Damien and Nioi

[JustBecauseICantDraw 200]

I know that we know better, because we have inside information, but here we are at the end of the Damien fight:

It occurs to me that we are in a room full of shape shifters and that Grace left with Damien and came back with Nioi.  The most logical suspicion for nearly everyone present is that this girl they've never seen before who just showed up out of nowhere is actually Damien in another form.

It would be one hell of a personality shift, but I'd find it easier to swallow than the "just popping in from another universe" hypothesis at this point in the story.

[ijuin 572]

Hedge had known Damien for years, and would probably know if Damien had much shapeshifting ability beyond the normal Seyunolu "shift between any mix of parental species forms" ability, unless it was an ability that Damien kept extremely well-hidden even from his closest associates. Hedge would not have to have seen Damien in a Nioi-like form before; he would merely need to be aware of whether Damien was capable of disguising himself in general.

[JustBecauseICantDraw 200]

Yeah, but Hedge also knows that Grace isn't a fighter and that Damien is unstoppable.  One of his viewpoints foundation stones has to break, it's just a question of which.

[Scotty 1,061]

2 hours ago, JustBecauseICantDraw said:

Yeah, but Hedge also knows that Grace isn't a fighter and that Damien is unstoppable.  One of his viewpoints foundation stones has to break, it's just a question of which.

Hedge would have seen how Grace pretty much had Damien against the ropes. She was kicking his arse and then took off after him when he fled. Hedge didn't see what happened next so he could have easily assumed Grace finished the job especially is Grace returned on her own, if neither returned then he would assume both were killed. Nioi bringing Grace back was completely unexpected.

Besides Grace did tell the Main 8 about Nioi being Lord Tedd's servant, she likely told Hedge, Guineas and Vladia at least enough. Also Damien isn't really a typical Seyunolu, can't even begin to speculate what the scientists had to do to get a being made with fire and I don't see how he'd be able to shapeshift into anything not fire related.

[Tom Sewell 268]

I thought Damien was supposed to be a genetically-engineered human, someone else's black project, not a Seyunolu or alien crossbreed. Also, Lord Tedd mentions Nioi elsewhere, in the only comic where we see a speaking General Shade Tail. How would Damien even know of Nioi's existence? 

Nioi actually came to the Moperverse looking for a way to defeat General Shade Tail. She became focused on the gang while observing Tedd and then discovered Grace's name was Sciuridae, perhaps related to the Dr. Sciuridae Nioi was looking for.

Further, it's stated in the recap beginning Painted Black that Damien has no apparent shapeshifting powers.

[JustBecauseICantDraw 200]

16 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Further, it's stated in the recap beginning Painted Black that Damien has no apparent shapeshifting powers.

Well, yeah, I know WE knew.  It's what the characters knew I was interested in!

17 hours ago, Scotty said:

Besides Grace did tell the Main 8 about Nioi being Lord Tedd's servant, she likely told Hedge, Guineas and Vladia at least enough.

Oh, yeah, they'd have worked it out pretty quick, but all of that is later.  Here and now no one present has ever heard mention of Nioi before.

17 hours ago, Scotty said:

Also Damien isn't really a typical Seyunolu, can't even begin to speculate what the scientists had to do to get a being made with fire and I don't see how he'd be able to shapeshift into anything not fire related.

Well, no, but then neither is Elliot, who is currently a cat.

 

Let me put this another way.  If I'd been there, I'd have been suspicious!

[Scotty 1,061]

37 minutes ago, JustBecauseICantDraw said:

Well, yeah, I know WE knew.  It's what the characters knew I was interested in!

Oh, yeah, they'd have worked it out pretty quick, but all of that is later.  Here and now no one present has ever heard mention of Nioi before.

Well, no, but then neither is Elliot, who is currently a cat.

 

Let me put this another way.  If I'd been there, I'd have been suspicious!

There's also the fact that while Grace flew off after Damien, Dr Sciuridae mysteriously appeared down on the floor with the others, that should have been a clue that someone else was around.

[ijuin 572]

Hedge and Guineas (I'm leaving out Vlad because he was K.O.'d during this scene) had been Damien's close associates for years (inasmuch as Damien had any associates at all). He would have had to conceal the fact that he could shapeshift from them for several years.

[The Old Hack 2,448]

Damien was also narcissistic in the extreme and dumber than a sack of rocks. Even with what little I knew of him, I would consider him incapable of an acting job that would so convincingly portray a completely different person.

[Tom Sewell 268]

1 hour ago, The Old Hack said:

Damien was also narcissistic in the extreme and dumber than a sack of rocks. Even with what little I knew of him, I would consider him incapable of an acting job that would so convincingly portray a completely different person.

Spot on. Damien could have been an actor, though, the kind that always insists on bringing his own unique interpretation to the part. Think Brando at this worst.

[JustBecauseICantDraw 200]

2 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

Damien was also narcissistic in the extreme and dumber than a sack of rocks. Even with what little I knew of him, I would consider him incapable of an acting job that would so convincingly portray a completely different person.

But being bad at acting was an act!  He's actually really good at it, which is why you couldn't tell.

[CritterKeeper 1,102]

5 hours ago, JustBecauseICantDraw said:

But being bad at acting was an act!  He's actually really good at it, which is why you couldn't tell.

As opposed to someone like Shatner, who failed to properly adapt his stage training to television, but eventually just made the resulting overblown, over-dramatic delivery his trademark, and let the writers tailor the roles to it.

[mlooney 3,417]

8 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

As opposed to someone like Shatner, who failed to properly adapt his stage training to television, but eventually just made the resulting overblown, over-dramatic delivery his trademark, and let the writers tailor the roles to it.

OK, tell me how his stage training lead to this "version" Rocket Man

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

That had nothing to do with any human acting tradition.

This was an early mind control attempt by the Tribble on his head.

[mlooney 3,417]

36 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

That had nothing to do with any human acting tradition.

This was an early mind control attempt by the Tribble on his head.

That does explain a lot.

[ijuin 572]

Shatner was great as Kirk, but he sucked at most other gigs.