Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, Mk. XXVII: God Has Nothing to do With This

[Thufir]

The attempted date-raping of Luna is actually given some screentime in the 'how do I wake her up' sense, but not in the "the love of my life was nearly raped, and it was set up by her sister, how do I make this better?" sense. Luna doesn't really seem all that bothered by anything either. She had one page (or three panels) of reaction to the entire ordeal.

Actually, given it was prevented, and she was unconscious the whole time...
Does she even know about it? Did they actually tell her what happened while she was unconscious?

[CurlyKitGirl]

Oh man. It's like watching a train wreck. You just have no idea.

I love reading these Analyses: every five lines I think "I love the smell of impending dissapointment"

You're all loving my torment aren't you?
I can see you now, giggling in your pyiamas while this hapless fool of a girl is analysing her way through a webcomic that has promise, but is failing.

I've had a five page preview of Hello Nurse. It looks okay. Then again, after the unrelenting reset buttons and whitewashing of serious physical/mental issues, anything looks good.
I'm betting I get ten pages in before I'm horribly disappointed.

Also, can we add to the Dominionology that not only is Rape a fine way to save a life, it is almost certainly nothing to be at all concerned about. No need to get upset in the slightest if it happens or nearly happens to you, or blame or punish the people that do it. Rape, physical or mental, is never performed (or even almost performed) by anyone below the 3rd caste: perhaps that is what gives its powers of salvation.

I second this!
And while I know that so far rape is only salvation if done by a noble orc savage, you should also include "or Dominic", as it was him raping Szark that redeemed the ever-so camp swordsman and made him Good.

[Humbug]

Backstory is all well and good, but shouldn't you, I don't know, at least try to make it relevant to the plot? As it is, it's just pointless filler, and does nothing but pad out the story.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Actually, given it was prevented, and she was unconscious the whole time...
Does she even know about it? Did they actually tell her what happened while she was unconscious?

Given that she was almost certainly force-fed those date-rape pills, I think she might have an inclination.
It still prvokes that reaction in the readers though. And given everything else she's had to deal with - in one night - all of it being at the machinations of her Evil sister, she should still have more of a reaction than that.
Especially being told point-blank, "I concocted this entire scheme iust to hire an assassin and murder you". Given how close it came to succeeding, I think that alone would prompt a mental meltdown.
It's one thing to know your sister hates you, it's another to know she's actively out to kill you, and harm your friends and acquaintances while she's at it.

[Coidzor]

Great, now I'm beginning to feel sympathy for Karnak as an old man, full of regret. waiting to die alone...

I need to go watch that again.

[Trazoi]

You're all loving my torment aren't you?
I can see you now, giggling in your pyiamas while this hapless fool of a girl is analysing her way through a webcomic that has promise, but is failing.

We're just giving you warning that it's only going to get worse. Ecstacy and Evil is but a taste of what is to come. Especially if you (IMO rightfully) treat Dominic's mindscape invasions as the personal violation that they are.

For me the one big saving grace of Ecstacy and Evil is Celesto's speech about how Dominic only cares about his own social circle. The early arcs aren't above pointing out some of Dom's major flaws. Pity the increasing levels of Mary Sue washed all that out.

[Domochevsky]

Silly Kurly... don't you know? Mookie cannot allow for the Dominus to get his hands dirty himself. He prefers to kill by proxy.

Edit:

Given that she was almost certainly force-fed those date-rape pills, I think she might have an inclination.
...

Force-fed...? Read the Unsuckening (in my sig) and you will understand.

[Khosan]

YOU DON'T GLOSS OVER RAPE! OF ANY SORT!

Oh, it gets better.

And by better I mean worse.

By which I mean the strip in question has left a memory so vivid that it has altered our vocabulary and still gets slayed regularly.

[Trazoi]

Oh, it gets better.

And by better I mean worse.

By which I mean the strip in question has left a memory so vivid that it has altered our vocabulary and still gets slayed regularly.

