#mythologic geekery

[alpaca-clouds]

Mythologic Geekery: Ares

When it comes to Ares... he is an interesting god. Because we do not quite know where he comes from. Now, obviously war gods are quite common in mythologies. And within the Greek mythology they are so common, that half of the fucking pantheon has a war-aspect to them. Even motherfucking Aphrodite has an armored up war version of herself. Which almost makes Ares superfluous.

Within Mycanean Greece, there was the Enyalios as a war god, who later in Hellenistic Greece shows up as a son of Ares again. But some scholars assume that he was the prototype for Ares, especially as in some eras Enyalios was also an alternate name for Ares.

The other possible origin for Ares is, that like Hermes split from Pan, Ares might have split from Zeus.

The reason for this is two-fold. For once, there is the fact that obviously Zeus has a waring aspect to him (again, most Greek gods have this), but also... In almost all other Indo-European mythologies the war god is just an aspect of the god father (who often, but not always is the Sky Father).

The most notable examples of this are obviously Odin and YHW.

So, why did the Greeks have an exclusive war god?

Well, maybe because war was really important to their culture. We usually think of Greece as this culture of philosophers. But we cannot forget that it was also a culture of war. An aspect that obviously became more important, when the Romans entered the picture.

But yes, all in all Ares is kinda an anomaly within the Greek mythology, that we have not quite figured out yet.

[ravencromwell]

The poem evokes human greatness and human vulnerability. People are “godlike” in their courage and skill, but even the greatest mortals fall and clutch the dust between their bloody fingers. The beautiful word minunthadios , “short-lived,” is used of both Achilles and Hector, and applies to all of us. We die too soon, and there is no adequate recompense for the terrible, inevitable loss of life. Yet through poetry, the words, actions, and feelings of some long-ago brief lives may be remembered even three thousand years later.

--Emily Wilson's introduction to the Iliad

[whitemagewithcoco]

really, dashboard... really!? lmao

@animatedtext @greatest-greek-games

[disneytva]

WonderCon 2024 Sets GARGOYLES 30th Anniversary Panel With Reunion Of The Crew And Cast.

In celebration of all things comics, sci-fi, horror, cartoons and general genre entertainment geekery, WonderCon returns to the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California from Friday, March 29 to Sunday, March 31. Comic-Con San Diego’s more manageably-sized sibling event nevertheless has plenty to pack your schedule if you love all things animation.

Gargoyles fans are getting a treat as for the series 30th anniversary a reunion panel is among the events of the convention.

30 Years of Gargoyles - Sunday, March 31

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. | North 200A

Gargoyles, an animated series that mixed mythology, complex themes and Shakespearean storylines, instantly attracted viewers of all ages in its first season. Though betrayed by the very ones they have sworn to protect, Goliath, his family, and Eliza taught impressionable minds about trust and understanding the other side. A cartoon that stood out from its peers at the time, it spawned comics, video games, and a newly announced live-action reboot. Cast, crew, writers and others will discuss how Gargoyles has inspired fan conventions and why it’s been consistently named one of the best animated series for three decades.

[ravencromwell]

I'm incapable of letting a post about monster parenting go by without reccing Max Gladstone's "A Kiss With Teeth." While there are no cupcakes--or bonding with kids bff--, there is Vlad. Gradually allowing his son into every aspect of his life. Even the scary ones. While weeping that this parenting thing: harder than being Count Dracula, man by a mile. Concealing his monstrosity from the human world who would fear him, while not being devoured by his human accounting mask. And trying so very, very hard to rekindle the spark with his beloved while simultaneously resisting the urge to chomp on his son's lovely school teacher. With a beloved who has kicked his ass once, and will cheerfully do it again if that's what it takes for him to understand the only monstrosity he's perpetrating right now is fleeing his family in fear of hurting them. It's got the _vibes of this post, if not its specifics is what I'm saying.

I like stories where a normal human child is being raised by a sinister supernatural being who is totally malevolent except when it comes to their kid. Those are so much better than the “kids are scary” changeling type horror movies.

[weeinterpreter]

Zeus: Son, the world doesn't revolve around you.

Apollo: Well...

[alicedaydreams]

I’ve recently become obsessed with the musical @hadestown, which retells the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice. So it felt like a good time for a #fandomfriday post featuring 1 of my oldest & greatest loves: Greek mythology. The Odyssey is legit one of my favorite stories & so I feel so blessed to have this new translation of it by Emily Wilson & a riff on the tale in CIRCE by Madeline Miller, whose 1st book THE SONG OF ACHILLES (about the Iliad) is an all-time fave! . . What is something you’ve loved forever & anything in that wheelhouse still gets you every time? . . . #bookstagram #booknerd #blackmilkandbooks #bmolympusskaterdress #bookootd #bmolympusorangereversibleskaterdress #mythology #greekmythology #theodyssey #bookandoutfit #booknerdigans #bookflatlay #booklover #bookobsessed #geekchic #geekery #fridayreads #AliceRecs https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn_9mKwFrp0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kiyaow7kasfz

[zenzgtandg]

Kratos unlocks Bluetooth

Reddit

[alpaca-clouds]

Mythologic Geekery: Ba'al

Given that I now have the theory that he might play into Nocturne - and the fact I wanted to speak about Abrahamitic and Semitic mythology this and next week either way... LET ME TALK BA'AL!

