02/01/10 [Clans #5] - Taun of the Clan Badass

[Feather Dancer]

Se is made of win and pink.

Need I say more?

[Anker Steadfast]

Oh, that's right - All the horrible fighting .. I had forgotten about that.

Heh.  More specifically:

Catching Janus
Preparing to destroy Edward
Vows of destruction
Intimidating Dan
...and of course, Hennya.

Now, I don't pretend for a minute that this is the only reason a 'Cubi would do that.  If you're in a situation where people know you're 'Cubi and don't care, it would be handy for carrying tools, cutting material, climbing scaffolding and a million and one other uses.

It's happening to Dan because he doesn't have control over it yet, but mostly - if you're in Being mode because people are going to try and kill you if they find out what you are - the usual time you'd resort to bringing out your tentacles is if you're fighting for your life, or if there aren't going to be any living witnesses afterwards.  Or, if no-one is going to see you.

EDIT:
...which is not to say that someone like Fa'lina or Taun wouldn't do it just for show.  But the typical use seems to be for violence.

All good points and all, however we know that his wings can act independantly of him, even to the point of discomfort. We also know that he can manipulate them at will, so I reckon that the wings have a  sort of mind of their own, possibly based on his subconsciousness, though they can behave in a different mood than Dan.

Possibly the more intense the emotions involved, the more control the wings have over themselves.
So the bigger dichotomy inside of the cubi, the more chance the wings will act out on some base desire or whimsy.

But in cases where there is little internal confusion, such as when Dan goes into a fight, they seem to aid or improve on his control over the wings. As in the fight with Regina, you can see one of the wingheads try tro bite Regina, I doubt Dan told it to, it probably did it of its own free weill, but I bet Dan really approved of it. Offcourse, the more experience and training (of which Dan has very little) the better you can control them.



Now, imagine Aniz and Destania confronting each other!
They sorta hate eachother due to their falling out,  but deeper down, there may still be unresolved feelings of love left.
And since they have ENORMOUS unresolved issues, their wings might act out even though they are quite experienced and well trained.
Offcourse, it doesn't help their case that Amber might approve of a bit of lighthearted humor.

so ... a comic strip could be like this

/imagination

Aniz : "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR"
Destania : "HISSSSSSSSSSSSS"
*wings transform into tentacles with heads and all, snarling at eachother*
Aniz : "I hate you so much, you evil witch!"
Destania : "I will destroy you!"
*Amber intrudes into the comic*
Amber : "Dangit, this isn't funny at all, gotta do something."
Fluffy : "Amber, have you seen my Spaceballs movie around here?"
Amber : "Hmmmmmmm"   
*new frame with Destania and Aniz snared tightly together by their tentacles*
*said tentacles have suddenly developed an incredible urge to hug eachother*
Aniz : "AARHGG, I hate you so much!"
Destania : "I will destroy you!"
Aniz : "Let go of me you witch!"
Destania : "I can't, my wings won't let me"
Aniz : "Argh, why is your tentacleheads kissing me?"
Destania : *Destania blushes* "I ... uhhh"
Aniz : "Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!"
*new frame with Amber giving the thumbsup*
Fluffy : "Whoa, that's some quality awkard you've found there Amber"
Amber : "I know, it's awesome."

(disclaimer this is pure fantasy, based on a fantasy comic dagnabbit, and none of Amber's doing, blame me instead)

/imagination stops

And in case noone have seen Spaceballs the movie, it's a Jedi parody where Dark Helmet and the heroes lightswords gets entined during battle.
It's a hilarious scene, and I ripped it off for all it was worth.

In ending, wings acting on their own has all sorts of parody written all over them.

[Tapewolf]

I reckon that the wings have a  sort of mind of their own, possibly based on his subconsciousness, though they can behave in a different mood than Dan.

That's pretty much it, yes.

Possibly the more intense the emotions involved, the more control the wings have over themselves.
So the bigger dichotomy inside of the cubi, the more chance the wings will act out on some base desire or whimsy.

