#the dragon thing is a cool idea but I'm not sure it should have involved zelda tbh

[rawliverandgoronspice]

I absolutely love your analysis of the gerudo and Ganondorf because they put into words what bothers me about how TOTK portrays Ganondorf. That being they remove his agency as a character in favor of having some great evil against the good guys.

[Major story spoilers ahead for the end of the game]

At the end of the game, when you’ve defeated Ganondorf, he swallows the secret stone and becomes a dragon, like Zelda, fully knowing the consequences of what happens when that happens. And it’s just kinda left me with a bitter taste in my mouth? In the context of the story it makes sense, he’s portrayed as a egomaniac who just wants to destroy Hyrule. But compared to other versions of him, this one just feels more openly biased against him and the gerudo, with no reason or justification other than “he’s evil, hate him.” As far as I can tell… They never really show us that he’s done anything horrible or deserving of being feared before the show of fealty cutscene, other than not submit to Hyrule, attack them once, and generally have bad vibes. It feels forced how much they want us to hate him and the people who follow him. I’m not saying character in video games always have to be nuanced or complex but comparing like, Wind Waker Ganondorf next to TOTK Ganondorf…. 🙃 Waste of an excellent design imo.

Heyyy sorry for being a billion years late with this ask!! I was busy finishing the game!!! among other things!!! Thank you so much for your kind words, I'm super happy it resonated with you in that way!

I mean, the whole draconification plot beat doesn't really work for me. Like yeah, sure it's sad that Zelda is now a giant dragon and it's cool to have her soaring above your head while you have no idea where she actually is (a situation that isn't nearly tapped into enough in the narrative imo, like it gets obvious way too fast if you happen upon the wrong memory, etc), and I actually think the whole sequence of you removing the Master Sword from her head was the best scene in the entire game in terms of mood and emotions --even THOUGH it would have been so much better with a stronger story and stronger stakes-- BUT. How does that build up thematically?

I think what doesn't work for the Zelda side of this plot point (I'll get to Ganon next) is that... she doesn't make that choice. It's not like she's being tempted by an easy way out and decides to sacrifice herself for the sake of Hyrule or Link or whoever: she has no choice in the matter. Her powers activate (?? somehow? once and never again also, talk about dropped plot threads), she finds herself in the past, is the passive witness to a bunch of shit that only tangientially relates to her --it's like she's visiting estranged family in a foreign country and watch their drama awkwardly before being dragged into it against her will even though she was just trying to renew her passport and get back home (if there had been any callback to her relationship with her father it would have landed better, but it's just completely ignored so vOv). Then her relatives all die or corrupt or something, and she still can't get back home. What is she meant to do besides draconify? Grow old and die in the past? What would that accomplish?? Her adventures in the past are just basically about solving a shrine puzzle with a particularly weird solution --but the game treats it like a huge sacrifice when it's basically her only way out, and she lost absolutely nothing making that sacrifice (and then she... cries about the weird family drama? sure. Honestly I think it would have worked better if the tears were Rauru's, it's his bullshit everyone is dealing with right? He's the one who feels broken and aggrieved by the whole thing.)

So, if we ignore the draconification precedent builds up to zero thing thematically beyond cheap drama that reveals nothing about neither the characters nor the world, I think Ganondorf's case is a little more compelling because he does make a choice here: dying as he tries to achieve his weird lofty goals (and fail), or postpone his victory eternally by sacrificing his objectives but reject death and defeat --while also barring himself from victory. In a better crafted story, this could be utterly excellent and it feels very Ganondorf to me. BUT, my beef with that plot beat isn't that he chooses the second option, making him kinda active for the first time in the entire game (and makes an appropriate hideous smile: *loved* this second one, the first one didn't land for me but this one really captures the ecstatic insanity and transcendance and desperate madness of the act --I have nothing against Ganondorf offputting smiles and cackles when they feel earned, and the Sonia one just... doesn't to me, it just feels like weird rigging and mesh deformation choices getting out of control).

My problem is that his existence as a dragon contradicts everything we knew about dragons before --both for him and for Zelda. I thought the big issue with draconification was that you'd lose yourself to the act entirely, and would become this sort of organic landmark of infinite power and eternal life but without will to act on your precedent goals and understanding of yourself. But the second the big man becomes an evil dragon, suddenly Zelda zips in to the rescue (apparently remembering who you are? understanding she's meant to fight Ganondorf? I mean, this kind of works emotionally as a climactic ending and the power of love or whatever, again it would have worked better in a better story), and Ganondorf is still very much into destroying the world as well as you and Zelda.

Also, he's very definitively mortal (and he has the stone on his head again? And so if you destroy it you destroy his immortality? why???)

