Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Beavis & Butt-Head! Stewart! Todd! Daria!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Some comments I picked up while looking for pics:

I love how the show started off so cynical and you willingly accept these mostly one-dimensional characters as humorous critiques on society and stereotypes, and then slowly the characters gain depth and by the end it has so much heart you just want to cry.
I feel the viewer watches the show through Daria's eyes. At the start she writes everyone off as 1 dimensional stereotypes and doesn't bother to get to know anyone well enough to see what they are like beneath their shell. Then she sort of slowly realises how she can be a pretty toxic bitch a lot of the time and tries to accept others.

The major turning point for me is when her and Jane meet Andrea in Walmart and it's revealed that everyone is very aware of all the snarky putdowns Daria delivers when she assumes they can't hear her, or are too stupid to understand that she's offending them.
Now I find that most of her classmates are not fleshed out THIS much it’s fairly consistent in how the show comes off to its fans.
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Woodclaw
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Beavis & Butt-Head! Stewart! Todd! Daria!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 4:47 am Some comments I picked up while looking for pics:

I love how the show started off so cynical and you willingly accept these mostly one-dimensional characters as humorous critiques on society and stereotypes, and then slowly the characters gain depth and by the end it has so much heart you just want to cry.
I feel the viewer watches the show through Daria's eyes. At the start she writes everyone off as 1 dimensional stereotypes and doesn't bother to get to know anyone well enough to see what they are like beneath their shell. Then she sort of slowly realises how she can be a pretty toxic bitch a lot of the time and tries to accept others.

The major turning point for me is when her and Jane meet Andrea in Walmart and it's revealed that everyone is very aware of all the snarky putdowns Daria delivers when she assumes they can't hear her, or are too stupid to understand that she's offending them.
Now I find that most of her classmates are not fleshed out THIS much it’s fairly consistent in how the show comes off to its fans.
That was part of my point and I wouldn't put beyond the showrunners that they deliberately choose to have a number of badly delivering voice actors to make these stereotypes land even harded, a bit like Zach Braff was cast in Scrubs due to his ability to deliver many lines in a nails on the board voice.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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Harnos
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Lynx-O! Mumm-Ra! Namor Builds! Destiny!)

Post by Harnos »

Ares wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2019 3:51 am It's sad when the crappy Avengers Assemble cartoon actually made better use of Attuma than the comics. They basically turned Attuma into this boisterous barbarian bruiser, sort of like a mean-spirited version of Hercules who was incredibly fight happy, arrogant, and barely civilized.

Honestly, Attuma would work better in the comics if he quit trying to take over Atlantis and basically had his own organization possibly cobbled together from various aquatic races and made him the guy that constantly tries to take over the surface world. Have him inherit most of Namor's worst traits and be someone who is constantly making people doubt the sincerity of Atlantis' best intentions. Namor has to stop Attuma, not because he's threatening Atlantis, but because Attuma is making any possible peace between the surface world and Atlantis impossible. In short, Attuma becomes Namor's Magneto.

You make Attuma someone who, like Namor, can fight with the big boys, has an army of diverse soldiers, weird sea creatures, unique technology and magic, and he could become someone your average superteam could fight. Have him constantly savaging technology and magic to improve his army. Let him find his own unique magical weapon to make him more of a threat. Anything.

I should not be able to come up with better ideas for a guy with a few minutes thinking than Marvel has in decades.
He was incredibly powerful in Avengers Assemble, only peak strength Hulk was able to beat him in his debut. It was surprising because I thought that must be Orm of Marvel but he tossed Hulk and Thor aside. They later downgraded him of course but he looks still powerful as of season 1.
Jabroniville
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Brittany

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

BRITTANY
Played By:
Janie Mertz
Role: Dumb Blonde, Head Cheerleader
PL 2 (27)
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Athletics 6 (+6)
Expertise (Cheerleader) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Tactics) 5 (+4)
Persuasion 2 (+4, +6 Attractive)

Advantages:
Attractive, Ranged Attack 4

Offense:
Unarmed +2 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +1 (DC 11), Toughness +0, Fortitude +1, Will +0

Complications:
Relationship (Kevin- Boyfriend)- The two are always at each other's sides, though he annoys her frequently, and they break up often. She's apparently cheated on him before.
Relationship (Jodie Landon)- Brittany always treats Jodie like a close pal, but Jodie is just annoyed by her.
Relationship (Family)- Brittany has a father and a stepmother nearly as young as she is, as well as a little brother (who apparently tortures small animals).

