2018-08-17 [DMFA #1861] - Distract me with gossip

[Tapewolf]

Oh, I really like that.  Piflka's children are just standing here chit-chatting with her like she's a slightly higher-ranking colleague, not the awesomely powerful 50ft terror she actually is.
This kind of casual rapport is the thing I was trying to do with Daryil, but I wasn't sure if that was a realistic expectation.  Good to see it can be done in canon.

EDIT: And I do agree, sacrificing Regina to being Dan on-side would be a real waste.  For all that I wanted to see Dan beat her up 10 years ago, that was more in the vein of 'teach her a lesson' rather than 'get rid of her'.  She's young, she should mature into someone more stable and sensible, especially if she's strong enough to shrug off the 'why aren't you killing people?' crowd.

EDIT EDIT: Ooh, I completely missed that last line at first.  If you parse it RPN-style like I did initially (or for that matter using Germanic syntax rules), it reads as "Fashion and Liking Pretty Girls go together well".  Which is mildly interesting gossip but nothing earth-shattering.

But if you parse it in the context of human(oid) relationships, i.e. the kind of subtext I'm usually blind to, it sounds more like she's trying to ship Jericho and Regina.  Which could get very interesting indeed.

[mithril]

have we met this Jericho before in the strip, or is he someone new?

[Tapewolf]

have we met this Jericho before in the strip, or is he someone new?

Not to my knowledge.  But with 'Cubi being shapeshifters who have a tendency to hide out as Beings or Demons you never know...

[MT Hazard]

Got to feel for Dan here, he's heading for a lifetime of being manipulated by various individuals and groups. How many are already pulling his strings?

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh, today's strip reminded me that I haven't played Vampire: the Masquerade in a while...

The Auld Grump

[HaDDea]

Got to feel for Dan here, he's heading for a lifetime of being manipulated by various individuals and groups. How many are already pulling his strings?

Many, to be sure, but then I expect Fa'lina might be trying to prepare Dan for that as best she can. Dan did show surprise at Piflak's candidness with him at the beginning of the party as well as getting a sampling of her character, so I think he's aware on some level that she is the manipulative type (also, his invite-aci may have also been informative, if it behaved similarly to Priss, which I expect it did). Dan also has some (limited and biased) awareness of how 'cubi and other creatures work based off his time as an adventurer, so he may inherently expect a certain amount of guile from all creatures, especially 'cubi (deception is, after all, what they are known best for).

I am fascinated (and slightly disturbed) by how casually the manslaughter of Dan's best friends' mom is being treated by clan Piflak; to them, it is merely a spat between "adventurers and creatures and being young and stupid" (which isn't quite true, but if you've seen the theme time and again, the subtleties might get lost). Viv's responses here also put her interview into perspective: Regina was likely a shoe-in from the very start because of her heritage. I kinda hope Viv sees some additional potential in her beyond just a connection to the Soulstealers - we haven't seen much of Regina beyond being a bored, huffy youth and, while maybe not necessary to the main plot, I would like to see her get some depth added to her character in terms of what physical talents she might possess.

[Tapewolf]

I am fascinated (and slightly disturbed) by how casually the manslaughter of Dan's best friends' mom is being treated by clan Piflak; to them, it is merely a spat between "adventurers and creatures and being young and stupid" (which isn't quite true, but if you've seen the theme time and again, the subtleties might get lost). Viv's responses here also put her interview into perspective: Regina was likely a shoe-in from the very start because of her heritage. I kinda hope Viv sees some additional potential in her beyond just a connection to the Soulstealers - we haven't seen much of Regina beyond being a bored, huffy youth and, while maybe not necessary to the main plot, I would like to see her get some depth added to her character in terms of what physical talents she might possess.

Yes, it's perhaps worth considering that everyone on this page is likely to be a minimum of 400 years old, since they're SAIA graduates and I'm not sure I see Piflak's lot skipping out early given their expectation to excel.  Chances are they have seen this over and over again.  Piflak herself is something over 31'000 years old, she will definitely have seen this all before.

As for Regina and Viv, I certainly hope that is the case.  Another common theme is someone who is average until circumstances turn the key in the lock and make them exceptional... I'd like to think Viv believes she can do that with Regina.  And as a thought-reader that may well be something she can engineer.

[Genesis]

I think I like this woman(piflak), she's a schemer.

Also this page reminds me of Vampire: the masquerade, once you hit 100-200 years old, you generally stop caring(Atleast in the personal sense) about those outside your direct circles, especially the ones with such short lives.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I think I like this woman(piflak), she's a schemer.

