Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, Mk. XLI: No Morals! No Quarter! All Brutal!

[Fawkes]

Szark was under demonic possession and Bumper was under Amelia's mind control, but afterwards Szark never cared and was all jokey about it. It's the same with all the killings - Szark was more mopey about how he couldn't get in Dominic pants than all the horrible things he did in his past.

Yeah, Szark almost gets a pass because there's no indication he knew Bumper was mind-control, but then he was an ass about it later.

[random11]

There's also military applications for illusions I guess, but yea Miranda's father really wouldn't have many lucrative options in his field. Although Mookie would never do it, it would be interesting if the Grandparents were against the marriage because Grandmama Deegan was supporting Grandpappy Deegan, and they didn't want their daughter to be married to a loser like her dad.

There are many application for illusion magic.

Communication for example, is something that can rely mostly on illusion based magic.
Only that topic can open hundreds of types of jobs for illusionists.

The problem is that on DD, the characters are defined by the D&D class and not profession, even for non-adventurer characters.
So we know he is an illusionist, but not what he actually does with it.

[M84]

I imagine an illusionist could be a really awesome stage magician. Illusion magic does seem to be the perfect balance of flashy and (relatively) harmless that would be perfect for entertaining people.

[Trazoi]

New Comic

Luna, the difference is that Miranda's parents didn't trust Donovan so they spied on him in case he did anything underhanded.

Whereas Miranda trusts you but spies on you anyway.

[Bobikus]

This is too dumb for me to even really want to comment.

The scarves are pretty bad though.

[AgentofOdd]

There are many application for illusion magic.

Communication for example, is something that can rely mostly on illusion based magic.
Only that topic can open hundreds of types of jobs for illusionists.

I been running it through my head, and I really can't think of any such jobs. DD does have their crystal balls, but that seems to be a product of divinations.

New Comic

Ok, now I really must know. Are there people who think so highly of wedding ceremonies that they MUST be done in a certain way, and you can't have another ceremony to accommodate different tastes, beliefs, cultures, people, etc because I said so?

[TheArsenal]

MMMmmmm. This filler...Its so good....Mmmmm. thats good pointlessness right here.

[M84]

MMMmmmm. This filler...Its so good....Mmmmm. thats good pointlessness right here.

Glad you like it, because Mookie will almost certainly have a few more weeks' worth of it while he's still high on his newlywed status.

[Trazoi]

This is too dumb for me to even really want to comment.

Is the whole point of this mini-arc that Miranda is afraid of turning into her mother? Because that's obviously the arc we've been waiting for.

Is this leading to Dom and Luna eloping anyway, because that would be hilarious in a "screw what my family would like, what have they ever done for me except support my lazy jobless ass for the run of this comic" kind of way.

The scarves are pretty bad though.

They're fairly poor standard and annoyingly purple, but I think they're neat from a unique merch point of view. I bought a Narbonic gerbil for that reason. But Mookie doesn't attempt to sell them all year round. He's really bad at the commercialisation aspect of webcomicking for someone who has been at it for nearly ten years.

There are many application for illusion magic.

One of the characters in a webcomic story idea I had was going to us shadow magic to illustrate any info-dumpy sessions with magical shadow plays, so as to give something interesting to look at. If only DD had any illusionists in the cast that could do the same instead of having to rely on boring talking heads. Oh well.

[TheArsenal]

Glad you like it, because Mookie will almost certainly have a few more weeks' worth of it while he's still high on his newlywed status.

Just take a freaking Vacation mookie! Learn to draw, Organize your plots (Or even just start with a different comic. DD is completly unsalvagable by now) and go back to work.

Creating filler after filler after filler only means you are essentialy not updating at all. You have not been updating for 2 weeks!

[Bobikus]

They're fairly poor standard and annoyingly purple, but I think they're neat from a unique merch point of view. I bought a Narbonic gerbil for that reason. But Mookie doesn't attempt to sell them all year round. He's really bad at the commercialisation aspect of webcomicking for someone who has been at it for nearly ten years.

It's better than just selling t-shirts, book volumes, and wallpapers, but that scarf's not well-made and not even really links it to the comic beyond its pretty ugly color combination.

