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

[Zaq]

...So you assume it works in a stupid way that makes no sense instead of it working?

Given the precedent Mookie tends to set? Frankly, yes. I feel that's a perfectly safe assumption to make.

[TheArsenal]

...So you assume it works in a stupid way that makes no sense instead of it working?

No, I KNOW this makes no sense. Even if Mollie asspulled an explanation, this has still broken all previously established scrying rules and it feels like a TMNT shtick. Celesto being able to hide like that simply opens questions that only have stupid answers; how did nobody notice celesto talking to the bubble. How come there is a never mentioned before scryscape?

What the hell are they doing there anyway?

[Palmer]

So while Luna and Quilt are doing this scry, uncovering government wire tapping scandals and talking to revolutionist Dominic is literally in the next room over worrying over a frowny face made out of newspaper clippings.

Y'now, I hope this clippings reveal that Celesto has been staying with Rachel this whole time. It'd make perfect sense since nobody in this universe seems accustomed to looking over their shoulder.

[Garland]

No, I KNOW this makes no sense. Even if Mollie asspulled an explanation, this has still broken all previously established scrying rules and it feels like a TMNT shtick. Celesto being able to hide like that simply opens questions that only have stupid answers; how did nobody notice celesto talking to the bubble. How come there is a never mentioned before scryscape?

What the hell are they doing there anyway?

Did you just rule 63 Mookie? The comic's affecting your mind dude, gotta give DD a rest!

I warned you about Dominic bro!!!!

I told you dog!

[SaintRidley]

Strip for the morning is adequate and within the bounds of amusing.

[random11]

Do they realize that information written on pieces of paper can still be used even after it is removed from the wall?

Note: This also works if the pieces of paper were shaped like a face.

[Fangly]

Do they realize that information written on pieces of paper can still be used even after it is removed from the wall?

Note: This also works if the pieces of paper were shaped like a face.

You heartless bastard. That's murder. Murder of one of the few respites this comic gives us from relenting failure and despair. But I suppose inanimate objects shaped liked faces aren't people to you.

I hope, in time, you realize what a prejudiced ass you've been.

[random11]

You heartless bastard. That's murder. Murder of one of the few respites this comic gives us from relenting failure and despair. But I suppose inanimate objects shaped liked faces aren't people to you.

I hope, in time, you realize what a prejudiced ass you've been.

While you are right, the thought that one of the best characters in the series is a face shaped out of sticky notes, makes me very very sad...

[M84]

a face shaped out of sticky notes

How could that not be awesome!?

[Whoracle]

So, any more ideas for fluff/flavour for Deeganpunk 2020?

Head over to the thread and post away!

[Darkmyst]

How could that not be awesome!?

If it was a Stunt's Head.

[guttering flame]

Personally I never liked note-smiley all that much. What did it ever do to deserve all this adulation? I was with the battle-royale casters yesterday. I had no idea who this "Gerald" is.

[BlackDragonKing]

Personally I never liked note-smiley all that much. What did it ever do to deserve all this adulation? I was with the battle-royale casters yesterday. I had no idea who this "Gerald" is.

Oh, I'm just trying to make Gerald a Memetic Badass to amuse myself.

Blame it on finding the idea of Quilt in a buddy cop show with an incredibly badass inanimate object hilarious, I guess.

[M84]

Personally I never liked note-smiley all that much. What did it ever do to deserve all this adulation? I was with the battle-royale casters yesterday. I had no idea who this "Gerald" is.

Blame it on the charm of treating an inanimate object as an actual character. "Gerald" already has just as much real character as anyone else in DD.

[Glass Mouse]

...So you assume it works in a stupid way that makes no sense instead of it working?

It seems to me that many of the complaints don't hinge on assumptions about how it works, but rather that we don't know how it works.

Important difference.

Y'now, I hope this clippings reveal that Celesto has been staying with Rachel this whole time. It'd make perfect sense since nobody in this universe seems accustomed to looking over their shoulder.

That would almost be funny enough to make me forget the kitty ears incident.

Almost.

[Castel]

It seems to me that many of the complaints don't hinge on assumptions about how it works, but rather that we don't know how it works.

