2013/01/28 [DMFA #1373] - She's as cold as Ice

[MT Hazard]

Make me wonder if Dan is just a way to continue the bloodline, like Abel.

There is also the cubi getting caught up in emotions thing, angry at he failure to kill Abel, she can't see anything else but anger, not the potential guilt for nearly getting her husbands daughter killed, not the fact she may end up estranged for her clan (Dan and Cyra).

[Prroul]

You know... I think the biological waste product just hit the rotating propeller blades...

I see the road that Des is going to go down... and it's not going to end in a happy place. Right now, the only thing that keeps her from being an active threat to literally everything in existence is her obsession with dragons and saving Edward. If she kills Alexis, and Edward finds out and is revolted... she's gonna go off the deep end.

And when that happens... Dan will likely feel like it's his obligation and duty to put her down himself. That... won't end well either.

Jyrras is the wild card here. Personally, not too threatening. But his toys... all those wonderful toys. They have the potential, particularly if he does end up with making 100% magic-free materials which are magic-immune, to turn the tide. Assuming he survives long enough. He's also got the friendship card to play to keep Dan from falling off the deep end himself if he DOES end up squaring off against his own mother.

And there's no one... not a single entity other than *maybe* Edward or Dan... she won't ruthlessly kill if their hassle exceeds their usefulness.

[VAE]

You know... I think the biological waste product just hit the rotating propeller blades...

I see the road that Des is going to go down... and it's not going to end in a happy place. Right now, the only thing that keeps her from being an active threat to literally everything in existence is her obsession with dragons and saving Edward. If she kills Alexis, and Edward finds out and is revolted... she's gonna go off the deep end.

Uh, what? That's ass-backwards.
She has a clear goal, exterminating the dragon race. If someone stands in way of it, especially if they appear to have allied themselves with the dragons and thus, in her eyes, betrayed their family, they are an acceptable casualty in the process.
Mainly because the dragons were and might well will be responsible for a good few times that, and they aren't stupid sort of a foe, so. . . if some losses can't be avoided then one has to grind their teeth and push along.

[Les]

So, apparently Destania has gone so 'Fantastic Racist' about Dragons that merely associating with a single dragon who's shown no indication of being hostile to Cubi is as far as Destania is concerned a 'moral event-horizon' offense.

Yep, dat Cubi is Coo-coo as Coco-puffs.

[demecowen]

Is Destania aware that Pyroduck would rather fight for the cubi(Fa'lina) than the dragons or she that stupid or evil?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Is Destania aware that Pyroduck would rather fight for the cubi(Fa'lina) than the dragons or she that stupid or evil?

The method she has in mind to use on the Dragons as a race may not be sufficiently easily aimed as to avoid collateral damage. In other words, she might just have to shoot Pyroduck because the gun she's using is so big she can't miss him.

Which is all a bit interesting.

[Les]

Or it could be Destania just doesn't care.  For her, Dragons not only wiped out a whole lotta Cubi clans, almost wiped-out her own, but also wiped-out her lover's clan and drove him insane. 

She's probably a bit bitter.

[KV1NN4]

Even if Biggs does have some kind of anti-magic, that just makes him unaffected by spells; it doens't make him immune to being slashed into 7 pieces by razor thin wing-tentacles...So the implication he can still go toe-to-toe with Mrs. Batty O'Holocaubus (or at least, beat his sister in a fight) does make him a little scarier...But I'd still say Dee would come out on top of a fight between Biggs and her.

I'd almost ask why Destania didn't have a little face on her tentacle but that wouldn't really help close the curtain....would be different if she was makign coffee, I'm sure.
~K. *: )

[Prroul]

You know... I think the biological waste product just hit the rotating propeller blades...

I see the road that Des is going to go down... and it's not going to end in a happy place. Right now, the only thing that keeps her from being an active threat to literally everything in existence is her obsession with dragons and saving Edward. If she kills Alexis, and Edward finds out and is revolted... she's gonna go off the deep end.

Uh, what? That's ass-backwards.
She has a clear goal, exterminating the dragon race. If someone stands in way of it, especially if they appear to have allied themselves with the dragons and thus, in her eyes, betrayed their family, they are an acceptable casualty in the process.
Mainly because the dragons were and might well will be responsible for a good few times that, and they aren't stupid sort of a foe, so. . . if some losses can't be avoided then one has to grind their teeth and push along.

