2022-05-04 [DMFA #2076] - These are not the facts Dan is looking for.

[joshofspam]

Seems kind of weird that Taun would be baiting Dan with possibly being related to Abel's father that closely.

I wonder what kind of reaction Taun is looking for? And why would Taun tell Dan she knows where his father is, but withhold that information?

[Glenn Griffon]

I like Dan's reaction.
Ultimately it really doesn't matter at all if he's related to Aniz or not, Dan is Dan. If he's related to Aniz it means as much now as it did when he was ignorant about it. Dan owes nothing to clan Siar or Aniz or to Abel.

The only reason to be kind to Abel is because of friendships, not relation. Aniz could be Dan's father and Dan still would not owe him anything more than Abel owes Aniz. It doesn't change the fact that Aniz is a monster that, if still alive, needs to be put down in the worst way.

Remember: Blood only goes so far. It doesn't make you family. Family are those you personally count as family. That can be blood relations or your best, closest friends.

[Starcat5]

Remember: Blood only goes so far. It doesn't make you family. Family are those you personally count as family. That can be blood relations or your best, closest friends.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

...also, Mab had an art stream? Was that a Patreon-exclusive thing?

[Tapewolf]

...also, Mab had an art stream? Was that a Patreon-exclusive thing?

It's a new thing.  They're usually announced on Twitter.  I think this was the second one - they're generally too late in the day for me to spend much time on (like, around midnight).

EDIT: As for the matter at hand, that still leaves a few questions.  Given how eager Destania has been to eliminate Abel out of spite to Aniz - even dead - why did she not mop up his Being children as well?  Why actually marry one?
And if Edward was actually a failed kid, what was Aniz doing in the area anyway?  Previously it's been assumed that he was intending to replace Edward a'la Cid, but that gets pretty weird - even for Aniz - if the person he was intending to replace was his own child, even a wayward one.  He already knew Edward was a bust if he had no wings.

[Merlin]

...also, Mab had an art stream? Was that a Patreon-exclusive thing?

It's a new thing.  They're usually announced on Twitter.  I think this was the second one - they're generally too late in the day for me to spend much time on (like, around midnight).

they're always while i'm at woooooork

curse you, timezones

[WhyNot?]

As for the matter at hand, that still leaves a few questions.  Given how eager Destania has been to eliminate Abel out of spite to Aniz - even dead - why did she not mop up his Being children as well?  Why actually marry one?
And if Edward was actually a failed kid, what was Aniz doing in the area anyway?  Previously it's been assumed that he was intending to replace Edward a'la Cid, but that gets pretty weird - even for Aniz - if the person he was intending to replace was his own child, even a wayward one.  He already knew Edward was a bust if he had no wings.

Well first off Edward isn't Aniz's kid, he's his however-many-greats-you-get-in-nearly-400-years grandson. I don't think it's unlikely that both he and Dee had no idea about their relation and I'm not even sure Dee knows the 'failed' kids exist in the first place. Dan says these reports come from Taun's cover-up operation, to 'downplay the damage' a Cubi had caused, so it's not like it'd be public knowledge which it'd probably have to be for Dee to think about it in the first place.

Though honestly, even if she did know about the Aniz/Edward relation, she did waver between wanting to kill or be with Abel in the past. The irony and humiliation of being killed by his 'failed blood', and maybe in a wider sense that his Being children would be his only 'legacy' if Abel was gone, might have.....'intrigued' her so to speak.

Secondly, Aniz attacked them while they were investigating 'Mythos attacks' which implies to me he was just luring out Adventurers and got unlucky finding a romantic pair rather than anything specific to Edward.

Fun side-note, I forgot that last bit was in the comic and not Amber on the forums so I got worried when all I could find in their post history that was remotely close was...

Truth be Aniz was taken down by Edward and Quingtana not because of any scrying but because Aniz struck first.

...and thought I must have completely made it up in my head. Pretty reliving to find that's not the case.

EDIT: As for what Taun is baiting him with? It's unclear, but maybe it's less about what the information is than what it represents? Maybe it's about giving Dan a bunch of documents that shows their reach, that they shuffled things around to hide an issue and the implication that they protected someone who did terrible things simply because he's 'of their race'; then seeing how he reacts to that before they move forward?

EDIT 2: Also this is kinda the only response I'd expect from Dan. The revelation that about 20 generations ago one of his ancestors was a Cubi would probably be considered an irrelevant fun-fact by Dan at any point of the comics run, it being connected to Abel gives it a wrinkle but it's still the sort of thing he'd care more about than Dan. Sure finding out about it in the first place is surprising, and I thought Dan might still be in the tail end of that, but once you've accepted it is a thing it doesn't really mean anything.

It's like that 'Rightful King of England lives in Australia' thing. Sure it gets you Baldrick and a camera crew showing up to tell you a fun story about your ancestry but that's about it really.

[HaDDea]

EDIT: As for what Taun is baiting him with? It's unclear, but maybe it's less about what the information is than what it represents? Maybe it's about giving Dan a bunch of documents that shows their reach, that they shuffled things around to hide an issue and the implication that they protected someone who did terrible things simply because he's 'of their race'; then seeing how he reacts to that before they move forward?

