8/13/2012 [DMFA #1330] - The continuing adventures of Flash...

[Eboreg]

@maus_merryjest: If you believe the pre-canon comics, Jyrras is actually a very good marksman. What I want to see is him taking out Dark Pegasus and Regina with a bolt-action rifle. Also, I would recommend different music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts6wmBizzFM

[Ignuus66]

@maus_merryjest: If you believe the pre-canon comics, Jyrras is actually a very good marksman. What I want to see is him taking out Dark Pegasus and Regina with a bolt-action rifle. Also, I would recommend different music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts6wmBizzFM

what, like Simo Häyhä?

[DavidRokon]

...Abel seems to know what he's doing in a fight.

I agree. He was using his morphed backwings very effectively earlier.

I've actually noticed that Abel has a fighting style that is very familiar to what is mentioned about Clan Owona. Could it actually be that Abel might be taking it easy on BOB up to this moment?

Abel certainly wasn't a drop out of the combat courses.

I think we know where he got his fighting style from.

"You fight like my mom" -Dan

[AxiLarin]

I am personally in awe of this installment.  I'd have to say this is the best installment of DMFA (main or side-story) I've ever seen for numerous reasons.  Aside from the artistic merits and the killer pose at the end, I have loved the flashback over this installment and the previous.  Being able to add another dimension to past storyline feels so rewarding, like "Ah-ha... if we only knew.. this changes everything."
But above that it really hit me emotionally.  When Mab uncorked the revelation that her friends are in danger and two of them were going to die, I could feel Mab's moment of melancholy.  When Wildy tried to get Dan to stop blaming himself for the events that led to her mom's death, it honestly made me cry.  This time, I was a bit choked up... and perhaps a bit proud, too.  Up to this point in the skirmish, Abel has been in "what is wrong with you people... why are you picking on me" mode.  And his relationship with Dan has been an interesting mix of reluctant teacher and sparring partner in the torment department.  But when his thoughts went back to the day he left SAIA with Dan... the acknowledgement from Fa'Lina that Dan and, by association, his friends are in grave danger from very powerful, very deadly forces... the realization that he and Dan were both thrown head-first into the Cubi way of life without help from their parents, very ill-prepared, very vulnerable... and Fa'Lina's suggestion that this opportunity could give Abel a chance to find his life's purpose...  It's like watching the birth of Abel 2.0... a noble warrior determined to prevent anyone from learning of Dan's race or whereabouts and to protect his friends from harm, even at risk to his own life.  He could not save Devin or Hennya or protect his mother.  But now with 375 years of training and experience behind him, he can be somebody's savior.

Okay... that was wordy and heavy.  Who's up for some (non-lunar) chocolate cake? 

[lycaonpictus77]

@AxiLarin: I actually teared up reading that. That is it exactly.
And I for one would love some chocolate cake.

[Tapewolf]

It's like watching the birth of Abel 2.0... a noble warrior determined to prevent anyone from learning of Dan's race or whereabouts and to protect his friends from harm, even at risk to his own life.  He could not save Devin or Hennya or protect his mother.  But now with 375 years of training and experience behind him, he can be somebody's savior.

I like that idea.  It would be awesome to see Abel actually put some of his training to constructive use instead of moping around uselessly as he has done for the past 25 years or so.  Like when Dan suddenly accepted that 'Cubi powers might be useful and not a curse.  Maybe it actually will turn out to be a good birthday for Abel after all.

[Eboreg]

@Ignuus66: Exactly!

[Nocturne of Night]

You cant beat [him].... All that will happen is you will lead him to us and kill us all. I have seen this in my minds eye.

This is the quote (and associated music) that came to mind as I read this page. And I daresay that in some other fictional universe, a coin flip is happening simultaneous to our current situation.

It's like watching the birth of Abel 2.0... a noble warrior determined to prevent anyone from learning of Dan's race or whereabouts and to protect his friends from harm, even at risk to his own life.  He could not save Devin or Hennya or protect his mother.  But now with 375 years of training and experience behind him, he can be somebody's savior.

I agree. I think it's finally Abel's time to shine.

[YawnPB]

It feels almost like she is grooming Abel as a successor.  To become whatever you need to be to protect that which matters most. 