Total: Abilities: 10 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 3 (27)

-Brittany is your classic Dumb Cheerleader, though she's not as vindictive as most you'll see in Teen Fiction. She's actually REALLY NICE, only saying insensitive things because she's a bit thick in the head- she's not technically incorrect that Daria is unpopular and doesn't dress well. And even THEN, she's rather friendly, legitimately trying to help out our heroine, even inviting her to parties because she's not SO UNCOOL that she can't hang out with popular kids. There's even a nice bit where Daria, embarassed because she went to school without glasses in an attempt to look better, is actually talked up BY BRITTANY, because "if even a BRAIN" can feel that being pretty is important, then it makes BRITTANY feel better for being the same way- Daria authentically thanks her.

-Brittany has a spectacularly annoying voice, which is obviously the point, but it's SO grating I find a lot of her scenes unwatchable because of it. Part of the issue is with the show's voice casting: Janie Mertz (the stage name of the actress who voices her) has NO OTHER CREDITS outside of Daria and a few roles an extra. It appears they hired a complete amateur, which is why her annoying vocal screech probably comes off as so volatile; most capable actors and voice directors would know you don't use an ACTUALLY constantly-annoying voice to portray and annoying character.

-Despite being altogether an idiot, Brittany can be a bit of a Savant (her being a Head Cheerleader comes in handy, as it's apparently very similar to military command given that it requires utter ruthlessness and psychological warfare, and she tactically destroys other kids in Paintball). She's actually smarter than Kevin, as she manages to graduate High School.
Jabroniville
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Kevin

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

KEVIN THOMPSON
Played By:
Marc Thompson
Role: Dumb Jock, Quarterback
PL 2 (16)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -2 AWARENESS -2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+5)
Expertise (Quarterback) 4 (+4) -- Uses Dexterity

Advantages:
None

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +2 (DC 12), Parry +3 (DC 13), Toughness +2, Fortitude +2, Will +0

Complications:
Relationship (Brittany- Girlfriend)- The two are always at each other's sides, though he annoys her frequently, and they break up often. She's apparently cheated on him before.
Relationship (Parents)- Kevin's mother is worried about Brittany being a Teen Mom, while his dad is a classic Football Dad, constantly pressuring Kevin in sports.
Relationship (Michael)- Kevin calls Michael "Mack Daddy", despite him hating that name.

Total: Abilities: 8 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 5 (16)

-Kevin, like Brittany, represents the "Popular Kids" in Daria's grade, yet is actually super-friendly and cheerful, and nice to everyone (which actually matches most of the popular kids *I* remember anyhow). He IS functionally-disabled, however, which again, matches High School pretty well (my sister have some hilarious comments about the Western Hockey League players they went to High School with, and I remember a couple as well. Everyone I know who went to school with Elisha Cuthberg's husband Dionne Phaneuf says that he would literally be institutionalized if he wasn't in the NHL). He's notably even dumber than BRITTANY, and flunks out of school at the end of the series, resulting in a beat-down from an embarassed Brittany. This turns out to be a result of getting "byes" from every test by Principal Li, owing to his importance to the school's Football Team.

-The one thing that annoys me about Kevin is how he's this Head Jock type... but he's SO SKINNY. Quarterbacks don't necessarily have to be the biggest guys, but he constantly wears this giant football padding over his tiny frame, making him come off as so wimpy. He's got to be the only joke I've seen in fiction who looks this way.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jun 01, 2023 1:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Upchuck

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

UPCHUCK (Charles Ruttheimer III)
Played By:
Marc Thompson (Season 1), Geoffrey Arend (post-Season 1)
Role: Wannabe Lothario, Nosy Reporter
PL 0 (10)
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Expertise (Stage Magic) 4 (+5)
Expertise (DJ) 3 (+2)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 5 (+6)

Advantages:
None

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +0 (DC 10), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Motivation ("Ladies...")- Upchuck wants to score, and tries it on every girl he sees.
Reputation (Loser)- Nobody really likes Upchuck, and they frequently let him know it.