Maybe, but AFAIK it's something that you can rein in when you know how to control them.  The Dan-Regina fight was done instinctively.  Destania, for instance, probably isn't going to have her wing tentacles bring her coffee.

[Ted Schiller]

(snip)

Why is everyone so surprised the sign's a pair of Barbie-pink moons?

*sings* Fightin' evil by the moonlight...

*sings* ...Winning love by daylight...

*stabs you both* The dub is a vile vile thing that should never be mention without threats of harm upon it's fans or makers, or just wishing all the copies of it in the world all caught fire at once.... Err.... I mean.... *flees*

Pardon me if my love is not gentle
I can say when I'm here in my dream
My heart is about to short circuit
Right now I want you here with me

Better?
You can sing that to Red River Valley.  

With regards,
Ted

[Arapaima]

Would I be correct in assuming she's a southpaw? With the armor limited to the one arm it reminds me to some extent of a myrmillo, who generally wore armor on their sword arm and wore a scutum or other shield on the bare arm. The sandals and greaves also add to the somewhat to the effect.

[Scarydragon]

Would I be correct in assuming she's a southpaw? With the armor limited to the one arm it reminds me to some extent of a myrmillo, who generally wore armor on their sword arm and wore a scutum or other shield on the bare arm. The sandals and greaves also add to the somewhat to the effect.

Heh, try putting a helmet over that hair though.

[SpottedKitty]

Destania, for instance, probably isn't going to have her wing tentacles bring her coffee.

Not accidentally, anyway.

I was going to say "only if it was funny", but I remember what Fa'lina said about Destania's "attempts at humour". The mind positively boggles. Could she have changed so much in the time since Abel first met her?

[Anker Steadfast]

Destania, for instance, probably isn't going to have her wing tentacles bring her coffee.

Not accidentally, anyway.

I was going to say "only if it was funny", but I remember what Fa'lina said about Destania's "attempts at humour". The mind positively boggles. Could she have changed so much in the time since Abel first met her?

I agree, Destania's humor is probably not the issue here, but it takes two to tango as they say.
For all we know, someone could manipulate her into making coffee for them .. against her will, though her wings might enjoy it.

Heck, making coffee with their wings might be a special trait of the Cyra clan !! 

[Anker Steadfast]

Possibly the more intense the emotions involved, the more control the wings have over themselves.
So the bigger dichotomy inside of the cubi, the more chance the wings will act out on some base desire or whimsy.

Maybe, but AFAIK it's something that you can rein in when you know how to control them.  The Dan-Regina fight was done instinctively.  Destania, for instance, probably isn't going to have her wing tentacles bring her coffee.

Agreed, though the Coffee incident was notoriously low key.
In cases where her issued might be more serious, it could probably still happen.

Ie. if it's a trivial matter, experience and training will reign supreme.
But lets say it's something bigger, like being ambushed by a Dragon, or facing off with Aniz, her wings might act out of order before she can "command" them to stop.

That's not necesarily a bad thing, as having the wings act by reflex could potentially save their lives in case of an ambush.
Though it might complicate matters in the case of, say, aniz.

Overall, it's probably an advantage for a Cubi, as long as they learn how and why their wings act like they do, they could possibly even turn it into a strategic advantage.



Offcourse, all of this is pure speculation and amber could just say  "BAD forum people ... down, heel, stop that silly thing!!"

[Amber Williams]

Offcourse, all of this is pure speculation and amber could just say  "BAD forum people ... down, heel, stop that silly thing!!"

I am going to say that you should know better than to double-post Anker.  And if you don't stop that, then it is going to result badly for you.

[Anker Steadfast]

Offcourse, all of this is pure speculation and amber could just say  "BAD forum people ... down, heel, stop that silly thing!!"

I am going to say that you should know better than to double-post Anker.  And if you don't stop that, then it is going to result badly for you.

GAH ... you're right .. I really should!
How can I make reparations ?

[Les]

Would I be correct in assuming she's a southpaw? With the armor limited to the one arm it reminds me to some extent of a myrmillo, who generally wore armor on their sword arm and wore a scutum or other shield on the bare arm. The sandals and greaves also add to the somewhat to the effect.

