History Fridge / Webcomics

Also, this page is of a generally positive nature, and a Fridge Brilliance does not have to be Word Of God. In fact, it usually isn't, and the viewer might be putting more thought into it than the creator ever did. This is not a place for personal commentary on another's remark or arguing without adding a Fridge Brilliance comment of your own.

* Fridge/LucidTV

This is a personal moment for the viewer, but follows the same rules as normal pages, meaning no first person or natter. If you start off with "ThisTroper", really, you have no excuse. We're going to hit you on the head.

* Fridge/AnotherGamingComic

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* Fridge/YuMeDream

* Fridge/{{Erfworld}}

* Fridge/{{Nemu-Nemu}}

This is a personal moment for the viewer, so every example is signed by the contributor. If you start off with "ThisTroper", really, you have no excuse. We're going to hit you on the head.

* Fridge/{{Brazen}}

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* In [[http://blazen.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/42504 this]] strip of ''Blazen'', we see [[GuiltyGear Zato]] yelling at [[BlazBlue Nirvana]] in a movie theater for blocking his view of the screen. At first this seems like a gag about Nirvana's height. But the true joke sets in once you remember that [[BlessedWithSuck Zato is blind.]]
* [[http://www.brawlinthefamily.com/?p=1583 This]] ''BrawlInTheFamily'' comic is funny on its own, but we may not realize something brilliant about the punch line: [[spoiler: Bullet Bill cannons ''never fire when someone is right next to them''.]]
** Something else, in the comic musical "Ode To Minions", there is a panel which has the singer say, "put your plumber hats over your hearts and say..." with an accompanying picture of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi all doing so. Though Waluigi had his fingers crossed behind his back. This seems like Waluigi's usual deal when you realize, Waluigi has never fought any minions! If he's never had to do so, why would he feel sorry about it?
* The drastic personality changes Dora in ''QuestionableContent'' underwent during her relationship with Marten used to aggravate me, seeing as she went from being sassy and confident to insecure, clingy and almost manipulative at times. Then I realized that she had always shown hints of insecurity and indecisiveness in her personality, but it only started to show when she got to know Marten better, and trusted him enough to let her imperfections and faults become apparent.
* I was initially attracted to SomethingPositive because of the general sociopathic behavior of the main characters (specifically Davan, Pamjay, and Audry). After I read through the archive, I noticed that they really weren't doing blatantly criminal acts anymore until I realized the strip's been going on for almost a decade and in real time. Most of them have careers, families, and stable relationships now which equates to responsibility. They've ''matured''!
* I read the entire ''{{Narbonic}}'' series and then I realized something. While Dave was at the bar, after his break up with Helen, lamenting about the fact that he will never have '''lesbian sex again''', a blond girl with glasses sitting next to him looked baffled and disturbed. Later on, it was revealed that the blond girl is his daughter from the future. This takes Too Much Information to whole new levels!
** There may be another layer to it, too: [[OhCrap how would you feel]] if you traveled back in time and then overheard your dad lamenting a [[GrandfatherParadox recent breakup with your mom]]?
* {{Kayube}} - After thinking a while about ''Misfile'' and whether or not it would end by using or averting MandysLawOfGenderBending I realized that the series is a metaphor for transsexuality that is more interesting than most in that it can be viewed in two different directions: Ash is either an MTF in denial, or an FTM who isn't accepted as such.

* Frudge/NanasEverydayLife

* Fridge/TheOrderOfTheStick

* [[http://www.nemu-nemu.com/ Space Cow]] [[SpeciesSurname is a]] [[SubvertedTrope pig]].