Total: Abilities: 4 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 0 (10)

-Upchuck is your classic "Hollywood Nerd", being a geeky loser who hits on every girl he sees with horrible ability- he acts like a sophisicated-type, but is so bad at it that he just earns revulsion, thus earning his nickname. This characteristic makes him one of the only males in the show to actually hit on Daria (and the ONLY one early-on), and a frequent target for her insults. He's also one of the few students to actually understand that he's being made fun of, which he shrugs off as them merely playing with him ("oooooh... FEISTY!").
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Beavis & Butt-Head! Stewart! Todd! Daria!)

Post by Jabroniville »

The “play each other” scene’s extremely uncomfortable dialogue:


Dr. Bacon: Maybe the grown-ups can lead the way here. Helen and Jake, go on. Switcharoo.

Jake: Um, gee, I don’t know if I can do this. Well, I’ll give it a try. (he extends his fingers to simulate a telephone and speaks like Helen) Oh, hi Eric! No, just walked in. I thought I’d make dinner for…what? You have a hangnail? I’ll be right over!

(Helen nervously laughs and takes a drink of wine)

Dr. Bacon: Uh-uh. Jake.

Helen – I mean…Dammit! I lost another client, dammit! I can’t understand why! Dammit! Nobody likes poor old Jake. Should I think about the reason? Oh, must be my father’s fault. Where’s the newspaper, dammit! (fakes dropping off to sleep and snoring)

Jake: Look at the time! Gee, dear. You’ll have to tell me about your deepest fears and worries when I get back. I’ve got a big meeting, so I better run!

Helen: No matter, I’m not saying anything relevant anyway. I’m lost in a fog, when I’m not flying into a rage!

Jake: Oh, Jakey. Let me bring home the pizza. I have to be the one doing everything so everyone will thank me and tell me what a big superwoman I am. I’m very, very important and very, very stressed and I don’t have time to actually do anything for anyone else, but I can pretend I care, can’t I?

(Helen’s face turns red in shocked embarrassment and Jake sighs deeply)

Helen (quiet): Everybody hates me.

Quinn: Are you being Daria now?

Dr. Bacon: Stay with it everyone, this is good stuff.

(Helen pushes chair back and stands)

Helen: I’ve given everything I’ve got, but it’s just not enough. Well, I’ve got nothing left to give.

(Helen exits)

Helen: Look what I’ve done to my family! Your father feels completely neglected and resentful. I’ve shut you out so many times, you don’t even try to talk to me, and Quinn…well, I can’t even think about what happened there, not right now. Oh my God, Daria! You didn’t hear that!



Daria: Look, Mom. Dad has to feel neglected; it’s how he stays the center of attention. And the reason I don’t talk to you is that I know you’ll hang on my every word, and frankly, who needs that kind of responsibility? And as for Quinn, well, I can’t even think about what happened there.

(Helen laughs and stops herself)

Helen: Oh, my.

Daria: So you get carried away with the job. Big deal. You’re just as committed to the family.

Helen: I try to be.

Daria: You’re very grounded, it’s why you’re half-crazy.

Helen: You really don’t hate me for working so hard?

Daria: I came to this stupid place and pretended to be well-adjusted, didn’t I?

Helen: Hmm.

Daria: Well, anyway. I came to this stupid place.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Trent Lane

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

TRENT LANE
Played By:
Alvaro J. Gonzalez
Role: Crush Target (for Daria), The Stoner, Failed Rock & Roller
PL 1 (13)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Expertise (Musician) 2 (+4)
Insight 5 (+5)
Persuasion 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment 2 (Crappy Van)

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +0 (DC 10), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +1, Fortitude +1, Will +0

Complications:
Motivation (Weed & Singing)- Trent is a stoner (he's always coughing when he laughs), and generally hangs out with his band and goes for gigs.
Responsibility (Slacker)- Trent does not put any kind of an effort into anything.
Disabled (Narcoleptic)- Trent has a tendency to fall asleep pretty much whenever.
Responsibility (Mystik Spiral)- Trent is in a failing band that only gets small gigs. They're usually not on time. And they're thinking about changing the name.
Relationship (Monique)- Trent and his ex often hook up, then break up again.
Relationship (Jane- Sister)- Trent & Jane are relatively close, being similar in age, and usually the only two members of the Lane family present in their home.
Relationship (Daria)- Trent thinks his sister's best friend is cool, and he's aware she has a crush on him, but he's not exactly into her in that way.
Secret- He once wrote a jingle for a Used-Car Lot.

