2013/10/04 [DMFA #1434] More holes in him than a pincushion.

[Howl]

I count 19 piercings. Wonder how he died.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I count 19 piercings. Wonder how he died.

If the killer had any sense of irony at all, they'd have involved lust and pain.

Of course, any further suggestions would breach the rating on this area of the forum, not to mention upset my lunch, so I'll leave it at that.

[Mischa]

I count 19 piercings. Wonder how he died.

The twentieth hole was a doozy

[AzureEdge]

With how horny he is, not surprising he was the leader of a clan with an Affinity for Lust.

[Kuzma Volkov]

For some reason he gives me that "Yooo dudddddeeeeee, you gotta tottalyyy try this stufff mannnn" stoner college frat vibe >_>;;;

Maybe it's just my colleges regional population rubbing off on my views.

[Kirrin_Shadowclaw]

I'd say how he died had to involve a magnet of some kind.

[Sunblink]

YES! More Cubi clan history. I'm so happy. 

Hrienth's design is so fantastic. Oh my god.

[Liatai]

Yaaaay more clan history! 

Another clan with a pain affinity, huh?  I wonder if the debate over whether pain is actually an emotion predates Cyra's clan, then.

I wonder, on a tangential note... and I'm not sure if this has been answered elsewhere or not... Do you need to be a triwing to start your own clan or be a clan leader? Are there/have there been non-triwing clan leaders?

[Jigsaw Forte]

Yaaaay more clan history! 

Another clan with a pain affinity, huh?  I wonder if the debate over whether pain is actually an emotion predates Cyra's clan, then.

I wonder, on a tangential note... and I'm not sure if this has been answered elsewhere or not... Do you need to be a triwing to start your own clan or be a clan leader? Are there/have there been non-triwing clan leaders?

You have lots of lots of sprogs, THEN become a tri-wing, which makes you the (freshly neutered) de facto clan leader and your existing children and descendants all become your clan.

It's... kinda how clans work.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I wonder, on a tangential note... and I'm not sure if this has been answered elsewhere or not... Do you need to be a triwing to start your own clan or be a clan leader? Are there/have there been non-triwing clan leaders?

I'm pretty sure Amber has said that non-triwing clan leaders (as with non-triwing clans) outnumber the triwings significantly. I expect that a non-triwing leader just has to be strong-willed enough to herd cats; Cubi appear to have similar attention spans.

[Tapewolf]

I wonder, on a tangential note... and I'm not sure if this has been answered elsewhere or not... Do you need to be a triwing to start your own clan or be a clan leader? Are there/have there been non-triwing clan leaders?

That's still very murky.  I'm reluctant to ask too many questions about that because the answers may break some of my comics ;-)

Ascending usually starts a new clan.  Depending on the mechanism you may get to choose your affinity, clan symbols etc.  Cyra ended up lumped with pain as the affinity against her will.

You can also ascend without starting a new clan, if you inherit the position from a leader who has decided to quit (presumably killing them).  They can pass the Leadership down to one of their members, as happened with Fa'Lina.  This may retain the existing settings, symbol etc - I don't know.
Cases where the Leader is violently overthrown (Zezzuva's paranoid sister) may not work since it sounds like she was just using her sister's soul energy to bootstrap the process rather than it being transferred.

Amber said on the forum once, long ago, that it was possible to start a clan without requiring a Leader.  I do not know if this is still the case, but in my stories I have assumed that it is possible for members of a clan without a Leader to branch the clan off, changing their clan mark and possibly their affinities.

You have lots of lots of sprogs, THEN become a tri-wing, which makes you the (freshly neutered) de facto clan leader and your existing children and descendants all become your clan.
It's... kinda how clans work.

That's not the whole story, though.  Hrienth Clan came close to getting themselves a new Leader.  If ascension only ever affected direct descendants, that would not be possible.  It looks like it affects a wider circle of relatives than that.

I'm pretty sure Amber has said that non-triwing clan leaders (as with non-triwing clans) outnumber the triwings significantly. I expect that a non-triwing leader just has to be strong-willed enough to herd cats; Cubi appear to have similar attention spans.