No, it's much worse than that.

Her crusade against dragons is the only thing keeping her *FOCUSED* on Dragons and not against any available target. Other than Edward and Dan, she literally has no reason to NOT just go on a murderous rampage, killing everything in sight.

Her current fantasy-obsession is that she can rescue Edward, kill all the evil nasty dragons, show back up and live a happy life with Dan without any of those pesky interruptions.

Unfortunately, it isn't going to work out that way, particularly not if she ends up killing off Alexis along the way. And when she realizes that this fantasy-obsession is not obtainable... there is no other reason for her to NOT go on a murderous rampage until someone or something stops her.

[ChaosMageX]

Is Destania aware that Pyroduck would rather fight for the cubi(Fa'lina) than the dragons or she that stupid or evil?

The method she has in mind to use on the Dragons as a race may not be sufficiently easily aimed as to avoid collateral damage. In other words, she might just have to shoot Pyroduck because the gun she's using is so big she can't miss him.

Which is all a bit interesting.

That might not necessarily be the case.  What's interesting is that she used the word pet to refer to Pyroduck, when she could have used adopted or another word.  This could mean that Destania looks down on Pyroduck as a non-sentient lower life form.  Now, it isn't surprising for cubi to view beings this way, since they might see them as nothing more than a food source, but entities as powerful as dragons are a whole different matter.

So, apparently Destania has gone so 'Fantastic Racist' about Dragons that merely associating with a single dragon who's shown no indication of being hostile to Cubi is as far as Destania is concerned a 'moral event-horizon' offense.

Yep, dat Cubi is Coo-coo as Coco-puffs.

If Destania does indeed view Pyroduck as an animal, incapable of sentience, could this view extend to all the other dragons, even the more powerful ones?  If so, then I agree with you that her racism has crossed the line beyond bigotry and into psychosis.

[Les]

I think Destania used the word 'Pet' more as a pejorative than a descriptive.   Though I doubt she literally sees Pyroduck as a non-sapient animal, she does probably see him not as his own valid individual person.. and Hizell likewise sees Cubi that way.  It's a common affectation among cultures capable of sustained generational feuding.

"I don't care who you are, What you are is an extension of your great-great-great-great-granwhatever that pissed-off my great-great-great-great-granwhatever all that helluvalongtimeago."

[A.J.]

I'm not sure if I like how she's gradually closing the drape. Hope for Biggs sake, that Destania isn't thinking about doing what Keaton did to Ashford in Project Future.

I highly doubt that she'll go all Keaton on Biggs. It's already been made fairly clear that Destania doesn't like him at all, yes; however, on that note, it must also be mentioned that she's made it obvious that she is only working for him to have access to his resources. After all, Biggs is the leader of the entire Twink territories (T.T. for simplicity). Dee knows that if she were to kill him, she wouldn't be able to (or, more likely, wouldn't want to) maintain control of the T.T. for very long, and that having to act as Biggs would ultimately draw her away from her actual goal of finding Ed. Add to that the inevitable incursion of ferretty wrath and it's safe to say that Destania won't go down that path.

P.S.
+1 cookies tacos to Amber for the Foreigner reference.

[VAE]

You know... I think the biological waste product just hit the rotating propeller blades...

I see the road that Des is going to go down... and it's not going to end in a happy place. Right now, the only thing that keeps her from being an active threat to literally everything in existence is her obsession with dragons and saving Edward. If she kills Alexis, and Edward finds out and is revolted... she's gonna go off the deep end.

Uh, what? That's ass-backwards.
She has a clear goal, exterminating the dragon race. If someone stands in way of it, especially if they appear to have allied themselves with the dragons and thus, in her eyes, betrayed their family, they are an acceptable casualty in the process.
Mainly because the dragons were and might well will be responsible for a good few times that, and they aren't stupid sort of a foe, so. . . if some losses can't be avoided then one has to grind their teeth and push along.

No, it's much worse than that.

Her crusade against dragons is the only thing keeping her *FOCUSED* on Dragons and not against any available target. Other than Edward and Dan, she literally has no reason to NOT just go on a murderous rampage, killing everything in sight.