[Zaq]

It's better than just selling t-shirts, book volumes, and wallpapers, but that scarf's not well-made and not even really links it to the comic beyond its pretty ugly color combination.

No comment on how well-made it is (I haven't really looked, and I'm no expert in any case), but conceptually, I like the idea of the scarf (or at least, I would if I genuinely liked the comic). Assuming that it's well-made enough to keep you warm, it's something that doesn't automatically go "HEY LOOK AT ME I'M FROM A WEBCOMIC," but folks in the know will appreciate it. In a vacuum, it's a cute idea.

Of course, this all changes when you realize that DD isn't really something you want to associate yourself with in that way, but in my mind, it beats yet another t-shirt, and I appreciate that the connection to the comic is subtle.

[Trazoi]

It's better than just selling t-shirts, book volumes, and wallpapers, but that scarf's not well-made and not even really links it to the comic beyond its pretty ugly color combination.

Book volumes, t-shirt (singular) and no wallpapers these days. Mookie should follow his comic and switch to horrible plain singlets.

And he should insert wire frames into the scarves to weakly give the illusion they billow to your psychic will.

[Fawkes]

And he should insert wire frames into the scarves to weakly give the illusion they billow to your psychic will.

Okay, honestly, that sounds pretty rad.

[random11]

I been running it through my head, and I really can't think of any such jobs. DD does have their crystal balls, but that seems to be a product of divinations.

In DD, divination seems to be mixed with illusion magic.

For example, "invading" someone's mind and talking to him sounds more related to illusions to me.
"See the truth" is also on the border.
Of course, that depends on the magic system, and each system can have different uses for each magic type in it.

With communication, since illusion magic is directly aimed at someone's mind and perception, it can be a direct route of communication, which should also be untraceable since it's a direct contact, unless someone is reading the mind of the target.

[Johnny Blade]

He blew it up because the majority of the werewolves (read: almost everyone else) wanted the Callanians out, so he made it that the Callanians couldn't build their own places to live or spread their culture. It wasn't his personal decision.

Ah, yeah, I had forgotten that. For some reason I could only remember Milov shooting lasers at a church.

And he attacked the Illusio-Jayden because he was goaded into it by Siggy's demonic visions and with Dom and Luna's help.

I only see Siggy showing him what happened, nothing beyond that. I mean, Dominic can detect demonic influence, and I think he'd have mentioned that later if it had been a factor.
Also, when Jayden was temporarily corrupted later, she had a Siggy mask and matching outfit, Milov just completely loses it.




EDIT: Oh, that new comic...can we consider Miranda derailed after the last panel? Also, is this over now? I really hope it is. Actually, if this goes on another day, I'll probably just stop reading until January.

[random11]

New Comic

Luna, the difference is that Miranda's parents didn't trust Donovan so they spied on him in case he did anything underhanded.

Whereas Miranda trusts you but spies on you anyway.

Other than that, my problem is that Miranda claims she behaves like her parents.
There is a HUGE difference between parents that want a big wedding that everyone is invited to, and parents that do not want any wedding at all because they reject the bride/groom completely.

[Humbug]

So, was Jayden ever meant to have a character arc of her own? You'd think so since she made an appearance and her oath of silence or whatever has been briefly mentioned, but instead Mookie has gone completely off tangent and is focusing on pre-wedding mummy blues instead. (And I can't help but wonder if this is inspired off his own oddball wedding, seems extremely likely) If Mookie had no intention of focusing on Jayden at all, why the **** did he bring her up then?!

I know, I know, it's because Mookie never plans his plots in advance. It just really infuriates me.

[Traab]

MMMmmmm. This filler...Its so good....Mmmmm. thats good pointlessness right here.

The best part, oh god, i love the best part. Are you ready to hear the best part yet? Kukukukuku! The best part is, the entire last week, all that crap about momma deegans own family troubles? That was just the SETUP to the filler arc! Now we will get weeks of the deegans trying to track down momma and convince her that they love her, and no she isnt some evil harridan like grandma, and meanwhile the king and his snuggly will be sitting on their asses doing NOTHING, until everything is settled and all is well with the family again.

