8/03/2012 [DMFA #1328] - Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice

[Tapewolf]

Intriguing.  Not many candidates for that, though unless there's some other 'Cubi from Lost Lake which we don't know about.  I still think that killing people based on the Phoenix Oracles say-so is a really bad idea.

[Brunhidden]

abel is not really 'from' lost lake is he? i would suggest another, but it would not make much sense... so i will because thats what i do

[killpurakat]

Actually, the Oracle said "Lost Lake," not "Lost Lake Inn." Could be a BIG distinction. And is there only one "Lost Lake?" I'd wager the BoB jumped the gun a bit.

Plus, we only know of four Cubi that could be classified as coming from Lost Lake Inn (aka, calling it home at some point in their lives): Dan, Destania, Aary, and Abel. And none of them makes sense, so ...?

Maybe there's 2 Merlitzs?

[Amber Williams]

Intriguing.  Not many candidates for that, though unless there's some other 'Cubi from Lost Lake which we don't know about.  I still think that killing people based on the Phoenix Oracles say-so is a really bad idea.

That's because you are a wiener who never kills characters but just brings them back as robots.  

[Tapewolf]

abel is not really 'from' lost lake is he? i would suggest another, but it would not make much sense... so i will because thats what i do

None of the options really make sense.

Abel isn't from Lost Lake as such, unless his home village was destroyed and Lost Lake was built over it.  In any case, he's been nowhere near Merlitz, has no reason to wish him harm and actually wanted to apologise for assaulting him in the Academy.

Aary lived somewhere within walking distance of Lost Lake, and she has a motive, but she seems to have been in the Academy the whole time since they broke up.  The only 'Cubi we can really be sure was born in Lost Lake is Dan, and that makes even less sense.

The only other sensible option among the folks we know about is Destania, after that we start getting into crazy talk.


That said, it's entirely plausible that the exit point from SAIA is in the Lost Lake area.  It may be dimensionally isolated, but if Matilda's Magical Home shop, and Mab's visit there is anything to go by, such things have to have some kind of anchor point in Furrae itself to work.  It could explain why there seems to be a cluster of 'Cubi in the vicinity, and why it was so easy for the rats to get there via the basement.

That's because you are a wiener who never kills characters but just brings them back as robots. 

Tell that to the assassin in chapter 3.

[lycaonpictus77]

You know, last I checked Merl and Alikya were plummeting happily off a cliff ( http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1247.php ). If Merlitz is actually dead, who has been running around having crazy adventures?

[D'ymkarra]

abel is not really 'from' lost lake is he? i would suggest another, but it would not make much sense... so i will because thats what i do

I have a strange feeling that even when a Phoenix oracle takes the direct approach, it's still pretty vague. I suspect her statement is yet another metaphor; much like how the oracle told Aaryanna that Dan 'ended the life of' Destania, perhaps his breakup with Aaryanna killed Merlitz in much the same way..

Brun is right though; despite being welcomed as part of the inner circle, Dan, and perhaps Destania, indirectly, are the only known 'cubi from Lost Lake..Abel came from Zinvth by way of SAIA.

[Brunhidden]

of course we have not examined the most likely conclusion- yet another random cubi has been added to the cast, or one of the existing cast has been revealed to be a secret cubi

[Amber Williams]

Tell that to the assassin in chapter 3.

You know as much as I that if they don't get a name, they don't have character rights yet. 

[Plotting]

I have a strange feeling that even when a Phoenix oracle takes the direct approach, it's still pretty vague. I suspect her statement is yet another metaphor; much like how the oracle told Aaryanna that Dan 'ended the life of' Destania, perhaps his breakup with Aaryanna killed Merlitz in much the same way..

Damn it! You bet me to this point! Curse you! *Goes of to SAIA to plot...plots and stuff*

And will people please stop posting new posts before I can post my own? I keep having to check what other have posted before I post my own!

[Tapewolf]

I have a strange feeling that even when a Phoenix oracle takes the direct approach, it's still pretty vague. I suspect her statement is yet another metaphor; much like how the oracle told Aaryanna that Dan 'killed' Destania, perhaps his breakup with Aaryanna killed Merlitz in much the same way..

That's quite possible.  He went off to rediscover himself, so it could be argued that his old life ended.  However, that wouldn't explain why his life-stone isn't working, unless Aliyka is magical enough to jam it.  That's not impossible - she's powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with a Dragon - but it seems a little unlikely.

You know as much as I that if they don't get a name, they don't have character rights yet.  

You have no idea how much worse the upcoming chapters would be if I had gone through with my plan to kill off Dorcan's mother.  Her escapades are some of the best parts of the whole story.

[Drakkenmensch]

Did Destania ever stay at Lost Lake for any amount of time?

For that matter, the Oracle could have meant ANY cubi who stayed at Lost Lake but hasn't been mentioned in story yet. Phoenixes tend to be vague like that...

