What are you hoping to see in this last book?

[deltamire]

The predictions thread is doing good business, so I'll ask this; what are you hoping to see in currently unnamed book #7? It's supposed to be even bigger than BRITF and is scheduled for at least 5 more years, so there's plenty of time and space for things to happen. Nothing is too ridiculous or unrealistic.

Personally, I'm psyched for an O-Chul + Redcloak scene. They haven't interacted since 655, and the changes Redcloak's probably going to have to go through in an evolve-or-die sort of way would make for a fantastic interaction. Maybe even involve Lien - she's still got beef with the goblins for the destruction of Azure city, even if she seems to be dealing with it a little better than the others. In terms of characters, I'd like to see more of Celia and Inkyrius. We had an aside regarding Celia here, and Inkyrius' portrait was used for a gag regarding their messed up relationship with V here, so it's fair to say they're both still considered affecting characters in the comic's canon. However, it's unlikely that they'll turn up anytime soon - unless something goes terribly wrong, two civilians aren't going to be hanging around at the North Pole for a lark.

Are you looking for something plot-wise, like seeing the world inside the snarl? Character-wise, like a certain dynamic you'd like to see more of or a character we haven't seen in years? Or even just in terms of spectacle - is there a fight or even a spell level you're waiting to be used in-comic?

[Soup du Jour]

I'm really hoping we get to see The Dark One speak on-screen, outside of crayon-o-vision. Literally everything we know or have heard about him is second-hand, and I'm fascinated to know what he thinks of things these days.

[Emanick]

I want to see Belkar and V redeemed to the greatest extent possible (and plausible), and for V to be reconciled with hir spouse. I'd also like to see the entire cosmic system in which "souls = afterlife batteries" be overturned, given how fundamentally abhorrent I find it, but that seems like a bit of a pipe dream.

On a smaller scale, I'd like to see as much interaction between Team Evil and the Order as possible, especially in terms of one-on-one interactions, and particularly with Redcloak. The current set of strips is exactly the sort of thing I've been looking forward to the most in this book. All of the characters in the Order and in Team Evil are so well-developed now that there's enormous potential for conflict and interaction when the two sides are brought together, and I think I would find it enormously more entertaining than watching the Order's internal interactions - which, while enjoyable, is nothing special anymore.

I'd like to see the heir to House Kato be born, and for Daigo's full last name to be revealed. Their story seems a bit unfinished. I believe Rich said in a book commentary that their role in the story is "largely over," but it would be cool to see some of the loose ends formally tied up.

I also want to see more of Gobbotopia and of O-Chul (presumably separately), but then, who doesn't?

Seeing Redcloak's niece brought back into the narrative would also be cool.

[Wizard_Lizard]

I would like to see V and inkyrius united and happy.
V is hands down my favourite character and they should get a happy ending.

[dancrilis]

Hopes are not expectations with that caveat:
I would like to see Xykon ascend as a deity (maybe a second purple god depending on how ascension works) and take a deal that Redcloak foolishly rejected on behalf of the Dark One (for Redcloak reasons rather then Goblin reasons).

[understatement]

Plotwise, probably just the big questions: what's the riftworld about? What's the real truth about the Snarl? What is the MiTD? How will Team Evil be defeated? What are the IFCC up to? Is Serini still alive? Who are the voices? How will Belkar die?

Visuals-wise, the art in this arc and the last book have absolutely been amazing. Miracle, or any summoned creatures, would look cool. A powered-up Roy is a nice treat.

Character-wise? Any of the Order with Team Evil works fine, maybe except for Xykon (since any interaction with him usually ends with someone dying). The MiTD reuniting with O-Chul (which may coincide with his reveal) is something I'll count myself lucky to read. Considering Redcloak has already met with one member of the Order, I am looking forward to the next batch of strips -- but I think any Roy-Redcloak interaction would be amazing. Their personalities are very similar, but they are completely opposite in moralities, kind of like Elan and Tarquin.

As for characters I hope we can see...naturally, Redcloak's niece, even if it is utterly implausible. If the riftworld gets visited, maybe Mijung and the chicken-goblin-cleric.

[deltamire]

I'm really hoping we get to see The Dark One speak on-screen, outside of crayon-o-vision.

God, yeah. There's some theories going around that his views and Redcloak's don't quite match up as much as Redcloak wants to believe - that sounds like a really compelling way to start his descent into 'oh god what have I done' mode.

