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

[127.0.0.2]

I'm beginning to wonder about Cid's complete change of personality and the fact that he seemed to be in genuine pain just before he ripped the patch off. I think his cubi personality was magically caged by the eye patch, now the questions are why, who did it and how come?

The patch theory has been discarded but the rest of the question stays. Even IF "Cid" faked anxiety to archive maximum confusion, there wouldn't really be a need to cover the revelation with some kind of jekyll-style transformation. Except if he has a REALLY sick kind of humor ... okay, it is a cubus, nevermind then...

To me, it almost looks like Aniz was doing some kind of posession with Cid from the time he had Abel.

Maybe Cid was none the wiser until now, and the heart attack was really Aniz taking full control and kind of "killing" Cid in the process of taking his body or something?

That's how it looked for me too. Even though cubi would begin to REALLY scare me if they were able to do things like that.
"Alien", DMFA style anyone?

[King Of Hearts]

O noes! cid is now pretty! you know what this means!?

To Teh fanart mobile!

[Meech]

I just had a very evil thought

What if May was some sort of teaching tool for cubi.  They would impersonate Cid and if May couldn't figure out that they weren't Cid then they would pass.  Cid could still be alive and Aniz would just be the next cubi replacing him.  If this is true than anyone could be Abel's father.  This may explain why May never recognized the clan marking.  She could have only met Abel's father once.

One reason I can see that Aniz would use the back handed b!#ch slap on May would be to shut her up.  She was in rant mode and he probably just didn't want to hear it.  This of coarse puts Aniz way into the upper echelons of Jerk-dom.

[Tapewolf]

What if May was some sort of teaching tool for cubi.  They would impersonate Cid and if May couldn't figure out that they weren't Cid then they would pass.  Cid could still be alive and Aniz would just be the next cubi replacing him.  If this is true than anyone could be Abel's father. 

Oh, I like that idea.  It's horrible, but dead original.

O noes! cid is now pretty! you know what this means!?

I do not like this idea so much...

[King Of Hearts]

precisely! I'll do the old man version!

[Lexius the batroo]

Woooooo quite the plot twist, this is going to be very interesting.

[Hnix]

Two words come to mind after reading this comic...

OH SNAP!

[Sno Wolf]

<O.O>

Knew it, called it, and wish I was wrong.

[Sid]

...the red wings look extremely cool. Any chance of getting a full, large shot of Aniz in his completely non-shapeshifted form?

*silence as everybody stares*

Oh yeah, I guess I'm back
I'll post in the Villa sometime today for the full "Where were you?" answer and such.

[VioletDusk]

Just a thought. Could Aniz have been under a spell and really thought he was Cid, with the appearance of Abel's headwings or the questioning of Mae's faithfulness being the thing that would break the spell?

Also, when he says "When I said it was either the mother or the father... I never lied once," is he implying that Mae is also a succubus (who also could be under a spell). Or is he saying he lied twice, because Abel's father is not who she thought he was.

Not mention, if he wasn't under a spell, is it possible the real Cid is still alive? Even now, the real Cid could be buying screws to fix that door. Meanwhile this jerk's been popping in and out of Cid's house for years to cuckold his wife. Probably how he gets his Cubi jollies.

[Kenji]

He's got good choice in headwing colors.

[candide]

Oh my, but speculation's running rampant! 

Time to add my own, by replyng to someone I know...

Of course if Cid has *always* been an Incubus that raises some VERY puzzling queries now don't it.

Yes, yes it does.

Me, I'm going for the obvious:  Aniz invented "Cid" solely for the purpose of getting close enough to his "prey" to fully eat its soul.  And if doing so takes a few decades, so what?  Remember what Amber has said about the power-up that 'cubi can get from eating a soul.  Since strong 'cubi live millenia, what's a couple of decades of waiting?

I'll also go for obvious #2:  Kria's "demon-lessons" are unrelated to Aniz, and vice-versa.  (Why would an incubus be teaching a demon?  Heck, do demons even get along with 'cubi?) 
Which raises an interesting question:  what happens when Kria shows up to check in on Abel?

Oh, heck, I'll bite.  Obvious #3:  Although...
 
can't they sense their own kind?