Important difference.

Sometimes, you just gotta believe.

Spoiler

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[mwchase]

Did you just rule 63 Mookie? The comic's affecting your mind dude, gotta give DD a rest!

I warned you about Dominic bro!!!!

I told you dog!

I thought Mookie already rule 63'd Mookie. That's where ZZ came from, remember?

[BlackDragonKing]

I thought Mookie already rule 63'd Mookie. That's where ZZ came from, remember?

Or maybe...

Mookie's always been a woman!

[Garland]

Now I see it... Gerald and that Dex mannequin (did it have any fan-names?)

THEY FIGHT CRIME

[Oracle_Hunter]

...So you assume it works in a stupid way that makes no sense instead of it working?

Rather, we know that Mookie isn't going to explain how this works and have no foundation for determining how it is supposed to work.

Spoiler

Show

To begin with, this whole concept of "scry-tapping" is wholly novel - which is amusing in a comic whose main character is a Seer. If you can just "tap" someone else's Scry, why didn't Celesto do this when he knew Dominic was snooping around in Ecstasy? Or why didn't Serk hire a Seer to tap Dominic's scries after declaring war on the family in Battle for Barthis? Why didn't anyone tap Dominic's (or Celesto's) Second Sight in Storm of Souls! In order to explain this plot hole, you're going to need to handwave more details about how scrying works because Mookie sure as hell isn't going to tell us.

Next, we don't even know how perception works in this Dynamic Filler Space ("DFS"). We know that Quilt & Luna were able to see several Battlecasters at a time without looking for them - how is it that none of them were able to do the same thing? The explanation as to how Quilt's scries weren't useless doesn't help either because Quilt was looking for Celesto, not Battlecasters. Even if he is somehow super sneaky, why was he able to suddenly spot all these Battlecasters hanging around? We have no idea.

Finally, there is the question as to what the hell Celesto is doing dressed up as a Battlecaster. Let's assume that he was able to notice Battlecasters hanging around in Dynamic Filler Space - why would he disguise himself to look like one? To spy on them? Why? Surely if Luna can instantly figure out what they're doing, Celesto could figure it out as well. Was he waiting to see if someone was coming to find him? Why would he do that? If he knew that DFS was being monitored, why not just send a message by conventional means to Dominic (or whomever he wanted to contact)? Or, if he needed to do it magically, why not psychically contact whomever he wanted to speak with? He's done it plenty of times before.

More importantly, it's because magic is supposed to work according to rules in Dominion. If you're going to make magic something that can be taught and studied, there need to be rules that it follows. If White Magic banishes Infernomancers to Hell, then you can't have Infernomancers use infernal magic to negate it. If Dexian Metal protects you from Infernal Influences, then Infernal Influences can't be used on you when you are wielding Dexian Metal. Mookie has no respect for world-building, and his magic "system" suffers for it.

So yeah, I can just say "I guess that's how magic works" the same way that I can say "I guess that's how relationships work" but I'm not giving Mookie credit for writing it. It's Axe Cop logic, not good writing.

[Fawkes]

Now I see it... Gerald and that Dex mannequin (did it have any fan-names?)

THEY FIGHT CRIME

:O

YES

WANT

[BlackDragonKing]

If you can just "tap" someone else's Scry, why didn't Celesto do this when he knew Dominic was snooping around in Ecstasy?

You mean like Dominic expected him to do, and the reason he didn't attempt to scry after meeting Celesto?

Or why didn't Serk hire a Seer to tap Dominic's scries after declaring war on the family in Battle for Barthis?

Frankly, this could be chalked up to not doing a whole lot of research on the family, given that Serk and Dominic never met before Dominic had scried every last one of his secret and Serk was only thinking about the challenge presented by Donovan when he declared war on the family. Serk is utterly screwed by the time he first sees Dominic, so there's not really a huge reason for him to think "you know what I should do? See if there's a seer in the Deegan family and then spy on what they scry now that I'm an enemy. The seer I hire would probably be very expensive and nothing the Deegan scries on is admissible evidence against me in court, but you never know!"

