The Clockwork Mansion

Well, I suppose this means he doesn't intend to kill her now. Injure maybe, but not kill. :/

...He almost looks sensitive in the third panel. Almost.

Nah, looks to me like a pompous sneer. Pssh, he is a bastard. Poor May.

Wow, cruel. Very, very cruel. He intends to let her live a long time without her husband or son. Alone.

And he's letting her know it.  :mowsad

*delurks*

Well, at the very least, he won't kill her...

Man, this is all just great fun for him, isn't it?

He really knows how to twist a mind

That's a class 5 "Oh Snap" rite der.

Now thats the icing of the d**kry cake

That cool grin on his face in the third panel sent chills down my spine. Extra with a nice close look at his red eyes.

Sometimes you come up against someone you just can't beat and you had best figure it out and minimize the damages.

May REALLY needs to figure that out in a hurry.

Her only possible means of revenge would be to kill Abel.  I doubt she could do it and I doubt she is cold blooded and vindictive enough to consider the option.  Even then it would be a matter of taking massive damage herself by losing a son to hurt her enemy.

When lovely woman stoops to folly, and finds too late that men betray, what charm can soothe her melancholy? What art can her guilt wash away?

:<

So then why chuck her through the table? The hell of it?

Quote from: Jigsaw Forte on June 05, 2007, 10:37:58 PM
So then why chuck her through the table? The hell of it?

He must be Irish.

Oh great, here comes the march of angry 'Duur I'm offended' people. I can hear them all now :mowdizzy

Duur, I'm offended.

... Not. Heck, I'm not even Irish, why would I be offended? However, it might be a good idea if people stopped posting stereotypes, eh? Not a good habit to get into, and if it keeps happening, the mods will be forced to pay attention, and nobody wants that, right?

Note that that is non-specific, as yet - there's more than one of you, and I'm making it a general announcement, rather than singling anyone out.

*Charline is pleased with the level of evil in the comic... and the Irish jokes*  Excellent...  >:3

*Charline's a meanie through and through!*

I'm not sure, but  the wording might be better if you changed it to.


"one day 'when you' die of old age "

other than that I'm still  waiting to see May turn into a nasty Creature class something with sharp pointy teeth, and shadow magic. Just to see the Cid/Aniz squirm.


Edit: She is still wearing that purple gem necklace, I don't beleive amber has ruled out the possibility of it having a disguise field attached like with Kria

Quote from: Zorro on June 05, 2007, 10:32:09 PMSometimes you come up against someone you just can't beat and you had best figure it out and minimize the damages.

May REALLY needs to figure that out in a hurry.

It's the human reaction to these sorts of things.  It's not the goal that matters.  What matters is the struggle.

Quote from: Zorro on June 05, 2007, 10:32:09 PMHer only possible means of revenge would be to kill Abel.  I doubt she could do it and I doubt she is cold blooded and vindictive enough to consider the option.  Even then it would be a matter of taking massive damage herself by losing a son to hurt her enemy.

It sounds like Aniz doesn't want to kill her.  If she killed Abel, she would be toast.

I'm still trying to figure this out.  Either Aniz really does love May and he's trying to make sure that she doesn't follow him (which doesn't make all that much sense to me), or May is in on this.  The stuff on the desk seems to have been brushed aside before May hit it, which may be an indication that she knows more than she's letting on (or I'm being nitpicky, in which case, ignore this sentence).

Quote from: GabrielsThoughts on June 05, 2007, 10:49:52 PMI'm not sure, but  the wording might be better if you changed it to.


"one day 'when you' die of old age "

Amber's wording is better.  Don't make me explain why.  It would be boring.

....... this is beyond any assholery that Aniz has commited so far. This. Is. Just. Cruel.
Abel will NOT sit still for this, of that I am absolutely certain.