Sufficiently strong plate armor makes a shield redundant, I would imagine she leaves the right arm bare to give it maximum freedom of movement if that's her weapon arm while she only has one hip-guard on her right hip not only to balance out the armor on her left arm but to leave the left hip free to hang a sword or such off of.  That's how the logic bends in my brain anyway.   

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

GAH ... you're right .. I really should!
How can I make reparations ?

You could start with letting other people post.

[iceick]

Offcourse, all of this is pure speculation and amber could just say  "BAD forum people ... down, heel, stop that silly thing!!"

I am going to say that you should know better than to double-post Anker.  And if you don't stop that, then it is going to result badly for you.

GAH ... you're right .. I really should!
How can I make reparations ?

That's how.

[Omega]

Black and pink, very Slaanesh. 40k has the best color schemes.

[PencilinHand]

Huh. Taun's clan is apparently the strongest clan so far in Cubi clan leaders.

I  think Mink is going from least to greatest.

Then Clan Fa'Lina should have been first. From what we heard it has a size of 1.

Unless Amber is counting the faux clan that is the academy or is not count the clan leaders among the numb of clan members due to the whole infertility thing.

If she's going from least to greatest, um, isn't Cyra's strength '2'?

Cyra wont be among the cubi clan leaders.
:cough:Reason on page one.:cough:
Retracted, my understanding of cubi physiology was not what I thought it was.

My disproportionate senses are tingling!  D:

What do you mean?

It might be just me, but I thought her right arm seemed a touch too beefy in proportion to her waist.

Just a little, though.  I'm not accusing her of pulling a Rob Liefield, here.  

I can see why you are saying that.

Part of the reason is her lower body isn't facing the same direction as her upper body. So her right arm(the one on the left from our perspective) is actually closer to the POV making the perspective skew her right arm, the forearm especially, appear to be "beefy."  Also, she is twisting at the waist so her waist appears slimmer that it actually is.

If anything her left arm(the one on the right), seems to be a little big, but this may be due to funny body positioning and the illusion of volume created by the armor.  Speaking of which, I can't help but think the chest-plate must chafe horribly....
Good thing it is only for show.

She is made of win and pink.

Need I say more?

Yes.  You forgot to add the obligatory   .

Oh, that's right - All the horrible fighting .. I had forgotten about that.

Heh.  More specifically:

Catching Janus
Preparing to destroy Edward
Vows of destruction
Intimidating Dan
...and of course, Hennya.

Now, I don't pretend for a minute that this is the only reason a 'Cubi would do that.  If you're in a situation where people know you're 'Cubi and don't care, it would be handy for carrying tools, cutting material, climbing scaffolding and a million and one other uses.

It's happening to Dan because he doesn't have control over it yet, but mostly - if you're in Being mode because people are going to try and kill you if they find out what you are - the usual time you'd resort to bringing out your tentacles is if you're fighting for your life, or if there aren't going to be any living witnesses afterwards.  Or, if no-one is going to see you.

EDIT:
...which is not to say that someone like Fa'lina or Taun wouldn't do it just for show.  But the typical use seems to be for violence.

All good points and all, however we know that his wings can act independantly of him, even to the point of discomfort. We also know that he can manipulate them at will, so I reckon that the wings have a  sort of mind of their own, possibly based on his subconsciousness, though they can behave in a different mood than Dan.

Possibly the more intense the emotions involved, the more control the wings have over themselves.
So the bigger dichotomy inside of the cubi, the more chance the wings will act out on some base desire or whimsy.

But in cases where there is little internal confusion, such as when Dan goes into a fight, they seem to aid or improve on his control over the wings. As in the fight with Regina, you can see one of the wingheads try tro bite Regina, I doubt Dan told it to, it probably did it of its own free weill, but I bet Dan really approved of it. Offcourse, the more experience and training (of which Dan has very little) the better you can control them.

...:snip of imagination:...

And in case noone have seen Spaceballs the movie, it's a Jedi parody where Dark Helmet and the heroes lightswords gets entined during battle.
It's a hilarious scene, and I ripped it off for all it was worth.

