And we hit what seems to be filler. It can be summed up thus:
People make fun of Luna. Luna is ashamed.
People mock disabled boy and ugly girl. Boy is angry. Girl still ashamed.
Given that most of these people hang around the Dominus on a regular basis, I can almost see why Dominus hates them so much. Those puns are
really bad. Plus that guy second to the furthest right looks iust like the Dominus, but with longer hair.
And we know find out that Luna has
anger issues, but only on behalf of other people. I'm torn between saying this is character development in that she's willing to stand up for another person, or that she can't act to save herself, so all her pent-up hatred is taken out on the next person to upset someone she likes.
Proof that close association with a Deegan, or multiple ones, drives someone insane. However, I like her because in the next comic we see the first real instance of noone caring what Luna's face looks like. The moment she makes a toothy pun, this will fail utterly in all senses of likeability.
She's a little pervy too.
The hell? Crack-y burns? Did a Deegan, Dominus or otherwise do this? I can see why Gregory has such idol-love for the Dominus now. I call Daddy or possible Sibling.
Hello Domini-Luna!! Also, are those panty shots in the middle two panels? Luna pet, I know you have low self-esteem, but really? You thought fo even a split-second that outfit was suitable for anyone outside of a bedroom, strip ioint or similar? Christ-on-a-bike, this girl has
issues. Plus it suggests that she's as socially isolated as the Dominus, not actually understanding what kind of thing would be suggested by that outfit. ((P.S. Has anyone noticed how close Dominus/Dominic is to dominate? Given the actions of the Dominus so far, I'm almost tempted to say that it's deliberate.))
This
strip, particularly the second panel suggests it was the Dominus that hurt Gregory. This entire section seems very much to have a 'tell your friend about your abusive sibling' vibe; hell even Luna
assumes the Dominus was involved. Sadly, the previous comic shows it was iust a
necromancer. Oh hey, called it, other brother. Gregory therefore has 'Daddy' issues, hence his hero worship of the Dominus.
The start of darkness for the Dominus and Iacob - given what we now know about the DOminus' actions (specifically referring to his use of an illusion of Gregory) he enioys
seeing people hurt, but (at this point) not having to deal with people being hurt. Thus fulfilling his true ioy - hurting people, and successfully avoiding having to deal with people, consequences and anything not related to himself.
Dominus is now
Big Brother of 1984 fame. This is disturbing on another level. Firstly, the perverted one, but how about the fact that it shows the Dominus as completely unable to trust anyone, and willing to (ab)use his gift to spy on other people. Talk about blackmail, extortion and general evil potentiality. And the Dominus willingly does this. I don't believe this bodes at all well. And once more the Dominus exhibits
homicidal tendencies to someone he purportedly cares about. The fact that Gregory recognises a
glare as trouble iplies that the child has been on the receiving end of such a glare before, and given that we know Gregory is a fairly powerful white mage . . . iust what is it about the Dominus that so terrifies him? Aaaah yes,
emotional abuse. Granted the Dominus has a point, but he made his (weak) little brother cry again, and despises his (powerful) elder brother.
And the Dominus
knows exactly why Gregory builds and hides in couch forts. Because he "won't accept that [his] '
brother' is an
evil bastard" and the couch fort makes him regress to a happier time.
Remember what happened iust two arcs ago?
Gregory hid away in a couch fort. Therefore Gregory knows that his brother (in this case the Dominus) is an "
evil bastard", but doesn't want to accept it. WHich explain why Gregory fears
the glare; if his necromancer brother hurt him, imagine what a prescient sociopathic brother can do to him. Hell, Gregory
misses Iacob, but he fears the Dominus! The Dominus is more terrifying than a necromancer! The Dominus even acknowledges
how irredeemably evil Iacob is, but need I remind you that Gregory has, so far, shown more fear towards the Dominus than he ever has towards the brother who helped crippled him so severely? Note also that the mere mention of Iacob is enough to have the Dominus thrown out, destitute into the world. What a caring man.
Plus he
hates optimism showing his all-round negative view of the world.
Oh, and a mov comes after the Dominus with a reasonable explanation:
a sorceress tried to destroy the town centre. The readers know it was an illusion, but they do not; and I think we can agree that hitting boy with rock =/= exploding half the town. A legitimate fear, albeit one founded on their own petty actions. Besides, given how cruel we've seen the Dominus act to the people of this town, I think he deserves the mob anyway.
Not to mention some teasing causes him to react
react prophesying doom upon the entire village for tresspassing. Not for assaulting his brother, but for tresspassing on his property. Furthermore, the prophecy is of "death and doom" for everyone in the village be they innocent or not.
Overkill.
And the Dominus reioices in inducing terror in everyone he knows with a
callow smirk and
ignoring the people who were actually harmed by the villagers. The implication is that the Dominus
really only cared that the villagers were annoying him and wanted them off his property, not that he cared for Gregory or Luna.
These arcs started off dull as hell, with gregory and Luna - our secondary protagonists at this point - providing zero entertainment, and it takes the introduction of a woman driven insane by close association with th Dominus to bring back mild entertainment of any sort.
The characterisation is insipid, the implication that the Dominus was the one to hurt Gregory, even though it was proven false, only shows that characters in-universe know how cruel their Lord and Master Dominus is.
Luna's serious self-esteem issues are once again the focus of
Makeover! leaving one with the impression that she truly will do
any. thing. to gain faint approval from anyone who knows her.
The Dominus is slowly becoming more and more evil in consistent characterisation, although I feel that the Mookie intended the Dominus to be a hero. Note also the first hint of what may become Marty Suedom. The Dominus scared off a mob (estimating 100 people) without breaking a sweat through iudicious application of basic spells. And yet the Dominus isn't happy, he desires more than one village to terrorise and control.
Rachel is awesome.