That was legendary. In fact, that requires Mr. Flibble appreciation

(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/Rabid_Fox/aniz.jpg)

Seriously though. What a wonderful bastard Aniz is. That was ruthless delivery to completely hollow May out before he tossed her away like yesterday's paper.

Speaking from a purely professional point of view, that is the single most intense dramatic one-liner I've seen Amber come out with. Gold star from the English teacher.

I'm with Rabid_Fox and Mr. Flibble on this one, but at the same time I'm torn between my adoration for beautiful, strong May and blatantly evil, ruthless Aniz.

I'm not sure who to root for, but in May's case, when it comes to an elderly Being woman with no combat training to speak of against a powerful and dangerous Cubi, I think it's safe to say that if she attempts anything further she'll be knocked back down again. If she's still alright, that is.

Wonderful dialogue, by the way. Delightfully evil and hurtful... I'll need to take notes. :3

~Keaton the Black Jackal

This made me think of the song by Drowning Pool:

"If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...
If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...

You have your chance to walk away, live to see another day ..."

The throw is more of dismissing her, letting her know what he is capable of and yet will not be doing to her, unless she wants to aggravate him further.

I'm beginning to wonder if Amber is leading up to some moral lesson on judging people.  In the previous village, the townsfolk had made judgements about May that were hurtful and spiteful.  Devin was viewed as a nasty character in the beginning, but turned out to be a decent fellow.  Kria was introduced as a very nice and pleasant teacher, but grows up to become someone for whom the words kind and innocent do not seem appropriate.

Currently, all the readers seem to be judging Aniz.  If there is such a pattern forming, I think that it is safe to say that Amber has planned a major plot twist, and all of the readers (or nearly all) will find their beliefs to be incorrect.

Second Panel:  WEDDING RING!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 :mowignore        In this line of thought, some think that Aniz is going to use the thumbscrews of time, to torture May in what may be consided a hopeless situation. Aniz may be wrong here. May has a loving son, and is well adjusted and known in the Zvinth community. Aniz is not known in this town, as such, only Cid, and now Aniz has blown his cover.

:mowsmile           Aniz has also blown his cover to someone outside the family. He lost his trump card in taking the mask off in front of a witness. I think that he may be a lot of big talk and bullying at the moment, he will have to sit down at the horse blanket to work out a deal, with May, Abel, maybe Miss Soulseeker and a few sympathetic " friends of the family ". Otherwise he may be lynched in the future by one and all .

:mowhappy          It seems that just trying to be Extra cruel now will hamper what he intended to do. I assume this was to beget a Cubi of his clan, and get him raised to adulthood. He has done that. Job done. However, Abel dislikes Aniz, so the chances of Aniz tutoring Abel in how to be a Cubi get to be a bit impractical.

:mowsmile             If Abel was enrolled as an External student for a Cubi school and tutored by a teaching Cubi ( Shhh ... Don't mention Destina ! ), then I feel that Aniz can reach into his pockets for a few more dollars and have Abel grow to true Cubi adulthood, and for the interests of emotional stability, have May well supported for the rest of her natural life.  For Aniz, Cruel may be fun, but if he does not handle the situation carefully, Cruel may not be smart ... 

Awww, how sweet!

*grabs the bat of sensitivity* I am gonna hit some sensivity in Aniz

Quote from: Naldru on June 06, 2007, 12:08:37 AMCurrently, all the readers seem to be judging Aniz.  If there is such a pattern forming, I think that it is safe to say that Amber has planned a major plot twist, and all of the readers (or nearly all) will find their beliefs to be incorrect.

Hey--I'm the one constantly saying that I don't understand Aniz and think that there's more to this than sheer hatred.

After all, he's really knocking her around, and that would suggest that he hates her.  But if he truly hates her, he would have done her by now.  She presents enough of a threat that if Aniz truly didn't care for her or have some other use for her, he would be well-advised to kill her.

The fact that he doesn't suggests very strongly that he either has some feelings for her or she remains part of his future plans.

