Chocolate For All Parents! Especially Me!

Helen and Jake are celebrating Parents' Day properly with a nice family hug, although Daria might not agree that this is the best way to observe the holiday. Quinn is nowhere to be found, but rest assured that her parents will surely find some way to embarrass and/or horrify her before the day is over.

I am a parent, but I'm thinking I might rather participate in National Milk Chocolate Day! Maybe Jane can eat some unauthorized chocolate at school, or Daria and Tom could steal some of Quinn's candy given to her from her admirers...which, let's be honest, she was never going to eat anyway.

If you do steal chocolate, just don't get caught by the sheriff or you might meet the same fate as Mystik Spiral in the episode "Speedtrapped," which aired on this day twenty-five years ago. The last thing Daria wants to do is make another long drive to bail someone out. Then again, if it gives her an excuse to avoid any further parental hugs, she might just consider it.

Fanfic Update!

• The Big Notebook, by BracedRhombus (COMPLETE!): "It was a slow afternoon at the Strieder Detective Agency. I was sitting at my table in the school library reading the Lawndale High Code of Ethics and laughing at the funny parts, when She walked in."


• Spider Quinn 10 The New Heroes, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 5): "Later that evening there was a surprise on the news. 'Breaking news. A third vigilante has been sighted in Lawndale. The description matches neither SpiderGirl nor Ninja Talon.'"

A Holiday for the Dogs!

Everything's all set up for the National Hot Dog Day eating contest, but feel free to sit this one out if you're not interested in eating any more hot dog slices, hot dog jalapeno hotties, fried wieners, caramel-topped popcorn dogs, and whatever else Jake might have come up. Possibly including desserts.

Today is also Parent's Day, so let's all take a moment to reflect on the excellent parenting skills of Daria characters like, um, well....

Damn. Surely someone had to have done something right? Eventually?

Fanfic Update!

• Angela Li's Departure, by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): "Tension was so thick you could enroll it at Lawndale State. It was the penultimate day, the day before the event the teachers of Lawndale High had stopped dreaming about due to the pain, the day no student could have conceived of. Tomorrow, Principal Li was retiring."


• Decisions, by elainefr (part 17): "Daria looked at her parents and waited for their reactions. Her mother held a perfect poker face, with eyes that seemed to be trying to see into her daughter's brain and figure out something."


• The More Things Change, by Two-Eyed Charlie (COMPLETE!): "Well Mr. Eichler, Mrs. Lewis, I suppose I could say that's the last of my promised story. After all, this pseudo-memoir was only supposed to help explain the genesis of Jane and my comic series. But--and maybe it's just the writerly discipline that's been beaten into me--I don't think I can just leave it off there."


• Unnamed story (LLH - Short Entries), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "Stacy looked up from her spot on the couch in the common area to see Mack exit the elevator. 'Hi, Mack!' 'Hey, Stacy. Have you seen Jodie?'"


• Unnamed story (LLH - Short Entries), by Roentgen (part 29): "Karen finished her workout, or if she were being truthful, it finished her."

Family and Fire Are Not a Good Mix!

Helen, Rita, and Amy are arguing over whether it's Parents' Day or Aunt and Uncle's Day, but the truth is that it's both! So maybe they should all just call the fight off and make some damn cookies already.

They'll want to be very careful with the oven, though, because it's also the fifteenth anniversary of the episode "Fire!," and I don't think they want any repeats of Jake's kitchen disaster.

Fanfic Update!

• Don's Surprise/Ideally Really Ziggy (Write-Off Challenge 1), by PrecambrianStudios (COMPLETE!): "'Mm. Hello, date number twenty nine. Oh, and you brought her flowers. I'm sure that'll please her,' the bespectacled boy in a green jacket sarcastically said."


• The Loneliness of Alex, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 2): "Later in the afternoon, the 'Esteem-a-Teen' 'course' had started. Alex sat there, bored out of her skull as Mr. O'Neill droned on."


• Lost in Suburbia, by 11tee (part 3): "The motorcycle purred as Kevin pushed through the turns. Andrea's arms felt So Nice around his waist, but he was low on gas, so he eased into the filling station."


• Revelations and Confrontations, by bhut (COMPLETE!): "The day that the FC later called 'The Day of Fashion Infamy' or TDFI, and Daria and Jane and quite a few others called 'a hoot', started as a long, lazy, April Break day."


• The Secret Life of Penny Lane, by 11tee (part 8): "'Cacao puro, señor?' She lifted her hand from the dog and looked back at the man. 'Si, señora. The best cacao beans. You would like to try?'"


• Sins of the Father (Write-Off Challenge 1), by baelparagon (COMPLETE!): "'Good morning campers, did everyone have a fantastic night of fun and righteousness?' The slightly balding Mr. Potts said in front of the mess hall."


• Unnamed story (a new short story), by 11tee (COMPLETE!): "He raised his beer and took another swig; savoring the flavor of his home-brew. He would have never thought students of his would now call him 'Dad', whether out of courtesy or sincerity, but that was exactly what happened. His eyes focused as he recalled that fateful night."


• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria Fan-Fic Should Have: The Madness Sets In), by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "Lucky for Daria, all Barch had to show her was a dissection tray with a small white cloth over it. Barch pulled back the cloth. 'All I see is a dogfish shark.'"


• Unnamed story (Write-Off Challenge revived!), by Meester_Lee (COMPLETE!): "'Like Quinn's Cousin Or Whatever,' said Sandi with a sniff, 'you claim you can get this horned horse-thing out of our back yard?'" (Part 2)

"You give birth to someone, you just get an urge to keep tabs on them."

Because today is National Parents' Day, I thought it would be appropriate to show a rare moment of good parenting from Helen and Jake. Of course, it seems they got their act together just in time for the series to end, but what are you going to do? At least they got there before Daria left for college.

This is also the fifteenth anniversary of the episode "Pierce Me," which aired on this day in 1998. Daria did something stupid for a guy, and I think we're all waiting for that Daria/E.T. shipper fic to materialize.

Fandom News!

• What is a hipster anyway? SacredDust wants to know.


• Post your theories about each Daria character's popularity in a new discussion.


• Check out College Humor's fake live-action movie preview: "Daria - High School Reunion" and give your opinion.


• Have Region Two Daria DVDs become a reality? Follow the investigation as it develops!


• Discuss Star Wars, Robotech, and Macross in the Weapons of Mass Distraction forum.


• LSauchelli posted a new Iron Chef in Creative Writing: My Dad, the director.

This Just In . . . Where Are the Parents?

I ask only because today is National Parents' Day in the U.S. No, really. Fourth Sunday every July. No, you don't get a present for it. No cake, either. It just is. I have no idea who thought it up. Weird. Whatever.


Here's a tidbit from an old MTV Daria site. Enjoy.