So... What I dislike here is the suggestion that he was somehow so evil and rotten and bad that all of these rare moments of interesting worldbuilding and ambivalence gets completely swallowed in the bossfight logic, making his choice (and Zelda's) completely meaningless in retrospect.

also: let Zelda remain a dragon you cowards, that way Hyrule gets any sort of chance to escape and reimagine its horrying eternal monarchy instead of re-establishing it even harder than before!!!

[jay-avian]

Finding True Inspiration

So I read this book for one of my creative writing classes called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (I highly recommend for anyone wanting advice on writing) and I came across a chapter that was really helpful in terms of truly being inspired to write your pieces. The chapter starts out by saying:

"If you find that you start a number of stories or pieces that you don't ever bother finishing, that you lose interest or faith in them along the way, it may be that there is nothing at their center about which you care passionately."

I firstly felt very called out by this fact. But then I kept reading, and I understood. In this essay, I will try and explain what it means to write morally without being preachy.

Essentially what Lamott is saying is that everyone has some truth they must share, some core concepts in which you believe passionately and whole-heartedly. It is these concepts that drive a story. She's not of course saying to have some overall moral or message to your story. But characters in a book are in fact human, or at least have humanoid consciouses. Because of this, they are beautifully and wonderfully complex, just as humanity is.

You may want to write your stories because you got a cool worldbuilding idea or you want to use a cool character concept. You may want to include some really cool quotes you thought of in the shower or at 3am in bed. But as you write, "...what seems to happen almost organically is that you end up wanting your characters to act out the drama of humankind. Much of this drama does not involve witticisms and shimmer. Yet this drama is best couched in moral terms; the purpose of most great writing seems to be to reveal in an ethical light who we are." We inevitably make our characters into ourselves and those around us. As unrealistic as the world we throw them in may be, good characters should always provide a sense of grounding for the reader and a good foundation for the writer.

Why do we like the books that we do? What makes us drawn to certain characters? A good story is driven by good characters, this is a lesson I'm sure we've all been taught at some point in class or on the internet. But why is this? It is, in fact, because those characters are driven by much of the same things we are, "...they internalize some decency in the world... They let us see that there is in fact some sort of moral compass still at work here, and that we, too, could travel by this compass if we so choose." The plot only leads our characters together. And though they may find themselves lost, their compass still knows the way, unfaltering.

In my classes, we are taught the difference between "literary" works vs genre works. Literary works have some sort of lesson of life within them, while genre is very plot heavy and typically is predictable. I began resenting this esteemed view of literary and nonfiction is much better than genre, it means so much more. But of course, there are quite a number of genre works that can be considered literary: Lord of the Rings, Frankenstein, The Narnia Chronicles, Beowulf, to name a few notable ones. Some of the "classics" as they're called do have the intention of teaching some moral lesson. But this moral message doesn't have to always be a lesson; it's something you must care about passionately. We know that we live in a world of greedy dragons, we don't need reminders of this. Instead, tell us how we should live, how we should care. "A moral position is not a slogan, or wishful thinking. It doesn't come from outside or above. It begins inside the heart of a character and grows from there." Don't just write about the truth, write about your truth. Only then can you be truly attached to your writing. Only then can your readers be as in love with your story as you are.

(p.s. - I wrote this instead of actually writing an essay for school)

[some-pers0n]

Oh boy do I have my *hot* take(s) :)

Sunny should've gotten (better) princess treatment

Nightwings should've allied with the Icewings and then betrayed them in the climax of the war(when one or two of the sisters keel)

Glory should've been more fiery like Tsunami and not played into the 'lazy rainwing' troupe, and shouldn't have had her heritage discovered the way it was/if at all

Morrowseer was (mostly) right to act the way he did

Darkstalker shouldn't have been so *teehee nobody knows I'm evil except for one convenient dragon*

Sending the *Icewing* Talons of Peace member for a skywing egg was actually the worst decision(from the prologue in book 1 iirc)

Scavengers should've pulled off another big stunt in the first/second arc, maybe not killing a queen, but somebody important and framing it on a dragon to ignite the post-/war

Starflight should've been a hybrid (preferably 1/4 or 1/2 icewing for *drama*)

Blister is the coolest but worst sister and deserved to suffer more losses(maybe having someone close to her die)(if she could've had actual friends to begin with)

More sandwings should've become outraged at Thorn (particularly Burn followers)(bc they're already kinda kookoo)

Kestrel should've lived longer even though her end was a badass plot twist

Ruby's story was so foolish, no one could possibly be that ditzy except maybe Blaze

Dream visitors (dreams) should've been more chaotic and been harder to reach the dragons conscious

Dream visitors should've failed at least once in a daze of forgetting dreams or "nah that's not real" but sparking paranoia in those trying to forget, so much that it leads them to foil someone's plans, (like scarlet and the assassin stuff)(it fails anyway "but I didn't believe it to begin with" ...)