* Fridge/SpaceCow
* Fridge/SuperEffective

* Demonstrated in [[http://www.digitalpimponline.com/strips.php?title=avw&id=23 Another Gaming Comic.]]
* [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2004/06/26/episode-434-wouldnt-you-like-to-know/ This episode]] of ''[=~8-Bit Theater~=]'' made absolutely no sense, but spawned a thousand EpilepticTrees. Then, [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/05/19/episode-1129-there/ five whole years later]]... I am suddenly almost willing to forgive the CerebusSyndrome, on account of it having been [[MagnificentBastard brilliantly planned beforehand]]. -- {{KillerClowns}}
** [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/01/31/episode-1089-special-delivery/ This strip]] was merely funny the first time I read it. Now, after TheReveal that the Onion Kid is Sarda's [[spoiler: past self]], it works on extra levels- ''this'' is why [[spoiler: Onion Kid decides to learn EPIC MAGIC]], and suddenly the line "No, that would be stupid." picks up an extra layer...
** Upon recently rereading 8BT, I came upon one of Red Mage's early lines after finding that Corneria's weapon shop is... well... shit. He mentions that they'd be better off fighting enemies with harsh language. Perhaps that was just a line thrown in to be funny, but when you consider how the Light Warriors do most of their fighting...
*** Black Mage does manage to make a pun that's so horrible it actually kills someone.
** You know that RunningGag, where anytime anybody says 'forever', they are about to be horribly, horrible, wrong? [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/02/03/episode-1090-not-sunny-d/ Check this out.]] ''That'' is just how powerful Sarda is - he can ''overcome the rules of the comic''.
**** You may think that [[spoiler:White Mage]] defeating the Final Boss [[spoiler:Chaos himself possessing Sarda's Body]] is anti-climatic, but it actually makes the most thematic sense of any possible conclusion. Afterall, White Mage is the real creator of the entire 8-Bit Theater...although accidentally. Naturally, she'll be the best one to take down the inevitable entropic of it also. Ironically, it also makes a humerous tie-over to Dissidia Final Fantasy, since the core theme of that game is Cosmos against Chaos. Or more simply a Female Creator Goddess VS a Male Destroyer God.
** When considering that he tends to kill anyone that minimally annoys him, it becomes quite strange that Sarda would actually spare the life of the Dark Warriors. However, at the end of the story the DW have been named the Very Real Light Warriors. Maybe that's why he spared their lives, ''because he knows that they would still be alive in the future''.
*** There's an extra layer of FridgeBrilliance for why he would spare them. [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/07/23/episode-1155-very-good-reasons-too/ He likens them to kittens stuck on a leaking lifeboat in a tycoon.]] Sound like a certain someone's childhood?
** [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2004/08/26/episode-455-self-fulfilling-stupidity/ History would remember the wrong heroes.]] [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2010/03/20/episode-1224-a-legend-is-born/ But those who are given the glory are irrelevant to the deed.]]
* In ''GirlGenius'', I was rereading the wastelands part, with Agatha's first meeting with the Geisterdamen: it happened right after she and Lars were passionately citing a fiery exchange between Bill Heterodyne and Lucrezia Mongfish. I then realized that, thanks to the text and Agatha's voice, ''she was the one who had attracted them there.'' What then seems like random and incomprehensible bickering between the two white warriors is actually them debating whether or not it was actually their mistress, and concluding against it after one brings up the fact Agatha and Lars are probably "actors", which is the only word in our language they use in that conversation. ''Brilliant foreshadowing.'' --Cerberus
* Much as I loved ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', I could not understand why Antimony wouldn't accept help from the adult staff at the Court, and why she went about trying to solve mysteries all by her lonesome. I didn't like it, but I accepted that it was necessary to keep the entire story from being resolved in two chapters. Then, about the time that Ch 14 was going up, I realized that Annie's independent nature was a result of her unusual childhood--her years at Good Hope Hospital had taught her to solve her own (and other people's) problems all by herself. But what really made me admire the comic was the realization that because she doesn't seek help from the adults who actually know what's going on, Annie's solo snooping and problem-solving actually [[NiceJobBreakingItHero make things worse]]: she nearly gets killed a few times, and then she almost triggers a diplomatic incident between the Court and the Woods. In other words, the "kids are smart and AdultsAreUseless" setup that I disliked was actually being [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] by the comic. (It also helps that in later chapters, Annie seems to be maturing and learning to accept help and advice from other.) -- @/MetaFour
** Very early on it is a established that adults are not useless, even before Annie makes any major mistakes. It just isn't very apparent until the adults become more important. -- {{Gallows}}
** It seems rather uncanny how spot-on Reynardine's snap judgements of Jeanne and Diego turn out to be, considering he only had their portraits to go by. And it had to be ''only'' by their portraits, since as we know Rey [[MagicAIsMagicA cannot lie to Annie]]. But look closely- At no point during that scene does Rey claim to have no prior knowledge of Jeanne and Diego! [[EpilepticTrees Dun Dun DUNNN!]].
** I never really got the inclusion of Brinnie and the Valkyries in Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt. It seemed out of place to just randomly add those elements of NorseMythology where there had so far only been Native American mythology, European folklore and Psychopomps. Then one day it hit me: the Valkyries take the souls of warriors to Valhalla; they are Psychopomps!