Quote from: MaskedRetriever on June 06, 2007, 12:09:26 AMSecond Panel:  WEDDING RING!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

And first panel.  And last panel.  I think they were motifs at one point, but at this point, they're probably just there for continuity.

Think--in the second panel, you have to show Aniz's arm and May's other arm.  One of those has to be a right arm, and the other has to be a left arm.  That means that you are guaranteed that one or the other will have a wedding ring in frame.  The one that looks most like continuing the motif is panel one, where it might be more dramatic to show May's face, resulting in May giving Aniz a right hook instead of a left.

Quote from: Naldru on June 06, 2007, 12:08:37 AM
Currently, all the readers seem to be judging Aniz.  If there is such a pattern forming, I think that it is safe to say that Amber has planned a major plot twist, and all of the readers (or nearly all) will find their beliefs to be incorrect.

After looking through his words I think I'm in agreeance with you. He says he's going to put flowers on May's grave, perhaps all this brutality is Aniz' way of beating the "Cid" out of May and making her a victim of stockholm syndrome where she falls in love with her captor, Aniz. With May under his thumb Abel would have to submit to Aniz. Hennya is probably still a goner though.  :<

I still say this is good cop/bad cop.

Aniz, obviously bad cop.

Good cop?  Well, we haven't seen Destina in this story yet, have we?

Quote from: Jigsaw Forte on June 05, 2007, 10:37:58 PM
So then why chuck her through the table? The hell of it?

I'm going way out on a limb here, with one of two possibilities:

1) He derives his power from confusion. I personally think this is what Abel derives his energy from as well, but we see the differences in how they get it. Abel likes to throw people off balance by not conforming to social norms, bluntly pointing out social awkwardness and generally just being off-the-wall... but he does so in a way that really isn't harmful to others. His father, on the other hand, seeks confusion through humiliation, terror and intimidation. Note how he's toying with everyone now that the secret is out, making them guess and react to him, then startling them with a new fact or action. This is not the man they thought they knew, and he's playing it to the hilt.

or
2) He's a jerk and just wanted to show off she can't hurt him. :D

Wait, where is Hennya? We've not seen her fer a while.
Cowering?

Quote from: Kesh on June 06, 2007, 03:05:48 AM
1) He derives his power from confusion. I personally think this is what Abel derives his energy from as well, but we see the differences in how they get it.

We know about Abel, it's in his profile.  It might be that his clan - or what's left of it - feeds on confusion as a trait, but if we take Ink's examination of Dan as gospel it looks like there may be individual preferences as well (which means that confusion could be specific to Abel and nastiness or whatever might be specific to Aniz).

In any case, I agree with your premise - my money's on him getting some kind of feeding kick out seeing May confused and helpless.

AHHHH! KILL IT WITH FIRE!  >:^(

Quote from: GabrielsThoughts on June 05, 2007, 10:49:52 PM
I'm not sure, but  the wording might be better if you changed it to.


"one day 'when you' die of old age "

other than that I'm still  waiting to see May turn into a nasty Creature class something with sharp pointy teeth, and shadow magic. Just to see the Cid/Aniz squirm.


Edit: She is still wearing that purple gem necklace, I don't beleive amber has ruled out the possibility of it having a disguise field attached like with Kria

hey mabye it some cubi joke that is cruel and it just acting and mabye may isn't really bleeding and thier just doing it to get hennya to run off in fear in fear .

Quote from: MaskedRetriever on June 06, 2007, 02:53:19 AMI still say this is good cop/bad cop.

Aniz, obviously bad cop.

Good cop?  Well, we haven't seen Destina in this story yet, have we?

Hmm... I hadn't thought of that.

My first reaction to this strip was:

"OMFG ... He's toying with her.  I know what Aniz is doing:  He's toying with May.  Like a cat toying with it's prey, it's food."

