Good Friends, Good Times

NightGoblyn has come up with a real challenge: Iron Chef: Old School. "Write a short fic (or longer, for extra credit) in script format that ends with Daria and Trent becoming a couple." Whoa, forward to the past!

Speaking of which, Kara Wild and others are discussing scriptfics, pro and con, on PPMB.

FF.net

• Lambda, by SigDiff (Part 22): Jane woke up to a cold breeze on her face, instantly reminding her where she was. Guess we fell asleep on the roof. Her vision saw the world slowly rising and falling several inches as her head rested on Watts' chest. “I hope you used protection,” she heard Daria's voice say from behind her.
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): She waited until Sandi was fully engaged in primping before emerging from the stall. "We need to talk," she said softly, as Sandi's expression stiffened in the mirror.
• Wristcutters: A Daria Story, by Charliefox2012 (Part 1): The ground was hard, and hot. The air was dry, and the sun was bright. Daria knew that she was outside, and that it was hot. She didn’t know how long she had been here or how she got there. She didn’t open her eyes yet, because she knew that she wasn’t in Lawndale, and a part of her was afraid to find out where she was. She heard the gravel crunching under someone’s shoes as they walked over to her.

PPMB

• Am I Being Served? by Ajar (Part 1): "Ah yes, you must be the new junior for the ladies' counter. I commend you for being punctual, which is more than I can say for some of our other junior staff. Sign in for 8:43."
• Complications, by Legendeld (Part 9): Daria Morgendorffer shook her head repeatedly as her so called best friend tried to discuss one of the few topics she considered taboo. They were inside Jane’s bedroom both standing as neither had a chance to sit before Jane started venting. “C’mon Daria. It was like she was deliberately picking a fight with me and then she started kissing me. Like I would feel like making out after fighting.”
• Expecting Trouble, by Legendeld (Parts 4 and 5): “Mr. O’Neil isn’t feeling well so I’ll be finishing up this class. Consider it a study hall.” Ms. Li stepped forward to Daria’s desk and lowered her voice. “And in the future, Miss Morgendorffer, if you feel a need to emasculate one of my teachers, do it on a Friday.”
• Hell on Wheels, by Roxanne M (Part 6): "Son, your mother and I were discussing this. We like Daria and don’t get us wrong; are you sure she is the girl for you? A proper young lady would not be crawling around bars in the worse part of town, let alone getting shot."
• Kappa Daria, by Patrick Moore, a.k.a. Peapotmaster, Shadow Pumpkinhead (Part 1): (Daria/Kappa Mikey) It was Bad Movie Night at Daria’s house, with Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane watching Dragonball Evolution on a bootlegged DVD. The two teenage girls looked at each other and groaned at the TV screen. “Damn bad live action movies based on popular cartoon shows,” said Jane. (FF.net)
  
• Lawndale's Finest: The Dark Knight (Chapter 3, Part 2): Three blocks over Batgirl dropped off the top of a building into a dimly lit alley, flipping her cloak out about two-thirds of the way down to catch the air and slow to a manageable speed before hitting the concrete in a crouch. She stood and strode to the bike hidden in the shadows, tapping the spot on the back of her gauntlet that unlocked all the electronics on the vehicle. She kick-started the bike with a roar of the engine, and sped out of the alley towards the East Side. [Moar here.]
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes: Tokusatsu Team Up! by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Part 7): Urza rolled her eyes at the display of wasted power and tried to teleport away, not really feeling like hurting the kids over something that would go her way by the end. But when she tried to slide away, something prevented her from doing so. She leveled a glare at the Blue Ranger. “Anti-apparition wards? I know more than a few ways to travel, you know.”
• On the Clock, by Legendeld (Part 5): Time flies when you’re having fun, or knocking heads across the entire Eastern seaboard. I didn’t realize just how many rogue heroes or villains there were out there but if I could go back in time I’d of bought stock in whatever company makes the cheap capes everyone and their brother keeps wearing.
• Tales of the Ringbearers: Temporary Duty, by Richard Lobinske (Part 3): "Now that you've had your chunk of uncooked cow, will you humor me for a second?" Daria said, holding up a thermometer. John put his empty plate in the dishwasher and said, "Fine." He took the thermometer from Daria and stuck it in his mouth and patiently waiting a minute. He then pulled it out and said, "Are you happy now." Daria's face lost color as she looked at the device. "No, I'm not."
• Things Fall Apart, by Doggieboy (Part 10): Butt-Head’s death depressed Beavis more than Daria or any of the high school faculty would have realized. The night that it happened, he cried for more than an hour. Helen and Jake managed to get him to lay down. She tucked him in on his bedroll and the boy cried himself to sleep.
  

J.B. wishes to remind you that...

...yesterday (Sunday) was Primrose Day, in honor of Benjamin Disraeli, whom J.B. is fond of quoting. J.B. would also like to report that, contrary to rumor, his name is not really "Pugsly."

Anyone have anything they wish to discuss? Leave a note or two in Comments.

A Rosier View of Quinn

Ten years and one day ago, the very first story appeared in the longest-running Daria fanfic series ever, the Driven Wild Universe. In "Rose-Colored Lenses," Quinn Morgendorffer (against her will) gets a pair of corrective eyeglasses, and the world is never again the same. The fandom was never the same again, either. Cheers to you, Ms. Wild, and thank you.

It's raining out at the moment, more news to come as it appears.

L8R: I've developed a quirky interest in DariaWiki in the last couple days. I am a sucker for looking up fanwork conventions used by Daria fanfic writers, and after reading through some of FF.net's collection, I hope to add more fanfic examples to various DariaWiki pages. Maybe this will stimulate interest in long-ago works or whatnot. A few new conventions have made themselves known, too: for instance, "Last Line" stories, in which everything hinges on the final words in the tale; "Gender Switch" tales in which characters change sex; and the infamous "Makeover" tales, which are not all alike. Everyone probably knows of examples of these, but it is interesting just how often some of these tropes are seen. I've been poking at family-tree revisions, too, under the heading "Multiplied Morgendorffers" (a work in progress, feel free to tinker with it and everything else I've done).