[Sofox]

I think it's finally Abel's time to shine.

Or he could get horribly killed.



What? I'm just sayin'.

[TacticalError]

I think it's finally Abel's time to shine.

Or he could get horribly killed.
[some line breaks have been removed]
What? I'm just sayin'.

I hate to say it, but Abel seems like the 'died protecting someone else' character. He'll win (or prevent the continuation of) this particular battle, probably.

[Tapewolf]

I hate to say it, but Abel seems like the 'died protecting someone else' character.

Think of all the lost merchandising opportunities!

[Mischa]

Think of all the lost merchandising opportunities!

Think of the freedom of no longer having to draw all those spots! 

[justacritic]

Think of all the lost merchandising opportunities!

Think of the freedom of no longer having to draw all those spots! 

Or people might be thinking this might be where Amber jumps the shark.

[Ignuus66]

Yeah, I have to agree with the fact that abel is the type of person that usually get killed. That said I am betting Amber will not kill him just to mess around with us

[Turnsky]

Think of all the lost merchandising opportunities!

Think of the freedom of no longer having to draw all those spots! 

Or people might be thinking this might be where Amber jumps the shark.

well it IS shark week.

[maus_merryjest]

I have to say it since Abel is my favorite character, but it's probably rather likely that he will die in an act of heroism. Remember Fa'Lina's expression when reassuring Mink? That wasn't a "Oh, he'll go through tough times and he'll be alright in the end", that was a very sad expression on her face when she was thinking about Abel.

And, I mean, if Jyrras is supposed to open a can of worms... what better motivation than reacting to the fact the guy your little heart has been doing cartwheels over got murdered?

[AmigaDragon]

Abel certainly wasn't a drop out of the combat courses.

Not if he was planning to kill Aniz on his 400th birthday. He'd pay attention in any class he thought would help him with that.

[Tapewolf]

I have to say it since Abel is my favorite character, but it's probably rather likely that he will die in an act of heroism. Remember Fa'Lina's expression when reassuring Mink? That wasn't a "Oh, he'll go through tough times and he'll be alright in the end", that was a very sad expression on her face when she was thinking about Abel.

I don't think she knows one way or the other.

And, I mean, if Jyrras is supposed to open a can of worms... what better motivation than reacting to the fact the guy your little heart has been doing cartwheels over got murdered?

Well, there's other ways to do that.  If Abel ended up on ice next to Edward, that would have the same net effect. In fact it would be even better since Jyrras would have a concrete goal ("get him back") rather than random carnage.  But if Abel is the key to opening up Jyrras - terminally or otherwise - it would have to be against the dragons.  Simply killing folks like the BOB in a high-tech manner wouldn't amount to anything.

I still think that throwing Abel under the bus would adversely affect Amber's reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  It would be like me killing Daryil.  Heck, at one point it was planned to sell a print version of Abel's Story (notwithstanding that the earlier chapter would need some recolouring) - 'backstory of a dead character' is probably not going to sell much.

[Lying Foo]

Not only is Abel, I get the impression, well ahead of Dan or Mab as the single most popular character, but this is the very day on which he planned for hundreds of years to kill a powerful dude.  Plus Wildy is there, and Jyrras probably has some tricks up his sleeve.  I'm about as worried about Abel being killed here as I was of Dan being killed at the Soulstealer house.

[Mao]

I still think that throwing Abel under the bus would adversely affect Amber's reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  It would be like me killing Daryil.  Heck, at one point it was planned to sell a print version of Abel's Story (notwithstanding that the earlier chapter would need some recolouring) - 'backstory of a dead character' is probably not going to sell much.

I don't think that Mab would change her story just because it would affect reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  A character becoming popular won't change what she has planned for that character a great deal, simply because she has a plan and for that plan to work, some things have to happen.

[Turnsky]

I still think that throwing Abel under the bus would adversely affect Amber's reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  It would be like me killing Daryil.  Heck, at one point it was planned to sell a print version of Abel's Story (notwithstanding that the earlier chapter would need some recolouring) - 'backstory of a dead character' is probably not going to sell much.

I don't think that Mab would change her story just because it would affect reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  A character becoming popular won't change what she has planned for that character a great deal, simply because she has a plan and for that plan to work, some things have to happen.

character death is a natural part of a an evolving story and would lead to the development of other characters as they would have to cope with the traumatic event.

besides, didn't Amber needle you about character deaths a few forum topics ago, Tape? 

