#ms barch

[goldieo-gilt]

Some of my favorite cartoon teachers 🥰

[humbug-demartino]

"Lucky Strike" [S5 Ep06]

[fardell24b]

Spider Quinn 01: Quinn and the Spider

Spider Quinn

Let’s do this one more time. My name is Quinn Morgendorffer and for the past several years, I have been the one and only SpiderGirl. But let’s start at the beginning…

01 Quinn and the Spider

It was an ordinary day at Lawndale High. Quinn Morgendorffer certainly thought so as she headed to her science class.

“Good morning, Class,” Ms. Janet Barch said. “The field trip is today. I hope you have given your permission slips to the office. This field trip will cover much information on Genetics and Entomology, so be sure to take notes. There will be a test next week. Oscorp is one of the leading companies in biotechnology today. Too bad it’s lead by a MAN!”

Everyone in the class was familiar with Barch’s opinion of men, so they didn’t asks questions about that.

They were soon on their way.

“Have you heard about Brooke’s latest surgery, Quinn?” Sandi Griffin asked.

“I have, Sandi,” Quinn replied. ‘Ew!’ She didn’t want to think about it.

“I haven’t, Sandi,” Stacy Rowe answered.

“Wha-at?” Tiffany Blum-Deckler asked.

Sandi sighed.

“What do you think this field trip is about?” Quinn asked, trying to change the topic. ‘Something about genes?’

Sandi glared at Quinn. “Qui-inn! That is a question I would expect from the mouth of that girl who lives with you!”

“No, she would already know, Sandi!” Quinn pointed out. She didn’t like to be reminded of Daria by Sandi!

Stacy gave a nervous look.

“I give you that, but you don’t need to know, Quinn,” Sandi said.

“I hope we don’t have to wear those ugly safety goggles,” Stacy said. “Ugh!”

“Would those make me look fat?” Tiffany asked.

Quinn sighed.

“Back to Brooke,” Sandi said.

“Let’s not,” Stacy said.

Sandi glared at Stacy.

“Eep!”

“We are talking about Brooke,” Sandi said.

“She’s suddenly so weird,” Tiffany added.

“I wouldn’t know,” Quinn said. “I haven’t seen her around.”

Sandi sighed.

The bus soon arrived at the destination. Ms. Barch supervised the class as they disembarked. “Make a straight line as we wait for our guide.” She grumbled as the thoughts of her ex husband came to her mind yet again. ‘I hope it’s not a male!’

‘How likely is that?’ Quinn wondered.

A guide soon approached. “Welcome to the Oscorp Lawndale Genetics Laboratory,” she said.

Ms. Barch gave a quick smile before they followed her inside.

After going through other rooms, the class entered a room filled with cages containing spiders.

“One project is the addition of genes from multiple species to create a hybrid,” the guide explained.

Quinn noticed that one cage was empty. She wasn’t the only one.

“One of them is missing,” Joey Black said.

“The researchers are probably working on it,” the guide said.

In fact, the spider had escaped! It was spinning a web near one of the air vents. A sudden gust dislodged it from the web!

It fell on Quinn’s shoulder! She noticed it. “Ew!” She tried to brush it off. But it bit her.  “Ugh!” She squashed it. She then went pale and her vision went blurry.

“Quinn, are you OK?” Stacy asked.

“Dizzy!” Quinn said, before stumbling.

Sandi saw Quinn stumble after Stacy asked if she was OK. “Ms. Barch! Quinn isn’t feeling well.”

“Wha-at?” Tiffany asked.

Sandi saw that the bite site was swelling.

“What’s wrong?” Ms. Barch asked.

“Quinn’s not well!” Stacy answered.

“There was this spider,” Quinn explained.

Ms. Barch looked at Quinn.

“Class, we’re going back to school.”

Nurse Chase turned to Quinn. “Here’s some antivenom.”

She injected it into Quinn’s arm.

“Good thing, you have it.”

“There are spiders that Pavlov misses. But you still need to go home for the rest of the day.”

“Thanks,” Quinn said.

Helen was home early.

“Mom?” Quinn asked as she came inside.

“I was concerned when I received the call,” Helen responded.

“I’m feeling a little better.”

“Go up to your room and rest.”

Quinn didn’t argue.

Quinn entered her room in a daze. She looked at herself in the mirrors. “Gosh! I look pale!” She flopped onto her bed. She was asleep before she hit the sheets. She began to dream.

In the living room, her father was fretting. “Quinn was bitten by a spider! On no! We should take her to the hospital!”

“Jake! The school nurse gave her antivenom,” his wife, Helen said reassuringly. “She would have sent her to the hospital if she had concerns. We’ll see how she is in the morning.”

“The morning?”

“Yes.”

Quinn’s sister, Daria was in her room, on the phone with her friend Jane Lane. “…. So now, Quinn is recovering in her room,” she said.

“I suppose whatever date she was going on was cancelled,” Jane said.