Also this page reminds me of Vampire: the masquerade, once you hit 100-200 years old, you generally stop caring(Atleast in the personal sense) about those outside your direct circles, especially the ones with such short lives.

It depends on your author, really. There's some of them where after a couple hundred years, the mayflies cease to interest you; some of the others, you start getting attached to people and wanting to make the world as a whole a better place for everyone. In some cases, your "immediate family" starts to stretch to the point that you're just working for everyone anyway, or close enough as makes no difference.

I kinda feel that the detachment is likely, but I prefer to read the stories where there's still attachment, even if it's strange and unusual. Gives me hope for the future, rather than watching the present and despairing... but that's just me.

[Jasonrevall]

That beautiful blue boy reminds me of Anthicus and now I'm hoping for some cute turtle boys to pop up sometime in the future.

Also I agree with llearch. I prefer ancient beings that care. I don't see why they can't function like our elders do. Either you get more bitter or you get more caring. Why do people assume old age beyond what we're used to would eventually make you bitter and distant? The oldest people who lived on the planet were often happy and kind individuals so it would make sense. Which is why I love Mink so much.

That being said these people are also pretty much leaders of a small nation. Their people are large enough for their environment to be considered a nation or political entity and often when talking about the fates of many these types objective discussions happen. The concern more often happens in private. Leaders of nations have to make tough choices and people will live and die due to their decisions. They could also be callous and jaded putting themselves above others due to their station but I like to be optimistic nowadays.

[Genesis]

That beautiful blue boy reminds me of Anthicus and now I'm hoping for some cute turtle boys to pop up sometime in the future.

Also I agree with llearch. I prefer ancient beings that care. I don't see why they can't function like our elders do. Either you get more bitter or you get more caring. Why do people assume old age beyond what we're used to would eventually make you bitter and distant? The oldest people who lived on the planet were often happy and kind individuals so it would make sense. Which is why I love Mink so much.

That being said these people are also pretty much leaders of a small nation. Their people are large enough for their environment to be considered a nation or political entity and often when talking about the fates of many these types objective discussions happen. The concern more often happens in private. Leaders of nations have to make tough choices and people will live and die due to their decisions. They could also be callous and jaded putting themselves above others due to their station but I like to be optimistic nowadays.

I always figured it was more that caring about people who are born and dead again in what must seem like the blink of an eye for such long lived beings would be extremely painful.

Well, that and the fact that the more self serving ones are more likely to survive to such an age.

[Jasonrevall]

That beautiful blue boy reminds me of Anthicus and now I'm hoping for some cute turtle boys to pop up sometime in the future.

Also I agree with llearch. I prefer ancient beings that care. I don't see why they can't function like our elders do. Either you get more bitter or you get more caring. Why do people assume old age beyond what we're used to would eventually make you bitter and distant? The oldest people who lived on the planet were often happy and kind individuals so it would make sense. Which is why I love Mink so much.

That being said these people are also pretty much leaders of a small nation. Their people are large enough for their environment to be considered a nation or political entity and often when talking about the fates of many these types objective discussions happen. The concern more often happens in private. Leaders of nations have to make tough choices and people will live and die due to their decisions. They could also be callous and jaded putting themselves above others due to their station but I like to be optimistic nowadays.

I always figured it was more that caring about people who are born and dead again in what must seem like the blink of an eye for such long lived beings would be extremely painful.

Well, that and the fact that the more self serving ones are more likely to survive to such an age.

Whether or not the pain would be unbearable depends on the individual. I don't doubt that there are souls in our lifetime that if given immortality they would still be just as kind now as they would be 100,000 years from now. It's all about how you heal from your wounds. It takes more than time to heal wounds and when one truly understands this and can effectively implement it they can recover from anything given the opportunity.

People just like grimdark stuff. The brooding ancient is more cliche but also sells books/movies/comics what have you. I feel it's overdone tbh. Give me the upbeat and happy ancient that loves seeing new things. That no matter how old they get they still find new things, new passions, and new friends.

[Tuyu]

From the general flow of the conversation, I get the feeling that it may not quite have registered that the "poor being lady whom Regina killed" was the mother of Biggs and Wildy San, though Wildy's name was mentioned.

If they ever figure out that Dan is not the sole person carrying this grudge against Regina, they may have to alter their strategy.

[e_voyager]

Okay I'm a little confused is she playing Matchmaker or political puppeteer?

[Genesis]

Okay I'm a little confused is she playing Matchmaker or political puppeteer?

Very definitely both.

[Kazy]

She's going to use Regina to get a foodhold into the Darkblood family. Cue rampage when Regina finds out.

