him, holding a two-handed axe high over her head, The mad figure looked down in triumph. "Never make an enemy you can't kill," hissed Angela Li.
  

The Museum's Muse

Hi-yo! It is International Museum Day, and we remember Daria's favorite museum at right. International Museum Day. Why not, sure.

A major canon character from Daria died in an alternate universe, 25 years ago today. Who was it?

An original supervillain battling the Legion of Lawndale Heroes appeared in the LLH universe five years ago today. Who was it?

The DVD set continues to sell hugely. Congratulations to everyone who bought a copy!

WE WON! THE DVDs ARE OUT!!!

WE WON!!!

April Showers Bring The Flowers

Two thousand years ago, give or take a few, today was part of Floralia, a Roman celebration of the goddess Flora (who looked over flowers and plants, of course). Floralia actually began yesterday, but Wikipedia had the wrong day down. Can you imagine that? Anyway, Floralia was quite popular with the Romans for reasons I can't go into here, so perhaps you should click on one of the previous links to find out why, if you are not at work. (Nothing obscene, just... naughty.)

This is also Workers Memorial Day in the U.S. and Canada, to commemorate those who died while performing their jobs. They live on in our thoughts and prayers.

ALERT #1! The Daria DVDs ARE OUT!!!

ALERT #2! UK orders for the Daria DVDs are being filled and mailed!

ALERT #3! Special message from Glenn Eichler!!!

PPMB

• General Semantics, Private Angst, by Gwrtheyrn (Part 23): "Your head is just a bit large, not freakishly so," said Dr. Sloane. "Stop. You'll put me all a-flutter with your honeyed words," Daria replied, in a flat, deadly monotone.
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 26): "Wx xrx hxrx txdx tx hxnxr xxxsx at Fxxldxnx whxx xxll xxxry xxr xxnxxxrx xntx txx xxxmy txxxtxrx xf Gxxxvx Hxx. Txx xxxxx mxx xf xxr xxxlxvxx Fxxldxnx Blxx xxxx. Thxsx xxx xx rxxdx tx dxpaxx xnd txxx txx bxxr xx xxx xxgx, xx xt wxxx. Nx onx cxn sxy thxx thxxx yxxxg mxn, xxx xxnxxt xxf xxx Fxxldxnx xxxlxtxc txxdxxxx, xxx nxt prxpxxxx, nxt cxxxxxxx, xxx nxt cxpxblx xxx xxx xxxk xx dxlxvxxxx gxxdxrxx xxxtxry."
• NEW! Mrs. Sloane, by Liz Ruiz (Part 1): "Tommy," Mrs. Sloane addressed her husband, making a point of ignoring the other man. "That shade of green is isn't really what you should wear today. I thought we had agreed on the dark blue suit." Daniel saw the candidate stop in mid-bite. He would've sworn that the senator was turning a slight shade of green himself. Very few things fazed Thomas Sloane.
  
• NEW! Parents Are People, by Legendeld (Part 1): “So you and Dad are really going to get married?” Quinn said softly. Amy held up her hand to show the engagement ring. “Yes, I hope you both are ok with this but I understand if you aren’t. All I ask is that you give us a chance.”
  
• Unnamed story (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: Ouch Time), by Yogi (COMPLETE!): “Oh my god!” Jake exclaimed “Daria's gay, too?!?” “WHAT?” Daria yelled. “What do you mean 'TOO'?” Quinn cried.

Starting the Week Off Right

A.E. van Vogt, a writer best known during the Golden Age of SF, was born this day 98 years ago. His work is commemorated in a current Daria fanfic by Gwrtheyrn, "General Semantics, Private Angst," based on van Vogt's null-A universe. Yee-haaaw!

Today is also Old Permic Alphabet Day (look it up, I won't explain it), Richter Scale Day (if you love earthquakes, which no one does), and World Intellectual Property Day, which I probably shouldn't mention for obvious reasons having to do with the subject of this blog. Nonetheless, it is a legal thing and Helen Morgendorffer likes legal things, so here it is. And I am proud to say that Daria has to be one of the best intellectual properties in existence, in my own humble opinion. Yay!