“No doubt.”

“You’re going to be easy on her?”

“Not a chance,” Daria answered. “She will be back to her usual self tomorrow.”

“Or maybe she’ll be more insufferable.”

“Is there a word for insufferabler?”

Later that night after her parents and Daria had gone asleep, Quinn stirred, but remained asleep. However, she then started sleepwalking. She got out of bed and went downstairs.

She grabbed some food from the fridge and ate it. She headed back upstairs and to bed.

She awoke after sunrise. “I feel better, but something’s weird… What is it?” She went over to her mirrors. Something was off about her appearance. She found that her abdominal muscles are more defined. “What’s going on with me? Is this a nightmare?”

She decided to try to go back to sleep.

She awoke again and looked at the time. “Breakfast!”

She slipped at the top of the stairs. She summersaulted and then landed on her feet. “What just happened?” she asked herself. She wasn’t sure.

Helen was preparing breakfast when Quinn entered the kitchen. “How are you this morning, Quinn?”

“I feel a lot better.”

“We were worried.”

“You mean, Daddy was,” Quinn responded.

“Yes.”

Daria then entered the kitchen. “Oh. You’re up and about,” she said.

“I feel a lot better,” Quinn said again.

“I didn’t expect otherwise,” Daria said.

Quinn met Sandi and Stacy at a door as she arrived at the school. “Are you feeling better, Quinn?”

“I do,” Quinn responded.

Sandi gave a dubious look. “There’s like, a Fashion Club meeting this afternoon.”

“That’s fine,” Quinn responded. “I’m a lot better.”

Sandi gave another dubious look. “Good,” she said.

Later, in between classes, Quinn saw Brooke Peterson approaching.

“I see you were sent home yesterday,” Brooke said.

“So what?” Quinn asked.

“Something happened, didn’t it?” Brooke asked.

“Something,” Quinn murmured.

Brooke then tried to attack Quinn. Some sort of tingle caused Quinn to move out of the way. Brooke tried again, but she missed!

“Uh!” Brooke said. She swung again, hitting another locker. “Stay still!”

Quinn moved out of the way again.

Brooke then leapt at her.

Quinn jumped, quite high, right over Brooke!

Quinn was confused, something was definitely happening to her. She ran.

Quinn ended up on the roof. ‘What is happening to me?’ she wondered. ‘Was it that spider?’

She suddenly realised that she needed to get to class. She grabbed the doorknob. Her hand than somehow stuck to it. “Oh no!” she said as she panicked. The knob then came off in her hand. “Oh no!” Then a web came out of her wrist! “Ew!”

She was shocked and sat down. ‘What has happened to me so far?’ she wondered.

She sorted through the memories from earlier in the day. That her muscles were more defined. That there was some sort of danger sense that allowed her to avoid being hit by Brooke. That she was sticking to things. And that a web had come out of her wrist. She thought more on this before looking at her watch. “Yikes!”

Quinn ran late into History.

“You’re late, Ms. Morgendorffer!” Mr. DeMartino said.

“Sorry, something came up,” Quinn said.

“That’s alright, Ms. Morgendorffer. Just don’t do it again!”

The rest of the day went by without further incidents.

“See you at the meeting,” Sandi said they left the school.

‘I didn’t forget the meeting, Sandi!’ Quinn groused to herself as she walked away from the school.

She headed downtown. ‘This is a good time to test what I can do now.’

She looked at her right wrist. “What can I do with these webs?” She looked at a nearby building and remembered seeing a spider spinning it’s web.

“Right!”

She produced a web but it didn’t get far.

“Again!” she said with determination.

The second web came out faster and hit somewhere higher on the building.

She then jumped high, but came down on the ground.

‘I’ll try again.’

She ran and shot a web. This time she swung up at an angle. But she still slammed into a wall.

“Ugh!” she said as she fell down the wall. But not far. She found she was sticking to it. “Oh!”

‘I’m sticking to the wall! Can I climb down? Or up?”

She moved down the wall to the ground. “Even more like a spider! Ew! But can I climb up?”

She then climbed up.

She got to the eave. “Time to try swinging again,” she said as she looked at it. She produced webbing again, and swung.

This time she ended up on the roof. “That worked!”

She walked to the edge of the roof, and shot another web.

Soon she was going from rooftop to rooftop through Lawndale’s downtown. But she soon came to the edge of the downtown, where it and the suburbia met. ‘This is going to be more difficult,’ she thought as she looked over the sprawl towards home.

She swung to the ground.

As she went towards home, she wondered if she could swing from trees. There was only one way to find out.

She shot out webbing and it connected to a branch. She smiled and swung. She found that it worked, but not as well as in the built up area.

Ten minutes later, she swung up onto the roof of her house. She looked back in the direction she had just come. ‘I wonder what the future has in store.’

