Fate Changes Everything | D’orc Deep Dive Part 1!

[00:00:00]All right, so we finally got our hands on Dork number six, published by Image Comics, and as always, written and drawn by Brett Bean. This issue picks up immediately after the events of the last one, where Dork was trapped inside the giant red crystal by the Bone Witch. I figured we'd probably spend a little time figuring out how he was going to get out of there. Instead, Brett Bean immediately throws us into one of the biggest lore dumps this series has had so far. and somehow still manages to make it absolutely hilarious.

[00:00:33]We open with an enormous battlefield where dwarves and orcs are absolutely massacring each other. Swords are swinging, blood is flying everywhere, bodies are piling up, and right away we get into some loreb building narration.

[00:00:49][clears throat and cough] Get my voice together here. It started centuries ago. The battle of Crown's Peak. A simple fight that should have been a footnote in the long history of Sunderrain. Years passed as light and dark enemies became forever entrenched in endless war. The dead piled high, both innocent and guilty, tinting the red soil, creating the scar. And right away, we're learning that the Scar itself, the massive location that's been referenced throughout this series, was literally created by centuries of non-stop warfare between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. And that's a pretty metal origin story if you ask me. Then the next page immediately grabs my attention because we see a female orc squaring off against a lone dwarf. One's carrying a sword and the other's carrying a mace. And then the narration continues until at last there were two survivors left. The light dwarf and the dark orc had come to a standstill. Neither could win. Locked in everlasting combat, they shared their ferocity, determination, and pain together. So day by day, as the world burned around them, they softened their gazes. Now, the second I read that, I had a feeling where this was going. Then the narration zooms in on the orc's legs and simply says, "She had nice thighs." Then it cuts to the dwarf's face. He had nice eyes.

[00:02:23]Okay. Yeah, these are Dork's parents.

[00:02:26]Forget enemies becoming lovers. This is genocide to romance. And somehow Brett Bean makes it work. We turn the page and suddenly Dork is riding through the sky on the back of this mysterious pink spirit. And now we know we're watching some kind of vision or flashback here.

[00:02:44]The spirit who we later learn is actually fate itself starts explaining everything.

[00:02:50]And this was exactly 20 years, 2 months, and 15 days ago. Because as fate would have it, these two warriors, light and dark, shared a war for centuries, a battlefield for decades, a fight for weeks, and one night together, uh, getting it on.

[00:03:15]So, I guess we really are doing romance on the battlefield here. And before we go any further, can we just appreciate this incredible two-page spread? Brett Bean at his finest. You can see the battlefield stretching on forever.

[00:03:28]Weapons are sticking out of the ground and out of bodies. Corpses are everywhere. Rivers of blood, lava flowing in the distance. It's one of those pages where you almost forget to keep reading because you're too busy looking at every tiny detail. It's gorgeous in the most horrifying way possible. And meanwhile, Dork is having absolutely none of this family history lesson.

[00:03:52]He looks down and sees his parents and asks, "Gross. Are those my parents?

[00:03:58]E, I'm with Dork on this one. Gross."

[00:04:02]And Fate answers, "Yep, the old dwarf and orc thrust and stab. Face it. You were a passion baby." And Dork immediately fires back. Come on. Nobody should watch their parents smooshing boots. And fate being the absolute menace that it is just doubles down.

[00:04:22]Yes, look at that. They are smooshing boots. And then the conversation only gets worse from there. Dork pleads, "Please, Fate, stop. I need to escape this." Now, obviously, he's talking about wanting out of this vision and probably out of that red crystal, too.

[00:04:39]But Fate immediately decides to interpret that in the funniest way possible. Escape what? sex. There's no escaping that. One day, your loins will be bursting for a piece of.

[00:04:52]And Dork cuts that off immediately. Done here. I can't even tell who they are.

[00:04:57]It's just blood and bodies down there.

[00:05:00]Fate refuses to let him off the hook, though. Opposites attract. Years of pinup anger and frustration can lead to many things, even the making of a dork and the end of the world. Ha. You are the screwing the world gets for the screwing those two love birds got. That might genuinely be one of the most unhinged explanations for a chosen one's birth that I've ever read in a fantasy comic. Dork, understandably traumatized by this point, simply says, "Great.

[00:05:31]Thanks for that." And Fate replies, "Hey, you asked for all this when you shook the bones. The witch warned you."

