Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire

[InkEyes]

So the best way to fight a power-stealing, magical virus is to strip down to purple underwear and fur-lined boots. Huh, so that's what I was doing wrong.

[Jayngfet]

anyone else remember siggy's original goal, to find some swordsman and kill him, what happened there?

[Oracle_Hunter]

anyone else remember siggy's original goal, to find some swordsman and kill him, what happened there?

It was Scarlatti. That subplot was resolved here.

This was back when Siggy was moving up from LE to LN, and had an alignment conflict with CG Scarlatti. Siggy had some good lines there, but it was Retconned to being wholly irrelevant.

[Eakin]

So the best way to fight a power-stealing, magical virus is to strip down to purple underwear and fur-lined boots. Huh, so that's what I was doing wrong.

That's how they teach it at Harvard Med.

[Aidan305]

Ummm.

What just happened? I can't work it out.

In other news... there it is again! That strange non-snout thing!

[Monnock]

Ummm.

What just happened? I can't work it out.

In other news... there it is again! That strange non-snout thing!

After a week of nothing happening because Dominic wasn't around, finally the plot can continue.

[Gez]

Ummm.

What just happened? I can't work it out.

In other news... there it is again! That strange non-snout thing!

It was still a bit snouty, though. Maybe it's just like the magic virus and Dom's body is fighting against it?

[SnowballMan]

What just happened? I can't work it out.

I wizard did it.

Isn't it great we got a vomit joke. I mean, it wouldn't be right to have the gas and the urine joke by themselves. You got to have all three or it just doesn't work.

And I'd like to take time out to curse everyone in this thread. Curse you I say! I had given up DD for a bad comic, only to stumble upon this thread and thus have it elevated to the status of a train wreck from which I can not turn away.

Again, curse you all!!!

[Johnny Blade]

After a week of nothing happening because Dominic wasn't around, finally the plot can continue.

All hail the anticlimactic resolution.

It was still a bit snouty, though. Maybe it's just like the magic virus and Dom's body is fighting against it?

An interesting hypothesis indeed.
Perhaps this "nose" wasn't just an anatomic distortion, but a sign of Dominic's struggle, showing how weakened his mind was.
The volatility of his facial features would then reflect how the fight between Dominic and the virus went back and forth.
Well, this would lead to the assumtion that, if such mental upheaval results in sporadically occurring changes between a healthy snout and this dreadful "nose", the snout is much like a chakra, only that it covers all of the mind and is much more visible.
Finally, if the center of the mind or an intermediary between body and mind resides in close proximity to the nose, we can, after all, verify the following thesis:

Snout
The horrible malformation of the nose/mouth-region, implanted into prisoners in Aberthast Cathedral and into any new-born child. It probably serves to improve the inhalation of the Deegandrug.

But the snout probably doesn't only improve the power of the Deegandrug, it is the primary target. The Deegandrug doesn't chemically affect the mind through the brain, it cuts out the middle-man and goes directly for the psyche, probably via magic.
(However, this would raise the question whether the snout is natural or this link between body and mind is magically engineered to cement the secret rule of the Deegan Dynasty.)

[Mewtarthio]

Just when you thought things could get any more disgusting around here. Well if you're grossed out, then I've done my job again. Being really sick does very ugly and unromantic things to your body... and in Dominic's case, they happen all at once.

I really wish I could enter Mookie's mindscape, blast him with his own "See the Truth" ray, and show him that he's not really doing anything particularly groundbreaking here, nor is he enlightening his readers about the horrors of being sick. Then I realize that I'm reading it wrong. Because it's in a blog, I register the tone as 'condescending' by default. This, however, is Mookie we're talking about. I reread it with the practiced, unnaturally measured tones of a mad scientist rambling into his voice journal about why what he does is ethically necessary, and it all became perfectly clear to me...

[Oracle_Hunter]

I guess Mookie-D won't actually be affected by the virus, and we just wasted a week doing nothing.

Stupid Mookie... you could have done something with this set up. I'm beginning to agree that DD is actually Too Good For That Bastard.

[Spiryt]

Personally I think that Dominic had just seen yesterday's strip.

[Monnock]

I really wish I could enter Mookie's mindscape, blast him with his own "See the Truth" ray, and show him that he's not really doing anything particularly groundbreaking here, nor is he enlightening his readers about the horrors of being sick. Then I realize that I'm reading it wrong. Because it's in a blog, I register the tone as 'condescending' by default. This, however, is Mookie we're talking about. I reread it with the practiced, unnaturally measured tones of a mad scientist rambling into his voice journal about why what he does is ethically necessary, and it all became perfectly clear to me...

Thank you, Mookie, for enlightening me to the consequences of being sick. Truly, I am a better person after seeing Dominic emit various bodily fluids/gasses for no reason at all.

Though... he equated all the external effects of the virus as being 'what happens when you get sick.' Should I ask what sickness gives you an erection?

[Raroy]

How did luna even get a hint of understanding from that gibberish? And what's so magic about that jar? Is it magical because it is in the deeganverse? Or, is it magical because mookie-D threw up in it?

[Green Bean]

How did luna even get a hint of understanding from that gibberish? And what's so magic about that jar? Is it magical because it is in the deeganverse? Or, is it magical because mookie-D Threw up in it?