Total: Abilities: 6 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 0 (13)

-Trent is the early Love Interest for Daria, and creates an interesting contrast in Miss Cynical having this idealistic crush on a guy who is basically a lazy bum. Just... a tall, handsome, edgy-looking one. It was a great way to show even Daria is not "above it all" and her aloof, sarcastic personality was as much an armor as the superficiality of the other children- she herself was the victim of hormones. The show also makes it quite clear that this type of guy (the lazy stoner/rocker) ISN'T a good kind of guy to form a relationship with, which naturally went way over the heads of the show's Teenage Girl fanbase, who idealized Trent and wrote countless FanFics about him & Daria hooking up. Daria tries desperately to get over her crush (as even SHE realizes that it won't end well), but ultimately fails- there's a neat bit where she finally "gives up" on him and imagines it not working out... then her fantasy suddenly features them married as older adults, with a classy-dressing Trent thanking Daria for helping him out ("Damn!" Daria mutters to herself, accidentally restarting her crush).

-Trent was Jane's older brother, and was out of high school, making him a "Hot Older Boy" to Daria. However, his band ("We're Mystik Spiral, but we're thinking of changing the name") was long-suffering and always had the worst local gigs. Trent himself was clearly a stoner (though the show was not allowed to show drug use, Trent's constant coughing whenever he laughed is obvious to anyone old enough to get it) and often fell asleep in random places. He even has an ex-girlfriend he's constantly on and off with. All of this combines together to make it pretty clear that Trent is your average disaffected, lazy sub-adult who's still living through adolescence. The Lane parents being absentee and never there for discipline has left most of their children out to be latchkey kids who did their own thing.

-Ultimately, though, the show laid it all out, and made it clear to everyone why they thought a relationship would be a bad idea. Daria gets Trent to design a song for a school project of hers, but his laziness and inability to be on time for anything leads to the project nearly being late, and they kind of have this talk that's SORT OF about this project, but is ACTUALLY about them realizing that a relationship would never work- all subtextual and stuff. Naturally, Shippers FREAK THE CRAP OUT over stuff like this, and so the Daria Fandom is apparently QUITE the interesting place.

-Trent is a lazy ass, but he's actually quite insightful, and can give some really good advice to others. When Daria fell for Jane's boyfriend Tom, Trent was savvy enough to pick up on everything, even without Daria directly telling him, and admits to her that while it was bad, "It's not like you MEANT for anything to happen", drawing away some of her self-flaggelation over the situation.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Daria

Post by Jabroniville »

Woodclaw wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 11:54 am I can absolutely testify that all of this is true and I really think that one of the key point of the show is that most of the stories are told Daria's (and Jane) perspective. This lead to many character becoming exagerated parodies on themselves and/or stereotypes, because despire all her smart, Daria can be extremely judgemental of other. In my experience, this kind of defense mechanism has a lot of hidden pitfalls and Daria marched into all of them throughout the show. I always saw the changes from later season as both a sign of characters growth from the entire cast, but also as Daria letting her guard down a bit and seeing that maybe... just maybe some people are better than she imagined by putting each one in a small and neat square.
This is an interesting take, and is certainly possible- Daria has noted Brittany's helpfulness on occasion, and other episodes make it clear that some people realize how snide she can be. The most directly opposed to her own philosophy seem to be Quinn & Sandi, the latter of whom rarely interacts with Daria personally- something I always found curious.
Similarly, I always saw the fashion club as the big warning sign put there to start Quinn's character growth. Each of the members was a steroetype of what Quinn might end up being and they were put there to highlight how she was potentially better, but didn't really get it until (like her sister) she had run face-first into every part of the obstacle course that is growing up.
Another take I hadn't though of. Though it was clear they spoke to her worst impulses- more to the point, their own interactions are some of the show's most pointed takes on human conversation.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Beavis & Butt-Head! Stewart! Todd! Daria!)