** Something I only caught due to a conversation on the official forum: From scenes in the ether, it's apparent that a person's appearance in the ether is in some way connected to their nature or character. In particular, their hair: Annie's hair seems to be infinitely long, while Anja's and Parley's hair in the ether is longer than their physical hair, but not infinitely so. Also, the separation between the physical world and the ether is weaker in Gillitie Wood, particularly for creatures of the etherium, like Suicide Fairies. In light of that, the freakout over Red's hair in Ch 15 ("Your hair! It goes up again!") takes on a completely different meaning: Blue wasn't pushing Red away (solely) because she's shallow. Blue was pushing Red away because she came from a world where [[BeautyEqualsGoodness personal appearance is inextricably linked to character and personality]], and she failed to realize that this was not true in the human world. -- @/MetaFour
** Something that I have only noticed recently is how vital Shadow 2 was for creating the story of Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt itself. See, if Annie was not inclined to confront him that night in the hallway, we would have never figured out that he needed to get across the bridge. And if we never figured that out, Annie would have never built a robot for him to ride across. If Robot had never gone across the bridge in the first place, he wouldn't have come back across in chapter seven. Annie would have never fallen off the bridge, making it so Coyote and Ysengrin never organized a meeting, and Coyote would have not invited her to the forest to expand her knowledge of her etheric powers. Along with that, Annie would have not discovered Jeanne, or have a reason to create a new body for Robot, and Kat and Annie would have never located Jeanne's shrine or learned about the story of Diego. [[MindScrew And now my brain is yelling at itself.]] -- @/PaxRepaki
* Not my most [[IncrediblyLamePun brilliant]] FridgeBrilliance, but still kind of notable. So I introduced ''Webcomic/CuantaVida'' to my dad recently, and when he read [[http://tf2.skyscrapersoup.com/?p=144 this page]], he told me he didn't quite get why the last panel was what it was -- a shot of Red and Sniper observing the Scouts bickering over who gets to help Bleu set up surveillance cameras. I hadn't thought much of it earlier, but wanting to give him a good answer, I thought it over a little. Then it hit me: that was ''the'' moment in which Red and Sniper both realized that the Scouts ''liiiike'' Bleu. And showing their reactions is a small reinforcement of their characters (Red, for one, is quite amused)! -- {{Gancena}}
* I just realized; in ''DarthsAndDroids'' Qui-Gon Jinn is played by Jim. Qui-Gon/Jim. --Enlong
** Also, Obi-Wan is played by Ben, and Anakin by Annie.
** Thinking about both this and ''DMOfTheRings'', it's clear that while the latter is the result of a railroading GM trying to assume total control of the campaign, ''DarthsAndDroids'' is the result of a GM who just rolls with all the craziness that comes up and makes it work within his plans. If you think about it, this is perfectly in line with the settings' canonical villains. Sauron has his plan that depends on the enemy doing what he thinks they should--use the ring against him; it's thwarted when events transpire as he didn't expect, i.e., when it goes off the rails. Palpatine, however, is a master of XanatosSpeedChess, and like that comic's GM, he just takes whatever happens in stride and makes it work for him instead of trying to stick to one plan. - @/MrDeath
* It took me weeks to get the joke in [[http://www.vgcats.com/super/?strip_id=26 this]] [[VGCats Super Effective]] strip. (It's a ''Slowpoke''.) Ironic, isn't it?
** Well it IS a Meme.
** Realizing what "Ironic, isn't it?" was referring to was a moment of fridge brilliance for me.
* In [[YuMeDream Yu+Me: Dream]], at first I thought the bit at the start about [[{{Queen}} Bohemian Rhapsody]] being both Lia and Fiona's favorite song was just a bit of an "these two will be good friends" moment, some character building. But it never made much sense for Lia's character, which was very sweet and girl-next-door, if not a tad shy. After the WhamEpisode[=/=][[TheReveal Reveal]] that [[spoiler:Lia had been a sociopathic murderer/torturer for several centuries]], suddenly it made sense - [[spoiler:she identifies with the song, because she has been in that exact same spot herself.]]
** Speaking of which, the fact that early in the comic all the straight people were evil and Fiona was saved from her loneliness by a crew of magical gays always bothered me (btw I'm queer). However, [[spoiler:with the big reveal that this is all Fiona's dream, it all makes sense. As an outsiderish girl coming to terms with her sexuality, of course Fiona is going to feel biased towards LGBT people, and her dream exaggerates the feeling of isolation and aggression she gets from the real people in her life. If you read the first part as straight from the subconcious of an unhappy teenager, it becomes much more reasonable.]]
* In ''KidRadd'', I first read through the {{Earthbound}} parody without playing the actual game first. This is probably why it took me awhile to realize naming Ness' CaptainErsatz Elliot was a reference to Elliot Ness, the leader of TheUntouchables.-MichaelJJ
* Reading ''CaptainSNES'' for the second time, I came to [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2002/07/04/160-its-the-4th-of-july-special-2/ this]] strip. And suddenly realized that there is a very good reason why the Drab Lord would want to fight for his right to ''bear the name he chooses''. -- Canonier.
* When I started reading ''GirlGenius'', i wondered what a "clank" was exactly: the name seemed to be applied to all kind of intelligent (or semi-intelligent) machines. Why not just call them robots? It took me a while to realize: Girl Genius is set ''before'' Karel Čapek introduced the term "robot" in 1921. -- Lapuspuer
* In one side-arc of ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' the toughs stumble upon a group of AIs (called 'Squiddies' by the [[FanNickname fans]]) Who had succeeded in cleansing themselves of their 'Meat Infestation' some 15,000 years ago. Said AIs also proved incredibly stupid for a space-faring race, overlooking small but important details that can spell disaster especially for a sublight inter-stellar voyage. One wonders how such AIs could have achieved spaceflight or even Sapience in the first place, until you realize that a computer is only as smart as the person who programs it and the 'meat' the squiddies later dealt with were the kind that would program AIs [[AIIsACrapshoot without any safeguards...]] -Les
** Also in Schlock, in a recent arc, the company had been split up into four commands. "Mallcop Command", under Captain Tagon, had to deal with a group of punks practicing Parkata Urbatsu, a martial art that evolved from "[[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20100307.html the ancient disciplines of Parkour, urbobatics and something called Youtubing]]". The description seems like a throwaway joke until it's revealed that both the punks and Lieutenant Shodan, who was training the troops in Parkata Urbatsu, had set up cameras to capture their stunts, which they planned on editing and making public. The cameras are an integral part of Parkata Urbatsu too!

