04/28/07 Abel's Story [84] Wow

[ChessM]

I fear reading the next comic... 

Somehow, I think Amber is VERY pleased with that reaction.

WHY AMBER, WHY!?!?!?! 

Seriously, great job Amber, your story telling skills are the best!

[CubeGuy]

*de-lurks*

I get the feeling that this is some sick, twisted revenge on Cid for killing his family. That would explain his seemingly odd actions to me. Twenty-some years is nothing to carry out some deep-seeded hatred.

.... he looks like Vegeta after being asked about a power level.

It's over NINE THOUSAAAAAAAND!

[superluser]

Goatee, the signature hairstyle of villains and antiheroes.

To quote from the Official Evil Overlord handbook (by Pete Anspach):

35. I will not grow a goatee. In the old days they made you look diabolic. Now they just make you look like a disaffected member of Generation X.

I'd think with a name like Aniz it's more like Ah-knees, or maybe Ahn-iss. (which sounds like 'honest', ironically...)

I still hear it like ``anise.''

I did only after I realized his name is pronounced Anus. And that he looks like Vegeta after being asked about a power level.

``I hope my body can take it...''

[127.0.0.2]

For some reason I found that pitch black "Abel's Story Update" button even more scary than her rant. Nothing says "impending doom" quite like such a detail being different.

I see that most of the readers applaud the new plot twist.
I don't agree.  I think this latest twist just broke the plot, sorry.

Amber's had years to iron out the bugs in this plot.  If she was writing this seat-of-the-pants I might be tempted to agree, but she's had this all planned out in advance.  If I were in that position and I still couldn't bridge any plot-holes I'd have junked the concept and replaced it.  The fact that we don't know what happened in Abel's childhood makes it all the easier for her to have written a 'pin compatible' replacement - we would be none the wiser unless it directly contradicted what we've seen in the mainline.
To my mind that she has done it this way can only mean it's a deliberate discontinuity which ultimately will make sense when we have all the pieces.

"lalala... what a beautiful day ... hmm...what random things could I do today...? Oh I know! I'll kill of Cid!"
I'm sorry but that mental image somehow cracked me up... I guess I watched too many bad television shows... ^^;

Seriously though, I agree. Amber herself wrote that she kinda avoided that comic for some time and now finally wrote it in a "it had to be done" manner. She even changed the schedule to reduce the cliffhanger-ness. That shows that it's really some unfortunate but vital point in the plot. So just stay tuned.

[Ruggy]

Aaaaand, de-lurk! All the cool kids are doing it, so, why not?

I must say, this strip got the same reaction that the new Doctor Who season gets out of me when it runs two parters. Kind of a "WHAT. WHAT. NO. IS IT SATURDAY YET. =( AS:LDKGHn. Grahhh!" thing. So, thumbs-up!

I'd think with a name like Aniz it's more like Ah-knees, or maybe Ahn-iss. (which sounds like 'honest', ironically...)

I still hear it like ``anise.''

I would think it pronounced like the name Aziz, but with an n instead of the first z. Which ends up sounding kind of like what you guys were saying already, but that's the first thing I thought of when I read it.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

The number of members on the Jack Forum (which has been around in some form since March 2001) was 3,025 on 1/9/07 when the story was posted on the forum.

By the end of the next day, 1/10, there were 3,365 members.

After a week, there were 4,088 members.

Now, there are 6,190, so that incident more than doubled the number of registered members -  so yeah, even given the relative size, it was a huge jump.

Yeah, that is a big jump. I query that -all- of it was related to this one item, however...

I have to mention that what happened was that Mr. Hopkins was feeling very grateful to all the people who had helped him and Katie over the past year, mainly by raising over $11,000 last summer when he was very much in need of an operation.  You may remember, Amber was one of those helped out and spread the word of his need.  He posted a non-canon, Not-Safe-For-Work comic involving some of his main characters as a thank-you.  Since is was for the fans, and it was NSFW, he thought it best to put it on a fan-art page that required forum registration.

... ok, on second thoughts, scratch that. Hmm. Should we ask Amber to write some porno to bring the number of forum-goers up? ;-]


Nah. I'm happy how it is now, thanks. :-]

(Not that I'm mocking Dave, mind. He's thanking his fans in the way that he can. I'm just mocking his forum-ites...)

[Kettle]

I would think it pronounced like the name Aziz, but with an n instead of the first z. Which ends up sounding kind of like what you guys were saying already, but that's the first thing I thought of when I read it.

i thought it was literally A-nizz... 

[Pendolse]

*de-lurk*

[techmaster-glitch]

Seventeen....****ing....delurks....... and still counting....damn....(yes I have been counting the delurkers)

Amber has really outdone herself with this.............



as for the comic itself, I can't think of anything to say that hasn't already been said.


((edit: Erm. Yeah. Watch the language, please. PG rating, remember? -- llearch))

[Fuyudenki]

well, after discussing with my hubby, he had two interesting things to point out...