[00:05:39]Dork finally asked the question that's been hanging over this series for several issues now. Fair enough. Is what the witch said true? And Fate responds that you have some destiny to fulfill that will bring about Sunderrain's Doom.

[00:05:55]Well, Dork. And with that, we get the chapter title, Fate is Fickle. Now, that's a title that should immediately tell you this issue is about to challenge everything we've assumed about Dork's destiny up to this point.

[00:06:14]And with that title, Fate is Fickle, Brett Bean makes it pretty clear what this issue is going to be about. Up until this point, Dork's entire journey has been surrounded by this question of destiny. Is he truly destined to destroy Sunderrain? Or is he just a character everyone has decided to fear because of a prophecy? And this issue doesn't just answer that question. It completely flips the way we look at Dork, the bone witch, and the entire conflict between the light and the dark. What starts as a hilarious conversation with the literal embodiment of fate turns into one of the biggest lore reveals this series has given us so far. You guys are definitely going to want to stick around for this one. Let's take a look.

[00:07:08]As we turn the page, this issue slows down just enough to deliver one of the biggest pieces of world building we've got so far in Dor. Up until now, this series has mostly been pedal to the floor. Jokes, action, more jokes, somebody loses a limb. Here though, Brett Bean actually stops to explore what this prophecy really means. And I think it's one of the smartest decisions he's made with this book.

[00:07:34]Dork is still riding through this strange realm with fate when fate says, "The real world doesn't get the luxury of being that black and white. It's all gray in the real world. Hold on tight.

[00:07:47]We'll leave these two alone in the past."

[00:07:50]I really like that line because it immediately reinforces something we've all been talking about throughout this entire series. On the surface, the world of Dork looks incredibly simple. It's light versus dark, good versus evil, heroes versus monsters, but Dork himself has never really fit neatly into either side. And this issue finally begins addressing that head on.

[00:08:13]Then fate continues. You need to understand that fate is only acknowledged after choices meet action.

[00:08:20]Actions, not before. Dork understandably looks confused because, yeah, that's not exactly the easiest philosophy lesson to digest while you're riding a cosmic pink spirit through time. So fate elaborates, imagine all of Sunderrain's love, hate, anger, joy, fear, and happiness all happening at the same time as yours is happening. All those choices and actions lead to consequences yesterday, today, and tomorrow. You are all connected. It gets too messy for it to be called fate, don't you think?

[00:08:59]Yeah, that makes sense for sure. Instead of the usual fantasy trope where everything has already been predetermined by prophecy, fate is basically arguing the exact opposite of that. Fate isn't some invisible script that's already been written. It's simply the name we give to the consequences after everyone has already made their choices. That's a much more interesting way to handle prophecy than simply saying, "Well, because destiny." Then we cut to Dork sitting on the edge of a cliff while Fate stands beside him. And Fate gives probably the clearest explanation in this entire issue. For instance, you can choose to walk off this cliff right now and boom, no more prophecy. Or tomorrow you could be disembowled by a dragon or smooshed by a boulder. You could even decide to break out of that crystal that the bone witch trapped you in, lose control, and destroy the world. It's not up to me.

[00:09:59]It's up to you.

[00:10:01]And that's the entire point of this chapter right here. The prophecy isn't controlling Dork. Dork is controlling the prophecy. Then fate immediately ruins the serious moment by reminding Dork of one of the funniest scenes in the series. You chose to throw a shield in anger and decapitate a chicken.

[00:10:21]Honestly, I've replayed it so many times in here. It gets funnier every time.

[00:10:26]that little sound he made at the end.

[00:10:29]Apparently, even the literal embodiment of fate sits around replaying embarrassing memories for his entertainment.

[00:10:37]I would, too. Now, Dork is significantly less amused here. I'm glad my gut-wrenching guilt makes you happy.

[00:10:45]Poor guy can't even have an existential crisis without being roasted by a cosmic being. But I really think this is the moment the series officially tells us that Dork isn't locked into becoming some worldending monster. I actually suspected we'd eventually get here because Brett Bean has spent the entire series showing Dork making compassionate decisions whenever he's given the chance. The conversation continues as Dork and Fate take off flying once again. And fate says, "But that little action led you to the bone witch, which in turn got us to have this awkward conversation right now. So which came first? Your actions or your fate?" Dork thinks it over for a second before answering. Decisions lead to your destiny. So nothing is sealed in fate.