Her current fantasy-obsession is that she can rescue Edward, kill all the evil nasty dragons, show back up and live a happy life with Dan without any of those pesky interruptions.

Unfortunately, it isn't going to work out that way, particularly not if she ends up killing off Alexis along the way. And when she realizes that this fantasy-obsession is not obtainable... there is no other reason for her to NOT go on a murderous rampage until someone or something stops her.

*facepaw*
Quite done with that psychoanalysis yet, Herr Doktor?
Once again, arse backwards. Have you perhaps realized that she's intent on killing the dragons because of what they have done to her race, and her clan specifically ,and due to the danger they pose for the future? That , you know, usually reasons are needed , for indiscriminate killing, even?
Destania is not an idiot, and while I grant you the occassional murder of someone pissing her off, or simply to enjoy their pain (probably one of the reasons she's Biggs's enforcer) , I don't really see why, if there weren't the dragons, she'd go on a random murderous rampage, because she'd achieve nothing significant by it, and doesn't appear either short of means or of time to do things properly.

Also, where have you taken from that exterminating the dragons is something not obtainable? Granted, they are powerful, but then so are tri-wings and plenty of those have died - as the quote from Vlad Taltos goes, no matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between his shoulderblades will seriously cramp his style. If anything is likely to happen to her, it's dying to a planning oversight somewhere on the way, but even then I'd be somewhat disappointed if contingencies didn't include a way to take Hizell at least with her.

[Alondro]

You know, a friend of mine and I were debating a few days ago over whether or not Destania was crazy and quite possibly genuinely evil. That she is willing to write off her adopted child that she raised and loved and who probably still loves her stepmom to death... wow. That's like... ice icing over cold.

It's Frieza-level cold!

Frieza:  Oh everyone's always on about tyhe children!  I tried sparing them, but then they just grew up under my rule or came back for revenge... usually both.  Honestly, killing them is a kindness.  I can rescind that kindness, but then who's the villain?

Goku: Y-you are.

Frieze:  No, no.  That was a rhetorical question.

Goku:  And I gave you a rhetorical answer! 

[Prroul]

You know... I think the biological waste product just hit the rotating propeller blades...

I see the road that Des is going to go down... and it's not going to end in a happy place. Right now, the only thing that keeps her from being an active threat to literally everything in existence is her obsession with dragons and saving Edward. If she kills Alexis, and Edward finds out and is revolted... she's gonna go off the deep end.

Uh, what? That's ass-backwards.
She has a clear goal, exterminating the dragon race. If someone stands in way of it, especially if they appear to have allied themselves with the dragons and thus, in her eyes, betrayed their family, they are an acceptable casualty in the process.
Mainly because the dragons were and might well will be responsible for a good few times that, and they aren't stupid sort of a foe, so. . . if some losses can't be avoided then one has to grind their teeth and push along.

No, it's much worse than that.

Her crusade against dragons is the only thing keeping her *FOCUSED* on Dragons and not against any available target. Other than Edward and Dan, she literally has no reason to NOT just go on a murderous rampage, killing everything in sight.

Her current fantasy-obsession is that she can rescue Edward, kill all the evil nasty dragons, show back up and live a happy life with Dan without any of those pesky interruptions.

Unfortunately, it isn't going to work out that way, particularly not if she ends up killing off Alexis along the way. And when she realizes that this fantasy-obsession is not obtainable... there is no other reason for her to NOT go on a murderous rampage until someone or something stops her.

*facepaw*
Quite done with that psychoanalysis yet, Herr Doktor?

Oh hey, and with the personal attacks as well... aren't you just a sweetie?

Once again, arse backwards. Have you perhaps realized that she's intent on killing the dragons because of what they have done to her race, and her clan specifically ,and due to the danger they pose for the future? That , you know, usually reasons are needed , for indiscriminate killing, even?

Destania is not an idiot, and while I grant you the occassional murder of someone pissing her off, or simply to enjoy their pain (probably one of the reasons she's Biggs's enforcer) , I don't really see why, if there weren't the dragons, she'd go on a random murderous rampage, because she'd achieve nothing significant by it, and doesn't appear either short of means or of time to do things properly.

Ahem... "Some people just want to watch the world burn..."

Des... just might very well be at that point.