Post by Jabroniville »

A grown woman writing a diatribe about Trent's "First Crush" mentality and how intoxicating this type of dude was, despite being "A crush you can only have between Grades 9-12": https://www.vogue.com/article/unexpecte ... lane-daria

And another, interviewing the voice actor as she did so: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trent-la ... 95f15f491b
The whole dynamic between Trent and Daria and this crush that she had on him ― his whole lackadaisical “I love music and naps!” ― is great. But then it’s also frustrating if you’re someone who has a crush on him and you’re like, “Why don’t you like me [back]?!”

The main reason I think Daria fell for him was because he was an outsider. He didn’t fall into [society], and that was, I think, the real draw ― was between the two characters, was because Trent himself was refusing to do what society was telling him to do: Get a job, be responsible, be a good [guy]. And I think what happened eventually in the series after Daria decided that they couldn’t be a couple because he was so far off on the fringes ... that was beyond her limit. That was beyond her threshold of tolerance for that kind of person, even though she was extremely attracted to that.

Do you think Trent was an obvious cartoon crush because he was kind of this mysterious, older guy in Daria’s eyes?

Yes, I do. He was mysterious and in a way very philosophical. Trent’s personality was very calm and Zen, something Daria greatly lacked in her own family life. This calmness and laid-backness was a draw to many fans of the show, plus he was a musician, a nonconformist and in a band!
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Tom Sloane

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

TOM SLOANE
Played By:
Russell Hankin
Role: Love Interest (For Jane & Daria), The Rich Kid, Snarky Kid
PL 0 (20), PL 2 (20) Saves
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 1 (+4)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 2 (+3)
Insight 1 (+2)
Persuasion 2 (+5)

Advantages:
None

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +0 (DC 10), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +0, Fortitude +1, Will +2

Complications:
Relationship (Jane)- The two date briefly in the penultimate season. They drift apart a bit, and he ultimately finds himself crushing on...
Relationship (Daria)- Tom is the first boy Daria actually dates (though not the first she considers). They seem well-matched in snarkiness, but arguments over Tom's classism and options in life proceed to make them drift apart. Daria's emotional and intimacy issues also didn't help.

Total: Abilities: 10 / Skills: 6--5 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 2 (20)

-Of all the characters in Daria, by far the most controversial is Tom Sloane. This is because he gets in the way of not one, but TWO official "Ships"- Jane/Daria, and Daria/Trent! Tom ended up dating Jane at first, having eyed her at some club and introduced himself (much to a jealous Daria's chagrin). But then, in a Parade-themed episode, he meets Daria (with whom he'd had a bit of an adversarial relationship so far, since she feared he was taking Jane away from her), and they end up having a bit of a connection that isn't lost on either of them. Subsequent episodes were some of the most interesting work on the show, as they had to work out their feelings AND consider those of Jane- while Tom & Jane were drifting a bit apart, that did NOT make it cool that Daria impulsively made out with him behind her back, and so forgiveness was some time in coming.

-Tom is a bit snarky, which helps him fit in with the girls. He's rich, but doesn't show it off, and comes across as more than a little smug and superior at times (and often forgets that he is unconsciously waving his wealth in the faces of others). But unfortunately, he's a bit boring as a character- he lacks the strong traits that most of the rest of the cast have, coming across as the most "normal", but this isn't always a good thing. Ultimately, he and Daria split up in the final moments of the series, unable to come to terms with their differences.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Fashion Club

Post by Jabroniville »

THE FASHION CLUB:
-On Quinn's very first day at Lawndale, she makes immediate friends with The Fashion Club, a group of three air-headed popular girls devoted to fashion, bringing others down, and playing political games with each other. Apparently this is the way a LOT of girls go through High School, which is something dudes like me know little about (with guys, it's a little easier to figure out the "game"). Sandi is the bossy, pushy mean girl in charge, while Tiffany is the airiest head of them all, and Stacy is just a yes-woman desperate for praise and attention. Unfortunately they all use "Generic Airhead Names", same as Brittany in Daria's grade, and this makes them hard for me to remember, lol.

