2022-01-10 [DMFA #2065] Well matched couple

[Carmeops]

my sympathy for Regina is growing by the day it seems

and oh boy, is her mother such a perfect copy of her father..

i want to drown them both, nobody will miss them, nobody will care

[Tapewolf]

I'm kind of curious how the orb works now, if it's capable of speech recognition.  Makes me wonder if it has any intelligence or whether it's the magical equivalent of a pattern recognition algorithm.

[Carmeops]

I'm kind of curious how the orb works now, if it's capable of speech recognition.  Makes me wonder if it has any intelligence or whether it's the magical equivalent of a pattern recognition algorithm.

maybe it simply works like the telephone? there is a central service that you call and is in charge of connecting you to your target, the orb only being a peripheral of the system?

[WhyNot?]

Huh, the individual on the bottom left seems to be a Nact'larn if their under eye marking is any indication. I wonder if the other markings are meant to accentuate or make it blend in.

[Tapewolf]

Huh, the individual on the bottom left seems to be a Nact'larn if their under eye marking is any indication. I wonder if the other markings are meant to accentuate or make it blend in.

Oh, good spot.  I thought their colour scheme was unusually vivid, but I didn't spot the clanmark.  I suspect the other markings are make the clan mark less obvious.

[KathYohneke]

Huh, the individual on the bottom left seems to be a Nact'larn if their under eye marking is any indication. I wonder if the other markings are meant to accentuate or make it blend in.

Oh, good spot.  I thought their colour scheme was unusually vivid, but I didn't spot the clanmark.  I suspect the other markings are make the clan mark less obvious.

Isnt her clan all female iirc? been a while but I do remember something like that from Mink's thing on clan leaders. Then again what a person is born as and who they really are definitely not always the same.

[WhyNot?]

Isnt her clan all female iirc? been a while but I do remember something like that from Mink's thing on clan leaders. Then again what a person is born as and who they really are definitely not always the same.

Yeah, that's why I went with the term 'individual'. It could also be they're female and just very androgynous looking so I didn't want to lean any particular way.

Oh, good spot.  I thought their colour scheme was unusually vivid, but I didn't spot the clanmark.  I suspect the other markings are make the clan mark less obvious.

That was my initial thought, but given that Nact'larn are somewhat known for living openly in the connected sector of society I thought it could be a status thing to subtly draw attention to it.

I was also going to bring up that Aary might also be doing the 'blending the mark in' thing given she does have multiple similar markings, but then I thought that she never seemed particularly concerned with hiding what she was at least in base form terms.....but then I do remember recently she did go around wingless in her normal form outside SAIA so maybe that is the point of them after all.

EDIT: Also now wondering if the art in the first panel is meant to be representative of the taking of Zinvth from/the continued defense of it from the Dragons.

[ProfesseurRenard]

I was also going to bring up that Aary might also be doing the 'blending the mark in' thing given she does have multiple similar markings, but then I thought that she never seemed particularly concerned with hiding what she was at least in base form terms.....but then I do remember recently she did go around wingless in her normal form outside SAIA so maybe that is the point of them after all.

I seem to recall Keaton from Project Future has also 'tattooed' (for want of a better term) extra clan marks on herself, but that was more of an "I am deeply devoted to my crazy cultist Clan Leader" thing than anything to do with camouflage.

[Glenn Griffon]

Huh, the individual on the bottom left seems to be a Nact'larn if their under eye marking is any indication. I wonder if the other markings are meant to accentuate or make it blend in.

Oh, good spot.  I thought their colour scheme was unusually vivid, but I didn't spot the clanmark.  I suspect the other markings are make the clan mark less obvious.

Isnt her clan all female iirc? been a while but I do remember something like that from Mink's thing on clan leaders. Then again what a person is born as and who they really are definitely not always the same.

That's very true. Everyone in Nact'larn is born female but if you're a member of a species that can shapeshift and you feel more comfortable being seen as a male than female and you can shapeshift it's entirely possible to make yourself appear masculine and go by a male name.

Though I have heard that gender reassignment in this universe is a little more tricky. Though that might be outdated information, I'm not sure.

Also Nact'larn is a stable clan and it's not unheard of for non cubi to use a ritual to join a clan and become a Cubi. I'm just putting that out there as a reminder, this individual may be a cubi of Nact'larn, may be male or female or neutral but they may also have been born a being and had a child with someone in Nact'larn and became part of their clan.

But this is all just speculation on a BG character that may or may not be a cubi. (What if they're a Nact'larn groupie/fan and got her clan symbol tattooed?)

[FFKonoko]

Isnt her clan all female iirc? been a while but I do remember something like that from Mink's thing on clan leaders. Then again what a person is born as and who they really are definitely not always the same.

I think it was that everyone born into the clan is.
So a being converted into a Cubi of that clan would still be male if they were before?

[ProfesseurRenard]

Isnt her clan all female iirc? been a while but I do remember something like that from Mink's thing on clan leaders. Then again what a person is born as and who they really are definitely not always the same.