Corals sons should've absolutely despised her and helped the DoD

A dragon should've escaped Scarlets towering prisons and rebelled with a few skywing traitors and failed; to raise tensions and lower the others hopes, to make the DoDs escape more fulfilling (cause the nightwings robbing starflight for the night was too anticlimactic)(also some skywing guard[or crazed prisoner like gills but not him] should've tried to fight the nightwings)

Webs should've died over Dunes

Masterminds whole jig was kinda based (expiramenting bad and all yeah but it was done really well)(like the telling of it all not like he did the expiraments well)

Battle winners daughter is super lame, there should've been an attempted assassination on her as revenge for something either Battlewinner did or bc some nightwing just didn't like her)

Grandeur should've been really into cooking or just big fancy ass feasts

Moorhen should've had a big tragic background or beef with Glacier( or both, having Moorhens best closest family/friend murked by the icewings and she doesn't know why)

Coral should've been more clingy to Tsunami

The false DoD shouldn't have been so lively as if they weren't treated like the second option their whole lives

Tear me to pieces. I actually wanna see how bad they are, I'm sure I've also got more lying around, though I should probably reread the books I have so I can both find more wack takes, adjust my headcanons & smthn else I forgot as I was about to write just now

[I've basically only read the first 10ish and only own like 12 books, I was waiting to get the last 3 before reading the next arc]

Hoping I got these right as *takes* and not like theorizing or smthn

Also so sorry omg this is so long

Oh boy time to Read Alla Dat.

Oh I love NightWing/IceWing drama. That's a cool idea

Morrowseer is a cool villain and he doesn't get the attention he deserves. I love him so much. He's one of, if not the best villain in the series.

Absolutely genius move. Now Hvitur's dead. Thanks Nautilus.

The thing with scavengers to me is that they aren't inherently a bad idea. I actually think it's pretty cool to have humans be seen as a pest of sorts by these intelligent dragons. I would've loved if scavengers were more involved, albeit not in a "We are living creatures too and deserve to not be eaten-" shut up you walking strip of beef jerky and let me chew on your bones.

OhohOHOHOHOhh!! I like that idea! Hybrid Starflight's cool..

Blister was literally the Worst queen by far. I literally cannot imagine anybody making a good argument for her at all.

Imagine a gang leader becoming the queen after a 20 year war lmao. I'd be pissed to all hell.

I'm Diseased over the word "foolish" here. I'm in love. I can't think of any other way to describe her now. Ruby is just a foolish creature.

GOD I WISH DREAM VISITORS WERE COOL LIKE THAT!! GRAHHHHH I WANNA WRITE ABOUT THEM NOW!! I love the idea of dreams and playing around with them. I love the idea of a character seeing somebody who's trying to tell them: "Hey I'm the real person and you're in a dream" and going: "Uh-huh yeah right buddy". My dreams are kinda wacky and I think it would be fun to take inspiration from the particularly labyrinth-like places I sometimes get thrown into, with corridors that lead into other places past and Dream Logic comes into play. Dreams are so cool man...

Regional Webs hater here. Hard agree. I love Dune. Dune is the Guy of all time and I love him with all my heart. Webs deserves to never have his name be uttered ever.

Mastermind IS silly in my mind. I need to have at least one chaotic sciencey type who is perfectly willing to experiment on people. Mastermind is just that. What a guy. I wish he wasn't trapped in the Pit for all of time though.

Greatness is such wasted potential it hurts oh my god.

Grandeur grows pot.

Ohhhhhhh OOOHhHHhhHH I love that idea,,,

Literally if I was in Fatespeaker's position I too would be hopeless and miserable. I think she's just coping with it in a certain way that I can't really comprehend.

[hapigairu]

@deathbirby mentioned you on a post “when I read a 3h fic involving the nabats I...”:

@hapigairu lol go right ahead

​Thank you!

So... um... I thought the idea of the fic was to have Edelgard in the Blue Lions or something? Why does it look like a retelling of CF? "rhea forces edelgard to transform into a nabatean and it's very body horror-ish. she's like a mad scientist, completely crazy, insane, delusional and everything you would expect from CF fanfic rhea." That sounds like something Cornelia would do, not Rhea. Dunno how cruel Rhea is supposed to be there, but the whole mad-scientist with horror-ish vibes is very much a Cornelia thing. I am very confused. "rhea talks about the red canyon tragedy and seteth even mentions how he's heard her screaming at night babbling for her mother to come save her and it's just.. kinda shrugged off cuz bad things in past doesnt let you do bad things now (hmmm hypocrisy)" I mean... that's true that you can't justify doing terrible things because you had a traumatic past, obviously... Except Edelgard can for some reason? What? Also if someone's traumatised to the point of "screaming at night" (though I don't think Rhea would do that, I could see her crying when she's alone though), maybe don't shrug it off and help them regardless of what they've done? Which... Rhea did some questionable things (and still it wasn't out of malice at all), but absolutely nothing so evil that she should be denied compassion or help? Am I crazy in thinking that?

