10/25/09 [AS2 #74] - Blue is the color of my true love's eyes. . .

[jeffh4]

Well, now.  Kria seems downright disappointed, doesn't she?

I'm thinking Abel's story can just of easily have been called Kria's story. We've certainly seen quite a character transformation in her.  I'm guessing that Kria has completed her career change to mercenary for hire / do unusual jobs for her clients.

I like how Amber chose something interesting and new to perform the Is-it-really-Abel check.  No mind reading, quizzes, or other stuff we could have guessed.

Edit:
As for the subject title, I suppose Blue is the color of one of Abel's eyes 

Edit2:
Sorry I'm too scatterbrained tonight just to put this all in one post.

Notice that Kria still considers May a close friend.  That's in character with her values shown later.  Family above all other concerns, friends obviously are not far behind that.

The fact that she is angry makes me wonder if she's going to be pissed at Abel for not being in contact more with his mom.  We'll see tomorrow!

Edit 3:
There's an edit button. There are also rules about double-posting. Please don't annoy me any further.
  -- llearch n'n'daCorna

[techmaster-glitch]

I like how Amber chose something interesting and new to perform the Is-it-really-Abel check.  No mind reading, quizzes, or other stuff we could have guessed.

I agree. This "faeta gem" thing is a quite interesting application of magic, like the messenger orbs from the first Abel's Story. I would love to learn more about it...

[Madd the Sane]

It is possible that Kria was making stuff up for Aniz or some other 'cubi to start sweating. When Abel didn't sweat, she knew it was him.

That or the jem detects transformed 'cubi.

That or...

It was obviously a test, and he passed. But what was the test? Or am I overanalyzing this?

[Baal Hadad]

It is possible that Kria was making stuff up for Aniz or some other 'cubi to start sweating. When Abel didn't sweat, she knew it was him.

That or the jem detects transformed 'cubi.

That or...

It was obviously a test, and he passed. But what was the test? Or am I overanalyzing this?

If you are, so am I--I was wondering if perhaps his display of ignorance somehow had something to do with it, only it's easy to feign ignorance of something, so I wasn't sure if that was the whole idea, but something along those lines....

Anyway, I'm also surprised Kria's expression didn't change even though she apparently now knows he's really Abel...

Also, @jeffh4: I've been consistently thinking that if Amber ever wanted to do another such "backstory spin-off" after this one was finished, the most obvious one to do (from my perspective) WOULD be Kria's story.

[tiggertoo]

I think Fa'lina in the first frame is wondering how a rug made from Aniz's hide would look in her office at the Academy.

Guys, I think the gem does exactly what Kria said it does -- but being the sort of test it is, I have a feeling that it does something really nasty if you're NOT who you're supposed to be. I think Kria was looking forward to the satisfying results of a negative.

[Baal Hadad]

I think Fa'lina in the first frame is wondering how a rug made from Aniz's hide would look in her office at the Academy.

Guys, I think the gem does exactly what Kria said it does -- but being the sort of test it is, I have a feeling that it does something really nasty if you're NOT who you're supposed to be. I think Kria was looking forward to the satisfying results of a negative.

There you go--there's another possibility.

[Madd the Sane]

We'll probably know the truth Monday. Unless Amber gives us the heads-up before then.

[tiggertoo]

It would be a natural question for Abel to ask what would have happened if he wasn't really Abel. So maybe we'll find out.

[Naldru]

What I'm wondering about is the inheritance that Kria mentioned. 

[Lego3400]

  Well that was anticlimactic.

[tikitori]

I thought Fa'lina looked more as if she was saying, "Yeah, whatever." She obviously forseen this, but still-time isn't spareable for May.

EDIT~Now that I think about it, I think she's annoyed by Kria's attitude of Cubi. Between her and Kria, I'd bet on Fa'lina.

Maybe Kria wasn't on speaking terms with the Council of Creatures back then? I'd think she know that the headmaster of SAIA is not one to mess with-or have an attitude around.

[Tapewolf]

It's quite possible that Kria is disappointed because she was sure it was going to be Aniz and was hoping to bring him to justice.  Remember that she taught Hennya.
Also, she's now in a position to have to backtrack and apologise to Abel.

As for Fa'lina, I think she's annoyed because if it had been an impostor, it would have meant that she was party to the deception.

EDIT: Would you be able to pass yourself off if you'd trapped your victim's soul...?

[Amber Williams]

EDIT: Would you be able to pass yourself off if you'd trapped your victim's soul...?

Thankfully, well thankfully for most creatures/beings, one cannot. 

[Tapewolf]

Thankfully, well thankfully for most creatures/beings, one cannot. 

That's probably a good thing.

[Wanderer]

EDIT: Would you be able to pass yourself off if you'd trapped your victim's soul...?

Thankfully, well thankfully for most creatures/beings, one cannot. 

Can't one?

[Succubus_1982]

EDIT: Would you be able to pass yourself off if you'd trapped your victim's soul...?

