6-6-07 Abel's #91 -> Flowers

[Tapewolf]

1) He derives his power from confusion. I personally think this is what Abel derives his energy from as well, but we see the differences in how they get it.

We know about Abel, it's in his profile.  It might be that his clan - or what's left of it - feeds on confusion as a trait, but if we take Ink's examination of Dan as gospel it looks like there may be individual preferences as well (which means that confusion could be specific to Abel and nastiness or whatever might be specific to Aniz).

In any case, I agree with your premise - my money's on him getting some kind of feeding kick out seeing May confused and helpless.

[Goatmon]

AHHHH! KILL IT WITH FIRE!  >:^(

[computer nerd]

I'm not sure, but  the wording might be better if you changed it to.


"one day 'when you' die of old age "

other than that I'm still  waiting to see May turn into a nasty Creature class something with sharp pointy teeth, and shadow magic. Just to see the Cid/Aniz squirm.


Edit: She is still wearing that purple gem necklace, I don't beleive amber has ruled out the possibility of it having a disguise field attached like with Kria

hey mabye it some cubi joke that is cruel and it just acting and mabye may isn't really bleeding and thier just doing it to get hennya to run off in fear in fear .

[candide]

I still say this is good cop/bad cop.

Aniz, obviously bad cop.

Good cop?  Well, we haven't seen Destina in this story yet, have we?

Hmm... I hadn't thought of that.

My first reaction to this strip was:

"OMFG ... He's toying with her.  I know what Aniz is doing:  He's toying with May.  Like a cat toying with it's prey, it's food."

But it's also clear that the situation's not as simple as, "May==Food," to Aniz.  By toying with her, I think Aniz is also trying to get the point across to May (and perhaps everyone in the room), that he's the most powerful thing there.  By far.  Oooops, did I break your nose?  So sorry, I forgot how frail Beings are compared to Cubi.  Whoops, did I toss you too hard?  So sorry, I forgot how strong a Cubi is after 25 years of holding back.

Just remember, at any point, Aniz could have, at any point, ripped off his shirt (or just pulled it off), unhid his wings, grabbed May with them, and scared May to within an inch of her life with a demonstration of just what an incubus is and what he's capable of.  He hasn't.

It's also pretty obvious by this point that either Aniz wants Abel to hate him (so that Abel doesn't hate himself for being an incubus, perhaps?), or just plain doesn't care.


On a different note:  Anyone else notice that Abel hasn't suffered from headaches like Dan did at the same age?  Wanna bet Aniz has been shielding him?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

On a different note:  Anyone else notice that Abel hasn't suffered from headaches like Dan did at the same age?  Wanna bet Aniz has been shielding him?

Dan is living in an Inn. You can bet there are brawls (even between drunk and bouncer, and brief, it's a brawl) arguments, drunks getting worked up, emotions getting hot, people getting excited (assuming there's something entertainment-focused, like, say, a pool table or equivalent) people getting depressed, etc etc.

I'll bet you there's a heck of a lot more emotion floating around an Inn than there is in a house with two people, one of whom is a hiding Cubi, and in a library.

Sure, Abel is training as a librarian, and, as such, is probably in a school rather than a library, but I'll bet he has a lot less emotion to deal with than Dan does.


Having said that, yes, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Aniz has been shielding Abel anyway :-]

[ShiningShadow]

Well Aniz is a Bastard through and through I hate him so *Grrrrrrrrr* can somebody whack this Aniz guy.

Anywho I think Candide is right and Aniz is toying with her if he would of killed her it will been done already.

Whatever sick minded game he is playing right now I wish either Abel or heck Henneya would do something just to knock his teeth out.  Just to stop him yet hes strong and powerful but that dosen't stop his pretensious pride.

Man I hope May is alright I will wait till saturday to see what happens next.

[kaskar]

             So Aniz is still on the sadistic jerk roller coaster . He is a jerk, but as Abel explained in a previous       
episode , some cubi are jerks, as in any other creature / being , it's not being the cubi that makes him a jerk, he is     
a jerk anyway. As Abel said to Dan, " It's a lofty thought, but in 300 years you may be approaching my level of jerkdom
...             

[superluser]

perhaps all this brutality is Aniz' way of beating the "Cid" out of May and making her a victim of stockholm syndrome where she falls in love with her captor, Aniz.

