Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire

[Turcano]

In today's installment, Dominic gets hit with mind-shrapnel! Hooray!

So, how long is Mookie going to drag out this whole "is she inherently good or evil" thing? My bet's on one and a half weeks.

[Green Bean]

Gee, Barnet seems to be taking the invasion and subsequent destruction of her mind rather personally. I wonder why?

[Monnock]

Poor, poor, Barnet. Who can blame her for lashing out at the world with murder when she has been through so much? After all, this is a perfectly natural reaction for anyone who has been through a lot of angst, as demonstrated by Snowsong.

She isn't really a bad person after all (and who could suggest that she wasn't, except a blasphemer?). With the help of LORD Dominus she will SEE THE TRUTH and be brought back into His merciful grace.

When Barnet is redeemed by our LORD and SAVIOR Dominus, she will indeed feel sorry for her unprovoked attacks upon Him. It will be a very saccharine sweet (LORD Dominus is kind enough to not allow sugar, Barnet must retain her figure after all) scene that I am looking forward to.

[Spiryt]

Did you guys see the newest Mookie post?

It seems that those are picturs from the far realms from beyond the madness, but links are broken to me.

Should I worry, or be thankful ?

[Winterwind]

Maybe we should start taking bets what incredible injustice has occured in Barnet's life that drove her into a life of hatred and murder, of course entirely against her inherent good nature (which happens to not show itself, ever, but is clearly obvious to someone as all-seeing as our LORD and SAVIOUR Dominus!). We have seen at Snowsong's example what horrors it takes to make a good being commit evil deeds; and since Snowsong is So Last Season, we can expect the tragic events in Barnet's life to be even more traumatizing!

Maybe, for instance, her parents did not buy her icecream (created by ice magic, of course) some time when they went to the beach. Or maybe her allowance was not sufficiently higher than that of the other girls in school! The horror! Maybe even - dare I say it? - maybe somebody pointed out to her that beating and stabbing her sister is not a valid way of telling her to not play with her favourite Barbie doll!
Poor girl...

EDIT: The links don't work for me either, Spiryt.

[Whoracle]

Those links work if you add a ".jpg" at the end of each link. Mookie ain't able to post picture links, it seems...

Edit: AH MY GOODNESS!!! DO NOT LOOK AT THE FIRST LINK!
Seriously, just don't...

[Spiryt]

Those links work if you add a ".jpg" at the end of each link. Mookie ain't able to post picture links, it seems...

Edit: AH MY GOODNESS!!! DO NOT LOOK AT THE FIRST LINK!
Seriously, just don't...

Now, I have seen them all, and I can say only that all those poor souls should really get some healthier hobby. And when I say that, it means that situation is bad.

Also, Dominic#2 appears to have his/her palm permanently attached to chin.

[Winterwind]

Those links work if you add a ".jpg" at the end of each link. Mookie ain't able to post picture links, it seems...

Ah, yeah, thanks.

Edit: AH MY GOODNESS!!! DO NOT LOOK AT THE FIRST LINK!
Seriously, just don't...

Why, what's... Waah! Mookie! Run! An angry walrus is attacking you!

No offense to fat people in general, but this particular specimen is... not pleasant to look at.

[Johnny Blade]

Forgive my lack of restraint, but...


Bwahahahahahahaha, sucker!

Poor, poor, Barnet. Who can blame her for lashing out at the world with murder when she has been through so much? After all, this is a perfectly natural reaction for anyone who has been through a lot of angst, as demonstrated by Snowsong.

Eh, so far, she has only killed Fifth Caste members. That's totally forgivable. Also, since Fifth Caste material is worthless anyway, you can't really blame her for killing them. In Dominion, this act is probably akin to throwing dishes against the wall in an argument: Regrettable, but there are enough dishes/people anyway.

Siggy, on the other hand, may have done the same and even put a Fourth Caste member to justice (read death), but he has killed Orcs. And while Orcs may happen to be members of the lowly Fifth Caste, they are inherently more valuable since they belong to what I'd call the Ethnic Stratum.

