2013/09/13 [DMFA #1428] I made that hat once

[killpurakat]

Does the lovely Amber want me to make another for her?  I can.

Also, Holy Heckbuckets!  Izzat who I think it might be? 

[Lying Foo]

CLAN LEADER: QUOAR.

[killpurakat]

My brother would like me to add:

Amber has just Bazinga'd us all!

[Laplace5]

Dimanika lives up to her clan  reputation by  ing the sadfaec from previous strip.

[Ignuus66]

One hat to rule them all.

[Infranscia]

I thought that previous comic reeked of red herring.  Still good to subvert the expectations and have him go somewhere else.  Nicely done, Amber.  

One way or another, this is gonna be sweet.

Also?  Loving that stringed instrument.  Not sure what kind it is ('lute' comes to mind, probably because I read Order of the Stick), but I do like the flowers.

[Prroul]

The funny thing is... I *DO* actually have a hat like that, down to the peacock feather. And I also have the cane, and the outfit from the picture in the clan leader gallery.

Now if only I could get theater-grade anthro prosthetics... I already know how to do the wings, and rig them to stay the hell out of my way when at a con...

Even better, I know someone who would do a PERFECT Fa'Lina, right down to the BEEEBEEEEES!!! squeel.

[Jasae Bushae]

....Wow. Well played Amber. Well played.

[joshofspam]

Oh boy! While meeting Quoar at Lost Lake for the first time sounds cool and all.

I can't help but think about how being a wondering Bard fits well with how the cubi killer might get around without raising suspicion. Not only that, but while it sounds like Hizell's wife being decapitated five times by Quoar might make it sound like his wife a Mytho's, it would also be possible for a cubi with a Tri-wing in their clan.

Hope this is more cool and less the Shining kind of introduction of the eldest and coolest looking Tri-wing.

[Pvblivs]

Well, he didn't make it to 75,000 years by being the disposable soldier that gets shot at.

I expect the first clue of Quoar's demise will be when the clan starts using the academy.

[killpurakat]

Ah, crap! I just thought of something. And since it's Amber, it could happen. 

What do you want to bet we don't cut to the Lost Lake Inn until after "that really helpful and knowledgeable bard" has left and the only shot we ever see of who it is is the one from today's comic? So not only do we not get to see more of Quoar, but we can't even be sure that is Quoar, because there's a friggin' ton of shape-shifters running about?!

And supporting that this might be an imposter Quoar is the fact that, from what we can see, he's wearing the same exact clothing as he is in the Cubi Clan Leader pic, when every other leader has shown a varied wardrobe. So this could be an imposter who is literally copying Quoar down to his most famous outfit/only outfit he's been seen in outside of his clam.

...

Sometimes I hate how I can't stop thinking...

[InsanityRequiem]

Well if he's the oldest and most hidden/secret/isolationist clan of all the cubi, he may also have the most extensive spy network of all the cubi, if not all Furrae, and it may be him finally confirming what his spies say. Want the best information, gotta check it out yourself and all that. It's why he doesn't go to/let his kids go to SAIA, he isn't able to gather that much information due to a magically blackout that runs through Fa'lina and that it's a separate plane of existence. And since Abel's not in SAIA, Q-Man can finally confirm for himself.

IF that's how Amber's got the plot stone rolling.

[Kirrin_Shadowclaw]

Ah, crap! I just thought of something. And since it's Amber, it could happen. 

What do you want to bet we don't cut to the Lost Lake Inn until after "that really helpful and knowledgeable bard" has left and the only shot we ever see of who it is is the one from today's comic? So not only do we not get to see more of Quoar, but we can't even be sure that is Quoar, because there's a friggin' ton of shape-shifters running about?!

And supporting that this might be an imposter Quoar is the fact that, from what we can see, he's wearing the same exact clothing as he is in the Cubi Clan Leader pic, when every other leader has shown a varied wardrobe. So this could be an imposter who is literally copying Quoar down to his most famous outfit/only outfit he's been seen in outside of his clam.

...

Sometimes I hate how I can't stop thinking...

You do love to tempt the fates known as the Ambargh don't ya?

That being said, glad to atleast see signs of him and i just wonder what if any, his reaction to able would be if that is Quoar.