[plokool]

I'm reminded of the sign that Ms. Barch (not pictured, this is the art teacher critiquing it) made for a teacher's strike in Daria

I literally feel like a teacher writing a huge ❓ on a student's paper everytime I go to protests lately. Why are we gathered at a prolife contra protest and you have a sign with "LGBT education in schools" written on it. Why are you shouting an environmentalist slogan. This is a pro choice protest. Why are you fragmenting the group with unrelated topics? Are you a fed? Why does every protest lately have to be a buy one get one free type of event? Why is it that when our reproductive rights are threatened we feel the need to also bring up barely related topics and take away the focus from the problem at hand?

[urbandesignlab]

Ms. NOH Seo Yeon starts her PhD program

Ms. Noh Seo Yeon starts her PhD program. She is interested at urban resilience and critical impact on human perceptions and movements. She completed her BArch at Korea National University of Arts and her MSc at UNIST.

[iitroorkee]

IIT Roorkee revised its undergraduate curriculum after a decade. The new curriculum will be offered to students who will be admitted in all BTech, BArch, BS-MS and Integrated MTech programmes. The institute has introduced concepts which make its curriculum unique in the country introducing mandatory courses on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Data Science, Indian Knowledge System (IKS), Tinkering and Mentoring, Talent Enhancement Baskets (TEB), Entrepreneurship, Environmental Science and Sustainability (ESSC), Community Outreach (CORE), soft skills and more.

[ifyouseekay468]

I swear Madam Satan is just a gayer, more badass version of Ms Barch from Daria. I can totally picture her in class going “now explain why the constellation Orion carries around a sword in order to feel like a man,”

[totallycorrectdariaquotes]

Ms. Barch: *confiscating an adult magazine* How do you feel about having owned this type of magazine?

Upchuck: ...Ashamed!

Ms. Barch: Do you have anything you want to say to women for having owned this offensive magazine?

Upchuck: ...I'm sorry women.

[royalarmyofoz]

daria: 2.02 - the daria hunter

brittany surprising everyone with her knowledge of combat tactics

bonus:

[squirrelmort]

Rules: List your 10 favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms and tag 10 people

Thanks @choking-on-roses for the tag

In no particular order:

1. Maddie Hatter (Ever After High): It’s hard to go wrong with this fandom, but Maddie was my first and still the best. She’s just so cute and sweet and fun.

2. Catra (She-Ra: Princesses of Power): It’s hard to pick a favorite from this series, but I love Catra so much. I mean, she’s a lesbian and a cat. That’s enough, but then you add on AJ Michalka’s voice and a redemption arc?

3. Skipper (Barbie multiverse [primarily Life in the Dreamhouse and Dreamhouse Adventures]): as much as I love Barbie (and Ken, and Raquelle, and...), Skipper is the best, sorry not sorry.

4. Moira Rose (Schitt’s Creek): Honestly, my favorite female character from this show changes constantly, but today it is Moira. Bébé.

5. Ms. Barch (Daria): Yet another difficult choice. I was going to do Daria, but then remembered that I am Ms. Barch.

6. Claudia Auditore (Assassin’s Creed): For such a male dominated franchise, this series has some truly badass ladies.

7. Bonnie (Pokémon anime): I feel this may be a controversial choice, for a show that gifted us Jessie and Serena and Misty, but I love Bonnie so much. She’s so cute, but also drags her brother hard.

8. Eun Chan (Coffee Prince): This one almost feels like cheating, because there are many major female characters in this one, but Coffee Prince was my first kdrama and remains my favorite. I will always love Eun Chan.

9. Miss America Chavez (Young Avengers): GURL. I don’t even know what to say.

10. Tiana (The Princess and the Frog/Disney Princesses): My favorite princess movie and my favorite princess. Married to my favorite prince. She and her movie are so under appreciated.

Couldn’t pick just one for Harry Potter

Tagging @quinnmorgendorffer @ohtheshippings @xyliandra

[frauleinfunf]

Riverparents + Daria

Mary - Daria

Gladys - Jane

Hermione - Quinn

Fred - Brittany

FP - Kevin

Sierra - Jodie

Myles - Mack

Hiram - Upchuck

Penelope - Andrea

Alice - Ms. Barch

Hal - Mr. O’Neil

Tom - Mr. DeMartino

[manymessyfandoms]

I love your iron Dad fics and your prose is so nice man it flows really well. Could you maybe write about when Tony goes to the career day at Peter’s school? (Im just picturing that picture where Tom looks like an embarrassed son) Gracias!

Yes, of course! And for real, thank you so much for the compliment, catch me grinning like an idiot at my computer 

(PART ONE) (PART TWO)

I HOPE YOU LIKE IT, LOVE

“Class, don’t forget tomorrow is career day! And- Peter? Can I have a word with you?”

Peter’s head snapped up at hearing his name and he nodded, walking over to where she stood as the class filed out of the room. “What’s up?”

She looked at him with an irritated expression. “I think you need to take career day more seriously and stop treating it as a joke. ‘Tony Stark’? Really?”

