2017-05-29 [DMFA #1757] - Messy

[Tapewolf]

I wondered at first why Hizell removed the things he did, but then I realized that they are the Quoar traits.  I hope he's able to get over the trauma since it's serious PTSD stuffed and cubi are extra emotional anyway.

Too bad he'll miss Piflak's party, I'd like to know why he was invited.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

I feel bad for all the recovering he'll have to do from this, but I am glad Abel is alright.... barely......

Also, interesting to learn more about Mink's family tree.

Too bad he'll miss Piflak's party, I'd like to know why he was invited.

I too am very curious, as to why Abel was invited.

Although, ever since here I have always felt Abel being invited to Piflak's party may not have been her idea, but may have been Mr. Bard's idea based on his facial expression in the last panel. Seems like a very mischievous grin to me there....

[MT Hazard]

So, skull/face trauma, possible back trauma, damaged eyes, two sets of wings removed, maybe other injuries if you consider those parts probably weren't removed cleanly or quickly. But the big question is, why leave him alive at all?

Even if he was leaving him to die, that something of a risk considering he is the middle of a major city and has allies who would immediately contact help. However the is a worrying possibility that the dragon intend to repeat the process at a latter date.

[Dard]

My thoughts exactly: What was the point of this all?

I doubt Hizell is the kind of villain who takes his time tormenting his victim to allow him to get rescued in time. And Hizell certainly knew what he was doing and where he was doing it. Remember, he considered an assault on Lost Lake Inn but discarded the idea after he surveyed the situation and found a fae there. If he now attacked in Zinvth, he must have know that he would only have a short time for it.

So why did he let Abel live?
Who was he trying to send a message?
Abel is the last of his clan, so that can't be it.
The cubi in general?
Well, there are easier accessable targets for that.
Fa'Lina?
Possible. But for what? Provoking her to restart the Dragon/Cubi War? Fa'Lina would have no part in that.
Zinvth?
Possible, but lacking information here.
Destania?
My current favourite option. (which is not saying much) But I am not sure if Hizell is aware of her plots or her past with Abel. He doesn't seem to be the type to care about such details.

[Lying Foo]

...

Suddenly I'm starting to wonder if Destania's "gift" was ironic after all...

[Tapewolf]

My thoughts exactly: What was the point of this all?

I doubt Hizell is the kind of villain who takes his time tormenting his victim to allow him to get rescued in time.

No, but he might have been trying to prolong the agony, up to the point he was driven away before he could finish the job.

It is interesting and morbid to note that Dan and Destania are also likely to lose their eyes if Hizell gets his way - green eyes are a Cyran trait.

[HaDDea]

Oh, Abel.... 
Dang it, Amber - why does he have to go through so much dang trauma...

I can't help but wonder what the Dragons think of Hizell's actions - do they approve? Are they indifferent? Is he a rogue element? Or is he simply too powerful to tell off? I mean, this isn't great for them. Such a "bold move" will surely bring about repercussions, and even if they view all other Being and Creature races as so many insects, no one likes angering a hive full of bees or disturbing an ants' nest. Numbers do matter. Plus we know what Hizell has surely missed - he just provided the biggest impetus to a very bright Being to bring havok down on the Dragons' collective heads, against which they will have zero defense. And Hizell also likely has a vendetta on him and his from the Soulstealer Family, too - Kria is gonna be incensed.

Dark times are ahead for all.

Too bad he'll miss Piflak's party, I'd like to know why he was invited.

I too am very curious, as to why Abel was invited.

Although, ever since here I have always felt Abel being invited to Piflak's party may not have been her idea, but may have been Mr. Bard's idea based on his facial expression in the last panel. Seems like a very mischievous grin to me there....

I wonder if it wasn't a pretext for Quoar himself to meet with this strange 'cubi who looks like himself and his clan, but has a completely different affinity; Abel's traits seem to be pretty dang rare among 'cubi. I've also wondered if May didn't have a little clan Quoar blood in her herself - just that she and her ancestors were Beings, not Creatures. Even if not, while May may or may not have been related to Quoar, she did indeed love her son, and taught him how to love as well. Perhaps love is a possible secondary affinity for Abel, and Quoar was considering offering clanship to him? I'm not sure how changing clans works for 'cubi themselves. Or perhaps Quoar was arranging for Abel to come into contact with members of clan Seme? I can imagine the clan of Love having an affinity for playing matchmaker. Who knows - hopefully Amber will reveal the reason in time.

