3-22-2007 Abel's Story # 77 inky bus? We'll dye of fright

[Regal]

I just found the fact that no one screamed, "There's a Bat on your head!!!!" and tried to whap Abel disappointing.  That would have been a real highlight.

Well, his headwings don't resemble a bat much, since they emulate his normal wings. 

"There's a Chocolate Chip Cookie Bat on your head!!!!"

[The Lurking Dragon]

To be honest, I forget where it is, (Demonology maybe?) but Amber once mentioned that the 'cubi nature of a person can skip many generations and just show up out of nowhere, though I believe it was also mentioned that manifestation is *more* likely the larger the % of 'cubi you are. Of course you combine that fact with the fact they tend to be deliberately mysterious and hide themselves and you have cause for unbelievable amounts of speculation. (As this thread proves.) As for Rafe and this unknown person, even if it is May, that'd have been in a past life from what we've seen. 

[GabrielsThoughts]

Rafe, you really shouldn't be wearing ladies underwear.

[Zedd]

Because thats someone elses job?

[GabrielsThoughts]

no, because it isn't casual Friday yet.

[Shadowcatcher]

Well, I think I understand some of what's been going on, and here's my thoughts:

1) May is not a cubi, and there is no challenging her being his mother -- I'm sure she remembers everything during childbirth.

2) Devin's dad just takes one look at him after he was born and leaves.  Obviously disappointed.

My line of reasoning is that Devin's dad, an incubus of Abel's clan, was trying to perpetuate his virtually extinct clan.  And since Devin was born without wings, it was an immediate sign that his offspring was a "failure" - this indicates that crossing a cubi and a being doesn't always result in cubi offspring.

Disappointed with his offspring, and desparate to ensure the continuation of his clan, he impersonates one of the town's heroes (Cid) who was on a mission at the time, and with Cid's wife, produces a new offspring (Abel) -- whose roll of the cosmic dice dictated that he was to be rated Cubi Positive.

This is sort of hinted by the principle who May pummeled early in the story.  Only that May really is innocent of wrong doing (adultry), since the cubi impersonated her husband, an object of complete trust in her world.

Now, all those facts are not going to be immediately obvious to everyone in the story at this point.  So I'm curious to see what happens.  Is Cid going to go "He's not my son!" or "May, you're a cubi?!?"  Can't use the "switched at birth" routine, since it's probably not very likely other babies at the time that were a species similiar to May were available.

And, of course, the status of Abel's cubi father is in question.  Is he watching Abel from afar, or did he just tried to have another baby and left it to fend for itself, without knowing whether or not he was successful in propagating his clan? If he went through all the effort to impersonate Cid, and is still alive by this time, that seems rather unlikely.

Interesting times ahead indeed.  Poor, poor Abel.

[kaskar]

        Who's Abel's real father ? We can assume who the mother was, and we know who Abel's legal father was. Was there a Cubi Cuckoo , as pointed out by Shadowcatcher ? Or if it wasn't caused by a creature cuckold , is it caused by magical energy that has been collected by adventurers ? ( Remember Cynthia, with the eye in her hand ? ) Is there going to be a battery on Abel's form now , and how will his immediate friends and relations react ? Some plot convenience may come soon ...

[Manawolf]

Ah, sounds like the possible corruption that can come from a life of adventure.  We've never seen what's behind the eyepatch of his father, and who knows, it could be more than just an empty socket.

Magical energy can play havoc on a lot of things, and adventurers usually come in contact with a lot of that energy.

[kaskar]

          Is Cid, ( Abel's legal father ), actually an incubus ? He goes out at times as an adventurer. So did Azlan, and he was a fae. Azlan used a 'magical' device to have the appearance of a fox being. ( In the end, a patch ), but if Cid was a Cubi, then he would have the power to "shapeshift" into full being appeance. Also, Cid may have a green eye. The patch may just be a way to stop beings noticing a green eye. However, as an incubus, what does Sid really look like ?  (Remember how Dan was made to look like his sister ? )  Also, did another Incubus do a bit of dreamsurfing in the house ? Will we be told ?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Here's another option, then, while we're all speculating wildly.

