2022-02-14 [DMFA #2068] Jyrras' glasses look really good in the first panel

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Just wanted to put that out there.

[Cassi-kun]

I just love everything about Abel on this page

[ProfesseurRenard]

I just love everything about Abel on this page

Yeah, he's quite the troll in the last couple panels.

[Raskahn]

I just love everything about Abel on this page

Yeah, he's quite the troll in the last couple panels.

Which is one of his most endearing qualities.

[Nightmask]

So he dropped that bomb finally on Jyrras, although it's not really a match with the listed trope since the Cubi was actually his father so his father was never replaced with a cubi his mother's husband was.  Horrible thing either way though.

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

I mean, I wondered when Jyrras was talking how Abel was going to respond to it, based on that technicality...
because, despite the fact he replaced a man before meeting and marrying May and them having Abel... that man was still replaced at some point - so while "Abel's father" wasn't replaced... he still kind of was.  But from another point of view, given that instead of just admitting to that fact (of false identity) and using communication to rebuild a new family paradigm... he went around killing and threatening people.  So, his *father* was still gone - replaced by "a 'Cubi".

[Merlin]

unrelated but I love your signature pic Sienna

[Nightmask]

I mean, I wondered when Jyrras was talking how Abel was going to respond to it, based on that technicality...
because, despite the fact he replaced a man before meeting and marrying May and them having Abel... that man was still replaced at some point - so while "Abel's father" wasn't replaced... he still kind of was.  But from another point of view, given that instead of just admitting to that fact (of false identity) and using communication to rebuild a new family paradigm... he went around killing and threatening people.  So, his *father* was still gone - replaced by "a 'Cubi".

True, from a certain perspective his father was his mother's husband, as his biological father was doing his best to emulate the decent man he murdered and replaced.  With the reveal it 'murdered' his father and replaced him with a monster.

[Glenn Griffon]

I mean, I wondered when Jyrras was talking how Abel was going to respond to it, based on that technicality...
because, despite the fact he replaced a man before meeting and marrying May and them having Abel... that man was still replaced at some point - so while "Abel's father" wasn't replaced... he still kind of was.  But from another point of view, given that instead of just admitting to that fact (of false identity) and using communication to rebuild a new family paradigm... he went around killing and threatening people.  So, his *father* was still gone - replaced by "a 'Cubi".

True, from a certain perspective his father was his mother's husband, as his biological father was doing his best to emulate the decent man he murdered and replaced.  With the reveal it 'murdered' his father and replaced him with a monster.

What if Aniz is the origin of the "replaced" trope?
Like everyone thinks it's a bunch of different cubi doing it but no, it's just Aniz. It was always him and then later copycats appeared.

[Nightmask]

I mean, I wondered when Jyrras was talking how Abel was going to respond to it, based on that technicality...
because, despite the fact he replaced a man before meeting and marrying May and them having Abel... that man was still replaced at some point - so while "Abel's father" wasn't replaced... he still kind of was.  But from another point of view, given that instead of just admitting to that fact (of false identity) and using communication to rebuild a new family paradigm... he went around killing and threatening people.  So, his *father* was still gone - replaced by "a 'Cubi".

True, from a certain perspective his father was his mother's husband, as his biological father was doing his best to emulate the decent man he murdered and replaced.  With the reveal it 'murdered' his father and replaced him with a monster.

What if Aniz is the origin of the "replaced" trope?
Like everyone thinks it's a bunch of different cubi doing it but no, it's just Aniz. It was always him and then later copycats appeared.

I think that'd be giving him way too much credit, particularly given Cubi have been around for probably hundreds of thousands of years if not longer, based on the cultural stasis of the world and known age of current Cubi Leaders.  That nobody thought of that until he was running around in just the last few centuries would be a major reach.  Heck it was probably one of the classes Destania taught at SAIA 'How to kill and replace someone's spouse for fun and profit!'

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

unrelated but I love your signature pic Sienna

why, thank-you!

What if Aniz is the origin of the "replaced" trope?
Like everyone thinks it's a bunch of different cubi doing it but no, it's just Aniz.