I don't think so.  Jan-Erik Olsson (the Stockholm Syndrome guy) was very charismatic.  So much so that Helsenborg police encouraged him to stay on the run when he tried to turn himself in.  Aniz (or at least how he's acting) doesn't fit that profile.

[Damaris]

I'll bet you there's a heck of a lot more emotion floating around an Inn than there is in a house with two people, one of whom is a hiding Cubi, and in a library.

Sure, Abel is training as a librarian, and, as such, is probably in a school rather than a library, but I'll bet he has a lot less emotion to deal with than Dan does.

You sir, obviously do not spend a lot of time in a library :p

My first nervous breakdown of the summer from the meanies and the creepy children is scheduled for June 19th.

[King Of Hearts]

wow... the only more that Aniz can be a dick is that he reveals that he has another family whom he visits when he's out "adventuring."

[rabid_fox]

...I bet Hennya's been sneaking cookies whilst all this is going on.

[Alondro]

This made me think of the song by Drowning Pool:

"If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...
If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...

*Charles bah!*  Well I get knocked down, but I get up again!  And you're never gonna keep me down!

*Charline slices Charles finely and feeds him to the seven-headed dogs!*

*Charles ack*  That could do it.   X_X   

*Charline bwah ha ha!*  I win!   

[Zedd]

This made me think of the song by Drowning Pool:

"If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...
If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...

*Charles bah!*  Well I get knocked down, but I get up again!  And you're never gonna keep me down!

*Charline slices Charles finely and feeds him to the seven-headed dogs!*

*Charles ack*  That could do it.   X_X   

*Charline bwah ha ha!*  I win!   

Oh peachy now who am I gonna see at the con now...

[Caswin]

Currently, all the readers seem to be judging Aniz.  If there is such a pattern forming, I think that it is safe to say that Amber has planned a major plot twist, and all of the readers (or nearly all) will find their beliefs to be incorrect.

Any suspicions  about that - for me, at least - pretty much dried up after his "motive" monologue.  On top of all the other things he's done, he basically admitted to not having any redeeming qualities.

[Alan Garou]

Aniz: A Case Study in the Magnificent Bastard
Coming August 2007

[Rithm Alfortele]

I dunno.  It seems to be that he has motives he hasn't revealed yet.

I dunno why, but the latest comic, he doesn't seem evil.  Amused maybe, and maybe slightly proud of her effort (this is a streeeeeeeeeeeeeetch, I know.) to attack him.

Also, he said "One day, you will die of old age."  He says it like it's a certainty, almost like an assurance that nothing will happen to her.

Is Aniz a jerk?  Certainly.  Is he more than that?  Probably.

Also, he says he killed Cid.  But... is it just me, or did he never mention WHEN he killed Cid?  It could have even been before "Cid" and May first met.

For all we know, Aniz could genuinely love May.  But now that he's revealed...

For some reason, Destania's quote comes to mind.  "Beware the love of a succubus (although this applies to incubi, too), for it will bring thee nothing but heartache".

Maybe he's physically resounding Destania's quote?

Too many hypotheses @_@ *falls over*

[Sunblink]

Hm, after some thinking, I think I'll throw out some random speculation on what may happen next.

Aniz will leave May alive, albeit injured, maybe even crippled. When he goes to take Abel away Hennya interferes, only to be killed, or faces treatment similar to May's. Kria then arrives, stopping/killing Aniz, and offers to bring Abel to SAIA. Reluctant to leave his mother, Abel initially refuses, remaining at May's side as he watches her age and wither away, exacerbated by loneliness. Abel, meanwhile, doesn't age in the slightest over the years, his Incubus heritage becoming all the more apparent to him. All throughout her solitude, she watches out the window, waiting for Cid in a neverending period of denial painfully reminiscent of Devin's mother.

I'm not sure what'll happen next, but feel free to criticize. It's just a thought.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[rabid_fox]

You know when you're having a nice meal with a couple and they start arguing and, a few hours of awkward forced conversation later, you fake a yawn and leave.

Hennya's going to have that times a million.

Also. I have a sister who is very skilled at predicting plotlines. So much so that I grew to loathe all people who postulate possibilites, because when whatever happens happens, if it's been predicted, it loses all of the impact it should have had. Just a thought.

[AnizInDisguise]

I honestly think that this is him saying that he DOES have feelings for May. Not a lot, but some. Sure, he's ruining her life, but he's saying that when she is dead, he will mourn for her.

