Dominic Deegan, Mk. L: The Snark(ie) Alive - Death Actually Is Zombies

[Cen]

Nope, totally original. He uses ice, not fire. Also, unlike zuko, nimmel apparently doesnt HAVE parents since I dont recall them ever being mentioned or consulted in his immigration, or anything of the sort.

Right. And his scar is on his right side, Zuko's is on left. Totally different thing.

[Traab]

Right. And his scar is on his right side, Zuko's is on left. Totally different thing.

Exactly! In all seriousness though, the characters are very different overall.
Nimmel was never a bad guy,
Nimmel never fell for one of the main characters,
There was no revenge plot from him,
Nimmel got his scars fighting a monster to protect his school and its students, zuko got his because his father is an ass.
Nimmel doesnt have an annoying sister. :p

And aside from some physical similarities and hilarious exact opposite characteristics, I just think thats a bit of a stretch.

[Nerd-o-rama]

I think we're making fun of the art looking more like Avatar fanart than anything resembling the comic, mostly...

[Kwatsu]

Holy smokes. A nose! I see an actual nose!

[Traab]

Holy smokes. A nose! I see an actual nose!

Forget that, he has a NOSTRIL!

[Doompuppy]

Forget that, he has a NOSTRIL!

Damn, it's gone again. Just a hole where it used to be now...

[Humbug]

Urgh, that Archmagi pic is just awful. Mookie is no longer constrained by an update schedule, yet he still can't be arsed to put more effort into a poster. There's little improvement in these new pieces compared to last few years of DD.

[Kwatsu]

I love how the new archmagi are People The Deegans Know And Approve Of, And Also That Nameless Eld Lady Is One Too.

And yeah, that picture is really lazy. The composition is weird and they just look like a goofy Scooby Doo-type team rather than powerful archmages. And what is up with Luna's arms?

[random11]

I love how the new archmagi are People The Deegans Know And Approve Of, And Also That Nameless Eld Lady Is One Too.

Just being from the same world is bad enough, considering this world used to have only one circle.
All being friends of Dominic just adds another dimension of stupid.

[Traab]

Just being from the same world is bad enough, considering this world used to have only one circle.
All being friends of Dominic just adds another dimension of stupid.

Yeah thats the really bad part. I could buy them being all his friends and fellows, after all, it makes sense that the best and brightest would be working with the hero to save everything. But the fact that its supposed to be the best from multiple dimensions and yet they are all from the world of callan is just horrible.

[T-O-E]

Yeah thats the really bad part. I could buy them being all his friends and fellows, after all, it makes sense that the best and brightest would be working with the hero to save everything. But the fact that its supposed to be the best from multiple dimensions and yet they are all from the world of callan is just horrible.

The only archmage to survive and remain uncorrupted was the human.

What did Dave think about the superiority of humans again?

DD seems to actually be against inclusion. The Archmagi open up their ranks to humans and look what happens to them. The happy ending is essentially vindicating Dave's philosophy of diversity being a bad thing, since now they're all from the same planet and far less inclusive than even the pre-Dave circle. I bet the other 4 circles are lawless hell-holes by now because no one is bothering to patrol them.

[Traab]

The only archmage to survive and remain uncorrupted was the human.

What did Dave think about the superiority of humans again?

DD seems to actually be against inclusion. The Archmagi open up their ranks to humans and look what happens to them. The happy ending is essentially vindicating Dave's philosophy of diversity being a bad thing, since now they're all from the same planet and far less inclusive than even the pre-Dave circle. I bet the other 4 circles are lawless hell-holes by now because no one is bothering to patrol them.

Dont forget that apparently the werewolf people seem to be doing a lot better now that they have booted out everything NOT spellwolf related except for Nimmel "The Big Phoenix Dog" Feenix. Oh, and I think the orcs are also pretty heavily isolationists, and maltak is recovering nicely.

[FrankLuke]

I imagine this was discussed in threads prior, but I wish to bring it up now as I haven't found it. Dominic clearly states that to be an archmage one must be capable of all types of magic. Infernomancy is a type of magic and is categorically evil. No one who even touches Infernomancy can be trusted (exception being the badly named ork and then redemption comes only after death). Therefore, Momma Deegan must have done Infernomancy. Now Luna and Dominic's other friends are archmages. Luna et al must know Infernomancy.

I know this problem comes about because Mookie didn't think his magic system through any more than a dozen other parts.

[Cen]

yeah, this was discussed many times before.

That's Mookie's worldbuilding for you.

[T-O-E]

yeah, this was discussed many times before.

That's Mookie's worldbuilding for you.

World ruining is more accurate.

[Oracle_Hunter]

World ruining is more accurate.

I prefer "World-blundering" since he is not trying to ruin everything but, like the proverbial bull in a china shop, can't help making things worse every time he makes a move.

[Vinyadan]

Dominic clearly states that to be an archmage one must be capable of all types of magic.

It just means that you have to know one beam spell. That's how all schools work. beambeambeambeambeambeambeam.

[TheLaughingMan]

So I missed out on the end, huh?

I suppose in the end

the laughs you take

are equal to the snark


you make.

[T-O-E]

And in the end the love you take
Is equal to the life you save



EDIT: Huh, I always thought that line was about how once you're dead, the people who you loved in life would feel even worse about your passing. Apparently that's not how it was intended.

[Mauve Shirt]

Finally caught up on DD, which I'd abandoned 2 years ago. That was certainly a thing.
Time to catch up on Star Power. And the Star Power Snark Thread.

