10/31/08 [Abel 2 #34] - OoOoOo... I'm the ghost of the whiny dumbasses

[Naldru]

My gut feeling is dream sequence.  However, I also see another (remote) possibility.  Since cubi can capture souls, perhaps Abel accidentally stole Devin's soul just before he died. 

You think that would require a certain amount of effort... I mean, stealing a folk's soul seems... kinda important / permanent, y'know?

At the time that Devin died, Abel was trying to do something, although it isn't compleely clear what he was attempting.

I think Devin wasn't dead.  He was only mostly dead!  Which means he was a lil alive! 

So it was as simple as a quick visit to Miracle Max's place.  

Well, I don't know if Miracle Max was around, but Kria would have been in the right place.

[Tapewolf]

At the time that Devin died, Abel was trying to do something, although it isn't compleely clear what he was attempting.

I don't see any evidence of him trying to cast a spell, though.

Well, I don't know if Miracle Max was around, but Kria would have been in the right place.

Now, that's an interesting train of thought, though a little improbable.

Strip 71 in particular.  We know Kria is able to raise the dead, though to be honest, she probably didn't know how to do it when she was in her late 30s or whatever.
We also know that Devin, a mere Being, was powerful enough to kill at least one Demon - and that's just the sort of thing that Kria likes.  Though again, it's not clear she held that view at the time.

Finally, even if Kria did manage to repair his body, breathe life back into it and stuff his soul back into it all before Glory and company returned, that wouldn't give us a translucent Devin.  If she somehow brought him back as a shade, Kria probably doesn't know how to get into SAIA.  Devin certainly wouldn't, unless being dead has made him privy to the secrets of the universe or something.

In short, it's a beautiful idea, but a little too cheery for AS, and I don't see how it would work.

[Jer-oh-me]

I'm torn between Devin being a very convincing hallucination of Abel's no doubt shattered mind, or a real honest to goodness specter. Though I'm leaning towards the former, mostly because I've had dreams where people I know were involved and acted convincingly like themselves, so I don't think imagining a ghost of someone you think you got killed in a shattered and wounded state doesn't seem like a stretch of the imagination to me. In fact maybe he's dreaming! I mean it looks like he drifted off, so maybe he only thinks that he's awake, the activities of the past few days in his life are certainly nightmare inducing.

[Tapewolf]

In fact maybe he's dreaming! I mean it looks like he drifted off, so maybe he only thinks that he's awake, the activities of the past few days in his life are certainly nightmare inducing.

And the interesting thing about dreams is that 'Cubi can manipulate them.

[Jer-oh-me]

In fact maybe he's dreaming! I mean it looks like he drifted off, so maybe he only thinks that he's awake, the activities of the past few days in his life are certainly nightmare inducing.

And the interesting thing about dreams is that 'Cubi can manipulate them.

Don't they need to know how to do that first though?

[Naldru]

At the time that Devin died, Abel was trying to do something, although it isn't compleely clear what he was attempting.

I don't see any evidence of him trying to cast a spell, though.

Take a look at the next strip.  Abel declares that he can do it.  What "it" is isn't stated, but you have to assume that it something that would help Devin, and Abel had  been learning magic.  In addition, if you look at Devin's thoughts, you'll see that one of them reads "Poor Abel! I can't leave him by himself."

I'm not saying it's likely, but just collecting facts.

[Tapewolf]

And the interesting thing about dreams is that 'Cubi can manipulate them.

Don't they need to know how to do that first though?

Not Abel, someone else in the Academy.  It's likely that you are no longer able to have dreams by the time you get the power to alter them.  What I meant was that if Abel is asleep, Devin could easily be an avatar of Fa'Lina or some other 'Cubi in the Academy.

Abel declares that he can do it.  What "it" is isn't stated, but you have to assume that it something that would help Devin, and Abel had  been learning magic.  In addition, if you look at Devin's thoughts, you'll see that one of them reads "Poor Abel! I can't leave him by himself."

I read that as "I can get out of this mess" rather than "I can help a mortally-wounded colleague".  I don't know if Abel knows healing much in the way of healing spells.  Though if he did know one that could have put Devin back together, it might explain his torment.
If so, we might see Devin demanding to know why Abel didn't save him.

[Jer-oh-me]

And the interesting thing about dreams is that 'Cubi can manipulate them.

Don't they need to know how to do that first though?