1. fuel for the "May might be a demoness" theory (which would neatly explain Abel's dual-wing appearance):  how the HECK does a BEING know how good the schools are in a DEMON city?  I can understand the wife of an adventurer knowing of the presense of a nearby demon city, even knowing the NAME of such a city... but the schools?  its not like they're gonna send out flyers "visit our schools!  best magic lessons this side of Timbucktuu!"

Demons would be more tolerant about a kid with wings than beings would.  "Oh, it's the new kid.  Hey, his wings look cool!" as opposed to "Hey, the new kid has WINGS!"

[Psy-Kosh]

Not really a delurk in my case, but a de-haven't-posted-in-about-a-month.

Still, wow. I did not see that one coming.

Aniz's current appearence and facial expression looks... familiar somehow though. I'm trying to figure out why.

[Forestcat]

Technically - I'm sorta a de-lurk. Active on the other forums, less so on these, so kinda-delurk?

Really nice though, Amber. Gotta hand it to you for being able to follow the story even though you know people are going to disapprove. Keep up the good work! I quite enjoy it ^^

(Though yes, I'm a little 'awwww he is?' about Cid but that's life )

[Fuyudenki]

Honestly, I don't think we actually know what Aniz looks like yet, aside from having red and black feathery headwings, probably a goatee, probably brown hair, and apparently-brown fur.  Recalling back to when we first saw Destania demorph, she looked really wierd, and you really can't judge someone's looks very well when they're between forms.  Best to look at the things that don't seem to be changing at all(brown fur, since Destania looked splotchy) or the things that didn't appear at all on the previous form(brown hair.  Cid was bald at this point.), though you still can't really go by the appearance.(I seriously doubt Aniz has an injured headwing, despite what it looks like.)

On the topic of wedding rings, Cid's is shown on Aniz's left hand at 3 points in this comic, while May's is not seen.

I'm also wondering where Aniz's clan marking is.  I doubt it's his eye, personally, as that was done in Fullmetal Alchemist, and it seems too cliché for Amber to do that.  I also doubt it's in the middle of his back, like Abel's, because while we know where Dan's is going to show up eventually, I don't know where Destania's is.  It's not on her right shoulder, so apparently that isn't heredetary.

[M]

For some reason I found that pitch black "Abel's Story Update" button even more scary than her rant. Nothing says "impending doom" quite like such a detail being different.

I felt the same way. I noticed it was black, and I though, "Uh oh, something's up. Now I don't want to click it.  "

[Fuyudenki]

contrary, I thought, "Interesting.  Either there's a spot of full black in here, or the next page is SO SHOCKING that she can't show us or it'll spoil the story!"

which made me that much more eager.

[Grenn]

As far as Aniz's clan symbol, he could have just told May it was a tatoo while he was Cid and she would have thought nothing of it.

After all, May thought Abel's is a tatoo and in fact so does Abel at this point in his life. He thinks somebody drew it on him while he was passed out drunk at a party. :p

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Seventeen....****ing....delurks....... and still counting....damn....(yes I have been counting the delurkers)

*cough* since we've had 23 new users in the last two days, nineteen and four, as compared to 2 each for the previous two, I think you're still short two. :-] But I suspect the full count isn't in yet...

[Moonfrost]

And he's still an asshole.  Why?  Because it's also true.

And I should care...why? The cuteness cancels out the 'asshole' factor. 

[Kesh]

For some reason I found that pitch black "Abel's Story Update" button even more scary than her rant. Nothing says "impending doom" quite like such a detail being different.

QFT. That was brilliant.

The update itself was very powerful. Amber, I'm glad you didn't pull your punches here.

[Manawolf]

And he's still an asshole.  Why?  Because it's also true.

And I should care...why? The cuteness cancels out the 'asshole' factor. 

No, now get over your wetdream.

[Raire]

I still can't remember what a delurk is, and I read it yesterday, I think in some rules for someplace...


But it seems to be something about not posting in a while... Hmm.. maybe wiki has the answer.

Is it true that DMFA has a wiki page? If so, I definitely have to see it.

I read somebody's opinion in between pages 7, 8, and 9, about Abel once being hated. I didn't hate him, but the person has a point. Perhaps we should calm down a bit until the next update an while continue to spout wonderful theories, and try to see if all our initial feelings are proven or not?

After all, considering the huge twist, the explanation is going to be so good we are all going to fall down in extasis and guilt at not guessing it.

And the simple explanations are always the best.

... Right, I think everybody is having to much fun ^^;

Carry on, I guess

[Amber Williams]

And he's still an asshole.  Why?  Because it's also true.

And I should care...why? The cuteness cancels out the 'asshole' factor. 

No, now get over your wetdream.

*Documentary voice*

Here we see the rare and elusive Moonfrosticus Hornificus engaging in a time honoured baiting technique of the Manawolfica Deeondeous.  A stubborn species, the Manawolfica will often be found holding his ground and territory against any and all potential predators and scavangers...which can sometimes leave him vulnerable to open attacks...