Cid was killed on one of his adventures, and replaced by a Cubi.

Any takers?

[kaskar]

 A very good point. With the spells of various types that May, ( the mother ), might have picked up at the Zvinth school while maybe sitting in with Abel's Classes, she and the cubi 'Cid' would last a long while with her using magic . Notice how May had got to the point where she ate little, but didn't appear to age ?

[Tapewolf]

A very good point. With the spells of various types that May, ( the mother ), might have picked up at the Zvinth school while maybe sitting in with Abel's Classes, she and the cubi 'Cid' would last a long while with her using reguvinite magic

One of the points in support of 'May-is-a-Succubus' was that she turned down the offer to learn magic.  (Because she'll already know if she is a Creature - and she has family in Zinvth)

If it's is Cid, his clan marking might be beneath eyepatch.  And as Llearch says, it could be that the real Cid died 25 years ago or so and was replaced by an incubus.  That it might be his last dying request to prevent May from becoming distraught is a nice variant, but probably too nice to account for Abel's shapeshifter hangup.

[kaskar]

                    And with the Initial shapeshifter anxiety that Abel showed, that could be just be due to post operative shock from after the battle, and his escape back to Zvinth with the aid of kria's aumlet . Also, he had a fair reaction from what his appearance was after the stone was removed. Mebbe a choc-Chip bat in the head.                                                                                                  ( P.S. Remember how he gave Dan over the head in the chapter " Unwilling and Abel at the Cubi Acadamy" ? )

[ShiningShadow]

Then if Cid is a Incubus then the real Cid is Dead and this other Cid maybe fullfilled his last request. I don't know it's farfetched but it does hold water as the saying goes.

But if that incubus who's acting like Cid they have to be some descreptinsies that May has noticed come on you are married for a long time and you should know your husbands nature by now.

Am I right on this or not?

[Tapewolf]

And with the Initial shapeshifter anxiety that Abel showed, that could be just be due to post operative shock from after the battle

No, that wouldn't be it.  It says on his cast page (and he hints at it in the Alexsi-kidnap arc) that "Abel has a severe dislike of Cubi who use their abilities to assume complete alternate identities".

To me that says he has issues with his 'Cubi parent (whoever it is).

Then if Cid is a Incubus then the real Cid is Dead and this other Cid maybe fullfilled his last request. I don't know it's farfetched but it does hold water as the saying goes.

But if that incubus who's acting like Cid they have to be some descreptinsies that Mny has noticed come on you are married fro a long time and you should know your husbands nature by now.

Quite.  That could suggest that someone disguised themselves as Cid for a one-night-stand.  If 'Cid' is really dead and the guy we're seeing is an impostor, that might mean that it happened when they were only just married.  Or Cid always has been a 'Cubi and has been living in a shape that May would find attractive.

[superluser]

I'm not sure about this ``Cid was replaced by the incubus who killed him'' thing.  Cid would have been using a mind shield, right?  And the first rule of Adventurer Club is you do not talk about your family.  Now, Abel seems to know well that mind shields can be dispelled, but I suspect that Cid would have been using a quality spell.

As to the theory that Devin was a failed incubus, I don't get it.  Devin's mom said, ``It's your fault he left!  I never wanted you!  Any of you!  I should have killed you like the others!''

So apparently, she had at least three kids and killed at least two of them.  If his dad were trying to have `cubi babies, he would have presumably left after the first one.

And as to what's under Cid's eyepatch?  It's his headwings.

[Tapewolf]

I'm not sure about this ``Cid was replaced by the incubus who killed him'' thing.

Quite.  But it doesn't necessarily follow that it was his killer who replaced him.  They might have found him when he was dying and read what they could.  Remember Abel and Devin's dying 'words' - no mind shield there.