[Vinyadan]

So...

As you know, Mookie likes classical music; or, at least, he likes to write that he loves it.

And he probably listens to quite a lot of it. Probably.

So we get some very "refined" reference to Le nozze di Figaro in this comic.

If you read the newspost beneath the comic, you will see that he most absolutely credits Mozart with the lyrics he wrote in the comic:

The lyrics from the first panel of today's comic are taken directly from Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro. As much as I love heavy metal I also adore classical music, and since much of the Semashi language is basically Italian... well, all credit goes to Mozart for this one.

Sorry Mookie, Mozart never wrote those lyrics. The lyrics of operas - libretti, "small books" - were written by specialists, who were not the authors of the music. In this particular case, the librettist was Lorenzo da Ponte. Da Ponte also wrote two others libretti for Mozart, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte.
And it is no secret. To tell the truth, I don't know much about operas myself, but such information in very, very hard to miss, if you even have the slightest interest towards this kind of music.

Here are a couple examples:

{table=head]Opera|Composer|Librettist
Aida|Verdi|Ghislanzoni
Nabucco|Verdi|Solera
Die Zauberflöte|Mozart|Schikaneder
Guillaume Tell|Rossini| de Jouy and Bis
Orfeo ed Euridice|Gluck|de' Calzabigi[/table]

Mookie also adds a little pearl:

I forgot to originally write this in the news post this morning.

Thank you, Mookie, for aiming a mistake as well as you can before making it.

[Kornaki]

I just realized the "new archmagi" scene makes the end a lot more interesting if you interpret it as Dominic Deegan deciding to take advantage of the temporary vacuum at the top of the arcane hierarchy and put his closest friends at the top of it (taking advantage of the proximity of the archmagi chamber),accomplishing the king's objectives on a grander scale by securing magical dominance for their planet over others through use of the chamber.

[CurlyKitGirl]

So I'm working on a slay for a review, but I can't find the page with the really sinister evil DOminic face on it. Help?

[MReav]

So I'm working on a slay for a review, but I can't find the page with the really sinister evil DOminic face on it. Help?

Can you be more specific? Give a quote from it?

Like "Dance Puppets Dance?"

"Now it's my turn?"

"Two can play at this game?"

[Vinyadan]

So I'm working on a slay for a review, but I can't find the page with the really sinister evil DOminic face on it. Help?

I think you mean this one: http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2003-08-08

[CurlyKitGirl]

No, none of those, it's in grey scale and he's just smirking and staring almost directly into the camera. It shows up in slays when Dom's done something evil/cruel with his mind-reading skills.
Just a close up of his face. It's definitely pre-2009, possibly earlier. I've spent the last forty minutes trawling through this damn comic making a slay to mock this dialogue:

D: "I think I'll have to use my second sight on him, but I'll want his permission to do so, first."

S: "Don't want to break your own rule huh?"

D: "Not if I can help it."

And I know there's that one panel (maybe a larger one than usual) after he's pulled off one of his manipulation plots and is basically going "Just as planned", but I can't find it. I thought it was in a Barthis based arc, but I must be missing it or something.

It's also rather disturbing that I can post a request saying "Help me find a page where our protagonist (and hero) is looking really evil and sinister, and there are so many possibilities.

[Mewtarthio]

You must mean this one, right?

[AMX]

Grey, looking directly at the camera?
Only thing that comes to mind is this:
http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-12-05
But I don't think that's all that sinister...

[CurlyKitGirl]

You must mean this one, right?

Grey, looking directly at the camera?
Only thing that comes to mind is this:
http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-12-05
But I don't think that's all that sinister...

Yep! That's it! Thanks!
Now to complete the slay.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, help yourself to some popcorn, and welcome to the next episode of

Analysing Dominus Deegan

The Archive

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The Golden Age*

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A Frail Hope of Adequate Enjoyment
21/05/2002 - 17/07/2002 Arcs covered: Oracle for Hire, The Curse
The First Signs of Serious Psychological Issues Appear
18/07/2002 - 4/12/2002 Arcs covered: The Curse, Luna, Into the Woods
In Which Teh Great Dominus Indulges in Torture and Terrifies Me
5/12/2002 - 21/02/2003 Arcs covered: Into the Woods, Couch Forts and Crying
Dominatrix Luna. Oh, and The Dominus is More Feared Than A Necromancer
22/01/2003 - 11/03/2003 Arcs covered: Makeover!, Mob Mentality
Thing Are Looking Up
12/03/2003 - 30/04/2003 Arcs covered: Visions of Doom Parts One and Two
Siggy Is Iesus. Make of That What You Will
01/05/2003 -23/06/2003 Arcs covered: Visions of Doom Parts Three and Four
The Great Dominus Is Officially A Marty Stue an It's THRILLER! THRILLER NIGHT!
24/06/2003 - 19/08/2003 Arcs covered: Visions of Doom Parts Five and Six
Character Development! And We Conclude an Arc
20/08/2003 - 10/09/2003 Arcs covered: Visions of Doom Parts Seven and Eight
Short Arc Is Short
11/09/2003 - 21/10/2003 Arcs covered: The Party

