01/05/10 [AS2 #85] - Interesting Tea Time Subject

[jeffh4]

I think Fa'Lina tries to plan things so that they turn out for the best for those concerned, even if it doesn't seem that way at the time.  (See strip 592).  Though again, that seems to tie in with foresight which may not be the applicable to those concerned.

In the context of the story then, the annihilation of Siar's clan may have been foreseen by Fa'Lina because of her foresight.  Not foresight of Siar, but of Siar's clanmembers at SAIA.  However, it was likely that the war was either
1) Too big for Fa'Lina to stop
2) Inevitable because Fa'Lina could not influence Siar or Hazell enough to stop it

Perhaps Fa'Lina foresaw the deaths of Siar's clan, but decided not to interfere, even to save a single one of them because of politics or other reasons. Guilt from that decision could be influencing her subsequent actions with Aniz and Abel.

[Tapewolf]

In the context of the story then, the annihilation of Siar's clan may have been foreseen by Fa'Lina because of her foresight.  Not foresight of Siar, but of Siar's clanmembers at SAIA.  However, it was likely that the war was either
1) Too big for Fa'Lina to stop
2) Inevitable because Fa'Lina could not influence Siar or Hazell enough to stop it

Or alternatively, she wasn't able to foresee it clearly because it hinged too much on events external to SAIA.  It's not clear how well her foresight is able to cope with external dependencies.
Heck, it's possible that something as powerful as Hizell might be able to block her foresight.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Once a young Cubi gave Fa'Lina a PDA as a gift to show her some of the technological marvels coming up with outside of the Academy.

Must... not... ask... what... system software... it ran...

It self-destructed within minutes.

That'd be the Furrae equivalent of Windows Mobile, then.

Oh, I dunno. I'm not sure that Symbian would cope much better with being in three different places at once.

And then merging back into one.

And then splitting again, so she could go spend time with someone else...

[LionHeart]

I'd think the merging would be the difficult part.

I've often wondered how Triplicate Girl (of the Legion of Superheroes) manages that...

[Arcblade]

Once a young Cubi gave Fa'Lina a PDA as a gift to show her some of the technological marvels coming up with outside of the Academy.

Must... not... ask... what... system software... it ran...

It self-destructed within minutes.

That'd be the Furrae equivalent of Windows Mobile, then.

Oh, I dunno. I'm not sure that Symbian would cope much better with being in three different places at once.

And then merging back into one.

And then splitting again, so she could go spend time with someone else...

Wait, since when does she split to be in several places at once?  I mean, it's not out of the realm of possibility, this being Fa'Lina, after all.  But I don't recall seeing it in the comics.  

[Chakat Blackspots]

Wait, since when does she split to be in several places at once?  I mean, it's not out of the realm of possibility, this being Fa'Lina, after all.  But I don't recall seeing it in the comics.  

Maybe its something Cubi can do?

[Stig Hemmer]

Kria questions Fa'Linas loyalties...

I thought that her loyalty were well known:

To the Cubi race, in all its forms.
To Abel the cubi.
To Aniz the cubi.
To every other cubi.

Under the circumstances she might have decided to sacrifice Aniz for the greater good, but saving Aniz from the consequences of his actions is also perfectly in line with her general cubi loyalty.

Shouldn't Kria know this?

[Noone]

Shouldn't Kria know this?

Probably not, Cubi (from what I can tell), tend to have a rather dubious reputation. They revel in deceit and secrecy, and as such, any apparent motive can just as easily be another fabrication. Plus, Fa'Lina keeps SAIA tucked away from the rest of the world, which means that only speculation exists as to what goes on in there. I wouldn't be surprised from Kria's comments if she thought the place was something Fa'Lina was using to try and maximize her personal power by creating an army of willing servants.
A combination of ignorance coupled with very few, but consistent facts can easily generate such a view-point.

[Attic Rat]

Fa'lina just handed Kria a very serious problem, an "I saw what you did there" involving Abel both as a witness and a victim. Depending on Kria's response, this tea party could go  to DEFCON 1 and put Abel  in deadly danger. Since this is a flashback, we know it didn't go THAT far... I can only wonder if they managed to part peacefully, and if so - how?