It's not the most cautious move, but nothing in Serk's personality or mindset would ever lead him to think that whatever Dominic might be doing was as important as stopping Donovan from raising enough money to save the town.

Why didn't anyone tap Dominic's (or Celesto's) Second Sight in Storm of Souls! In order to explain this plot hole, you're going to need to handwave more details about how scrying works because Mookie sure as hell isn't going to tell us.

Um, were there any attempts to scry on anything in that entire arc? I'm pretty sure Storm Of Souls consisted almost entirely of uncontrolled visions, which fall outside of conscious scrying, and psychic conversation between characters. Celesto's never at his crystal ball trying to look at what everyone's doing, he's too busy blowing things up. When a scry IS done, it's when Rilian gives Dominic a peek into the Chosen's fortress, which Celesto notices and uses to confront Dominic immediately, and they fight the next day, so there's not a whole lot of scrying to be done there.

Next, we don't even know how perception works in this Dynamic Filler Space ("DFS"). We know that Quilt & Luna were able to see several Battlecasters at a time without looking for them - how is it that none of them were able to do the same thing? The explanation as to how Quilt's scries weren't useless doesn't help either because Quilt was looking for Celesto, not Battlecasters. Even if he is somehow super sneaky, why was he able to suddenly spot all these Battlecasters hanging around? We have no idea.

Point conceded, I'd figure that the tappers should be invisible to be effective, but then again, all second sight characters seem to be well aware when someone's watching them, even if that person is doing so unintentionally.

[Oracle_Hunter]

You mean like Dominic expected him to do, and the reason he didn't attempt to scry after meeting Celesto?

That just raises more questions! If Seers can just "sense" any scries that go on within an area (but not on them, personally) then why doesn't everyone keep a Seer around for security purposes? If the scries need to be targeted at the Seer (or include him) then all Dominic would need to do is to get Celesto to be somewhere else and then scry on Lady Sturtz.

Also, what the crap happened here? If Dominic scried on Celesto to see that he had ordered a thug to kosh Dominic (as Celesto suggests), then why was Celesto surprised? If Dominic just scried on himself at that bench to see how the meeting would go, why didn't Celesto know that his guard would be intercepted?

It's not the most cautious move, but nothing in Serk's personality or mindset would ever lead him to think that whatever Dominic might be doing was as important as stopping Donovan from raising enough money to save the town.

How the heck did Serk maintain his web of intrigue for so long? I mean, it literally fell apart after one Seer decided to check up on him. Doesn't anyone hire Seers to vet their business dealings?!

Um, were there any attempts to scry on anything in that entire arc?

And why didn't anyone do just that? Wouldn't Helexia have liked to know if anyone was trying to thwart her Storm? Shouldn't Dominic (or Miranda?) have scried to see who was behind the release of the Storm of Souls? Why the hell didn't DJ Callan - an obviously powerful Seer - bother to check to see if his kingdom was in danger?

EDIT: Another Ecstasy note: why didn't Luna's spells work on Szark?

[TheArsenal]

Bunch o Stuff

Its the Strained Plot Patch Principle again. If You cannot fix a hole without making another one, then you made a BIG **** up.

Edit:

Wait a Minute? Celesto either scried on Quilt Searching for him (To Learn of Gerald) OR Had a Vision of Gerald. Or Is Currently Scrying on Dominic. This is wierd.

[Bobikus]

Dom's sort of a jerk. Why is he taking Gerald down? At least he ended up a victim of physical 'comedy', but this just furthers me finding Dom and Luna as increasingly unlikable characters.

[BlackDragonKing]

That just raises more questions! If Seers can just "sense" any scries that go on within an area (but not on them, personally) then why doesn't everyone keep a Seer around for security purposes? If the scries need to be targeted at the Seer (or include him) then all Dominic would need to do is to get Celesto to be somewhere else and then scry on Lady Sturtz.

Also, what the crap happened here? If Dominic scried on Celesto to see that he had ordered a thug to kosh Dominic (as Celesto suggests), then why was Celesto surprised? If Dominic just scried on himself at that bench to see how the meeting would go, why didn't Celesto know that his guard would be intercepted?

