Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, Mk. XXXVIII: This Show Blew My Boogeyman

[Johnny Blade]

I thought Celesto was defending the town from TIM?

I assume that "He destroyed Rachel's house." is an euphemism meaning he gave her a little gift that keeps on giving.

[TheArsenal]

Oh right, Luna in panel 8, that explains it.

I dinnae get it. It looks like crap and?

[Coidzor]

I dinnae get it. It looks like crap and?

Her eyes look glazed over and empty.

He may be so vapid and stupid that he causes all who are exposed to him to lose all conscious, intelligent thought.

Thus, he's the perfect weapon against someone who depends upon the powers of his mind!

[T-O-E]

Maybe SmugGreg will finally convince Celesto that the world SHOULD be destroyed. Or maybe he won't turn up and it'll be a complete waste of time.

I assume that "He destroyed Rachel's house." is an euphemism meaning he gave her a little gift that keeps on giving.

Oh yes, cat ears...
Also, there is no way to tell that Rachel in panel 7 is a woman except for the lines on her chest, and even then. It's kind of creeping me out.

[Cen]

what the hell is it with thi comic and people pointing at themselves with thumbs? is it some kind of a disease or something?

[T-O-E]

I think it's how Mookie shows who the focus of the panel is supposed to be when there's more than one character and he doesn't want to do another floating head.

Or maybe it's an attention thing. SmugGreg and Chance are the biggest attention seekers in the series.

[TheArsenal]

You know not to sound like an idiot but.....Why do people hate (With much higher abandon than usual( the "saved" comic. Yes I know it was handled chunkily but...it was treated rather seriously. its lazy but I think I must be ,missing something.

[Trazoi]

You know not to sound like an idiot but.....Why do people hate (With much higher abandon than usual( the "saved" comic. Yes I know it was handled chunkily but...it was treated rather seriously. its lazy but I think I must be ,missing something.

Are you referring to the Stonewater/Melna backstory debacle? Since the answer is "because of everything" I'd like to make sure before I risk making a monster post.

[Johnny Blade]

Yeah, there's a lot you could say about that one. We weren't really shown enough of an emotional struggle on Stonewater's part, he was instantly completely forgiven without further questions asked, and Melna later actually called him her husband during some stupid pre-battle banter.
Not to forget - although I don't really think anyone could ever forget this - that she later fell in love with him.

And that's just what comes to mind immediately.

[TheArsenal]

Are you referring to the Stonewater/Melna backstory debacle? Since the answer is "because of everything" I'd like to make sure before I risk making a monster post.

Yes. It doesn't seem THAT bad.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Also, there is no way to tell that Rachel in panel 7 is a woman except for the lines on her chest, and even then. It's kind of creeping me out.

I keep freaking out and thinking that Celesto is sleeping with OldGreg.

[Trazoi]

Yes. It doesn't seem THAT bad.

Even though I asked, I don't have the willpower to go through another rant about every detail that is wrong about the whole thing. It's the whole ham-handedness of how everything was done that makes it so terrible. I don't see how it couldn't have set off any red flags for Mookie that maybe he should rethink it or work out how to integrate it better. It's "here is the horrific backstory, here's how you should think about it, and now we're off with the rest of the plot" - much like how everything else is. It's not there because Mookie wanted to tell a complicated character story but because he wanted triple drama points.

Or I could simply link you to this to prove it's just... wrong.

[Traab]

One thing good about the following arc: My knowledge in music is so low, that I will not feel my soul shrinking when he destroys metal to fans or just people who know what good music is.

When there will be an arc in which the protective runes will be like firewalls that needs to be bypassed with a geeky computer wizard guy who uses a 3-d interface, and it will be done while referring to terms like "Abriak algorithm", "crystalball - vista" or "mindscape hacking", THEN I promise to be horrified.

You see, this was my only defense in the sword scry arc. I am not a professional sword slinger, so it didnt matter to me that heiny was slashing with a rapier, or stabbing with an axe. It was one less thing to give me an aneurism. And I NEEDED that, because there was already so much there that wanted to make my head explode.

