03/14/10 [DMFA#1095] - Breakup wakeup

[ooklah]

Holy Mind Rape Pip!

So was Abel awake when Alexi came home or not? I'm confused now.

Edit:
Fixed your title. It can't be that hard to follow a pattern, can it?
  -- llearch

[D'ymkarra]

Damn...never saw that one coming 

[Paladin Sheppard]

*cheers wildly for Amber's TWISTED mind*

[Madmann135]

HOLY MIND RAPE BATMAN!

That is one of those scenes that one would be terrified to even consider sleeping as an option.
I would not be surprised if Abel decided that he didn't want to try sleeping for a few years after that.

[Gamma]

It was a dream.....   DOH!
Simplest thing in the book, written off before it was even thought of.

Very well played Miss very well played.

[AmigaDragon]

The thought had passed through my mind (and maybe someone mentioned in the last thread) that it might just be a dream. Well lookie here.
The question now is "who was directing it?" Was it really Pip? Was it another cubi secretly visiting (perhaps Destania)? Was it just Abel's own subconscious?

[Janus Whitefurr]

....Oh damn it.

We learn nothing we already didn't know about Abel's fear and trauma, and "just a dream" always feels like a cop-out ending to a scene.

The only mindscrew is whether it's just a glimpse of his fears or whether someone higher up in the power chain is yanking puppetstrings.

[AmigaDragon]

And look at that, Pip bits turning into Henya bits. Pip is Henya back from the dead!

[Daymond42]

Awesome job if Amber had that idea planned the whole time! Though, I can't shake the though that she was going through the previous strip's thread and making sure each theory suggested was not the real one being used.

[Bjalf]

Awesome job if Amber had that idea planned the whole time! Though, I can't shake the though that she was going through the previous strip's thread and making sure each theory suggested was not the real one being used.

With all the wild and crazy theories in this forum, good luck with that!

I half-called it in the thread on 1091.   

[Jairus]

Well, something tells me that either A) someone is screwing with Abel to teach him a vital lesson or B) Abel's subconscious is screwing with him to make him realize something. Either way is not really pleasant.

But damn, Amber. For "it was a dream," that's surprisingly terrifying.

[Garsemor]

Wow, this is getting scary or at least as scary as a comic can be. But on a happy note (at least fore somme) it seams Pip isn't dead

[DavidRokon]

I like how in panel five he puts on his Dan face.

[WhiteFox]

Follow the white rabbit, Abel.

Now... setting aside the strangeness of Abel falling asleep at all, how did Pip end up in his dreams? Did Abel actually meet him in the inn, or can Pip dream-surf?

My theory is that Pip is Destania. Or something. I dunno.

Though, I can't shake the though that she was going through the previous strip's thread and making sure each theory suggested was not the real one being used.

Given how much work a comic is? I kinda doubt it.

I love that last interchange between Pip and Abel.
Abel:"Shows what you know!"
Pip: "Shows what you don't"

[Lego3400]

Damn...never saw that one coming 

I did though I wasn't convinced of it at first for various reasons.

[Bjalf]

I like how in panel five he puts on his Dan face.

Spooky, is Dan rubbing off on him? (Ye gods, that sounded much more innocent in my mind)

I can well imagine the next strip where Abel goes to Dan because he needs a hug. Except Dan's not home yet. Hey Jyrras, this is your chance!

[Feather Dancer]

To be honest? I suspect for a few days/weeks he's gonna be extremely elusive before he dares put another appearence. I'm also playing on a combo of subconscious with a string puller just giving it those correct nudges.

[Tapewolf]

Now I want to know the mechanics of how Abel was able to have a dream.  Maybe it just becomes less and less frequent... though really I'm sitting in the "A higher power did it" camp.
Still, I'm glad that he (probably) isn't going to get in trouble with Alexsi for trashing the inn.

[Baal Hadad]

It's official.  DMFA and Abel's Story are no longer two separate comics.

[Loki Impisi]

I made an account just to post this.

I don't believe Able actually dreamed that scene. After all, its impossible for cubi to dream. So what if Pip just knocked Able out, put him to bed, and woke him up. Easier to do then make someone of a race that can't dream, dream.

[Feather Dancer]

I made an account just to post this.

I don't believe Able actually dreamed that scene. After all, its impossible for cubi to dream. So what if Pip just knocked Able out, put him to bed, and woke him up. Easier to do then make someone of a race that can't dream, dream.

Oh they can dream they just lose the ability to, presumably a chunk before they lose any reasoning to sleep. Cyra mentioned herself that Dee lost the ability to dream which is why she was so ecstatic about Dan. I suspect Abel's own subconscious roll has meant he himself has not dreamed in a VERY long time. Perhaps since the Dead!Devin incident?

