2017-08-21 [DMFA #1778] - Tweaking the tiger's tail

[Tapewolf]

I was tempted to call this "Tickling the dragon's tail" in reference to the ill-advised nuclear experiments involving beryllium hemispheres.  ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core )
However, it makes things more confusing when the dragon is the one doing the tickling.

So, here we have a reminder that Mab is dangerous, and an interesting point that Pyroduck is apparently not one of her Special Friends.  Which is interesting, and raises the question of why she seemed to be acting as his guardian angel earlier.

As for tone, it looked a lot more like he was pleading for her life, and/or distressed to the point that he wasn't thinking properly, but I suppose you had to be there.

[SteelWings]

  Mab is seriously scary

[PhycoKrusk]

So, hm. Well, that does confirm that, at least: Dan, Wildy, Alexsi, Merlitz, and Jyrras. Those are the five. They have to be.

As for Mab stepping in to save Pyroduck, the answer to that is simple: Alexsi would be sad.

[Tapewolf]

So, hm. Well, that does confirm that, at least: Dan, Wildy, Alexsi, Merlitz, and Jyrras. Those are the five. They have to be.
As for Mab stepping in to save Pyroduck, the answer to that is simple: Alexsi would be sad.

Merlitz might be a Special Friend, but it's possible their closeness in the earliest arcs was an artifact of a RL relationship.  I don't remember seeing Merlitz have or do anything which could be ascribed to a boon.
Dan most likely is, not least given how Mab ran off to rescue him when Fa'Lina took him.  But he hasn't obviously claimed a boon.
Wildy might be, but again, I'm not seeing a boon.
Jyrras looks to have been reverse-engineering extraplanar technologies and that says 'Fae boon' to me.
Alexsi I have my doubts over.  I'd have said she was a hanger-on like Pyroduck is.

For my money, Fa'Lina is one of the Five.  She knew Mab, and her academy is pretty much confirmed to be a Fae boon.

[Naldru]

If you want an example of why it is dangerous to annoy man, look at http://dmfa.katbox.net/comic/404-danger-danger-danger/.  She just killed everyone in the vicinity, and is upset because she has to get a new house.

[Draygone]

I really hope Mab brings her back.  The subject matter here is literally something that haunts my sleep.

[Tapewolf]

If you want an example of why it is dangerous to annoy man, look at http://dmfa.katbox.net/comic/404-danger-danger-danger/.  She just killed everyone in the vicinity, and is upset because she has to get a new house.

Indeed.  That page is why I was sceptical about her just banishing the minion.  (That and the fact that the minion can teleport)

[Prroul]

So let's see... it's a matter of determining what Mab's 'Loved' gift is, then gifting her twice a week (no more, no less) and making sure to gift her a loved item on her birthday... right? Oh, and talking to her daily. Hopefully it won't need a Mermaid Pendant...

I apologize to those who don't get it... Stardew Valley is a hellova drug.

[Cassi-kun]

The fact that Mab knew when to appear without having her omniscience in Furrae does make me wonder how/why she appeared when she did. She may have a link to Lost Lake Inn itself, not just the friends she's granted a boon to.

Or Pyro may be a key player in whatever it is that Mab and Pip are in together. When Alexsi and Abel were attacked by Merlitz's previous adventuring group, Mab accused Pip of trying to get people killed. So it's also possible that it's Pip, not Mab, who's invested in keeping Pyro alive - especially given that Mab apparently doesn't consider Pyro a close friend.

For my money, Fa'Lina is one of the Five.  She knew Mab, and her academy is pretty much confirmed to be a Fae boon.

I've actually wondered sometimes if Fa'Lina is only reaping the benefits of Dan using his boon to aid her.

[Eidolon]

Mab is very clearly not pleased with the thought of being told what to do, at least in this case--but as there's no indication she's pulling synchronized scary-faces with Pip every time someone asks her to pass the salt, I'm assuming it's only (or at least primarily) in regards to things related to her Fae magic (that is, either doing something with it or undoing the effects thereof).