It's not that simple.  Ascending seems to link the clan leader to every member of their clan in a way so intimate that it's hard for us to conceive.
For example, if a clan member is in the Leader's physical presence, the Clan Leader is able to download their memories.  This also seem to work over a dream link (remember Dan).
They can also control their clan members at an arbitrary distance - Siar gave her children a compulsion to aid her, and per the Zezzuva Letter it is possible for the Leader to do a Jedi mind-trick and control them completely, though if these things are done too much individual members will learn to fight it.

The link also seems to mean that the Leader knows when one of their members is dead or dying.
It occurred to me while I was writing Epsilon (and learning all kinds of weird things about them) that becoming a Tri-Wing really, really isn't something you do lightly - that in a properly functioning clan, the Leader is not just some kingpin with a bunch of minions, it's more like becoming a parent but more symbiotic and with a far deeper tie.  The Leader grants power and status to their children, but is also rather dependent on them, and on their goodwill.
If the Clan Leader goes weird and starts thinking their children are working against them, or starts turning against them, eventually the clan will revolt and it will all collapse.

That's the picture I'm getting, anyway.

[Eboreg]

I count three piercings for each ear, four in the horn, two on each buttwing, four on the left backwing, one navel piercing, and one on the left eyebrow. That's a total of twenty.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I'm pretty sure Amber has said that non-triwing clan leaders (as with non-triwing clans) outnumber the triwings significantly. I expect that a non-triwing leader just has to be strong-willed enough to herd cats; Cubi appear to have similar attention spans.

It's not that simple.  Ascending seems to link the clan leader to every member of their clan in a way so intimate that it's hard for us to conceive.
For example, if a clan member is in the Leader's physical presence, the Clan Leader is able to download their memories.  This also seem to work over a dream link (remember Dan).
They can also control their clan members at an arbitrary distance - Siar gave her children a compulsion to aid her, and per the Zezzuva Letter it is possible for the Leader to do a Jedi mind-trick and control them completely, though if these things are done too much individual members will learn to fight it.

The link also seems to mean that the Leader knows when one of their members is dead or dying.
It occurred to me while I was writing Epsilon (and learning all kinds of weird things about them) that becoming a Tri-Wing really, really isn't something you do lightly - that in a properly functioning clan, the Leader is not just some kingpin with a bunch of minions, it's more like becoming a parent but more symbiotic and with a far deeper tie.  The Leader grants power and status to their children, but is also rather dependent on them, and on their goodwill.
If the Clan Leader goes weird and starts thinking their children are working against them, or starts turning against them, eventually the clan will revolt and it will all collapse.

That's the picture I'm getting, anyway.

Yes, but I think you're collating "being a clan leader" and "being a tri-wing clan leader", there. From what I understand, the two are totally separate things; and I don't disagree with your points with regards to tri-wing clan leaders - heck, I think you're correct on all points, to the best of our knowledge - but...

... what the OP asked was about non-triwing clan leaders, which is a totally different kettle of fish, as it were. Yes, TWCL[1] have that innate knowledge and connection to their members. However, NTWCL, I think, do not. For a NTWCL, I reckon[2] the "being a leader" thing is more like a political leader - you persuade everyone to follow you because they think you're making the best decisions for the clan as a whole, not because you're powerful enough to turn them all into smoking boots. Hence the whole "herding cats" comment; I don't think a "normal" leader is going to have anything like the sort of connection a tri-wing has, but I do expect them[4] to care deeply for the well-being of each and every Cubi in the clan, no matter if they don't actually like all of them personally.

Lest I be misunderstood, I do NOT think that Cubi follow TWCL's because otherwise they'll get turned into craters. This is where that other connection comes into the picture - along with the memory reading, knowing when they're dead or dying, compulsions, and whatever other questionable[3] behaviour Amber sees fit to slip into the comic. For a TWCL, there's another connection, and another layer of caring for their flock, as it were.


[1] TWCL == TriWingClanLeader, and, obviously, NTWCL == NonTriWingClanLeader. I got tired of typing the same thing over and over, okay? ;-]
[2] ie, this is my best guess, not word from Herself, and I could very well be wrong.
[3] Just because you _can_ do something does not mean you _should_, which is a slippery concept, and a subject for another rant some other day, if someone asks me kindly to expand upon it and I feel that way inclined.
[4] In a perfect world, obviously - this ideal will vary with some of the clans (not looking specifically at you, Sunblink *grin*) and/or corruption on the part of some of the Cubi race, in the same way as you get corruption in any collection of people.