But it's also clear that the situation's not as simple as, "May==Food," to Aniz.  By toying with her, I think Aniz is also trying to get the point across to May (and perhaps everyone in the room), that he's the most powerful thing there.  By far.  Oooops, did I break your nose?  So sorry, I forgot how frail Beings are compared to Cubi.  Whoops, did I toss you too hard?  So sorry, I forgot how strong a Cubi is after 25 years of holding back.

Just remember, at any point, Aniz could have, at any point, ripped off his shirt (or just pulled it off), unhid his wings, grabbed May with them, and scared May to within an inch of her life with a demonstration of just what an incubus is and what he's capable of.  He hasn't.

It's also pretty obvious by this point that either Aniz wants Abel to hate him (so that Abel doesn't hate himself for being an incubus, perhaps?), or just plain doesn't care.


On a different note:  Anyone else notice that Abel hasn't suffered from headaches like Dan did at the same age?  Wanna bet Aniz has been shielding him?

Quote from: candide on June 06, 2007, 06:05:08 AM
On a different note:  Anyone else notice that Abel hasn't suffered from headaches like Dan did at the same age?  Wanna bet Aniz has been shielding him?

Dan is living in an Inn. You can bet there are brawls (even between drunk and bouncer, and brief, it's a brawl) arguments, drunks getting worked up, emotions getting hot, people getting excited (assuming there's something entertainment-focused, like, say, a pool table or equivalent) people getting depressed, etc etc.

I'll bet you there's a heck of a lot more emotion floating around an Inn than there is in a house with two people, one of whom is a hiding Cubi, and in a library.

Sure, Abel is training as a librarian, and, as such, is probably in a school rather than a library, but I'll bet he has a lot less emotion to deal with than Dan does.


Having said that, yes, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Aniz has been shielding Abel anyway :-]

Well Aniz is a Bastard through and through I hate him so *Grrrrrrrrr* can somebody whack this Aniz guy.

Anywho I think Candide is right and Aniz is toying with her if he would of killed her it will been done already.

Whatever sick minded game he is playing right now I wish either Abel or heck Henneya would do something just to knock his teeth out.  Just to stop him yet hes strong and powerful but that dosen't stop his pretensious pride.

Man I hope May is alright I will wait till saturday to see what happens next.

   :mowninja          So Aniz is still on the sadistic jerk roller coaster . He is a jerk, but as Abel explained in a previous       
episode , some cubi are jerks, as in any other creature / being , it's not being the cubi that makes him a jerk, he is     
a jerk anyway. As Abel said to Dan, " It's a lofty thought, but in 300 years you may be approaching my level of jerkdom
...             

Quote from: Xeksue on June 06, 2007, 02:15:40 AMperhaps all this brutality is Aniz' way of beating the "Cid" out of May and making her a victim of stockholm syndrome where she falls in love with her captor, Aniz.

I don't think so.  Jan-Erik Olsson (the Stockholm Syndrome guy) was very charismatic.  So much so that Helsenborg police encouraged him to stay on the run when he tried to turn himself in.  Aniz (or at least how he's acting) doesn't fit that profile.

Quote from: llearch n'n'daCorna on June 06, 2007, 06:14:08 AM
I'll bet you there's a heck of a lot more emotion floating around an Inn than there is in a house with two people, one of whom is a hiding Cubi, and in a library.

Sure, Abel is training as a librarian, and, as such, is probably in a school rather than a library, but I'll bet he has a lot less emotion to deal with than Dan does.

You sir, obviously do not spend a lot of time in a library :p

My first nervous breakdown of the summer from the meanies and the creepy children is scheduled for June 19th. :)

wow... the only more that Aniz can be a dick is that he reveals that he has another family whom he visits when he's out "adventuring."

...I bet Hennya's been sneaking cookies whilst all this is going on.

Quote from: Azraelle on June 05, 2007, 11:46:58 PM
This made me think of the song by Drowning Pool:

"If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...
If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...

*Charles bah!*  Well I get knocked down, but I get up again!  And you're never gonna keep me down!