It's probably magical because Luna conjured it up. Of course, it's a shame it isn't the Dungeons and Dragons version of the spell, in which you channel your own soul through a crystal into your foe's body, ripping their life force out and sealing it into the gem. It's kind of like reading Dominic Deegan, actually.

[sihnfahl]

... he equated all the external effects of the virus as being 'what happens when you get sick.' Should I ask what sickness gives you an erection?

The pseudo-medical term is 'rampant hormone syndrome'.

It's colloquially known as 'being a teenager'.

[Raroy]

It's probably magical because Luna conjured it up. Of course, it's a shame it isn't the Dungeons and Dragons version of the spell, in which you channel your own soul through a crystal into your foe's body, ripping their life force out and sealing it into the gem. It's kind of like reading Dominic Deegan, actually.

*Looks at the strip again* Is that what that blur was? So, mages have the power to make things from thin air? They could probably make some led then convert it to gold with magic. Wonder why no one abuses this.........

[Oracle_Hunter]

Though... he equated all the external effects of the virus as being 'what happens when you get sick.' Should I ask what sickness gives you an erection?

You really shouldn't ask questions that you don't want the answers to.

[Nerd-o-rama]

The same reason people don't abuse it in D&D? Oh wait, they do.

There's probably some rules or physical restrictions on magic that could conjure or transmute precious metal or the like. (In D&D, it's usually XP costs, in addition to the limit on spells per day that may or may not exist in Deeganland). Now, if a mage wanted to open a ceramics shop, he'd be set on supply and beat out any non-mage competition, but it would take a considerable number of financially irresponsible mages to have a negative impact on the economy.

Alternatively, they don't because it's not in the plot, which is the case for most fantasy narratives.

[Gez]

*Looks at the strip again* Is that what that blur was? So, mages have the power to make things from thin air? They could probably make some led then convert it to gold with magic. Wonder why no one abuses this.........

Usually, the check and balance is that items created out of thin air return to thin air eventually. It takes more or less long depending on the game and the spellcaster's power, but permanent creation has a higher cost than temporary creation.

[Mewtarthio]

Though... he equated all the external effects of the virus as being 'what happens when you get sick.' Should I ask what sickness gives you an erection?

The same sickness Szark suffers. A death fetish. Szark, you poor, sick bastard...

----

I actually liked the "Magic Jar." It reminds me of the time I was in Hawaii and the pilot informed me of the "Aloha Courtesy Bag" to be used in emergencies. Euphemisms are so much fun.

Of course, I didn't actually consider the implications of mages creating objects from nothing. Normally I would, and then I'd hate Mookie for his illogical world, but in that case I just assumed that Dom & Luna actually kept a magical, glowing jar on hand for these situations. Then I just pictured flu season at the Deegan household: "Mommy, my tummy hurts! Magic jar! Magic jaaaaareugh!"

It actually makes more sense, if you think about it. Surely the Mookiverse has developed a Magic Jar that disintigrates whatever is put in it. Such an item would have obvious uses as a bedpan, chamberpot, or "Aloha Courtesy Bag." And you no longer have to hear the beating of that hideous heart under the floorboards...

[ElfLad]

Is Luna deaf or is it possible to mishear "Jrr" as "bar?"

It doesn't even rhyme when it's pronounced like that and the B-sound and J-sound are pretty distinct anyways.


But I guess it was the only way to shoehorn in that delightful punchline.

[Gez]

She may have misheard it as "magic barf"...

Also, she's pretty stupid if she didn't understand Mookie-D was about a vomit.

[Raroy]

Well, mookie is a horrid writer so we should put it next to illusions. Conjuration can have many dangerous consequences that no one will realize because they are unable to. Eh, Sometimes magic is just.....magic.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Did... did you all know that Mookie makes merch? Specifically T-Shirts?

For some reason, this knowledge chills my blood. Perhaps it's because I might run into a DD fanboy/girl someday, clearly identified with merch, and be faced with a terrible choice as to how to respond.

***

That said, it's a shame that his Lord Dominius shirt is out of stock

[ElfLad]

Did... did you all know that Mookie makes merch? Specifically T-Shirts?

For some reason, this knowledge chills my blood. Perhaps it's because I might run into a DD fanboy/girl someday, clearly identified with merch, and be faced with a terrible choice as to how to respond.

I've seen somebody with a Megatokyo shirt.

The proper response is to avoid eye contact, and try not to breathe the air they exhale, as it is laden with undesirability.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Hey, for $9.95, I'd buy a Death From Above T-shirt. It's out of stock, though, and the other ones suck.

[Oracle_Hunter]

I've seen somebody with a Megatokyo shirt.

The proper response is to avoid eye contact, and try not to breathe the air they exhale, as it is laden with undesirability.

Ouch.

I'd go cry about that, but it's not snowing right now... and I'm not female.

[sihnfahl]

That said, it's a shame that his Lord Dominius shirt is out of stock

Then again, what shirts he has offered seem to quickly hit the 'no restock' state.

[Monnock]

I have no experience with alcohol, but isn't it a bad idea to drink it just after vomiting? I would think that would just make things worse. Of course, I know that Dominic was just 'being funny' (har har, good one Dommy!).

Also, if the jar is temporary, she better get it out of the house before it completely negates the whole point of conjuring it in the first place.