1/27/07: Failure

[Magic]

Now that you guys have highlighted it, the finger's bent sort odd.

At any rate, I'm more interested in the slight bulge on the wrist of that ebony hand. Seems like a sweater, or a jacket with round cuffs.

[superluser]

At any rate, I'm more interested in the slight bulge on the wrist of that ebony hand. Seems like a sweater, or a jacket with round cuffs.

Yes!  Someone agrees with my sweater theory!  Everybody else seems to think it's a bracer.

[Narethlian]

I hate failure myself... Especially progressive mainboard failures that leave me computerless for three weeks. Grr.

I was wondering, since we know Abel and Aary reaaaly dislike each other, and her hand would be in a dark grey or black glove... and she's 29 years older than Abel... but then the SAIA arc shoots that idea down. I'm not fifty...

Edit: I just noticed that her gloves were purple in that one. They're really dark grey in the cast page though.

Still, it made a nice idea.

-Nar

[superluser]

I was wondering, since we know Abel and Aary reaaaly dislike each other, and her hand would be in a dark grey or black glove... and she's 29 years older than Abel... but then the SAIA arc shoots that idea down. I'm not fifty...

I'm tempted to say that she should have been in SAIA then.  Destania didn't leave until Aary's last year, and Aary gave the impression that she left immediately upon graduation.  Then Destania had Dan, and we've got a span of ~30 years there.

Except that I don't think that we know with any certainty how much time has elapsed between Aary's graduation and when Destania wound up at Lost Lake.

Aary did say that it was the first place she went, and I'm presumimg that it wouldn't take more than a couple hundred years.  Of course, it did take Odysseus ten years to go 300 miles.

[Goatmon]

Also, we're not arguing about why Abel is neurotic.  We're arguing about why Abel doesn't want to change base forms.  Seems reasonable to me.  Your father seduced your mother pretending to be her husband, so you don't want to change forms.  Doesn't sound that strange.

You know, I was wondering if that was the case, for a while now.  Kind of hard to explain how else Abel could have turned out the way he is.  I don't recall that it's actually been confirmed though, has it?   

[superluser]

You know, I was wondering if that was the case, for a while now.  Kind of hard to explain how else Abel could have turned out the way he is.  I don't recall that it's actually been confirmed though, has it?

Well, the only options are the following:

(1) Cid is an incubus.
(2) May is a succubus and somehow the child looks like her despite the fact that hybrids are supposed to look like the being not the creature.
(3) May slept with an incubus with malice aforethought.
(4) An incubus impersonated Cid and slept with May, who might or might not have found out about it later (the identity, not the sex).

To me, the most likely option is (4).  I had been writing the previous message under the assumption that Tikki was right, mainly because otherwise, I'd have to say things like, ``Assuming that Abel's father was an incubus and assuming that he seduced May pretending to be Cid, and assuming that Cid doesn't know that, or at least doesn't let on that he knows that, and further assuming that Abel doesn't know it now, but does find out about it later, it might make perfect sense for that to be one of the reasons...''

Edit: I should say only plausible explanations.  Otherwise, there are options like the following: (5) Switched at birth, (6) A wizard did it

[Tapewolf]

(4) An incubus impersonated Cid and slept with May, who might or might not have found out about it later (the identity, not the sex).

There is a variation on that, which it looks like you almost considered - rape.
If Cid is not around, a sufficiently skilled 'cubi ought to be able to prevent May from waking, or even realising at all if they can write to minds as well as read from them.

[Jigsaw Forte]

(4) An incubus impersonated Cid and slept with May, who might or might not have found out about it later (the identity, not the sex).

There is a variation on that, which it looks like you almost considered - rape.
If Cid is not around, a sufficiently skilled 'cubi ought to be able to prevent May from waking, or even realising at all if they can write to minds as well as read from them.

Rape is a cop-out on SO many levels.

May knows (or at least thinks she knows) the circumstances of Abel's conception, enough to throttle a principal. We have no-good-reason to believe it's not true.

Now, Cid not noticing an incubus mark on his own son's back, THAT is suspicious... if nothing else he should've questioned what prankster put one on his son, seeing as an ADVENTURER ought to know one when he sees one...