[candide]

Amber, this comic made me get around to registering for the new Forum just so I could say...

Bravo, well done.

Same here.

My own reaction to this update?

Holy farging schmidt!

[Alondro]

*Charles bleaches again*  Ooo!  The eyepatch is like Zaraki Kenpachi from Bleach and, like, held most of his powers... cuz it was a little monster that kept consuming the power, which Dr. Ink made for him!  That's how he could hide himself!  

*Charline*  Yes, and Abel's swords are his zanpaktou release, since he's obviously a vizard.  The likely answer is that Cid never existed, that is a logical conclusion since Abel's father is now quite obviously the cubi.  However, it could have been a cuckoo-like scenario and Cid was merely killed off recently when the cubi returned at the approximate time his offspring would be developing cubi abilities if the heritage was... uhm... inherited.  Yeah...  

[Tapewolf]

Quick word of advice, Candide, don't do two consecutive posts like that.  The admins won't like it

As for the soul-eating thing, that's possible but it depends what his goals are.  The general impression I'm getting is that generally only the really power-hungry ones go in for it.

[The LizardKing]

Now, referring back to eyepatch..
yes, of course it could be something magical, but amber already denied. chances are aniz just put it on to make himself look like cid (perhaps looting it from cid's presumably dead body, if that's not the cid we know).  It could be some sort of amulet, yet cubi can change thier physical appearance, so i doubt he would need an amulet.


And, it couldn't be a patch, Jyrras invented them, and he was born at least 100 years after these events took place.
....

[superluser]

Why would he have had a kid with a being? Maybe to propagate the 'Cubi line, maybe not. But I have a feeling that Aniz likes pain. Okay, he might not _hate_ beings, but all those years with May and he clearly does not seem to have feelings to her.

Twenty five years of lying in wait for ten minutes of pain.

Dude deserves to starve if that's his investment philosophy.

1) In the hugely diverse world of furrae, it's pretty coincidental that May would find someone who looks a lot like her when we havn't seen anybody else in DMFA who has those kind of ears, and especially in the same color. May and Cid looked like they could have been brother and sister

...Or Devin, or Devin's mom, or Devin's uncle, or Kammi.  It looks to be something pretty common in that region.

NO, I think I finally figured out the purpose of the heart attack.

It was the symbolic death of Cid.

Aniz, I believe, is an actor. And he couldn't just leave his role uncompleted. I think he had been acting all along, for whatever reason (could have been an assignment, or perverse pleasure, or having a child -- whatever), but he had fulfilled his role of Cid so well that nobody could have known, not even his wife, that he was somebody different.

I don't think so.  If Aniz wanted to end the character, he had other options, some much more dramatic.  For example--Cid/Aniz dies, and Aniz plays dead long enough to switch bodies.  May winds up putting daisies on his grave for years to come.  The icing could come one day when Aniz meets May at his grave.  He confronts her and reveals himself to be Cid.  May is confused and offended, and Cid shifts to prove it.  May doesn't believe him and keeps putting daisies on Cid's grave for years to come.

Much more painful, much more confusing, much more delicious.

Also, remember that if Aniz is trying to perpetuate his line, it's likely that he would have tried to have more kids with May.

Finally, one more bit for the Aniz hasn't been around until recently theory.

Let's say that Aniz went twenty-five years planning this moment.  Let's read from his notes:

On that blessed day when Abel receives his headwings, I shall make sure that May finds Abel before me.  I shall enter May's house--*my* house--talking about something trivial and other than any serious matter.  Perhaps I shall refer to meeting a friend.  When I see Abel, I shall be taken aback and seem to be looking for an exit to get help.  May will try to comfort me, and I shall confront her about Abel's true heritage.  Then I shall suggest that May has been unfaithful.  With luck, I should be able to seduce her in another personality before our marriage, to increase her guilt.  She will argue with me, and then I shall clutch my chest as though I am having a heart attack.  This will make May come out of her anger and begin to relent in her anger.  She will approach nearer and call out for help.

AND THEN I SLAPS HER AND SHE BLEEDS!

He's got long, elaborate plans for 20 years, and then he gets impulsive today.  It doesn't make sense.  Also, think back to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  Cid/Aniz from 25 years ago looks more like George, while Cid/Aniz today looks like Martha.