So, first things first: Ba'al originally was a title within several of the semitic languages, being best translated with "Lord". So several male gods used the honorific over the time. But within both Babylon and also the Canaanite culture the name became mostly associated with the god Hadad. (While the Phoenicians associated the name with El(ohim) - but I am gonna talk about Elohim next week and he is a bit different, because he never became a demon.)

Hadad was a good mainly of weather (especially storms) and of fertility, being associated with the harvest and agriculture in general. Statues of Hadad were also used in fertility rituals.

From Ba'al Hadad came Ba'al as a god on his own. And while he was usually not the head god of a pantheon, he very much fulfilled the same role as Zeus in the pantheon. Being association with weather and these things. Interesting enough he had also a reverse version of the same kinda myth like Persephone associated with him: According to this myth the hot and dry summer months were the time of the year he was forced to live in the underworld.

What happened, though, with the Hebrew culture was that YHW subsumed the same role within the pantheon that Ba'al originally fulfilled. So he basically took that role and on the longterm subplanted Ba'al. And when the Abrahamitic culture turned towards Monotheism around YHW, Ba'al first became one of the false idols. Those idols that the folks prayed to in the desert while Moses was on the mountain. (Also Ba'al was among the idols people in Mekka prayed too that Mohammed then worked against.)

So, when Judaism took of they used Ba'al to build out their demonology. Now, again, Ba'al is technically a title, but a lot of people do agree that the fact that the demon got called Ba'al Zebub (Lord of Flies) was for the reason that Ba'al was the god they were trying to subplant.

Now technically Ba'al Zebub also references another god (Ekron). Now, the role of Ba'al Zebub (or how you might more easily recognize the name: Beelzebub). Within early Judaist sources Ba'al Zebub is mostly associated with death and sickness. Hence also the name: Lord of Flies.

As mythology shifts over time, by the time of the Testament of Solomon Ba'al Zebub was called "the Prince of Demons", who also was said to once have been an angel who rebelled against God for which he was cast into hell. And yes, if you think about Luzifer here: This was probably the source for that. I will talk more about Luzifer next week.

And then came Christianity. While within the gospels Ba'al Zebub was still in the same role of "prince of demon", later Christian theology started to decide that he and Satan were the same character. Something that happened around the same time that Satan became seen as more and more "evil" (something he is not within the original Hebrew mythology). And the Christian theology turned Ba'al Zebub into Beelzebub, as which we still have him around to this day.

[ravencromwell]

“Cowards and heroes have the same reward. Do everything or nothing—death still comes.” (9.409–10) Moreover, perhaps the trade was never worth it in the first place. Material wealth—such as treasure or animals—can be traded and recovered, but this loss can never be recouped: You can raid fine cattle or well-fed sheep, and you can trade to get tripods and horses with fine golden manes. But human life does not come back again after it passes through the fence of teeth. No trade or rustling can recover it. (9.524–29) The almost childlike simplicity and truth of the observation is overwhelmingly powerful. Teeth are a fence between the interior and exterior of the body, like a barrier that keeps animals inside their pen. But this little fence is too frail to keep human life locked inside. Achilles, an experienced looter and cattle thief, knows how easily animals can be filched from their original owners, and how hard it may be to track down a stolen horse or herd. To recover a lost life is not hard, but impossible.

--from Emily Wilson's Introduction to The Iliad

[hungergamesbookshelf]

Name Meta: Annie

In the interests of procrastination I decided to take some time and talk about why I decided to name Annie what I did.

This was actually something I agonized over for longer than I care to admit. I’ve read a lot of different versions of Annie’s full name but none of them felt right to me and I was honestly pretty much decided that I was simply going to have her official, full name be simply “Annie.” It didn’t seem unlikely and is probably what Suzanne Collins had in mind.

Then, as I was idly scrolling through Behind the Name (which is a beautiful website and may or may not be my homepage) looking at names that begin with “An” when “Andromache” popped up on my screen and I just had a Moment.

Here’s the thing about me. I’m a huge myths and legends nerd (like so many people on tumblr) and I have Opinions about Troy and what went down there.

For those who decided to do better things with their life than geek out over ancient literature, I shall explain. There are approximately three people in the entire Trojan saga who are just all around decent people that you really feel like you can root for without reservation. Two of them are Hector and Andromache.

Hector is one of the Trojan princes, the elder brother of Paris (you know, the dude who started the whole thing by bringing home another man’s wife) and I kid you not he is just about as close to perfection as is possible for a mortal in a Greek myth.

And if I love Hector I freaking adore Andromache. (She’s the bomb)

Andromache is also something of a passive character in the story in the sense that she is involved, but it is other characters and their decisions (and the gods) who drive the action.

While all the drama and affairs and backstabbing is going on, Hector is over to the side with Andromache and their baby son Astyanax just being a sweet little family and when duty calls he steps outside the walls and leads the Trojan forces to protect the city. I ship them so hard guys. (And I’m not the only one. The Hector/Andromache tag on AO3 has 27 results)

Hector the tamer of horses, the hero of Troy. Hector the Golden who is given an ignominious death, leaving behind his wife and son to an unknown fate.