[Thark]

I'm wondering wheter he forgot he was going to do a Jayden arc or wheter he's actually going somewhere with this that will involve her somehow, aside from her just being the priestess of the wedding offcoruse. But then i guess it'll just turn out to be her seeing how perfect and happy dom and luna are and then wanting to get back together with Milov or whatever.

Also he still hasnt replied to mah mail :/ Guess i was a bit too critical in it...maybe next time i should attach DD fanart.

[random11]

I'm wondering wheter he forgot he was going to do a Jayden arc or wheter he's actually going somewhere with this that will involve her somehow, aside from her just being the priestess of the wedding offcoruse.

And I'm wondering which of the two is worse.

[Mr. McGician]

The humongous walls of text in this strip are simply ridiculous. Why is it that we got too little explanation in the plot arcs that mattered, and now we're getting too much information in the filler arc?

About Jayden, the answer is this: Every arc has to be about a first-caster. Nimmel and Stunt were made into first-casters when their respective arcs had none of the main characters. This is also why Bulgak was redeemed even though Mookie promised there would be no redemption in Court of Karnak. The reason why Jayden can't be a first-caster is because she can't talk, and all first-casters need to be able to talk so that they can be Mookie's mouthpiece. So, the arc justs shifts focus over to the Deegans and forgets Jayden altogether.

[colonelslime]

Did everyone read his call back in the newspost?

While Gwendolin Deegan may have been skillfully wielding guilt against Miranda, she did have a point. Elven music is an intense experience, as Dominic and Luna discovered during their vacation.

Apparently, Grandmama Deegan objects to music so pure and sweet it makes you break down into tears. One wonders what callanian music she was thinking of playing instead, the sound of orc children being murdered? I know this is a bit of a nitpick, but this a really stupid thing for her to object about.

[Nerd-o-rama]

At this point I'm wondering if Jayden's appearance was just random foreshadowing he'll get around to later. Like Mosly or the trailers, but hopefully shorter-term.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I've just started to read it. Currently on Monday, September 16, 2002. Don't see why people hate it, but maybe it gets more pretentious later, ho-hum.

It gets bad at War in Hell.

When you get to March Across Maltak, think "Mighty Whitey saves the Native Americans".

[Toast1862]

They're fairly poor standard and annoyingly purple, but I think they're neat from a unique merch point of view. I bought a Narbonic gerbil for that reason. But Mookie doesn't attempt to sell them all year round. He's really bad at the commercialisation aspect of webcomicking for someone who has been at it for nearly ten years.

Oi, don't mock the purple! There's nothing wrong with buying absolutely everything you own in purple. Which is definitely not something I do. Only half of my clothes are purple. The other half are black.

[colonelslime]

Oi, don't mock the purple! There's nothing wrong with buying absolutely everything you own in purple. Which is definitely not something I do. Only half of my clothes are purple. The other half are black.

We like Purple. Yes.

[T-O-E]

So is Elven music actually metal? This is like the orcs being vegetarian (OM NOM NOM.) Or if the dwarves were 8 feet tall. It gratuitously defies expectations to make them different from stereotypes, but it clashes and doesn't work.

[mwchase]

So is Elven music actually metal? This is like the orcs being vegetarian (OM NOM NOM.) Or if the dwarves were 8 feet tall. It gratuitously defies expectations to make them different from stereotypes, but it clashes and doesn't work.

How metal can one be on a tiny harp made of carefully grown tree branches or whatever that is?

Do we even have any indication of what traditional Callanian music is like? The Semashi have opera, Orcs have the Chandaks, Elves are BeAUTIFUL, dwarves and halflings presumably have drinking songs for every conceivable occasion, and Callan has what? Nursery tunes? Novelty songs from the Magical Prohibition era. (Which is not about a prohibition on magic, or a magically enforced prohibition, but more like real Prohibition, with a magical veneer. As you know.)

[Thark]

Callan has those drums you find on ancient slave galleys, pounding out the rythm to which people should feel opressed by the evil bureacracy.

Either that or justin bieber music i guess? Is that still the cool thing to dislike? I forget.