Also, yes, celesto did fight snuggly, but did it ever occur to him to mention to someone BESIDES dex, 30 seconds before the attack, that they might want to leave? Nope. He had plenty of time to bang rachel, then dress up in cat ears and a bikini bottom, but not enough to say, "Uh, hey guys, there is going to be an epic level magical conflict taking place over here, why dont you all move to the far side of the village and be ready to run?" I mean, lets give him the benefit of the doubt and say that snuggly wouldnt go to lyns brook if it was empty, so he heinously used the village as bait, that shouldnt have stopped him from getting people out of the direct line of fire!

[engineer-errant]

Yes. It doesn't seem THAT bad.

Rape is a very serious matter that frequently ends up being trivialized in western culture. Mookie treated it in a very trivial manner and neglected the destructive consequences that would have realistically occurred. It's an emotionally draining topic to discuss, so I hope you don't mind if I don't go through it point-by-point.

These links are a good starting point for understanding:
TV Tropes: Rape as Drama
TV Tropes: Rape is Love
Feminism 101: Rape Culture 101
Feminism 101: Rape Jokes Aren't Funny
Feminist SF: The Fantasy of Rape: The Use of Rape as a Catalyst on Female Protagonists in SF/F
Geek Feminism: Rape in Science Fiction

[Mr. McGician]

I just realized something. There are only two ways Mookie can go with this:

1. They discover something useful at the art exhibit. Since Celesto already appeared at the sword tournament, anything useful they find is going to have to be incredibly stupid and contrived.

2. They discover nothing useful at all. In this case, the entire arc will have been an infuriating waste of time.

With the dynamic duo of Luna and Smeg as the protagonists, this arc already had a close-to-zero chance of being good, but now it can be proven that it is LOGICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for this arc to be good.

[TheArsenal]

Rape is a very serious matter that frequently ends up being trivialized in western culture. Mookie treated it in a very trivial manner and neglected the destructive consequences that would have realistically occurred. It's an emotionally draining topic to discuss, so I hope you don't mind if I don't go through it point-by-point.

These links are a good starting point for understanding:
TV Tropes: Rape as Drama
TV Tropes: Rape is Love
Feminism 101: Rape Culture 101
Feminism 101: Rape Jokes Aren't Funny
Feminist SF: The Fantasy of Rape: The Use of Rape as a Catalyst on Female Protagonists in SF/F
Geek Feminism: Rape in Science Fiction

Thanks for that.

I learned to understand WHY you hate it so much but I still dont get the same reaction.

The reason is as badly handled it is and pretty terrible its not THAT bad. Simply because mookie put an inkling of more effort into this than he did into other things. Its a out of know-ere poorly resulted, poorly executed piece of writing.

But thats why I dont hate it as much. It was POOR. It doesn't make me . But more Or . It just makes me sad how infantile of a manner mookie handles things.

The only part that DOES make me go is the pre battle joke from melna. That was disgusting. This brings me to the other thing that makes me go . SUICIDE PUNS. I dont care it was the beginning of the comic, I dont care that the comic began with comedic orgins. THAT was pure grade "I dont give a flying ****!
.
And finally this whole fiasco makes me think of two abominations mookie created. THEY are the true horrors of the story, the abominations:

Smugreg-The Devourer of Goodness: Its...disturbing how mookie managed to turn his humble nice character into this. AND ATTEMPT TO MAKE IT A POSITIVE CHANGE. Im going to make a strip slay later, but its not going to be funny. He went from a nice, humble guy- into a Idiot (Hey Il hit the krazy chaosmancer with my guitar LOLOLOLOL), self centered, jackass that is the most realistic jock mookie has created yet.

And

Luna. luna began as a character mookie tortured. Mookie (Phisicaly and mentaly, remeber bret somethings attempted rape?) TORTURED luna so that his self insert could save her. That is amazingly awful. She then becomes a ragdoll for mookie to change as his sexual needs change as well. This is so...eugh that it just makes me turn away in shame.