[Jasonrevall]

She's going to use Regina to get a foodhold into the Darkblood family. Cue rampage when Regina finds out.

Such an alliance can be mutually beneficial. I mean after all her family may turn against her when they find out she doesn't want to continue their traditions. An ally in Piflak could be what she needs and it could work even better if Piflak cements an alliance before the soup hits the fan on Regina's revelation. Immediately breaking an alliance could cause significant political damage with those who live outside old school demon culture.

[Ganurath]

So, the conspiracy theorist in me has been looking, and I can't find it, but wasn't there some information thing about becoming a Cubi of a clan by having a kid with a Cubi of that clan? It seems to me a lot of Regina's problems would be solved by not being a demon, and along comes Jericho...

[Tapewolf]

So, the conspiracy theorist in me has been looking, and I can't find it, but wasn't there some information thing about becoming a Cubi of a clan by having a kid with a Cubi of that clan? It seems to me a lot of Regina's problems would be solved by not being a demon, and along comes Jericho...

There is, somewhere. But AFAIK it only works if the child is a 'cubi.  A cubi-demon pairing normally gives you a demon.  That said, I've heard that SAIA allows for demons to attend if they are the sibling of a 'cubi so they don't have to be split up.  So it might happen occasionally.  A 'cubi of a tri-winged clan might even get better odds, I don't know...

EDIT: http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1222.php

[Ganurath]

So, the conspiracy theorist in me has been looking, and I can't find it, but wasn't there some information thing about becoming a Cubi of a clan by having a kid with a Cubi of that clan? It seems to me a lot of Regina's problems would be solved by not being a demon, and along comes Jericho...

There is, somewhere. But AFAIK it only works if the child is a 'cubi.  A cubi-demon pairing normally gives you a demon.  That said, I've heard that SAIA allows for demons to attend if they are the sibling of a 'cubi so they don't have to be split up.  So it might happen occasionally.  A 'cubi of a tri-winged clan might even get better odds, I don't know...

EDIT: http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1222.php

It does normally get you a demon... until said demon hits 20.

[Tapewolf]

It does normally get you a demon... until said demon hits 20.

Interesting spot.  On that same page it also says that 'Pairing up with a creature more powerful than themselves usually results in non-cubi children.'  I always assumed this to mean that demons are more powerful and not a good pick for a mate if you want a 'Cubi child.
I'd say it's probably a continuum:  a weak 'Cubi from a nearly extinct clan pairing with a pureblood demon may have very different results to someone from Taun clan pairing with a 2nd-generation part-Demon.

[MT Hazard]

So, the conspiracy theorist in me has been looking, and I can't find it, but wasn't there some information thing about becoming a Cubi of a clan by having a kid with a Cubi of that clan? It seems to me a lot of Regina's problems would be solved by not being a demon, and along comes Jericho...

There is, somewhere. But AFAIK it only works if the child is a 'cubi.  A cubi-demon pairing normally gives you a demon.  That said, I've heard that SAIA allows for demons to attend if they are the sibling of a 'cubi so they don't have to be split up.  So it might happen occasionally.  A 'cubi of a tri-winged clan might even get better odds, I don't know...

EDIT: http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1222.php

So all that needs to happen is for Regina to have a child with Dan. Admittedly there is a few obstacles to overcome first...

[Ganurath]

So, the conspiracy theorist in me has been looking, and I can't find it, but wasn't there some information thing about becoming a Cubi of a clan by having a kid with a Cubi of that clan? It seems to me a lot of Regina's problems would be solved by not being a demon, and along comes Jericho...

There is, somewhere. But AFAIK it only works if the child is a 'cubi.  A cubi-demon pairing normally gives you a demon.  That said, I've heard that SAIA allows for demons to attend if they are the sibling of a 'cubi so they don't have to be split up.  So it might happen occasionally.  A 'cubi of a tri-winged clan might even get better odds, I don't know...

EDIT: http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1222.php

So all that needs to happen is for Regina to have a child with Dan. Admittedly there is a few obstacles to overcome first...

With Dan? The Darkblood power is too strong, and Cyar's clan too weak. One of Piflak's boys, like Jericho? That might have enough kick to overcome what demonic strength Regina has in her veins to make a pink-haired goat Cubi with solid purple eyes.

[MT Hazard]

that meant to be was a joke

But I do wonder about if a clans power is purely linked to how many members it has, as clan leaders boost the power of individual members, wouldn't less of them just mean the power would have to shared among fewer cubi, making each individual stronger?

But then we have zezzuza , who is, by her own admission, not strong enough to handle the power of tens of thousands of clan members. Suggesting that the power flows both ways.