Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, Mk. XXXV: DJ Callan Turns the Tables

[Penquin47]

CAD occasionally makes me laugh with the video game jokes. Normally, it's stupid, and I have no respect for Buckley.

xkcd, on the other hand, I absolutely love.

[Darkmyst]

Hey, I happen to like CAD!

Don't fret sir. Our top scientists are working day and night to discover a cure for your affliction.

[TheArsenal]

Maybe its my years of hearing to be nice to other people, but I think we shouldnt call each other stuff just because we like a webcomic.

[Johnny Blade]

xkcd was the worst thing to happen to success

xkcd was the worst thing to happen to success

[Traab]

I happen to be fond of the story, and I tend to enjoy the random game comics. When I really want to read random game comics though I go with GUcomics. And not just because the writers is also my guildleader in WoW.

[TheLaughingMan]

I happen to be fond of the story,

[REDACTED]

[Trazoi]

One wouldn't exactly say it's impossible. I've never met a true advocate of xkcd... reactions from people I've heard mention the thing have been lukewarm at best.

Maybe the xkcd love is cooling off lately due to the comic going downhill, but there's always someone who posts the "obligatory xkcd" to every topic semi-related.

Hey, I happen to like CAD!

I like computer-aided design too - oh, you mean the webcomic thing.

For me, a lot of what is wrong with CAD is wrong with Dominic Deegan. It stars a main character who gets away with far more than he deserves and has the entire world revolve around them in ways that don't make a lick of sense. The characterisation is paper thin. It relies on telling not showing and uses a river of words where a few would do. And it frequently doesn't trust the audience to get the joke so it must spell it out explicitly to ensure us simpletons didn't miss the subtlety.

Oh, and both don't know what tone to maintain and switch between wackiness and delving into serious real life issues with the grace of a drunken elephant who also runs a silly webcomic now running an infertility story against all good reason.

[Fawkes]

Maybe the xkcd love is cooling off lately due to the comic going downhill, but there's always someone who posts the "obligatory xkcd" to every topic semi-related.

It's been a while, but back in the day, Munroe seemed to have a lot of insight on a variety of topics. Somewhere along the way, he kind of ran out of interesting things to say, but kept on going. I'm still reading, but basically out of inertia.

It's not a complete wash, though. I thought this one back in March was pretty funny.

[Traab]

I agree he gets away with way too much, but come on, he BUILT a ROBOT from his XBOX! You cant expect much in the way of real life consequences from a guy with a sentient robot he built in his spare time, who has a roomate with an electrified vault door protecting his secrets. I take it as it is, a silly comic with a silly story that does odd stuff involving a guy generally obsessed with games. (Though that feature has faded quite a bit over time) DD is more into trying to tell a real story, CAD is more about wacky hijinks.

[Trazoi]

I agree he gets away with way too much, but come on, he BUILT a ROBOT from his XBOX!

Ugh, don't remind me. That's one of the biggest examples of how the tone and characterisation is all over the place. Ethan is meant to be taken as the lovable idiot, yet he built a friggin' sentient robot. I wouldn't mind if the comic was over the top like Dr. McNinja - like if Ethan was fighting alien lobsters from Mars while trying to hold down his game store job - but the majority of CAD is grounded in mundane, everyday type stories. Yet there's this friggin' sentient robot there that the supposedly lovable idiot (not gadgeteer genius) built.

And don't get me started on the "lovable" part of Ethan's "lovable idiot" persona. Dude's the least likable main character after Rayne from LICD.

[TheLaughingMan]

And don't get me started on the "lovable" part of Ethan's "lovable idiot" persona. Dude's the least likable main character after Rayne from LICD.

Who in their right mind would consider Smugreg as a good comic lead? I mean, besides half the webcomic community.

[Bobikus]

Rayne is at least implied to have redeeming qualities and actually manages to care about other people sometimes, so he's not as bad as Ethan.