Today is also Jayne Mansfield's birthday, a 1950s starlet that Quinn pretended to be in an alter ego. More later after the thunderstorms pass.

Saturday, Hanging Around

A sort of Daria/Magic: The Gathering crossover has been started by Brother Grimace: Daria - The Collectible Card Game! Have some fun with it.

Speaking of crossovers, there's a PPMB thread on new or interesting Daria crossovers. It's right here. Enjoy.

Kara Wild brings up an important anniversary. Wow, time really DOES fly!

Does the horn go: Eeep eeep?

Brittany's car, courtesy of an old version of the MTV website. What kind of car is it? Moar later.

FF.net

• Lambda, by SigDiff (Part 19): Daria had decided to move much slower after their close call. They could hear gunfire sporadically erupting around the city, although all of it was still behind them. Grey Team was now the unofficial spearhead of the invasion.
  

PPMB

• Tales of the Ringbearers: Temporary Duty, by Richard Lobinske (Part 2): When the dimensional portal opened, Sharon and Nathan stepped through and into a familiar laboratory. Richard, their supervisor, was waiting and waved them to a pair of seats next to a workstation and said, "Sorry for the interruption, but we have a situation that calls for Nathan's experience and abilities." "Zombies?" Nathan asked.
• Things Fall Apart, by Doggieboy (Part 10): Tatyana Petrova walked quickly down the street to the hospital located across the street from the Hotel Barentsburg. The temperature was just a degree or two below zero Celsius and, the truth be told, she’d rather be in Odessa right then. Or else on vacation on the Turkish Riviera.

Ruff

Oops, late again. It was a ruff day. More shortly (or longly, but more).

FF.net

• Lambda, by SigDiff (Parts 17 and 18): Daria could feel herself shaking from nervousness. When she was younger, it had been a habit born out of her fear of dying. When she'd learned not to fear death anymore, it had become the fear of losing her best friend. As she had been promoted, it was compounded with the possibility that her mistakes might be the reason for that loss.

PPMB

• Antiestablishmentarian Hikers, by Lawndale Lurker (continued): “Do you have Tony DeMartino's cell phone number?” Linda asked him. “He doesn't have one,” Jake replied. “How about Ms. DeFoe?” “If she has a cell phone I don't have the number for it. What are you trying to find out?”
• Lawndale's Finest: The Dark Knight, by NightGoblyn (Chapter 3, Part 1): The figure moved across the gymnasium floor, carefully avoiding the crumpled bodies of the unconscious or hallucinating students. It seemed to almost hover forward, since all body movement was hidden by a dark, flowing cloak. Few details could be made out from the grainy, black-and-white video being shown, but the subject of the film seemed to radiate a deep sense of purpose. It slipped out the door, following the insane psychiatrist who had attacked the high school dance, and the video immediately froze.
• Love Is a Series of Burning Sensations, by Undefinedlust (Part 6): Daria paced her room nervously. Looking at the clock she saw that there was still half an hour before Tom was to pick her up. "I should really take another Valium", she thought, and deciding against using what was in her purse went to her parents bathroom and took one from one of her father's bottles.
• Once Upon a Time in Lawndale, by Disco316 (Part 9): Tom rifled through the drawer in which the models had been kept. It's got to be in here somewhere. I've found the bank, the stable, the blacksmith, the saloon, the nail salon; they're all here except for the... He looked up, and that thought process ceased as he saw the station model he'd been looking for suspended in front of his face. Holding the model in place was a hand, and attached to that hand was the arm that led to the body of...
  
• Spirit Stick, by Brother Grimace (Part 2): Five minutes later, the soldier and the blonde woman stood in the back yard of the Pi Rho Omega sorority house, looking up at the impressive, three-story building. “Yeah. This is not going to be pleasant,” the woman said, holding up her right hand as the simple silver band on her ring finger began to pulse with a series of slow, steady blue flashes.
• Tales of the Ringbearers: Temporary Duty, by Richard Lobinske (Part 1): Sharon Reeve pointed to a faintly visible, man-sized shape and said, "There's your target, Gunny." As she spoke, it started to move among the buildings. "Anything else?" the man asked. "You have to make that determination yourself."
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): Daria sat alone on the roof, her back to one of the air conditioner vents. It was lunch hour, and the Li-stapo was gone, so she felt confident her alone time would not be interrupted, and she felt she badly needed some alone time.
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Love in the Postmodern World), by Scissors MacGillicutty (COMPLETE!): Daria flopped on the bed, exhausted and exhilarated from the events of the past forty-eight hours. Quinn had said that she would like college, that people were interesting and nice, but the reception she had received surpassed—no surpassed was not the right word because it implied there had been some set level of expectation that had been exceeded....

Income Tax? No. OUT-GO Tax!

Tom Sloane, disguised as a federal IRS agent from that famous annual game show, "Who Wants to Be an Ex-Millionaire Doing Time for Tax Evasion?", wishes all of you a safe and happy April 15th on your way to the post office to mail in all your earnings for the last 130 years. Don't be late!

And, as pointed out by Richard Lobinske in Comments, this is also Quinn Morgendorffer's birthday. Send her some money, too.

Legendeld has a rant he wishes to share with you.

Moar soon.

Still Just a Rat in a Cage

"The Lab Brat" premiered 12 years ago today, and "Of Human Bonding" 9 years ago. You may color the picture of Roger on the right.

FF.net

• Lambda, by SigDiff (Parts 15 and 16): “Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad plan?” Jane asked of no one in particular.

PPMB

• More Apocalyptic Daria, by NightGoblyn (continued): Daria’s guns boom in the silence, and the sterile air is filled with the reek of gunpowder. The insect skids to a halt and screeches, its antennae waving wildly in our direction. The room fills with a creepy scrabbling sound as more roaches run into the room, stopping to tear apart the wounded one. “We have to go,” I say, edging around the nasty melee in the center of the room. “We have to go now.”
• Something Is Rotten in the State of Lawndale, by Kristen Bealer (Part 4): Meanwhile, Daria was in her bedroom, deciding on which book to read. She had narrowed it down to either Herman Melville's first novel or Bushido: The Soul of Japan. "Hmm," she mused. "Typee or Nitobe. That is the—" [AUUUUGH!!!!]
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): The changes in Lawndale High were titanic, but though she'd been largely responsible for bringing them about, Quinn did not particularly care about them at that moment. DeMartino in the principal's office had been disconcerting, even though she'd known about it last night, and the thumps and crashed caused by workmen already removing Ms. Li's surveillance control center hardly made for a convivial learning atmosphere, but Quinn had too much on her mind to care.
  