. . . but I think any Roy-Redcloak interaction would be amazing. Their personalities are very similar, but they are completely opposite in moralities

Honestly, any interactions between Roy and any of the villains have A+ potential. Roy is just such a good hero for dealing with complete and utter evil; he's a man after Sam Vimes' heart, and he just doesn't know when to quit. Redcloak and Roy bantering would be fantastic, but what I'm really hoping for is a scene in which Roy doesn't interact and quip with the villain, à la the last fight with Tarquin. Roy is probably the most dangerous member of the order when he gets stony silent, and it would be great for Xycon to fully realise, a little bit too late, just how far he's grown from the guy who leapt onto his dragon and shouted at him a lot.



A lot of people are looking forward to the Inkyrius / V meetup, and I'd be lying if I wasn't too. It's so very rare for NB characters to have relationships that are more than just 'they're married, I guess' and on the other side of it, 'tragic end because the writer couldn't consider a trans person happy, ever', and even rarer for them to have them with other NB characters.

[LadyEowyn]

Personally, I'm psyched for an O-Chul + Redcloak scene. They haven't interacted since 655, and the changes Redcloak's probably going to have to go through in an evolve-or-die sort of way would make for a fantastic interaction.

YES.

I want O-Chul to find out that the gods created goblinoids for XP fodder, and I want Redcloak to be there when he does. This is someone who was

Spoiler: HTPGHS spoilers

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willing to fight a Celestial to protect hostile hobgoblins

- his reaction would be epic and completely incomprehensible to Redcloak. It would defy everything Redcloak thinks he knows about paladins.

I'm really hoping we get to see The Dark One speak on-screen, outside of crayon-o-vision. Literally everything we know or have heard about him is second-hand, and I'm fascinated to know what he thinks of things these days.

Yes, very much this. He’s probably the most pivotal character that we haven’t yet seen in person.

On a smaller scale, I'd like to see as much interaction between Team Evil and the Order as possible, especially in terms of one-on-one interactions, and particularly with Redcloak. The current set of strips is exactly the sort of thing I've been looking forward to the most in this book. All of the characters in the Order and in Team Evil are so well-developed now that there's enormous potential for conflict and interaction when the two sides are brought together

Yes, agreed, very much looking forward to this.

Also looking forward to 1) more O-Chul & MITD interactions, with MITD openly changing sides; 2) finding out what MITD is; and 3) the conclusion of Vaarsuvius’ arc.

It would be nice to see reconciliation between V and Inky, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

I want Gobbotopia to survive and thrive (and end slavery), and I’m worried that it won’t. The giant rift is just sitting there like Chekhov’s gun...

[Worldsong]

I want to see many things, but one thing I'm hoping for which might be a long shot is that Redcloak finally realizes that he's gone too far and begins to head down the road of redemption. He might not achieve redemption within the story itself but I'd like to see the story end with the implication that Redcloak is heading towards a happy end, even if it would still take many years to get there.

I really like the guy and I'd be sad if his personal story ended with him never growing beyond his absolute devotion to The Plan.

Also as mentioned above what's with the Snarl, the World Within The Rift, and what influence will that have on saving the world.

EDIT: Oh and O'Chul showing Redcloak that there's at least one paladin who is truly and utterly dedicated to doing the right thing, to the point that he'll defend goblins and other monster races against his own colleagues and friends if he can't agree with their motivations.

[el minster]

I want to know about the dark thing under the umbrella

[Quebbster]

I hope Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator will be returned to his original shape to wreak some havoc at some point.

[deltamire]

I hope Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator will be returned to his original shape to wreak some havoc at some point.

God, yes. There has got to be some dinosaur action in this book - the little tyke has been a Chekhov's gun for entirety of the past book. There's a theory or two floating around that it won't actually be the party themselves who un-polymorph him, but rather Xykon or Redcloak attempting to blanket dispel magic. That would be quite a moment; attempting to remove your enemies' abjurations, only for a flippin' dinosaur to come roaring out of the pack of one of them.

[The Pilgrim]

I'll be happy if I get to see the "The End" panel, after twenty years.

[brian 333]

I would be sad to see V reunite with Inky. Neglecting your spouse and children should have consequences. It would be very cool to see that Inky has moved on and now has a happy life with a commited and loving partner, and to see V commit to earning the priviledge of interacting with their children.

What I most want to see is Elan and Haley step through a rift and discover they are on a small road that leads to a small village, beyond which is the ruins of a castle, with a vast, empty white space in all directions, unmapped, unexplored, and unknown.

