8/9/2013-[DMFA #1419] All the Clan Leaders in this Academy are CRAZY!

[AzureEdge]

I love everything about Dimanika. And poor Mink. He seems just as uncomfortable right now as that one time we've seen him in the library or when talking about Piflaks Daughter having been killed.  I feel so sorry for him that I just wanna hug him to make him feel better.

Also, anyone who gets Topic Title Reference gets a cookie.

[ishidan]

I claim a muffin instead.

(Twilight Sparkle, MLP:FIM, shortly after meeting most of the rest of the Mane Six)

[killpurakat]

Well, I didn't think Dimanika would reveal herself as "The Mistress of Inspiring Pants-Wetting Fear," but that is exactly what she just did to me.  I think I perfectly understand Fa'Lina's desire to be absent from the actual meeting.

[AzureEdge]

I claim a muffin instead.

(Twilight Sparkle, MLP:FIM, shortly after meeting most of the rest of the Mane Six)

Sorry. Between Fa'Lina and Derpy, all my muffins are gone.

[joshofspam]

I'd take it Dimanika likes to have a good time at Zezzuva's expense?

Considering Dimanika clan makes it a personal point of pride to be unpredictable from the sound of it and Zezzuva make it a point to know everything they can. I'd figure Dimanika has fun learning things before her and simply sharing she knows something she doesn't know and leaves it at that.

Edit: Is she saying yes to the situation or so excited with Minks answer that she's repeating what Mink answer was repeatably?

[Brunhidden]

that mouse has far too much mouth

[Kuzma Volkov]

I'd take it Dimanika likes to have a good time at Zezzuva's expense?

Considering Dimanika clan makes it a personal point of pride to be unpredictable from the sound of it and Zezzuva make it a point to know everything they can. I'd figure Dimanika has fun learning things before her and simply sharing she knows something she doesn't know and leaves it at that.

Edit: Is she saying yes to the situation or so excited with Minks answer that she's repeating what Mink answer was repeatably?

I think she's gone bonkers and is yesing in the sense of "Yeess yesss MU HAHAHAHHH MEEEEHAHHAHAHAHAHHHA haaahaaaa."
I mean there's just plain ol Loki gears turning in her head.

[Tapewolf]

I'd take it Dimanika likes to have a good time at Zezzuva's expense?

Probably.  Given how stuck up and "the concept of touching you displeases me" Zezzuva seemed to be, I imagine she's a soft target for Dimanika to provoke.

Mink's comment about the sign is amusing, but it's hard to say if it would work given how her clothes and the lollipop seem to be distorted by the effect as well.

EDIT: Also, Dimanika members at the academy may be tempted to have their own giant signs with her name on it too...

[Anri]

Dimanika seems to have been taking the M. Bison home schooling course on... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4s7Fi6BF3s

[Nyil]

So far, I think that Dimanika is my favorite clan leader, mostly because I've done that last 'YEESSSS, YESSSSSSS!' thing before at the thought of torturing other people.

This should be pretty good! Heh heh heh..

[Wdot]

I guess the truth hurts and Mink wants to avoid that. Dimanika who's affinity is confusion, smacks of chaos and things going wrong. Entertaining if you're far enough away. I kinda like Zezzuva or Jin the best of the active Clan Leaders. Zezzuva at least told Dan the truth about his mother and to watch out for the clan leaders and everything is a test, including what Zezzuva was telling him. She strikes me as too honest for her own good and undiplomatic to say the least; if she's as good as she's rumored she's got enough on everybody not to care what they think.  Jin is a healer. Gotta love the medics/corpsmen.
These beings are old. Passing the time with machinations and wheels within wheels. But they are powerful as all get out and calling them crazy would be... unwise. Good call Mink.
Oh, first post. Hi, everybody!

[Wanderer]

Just please tell me Kish'ta doesn't show up to these things. I don't think I can take exposure to the head of the clan of nightmares.

[killpurakat]

Just please tell me Kish'ta doesn't show up to these things. I don't think I can take exposure to the head of the clan of nightmares.