It took him a minute to realize what she was saying. “Wha- no! It’s not a joke, I swear!” he said. “Tony’s coming, Ms. L. I promise.”

That was an understatement. Tony was more excited for Peter’s career day than Peter himself.

But his teacher didn’t look like she would quite believe that bit of information. “You’re really sticking with this then?” She let out a sigh. “Fine. But I’ll have you know if he doesn’t show tomorrow, I’ll have no choice but to mark you down a letter grade.”

Peter gave her a thumbs up, not worried in the slightest. “Okay, sounds good.” She just rolled her eyes slightly and waved him off.

Someone must’ve overheard them talking, because when Peter arrived at school the next day, he was getting strange looks.

“Dude,” Ned said as he walked up to him, “people heard Tony’s coming in for career day, and they are freaking out. Well, a third of them are freaking out. The rest think you’re lying.” Peter laughed for a moment before he felt something hit the back of his head.

It was another kid from Peter’s class. Flash hadn’t been an issue in so long, Peter had almost forgotten there was more than one asshole in the school.

“Hey, Parker. Somebody told me that you have Tony Stark coming in for career day, and you know what? I might actually believe them. I mean, your parents are dead, your uncle is dead, who else would be able to do it?” Peter felt his heart sink and he squeezed his hand into a fist. “I’ve heard rumors that Stark came by the school when you had that spaz attack, so maybe you’re not full of horseshit, but let me be very clear, it doesn’t matter who you know, you will always be nothing.”

Peter stood there as he walked away, not quite knowing what to do with all that. 

“-eter? Hey, Peter?” Ned’s voice phased in, and Peter looked towards him. “You okay, man? You kind of spaced out there for a second.”

“No, I’m fine,” Peter mumbled, looking back down at his shoes. He didn’t mean to be affected by the other kid’s words, but he couldn’t help it. His remarks about his parents and Ben were enough to knock the wind out of him.

Ned gave him a sympathetic look. “Don’t listen to that douchebag,” he said softly. “He doesn’t know shit.”

Peter nodded. “Right, of course. I know.” He faked a smile before walking to his next class.

He felt off for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until he finally got to his final period and he knew he’d see Tony that he started to feel like himself again. 

“Alright,” the teacher said as she glanced at the clock. “So, your parents should be arriving any minute now-”

As if summoned by her words, Tony Stark strutted through the door, and Peter’s smile grew genuine for the first time since that morning. 

“Am I late?” Tony asked. “I’m kidding. Of course I’m not late. Oh, Pete!” He walked over to where Peter was sitting and plopped into the space next to him. “Ah, this is cozy. Brings me back to my own high school experience. Although I really only was in class about 50% of the time.”

“Thank you for coming, Tony,” Peter said with genuine relief in his voice, and Tony scrunched his eyebrows. 

He casually slung an arm on Peter’s shoulder and lowered his voice. “What’s wrong, kid?”

The rest of the parents that were able to make it started entering, so the students’ eyes diverted from the two of them, but the eyes would only leave for a few moments before inevitably shifting back to them. 

“Nothing, I’m fine, Mr. Stark,” he muttered.

“You’re a horrible liar, Peter.” The teacher was speaking again before he could pester him more. 

“Okay then! I think that everyone’s here, so we could get started. We’ll be going alphabetically, so the Barch’s will be starting.”

It was only five minutes later that Tony nudged his shoulder. “You going to tell me what’s wrong or am I going to have to guess,” he said under his breath.

“I said nothing was wrong.”

“Yeah, and I said you’re a horrible liar. Now that we’re done recapping, can you tell me why you look like somebody kicked your puppy?”

“I don’t have a puppy.”

“It’s a metaphorical puppy, Parker.”

“Erm- Peter and Mr. Stark?” Ms. L’s voice interrupted. “Please no talking during the other students orientation.”

Tony gave her a thumbs up before saying, “Sorry, teach. Carry on.”

A few parents later, Peter felt something hit the back of his neck. He grimaced after wiping off the spitball and pointedly ignoring Tony’s look.

It was a bold move, Peter gave him that. Doing that with all the parents around. 

“Peter-”

His teacher’s voice cut him off. “All right, how about a round of applause for Mrs. Roland! Up next is Mr. Stark, here for Peter Parker.”

Tony glanced at Peter for a moment before he stood up walked towards the front of the room, tucking his glasses in his jacket pocket. 

“Yes, hello. I am Tony Stark, as I’m sure you all know, and I’m here to talk about what I do.” Tony went on with his speech and Peter spaced out, lulled by the sound of his voice, until his name startled him out of his trance. “Pete? Can you help me demonstrate the newest bot?”

Peter nodded and walked towards the front of the class. “Of course.”

“You see, Peter here helps me out with some of my most valuable assets. The kid might even know as much as me. In fact, I actually brought one of his own inventions.” 