Kria's only nonviolent way out seems to be "proving" Abel was brainwashed.

Nice moment-o-tension there, Amber!

[!KCA]

What's interesting is that Zvinth isn't quite the forward-thinking community of friendly neighborhood demons it makes itself out to be. It's actually a rather vicious expansionist city state, if this interpretation is correct.

[Anker Steadfast]

Unless we end up with a moment akin to when Kria met Jyrras's mother ... and they start complimenting eachother on how evil they both are.

Remember, Fa'Lina = Evil Succubus.

[Madd the Sane]

No.. no. It may not even be from being able to foresee things. Everyone seems to forget that what Fa'lina doesn't see with her foresight she can probably think about and analyze, you know with having a brain and all?

This is true, though I'm kind of curious as to how much time she has to brood on things like that when she has a thousand or so students doing weird and wonderful things 24x7...

That and all the paperwork and political duties that come with being the headmistress/president of what could be considered a private tier-one mega-college.

You assume that she doesn't have people under her to deal with those things.  If she did everything, she would go insane.
Unless, of course, she can be in two places at once.

It wouldn't surprise me if sometimes one of Fa'lina's helpers tried to imitate her.

[Anker Steadfast]

No.. no. It may not even be from being able to foresee things. Everyone seems to forget that what Fa'lina doesn't see with her foresight she can probably think about and analyze, you know with having a brain and all?

This is true, though I'm kind of curious as to how much time she has to brood on things like that when she has a thousand or so students doing weird and wonderful things 24x7...

That and all the paperwork and political duties that come with being the headmistress/president of what could be considered a private tier-one mega-college.

You assume that she doesn't have people under her to deal with those things.  If she did everything, she would go insane.
Unless, of course, she can be in two places at once.

It wouldn't surprise me if sometimes one of Fa'lina's helpers tried to imitate her.

According to her cast page, Fa'Lina just might be able to be in two places at the same time.

Also, with the aility to predict a good deal of what happens around her, she'll be able to catch most of it before it gets difficult to handle, thus making the least of something that would be a big deal for others to handle.

I mean, how often don't you think "oh, if only i had done that instead of that, things would have been *so* much easier!"  ??
Well, Fa'Lina *can* do that with her foresight.
Also, being able to teleport around can cut down on travel time.
And she doesn't need to sleep.
And many of the trouble makers will keep themselves in check, simply because of her fearsome reputation of knowing when they are up to no good!

And she probably have people helping her out as well.

[joshofspam]

Well with that said it would probably be better for Abel to stay at the academy.

With him being a credable witness, even though Kria might want to protect him he might be a target for the person who was ordering Kria around.

Then again could this be a plot to silence Abel once they get their hands on him?

[Scarydragon]

I wouldn't be surprised from Kria's comments if she thought [SAIA] was something Fa'Lina was using to try and maximize her personal power by creating an army of willing servants.

That would be a fair assumption to a demon, seeing as how they treat power as the biggest and best qualifier.

[AmigaDragon]

Remember, Fa'Lina = Evil Succubus.

Has it actually been established that she's evil? Some of what I've seen of her could be interpreted  as good, she can be pleasant or helpful, other could be seen more as neutral. There's more than just the good-evil scale, there's other possible scales to add more dimension to the characters: (borrowing from D&D) lawful-chaotic, ... I'm coming up at a loss to present others right now, but perhaps you get my point.

[Shachza]

She seems good, and she's got a code of ethics.  (see also: when Aniz dropped off Abel.)  However, she is willing to kick butt in the name of "You've really pissed me off!"  Which is deffinitely not a 'good' quality.  She's not capricious or overly whimsical, and she doesn't seem to want to destroy lots of things.  She's also not subversive (in the classically evil sense at least).

I would rate her Lawful Neutral.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I would rate her Lawful Neutral.

People who make the laws do tend to end up enforcing them. I'm still thinking about if that makes them lawful or not...

[Shachza]

People who make the laws do tend to end up enforcing them. I'm still thinking about if that makes them lawful or not...

It sure does.

Chaotic people may come up with rules, but they're willing to forgoe them if it seems like a better idea than continuing to follow them.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

It sure does.

Chaotic people may come up with rules, but they're willing to forgoe them if it seems like a better idea than continuing to follow them.