Sound familiar?`

I will say that Annie gets a happier ending than Andromache. She doesn’t have to watch her husband’s body be desecrated. She gets to go home and raise her son instead of being dragged off into slavery and her baby tossed off the wall of Troy.

But the name Andromache for me invokes a sort of sense of doom and grief that I felt suited Annie and her story well. Just because it ends in a slightly better way doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of pain.

[rideroftherange]

So ‘Sisyphus’ was trending on Twitter and it was just Classics jokes!

[andsewingishalfthebattle]

Anime Central 2021 Panels (...maybe)

Soooo ACEN has moved online this year, and is running their virtual con split between Twitch and Discord this weekend.

As we had provided some of the cultural content last year, ASIHTB was asked if we could provide a selection of pre-recorded educational and cultural programming for this year's event. Which we did, even bringing in authors and cultural experts to contribute more diverse content!

But when I checked the programming schedule to see when I needed to be online for the live panel Q&A, I discovered that of the 26 presentations we sent in, only two were actually listed on the final panel schedule. 😕 Laura was told by staff that more of our programs were going be added to the schedule, but it's now the day of the con and the schedule has never been updated, so I have no idea when, where, or if the rest of our videos will be run.

If ACEN doesn't show the videos, I suppose we can just put them up on our YouTube channel so you can watch them there after the con. (Bonus ASIHTB con!) In any case, here's the complete list of everything we prepared/recorded for the convention, along with panel times if we have them. For the rest... uh, I guess they might still be run off-schedule, or as filler or something? So keep an eye out if you're participating in ACEN Online.

Japanese Folklore and Mythology

Time: Friday, May 19 @ 4:30 PM CST (Discord)

What’s the difference between bakemono and ayakashi? Who’s that Pokémon, and why is it in a 200-year-old woodblock print? Does the story of Sailor Moon actually predate the Norman conquest of England? (Spoiler: YES, it does!) Get the most from your animé and Asian cinema experience when you understand the cultural background! Learn about Japanese mythology in this folklore primer, illustrated with video clips from animé and Japanese film.

Go West! The Saiyuki Legend

Time: Saturday, May 20 @ 3:30 PM CST (Discord)

From Dragon Ball to Gensoumaden Saiyuki, there's no shortage of adaptations, retellings, and wholesale lifts of one of the world's most popular folk tales. But most of the western world enjoying these retellings knows little of the original novel, and even less of the stories it itself combined and retold.

Let's look at the historic and cultural context for the original 16th century novel and the lore it collected into a single tale. We'll discuss some key adaptations as well, with the knowledge to enjoy them more.

The Phantom Thief: An Illustrated History

Time: ???

How did Edgar Allen Poe influence Sailor Moon? What do Norse gods, Joan of Arc, and Lupin III have in common? Who was the real-life Moriarty? Learn the origin of the kaitou, Japan’s archetypal thief, from his birth in Gilded Age literature to his high-tech 21st century incarnations. Follow this truly international antihero’s development through history with examples from animé, manga, film, and literature.

Patterns Lie! And Other Useful Sewing Facts

Time: ???

Learning to sew can be daunting, especially if you’ve never had formal instruction. We’re here to help! In this panel, we’ll cover selecting and reading a pattern, choosing fabric, cutting, pinning, sewing, pressing, finishing hems, and more — all without complicated sewing terminology! You’ll be sewing like a pro in no time. Bring your questions!

The History of Ramen

Time: ???

Favored by broke college students everywhere, ramen has a reputation as a cheap convenience food. But these twisty noodles actually have a fascinating history! Learn about ramen's (surprisingly recent) development and cultural background in this tasty presentation.

Ninja in History

Time: ???

Join celebrated authors Susan Spann (author of the Hiro Hattori mysteries) and Laura VanArendonk Baugh (author of the Kitsune Tales series) for a history-packed discussion of the fact and fiction of ninjutsu and ninja.

Japanese Fairy Tales

Time: ???

In the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, the Western world was fascinated by newly-available trade goods and cultural elements coming out of Japan, which had been closed off from the Western world for more than two centuries. One outgrowth of this trend was the repackaging of Japanese folk tales for American children. Join Alena as she shares translated stories from a 1904 volume of Japanese Fairy Tales.

Japanese Culture and History: The Bite-Sized Collection

Time: ???

As the oldest monarchy in the world, Japan’s had plenty of time for some amazing moments in history. Hear a few of the most important, most famous, or most fun -- from the Genpei War to the Meiji Revolution, from girl power to magical red cows, from archery contests to smallpox -- with illustrations, photos, ties to your favorite anime/manga, and plenty of geekery. These shorter videos range in running time from 4 to 45 minutes, so you can take your history in small bites or settle in for the whole marathon!