[00:11:33]And fate smiles. There it is. So that's the lesson. Simple, compelling, and it's kind of refreshing. As they continue flying, we start seeing enormous floating crystals scattered throughout this strange realm. And that immediately caught my attention because now I'm wondering if the bone witch's red crystal isn't unique at all. Maybe these things exist all over Sunderrain and serves some larger purpose here. Brett Bean doesn't explain it, but it's one of those little background details that instantly get your imagination going.

[00:12:05]However, Dork has a much more important concern here. He says, "Fate, don't think I didn't notice you weren't telling me anything substantial about my parents back there. You're going to make all this difficult for me, aren't you?"

[00:12:19]And Fate responds with exactly the kind of maturity you've come to expect. As hard as trying to forget the imagery of your hot mom riding the dwarf flag pole, [laughter] dwarven flagpole. I'm going to have to add that to the vocabulary list. And Dork simply sigh and says, "I hate you."

[00:12:39]And Fate answers, "Okay, that's fair."

[00:12:43]That's such perfect comedic timing after several pages of heavy philosophical discussion. Brett Bean never lets the book become too serious for too long, and that's one of the reasons this series remains so entertaining. And suddenly, they arrive at an enormous red crystal identical to the one imprisoning Dork in the real world. Fate tells him, "This is your stop, Dork. Remember that every creature has the power to create and destroy, to hurt or heal. Most of you are too stupid to realize it's a choice. That line right there feels like the thesis statement for this entire series. Everyone has a choice. Even monsters, even heroes, even someone who's supposedly destined to destroy the world. Dork, however, has had enough of Fate's cryptic life lessons. He simply replies, "You are infuriating."

[00:13:34]Well, no arguments here. Fate looks at Dork and says, "That's life, kiddo. You can feel how broken they all are. Even the bone witch, she isn't half as bad once you get to know her. She just has resting witch face."

[00:13:51]Mhm. She and her sisters have good reason to burn Sunderrain to the ground if you decide to help her. Now, I love this because it completely undercuts what is actually a pretty serious revelation. Up to this point, we've mostly viewed the bone witch as another unpredictable force in this world. But now, Fate is basically telling Dork and us that there are motivations we haven't seen yet. That's intriguing. Maybe she's not the villain everyone believes she is. Maybe the world has given her every reason to hate it. And Dork immediately catches the one word that matters here.

[00:14:27]He asks, "If." Fate doubles down on everything it's been teaching him throughout this chapter. Yeah, if when depending on your mood swings. Make no mistake, you've already made your choice. I'm just trying to catch you up on it. Fate isn't saying it's controlling Dork's life. It's saying Dork has already become the kind of person who's going to make certain decisions. His choices define him, not destiny itself.

[00:14:55]And then fate casually decides to throw gasoline on the fire by adding oh and as soon as you decide things get crazy.

[00:15:04]Like you've been stuck in a crystal for weeks and have no idea what's happened since then. Batshit crazy. I can't wait to watch how this plays out. I can't wait to see how this plays out either.

[00:15:15]It's gonna be awesome. Now Dork is confused and he blurts out, "What?" Fate immediately waves him off with a never mind. Getting ahead of myself. Just try not to get dead. Up to you on the witch thing. And don't forget to duck at the end. Just crack on and punch your way out of here if you want. That's your choice. I love how Fate gives the worst advice imaginable. Imagine your cosmic guide basically saying, "Good luck.

[00:15:42]Don't die. Duck eventually. Yeah, figure out the rest yourself. Thanks, Fate.

[00:15:47]You're very helpful."

[00:15:50]Now, at this point, Dork has officially had enough. He clenches his fist and says, "You think there's a choice, huh?"

[00:15:56]Then he drives his fist into the red crystal. We see it crack for the very first time. And just like that, we're thrown back into the present.

[00:16:13]Now, that was a lot of exposition. And with that, we're finally back in the real world. Dork has learned the truth about fate. discovered that his choices, not prophecy, will decide the future of Sunderrain. And now he's about to punch his way out of that crystal.

[00:16:30]Unfortunately, [music] while all that was happening, the Bone Witch and Chicken and Shield have been running for their lives. And in part two, we're going to find out exactly who or what they're running from, along with one of the biggest reveals this series has given us so far. If you enjoyed part one, make sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and I'll see you in part two. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.