I'm wondering if she'd be okay with Pyroduck (after explaining the situation) making a "hopeful request" for her to *not* use her magic that way with the next Mythos messenger, and letting him handle things himself--on the one hand, it's once again trying to tell her what to do with her magic, but on the other hand, it fits in with the general "the normal people of Furrae have to do things for themselves rather than asking a Fae to fix everything" ethos. (Then again, if I were Pyroduck, I might be a little too shaken up to even ask Mab to pass the salt just now!)

Of course, if Pyroduck miscalculated and wound up actually being killed... not super likely, given that the first Mythos messenger herself acknowledged that she was weaker, but still, Pyroduck is presumably still going to try for the nonlethal route, which means he'll be holding back.

I assume Pyroduck is going to inform the others at Lost Lake about what's going on with the stream of Mythos messengers from his father in the near future. He might even consider leaving Lost Lake entirely until the situation is resolved (both to keep the others out of danger... and in hopes of avoiding Mab destroying the next Mythos Hizell sends).

[keybounce]

So, hm. Well, that does confirm that, at least: Dan, Wildy, Alexsi, Merlitz, and Jyrras. Those are the five. They have to be.

As for Mab stepping in to save Pyroduck, the answer to that is simple: Alexsi would be sad.

My money is on Dan, either Wildy or Bridget, Alexsi, Fa'Lina, and Jyrraas.

Jyrraas gets the bangles removed.
Alexsi gets the mallet.
Fa'Lina gets the dragon proof university
Either Bridget gets the twink control, or Wildy gets "Keep up with brother".
And Dan ... has not yet used his.

[Puyon]

My money is on Dan, either Wildy or Bridget, Alexsi, Fa'Lina, and Jyrraas.

Jyrraas gets the bangles removed.
Alexsi gets the mallet.
Fa'Lina gets the dragon proof university
Either Bridget gets the twink control, or Wildy gets "Keep up with brother".
And Dan ... has not yet used his.

Biggs, you mean. it's disrespectful to his character to use his dead name.

Anyways...

That one frame of Mab has had me thinking the entire past hours during work of how terrifying a character she actually is. So recently removed Taur girl... ya shoulda feared the Fae.

[Icalasari]

So, hm. Well, that does confirm that, at least: Dan, Wildy, Alexsi, Merlitz, and Jyrras. Those are the five. They have to be.

As for Mab stepping in to save Pyroduck, the answer to that is simple: Alexsi would be sad.

My money is on Dan, either Wildy or Bridget, Alexsi, Fa'Lina, and Jyrraas.

Jyrraas gets the bangles removed.
Alexsi gets the mallet.
Fa'Lina gets the dragon proof university
Either Bridget gets the twink control, or Wildy gets "Keep up with brother".
And Dan ... has not yet used his.

Isn't sex change pretty hard in Furrae? What if Biggs boon was to become Biggs?

[Tapewolf]

Isn't sex change pretty hard in Furrae? What if Biggs boon was to become Biggs?

Depends what your frame of reference is.  It's easier than what we have on Earth, because there are mythos that can rewrite your DNA.
But it's not so easy that you can keep switching back and forth.  But you can probably go into Zinvth and arrange to have it done without requiring anything as overkill as a Fae boon.

[Howl]

Oh right, Fae are sociopaths.

Makes it kind of hard to feel bad about the "parents" thing in hindsight, I must say.

[justacritic]

And in that moment, ducky's life flashed before his eyes. (So that's where he left his ball.)

[Cassi-kun]

Oh right, Fae are sociopaths.

Makes it kind of hard to feel bad about the "parents" thing in hindsight, I must say.

I'm reminded of Rose's "I'm gonna start caring" rant and wondering if that's gonna kick in any time soon.