"also something where the holy tomb splits or something (rhea had a hand in that im pretty sure because of course) and sothis's dragon corpse is in there and that alone makes draconic features appear on the nabateans (pretty sick idea all things considered)" Splits? But yeah, that's a neat idea (the whole draconic features thing)! "edelgard's sibling (???) is a massive rhea simp and very zealous because of course"

Sibling? Okay, why not. Maybe they didn't all die, which... good for them and Edelgard! I don't think it's a bad idea at all, especially since the drama potential can be very strong. But how did they end up simping for Rhea if they were basically prisoner of the Agarthans? How does that happen? I'm guessing it's explained, but... it better be a very good explanation for it to make sense. And yeah... of course you can't like Rhea without being a zealot. *sighs* "the agarthans are more sympathetic?? like you can have an agarthan standing next to seteth without him losing his shit. also the holy tomb is apparently an alien mothership now because why not (thales said that. why is thales even alive idk)" The Agarthans are just so comically evil that I can understand wanting to flesh them out and add some complexities to them. Personally, I'd like to think that some Agarthans living in Shamballah are really not cool with what Thales and the others are doing, but freedom isn't exactly a thing in Shamballah when it comes to "Surface Dweller Sympathisers" or something like that. Cause no group is a monolith and surely, there must a minority of them -however tiny- not okay with their leaders? Like, younger people who are just done with having to hear about Thales' hate spiel and just want to live their damn lives? Idk, maybe I'm completely off-base with this lol. But yeah, I can't see Seteth be totally calm and collected when someone who likely participated in murdering his race stands near him. Just... nope. "epic final battle against rhea! you got edelgard, hubert, jeralt(??) and byleth all up against rhea! and she holds her own quite well. and then byleth gets knocked out and sothis takes control to scold rhea. and because even her own mom is against her rhea loses her will to live (not literally but she actually does lose her immortality as punishment??)" That's...uh... huh. Sothis is a bad mom and somehow it's her daughter's fault because it's always her fault? Seems a bit fucked up if you ask me. "oh and you get fun moments where edelgard yells at rhea during the fight and throws arguments at her. she thrust nobility onto humanity (false), she made herself a false idol (??), etc." Ah, yes. Rhea is the reason why nobility exist. What's that? What about Brigid and Almyra? The fact that they have nobility shall be either ignored or still be Rhea's fault somehow. And like, we don't know exactly how the Church was created IIRC? Yeah, Rhea had a hand in it, but she wasn't the only one I'm guessing? It reminds of a fanart where -after the battle against Nemesis- some soldiers said they fought for her and she was really moved. Really nice fanart, hats off to whoever did it. "if im not mistaken, the author of the fic is a "agarthans are actually natives and sothis was a colonist" believer. so that should give you a general idea." Yeah, that checks out. It's such a shame that, for all the discussion about how everyone is supposedly morally grey (lol), not many people are actually trying to give Rhea and the Nabateans nuances. She's far from perfect (and she knows it actually) and she has so much potential as a morally-greyish but ultimately good person. But not even KT/IS (IS a bit more with FEH) are interested in being fair to her, so it's no surprise most people aren't either. And, ofc, no hate to the author. It's just disappointing to see that the Rhea hate is so prevalent.

[moveslikeanape]

haha, i do love cats! i have two of my own, with matching names: daisy and lily.

not sure how much you already know about twisted wonderland, but i'd like to try and explain it a bit, attempting to be as brief as i can: it's a mobile game with gacha mechanics and an anime art style, but if you've ever heard claims of it being a disney villain dating sim, that's not actually true! the characters are simply inspired by disney villains in terms of design and backstory and/or personality (riddle rosehearts is based on the queen of hearts!), while the villains themselves are legendary figures who once existed in-universe. the main focus of the story is on the player character, a normal person who's been transported into a magical world, learning about each of the boys and helping them with their interpersonal problems, but there's no romance. it might not be for everyone, but i'm a big fan of the ways that it uses the original disney movies to tell its story and the unique spin it puts on things. and it actually has an entire event based on HoND! you should let me know if you do check it out.