'Cause I haven't made BG's brain explode lately.

So, I've noticed that Daria is popularly thought to be very attractive--perhaps even more so than Quinn. Since all of the characters on Daria look fairly nondescript, being somewhat simply drawn cartoon characters, fans tend to point to the climactic scene from the episode "Quinn the Brain" to support this.

After all, Daria gives herself a makeover, and anyone who's seen a movie or TV show geared toward teenagers knows that's the way to turn a humdrum teen girl into a smoking hot one, right? ;)

There's also Quinn's reaction to Daria's makeover. She feels threatened, which clinches it, right? Quinn wouldn't feel threatened by Daria's appearance if Daria was not, in fact, at least as attractive as Quinn.

Right?

I'd like to offer a new way of looking at this scene. First, there's the obvious "parody" aspect of the scene. As mentioned previously, just about every young adult movie and/or TV show has done some variation on the "plain girl puts on makeup and fluffs her hair, then becomes supermodel" trope. "Quinn the Brain" has the plain girl put on makeup and fluff her hair--then turn around and revert back to her former appearance before more than one person even sees her.

Second, many people seem to overlook the parallelism of Daria's actions. All of the events leading up to that moment include Quinn "taking over" Daria's persona. She writes, she says "brainy" things, she dresses unfashionably, etc. Daria feels threatened by this, even though we all know she has no reason to be. No one would argue that Quinn's poem about the greasy fry is a masterpiece, or that her philosophizing about school work is the most ingenious idea since Darwin. The point is that Daria sees those things as defining her, and Quinn is now being recognized for them instead.

So, when Daria decides to fight back by taking over the aspects of Quinn's personality that define Quinn, there's no reason to assume that she successfully surpasses or even equals Quinn's appearance. Yes, Quinn felt threatened, but simply because she saw someone else usurping her persona--successfully or not--in the same way Daria felt threatened by Quinn. In short, Daria's makeover is the "greasy fry poem" of attractiveness.

This is not, of course, the only way to interpret that episode. Certainly it's possible that Daria walked out of her bedroom looking like the love child of Angelina Jolie and Jessica Alba. However, keep in mind that there exist plenty of women out there whose looks were between average and okay, who watched Daria in high school because they liked seeing another "average to okay" girl who reminded them that her appearance was irrelevant compared to her intelligence and sense of humor.

Am I saying there's no way Daria could possibly be attractive? Not at all. Am I saying that fandom should not ever consider Daria to be at supermodel heights of attractiveness? Nope. However, I think that, from now on, anyone who declares Daria to be the "hot" sister must also recognize Quinn as the "smart" sister.

It's only fair, after all! :-D

All the News Unfit to Print

Let's see, 12 years ago today an interview with Daria appeared in the San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle (in the Parade magazine). Of Jane, Daria says: "When I met her, she was wearing a 'New Kids on the Block' tour jacket. She's lucky she found me." Lots of attitude for those who like that.

PPMB

• Complications, by Legendeld (Part 8): Quinn winced at the shout coming from her sister’s bedroom. Daria was tearing into David ruthlessly over some kind of discussion on global politics. She didn’t hear her mother coming up behind her. “They’re still at it I see, or rather I can hear,” Helen said. Quinn couldn’t believe how calm her mother sounded.
• Expecting Trouble, by Legendeld (Part 3): Helen pulled up to the school, then turned to Quinn. “The school knows, I felt it best to get it out of the way as soon as possible because of the doctor appointments. If they so much as mention it, I want you to call me right away.”
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Special: Tokusatsu Team Up! by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Part 6): A lone figure of Jane Lane of D-RG1993, materialized itself on the outskirts of an artificial planet. Gruesome dragon-like ‘engines’ surrounded the Planeswalker. She smirked with contempt and released a powerful omnidirectional blast that destroying each of the guards. The man that had been leading the engines was the only one that remained, although all the artificial parts of his body had been removed. He looked rather pitiful with only one arm and no legs.
• On the Clock, by Legendeld (Part 4): I can’t believe I haven’t killed someone here yet. If I have to listen to any more of Shadow and HellCat arguing over portable power supplies one more time, I’m going to just murder both of them.
  

Multiple Verses

To me, the Daria Multiverse is an incredible indicator of the creativity of Daria Fandom. Over one hundred different fictional universes are already recorded in the DariaWiki entry and more are added on a regular basis, covering everything from ficlets to long series.

Closely associated with the multiverse idea are the shared-universe stories, such as the Ringbearers and Daylight. Less formally, guest authorships in long-running series, such as Brother Grimace's "A Path of Roses and Thorns" or the shared use of fan-developed characters, like Doggieboy's Robert Nelson point to more of the shared creativity within the fan community.

Seven years beyond the broadcast of the final television movie, it is reasonable to wonder about how long fans will remain interested. In my opinion, the creativity expressed in these stories has gone a long way to sustain interest in Our Heroine and will continue to do so for some time to come. Even though the stories and background may diverge greatly from canon, the ones that fans will read over and over are those that still capture the core feeling and character of Daria and company. The scenery may change, but it is Daria, Jane and all the others that continue to hold our attention.

Not Quite the Easter Bunny

In "Groped by an Angel," Daria recalled the time that the Trix Rabbit stayed with her family and left the milk out. She was joking, of course.

Maybe.

Anyway, if you want a lot of Easter-themed Daria stories, here they are. Here's an Easter egg, too. Enjoy. And if you want to write or draw something awful involving Daria and the Trix Rabbit, be my guest. Remember: it's canon.

PPMB

• Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe... oops! sorry! by Doggieboy (Part 9): Martin Peters stood at attention as the Marine lieutenant colonel looked him over coldly. “If you were one of my men,” the officer said coldly, “I’d bust your ass back down to recruit so fast, your head would spin.”

