Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, Mk. XLIV: Stunt Bro and Hella Jayden

[T-O-E]

...I have to say it.

Snert: "Come to the Dark Side. We have cookies."

You've got to remember who gave him the cookie in the first place. Yes, that's right, the Deegans. Even in this they're they're villains.

This does not look good for our heroes.

Other than my attendance at ANIME ST. LOUIS this weekend, there's not a lot of news to report today. Oh, I'll be giving my Writing Unique Heroes & Memorable Villains talk at the convention, so be sure to catch that if you haven't seen it yet. It's always a good time and lots of people seem to enjoy it. I guess that's why conventions keep letting me do it!

Let's see. I guess there are some geeky things I could mention:

- I really enjoy Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer. I love the Mass Effect universe and cooperative gameplay, not to mention the great alien races that are playable (if you're lucky enough to unlock them). I'm partial to my Quarian Engineer (a la Tali), my Asari Justicar (a la Samara), and the Striker Assault Rifle on any Soldier class. That thing is like firing a metal concert.

- I stopped playing Star Wars: The Old Republic for awhile (mostly because of Mass Effect) but their Legacy update has really rekindled my interest. I can't wait to unlock all the new character options that are tempting me like a wonderful, nerdy siren's call.

- I need to get back into the habit of going to my local comic book store. Not because I'm terribly invested in many current titles, but I miss the people who work there. I'm lookin' at you, Salmon of Justice! (which is such an inside joke I'm not even going to attempt to explain it)

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and geek out.

This is the Mookiest newspost I've ever read.

[Glass Mouse]

I saw this page as a good ol':

Snert: You have great potential! Together, we can rule--

Nimmel: Never!!

Snert: Alright, then die.

[Dandria]

But don't you see that the whole aim of Dominic Deegan is to narrow the range of thought? Has it ever occurred to you, colonelslime, that by the year 2013, at the very latest, not a single snarker will be alive who could understand such a reference to Maltak?

Also, all Mookie Sues are equal, but some are more equal than others.

[M84]

The Archmages siding with DJ Callan and Snuggly actually isn't too surprising. After Murry was killed, they might have all thought "Oh crap, this thing tore our teacher Murry apart, what chance do we have?" and they don't think too highly of Dominic and Miranda's ability to handle the problem (which was already hinted at earlier). They may have joined forces with DJ Callan and Snuggly simply to avoid being torn to shreds.

[colonelslime]

But don't you see that the whole aim of Dominic Deegan is to narrow the range of thought? Has it ever occurred to you, colonelslime, that by the year 2013, at the very latest, not a single snarker will be alive who could understand such a reference to Maltak?

Also, all Mookie Sues are equal, but some are more equal than others.

DEGSOC

Big Brother Dominic is watching you

2+2 = Magic

[Dandria]

2+2 = Magic

Surely you mean 2+2 = (Scry / Arcana) / (Mind / Planar).

EDIT: Oh God, why do I still remember that strip? WHY, MOOKIE, WHY?!

[T-O-E]

Jayden uses a general Healed spell and, considering that Noodel is a pathogen, kills it without even trying. She just didn't know it was there.

I can't tell if that would be hilarious or godawful.

I'm going for another one of Mookie's misdirections. Snerk isn't attacking Nimmel, but something else that was about jump them. It makes more sense considering the schizophrenic flow of this page. "Join us! Think of the power you will gain!" to "DIE!" with absolutely no follow up.

I do know Mookie has done whiplash moods before, but this seems more likely to me.

So he's teleporting Nimmel to the desert?

Big Brother Dominic is watching you

This is already true for Greg.

[random11]

The Archmages siding with DJ Callan and Snuggly actually isn't too surprising. After Murry was killed, they might have all thought "Oh crap, this thing tore our teacher Murry apart, what chance do we have?" and they don't think too highly of Dominic and Miranda's ability to handle the problem (which was already hinted at earlier). They may have joined forces with DJ Callan and Snuggly simply to avoid being torn to shreds.

Fear from the beast is more likely to cause them to unite than to "join the dark side".

I'll bet on either they were always cooperating with the beast/DJ, or they are somehow manipulated or controlled.
These possibilities also handle the question of why they ignored their friend being dead.

[Shogo]

Yay. More absolute, mental retardation.

Because clearly finishing off your targets isn't important. And that priestess who can heal badly injured people? No reason to even think about harming her when you're leaving people wounded but still alive in her presence.

Plus that attack against Nimmel is pretty damn stupid. If you're going to use a spell that makes things go boom, you probably want it to make them paint the walls red with their splattered remains. Not send them flying through empty space.

I also hate how Nimmel apparently has the potential to be an archmage. Last I heard, the only magic he's supposed to have any skill with is seasonal magic. Even then, it seems the only thing he can do is ice magic. Archmages are supposed to be skilled with all types of magic. (Not that we ever see it.)

But I just hate Nimmel in general. From the moment he described himself as Nimmel "The Phoenix" Feenix way back when. *rolls eyes*

[Zaq]

Plus that attack against Nimmel is pretty damn stupid. If you're going to use a spell that makes things go boom, you probably want it to make them paint the walls red with their splattered remains. Not send them flying through empty space.