*cues the violin to the danger-music*

[Raire]

*Documentary voice*

Here we see the rare and elusive Moonfrosticus Hornificus engaging in a time honoured baiting technique of the Manawolfica Deeondeous.  A stubborn species, the Manawolfica will often be found holding his ground and territory against any and all potential predators and scavangers...which can sometimes leave him vulnerable to open attacks...

*cues the violin to the danger-music*

And here we have a direct show of why I love reading this comic so much. The author will take any situation and do something of it.

[Edit] Omigosh!!! I am a proto slime XD

BTW Amber... how do you pronounce Aniz's name? [/Edit]

[Azraelle]

I would think it pronounced like the name Aziz, but with an n instead of the first z. Which ends up sounding kind of like what you guys were saying already, but that's the first thing I thought of when I read it.

All this makes me think of is:

"ANIZ!  LIGHT!"

[SpottedKitty]

...while we know where Dan's is going to show up eventually, I don't know where Destania's is.  It's not on her right shoulder, so apparently that isn't heredetary.

That depends on how much of Destania we've seen so far. If it was on her shoulder-blade (round the back) her wing might be in the way in most poses, unless she'd shapeshifted it away. Back in the kidnapping arc, we never got a look back there on that side — apart from a look at her tail and left shoulder, all we have are face-on views and back views where her wings cover everything. And we only saw her gazelle disguise from the front as well. So her marking could still be somewhere in the same area Dan's will appear: we just don't know yet.

[Moontails]

Well okay,I'm not much of a de-lurker as a "There's a forum?" kind of person.
Of course I realize this several years in reading DMFA when a REALLY dramatic plot twist comes into light.

My reactions where as followed.

" Oh..my gosh..black,the square is black CID NOOOOOOOOO!"
"....guhhh..."
"...uuuhh..."

*Head explodes and implodes at the same time*


Well played Amber,Well played.

I myself can not contribute to any theories because I am just that stupid.I come to praise!
And agree with Moonfrost.Aniz does look pretty awesomely hot and adorable.

[Madmann135]

who ever that  is I wanna kick his .  No way does ANY gentleman injure a lady, well the term can be used loosely for some females but a Lady is never suppose to be injured by any sort of gentleman.

To a degree I strongly believe that it's some sort of Jeckle and Hyde complex.  You don't marry a person, have good time, bad times and a child then go balistic all of a soden like that.  Also the internal pain makes me believe that he does have some sort of split personality.

Though the similarites between him (Cid impossitor) and Dan are only appearence.  Dan is a sweetheart and a fun loving guy who does the right thing.

[Ruggy]

I would think it pronounced like the name Aziz, but with an n instead of the first z. Which ends up sounding kind of like what you guys were saying already, but that's the first thing I thought of when I read it.

All this makes me think of is:

"ANIZ!  LIGHT!"

Precisely! I was going to say something to that effect, but I wasn't sure how to fit it in gracefully. Ah, Fifth Element. Maybe he's just bitter from spending all those years as a glorified flashlight. =P

I just saw the black thumbnail thing and thought, "Aww, dang, Cid dies then, eh? Shame." Needless to say, I was a bit surprised. Not sure if I like this better, but hey, it's got my attention, at least. Certainly more interesting this way.

[Fuyudenki]

...while we know where Dan's is going to show up eventually, I don't know where Destania's is.  It's not on her right shoulder, so apparently that isn't heredetary.

That depends on how much of Destania we've seen so far. If it was on her shoulder-blade (round the back) her wing might be in the way in most poses, unless she'd shapeshifted it away. Back in the kidnapping arc, we never got a look back there on that side — apart from a look at her tail and left shoulder, all we have are face-on views and back views where her wings cover everything. And we only saw her gazelle disguise from the front as well. So her marking could still be somewhere in the same area Dan's will appear: we just don't know yet.

your link to a left shoulder shot shows a very clear shot of her right shoulder, too.  Granted, it could be down under her sleeve, but the area where Aaryanna's marking is on(granted, other shoulder) is at least partially bare, so we'd have noticed the top of the "universal symbol for female" poking over the sleeve.

Also, I think May would have noticed that Abel happened to have a tattoo the same shape and color as Cid's, especially if he's likely never seen it, which although not definite, I think it's probable he hasn't...  Hmm, that's strong evidence that it's under his eyepatch, as someone suggested... though I just looked again, and while the clan marking is similar to a red-pupiled eye, it's not close enough.  This really makes me wonder where it could be, as while my parents tend towards the hardcore conservative side of things(that is, they are in favor of gender-segregated sexual exucation classes), they've also given me the impression that a husband and wife generally know just about everything there is to know about their mate's body.

Of course, if he's pulled this charade for 25+ years already, I doubt Aniz would have much trouble bluffing something off, from hiding the marking itself to convincing May that it was something else entirely.

Now, I'm wondering if there's a tendancy for clan marking locations, or if they're generally random.  Most of the ones we've seen thus far look pretty artistic.

[Slipdance]

It's been suggested that Cid was possessed.   To look at it another way....perhaps Aniz was sealed away?