* John Keogh of LucidTV has "Long Pop Culture Reference Comix," starring [[TheSmiths Morrisey]] and his knowledge of his own reincarnation. The last page of the comic features in a [[Dystopia dystopian]] future, an ascetic who states to some newcomers "if you have five seconds to spare, then let me tell you the story of my life." I just heard Half a Person by the Smiths and went "[=OOOOOoooooh=], I get it..." It was obvious the monk was meant to be Morrisey reincarnated once more, but that just tied it together.
* I literally just had one hit me out of the blue while browsing this site. My thoughts turned to CheshireCrossing, and I suddenly realized -- Oh! The "I can't wait to teach her about isosceles triangles" bit between Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Tik-Tok is a joke on the mistake between isosceles and right in the movie! I'd just skimmed right over it without a second glance before (granted, I was reading the series mainly for Alice).

* In ''{{Erfworld}}'', the ongoing stream of {{asspull}}s that kept screwing up Parson's plans and allow him to be defeated by Ansom despite Ansom's stupidity and pride seem irritating until it is revealed that the whole scenario is SUPPOSED to be an UnwinnableTrainingSimulation, that the GM is supposed to cheat, and that only way for the player to win is to cheat better, instead of merely exploiting the system. Parson realizes this and decides to [[spoiler: reanimate a volcano]]. -- Wodan46
* I had read this [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1890.html]] IrregularWebcomic strip months ago, and had come across the Beatles mention of Paul's "death" a few weeks ago on this site. But it was not until my haircut that I put 2 and 2 together. It was all I could do to keep from laughing (If I had burst out laughing, I would have messed up my haircut) --Squark Iota
** Also, in [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/818.html this strip]]: [[spoiler:how do Deaths become Deaths? By being the first person to die in a given way, right?]] Meaning that ''somebody has already tried it''. No wonder the Head Death is so nonchalant about the whole thing - he's done this before! --75984_62153
* Odd-ish example: I never really appreciated the drama in ''ElGoonishShive'' until the second read-through, even though I was hooked after the first time. However, this may have been because the first one was in the dead of night, and not everything clicked. But it still counts. -- LoustarJogger
** [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-10-06 Uryuoms do not judge the physical attractiveness of potential mates.]] At first, this just seemed like a [[PlanetOfHats hat]] to me - physical attractiveness is often a (very, very loose) measure of health, after all. Then it hit me: Uryuoms can all ''shapeshift''. Well, duh, of course they don't judge by appearances then! --HeroicJay
** Another EGS one. On my first read-through, years ago, [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-04-09 This strip]] seemed like just a silly throwaway joke. In the intervening time, the comic has changed a lot, and several characters have gained explicit magical powers, the nature of which is determined by their actions and personalities, abilities usually awakened or enhanced by random strange events (such as getting turned into a girl, or slaying an [[OurVampiresAreDifferent almost-vampire]], or saving a lover from a deranged mage). The training at the Anime-Style Martial Arts Dojo actually helped two of them unlock that power. All by "participating in difficult, overly complex, and fairly ridiculous activities that shouldn't yield such fantastic results yet somehow do." What looked like LampshadeHanging on RuleOfFunny now turns out to be epic foreshadowing of how the EGS magic system works, before the comic was even revealed to HAVE a magic system! --phantomreader42
* ''Grim Tales from Down Below'' was frequently criticized for it's implied BrotherSisterIncest scenes, and I just assumed it was AuthorAppeal and accepted that he was going to feel vaguely uncomfortable reading the series. Until a recent comic revealed that [[spoiler:the sister ''actually'' has (unreciprocated) feelings for her brother.]] '''Sweet'''. -- @/{{Jonn}}