Also, where have you taken from that exterminating the dragons is something not obtainable? Granted, they are powerful, but then so are tri-wings and plenty of those have died - as the quote from Vlad Taltos goes, no matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between his shoulderblades will seriously cramp his style. If anything is likely to happen to her, it's dying to a planning oversight somewhere on the way, but even then I'd be somewhat disappointed if contingencies didn't include a way to take Hizell at least with her.

Again, you misunderstand.

I never once stated that killing all the dragons is not obtainable. I said that her fantasy-obsession of killing all dragons, rescuing Edward, and living with Ed and Dan happily and uninterrupted is not obtainable. Sure, she's got the power to kill off a good number of dragons, with Biggs and his crew in her hip pocket, should probably have what it takes to take them all down...

But I *seriously* doubt that, even if she IS able to successfully rescue him (they may well decide to simply kill Ed when Des goes on her killing spree unless she can manage a time-on-target hit on every single dragon in existence, which is exponentially more difficult).

And assuming she can manage that, her fantasy that Dan will have anything to do with a genocidal sociopath who killed off (at the least) Pryoduck... is not in touch with reality. Or, for that matter, that Edward would. And if Alexis is killed in the process... all bets are off on both accounts.

And when her last hope of happiness is ruined... yes, I think 'making the world burn' is definitely on the agenda.

But hey, this is all pure speculation. It's not like either of us know what is in store here. But getting so worked up over speculation on a web-comic? Might want to take a step back and chill a bit.

[Tapewolf]

I never once stated that killing all the dragons is not obtainable. I said that her fantasy-obsession of killing all dragons, rescuing Edward, and living with Ed and Dan happily and uninterrupted is not obtainable.

It's not clear she has plans after killing or otherwise expelling the dragons. She may not have thought that far ahead, and it's not clear that she sees Dan as much more than a way to make the clan bigger.

She may not want Edward back either, come to that.  We can't really trust that what she told Biggs was the truth.

[BlackFulcrum]

We gotta remember the Destania's long term goals, and how Alexsi really doesn't factor into them one bit.

The most simple reason for this is being vs cubi lifespan, beings (including Alexsi as far as we know) have a life span of 75 to 100 years, Alexsi is 27, so she's got a good 50 to 75 years left, barring any unforeseen encounters.
Destania and Dan however have cubi life spans, which are 3000+ (to near immortal), it kinds shifts your long term life plans from the decades to the centuries, there's a good chance that killing all the dragons could take decades, and will last long beyond Alexsi's natural lifespan.

You've got to remember, because of the actions of Cyra's ascension, destroying the guardian/harvester of the city of Hishaan, the powerful dragon M'Chek, who's death resulted in the glassing of the city, and thus the death of all life within, the Dragon-Cubi Wars started, which lasted centuries, if not millenia.
Pretty much all dragons hate Cyra and her offspring more then any other cubi clan, and as dragons are immortal, and have long memories, going into hiding for a few millenia, and then rebuilding clan doesn't work, Cyra and Destania are both over 7000 years old, and the war started pretty much exactly 7000 years ago, and the dragons still hunt them, and many other cubi to this very day.
It stands to reason that for her own safety, her sons safety, and any future offspring of either of them, the most clear path of action is just to kill them all.

Now as for regarding Pyroduck in particular, she seems to know how he was raised and all, and she seems to have met him previously (the feather in his braid is hers after all) tho we don't know under which circumstances, and how that meeting went.
She still sees him as a threat, tho a lesser one then Abel apparently since the adventurers were sent to kill him, not Pyro.
We can also judge from Alexsi's initial reaction when Pyro told her he was a dragon, that Destania told her dragons were a danger to Dan, so I can understand Destania disappointment when she found out that, while knowing this fact, Alexsi decided to pursue a relationship with him, even if he was raised differently.
Probably as far as Destania is concerned, she'd rather had that Fa'Lina throttled Pyro to death when he was presented to her as an infant.

You also got to remember that cubi are creatures of emotion, we recently saw that Abel was locked in an emotional loop of rage wanting to kill the adventurers at any cost, for all we know Destania could have been in one since Edwards capture.
Also cubi seem to very fickle, Fa'Lina for instance is known as a friend to all, and seems to treat everyone, being or creature, with a good degree of respect, heck her adopted son is of a race that is the sworn enemy of hers, his blood father murdered her entire clan and she still let Pyro live, yet when she encountered Merlitz for the first time, she wanted to murder him 5 times over, and only reason she didn't is because he was Aaryanna's boyfriend.