Surely you don't really believe that Snert was attacking Nimmel? One, it's an obvious way of doing one of Mookie's beloved fake-outs. Two, Mookie can't bear to let anyone lay a finger on Nimmel "The Sue" Feenix. Three, even Mookie's art makes it painfully obvious that Snert wasn't aiming for him.

[random11]

Yay. More absolute, mental retardation.

Because clearly finishing off your targets isn't important. And that priestess who can heal badly injured people? No reason to even think about harming her when you're leaving people wounded but still alive in her presence.

I'll take a guess here, just because I'm in a good mood:
The archmage is controlled by DJ or the beast, but is able to partially resist it.
So While he attacked as commanded, he was able to tone down the attacks and focus on the ones that can heal faster.

Another possibility is that he is pretending to willingly cooperate with DJ, using an attack that looks impressive, but with no real casualty.

Plus that attack against Nimmel is pretty damn stupid. If you're going to use a spell that makes things go boom, you probably want it to make them paint the walls red with their splattered remains. Not send them flying through empty space.

I'm still not convinced he wanted to kill Nimmel. That's too much of a mood swing even for Mookie.

I also hate how Nimmel apparently has the potential to be an archmage. Last I heard, the only magic he's supposed to have any skill with is seasonal magic. Even then, it seems the only thing he can do is ice magic. Archmages are supposed to be skilled with all types of magic. (Not that we ever see it.)

But I just hate Nimmel in general. From the moment he described himself as Nimmel "The Phoenix" Feenix way back when. *rolls eyes*

Yes, I also noticed that.
Maybe he was just trying to stroke Nimmel's ego for some reason.
But then again why choose to take him of all people?

[Humbug]

Is it really any surprise that Nimmel Sue has the potential to be an archmage? All Mookieserts have got to be the best at everything.

[random11]

New theory

While the rest of the races in the universe have at most one of them with the talent to archmage of the circle (no one replaced the dead archmage yet), humans had enough talented wizards to immediately replace a retired wizard, and now there is a THIRD person with a potential to be one, and they are all from the same country!

No wonder the archmages want to destroy humanity, they are just jealous or afraid.

[MReav]

Is it really any surprise that Nimmel Sue has the potential to be an archmage?

No. It is absolutely no. Meh, I'm hoping that we're dealing with lies meant to screw with Nimmel.

[elros]

I am amazed how all the villains are so dumb. Instead of using subtlety, they launch ineffective, obvious explosions. We all know that this conflict will be solved by one "see the truth" spell followed by magic from any of the other Mookie Sues. That is why Mookie wastes so much time on pointless character emo- all the "action" will wrap uP in a week once Dominic starts paying attention.

[Helanna]

Alright, Mookie better have an explanation for this. There is NO WAY that an ARCHMAGE, one of the most powerful people in existence, could attack two completely unsuspecting, unprotected people and fail to kill them immediately. And why isn't he attacking Jayden?

I like random11's idea that the archmage is being coerced and is actually trying not to kill them, but that's a reasonable and logical solution so I'm not gonna get optimistic about the chances of that being the explanation.

[T-O-E]

I find the idea of magic changing depending on your size pretty interesting, not that Mookie thought about it.

So Noodel's most powerful magic blast is enough to take hands off, so it's pretty small comparably. But if he used it on other things of his size, it would be the equivalent of blowing up a town or something, far more magic than he'd ever have to use. Likewise, although we haven't seen it use magic, Mantarch Mageray's magic blasts could possibly level a planet, and can't use finer magic in this universe because it goes too far for his purposes. Noodel would be capable of more subtlety.

Of course, the real reason is that Mookie didn't want any of his named characters to die, but this is more interesting.

[Mr. McGician]

On the surface, I agree. But in reality nothing has happened. You remember 1984, and the Ministry of Truth? This is like that. The outcome of this attack will be that Milov and Katya will be healed. Nothing negative or positive will ultimately come from it, and it will quickly be never mentioned again (like, for instance, Momgan's magic upgrade from way back that has never been mentioned again). And, if no record exists (even in the characters brains) and there were no actual effects of an event, it's the same as if it never happened.

We are at war with Maltak. We have always been at war with Maltak.

This is my problem as well. Yes, something is happening, but what's happening is an omnipotent archmage versus a few puny mortals. All three of them should be dead by now, and the fact that they aren't means that only plot armor is keeping them alive. This destroys all possible tension.

[Traab]

No. It is absolutely no. Meh, I'm hoping that we're dealing with lies meant to screw with Nimmel.

Everyone is a future archmage. Luna is a future archmage, nimmel is a future archmage, dom isnt a mere seer, he is an ORACLE!!!! Milov is a spellwolf, whatever that means, all we know for sure is he shut down luna like the punk she is way back at the start, and later on grew wings just because. Miranda already is an archmage, with enough extra power to turn greg into one as well, (im waiting on that happening you know. Drain her magic items into greg to kick start his white fire again or something) Too bad siggy is the son of satan, they really could have used SOMEONE in the main cast who wasnt a fricking spellcaster. Oh wait, we have stunt who stabs things. Mainly his mother.