The Tarnished Age

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Hell Is Meaningless Filler
23/10/2003 - 20/11/2003 Arcs covered: The Ecstasy and the Evil Part One
Kink + Dominus Deegan = Eye and Brain Bleach
11/11/2003 - 16/12/2003 Arcs covered: The Ecstasy and the Evil Parts Two and Three
Inflatable Boobs and Sex! Occasional Plotting Is Permitted
17/12/2003 - 30/01/2004 Arcs covered: The Ecstasy and the Evil Parts Four and Five
Enter: Deus Ex Machina! And Boobs.
31/01/2005 - 19/04/2004 Arcs covered: The Ecstasy and the Evil Parts Six and Seven
Mookie Reveals More of His Sexual Fantasies. And Noone Ever Suffers From Any Effects of A Near-Rape. Ever!
20/04/2004 -26/05/2004 Arcs covered: TEatE Parts Eight and Nine

The Silver Age

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The Corruption of Sister Pam. Iocks Are Misogynistic Idiots.
27/05/2004 - 27/08/2004 Arcs covered: Hello Nurse
All Hands On Deck! Swirly Thing Alert!
06/09/2004 - 22/10/2004 Arcs covered: The Storm of Souls Parts One and Two
Darlings, Can't You Hear My SoS?
25/010/2004 - 28/11/2004 Arcs covered: The Storm of Souls Parts Three and Four
Attack of the Pointless Sub-Plots!
29/11/2004 - 06/01/2005 Arcs covered: The Storm of Souls Parts Five and Six
Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? No! It's SuperGreg!
07/01/2005 - 24/02/2005 Arcs covered: TSoS Parts Seven and Eight
Analysing Dominus Deegan The Musical
25/02/2005 - 31/03/2005 Arcs covered: TSoS Parts Nine and Ten
Venus Gets Angry, and the Dominus Doesn't Have A Leg To Stand On
01/04/2005 - 05/06/2005 Arcs covered: TSoS Parts Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen

The Bronze Age

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CURSE YOU RUNCIBLE SPOON! I Have Flashbacks to WoT
13/06/2005 - 09/07/2005 Arcs covered: My First Day and Interlude Versions One and Two
Contrived Coincidences and Rape Have Broken Me
11/07/2005 - 25/10/2005 Arcs covered: The Battle For Barthis Part One
A Hug Makes Me Furious
26/10/2005 - 09/01/2006 Arcs covered: The Battle For Barthis Parts Two and Three
A Melna Special: The Explanation
01/01/2006 - 27/01/2006 Arcs covered: The War In Hell Part One
This Episode Erupts With Kittens! Well, It Should
30/01/2006 - 06/03/2006 Arcs covered: The War In Hell Parts Two and Three
I Dwell on the Paradox That Is Mookie
07/03/2006 - 20/03/2006 Arcs covered: The War In Hell Parts Four and Five
Time To 'Save' Szark!
21/03/2006 - 28/05/2006 Arcs covered: The War In Hell Parts Six and Seven[
Assassination and Moustaches
30/05/2006 - 11/07/2006 Arcs covered: The War In Hell Parts Eight and Nine
R.I.P. Siggy
12/07/2006 - 01/09/2006 Arcs covered: The War In Hell Parts Ten and Eleven and Interlude: The Best of Dominic Deegan

The Iron Age

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This Comic Is NOT Shakespeare
04/09/2006 - 16/09/2006 Arcs covered: Two Thief Or Not To Thief? Part One
If I Want Mafia, I'll Watch Bugsy Malone
17/09/2009 - 14/10/2009 Arcs covered: Two Thief Or Not Two Thief? Parts Two and Three
Time To Take the Offensive
15/10/2006 - 18/11/2006 Arcs covered: Two Thief Or Not Two Thief? Parts Four and Five
The Break Up
19/11/2006 - 10/12/2006 Arcs covered Two Thief Or Not Two Thief? Parts Six and Seven

The Ice Age

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Boobs. Nothing More. BOOBS!!
11/12/2006 - 15/01/2007 Arcs covered: Wrapped Up and Returned, Class Action Part One
Melna. Loves. Her. Rapist.
16/01/2007 - 18/03/2007 Arcs covered: Class Action Parts Two and Three
Oh. Geography.
19/03/2007 - 23/05/2007 Arcs covered: Class Action Parts Four, Five, Six, Seven and Eight
It's Worse Than I Imagined
24/05/2007 - 21/08/2007 Arcs covered: Snowsong
I Drank Too Much
22/08/2007 - 06/12/2007 Arcs covered: Shadow of Siegfried
Short, But Not Sweet
07/12/2007 - 23/122007 Arcs covered: Endings and Annoyances
My Counters Explode. So do I. Part One and Part Two
01/01/2008 - 24/04/2008 Arcs covered: The Oracle Hunter

The Dragon Age

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. . . Meh.
25/04/2008 - 25/05/2008 Arcs covered: Oh, Snap
Dull.
26/05/2008 - 29/06/2008 Arcs covered: Around the World Airship to Nagastrali
Best. Panel. Ever.
30/06/2008 - 20/10/2008 Arcs covered: Around the World Olde Tucklebruck Island to end.
The Unstoppable Airman - Sorry, Wrong Comic.
21/10/2008 - 21/12/2008 Arcs covered: Built to Resist

Orc (Outr)Age

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The Maltak Marathon
05/01/2009 - 05/02/2010 Arcs covered: THE ENTIRE BLOODY THING IN ONE NIGHT!
This link goes to the collected archive for this particular arc.