So combining everything,
- Her stepdaughter isn't part of her longterm plans, and she will outlive her anyway.
- She feels betrayed because she warned Alexsi about the danger dragons pose to Dan, yet she is in a relationship with one.
- She's an emotional cubi, who specializes in Pain and Suffering, coming from a clan who's main affinity is pain.
Ya...suddenly this very big cold shift doesn't seem so big and so cold anymore, not if you consider who Destania really is.

[Grey Wolf]

Though I vehemently disagree with Destania's reaction, I can understand it on an intellectual level.
To her, Alexi's choice to court Pyroduck must have been devastating. I imagine her knee-jerk reaction was something along the lines of "You have endangered yourself, me, your father, your brother, and the entire cubi race because you fell for a monster. How could you?" People have disowned their kids for less...

Alexi, even if she knew what Destania did, may still love her mother. I hope they can work this all out.

[VAE]

Thank you, BlackFulcrum. You pretty much spoke my mind better than I could.
Really it's not much of a shift at all, rather, it's logical progress to what she's been up to. Move along, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

[joshofspam]

I never once stated that killing all the dragons is not obtainable. I said that her fantasy-obsession of killing all dragons, rescuing Edward, and living with Ed and Dan happily and uninterrupted is not obtainable.

It's not clear she has plans after killing or otherwise expelling the dragons. She may not have thought that far ahead, and it's not clear that she sees Dan as much more than a way to make the clan bigger.

She may not want Edward back either, come to that.  We can't really trust that what she told Biggs was the truth.

Another thought to take on the Biggs part in this is what if this makes Biggs less likely to fully help Destania?

Despite all the fighting between the siblings, Biggs and Wildy seem very respective to family ties. If Biggs sees this as a threat to his family interests and close family relations, could he turn on Dee?

Though another thought on her closing the curtain, Dee might try to ruff up Biggs to make him toe the line. Her line.

[Naldru]

Would Destania be willing to destroy all life on the planet in order to get rid of the dragons?  I am beginning to think that she would view that as satisfactory.

Could Destania cause peace to break out between the cubi and the dragons because they are both so mad at Destania that they are willing to work together to kill her.  (The idea that cubi don't kill cubi was sort of negated by the fact that she tried to kill Abel.)  Could Kria get mad enough about the attack on Abel to join the dragons and the cubi?

Destania is also approaching the point where Dark Pegasus and Regina look like good guys by comparison.

[Angel]

(reads the thread) Hmm, yeah. Wow, people are being remarkably civil about this plot twist. Heh, imagine if this were another webcomic. They'd be resorting to .gifs and "your mom" insults by now.

(looks back at the comic page) AGH MAB THE SUGAR EYES GREIOJA;FOVJEWOSFDV (diabetic attack)

Anyways. Drama-booomb!

I love how Biggs' first thought is that Wildy's gonna be pissed at him. Yes, he may HAVE more than her, but he's also a little brother. As a big sister/little sister myself, I know exactly why he's worried.

And wow. Does he actually look ... DISAPPOINTED in Destania for not caring if Alexsi dies? That speaks volumes for his character; whatever else he may be, I guess he believes family is family and you don't mess with them.

[Tapewolf]

Also cubi seem to very fickle, Fa'Lina for instance is known as a friend to all, and seems to treat everyone, being or creature, with a good degree of respect, heck her adopted son is of a race that is the sworn enemy of hers, his blood father murdered her entire clan and she still let Pyro live, yet when she encountered Merlitz for the first time, she wanted to murder him 5 times over, and only reason she didn't is because he was Aaryanna's boyfriend.

Fa'Lina is a particularly odd 'Cubi in any case.  Being able to see the future, she seems to be aiming for the best outcome as a whole.  AFAIK she puts on a different personality on order to best motivate the individual she's talking to.  For example, with Aary she'll joke about murdering people and react with hostility to Merlitz.  But if it had been Dan or Mink standing there, the conversation would have gone very, very differently.

- She's an emotional cubi, who specializes in Pain and Suffering, coming from a clan who's main affinity is pain.
Ya...suddenly this very big cold shift doesn't seem so big and so cold anymore, not if you consider who Destania really is.