Enforcing the rules doesn't mean you're not chaotic. It just means you're taking advantage of the rules to screw people. If you later change your mind...

(I'll admit I'm still thinking this position over; it's possible that the term I'm thinking of is correct...)

[Bjalf]

I would rate her Lawful Neutral.

Chaotic Annoying.

[A. Lurker]

However, she is willing to kick butt in the name of "You've really pissed me off!"  Which is deffinitely not a 'good' quality.

'Good' does not have to be 'nice'. Moreover, as headmistress of SAIA with all that entails Fa'lina pretty much has to demonstrate that she's nobody's doormat every so often; that says nothing about her personality (although I'm willing to forgive her for enjoying it every so often ), it just comes with the job. Take the conversation this thread is about, for example: At a glance, could you tell me how much of what we see is her true self, and how much is just her talking to a demon -- creatures who respect power first and foremost, after all -- on a level that the latter will 'get'?

At this point, I don't consider Fa'lina 'evil' and it would take a fairly shocking reversal to make me change my mind about that -- we've simply never seen her do anything that would honestly qualify. Whether she's truly 'good' in a meaningful sense is somewhat harder to make out and so the jury's still out on that as far as I'm concerned, but I'm willing to go out on a limb and hereby state that if I had a choice in who I'd rather run into in a dark alley at night, I'd pick Fa'lina over Kria anytime. At least that way I might live to have nightmares afterwards.

[Tapewolf]

At this point, I don't consider Fa'lina 'evil' and it would take a fairly shocking reversal to make me change my mind about that -- we've simply never seen her do anything that would honestly qualify.

Well, you've got the whole 'founding a school that teaches people to eat other people's souls'  
I don't really know what her actual take is on that, she might view it a necessary evil.  With Fa'Lina it's very difficult to tell because she tends to assume different personalities depending on who she talks to (see her cast page).  E.g. when talking with Aary, she joked about killing Beings, when dealing with Abel she's more sympathetic.

I'm willing to go out on a limb and hereby state that if I had a choice in who I'd rather run into in a dark alley at night, I'd pick Fa'lina over Kria anytime. At least that way I might live to have nightmares afterwards.

If you were a Being and you did something that irritated her, like being in her path, I wouldn't stake your life upon it.  If you were 'Cubi, then you'd probably do okay.

[A. Lurker]

At this point, I don't consider Fa'lina 'evil' and it would take a fairly shocking reversal to make me change my mind about that -- we've simply never seen her do anything that would honestly qualify.

Well, you've got the whole 'founding a school that teaches people to eat other people's souls'  
I don't really know what her actual take is on that, she might view it a necessary evil.  With Fa'Lina it's very difficult to tell because she tends to assume different personalities depending on who she talks to (see her cast page).  E.g. when talking with Aary, she joked about killing Beings, when dealing with Abel she's more sympathetic.

Cubi eat souls (when they do) more or less naturally, so it's not as though she was deliberately instigating it. I will concede that we don't know much about where she stands with regard to Beings -- most people we've seen her relate to to date were cubi, with the occasional other Creature thrown in. That uncertainty is one of the remaining reasons I haven't just filed her under 'good' yet.

I'm willing to go out on a limb and hereby state that if I had a choice in who I'd rather run into in a dark alley at night, I'd pick Fa'lina over Kria anytime. At least that way I might live to have nightmares afterwards.

If you were a Being and you did something that irritated her, like being in her path, I wouldn't stake your life upon it.  If you were 'Cubi, then you'd probably do okay.

Well, I do know that if I was a Being, Kria would probably kill or eat me for no better reason than being there and have all but forgotten about it five minutes later. That's the way she's been pretty consistently portrayed. Compared to that...nope, I'd still take my chances with Fa'lina.

[Tapewolf]

Cubi eat souls (when they do) more or less naturally, so it's not as though she was deliberately instigating it.

Actually, I think you'll find it's something they have to be taught, as opposed to a reflex ability.

[A. Lurker]

Cubi eat souls (when they do) more or less naturally, so it's not as though she was deliberately instigating it.

Actually, I think you'll find it's something they have to be taught, as opposed to a reflex ability.