Spoiler

Show

Maybe we should start taking bets what incredible injustice has occured in Barnet's life that drove her into a life of hatred and murder, of course entirely against her inherent good nature (which happens to not show itself, ever, but is clearly obvious to someone as all-seeing as our LORD and SAVIOUR Dominus!). We have seen at Snowsong's example what horrors it takes to make a good being commit evil deeds; and since Snowsong is So Last Season, we can expect the tragic events in Barnet's life to be even more traumatizing!

Maybe, for instance, her parents did not buy her icecream (created by ice magic, of course) some time when they went to the beach. Or maybe her allowance was not sufficiently higher than that of the other girls in school! The horror! Maybe even - dare I say it? - maybe somebody pointed out to her that beating and stabbing her sister is not a valid way of telling her to not play with her favourite Barbie doll!
Poor girl...

Well, I guess it could have something to do with her mother's schemes and the death of her father, but the wanton withholding of icecream is a perfectly reasonable assumption, too.

[Winterwind]

Eh, so far, she has only killed Fifth Caste members. That's totally forgivable. Also, since Fifth Caste material is worthless anyway, you can't really blame her for killing them. In Dominion, this act is probably akin to throwing dishes against the wall in an argument: Regrettable, but there are enough dishes/people anyway.

I have long had this theory that the Caste System is applicable not only to individual people, but also to nations and races as a whole. That's why the faults of Callanian people are crimes and their government is particularly condemnable, while raping orcs and bipolar, murderous werewolves are noble savages following their hallowed traditions - Callan is a Fourth Caste Nation, whereas the orcs and werewolves are either Second or Third Caste Races (I am not entirely sure how to differentiate that).
It's exactly the same routine again - both the Callanians and the orcs or werewolves could commit something horrible, but for the orcs/wolves it's tradition and/or a racial trait, and to as much as question it would be racist (I think we will need a butcher's cleaver to cut the irony here), whereas if the Callanians do something wrong, they are evil and despicable people (unless they happen to belong to the Third Caste or above as individuals).

EDIT: Oh, and we might even have an example of a First Caste Race: Angels. Think about it! Perfectly good, cannot die, great magical powers, and appear whenever Dominic is in trouble to Deus-Ex-Machina him out. Of course, we only had one angel in the comic thus far, so it might be way too early to draw conclusions, but I could easily see this being representative of angels as a whole.

[Morty]

[snip]If the Callanians do something wrong, they are evil and despicable people (unless they happen to belong to the Third Caste or above as individuals).

Or if they're nerds, in which case they're the higher breed of human race.

[Green Bean]

Or if they're nerds, in which case they're the higher breed of human race.

That's one of the things that's always bugged me. How on earth are nerds picked on by jocks in a magic school? I mean, it's a place where book smarts direct translate into physical power. If anything, it should be the other way around, with the 90-pound leader of the chess team cornering the captain of the football team in the locker room and taking his lunch money in exchange for not teleporting him into Hell.

[Morty]

That's one of the things that's always bugged me. How on earth are nerds picked on by jocks in a magic school? I mean, it's a place where book smarts direct translate into physical power. If anything, it should be the other way around, with the 90-pound leader of the chess team cornering the captain of the football team in the locker room and taking his lunch money in exchange for not teleporting him into Hell.

How do jocks end up in a magic school is yet another question.
Sure, I know that it's probably Mookie's revenge on people who picked on him when he was in school, but I'm trying to look at it logically, futile though it may be.

[Lenlalron]

Barnet's parents made her read a comic called "Bominic Beegan" when she was young. She couldn't take the ridiculous Mary-Sueishness of Beegan, and she hated how he treated his wife "Juna" as just some sort of cheerleader to his mad schemes, and thus she thinks that Dominic will act the same as this "Bominic", and will mistreat her sister that way. She killed the other seers due to "Lookie's" bad art and terrible storytelling; who wouldn't be driven mad?