[Tapewolf]

Well, he didn't make it to 75,000 years by being the disposable soldier that gets shot at.
I expect the first clue of Quoar's demise will be when the clan starts using the academy.

He's probably not running around flaunting his hip-wings and going "Hey!  I'm a Tri-Wing!" the way that Garrett in the Thief games is makes people go "Guards!  Help!  It's a Thief!" just by casually walking down the street.
I don't see any evidence of wings on his avatar so he's almost certainly just going around as a Being and only people who are already familiar with him are likely to know who he is.

For that matter it's probably just a flying visit, so his avatar is likely to be gone before anyone gets there.  (Though there is a risk it may bring a full-force attack down on the inn, "just in case")


EDIT:

I can't help but think about how being a wondering Bard fits well with how the cubi killer might get around without raising suspicion. Not only that, but while it sounds like Hizell's wife being decapitated five times by Quoar might make it sound like his wife a Mytho's, it would also be possible for a cubi with a Tri-wing in their clan.

I wouldn't make too much of the fact that they were beheadings to narrow it down to a particular individual - that seems to be the catch-all way to make sure someone's dead in Furrae (e.g. the B-O-B, the 'cubi killer, Mink's mother, and Amber's comment that 'cubi doing an assassination will usually "pop their head off like a dandelion" with the wing-tentacles).  It's also likely to be common practice for cashing in bounties and suchlike.

[HaDDea]

Quite a number of interesting things going on in today's comic:

1) So, we have a blue-haired bard with a stylin' top hat headed towards Lost Lake - eeeeenteresting... Careful Amber, you might throw out your hip again with all those plot twists  (I have also wondered what it would be like for Abel to encounter a member of Quoar) 

2) is Dimanika... eating her sadface from the previous comic? Does... does stuff other people envision her with end up becoming real and edible??

3) Mink's nose barely showing in the first panel is adorable. Boop the squiglet's nose! Boop!

[LordViking]

I wasn't surprised Quoar or an envoy of his didn't appear at the meeting, they don't use the academy after all. But him (if it is him) showing up at all in the comic caught me off guard.

I can think off three reasons for him to visit the Lost Lake.
1) He found out about Destania's plans and wants to prevent another war (though he might not know her exact location that is why he goes to the inn instead of Twink territory)
2) Quoar goes around making an offer to join his clan to all clanleaderless cubi with heterochromia and the leather/feather wing combo. Like the one we know is staying at the Lost Lake inn right now.
3) He is just randomly passing through the area. What? It is possible.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I do wonder, idly.

If it is Quoar...

... is he there to talk to Abel? Or to Dan? Hrm.

[Tapewolf]

I do wonder, idly.

If it is Quoar...
... is he there to talk to Abel? Or to Dan? Hrm.

He may very well have seen Abel here:  http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1351.php

...one photo has his eyes, the other has the wings.

[Drakkenmensch]

I see what you did there Amber! 

[Ross]

I don't know why (well, I probably do... ), but that last panel brings my mind back to 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?,' admittedly mixed with several random guitar tunes/songs that my brain deemed appropriate.  Hooray for Plot Twists!

[Prroul]

And hey, with Quoar there, Abel might actually survive to see the end of this plot arc. He's probably one of four or five beings that I'm aware of that COULD actually stop just about anything that Destania throws his way.

I also know how much *ahem* a rather large portion of the fanbase *ahem* wants to see Abel adopted into Clan Quoar. After all, he's got the eyes and the wings, one wonders if the genetics are there, and close enough that it would count as a link for bringing him over.

[ArchTeryx]

I'd be half tempted to say that Quoar's a Spellsinger (ala the Alan Dean Foster novels) if such things exist in Furrae.  He literally makes magic with music.  Being a traveling bard's a perfect cover for that, as well.

Then again, the song that came to mind when I first saw his clan leader page was "Puttin' on the Ritz" and it's as good an entrance theme for the dapper 'cubi as any. :-)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I note that Seme's representative has not been named in-comic yet, either.

All sorts of undercurrents flowing about. ;-]

[Gentlehunter]

"In Soviet Furrae, Wizard is off to see YOU!" (pardon the trope, though I'm surprised nobody mentioned it till now. ;-)  )

I wonder what type of love Quoar is most affiniated with.  The Greeks had 4 words that are all loosely translated as "love" in English, requiring qualifiers to differentiate them.