[Mewtarthio]

Yeah, this part of the newspost bugged me as well, even more than the "more metal" reference. I know Mookie fills his newsposts with bulldust to fill in space, but that was such a blatant lie it hurt. In his SuperGreg days he could fly, and there was even a plot point where Greg had to come up with a place to take a broken up Dex so they could both drown their sorrows, and he chose Lynn's frickin' Brook. I'm sure he'll be itching after his trip to Erossus however.

This just confirms what I've long suspected. Gregory Deegan is dead. TIM didn't rip out his "magic center" or some such nonsense: He ripped out his soul. What we have left is a human-shaped aberration that thinks it's Greg. With no soul, however, it lacks the capacity for compassion and humility that marked the Greg we all knew. It also has no creative spark, and can only produce a hideous, screeching parody of real music.

So, you see, the newspost could well be perfectly accurate. We know that our Greg has never wanted to visit Erossus, but what about the entity that now calls itself "Greg"? Perhaps it has wanted to go there for most of its "life," but, with no soul, it could not summon the initiative to leave on its own before now.

[Deme]

Actually, he has expressed some desire to go there in the past... But sort of the way a dumb kid will want to go on a road-trip to Vegas or New Orleans for Mardi Gras, as opposed to, you know, an actual meaningful objective.

Yeah...Way to keep the things about the character we hoped he'd grow out of instead of the ones we liked, Mookie.

[Toast1862]

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Doing these really gives you a sense of how interchangeable everyone is.

[BlackDragonKing]

This just confirms what I've long suspected. Gregory Deegan is dead. TIM didn't rip out his "magic center" or some such nonsense: He ripped out his soul. What we have left is a human-shaped aberration that thinks it's Greg. With no soul, however, it lacks the capacity for compassion and humility that marked the Greg we all knew. It also has no creative spark, and can only produce a hideous, screeching parody of real music.

So, you see, the newspost could well be perfectly accurate. We know that our Greg has never wanted to visit Erossus, but what about the entity that now calls itself "Greg"? Perhaps it has wanted to go there for most of its "life," but, with no soul, it could not summon the initiative to leave on its own before now.

I'm telling you, my Snuggly Indoctrination theory fills a ****load of plotholes and puts responsibility for Facebath on the most evil force in the series besides Dominic's Jackass Mode.

Greg runs into Snuggly's avatar on earth and has his soul invaded by it, he turns into a raging ******* filled with bad ideas and an alien sense of smugness.

Siggy runs into Snuggly in Hell and fights it briefly, having his control broken; but it is not Siggy who awoke from that flash, but Yggis, a cartoonish mustache-twirling supervillain parodying Siggy's character.

Archmages and Celesto being dumb? Snuggly's got tentacles in their brains making them ineffective!

Where Facebath fits in its sinister plot, I'm not sure, but I suspect hope Gregory will be freed from its sinister influence when TIM dies and releases his white magic, and must destroy the abomination he himself created to redeem himself.

[TheArsenal]

I'm telling you, my Snuggly Indoctrination theory fills a ****load of plotholes and puts responsibility for Facebath on the most evil force in the series besides Dominic's Jackass Mode.

Greg runs into Snuggly's avatar on earth and has his soul invaded by it, he turns into a raging ******* filled with bad ideas and an alien sense of smugness.

Siggy runs into Snuggly in Hell and fights it briefly, having his control broken; but it is not Siggy who awoke from that flash, but Yggis, a cartoonish mustache-twirling supervillain parodying Siggy's character.

Archmages and Celesto being dumb? Snuggly's got tentacles in their brains making them ineffective!

Ironicaly: THIS makes sense. This feels right. Although its "The monster is steeling thier personalities" its actualy very well played and subtle! Think about the tour aroud the world: All corrupted by snuggly!

Bravo.

[Coidzor]

I'm telling you, my Snuggly Indoctrination theory fills a ****load of plotholes and puts responsibility for Facebath on the most evil force in the series besides Dominic's Jackass Mode.

Greg runs into Snuggly's avatar on earth and has his soul invaded by it, he turns into a raging ******* filled with bad ideas and an alien sense of smugness.