I know he only had the one kid (we assume???)...
but, I love that idea! XD
especially if it's a movie-trope rather than a book-trope, since the technology is much more recent.

[Liatai]

What if Aniz is the origin of the "replaced" trope?
Like everyone thinks it's a bunch of different cubi doing it but no, it's just Aniz. It was always him and then later copycats appeared.

"Only three? Such reservations. Call me impressed. The last one to try this had three on the way when I shut him down."

So, fun theory, but nah. Cubi have been cuckoos way before Aniz. x3

[Nightmask]

What if Aniz is the origin of the "replaced" trope?
Like everyone thinks it's a bunch of different cubi doing it but no, it's just Aniz. It was always him and then later copycats appeared.

"Only three? Such reservations. Call me impressed. The last one to try this had three on the way when I shut him down."

So, fun theory, but nah. Cubi have been cuckoos way before Aniz. x3

Then manages to say perhaps the most astoundingly stupid thing you could say to just about anyone but especially to someone who's basically omnipotent where they're at and could casually rip your soul out and torture it for millenia.

[e_voyager]

I have to say I love the past few pages. Abel and jairus's and traction have proven extremely how do you say Illuminating? Also what does ace mean in any way? Back in the movies when I was watching them growing up at 8 with someone who was top of the game one of the people who shot down 10 planes without being shot down themselves one of the people who kid a near-perfect batting average stuff like that

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

"Only three? Such reservations. Call me impressed. The last one to try this had three on the way when I shut him down."

So, fun theory, but nah. Cubi have been cuckoos way before Aniz. x3

but the way Aniz was doing it was... so close to being legitimate. He wanted to ostensibly be part of the family and raise the kid too.. but somehow lost all reason after years of careful planning.
Why he didn't have more than one kid with his wife is a bit baffling (guess he thought it would be too obvious if all the children were born with Creature traits...), but he didn't go around siring kids all over the place - to have three kids in 75 years he was clearly planning on a 25-year turn around phase for courting a woman through to marriage and the kid growing up until their 20's/coming into "cuberty". In reality, this would have only put his plans on hold for fifty to fifty-five years... because that would have given him the last twenty-or-so years of the ban for him to have and raise a child to age.

The real question is... were 'Cubi doing this before the War with the Dragons, or only after their numbers became so heavily impacted?

Also what does ace mean in any way? Back in the movies when I was watching them growing up at 8 with someone who was top of the game one of the people who shot down 10 planes without being shot down themselves one of the people who kid a near-perfect batting average stuff like that

While one can still be a "Flying Ace" (and I'm sure it has been used as a pun on more than one occasion) and "an ace" still technically has the same meaning as "a pro"... in this context it's a reference to the term "asexual" meaning "having no physical interest in a relationship" (as opposed to "solo reproduction"). Another term which may be useful to you is "aro" or "aromantic" meaning "having no romantic interest in a relationship".
So far as we can see so far, Abel is functionally-asexual and either grey-romantic or demi-romantic - meaning he has interest in being in a romantic relationship with a person, but doesn't actively seek out to be in one.

[Nightmask]

"Only three? Such reservations. Call me impressed. The last one to try this had three on the way when I shut him down."

So, fun theory, but nah. Cubi have been cuckoos way before Aniz. x3

but the way Aniz was doing it was... so close to being legitimate. He wanted to ostensibly be part of the family and raise the kid too.. but somehow lost all reason after years of careful planning.
Why he didn't have more than one kid with his wife is a bit baffling (guess he thought it would be too obvious if all the children were born with Creature traits...), but he didn't go around siring kids all over the place - to have three kids in 75 years he was clearly planning on a 25-year turn around phase for courting a woman through to marriage and the kid growing up until their 20's/coming into "cuberty". In reality, this would have only put his plans on hold for fifty to fifty-five years... because that would have given him the last twenty-or-so years of the ban for him to have and raise a child to age.

The real question is... were 'Cubi doing this before the War with the Dragons, or only after their numbers became so heavily impacted?