I think it was that everyone born into the clan is.
So a being converted into a Cubi of that clan would still be male if they were before?

CassidyPeterson has certainly worked on that assumption, if I recall rightly.

[Merlin]

too many cute extras, look at that turtle's hairstyle that is amazing

[Hariman]

my sympathy for Regina is growing by the day it seems

and oh boy, is her mother such a perfect copy of her father..

i want to drown them both, nobody will miss them, nobody will care

Now now... do we really want to be cruel to the water?

That being said... yeah.

Having ONE narcissist parent (and an enabler) is bad enough.  That's a personal slice of hell.

Having two narcissist parents just a bigger personal slice of hell.

It's ironic and sad that the murderous conqueror is being a better father than Regina's actual father.

As a friend of mine put it:  "They made my like the murderhorse!", because Aliph really is a good Uncle to Regina and Lorenda.

It's an impressive feat of storytelling to take a character who should be a hateable villain and turn him into someone who gets grudging respect and appreciation, at the least.

I'm glad Regina is getting the love and care she needs to recover from the abuse.

[HaDDea]

Hmmm, I do wonder.... Does Madame Darkblood (assuming she took her husband's name) actually write her own novels, or does she have a cadre of ghost writers? Maybe both (demand can get rather crazy)?  I actually kinda wish the former a bit, as it would fit in with Viv's description of demons and their passion, as well as the idea of "honor through your own efforts" which seems to be a big part of Demon culture, and it would round out Cori a bit more. But that's just me - I do like how Ambarrrgh has taken her villains and made them to be interesting and even likeable in their own right.

Having ONE narcissist parent (and an enabler) is bad enough.  That's a personal slice of hell.

Having two narcissist parents just a bigger personal slice of hell.

Oh is it ever. We've seen some of the effect it's had on Regina. My sympathies go out to Regina's brother Tolan as well, though - I wonder how he's doing in all of this... after all, when it comes to narcissism, you either become a reflector, or get rejected. And unfortunately, Tolan seems to have managed to be that perfect mirror for his parents (according to Regina). But you don't become that mirror without it costing you something in the process.

i want to drown them both, nobody will miss them, nobody will care

There I would have to disagree with you. They are a celebrity couple: a son of the ruling family of Zivnth and a famous writer of evidently gripping novels. They are what Demons aspire to be: powerful, charming, flashy, rich and famous. Heck, they're what most humans aspire to be. There would be decided outrage were they to be abruptly cut down (though perhaps for different reasons than humans would have). People would care. Zivnth would care. Kria would care. Regina would care.

The Darkbloods are, in effect, one possible ideal of what a Demon should be - perhaps the most visible Ideal that is presented to the general public. But that ideal is terrible for raising a family of well-adjusted, flourishing descendants: it just produces more copies of itself, whoever can stomach toeing the line. And probably not great for keeping Zivnth running smoothly and safely (self-absorption is notoriously terrible for noticing outside threats).

...Thinking about it, the Darkbloods really do highlight what odd ducks both Aliph AND Kria are in Demon culture. Makes me wonder what the Soulstealer parents were like...

[Hariman]

Having ONE narcissist parent (and an enabler) is bad enough.  That's a personal slice of hell.

Having two narcissist parents just a bigger personal slice of hell.

Oh is it ever. We've seen some of the effect it's had on Regina. My sympathies go out to Regina's brother Tolan as well, though - I wonder how he's doing in all of this... after all, when it comes to narcissism, you either become a reflector, or get rejected. And unfortunately, Tolan seems to have managed to be that perfect mirror for his parents (according to Regina). But you don't become that mirror without it costing you something in the process.

Yeah.  There's either a continued living in the narcissistic bubble of lies, or a realization that things are wrong, and then either a slow pulling away, or a fast departure, both ending with the burning of the bridge, and then razing the foundation, and then dynamiting the earth below the foundation, and then salting the earth so no new bridge can be created without a minimum of YEARS of effort.

Tolan is the Golden Child, and thus only has to live up to whatever perfect illusion his parents create of him to stay that way, which is probably "easy" given his parents' celebrity status.

Heaven help him if he ever tries to step out of that golden child zone and be his own person though.  He might become the new scapegoat, especially if they decide he's to blame for Regina leaving.

>.>

Also... yeah.  Bad parenting/narcissistic parenting is a nerve/pet peeve of mine, because I've seen the damage done, and experienced it personally.

BUT... that's a good thing for the comic, in my opinion.  Addressing and showing this type of person helps those who are unfamiliar with the damage narcissists leave in their wake, and I very much appreciate that.

[Glenn Griffon]

It's ironic and sad that the murderous conqueror is being a better father than Regina's actual father.

As a friend of mine put it:  "They made my like the murderhorse!", because Aliph really is a good Uncle to Regina and Lorenda.

It's an impressive feat of storytelling to take a character who should be a hateable villain and turn him into someone who gets grudging respect and appreciation, at the least.

I'm glad Regina is getting the love and care she needs to recover from the abuse.

Aliph is what's called "Lawful Evil" and a lawful evil character can be liked and respected because they have a code, they have a set of rules they follow, they got a line and they won't cross it.