[Drakkenmensch]

No, it's okay Mab, I didn't need to sleep again for the rest of my life. Now excuse me while I go sit in the dark and scream myself into a stupor.

[Caswin]

"I'm flattered you think I'm your friend though!"

...for making a (desperate) request (that she doesn't register as such) and I'm not sure he knows her rules?

[joshofspam]

So, hm. Well, that does confirm that, at least: Dan, Wildy, Alexsi, Merlitz, and Jyrras. Those are the five. They have to be.
As for Mab stepping in to save Pyroduck, the answer to that is simple: Alexsi would be sad.

Merlitz might be a Special Friend, but it's possible their closeness in the earliest arcs was an artifact of a RL relationship.  I don't remember seeing Merlitz have or do anything which could be ascribed to a boon.
Dan most likely is, not least given how Mab ran off to rescue him when Fa'Lina took him.  But he hasn't obviously claimed a boon.
Wildy might be, but again, I'm not seeing a boon.
Jyrras looks to have been reverse-engineering extraplanar technologies and that says 'Fae boon' to me.
Alexsi I have my doubts over.  I'd have said she was a hanger-on like Pyroduck is.

For my money, Fa'Lina is one of the Five.  She knew Mab, and her academy is pretty much confirmed to be a Fae boon.

Another possibility might be Destinia or Dan's father might have earned and used a Boon. (Funny thing about Boons is that I could imagine Mab would give one without the participant knowing they were given a favor.)

This all being said, maybe Mab protecting residents of Lost Lake might be her way of upholding one of her Boons. It's obvious that having a Fey playing watchdog is a powerful deterrent.

[Famout]

What I would like to know is how widely known is Mab's protection? The taur on 1774 did know that Mab would only show up when Pyro was in real danger, so I suspect dragon daddy knows, and many others.

I also wonder if "being told what to do" is a general fae trigger? Seems like something that ruins their fun.

[Eidolon]

I also wonder if "being told what to do" is a general fae trigger? Seems like something that ruins their fun.

It could be a general fae thing, but I think that it's quite possible it's an issue for Mab in particular, given what we know of the fae in general and Mab herself.

The fae live as long as they want, can exist in multiple universes at a time, and often craft different personae for themselves in each universe.

If memory serves, Furrae is in sort of a backwater universe. It's not important in the bigger scheme of things (at least as seen from the viewpoint of the fae). So--theorizing wildly--maybe for Mab, being here is sort of a vacation from whatever it is she does in other universes. Here, she's created a happy, fun persona. She's silly, playful, and she loves to make friends.

But she's a fae among mortals, with nigh-godlike abilities. And she wants to make friends, not be hounded by desperate/greedy people trying to ingratiate themselves for the sake of the miracles she can grant.

So she makes it clear, one way or another, that she doesn't do fae-level-magic favors as a general rule. Maybe, if you're lucky, if she really really likes you, she'll offer you one. But even then, she won't grant all your wishes, because doing so would ruin the experience of Furrae for her, and she's here to enjoy herself.

Saying "no" often isn't much fun, either, so she wants to discourage people from making requests of her that she's unwilling to grant--and having a formalized "boon" system helps with that (since that way you know whether or not you're allowed to ask for something), as does laying down the intimidating-lighting-and-raised-brow-expression on anyone who seems to be trying to order her around.

It's entirely possible that in another universe, she's less sparing with her magic, and even enjoys having mortals beg her for aid. And it's possible that in yet another, she offers no boons at all, ever, and masquerades as a mundane mortal. Mab's chosen persona in other universes could be completely different from the one she wears in Furrae, but within Furrae, she's chosen how she's going to do things, and won't break her self-imposed rules, because that's how the fae play their games.

(Though I could be entirely off-base here. )

[Titanium Dragon]

So, hm. Well, that does confirm that, at least: Dan, Wildy, Alexsi, Merlitz, and Jyrras. Those are the five. They have to be.
As for Mab stepping in to save Pyroduck, the answer to that is simple: Alexsi would be sad.