Not Abel, someone else in the Academy.  It's likely that you are no longer able to have dreams by the time you get the power to alter them.  What I meant was that if Abel is asleep, Devin could easily be an avatar of Fa'Lina or some other 'Cubi in the Academy.

Well, maybe he hasn't learned he has the ability, and I'm just wondering why someone would use Devin to mess with him. If it is the case I doubt Fa'lina, mostly because she would seem to have a vested interest in him recovering from the shattering of his life.

[Tapewolf]

Well, maybe he hasn't learned he has the ability, and I'm just wondering why someone would use Devin to mess with him. If it is the case I doubt Fa'lina, mostly because she would seem to have a vested interest in him recovering from the shattering of his life.

I'm assuming that if Devin is someone's avatar it is Fa'Lina doing this, and it is one of the techniques she's using to help him.

It would seem that she does know about Devin:
http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Ab_003.php

[superluser]

I read that as "I can get out of this mess" rather than "I can help a mortally-wounded colleague".  I don't know if Abel knows healing much in the way of healing spells.  Though if he did know one that could have put Devin back together, it might explain his torment.

Well, not that I like this theory, either, but Abel did learn magic from Kria, and we don't have any definitive evidence that Kria doesn't know soul stealing spells (in fact, given her name, it just might be a family tradition).  Further, Abel seems to have finished his studies with Kria, and thus she probably taught him a few advanced spells at one point.

[GabrielsThoughts]

odd, and yet not unexpected. If I recall back when Dev first kicked the bucket someone suggested that Abel being in such close proximity to Devin as he was dying would (and  in the fledgling cubi fashion of reading everyones thoughts constantly) in effect have downloaded Devin's entire life's memories... also being Cubi, with nearly infinite lifespan Abel would have no problem processing both sets of memories 

Ironically, If Dev was also Cid/Aniz's son this could potentially be fun for the entire family. Abel would have all his book smarts and Devin's knowledge of Kung fu action skillz  .     

[Tapewolf]

Well, not that I like this theory, either, but Abel did learn magic from Kria, and we don't have any definitive evidence that Kria doesn't know soul stealing spells (in fact, given her name, it just might be a family tradition).  Further, Abel seems to have finished his studies with Kria, and thus she probably taught him a few advanced spells at one point.

It's not impossible, I just think it's a unlikely.  Beings aren't known for going around stealing souls, and I imagine she was only teaching Being-level magic.  She certainly did nothing to dissuade Abel from the notion that he was a Being himself.

Also, if her speciality was young children, she might only have taught him until he was 12 or so tops.  Abel called her 'Miss Soulstealer' which suggests to me he hadn't seen her for quite a few years.  Would you want 12-year-olds being able to rip each others' souls out because someone stole their lunch money or their best friend was rotten to them?

Finally, soul-stealing might take a while to learn, by which I mean a few decades.  This is just conjecture, but for all we know, soul-stealing has prerequisites.
For instance, to do VLSI design you'd need a certain amount of computer studies, electronics (which itself requires pretty good math), digital logic, RF engineering, at least some knowledge of quantum physics and probably chemistry as well.
Likewise, to steal someone's soul, you might have to understand a whole load of other subjects first.

[superluser]

It's not impossible, I just think it's a unlikely.

I agree with you there.

Would you want 12-year-olds being able to rip each others' souls out because someone stole their lunch money or their best friend was rotten to them?

Perhaps it's easier to capture a soul that is already leaving someone's body.  Perhaps Kria figured out that he was a creature of some sort and taught him the procedure as some sort of death rite but without telling him the true purpose of the act.  After all, you don't put someone in a body bag until you're sure that that person is dead.  There's no chance that Abel would try something like that unless someone was well and truly deceased.

Though, like I said, I don't believe it.

[Aleolus]

O.o  Did NOT see that one coming >.>  I hope this doesn't mean that Abel is schitzophrenic in the comic, that could get messy <.<  Honestly, I hope it's a ghost, because I've never heard of an individual created by a mental disorder refering to iteself as such >.>

[GabrielsThoughts]

O.o  Did NOT see that one coming >.>   I've never heard of an individual created by a mental disorder refering to iteself as such >.>

I saw it coming the moment Devon passed on... and the possible  mental disorder was the basic plot of ratatouille


EDIT: I also think it was a play on the Ghost of christmas past (present or future)

Ironically enough, I've read  vampires are notorious ghost haters... with cubi being simmilar to vampires I wander if it's a chemical imbalance in the brain

[Ted Schiller]

This comic portrays Abel as awake.  However, he could be still asleep and dreaming all of this. 