[Sunblink]

Also. I have a sister who is very skilled at predicting plotlines. So much so that I grew to loathe all people who postulate possibilites, because when whatever happens happens, if it's been predicted, it loses all of the impact it should have had. Just a thought.

Erk. Well now I feel stupid. I'm sorry if I said something which was irritating or ruining to the plotline. Should I edit?

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Caswin]

Somehow, this discussion reminds me of when Cindy first appeared...

Everyone, in unison: SHE'S GONNA DIE

[Goatmon]

I honestly think that this is him saying that he DOES have feelings for May. Not a lot, but some. Sure, he's ruining her life, but he's saying that when she is dead, he will mourn for her.

I have to disagree.  I think all of this that he's doing right now is just the result of his sense of whimsy. 

[Kryptic]

I honestly think that this is him saying that he DOES have feelings for May. Not a lot, but some. Sure, he's ruining her life, but he's saying that when she is dead, he will mourn for her.

I actually agree to a certain extent. After all - he's been living with her for what - 25 years? As her husband? I think that to keep up the act for that long you'd either have to be completely without any ethics, or perhaps he really does have some feelings for her, maybe she's grown on him over the years.

And, I speculate that he probably did a little searching before he picked a mother for his heir - perhaps for her looks, but maybe he actually cares a little.

In contrast to what he could have done (faked death after Abel was born, and shown up later to pick him up once he was well-grown), this seems rather compassionate.

I personally don't think he's being entirely sincere in 89... Hrm.

[bigj]

I would just like to point out the irony here in Abel's home life.

http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_52.php

Devin was jealous because Abel's home life was one of love, not duty.
Joke's on Abel, I guess.

[Netrogo]

I honestly think that this is him saying that he DOES have feelings for May. Not a lot, but some. Sure, he's ruining her life, but he's saying that when she is dead, he will mourn for her.

Actually I think this is his smug way of saying 'You hate me, you want me dead, but when it comes down to it I'm going to be around for years and years to come, while you age and die.'

[rabid_fox]

I would just like to point out the irony here in Abel's home life.

http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_52.php

Devin was jealous because Abel's home life was one of love, not duty.
Joke's on Abel, I guess.

Good thing Devin's dead, or that would be SOOOOOOO embarrassing.

[Netrogo]

Yeah you could just see them having an emo competition.

Devin >> My family hated me

Abel >> My dad was fake

Devin >> My mom wished I'd never been born

Abel >> My dad's an evil monster who spent 25 years building up to a moment when he could completely crush my mom.

Etc, etc...

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I'll bet you there's a heck of a lot more emotion floating around an Inn than there is in a house with two people, one of whom is a hiding Cubi, and in a library.

Sure, Abel is training as a librarian, and, as such, is probably in a school rather than a library, but I'll bet he has a lot less emotion to deal with than Dan does.

You sir, obviously do not spend a lot of time in a library :p

My first nervous breakdown of the summer from the meanies and the creepy children is scheduled for June 19th.

Sadly, the libraries in the UK are rather harder to get time to go and visit than the ones in NZ. Go figure...

Also, I've dealt with "restarting the desktop of the user whose machine had bluescreened while printing the output of a deal they were trying to do"

At the time I was restarting the machine (twice because of an irregularity in the app they were required to use) the user in question was standing behind me screaming obscenities into my ear, at the top of her lungs. Consistently. Until the machine was ready to use.


After that, I have a fairly blase view of how stressful the rest of the universe is...

[Naldru]

Yeah you could just see them having an emo competition.

Devin >> My family hated me

Abel >> My dad was fake

Devin >> My mom wished I'd never been born

Abel >> My dad's an evil monster who spent 25 years building up to a moment when he could completely crush my mom.

Etc, etc...

Check out  http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_54.php

I think that you underestimate Devin's maturation process.  After 25 years, Devin had reached a point that Abel still has to reach after 300 years.  However, I believe that Abel will reach this point even if Fa'Lina and Kria have to beat it into him.  (And they are perfectly willing to use violence to beat it into him.)

[kaskar]

    Usually hero's seem dull to us. Villians are much more fun. And responsability, who wants that ?

  ( By the way, will Amber get around to adding Aniz and Nutmeg to the ' Characters ' page ?  )