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If I end up proven right I will ascend to a form beyond flesh.
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Jun 18, 2023 01:43
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Tesseraction posted:If I end up proven right I will ascend to a form beyond flesh. A ball made of smaller balls.
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Jun 18, 2023 02:16
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Invisible Clergy posted:A ball made of smaller balls. Ballz 4d, the fighting game they never finished because everyone went mad.
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Jun 18, 2023 02:33
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DicktheCat posted:Ballz 4d, the fighting game they never finished because everyone went mad. Will I understand it if I haven't played "balls" 1-3?
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Jun 18, 2023 03:46
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Mutant Headcrab posted:Listening to a documentary in the background, I heard the narrator refer to a cenotaph. I did a double-take, because I thought he said Asinotaph. Looking it up, it would seem that a cenotaph is "a monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially one commemorating people who died in a war." I can almost guarantee that he is not this clever.
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Jun 18, 2023 06:58
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Tesseraction posted:I already suspected... God it's literally years ago, now, that "Asinotaph" was a reference to a cenotaph. At the time I was told that it's unlikely and I have carried a posting grudge ever since. It was probably less that people thought that you were wrong and more that Mookie couldn't be that clever. Edit: that said, please ascend anyway
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Jun 18, 2023 08:05
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Just ask yourself what the most narratively and dramatically sensible thing would be: it's probably not that.
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Jun 18, 2023 08:18
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IMO it's a pick between mookie not being that clever and mookie overplaying his cleverness by making a big deal about it and how it's a reveal that's been waiting for over a decade (iirc Asinotaph was referenced in OG deegan). The correct thing to do is the show-don't-tell approach of having them expect to find Dominic and not find him, without commentary on the name, which goes against mookie's instincts as an author.
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Jun 18, 2023 08:29
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I'm assuming it goes by the same naming properties that led to stuff like the Elemecca which was only vaguely elemental and nothing at all to do with Mecca, i.e. just cool words mashed together. I'm going to be somewhat surprised if Dominic turns out to be dead even though he absolutely should be.
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Jun 18, 2023 08:43
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DicktheCat posted:Ballz 4d, the fighting game they never finished because everyone went mad. Well it was a weird place to take the Petz franchise
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Jun 18, 2023 08:44
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the ballz deep lore
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Jun 18, 2023 09:56
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getting insanely angry because i saw the word elemecca again
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Jun 18, 2023 12:00
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Trapezium Dave posted:I'm assuming it goes by the same naming properties that led to stuff like the Elemecca which was only vaguely elemental and nothing at all to do with Mecca, i.e. just cool words mashed together. Even better, Dominic's still alive but Luna's long-dead, and Mookie won't realize that it's gonna look sexist as hell.
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Jun 18, 2023 13:33
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It would not surprise me that Dominic is not just still alive, but has ascended to become some superior being, maybe the personification of magic itself. He will be pulling all the strings and making all the arrangements and everything that ever happens will be because of him.
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Jun 18, 2023 14:26
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skeleton warrior posted:It would not surprise me that Dominic is not just still alive, but has ascended to become some superior being, maybe the personification of magic itself. He will be pulling all the strings and making all the arrangements and everything that ever happens will be because of him. Yeah, that's my prediction. Dominic's basically a god, with control of magic and prophesy. It's the logical end point.
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Jun 18, 2023 15:37
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Dominic has been leaving a breadcrumb trail of clues to lead Snout to the dream realm to congratulate him on being the most perfect boy that loves books in the good and correct way he's also naked
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Jun 18, 2023 16:05
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I hope to NEVER see Dominic's COCK!!!!!!!
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Jun 18, 2023 19:37
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I hear Dominic’s gonna hang dong
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Jun 18, 2023 19:51
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yeah actually they will posted:I hope to NEVER see Dominic's COCK!!!!!!! You already have. Dominic is Mookie and Snout is Mookie, so ipso factum...