Easter Eggs Once Again

A little Easter fun for everyone, from the Sick Sad Life Planner CD.
More evidence that the Morgendorffers are some flavor of Christian, not Jewish, etc.

For the audio, click here. Did Daria and Quinn search for Easter eggs in Lawndale?
They're kind of old for that, aren't they? Figures Jake was behind it.

Redheads and Trouble Go Together Like...

Today is the 103rd anniversary of the birth of Dale Messick, who created the comic strip and character Brenda Starr. Was the Daria of Beavis and Butt-head inspired to become an "inquiring reporter" by Brenda Starr's adventures? (The B&B episode with Daria the Reporter, "Sporting Goods," is here.)

As of this moment, I can find only one Daria fanfic that references Brenda Starr. Congratulations, BG. You win again.

More soon.

Okay, here we go:

Someone went to Horrorhound, a media convention, and complained about the lack of Daria on DVD. Interesting read.

An editorial on the "Save SFMB" movement has appeared at Fortress Cincgreen. More mental food for thought there.


FF.net

• Lambda, by SigDiff (Part 13): Outside, Jane caught a glimpse of a giant mushroom cloud rising above her. The ground shock hit an instant later, knocking her to the floor. Before she could recover the air shock reached the bunker, blasting dirt and debris past the door at hundreds of miles an hour. Inside, the bunker's window shields held, but the vacuum created by the wind threatened to suck them out of the open door. Each soldier grabbed on to anything they could find; weapon controls, computer consoles – and in one case, a foot. [Now includes Part 14, in which Daria gets very drunk.]
  

PPMB

• Falling into College 67: How Did We Get All This Stuff? by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): Karen sniffed the air and said, "This sounds odd, but something's missing, some smell." "Like what?" "Like... like fish." "Fish?"

SFMB

• Daria Race War, by Bliss Ticks (Part 1): Ms. Li called the assembly for two pm, an hour before school let out. Daria and Jane filed into the auditorium with the rest of the Lawndale sheep, and saw both their principal and Stacy Rowe on stage along with two (apparently new) students. When everyone had settled in, Ms. Li began her announcement. [Not sure what to think about this one yet.]

SFMB: The Director's Cut

A serious debate is in progress on SFMB in two threads about the future of the forum. Deref has kicked off the discussions, and everyone with any interest in SFMB is invited to read and respond.

Trooble at t'mill is one thread, covering readers' views on SFMB and what distinguishes it from PPMB or other message boards.

SFMB Changes is more direct, going over ways to restructure the MB. Get your $.02 and get going.

Off to the Weekend

The weekend is upon us. What joys and wonders will we experience? Who cares. It's time for fanfic!

NEWLY UPDATED!


FF.net

• Just Friends, by Pinkminx (Part 6): Daria rolled in her bed and took her pillow from beneath her and put it over her head in a bid to reduce the severity of the noise, however the plan was foiled with the additional noise of the stereo. "Jesus, Addison, do you know what freaking time it is, Shut the hell up!" Daria's muffled voice shouted beneath her pillow, still positioned over her face.
• Our Time Now, by Charliefox2012 (Part 1): At six o’clock, the Payday finally got its power restored, and the doors opened to freedom. Daria was thankful to be free and out of the warehouse, however, she wasn’t sure of what she thought of her friend at the moment. This day was all her fault. If only she and Tom hadn’t fought, for the millionth time, Tom would have had to have suffered today, and not she. Daria felt bad at this thought and decided it was not as if Jane planned it.

PPMB

• Once Upon a Time in Lawndale, by Disco316 (Part 8): Tiffany appraised the man who stood before her. Hmm, he's not cute, he's not much of a brain if he came here, and he's way too fat to be a hired gun. I guess he must have money. Otherwise, he wouldn't be Stacy's, would he?
  
• Something Is Rotten in the State of Lawndale, by Kristen Bealer (Part 3): As they entered the Lane house that afternoon, Daria and Janatio heard what had to be either the thunderous final chords of a Mystik Spiral original or the band members beating each other to death with their instruments. The end result was the same, though: merciful silence followed.
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): "Daria, have you completely thought this through?" "I've tried to cover all the bases, Jane. Certainly, we'll have to deal with both Magda and Moctxezanti at the critical moment. That's a given. And, until then, we'll have to keep them busy until the other part of the plan kicks in. But we also have to face their zombie henchman, Beria."
  
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): Helen was the first to face the results of her actions. A late-night beep from Eric told her to be in at 7 AM, so she was up and out long before the girls or Jake woke. On arrival, she expected a mound of paperwork and the standard Schrecter excuses. if that slimy sonofabitch ever puts a move on me... In fact, what she found was Eric, almost cowering in his office. "Riordan wants to talk to you," he said, a quiver in his voice. "Don't make the man wait, Helen."

It's TGIF All Over Again!

Friday at last. Let's give a little cheer for that.

More as soon as I figure out what to post.

L8r: Now 2,316 pages at DariaWiki, thanks to the Herculean efforts of Disco316, Doggieboy, Brother Grimace, and João Paulo Costa. You rule! The latest page is right here.

Fanfic Wonderland

Imagine if Daria had opened Trent's lyrics book in "Speedtrapped" and discovered he wrote fanfic. Oh, boy. Just a random thought.

MOAR UPDATE!

FF.net

• Just Friends, by Pinkminx (Part 5): "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Boston early?" Daria paused from looking through the box on her lap and directed her attention Jane's open wardrobe.
• Lambda, by SigDiff (up to Part 12): SigDiff is posting so quickly, I can barely keep up! Go go GO! Some story: I'll give Freeman credit for one thing. He's damn easy to follow. Daria sat in the passenger seat of the truck as DeMartino drove down the beach. Highway 17 had taken a considerable amount of damage as the Combine had gone after Freeman. They'd nearly driven off of a destroyed bridge early on.