The Club were generally seen with Quinn, and all of them took a negative opinion of Daria- they went along with Quinn's attempts to pass her off as a "cousin", and the whole group were the most obviously-antagonistic students at the school; among the few to actually criticize Daria. In one of the final episodes, Daria is forced to be a substitute teacher for Quinn's class, and Quinn proves to be a half-decent student because she's actually paying attention to the book they're reading, while her Clubmates all fail. Sandi makes a crack about Daria, and Quinn FINALLY admits that the two are sisters, which shocks them all. In the series finale, the Club formally decides to split up (as they'd all been taking sabbaticals and getting tired of the games)... and decides to just hang out on regular terms from then on. The future seems somewhat brighter, as they can do things without the games.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Quinn Morgendorffer

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

QUINN MORGENDORFFER
Played By:
Wendy Hoopes
Role: Alpha Bitch, The Schemer, The Flirt
PL 0 (18), PL 2 (18) Saves
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 3 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+4)
Expertise (Fashion) 7 (+7)
Insight 4 (+4)
Persuasion 2 (+5, +7 Attractive)

Advantages:
Attractive

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +0 (DC 10), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Popularity)- Quinn loves the attention of others (especially that of boys), and will compete tooth & nail with anyone else in that area.
Relationship (Daria)- As Daria makes no attempts to be social or popular, Quinn is disgusted and confused by her. Daria enjoys teasing Quinn's superficiality and flightiness, while Quinn openly mocks Daria's fashion sense and choice of lifestyle. She is so embarassed by Daria that she will openly deny their relationship in public (calling Daria her "cousin"). Only much later does Quinn show genuine concern for Daria's feelings, when she recalls a fight their parents had over Daria.
Relationship (Helen & Jake- Parents)- Quinn whines and prods her parents for favors constantly, and usually appears to be annoyed by them.
Relationship (Sandi)- Sandi liked Quinn at first, but when she found Quinn growing in popularity, Sandi strove to bring her down, and often passive-aggressively criticizes her behavior. Quinn usually responded by changing her comments or answers to satisfy Sandi's criticisms, but eventually started standing up to her. The two are in effect huge competitors while being in the same friend group.
Motivation (Making Guys Fight)- Quinn actually gets a BIG surge of enjoyment watching men fight over her, especially when things turn physically violent- she will smile broadly with glee, but shout "Oh, NOOOOO!" as if this wasn't her intention all along.
Responsibility (Lack of Contact)- Though Quinn is an incorrigible flirt, she actually shrinks back from male contact- she will separate herself from anyone trying to get too close, and appears uncomfortable even DISCUSSING the idea of sex.
Responsibility (Low Self-Esteem)- Quinn believes that beauty and popularity are her only two real qualities, and so pushes only those aspects of herself, ignoring everything else. To quote Daria, "She wears superficiality as an armor, afraid that if she peels it off, she'll find nothing".

Total: Abilities: 4 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 3 (18)

Quinn- Daria's Opposite Number:
-Quinn is the main antagonist of Daria, a stereotypically superficial teenage girl who of course rubs her antisocial sister the wrong way (the feeling is mutual). She revels in her popularity amongst men and boys alike (a few older men try to flirt with her, and boys OFTEN come to blows over her, much to her glee), and has to deal with the strategizing of her "friend" Sandi in the Fashion Club. Despite this, Quinn isn't QUITE as stupid as she acts (or pretends to be)- she's noticeably upset that she barely scored ahead of the rest of the Club on some standardized tests, and only avoids being seen as smarter out of fear for being known as "A Brain", knowing this is social suicide.

-Quinn's relationships are quite interesting when you dig into them- while her rivalry with Daria is pretty typical and mostly because they are the most obviously diametrically at odds (the Popular One versus the Outcast), her rivalry with Sandi has the most mind games. Quinn/Daria is interesting mostly because it dives into the root of the series as a whole- Daria's distaste for the popularity games manifests itself most strongly in her sister, who LIVES for them. As Daria's own classmates neither dislike nor pick on her, it's the hate for Quinn and her group that fuels a lot of the misanthropy Daria feels.