right?! i've been a huge disney fan since i was a little kid and i don't see that ever changing, i love disney movies and animation in general far too much. but it's crazy how much things have changed. starting with princess and the frog i have a streak of seeing every new WDAS film in theaters (the only exception being raya and the last dragon because of covid, but i did watch it at home as soon as possible). but after i saw wish i regretted going to the theater and wished i'd saved money to see something else. every film they currently have announced is a sequel, and pixar has several upcoming sequels as well. not that sequels are always bad, of course, but when they're so focused on sequels over original ideas it makes me fear that disney/pixar is just making them for money and not because they truly think they have a great story to tell. i'll probably wait for reviews to decide if i wanna see any of them.

if you'd like to check out the blog i mentioned, it's "feelinganimatedblog" on wordpress. they have a lot of reviews of animation-related books as well as highly detailed reviews of disney movies. i haven't fully read their tarzan review, because it's very long, but the part i did read had some interesting info about the production of the movie!

it's funny that you say that about germany loving tarzan, because i have an online friend who's from germany. he's never been super into disney or seen many of their movies, but lately he's been watching some of them and he told me tarzan was his favorite so far! i wonder what it is that makes it so popular there.

ooh, it's cool that they expanded on kerchak's character like that! i love when disney uses their stage musicals to flesh things out that wouldn't have fit into the limited runtime of an animated movie.

oh yeah, i forgot that they removed tantor. in that case i suppose it makes sense, but i do like how in the original movie tarzan has a female best friend in terk, and she's not involved in any sort of weird love triangle with jane. it's another thing that i think makes her pretty unique as a character. whenever i do listen to the cast album i'll definitely let you know!

awww, that's awesome! Kitties are the best, and I love that they have matching names! I have 2, Taz (going to be 18 soon!) and Oliver. And my dad has 2, Oero and Beckett)

Oh wow, twisted wonderland sounds really interesting! That's such a neat idea, will definitely have to check it out.

Sequels are fine if they are few and far between, or if they really have something interesting to add to the original story. But the rate they're coming out at is insane. It's easy and cheaper for them, because the characters are already designed and have a fan base, they just need to find a new situation to drop them in. The fact that there's going to be a 5th Toy Story movie?!!! Between the constant sequels and the never ending remakes it's getting so boring. I used to get so excited for new Disney movies, but now… I got far more excited about the 4K edition of Snow White (a movie I've seen so many times I know it backwards and in a format I can't even watch!) than any of the new movies that have been released since Moana.

I used to pride myself on knowing the all Disney Feature films in order of release (I grew up in the 90s, and I actually remember important events in my life by what Disney movie was released that year… like, my I know my mom got remarried in '98 because that's the year Mulan was released), and at the drop of a hat could tell you who animated which characters. I actually had to look up which movie came out before Wish, because I just don't remember any of the recent ones.

That's so sad you regretting seeing Wish in the theatre. Disney's fallen really far when that's the case. I'm almost glad I live in a small town and our theatre never even got it. Everything I've heard/seen about it so far makes it easier to just wait until it's on Disney+

I had a quick look at the blog, and I'm definitely going to have to find time to read through it! I love that in the beginnings of the movie reviews there's a section about what was going on in history the year the movies came out.

lol, you'll have to ask your friend if he has any ideas as to why Germans love Tarzan.

I think the little expansions the broadway shows have with story and characters is one of the reasons they're so popular. It's already exhilarating seeing the shows live, but it's even better when you get to learn new things about the characters you already know so well.

I've always thought the avoidance of a love triangle (or even just the suggestion of any inter-species relationships) was a key factor in making Terk male. Seems like in most media if you have a male character and a female character hanging out together all the time they have to fall in love at some point. It worked in the movie because with Tantor you had a group of friends, but maybe they thought if they had Tarzan hanging out with only a female Terk, people might get the wrong idea.

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

running in here again because I'm excited for the new chapter!

(It's still 30° outside and I'm sitting by the pond and watch the fish swim after the pebbles I throw in)

So today I though we should discuss the three not really explored timelines in tokyo revengers. The orginial, the valhalla and the Black dragon timeline. I think a lot about them!

Do you think Emma died in the first two timelines? Or baji? Or izana?

From what I get following people would be dead.

In the first one obviously draken. After Mikey saw his death he was said to immediately switch to his dark side so kisaki didn't have the need to create valhalla or involve Kazutora- which makes me think he could still be dead in the first timeline thinking how Mikey was like in the manila timeline where he killed Kazutora just because. Taiju should probably also be dead? I don't know about this one but I think the whole Black dragons thing would have ended in mikey and Taiju fighting against each other and dark mikey probably has no issue with killing him.

Izana never met kisaki so I don't know about him but the chance that he just stays a homeless depressed ex gang member is high.

The valhalla probably stays nearly the same as the original I guess?