Thankfully, well thankfully for most creatures/beings, one cannot. 

Can't one?

I was going to mention that strip! You beat me to it XD


As for Kria and Fa'lina's expressions I think theres a certain tension because Kria obviously dislikes Cubi and Fa'lina's pretty much the Queen of them (not officially but Cyra aside she's probably the most important still surviving Cubi around) plus I get the feeling Demons and Cubi aren't the best of friends anyway even without all this Aniz crap. I would imagine Demons and Angels concider Cubi to be inferior to them which would stir up feelings of defensive hostility on the Cubi side and make them more reckless about doing things if theres the potential to piss off a demon in the process. Fa'lina however for the sake of diplomacy is saying and doing nothing, however that doesn't mean she and Kria can't have a disdainful glare-off at each other.

In regards to Kria's reaction to Abel passing the test....... eh I guess maybe she was looking forward to bringing the smackdown on Aniz. This is Kria we are talking about after all. Mature/Cold as she seems right now the thirst for blood is probably still there boiling under the surface. Kria seems the type to hope things go badly so she can take advantage of the situation. She does love her rampages! 

[LionHeart]

I think Fa'lina in the first frame is wondering how a rug made from Aniz's hide would look in her office at the Academy.

Guys, I think the gem does exactly what Kria said it does -- but being the sort of test it is, I have a feeling that it does something really nasty if you're NOT who you're supposed to be. I think Kria was looking forward to the satisfying results of a negative.

Sounds a bit like the Lens, from Doc Smith's Lensman series.

An impostor who tried to wear a Lens - or even came into contact with it - would be killed by it, in a matter of seconds. Painfully.

[Amber Williams]

EDIT: Would you be able to pass yourself off if you'd trapped your victim's soul...?

Thankfully, well thankfully for most creatures/beings, one cannot. 

Can't one?

One can trap a soul. One can destroy a soul. One can even move a soul from one thing to another.  But one cannot then use said soul to pose as that individual or try to fool the devices which exist to validate one's personal soul aura.  And one cannot really change the signature of the soul to become something else.

I guess it is partially due to author's whimsy, but the way of the universe pretty much has it that one's soul is very much their own thing.  Unique and unduplicatable.  Well...in the sense that you cannot make a soul into an exact copy of an already existing soul.  Creating a whole new soul, by baby or by binary, is a whole different matter.

[Dard]

Kria really seems to be not on too friendly terms with Fa'Lina and cubi in general, but that can have many reasons, most of them understandable.
One particularly interesting reason would be if Kria somehow knows of whatever deal Fa'Lina has with Aniz.

As for her disappointed look on the last panel, I think she both expected and hoped for "Abel" to be a fake.
As she said herself: May is a close friend of her. Considering how much Aniz hurt a close friend of her, nothing would please her more than being confronted with Aniz.
Her disappointment ist understandable.

I just hope that she doesn't project her disappointment on Abel. He was also a victim. But we don't know yet how May now thinks of Abel, and that would surely influence Kria.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

One can trap a soul. One can destroy a soul. One can even move a soul from one thing to another.  But one cannot then use said soul to pose as that individual or try to fool the devices which exist to validate one's personal soul aura.  And one cannot really change the signature of the soul to become something else.

I guess it is partially due to author's whimsy, but the way of the universe pretty much has it that one's soul is very much their own thing.  Unique and unduplicatable.  Well...in the sense that you cannot make a soul into an exact copy of an already existing soul.  Creating a whole new soul, by baby or by binary, is a whole different matter.

I was going to comment on this, but, hey, I was busy, and Amber beat me to it.

You guys are going nuts trying to find holes where none exist. Kria wanted it to be Aniz so, as Dard and others have said, she can lay the smack down. Fairly simple, as we've expected from Kria for some time now.


I hesitate to add, it seems likely to me that Creatures, as a whole, are simple people, because they have the power to be so. They don't need to have massive complicated plots and stuff, because they can rip anyone who annoys them to shreds. Fae aside, it seems to fit - the red dragon at the door to Dead Pegasus' castle, for example; DP's uniqueness; the usual dragons wandering around.

Of course, that's just my opinion. And it's busted by Pyroduck, just to poke a hole in my own theory....

[Wanderer]

One can trap a soul. One can destroy a soul. One can even move a soul from one thing to another.  But one cannot then use said soul to pose as that individual or try to fool the devices which exist to validate one's personal soul aura.  And one cannot really change the signature of the soul to become something else.

I guess it is partially due to author's whimsy, but the way of the universe pretty much has it that one's soul is very much their own thing.  Unique and unduplicatable.  Well...in the sense that you cannot make a soul into an exact copy of an already existing soul.  Creating a whole new soul, by baby or by binary, is a whole different matter.

I was going to comment on this, but, hey, I was busy, and Amber beat me to it.