** Likewise. I like this twist because of the way it changes the brother's character. He goes from being a jealous and petty sibling to being the {{Only Sane Man}} in a setting that makes the universe of ''{{Invader Zim}}'' look like {{My Little Pony}}. -- M84
*** And you now may want to reclassify it as AuthorAppeal, [[http://grim.snafu-comics.com/index.php?comic_id=125 since this comic shows]] that Junior ''does'' reciprocate. -- {{Nickel}}
** I still think Minnie's a great big stinking MarySue (and that her brother's therefore at least somewhat justified in his jealousy, since he's ten years old and has ''that'' for a sibling; it's like how one of a set of real siblings sometimes resents the other for being apparently perfect, only turned UpToEleven), but the [[spoiler: unrequited BrotherSisterIncest aspect]] -- and it ''not'' being treated as acceptable by the author -- does go some way to redeeming her character in my eyes. -- {{Cameoflage}}
* I read ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'', and always thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed the universe's neat little backstory but didn't think too much on it. Then I read ContinuitySnarl over here, and reread those strips outlining the history of the [=OotS=] universe, at which point I realized Rich Burlew is a genius. -- {{JDubya}}
** I'm rather embarrassed to admit that I didn't get the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii Vaarsuvius/Pompey]] joke until like a month after I read it. -- JapaneseTeeth
*** I didn't get it until just now. -- CDL (Unregistered)
** I was a bit offput by the recent comic where an elven commander shoved a harmless Hobgoblin prisoner off a high tower. Then I remembered a few things: 1. The commander was a Ranger. 2. Goblinoids were probably his favored enemy, and 3. One of a Ranger's bonuses against his favored enemy is ''Sense Motive''. -SomeNewGuy
*** It only just dawned on me what Belkar's favoured enemies must be. Pretty obvious, but just think what race Belkar enjoys killing and corpse-desecrating even more than any other race.-An obviously British or Canadian Troper.
*** I read the above and was thinking a bit. At wich time Belkar fought kobolds? Why, yes. He had a kobold counterpart in the Linear-Guild teams. So why would Nale send a kobold against Belkar, if they were his favoured enemy? Becaus they are his favoured enemy, which make them somehow his evil couterpart. Then I thougt, that Nale is dumb. But them I realized, if Belkar ever lost to a Kobold it would make the victory oh so much more ironic and sweeter! -GJPhysic
* It took me way too long to realize what the comic title "Second Chance" referred to. Likewise, I only just realized how Vaarsuvius (and O-Chul) manage to hoist Xykon with his own petard; Xykon points out to V that power can take many forms...including something as simple as a class feature or a fairly low-level spell...
** When Xykon punished Redclock to not recover his eye I thought it was a bad punishment in it of itself, but the punishment sound a lot worse when you read The Start of Darkness
** Regarding [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0496.html this]] famous CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming, note Roy's comment about what class his brother might have taken. Maybe that's a reason why he puts up with CloudCuckooLander Elan.
** Spoiler heavy: after [[spoiler: Miko's death, she asks if she can visit her Paladin mount in the afterlife, since she no longer qualifies for the LawfulGood one. This takes on a whole new meaning when you realise her mount was most likely ''her only real friend on the world'', as everyone else finds her [[LawfulStupid too crazy or insufferable]] to get along with. AlasPoorScrappy indeed.]]
** So Elan and Nale are meant to be evil twin counterparts - Elan's a Bard, while Nale's a fighter/rogue/sorcerer hybrid, (basically a less optimized bard). So far so good. Nale's specialises in Enchantment, mind-control spells, which bards can also cast, but don't rely on exclusively. Then I realised - apart from the healing spells he's picked up since leaving the Azure Fleet behind, almost all Elan's spells come from the other school bards rely heavily on - Illusion, and suddenly the 'Evil opposites' aspect of Elan & Nale's relationship gets deeper. - Astaroth
** I realized that Elan's father Tarquin and Tarquin's buddy Mallack are counterparts to Xykon and Redcloack. In both groups, the first is a goofy EvilOverlord and the second is their LawfulEvil cleric partner who tends to facepalm at their goofiness. This kind of makes me think that Rich expected Tarquin and Mallack to get the DracoInLeatherPants treatment and was doing a deliberate BaitTheDog. With Tarquin and Mallack, it's like he took Xykon and Redcloak and filled them with likable traits.
** After re-reading [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0261.html this]] comic. It becomes completely hilarious that [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0429.html Belkar lent his Ring of Jumping +20]] to Roy. Let's just say Belkar wears his ring in...[[{{Squick}} interesting]] places. -Zasz
*** No, he smuggled it in there. You can't benefit from a ring unless it's worn in a designated ring wearing area. - Peteman
*** Aye. But the idea on where he keeps it is still is hilarious.
* I'm currently in college and taking a ton of computer science and math related courses, and about twice a week I learn something that makes an ''{{xkcd}}'' suddenly become absolutely brilliant. --{{Elan}}