Merlitz might be a Special Friend, but it's possible their closeness in the earliest arcs was an artifact of a RL relationship.  I don't remember seeing Merlitz have or do anything which could be ascribed to a boon.
Dan most likely is, not least given how Mab ran off to rescue him when Fa'Lina took him.  But he hasn't obviously claimed a boon.
Wildy might be, but again, I'm not seeing a boon.
Jyrras looks to have been reverse-engineering extraplanar technologies and that says 'Fae boon' to me.
Alexsi I have my doubts over.  I'd have said she was a hanger-on like Pyroduck is.

For my money, Fa'Lina is one of the Five.  She knew Mab, and her academy is pretty much confirmed to be a Fae boon.

The implication is that most of them have wasted their boons. Dan still has his boon by implication of the comic about it.

It is possible Fa'Lina is one of them, but it is hard to know for sure.

Merlitz being one of them would make sense, doubly so given that Mab knows that two of them are going to die; it is entirely plausible he is dead and that is one of the doomed ones, or that his situation is dire and he will die soon.

It seems likely to me that all of the five are at lost lake, and the ones who have been around pretty much since the start - Dan's little group of friends makes the most sense for that.

[Cassi-kun]

. (
Funny thing about Boons is that I could imagine Mab would give one without the participant knowing they were given a favor.

Jyrras did seem unaware of the significance of his using the key phrase to fulfill his boon...

[hartree]

You may remember an old TV commercial:

"It's not NICE to fool Mother Nature!"

o/" Oh, she may seem harmless, but she's not. o/"

[Hariman]

So, hm. Well, that does confirm that, at least: Dan, Wildy, Alexsi, Merlitz, and Jyrras. Those are the five. They have to be.
As for Mab stepping in to save Pyroduck, the answer to that is simple: Alexsi would be sad.

Merlitz might be a Special Friend, but it's possible their closeness in the earliest arcs was an artifact of a RL relationship.  I don't remember seeing Merlitz have or do anything which could be ascribed to a boon.
Dan most likely is, not least given how Mab ran off to rescue him when Fa'Lina took him.  But he hasn't obviously claimed a boon.
Wildy might be, but again, I'm not seeing a boon.
Jyrras looks to have been reverse-engineering extraplanar technologies and that says 'Fae boon' to me.
Alexsi I have my doubts over.  I'd have said she was a hanger-on like Pyroduck is.

For my money, Fa'Lina is one of the Five.  She knew Mab, and her academy is pretty much confirmed to be a Fae boon.

The implication is that most of them have wasted their boons. Dan still has his boon by implication of the comic about it.

It is possible Fa'Lina is one of them, but it is hard to know for sure.

Merlitz being one of them would make sense, doubly so given that Mab knows that two of them are going to die; it is entirely plausible he is dead and that is one of the doomed ones, or that his situation is dire and he will die soon.

It seems likely to me that all of the five are at lost lake, and the ones who have been around pretty much since the start - Dan's little group of friends makes the most sense for that.

Yep. Dan, Wildy, Jyrras, Merlitz, and Alexsi, I think. 

I'm also pretty sure that Dan is the only one left that hasn't used his boon, and he might destroy the world when he does use it. 

Fa'lina was described as "an old/new friend from another time/place" when Mab met her, so it seems like she was a friend at a different point in Mab's life.

As for deaths... Amber has stated that she's waffled, noodled, and nacho'd on that, to paraphrase a bit. So... we're not sure. We might already have Merlitz be dead, or he might actually be alive and imprisoned out of anyone's reach. 

Someone might die, but be brought back, similar to how Dan was revived when he though he was dead, after the fight with Dark Pegasus to help the kingdom of H'ann.

Or maybe friends DO let friends become zombies, and someone will end up a little more "dead" than the others, with a newfound love of death puns.