Individual videos cover:

Senjafuda

The Shitennou

The Akabeko

The Ainu

The 47 Ronin

Japanese Number Puns

Japanese Archery Challenge

Smallpox and the Great Buddha

Nakano Takeko

The Byakkotai

Dan no Ura

Koyasan

Nara

Shojin Ryori

The Shinsengumi

Shinto in WWII

The Eater of Dreams

One Ingredient Curry Rice

Yakuza: Facts and Fallout

[thegeekerynj]

Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory #1-4 (Dark Horse Comics) Writer: Evan Dorkin (@evandorkin) and Sarah Dyer (@colorkitten)  Artist: Benjamin Dewey (@benjamindewey) Letters: Nate Piekos (@Blambot)

An Occasional Attempt to Read, Discuss and Review the Wonders of Comics

By: John Rafferty, cranky old man, and Fan of All Things Comics

Riding the IND 

Designed with the intent to acknowledge the Immense Contribution of the Independent Comic Press, and  highlight a more unique stable of products

==========================================

Greetings, Salutations, and Hi-De-Ho Neighbors!

Welcome, one and all, to the Show that Never Ends, the Sideshow that is my desire to report to YOU, Gentle Readers, what is amazing, wonderful and so extremely FAN-Tastical in the world of Independent Comics!

I’ll be your host for what I hope will be an enlightening, joy and thrill-filled ride through the last couple of months of the Indy World where, hopefully, at the end, I may have inspired you to dip your toe into some of the beauty I am describing here…

With that said, let’s begin our descent into ADVENTURE!

_______________________________________________________________

Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory #1-4 (Dark Horse Comics)

Writer: Evan Dorkin (@evandorkin) and Sarah Dyer (@colorkitten)  Artist: Benjamin Dewey (@benjamindewey) Letters: Nate Piekos (@Blambot)

‘A great spiritual disturbance has arisen in the Zou Valley. There is HATRED there, and DEATH.

‘Only a complete fool would go anywhere near that place.

‘Complete Fools. That’s US, I’m guessin’.  RIGHT?

————————————————————————————————

W.C. Fields has been attributed the quote ‘Never work with animals or children.’

I am certainly glad the creative team has never taken this to heart.

‘Beasts of Burden’, in all its iterations, is the love child of Evan Dorkin. A long running set of stories for Dark Horse Publishing, these tales extoll the virtues of Wise Dogs, Apprentices, and Swifties, Dogs and Cats who have, through the Grace of Nature, been granted power which they use to protect the less fortunate, and humans. 

In many cases, these majestic beasts choose to work with Humans who understand the powers the Dogs and Cats possess, and as a result, all work toward protecting the World, together.

Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory tells the tale of Emrys, a Wise Dog, and his Human, Jonathan Hope, who venture to Japan post V-J Day, in 1947. They are investigating the disappearance and gruesome murder of some US Soldiers in Northern Japan.

The story is rife with Japanese folklore and mysticism, bringing in mythological creatures from throughout Japan’s storied history. Each being gets spotlighted, and contributes to the story, which is a pleasant surprise, considering many would just drop some of these characterizations in as window dressing. 

As I read these issues, i kept hoping for a Kaiju… but I digress.

Well, let’s begin with the artwork. Benjamin Dewey is a master of this art form. His art style screams ‘Comfortable, friendly, expressive’, while his storytelling says ‘Come, sit  and read for a while.’.  The pages, panels and layouts are PRETTY. There are no steroided out super-dogs, no sharp angles / explosions of characters from the page. This is a TALE to be spun, and his will be one half of the medium to do the spinning.  

I am dutifully impressed every time I see this gentleman’s work. It is a talent that continues to grow, and I really can’t wait  to see where he goes next.

An aside, All 4 of the A Covers for the books are done by Ben Dewey.  His style is so distinctive, the owner of the geekery pointed out to me which covers he did, saying ‘These covers are beautiful. He does such pretty, distinctive work.’  

For me, it was the B Covers that got me, with Jill Thompson doing Issue 2, Stephanie (granddaughter of John) Buscema on Issue 3, and Evan Dorkin doing Issue 4. Every one as pretty as the A Covers, and complementary to the story.

Now, for the tale of the TALE and Tails… Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer really knocked this one out of the park. 

A well told story of two Dogs (a Wise One, and one not so wise) who are out of place, but unafraid to go forth and try to do what is RIGHT, for the sake of all. A tale as old as time, with Tengu, and Kitsune, Tanuki , Oni, Kappa and Jorogumo.

Not to forget the Shibi Inu guardian Temple Dogs.

In a story concerning Japan, it was important to look at ALL the context. The Time, the Placement of the ‘Big Bad’, and whether their reaction to what occurred was potentially warranted, based upon the understanding of the History.

The storytelling is not heavy handed or hamfisted. In many cases, when mythologies from different cultures are mixed, the Writer / s will resort to the typical superhero trope of ‘Let them fight it out, realize they have a common enemy, and gang tackle the Big Bad. 

Happily, this was not the case. the team of Dorkin and Dyer gave each set of characters a sense of rationality and purpose. Emrys and Mullins were investigating the disappearances, they weren’t looking to smash anything flat before talking. The Guardians were protectors first, thinking characters. The Oni and Jorogumo, well, they were serving their baser natures, which is what they were known for; while the Council, and Lord Yamanaya served their people, and not the Outside World.