It would seem Nact'larn has cornered the market on Eros, (romance and sex), although lust is actually the dark side of that..

The other three Loves are: Storge (affection, like the bond that close family members feel for eachother); Phileo (friendship, a bond manifested by shared interests or common goals); and Agape (selfless, sacrificial love, which acts for the good of the beloved, even at cost to itself.)  Note,  the above descriptions are not exhaustive.

Anyway, since Cubi with affinities for "positive" emotions seem to be good-natured in general (Fa'lina for Hope, and Jin for Joy, for example), I hoping that Quoar is like a benevolent Chessmaster.

[Alondro]

And next scene.... the hat leaves the scene at Lost Lake... where everyone is dead in a lake of blood.  

Anyway, I think Amber might be pulling a 'hat trick' on us!  *rimshot!*

That pretty much 'caps' my theory!  *RIMSHOT!!*

I know you think it may be a bit 'around the brim', but I have confidence!  I'll stop with the puns before you all become 'fedora' up with them!  *wakka wakka!*   

[FairWage22]

Funny, when I saw the quote below the comic my brain went to 'Misty Mountain Hop' for some reason. 

If Quo is a Chessmaster of Love then I could easily see him putting a potential pawn/futurekin/longlostkin through the gauntlet of "Do you truly love this Jyrras, or are you just using him as a convenient cover for the time being?"

And there's also the aspect that for an avatar (?) of a tri-wing to show up that still has a Clan...

Dangit, now my brain's gone to a combination of Harpers from Pern or the Drasnians from the Belgariad/Malloreon

[killpurakat]

I'd be half tempted to say that Quoar's a Spellsinger (ala the Alan Dean Foster novels) if such things exist in Furrae.  He literally makes magic with music.  Being a traveling bard's a perfect cover for that, as well.

Then again, the song that came to mind when I first saw his clan leader page was "Puttin' on the Ritz" and it's as good an entrance theme for the dapper 'cubi as any. :-)

I always think of this song/music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ7z57qrZU8

And his? That faboo instrument on his back. 

[joshofspam]

There might be a spoiling point here though.

Ducky now lives at the inn and we know most likely that Ducky's father and Quoar aren't necessarily on good terms with one another and we have no way of knowing how Quoar will react to a dragon....

[Saist]

And hey, with Quoar there, Abel might actually survive to see the end of this plot arc. He's probably one of four or five beings that I'm aware of that COULD actually stop just about anything that Destania throws his way.

I also know how much *ahem* a rather large portion of the fanbase *ahem* wants to see Abel adopted into Clan Quoar. After all, he's got the eyes and the wings, one wonders if the genetics are there, and close enough that it would count as a link for bringing him over.

I was just thinking something along the lines of "Wait a second, isn't Abel Clan Quoar?"

[Saist]

What do you want to bet we don't cut to the Lost Lake Inn until after "that really helpful and knowledgeable bard" has left and the only shot we ever see of who it is is the one from today's comic? So not only do we not get to see more of Quoar, but we can't even be sure that is Quoar, because there's a friggin' ton of shape-shifters running about?

You can probably set your mind at ease on this one. In order for one creature to shape-shift into another creature, They have to know what that other creature looks like.  We, as in the forum readers, have a bit of Meta Knowledge from Demo 101; specifically http://missmab.com/Demo/Leader14.php  

What we don't know is whether or not Mab's artwork of the Cubi Clan Leaders is also the artwork that Mink submitted in her report; or if all of "Mink's drawings" roughly resembled say... page 15 http://missmab.com/Demo/Leader15.php

We might be able to assume that enough people around the academy know what Quoar should look like; and thus might be able to identify Quoar upon a meeting. Given how little is known of Quoar or his actions inside of the Academy it is a reasonable assumption to say that those outside the academy have even less data.

As it stands then, there is likely only 2 single creatures who might have enough knowledge of Quoar to emulate or simulate his appearance and are not currently accounted for in the Academy itself; Cyra and Destania. We can probably safely assume that Cyra likely won't be entering lost lake. We can probably also assume that Destania isn't quiet ready yet to kill Abel herself.

So... it probably is Quoar himself entering Lost Lake.