** Likewise, I was learning integrals when I read [[http://xkcd.com/385/ this strip]]. Reading the info text was probably the first time I laughed out loud reading something on the internet. -- Sandbylur
* I first wrote off the tour storyline in ''DominicDeegan'' as just another filler arc that gave Mookie an excuse to draw some new things and bring back one of his old creations. With the latest strip, that all changed. I liked the character of Brian, the cheerful jovial necromancer, but I was floored by the revelation that he is [[spoiler:actually Rilian, the First Necromancer incognito]]. All of Dominic and Luna's major experiences during the vacation were actually [[spoiler: engineered by Rilian. The entire tour was a SecretTestOfCharacter to see if Dominic was stable or at risk of [[SuperpowerMeltdown Mindbreak]]]]. This not only made the arc deep and meaningful, it also brought new insight into [[spoiler: Rilian's]] character. How much Brian's behavior during the tour was just an act and how much of it was [[spoiler: Rilian's real character beyond his grim appearance]] was another interesting thought this arc introduces. After reading the most recent strip in the arc, try re-reading the entire tour storyline from the start, but with the new knowledge that Brian is actually [[spoiler: Rilian]]. It becomes much more interesting. Furthermore, take a look at [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2008-08-05 this strip]]. I was left wondering just how that merman knew Luna had issues in the first place, and I thought it was just a PlotHole. The last strip in the arc answered that question, and now I realize it was clever ForeShadowing. Notice how, out of all of the people [[spoiler: Rilian]] brought into the conspiracy, not one of them is from the Wild Edge. Take another look at [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2008-08-06 this strip]] and [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2008-08-08 this one after it]]. Then think about what kind of "bad experience" Brian had in the Wild Edge "a few years ago". Okay, you know what? Just give this storyline another look. With all the revelations the last strip brings to light, this arc went from being a snoozefest to revitalizing my interest in the comic! [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2008-09-09 This strip]] has Brian gushing over his hero Rilian, and asking Dominic if Rilian really did do everything he lists in the second and third panels. Thing is, Brian KNOWS Rilian did all those things because the last strip [[spoiler: reveals that he IS Rilian]]. Brian isn't really gushing, he's [[spoiler: BRAGGING]]. Now it's hilarious on a second read. I just wish we could have seen Brian's face as Dominic listed all the admirable qualities he saw in Rilian. You know what? This whole arc could be considered FridgeBrilliance. It might even be deserving of being a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for [[spoiler: Rilian]], the webcomic itself, and Mookie as a writer. And FYI, I'm not even that much of a fan of ''DominicDeegan''. As mentioned before, I thought the comic was growing stale with this arc and considered dropping it. Now I can't wait to see what Mookie will come up with next. -- M84
** The revelation that Donovan can actually speak Orcish perfectly was funny enough in and of itself (and it retroactively explained how Donovan could get the language ''exactly'' wrong enough to sound like comprehensible jokes, rather than occasionally coming out as gibberish), but it made me start wondering about his confrontation with [[spoiler:Karnak]] in the backstory. It's possible his command of the language wasn't all that good at that point...but then it occurred to me. He's a ''bard''. He was confused by the sudden turn, but still tried deliberate humorous misinterpretation to make [[spoiler:Karnak]] pause, so he could try to defuse the situation. -- DrowLord
* One night, I was having trouble sleeping, and decided to browse through some back comics of ''{{Megatokyo}}''. While doing this, I had the following revelation: during the Anna Millers incident, Kimiko becomes extremely disillusioned with her fans, realizing that they actually only love her celebrity persona, and not her true self. She proceeds to angst about whether it is possible to truly love someone for who they are, and not for who they appear to be. Around the same time, she gets in a massive fight with Piro, whom she is coming to realize is not the idealized KnightInShiningArmor she had imagined him as; however, they soon make up an cement their status as the comic's OfficialCouple. And that is the answer to her previous angstings: she was able to find it within herself to love Piro for who he is, despite his flaws, so it is only logical to assume that others are capable of the same. Fred is a genius. -- {{Taelor}}