[justacritic]

I still think that throwing Abel under the bus would adversely affect Amber's reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  It would be like me killing Daryil.  Heck, at one point it was planned to sell a print version of Abel's Story (notwithstanding that the earlier chapter would need some recolouring) - 'backstory of a dead character' is probably not going to sell much.

I don't think that Mab would change her story just because it would affect reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  A character becoming popular won't change what she has planned for that character a great deal, simply because she has a plan and for that plan to work, some things have to happen.

character death is a natural part of a an evolving story and would lead to the development of other characters as they would have to cope with the traumatic event.

besides, didn't Amber needle you about character deaths a few forum topics ago, Tape? 

If Amber decides to go this route, and if Abel is as popular with the fanbase as he is, will Amber one day do a question from the readers thing where the side image is of her being ambushed by the e-mails of a certain spamish degree? Oh to add to the irony they'll be little mini sharks?

[TacticalError]

I still think that throwing Abel under the bus would adversely affect Amber's reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  It would be like me killing Daryil.  Heck, at one point it was planned to sell a print version of Abel's Story (notwithstanding that the earlier chapter would need some recolouring) - 'backstory of a dead character' is probably not going to sell much.

I don't think that Mab would change her story just because it would affect reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  A character becoming popular won't change what she has planned for that character a great deal, simply because she has a plan and for that plan to work, some things have to happen.

character death is a natural part of a an evolving story and would lead to the development of other characters as they would have to cope with the traumatic event.

besides, didn't Amber needle you about character deaths a few forum topics ago, Tape? 

If Amber decides to go this route, and if Abel is as popular with the fanbase as he is, will Amber one day do a question from the readers thing where the side image is of her being ambushed by the e-mails of a certain spamish degree? Oh to add to the irony they'll be little mini sharks?

"Argghh! The angry readers have pointy teeth!"

[Turnsky]

I still think that throwing Abel under the bus would adversely affect Amber's reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  It would be like me killing Daryil.  Heck, at one point it was planned to sell a print version of Abel's Story (notwithstanding that the earlier chapter would need some recolouring) - 'backstory of a dead character' is probably not going to sell much.

I don't think that Mab would change her story just because it would affect reader count, donations and merch sales too much.  A character becoming popular won't change what she has planned for that character a great deal, simply because she has a plan and for that plan to work, some things have to happen.

character death is a natural part of a an evolving story and would lead to the development of other characters as they would have to cope with the traumatic event.

besides, didn't Amber needle you about character deaths a few forum topics ago, Tape? 

If Amber decides to go this route, and if Abel is as popular with the fanbase as he is, will Amber one day do a question from the readers thing where the side image is of her being ambushed by the e-mails of a certain spamish degree? Oh to add to the irony they'll be little mini sharks?

well, ferrets are also known as "carpet sharks" 

[MT Hazard]

One thing that strikes me as odd about this comic, Fa'lina told Abel that Dan knows nothing of his powers or heritage, that Dee taught him nothing, yet Abel still flips out when Dan doesn't know about hiding his head wings.

[Ignuus66]

One thing that strikes me as odd about this comic, Fa'lina told Abel that Dan knows nothing of his powers or heritage, that Dee taught him nothing, yet Abel still flips out when Dan doesn't know about hiding his head wings.

I guess it is mainly due to it being mentioned several times before, and that it probably surprises him that being an adventurer Dan did not know that cubi can shapeshift, something that would be essential for survival against a rouge cubi.

[e_voyager]

add to the fact that he fought ary and she tried to show him shape shifting i can understand Abel getting a bit miffed.  also he could have forgotten

[Starcat5]

There is a difference between not teaching Dan anything beyond the basics, and not even telling him that he is a Cubi or ANY of the basics. Abel was caught off guard by just how badly Fa'lina was understating the situation.

[e_voyager]

There is a difference between not teaching Dan anything beyond the basics, and not even telling him that he is a Cubi or ANY of the basics. Abel was caught off guard by just how badly Fa'lina was understating the situation.

by ary i meant Aaryanna who was there for months and did try and show Dan many of those things