PPMB

• Antiestablishmentarian Hikers, by Lawndale Lurker/Stalker (continued): It turned out that she, Charles, Andrea, and Jennifer had brought knives. Jennifer's was a butterfly knife, which drew a few raised eyebrows. Charles's was a Leatherman Tool, with a mostly outdoors-ish blade/tool selection. Daria had brought her Champion model Swiss Army Knife. Andrea's knife surprised Daria the most. It had been hand made from a broken power hacksaw blade, Andrea said, and given to her by a guy she used to date.
• Daylight: Fallen from Grace: I Should Have Been Home Yesterday, by Disco316 (Part 5): The town of Sutton proved to be a ghost town, like so many of the others the girls had passed. Burned out buildings dominated, with a few brick structures still standing. The girls had decided to take shelter in an abandoned Catholic church across from a wall reading “Chew Mail Pouch: Treat Yourself to the Best.”
• Expecting Trouble, by Legendeld (Part 2): Quinn quickly dressed behind the curtain while her mother waited in the exam room for the doctor to return. It was a formality really; they already knew that she was pregnant. Her mother had tried to be supportive but it hadn’t gone well.
• Falling into College 67: How Did We Get All This Stuff? by Richard Lobinske (Part 3): "The place can't smell that bad," Michael said. "It's not like my old dorm room."
• Hell on Wheels, by Roxanne M (Part 5): Tom was feeling the effects of being awake all night and mused to himself that he must have been up for over 24 hours now and wondered how long you can live with out sleep. He tapped the driver on the shoulder and dispatched him to one more stop before they headed home. In short order the address came into view. He thought, It’s been awhile since I've been here; I hope they don’t keep guns in the house.
• Lame Enough at Last, by Ajar (COMPLETE!): Daria went through her standard morning routine and then came downstairs. It seemed weird not having to deal with sharing bathroom time and not having vacuous chitter-chatter around the dinner table. “Oh darn,” said Daria, “I guess I miss my Mom's scrumptious pancakes.” The realization then came that she made this sarcastic remark out loud with nobody around to hear it was a little disconcerting at first, but Daria quickly dismissed it.
• Lawndale's Finest: The Dark Knight, by NightGoblyn (Chapter 2, Part 6): “Honestly,” Helen said in her best no-nonsense voice. “What do you think you’re accomplishing, Daria? Traipsing around all hours of the night in that outlandish getup. I raised you better than this.” “I have to stop the criminals,” Daria said meekly. “A little late for that, isn’t it kiddo? I mean, if this is supposed to be about your mother and I. We’re dead, you know.”
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes 13.5: Points of Authority, by Brother Grimace and NightGoblyn (COMPLETE!): “Let me be blunt, Mister Sloane. If you were wearing a U.S. military uniform, right now I’d be telling you that at this moment, this is your time to come to Jesus.” Tom Sloane managed not to look away from the death’s-head glare Colonel Kyle Armalin gave him, and considered that he’d rather be standing up or sitting on a block of ice – anything so that he could focus past the waves of anger pouring from the man who sat at the desk before him.
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Gold Team: Closed Covers, by Roentgen (Part 2): The door to Gabrielle Suarez’s room opened by itself. And, likewise, it closed by itself. A conversation was being held downstairs between the mother of Gabrielle Suarez and Sandi Griffin. The conversation was being conducted in English, as Gabi’s whole family was bilingual. As it turned out, Gabi had gone missing. She hadn’t been seen in over three weeks. She was one of the few students at UTEP that had a dorm room, and she had simply disappeared. Her roommates hadn’t seen her since her disappearance. Sandi concluded that Gabi must have disappeared one week after the time she had last contacted her. Clearly, a change in priorities was in order. From revenge to recovery.
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Special: Tokusatsu Team Up! by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Parts 5 and 6): When the Planeswalker Daria materialized herself in the sentai’s HQ, she had a look on her face that had a striking similarity to that of a cat that had eaten the canary. She looked around, none of the Planesrangers or the Legionaries appeared to be in the meeting room. “Oh well, there goes my thunder.” “You’re late,” said a voice from the shadows. [Continued here.]
• More Apocalyptic Daria (a.k.a. Fimbul), by NightGoblyn (continued): There’s a light snow coming down as we walk towards the center of town. People smile and nod to me, but give Veronica and Daria funny looks . . . it takes a while for people to get used to newcomers around here. We turn the corner and they get their first sight of City Hall. It always throws people for a loop; the whole town is made of wood and stone, and here we’ve got this huge steel building smack in the middle. It is unusual.... Only the very old places look like that, Jane.
• Omnicides, by Lorenzo Sauchelli, a.k.a. Daisuke (Part 1): Rorschach's Journal: Friday, June 13, 1997. It has been twelve years since the lie my fellow masked 'heroes' enforced upon the world came to become a reality. The cry for help from humanity to me never came, I never got to tell them 'no'. I may as well died in vain if not for this Journal. [A Daria/Watchmen crossover] (FF.net)
  
• On the Clock, by Legendeld (Part 3): Okay, this isn’t going exactly according to plan. Ton is probably dead or close enough. Starburst and HellCat are out of the fight now that their electronics are fried. Athena is trying to keep Monk and Shadow from dying and Glitter is dragging me out of the line of fire. Crusader and Colorbomb are the only two still slugging it out. I haven’t seen WindDevil since the first attack. I can’t blame them to much seeing as I’ve spent more time on my back during this fight then I did while dating in high school. I’ve got to get back into the fight or this is going to end in a world of hurting. Now if I can just get my leg to start working again.
• Shadows and Silence, by Solaris (Part 1): "Upon you who have thought yourself so wise, so strong, so powerful, we have called a judgment. The Dark Judge has come. May the gods have mercy on you, and forgive us for what we have done."
• Something Is Rotten in the State of Lawndale, by Kristen Bealer (Part 2): "Gawd," Quinphelia said, reclined on a living room chair. "Can you believe those guys actually believe there's a ghost outside? Some people are just so, so...superficial!" "I think you mean superstitious," Janatio suggested. Daria watched her sister examine her nails for even the most minuscule imperfection, then rolled her eyes. "Who says they can't be both?"
• Things Fall Apart, by Doggieboy (Part 8): The female soldier looked down briefly and then said, "We've had to shoot every bite victim we've had after they die. After totally ruining one mattress, it was decided to place them on wooden doors that can be washed off and quickly sanitized." She looked down at the student, whose skin had a gray pallor to it. Even his eyes were drained of color. "The captain said to let you know before he goes."
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): Sandi dialed the phone. As she listened /to the dial tone, she thought about what she'd heard. Sandi was quite willing to believe the worst of others around her—the number of raging incompetents at Lawndale High was simply staggering—so seeing someone's plans fail was no surprise. But seeing several people's plans fail at once made even her suspicious of outside influences. And she knew one person who was always a thorn in her side. Finally the phone connected. "Hello," an uncertain voice said. [Continued here. And here.]