The Quinn/Sandi Rivalry:
-Quinn/Sandi is interesting because it's this elite form of passive-aggressive "friendliness" that is more interesting the older I get- boys rarely had to deal with shit like this, so the notion that a girl's "Best Friend" could actually wield their friendship like a weapon is a whole new ballgame to me. They do this thing where if Quinn says ANYTHING "out of line" or worse, threatens Sandi's popularity, Sandi will get noticeably offended and be like "GEE, QUINN" about something she said, forcing Quinn to noticeably "back down", playing off Sandi's comments as if she misunderstood. It's a very clear form of verbal bullying- not through threats or insults, but through "offense". By being louder and more offended than your "adversary", you can cause them to "back down" just to keep the peace, and thus you get to win. I think a lot of this is why people react so strongly to today's "I'm OFFENDED! I demand you apologize for using a term I have now decided is evil!" crowd- the bullying here is very clear. Essentially, people are acting like a bunch of Sandis, forcing everyone to change their language (and thus, their thought) to suit their own needs.

Quinn And Boys:
-Quinn's relationship with boys is interesting because she is an open and obvious flirt, flicking her hair and doing the "lol I'm so DUMB!" thing that often effortlessly works with guys who want to seem charming because now the girl isn't so threatening. She even revels with glee when the boys start to push and shove each other over her, and then start FIGHTING. "Oh NOOOOO..." she'll cry, with an open smile on her face, as she delights in what her power has wrought. As Daria finally admits when Quinn is considering plastic surgery, "You have the kind of looks that make other girls CRAZY", and she loves it. Quinn even has much older (ie. grown-ass men) dudes after her at points. However, she always keeps men at a VERY big arm's length. As in, she becomes incredibly uncomfortable should any of them so much as put an arm on her shoulder, much less actually physically flirt. Quinn thus kind of represents this duality- someone who wants attention and to be attractive, but is nervous and even frightened of her own sexuality.

-It's more clear later that she's a very vulnerable person- when she gets a college-age tutor in a later episode to help with her grades, she finds herself very attracted to him, despite him being "A Brain" like Daria. His serious looks and his open criticism of her is something totally new, and she notices it's different now. But when she just admits it- "I like you... do you like me?", he pretty well flat-out rejects her (I forget how this came off- it was less rude and more "WOAH- I don't think of you like THAT! Sorry" I think), leaving Quinn bereft. To the point where she practically has a breakdown- "Why did I tell him I LIKED him? I NEVER say that to a guy!" is maybe the most honest thing any character in the show said about themselves. It was Quinn admitting her preference for leading boys on and always "playing the game".

Quinn's Maturity:
-Quinn matures a bit as the show goes on- in later seasons, she attempts to get better grades, and even comes to terms with DARIA! She even sort of learns how to deal with Sandi's scheming, does at least a COUPLE nice things, and more. The final episodes feature Daria teaching Quinn's class during a Teacher's Strike, leading to the Fashion Club scolding Quinn by proxy (they also think that Daria is giving her preferential treatment), but Quinn ignoring them, getting a good score by ACTUALLY KNOWING THE SUBJECT ("It's like a whole different KIND of cheating!"- the eternal words of Bart Simpson), and then finally admitting publicly that she & Daria are sisters. In another, Daria goes into a bit of a breakdown/funk because she realizes that her behavior as a kid stressed out her parents and affected their marriage, and Quinn is actually SYMPATHETIC, as this is actually a serious issue (and not their usual trivial crap).

-Quinn had a pretty weak subplot in the Series Finale Movie, though it started nice- she made a cool college-age friend/co-worker and learned some things about how older kids behaved (When Quinn rips on someone, the girl reacts with concern, asking "You're not one of those people who brings others down to make themselves look better, right?" and Quinn can only go "Uh, right"). She sort of matures due to this, but then it turns into a more boring story about the girl turning out to be an alcoholic and Quinn getting all uncomfortable with it, then bemoaning it when her friend tries to blame HER for the liquor hidden away to drink while on shift.