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Jun 18, 2023 22:14
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I'm going to make a guess that, since everybody's now inexplicably clothed in the dream realm, Dominic WILL appear and WILL be clothed, but it'll be like some super duper magic "cool" version of his old outfit, sitting there cross legged, galaxies flowing out of his scarf or some tosh like that. You know, like we saw in the last recap with Momgan's cape. Honestly, gently caress knows. It could be any old bollocks and it'll probably be terrible. Basically... Emrikol posted:Just ask yourself what the most narratively and dramatically sensible thing would be: it's probably not that. ...this.
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Jun 19, 2023 00:09
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Dabir posted:Well it was a weird place to take the Petz franchise They had nowhere but weird to go after Oddballz.
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Jun 19, 2023 00:13
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CHAPTER 31: ALTERED STATES Check out Greg's broken neck. What the hell are they eating? Rocks?  Remember when Luna was all "I don't care about my flaws, I've achieved so much and I'm happy"? Forget that, back to a blubbering mess. Shouldn't this have come up while they were gone?  Ah, but Dominic has it even worse! "You're sterile? I'm sterile and unhealthy!" Is that supposed to make her feel better? High blood pressure? So what. Brittle bones? Dude, you've fallen over and been smacked around hundreds of times with no severe consequences. Eyesight getting worse? Yeah, that kinda happens when you need glasses. And Greg's white magic flash way back at the beginning of the comic should've cured this along with Dominic's smoking habit. Of course, Mookie probably doesn't remember that. Regardless, it's gross of Mookie to take the spotlight off Luna with this weak "pity me" nonsense.  First, good poker face, doc. Second, this is the chapter where Dominic's/Mookie's hangups about alterism/plastic surgery are explored and it's not great. Most of it is going to be "lol, look at these shallow idiots with their hosed up implants!" with one exception, which I'll discuss when we get to it.  Luna wouldn't see an alterist about her teeth, now she wants to see one. The issue she tried to commit suicide over wasn't enough of an emotional crisis to resort to surgery, but this is? I'm still not clear on what alterism can do to a person -- I thought it was "magic plastic surgery" but now it can solve fertility problems too. Dominic comes off as a lunatic here. Skin-sculptors? Flesh-flayers? Relax, you weirdo.  What a bunch of freaks, am I right? My favorite is the guy who replaced his dick with a bloated mound of flesh.  Luna doesn't like alterists because her sister has big tits. That makes sense!  Take out the references to magic and this could take place in the modern world. This is barely fantasy anymore. Hell, this isn't about Luna anymore -- it's about Dominic and his insane paranoia regarding alterists.  It turns out Dominic's prejudice against alterism stems from childhood trauma, which is always the case with the characters in this story. If the good guys harbor a prejudice or do something bad, it's due to past circumstances and not personal shortcomings. 1. How did a kid get a hold of hallucinogens (real subtle name too)? 2. Alteration magic is irreversible? Why? It's loving magic. There's no reversal spell? You can never alter a body part again? This comic is so stupid. 3. Dominic had horrific visions for a week due to a prank and now he holds irrational fears about alterism to this day. As I mentioned, this is a way for Dominic to be wrong and still come out as paragon of morality.  Alterism is irreversible, except not. I'm impressed with Mookie's ability to contradict himself. Dr. Kaldonia is one of the "good" alterists who isn't greedy and selfish. Oh, and she's a trans woman. This is Mookie's one concession about cosmetic surgery: it's okay if it helps people transition. Way to go? This revelation is dropped immediately after this page, much to the relief of myself and others.  OBVIOUS FORESHADOWING  Two good alterists, but that's it, seriously.  Yeah, it's kinda childish to say "I hate alterism cuz my sisters got altered and they were jerks". I don't know what it means for an alterist to be "ethical" anyway. "you a orc princess"  hahahaha look at those terrible porn covers Seriously Dom, you can't just crank it into a cup for the sake of you and your fiance's happiness? You've been cowering behind a couch for over an hour because of a porn mag? This goes beyond comedy and into serious psychological issues.  Ah, he can only get off to Luna because he's such a dedicated, loyal boyfriend who could never be aroused by another person or some creepy bullshit.  The results of the magic scans that are magically printed on magic paper, presumably received via magic fax, reveal something shocking!  