06/09/07, Abel's Story #92, Didn't Go Exactly as Planned

[kaskar]

    As I have said before, the mild mannered librarian whimp Abel is long gone. Now, Aniz likes to, and want's to see, that the boy has a bit of real 'spirit' in him ...

[Turnsky]

And will Aniz have to worry about Fa'lina getting him, more than Abel trying to do so ?

hell hath no fury like a poodle annoyed. 

[Regal]

You stupid Abel, things were going just fine until you hit him with your damn stool...

Oh yeah, things were just peachy up until then.

[RobbieThe1st]

Hm... Could one of the "homework" requirements for some SAIA class or another be to take over someone's life for a few years, and as long as you dont get detected, you pass... Perhaps creating a heir in the process gives extra credit?

-Robbie

[kaskar]

    If Abel is to be treated as an 'external' student, then it follows that a more amiable tutor should be sent to teach Abel at home in the Cubi ways . The tutor could pass themselves off as 'boarder' , etc ... Since the Saia is free, the funding for this also follows. ( Does May get a cut of the action, with the board ? , and why does the name Destinia come to mind ? )

[Zedd]

Power alone doesnt messure up what Aniz might do if Abel doesnt really prepare himself fast enough

[superluser]

Why does he seem surprised?

Where do you get that?  He certainly didn't have a tell, or else he would have given Abel a clue that he knew what Abel was thinking.  But he doesn't seem surprised.

Why does he seem both pleased and hostile after that moment of pause?

Perhaps he gets to show off?  Maybe like those martial arts films where the master completely obliterates the apprentice, and then the apprentice thinks--I have *got* to learn how he does that.

Could one of the "homework" requirements for some SAIA class or another be to take over someone's life for a few years, and as long as you dont get detected, you pass...

I don't think that Abel would be able to pull that one off.  Maybe that's why he hasn't graduated?

Actually, it would seem to be something fairly advanced, and while it's entirely possible that Aary and Abel have done it, I'm not getting the sense that either of them have.

[kaskar]

      Is this a case where Abel's animal fury is not good enough for Aniz'z catculated cunning ... Of course, I keep on wondering, does Fa'lina have even a spark of a motherly bone. Or is it the Royal order of the saccerine spoon ?

[Illusionist]

*Simpsons flashback to Bart hitting Homer with the chair in the bathtub*

Abel: Woah! That was so cool. Can I break something else over you?

That's totally what I'd be like in his situation.

[Ellian]

I think in the last panel, Abel looks pretty much like a scared kid realizing he just made some terrible mistake.
However, although things did not seem to go exactly as Aniz had planned so far, maybe his "evil grin" doesn't necessarily suggest him plotting violent revenge on his own son - maybe it's more that now he has reached the point he was working for all the time, getting Abel upset enough (by deliberately hurting his mother) to fight him.
While Abel of course wouldn't stand a chance against Aniz, I doubt that the senior cubi would act that irrationally and hurt his precious offspring, would he? He might not care about May, but I guess he wouldn't have done all that if he didn't care about Abel.

[Azlan]

It broke far too easily.

Aniz must've thought ahead and used some stool softener.

Oh you!  I was so thinking of that same joke... but I thought better of it.  I must be getting soft...

[Tapewolf]

I wonder whether that means Aniz has been through SAIA.  That was my first impression, but others have speculated that the whole thing was some kind of fieldwork.
Here's an idea, though.

Cid was away somewhere while Abel was doing the funeral thing.  A few days beforehand he would either have seen Abel's clan-mark directly or have picked it up from his wife's mind around the time that she spotted it.  Perhaps the 'old friend' he was talking about was actually Fa'Lina, and he had been visiting the Academy to get Abel's application processed?  Just a thought.

As for the stool, Demons and Angels can harden their skin.  Whether 'Cubi have this ability in the same way is unclear, but even if they don't they can achieve it by shapeshifting.  My guess is that he read Abel's intentions in his mind and fortified himself by such means.

What he's going to do with the claws is unclear.  He might injure Abel and get him fixed up at the Academy, for instance.  But it's possible he's going to prevent Abel from wanting to remain in Zinvth by killing the two people he knows best.  With May and Hennya dead he would have two less reasons to stay.

[Turnsky]

I wonder whether that means Aniz has been through SAIA.  That was my first impression, but others have speculated that the whole thing was some kind of fieldwork.
Here's an idea, though.

Cid was away somewhere while Abel was doing the funeral thing.  A few days beforehand he would either have seen Abel's clan-mark directly or have picked it up from his wife's mind around the time that she spotted it.  Perhaps the 'old friend' he was talking about was actually Fa'Lina, and he had been visiting the Academy to get Abel's application processed?  Just a thought.

As for the stool, Demons and Angels can harden their skin.  Whether 'Cubi have this ability in the same way is unclear, but even if they don't they can achieve it by shapeshifting.  My guess is that he read Abel's intentions in his mind and fortified himself by such means.

either that, or has a high pain threshold.