There are two good options that I can see here:

1.) Cid was replaced 25 years ago by an incubus, possibly Aniz, who had a one night stand.  Cid came back.  Aniz replaced Cid today.
2.) Cid has a Jekyll and Hyde disorder, and Mr. Hyde knows all about Dr. Jekyll, but Dr. Jekyll knows nothing of Mr. Hyde.

I'd also like to point out that the last time I was concerned by a character's motivations, everybody told me that I was wrong, but I turned out to be onto something.

Me, I'm going for the obvious:  Aniz invented "Cid" solely for the purpose of getting close enough to his "prey" to fully eat its soul.

Unless May finding out that Abel is an incubus is essential to him stealing her soul, I suspect that he would have devoured her soul long before Abel's headwings came in.  It had the potential to throw a wrench into the gears otherwise.

[Lushin]

Here are my thoughts.

First Cid walks in wounded, almost dead, and attacks Aniz, both die in the fight. It's never revealed why Anzi did what he did. May reveals that she is a cubi as Cid lay dieing.
Second Cid returns home from work or whereever he was to see what's going on. He goes to attack Anzi but May stops him, May then reveals she is a cubi. Anzi was sent there by the SAIA to either get her to come back and to tell her a message. (Could possible be May's brother)
Third Anzi really is Cid and May is really a demon and he knew it that's why he struck her. Might aswell make her reveal herself.
Fourth Anzi is jusy a dick and will kill May.
Fifth Destania shows up and saves May. Abel eventually falls in love with Destania. She just thinks it's cute and ends up with Ed.

[multani82]

Here are my thoughts.

First Cid walks in wounded, almost dead, and attacks Aniz, both die in the fight. It's never revealed why Anzi did what he did. May reveals that she is a cubi as Cid lay dieing.
Second Cid returns home from work or whereever he was to see what's going on. He goes to attack Anzi but May stops him, May then reveals she is a cubi. Anzi was sent there by the SAIA to either get her to come back and to tell her a message. (Could possible be May's brother)
Third Anzi really is Cid and May is really a demon and he knew it that's why he struck her. Might aswell make her reveal herself.
Fourth Anzi is jusy a dick and will kill May.
Fifth Destania shows up and saves May. Abel eventually falls in love with Destania. She just thinks it's cute and ends up with Ed.

First time poster here hehe.
But honestly, I seriously doubt that any of these could be possible. I mean, I would love for that to be true but if it where, it wouldn't really explains Abel's future demeanor of bitterness and anger towards other people. I really think "Cid" is just the cubi that cares nothing about anyone and is doing this for his sick little pleasures. After all, he did call ALL those adventurers and even wanted kiria to kill abel.

[superluser]

Oh, it also appears that Aniz is not Kria's instructor.  Doesn't mean that he's not one of Kria's fellow students.

P.S. I've been very critical of the writing for this strip, but I'd like to say that the concept of having Cid be the incubus is actually quite good.  Keep that muse close to you when you're generating ideas.  But maybe don't let it write for you?

[Tapewolf]

Oh, it also appears that Aniz is not Kria's instructor.  Doesn't mean that he's not one of Kria's fellow students.

Urr.  I've just removed that suggestion from the wiki.

[katzklaw]

just a random note.... anyone else notice that Cid/Aniz's left headwing (our right) looks like its damaged?  i wonder if thats just a product of 'still in mid-transformation scene' or if he was actually hurt.  remember, thats the same side Cid had the scar on his face.


can't wait for more 

[MaskedRetriever]

just a random note.... anyone else notice that Cid/Aniz's left headwing (our right) looks like its damaged?  i wonder if thats just a product of 'still in mid-transformation scene' or if he was actually hurt.  remember, thats the same side Cid had the scar on his face.


can't wait for more 

Pretty sure it's in the process of reappearing.





Given what we now know about Abel's "Cubi Discovery Trauma" it's rather... deeper that he totally disrespects Dan's (extremely comparatively minor) trauma.  "Oh Boo friggin' hoo, I had to find out I was really a cubi and allllll my friends were nothing but supportive and helpful!  WOE IS ME!"