“Wait, you brought Harry?” Harry was one of Peter’s AI robots. He wasn’t as advanced as Tony’s, but he was good enough for Peter to be proud of himself, and apparently Mr. Stark, too, because the pride in his voice was unmistakeable when he spoke next.

“It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen from someone his age. Let me tell you, this school doesn’t know what it’s got with this one. He’s going to be one of the greats. He’s already got one of the most brilliant minds, and he’s only sixteen. You’re lucky you have the privilege of having him here.”

Peter was blushing all the way down his neck by the time Tony had finished. “Uh- I mean, he’s exaggerating-”

“No, no, I’m not. Show them Harry.”  

He could still feel the heat on his face when he said, “Hey, Harry? Awake.” Immediately, the robot woke up and rolled over to where Peter was standing, and he grinned. “Hey, buddy.” 

“Hello, Peter.”

“So, why don’t you tell my classmates a little about yourself.”

Harry turned towards the class and started speaking. “Hello, Peter’s class. My name is Harry. I am a form of artificial intelligence crafted by Peter Benjamin Parker.” Peter was still smiling at his bot as he went into the specifics of his innerworkings, and Tony clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I sometimes help Peter when he goes out on missions, and the other Av-”

“Harry, sleep!” Peter yelled, and the bot shut down. His outburst caused the class’s looks to shift from wonder to confusion. “Uh, he calls everything ‘missions’. Like, I can be like, ‘Yo, Harry, where’s the nearest sandwich shop?’, and he’d be like, “It’s on 25th Street, good luck on your mission.’” There was an awkward silence and Peter could feel Tony choking back a laugh. 

“Right,” Tony said. “So, that’s Peter’s bot. I’ve got a few more things here that we work on- like that, Pete, grab that for me, will you?”

The rest of the presentation went well. It was when they got to the questions that things got… confrontational. 

“Yeah, I’ve got a question for Tony,” the kid from earlier that day said. “What are you getting out of all of this?”

Tony was quiet for a beat. “Pardon me?”

“Well, you’re a big shot billionaire with probably a million things to do. This seems a little below your pay grade.”

Tony squinted. “Is this guy kidding? Are you kidding?” 

“No, I’m being serious.”

“I thought this was fairly obvious, but I’m here because Peter needed me here.”

A scoff. “You expect us to believe that?” he said with bitterness. “That you’re here because of Parker? No, what is it really? Good publicity?”

Tony looked around the room in a dramatic way. “Do you see any cameras, because I don’t.” Tony kept talking before he could be interrupted. “You know, I don’t think I like you very much, pal. Like I said, Peter asked me to come, so I came. No ulterior motives.”

“But Peter doesn’t even matter.” And that was the wrong thing to say.

“I’m sorry, did you just say Peter Parker doesn’t even matter? Are you sniffing glue?”

Peter grabbed his arm lightly. “Tony, it’s fine.”

“No, Pete, I didn’t say all that stuff about this school being lucky to have you for shits and giggles. I said it because it’s true, and these teenybopper assholes shouldn’t be talking about things they don’t understand, which they obviously don’t, because if they understood the situation, they’d realize they’re all going to be working for you one day and would be kissing your ass.” Tony huffed out a dry laugh. “‘Doesn’t even matter’. Give it a few years, kid. Then you’ll realize what the rest of us already know. You’ll realize how much Peter Parker matters.”

Everyone seemed slightly stunned, including Peter. He hadn’t anticipated Tony to say all that stuff about him, and the redness was back in his cheeks. 

“Okay,” his teacher said, trying to gain control of the room again. “Okay, I think we’re done with questions. Why doesn’t everyone give a round of applause for Peter and Mr. Stark. Thank you for taking time to come out and speak with us, Mr. Stark.”

“The pleasure was all mine.” He glanced back to where the kid was avoiding his eye. “Well, mostly.”

Later that night when they were back at the tower, Peter sat on the couch while Tony threw a pizza in the oven.

“You didn’t have to say all that stuff, you know.”

“Huh?”

“Back at the school. You didn’t have to say that.”Tony scoffed. “Kid, I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to because it’s the truth. It’s about time those monsters treat you the way you deserve.”

“But they weren’t entirely wrong. I mean, I am nothing, really.” 

Tony stopped from where he was trying to preheat the oven and walked over to where Peter was seated. “You don’t really think that, Pete. Right?”

Normally Peter didn’t listen to whatever people threw his way, but the comment about his parents and Ben ripped him open earlier, so when he was called “nothing”, it settled right in his heart and hadn’t left. 

“Yes. No. I- I don’t know.” He rubbed a hand over his face. 

“Peter, I meant every single goddamn syllable I said in there. And even if you weren’t one of the smartest kids, no people, I knew, you still wouldn’t be nothing. You’re Peter Parker. You will always be something.” Tony laughed. “Hell, you’re everything, kid.” 

Peter sucked in a shuddering breath. “Thank you.”

