03/20/10 [DMFA#1098] - Careful What You Point at, It may make a point of its own

[Gamma]

Yeah, someones onto someone else. Latched onto...

[Thirty Second Artbomb]

Hm. There are two ways this could go.

1) Pip is sticking to his "cover story" and trying to throw Abel off by not acting sentient, or...
2) Abel really was just dreaming, and Pip is being Pip when it comes to having fingers stuck in his face.

Either way, I giggled.

[LionHeart]

Could even be both.

Also, has anyone else noticed the similarity between this strip and the most recent strip of Freefall?

[Bjalf]

Also, has anyone else noticed the similarity between this strip and the most recent strip of Freefall?

Dang, that's spooky. It's a conspiracy!   


When I look at strip 1098, the words peckish and nibble keep going through my mind.

Frame three: "So, are you feeling peckish?"
Frame four: "Hi, Mab! Do you want a nibble, too?"

[Eibborn]

Hm. There are two ways this could go.

1) Pip is sticking to his "cover story" and trying to throw Abel off by not acting sentient, or...
2) Abel really was just dreaming, and Pip is being Pip when it comes to having fingers stuck in his face.

Either way, I giggled.

Cubi don't dream, so it can't be as innocent as option two there. I think number one is probably right, but it's possible that someone else is making Abel dream and using dream!Pip as a mouthpiece.

[Thirty Second Artbomb]

Hm. There are two ways this could go.

1) Pip is sticking to his "cover story" and trying to throw Abel off by not acting sentient, or...
2) Abel really was just dreaming, and Pip is being Pip when it comes to having fingers stuck in his face.

Either way, I giggled.

Cubi don't dream, so it can't be as innocent as option two there. I think number one is probably right, but it's possible that someone else is making Abel dream and using dream!Pip as a mouthpiece.

Emphasis mine. I'd like to direct you to this strip, and I'd also like to note that as far as I'm aware the only source we have for "Cubi don't dream" is Abel - who may have been dreaming at the time.

Edit: Oooo, something I just thought of! Maybe Dan's dream in #998 and #999 was because of the same person behind Abel's recent dream, and the reason Dan got a happy ending to his is because of Cyra's intervention?

[Tapewolf]

Emphasis mine. I'd like to direct you to this strip, and I'd also like to note that as far as I'm aware the only source we have for "Cubi don't dream" is Abel - who may have been dreaming at the time.

Yeah.  What he was really saying was more likely "'Cubi of my age don't dream".  From what's been mentioned by Amber over the years (which is subject to change as she rethinks things, of course), 'Cubi lose the ability to dream which fades as they mature.
Hence, Dan can still dream because he's young enough, and now that his mark has appeared, his Founder is able to use her link to her clan members to influence said dreams.  Unless it gradually becomes less frequent, rather than abruptly stopping, Abel shouldn't be able to dream, at least not in the same was he could when he was younger.

[Thirty Second Artbomb]

Hm. That's a valid point, though I feel I have to point out that if it's the "You still dream, just a whole lot less often" option, it doesn't completely rule out the "Abel was just dreaming" theory.

[Tapewolf]

Hm. That's a valid point, though I feel I have to point out that if it's the "You still dream, just a whole lot less often" option, it doesn't completely rule out the "Abel was just dreaming" theory.

Indeed, it just seems rather less likely IMHO.

[MT Hazard]

Compare this comic from yesterday. I wonder if Amber reads freefall?

[Arapaima]

Florence has made a cameo in DMFA; but I really think any similarity here is coincidental.

For instance, in this case there were no tentacles involved. Unfortunately for Florence, tentacles came into play at full force.

[Mao]

Cubi don't dream, so it can't be as innocent as option two there. I think number one is probably right, but it's possible that someone else is making Abel dream and using dream!Pip as a mouthpiece.

According to sources they also don't need to eat or sleep.  Abel still does both.  Could be, that he's not as matured as he lets on.

[joshofspam]

Cubi don't dream, so it can't be as innocent as option two there. I think number one is probably right, but it's possible that someone else is making Abel dream and using dream!Pip as a mouthpiece.

According to sources they also don't need to eat or sleep.  Abel still does both.  Could be, that he's not as matured as he lets on.

From what I read thus for it's just a preference because they don't need to eat. Not that they can't eat.

Remember toast, soda, and muffins have been enjoyed by several Cubi in the story thus for.


For a cubi the term comfort food probably implies more then sustenance.

As for the dream who's to say Cyras can't tap into a cubi without a clan leader.

[Jairus]

Random thought: Maybe it was Aniz trying to get into Abel's thoughts and make him go nuts like him, or for some reason like that? Has anyone voiced that thought yet?

Also, Amber, is that a reference to "Cookies are a sometimes food" or whatever that new cookie monster song is?

[Rakyth]

Emphasis mine. I'd like to direct you to this strip, and I'd also like to note that as far as I'm aware the only source we have for "Cubi don't dream" is Abel - who may have been dreaming at the time.

Yeah.  What he was really saying was more likely "'Cubi of my age don't dream".  From what's been mentioned by Amber over the years (which is subject to change as she rethinks things, of course), 'Cubi lose the ability to dream which fades as they mature.
Hence, Dan can still dream because he's young enough, and now that his mark has appeared, his Founder is able to use her link to her clan members to influence said dreams.  Unless it gradually becomes less frequent, rather than abruptly stopping, Abel shouldn't be able to dream, at least not in the same was he could when he was younger.