Abyss is the representative for Clan Kish'Ta, so you have nothing to worry about. Kish'Ta herself won't be present.

[AzureEdge]

Just please tell me Kish'ta doesn't show up to these things. I don't think I can take exposure to the head of the clan of nightmares.

Abyss is the representative for Clan Kish'Ta, so you have nothing to worry about. Kish'Ta herself won't be present.

Which is likely the best thing possible. I doubt we could handle any kind of shenanigans from her without being highly disturbed. I mean, her image on the clan leaders page is of her pulling off a face in that may or may not be her transformed face and appears to be wearing skin that looks like it might not or might not possibly be hers. We are not ready to meet Kish'ta, and I doubt Dan is either.

[Wanderer]

Just please tell me Kish'ta doesn't show up to these things. I don't think I can take exposure to the head of the clan of nightmares.

Abyss is the representative for Clan Kish'Ta, so you have nothing to worry about. Kish'Ta herself won't be present.

Oh right. I'd forgotten about that with all the scene changes and stuff. *breathes a sigh of relief* The one glimpse I got of Kish'ta on her clan leader page was more than disturbing enough for me, and it gets creepier the more I think about it. I don't want to see what she would actually do in person.

[killpurakat]

The only clan leader that can still appear is Owona. Also, Quoar's representative still hasn't shown up yet. Thus we only have two more reveals (three, I suppose, if you count Nact'Larn, who is running around stealing clothes, but didn't appear in an actual comic).

[ChaosMageX]

The only clan leader that can still appear is Owona. Also, Quoar's representative still hasn't shown up yet. Thus we only have two more reveals (three, I suppose, if you count Nact'Larn, who is running around stealing clothes, but didn't appear in an actual comic).

It will be interesting when Nact'larn finally does appear and we see Amber start conveniently placing random objects to censor her no-no parts.

[Prroul]

Another thing to understand is this:

1) Cubi Clan Leaders are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. It isn't that they are crazy so much as they have a different definition of sanity. Just as a five year old things 'grown ups' are crazy... we might not understand all or even most of the reasons they do what they do, however it isn't necessarily an indication of mental instability so much as they have so many more pieces of the puzzle that we are often left wondering how they got from point A to point Q without the intervening steps.

2) They are Cubi. Ancient Cubi. They have a different value system from someone like Dan who has lived a largely mundane life as an adventurer. His life has been simple up until now... get word that a monster is doing Bad Things, track down said monster, inflict stabbedy death. The life of a Cubi Clan Leader is... anything but simple. They are -far- more accustomed to political arenas, and what I can only define as 'realpolitik', than Dan is. The cues are there, they're just flying over his head because he has no basis of experience to recognize them. There's an entirely new dimension of meaning behind every word said, every word not said, every inflection, every reaction, to which he is largely ignorant. It would be like trying to approach a large political arena on the national level, but only being able to speak a pidgin tongue of the language being used.

3) It hasn't really been all that long since the Cubi-Dragon War. There's still going to be some 'shell shock' going on, particularly among the Clan Leaders who are old enough to personally remember and have lost close personal friends in it. This isn't some event in a hazy past for them, it is last Tuesday. To children in elementary school, Pearl Harbor (to use an example) is ancient history. Sure, it happened, and the results were thus and such, but it doesn't really impact them the same way it impacts my grandfather, who was present at the time. This is going to color everything that happens, and Dan is completely ignorant of this.

4) By that same token, there's a whole wealth of history, culture, and background here that Dan is ignorant of. These clans have been working together for how long now? Maybe not always peacefully, but there have been clan leader meetings for quite some time, and the interactions between the various factions, even the overt ones which -everyone- knows about (such as the pie which Mink may or may not have had a slice of) are things Dan is woefully ignorant of. Someone may react to a bit of history between people that will make Dan wonder if they are crazy, but it is perfectly understandable in context.  For example, I never knew just how serious an insult the phrase 'corn fed' was until I lived in Indiana for a year. Had someone responded violently to that phrase, I would have wondered if he was crazy, because I wouldn't have understood just how insulting the phrase was.