[Goatmon]

Yeah, but a competent Cubi wouldn't have to make the moves on someone while they slept if they were planning on banging them.  Sleeping is the ample state of a target if you're planning to suck their soul while they sleep, of course. 

[Tapewolf]

Now, Cid not noticing an incubus mark on his own son's back, THAT is suspicious... if nothing else he should've questioned what prankster put one on his son, seeing as an ADVENTURER ought to know one when he sees one...

'Cubi seem to be quite rare, or well-hidden.  Devin didn't know what Abel was even when his headwings came out, and he's an adventurer too, albeit a less-experienced one.

I don't think the people from Abel's village know much about them at all - which actually impacts the May-realises-her-"husband"-was-a-shapeshifter thing to some degree.

[superluser]

There is a variation on that, which it looks like you almost considered - rape.
If Cid is not around, a sufficiently skilled 'cubi ought to be able to prevent May from waking, or even realising at all if they can write to minds as well as read from them.

After writing that, I did consider it.  I'm putting it slightly lower than ``a wizard did it'' (after all, most `cubi could probably be considered wizards).  I seriously doubt that Amber's going there.  For one thing, it's not a terribly interesting turn of events, compared to the others.  It gives no insight into the characters or why they act the way they do, especially if May never realized it.

Then again, you say DMFA 'cubi don't do that.

Rape is a cop-out on SO many levels.

Amen.  No. 5:

Particularly avoid "this is the only reason she's fighting/causing crime" or "it's not actually her reaction to the rape we're concerned with, but that of her male romantic interest/colleagues/friends."

Now, Cid not noticing an incubus mark on his own son's back, THAT is suspicious... if nothing else he should've questioned what prankster put one on his son, seeing as an ADVENTURER ought to know one when he sees one...

Loath as I am to admit it, Dan didn't.

[Stygian]

Now that you guys have highlighted it, the finger's bent sort odd.

At any rate, I'm more interested in the slight bulge on the wrist of that ebony hand. Seems like a sweater, or a jacket with round cuffs.

I know I'll get dropped on this, but... The lines behind that "cuff" are too tight for it to be a jacket. It would more probably be some sort of bracer, not unlike those that Devin we... wore.

[Tapewolf]

Then again, you say DMFA 'cubi don't do that.

Not as the whole reason for their existence, no, they don't.  And Amber has already said they can't do the full-gender-change thing which is what incubi and succubi are about according to Scot and his researches.

But that doesn't mean that an individual incubus who is sufficiently desperate to preserve their bloodline might not rape a Being while they slept to provide an heir.

(And yes, Styg, I'm going with the bracer theory myself)

[thegayhare]

all the hints and insinuations *gasp* this might be devin... Is rather dumb and are overlooking one major thing...

Devin Killed one of them

While pass and fail in this class might be simply survival but I highly doubt the teacher would kill off his students.  It simply wouldn't be a fair test.

[Kenji]

all the hints and insinuations *gasp* this might be devin... Is rather dumb and are overlooking one major thing...

Devin Killed one of them

While pass and fail in this class might be simply survival but I highly doubt the teacher would kill off his students.  It simply wouldn't be a fair test.

He just kept getting detention was all.

[Tapewolf]

all the hints and insinuations *gasp* this might be devin... Is rather dumb and are overlooking one major thing...

Devin Killed one of them

True.  In my defence, if you read my original post again, you'll see that I didn't really believe it myself anyway.  It was more akin to the "Abel is Dan's father" business  

[thegayhare]

It was more akin to the "Abel is Dan's father" business 

you know I have an even more bizzare Dan theroy... but I've been told I may never reveal it  to anouther living soul on pain of torture

[superluser]

While pass and fail in this class might be simply survival but I highly doubt the teacher would kill off his students.  It simply wouldn't be a fair test.

Fair or not, it is a common trope.  In Terry Pratchett's Pyramids, the instructor is supposed to try to kill the student during the final exam.  I've seen it elsewhere, but I'm at a loss to come up with examples.  The Sith, I think.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

There are limits, however. In the example you've provided, the instructor only kills the student if the student fails. After the student fails.

Of course, the instructor is also allowed to.. mislead the student into committing, effectively, a messy suicide. For example, removing items that the student may have used to run across the rooftops (like the board that was over a 4 story drop to the streets...) but that's all part of the game - and to be expected, since if you do end up going against another assassin, being sneaky enough to manage that sort of threat is what you aspire to...