You guys are going nuts trying to find holes where none exist. Kria wanted it to be Aniz so, as Dard and others have said, she can lay the smack down. Fairly simple, as we've expected from Kria for some time now.

Hmm? I wasn't trying to argue with that. I just thought Amber was saying one couldn't trap a soul, which I remembered Aary contradicting, so I went and looked up the old comic and brought it out to ask about. It turns out Amber was instead saying you couldn't USE a trapped soul to pose as someone else, and I have no problem with that: the issue's never come up. As for Kria, I figure the stone does exactly what she said it does, and  she was just hoping for a chance to lay some epic smackdown on Aniz.

Now, for Kria's antisocial attitude towards Fa'Lina, we should recall that our pink poodle was VERY upset with Aniz for screwing over some delicate political work with Zinvth. The reputation of cubi undoubtedly took a big plunge after Aniz committed assault, kidpnapping, and murder right in the middle of the community.

[Succubus_1982]

Yadda yadda yadda....

...Of course, that's just my opinion. And it's busted by Pyroduck, just to poke a hole in my own theory....

Pyroduck enjoys screwing with others expectations... and really be thankful its him and not Kria poking the holes.... 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Hmm? I wasn't trying to argue with that. I just thought Amber was saying one couldn't trap a soul, which I remembered Aary contradicting, so I went and looked up the old comic and brought it out to ask about. It turns out Amber was instead saying you couldn't USE a trapped soul to pose as someone else, and I have no problem with that: the issue's never come up. As for Kria, I figure the stone does exactly what she said it does, and  she was just hoping for a chance to lay some epic smackdown on Aniz.

Oh, right. Fine, fine, no condemnation, etc etc. In other words, I wasn't seriously grumpy. Consider it an excuse to put my oar in. ;-]

Now, for Kria's antisocial attitude towards Fa'Lina, we should recall that our pink poodle was VERY upset with Aniz for screwing over some delicate political work with Zinvth. The reputation of cubi undoubtedly took a big plunge after Aniz committed assault, kidpnapping, and murder right in the middle of the community.

Gee, ya think? ;-]

In light of that, I wonder if some of Fa'Lina's aggro is towards Aniz, now that she's stepping back into the muck that he raked up. Not towards anyone actually present, which is why she's not saying anything to Kria. Or, at least, anything impolite.

She's just thinking it. ;-]

[Infranscia]

...I could swear I've heard of these faeta gems (or some similar aura-syncing gem) before, but I really can't remember where.  It's giving me a headache...  Ah well.

I'm wondering how someone - in this case, specifically Kria - holds a faeta gem without it going off.  Now, if I could at least see it glowing as she holds it (that's what I seem to remember hearing about them doing), it would make sense, but now I'm thinking there just might be a way to get around it, even if not known.  It would make sense that Kria would know how, representing Zinvth and all, but still.

[techmaster-glitch]

I'm wondering how someone - in this case, specifically Kria - holds a faeta gem without it going off.  Now, if I could at least see it glowing as she holds it (that's what I seem to remember hearing about them doing), it would make sense, but now I'm thinking there just might be a way to get around it, even if not known.  It would make sense that Kria would know how, representing Zinvth and all, but still.

...Wow, you're right, that is kinda weird now that I think about it. The only explanation I can think of is that it must somehow be "activated" to be used, and Kria did so in the process of handing it to Abel.

[Baal Hadad]

I'm wondering how someone - in this case, specifically Kria - holds a faeta gem without it going off.  Now, if I could at least see it glowing as she holds it (that's what I seem to remember hearing about them doing), it would make sense, but now I'm thinking there just might be a way to get around it, even if not known.  It would make sense that Kria would know how, representing Zinvth and all, but still.

...Wow, you're right, that is kinda weird now that I think about it. The only explanation I can think of is that it must somehow be "activated" to be used, and Kria did so in the process of handing it to Abel.

I thought maybe Kria being a demon and not a cubi might have had something to do with it....

EDIT: Never mind, that doesn't make any sense....    Maybe it's the way in which she was holding it...?

[rabid_fox]

Now I have this song in my head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5fBppsntAE

[Torano]

I must say, I read/skimmed through the posts, and nobody thought of it.

Has anyone considered that the reason for that pause, when Kria confirmed that it is Abel, is because Kria...

...is Aniz?

Granted, may not be true, but it would be the ultimate twist, given the line of thought.  

(Seriously, no one thought of it?)

[Tapewolf]

Has anyone considered that the reason for that pause, when Kria confirmed that it is Abel, is because Kria...

...is Aniz?

Fa'lina is liable to know if she is.

[Naldru]

And people claim that I am overly analytical.  Okay, possibilities

Kria was wearing gloves

Kria said for Abel to stand on a specific spot and hold the jewel.  Maybe there was something special about that spot such as being located under a death ray.

Perhaps the act of a different person holding the stone results in a display that is only visible through magic.

Perhaps it doesn't pay to overthink things..