The Lost Age

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Boobs, Wonderful Boobs, Marvellous Boobs, Glorious Boobs! Yeah.
08/02/2010 - 29/03/2010 Arcs covered: The Beast, Part One and A Nimmel House
Com On Feel The Noize Just Random Noize!
30/03/2010 - 11/06/2010 Arcs covered: The Beast, Part Two and B.Y.O.B.
A Lack of Information
14/06/2010 - 21/06/2010 Arcs covered: The Beast, Part Three
Crunch Crunch Stunt.
21/06/2010 - 27/08/2010 Arcs covered: Walk the Wild Edge
Flowers And A Minor Meltdown
30/08/2010 - 06/09/2010 Arcs covered: THE BEAST! Part Four
They Just Lit A Rocket. Rockets Explode!
09/06/2010 - 10/12/2010 Arcs covered: The Court of Karnak
It Is A Tale . . . Full of Repetitive Exposition and Non-Jokes, Signifying Nothing
13/12/2010 - 27/12/2010 Arcs covered: THE BEAST! Part Five

The Death of the Age of Innocence

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The Aborted Recap
03/01/2011 - 04/02/2011 Arcs covered: Altered States
Curly's Beef Or, That's A Lot of Pictures
03/01/2011 - 11/01/2011 Arcs covered: Altered States ('part one').
Rage
12/01/2011 - 04/02/2011 Arcs covered: Altered States
Lovecraftian Horror: Surprisingly Dull
07/02/2011 - 24/02/2011 Arcs covered: Symphony of Destruction
Academic Elitism
28/02/2011 - 18/03/2011 Arcs covered: Face-to-Facebath
Lobsters
21/03/2011 - 25/04/2011 Arcs covered: Revelation
35 Dominicke, Acte ^the Firste
26/04/2011 - 13/05/2011 Arcs covered: The Search For Celesto: Crystal Bubbles
I Get On A(nother) High Horse
16/05/2011 - 31/05/2011 Arcs covered: TSfC: A Chance for Change pt. 1
Inappropriate Wall
01/06/2011 - 22/06/2011 Arcs covered: The Search For Celesto: A Chance For Change part two

Let the experiment proceed!**

This is so dry, it's not even entertainingly awful like it used to be back in the good* old days. I spent two days scrubbing floors and walls and it was more interesting than this chapter. I just feel like I'm picking away at scabs here.
The Deeganic Dictionary
Good:
1a. adj. To be desired or approved of by those deemed worthy by the Dominus.
1b. All actions, ideas and things done by the good (see def 1a) Deegans and associates.
2a. noun Dominic Deegan and those he approves of
2b. noun That which is morally righteous according to the good (see def 1a) Deegans and associates
3a. out-of-universe adj. Things that are not approved of by the Dominus and his Inner Circle.
3b. out-of-universe adj. Typically applied to characters who are deemed interesting; Near-universally applied to people who are disapproved of by the protagonists.
Antonyms (out-of-universe): Maltak; SuperGreg; Filler; the Plot; Dominic Deegan; the Dominus; Luna; Rapechel; Stonewater; The Rape Incident; Oracle Hunter's climax; light-hearted fertility comedy; the character annihilation of Siggy

Inappropriate Wall
01/06/2011 - 22/06/2011 Arcs covered: The Search For Celesto: A Chance For Change part two

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Previously in DD: dissecting visual presentation and despairing over '80s sport films.

"Super Angelic Sword Fighting Power". So, when Mookie talks about being a fan of anime, he means poorly dubbed early '90s/4Kids-ified anime? Or possibly subbing that is more literal than sense-for-sense. Super Angelic Sword Fighting Power. That sounds so stupid it's almost perfection . . . In fact, if I were willing to give Mookie any credit, I would say this is so over-the-top stupid it's actually a nice bit of satire. Baby!Bumper still looks like Karnak in p. 5 which really is something given that Karnak is the King of Hell and isn't actually an angel (although he is a Fallen Angel).

However, Super Angelic Sword Fighting Power (the more I think on this 'technique', the more brilliant it sounds) and the artwork aside, this is an okay strip. It show that Szark is an attentive, strict teacher, and that baby!Bumper is fairly shy and has aspirations, but he doubts himself enough that he's willing to take the easy way out.

So Mookie, while {{wish fulfilment}} is something most people want (especially children, and maybe even 'geeks' more than others) you've got to do a Cinderella III/The Princess and the Frog and work had to get your wish. I'm preaching Disney messages to a thirty-something-year-old man who's basically living a dream: making money off a webcomic/his pet project and enjoying a modest amount of fame. Aside from that, while I feel happy for him, that he loves having so many fans and people who enjoy his work, did he really have to phrase it like that?

Called it. The Jerk Jock is a jerk jock, a homophobe and a bit of a bully. Then again, Overdog has a point: he has to have a high level of skill to be chosen to represent the school in a national competition (God, is this so eighties/early nineties or what?); and if at least part of the reason for being chosen was money Overdog at least believes he has skill. And rightfully he should be proud of it. Yes, he's run afoul of the old sin, superbia et arrogantia, but not only is he a teenager, he's an entitled one. And how many of you did not boast about yourself (deservedly or not) when a teenager, young adult, or even now? I certainly do. I hope it's deserved boasting, but it probably isn't.

And of course being proud of oneself, even if to the point of arrogance is wrong only if you are an entitled Jerk Jock. And of course a Jerk Jock is going to be possessed and killed by Snugglythulumon. Anyone else remember Braggarty?

And I don't care what reasoning you have for telling a child ''You're going to die soon. And horribly." Only some kind of sadist would do that! You didn't even try to soften the blow because you, and by extension Mookie, are horribly biased former victims of bullying in sec - high school and aren't mature enough to let it go!