As to the theory that Devin was a failed incubus, I don't get it.  Devin's mom said, ``It's your fault he left!  I never wanted you!  Any of you!  I should have killed you like the others!''

So apparently, she had at least three kids and killed at least two of them.  If his dad were trying to have `cubi babies, he would have presumably left after the first one.

He might have quit after the third try failed, or he might have even been her third husband.

Heck, all these theories have flaws, that's why we don't have a candidate for 'this is probably it' 

[kaskar]

              We are now coming towards the ultimate in plot convenience here ? remember , Dan is in a similar position now with his missing father , and the mother, Destina. ( Bye the way, Destina probably deserves a position on the cast page now. That's my opinion ) Also, with Abel's anxiety , remember the 'negative energy' Dan suffered when his wings first appeared...

[Alondro]

*Charline confronts Abel in battle!  Both are on an observation platform high over a great chasm!*  Abel... I AM YOUR FATHER!!   

*Abel*  Nooooo!  That's not true... That's... slightly plausible...

*Charline*  And Dr. Ink is your sister!   

*Abel  *  That's... highly unlikely...

*sometime later... Charline*  And you know those Cubi powers?  They're actually brought about by tiny Smurfs in your blood.

*Abel  *  Look, if you're not gonna take this seriously, I'm outta here.

*take that speculators!*   

[MT Hazard]

I still stand by my 'cursed to have creature children' theory. After all what better way to punish the adventure who hurt/killed you?

Of course I'm assuming anyone will read this, probably ignore it, never mind. A lot of text on the internet is selectively ignored.

Anyone else have trouble try to get their photobucket account working?
Nevermind

[kaskar]

    So we may agree that abel became a cubi by genetics or magic fields. What caused the green eye and clan mark ?

[kaskar]

     And May, is she cubi ? She seems to have a lot of magic .........

[kaskar]

        Cid is an unknown factor and kria seems to know too much. When will Amber make a plot convenient answer ?

[Shadowcatcher]

Here's another option, then, while we're all speculating wildly.

Cid was killed on one of his adventures, and replaced by a Cubi.

Any takers?

That's quite possible, I wouldn't rule it out, that's for sure.

However, I don't think that Cid is a cubi.  Modern day Abel is carrying a lot of baggage from his past, which leads me to believe that some kind of schism has/will occur between Abel and his parents.  Otherwise, with the support and love of his parents, he probably would not have wanted to simply not leave the safe confines of the academy.

The events at the fort where Abel watched everyone (including, potentially, his half brother) died was bad, very bad.   But I don't think bad enough to force him into academic seclusion.

Until I have reason to believe otherwise, I'm categorizing Cid as a Being.  At this point, I truely think that something is going to break between Cid and May, if the truth is that Abel is not Cid's biological son.

[Shadowcatcher]

     And May, is she cubi ? She seems to have a lot of magic .........

May's never demonstrated magic in any of the comics.  Kria suggested that she ought to try learn magic too, but May sort of brushed that aside.

Assuming May's reaction to Abel's headwings is genuine, the fact that Abel sprouted head wings should have not been a surprise.  So I'm heavily leaning towards May not being a cubi.

And Cid's eyepatch -- it could just be a regular eyepatch.  He might have gotten his eye poked out by a dragon.  Until we have more evidence there's no reason to think that it's anything more then what it appears to be, a cosmetic coverup for a socially unacceptable disfigurement.

[Shadowcatcher]

    So we may agree that abel became a cubi by genetics or magic fields. What caused the green eye and clan mark ?

I'm pretty sure that magic field exposure just causes random mutations, not the transmogrification to an existing species, complete with genetic lineage details.

Of course, there's one other thing, and this might be getting into detail that some might find distasteful, but how was Abel conceived?  The old natural way?  Or in-vitro?  Could a cubi have snuck into a clinic and swapped out some of the male samples with his own?  A targetted swap?  Do they even have those services available even?  More food for thought.