In ending, wings acting on their own has all sorts of parody written all over them.

I think the most telling and enlightening example is that of Hennya.  Anzi clearly did not want the end result but still got the result, he even apologized to an extent.  

I suspect controlling the wing heads(is their really a proper name for them?) is kind of like controlling your own thinking.  Like how when someone makes you mad your first instinct, your first thought,  may be counter productive so you don't act on it.  Not everyone may be aware of their thinking enough realize they are suppressing their first thought as a reaction, though.

The more powerful and willful, chiefly clan leaders, are capable and mature enough to cause their wing-heads to act with subtlety.  Where the less powerful, such as Anzi and Dan, are only partly in control and generally settle for suppressing them unless sufficiently motivated(like Dan with Regina) or when they lose control(like Anzi with Hennya).

EDIT: For great justice!

[Lucheek]

If she's going from least to greatest, um, isn't Cyra's strength '2'?

Cyra wont be among the cubi clan leaders.
:cough:Reason on page one.:cough:

Are you implying Cyra is dead? I'm pretty sure she's alive.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

I concure that Cyra is indeed alive and here's why:

1.) Dan's headwings MAIN WINGS/BACK WINGS, WHATEVER WINGS (there corrected.....*facepalms* would not have heads, since only those who's leaders are alive have them
2.) Two there has been no mention of her actually beign dead, so therefore dead unless said so
3.) If she was indeed dead he would not have been able to tap into his clan's power reserves, since when a leader dies (Example: Siar with Aniz) there power levels are greatly reduced. In that regard Fi probably wouldn't have gotten so big.


If anything I have said is incorrect or not worded well enough for understanding please tell me otherwise!  

[Tapewolf]

Are you implying Cyra is dead? I'm pretty sure she's alive.

She might count as inactive, if she is in hiding and has exactly two descendants (one of whom is also in hiding and the other has only just realised he's a 'Cubi at all).
I guess we'll probably find out - but if she's not in the lineup, that might be why.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

Are you implying Cyra is dead? I'm pretty sure she's alive.

She might count as inactive, if she is in hiding and has exactly two descendants (one of whom is also in hiding and the other has only just realised he's a 'Cubi at all).
I guess we'll probably find out - but if she's not in the lineup, that might be why.

I agree with in the inactive, probably to protect not only herself, but perhaps to protect the only two descendants she has: Destania and Dan. Remember the dragons are not to happy with the Crya Clan, so less activity=less knowledge for them as ammo.

[RandomMetaphysics]

This obviously doesn't work if the Cubi is the clan leader. I mention this now because sooner or later SOMEONE would try to ask if a Cubi who lost its clan could just enlist members via that method.  

I was curious as to why Fa'Lina didn't do that. Thank you Amber

Concerning Cyra... she may be alive, but I don't think she's "active," from what I've seen anyway. From what's been revealed so far, Destania is the only confirmed member of the Cyra Clan who is working to end the dragon race.
I'm guessing if, (and this is a BIG if) Cyra, Destania, and Dan are the only members of their clan... Cyra's main interests would be keeping Dan safe.
Destania is pretty much capable of keeping herself safe. I say that with great certainty.

[Scow2]

Sufficiently strong plate armor makes a shield redundant, I would imagine she leaves the right arm bare to give it maximum freedom of movement if that's her weapon arm while she only has one hip-guard on her right hip not only to balance out the armor on her left arm but to leave the left hip free to hang a sword or such off of.  That's how the logic bends in my brain anyway.   

I'm for idea the unarmored arm is the shield arm. Her armor isn't sufficient to protect her body, in coverage if not durability. The window under her breastplate is quite inviting for blows, but a shield can compensate without reducing mobility or fanservice. Also, having no protection on a weapon arm is a really stupid idea... extending a long, relatively thin piece of unprotected anatomy toward a foe is an invitation to have it sliced or bitten off, sharp pointy thing at the end be damned. Just ask any Skywalker.