*Charline slices Charles finely and feeds him to the seven-headed dogs!*

*Charles ack*  That could do it.   X_X   :grave

*Charline bwah ha ha!*  I win!   :dancinggrave

Quote from: Alondro on June 06, 2007, 10:35:57 AM

Quote from: Azraelle on June 05, 2007, 11:46:58 PM
This made me think of the song by Drowning Pool:

"If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...
If you wanna step up (step up) you're gonna get knocked down (knocked down) ...

*Charles bah!*  Well I get knocked down, but I get up again!  And you're never gonna keep me down!

*Charline slices Charles finely and feeds him to the seven-headed dogs!*

*Charles ack*  That could do it.   X_X   :grave

*Charline bwah ha ha!*  I win!   :dancinggrave

Oh peachy now who am I gonna see at the con now...

Quote from: Naldru on June 06, 2007, 12:08:37 AMCurrently, all the readers seem to be judging Aniz.  If there is such a pattern forming, I think that it is safe to say that Amber has planned a major plot twist, and all of the readers (or nearly all) will find their beliefs to be incorrect.

Any suspicions  about that - for me, at least - pretty much dried up after his "motive" monologue.  On top of all the other things he's done, he basically admitted to not having any redeeming qualities.

I dunno.  It seems to be that he has motives he hasn't revealed yet.

I dunno why, but the latest comic, he doesn't seem evil.  Amused maybe, and maybe slightly proud of her effort (this is a streeeeeeeeeeeeeetch, I know.) to attack him.

Also, he said "One day, you will die of old age."  He says it like it's a certainty, almost like an assurance that nothing will happen to her.

Is Aniz a jerk?  Certainly.  Is he more than that?  Probably.

Also, he says he killed Cid.  But... is it just me, or did he never mention WHEN he killed Cid?  It could have even been before "Cid" and May first met.

For all we know, Aniz could genuinely love May.  But now that he's revealed...

For some reason, Destania's quote comes to mind.  "Beware the love of a succubus (although this applies to incubi, too), for it will bring thee nothing but heartache".

Maybe he's physically resounding Destania's quote?

Too many hypotheses @_@ *falls over*

Hm, after some thinking, I think I'll throw out some random speculation on what may happen next.

Aniz will leave May alive, albeit injured, maybe even crippled. When he goes to take Abel away Hennya interferes, only to be killed, or faces treatment similar to May's. Kria then arrives, stopping/killing Aniz, and offers to bring Abel to SAIA. Reluctant to leave his mother, Abel initially refuses, remaining at May's side as he watches her age and wither away, exacerbated by loneliness. Abel, meanwhile, doesn't age in the slightest over the years, his Incubus heritage becoming all the more apparent to him. All throughout her solitude, she watches out the window, waiting for Cid in a neverending period of denial painfully reminiscent of Devin's mother.

I'm not sure what'll happen next, but feel free to criticize. It's just a thought.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

You know when you're having a nice meal with a couple and they start arguing and, a few hours of awkward forced conversation later, you fake a yawn and leave.

Hennya's going to have that times a million.

Also. I have a sister who is very skilled at predicting plotlines. So much so that I grew to loathe all people who postulate possibilites, because when whatever happens happens, if it's been predicted, it loses all of the impact it should have had. Just a thought.

I honestly think that this is him saying that he DOES have feelings for May. Not a lot, but some. Sure, he's ruining her life, but he's saying that when she is dead, he will mourn for her.

Quote from: rabid_fox on June 06, 2007, 12:59:29 PM
Also. I have a sister who is very skilled at predicting plotlines. So much so that I grew to loathe all people who postulate possibilites, because when whatever happens happens, if it's been predicted, it loses all of the impact it should have had. Just a thought.

Erk. Well now I feel stupid. I'm sorry if I said something which was irritating or ruining to the plotline. Should I edit?