And, of course, as Miss Monochrome herself said... everything is a test. Testing to see what Dan knows, what he doesn't know, how he is likely to react and respond. It's like a highly trained martial artist testing the waters by letting a less experienced martial artist take the initiative and the offensive to be able to get a 'feel' for what they are likely to do. Once your opponent can be predicted, his defeat is nearly certain.

I highly doubt Quoar is going to be sending a representative. If he does, I expect it to cause much stir with all of the other clan leaders. If Quoar himself shows up, particularly after being the only clan who does not participate in SAIA, and entering SAIA's grounds... well, that will mean that the solid, or perhaps even semi-solid biological waste product has hit the rotating propeller blades with sufficient velocity to ensure dispersal.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

For example, I never knew just how serious an insult the phrase 'corn fed' was until I lived in Indiana for a year. Had someone responded violently to that phrase, I would have wondered if he was crazy, because I wouldn't have understood just how insulting the phrase was.

Now you've got me curious. I don't see an insult there are all, if only because the only thing I know that's corn fed is cows, and, well, I like eating corn, so...

(and I agree with most of your other points, too; or at the very least, they're well thought out and internally consistent, so worthy of thinking about, rather than just random waffle...)

[Tapewolf]

Another thing to understand is this:

1) Cubi Clan Leaders are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. It isn't that they are crazy so much as they have a different definition of sanity. Just as a five year old things 'grown ups' are crazy... we might not understand all or even most of the reasons they do what they do, however it isn't necessarily an indication of mental instability so much as they have so many more pieces of the puzzle that we are often left wondering how they got from point A to point Q without the intervening steps.

Mostly tens of thousands.  Cyra and Fa'Lina are the youngest - AFAIK they're the only ones who are under 10'000 years old.

The life of a Cubi Clan Leader is... anything but simple. They are -far- more accustomed to political arenas, and what I can only define as 'realpolitik', than Dan is. The cues are there, they're just flying over his head because he has no basis of experience to recognize them. There's an entirely new dimension of meaning behind every word said, every word not said, every inflection, every reaction, to which he is largely ignorant. It would be like trying to approach a large political arena on the national level, but only being able to speak a pidgin tongue of the language being used.

That may be overstating it.  IIRC only four Clan Leaders are actually sending avatars this time, and of those, Zezzuva is not usually in attendance.  Point being, the debate is largely carried out by ambassadors (normal 'Cubi), so it's not like the discussions are beyond mortal comprehension.  However, Dan is very likely to be out of his depth unless they keep things simple for the newcomer.

I highly doubt Quoar is going to be sending a representative. If he does, I expect it to cause much stir with all of the other clan leaders. If Quoar himself shows up, particularly after being the only clan who does not participate in SAIA, and entering SAIA's grounds... well, that will mean that the solid, or perhaps even semi-solid biological waste product has hit the rotating propeller blades with sufficient velocity to ensure dispersal.

Quoar sends an ambassador to SAIA every thousand years.  If we assume that began with the founding of SAIA, his emissary is about due.  However.  We do not know that the ambassador will be there to talk to the other clans - it is possible he wants to treat with Fa'Lina herself, since I think there was something between them when she was younger.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Quoar sends an ambassador to SAIA every thousand years.  If we assume that began with the founding of SAIA, his emissary is about due.  However.  We do not know that the ambassador will be there to talk to the other clans - it is possible he wants to treat with Fa'Lina herself, since I think there was something between them when she was younger.

I've no idea if there's something between Quoar and Fa'Lina, but if there was, there's no reason why it shouldn't still be going on. As Cyra said to Dan - anything under a decade is "soon", so there's no reason why meeting up every century or so wouldn't be perfectly acceptable for close relations; at least for some variant of "close"...

[joshofspam]

Prroul giving some interesting things to consider. Not to mention other things making a bit more interesting with what Prroul said. Not only they might have different ways of prodding a person like Dan to learn about them, but they might have different things they consider important information to learn and what is unimportant.