With regards,
Ted

[Tapewolf]

This comic portrays Abel as awake.  However, he could be still asleep and dreaming all of this.

To be sure.  I've had numerous dreams where I've dreamed I woke up.  I think the most was nested about five dreams deep.

[Lego3400]

This comic portrays Abel as awake.  However, he could be still asleep and dreaming all of this.

To be sure.  I've had numerous dreams where I've dreamed I woke up.  I think the most was nested about five dreams deep.

That's creepy. I thought that only happened in cartoons... Though it does remind me of a Taz cartoon where the hunter kid kept waking up only to be hit by an anvil and awake again.

[Aleolus]

No, that's happened to me as well, all though only one dream 'deep'.

[AmigaDragon]

The first benefit that comes to mind is not being dead after your allotted three score and ten is up, for a start.  Less of a benefit for most Creatures, but still...

I actually started writing Future History to explore these ideas.  The problem with stealing the souls of the dead with intent to resurrect them is that you need to have a body to put them in.  Joshua and Dorcan are one approach - otherwise, you may have to kick someone else out of their body.

Another example of putting a soul into another (artificial) body is Kiatha in Otherworlds by Pflarrian over at Planetfurry (actually, in Raccoon's Bookshelf), a clockwork vixen that somehow gained sentience sometime prior to being soul-trapped IIRC.

[techmaster-glitch]

No, that's happened to me as well, all though only one dream 'deep'.

Same here. I think...

[Naldru]

Row, row, row our boat

(Try googling it if you don't get the reference.)

[AmigaDragon]

Propel, propel, propel your craft, placidly down the liquid solution.
Ecstatically, ecstatically, ecstatically, ecstatically, life is but an illusion.

----------------
Now playing on Winamp: Alan Hovhaness - Symphony No. 50: 1st movement (Classical Minnesota Public Radio)
via FoxyTunes

[GundamDragon]

The first benefit that comes to mind is not being dead after your allotted three score and ten is up, for a start.  Less of a benefit for most Creatures, but still...

I actually started writing Future History to explore these ideas.  The problem with stealing the souls of the dead with intent to resurrect them is that you need to have a body to put them in.  Joshua and Dorcan are one approach - otherwise, you may have to kick someone else out of their body.

Another example of putting a soul into another (artificial) body is Kiatha in Otherworlds by Pflarrian over at Planetfurry (actually, in Raccoon's Bookshelf), a clockwork vixen that somehow gained sentience sometime prior to being soul-trapped IIRC.

I have had those waking dreams from time to time but its just right of the bat and its fun if you get the realization that you are asleep. that then gives you the power to control the dream. As for Abe it might be that his friend did not cross over out of fear for Abe's safety and had fallowed him on clung to him and went a long for the ride and just now spoke up?

[Pheonix-IV]

I personally prefer the theory that Devin is now a ghost-type Undead and is haunting Abel for the hell of it.

[GundamDragon]

Well that is another possbilety that the soul of some one who did bully him in life might get a kick out of it in death. And it says in one of the race things that all undead have gold eyes in the emty socet so the gold eyes the fantom has would sugjest that he is undead and not a prank but that dose not rule out Abe's sycoses

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Well that is another possbilety that the soul of some one who did bully him in life might get a kick out of it in death. And it says in one of the race things that all undead have gold eyes in the emty socet so the gold eyes the fantom has would sugjest that he is undead and not a prank but that dose not rule out Abe's sycoses

Possibility, by "race things" I presume you mean the Demonology 101 entries, empty, socket, phantom, suggest, does, Abel, and psychoses. Although that last should probably be psychosis, since he doesn't have more than one.

That red line underlining your words means that the dictionary doesn't understand what you mean, and you should probably take it under advisement to choose another word. Or at least correct the one you have...

[Tapewolf]

That red line underlining your words means that the dictionary doesn't understand what you mean, and you should probably take it under advisement to choose another word. Or at least correct the one you have...

Only if you have a decent browser.

[GundamDragon]

That red line underlining your words means that the dictionary doesn't understand what you mean, and you should probably take it under advisement to choose another word. Or at least correct the one you have...

Only if you have a decent browser.

I don't, it's a tin can and a string.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

That red line underlining your words means that the dictionary doesn't understand what you mean, and you should probably take it under advisement to choose another word. Or at least correct the one you have...

Only if you have a decent browser.

... or use the in-built spell check function in the forum. It's there for a reason.