~Keaton the Black Jackal

Somehow, this discussion reminds me of when Cindy first appeared...

Everyone, in unison: SHE'S GONNA DIE :<

Quote from: AnizInDisguise on June 06, 2007, 01:02:47 PM
I honestly think that this is him saying that he DOES have feelings for May. Not a lot, but some. Sure, he's ruining her life, but he's saying that when she is dead, he will mourn for her.

I have to disagree.  I think all of this that he's doing right now is just the result of his sense of whimsy. 

Quote from: AnizInDisguise on June 06, 2007, 01:02:47 PM
I honestly think that this is him saying that he DOES have feelings for May. Not a lot, but some. Sure, he's ruining her life, but he's saying that when she is dead, he will mourn for her.

I actually agree to a certain extent. After all - he's been living with her for what - 25 years? As her husband? I think that to keep up the act for that long you'd either have to be completely without any ethics, or perhaps he really does have some feelings for her, maybe she's grown on him over the years.

And, I speculate that he probably did a little searching before he picked a mother for his heir - perhaps for her looks, but maybe he actually cares a little.

In contrast to what he could have done (faked death after Abel was born, and shown up later to pick him up once he was well-grown), this seems rather compassionate.

I personally don't think he's being entirely sincere in 89... Hrm.

I would just like to point out the irony here in Abel's home life.

http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_52.php

Devin was jealous because Abel's home life was one of love, not duty.
Joke's on Abel, I guess.

Quote from: AnizInDisguise on June 06, 2007, 01:02:47 PM
I honestly think that this is him saying that he DOES have feelings for May. Not a lot, but some. Sure, he's ruining her life, but he's saying that when she is dead, he will mourn for her.

Actually I think this is his smug way of saying 'You hate me, you want me dead, but when it comes down to it I'm going to be around for years and years to come, while you age and die.'

Quote from: Big J on June 06, 2007, 05:57:50 PM
I would just like to point out the irony here in Abel's home life.

http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_52.php

Devin was jealous because Abel's home life was one of love, not duty.
Joke's on Abel, I guess.

Good thing Devin's dead, or that would be SOOOOOOO embarrassing.

Yeah you could just see them having an emo competition.

Devin >> My family hated me

Abel >> My dad was fake

Devin >> My mom wished I'd never been born

Abel >> My dad's an evil monster who spent 25 years building up to a moment when he could completely crush my mom.

Etc, etc...

Quote from: Damaris on June 06, 2007, 10:22:38 AM

Quote from: llearch n'n'daCorna on June 06, 2007, 06:14:08 AM
I'll bet you there's a heck of a lot more emotion floating around an Inn than there is in a house with two people, one of whom is a hiding Cubi, and in a library.

Sure, Abel is training as a librarian, and, as such, is probably in a school rather than a library, but I'll bet he has a lot less emotion to deal with than Dan does.

You sir, obviously do not spend a lot of time in a library :p

My first nervous breakdown of the summer from the meanies and the creepy children is scheduled for June 19th. :)

Sadly, the libraries in the UK are rather harder to get time to go and visit than the ones in NZ. Go figure...

Also, I've dealt with "restarting the desktop of the user whose machine had bluescreened while printing the output of a deal they were trying to do"

At the time I was restarting the machine (twice because of an irregularity in the app they were required to use) the user in question was standing behind me screaming obscenities into my ear, at the top of her lungs. Consistently. Until the machine was ready to use.


After that, I have a fairly blase view of how stressful the rest of the universe is...

Quote from: Netrogo on June 06, 2007, 06:50:13 PM
Yeah you could just see them having an emo competition.

Devin >> My family hated me

Abel >> My dad was fake

Devin >> My mom wished I'd never been born

Abel >> My dad's an evil monster who spent 25 years building up to a moment when he could completely crush my mom.

Etc, etc...