Also given all this if Jyrras ever *does* crack through Abel's defense mechanisms and get that hot Cubi lovin we all want him to get, Abel is going to turn into the most ludicrously overprotective basketcase in a hurry...

[multani82]

Oh, it also appears that Aniz is not Kria's instructor.  Doesn't mean that he's not one of Kria's fellow students.

P.S. I've been very critical of the writing for this strip, but I'd like to say that the concept of having Cid be the incubus is actually quite good.  Keep that muse close to you when you're generating ideas.  But maybe don't let it write for you?

but if that is him with kria during the killings, how come she says "oh what are you going to do? flunk me?" doesn't sound like a fellow student to me..more like a mentor or teacher
oh and here is something that gets to me. If that is Aniz with her during those killings, Why or has she ever told Abel it was him that murdered his friends?

[multani82]

I'm also starting to wonder if maybe Abel's mom isn't also holding a secret as well. I mean, abel's wings really dont have just his dad written all over them they also appear draconic at the tips of them.

[Kaerou]

Eeeef... quite the comic o_o

Scariness.  I hope everyone will be alright! (yes I know its the past and all.. ) >.>

[nikename2]

I have to agree with Kattuccino here on this guy playing the role of "Cid" this whole time. He seems to be overly bloated with ego, and his charade was only done to prove a point, that he could do it. Its also possible that he has been playing multiple roles such as Devin's fathers role, just to challenge himself more.

This is why I think he would go around playing as multiple personalities instead of just "getting it on" with May as much as possible if his sole goal was to just further his blood line. Hes in it all for the challenge, to prove that he can do it.

Now that hes revealed himself I forsee atleast 3 outcomes of this:
1. He kills off May and Hennya, then tries to do his best Darth Vader impression to turn Abel over to the dark side.  
2. Kria shows up in the nick of time and we have an epic battle sequence of Aniz vs. Kria. The battle ends with Aniz being forced to retreat, but Kria is reluctant to chase after him because of how vunerable everyone else is at the moment.  
3. Mab shows up, but its not the same Mab from the current timeline, its her in her past self that Fa'lina referred too in here. Then again its possible that any character or form of character could be introduced here.

Regardless it'll be interesting to find out what happens, well done Amber.  

[boots]

Wasn't he one of the ones doing it on the old forum like alondro does?

Maybe so, but Alondro obtained permission to do so prior to the move.

No, Aridas. As Tapewolf says, Alondro is unique (in more ways than one, but still)

Alondro is the -only- person allowed to RP in Lost Lake. Other than that, nobody is allowed to RP anywhere outside the Haunted Ballroom.

Doraion -may- have RP'd on the old forum. As at last time I looked, he didn't have a licence to do so here.

[Reaver225]

Unless May finding out that Abel is an incubus is essential to him stealing her soul, I suspect that he would have devoured her soul long before Abel's headwings came in.  It had the potential to throw a wrench into the gears otherwise.

You forget, it is just as possible to enslave 'Cubi souls as well as Being souls. Aniz could be going after a double catch, and I'm sure Abel would be in suffering if he found out his 'father' was intending to use him as a power-up. Double whammy! Both May AND Abel!


Edit: Learn to trim your quotes, Reaver. Otherwise I'll trim them for you, and you won't want that, because I'll just trim your -entire- posts to nothing. -- llearch

[AndersW]

Lets see how well my first crazy theory holds water.

First a review of the relevant facts.

• Cid, Edward, and Aniz all have a reasonably similar appearance(fur color at least)
• both Cid and Edward were adventures
• Abel appears to owe Edward for something (See #527)
• Amber has said that Abel and Edward have not actually met

For this theory lets assume that Cid was an actual person, and Aniz killed him and pretended to be Cid.  Lets say after Cid was married, but before Abel was conceived.  Aniz has likely done this sort of think in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.  He picks an adventure that looks reasonably similar to him, and kills them so he can pretend to be them.  Aniz probably tried to kill Edward so he could impersonate him, but Edward got the better of him and killed Aniz.  Lets say when Edward was married to his first wife, but before Alexi was conceived.(Don't want other siblings around that look normal)  Abel somehow hears that Edward killed Aniz, and feels he owes Edward.  It explains how Abel could owe Edward without having to ever meet him.

There it is, feel free to pick it to pieces.