Whoa, What's the Parade All About?

Seem to have slept through some things here, sorry about that. (Because I'm posting late, those of you playing the Daria Fandom Drinking Game are required to take a drink right now.) What's been going on, hmmm....

Thanks to Brother Grimace for jump-starting me with the post about dogs. I like dogs. Thanks, man!

"This Year's Model" and "I Loathe a Parade" both premiered on MTV two days ago, on the 7th. Missed it. Still gives me shivers, the penguin snuff porn in the latter. TYM appeared 12 years ago, and ILAP 9 years ago. I think.

Two Beavis and Butt-head episodes featuring Daria premiered this week as well: "Water Safety" on Tuesday (15 years ago) and "Candy Sale" on Wednesday (14 years ago). Daria doesn't say anything in the latter, but she apparently sells some boxes of candy (complaining about it all the while, no doubt).

MDetector5 has begun posting seriously interesting fan art of Brittany and Quinn in bikinis. They are worth examining, purely in the name of science of course.

Oh, yeah, zombies. Here is more data for those writing Ringbearer stories about zombies. BRAAAIIINS!

Roxanne M has another Iron Chef: The Sloanes Are Broke! Think about it, and write.

There is a lot of fanfic to catch up with, so stay tuned.

Helen Morgendorffer's boobs - because we're all dogs...

Nothing more need be said.

Well, one more thing. Why does Helen seem surprised? She was a teen hottie during the Summer of Love - and with those bad boys attracting attention, of course she knew that any male who isn't gay or Timothy O'Neill would lose thirty I.Q. points the moment she walks into the room, right? I'm reminded of that episode of the ABC comedy Spin City when the Mayor was dating Marla Maples Trump. As she leaves from a talk with Michael J. Fox, Carter (MJF's co-worker who is gay) openly ogles the woman and comments (after MJP says that a woman who looks as MMT does hanging out with the Mayor is trouble) that, yeah, if HE'S looking at her, they they're all in trouble!

A running gag on the show is how, even with whatever problems the Parents Morgendorffer have, in the bedroom, they have a five-alarm sex life. More to the point, though, they still love one another very much - even if they may not like one another from time to time.

It's a reasonably honest and healthy relationship - even with that Bastard Eric sniffing around Helen every time he gets a chance. (Just once - I'd have liked to have seen Jake punch that bastard out, or at least just walk up to him with a world-shattering glare that clearly says, "Touch my wife, and I'll kick your ass so hard that the donkey that Mary rode on will bray in pain." (Obligatory Easter reference, BG-style, there.)

Still waiting for that essay on TAG on the Holy Grail of Daria lore - Helen's bra size. Personally, I'm going with 36C. I'm also thinking that there's a reason why, in "The Daria Hunter," Helen and Brittany both wore fatigues. (Well, besides the whole 'Jim's Paintballing Jungle' thing.) Can you imagine the mental distress our resident teenage nymphet with plus-sized breasts would have to endure if she and Helen were to be in the same area and wearing skimpy shirts?

More later. Say - when's S.C. going to do that artwork of Helen in her sheer pink nightie and house robe? You know the one I'm talking about...

Helen Morgendorffer's "Breifcase"

In keeping with yesterday's theme of me not having enough time to post anything, we present Helen Morgendorffer's "breifcase" (spelled as it appeared on an old MTV Daria website).

Deep. Really deep. For a briefcase, I mean.

That's about all I have time for now, more to come, I swear it, just as soon as, um, you know, as soon as I can. Keep it real, yo, what up and peace out, my home g-dawgs.

Bread Machine

It's Tuesday night, I haven't had time to write up a half-decent post, so here is Helen Morgendorffer's bread machine from "That Was Then, This Is Dumb" by way of an old MTV Daria site. Ponder it if you will.




More later. Really, I mean it this time.

Spread Your Wings and Fly

Here's an interesting fanfic from the archives of Outpost Daria: "Daria: The Hunted," by Love Gordon. It takes place now (today).

Just for fun I looked up wingfic, a type of fanfic in which, well, characters get wings. Sorta obvious. Wingfic has a weird history. It's been known to appear in Daria fanfiction, but it is rare.

I might write up a short thinger on DariaWiki about it. Does anyone remember which superhero-crossover stories had Daria characters with wings? I remember seeing some mutant original characters, though few or no main Daria characters with wings. Moar later.

The Morgendorffer Bunch

The Morgendorffers parody the opening scene of the TV show The Brady Bunch in the image at right. Daria, of course, refuses to play along. The image appeared on an old version of MTV's Daria website.

PPMB

• Complications, by Legendeld (Part 7): Daria dialed the number and waited for her best friend to pick up. When she finally did, Daria only spoke one word. “Pizza.”
• Expecting Trouble, by Legendeld (Part 1): Daria shook her head in mock disappointment. “You try to order one missile attack submarine and no one trusts you anymore.” Helen was about to gave Daria a dressing down when Quinn walked into the kitchen before taking up a position in front of the counter then clearing her voice loudly. “I have an announcement.”
• Lawndale's Finest: The Dark Knight, by NightGoblyn (Chapter 2, Parts 4 and 5): “How dare you abandon me?” Margaret shouted into her phone. “You don’t realize how close I am to another breakthrough . . . don’t you hang up on me!” With a scream of frustration she threw the handset against the wall, shattering it into chunks of plastic and silicon. She stomped back into the kitchen, the phone shards crunching under her shoes. (New part here.)
  
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Special: Tokusatsu Team Up! by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Part 4): Charles massaged his eyes as he sped away from the Blue Walker’s room. He really didn’t need another demonstration of Daria going all Mind-Banshee on him, and from the screams of the Planesranger back in the room, she really didn’t appreciate being compared to Britney Spears.
  