Also what does ace mean in any way? Back in the movies when I was watching them growing up at 8 with someone who was top of the game one of the people who shot down 10 planes without being shot down themselves one of the people who kid a near-perfect batting average stuff like that

While one can still be a "Flying Ace" (and I'm sure it has been used as a pun on more than one occasion) and "an ace" still technically has the same meaning as "a pro"... in this context it's a reference to the term "asexual" meaning "having no physical interest in a relationship" (as opposed to "solo reproduction"). Another term which may be useful to you is "aro" or "aromantic" meaning "having no romantic interest in a relationship".
So far as we can see so far, Abel is functionally-asexual and either grey-romantic or demi-romantic - meaning he has interest in being in a romantic relationship with a person, but doesn't actively seek out to be in one.

My takeaway on Aniz is he didn't want any real relationship with any children he fathered.  He targeted and replaced an adventurer and spent long periods of time away from home leaving Abel's mother to raise him pretty much alone.  He demonstrated no actual positive feelings of affection or love towards Abel or his mother and hypocritically acting just like he accused Destania of.  He had his plans and seemed only interested in taking a very long-term look at doing things, one child at a time rather than trying to spawn multiple children at the same time.

[127.0.0.2]

Ok, after that last panel, I'm pretty sure Cubi don't need shapeshifting skills to be deceptive... At least I'm impressed Abel managed to laugh the whole issue off after this...

[ProfesseurRenard]

Ok, after that last panel, I'm pretty sure Cubi don't need shapeshifting skills to be deceptive... At least I'm impressed Abel managed to laugh the whole issue off after this...

Sign of how far he's come?

[127.0.0.2]

Maybe. Or he is hiding how much it upsets him as not to scare Jyrras.

[Nightmask]

Maybe. Or he is hiding how much it upsets him as not to scare Jyrras.

Well it did happen centuries ago, he's had a lot of time to process it and work through the stages of grief and SAIA probably has some therapists running around.

[127.0.0.2]

That's a good point. I'd at least hope, this is the case, even though if human mental health is already a thing to grapple with, I don't want to imagine the complexities of being a therapist for a race of telepaths for which emotions are pretty another fundamental force.

[ProfesseurRenard]

That's a good point. I'd at least hope, this is the case, even though if human mental health is already a thing to grapple with, I don't want to imagine the complexities of being a therapist for a race of telepaths for which emotions are pretty another fundamental force.

One can only hope that these therapists are very good and that their services aren't too expensive.

[Glenn Griffon]

Ok, after that last panel, I'm pretty sure Cubi don't need shapeshifting skills to be deceptive... At least I'm impressed Abel managed to laugh the whole issue off after this...

Sign of how far he's come?

Take it from someone with a fair bit of trauma herself, if you don't learn how to laugh at the darkness it will swallow you whole.

[Lying Foo]

Come to think of it, what does Fa'lina do if one of the Cubi she's "shut down" keeps going anyway?  Leave any new kids to get picked off by dragons?  That doesn't really seem to fit with her treatment of Abel...

[Nightmask]

Come to think of it, what does Fa'lina do if one of the Cubi she's "shut down" keeps going anyway?  Leave any new kids to get picked off by dragons?  That doesn't really seem to fit with her treatment of Abel...

You're assuming she was all sweetness and light about it, she's still a cubi clan leader after all.  If they were inside SAIA her nigh-omnipotence there she could easily shut them down permanently in a variety of ways, like simply making them incapable of reproducing.

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Come to think of it, what does Fa'lina do if one of the Cubi she's "shut down" keeps going anyway?  Leave any new kids to get picked off by dragons?  That doesn't really seem to fit with her treatment of Abel...

I have been giving that some thought...
on the one hand "never make a threat you can't back up", on the other hand... she may have done some temporal work-arounds - so they would have 'disappeared' from their time and only 'existed' again after the moratorium was over. And as they were missing, Aniz would not know what happened to them, at least not until the full time period has passed. (though, the fact that in 200 years he had no other children (that we know of...) perhaps he tried something which Fa'Lina disapproved of - and had the time extended)

Alternatively, if they are forced to come to the school often enough, Fa'Lina can extend the reach of her clairvoyance, enough perhaps that she can appear and intercede the moment a banned 'Cubi so much as even winks flirtatiously.