Check out  http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_54.php

I think that you underestimate Devin's maturation process.  After 25 years, Devin had reached a point that Abel still has to reach after 300 years.  However, I believe that Abel will reach this point even if Fa'Lina and Kria have to beat it into him.  (And they are perfectly willing to use violence to beat it into him.)

 :mowtongue   Usually hero's seem dull to us. Villians are much more fun. And responsability, who wants that ?

  ( By the way, will Amber get around to adding Aniz and Nutmeg to the ' Characters ' page ?  )

Aniz is a magnificent bastard. He deserves applaud and praise.

Fiction needs more true bastards and less "misunderstand emo pieces of crap."

I also find it funny that you people like kria and hate aniz. Aniz is bastard, kria is a mass murdering psychopath. Ahhh people are funny.

  :mowninja    People love to hate some characters. Aniz is not a hero, he is an anti-hero , the type people love to hate . Is there a thumbs up for Aniz ? That's what gives him character. In the Guise of 'Cid' he could have blended into the wallpaper. The true Aniz stands out now ...

And I can fight to the death for my right to be wrong about things from time to time ...

Quote from: kaskar on June 07, 2007, 07:04:20 AM

     People love to hate some characters. Aniz is not a hero, he is an anti-hero , the type people love to hate . Is there a thumbs up for Aniz ?

Correction aniz is a villain.
Kria is more an anti-hero since shes aligned with the protagonists.

Still it's funny, its ok for kria to be a mass murderer, but when someone is committing a pretty detailed assault to someone made to be sympathetic(cant spell sympathetic without pathetic!) thats its terrible evil that deserves being killed for!

 :mowninja In saying he was an anti-hero, does that also exclude villain and a barstard ? I think not. 

Quote from: googuhlA protagonist who displays faults and is unsympathetically portrayed. Eg Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's "A View From The Bridge", William Shakespeare's Othello and "Macbeth.
www.kentaylor.co.uk/die/materials/docs/lessons/yr12/edmonton1/a_level_glossary.html

In literature and film, an anti-hero is a central or supporting character that has some of the personality flaws traditionally assigned to villains but nonetheless also has enough heroic qualities or intentions to gain the sympathy of readers or viewers. Anti-heroes can be awkward, obnoxious, passive, pitiful, or obtuse; but they are always, in some fundamental way, flawed or failed heroes. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-hero

So no. Not anti-hero. Never.

Where have I seen that circle under the crystal ball before? Hmm..

Quote from: Whitemagebishieboy on June 07, 2007, 06:03:04 AM
Aniz is a magnificent bastard. He deserves applaud and praise.

Fiction needs more true bastards and less "misunderstand emo pieces of crap."

I also find it funny that you people like kria and hate aniz. Aniz is bastard, kria is a mass murdering psychopath. Ahhh people are funny.

That's why I like Aizen from Bleach.  He's evil, plain and simple.  There's no reason behind his actions other than wanting to ascend to higher and higher levels.  He craves MORE POW-AH!!  And he's slick and sinister and very patient, waiting decades for his plans to come to fruition, willing to disguise his true nature and aid his enemy for as long as he has to to get what he needs from them...

*blinks*  Could he be related to Aniz?  Aniz-Aizen.. 3 letters are the same!  It must be a conspiracy!   :U

*Charline grrs*  Shut up!  You're dead!

*Charles blahs*  I have returned!  And I crave brainz!   :zombiekun2

I didn't know they had the yellow pages back then. Huh... live and learn. o:

No its Yellow book not other book though D:<

Quote from: Alondro on June 07, 2007, 09:50:28 AM
*blinks*  Could he be related to Aniz?  Aniz-Aizen.. 3 letters are the same!  It must be a conspiracy!   :U

Four letters, actually. :-]

An Anti-Hero is a Hero who does things through not so good means. The Punisher is the prime example. He's always striving to do the right thing, however he usually does it with bullets. Little girl kidnapped and held for ransom? Punisher will barge into the building and shoot everything in there the goons, the mastermind, hell even the dog in order to save the little girl.