There's also one other reason* for telling a child something like that so bluntly: this is a 'we have less than two hours here, and I'm sorry, so, so sorry'. And even then I'd expect an attempt at softening the blow! I think in Terminator that boy Conner Not-Macleod (who was actually over sixteen(?) the first words Arnie said was "Come with me if you want to live," which is possibly the bluntest thing you could say. AND EVEN [I]THEN[I], WHEN SPOKEN BY AN INHUMAN MACHINE the implication was you will (or would have a chance to) live if you go with him, it gave Connor Not-Macleod agency.

* Not including being mentally/socially/emotionally disabled or atypical. Those are legitimate problems that affect one's reasoning.

Here it's lolnope u gonna die if i want u 2. I like Overdog, he's calling out the Dominus, and fears nothing. And I totes called the possession. I would also like to add that, last I heard (read: could be bothered to remember) Snugglythulumon is meant to be unscryable. But then again, so is Castle Callan, but then Mookie decides to brutally abuse Continuity once a week until he goes and cries in a corner, so why should I even bother trying to complain.

I also think it's somewhat lamentable that every time we turn around the DOminus literally stumbles onto the plot because the Writer (read: Dominic's Seer powers) can't think of any other way to reveal the intricacies (hahahaha) of the story. Anyone else remember Visions of Doom where there was an actual plot and a mystery?

Oh. Quelle suprise. I called yet more backstory - the Masters' contributions to the school have given them leeway with the . . . Dean? That's what it usually is in these 80s sport cliche films. And I feel I must point out something extremely rare, so rare as to be Critically Endangered: the Reasonable Authority Figure. However, since he's opposing a Deegan Friend he is not Good (see The Deeganic Dictionary) and is in fact, a Jock, and Wrong. I'll just assume that when this comic was first posted the other snarkers were likewise shocked that someone in-comic brought up several reasons to not trust the DOminus as he's a less-than-stable person and that he values other's opinions and emotions. Then again, he's Ambiguously Evil, and his hair is slicked back, so he's likely going to be mind controlled to betrayal or something.

After all, it's not like the Dominus only saw five seconds the future completely separated from context. Who knows if attending the tourney is what gets Overdog Snuggled to death? Perhaps Overdog's actually pitching a fit at [insert name of Jock shop here] and Scarlet Will was only there coincidentally. The audience (and the Inner Circle) can trust that what the Dominus says about his visions is true (usually), but why should anyone else? Alternatively, this is yet more proof that the Sight is derided by most Callanians. The Dominus' class was very small indeed, and most Seers/Oracles don't seem to have much of a career choice (thus explaining why the Dominus was stuck in Lyn's Brook) outside of fortune telling at a local fair. So why should anyone trust these fakers? Even though it's taught by one of the best universities in the country and is a well-established magical art with a lot of theory behind it.

Damn it Mookie!

That said: you mock the word a man who had a nervous breakdown, but is still from a respectable academic background, but you hire a known killer who derives sexual pleasure from duelling and/or killing. To teach children. And he's gay too (Or so you've heard, but there's no way Szark could be gay right? Not the most heterosexual man in all of Callan!). But then it gets worse because if the Dean knows of the Dominus well enough to know when he had a nervous breakdown and that he was employed by a good uni, then he must have a good reputation, especially when you consider averting wars and saving worlds and the like so is he being a prat for the sake of trolling Szark and the DOminus (I approve) or is he being ignorant of recent events because the things that've happened recently are pretty big and my head hurts.

And then the Battlecasters are at least capable of scrying, so doesn't that mean the art is somewhat accepted by the elites? So can't the Dean ask for another opinion on the off-chance? Because I just remember only those who have fought Snugglythulumon can scry him. And that means there's a valid in-universe reason (okay, another valid in-universe reason) to call the Dominus unstable.

Mookie, we've asked this of you so many times, but please stop abusing continuity, logic and common sense every single week. Please.

And my mother just came in and asked who the woman in the last panel was. I told her Szark was male. She didn't believe me, and I started to not believe me either. I've mentioned a few times that Szark looks like a woman, so I went back to his original appearance to see if he always looked really girly. He used to like mildly androgynous, now he looks like Luna-with-a-perm or possibly really-stressed-Pam. Or possibly any-other-Callanian-woman-with-a-speaking-part-who-isn't-evil.

What. Szark says the Dominus has been modest. Pardon me while I go laugh hysterically in a corner. (It also proves that infants have better taste in entertainment)

So three real weeks ago the Dominus found out about the tourney; four real days after that we find out that Szark won't compete because he's worried about bad blood. And the whole former addict thing. Then we find out that Szark's best (but Jockiest) student will compete on behalf of the academy, but then (whilst practising scrying with swish!es we find out Overdog'll die if he competes. And both Overdog and the Dean refuse to withdraw on the basis on the Dominus' vision.

In response, Szark resigns in protest. Or, he resigns in order to cover his tracks. And probably because he'd think it funny to see someone he dislikes get hurt. I would. What? I'm a relatively ordinary person and I derive enjoyment from people getting their own comeuppance. In Callan everyone seems to be a borderline sociopath/psychopath so they'd find it hilarious. That aside, a teacher gave fair warning that a school-sanctioned trip could endanger students, resigned when it was clear their warnings would be ignored, now cannot get done for criminal negligence and child endangerment and their resignation exists as evidence to prove the school was aware of the fact beforehand.

Hoist them on their own petard, then sit back with a nice glass of something and look smug when everything they've ever done is smeared across the tabloids.