[Grey Wolf]

Phew, well, at least Abel is going to live.

Maybe Mink can come visit? I feel like Spotty would benefit from a visit from his happy buddy.
But, do we have any 'cubi healer types that specialize in mental trauma?

[Rafe]

Interesting method of exposition here.  Once again, Amber has taken control over how the details are going to come out in the obviously very dramatic episode.  Very suspense-inducing.

Abel, for now anyway, is the only person who can (we hope, anyway) provide any details about what happened - and what might happen in the near future.  He's obviously physically injured.  Is he also affected mentally? Did Hizzel leave him alive for some reason?  My biggest question: Did some other creature intervene to help him? 

[Raskahn]

That's some serious trauma....but hey! No ackward social event, yaaaay.

[Puyon]

Awhile back, Mink mentioned that Hizell would steal the Clan marks of those he killed. At first I thought he'd have done so AFTER the murder to make it easier, but I guess difficulty is hardly an issue in this case.

Seeing that Abel's wings were torn off, and that his clan mark is on his back, I wonder if Hizell has a pretty little Siar mark to add with the others...

[Grey Wolf]

That's some serious trauma....but hey! No ackward social event, yaaaay.

And here we see the introvert in their natural habitat


Maybe Furrae has a pensieve like thing. They can have Abel remember that, yes, he was attacked by Hizell, yes, he was seriously messed up... But the actual memories of his mutilation are packed away.

[Somebodyelse]

I wondered at first why Hizell removed the things he did, but then I realized that they are the Quoar traits.

Tinfoil hat time:

I've always hypothesized that clan Quoar was actually an entire clan of cuckoos among a race of cuckoos due to their clan trait "randomly" appearing in other clans. That is, all members are secretly members of two clans at the same time, one of which being Quoar.

If that holds to be true then Abel is also a Quoar, Hizell's targeting him because of that and he left him alive in an attempt to draw out Quoar.

[Lurkie]

My take on why Hizell didn't kill Abel:  It was a message to Destania.  Hizell was well aware that the "anonymous tip" about Siar's last clan member was from Destania (see #1452).  I think this was Hizell's way of letting her know that he is not her errand boy, not in any way shape or form.  If she wants Abel dead, she should do it herself.

[Dard]

My take on why Hizell didn't kill Abel:  It was a message to Destania.  Hizell was well aware that the "anonymous tip" about Siar's last clan member was from Destania (see #1452).  I think this was Hizell's way of letting her know that he is not her errand boy, not in any way shape or form.  If she wants Abel dead, she should do it herself.

Ohhh, I forgot about that.

Now rereading this, I think this is the theory I like most so far.
At least lacking another, more plausible theory.

No, but he might have been trying to prolong the agony, up to the point he was driven away before he could finish the job.

But this is what I mean.
This is what a typical Hollywood movie villain would do. What someone from the Evil Overlord list would do.
Neither does Hizell seem to fit into that category from what we have seen so far, nor do I think that Amber is a writer bad enough to write such a thing regardless.

Anyway: I would hate it if this would be cause. Because I have a very strong dislike for villains such as this. And not in a good way.

[ChaosMageX]

My thoughts exactly: What was the point of this all?

I doubt Hizell is the kind of villain who takes his time tormenting his victim to allow him to get rescued in time.

No, but he might have been trying to prolong the agony, up to the point he was driven away before he could finish the job.

It is interesting and morbid to note that Dan and Destania are also likely to lose their eyes if Hizell gets his way - green eyes are a Cyran trait.

Well, given how this world's setting seems to be a mix of both the modern and the medieval, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there are flesh collectors like in Hunter × Hunter and things like the well preserved wings from a Quoar Cubi or a Cubi with Quoar-like traits would go for a lot of money on the black market.

However, I'm not sure Cyra's green eyes would be of particular value to flesh collectors unless they glowed a particularly special shade of green like how in Hunter × Hunter the Kurta clan eyes glow a special shade of red.