Actually while there's that one particularly infamous strip, CurlyKitGirl's mention of how the comic glossed over male rape and mindrape brings to mind several strips. It's safe to say not only does it get worse, it gets worse in every area. In multiple ways.

[SaintRidley]

I'm going to give you something to chew on, Curly. Dominic's mindrapes of Szark are like handing a child candy with pure intention compared to what he does later on. Oddly enough, it's in an arc with some superficial similarities to Ecstasy and Evil.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Silly Kurly... don't you know? Mookie cannot allow for the Dominus to get his hands dirty himself. He prefers to kill by proxy.

I sort of gathered. Not that he doesn't mind doing some indirect maiming of his own. And rape.
And emotional torture.

Oh, it gets better.

And by better I mean worse.

By which I mean the strip in question has left a memory so vivid that it has altered our vocabulary and still gets slayed regularly.

I think I've heard of it, but I shall remain gleefully oblivious while I read on.
At least that's one thing to gloat about:
I haven't read Maltak.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
*disappointed moan*
Yet.

Actually while there's that one particularly infamous strip, CurlyKitGirl's mention of how the comic glossed over male rape and mindrape brings to mind several strips. It's safe to say not only does it get worse, it gets worse in every area. In multiple ways.

*whimper*
And yes, to your earlier post, I consider any invasion of a mental space without permission (unless for urgent healing or similar) to be mind-rape. Likewise posession.
It is being forced to do something you don't want to do, and you have no control over your body, and scarcely any way to fight back.
And what the Dominus did to Szark was deliberately, and intentionally, forcefully change a part of what Szark was. Because the Dominus didn't like it and decided to 'purify' and 'absolve' Szark.

I'm going to give you something to chew on, Curly. Dominic's mindrapes of Szark are like handing a child candy with pure intention compared to what he does later on. Oddly enough, it's in an arc with some superficial similarities to Ecstasy and Evil.

*whimper*
Io help me.
And this is good Dominus.

[SaintRidley]

On the plus side, curing Szark of his demon possession issue has allowed for Szark's character to become a meme here.

It's small comfort for the rapes, but it's what we can get.

[Twin2]

It's been a while since I've seen the archives but don't souls tend to pop like an explosive balloon in dominic deegan when they are stabbed with something?

[Trazoi]

And yes, to your earlier post, I consider any invasion of a mental space without permission (unless for urgent healing or similar) to be mind-rape. Likewise posession.
It is being forced to do something you don't want to do, and you have no control over your body, and scarcely any way to fight back.
And what the Dominus did to Szark was deliberately, and intentionally, forcefully change a part of what Szark was. Because the Dominus didn't like it and decided to 'purify' and 'absolve' Szark.

Wow, I remember posting almost exactly the same points in response to an argument about a later event (the one SaintRidley is hinting at) arguing that this was Dom's Moral Event Horizon. You're going to love that - it makes what Dom did to Szark look as pure as driven snow.

This makes me feel nostalgic for back when stuff actually happened in this comic.

[Deme]

Actually while there's that one particularly infamous strip, CurlyKitGirl's mention of how the comic glossed over male rape and mindrape brings to mind several strips. It's safe to say not only does it get worse, it gets worse in every area. In multiple ways.

You know, I consider what happened in the infamous strip to be rape for both parties (that is, I consider both parties to have been raped, but by different people. The rapist got raped by the people who basically forced him into it, in my opinion. I don't think he had much of a real choice that he had the power to make.) so let's add that addition to the list of "Rape that doesn't matter at all."

...Mookie sure writes about rape. A lot. Rape or attempted rape of some sort is the second most common crime in the Dominion by my count, after murder. Unless we count jockery and racism, which are particularly heinous Dominion crimes.

[averagejoe]

And later on the mind rape gets even more blatantly mind rape-y. Fun fun fun.