While I realize that Mab never was an English major, Cyra said[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1002.php] that Destania had GIVEN UP the ability to dream. Giving almost aways is voluntary. What I find is more likely is that since Cubi do not need to sleep, as they get older, they let go of their former ways.

...but alas, I am not a heavy reader, and I am subject to many many errors.

[jeffh4]

Boy's lucky he didn't lose a finger.

BTW, points for Amber for the Cookie Monster reference.  I guess a beige cubi with brown spots looks too much like a beige cookie with chocolate chips.

[celelorien]

Yeah, Dan's definitely still young enough to dream, and will be for quite some time - Cyra asked to talk to him again soon, which is anything under a decade to her, so probably within the first hundred years a Cubi can still dream.

Maybe what Abel meant by "Cubi lose the ability to dream" related to Destania's having "given up the ability" is just that because they get so much older, and dreams are typically about people you knew or things that have happened or such (I'm going off what other people tell me - *my* dreams are personally full of crack for no reason, though I still cameo people I know) as a Cubi gets older, more of those people they knew (example: Abel's mom) have died or moved on and lots of places they knew and loved have changed beyond recognition, and probably unfortunate things have happened to them as well in the interim.  So after about a hundred-fifty or two hundred years (keep in mind, Abel's probably getting close to that 375-year benchmark), Cubi willingly give up the ability to dream so that they can stop thinking about people or things or places that have vanished.

I really have my doubts as to it being Cyra or Aniz or anybody else influencing Abel's dreams other than Pip himself - we've already seen that his being nonsentient IS just a cover, after all.  He's acted nonsentient from the first comic up to then, and from then to now.  And besides it being a proper dream, it could just be induced hypnagogic hallucinations. ;D

Of course, another good reason why Cubi give up the ability to dream (and why it wouldn't be Cyra or Aniz influencing it - I'm sure Aniz has lost the ability as well, considering his age, and Cyra can only talk to her descendants) could be because of this thing.... o__o;

edit: I forgot a point.  Abel probably IS pretty mature, because he doesn't have to eat - remember, he's forgotten how long normal sleep cycles are and he's also managed to sleep through the entirety of disco dancing.

[Infranscia]

Emphasis mine. I'd like to direct you to this strip, and I'd also like to note that as far as I'm aware the only source we have for "Cubi don't dream" is Abel - who may have been dreaming at the time.

Yeah.  What he was really saying was more likely "'Cubi of my age don't dream".  From what's been mentioned by Amber over the years (which is subject to change as she rethinks things, of course), 'Cubi lose the ability to dream which fades as they mature.

I know this is old and not officially part of the comic, but according to Aaryanna's LiveJournal, they lose the ability to dream when they reach a certain power-level, and some Cubi have actually stayed low-key in order to retain the ability to dream.


@Cele: I'm pretty sure 'that thing' is a Mythos, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was only one of many other creatures that can lurk into dreams.  So, all things considered, the 'possible suspect' list is pretty long at this point.

[Jasonrevall]

I guess Pip isn't a morning person. Then again, Pip would probably do this in the middle of the day if someone interrupted his nap.

[Psychedelic Mushroom]

Second Panel Pip's face is a overload of cuteness. 

[Baal Hadad]

Florence has made a cameo in DMFA; but I really think any similarity here is coincidental.

For instance, in this case there were no tentacles involved. Unfortunately for Florence, tentacles came into play at full force.

...When was that...?  I've read all the DMFA comics and I don't recall that....

Bad Mab!  Do NOT give Pip ideas by saying Abel isn't a SOMETIME food--knowing Pip he'd take that to mean Abel's an ALL-TIME food....

[Naldru]

I wonder if Fa'lina ever gave Abel the lecture about not pointing fingers at things with sharp teeth.

Florence's cameo appeared in this strip.

This site tries to index cross-references and cross-overs between webcomics.

[Baal Hadad]

I wonder if Fa'lina ever gave Abel the lecture about not pointing fingers at things with sharp teeth.

Florence's cameo appeared in this strip.

D'oh!  I remember that....

Sorry, I guess I thought it was the actual Florence as a background character or something....

[Infranscia]

Anyone notice that Mab isn't calling the bite 'huggles'?

Or maybe since he appears to be biting off Abel's hand, rather than just... gnawing, she figures it's not friendly.

[candide]

Of course, there's something that all of you seem to be missing.

Do we really know that Pip was speaking to Mab in a way that everyone else could understand?

Perhaps Mab is capable of parsing Pip's, "ki kiii ki,"s and understanding what Pip's saying.

[Naldru]

It could be that Fae have a Universal Translator spell.

[Trazz]

I lol'd so hard 

[AmigaDragon]

I wonder if Fa'lina ever gave Abel the lecture about not pointing fingers at things with sharp teeth.

Bah! Beat me to it. Yeah, Abel should have learned this lesson long ago.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

I guess a beige cubi with brown spots looks too much like a beige cookie with chocolate chips.

Well, it does say on Abel's cast page that he's also known as "Cookies and Cream"...........I guess Pip just took that literally! 

[Arapaima]

That crossovers site is absolutely mind-boggling in scale.