[Tapewolf]

Ah, right.  Amber seems to use 'Tri-wing' and 'Clan Leader' pretty much interchangeably, which makes this kind of conversation harder.

[Zebra Bug]

I love his design....the fact that he looks like a unicorn...er...unisus, makes his affinity the more hilarious. But the color scheme is gorgeous.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Ah, right.  Amber seems to use 'Tri-wing' and 'Clan Leader' pretty much interchangeably, which makes this kind of conversation harder.

I hadn't noticed. I mean, a tri-wing is, usually by definition, Clan Leader. I'm not discounting the possibility of two tri-wings in one clan - I don't think I've heard anything definitive one way or another - but certainly in her postings here, she's been fairly clear about Clan Leaders not needing to be tri-wing, and there being a number of clans (like, in this case, Hrienth's clan) that don't still have a triwing around to lead, but still have someone organising things. Or, at least, I presume they have someone. I could well be wrong, there. I might be reading in between the lines a whole lot of stuff that isn't there, though.

And we should probably pack it in before Mao comes along and hauls us both into the tearooms for a good talking to. ;-]

[Brunhidden]

Ah, right.  Amber seems to use 'Tri-wing' and 'Clan Leader' pretty much interchangeably, which makes this kind of conversation harder.

genus/species fallacy- all triwings are clan leaders, but not all clan leaders are triwings. by saying 'triwing' the fact it is a clan leader is implied, but by saying 'clan leader' and not saying triwing its implied that you would have said triwing if it had been one, so its a 'normal' clan leader

example- all squares are rectangles, but if i say 'rectangle' its not a square or i would have said square

I count 19 piercings. Wonder how he died.

The twentieth hole was a doozy

i am willing to bet money that he has at least twenty, one of which is certainly concealed by his pants by the look on his face. im estimating he has at least 25, but higher is possible

[Laplace5]

i am willing to bet money that he has at least twenty, one of which is certainly concealed by his pants by the look on his face. im estimating he has at least 25, but higher is possible

Considering his pose (and affinity...), I'll agree with this and speak of it no more.

Maybe it's just my colleges regional population rubbing off on my views.

Now that's just all sorts of unsanitary, tovarisch.

And I love how tame the major Leaders are compared to the sparkledogginess of the rest of the race. (Didi doesn't count of course)

[Tuyu]

genus/species fallacy- all triwings are clan leaders, but not all clan leaders are triwings. by saying 'triwing' the fact it is a clan leader is implied, but by saying 'clan leader' and not saying triwing its implied that you would have said triwing if it had been one, so its a 'normal' clan leader

example- all squares are rectangles, but if i say 'rectangle' its not a square or i would have said square

Thought I just had--

Clans may or may not have a tri-wing leader, but all clans have a mark, so there is a connection within the clans that has nothing to do with having a tri-wing.

Suppose that the role of the tri-wing is that of focus--if a clan as a whole has an affinity for lust and pain, perhaps if they gain a tri-wing leader, that affinity gets defined according to that leader's perception of what lust and pain are.  So, rather than trying to herd cats, a tri-wing effectively dumps all the cats into a somewhat narrow chute that keeps them all moving in more or less the same direction.

[Tapewolf]

Ah, right.  Amber seems to use 'Tri-wing' and 'Clan Leader' pretty much interchangeably,

genus/species fallacy- all triwings are clan leaders, but not all clan leaders are triwings. by saying 'triwing' the fact it is a clan leader is implied, but by saying 'clan leader' and not saying triwing its implied that you would have said triwing if it had been one, so its a 'normal' clan leader

That may be, but if you look closely at 1435 (which admittedly wasn't around at the time), Amber is not making the distinction any clearer ;-)

[Amber Williams]

Generally speaking, if a Cubi is not a tri-wing and they are more or less running the clan as the figurehead...they tend to call themselves a representative rather than a leader.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Generally speaking, if a Cubi is not a tri-wing and they are more or less running the clan as the figurehead...they tend to call themselves a representative rather than a leader.

Ooo! Useful information!

... Are you feeling poorly, Ambaargh? ;-]

[Brunhidden]

note that was an 'and' not an 'or'