Hmmm. Raises the question (independent of the 'natural'/'magical' distinction made in that thread) of whether it's

(a) a trick that anybody, including non-cubi, could potentially learn, or
(b) something cubi-specific that only they can pick up but still need to practice to realize their potential, or
(c) something all cubi can in fact do by default but not all choose to.

Also, to get back to my original point, the Academy is probably not the only place where cubi who want to learn all about this soul-devouring bit can do so. Presumably, they do usually get some sort of basic education by their clan before they're sent to SAIA (Dan and Abel being exceptions for the obvious reason -- they didn't even know what they were until their headwings popped out).

[Tapewolf]

Hmmm. Raises the question (independent of the 'natural'/'magical' distinction made in that thread) of whether it's

(a) a trick that anybody, including non-cubi, could potentially learn, or
(b) something cubi-specific that only they can pick up but still need to practice to realize their potential, or
(c) something all cubi can in fact do by default but not all choose to.

It's certainly not restricted to 'Cubi, because Angels and Demons can also do this.  It might be that they have to use a spell and 'Cubi don't, but I'm not convinced.

Personally, the way I've been approaching it for RP and writing is that it's probably a spell which anyone can cast, if they know how to.  What might be different is that 'Cubi can utilise the energy in ways that Demons and Angels may not be able to.  Either way, I'm open to corrections.

Also, to get back to my original point, the Academy is probably not the only place where cubi who want to learn all about this soul-devouring bit can do so. Presumably, they do usually get some sort of basic education by their clan before they're sent to SAIA (Dan and Abel being exceptions for the obvious reason -- they didn't even know what they were until their headwings popped out).

Agreed.  In any case, since Fa'Lina's ultimate goal seems to be to protect her race, it's possible that she considers soul-stealing to be part of the price of doing that.  As I understand it, while it has other uses, soul-eating is the main way 'Cubi power themselves up if they wish to attempt to become tri-winged.  It also seems to extend their lives even if they don't go for broke.  Keeping the right 'Cubi alive might be the difference between success or failure.

Anyhow, my contention is that she's neutral.

[AmigaDragon]

I'm willing to go out on a limb and hereby state that if I had a choice in who I'd rather run into in a dark alley at night, I'd pick Fa'lina over Kria anytime. At least that way I might live to have nightmares afterwards.

If you were a Being and you did something that irritated her, like being in her path, I wouldn't stake your life upon it.  If you were 'Cubi, then you'd probably do okay.

Well, I do know that if I was a Being, Kria would probably kill or eat me for no better reason than being there and have all but forgotten about it five minutes later. That's the way she's been pretty consistently portrayed. Compared to that...nope, I'd still take my chances with Fa'lina.

Kria can be pleasant when she wants to be, whether it's for a job or with someone she already knows (from that job in this case). So if she likes you, I'd say you're fairly safe in that dark alley with her.

BTW, I'm wondering (and forget whether it had been addressed) if Kria realized Abel was a cubi before she first saw his headwings.

[ChaosMageX]

Personally, the way I've been approaching it for RP and writing is that it's probably a spell which anyone can cast, if they know how to.  What might be different is that 'Cubi can utilise the energy in ways that Demons and Angels may not be able to.  Either way, I'm open to corrections.

So what you're saying is that even beings could devour souls to extend their life spans, if they knew the right spell?

[Tapewolf]

So what you're saying is that even beings could devour souls to extend their life spans, if they knew the right spell?

Using it to extend their lifespans is the bit which might possibly be 'Cubi-specific, since it is known that 'Cubi are energy-feeders.  However, you could no doubt devise some kind of spell to extend the life of an Angel, Demon or possibly even a Being using soul energy to drive it.  (EDIT: Life-extension is sold in Zinvth and souls can be used to power enchantments, so I think that's pretty much nailed down.)

With Beings, it depends whether they have the magical talent to cast the spell.  It's also possible that the techniques involved would take longer than a Being's lifespan to learn.

But!  If you were a Being with the right kind of enchanted doodads, I don't see why you could not go around devouring people to extend your own wicked life, a'la Elric of Meliboné and his soul-stealing sword, Stormbringer.  (Well, notwithstanding that you'd eventually have a high-powered Creature hired to take you down)