• Spirit Stick, by Brother Grimace (Part 1): Sheriff Quincy Phillips looked at the name tag on the soldier’s uniform, and then studied the woman’s ID. “Chief Wright,” he said. “Special Agent Henry. You still haven’t told me what the heck you’re doing here, or how you knew something weird was happening here at Great Plains State. Our SWAT guys just went in a couple of minutes ago, and—"
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part 2), by jtranser (continued): "You will have to sacrifice at least a thousand individuals, and it will be very expensive to get that many people who've been sentenced to death. Or so I'm told by the representatives of the Human Sacrifice League, who act as wholesalers and control the supply."
• Things Fall Apart, by Doggieboy (Part 7): She blinked and swallowed. “Are they...are they still in the hallway?” she asked. The boy hesitated, then nodded. “I think they know that we’re somewhere in the building. I hear them in the hallway every so often. They shuffle around, try to open some of the doors, and move on.” Then he shuddered. “A couple of times, they moaned. It’s a horrible sound.”
• Unnamed story (Daria/Watchmen), by Lorenzo Sauchelli (continued): Li was about to open the door to leave but was stopped by a wire around her neck that she hadn't noticed before. "What the-?" "Do you know who I am?" came a muffled voice of a girl from the backseat.

Saturday.....

...and the debate over a possible partner for Sandi Griffin rages on at PPMB. Meanwhile, we could have a debate over Sandi's college job choices here, starting with the image at left.

Moar as soon as I wake up again.

Oh! Here we go. Richard Lobinske has posted an exceptionally good idea for rude stories: Quinn's Kegger. It spins off from "Gifted." Try it! You'll like it!


LATE NEWZ: 1,216 fans at the Daria Fan Club. Boy, that thing grew quick.

Now 2,288 pages in DariaWiki. Go go GO!

Roxanne wants to find 50 ways to kill Tom Sloane (per a similar song by Paul Simon). Moar l8r.

Feelin' Blue? I Am, Too.

World-famous blues man Muddy Waters was born 96 years ago tomorrow. I'm jumping the gun, but I love Muddy Waters, so we'll celebrate a day early and make it last. Man, I had a lot of eight tracks by him when I was in college.


NEWZ!

Moar Brittany sketches have been posted by MDetector5. They rock.

Latest DariaWiki page: Christine Blum, by Brother Grimace.

Up for a debate? Go to this thread and argue about what kind of guy would Sandi Griffin do best with. Yeah, sure, you wanna argue for girls for her, that's fine, too. Just argue. That's the main point.

Does Stacy Rowe deserve to be tormented? Who cares! Go to this Iron Chef and be your meanest.


PPMB

• Apocalyptic Daria: Scarlett's Tale, by Doggieboy (Part 8): He was still alive, and looked at the girl weakly. “You’re just going to let me lay here and bleed to death?” he asked and coughed. The cough sounded as if he had congestion. [FF.net] [SFMB]
  
• Daylight: Fallen from Grace: I Should Have Been Home Yesterday, by Disco316 (Part 4): The three girls stood at the dispensary; their mood was certainly different from at breakfast. “Are you sure that’s all you can spare?” asked Quinn. The man behind the desk frowned along with the three girls before him. “I’m sorry, girls, but even the two days of meals you have now is more than I should be offering. If you hadn’t helped us last night preparing the fields, I couldn’t offer anything other than breakfast today. I’m afraid the stable food supply will run short fairly soon. Are you sure you can’t stay and help us rebuild?”
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): Zoe rang the doorbell of Taylor's house with more than a little trepidation. In happier days, she'd been here fairly often. She and Taylor had never dated, but they'd been thick as thieves through Middle School, and still friends through most of high school. Until two months ago.

Caption Contest!

An angry Jake said....

Now, for this update...

Just a quickie before the contest pops up.

Newest addition to DariaWiki: The Nova Valdris Accords, from Brother Grimace.


PPMB

• Fade, This Is Not Hell, and Dark Siren, by thatLONERchick (COMPLETE!): Three short stories in one post, and they are good!
• Iron Chef: No Tom, by several authors (continued): Lots of new ideas (and old) here, worth a look for some fun.
• Lawndale's Finest: The Dark Knight, by NightGoblyn (Chapter 2, Part 3): Angela Li’s eyes opened in the darkness and she knew that she was not alone. The bedroom window was open, its screen missing. She sat up in bed and something moved in the darkness, a shape that was a little darker than the unlight of the room. The shape was vaguely human. “Who are you? What do you want?”
• The Night Series: Curtain Call, by thatLONERchick: "Next," she called without preamble and the girl, right in the middle of belting out Tonight, fell silent as abruptly as though someone had switched off a radio. Mr. Doug, English teacher and Director of the play frowned briefly before consulting his clipboard. He crossed out a name before going down to the next line. "Jane Lane reading for Anita." (FF.net)
• Size Does Matter, by BlackHole (Part 39): “Got ’em cheaper. Half of ’em are from yesterday.” Trent said before Jane could launch a complaint about him spending money on doughnuts. Jane gladly accepted, her sugar level running low. “Trent, they don’t sell stuff from the day before.” “They do, if you know people.”(SFMB)
• Straight, Not Narrow, continued by Angelboy: Michael 'Mack' Mackenzie leaned against his locker, watching the new girl talking with Jane Lane. True she wasn't much to look at, but there was something about her to that really drew his attention. Jane was no slouch in getting his attention either. Unfortunately, he was too scared to stand out as a straight black man in a homosexual white school.
• Things Fall Apart, by Doggieboy (Part 6): By the time Bradley Buzzcut reached Highland High School with Beavis and Butt-Head in tow, he had a following of five zombies. The gym teacher was slowed somewhat by the extra weight he carried, but he still kept ahead of his undead pursuers. As they moved, even more dead from both sides and behind moved to intercept them. “Dammit, Butt-Head,” he said to the wounded boy, “those things must smell your blood!”

Art Toast

Eight years ago tonight, "Art Burn" premiered on MTV. It was nice to have a Jane-centric episode again. Too bad Stacy didn't die and make the show perfect, but you can't have everything. That's why we have fanfic, I suppose.