When hakkai "killed" taiju the Black dragons got under tomans control - we saw that in a flashback already. So baji, chifuyu and taiju are dead in this timeline. When takemichi met draken he said draken wanted revenger because of emma So I teased on that she is dead in this timeline too(?)

Manila and bonten are clear I think?

Are you eating Well? I hope you do. I made a cool cake and it tasted good too! Problem was that it melted a little on the way and was to big for my friend's fridge. We should bake together one day! Remake this cute cupcakes you sent me once

Oh btw we have a cherry tree now! And our first black tomatoes are ripe enough to eat. They taste a little sweeter than others.

Oh and have I told you about this cool stuff I got at a flea market? Do you go to flea markets or second hand stores?

Drink enough, I kiss you lots and lots you Dummy!

- your one and only mikey ♡

Ahhh I'm excited too hopefully the delay won't be too long!!!!

I did do a whole post about what went down in the og timeline but I can't remember all the details now, I just remember everyone died and it was super depressing , I know it ended with Mikey dying as well and Kisaki getting everything he wanted (apart from Hina lmao).

I think Kazutora probably still dies since he probably goes after Mikey, it's not clear what his thought process was after getting out of juvie but he did say something like "I've been waiting for this" during their fight so he probably still wanted to kill Mikey and probably would've just gone after him alone. Though I suppose without Hanma and Kisaki's influences he would've been more likely to listen to Baji who was trying to stop him. So maybe he wouldn't have gone after him???

I have no idea you're probably right though, I think Emma died in every timeline. I get the feeling Kisaki didn't want her around.

You made a cake though? That sounds fun! Well as long as it still tasted good then the melting probably didn't matter, I'm sure it was still great! Bake together? Ok but be prepared for something to go wrong, it always seems to when I'm in the kitchen.

You have a cherry tree!? That's cool! Has it grown any yet??? I didn't know black tomatoes were sweet either!!!

You have not and no we don't have flea markets around here, there's lots of charity shops but I always feel awkward in them because the people behind the counter tend to really stare at you.

You drink enough too and look after yourself!

As always, your Sanzu 💗

[hdawg1995]

Scalla and Ajax Route for Adventure Friends 2

You have been accepted into your dream school- Edelia, school of weaving! Its time to meet your class mates! Theres the Wolf group, Hawk, Raven- oh, and it seems Dragon as well!

Day 1

Dr.Secundus glares off into the distance as you look around at your classmates. With Tomix missing, you're all alone in this classroom with eight other students- apparently you and the missing student were supposed to be in a different class all together, but with the disappearances happening this class was all thats left.

You were Excited to meet everyone and Tomix being missing has you worried- Scalla and Ajax also seemed very worried that something bad has happened to the student. After falling asleep in class and being too embarrassed to say anything and staying Silent, you think maybe sitting with Dragon would be the best idea. You seem to have annoyed Alex, startled Fae and Vaal with your energy, and these two seem to vibe well with it.

"Cool!" Scalla cheers as you approach, her bandana getting messy from her excitement.

"Welcome to Dragon, Hero!" Ajax throws his arms out and you feel like he wants to hug you but he reigns himself in.

Dr.Secundus leaves and all the students turn to each other as Valen speaks up about the teachers not being up to snuff. Scalla comments on Maz, confirming she would have liked Tomix which gets a strange look from Alex and Ajax tries to reassure Fae as she quietly mutters to herself. You think The Teachers Need Help and being the odd one out, you don't really mind the idea of getting involved to save your would be classmate. Alex seems to like the idea, as does Valen, Scalla, and Ajax. As class ends you gather your things and find Ajax waiting at the door.

"Hey Hero, don't mind me." He says, adjusting his head band. "I'm just waiting for Scalla."

"Are you two friends?" you ask. "You two seem to have already met before everyone else showed up."

He nods, his smile growing wider. "Yea! She's my-"

Scalla approaches and looks you over carefully.

"Hey Scalla." Ajax starts. "I was just telling Hero-"

"Do you two mind if we walk together? to the dorms?" She says, interrupting Ajax again.

"Sure, i don't mind." You say.

The walk is silent for a while until Scalla speaks up, apologizing for interrupting Ajax twice back there.

"I just don't trust that classroom." Scalla glances back before turning towards you. "Anyway, I figured since we're going to try and help the teachers, we should figure out what we can bring to the table."

"Oh, thats a good idea. What do you think you can do to help?" you ask because you're not sure what you can offer just yet.

"Scalla is my mentor." Ajax finishes his statement from earlier. "She can be a great leader and has a lot of wisdom."

Scalla gaps like a fish before taking the bandana on her head and flipping it to cover her face.