Of course, Dominic will save Barnet and teach her the amazing ways of Lord Dominus.

[RationalGoblin]

Barnet's parents made her read a comic called "Bominic Beegan" when she was young. She couldn't take the ridiculous Mary-Sueishness of Beegan, and she hated how he treated his wife "Juna" as just some sort of cheerleader to his mad schemes, and thus she thinks that Dominic will act the same as this "Bominic", and will mistreat her sister that way. She killed the other seers due to "Lookie's" bad art and terrible storytelling; who wouldn't be driven mad?

Of course, Dominic will save Barnet and teach her the amazing ways of Lord Dominus.

No, no, no, not a comic, but an Action Book.

[Winterwind]

That's one of the things that's always bugged me. How on earth are nerds picked on by jocks in a magic school? I mean, it's a place where book smarts direct translate into physical power. If anything, it should be the other way around, with the 90-pound leader of the chess team cornering the captain of the football team in the locker room and taking his lunch money in exchange for not teleporting him into Hell.

This would have been genuinely ironic and clever (if a bit crude). The problem is that Mookie is not so much having things happen*1 to be funny and clever, but rather to act out his wishes (in this case, having revenge at the people who used to do him wrong in school).

*1 Note how pretty much all of the jokes (whether you are willing to title them such or not) are text-based. Puns, weird names, alliterations, people (Quilt, Greg or Spark, mostly) saying dumb things, and alike. How much more rarely do we see funny situations or events, clever plays on our world (which would be so easy, considering Callan is Eagleland) or otherwise amusing stuff that happens. We do, sometimes, but for the most part action is reserved for drama and text reserved for comedy - unfortunately often within the same strip, for a particularly schizophrenic effect.

[InkEyes]

Ah, yeah, thanks.

Why, what's... Waah! Mookie! Run! An angry walrus is attacking you!

No offense to fat people in general, but this particular specimen is... not pleasant to look at.

I'm more annoyed by the fact that they're throwing up the v-symbol. I doubt they even know what that means, beyond that it's JAPANESE!!!! KAWAII DESU!!!!! @W@.


About the new comic- Mookie's conviction that it's the soul of the person that matters and not a lifetime of actions seems really contrived.

PROTIP- Mookie, If you want to go out of your way to show that not all of Luna's family are obnoxious bitches, then write one as something other than an obnoxious bitch (with redeeming qualities that aren't shown onscren up until this point.)

[The Rose Dragon]

No, no, no, not a comic, but an Action Book.

You know what always bothered me about that strip (other than the fact that it is not Captain Mage, but Supermage, where "Abrakaboom" is much more Captain Marvel than Superman)?

That Greg had terrible drawing skills, and that he wrote his age on the cover.

I mean, how many Alex Ross or Glenn Fabry covers do you see with their age written on it?

[sihnfahl]

That Greg had terrible drawing skills, and that he wrote his age on the cover.

But at least they're better than Mookie's drawing skills. He doesn't have youth and inexperience to fall back on as an excuse...

[Gez]

Eh, so far, she has only killed Fifth Caste members.

Or did she? She killed Alseltio the All-Seeing, who had a name. Either he's the first example of a Fifth Caste member with a name, or the Encyclopedia Dominica is wrong and Fifth Caste people can have names, however rare such a thing happen.

Thinking about it, didn't the Luanian Soup Wench in the werewolf arc had a name, too? And the inflating-boob girl at the start of the current arc, too? And yet aren't they anything else than 5th C.?

[Nevrmore]

Someone had an interesting theory on Keen.

What if Luna was the reason for all of Barnet's torment? What if, before her mother had broken her down into the woman she was when Dominic met her, she was angry at the world and took it all out on her sister until she snapped?

[Winterwind]

Or did she? She killed Alseltio the All-Seeing, who had a name. Either he's the first example of a Fifth Caste member with a name, or the Encyclopedia Dominica is wrong and Fifth Caste people can have names, however rare such a thing happen.