While the clinical mistake is probably the more socially acceptable outcome, I think it's pretty likely that a cubi pretended to be Cid , and that propagated Abel's existance.  I don't think Devin's father's reaction to seeing him after he was born is something that should be ignored.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

        Cid is an unknown factor and kria seems to know too much. When will Amber make a plot convenient answer ?

What? and spoil the Fun,

Amber only comes to correct us when we are sooo far in Left field that we are out of the ballpark and swimming in the bay.

Now, I am going to add some thing to the "cubi" Cid is an imposter of the real Cid.

 Cubi are mind readers and May doesn't have a mind shield.  CUBI Cid could read the answers May wants to hear from May.?  Any errors on "Cubi" Cid part can be explain away by being away adventuring and forgetting some things.  Believe me, when a couples are separated for months at a time for any reason, and then come back together there is always a period of reconnecting with each other.  People change over 3-6 months which the spouses must figure out once they re-unity.


PBH

[Shadowcatcher]

Notice how May had got to the point where she ate little, but didn't appear to age ?

Actually, no...May appears to be aging along with Cid.  Not everyone ages at the same rate, and being an adventurer, time might be a little harsher with Cid.  I think it was just Cid being mirthful and making a joke.

Something that does come to mind, after thinking about it.  Cid managed to reach old age, where it was said that most adventurers don't make it past 21 (Dan retired at the "old" age of what, 22, 23 was it?)  That does perhaps give the "Cid is the cubi" camp a point or two in their favor.

All I can say right now is, here's the evidence we've been presented with so far.  Here are some theories (postulated in previous posts), but so far nothing that an honest jury can find anyone guilty with.

[Stygian]

You know, not to be mean, Shadowcatcher, but this "brotherhood theory" of yours is old (I myself was a speculant when Devin's background was first revealed), though probably not a reiteration.

Anywho, I do believe it to be plausible; we have not seen any evidence against it as of yet. I remember someone contesting it, but the information was Out Of Comic, and I... well, I am not liable to trust anyone save Amber when it comes to claims in that case.

I have not seen anything that speaks for Cid being a Cubi. Logically, May would recognize the clan marking on Abel's back if that was the case. The whole deal with May's impregnation would also become a bit more complex than what is logical as well. The remark on May's eating might also have been just something Cid said. All in all, nothing points to either of Abel's parents being a cubi.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

And Cid's eyepatch -- it could just be a regular eyepatch.  He might have gotten his eye poked out by a dragon.  Until we have more evidence there's no reason to think that it's anything more then what it appears to be, a cosmetic coverup for a socially unacceptable disfigurement.

In response:

"Why are you wearing a mask? Were you burned by acid, or something?"
"Oh, no, it's just that it's so terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing one in the future, don't you?"

.. or, it might well be not "socially unacceptable", but simply that Cid thinks he looks better with an eyepatch. And, of course, it's how Cid feels about things that controls what he wears, mostly. Even if bending to social pressure...

I have not seen anything that speaks for Cid being a Cubi. Logically, May would recognize the clan marking on Abel's back if that was the case.

If, and only if, she knew that Cid was a Cubi. If he's been hiding his Cubi-ness all these years, then that would fit with Abel's professed dislike for hiding as someone else, as well as where Abel's Cubi-ness came from.

And Amber has said that Cubi-Being mixes tend to take after the Being parent. This implies, to me, that Abel is such a mix, and that one of his parents is therefore a Cubi. The only questions then boil down to Is May his parent, and is Cid his parent. For all we know, -neither- is his parent, and he's been dumped with them because he resembles May, and the Cubi who left him overwrote their memories to show him being born... Amber's statement also implies that May is, indeed, Abel's Being parent. However, Amber is good at leading us all astray, so while we can guess, we really don't know...

But that's starting to go a bit afield in theory hunting. We can, most likely, just wait and see what happens. The whole reason for having Abel's Story is so there's a back history of Abel - that would suggest that, sooner or later, we'll find this stuff out.

Once Abel's Story is finished, we can ask more questions of Amber. heck, maybe we'll get Questions From The Readers back again for a while... :-]