I always imagined that she had some pretty tough emotional discipline.  Otherwise she'd have great difficulty doing things like impersonating Biggs accurately.  I kind of assumed that she wouldn't have lasted 7000 years without developing tremendous self control, but on the other hand she's spent practically her entire life in SAIA where she is safe from harm (and others are safe from her).

[Lying Foo]

I will say this: Biggs's scheming makes a hell of a lot more sense if he's a Were.  Can't say about Wildy, though - I was about to say there are times we'd have seen her transform, but I realized, especially due to her magical attacks, there really haven't been any.  Dan would probably know?  But I've seen nothing to suggest he doesn't.

Ceterum censeo that ain't Dee.

[joshofspam]

I will say this: Biggs's scheming makes a hell of a lot more sense if he's a Were.  Can't say about Wildy, though - I was about to say there are times we'd have seen her transform, but I realized, especially due to her magical attacks, there really haven't been any.  Dan would probably know?  But I've seen nothing to suggest he doesn't.

Ceterum censeo that ain't Dee.

Well in another frame of thought, how Wildy seems to be very territorial about Alexsi's inn when her brother breaks in seems to fit well with how were's are territorial about where they hang out. I'd guess even in a fight, Were's would be reluctant to show there true nature to the public.

Probably use their other two forms in a life or death situation.

[BlackFulcrum]

Though another thought on her closing the curtain, Dee might try to ruff up Biggs to make him toe the line. Her line.

I somewhat doubt that, she's letting her wing tentacles show, and she's only closing the curtains on her side, I think she's gonna transform to her real form, with the dragons still after her I don't think she's wants that to happen in public view.

Would Destania be willing to destroy all life on the planet in order to get rid of the dragons?  I am beginning to think that she would view that as satisfactory.

Doubtful, remember cubi's need emotions to feed upon, no beings or other creatures = no food, especially for her own clan who feed upon pain.

And wow. Does he actually look ... DISAPPOINTED in Destania for not caring if Alexsi dies? That speaks volumes for his character; whatever else he may be, I guess he believes family is family and you don't mess with them.

It does, and might speak less for Destania, but he's a being (or a were as some speculate, both live for 75-100 years), and she's a 7000 year old cubi, we do not know the level of emotional investment she has in Alexsi, her stepdaughter, who by her book just betrayed her with their worst enemy. (yes their because it's likely the dragons have Edward)

I always imagined that she had some pretty tough emotional discipline.  Otherwise she'd have great difficulty doing things like impersonating Biggs accurately.  I kind of assumed that she wouldn't have lasted 7000 years without developing tremendous self control, but on the other hand she's spent practically her entire life in SAIA where she is safe from harm (and others are safe from her).

True, but that might have been the straw that broke the camels back, still what you say could be true as well, which pretty much brings me back to Alexsi, however much Destania and Dan may love her, she will die somewhere in the next 100 years, while they could live on for dozens of millenia more (some clan leaders are over 50,000 years old), add to what I mentioned earlier (Alexsi "betraying" them by dating a dragon) ya.

[A.J.]

And wow. Does he actually look ... DISAPPOINTED in Destania for not caring if Alexsi dies? That speaks volumes for his character; whatever else he may be, I guess he believes family is family and you don't mess with them.

To add credibility to the above quote:

Add to that the inevitable incursion of ferretty wrath and it's safe to say that Destania won't go down that path.

I agree entirely with what you've just said, although there are probably a couple of underlying reasons alongside the whole "family is family" deal.
First and foremost, it seems that the entire San clan is a very tight-knit, mafioso, if you will, family. This is reflected by several instances in the comic going all the way back to the Lost Lake crew's first trip into the Twink Territories, namely where Wildy first reveals that her brother is their leader. Another case is when Wildy published her, shall we say, controversial novel and was able to have it removed from the shelves with just a phone call, implying that she obviously has powerful connections of some sort, most likely obtained through her family since she doesn't do much outside of the Lost Lake. Nothing that we know of at least. Thirdly I'd like to reference one of the more recent comics where Dan and Wildy are dicussing the fact that her father expects Wildy to marry soon, which is aparently a stong tradition within the San clan.
All of this together shows that, yes, Biggs does have the mentality that family is of the utmost importance.
The other possible factors are that he's a womanizer, and is still probably attracted to Alexi a bit, even if it was Dan that he originally, ehem, well, we all know what almost happened.