-Despite that, Quinn is sort of a neat character- a deliberately-superficial person who never really gets that cliche "Oh the bitch is actually one with a heart of gold" thing. I felt they could have gone a bit further with her interesting habit of avoiding physical contact with men (she's never seen even KISSING a guy that I can recall, but dates constantly and has every boy fighting over her), the way she CLEARLY enjoys men brawling for her affections, and the way she EFFORTLESSLY gets most males to like her- even Sandi's bratty younger siblings!
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Tiffany Blum-Deckler

Post by Jabroniville »

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I mean, she DOES sound like an airhead, but imagine listening to this for minutes at a time.

TIFFANY BLUM-DECKLER
Played By:
Ashley Albert
Role: The Airhead
PL 0 (-4)
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -2 AWARENESS -2 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Fashion) 5 (+4)
Persuasion 1 (+1)

Advantages:
None

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +0 (DC 10), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Relationship (The Fashion Club)- Tiffany doesn't appear truly close to any of the other girls- she's just there.
Responsibility (Slow Talker)- Tiffany takes three or four times as long to say something as anybody else.

Total: Abilities: -10 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 2 (-4)

-Tiffany has quite possibly the most annoying speaking voice ever, which actually turns out rather funny (though it was like nails on a chalkboard to Teen Jab). The trick issssss... she always talks verrrrrrrry slowwllllllly... but only in the lassssttttt fewwwww wordsssssss... as if she's jusssssttttt thinkinnnggg of themmmm... this is basically her entire schtick, and she just goes on with whatever everyone says. This makes her the most one-dimensional recurring character in the show, which isn't entirely bad with such a large cast, and prevents the Fashion Club from getting too mixed-up. Like a lot of cartoon characters, her voice has changed over time- she'd initially used a relatively normal-speed voice.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Sandi Griffin

Post by Jabroniville »

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SANDI GRIFFIN
Played By:
Janie Mertz
Role: Alpha Bitch
PL 0 (11)
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 3 (+2)
Expertise (Fashion) 7 (+6)
Insight 4 (+4)
Intimidation 1 (+3)
Persuasion 3 (+5)

Advantages:
None

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +0 (DC 10), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Motivation (Political Power)- Sandi likes being in charge, and will take great effort to maintain her popularity level.
Relationship (Quinn)- Sandi liked Quinn at first, but when she found Quinn growing in popularity, she strove to bring her down, and often passive-aggressively criticizes her behavior.
Relationship (Family)- Her father appears to have little backbone, while Sandi's mom is just an older version of her (often playing games with Helen the way Sandi does with Quinn). Sandi's little brothers are obnoxious hellraisers who treat her like crap, but (naturally) both are quite taken with Quinn.

Total: Abilities: 0 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 1 (11)

-Sandi is the kind of character I would imagine opposing Daria the most, so it became kind of odd that she was the "Frenemy" to Quinn instead- as the leader of the Fashion Club, Sandi was the powerhouse political figure in Quinn's grade, and was at first happy to accept Quinn into their little Club, as she was definitely cute enough. However, it soon became obvious that Quinn was MORE popular than Sandi (especially with the boys), which made her a threat- therefore, we got a VERY unique relationship, one that I can't recall ever seeing in fiction before: That of "friends" who passive-aggressively took swipes at each other while ostensibly being friendly. Sandi & Quinn would make these little jabs at each other's actions or choices, but do it with this BIG smiles and half-lecturing tones, like "Oh, you wouldn't REALLY do that, WOULD YOU?"- basically being completely insincere and nasty. Quinn would generally back down and avoid a fight by changing her answer to something close to Sandi's.

-Unfortunately, I found Sandi to be very poorly-acted, with this goofy, over-the-top deep voice that trailed on for too long. She pronounced names funny ("Koo-WINNNN..." for Quinn), and took this odd accent that was a mix of Valley Girl with Rich East Coast American or something. She, like Brittany, is voiced by Janie Mertz, who never had another real acting role. Later episodes would make Sandi a little more acceptable- when Quinn helps her lose a microscopic amount of weight (which had left her utterly depressed and bed-ridden), Sandi resolves to be a little nicer to her.
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