** It wasn't until I actually tried playing a DatingSim that I realized that Piro's actions make a lot more sense than they did before. Notice how he repeatedly assures himself that Ping is just a robot, Yuki is too young, Miho is evil and that he doesn't like Erika in that way, often when directly asked about it by others. And remember that he thinks he's in a DatingSim scenario (to be fair, he kinda ''is''). These actions imply that he's actively trying to get Kimiko's route and not someone else's, and it may also mean that he ''doesn't'' really think this way: he could believe Ping is much more human than she should be, but is afraid of what would happen if he says it. Hell, this means he may think the world is a game more than Largo does! And yes, this train of thought scares me a little... -- ShotgunNinja
*** I was looking over the last few strips, and saw [[http://megatokyo.com/strip/1224 this one]]. Now, at first, I thought Erika talking to Boo was just showing Erika "seeing things Largo's way" with a gag about Boo being TheUnintelligible. Then I actually thought about the subject of their conversation, of Largo's recent actions, and of Boo's gradual loss of screen time, and it hit me: Erika, in a more mundane sense, is also Largo's conscience. Fred, you're a genius. -- {{Callix}}
*** Largo shouting, "Go for the beer, Boo! Go for the beer!" at his hamster Boo in an early strip: it took me a year before I realized that this is a reference to the hamster Boo in Baldur'sGate, whose owner Minsc often shouts in combat, "Go for the eyes, Boo, go for the eyes!" -- Vendel
*** An entry in ValuesDissonance says how people from Japan are generally more shy when it comes to romance and physical contact, so something like [[http://megatokyo.com/strip/953 two people hugging]] would be considered a much more romantic act to someone from Japan. -- ShotgunNinja
*** When I first read [[http://megatokyo.com/strip/859 this strip]], I didn't think anything of it outside of "Largo being oblivious/repeating what he said before". The second time wasn't much different. A few days/weeks/months/[[WebcomicTime god knows how long]] I decided to go back through the archives after reading the strip where Erika came onto Largo, stopping for bed at the aforementioned page. I hadn't yet hit the mattress when I realized something: Largo (said) he "doesn't play games that aren't worth playing;" yet, he "played" Erika's "game" (twice, first after the fanboy attack, and coming back after he'd marked her off as "a boring game"). Largo's telling Erika that "he doesn't play games that aren't worth playing", combined with the previously mentioned incidents and Largo's average displayed social ineptitude, meant that, for Largo, it was the best way to tell Erika he liked her. Well-played, for a CloudCuckooLander. -- Bladist
* Upon first reading ''NanasEverydayLife'', I found it well-written, if rather indecisively plotted, but horribly depressing. The major thrust of the plotline is that a quadriplegic girl is trying to find a figurative place in the sun, a life where she is happy and loved. But every time it looks like she's found it the cruel vagaries of fate dash it all by killing or tearing away from her every shred of happiness she'd accumulated. It is heartbreaking and devastating and put me in a funk for literally something like two days. I was convinced that the author had a sadomasochistic relationship with his readers, and I still am. However, one day some time later when I was in a gloomy mood and reflecting on the comic, it struck me that this cycle of joy and pain ''works both ways.'' To use an old expression, Nana is "riding the wheel"; just as every moment of hope sets up the eventual cruel dashing of said hope, every crash into despair sets up a rise ''out'' of said despair. The story, in other words, can be seen either as most people first perceive it -- a gut-wrenching story of a cruel, unfair world -- or as the opposite -- a uplifting story about eternal hope and the triumph, brief though it may be, of joy in our lives -- ''or'', with a bit of perspective, as ''both at once'' -- an extreme to the point of absurdity expression of life's give-and-take. Awesome. -- BellosTheMighty
** I tried reading Nana's Everyday Life a few years ago, and couldn't get into it, because it was obviously a fancomic of ''something'' that I wasn't familiar with (obvious from lack of character introduction). Then I read ElfenLied... -- Kintatsu