[Mewtarthio]

I was going to say something disparaging about Snert offering Nimmel the "We could rule together!" speech right after the Superflu blew up his best friends, but then I realized this is Nimmel we're talking about. This is the kid who deliberately went to a lower-quality college because he liked feeling stronger than everyone else. This is the kid who works off rage from his traumatic experience by violently assaulting jocks, whom he associates with the killer who attacked him. This is the kid who goes around blowing up werewolves just feel like the Big Dog. This is the kid who Dominic considers a promising student. Really, he's only upset because Katya and Milov are second caste.

[Myrdhale]

I was going to say something disparaging about Snert offering Nimmel the "We could rule together!" speech right after the Superflu blew up his best friends, but then I realized this is Nimmel we're talking about. This is the kid who deliberately went to a lower-quality college because he liked feeling stronger than everyone else. This is the kid who works off rage from his traumatic experience by violently assaulting jocks, whom he associates with the killer who attacked him. This is the kid who goes around blowing up werewolves just feel like the Big Dog. This is the kid who Dominic considers a promising student. Really, he's only upset because Katya and Milov are second caste.

Is that Really why he went to the archipelago? Like, stated in Comic? If that's the case.... That's just fantastic.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Is that Really why he went to the archipelago? Like, stated in Comic? If that's the case.... That's just fantastic.

Behold, the Power of Aura Trawling!

[Myrdhale]

Behold, the Power of Aura Trawling!

Hahahahaha, oh my god, I never read this arc, ohmigod ohmigod Nimmel is such an *******!! I can't stop laughing!

How did Mookie not understand the implications!?!?!

[elros]

I find the idea of magic changing depending on your size pretty interesting, not that Mookie thought about it.

So Noodel's most powerful magic blast is enough to take hands off, so it's pretty small comparably.

That is why any character with a shred of intellect would detonate the explosion in someone's brain, instantly killing them. Mookie keeps screwing up by making villains that are not a real threat. That is why I don't feel any tension in this story- the villains remain ineffective, and therefore, uninteresting.
Mookie should change his speech to "memorable heroes and villains, and how to make them less interesting"

[Dandria]

Hahahahaha, oh my god, I never read this arc, ohmigod ohmigod Nimmel is such an *******!! I can't stop laughing!

How did Mookie not understand the implications!?!?!

Because Nimmel is not a jock bully: he's a special snowflake* and everybody loves him.

* Get it? The big dog is his penis.

[T-O-E]

Because Nimmel is not a jock bully: he's a special snowflake* and everybody loves him.

* Get it? The big dog is his penis.

He went there because he wanted to be a ****. Sounds about right.

[Myrdhale]

This has obviously been mentioned before but, again, I still can't believe people go out to hear Mookie speak about writing. I mean, once upon a time, maybe, when Dominic Deegan was still passably good, but now? Does he really bring people in or do they just need speakers and he fills a spot?

[Trazoi]

From the pics I've seen he always has a fair few people at those things. He's not too terrible to listen to as long as you don't think about what he's saying. And AFAIK he always turns up, doesn't turn up drunk, or abuses the con staff. He's a safe booking to fill out the panel numbers.

OTOH he always does the exact same panel year after year and barely changes the content. You can watch them on Youtube if you're keen. I'd recommend turning on the automatic translated comments otherwise it's going to be a slog. I posted a few transcripts a while back; can't remember when (sorry).

[Myrdhale]

I could understand that then, if he's a reliable, functional guest they don't have to worry about. I'm always sad when I look at DD because it has elements of things that could make it good if Mookie got over himself and listened to criticism. He's spelled out for us in his news posts the things that are wrong with the series; he cares to much about his characters to let them suffer, he doesn't plan things out enough, etc. He's halfway to self improvement; he just need to acknowledge the flaws in his work are actually flaws.

Mookie is satisfied with everything being mediocre in his comic, which is too bad, because I think with just a little effort, alot of things could be better and he would find his fanbase expanding a great deal.

Maybe if he starts a new comic he'll try harder.

[Trazoi]

I could understand that then, if he's a reliable, functional guest they don't have to worry about. I'm always sad when I look at DD because it has elements of things that could make it good if Mookie got over himself and listened to criticism. He's spelled out for us in his news posts the things that are wrong with the series; he cares to much about his characters to let them suffer, he doesn't plan things out enough, etc. He's halfway to self improvement; he just need to acknowledge the flaws in his work are actually flaws.

Unfortunately the impression I got from the Heroes and Villains panel is that Mookie doesn't put any analysis about how good stories work. His entire talk is about stuff he's read or seen that he likes, and basically "do more of that".

It's why DD feels like a hodgepodge of bits of other stories smushed together; because that's exactly what it is. I don't know if Mookie knows how to recognise what it is about those things in his favourite stories that make them appealing to him, so he doesn't know how to adapt them and make them his own.

Admittedly that is why I want to see his superhero comic. It's going to be a big game of Guess-Which-Comic-This-Is-Ripped-Straight-Out-Of.