Epiphany, Daria style

Today is Epiphany, the Twelfth Day of X (formerly known as Christmas). Epiphany is the kid at Holiday Island High who figures things out long after it would have done him any good, and knows the right retort only after everyone has left the room. (His epiphanies are a little late.)

Epiphany got its start when the Three Wise Guys (see at left) began following a brilliant star (seen at right). After twelve days of begging and pleading with her for a date, she let them take her to Chez Pierre of Lawndalehem, which cost them all the gold they had. (The restaurant would not take frankincense or myrrh as payment because those are plants.)

Epiphany (as a word, not as the holiday) is hard to explain. I looked up a bunch of definitions. They include:

• A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization.
• An usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something.
• An intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking.
• An illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure.
• A revealing scene or moment.
• A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.
• A literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

Daria is probably the only TV show ever to make a joke using the word epiphany. From "Jake of Hearts":

• Daria: I may have had a hand in her epiphany.
• Jane: I hope you washed it thoroughly.

Not just any old TV show could pull that one off. Several Daria stories have epiphany in their titles.

• "Epiphany," by Nick Gaston
• "O'Neill's Epiphany," by Bacner
• "The Iron Cynic Series #2: Late Epiphany," by DJW (no longer online except through the WayBack Machine)
  

If you celebrate Epiphany, then you should definitely read these stories today. For religious reasons, of course. And now for something completely different.

Dark Kuno added the latest entry in DariaWiki: This Used To Be My Playground. Thanks! Brother Grimace and Dr. Mike have been doing great work there lately.

The Backgrounders website is attracting attention and comment on PPMB and SFMB. Read and learn.

The great Kemical Reaxion has posted a short comic on SFMB: "Alcohol and Sarcasm." Happy New Year!

Now 1,095 fans in the Daria Fan Club. Wow, that thing has really grown in the last year. Word must have gotten around. It's got a lot of good stuff.

FF.net

• Daria One Half, by Batlurker (Part 3): Jane whistled. "Wow, that's one of the weirdest things I've ever seen."
• Janey on My Mind, by Violent Dyke (COMPLETE!): One day, Jane left. This is what happened afterward.
  

PPMB

• Bettie and Jack at Festivus, by Gene (COMPLETE!): The fandom's first-ever Festivus fanfic! The first fanfic of 2009! And it's a good one! Hooray!
• Daylight LLH: Palmed Cards, by Gouka Ryuu (COMPLETE!): What the Hell were you doing earlier, Gouka? You revealed the existence of Arcana and The Elite to Armalin in practically the same breath!
• King of the Ladies, by Disco316 (COMPLETE!): Courage, advice, time travel: the things some people need to get a date.
  
• Other Side, by Legendeld (Parts 1 and 2): A steampunk Daria tale... with a bite.

SFMB

• Cybercity Lawndale, by JJXB (Part 14): The street's dark atmosphere lent itself to a horror novel. Daria was getting creeped out, feeling as if she was being watched. “Damn paranoia,” She muttered to herself. (So far, the only cyberpunk Daria tale I know of.)

One Last Minor Topic:

One of the ways I've been using to identify certain students at Lawndale High (for Backgrounders) is by picking out physical details about them, such as (for the males) beards. Some useful charts naming different beard styles are available on the 'net, and I thought I'd pick two of the best of them for those of you with bearded characters in your fanfics. The right words are always better than sort-of-the-right words.

• Beard types 1
• Beard types 2

For whatever it's worth. Enjoy.