What he's going to do with the claws is unclear.  He might injure Abel and get him fixed up at the Academy, for instance.  But it's possible he's going to prevent Abel from wanting to remain in Zinvth by killing the two people he knows best.  With May and Hennya dead he would have two less reasons to stay.

and as soon as abel meets the doc, i'm fairly sure abel would want to stay in Zinvth... 

[kaskar]

          I wonder if Aniz is going to bother with May anymore, or leave her here so Abel can get some emotional recuperation. Aniz seems to have been succesful in adding an (adult?) cubi to his clan. His job is done. Saia handles the job from here

[Shadowcatcher]

I figured Fa'Lina would be mentioned sooner or later, but I didn't expect that from Aniz.

Go on, Abel! Wap him again!  

Barf on his shoes, that will teach him!

Honestly though, I'm surprised that Aniz withstood a blunt attack that easily.  I thought that the Cubi's strengths were along the mental/emotional/magical lines and not brute force.

[Shadowcatcher]

Able at this point has not learned to shield his mind, thus one would assume that his father was aware of the impending attack.

Ever since Aniz showed up, I was wondering when he'll start emotion jamming Abel since he's completely defenseless against it.  Considering how much Abel uses it in the modern comics its effectiveness at some time must have made a considerable impression on him.

Wouldn't it be horrible if he emotion jammed Abel with the overwhelming urge to commit matricide?  I expect something to happen with emotion jamming to happen before the comic's done.

[superluser]

But it's possible he's going to prevent Abel from wanting to remain in Zinvth by killing the two people he knows best.  With May and Hennya dead he would have two less reasons to stay.

Boy, if he kills Hennya, it's really going to hit the fan.

The murder of a creature wouldn't even go to the C-B council.  It would presumably go directly to the creature authorities, who would treat that fairly seriously.

Besides, he's got more friends in Zinvth, such as Ahnora and Kria (the latter is more a mentor than a friend).

Wouldn't it be horrible if he emotion jammed Abel with the overwhelming urge to commit matricide?  I expect something to happen with emotion jamming to happen before the comic's done.

I dunno.  That smacks of powergaming, which Amber hates.  I suspect that emotion jamming probably deals with actual emotions, and I don't think there's an emotion for matricide.

[Tapewolf]

Wouldn't it be horrible if he emotion jammed Abel with the overwhelming urge to commit matricide?  I expect something to happen with emotion jamming to happen before the comic's done.

Nice idea, but doubtful.  Look at Abel's reaction to shapeshifting - he won't change his base form except under dire necessity and that is almost certainly because of what Aniz did to Cid.  If Aniz used emotion-jamming to confuse Abel into committing murder, Abel would never have used it against Dan in a million years.

[Netrogo]

I'm starting to think something is going to happen to May and it's going to be really freaking bloody. Hasn't anyone wondered why Abel has hemophobia? Imagine your mother dying and you winding up covered in her blood. That's enough to make anyone terrified of blood.

[Tapewolf]

I'm starting to think something is going to happen to May and it's going to be really freaking bloody. Hasn't anyone wondered why Abel has hemophobia? Imagine your mother dying and you winding up covered in her blood. That's enough to make anyone terrified of blood.

That was my theory from day one, but Amber said on a couple of occasions that it is just a characteristic of his personality, it doesn't have to have a root cause.  Remember his reaction at the fort and his conversation with Devin...

[Kenji]

It broke far too easily.

Aniz must've thought ahead and used some stool softener.

Oh you!  I was so thinking of that same joke... but I thought better of it.  I must be getting soft...

Don't worry, they have plenty of medications for that.

[Netrogo]

I'm starting to think something is going to happen to May and it's going to be really freaking bloody. Hasn't anyone wondered why Abel has hemophobia? Imagine your mother dying and you winding up covered in her blood. That's enough to make anyone terrified of blood.

That was my theory from day one, but Amber said on a couple of occasions that it is just a characteristic of his personality, it doesn't have to have a root cause.  Remember his reaction at the fort and his conversation with Devin...

Oh yeah that's right, he threw up at the sight of blood at the fort too. My bad.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Oh you!  I was so thinking of that same joke... but I thought better of it.  I must be getting soft...

Don't worry, they have plenty of medications for that.

You mean someone slipped Aniz some laxatives?



Actually, I've been thinking. As a result of this particular strip, does anyone here agree with me? Three cheers for Aniz!

[Netrogo]

Actually, I've been thinking. As a result of this particular strip, does anyone here agree with me? Three cheers for Aniz!

Nah, he's still a douche.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Would you prefer "Three chairs for Aniz" instead?

[Netrogo]

Yes. Yes I would.

[Kaerou]

Wild Abel attacks!

But the Aniz takes no damage!

!

[Turnsky]

Wild Abel attacks!

But the Aniz takes no damage!

!

Aniz obviously did a saving roll vs furniture.

[Netrogo]

Wild Abel attacks!

But the Aniz takes no damage!

!

Aniz obviously did a saving roll vs furniture.

Either that or Abel rolled a critical fail, hence his weapon breaking

[Tapewolf]

Wild Abel attacks!
But the Aniz takes no damage!

Aniz obviously did a saving roll vs furniture.

Utter rubbish.  He is obviously wearing a ring of +20 resist chair.  Why do you think it's so prominent in all three frames?