[Manawolf]

Still, the thoughts Abel was picking as Devin slipped out of life highly suggest otherwise.

There's a better chance that it's Glory, since she seems to have dissapeared without a trace.

Seriously people, some of these theories are so cornball they'd end up being an exhibit at a county fair.

[Valynth]

and the "Glory, the 'lawful-stupid' paladin, is actually evil" isn't? 

The best theory is the idea that this is a new character who we haven't seen before.  I mean, how often is it that you talk to your old teachers anyway?

[Goatmon]

It would be interesting to see more of Glory.  She vanished before having little more than a few decent panels.

And yeah... excess speculation is to be expected, considering that the comic here draws in as many people as it does. 

[superluser]

There are limits, however. In the example you've provided, the instructor only kills the student if the student fails. After the student fails.

And the bloat-filled needles on the pipe?  I guess they technically kill you five seconds after you fail...

Still, the thoughts Abel was picking as Devin slipped out of life highly suggest otherwise.

There's a better chance that it's Glory, since she seems to have dissapeared without a trace.

If Devin were a real creature adventurer instructor, he would definitely know what Abel's headwings would suggest, and would probably try to mask his thoughts to convince Devin that he's dying.

I think that there's an even higher chance that it's Kammi, since that would explain how she gets out of this unscathed.  Plus, the bracer that she's wearing looks an awful lot like the shadow we see in panel one.

Of course, she has three fingers and a thumb so it's not her.

[Angel]

Hmmmmm.... I'm wndering who exactly Kria killed, if she in fact killed anyone. That she killed Devin is possible, but I don't think that's the case.

Also, just an observation... I highlighted the comic to get a better look at the details, and Kria's claws look quite a lot like hands in the second panel. So the Mystery Teacher COULD in fact be Dark Pegasus. But I don't really think it is, because I see a hint of extra knuckle off the screen. The bracer's too thick to be Devin's... can't be Glory, the claws are too sharp...

As a final note, how long do demons go to school for? Cause by my calculations, Kria's about 43. Granted, that's pretty young for a demon but still, she must have started school at around the same age as Dan. She may have been taking classes while having teaching as a part-time job. How long will she stay? A couple centuries, or more than 3?

[Ted Schiller]

Still, the thoughts Abel was picking as Devin slipped out of life highly suggest otherwise.

There's a better chance that it's Glory, since she seems to have dissapeared without a trace.

Seriously people, some of these theories are so cornball they'd end up being an exhibit at a county fair.

Well, set up another table, because here's mine.   

The mysterious character is none other than God, aka Fluffy D. Funni.

Here is a link to Fluffy changing her paw for dramatic effect.
http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_179.php

Surely she could change it further if necessary.

Why is Fluffy there, you ask?

"Look, Kria, this comic has gone on far too long.  Amber says it ends now.  All right, Abel lives because we need him.  But everyone else dies, got me?"

With regards,
Ted

[Aridas]

To black angel: Mystery guy said Kria didn't kill a single thing on the whole trip

[Goatmon]

To black angel: Mystery guy said Kria didn't kill a single thing on the whole trip

Oh snap!

[GabrielsThoughts]

what about this one, the mysterious unknown in the pannel in question was...dun, dun, dun, the real devin, Abel was with two evil cubi the whole time, and  the fake Devin was feeding him nothing but lies.


or better still it was Daniel Ti' fiona from an alternate dimension where he was possesed by sinister dark forces and is a happy ghost whose one true love is... the mage formerly known as Merlitz,  with an incoprehensible symbol as his new name.


or there is  Cid's Biological father, who is possibly a cubi, and who abandoned Cid when he was but a mere zygote in his mothers belly... because no one knows anything about Cid's bloodline any more than they know Abel's.

[Stygian]

Or maybe, we have been lied to all the time?! This isn't the real world, and that is OUR hand! AAAAIH!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

There are limits, however. In the example you've provided, the instructor only kills the student if the student fails. After the student fails.

And the bloat-filled needles on the pipe?  I guess they technically kill you five seconds after you fail...

No, you failed to expect someone to be trying to kill you. If you haven't checked your morning cup of tea for poison, you're not cut out to be an assassin... :-)