[Gez]

Time to tie up our last morally ambiguous character; Venus de Seer is made even more morally ambiguous and sympathetic. I think I like him. He's a ierk, but he did love Lady Amelia. And even Lady Amelia had her good side. And he has a perfecly valid point:

Yes, he has.

Still, I have trouble believing that a city that seems entirely built upon the sex industry (see skank-cops, jellybean shape, friggin' name of the city, etc.) would not have had a guild for sex workers until Luna's sister entered the picture. That's like going to shoe city, international capital of shoe making, where everything is shaped like a shoe, and being told that cobblers and cordwainers don't have a guild here, no sir!

[Khosan]

You know, I consider what happened in the infamous strip to be rape for both parties (that is, I consider both parties to have been raped, but by different people. The rapist got raped by the people who basically forced him into it, in my opinion. I don't think he had much of a real choice that he had the power to make.) so let's add that addition to the list of "Rape that doesn't matter at all."

...Mookie sure writes about rape. A lot. Rape or attempted rape of some sort is the second most common crime in the Dominion by my count, after murder. Unless we count jockery and racism, which are particularly heinous Dominion crimes.

I remember we had some pretty weird discussions about El Cerdo De Ahorro. Specifically along the lines of 'He could have done something else!' Which went to such disturbing avenues of thought as 'well he could've wanked into his hand then...'

It was very weird.

P.S. I don't speak spanish.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Venus de Seer is made even more morally ambiguous and sympathetic. I think I like him. He's a ierk, but he did love Lady Amelia. And even Lady Amelia had her good side.

Remember this quote for later

Man, dangling spoilers like this is a lot more fun than reading about backstory-we-already-know

EDIT: More seriously, keep an eye on Celesto. He speaks like a Snarker - pointing out Dominic's What The Hell Hero moments and generally calling Dominic on his douchebaggery. Yet, if Mookie actually realized the Unfortunate Implications of his writing, he wouldn't be writing the story like he does. So who is writing Celesto's dialogue?

[Coidzor]

I remember we had some pretty weird discussions about El Cerdo De Ahorro. Specifically along the lines of 'He could have done something else!' Which went to such disturbing avenues of thought as 'well he could've wanked into his hand then...'

It was very weird.

The Pig of Saving? I guess that's one name for Stonewater I hadn't heard of before, haha.

I... I imagine the discussion was probably pretty weird, yeah.

[colonelslime]

Remember this quote for later

Man, dangling spoilers like this is a lot more fun than reading about backstory-we-already-know

Oh man, It's been so long, I forgot characters in DD used to have more than one dimension. Watching Kurly reads the strips does prove something to me though, that there was indeed a point where the strips were better and it's not nostalgic whitewashing that makes me believe the comic really has fallen to terrible levels. Sometimes I wonder if it was ever possible for me to have liked it.

Also, on the terrible event on the horizon for Kurly, having though about it recently, I realize that it could have been done well. Dominic Deegan was certainly not the place for it, but people dealing with the outcome of such an openly misogynistic tradition could have been a really powerful story. But the interspersed lightheartedness and jokes just kill it. In addition to everyone's reactions being solely the cause of demons, and not legitimate feelings when confronted with what had transpired. If it had been a novel, it could probably have been good. Why anyone would think a serialized webcomic would be the place for it though...

[Khosan]

The Pig of Saving? I guess that's one name for Stonewater I hadn't heard of before, haha.

For starters: Good news! You speak better spanish than google's translator. It translates that as Pork Savings.

Two, I really had no idea there was a spanish word for Orc. It's apparently Orco (I kid thee not). I like pig better though. It has more mysticism.

[Turcano]

The deadly Offscreen Archers strike again!

[Palmer]

If it had been a novel, it could probably have been good. Why anyone would think a serialized webcomic would be the place for it though...

I don't think any form of media could salvage Dominic Deegan's worst moments.

[Coidzor]

For starters: Good news! You speak better spanish than google's translator. It translates that as Pork Savings.