And that's a character that you can like and respect, even if they are aspiring to be a conqueror and dictator.

[Nightmask]

Honestly I would hate to have to admit to someone like that being family.  No wonder she wishes it was Dark Pegasus when that's an alternative.

[Merlin]

ngl i kind of love her and want to see more of her horrible butt self though

[Nightmask]

ngl i kind of love her and want to see more of her horrible butt self though

Her butt's about the only part of her that's not horrible.

[ProfesseurRenard]

ngl i kind of love her and want to see more of her horrible butt self though

Her butt's about the only part of her that's not horrible.

Heh, good one.

[Drakkenmensch]

Well I can see where Regina got her love for fashion and flashy outside appearance. Also, her attitude certainly explains why she'd be attracted to Llama Lobed Dork in the first place.

I'm relieved to see that Regina found a far better father figure in Aliph, who has shown himself a far superior rolemodel to either of her parents in a very short amount of time.

[Nightmask]

Well I can see where Regina got her love for fashion and flashy outside appearance. Also, her attitude certainly explains why she'd be attracted to Llama Lobed Dork in the first place.

I'm relieved to see that Regina found a far better father figure in Aliph, who has shown himself a far superior rolemodel to either of her parents in a very short amount of time.

Although we all know that's a really low bar, but he's doing way better than even a normal, non-narcissistic parent currently.  No trying to force her into a career path because it's one he likes or approves of and instead looking for ways for her to be successful in a field she enjoys even though it's one he personally cares nothing for.


Rereading the strip again I also had a bit of humor when I reread her mother's 'the one and only' line and reflexively thought 'Thankfully, I'd hate for more of you to be running around.  One is bad enough.'

[Drakkenmensch]

Rereading the strip again I also had a bit of humor when I reread her mother's 'the one and only' line and reflexively thought 'Thankfully, I'd hate for more of you to be running around.  One is bad enough.'

I had honestly not considered that interpretation. I can definitely imagine everyone sighing in relief when she makes that boast, relieved there is no one else in the world as narcissistic as she is.

[Hariman]

Honestly I would hate to have to admit to someone like that being family.  No wonder she wishes it was Dark Pegasus when that's an alternative.

Regina was/is also jealous of Lorenda as Kria's daughter, but that's because Kria actually cares about Lorenda.

[Nightmask]

Honestly I would hate to have to admit to someone like that being family.  No wonder she wishes it was Dark Pegasus when that's an alternative.

Regina was/is also jealous of Lorenda as Kria's daughter, but that's because Kria actually cares about Lorenda.

With the various retcons/reveals it seems like Regina's cast page needs massively reworked as a lot of it seems the opposite of what we now know about her (like her not having some of her favorites being about murder and mayhem, about the only thing still the same is the love of fashion).  Honestly though it has made her a much more compelling and 3-dimensional character and has helped in fleshing out Aliph and the previously informed attribute about his being good family.  While we were TOLD that 'being bad family is not one of his traits' we hadn't actually seen it until the arc set off by Regina and his efforts to help her become the best Regina she could be.

It's interesting, I kind of wonder if we're going to see things in a cracked mirror way with Dan's mother.  Aliph goes from evil conqueror to helping save the world from Dan's mother, while she goes from the 'but we all knew her as this loving mom' to total darkness to the point Dan tries and fails to talk her down and only an heroic sacrifice (maybe even from Aliph or Regina) saves his life from his own mother.

[Hariman]

Honestly I would hate to have to admit to someone like that being family.  No wonder she wishes it was Dark Pegasus when that's an alternative.

Regina was/is also jealous of Lorenda as Kria's daughter, but that's because Kria actually cares about Lorenda.

With the various retcons/reveals it seems like Regina's cast page needs massively reworked as a lot of it seems the opposite of what we now know about her (like her not having some of her favorites being about murder and mayhem, about the only thing still the same is the love of fashion).  Honestly though it has made her a much more compelling and 3-dimensional character and has helped in fleshing out Aliph and the previously informed attribute about his being good family.  While we were TOLD that 'being bad family is not one of his traits' we hadn't actually seen it until the arc set off by Regina and his efforts to help her become the best Regina she could be.

It's interesting, I kind of wonder if we're going to see things in a cracked mirror way with Dan's mother.  Aliph goes from evil conqueror to helping save the world from Dan's mother, while she goes from the 'but we all knew her as this loving mom' to total darkness to the point Dan tries and fails to talk her down and only an heroic sacrifice (maybe even from Aliph or Regina) saves his life from his own mother.

Regina's cast page reflects who she is (or at least appears to be) at the start of the comic.

Destania... is probably not going to end well, no matter what happens with her plans.

Even if the plan she's making with Biggs succeeds, she's probably still going to do something that breaks Dan's heart.  Whatever it is, it will probably get Destania killed too, at least form how I read her self destructive tendencies.

>.>

If Dan does end up having to pull a heroic sacrifice, he's got a friend who has an Uncle that knows how to resurrect the dead.