[Vanvidum]

I'm guessing that the battle cry for Taun's clan is something like...
"Rage for the Rage Clan!"

[Scow2]

Nah... it's "We're too badass to need a war cry"

I love this clan. I wonder how much respect Dan's impressive resume would earn him with Clan Taun... Single-handedly killing an ~750+-year-old Demon isn't exactly a small feat for someone who probably wasn't even 20 at the time... And to prove it wasn't a fluke, he did it again. And again... And would have done it a 3rd time Dark Pegasus' niece not intervened.

Though personally, I think Dan's suffering from Punch-drunkenness-induced Badass decay, hence his stupidity despite his martial prowess...

[AmigaDragon]

The 'Cubification thread from 2005 first opened that door when Amber said that it was possible.  This is just the first time it's been mentioned in-comic.

You've been cubified.

I concure that Crya is indeed alive and here's why:

1.) Dan's headwings would not have heads, since only those who's leaders are alive have them

I haven't seen anyone's headwings with heads except for Dan one time.  

[Arcblade]

I concure that Crya is indeed alive and here's why:

1.) Dan's headwings would not have heads, since only those who's leaders are alive have them

I haven't seen anyone's headwings with heads except for Dan one time.  

And that one time was priceless.  

So, Siar's clan and Taun's clan were the two clans to gain power during the Dragon-Cubi war.  

I'm going to be interested to see if Cyra shows up in the Cubi Clans miniarc.  There's a pretty good argument for her being inactive, therefore not required for the paper.  But I'm fairly certain she's alive.

Such a pity Taun would have been angered if Fa'Lina had just chucked Aniz back into Zinvth.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

I concure that Cyra is indeed alive and here's why:

1.) Dan's headwings MAIN WINGS/BACK WINGS, WHATEVER WINGS (I get it before I made an error, laugh as you will.......*facepalms*) would not have heads, since only those who's leaders are alive have them

I haven't seen anyone's headwings with heads except for Dan one time.  

And that one time was priceless.  

So, Siar's clan and Taun's clan were the two clans to gain power during the Dragon-Cubi war.  

I'm going to be interested to see if Cyra shows up in the Cubi Clans miniarc.  There's a pretty good argument for her being inactive, therefore not required for the paper.  But I'm fairly certain she's alive.

Such a pity Taun would have been angered if Fa'Lina had just chucked Aniz back into Zinvth.
[/quote]

I just noticed that............*facepalms*............I meant to say backwings, my bad ^^;

[Tipod]

Haha,  that has to be one of the more sensible fantasy armors I've ever seen on a female character.

[inuhanyo]

And am I way off, or does the 'not work for clan leaders' part mean Taun adopted her stepson Before she ascended?

Or, extrapolating from Amber's description, 99 clan members agreed to contribute 1% of their power, bringing the new adoptee to 99% (and all of the contributors down to 99%).

Then everybody works on increasing their power by 1%.

And would have done it a 3rd time Dark Pegasus' niece not intervened.

Though personally, I think Dan's suffering from Punch-drunkenness-induced Badass decay, hence his stupidity despite his martial prowess...

Nah, Dan went after Regina in a rage, and let the rage use him.  That's why he lost.

Hmm, which would give him a reason to take lessons from Taun's daughter.

[RandomMetaphysics]

I concure that Crya is indeed alive and here's why:

1.) Dan's headwings would not have heads, since only those who's leaders are alive have them

I haven't seen anyone's headwings with heads except for Dan one time. 

And that one time was priceless. 

So, Siar's clan and Taun's clan were the two clans to gain power during the Dragon-Cubi war. 

I'm going to be interested to see if Cyra shows up in the Cubi Clans miniarc.  There's a pretty good argument for her being inactive, therefore not required for the paper.  But I'm fairly certain she's alive.

Such a pity Taun would have been angered if Fa'Lina had just chucked Aniz back into Zinvth.

I looked for that page where Fa'Lina said she couldn't toss Aniz back gift-wrapped. Something I would have loved to see, mind you. (http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Ab_009.php)

But on this page: http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Ab_013.php
Who is the "them" Aniz is referring to?