"Ajax is very determined. He also has a positive view of a lot of things. He would be good for moral." Scalla explains.

You nod along and it takes Ajax a moment to realize she just said he contributes emotional support for the situation. You jokingly call him the class's emotional support Ajax and although he looks embarrassed, he takes the title with stride.

Day 2

You fell asleep in class again. Scalla assured you you didn't have to be sorry- she admits to suffering from nightmares and often taking naps herself. Ajax was worried when you suggested you were getting sick- he almost reached out to check your temperature but reigned himself in.

When the students decided to split off to figure out what to do, you and the two dragon members decide its best to figure out a way to keep everyone together. Hawk is going to learn from the past, Wolf is going to hunt down the creature, and Raven is going to trap it.

"We should have everyone stay in one dorm." Ajax suggests. "Its... actually, that won't work. The dorms are just big enough for one person to really live in comfortably. And we would have to cram nine people into one room..."

"Some way to stay in touch should be the plan. Tek is good with gadgets, Valen seems to want to protect everyone and keep things in order, and Fae is good at writing. We could make a code or system-" Scalla is ramblings.

"Umm..." you try to interupt.

"Oh, we should all stay in the library! Theres enough space for everyone in there!... but the staff might not let us stay over night..." Ajax mutters to himself.

"Alex and Maz might know a way to scavenge for materials to give to Tek. If not maybe Vaal can lend us materials. If we get the stuff and everyone working together, we could-"

you quickly realize neither Scalla nor Ajax are aware of you or the other. What to do?

"Maybe we should stick with staying in the dorms-" you start, getting Ajax's attention. "-And just talk to the other groups and find out what they all need." Scalla glances up.

"Yea thats a good idea." Ajax says.

"Maybe we can get a communication system set up between the dorms." Scalla adds.

the three of you are able to bring the ideas to the other groups. It seems the idea was well received, but Tek is too busy, Alex and Maz don't want anything to do with each other, and Fae was too nervous about the idea. Vaal and Valen actually had some advice and thoughts on it that you took notes on. You feel a step closer to keeping everyone together.

Day 3

You fell asleep again. you tried so hard not to this time. you're awoke by someone shaking you, calling out your name. When you wake up, Ajax's hand is on your shoulder, the two looking at you with concern.

"There you are!" Scalla smiles. "You were making weird noises and I thought you were having a nightmare."

"Yeah." Ajax adds. "She tried a lot of tricks to wake you. In the end i just shook you as hard as i could."

you take stock of the room and see that its empty. when you ask why Scalla explains everyone else had left... and that you have homework. its to get to know each other. that doesn't seem so bad.

"Whats your story, Ajax?"

Ajax looks at you a little startled but them rubs the back of his head.

"well..." he starts and then frowns. he takes a breath and starts a bit more confidently.

"you know how me and scalla know each other already right? well... we also knew Tomix. Scalla is my mentor for just about everything, but Tomix showed me weaving. me and him... we didn't have good pasts. we both did something that ruined our lives for our own reasons. Maybe thats why we were drawn to each other-"

Ajax is interrupted but Scalla making a small laugh.

"s-shut up." Ajax looks away.

"I'm sorry." Scalla smiles. "I'll stop interrupting you one day."

Ajax clears his throat and starts again.

"Anyway yea. Tomix showed me weaving. The plan was we would both get into Edelia, learn how to weave, and then fight our demons together. It was the only thing that kept me from thinking about my past. It eventually got easier because of my positive attitude, but Tomix really helped."

Ajax looks down at his desk and frowns deeply.

"If i'm honest, Hero- and no offense Scalla, but. If Tomix is gone. If we can't help the teachers find him. I... don't really see myself attending this school anymore."

"Ajax..." Scalla looks lost for words.

"The only reason i got into weaving was because of Tomix. He was my friend. I'll have to face my demons eventually and if i can't face them with Tomix... I preferred if i faced them alone."

Ajax grows silent any Scalla looks at him... not hurt, but unsure of how to comfort him.

"I won't let you." You say sternly. it startles Ajax.

"I won't be able to replace Tomix- no one can replace a friend. But i won't let you face your demons alone, and i won't let you abandon weaving." you say.

"Hero- Listen-" Ajax struggles for words. he seems very caught off guard.

"Tomix helped you cope. Do you think he would want you to give up?" you say.

"I... No. You're right. Tomix wouldn't want me to give up. Even if he is gone... he would want me to keep going." Ajax looks close to crying, the tears in his eyes reflect the setting sun, his smile bright and determined.

"You may not have known Tomix, but you sound a lot like him." Scalla smiles at you while Ajax goes to the other side of the room to hide his face while wipes away the tears.

"What about you Scalla?" you ask.