Siggy runs into Snuggly in Hell and fights it briefly, having his control broken; but it is not Siggy who awoke from that flash, but Yggis, a cartoonish mustache-twirling supervillain parodying Siggy's character.

Archmages and Celesto being dumb? Snuggly's got tentacles in their brains making them ineffective!

Where Facebath fits in its sinister plot, I'm not sure, but I suspect hope Gregory will be freed from its sinister influence when TIM dies and releases his white magic, and must destroy the abomination he himself created to redeem himself.

I'm sad because this almost would redeem the pain of sitting through it.

[Deme]

Using this theory, maybe we can understand Snuggly's motivations.

Option 1: He is hoping, like an ancient warrior, to gain character by eating the characters of his enemies. He first wanted Celesto's wit, then Greg's power and virtue, then Siggy's sense of justice, then the archmage's wisdom, because the previous two were lacking in those things a lot already.

Option 2: He wants to make his foes stupider and crueler.

Option 3: He just wants *everyone* to be garbage, just like him.

As you can see, I find the first the most interesting, since it's the saddest.

[Toast1862]

Using this theory, maybe we can understand Snuggly's motivations.

Option 1: He is hoping, like an ancient warrior, to gain character by eating the characters of his enemies. He first wanted Celesto's wit, then Greg's power and virtue, then Siggy's sense of justice, then the archmage's wisdom, because the previous two were lacking in those things a lot already.

Option 2: He wants to make his foes stupider and crueler.

Option 3: He just wants *everyone* to be garbage, just like him.

As you can see, I find the first the most interesting, since it's the saddest.

Or he's trying to take all the most important people in the country, maybe world, in order to keep them from being a threat later on. Or as an army of his own, to flip a switch on at the crucial point and turn them against their friends and family.

I'd say the biggest problem with these theories is that it's projecting understandable human motivations and plans onto an unknowable horror from the beyond. But we're far past that point, anyway.

[TheArsenal]

I'd say the biggest problem with these theories is that it's projecting understandable human motivations and plans onto an unknowable horror from the beyond. But we're far past that point, anyway.

Dont worry we gave up on it ever since it became a picky eater.

[Welf]

DESTROYED.

(Hi I'm new : D Joined for this thread. Read DD when younger, wandered off around maltak's beginning, came back to realize it was horrid and went in search of snark.)

Why, welcome to the thread.

Since I saw it in the MLP thread I thought I could post some pictures that transport the mood of the thread:

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EDITBONUS:

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I don't even remember which is which now...

Uncanny.

So... Why didn't he just go there?

He's a grown up man (more or less), has money (or at least no one there seems to need any), had time, recently lost his girlfriend, the city doesn't seem to be too far, and now he even has a cool gang (?) to go with.

So why did he wait?

And is a trip to "sin city" along with your brother's future wife while looking for a serial killer really the trip he dreamed of?

Because he is a cut-out character that has no existence or development outside the strips. He stays in stasis until he is needed again.

If there is something good about the strip, than that Gregory stays in character for a Deegan. Many people lost their homes, and they died. But he only cares about what happened to Rachel. The Deegan's generaly only care about themselves and people close to them.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I'd say the biggest problem with these theories is that it's projecting understandable human motivations and plans onto an unknowable horror from the beyond. But we're far past that point, anyway.

Now DD's bad, but I can't see how Mookie is an unknowable horror from the beyond.

[Miklus]

...Also, there is no way to tell that Rachel in panel 7 is a woman except for the lines on her chest, and even then. It's kind of creeping me out.

I thought it was Greg too, sleeping with Celesto...

[Lord Raziere]

Now DD's bad, but I can't see how Mookie is an unknowable horror from the beyond.

Yea, those guys are much better than Mookie, Cthulhu's a cool guy once you get to know him.

[Toast1862]

Also, there is no way to tell that Rachel in panel 7 is a woman except for the lines on her chest, and even then. It's kind of creeping me out.

Ummmmmm... nope. No difference.