However. 'I don't want to compete in the tourney because I'm worried about Scarlet Will' --> 'I'm going to compete in the tourney now'. Presumably to help just in case things go south. When he could just as easily: attend as a spectator or (and here's the big thing) GET THE DEEGANS TO SPONSOR YOU SO YOU CAN GIVE YOUR DEMONSTRATION WITHOUT RUNNING INTO SCARLET WILL! The Deegans are internationally renowned as diplomats/bard/war heroes/Headmistress (and Archmage) of one of the greatest magical universities in the world. They are also very rich. GET THEM TO SPONSOR YOU!

I am not the most logical person, so when I can outlogic you, you need some help.

It's not even as if Szark needs to be in the tourney for plot purposes, for Heaven's sake. The Dominus came to practise swish! scrying and to hang around for Venus. None of this needs the tourney. If you were truly worried for Overdog just do something; you have no compulsions manipulating your own family for your own amusement, go curse him or something, it's not as if you have any morals or anything. You even invoked rape apologetics for your friend, so really, what's a curse that'll take him out for a few weeks with no after-effects?

Also, Szark, how did you get into the tourney given it's taking place . . . in the near immediate future - seriously Mookie, time is a dimension to, let us situate the story within it! - it's probably closed entry into the tourney proper in order to set out the fighting system/ranking thing/matches; it takes a long time to sort out a tourney from scratch, and you just barge in, asking to knock another person out of the tourney just so you can take their place? Anyone else remember when Szark was kind-of cool? I'm sure there was a year or so where he was.

Why was I laughing hysterically again? Oh yes, a modest Dominus Deegan/the idea that he (or at least his family) aren't stupidly famous. We can all agree that the Dominus himself isn't modest - or need I haul out He-Dom again? We'll assume that the Storm of Souls was completely unnoticed by everyone else in the world, as did the war in Hell. In spite of the fact that it basically killed every single Infernomancer in Callan/the world in a very short space of time and Callan is a kingdom of wizards where magically resistant people and materials are rare as Hell. We'll also accept the fact that, even though Snugglythulumon is a world-destroying entity supposedly straight out of Lovecraft, no one knows outside of the Inner Circle and King Blind.

So. Tell me again how Dominic and his brother saved Barthis from a cult of murderers (and by brother I mean mostly Jacob), and how Dominic exposed Venus and Amelia Sturtz's antics in the City of Porn in front of scores of people. And the whole thing with Tim the Infernal destroying Barthis/Barthis stand-in and having to be stopped by Gregory/Venus/Associates of Dominic. And then there was averting a war. And Dominic capturing an assassin-for-hire who made a living killing seers and oracles. Then there was the whole thing where Mookie started destroying Siggy for being too popular, and all the other Knights of Callan witnessing Siggy beat Dominic to a pulp, and that whole battle right outside Castle Callan. And then Dominic starts working at an internationally renowned university and has a mental breakdown. This entire world is centred around the Dominus. People have heard of him and his deeds. We know this because the Dean mentioned it one page ago! You can't have it both ways.

{{Newspost: 'Expect crummy filler next week, because even though I know about this in advance, and this comic is my magnum opus I don't care enough about it, my fans, or my own self-worth to bother creating a buffer of a few pages so I can post the story when I'm away instead of filler. And I'm so lazy I won't even bother trying to put effort into the filler either, and God knows I can't use any fanart or get another webcomic author/artist to do a guest strip either!'}} Can't you feel the love and respect he has for his readers?

Ahahaha, what. D: "I think I'll have to use my second sight on him, but I'll want his permission to do so, first."

S: "Don't want to break your own rule huh?"

D: "Not if I can help it." Welp. Time to slay.

Spoiler

Show

What I changed: I changed the pronouns in the first panel from male to female. I fixed up some panel lines I messed up, and did a little bit of resizing because the panels have gotten smaller as the comic got older. I edited it word 'yet' into p. 11. I cut and paste the pertinent bits from 'Oracle Hunter' in order of original appearance. I rewrote some dialogue for p. 23, and I c&p'd p. 1 as p. 24 and rewrote the dialogue.
Images from: Dominic Deegan, specifically 07/06/2011 (p. 1, 2 and final), p. 3 - 23 come from the chapter 'Oracle Hunter' (from pages posted between late February - 13/03/2008) and that final panel is from05/12/2006.
And I made that slay in about eighty minutes, where much of it was spent trying to find that last panel, and general fiddling around with writing in Paint. I shouldn't be able to disprove your character so easily I waste time presenting the contrast in actions v. words in comic form.

Do I smell hypocrisy here? Why yes I do! That's just one incident! And not even the worst one! Does Mookie expect us to forget this sort of thing? Really? And oh, lookie lookie; the entitled rich Jerk Jock is abusing his status to insult the teacher. And as a result said teacher now wants to . . . beat up the child or something. Honestly, the art in the last panel actually suggests that Szark's being serious. That and he's a woman. What is up with the eye shadow smudges? Did he cry after he put on his mascara and then decided panda eyes are a good look?

Meaningless filler, a godawful pun, an older man watching a teenage boy do physically demanding sports, and the Overdog has emotions. Because he's actually a human, not a stereotype, but in doing so, I'm bracing myself for another stereotype.

Hmmm, why do people bully? They're rich; they're Jerk Jocks/Cheerleaders/Alpha Bitches; they're rich Jerk Jocks/Cheerleaders/Alpha Bitches; they're being abused at home and are lashing out at school (cue the huggles and redemption); they're insecure and, finally, they were once bullied, and began to last out at their tormentors because of it. Now Overdog, you are the bullies.
He's crying so I'm going to cry insecure and formerly bullied because I cannot stand the thought of this 'comic even trying to address domestic abuse involving children in any form.