* Since LookingForGroup is about fantasy settings, and especially WorldOfWarcraft, it always seemed strange that orcs, one of the most important fantasy species, was not represented among the characters. There were even Tauren, but no orcs. Then it dawned on me: ''Benny is an orc shaman.'' -- Vendel
** Priestess, actually. The comic takes a few artistic liberties, one of them being that orcs can't be priests. -- {{Gallows}}
** Except for her being a troll.
** Taking the WorldOfWarcraft reference one step further, look at the characters involved: an elf whose race had turned evil, an undead, an orc, and a bipedal cow. And they were fighting humans. Up until they took on the dwarf, they were one race away from being the Horde.

* In ProblemSleuth, the offices are real. Imaginary things can't survive in the real versions of them, as we see when an imaginary Ace Dick enters one, and then when an imaginary Pickle Inspector does the same. Yet we later see that they are composed of imaginary part-Pickles. How can that be? Quantum weirdness. The part-Pickles exist on a scale where it's in effect.
* So I reread ''TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'' for the third time. I finish the whole thing, and start thinking about Psycho Mantis, both in-comic and in-game, in particular Mantis' death scene, where he says he's helping someone for the first time in his life, and that "[I]t feels kind of... nice...". I then think of someone pointing out once that Mantis was actually continuing with the overall plan when he did this in the game. Now, think of this within the context of the comic - Mantis was becoming friends with and actually ''trusting'' Liquid. He was tired of being controlled by Ocelot, the Patriots, and Solidus. He started obeying Liquid, wearing clothing that Liquid suggested, and calling him Boss. When he told the ninja to kill as many people as possible, he said he was doing it out of a desire to kill as many people as possible. When he helped Snake continue down the right path for the plan, he was helping Liquid fufill his dream of a better world. The line "It feels kind of... nice..." suddenly carries a [[TearJerker lot]] more weight, now that we've seen where it came from.

* Fridge/YuMyDream