Aniz is NOT a freaking hero, he's not an anti-hero. The closest to hero Aniz would get is at Mr. Sub.

Aniz. Is. A. Villain. Period. Exclamation Point. [/end of discussion]

Yeah, to be an anti-hero, you still have to do something heroic, otherwise, you're just another immoral villain.  That's how it.  Kratos is another example of an anti-hero.  Sure, he killed his family and plenty of innocents, but he's also trying to redeem himself by slaying the forces of evil and petty gods.

Aniz has done jack shit beyond being an asshole.

Quote from: Manawolf on June 07, 2007, 02:40:52 PM
Aniz has done jack shit beyond being an asshole.

Technically, he's done everything Cid did. The problem with that is, we don't know what he actually did...

For all we know, he decided to "retire" as soon as Aniz took over. Which means Aniz didn't do any "Adventuring" at all. On the other hand, he might have been adventuring for a while, protecting the town for some time. We really don't know either way.

We don't really know what he did with his days, and that's just it, he could have been doing just about anything other than adventuring (at least not the heroic stuff, more like stealing, extortion and other immoral acts).

Quote from: Manawolf on June 07, 2007, 04:48:23 PM
We don't really know what he did with his days, and that's just it, he could have been doing just about anything other than adventuring (at least not the heroic stuff, more like stealing, extortion and other immoral acts).

How do I know the universe doesn't vanish while I sleep?  How do I know that everybody else on earth isn't conspiring to deceive me.  When you get right down to the basics, the only thing that anybody actually knows is that they personally exist in some form, since they couldn't be wondering about their existence if they didn't exist.

I'm an agnostic with regard to Aniz's motives.  An agnostic is a person who knows he doesn't know, but also knows that you don't know either.

We do have the following statements about what what Aniz was doing for the past several years.  I also assume that Aniz was interacting with other adventurers, making a completely false life more difficult.  Certainly, nobody in either of the towns had any reason to suspect that Aniz was anything except a heroic adventurer.

http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_14.php
http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_17.php

By the way, can anybody point to a specific statement by Aniz, acting as either Cid or Aniz, that turned out to be a lie.  I can see two acts of deception.  One was concealing the fact that he was a cubi (admittedly a biggie).  The second was when, after seeing the headwings on Abel, he brought up the question as to whether May had been faithful.  However, this second act of decption was aborted when he revealed that he was a cubi.

Benjamin Franklin had a saying that may be appropriate:  When in doubt, tell the truth.  It will confound your enemies and amaze your friends.

I think that I may have a different interpretation about the flowers on the grave.  I believe that he is saying that he will remember her for the rest of his long life, which would actually be quite a statement for a race known for a short attention span.

It's kind of easy to surmise that he was mocking her with that statement.

Quote from: llearch n'n'daCorna on June 07, 2007, 11:25:45 AM

Quote from: Alondro on June 07, 2007, 09:50:28 AM
*blinks*  Could he be related to Aniz?  Aniz-Aizen.. 3 letters are the same!  It must be a conspiracy!   :U

Four letters, actually. :-]

You know too much!  You're part of the conspiracy!   :U

*I was waiting for someone to pick up on that... it was another conspiracy!   >:3

Everything's a conspiracy. It's the stuff that isn't a conspiracy that you have to watch for.

But isn't the stuff that isn't a conspiracy just a conspiracy to cover up the stuff that is a conspiracy over the other conspiracies?

 :mowninja      So Cid has had a make over and become Aniz ...   That means that he still is a certified Adventurer ...

There's no way Abel is taking this 100% lying down.

Come on man! Unhinge the Cubi RAAAGE!

Adventurer can cover a lot of rolls.  In some ways it's just another name for a mercenary, and in others in can just be a simple thief.

:mowmeep I think that it is not a case of goodies or baddies , but a real interesting character, and a paper cutout character ...