[Plotting]

Did Destania ever stay at Lost Lake for any amount of time?

My understanding is that she settled down in Lost Lake (specifically the Lost Lake Inn) when she married Edward, and helped run the inn - at least until both Edward and herself left Lost Lake for reasons unknown at this point.

She was certainly living in the Lost Lake area when Dan first graduated from Adventuring School as seen here.

[Sofox]

Alright, so most of the cubi suspects have been listed and the ambiguity of the oracles questioned.

Something else occurs to me: If we're supposing something was going wrong right after Merlitz's disappearance (with his failure to report to the adventures guild) and someone was impersonating him in his adventures with Alyika; then it almost seems a cubi killed him, wrote a fake note (it was out of character to not say goodbye in person, not in the least because it involved quitting his job with Alexsi) and then took is identity (ironcially all during the "Life is Wonderful" arc).

Dear gosh, I have fallen to the fan theorising, there is no hope for me, I am doomed to write obscure and convoluted theories about webcomics for the rest of my mortal existance! DOOOOMED!

[Tapewolf]

My understanding is that she settled down in Lost Lake (specifically the Lost Lake Inn) when she married Edward, and helped run the inn - at least until both Edward and herself left Lost Lake for reasons unknown at this point.

She was certainly living in the Lost Lake area when Dan first graduated from Adventuring School as seen here.

So something like 18 years...


EDIT:
While rather unlikely, Fa'Lina (or an avatar thereof) has been present at the inn on approximately four occasions within the last three months or something.

[Ignuus66]

Alrighty cubi we know of who have something to do with lost lake: Abel, Dan, Arry (to a certain point) Destinia. None of these really seems like the sort who would kill Merlitz, as Unless he went into twink territories, he would not have anything to do with destinia

[Turnsky]

the same phoenix who told Aary that Dan killed Destania?

[KiloFoxx]

OKAY! time to shoot some arguments...

the oracle can't be confusing one Merlitz for another, she mentions him with his surname and the chances of that happening are astronomically slim.

i happen to 100% agree on the "even when phoenixes give the direct approach they're still vague" as seen with Aary's visit.

now here's a thought... SAIA has hards to prevent detection and things, I.E. powerful magic, and i REALLY doubt those Adventurer Stones don't pop on and off, so it could be entirely possible that his visit to SAIA turned it off and it just never poped back on. of course he could have been taken and held much like i suspect Dan's Father is. i'm willing to bet Edward's stone is out too even though he's (apparently) still alive.

as for the "cubi killing then impersonating Merlitz after the visit from SAIA" theory i saw up there? i'm willing to bet that is REALLY not the case, and sounds like something i'd read in the Tinfoil-Hat subforum... no offense...

i also agree with the person who said that the oracle didn't say Lost Lake INN, but rather Lost Lake... meaning that anyone from the surrounding area could be the culprit.


now... not to sound mean to Merlitz, but all in all, we (and Mab) KNOW that 2 characters are supposed to die. 2 MAIN characters. with Merlitz already disappearing for so long plot-wise most of us are used to him being gone, so i'd kinda prefer if he was one of the two... almost all these theories hinge on the assumption that "oh he can't be dead, he's a main character and all blah blah blah" even when we know 2 mains are GOING to die. my money is on that he IS dead, but the oracle was too vague as to who the culprit is... such as, cubi (Aary) causes Merl to leave, and he ends up getting killed... (i think we can take Abel out of the running for the "Cubi from Lost lake" as Merlitz pretty much left as SOON as he got there. he didn't have time to be "from" lost lake, he sould be described as "from" SAIA at that point still.
if you think about it, i can draw a few paralells between Mab and Fa'Llina as to their roles. Mab is pretty much semi-omnipotent and has huge plans she's not sharing and keeps an eye on everything at Lost Lake. Merlitz basically left her sphere of protection, and so i suspect that like Fa'Llina with Abel, her ability to protect Merlitz has severely diminished with him being gone from Lost Lake so long.


well it makes sense that way to me anyways... but my theories about the plotline have been wrong every time (though they make damn good sense) but Amber seems to have a completely different way of thinking than me and it's always taken in a different direction i never saw was there. so take my theory with a grain of salt because i have yet to be right on one of these things XD (but then again, i havn't seen a fan-theory yet that turned out correct plot-wise if i didn't know better i'd almost say Amber reads all of these and goes "HA! i'll make you all wrong and take it in a direction you havn't theorized about!")

[Alondro]

Well, the culprit is obvious!  It's a dead cubi who came back as a robot.   

I like the idea that 'Merlitz' left because the real one was killed and a Cubi spy took his place.  That sounds delightfully plot-twisty, and in-keeping with Cubi methodology.

