05/16/07 Abel's Story [89] Something for the future

[superluser]

Erm. You missed the other half of it - keeping the side with the mark away from view.
[...]
After all, he can see what she's thinking, and distract her based on that, not just what she's saying.

True, but I still think that it would be impossible to keep her from finding out.  What happens if she wants to thank him for how the garden turned out?  He can't send her away with some tea.

The other point is that, well, we're all assuming that the bracers are set up as solid metal, nothing inside. Now, on a human, you'd have padding inside. Don't you think that perhaps, y'know, Furrae might have designed padding to work with fur? Since if someone hits your bracer with his sword, chances are they'll break your arm without padding of some sort... Now, it's unlikely they'll have as much dampness as you or I, since we sweat through our skin, and animals don't, usually - a feature of the hairless evolution - so there's not going to be, under heavy exercise, large volumes of sweat into the padding under the bracer.

Padding would just make things worse, since it would act like a sponge.  Mildew and bacteria would thrive in there.  He'd get ringworm something fierce.  Possibly decubitus, too.

Also, I'm not really thinking of sweat, but rather water.

[Damaris]

That's assuming the padding is not designed to be replaced often.  Native Americans used moss as a diaper- perhaps he figured out something similar.

Besides.  Does it really freaking matter?  He hid the mark.  Do we really need two pages of discussion into the feasibility of how it did it?  It's not like he's a real guy prancing around.  It's a comic.  About walking, talking animals.  I don't think suspension of disbelief is that difficult of a jump.  We don't need to nitpick.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

True, but I still think that it would be impossible to keep her from finding out.  What happens if she wants to thank him for how the garden turned out?  He can't send her away with some tea.

Accept the thanks gracefully, while keeping her in front of him? Move so that his arm comes in from the right, with the mark on the outside?

Keeping a single side of one arm out of sight of a single person is not -that- hard, really. If there were multiple people in the room, it'd be a -lot- harder to make it look natural. One person? Nah. Fairly easy.

Padding would just make things worse, since it would act like a sponge.  Mildew and bacteria would thrive in there.  He'd get ringworm something fierce.  Possibly decubitus, too.

Also, I'm not really thinking of sweat, but rather water.

Depends on the padding. After all, they've got cars and stuff. Or magic - no reason he can't have magically drying padding, now, is there? (although I admit that's kinda cheating :-)

Secondly, we've only seen him sometimes. It's possible he's got multiple different sets of bracers, and swaps around - like Dan. We've just seen more of Dan than Cid/Aniz...


Please bear in mind, here, I'm playing Devil's Advocate. I don't necessarily disagree with you, I'm just providing some ideas for the opposing argument, with the intent of perhaps thinking our way around the issue and coming up with some new ideas... :-]

[AndersW]

My idea is that he said that he broke his arms and the bracer's are a precaution against breaking them again.  So he wears them all the time.

[superluser]

Accept the thanks gracefully, while keeping her in front of him? Move so that his arm comes in from the right, with the mark on the outside?

I was thinking that she might be a little more enthusiastic about thanking him.

Not *that* enthusiastic, mind, but talking about how beautiful the perennials look and the fact that importing those tulips was a good idea.

Secondly, we've only seen him sometimes. It's possible he's got multiple different sets of bracers, and swaps around - like Dan. We've just seen more of Dan than Cid/Aniz...

He does change his bracers.  They seem to match his outfit, suggesting that he changes them every day.  If that is the case, the mark would be even more difficult to hide.

I can suspend disbelief on this, but right now, it's easier to assume that Amber intended it this way and that May has seen the mark.

[computer nerd]

maybe May is in on this it some kind of mean joke to get hennya to leave 
just saiding

[Manawolf]

Not sure how many people in the world would be willing to take a bloodied punch to the nose.

[evilsasha]

*throttles aniz and beats him with a cosh*

Get to the bloody point!

[Naldru]

It was said that cubis couldn't hide the clan mark through morphing.  Maybe using the morphing amulet he is able to hide the clan mark, and that's one of the reasons he used the amulet disguised as an eye-patch.