Thinking about this, I think Taun might not be baiting Dan so much as his mother. Dee is the biggest unknown in all this - her relationship to her son, whether or not she has groomed him for revenge on Aniz and his descendants, what her plans are. Aniz' shadow looms large here,  but even more so Destania's. We've seen that Dee is willing to throw away her step daughter because Alexsi is dating Pyroduck - what will she do when she learns her son and husband are distantly related to the man who broke her heart? While this may be a loyalty check on Dan by Taun (seeing what is important to him), I personally think that Taun is more baiting a trap for Dee. After all, what Dee s planning is going to have a MASSIVE impact on 'cubi relations with all other races, regardless of whether she fails or succeeds.

[joshofspam]

EDIT: As for what Taun is baiting him with? It's unclear, but maybe it's less about what the information is than what it represents? Maybe it's about giving Dan a bunch of documents that shows their reach, that they shuffled things around to hide an issue and the implication that they protected someone who did terrible things simply because he's 'of their race'; then seeing how he reacts to that before they move forward?

Thinking about this, I think Taun might not be baiting Dan so much as his mother. Dee is the biggest unknown in all this - her relationship to her son, whether or not she has groomed him for revenge on Aniz and his descendants, what her plans are. Aniz' shadow looms large here,  but even more so Destania's. We've seen that Dee is willing to throw away her step daughter because Alexsi is dating Pyroduck - what will she do when she learns her son and husband are distantly related to the man who broke her heart? While this may be a loyalty check on Dan by Taun (seeing what is important to him), I personally think that Taun is more baiting a trap for Dee. After all, what Dee s planning is going to have a MASSIVE impact on 'cubi relations with all other races, regardless of whether she fails or succeeds.

There's also the flip side of this that Dan mentions. It just might e conspiracy fluff and projections of the clans have of Destania and Aniz. So it could be that the story about his family on his father's side fits a theme and Taun is just taken measures to cover a likelihood, rather then get caught by it by surprise later.

Its like with how Zezzuva right out said how Destania never loved Dan. When you here about her backstory so far, you can kind of see what they mean. But at the same time, a lot of them were thinking Destania was going to destroy Aniz when they first started dating. Perhaps Taun might be seeing if Dan falls down the rabbithole like the others seem to when it comes to Aniz and Destainia.

Another thing I wonder is how many others gained access to these dockets of information. Did Destainia get one before she left the Academy, or what about a certain dragon that has her husband currently on ice? And if they have Edward, why hasn't with all of his magical might have access to, leveled the inn yet. It makes kind of suspicious of Biggs info and about how he mentions that Destinia is going to turn on him.

[WhyNot?]

Another thing I wonder is how many others gained access to these dockets of information. Did Destainia get one before she left the Academy, or what about a certain dragon that has her husband currently on ice? And if they have Edward, why hasn't with all of his magical might have access to, leveled the inn yet. It makes kind of suspicious of Biggs info and about how he mentions that Destinia is going to turn on him.

Given these are Taun reports I don't think dragon kind would have access to them. They could have collected the information themselves but considering it was 400 years ago it seems like a long time to wait to do anything if it was based on that front. Then it'd require them figuring out that Edward was the descendant of said individual which, unless you're specifically looking for anything and everything connected to a person, seems fairly unlikely. Also Alexsi is an Aniz descendant and Hizell doesn't seem to care about her, even though we see him watching a conversation about her and Pyro being together which you'd think would upset him if he considered her a Siar, so I doubt that's a reason.

Destania might have read it, if she asked Taun for information on what the guilds said happened to Aniz and if they'd already figured out the link by then, but it's not exactly the sort of thing she could have 'discovered' by herself or casually been given without reaching out for help so it's entirely likely she didn't.

On a side note we don't exactly know if Hizell, specifically, has Edward. Biggs says 'dragons' which, while it's probably a consequence of him not being mentioned in the comic by that time, is just vague enough to cause doubt......but along that line of thinking I *do* agree that I've never been satisfied with that explanation.

How do they have Edward and seem to know nothing about him? If it's for his connection to Destania, why haven't they thought to check out his house? Or given the idea he might have had children any thought? It wasn't like they were hidden away from the world or anything. Yes, in general, scrying and such are blocked by Cyra but when you know what you're looking for you can just....read things.

It can be somewhat alleviated if you assume they have Edward for his own reasons. But even then there's questions like 'why keep him alive if he's not bait' and so on. I do think Biggs isn't being totally honest with Dee on this one but to what level I don't know. Though I think his thoughts on her betraying him in the future is just based on how she is rather than anything he did.

[MT Hazard]

I like how Arry made a chair with her wings.

[Tuyu]

I like how Arry made a chair with her wings.

Could you call that a "wingback"?

[ProfesseurRenard]

I like how Arry made a chair with her wings.

Could you call that a "wingback"?

He who would pun would pick a pocket.

[Hariman]

I like how Arry made a chair with her wings.

Could you call that a "wingback"?

*Rimshot.*