[Trazoi]

Rayne is at least implied to have redeeming qualities and actually manages to care about other people sometimes, so he's not as bad as Ethan.

It's possible there are more reasons in-comic for the other characters to like Rayne than there are for Ethan. I haven't read more than a couple of dozen strips of LICD, because Rayne is apparently genetically engineered to perfectly piss me off. There wasn't a single strip where I didn't want to slap the smugness right off that author insert's face.

Oh and look what appears just when I'm typing this...
Sneaky Gate
Future Link

"Hey, we're just chillin'. Don't mind us."

[Palmer]

Redirect hate lasers onto Sneaky Gate!


Future Link.


Since Quilt's line from Friday was in singular form instead of plural I like to imagine Mookie just does these cliff-hangers out of principal and spends the weekend thinking of a payoff.

He never quite got there.

Edit: And look who appears just as I was typing. Ninja'd, damn.

Editedit: "Can they see us?" *Battlecaster looks right down at them* "I hope not." Is there any reason they couldn't see them? Besides the masks, of course.

[mwchase]

Is there anything that would imply that the scry-vision is one-way? I mean, they're not in bubbles, either.

Also, the first time I read that, I reversed some of the words, and got "Battle Royale-casters". Now, that would be a worthy tweeest.

[Trazoi]

And unsurprisingly, more plot happens in Dominikudigan than in the actual comic:

Spoiler

Show

I'm genuinely getting interested in where the relationship between Dominikudigan Quilt and Luna goes.

Edit: When did Quilt become a double amputee?

[Castel]

Sure, you now can randomly see people scrying into what you're scrying on the psycho-plane-thing that you supposedly just created, why not?

Also, the first time I read that, I reversed some of the words, and got "Battle Royale-casters". Now, that would be a worthy tweeest.

Now I can't stop reading it like that...

[ichini_sanshigo]

"Can they see us?"

Can you see them???

Also, it would be kind of awesome if the King deliberately set squads of battlecasters to piggyback on any scrying done by Dominic and his friends and relatives as a way of finding Celesto. Sort of a way of covering all the bases. Although, you would think they'd be skilled enough to not get detected by amateurs. But, whatever, take what you can get.

[Mr. McGician]

Why are some of the battlecasters' clothes colored marine camouflage?

[Trazoi]

"Can they see us?"

Can you see them???

That reminds me how much it's been bugging me that Team Dominic hasn't made any contingency plans against any strategies that that King might be using. Because they "just know" that Dominic is the only seer who gets visions about what his opponents are doing and that when they get in a scry-off the good guys always win.

And it double bugs me that when they do have a contingency plan they don't properly use it. Oh no, you've stumbled across the Battle Casters? Better have a long conversation about how you hope they won't see you (I assume not hearing you prattle on is a given) instead of popping the damn bubble like you had planned for in this exact situation you idiots.

The last two weeks of comic really were pointless, weren't they?

[BlackDragonKing]

I've never seen what was really wrong with liking this comic, personally. There are things I've enjoyed and things I've found lame, but overall it's a comic I find a lot of fun to read when not taking it seriously and there's a variety of characters I still like to give me hope they'll appear sometime.

That said, even as a fan, I do admit the comic has some serious faults, my main one being its pacing.

As such, I tend to fall into the hopeful camp talked about 90% of the time and probably fit into NoPunchy simply on the basis that any fandom's jokes don't stay funny if they're used too much. One of these days, snarkers and/or a bad plot twist in the comic is going to drive me to ponies, but I'm still glad I read this thread.

On the subject of the sneaky gate, I'm hoping for the battlecasters to gang up on Luna and Quilt; even if neither of them's going to die, I'd like to see what the Battlecasters can do on a mental plane, especially since Quilt and Luna don't have Dominic's experience there.

[Darkmyst]

Current guess: Mookie's setting up for Celesto to appear and destroy/defeat this 5 x RBtlCstr encounter on the 13th.