However, I'd also like to mention several points posted by BlackFulcrum earlier: Destania is a succubus; Destania has an intense affinity for pain and suffering; she is essentially a pseudo-immortal, and therefore has the mentality to match.
Being a succubus, Dee is incredibly sensitive to emotion, because, in this (DMFA's) and many other incarnations of the species, succubi and incubi are most aptly described as "emotion incarnate." There is a large possibility that she is just caught up in an emotional loop and has yet to be broken out of it. In fact, she might have been caught in it for so long, she's unable to be freed from it. Then there is also the possibility that she might not really care for Ed as much as we might think. After all, she did try to kill him the first time they met. And she's obviously had more than one serious relationship in her time, as noted by the revelation of Abel's late father having been one of her lovers.
Since her emotional affinity is pain, she might also be used to feeding on herself, as is entirely possible for Cubi to do, which is usually the catalyst for an emotional loop. At this point, if she is caught in said loop, she may have become an emotional masochist, feeding off of her own pain as well as that of others and has thus become numbed to it in a way that allows her to still feel pain but not have her conscience be bothered.
Finally, Destania has lived for a very, very long time, and has witnessed the start of the Dragon/Cubi wars. She has seen people, cities, and nations rise and fall in her time, so, to her, what's one more life, one that's only related to her in the fact that she served as a step-mother? Destania does care for Alexi in that sense, but does not feel the same attatchment that she would for a blood relative like Dan, and therefore is willing, and able, to shelve her feelings for Alexi if it will further her own goals. How that will affect her relationship with Edward is something we won't know until we see it in the comic, if it ever does come to that.

Now, onto something entirely different, has anyone else noticed how Biggs is holding his necklace in panel 2? I know there's a lot of possible reasons, like, to keep it from swinging up into his face as he suddenly makes a double-take, but I don't think that's the case. Anyone got any interesting theories?

[Zebra Bug]

Holy wow, some discussions going on here. And so civil! Amazing.  

Spirit Studios, I think maybe Wildy gave him that necklace. Seems like a birthday gift type dealie.

[joshofspam]

Holy wow, some discussions going on here. And so civil! Amazing.  

Spirit Studios, I think maybe Wildy gave him that necklace. Seems like a birthday gift type dealie.

It could also be a gift from their deceased mother, now that I think of it.

Maybe the whole situation might have hit closer to home for Biggs then we suspect.

[Tzenker]

It was all a little unexpected, but I can understand Destania. Really.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know that she's an antagonist, and that her dream will never come to fruition: it's rather clear that the comic is gradually moving towards the dawn of the age of beings and technology.

The thing to remember is that dragons are, generally speaking, bordering on being cthuloid horrors beyond the comprehension of beings and creatures alike. According to the demonology section, Bajorie (a "very young dragon") is still older than Nicky ("by far the oldest demon" with no memories older than 100 years), and several times that of Fa'Lina. Some of them are no doubt old enough to have some very hands on experience concerning evolution.
I can think of few things more evil than setting yourself up as the guardian of a city, and then harvesting the souls of the inhabitants. Although less gory than sitting down and eating infants, it's ultimately more cruel and inhuman. While there is no guarantee that the other dragons do similar things, I don't think we have seen much to discourage that assumption either. Additionally, dragons appear to be far less individualistic, indoctrinated by their elders.

Which is to say, Pyroduck is just about unique. There's unlikely to be much in Destania's experience that would lead her to the conclusion that a dragon could sincerely act selflessly. She's more likely to believe that Pyroduck acts like a nice person, while working to increase his power, like essentially all dragons do.
Declaring her adopted daughter expendable is pretty cold, but it's no more ruthless than any parent willing to send their offspring to war. And honestly, while I am quite devoted to my family, I can imagine situations that would cause me to lose that loyalty. Joining one of the darkest and most twisted factions of the past century might have done it.

All that said, Dee does remain a dangerous fanatic, and her mission is misguided at best. Even if it had some merit once, her goals and methods are about to become obsolete. In the end, the masses will be empowered, and even the nearly godlike dragons will lose most of their power, no longer able to get away with exploiting entire societies.