Two, I really had no idea there was a spanish word for Orc. It's apparently Orco (I kid thee not). I like pig better though. It has more mysticism.

Well, cerdo can apparently occasionally mean pork, though more properly it's carne de cerdo, or at least, depending upon the dialect/region.

There's a number of words for pig and pork in spanish though, and some overlap between the two apparently. (Which makes sense, as in english, we mostly have the discrepancy between animal names and their meats' names because of the french spoken by the nobility as opposed to the anglo-saxon spoke by everyone else)

I think ahorro is the first-person singular conjugation of ahorrar, so it's dog-spanish/gibberish anyway. I'm trying to think what the... gerundive equivalent would be. Might be ahorrado, but my spanish is very rusty. That might just make it an adjective.

El Cerdo Ahorrado might be closer to the sense of the Saving Orc. Though el cerdo de rescate (of rescue) or de salvamento(SALVATION!).

Cacique Desafuero is the best seeming translation of outrage chief (other than the ones using jefe just because it's amusing). So not much on that front.

[Kiroth6]

Remember this quote for later

Man, dangling spoilers like this is a lot more fun than reading about backstory-we-already-know

EDIT: More seriously, keep an eye on Celesto. He speaks like a Snarker - pointing out Dominic's What The Hell Hero moments and generally calling Dominic on his douchebaggery. Yet, if Mookie actually realized the Unfortunate Implications of his writing, he wouldn't be writing the story like he does. So who is writing Celesto's dialogue?

I remember this.

I really wish he had just gone with those set ups. At the time, I really thought he was going to explore those angles so I kept reading. At least it was clear that he wasn't.

[Castel]

[...]Two, I really had no idea there was a spanish word for Orc. It's apparently Orco (I kid thee not).[...]

Imagine my surprise when I found out how this guy's called:

Spoiler

Show

I think ahorro is the first-person singular conjugation of ahorrar, so it's dog-spanish/gibberish anyway. I'm trying to think what the... gerundive equivalent would be. Might be ahorrado, but my spanish is very rusty. That might just make it an adjective.

"Del ahorro" translates directly to "of saving".

El Cerdo Ahorrado might be closer to the sense of the Saving Orc. Though el cerdo de rescate (of rescue) or de salvamento(SALVATION!).

That would be Saved Orc.

Cacique Desafuero is the best seeming translation of outrage chief (other than the ones using jefe just because it's amusing). So not much on that front.

I have no idea how either of those words got in there... "outrage" translates directly to "ultraje", and Cacique... I guess you could use it, but I haven't heard anyone use the word in a non-sarcastic way outside of history books.

[averagejoe]

In addition to everyone's reactions being solely the cause of demons, and not legitimate feelings when confronted with what had transpired.

And most people's non-demon reactions were along the lines of, "Man, Cerdo De Ahorro, that must have been a hard ordeal for you," with next to nothing said to Melna, and no questioning of Cerdo De Ahorro's decision.

Two, I really had no idea there was a spanish word for Orc. It's apparently Orco (I kid thee not).

Oh man, that sounds like something a first year Spanish student would make up when he didn't know the actual word.

True story: one kid in my high school Spanish class once put down, "El bath-o tub-o," for one of his answers.

[Castel]

Ooh, I totally forgot we had the word "salvar"(save)... so Saving Orc would be "Orco Salvador".

@^:

It gets funnier when you realize that we call killer whales "orcas".

[Coidzor]

^: Awesome.

Well, Orc came about from Tolkien's language studies and Orca is either a form of the latin or derived from the same latin source.

I have no idea how either of those words got in there... "outrage" translates directly to "ultraje", and Cacique... I guess you could use it, but I haven't heard anyone use the word in a non-sarcastic way outside of history books.

Well, I chose cacique due to it occupying a similar relation to european spanish as the Orcs do to the Callanians.

And it has been 2 years since I've studied spanish, and then only casually... Social titles for tribal peoples never really came up!