All in all, Mythology treated with a loving respect which has been seen before from this team, whether on a Marvel Snapshot story, tales of rancid Dairy Products, a group of over the top fanboys… well, you get my drift, I am sure.

The dialogue was natural feeling, one could ALMOST hear a lilt of British accent in Emrys’ lines, where there was a feel of Bensonhurst in Mullins voice. Now, how much of that was attributable to the writing, or in combination with the artwork, I couldn’t say. 

I can say in reading these books 3 times, I heard the accents in my head every time. I’ll attribute it to well seasoned writing.

The most important aspect of this writing, it left me wanting more. Evan and Sarah have whetted my appetite for more stories about these characters.

I am looking forward to the slate of stories which has been proposed, and I hope that when the time / scripts come, Ben Dewey is there to do the pencils and inks.

Thank you, guys. You have made an Old Fat Guy very happy.

Out of 5🌶        🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

========================================================

[docfuture]

Princess, part 12

       [This story is a prequel, set in an alternate 2012, several years before The Fall of Doc Future, when Flicker is 16.  Links to some of my other work are here.  Updates are theoretically biweekly. Next chapter is partly done so I’m going to try to get it out early in September.]

Previous: Part 11

      Recovery--and a start at change and learning.       Flicker thought about the wrap up of her first session, and Stella's comments on paying a bit more attention to the ways other people were already helping.       "... and I just suppressed thinking about it at all because the frustration got real bad when I didn't," Flicker had said.       "Understandable," said Stella.  "Did you consider talking to Armadillo?"       "I talked to her about some general stuff, but she's... old."       Stella nodded slowly.  "I can see how the Database might have given you the impression that sex was invented sometime in the 60s.  And Armadillo was already middle-aged by then."       "That's not fair.  It just that the primary sources were so indirect and coded about it.  And left so much out.  The Database doesn't..."  Flicker frowned, then sped up to check a few things.  After a while she slowed back down.       "Well, crap," she said.  "I learned most of my 20th century history when I was randomly bouncing around the Database reading whatever caught my interest when I was 11 or 12.  So I missed stuff.  And I didn't go back, and made some implicit assumptions."       "You might find a discussion with Armadillo illuminating," said Stella.  "Have you considered that Doc might not be the person contributing the most to the collective judgement of your social maturity level that the Database uses to set your default access levels?  He seems willing to delegate to people he trusts, and of those, Armadillo clearly has had experience with children."       "Oof.  No, I hadn't thought of that."  Flicker sighed.  "Sometimes I wonder about the amount of time I spend mentally running circles around things without looking at what's at the center."       "Don't be too harsh on yourself.  You blame most of your social difficulties on mental differences, poor references, and lack of practice.  But the form of your education mattered, too.  You never went to school before your graduate work, and you did most of that remotely.  You learned from Doc, the Database, and direct observation--primarily of static scenes because of your speed.  And the bulk of educational material in the Database was written by and for typical humans, with all the embedded assumptions that entails."       "I really like the Database.  And the summaries help."       Stella shook her head.  "Not always.  Not if you don't know what's missing.  The Database AI made judgements when you were younger about what was appropriate at the time.  This shaped your knowledge map, which was already going to be very different from most humans.  So do your Database access restrictions.  Information revealed selectively or out of order can harm.  And if the Database can't reveal A to you--for, say, privacy reasons--and revealing B without A would cause harm, it will restrict B as well.  I'm sure Doc must have warned you about that."       "Yeah, but a lot of his restrictions seem arbitrary."       "Many will, if done right.  Database restrictions can and do cause bias problems, but overriding them is inherently risky.  The Database AI has to balance that, and there are no optimal choices, because the whole idea of the Database as an 'objective' knowledge map is a illusion.  The Database is biased by what gets recorded.  Your access to it is further biased, and what you actually do access is even more biased.  But the idea that you are necessarily getting closer to impartial truth when you override a warning is dangerous."       "So I can mess myself up with overrides."       "You already have.  Repeatedly.  Information shaping is one of my more powerful tools.  Cruder forms of it are in widespread use and getting more effective every day.  But perceptions come pre-shaped."  Stella had sipped from her cup of coffee before continuing.  "For example, you are highly proficient in many math-heavy technical subjects not usually mastered until graduate school, and awkward in areas typically covered by early childhood education or peer group socialization.  So when you made your implicit assumptions?  Of course you missed things.  However."       Stella was good at an 'I have a secret to share--eventually' style of speaking that was both mildly annoying and very effective at focusing attention.       "Yes?" said Flicker.       "Anyone would.  You just missed different things.  Others might have helped with some of them.  But no one could predict them all.  Not Doc, not the Database, not me.  So do what you can, but don't be too hard on yourself when mistakes happen."       "Ah.  I'll try to remember that."       *****       Flicker tried to follow Stella's initial guidelines, which focused on short term recovery, stabilization, and 'stop making this worse'.  