[nicoreon the tyrannical]

I have a strange feeling that this is not the last we have seen of dream Pip.

[Turnsky]

Amber needn't worry about blood content, i mean, after all it's not like she's drawing meat trees, now, is it? 

[iceick]

I don't believe Able actually dreamed that scene. After all, its impossible for cubi to dream. So what if Pip just knocked Able out, put him to bed, and woke him up. Easier to do then make someone of a race that can't dream, dream.

If you actually read all the comics you'll see that cubi can dream, but their clan leader is in charge. This just makes me think that the dream was being controlled by Aniz who was playing as Pip. It just makes me think even more that Pip is Aniz in disguise. And who knows, maybe within those 375 years Aniz was missing he figured out how to accend and will soon become a new clan leader.

[Tapewolf]

If you actually read all the comics you'll see that cubi can dream, but their clan leader is in charge. This just makes me think that the dream was being controlled by Aniz who was playing as Pip.

I'm not sure you've quite hit the mark, truth be told.  This is how I understand it from what I've picked up in the comic and the forums.  (It may of course be wrong, but I think it's reasonably close)

'Cubi who have a Tri-winged leader are linked to that leader.  This is how Hizell was able to track down Siar's surviving descendants, and it's also how Dan got a sudden power-up during his fight with DP.

Aniz is almost certainly not a Tri-Wing - if he's even still alive - and I'm not sure that a non-Tri-wing leader is linked to their descendants in the same way.  (EDIT:  Or whether he actually is a leader in the clan sense of the word)

Anyhow.  Cyra then demonstrated that it was possible for her to use this link to control the dreams of a dreaming 'Cubi (of her own descent).  In 1002 she hints that this will only work with 'Cubi who are still young enough to be able to have dreams.
Dreaming is something that they gradually lose like their need to eat and drink.  They are still able to sleep, but they no longer have a biological need to and when their ability to dream ceases, they usually stop trying.  IIRC this is also one of the reasons some 'Cubi dream-surf, because they can no longer have their own dreams.

EDIT:
Important point I missed - while Tri-wing leaders can probably only dream-communicate with their descendants, it's entirely possible that - like Hizell tracking down Siar's children - some sufficiently powerful entity could hack into it as a kind of backdoor, and pull something like this off.  This might be what we're seeing, but it kind of requires that Abel is still able to dream, which is unclear.

[Madd the Sane]

For "it was a dream," that's surprisingly terrifying.

Some dreams can be. In some dreams, you are terrified of the most simple things. When you dream, your subconscious can bring up your worst fears.

But I think someone else was influencing Abel's dream. Mab, maybe? Or Fa'lina?
I wonder who relieved him of his shift. I'm thinking Dan. And how did Abel fall asleep and dream? An enchantment by a particular Fae?

Or maybe Pip himself is more powerful than he seems  
Or, Wildy? She is a shaman...

[psilorder]

In 1002 [Cyra] hints that this will only work with 'Cubi who are still young enough to be able to have dreams.

Since she said Destania had "given up" the ability to dream i read that as she had chosen to stop (making it sadder for her mother i suppose).

so my theory is "Abel has missunderstood about cubi and dreams" because of Destania and his own lack of dreaming. I was leaning towards "Abel is something different" but more likely there's a missunderstanding. however, has anything been said about mutations in Furrae?

[Ry]

I really hope that this still jostles Abel into realizing he needs to confront his issues. Somehow dream-happenings aren't always as powerful as IRL happenings.  Either way: Glad to see Pip isn't dead and really curious who's pulling the strings here.

[Tapewolf]

Since she said Destania had "given up" the ability to dream i read that as she had chosen to stop (making it sadder for her mother i suppose).

That's possible.  Amber has implied - with regard to 'Cubi not breathing - that it's possible to accelerate the process.  I'm not sure that the end result is voluntary, though.

EDIT:

Reading Amber's rant where she's apologising for the blood and wondering if she'll have to up the rating of the comic, maybe she could up the rating for just one chapter or something?
It sounds nuts, but it's been done before.  Chapter 20, Book 3 of The Discoverie of Witchcraft is basically a warning that the book will discuss "filthie and bawdie matters" (succubi, in fact) and that readers who would be offended should skip the next 8 chapters.

[Howl]

I have a feeling spotty has a birthday coming up.

And it will be hellish for him, as has been everything else. Especially if Aniz shows up without an improved attitude.*

*If he's not dead.