I also like the idea that Destania killed him as part of her plans, thus setting up a show-down to-the-death battle between Dan and his estranged mother.  Instant angst and anguish!  *which Charline can feed upon*   

[justacritic]

Phoenixes, if I ever consult one, I'm not going to ask for a prophecy but a full on forensic report, let's see some vagueness there!   

[Lying Foo]

the same phoenix who told Aary that Dan killed Destania?

She told her "the life of Destania has ended."  It turned out there was a huge difference.

There's no similar way to interpret "killed," unless one of the Cubi from Lost Lake got him killed. That was my initial thought - that Dan or Abel had somehow gotten him killed - but since neither of them seem to have seen him for quite some time, it occurred to me Destania was a more likely culprit, and given her personality, it seems more likely she just out-and-out killed him.  No, I think the vagueness here is in sending them on a wild goose chase when they should be in Twink Territories.

[Tapewolf]

now here's a thought... SAIA has hards to prevent detection and things, I.E. powerful magic, and i REALLY doubt those Adventurer Stones don't pop on and off, so it could be entirely possible that his visit to SAIA turned it off and it just never poped back on. of course he could have been taken and held much like i suspect Dan's Father is. i'm willing to bet Edward's stone is out too even though he's (apparently) still alive.

There is precedent for this - Fi entering Matilda's dimensional sword broke its link to Fa'Lina.  An interesting question is whether Dan has a stone, and if so, whether he's dead.

There's no similar way to interpret "killed," unless one of the Cubi from Lost Lake got him killed. That was my initial thought - that Dan or Abel had somehow gotten him killed

By that token you could also argue that Nitemyst killed him (and I'd have loved to see their faces if they were told that).

An interesting question is whether what the Phoenix said is true at all.  I mean, the BOB are assuming that because the Phoenix has replied clearly that it's true.  It might be that the Oracles just make stuff up when they're off-duty with no basis in fact at all.  Though that would be a bit of a cop-out.

[Turnsky]

the same phoenix who told Aary that Dan killed Destania?

She told her "the life of Destania has ended."  It turned out there was a huge difference.

There's no similar way to interpret "killed," unless one of the Cubi from Lost Lake got him killed. That was my initial thought - that Dan or Abel had somehow gotten him killed - but since neither of them seem to have seen him for quite some time, it occurred to me Destania was a more likely culprit, and given her personality, it seems more likely she just out-and-out killed him.  No, I think the vagueness here is in sending them on a wild goose chase when they should be in Twink Territories.

http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_295.php

[Lying Foo]

...what's your point?

[Turnsky]

...what's your point?

the phrase "life ended at the hands of" typically implies killed. nothing ambiguous about that, and typically along the same lines as the current page's flashback.
it doesn't help that Dan was named -specifically- in that page, and a 'cubi' was flung out there in the latest. so very specific, as is the location.

that and when not coming up with obscure and silly riddles involving toothpaste or somesuch, phoenix oracles aren't reliable at all.

[e_voyager]

that as far as i can recall means either Dan or his mother.  then again i guess there can be others who kept there cubi status hidden.

[Brunhidden]

so have we reached the point that the statement 'cubi from lost lake has killed mer' has been disected that we are questioning the cubi part, questioning the 'from lost lake', questioned the accuracy of the name of the alleged corpse, and now questioning the definition of 'killed'

par for course?

[Naldru]

Nobody has mentioned the possibility that it was a cubi (possibly Aniz) who was disguised as a Phoenix Oracle.

Somewhere, Amber is chuckling (and probably giggling) at the same time.

[Lying Foo]

...what's your point?

the phrase "life ended at the hands of" typically implies killed. nothing ambiguous about that, and typically along the same lines as the current page's flashback.
it doesn't help that Dan was named -specifically- in that page, and a 'cubi' was flung out there in the latest. so very specific, as is the location.

that and when not coming up with obscure and silly riddles involving toothpaste or somesuch, phoenix oracles aren't reliable at all.

"The life of Destania has ended."  You demonstrated that she said exactly what I said she said in the post you quoted, and as I just there said, it was ambiguous in just the way the statement in this strip isn't.  She did not say "Destania was killed by Daniel Ti'fona," because she wasn't.  She didn't even say "Destania's life," but "the life of Destania," that is, Dee's life as Destania.  That's the measure of the phoenix oracles' unreliability.  Merlitz is dead, or has been killed and revived somehow.  There's not the same wiggle room.

[Wanderer]

Not really. "Killed" "Murdered" "Life ended at the hands of" are all as specific or ambiguous as the author wants them to be. Have you ever watched Star Wars? Where Obi-Wan explicitly said to Luke that Darth Vader "betrayed and murdered your father"? It's all true from a certain point of view.

That's because you are a wiener who never kills characters but just brings them back as robots. 

Some people recognize that there are other ways to cause drama besides killing off characters.