Tony must’ve noticed the heaviness in his voice because he replied with, “Hey, don’t thank me. You’re the brilliant one, and if you need me to remind you everyday then I will. Actually- FRIDAY? Remind me later to make a pow-wow video for Peter to watch when his self esteem tank is on low.”

Peter laughed. “No! That’s embarrassing, don’t-”

Tony ruffled his hair before walking back into the kitchen. “Oh, I’m doing it, kid. You’re going to have confidence through the roof, just you wait. I can’t have you thinking you’re nothing, Pete. Not on my watch.”

And Peter smiled as his heart grew warm. It didn’t matter what the other kids said. 

He’d still always have everything. 

[humbug-demartino]

[fardell24b]

Spider Quinn 13 Aftermath and Investigations - Part 5

Daria was impressed. Brittany had deduced as much as she had, although her word choices were not as eloquent as hers. ‘But what else is new,’ she thought. “So, you think there’s something unusual too?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Miss Sanderson will be here shortly.”

“That’s good,” Brittany said. “Ms. Barch can be tough to deal with.”

Olivia entered the Library and looked for Daria. She found her talking with Brittany at one of the back tables. “What was this about unusual debris patterns?” she asked.

Daria pushed over a piece of paper. “Something inconsistent at the Lawndale Center.”

She looked over what Daria had found.

“Telekinesis? Really?” Olivia asked.

“It’s only one explanation. How do you explain SpiderGirl?”

“Good point. SpiderGirl’s abilities certainly come from somewhere. But back to this, Telekinesis is still a leap from a girl swinging from webs.”

“Certainly. Which is why I want to see if there are any other explanation to the patterns we found,” Daria said.

“I will have to have a look myself. Probably tomorrow or Wednesday morning.”

“That’s fine. I have other avenues I’m pursuing.”

“Such as?” Olivia asked.

“I’m looking into the newspaper reports since SpiderGirl first appeared.”

SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon swung off the school roof and headed towards the Creek. “What have we found out?” SpiderGirl asked when they were there.

“Not much more,” Ninja Talon admitted. “Miss Sanderson will get back to us tomorrow or Wednesday.”

“And Daria has met the Enigma.”

“She told me, and Miss Sanderson, although she didn’t mention the name.”

“She didn’t tell me the name either,” SpiderGirl said.

“Miss Sanderson isn’t sure about the telekinesis.”

“What else did she say?”

“That your powers are more believable.”

“That’s good. Learning more from the ruins and how strong the Enigma’s powers are can help us deal with what is ahead. I’m sure she still wants to confront me. But the attacker is the bigger concern right now. Lawndale needs us. Another thing, I met Peterson again last night.”

“And?”

“She still has no clues about the attacker, or the information isn’t being shared with her,” SpiderGirl answered.

Daria arrived at the Public Library, and quickly found the newspaper archives. ‘Now, Dad’s funeral was on the 13th of November, so I’ll start on the 16th.’

Sandi entered the Pizza place to find Harry waiting for her.

“An interesting weekend,” he said.

“It definitely was.”

“Is it true you’re involved in street racing?”

“Yes, just not in the winter,” Sandi answered, thinking of the experience with Daria on the weekend.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Yes, but it’s exhilarating.”

“I see,” Harry said. “Anyway. I’m more worried about my father.”

“How so?” Sandi asked.

“He has been more distant than usual over the weekend and I saw that he had been reading a manual for some kind of aircraft.”

Sandi’s eyes widened. ‘What is he up to?’ she wondered. “What kind of craft?”

“It said ‘Glider Craft Prototype,’ and he hasn’t told me, but he’s seeing a counsellor secretly.”

‘Something,’ Sandi thought. She knew she would share it with Daria, either as her usual self or as the Enigma. ‘But the Enigma will infiltrate Oscorp first.’

Jane returned home with the photos from the previous afternoon to find Daria waiting for her in the kitchen.

“I have the photos,” she said as she put the envelope on the table.

“That’s good,” Daria said. “I talked with Ted at lunch.”

“How did that go?”

“Apparently Quinn is involved in the Lowdown. How did I miss that?”

“You weren’t paying attention?” Jane asked.

“Apparently not. I was focused on getting the Historia running, working with Joey, Robert and Mr. Osborn on that.”

“That makes sense.”

“As well as wondering about Tananda’s questions in that particular week and wondering what you were up to before you told me about the project,” Daria added.

“Isn’t Quinn involved in the Historia too?”

“Yes, but she didn’t mention the Lowdown.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it.”

They went up to Jane’s room and started going through the photos. “I met the fourth vigilante last night,” Daria said.

“What?”

“That was how Quinn responded too.”

Jane could see that Daria wasn’t pulling her leg. “What happened?”

“I went up on the roof because of that sketch you showed me. Then I saw that she was waiting.”

“So, what happened next?”

Daria then explained what happened.

‘She certainly sounds like she’s telling the truth,’ Jane thought. ‘So, I probably made the wrong conclusion last night and it’s probably not Quinn either. At least I spent time with SpiderGirl.’