If you took a photo of Jane Lane, would she look like this? See also these two threads on real-life Jane Lanes, still in progress!

BRAKING GNUZ! DariaonDVD.com is now open through MTV! (Only for USA, sadly, but still...) Get your free T-shirt while supplies last! As it happens, though, I have too many T-shirts and have already ordered through bn.com, so... oh well!

ALSO! Ticknart has a special message to all fanfiction fans in Comments, below. Help the contest out!

ALSO! I was reliably informed that today is the first BoobQuake Day. This is only peripherally related to Daria, but, hey, it's for science.

CRINGE!

Kara Wild wants to know what you think are the most cringe-worthy character moments in Daria. "I'll forgo naming a really obvious one," she writes, "and just say that I cringe whenever I think of Jane's reaction to Daria's botched hair dye job in DDMD!. 'You did it on purpose! To take Tom away from me!'" What do you think? Read and post!

What would be my response... Jane not slapping the living crap out of Daria in the same episode. Yeah, that would be it.

I came across an interesting news item on the 'net about the DVDaria release. Check it out.

PPMB

• Add-on ending to The Fight (by TheSharpie), by Ranger Thorne (COMPLETE!):
• And Goes Well With Fish? by Sandi Griffin, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): “Picking the right color is really what fashion is all about. You want to draw the eye, but in a good way, not like those horrible chunky girls who wear orange spandex and pink tops. That just makes you look horrible."
• Anti-Trope, by Minx (continued): “Wakey wakey, hands off snakey!” Jane slowly opened the door to Dean’s bedroom and saw his sleeping form under a mess of blankets on his bed. Dean groaned and rolled over. “Go away, Quinn,” he mumbled and pulled the blankets over his face.
• Finn Morgendorffer 40: Higher Learning, by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): “This is the part where you tell me not to talk about my sister like that.” “I don’t when it’s true, Finn. I don’t when it’s true."
• NEW! Finn Morgendorffer 41: It's Called Boston, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “A trip? Where? School’s still in session.” “I know. I wanted to go to Boston.” “Finn, why on Earth would you... wait, this was the plan you thought of with Jane?” “I wanna take Jane to BFAC. I want her to tour the campus, to see the sights. Talk with people really learning art. Not drunks like Lindy.”
  
• Fragments of an unnamed tale, by Staticblast (COMPLETE!): "You are now entering hell, Mr. Pickman." Daria gives a slight smile. "Please keep your limbs in the carriage." (Daria/Call of Cthulhu)
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 21): For Quinn, this was the moment of truth. Normally, one goes through five stages of mourning but Quinn was still stuck on the second stage - anger. She hated this whole stupid system at Fielding. She hated the snobby people. She hated the mean old teachers. She hated the endless attempts to need to keep up. She hated the stupid lack of fashion sense. She hated Pat Seven. She hated Sue Bentley and she hated Patty Clark and she hated Claire Davidson and she hated Jill Yardborough. When I get out of here, I'm going back to public school and no amount of money in the world will get me to go to private school again.
• Jacob Morgendorffer, Esq., by CAP (Part 7): The man smiled broadly. “Thanks, Captain,” he said extending his hand. “Charles Ruttheimer.” “Jacob Morgendorffer,” Jake answered as he shook hands. (FF.net)
• Lawndale's Finest: Action Stories #4—Power Struggle, by Jim North (continued): "Look," she said, "my fault or not, I think we need to just stop and take a moment here. This whole 'hold Lawndale hostage for money' thing . . . the zap you got must have scrambled you up or something. If you just come with me to S.T.A.R. Labs, they can try and get you sorted—"
• Musings on "The Last Virus," by Jim North (COMPLETE!): Despite my better judgment, and based on the most likely faulty judgment of my peers, I am submitting the enclosed short story "The Last Virus" for potential publication in Musings. One can only hope that your eventual rejection will only lead me into a gradual but inevitable spiral of alcoholism and drug abuse to blot out the pain instead of outright hanging myself from a rafter in my house.