What? So Luna's only mostly infertile? Why can't they take the eggs out, fertilize them, then implant them back into Luna? Why is Mookie is trying to tackle the issue of surrogacy? Pun sucks too.  Dominic's infertility is, sadly, genetic. Somehow. Let's not think about it. Just say "That's all right, I don't need to know more," Dominic. What a loving baby. Can't help but think this is how Mookie acts whenever he needs to go to the doctor.  "Alteration lab". Not even trying anymore.  I don't caaaaaaaaaaaaare This entire arc thus far: "I'm sad I can't have children." "I also can't have children." "Let's talk to someone about this." "Let's find out why you can't have children." "What if we don't want children?" "You can't have children and you REALLY can't have children, but other people could have your children!" "I don't want children." It's also a little disturbing that Luna's first question to Dominic after the decision is "Are you mad at me?"  Hahahahaha the receptionist is a DUMB WHORE am I right hahahahahahahaha what the gently caress is wrong with her LIPS I hope Kaldonia remembered to cast a sterilization spell on her magical surgical tools. Good thing she's wearing her magical scrubs and cape.  Thank you Mr. Deegan, for doing jack poo poo. He should see a magic psychiatrist for his hallucinations.  Mookie was also getting married around this time, so of course this needs to be a plot line in the comic too.  Why is this still going? Everything's resolved! End!  Oh, it's so we could end on this weird cliffhanger. Again, what? This chapter sucked. Literally nothing happens and nothing changes. A pointless waste of time. I am dumber for reading it. Next time: The Beast fights Dominic and gets punked by a crab cop
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Jun 19, 2023 00:23
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This was, at least... something? This was at least something. Compared to a bunch of guys in hell yelling and screaming at least this was a story. It wasn't like, anything especially good, but I didn't mind it tbh, in comparison to what has all come before or after.
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Jun 19, 2023 01:10
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I don't mind of the concept of Altered States and back when I thought Mookie could improve I'd hoped he would focus more on domestic soap opera issues because it could work with the little-to-no planning that he does. But it predictably goes from being about Luna's problems to about Dominic's problems then to how Luna is so so special. Also somewhere out there Celesto Morgan is still dedicating his whole life to fighting the Beast and saving the world while these clowns plan their wedding. Priorities.
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Jun 19, 2023 01:11
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Some random thoughts as someone who's never seen this before.rudecyrus posted:
I'm doing the writer's work for him I guess, but I think the idea here is that you can't just cast dispel magic or whatever if you don't like the results. Instead you have to go under the Just an aside here, but while he's obviously played D&D, does anyone know if Mookie has played any of the old White Wolf games? Alterism basically seems like vicissitude from Vampire: The Masquerade, which was something only the more alien vampires had access to. It would suit the way the story approaches it as something weird to be afraid of. rudecyrus posted:Dr. Kaldonia is one of the "good" alterists who isn't greedy and selfish. Oh, and she's a trans woman. This is Mookie's one concession about cosmetic surgery: it's okay if it helps people transition. Way to go? This revelation is dropped immediately after this page, much to the relief of myself and others. This is probably the best possible way this could have been handled at the time. For a comic from a decade or more ago I'm actually a little impressed that it's just mentioned as a good thing and none of the characters are bothered. rudecyrus posted:
I was worried this would become a seahorse thing with Dominic, so basically everything after this is just a huge relief in comparison. Regarding the current comic, I'd be shocked if Dominic isn't still alive as a psychic being living in the collective unconscious or whatever.
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Jun 19, 2023 01:32
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Medenmath posted:Just an aside here, but while he's obviously played D&D, does anyone know if Mookie has played any of the old White Wolf games?
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Jun 19, 2023 02:21
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rudecyrus posted:CHAPTER 31: ALTERED STATES Look at the cat. Has Mookie ever eaten fish? It's not exactly something you have to gnaw on.
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Jun 19, 2023 02:39
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Monday's page was uploaded all the way back on Friday, but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to be talking about the same page until Wednesday.