EDIT: I think even Daryil was a flesh collector at one point, specializing in ears, but this was way back in the early darker days of his clan.

[Ixal]

I assume the doctors would recognize it if that wasn't Abel but Hizell in disguise.
So why did he let Abel live? I do not think he was chased away before he had the chance to kill him. Does Hizell hope that Destina can't pass up the opportunity to gloat over Abel? Did he made a deal with Abel to let him live if he can lure out Destina and all the injuries are just a cover?

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

But, do we have any 'cubi healer types that specialize in mental trauma?

Apparently, there are many different types of specialized healers, even mental ones.....

Granted this was many years ago, but I doubt that would have changed much over the years, if anything they probably got a crap ton more healers to pick from. Plus, I don't think the healer necessarily has to a cubi healer, I am sure any trained mental healer would be fine.

My take on why Hizell didn't kill Abel:  It was a message to Destania.  Hizell was well aware that the "anonymous tip" about Siar's last clan member was from Destania (see #1452).  I think this was Hizell's way of letting her know that he is not her errand boy, not in any way shape or form.  If she wants Abel dead, she should do it herself.

I honestly would not be surprised by this myself. When Destania finds out that Abel has survived, Biggs might need to get another new desk, unless he made sure to have his most recent one be more durable.

[Shakal]

My first suspicion is that Hizell was prolonging things to give time for more of Clan Siar to arrive. After all it's not like anyone other then Siar herself could have said for sure how many there were, or could have said if Aniz had had any more children. He gave Siar the first move in order to give her clan time to arrive so he could wipe them all out, wouldn't be surprising for him to draw things out again here for the same purpose. Besides, he knows someone (even if he doesn't know Destania is the informant) wants Abel dead, so he didn't have to go for the quick kill this time.

Taking Abel's eyes is the bit that really surprises me though. The wings are the inherant symbols and physical weapons of a Cubi, so it makes sense to take them. The eyes only really make sense as a starting shot, keeping Abel from fighting effectively. Besides that it really doesn't make any sense, unless as proposed above it was a specific attack on Clan Quar.

[Shakal]

At least one mercy is that you can't dream during a coma, so with Mab and Pip about to visit hopefully Abel won't suffer through Pip further traumatizing him mentally.

[killpurakat]

So... anybody else recall that on the Demonology 101 page for Cubi, there's this bit of text in the first paragraph under General:
"Though perhaps the most unique feature of this race is that they have a second set of wings atop their head. It is unsure if they are simply decoration or actually do anything(no Cubi would dare let them get cut off alive), though they manifest around the same time a Cubi comes into power."

What if Abel's headwings being removed means he is now magically powerless or can't feed off emotions or even if this is like a fatal wound and he will slowly die from it, no matter what any healer does (because they don't know/understand Cubi or because the headwings are vital in a way they just don't expect/know)?

I mean, Abel was able to have his backwings attached pretty easily, but the headwings seem special.

(Backwing attachment comics here:
http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_595.php
http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_596.php )



I think the eye removal may have been to make it so Abel couldn't see to attack Hizell/flee the situation. If it was me, and I wanted to get the opportunity to attack my opponent specifically (like, to rip body parts off), I'd first disable the eyes so my opponent didn't know where I was or what I was planning based on my movements. But it also could be a case of Hizell was slowly ripping Abel apart bit by bit and just didn't have time to get past the wings (a Cubi's biggest asset and distinct trait) and then eyes (a massive weakness for everyone). If so, I'm guessing the tongue might have been next, following by ears, arms (or fingers, then arms), legs, and tail.

[Escher]

Ouch.

On another note, I suddenly appear to have Twisted Nerve playing in my head...

[Icalasari]

What if Abel's headwings being removed means he is now magically powerless or can't feed off emotions or even if this is like a fatal wound and he will slowly die from it, no matter what any healer does (because they don't know/understand Cubi or because the headwings are vital in a way they just don't expect/know)?

Alternatively, what if a cubi cannot regrow the head wings and they are behind most of a Cubi's abilities? Stuck being a being - maybe even losing the longevity?

[Brushtail]

Well, I figured one of two things would happen once Able threw his friends away.