Avoiding patrols was the most important and hardest to follow advice.  Physical therapy and exercise were tedious, but not difficult.  The dietary changes... were trickier.  Flicker had lost weight from the accident and the isotope exchanger sessions which she really couldn't afford.  And her kind of pseudo-shapeshifter healing depended on adequate body mass.  Stella forwarded some funny essays on cuisine and recovery for shapeshifters supposedly written by a French werewolf, and had the Database reset her food and drink related warnings, with an eye to both mental and physical health.       She'd also pointed out to Flicker that it only took a few early incidents of plasma in the GI tract while pushing the limits of her entropy dumping to cause lasting aversion to eating much while on call.  So when she later started to feel like she was on duty almost all the time, she stopped eating proper meals except with friends.  Staying off patrol for now made it possible to change that, but not easy.  Theoretically, she could eat like an Olympic athlete in training while exercising appropriately, and recover quite quickly, but that wasn't realistic.  She was stubborn, but so were her habits.       She couldn't patrol, but she could keep busy by surveying--updating Database geographical and obstacle data--and doing interior construction and finishing work on her house.  Back-ordered materials had piled up.  Flicker used power tools mainly for precision and delicacy; she had custom hand tools for speed and power, and boxes of regular hammers and screwdrivers to replace the ones she wore out or broke.  Superspeed and robotic help let her make rapid progress in the half days she was putting in to it.  Common areas and guest rooms were finished, and recreation areas, a wider variety of workshops, and Database node expansion rooms were all taking shape.       Making time to talk and eat with friends wasn't sophisticated advice, but it was obviously helpful.  She'd had dinner with Jetgirl and her husband yesterday.  Good food, carefully non-specific sympathy, then after dinner, 'girl talk' with Jetgirl.  Which meant tech geekery--they spent a few hours discussing the instrumentation and results from Speedtest, and Jetgirl's suggestions for some issues Flicker had encountered expanding her robotics workshop.  Reliable comfort.       The aftereffects from the cybernetic interface withdrawal were finally mostly gone, and Flicker's metabolism and appetite seemed to be responding to her exercises.  She was definitely putting on muscle faster than a human could.  And she'd mentioned her problem to Stavros, the owner of her favorite Greek restaurant, he'd gotten a look on his face like he'd been personally called upon to save the world, and now she had enough takeout in her fridge to feed a starving pseudo-mythological extradimensional being for a week.       Today, a visit with Armadillo.  She had promised something interesting.       Flicker had once asked Armadillo why she hadn't picked the name Glyptodon instead, because that seemed closer in size and fearsomeness to her appearance.  Armadillo had laughed and said she'd never heard of them at the time--the late 40s.  The two of them were at Armadillo's house, sitting at a table with an impressive feast.  It was not unusual for Armadillo; with super strength, near invulnerability, and half a ton of mass, she ate a lot, and saw no reason not to enjoy it.  Armadillo was cheerful and a good friend, as well as effectively family.  And at an age of 98, she knew a lot of history, especially the kinds that didn't usually get recorded very well.       The main reason Flicker didn't visit more often was an embarrassing one: When she'd been younger she'd had episodes of severe insomnia.  But Armadilo knew how to spin a story to help.  So when the biological part of Flicker's brain was working, it associated Armadillo's stories strongly with drowsiness.       Which didn't mean they were boring.       Armadillo was sharing some anecdotes from the late Pre-Net era--the 50s through the 70s--when Luce Cannon, Belle Tinker, and One-eyed Jack had been prominent superheroes.  They had set precedents that ended up shaping the way the Database had been assembled.  The norms Luce had established as a practical way of preserving relationship privacy and security without centralized infrastructure required narrative indirection and implication in order to discuss certain subjects at all.  Armadillo was very good at the style needed.  Unfortunately, that and the lack of unrestricted Database references hindered the usual ways Flicker updated her memories, so she was having trouble with details.  But there were definitely differences from the way she'd thought about the origins of the Database.       "Huh," she said.  "I always assumed that Doc decided everything important when he first built the Database, and the rest was just legacy format and historical records."       "Not entirely," said Armadillo.  "Luce knew all about records and careful access--she built her own intelligence operation, after all--and Belle was already starting to convert some of them to electronic form and building early bots in the fifties.  But reliability for anyone but Belle was always a problem, and she didn't have the level of conscientiousness about documentation that Doc did."       "Um.  Doc isn't always that great about documentation.  He gets--"       "The Database AI or someone else to do a lot of it.  I know.  But someone does.  Heck, I've done my share.  Belle was way ahead of her time, but we never found anything but cryptic notebook scribbles for some of her weirder stuff.  Left a bit of a mess after she was gone.  Doc brought in organization, documentation, robustness, and speed, and then extended it to everything.  But the first Database grew out of what he built for Luce not long before she died.  And Luce set some access conditions, which Doc won't change without a good reason.  So don't blame Doc for all of them."       "So the age restrictions are from Luce?"       "Some of them, yeah--but they aren't hardcoded, they're more flexible; we knew they'd have to accommodate aliens and extradimensional beings and whatnot.  It's really a maturity threshold."  