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Jun 19, 2023 05:05
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Oh okay, Snout has ... ink magic now. Lucid dreaming he has ink magic? Lucid dream powers? Oh whatever. As easily as Challenges T Symbol showed up, Snout defeated him because THIS time uh. Uh. Because this time he. He's the hero and a soft boy and he's winning and the story is ending i guess.
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Jun 19, 2023 05:28
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Jun 19, 2023 05:30
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BEHOLD HIS MIGHTY SNOUT ORB, OR SNORB! ALSO BEHOLD: WHERE DID EVERYONE'S FACE GO.
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Jun 19, 2023 05:33
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oh, ok
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Jun 19, 2023 05:34
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A couple confessions here: I actually really like the idea of using magic to replicate real-world modern technology. I've seen fanfiction (yes yes I know) that saw a world where stones have elemental properties like ice or lightning and went "what if they used those to invent air conditioning and refrigerators?". Or they see potions that can make people strong or faster and go "what if you put animal hormones in them and made HRT?". Or in the case of my friends' RPG groups, several characters used permanent transformation magic as part of their transitioning, with one planning to expand her services across the country so no one had to go through the US healthcare system. The point I'm trying to make is, I don't think it's a bad thing to have a field of magic that is analogous to modern surgical techniques. So of course Mookie ended up ruining a good thing with his hang-ups about plastic surgery, characterizing 99% of the people who use it as either vapid harlots or freaky monsters. Speaking of that, c'mon, how does that person with the long pointed ears and bulb implants look any weirder than your standard fantasy creature? Dare I say, they look metal as hell. The few sympathetic exceptions like Dr. Kaldonia showed while Mookie thankfully wasn't transphobic about it, he was still suggesting that one should only pursue alterism/surgeries if they have a good reason for it and that it's demeaning to want them for purely cosmetic reasons. Like, a person who wants a breast job to look hotter isn't taking away from people who want the same procedures because they're trans or because they had a mastectomy! I dunno how to end this thought but while I was writing Snout did a thing I guess. Oh no, something bad almost happened, I'm glad Snout suddenly knew how to fix it. 
MiracleFlare fucked around with this message at 05:50 on Jun 19, 2023 |
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Jun 19, 2023 05:47
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Dominic’s fixation on how awful plastic surgery was always came across to me as super creepy on Mookie’s part, like just pushing way too hard on “see, ladies, aren’t I such a nice guy because I’m not some jock who needs you to be artificial for him”, though I derive a lot of that from how he consistently characterizes people who get plastic surgery as extremely shallow and vain
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Jun 19, 2023 06:08
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Looking back through that arc I don't think anyone brings up Dominic's missing leg or teeth which are kind of things you would think are fixable through surgery magic. But it's possible that they don't work on injuries caused by the Elemecca and/or Siggy's fists.
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Jun 19, 2023 06:19
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We've seen a full-body version of almost that exact arm-back, arm-forward, flowing-hair pose in panel 3 before, haven't we? Could only find this particular example of it, but I swear we've seen it elsewhere with Snout flying nude in dreamspace shooting dreamlasers. I seem to recall him using it two days in a row with only a slight change in angle.
Drakyn fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Jun 19, 2023 |
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Jun 19, 2023 06:23
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I want to point out that the ink ship has gone through three distinct designs and has never been conjured or piloted the same way twice.skeleton warrior posted:Dominic’s fixation on how awful plastic surgery was always came across to me as super creepy on Mookie’s part, like just pushing way too hard on “see, ladies, aren’t I such a nice guy because I’m not some jock who needs you to be artificial for him”, though I derive a lot of that from how he consistently characterizes people who get plastic surgery as extremely shallow and vain Yeah, it's this.
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Jun 19, 2023 06:24
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why does this dream realm have an ocean why do they need the ink ship if Snout can levitate why is this so boring
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Jun 19, 2023 06:49
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Aw poo poo something almost happened good save Snout.
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Jun 19, 2023 07:39
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Big moments in the final chapter: the Winnebago had to swerve to avoid hitting a squirrel.
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Jun 19, 2023 07:40
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