{{Newspost: I'm still baffled as to how Mookie gets a How To panel about writing heroes and villains. He can't. I wrote better heroes and villains at ten when I was blatantly ripping off/parodying Star Wars for a class task.}}

And the character of Overdog falls. Oh, and look, when I said you don't just walk up and tell a child you're going to die, end of story here's why. Congratumalations Dominic, you made a(nother) child cry because you were a cruel prat. Huh. You've almost gone back to your original jerkass characterisation. I'm uncertain as to whether this is good or not, but it's most definitely inconsistent with his character development. And did I mention that our Good and Heroic Hero Protagonist made a child cruel for no reason other than to be cruel.

But I think we're all missing out on the real star of this strip: both the Inappropriate Walls photobombing p. 1 and 6! That or Mookie forgot the texture for the wall he'd already drawn in the first panel, but surely no one could be so stupid as to forget such a simple thing as a wall texture.

Tentacle rape. Joy. And scary shiny glasses too. Why is Venus dress like Batman/Dracula? The foreshortening going on here makes Overdog seem less of a teenager and more like a ten-year-old. I'd also say this is deliberate, and intended to emphasise the youth and innocence of Overdog in the face of the loomingly sinister older man with control over tentacle, but Overdog's a Rich Jerk Jock so he doesn't deserve any sympathy whatsoever.

Photos of cat filler. Better than anything else in this damn arc that's so certain.

Teenage moodswings are accurate, so I won't harp on them (too much), but look at that/those Inappropriate Wall(s) in the background! They stand out so much. I'm not even being facetious, those Inappropriate Walls are some of the best scenery/background images this comic has ever had. Which is tragic. And Mookie really can't keep a wall texture consistent over one page. Is it wrong of me to hope that the Inappropriate Wall can just change its own texture and camouflage itself?

I will also deride this comic for lampshading how absurd this plot is. Especially when all you have to do is scry through someone else's mind/eyes to SEE THE TRUTH! behind the claims. Points to Overdog for being the second-most normal and relatable person in this chapter. Aaaand you're the antagonist here.

Inappropriate Wall, is that you in the last panel? Only you're really getting around this week. Speaking of inappropriate and getting around, when was the last time I called out Mookie on his slut shaming? Because here's another case of it: yet another female cast in an antagonist role (or opposing the Dominus) is clad in black. It's shiny, so it's probably leather. And she's wearing a low-cut boob tube, choker and shoulder high gloves. Also her boobs are very big. Thus we know she is Wrong, because only evil women dress like that. It's not like one can be confident in their body/sexuality and dress like that, or that you're doing it for a job. You just wear it because you like sex, and if you're promiscuous/kinky/like lots of sex you're evil. I'm not saying Mookie's intending it (in this case), but it's a fault of his female characters in general to fall into the Madonna/whore binary with very few outliers. In fact, I'm certain he doesn't intend it, because he's mentioned that zombie burlesque group of his three or four times now, and seems a pretty nice person in general, but it still comes across that way.

Granted, it is a fault of Western culture in general to identify the promiscuous woman (or one who enjoys sex) with 'slut'. And, of course if you're a slut you're bad because Good Girls are chaste or monogamous and that sort of tripe. Thus if you demonstrate your awareness of your sexuality by wearing provocative clothing and so on, you're dressing like a slut, and thus are a Bad Girl. This isn't Mookie's fault, but it is his fault that so many of his female characters (and characters in general) fall into such categories and stereotypes and don't break with the mould.

That said, I do have a problem with boob tubes. They make me paranoid because they only thing holding it up are the boobs. And boobs move. And people are prats and can pull boob tubes down.

I also think Mrs. Masters looks like the Dean from a few panels ago, so nepotism or just Mookie's art being terrible? And that butler is terrifying. It doesn't have a face. It looks like Acibek the golem, but with less facial features. I shall call it Lurch, an oldie, but a goody.

I don't have a problem with the dialogue though (previously established continuity errors aside of course), they think he's a charlatan because there's little to no proof his visions ever come to light (apparently . . . ) and he's telling them they can't even verify his vision by outsourcing. As far as they're concerned, Szark's best friend just told their child he's going to die horribly if he enters into the competition Szark wanted him to drop out of.

A Gordian Knot is now a metaphor used to describe something impossibly tangled and complex but with no real elegance to it, or an intractable problem. It's another of the Greek allusions, in this case to Alexander the Great who, upon visiting the oracle at Telrissus cut the titular Gordian Knot in half with a sword in order to prove a point.

Now you know that, this page is a Gordian Knot of idiocy. Why does there have to be a reason for Overdog's parents to be prats other than the already presented one: they don't believe the Dominus because he has no proof. But no, they were victimised by a Seer (because that's the only reason to be sceptical about prophecies and visions, isn't that right Prof. 'I drink my own weight in sherry every day' Trelawney?). And of course that Seer has to be Venus. Why? BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED IN THIS GREAT CIRCLE OF LIFE in some form of hippy-dippy universality of Fate, Destiny, Fortune, Kismet and Preordained Nonsense.

If you wanted to have the parents be dicked over by a Seer, it could be literally any seer/oracle in the world. WHY tie it all back together. And the worst part is, we know it's going to be trufax and not speculation because what the Dominus says goes, and he says 'Venus done it', so he did done it.