1. The dragon is confused by this and tries to psychoanalize Able, buying time for help to arrive.

2. Dragon plays "she loathes me, she loathes me not" with his limbs.

Looks like we got option 2, but help still arrived in time to save life if not limb.

I  do wonder how the dragon was driven off. Was there an epic figt, or did he back down quickly knowing that he had other ways to finish off the Cubi.

[Tuyu]

No, but he might have been trying to prolong the agony, up to the point he was driven away before he could finish the job.

It is interesting and morbid to note that Dan and Destania are also likely to lose their eyes if Hizell gets his way - green eyes are a Cyran trait.

Well, given how this world's setting seems to be a mix of both the modern and the medieval, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there are flesh collectors like in Hunter × Hunter and things like the well preserved wings from a Quoar Cubi or a Cubi with Quoar-like traits would go for a lot of money on the black market.

However, I'm not sure Cyra's green eyes would be of particular value to flesh collectors unless they glowed a particularly special shade of green like how in Hunter × Hunter the Kurta clan eyes glow a special shade of red.

Counting coup doesn't need the things taken to have any intrinsic value. OTOH, Abel was bred to have those traits for some reason. Maybe those parts have a use.

Seems to me that once you've taken their wings, cubi shouldn't be difficult to finish off, so I'd say Abel's survival is deliberate, for whatever reason.

We need a betting pool on hospital visits:  who visits and in what order, and whether any of them are cubi avatars or reps.

Wonder if Abel's engaging in any involuntary/instinctive emotion-feeding right now.

[ZacAttac21]

My take on why Hizell didn't kill Abel:  It was a message to Destania.  Hizell was well aware that the "anonymous tip" about Siar's last clan member was from Destania (see #1452).  I think this was Hizell's way of letting her know that he is not her errand boy, not in any way shape or form.  If she wants Abel dead, she should do it herself.

I was wondering that myself, but if that's the case I have to wonder, why harm him at all? Sure he hates 'Cubi, but if he wants to spite Destania I would think it would sting more if he was like "Yeah I know he's here. But I'm not gonna do what you want."

[Icalasari]

I was wondering that myself, but if that's the case I have to wonder, why harm him at all? Sure he hates 'Cubi, but if he wants to spite Destania I would think it would sting more if he was like "Yeah I know he's here. But I'm not gonna do what you want."

Not hurting him could mean he's ignoring Destania or missed the message

Leaving Abel just at the brink of death but not finishing him, then letting Zinvth take him into care is letting her know he got her message in the most frustrating way possible for her (after an attack that severe, Destania's not going to get a chance for a good long time to get at Abel)

[katasev]

I'm very curious how Quoar is going to take it. Piflak probably won't notice, since Quoar's the one who planted the invite. Quoar's the clan nobody knows anything about after all - even taking into account Zezzuva's crazy insectis takeover, he could very well have a really huge, ridiculously powerful clan hidden away.

also. abel! nooooo! my poor baby!! it hurts just thinking about those wounds!! huuuu....

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

I was wondering that myself, but if that's the case I have to wonder, why harm him at all? Sure he hates 'Cubi, but if he wants to spite Destania I would think it would sting more if he was like "Yeah I know he's here. But I'm not gonna do what you want."

Not hurting him could mean he's ignoring Destania or missed the message

Leaving Abel just at the brink of death but not finishing him, then letting Zinvth take him into care is letting her know he got her message in the most frustrating way possible for her (after an attack that severe, Destania's not going to get a chance for a good long time to get at Abel)

I have to agree with this. Destania sent him that message in the hopes that Hizell would finish Abel off, so having him still be alive is gonna piss her off royally.

Once she finds out, she won't know if it was a deliberate choice on Hizell's end or if help arrived just in time; so either way this may cause her to make some rash counter decisions. If it was deliberate on Hizell's end, that may be exactly the outcome he wants.

[Grey Wolf]

Oooh, Hizell spiting Destania might be my favorite theory so far.


Ha, yeah. All those specialized healers.
A 'cubi might want a 'cubi healer because of the tensions they have with other races. I mean, can you imagine if the best mental healer was a dragon or something? Beggars can't be choosers, though