Armadillo smiled.  "But I have a treat for you."       "Oh?"       "There are a few things I have personal discretion about.  And you've hit a block involving one of them twice now.  It's a good example of how we handled a few things back in the day, and might help you understand some of the ambiguity.  I can show it to you, but you'll have to put your visor on locked standby or take it off--no unrestricted electronic images of this are allowed."       Flicker frowned, but arranged a protocol with the Database and pulled back her hood.  Armadillo pushed back a plate, picked up a small case, opened it, and pulled out a large photographic print.       "This is a copy of the last known good photograph of Belle Tinker.  The original is in my family photo album in one of Doc's vaults."       Flicker moved her chair closer to get a better look.  It was a group photo, centered on a younger Armadillo.  "What's that blacked out area?"       "Non-superheroes with living relatives.  The photo is from my 60th birthday party in 1974."       Given the date, Flicker wasn't surprised that Armadillo was a bit narrower--she'd still been slowly adding mass.  But...  "Head spikes?"       Armadillo laughed.  "Yeah, that was my last try at regrowing them.  I'd been on a trip to Tokyo the previous year, and there was a translator around during a Kaiju attack.  I ended up stopping it by talking to the big fellow about the relative effectiveness of head spikes for challenge bellowing.  We had a nice talk, and everyone went home happy.  No property damage, even.  So I decided to give them another try.  But mine were only a little stronger than steel, so they kept breaking off--same kind of problem you have with your hair.  I finally gave up in 75?  Or maybe 76?  But really, I'm the least interesting person in that photo.  I'm curious what you think about the others."       "Okay," said Flicker.  "But that goblet you're drinking out of...  Is that a demon skull?"       "Yep.  The goblet was a birthday present.  It would have been rude not to try it out."  Armadillo nodded towards a nearby cabinet.  "I still have it, but I hardly ever use it anymore.  Little call for it, and it's tricky to clean."       "Um, okay."  Flicker studied the image of the woman with red hair, a lab coat, safety glasses, and an expression of indulgent patience.  "Belle has the same kind of 'I could be in my lab working on something cool' face I've seen Doc make.  Most of the contemporary sources I found in the Database were really bad at describing her.  She'd have been, what, in her late forties?  She looks younger than that, fit, and tough, I don't understand what was going on."       Armadillo smiled.  "There were a few that treated her reasonably--but they tended not to emphasize appearance.  Belle did not fit any 'feminine' stereotype back then, there were a number of media bigwigs who really didn't like her, and she didn't humor patronizing reporters.  So it was common for them to distort or belittle her intelligence and accomplishments, insult her appearance, attack her character, or just use bad pictures.  If they had to write about her at all.  That's one reason why the quality of much of what you found about her is poor."       Another woman with short dark hair was leaning against the table with a relaxed smile, but a very clear presence.       "Did Luce Cannon always look like she was in charge?" asked Flicker.  "I mean, it was your party, but..."       "She could hide it, but she was keeping an eye on someone who could get overenthusiastic."       A girl wearing a black outfit was smiling intently at the camera with a predatory look.  She appeared to be around eleven; it was hard for Flicker to judge ages.       "Is that a toy sword?" asked Flicker.  "It looks awfully realistic."       "Nope.  That was Katya's first magic sword.  She outgrew it; it's in the vaults now."       "Magic sword?  Wait... Katya?  That's Jumping Spider?"       "Oh, goodness no; she wouldn't use that name for years.  That's Katya the... Hunter, I think?  She switched from the Devastator sometime around then.  This was only a year after Luce started teaching her."       "Did... What... Why is she waving a sword around at your birthday party?"       "It was a compromise; she wanted to make a little pyramid out of the other skulls for the picture, but Luce vetoed that as unsanitary.  Just as well; Belle said they smelled pretty manky."       "Other skulls?"  Every time Flicker got a question answered, she immediately had several more--and she couldn't speed up and check the Database because her visor was off.       "Besides the one Jack and Belle turned into the goblet for my birthday present.  It was Katya's idea, so she got to hunt the demons, and she went a little overboard getting spare skulls.  Jack took her to the dimension where they lived--nasty place, but they were immune to poison, which was handy."       "...it's a magic goblet."       "Oh, yeah, it detoxifies anything in it," said Armadillo.  "If I ever want to be absolutely sure I can't be poisoned or I'm worried about contamination, I use it.  But it's usually overkill, it makes most non-alcoholic beverages taste kind of funny, and properly cleaning the precipitate chamber is a pain."       "Doc never let me hunt demons when I was ten," muttered Flicker as she studied the figure standing next to Belle in the photo.       "Mores change, and your adoption process wasn't complete yet.  It would have been awkward to explain."       "Did One-eyed Jack ever show any sign of aging?  It doesn't look like his appearance changed at all in pictures."       "Nope," said Armadillo.  "At least not from when I first met him in '50 or so until he disappeared in the nineties.  White hair, neatly trimmed beard, and the eyepatch.  He almost always wore that hooded robe and carried that staff with the magical doodad on the end.  Occasionally he'd switch to a really old style suit and a dress cane--he could do an impressive Offended Aristocrat act.  But his apparent age never changed.  I suspect he was some kind of shapeshifter, and I know he could create illusions, though, so I'm not sure anyone really knows for sure."       "Wait.  Disappeared?  