... Oh wow. This is painful to admit, but I can now see the logic in getting Quilt and Luna to do this search. Dom needed someone who was talented enough to actually locate Celesto, but lacked the foresight to take any sort of precautions to avoid being tracked by others, or the strength to deal with the consequences of being caught.

It sets up a situation where C is forced to play the hero and save L (possibly Q too, although he is at this point disposable); an act which can be brought up in later conversation to convince C that he's not a bad person, and should therefore be fighting alongside Dom instead of seperately.

Crafty.

[Palmer]

On the subject of the sneaky gate, I'm hoping for the battlecasters to gang up on Luna and Quilt; even if neither of them's going to die, I'd like to see what the Battlecasters can do on a mental plane, especially since Quilt and Luna don't have Dominic's experience there.

Luna's way too great to need Dominic's help. She'll just infuse herself with Black Magic and murder them all.

[Oracle_Hunter]

We've been spending way too much time in The Plane That Makes No Sense.

It is known by many names: Plane of Destruction, Heaven, Dreamscape, Psychoplane, Psychodreamplanescape. However, TPTMNS has only three rules.

(1) Everyone is constantly flying.

(2) Inhabitants can alter the rules of the Plane at will, but their manipulations are trumped by those in a higher Caste.

(3) Nothing makes sense.

It should be noted that the only difference between Dominion proper and TPTMNS is that, in Dominion proper, people aren't constantly flying

[Trazoi]

We've been spending way too much time in The Plane That Makes No Sense.

Actually this is The Hyperplane That Makes No Sense. The extra dimension is that Quilt and Luna have no friggin' reason to be there, given they're meant to be grounded in reality, peering into bubbles.

...I think somewhere along the line Mookie forgot where the metaphors ended...

[Oracle_Hunter]

...I think somewhere along the line Mookie forgot where the metaphors ended...

For reference, it was about here

[Fawkes]

Rayne is at least implied to have redeeming qualities and actually manages to care about other people sometimes, so he's not as bad as Ethan.

It's possible there are more reasons in-comic for the other characters to like Rayne than there are for Ethan. I haven't read more than a couple of dozen strips of LICD, because Rayne is apparently genetically engineered to perfectly piss me off. There wasn't a single strip where I didn't want to slap the smugness right off that author insert's face.

The problem I had is that every time Rayne did something 'nice', it always came across as insincere or out of character. Plus, it's easy to be charitable when you get anything you want, have no significant problems, and have received confirmation from a supernatural being that you can literally do no wrong.

[Glass Mouse]

And unsurprisingly, more plot happens in Dominikudigan than in the actual comic:

Spoiler

Show

I'm genuinely getting interested in where the relationship between Dominikudigan Quilt and Luna goes.

Awwww... Luna didn't even hear it. Poor Quilt.

[TheArsenal]

Ouch. Hey why did you slap me comic? That was mean.
AAAAARFGTYYJU

Aggression levels to 70% Analysis levels to 30%!

This felt like it honestly slapped me. I was planning to let the plot hole (Canyon? Dark hole?) Go but this strip had to piss me off enough to spark the propane of hatred in my soul:

• Full Paged spread that doesn't need it....FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW!
  
• Double Cliffhanger
  
• The rules broken:

How Is he using the Focus? IT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE! IT HAS NEVER WORKED LIKE THIS BEFORE, HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE THIS BREAKS ALL THE PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED RULES AND BURIES THEM IN AN DESACRATED GRAVEYARD! AAAAAAAA!!!!

[Humbug]

So, what's gonna happen this week, I wonder? I bet they are just gonna spend the week gawking at the Royal Wizards until the Friday cliffhanger, sigh.

I was flipping through the Oracle Hunter arc someone had so graciously linked a couple of posts back, and even though it was well past the point of DD ever being good again, at least things were moving along at a fairly brisk pace.

I think Mookie's obsession with Friday Cliffhangers started with the Maltak arc.