Thinking about it, didn't the Luanian Soup Wench in the werewolf arc had a name, too? And the inflating-boob girl at the start of the current arc, too? And yet aren't they anything else than 5th C.?

There have indeed been a couple of Fifth Caste members with names. I like to consider them the exception that proves the rule.
Interestingly though, very many examples of named Fifth Caste characters were Red Shirt Soup Wenches (Alsetio fits, except for the connection with liquid beverages, the Encyclopedia's description of a RSSW perfectly - he lived in peace, until he got a Second Caste character's attention, after which he died immediately). There have been exceptions - the evil-cult-domesticating-cake-serving lady from the Snowsong arc would be an example - but not all that many.

Someone had an interesting theory on Keen.

What if Luna was the reason for all of Barnet's torment? What if, before her mother had broken her down into the woman she was when Dominic met her, she was angry at the world and took it all out on her sister until she snapped?

That would be awesome, for it would be a break from the Caste System (since it requires attributing negative deeds to a First Caste character). Unfortunately, this is also what makes it rather unlikely to happen.
It also seems doubtful considering Luna's reaction to Barnet, and besides, wasn't Barnet the bigger sister?
However, if it were the case, it could lead to a potentially interesting situation.

[ElfLad]

PROTIP- Mookie, If you want to go out of your way to show that not all of Luna's family are obnoxious bitches, then write one as something other than an obnoxious bitch (with redeeming qualities that aren't shown onscren up until this point.)

<mookieLogic>

Ah, but if I portray Barnet as an obnoxious bitch and nothing but an obnoxious bitch, doesn't that make it much more unexpected and shocking when I reveal that she isn't just an obnoxious bitch?

After all, how many of you expected that Barnet was Luna's sister when I had her say that she was Dominic's sister?

</mookieLogic>

[sihnfahl]

What if Luna was the reason for all of Barnet's torment? What if, before her mother had broken her down into the woman she was when Dominic met her, she was angry at the world and took it all out on her sister until she snapped?

Given the 'snapshot' images we had of Barnet tormenting a visibly crying Luna... I'm doubtful.

[Mewtarthio]

I'm more annoyed by the fact that they're throwing up the v-symbol. I doubt they even know what that means, beyond that it's JAPANESE!!!! KAWAII DESU!!!!! @W@.

Isn't that a British sign?

Regardless, they're at an anime convention, so they can throw whatever signs they want. Excepting gang signs and sharp, pointy metal signs, of course.

You know what always bothered me about that strip (other than the fact that it is not Captain Mage, but Supermage, where "Abrakaboom" is much more Captain Marvel than Superman)?

That Greg had terrible drawing skills, and that he wrote his age on the cover.

I mean, how many Alex Ross or Glenn Fabry covers do you see with their age written on it?

You don't understand. "Gregory Deegan Age 8" is his real full name. He was subjected to horrible magical aging expirements as a child, and so split off into multiple Gregories, each with a different mental age. Eventually, the one known as "Gregory Deegan Age 8" killed all his brothers and dropped the "Age 8" from his name.

And that's why Gregory Deegan perpetually has the mental capacity of an eight-year-old.

[Nerd-o-rama]

I'm more annoyed by the fact that they're throwing up the v-symbol. I doubt they even know what that means, beyond that it's JAPANESE!!!! KAWAII DESU!!!!! @W@.

It's adapted from the V-for-victory symbol popular in Britain and America during World War II. Modern Japanese culture has taken a surprising amount from their late-40's occupation by the US Army.

And yes, I know they do it wrong. I'm really more concerned with the fact that people still use it fifty years after it stopped being cool in its country of origin (although I think it's finally fading out of style since the 90's or so and it's mostly just idiotic weeaboos that mimic it.)

You don't understand. "Gregory Deegan Age 8" is his real full name. He was subjected to horrible magical aging expirements as a child, and so split off into multiple Gregories, each with a different mental age. Eventually, the one known as "Gregory Deegan Age 8" killed all his brothers and dropped the "Age 8" from his name.