It was also two years ago yesterday that the world was taken over by inanimate objects, per this episode. How have we coped with this disaster? What have we learned?

More shortly. Or longly. Darn thunderstorm is coming, have to log off. But first this message:

Are you concerned about angst in 'shipper stories? Stop by the PPMB thread from Undefinedlust and discuss this topic to your heart's content. Remember, there can never be too much ketchup or angst.

That Brother Grimace is such a wacky guy!

That ol' rascal Brother Grimace, you know what he did? He played an April Fool joke on everyone at PPMB by telling us he was leaving the fandom. Brother Grimace, a really and truly superstar fanfic writer, he was giving up and going away. I ####ing near had a ####ing heart attack when I ####ing read that. Then he said ha ha ha, April Fool. What a guy! He had me going, I admit. Whew, good thing it was a joke.



Goodness, what's this? I forgot I had a baby picture of him that I could post on the Internet for everyone on the planet to see. Isn't he cute? Don't you just want to put him in your pocket and take him home? Next time you see Droopy Drawers at a DariaCon, tell him I said hi, no hard feelings about the April Fool. It was great. He's such a booger, I swear. Shame about that excess nose hair problem, but he's done his best to overcome it. You're the best, Bro! (Click on his pic for a special message!)

A Few Late-in-the-Day Notes

Some last new fanfic bits....

FF.net

• John Lane 39: Leaving Summer, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): Daria and John finish up their time at camp, and Quinn finishes up at hers.

PPMB

• Daylight: Falling From Grace: I Should Have Been Home Yesterday, by Disco316 (Part 3): Just then, a man on a horse appeared in the distance. [Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN it!]
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): It took Jen a couple of minutes to get her slice, and she spent them wondering how she found herself here, waiting to have a heart to heart with Quinn Morgendorffer of all people. Eavesdropped on one monologue... Who knew there was a brain and a wicked sense of humor under all that bouncy hair? But is she still the same old Quinn? Did I even know the same old Quinn? She sighed, took her slice, and went to sit down.

April First Rolls On

This page is reserved for fandom updates after I get home. Assuming I get home on time. You know how it goes. Here is Daria in a blue jacket. Looks weird. Stay tuned.

L8R: Okay, I'm home. Oy, what a day. Moar shortly.

MDetector5 has posted a page of sketches of Brittany Taylor, about which only one thing can be said.

Roxanne M has put forth a challenge to create a Daria/The Graduate crossover. Go forth and sin abundantly.

SURPRISE!!!

Daria.
Jane.
Quinn.
Kevin.
Brittany.
Upchuck.

Thanks, SRA. u R0ol, dude!

Artwork ©2009 SRA

DARIA GOES TOPLESS AT NOON!

Yes, Daria has agreed to let famed fan artist SRA paint her portrait TOPLESS, and it will be revealed to the world here at noontime. Stay tuned for the bare truth!




Nothing else to see here until later. Srsly.


Artwork (C)2009 SRA.

Give Me an F!

"Malled" premiered 12 years ago today, and "The F Word" 9 years ago. Interesting that Jane tried out a number of roles in the course of the show, but Daria tried out only one. Jane went for cute girl (at right), track runner, retro girl, cheerleader, all sorts of stuff. She even tried out as a tattoo.

I think Daria will still be working on that one lone role when she turns 30. Not Jane, though. "Daria, don't you think you have enough cats in this apartment?"

Big surprise coming soon. Get ready for it.

MOAR GNUZ: The Daria Fandom Drinking Game has gone into overdrive. Bottoms up!

Brother Grimace is searching for information on zombies. I am sure he has a perfectly valid reason for doing so. If you can help him out, click the link.

Some interesting, newly expanded webpages on DariaWiki:

• Dennis
• Great Zack Walkabout
• Mack Mackenzie
• Paperpusher's Message Board
• Ringbearers

FF.net

• Apocalyptic Daria: Brave New World, by Doggieboy80, a.k.a. Doggieboy (Part 7): Everyone gathered in the driveway at a little before ten. Trent shook everyone’s hand, except Daria, who he hugged briefly. “Take care of Martin,” he whispered in her left ear. “I think he likes you.” The auburn-haired teen felt a tear well up in her right eye and smiled. “I think so, too,” she whispered back. “I hope you and Pam stay happy together.”
• Apocalyptic Daria: Scarlett's Tale, by Doggieboy80 (Part 7): Scarlett learns a lot about proper meat preparation, but she still forgets to get enough barbecue sauce beforehand.
• Lambda, by SigDiff (Part 7): "Get up, you vile, bastard male!" Anthony DeMartino was fairly certain he had woken up in hell, until his vision cleared...
• A Twisted Little Corkscrew, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): "I hate this place," Daria grumbled as she handed over her shawl to the tuxedoed coat check boy. The youth—probably in his twenties, and already on the make, Daria thought—gave her an odd look, but said nothing. She took her claim ticket and gave him a sneer before heading into the main hall.
• Unnamed Crossover Fanfic 1, by Pinkminx (Part 3): Daria poked the reheated lasagne that sat in a sloppy wet mess on her plate and glanced up watching the mirrored movements of her sister "Ugh this is disgusting, Mom promised she'd be home tonight for dinner, she made me cancel my date for this." She whined as she pushed her plate across the table.

PPMB

• Rings and Things That Cannot Go Together, by Ranger Thorne (continued): As a figure crashed through the wall of the training room they almost hit Jane. Jumping back as she yelled in surprise, she raised her ring toward the man pulling himself off of the floor. “Robert?” she asked the familiar figure. “Busy now,” he said, diving back into the room.
  
• Something Is Rotten in the State of Lawndale, by Kristen Bealer (Part 1): Daria does Hamlet? You ain't never read great Shakespeare till you've read this! SAMPLE: Daria Hamletdorffer trudged down the stairs, feeling melancholy. Part of her unhappy mood came from the dreariness of the evening. Part of her unhappy mood came from being saddled with a last name like "Hamletdorffer."
• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria Fanfic Should Have: TGIF), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): Daria meets Bill O'Reilly on FOX News. Ouch. At least it was balanced and fair.