Maybe when he hit his wife, he could see her thoughts and knew that she was about to go totally berserk although she hadn't started screaming yet.  Perhaps cubi slap people as soon as the thoughts become hysterical rather than waiting for hysterical actions.

Perhaps there are many decent cubi out there, but they all use their shape-changing ability so as to not frighten people.

Perhaps Aniz doesn't expect anybody to believe him, but is thinking that perhaps Abel will come around in a few hundred years as he learns more about cubi.  If he decided to later to make up with Aniz and found that Aniz had been killed or was unable to be found, that would add to his isolation.

I've decided to stop lurking and post my opinions.  More to follow.

For those who feel that I'm being too gentle with Aniz, I will later post an alternate theory where Aniz plans to achieve world domination through ritual torture and sacrifice of family and friends, making he who must not be named in the Harry Potter series appear to be a saint by comparison.  Abel survived only through the nature of the protective spells at SAIA.  In this theory, Aniz was eventually killed by an adventurer named Edward TiFiona, explaining why Abel feels that he must protect Dan.

[MT Hazard]

Besides.  Does it really freaking matter?  He hid the mark.  Do we really need two pages of discussion into the feasibility of how it did it?  It's not like he's a real guy prancing around.  It's a comic.  About walking, talking animals.  I don't think suspension of disbelief is that difficult of a jump.  We don't need to nitpick.

The voice of reason is often ignored here (as in life in general) but its refreshing to hear.

I've made this kind of point before, while many interesting things can turn up on these forums, it also can be proof that people will mistake opinions for facts and forget that fiction doesn't follow the same rules as reality (or an individual perception of it)

"Real life does make sense so why should fiction?"
Unknown

[superluser]

Not sure how many people in the world would be willing to take a bloodied punch to the nose.

Ever see The French Connection?

Doyle: Where do you want it?
Informant: This side.

[computer nerd]

Not sure how many people in the world would be willing to take a bloodied punch to the nose.

hey you never know maybe if (key word if ) iam right it was something that wasn't plan just thier for the drama
For all we know aniz was one that should been punch but he hit frist

[AnizInDisguise]

I for one don't think he's trying to make Abel evil, but rather pass on the torch by making him a total jerk.

[Naldru]

In response to MT Hazard about facts and opinions, I have seen the implication in a few remarks that this story began in a small town and that May has been there a long time.

I would like to point out a few things.  This town has a shipyard, a seaport, and a rather large school building (See page 13).  These are not things that you find in a small town.

It was May who suggested moving to Zinvth and she indicated some familiarity with the city.  After discussing Zinvth, Aniz/Cid says that at least May didn't want to move in with May's mother.  I took this to mean that perhaps May's mother lived in Zinvth.  If May's mother had lived in the town where this whole thing started, moving in with her mother wouldn't make sense.  However, if May's mother lived in Zinvth and May was born in Zinvth, moving there makes more sense.  If you look at page 21, there is one character that looks like a dragon, one that looks like an ordinary being and a mythos.  If this is the kind of classroom where May went to school, she would definitely feel confident that Abel would be accepted there.  The only known demon is Kria Soulstealer, and she uses a morphing amulet to appear less threatening.

I would also like to mention that the town of Zinvth would be likely to have police who were used to criminals with magical powers and supernatural abilities.  They would want to keep the peace, if only because crime is bad for business.  Aniz might find violence suprisingly difficult and unrewarding.

It was mentioned that people on this forum are frequently irrational.  I believe that that a very similar comment was made to Spock about humans on the original Star Trek.  I believe that Spock's reply was to the effect that the statement was true, and that therefore there was no place where he was more needed.

Actually, messing with the minds of irrational people sounds strangely attractive.  I was trained as an engineer and we do have a strange sense of humor.  (Engineers find Seven of Nine from Star Trek Voyager attractive because of her wonderful sense of humor.  And we find the fact that ** normal ** people don't get the jokes as hilarious.)

[Aridas]

I for one don't think he's trying to make Abel evil, but rather pass on the torch by making him a total jerk.

Which he isn't. And I doubt that would be the way to make someone a jerk.

[Fuyudenki]

It was said that cubis couldn't hide the clan mark through morphing.  Maybe using the morphing amulet he is able to hide the clan mark, and that's one of the reasons he used the amulet disguised as an eye-patch.