Only time will tell!

[Puyon]

A few pages I would like to point folks' direction to:

http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1035.php
A reminder that Mab knows two of her friends will die, both of which has been given a boon (though Dan's is unused). We already know that Fa'Lina sealed her fate when she made SAIA, so she could be one of the 5 friends.
How do I know for sure that Fa'Lina had a Fae boon? Easy. She said so:
http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1590.php
"She resented me for using my boon to build a school rather than a weapon."
And for those who don't like the subtlety game, here's the information being thwacked in our collective faces:
http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1613.php


A bit of a stray thought? But these pages I came across while digging for Fa'Lina related evidence, here's some stuff with Mab's plan for the boons:
http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1027.php
http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1029.php
The information on these pages take on whole new lights with all the information we've received in the past year. First being that Mab definitely wanted Jyrras to use his boon for the Anti-Dragon weapon. Second being that her goal is to uproot the power hierarchy of Furrae, reflecting well that Fae are creatures of chaos. Not super related to current discussion but wow, that's some good writing right there.

...W-wait, hold on, new theory coming in.

Tying in the idea that Destania wanted a weapon and that Mab is trying to have one built... could Dee have been one of the friends? That would give us, in my theory, Dan, Fa'Lina, Des, Jyrras, and mystery #5. Optionally, Des could be subbed for Biggs who's plans tie in with her because of "our families' best interest". I think it also explains why Mab is now working for JyCorp. Because she wants the weapon built, she's just keeping a closer eye on things now... hmm...

Whatever the answer, it's 2AM. This rant may make less sense in the morning.

[Lego3400]

Alexsi gets the mallet.

Nope, That's a hand-me-down from her late Birth Mother.

The implication is that most of them have wasted their boons. Dan still has his boon by implication of the comic about it.

It is possible Fa'Lina is one of them, but it is hard to know for sure.

Merlitz being one of them would make sense, doubly so given that Mab knows that two of them are going to die; it is entirely plausible he is dead and that is one of the doomed ones, or that his situation is dire and he will die soon.

It seems likely to me that all of the five are at lost lake, and the ones who have been around pretty much since the start - Dan's little group of friends makes the most sense for that.

Fa'lina is one of the two that's going to die if she's counted in the 5. Taun basically spelled it out to us, once the Academy fades, so too will Fa'lina. There was however the QFTR strip however where amber basicly points out if Fa'lina had a boon, she could have just used it to revive her clan instead of just making the academy and then nervously laughed it off.

[Merlin]

A bit of a stray thought? But these pages I came across while digging for Fa'Lina related evidence, here's some stuff with Mab's plan for the boons:
http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1027.php
http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1029.php
The information on these pages take on whole new lights with all the information we've received in the past year. First being that Mab definitely wanted Jyrras to use his boon for the Anti-Dragon weapon. Second being that her goal is to uproot the power hierarchy of Furrae, reflecting well that Fae are creatures of chaos. Not super related to current discussion but wow, that's some good writing right there.

I dunno if that stuff is boon-related though, since Jyrras has been making his things on his own, I would think it could just be a continuation of his current efforts, rather than anything requiring fae intervention.


Fa'Lina was confirmed at some point as being one of Mab's friends, but as she said "from a different time" - might be that she's not counted as one of the "current" 5, if that makes sense.

[Amber Williams]

I'll level with you guys.  The whole old/new friend is an old remnant of a story-line that ended up not taking off and I may end up going back and editing that page to just be "old friend"

Basically there was going to be a plotline where Pyroduck was in fact a time traveler and the whole old/new friend was going to involve some time travelling shenanigans where Mab first met Fa'lina in the future and some strange storyline about Dan saving Pyroduck from a future timeline from the past and such...but then I realized that A: time travel is confusing and I suck at writing it  B: the story directions started taking off in a different path so the entire concept was scrapped.