All the magic that The Giant creates before then will be great too.

[Aidan]

With regards to V and Inky, I personally would like to see V return to Inky and throw themselves at their mercy. My thought is while, yes, we should see Inky living a stable and good life without V there, V has grown and I think that sending a message of "No matter what you cannot fix what is broken" would be a really somber note. I want to see the ending note for V be that, s/he has a long way to go, but s/he can still rebuild a relationship with Inky, s/he can still build a relationship with their children.

Other than that, I'm with a lot of what has been said, I want to see The Dark One in the flesh, he is likely the largest player in all this that we still have never seen (flashbacks don't count). I want to see Bloodfeast return to his dinosaur glory.

One thing that I am curious about is regarding the inevitable dissolution of Team Evil, namely who turns on who first. I personally would like to see Xykon turn on RC before he has the chance to betray Xykon.

[Ginasius]

I want to know about the dark thing under the umbrella

Can you give a link to the comic page where it appears? I'm not sure I remember this guy...

(Of course, extreme irony is hard to detect on the Internet)

[deltamire]

With regards to V and Inky, I personally would like to see V return to Inky and throw themselves at their mercy. My thought is while, yes, we should see Inky living a stable and good life without V there, V has grown and I think that sending a message of "No matter what you cannot fix what is broken" would be a really somber note. I want to see the ending note for V be that, s/he has a long way to go, but s/he can still rebuild a relationship with Inky, s/he can still build a relationship with their children.

Yeah, I wasn't going to include it in my reaction up there cause it was too long, but it would be . . . Incredibly unlike the entirely of V's character arc so far for them to go back to normal with Inkyrius like nothing had happened. I think there's kind of two sides of it to me, personally. I really, really love the trope of a relationship being written as going wrong not because one or more parties involved are inherently bad for each other or indeed irredeemable, but rather a combination of their flaws and their at the time problems getting in the way. In this case, V's head being stuck up their own *** mixed with their general lack of respect for anyone who wasn't actively helping them gain power, and Inkyrius' presumed passivity up until the ABD attack. However, it would suck for their relationship (or lack thereof) to end in pure Shakespearean tragedy with V either dying in this book for some messed up idea of absolution or even just never seeing Inkyrius in-comic again. The end message being 'if you mess up, you're through and you can never fix any of it' goes directly against the moral statment we've been given regarding V's future endeavours, and would leave a bad taste in my mouth because dear god am I sick of seeing unnecessarily tragic gay characters tossed around like it's open season.

V's still working on the whole 'opening up to others and stating when they're wrong' part of their character development, and it would be satisfying for that to cumulate in a scene where they talk with their ex. Either way, I'm hoping to see Inkyrius tear V a new one at the end of this book, because they definitely have enough anger to direct at them.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I‘ll be very excited to see the reveal of the MitD (and, although this won’t be in the book, the reactions from the MitD thread). I’m also looking forward to seeing the fulfillment of Redcloak‘s character arc; I think in some ways this last book will be his, considering that most of the Order have had theirs. Of course, the one who hasn’t is Belkar and I’m also excited to see more character development from him.

[FlyingSealion]

I really want Redcloak to get at least one solid moment where pulls one over on Xykon. Just a single point where he gets to say/do something that Xykon clearly wasn't prepared to deal with and it visibly shakes him. Even if it's just Redcloak getting the last word in and then dropping the phalactery in front of the order right before he dies, I don't need him to get a happy ending but I'm really hoping for a bit of revenge or vindication for his 30 years of dealing with Xykon's crap

(plus then we get Stressed Out Xykon, among the most rare and dangerous Xykons, and I'm always happy to see that)

Aside from that I'll back up pretty much everything that's been said about O-Chul and Roy.

My prediction/preference for the V of it all is a little more open ended. I'm definitely hoping for them to reunite with Inky in the epilogue, but I feel like the amount of trust rebuilding needed for them to realistically get back together would take longer than the strip can afford to focus on. I'd be happy if their last scene was just them hugging their children, and the implication that they and Inky were going to keep in touch as friends/co-parents and see where it goes in time.
Hope for the future paired with the implication that redemption/being a good person is a choice that you always need to keep working at.

[KorvinStarmast]

What are you hoping to see in this last book?

I am hoping to see the world inside the rift.

I am hoping to see what the IFCC is up to.

I am hoping to see Roy skewer Xykon with his sword.

I am hoping to see O'Chul and MiTD do something really cool together.

I am hoping to see Lien bury her spear in Redcloak's other eye, while laying down a smite evil, which ends him.