And that's why Gregory Deegan perpetually has the mental capacity of an eight-year-old.

I like this theory. Make it canon.

[Gez]

Isn't that a British sign?

That's the V for Victory (not Vendetta) and it's not especially British. As the Other Wiki says, the earliest written trace of the V sign comes from Rabelais, the bawdy monk. We're speaking 16th century here. Definitely one of the Oldest Ones in the Book.

It is really sad if people now think this is a "typical Animu Japanese Kawaii gesture"... The Japanese adopted it only in their own attempt to be, err, "jestern." (If a Westerner trying to be a Japanese is a Wapanese, then in the other way around you get Jesterners. I think.)

[Clockwork_Seal]

I'm more annoyed by the fact that they're throwing up the v-symbol. I doubt they even know what that means, beyond that it's JAPANESE!!!! KAWAII DESU!!!!! @W@.

My god, you're as bad as they may be. Why would you automatically assume that it was Japanese when it is a sign with cultural relevance to MANY cultures? Are you really THAT desperate for things to attack about the fanbase? Because there are much, much better things to rage at. Like that guy with that tattoo's nasty beard.

Also, my bet's still on 'nobody ever cared about Barnet so she doesn't care about the world!'

[Revlid]

Someone had an interesting theory on Keen.

What if Luna was the reason for all of Barnet's torment? What if, before her mother had broken her down into the woman she was when Dominic met her, she was angry at the world and took it all out on her sister until she snapped?

No, you see that would be interesting and vaguely surprising.

Therefore, Mookie couldn't possibly write it.

[Monnock]

My god, you're as bad as they may be. Why would you automatically assume that it was Japanese when it is a sign with cultural relevance to MANY cultures? Are you really THAT desperate for things to attack about the fanbase? Because there are much, much better things to rage at. Like that guy with that tattoo's nasty beard.

Let me put this in perspective for you (call it playing devil's advocate). How many people watch 1940s film reels and/or 1940s snapshots of people? How many of those show people giving the V sign (I can only think of one off-hand)?

Now, in how many Anime is the 'V' sign given as a sort of cutsie way of saying 'alright!'?

Connect the dots here, I know it's hard...

Yes, it's really stretching to make an ad hominem about a person based off of a hand-gesture, but saying "ZOMG! This was used 60 years ago, they are obviously mimicking that gesture and not picking it up off of the random Anime they watch which features it."

It's even better saying that they are an idiot for not doing research on the hand-gesture (research being wikipedia...) to find out that they are actually mimicking a gesture for 500 years ago, and that as such these people aren't actually mimicking what they see in Anime, but they clearly got it from a monk from the 16th century.

Edit: By the way - there are many different kinds of 'v signs.' One is the Victory sign which they are giving in the picture (no doubt picked up from WWII). If the palm is reversed (that is, facing towards the person giving the sign) then it is a rude gesture.

The passage that is referred to (poorly) in the Wikipedia article for François Rabelais reads as follows: Then (Panurge) stretched out the forefinger and middle finger or medical of his right hand, holding them asunder as much as he could, and thrusting them towards Thaumast... Thaumast began then to wax somewhat pale, and to tremble...

It does not specify which direction the palm is facing, regardless it is a negative sign (like giving the finger).

All the non-WWII versions of the 'v sign' that I can find are negative. Unless Mookie's fans are flicking off the camera (perhaps directed to the person calling them loozars for throwing the v sign in the first place), they got it from Anime which got it from WWII or got it from WWII.

Edit 2: By the way, saying that it is 'used in many cultures' is really amusing, since in said 'many cultures' the sign is likely not used for photographs, like the article linked to in the wikipedia article saying that the Romans used it to mean 'penis.'

Basically, his point was: They likely picked it up without knowing what it actually meant. A bunch of people said "LOL, you don't know what it means!" People who said "you don't know what it means" didn't know what it means.