The Database lists him as 'presumed dead' with supporting evidence; someone found his eyepatch and a scrap of robe near a small crater in the Topaz Realm and Doc verified they were genuine."       "Yep.  Doesn't mean he died.  He might have just decided it was time to stop being Jack.  Hard to believe someone as careful as him would botch a portal like that, and it seemed awfully pat that it happened somewhere with enough ravenous scavengers to ensure the lack of remains wasn't suspicious.  If he was a shapeshifter, there could be someone with his memories who looks quite different running around somewhere.  And he had a saying: 'Sometimes you see something coming and all you can do is get out of the way.'  I think that's what he did."  Armadillo grinned.  "But then, I've been accused of being sentimental from time to time."       "Okay," said Flicker.  "If you're suspicious about Jack, what about Belle?  She was declared dead, but all the Database says is that something catastrophic happened to her portal generator late at night and she was gone afterwards.  Jack is recorded as testifying that as far as he could tell, she hadn't been murdered or kidnapped, definitely wasn't alive on Earth, and he wasn't able to tell quite what happened with the portal.  But Doc said that if she really wanted to burn her bridges, she could have set the portal generator to self destruct, then gone through to somewhere before it blew.  He still has the remains of it in the vaults."       Armadillo looked out the window.  "All true.  She seemed kind of withdrawn for a while before that.  Well, withdrawn for her--she was always full of more ideas than she had time to try.  She'd had a disagreement with Luce and the Volunteer for a couple of years over... I guess you could call it public policy.  She made some predictions that turned out to be pretty accurate, and the first part of one of them had just happened--that was '80.  It's conceivable she might have just been tired of Earth.  But then she was kind of close to Jack, and he was pretty down afterwards--and if she went somewhere else, I don't know why he wouldn't be able to visit.  I tried talking to him about it once, and he just shook his head.  So I really can't say."       "Were they a couple?" asked Flicker.  "Database is ambiguous--they at least pretended a few times, but it wasn't clear what was going on.  I assume it's okay to ask about that now that they're both gone?"       "Heh.  It's not forbidden to ask, and they worked well together in the lab when Belle wasn't out causing trouble with Luce.  I'll say this; Belle never showed interest in most men--she'd roll her eyes at most of my jokes--and Jack never showed any interest in anyone but Belle.  But it could just have been cover; a convenience for both of them."       "Oh."       Flicker frowned at the last figure--a middle-aged man in nondescript clothing, leaning back in the chair beside Armadillo.  His glasses were perched precariously on the end of his nose, his fingers were laced over his chest, and his eyes were closed.       "Who is the guy beside you, and why is he asleep?"       Armadillo smiled.  "Oh, he'd had a long day, then a nice meal, so he just was catching a little nap.  He sometimes answered to the name of Chandler Devon."       Okay, now I know I'm being tested.  Flicker sped up.  The name was vaguely familiar--why?  She glanced at Luce again, then remembered.  Chandler Devon was connected to Luce Cannon in some way, perhaps one of her agents, or possibly romantically linked--but that had been a shaky source.  Documentation about him had been really spotty, with large gaps.  He'd been a skilled enough amateur geologist to get a few articles published, later in life.  But his fondness for volcanoes had apparently done him in--he'd disappeared during the Mount Pinatubo eruption a few years after Luce's death.       That made the third nominally dead person in the picture with a missing body.  The only person who was definitely dead and buried was Luce--she'd died of cancer in the late 80s.       There were several odd things that required explanation about 'Chandler Devon'.  Why was he even at Armadillo's party?  Had Luce brought him?       Why hadn't anyone woken him up for the picture?  It was a memorable occasion.  Was it a prank?       Wait.  Armadillo had said she was the least interesting person in the photo.  What could possible make him more interesting than her?  If he--       Oh.       So that's what he looks like when he's asleep.  But how did he manage...  Luce.  Of course.  She was the original super spy.  Jumping Spider's teacher.  If anyone could cover everything he'd need, it would have been her.  That explained so much.  He'd gone more than fifty years without anyone--       Idiot.  Everyone in that picture probably knew.  He'd always had a family.  A family of choice.  They just never, ever gave it away.  Even when they disagreed with each other.       But still, a few years after Luce died, he decided it was time to stop being Chandler Devon.  Could he still maintain cover?  Probably; Jumping Spider was 27 by then, and Doc was 17, with the Database up and running.  But the Lost Years were about to start, and Doc had seen that coming.  No longer worth the trouble, maybe?  How much had Luce meant to Chandler Devon?       A lot to think about, most of it not even about Belle.  But there was etiquette to be observed.  And as far as Flicker could tell, it was to indicate obliquely that she'd guessed, but not say anything unambiguous.  She could come up with something.       She slowed back down--and found herself blinking back tears.       "He looks like...  someone who works very hard," she managed.  "And doesn't get a chance to relax very often.  I'm glad no one woke him up."       Armadillo nodded slowly.  "So was I."  She started to put the picture back in the box.       "Wait," said Flicker.  "Who took the picture?  I thought I knew, but now I think I was wrong."       Armadillo paused.  "Another time, maybe.  You probably have enough to cogitate about today already."       "Yeah.  Yeah, I do."

Next:  Part 13

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A few more embroidery pieces this week.