Regardless of what I am hoping for, I am pretty sure Rich will deliver a good story. Utterly Dwarfed showed us how good he can be. I am looking forward to more.

[Quebbster]

Spoiler since this is from bonus material (War and XP I believe):

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I look forward to Belkar saving Hinjo's life a second time. Hopefully up close and personal and not because he stopped the world from being destroyed with Hinjo on it.

[bravelove]

I am begging for anything mitd like please, PLEASE

I want belkar to end up in a afterlife that lets him hang out with mr scruffy when he eventually passes

I want inky and v to start patching up their relationship, not as lovers, but as friends perhaps left open ended so the reader can decide if they stay just friends or get back together

I want to know what the Sabine is up to (maybe even get demon Nale if we’re getting super indulgent)

Redcloaks true name would be interesting to know

[KorvinStarmast]

Redcloaks true name would be interesting to know

I think I'll be happy never knowing that.
When I found out that John Wayne's birth name as Marion Michael Morrison it just didn't do anything for me.

When I found out that Michael Keaton (the actor, Billy Blaze in Night Shift, recently in Birdman) had changed his name from Michael Douglas (I think it was due to Kirk Douglas' son Michael already being a star at the time) it made me feel sad.

[Worldsong]

Redcloaks true name would be interesting to know

Could be a fun cliché if Redcloak yells his original name at a crucial moment towards Xykon. However I think the Giant is taking the approach that Redcloak is now just Redcloak, and that his original name no longer has any real meaning.

[Peelee]

I think I'll be happy never knowing that.
When I found out that John Wayne's birth name as Marion Michael Morrison it just didn't do anything for me.

When I found out that Michael Keaton (the actor, Billy Blaze in Night Shift, recently in Birdman) had changed his name from Michael Douglas (I think it was due to Kirk Douglas' son Michael already being a star at the time) it made me feel sad.

You like Albert Brooks? Imean, you should, he's one of the most brilliant comedians out there and is criminally underrated and I'll see any damn movie with him in it because the guy is comic genius and I will fight anyone on this. Anyway. That's not his real name; he changed his name because it was the same as a significantly more famous person, who quite literally everyone would think of instead. On hearing this, I've noticed most people theorize that Albert Brooks' birth name was Mel Brooks. In reality, Albert Brooks was born Albert Einstein.

Oh, also, Super Dave Osborne was Bob Einstein, his brother.

[KorvinStarmast]

You like Albert Brooks?

He's a good director, and I remember him being funny on TV back when I was in high school. (Didn't he write Private Benjamin or am I remembering that wrongly?) One of his best performances - Broadcast News - was for me a turn off when I first saw the movie. I think I had already OD'd on 'loveable neurotic characters' from Woody Allen by that point, which is really unfair to Brooks since his presence on screen is much warmer.

I had not realized that Super Dave was his brother. Talented family!

[Peelee]

He's a good director, and I remember him being funny on TV back when I was in high school. (Didn't he write Private Benjamin or am I remembering that wrongly?) One of his best performances - Broadcast News - was for me a turn off when I first saw the movie. I think I had already OD'd on 'loveable neurotic characters' from Woody Allen by that point, which is really unfair to Brooks since his presence on screen is much warmer.

I had not realized that Super Dave was his brother. Talented family!

My favorite movie he did is one I won't really talk about on this site, despite being fictional. But I will say that if I ever meet an Einstein, I'll be expecting big things, given their track record.

Don't check my exceedingly poor statistical math there!

[bravelove]

Could be a fun cliché if Redcloak yells his original name at a crucial moment towards Xykon. However I think the Giant is taking the approach that Redcloak is now just Redcloak, and that his original name no longer has any real meaning.

Fair enough! it's not something i feel strong about really, I'm just a sucker for worldbuilding and lore and that'd be really cool, ooo maybe as a twist we learn

Spoiler: SoD

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right-eye's

real name instead while redcloak keeps redcloak, now that'd be epic

[Quebbster]

Spoilers since this is based on Start of Darkness:

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To me, the point of the climax of SoD is that Redcloak truly becomes Redcloak - he is too far removed to the goblin he once was.
"Goodbye brother"
"Goodbye... Redcloak" - just heartbreaking.

[Alexandrite]

A straight-up and conclusive Order vs Team Evil confrontation. No victories by dumb luck, no missing team members, no running away

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at least not before the fight's actually, you know, done

just a fight. The comic is long, long overdue for this.