I'm fairly certain Amber said it wasn't a morphing amulet of some sort.  I know for sure she said it wasn't a patch, because that was the title of the page that day.

I think Alondro's idea is probably one of the most valid, aided by a little help from Llearch's strategems: dye the fur to match the rest, and then use careful maneuvering to keep it mostly out of sight.

I would be of the opinion that May hadn't seen Aniz's mark before he showed Abel, because she didn't make any comments about his "tattoo" looking like the one her "husband" had.(we now know that Cid was killed after he married May)

[Naldru]

How do we know that Cid was killed after the wedding?  Did I miss something?

[nikename2]

How do we know that Cid was killed after the wedding?  Did I miss something?

Well we know Aniz killed Cid, and we know hes been dead for about 25 years ish? I don't think he specified if it was after a particular event though so it could have easily been before or after the wedding.

[Naldru]

Are you referring to the fact that Aniz has been preparing his speech for 25 years.  He could have started preparing the speech at the wedding, not because he killed Cid.

[Naldru]

Cubi like to mess with your head.  So does Amber.

[nikename2]

Are you referring to the fact that Aniz has been preparing his speech for 25 years.  He could have started preparing the speech at the wedding, not because he killed Cid.

Yeah that is true, Aniz' wording is that Cid has been dead for many years, so I'd estimate its somewhere between 10-25 years the time that Aniz actually kills him. So yeah really anything is possible.

And I'm convinced Amber is Lucifer, mostly because I'm still here. 

[Naldru]

What constitutes many years to you might not constitute many years to a Cubi.

Hooray.  I've evolved from proto-slime to slime.

[nikename2]

Well yeah obviously, but the real Cid was a being, so he was probably talking in a context May could understand.

[Fuyudenki]

After killing May's darling hubby... indicates that cid and May were married at the time... though it's a good bet I assume entirely too much.

[edit]Hmm... I have the distinct feeling i'm one of those annoying "know-it-all" pests that Darkmoon's new topic is directed towards.  Duly noted, I shall watch my posts more carefully.(habit, really.  Really bad habit.)[/edit]

[Naldru]

I just hope that he isn't referring to me.

There was a line from Will Rogers that always stuck with me:

It isn't what we don't know that hurts us.  It's what we know that isn't so.

[Fuyudenki]

Nah, you're fine.  You've been asking too many questions, and you're too new to be a "know-it-all."

[edit]Retrospective: wow.  I'm really not very good at this, am I?  I should probably shut up while my grave's shallow.[/edit]

[kaskar]

      Note for future: Will May be able to claim a Ginormous payout in the future, if May gets a divorce based on the minor fact that the 'Cid' of before has transformed into the Aniz of now. The Cubi, Aniz , should have deep enough pockets there to afford a more than generous payout, and in so doing, rid himself legally of his maritial ties to May   , and thus regain all the freedoms and status of being single again.

[superluser]

In response to MT Hazard about facts and opinions, I have seen the implication in a few remarks that this story began in a small town and that May has been there a long time.

I would like to point out a few things.  This town has a shipyard, a seaport, and a rather large school building (See page 13).  These are not things that you find in a small town.

It depends what you mean by small.  Cantiv (if that is indeed the city where this began) would not be a small town by the standards of the time.  It's probably similar in weight to Erie, Pennsylvania (my birthplace, population 100,000), which also has a port and several large schools and used to have a shipyard.

But by today's standards, almost any town in Cantiv's time would probably be considered small.  In 1600, Rome's population was roughly 100,000 (source).  I doubt Cantiv is the equivalent of Rome, so that puts it at a few thousand to a few tens of thousands.  To many of us, that's a small town.

[Damaris]

Nah, you're fine.  You've been asking too many questions, and you're too new to be a "know-it-all."

[edit]Retrospective: wow.  I'm really not very good at this, am I?  I should probably shut up while my grave's shallow.[/edit]

Without going and checking with the admins, I would say that the post is directed to the type of people who shred other's posts, screaming "nonono" (although sometimes politely).  Discussion yes.  Tearing apart the minuteia of the DMFA universe, no.