“So, what do you think?” Daria asked.

“I think you took a risk.”

“I can handle it.”

“Does she have powers?” Jane asked.

“She does,” Daria said. “Telekinesis and energy projections.”

“Sounds impressive.”

Daria nodded.

Osborn received a message in his office. The Gilder Prototype was repaired. ‘Good. But I hope that Verity will be able to help tonight.’

Daria stood in her room. She placed one of the photos Jane had taken on her wall, next to the closet. Next to it was a note saying Lawndale Center after February 2. She then placed a photocopy of the Sun-Herald’s first article about SpiderGirl further down the wall. ‘There’s plenty of space here,’ she thought. ‘But I hope I don’t run out. I don’t want to look crazy to Jane, Quinn, Mom, the Enigma and any other visitors.’

At the same time, Jane told Trent what Daria had said about meeting the fourth vigilante. “So, you were jumping to conclusions last night?” he asked.

“Yes,” Jane admitted. “But I did get to spend time with SpiderGirl.”

“That’s true, but I hope you don’t case houses like that again.”

“At least not straight away.”

Sandi was ready for another search. After Melissa Berridge was Laura Bildhouse, with short blonde hair that barely reached her ears. ‘She still has that style,’ Sandi thought. She shook her head and downed the energy drink. “Findu mann sem heiter: Laura Bildhouse!”

Sandi found Laura at the Historia.

“Eight down.”

Quinn was looking in her closet at the false ceiling, when she felt the latest low tingle. ‘Who are you? Why are you searching for my secret?’ she wondered as she reached for her notebook. She wrote about the tingle and then went back to wondering how to remove the false ceiling in a way that wouldn’t damage it.

At the same time, Verity Beresfield, Osborn’s counsellor, looked out of the airplane window at Lawndale. ‘Pretty much what I expected,’ she thought as she looked at the expanse of lights below.

At the airport, Verity was met by Bernard.

“He didn’t come himself?” she asked.

“He has been working late most nights,” Bernand answered.

“Most?”

“Saturday night was an exception.”

“I see.”

Norman arrived back at the mansion to find Verity there.

“Thank you for coming. I’m sure you heard about what happened here on Friday night,” he said once they were in his home office.

“I did. Was one of your prototypes involved? Are you saying that you’re responsible?” Verity asked with wide eyes.

“I’m afraid that I might be.”

Verity was shocked but she hid it. What he had revealed was still protected by Doctor Patient Confidentiality. She was sure that she would be able to help him, and stop any further attacks in Lawndale or elsewhere. “Tell me everything,” she said as she steeled herself for what she might hear.

“Sandi, it’s the Osborn boy,” Linda said as she held out the phone.

“Thanks, Mother,” Sandi said as she took the phone.

Linda noted that Sandi had put up a blank poster on one of her walls, except that there was a photocopy of a yearbook picture of Daria Morgendorffer on it. ‘Why is that there?’ she wondered.

“Is your mother gone?” Harry asked.

“Yes.”

“Remember what I said this afternoon?”

“About the counsellor?” Sandi asked.

“Well, she’s now here. Bernard said that she flew from New York. Why would she do that instead of drive, unless it’s urgent?”

“Only a couple of hours…”

“Around that, depending on traffic. So, why fly?” Harry asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“I am concerned that something has happened to him.”

“Why not ask him after the session?” Sandi asked.

“He won’t answer.”

“Maybe you should try.”

“You know, maybe your rebelliousness is rubbing off on me,” Harry said. “I will.”

“Good,” Sandi said with a slight chuckle. “Let me know how it goes.”

Harry hung up, the talk with Sandi had been good. ‘But how long will the session last?’

An hour later, Verity left Norman. She was still concerned, but she would return in the afternoon. She found Harry waiting.

“Ms. Beresfield?” he asked.

“Yes?” she asked.

“How is my father?”

“You know that anything he says to me is in confidence, right?”

“I know that,” he said in a worried tone.

“But he is making progress.”

“You aren’t just saying that, right? To make me feel better?”

‘I’m not sure,’ she thought. She just took his hand in hers and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

Sandi did her homework for an hour and half. As she got ready for bed, she wondered whether Daria needed to know what Harry had told her. ‘But would he still trust me if I told her, even if it’s as the Enigma.’ She then made her decision. She would tell Daria, right away.

Helen was surprised to hear Sandi’s voice on the other end. “Sandi? You are calling Daria, right? Not Quinn?”

“Definitely Daria. I never want to talk to Quinn again! I thought I knew her, but I didn’t!”

“Or maybe you did…”

“Just put Daria on please!”

“Of course.”

Helen looked at Daria’s wall as she gave her the phone. “Is this what I think it is? A conspiracy wall?”

“Not a conspiracy wall.  Just a way to visualise my investigation.”

“What’s this about a conspiracy wall?” Sandi asked.