Quoar sends an ambassador to SAIA every thousand years.  If we assume that began with the founding of SAIA, his emissary is about due.  However.  We do not know that the ambassador will be there to talk to the other clans - it is possible he wants to treat with Fa'Lina herself, since I think there was something between them when she was younger.

I've no idea if there's something between Quoar and Fa'Lina, but if there was, there's no reason why it shouldn't still be going on. As Cyra said to Dan - anything under a decade is "soon", so there's no reason why meeting up every century or so wouldn't be perfectly acceptable for close relations; at least for some variant of "close"...

I've always wondered about that odd relationship myself. If it was something he did during the dragon war that kept him at a distance or possibly he's giving Fa'lina room out of a sign of respect.

I've come to wonder a few things, like if that wife of one dragon he multi beheaded was one of Falina's daughters, was he possibly a close friends at one time or that Fa'lina's clan was a branch off of Quoar's clan. It does seem kind of odd how his clan is keeping a distance, but still tries to keep in contact every once and a while.

[Starcat5]

For example, I never knew just how serious an insult the phrase 'corn fed' was until I lived in Indiana for a year. Had someone responded violently to that phrase, I would have wondered if he was crazy, because I wouldn't have understood just how insulting the phrase was.

Now you've got me curious. I don't see an insult there are all, if only because the only thing I know that's corn fed is cows, and, well, I like eating corn, so...

(and I agree with most of your other points, too; or at the very least, they're well thought out and internally consistent, so worthy of thinking about, rather than just random waffle...)

The Urban Dictionary was no help. Answers varied from "Stout and Healthy", to the skin complexion known as "White", all the way down to "Inbred Hick".

Of course, in Minnesota, the cows are fed hay. It is the deer that are corn fed.  Much to the delight of our hunters, and the chagrin of our corn farmers. From a practical perspective, it means our local Venison is much less gamey than from deer in other regens. On the down side, it also means that the local deer are everywhere, including smack dab in the middle of big cities/metro areas.

[Zebra Bug]

Wow Prroul...you put a lot of thought into this....congrats, here is a cookie.  ....oops. It....uh.....you can have it if you take it from the mow....

[KathYohneke]

you know, speaking of clans. Im curious, if two cubi from different clans had a kid, which clan would the kid belong to? and would they have traits of both?

[Tapewolf]

you know, speaking of clans. Im curious, if two cubi from different clans had a kid, which clan would the kid belong to? and would they have traits of both?

IIRC, they belong to the clan that was the most powerful at the time of conception.

[KathYohneke]

you know, speaking of clans. Im curious, if two cubi from different clans had a kid, which clan would the kid belong to? and would they have traits of both?

IIRC, they belong to the clan that was the most powerful at the time of conception.

And what about traits?

Like, say, a Dimanika cubi and a jin cubi got together, considering Dimanika is the stronger one with jin being smaller, would the resulting kid be a pastel colored Dimanika with a draw towards both joy and confusion?

[Amber Williams]

Cubi only get traits of the clan they are a part of.    So if a Dimanika Cubi and a Jin Cubi had a kid, they would result with another Dimanika Cubi and only an affinity of Confusion.

Admittedly considering most of the Cubi in Joy's clan are already pastel, there is a possibility the kid would be light coloured anyways simply due to genetics.

[ishidan]

Now you've got me curious. I don't see an insult there are all, if only because the only thing I know that's corn fed is cows, and, well, I like eating corn, so...

So you missed that the person who said it just called the other person a cow?
I know, we all love Lorenda too, so we wouldn't see that as an insult...

[KathYohneke]

Cubi only get traits of the clan they are a part of.    So if a Dimanika Cubi and a Jin Cubi had a kid, they would result with another Dimanika Cubi and only an affinity of Confusion.

Admittedly considering most of the Cubi in Joy's clan are already pastel, there is a possibility the kid would be light coloured anyways simply due to genetics.

Ah, well I suppose that makes sense. after all with all the cubi clans mingling in SAIA if cubi traits mixed it would eventally get all mixed up into one big group of all similar trait cubi and everything would be all candy and rainbows between all of them.

Now where's the fun in that?