Firstly, I'd imagine because people aren't aware they live in a universe where Dominic is the main character and as such Second Sight is more than a parlor trick that most seers use for religious reasons or to make a pittance as an oracle for hire off in the sticks? Consider the seers we've seen. Consider how many of them besides Dominic have any significance as far as the people of power in Callan are concerned. The answer you came up with should have been somewhere in the vicinity of one or two: the Archmages they can't do jack about.

As for the second bit, "You Know I Know You Know" comes into effect; Celesto knows the Coshing will fail because Dominic scried to know the Coshing will fail, but Celesto can't call it off because he didn't, so he instead uses said knowledge while pretending to be surprised so Dominic didn't realize he'd waltzed into a trap.

As to why Dominic didn't see that thwarting the trap he'd had a vision of would fail or that Celesto knows he knows about the trap, I'd imagine it was avoided because the scry vs scry becomes an endless loop of self-defeating prophecies at that point and the comic collapses under its own weight.

How the heck did Serk maintain his web of intrigue for so long? I mean, it literally fell apart after one Seer decided to check up on him. Doesn't anyone hire Seers to vet their business dealings?!

Erm, it fell apart when one incredibly well-connected seer that hates his guts and happened to be personally involved with nearly every element of the web checked up on him. That scenario doesn't work if Dominic's not involved; Madam Zanzibar wouldn't have been in much of a condition to moderately inconvenience Serk's plans.

And why didn't anyone do just that? Wouldn't Helexia have liked to know if anyone was trying to thwart her Storm? Shouldn't Dominic (or Miranda?) have scried to see who was behind the release of the Storm of Souls? Why the hell didn't DJ Callan - an obviously powerful Seer - bother to check to see if his kingdom was in danger?

EDIT: Another Ecstasy note: why didn't Luna's spells work on Szark?

Helixia doesn't have second sight and Celesto wasn't taking orders from her?

I'd assume the decision to have DJ Callan be an archmage was not one Mookie made before Maltak or so, but there isn't an in-universe justification for that right now.

Also, on your last note, did you seriously forget Szark's a resistant? That's been brought up at least twice as a plot point.

[mwchase]

Also, on your last note, did you seriously forget Szark's a resistant? That's been brought up at least twice as a plot point.

Wait, hold on, the guy tainted by infernal magic, susceptible to the Blinder facial amnesia trick, etc, is a resistant? Since when?

[Domochevsky]

...
Also, on your last note, did you seriously forget Szark's a resistant? That's been brought up at least twice as a plot point.

He isn't. It's Dex who's resistant. (And you well know that there can't be two people with the same special trait in this comic.) Szark just has a weapon that is made of resistant metal (except when it's not.)

As for "an endless loop of self-defeating prophecies" ... have you ever seen Deathnote?

[Oracle_Hunter]

Consider how many of them besides Dominic have any significance as far as the people of power in Callan are concerned.

The Royal Seer, perhaps

Erm, it fell apart when one incredibly well-connected seer that hates his guts and happened to be personally involved with nearly every element of the web checked up on him. That scenario doesn't work if Dominic's not involved; Madam Zanzibar wouldn't have been in much of a condition to moderately inconvenience Serk's plans.

The king, who apparently thinks that owning multiple businesses is wrong, might want to check up on one of the richest guys in his kingdom, no? Or the police, who were interested in the death of Countess Nicolette Prennitaria and might be looking for motive? Or even one of the people that a jerk like Serk might have pissed off over the course of his business dealings.

Helixia doesn't have second sight and Celesto wasn't taking orders from her?

Were there no other Seers available? Did the centuries old Necromancer not know any Seers? Or maybe think that the ability to spy on your enemies and notice when you're being spied upon could be handy if you're running a secret cult?

Also, on your last note, did you seriously forget Szark's a resistant? That's been brought up at least twice as a plot point.

...link plz.

[Castel]

Also, on your last note, did you seriously forget Szark's a resistant? That's been brought up at least twice as a plot point.

His infernal wound was resistant to healing, IIRC, and that's about all the resistance he had.

Other than his resistance to unfabulousity.