And now he goes and violates his rule. "[T]he code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules", and really, the rules are more like suggestions. Not even suggestions when you get down to it, fleeting ideas really. Not at all relevant, sorry to have bothered you by suggesting my character actually had morals.

God Almighty, do I hate those stupid stink lines.

Bullying. Called it. {{Newspost: Yeah, I am suspicious, because I thought it was obvious the Dominus was scrying on Overdog or his parents because Venus can't be scried so easily without using an indirect connection. What is this nonsense?}} And the no scraps of pity or empathy I had for Underdog have turned into negative amounts of pity and empathy. Frankly, Underdog deserved it.

And while we're on canine heroes (with more personality than almost anyone in this entire comic's history), try some more nostalgic themes. Woohoo. How awful is it when a one or two minute intro from an eighties/nineties cartoon has more characterisation, plot and tension (or combination of the three) and care than nine years of a comic? Who's the greatest? Who's fantastic? No one in this comic. Not any more.

Eh, Underdog deserved it, so 'gratz Mookie, you're making me side with the antagonist on purpose this time. And guys, guys! Mookie's finally understood the meaning of Show, Don't Tell and that's why he didn't include dialogue in the 'comic today! And the artwork is even mildly better than usual. PARTY TIME! However, Mookie is still awful at hands and feet. Watch this video: this is how hands work.

Underdog: Wrong Genre Savvy, bullying people because they're the kind of people who deserve to be bullied. Work that through in your head. This person is different from me, and rather than getting to know the person, I shall abuse them because they are superficially different from me. I'm also beginning to wonder if Callan/Deeganworld has any form of fiction other than comic books, because I'm seriously struggling here to think of anything else. And no, songs don't count. Well, okay, any forms of fiction written down.

Still, at least Underdog realised he was a twit. By becoming a doormat. Still don't care; you started it. And I barely care about Overdog more than you, so don't come complaining to me.

{{Newspost: Guys . . . guys, I think he was talking to snarkers like us there. I can see his point, if that's how he reacted to certain criticisms - by doing the opposite of what people complained about - but at the same time he must be missing critical aspects of the critiques. I think the existence of a snarkdom indicates a morbid optimism, we're desperate for something good to praise; and like most people we're willing to put up with a lot for things we like. I, f'r'instance, will let a lot of things slide for excellent characterisation, or flat characters for an excellent plot and world. But Big Things, or a lack of anything substantial in any of the usual categories will put me off.

David Eddings is one of my favourite writers ever, but I never finished his Elder Gods series because it repeated his tried and tested character formulae with little variation at all and the world building and plot was duller than dry toast, there were okay bits, but nothing substantial enough to make me want to finish it, even for completion's sake. I skipped to the end once a few months after I gave up to see what happened, whether it was worth a read after all. I found out the story was resolved with a literal Reset Button (without the button aspect) that retroactively meant that everything the characters had gone through, everything all the countries had experience, even the changes to the gods themselves had never happened in the first place. None of the technological or diplomatic advances, none of the friendships, deaths, sacrifices or anything meant a thing.

I could barely look at an Eddings book without feeling angry for a year after that. That lack of care, that lack of effort or feeling is what people complain about the most I think. Certainly it's what most of the snarkers here complain about is a lack of anything truly substantial in later arcs. There are so many missed opportunities and missteps here, that ultimately, it's just disappointing. We hope things are getting better, we want to see how these potentially interesting ideas are carried out - and that's why we complain. We can see your potential Mookie, and you're not fulfilling it. Don't pander to us, but take into account what we say so that you can become better for it.

And I know exactly the problem with this webcomic. I think I mentioned a while ago that I have depression, and suffer from very bad bouts of it at a time. One of the things about depression is that it literally saps energy and care from you, sometimes to the point where it's a struggle to open your eyes, let alone get out of bed. As a result, when things get bad I find myself hoarding my energy to do things I either want or need to do (though this is a bad analogy for depression, but work with me); even being happy or pretending it costs energy, so it's best to just not care in order to do practical things like eat, get up, wash and so on. And because of that, nothing matters because the effort is too much, and you feel too bad to even try anyway because it's all worthless and you're a worthless thing that shouldn't exist.

Usually I can 'catch' myself before I start to fall to much, and do something like hang out with friends, review something to get some energy going so I can store it up to balance out the later loss, so that while I'm not exactly happy, I'm not depressed either. But this comic. It literally saps my energy, I put too much effort into it just reading it, and I get a negative feedback from it and writing these reviews. So it's not a good thing to do when depressed.

This comic literally makes me ill at times. It's not all Mookie's fault either, anything can be triggery or sap energy, and it doesn't matter to most people; but to me at least, this thing is a legitimate depressant. Christ, I can drink down pints of alcohol, which itself is a depressant, and feel fine, but sometimes after this comic I feel empty. I'm reviewing a health hazard. And that's why, recently, it's been much harder to motivate myself to finish this off because that negative feedback is only increasing, which hasn't been good given my recent real life problems.

Mookie doesn't care, and on some level, we can all sense it. And so we drain ourselves trying to inject some life into this project, because it could be good.

And after that maudlin display I need a break for a half day or so. See you guys. Sorry about the shortness, but I honestly need a break. I hope three weeks of comic and a slay's okay for now.

*Ages as defined by Trazoi here. Remember, all dates use the dd/mm/yyyy format!
**Avvie designed by ninja_penguin, many thanks for letting me use it.