“What I just said,” Daria responded when her mother had left. “What have you found?”

“You know I have befriended Harry Osborn, right?

“Yes,” Daria answered. “Go on.”

“This is private, I didn’t ask him if I could tell anyone.”

“Then I don’t want to know.”

“But this could connect to what is going on, including Friday night!” Sandi said.

Daria’s curiosity got the better of her. “OK, what is it?”

“And you won’t tell Jane, Brittany or your sister?”

“I won’t.”

“Osborn’s counsellor was there and she had flown into Lawndale from New York. That seems urgent given that we’re in eastern Pennsylvania,” Sandi said.

Daria grabbed her notebook. “It certainly does,” she responded as she wrote the information down.

“And Harry also has said that his father was more distant than usual over the weekend.”

“It’s certainly something to think about,” Daria considered.

“And he mentioned something about him reading a manual on a glider craft prototype. That matches some of the reports from Friday night.”

“Which reports were those? I don’t listen to the radio or watch the television constantly.”

“I’m sure it was the radio. WLND,” Sandi responded.

“I’ll try to catch the next bulletin.”

Daria thought on the matter after she hung up. ‘Something is going on there. But is there a connection between Oscorp and the attack?’ she wasn’t sure. ‘But it’s not something I can ignore.’

Sandi knew Daria would investigate. ‘But the Enigma can still infiltrate Oscorp, but probably not tonight.’ She needed to prepare first, and maybe gain more information.

At the same time, Harry knocked on his father’s home office door. “Father?”

“I’m here, Harry.”

Harry entered. “Why was Ms. Beresfield here? Is there something I need to know?”

“It was a normal session.”

“Normal, when she flew in, despite Lawndale only being around two hours drive from New York? That sounds urgent to me.”

“I’m fine, son. Now get some sleep.”

After midnight, Daria climbed out on the roof from the attic again. This time, there wasn’t anyone. ‘I guess not,’ she thought as she looked in the direction of the Giant Strawberry, which couldn’t be seen from there. She waited for twenty minutes before going back down to her room and back to sleep.

As the Enigma set out, she wondered where she was going this time. ‘Not Oscorp. But maybe the Strawberry.’

She wasn’t alone in the night. Ninja Talon was also patrolling Lawndale, and arrived at the Historia around the same time. She climbed to the roof and thought about what she, Daria and Sanderson had discussed.

[hodophilediaries]

Manipal Entrance Test

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To admit candidates to the programmes it offers, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) holds its own online entrance exam. Candidates can enrol in courses offered by Manipal University based on their performance on the Manipal Entrance Test (MET).

[joemerl]

Writer's Month 2022, Day 24: "Fantasy AU"

Fandom: Daria Status/Word count: A snippet of a fic that I've been thinking about writing for years. 414 words. Summary: What if Daria was a Magical Girl series?

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Jane asked, as Daria followed her into the house.

Daria set the shoebox on the table. There was a scrabbling sound from inside. Jane assumed that it was the mouse for Ms. Barch's Science experiment, though she wondered why Daria was bringing it back to school.

"I want to show you what's in this box. And I want you to tell me exactly what you see. Okay?"

"Okay," Jane said, quirking an eyebrow.

Daria opened the shoebox.

Instantly, the little white mouse gasped, jumped onto its hind legs and pointed an accusatory claw at her.

"You miserable wench! I am Rogerius Alexius, court wizard to the Queen of Yggdrasil, and I will NOT be treated like this just beca—HEY!"

Daria put the cover back on the shoebox. Jane gaped as it resumed its angry shaking.

"Now," Daria said calmly, "I just saw the mouse that Ms. Barch gave me screaming that it was an interdimensional wizard. I just need you to confirm that I've gone insane, and then wake Trent up so that he can drive me down to the crazy house."

"...Daria, that mouse just talked."

Daria's eyes narrowed. "Dammit, Jane."

Suddenly, the box exploded. The girls both jumped back. When the flash of light cleared, the mouse was standing on the table, surrounded by bits of ragged cardboard.

"Yeah, thanks for that! Now I probably don't have enough magic to complete the mission!" He scowled, if a mouse could scowl, and crossed his front legs over his chest.

"Uh..." Jane said. "Can I get an explanation here?"

"I've been trying to explain since last night, but this one just threw me back in the box!" The mouse pointed at Daria again, then cleared his throat. Running a hand down his furry stomach, he collected himself and said, "I am Rogerius Alexius, and I need help on a mission of grave import."

They stared.

"Okay...Roger," Jane said at last. "What...do you need our help with?"

"Finding the ten Magigems that have been lost in your world. And with thanks, fair lady, your help will not be needed," he said, bowing to Jane. "I need her." He turned to Daria. "The science-witch gave me to you, Daria Morgendorffer. You are the one whom destiny has chosen."

Daria was annoyed to discover that her shock was wearing off; she was beginning to feel freaked out again. "Chosen for what?"

"To become a Magical Girl, of course!"