"M-Me?" Scalla says. "Oh well, okay." She quietly thinks for a moment before moving her bandana over her face.

"Well, i got into weaving because of a mutual friend. Tomix. As you know me and Ajax are friends. i'm a mentor to him. but if i'm honest i'm just grasping at straws. I try my best and it ends well, but recently it hasn't."

She looks down at her hands and nervously fiddles with her fingers.

"Its okay." Ajax returns and sets a hand on her shoulder. "Take your time."

"Right." She nods and continues.

"I suffer from nightmares. Chronic night terrors really. Because of them I'm always in a fight or flight mind set. Everything frightens me and it makes being positive difficult when you're so tired you have a doctor's note for why you sleep in class. But after Ajax introduced me to Tomix, Tomix showed me weaving. He knew more about it than either of us and showed me how to make the basic stuff. I made this bandana myself!"

"Really?" you ask.

"Yup! It helps keep me calm. Helps me focus. Keeps the nightmares away. Now i want to learn more and hopefully find a way to help me sleep."

Ajax is smiling like he is proud and from how nervous she was, you think you know why.

"You haven't had a lot of friends because of your nightmares, huh?" you ask.

Scalla nervously nods. "I would spend more time sleeping than making friends."

"I'm glad I met you." you say. "I hope we're friends."

Scalla stares at you oddly and Ajax laughs.

"You startled her right into silence." Ajax smiles and pats Scalla on the shoulder. "This is Scalla's way of saying "i'm glad i met you too!""

Its time to leave and the two of you talk about your own reasons for attending the school. Its clear Ajax is trying very hard not to cry again and Scalla goes quiet inadvertently, but you understand its because of how close they've gotten with you.

Day 4

Your blood runs cold as you look around and find only Hawk, half of Wolf, and Dragon. Ajax seems to be struggling as Valen talks him down from a panic attack. Scalla is staring off into the distance. You get her attention and she helps Valen calm Ajax down. Fae and Alex inform you that Raven and Maz aren't here, and the reason why Ajax is in such a panic is because he had seen all three before arriving in class.

"They're gone- I saw them and i couldn't- I couldn't-" Ajax is muttering to himself.

"Breath Ajax. If you lose your head we won't be able to help anyone." Scalla soothes and it works for the most part.

When the headmaster comes in it's Scalla's turn it seems to break. Her and Fae are almost incoherent but with someone other than himself to worry about, Ajax helps Fae and you help Scalla.

"Everyone stay calm." Valen offers. "Alex, you and Fae have been looking into why this is happening, right?"

"Y-Yea. w-we found something i-interesting." Fae says.

"Alright. Dragon. you said you had a plan to keep communications with the others, right?" Valen turns calmly to the slightly off hinged pair.

"Yes sir. I had actually left Tek with the blue prints for a prototype to help her since she was so busy." Scalla explains. She seems to steel herself and walks in front of everyone.

"Here's the plan. Hawk, continue your research and be prepared to start hunting down what ever is causing this. If you find out why this is happening, reversing it, catching it, or pacifying it will be easy." Scalla nods once Alex and Fae agree.

"Ajax, you and I will go to Tek's room and see if she made the proto type or left a mechanism we can use to track down the culprit." Ajax nods and also steels himself.

"Valen. I don't like you being alone. Wolf was planning to actively look right? Maybe Hero can help you with that." she offers.

"If not i can help Hawk. Once they know the why they can point me in the direction of the what or who."

"Alright." she turns to you. "Hero, where do you think you'll be the most helpful?"

"Working with you too. Valen will be more useful with Hawk and if i'm honest i don't think i'm good at tracking. Find objects maybe but not monsters or people." you explain.

You all break and split off, Fae wishing you luck and Valen giving you a half hearted smile. you arrive at Tek's door and Scalla finds it locked.

"hmm... did not think about that." she says.

You lean against the door as the other two try and figure out how to get in, but the door swing open for you. This startles Scalla and Ajax who help you up after falling into Tek's room. Looking inside, the three of you find the room is gone. Its a dark void...

"Thats..." Scalla starts.

"...Not good." Ajax finishes.

Ajax puts his hand in and it seems to fade into the void. Before he can draw his hand back something grabs him.

You and Scalla try and pull Ajax back. Its a true tug-o-war. you're not sure how long you can hold onto-

"Hero!" Scalla shouts. "Grab Ajax but the torso. I'll grab the both of you."

"That doesn't sound like it'll work! Thats not how leverage works!" you point out.

"T-Trust her!" Ajax shouts. "I can feel my shoulder dislocating, hurry!"

As you grab Ajax by the torso, to your surprise the void holding Ajax lets go as soon as you touch it. The three of you fall to the ground as Scalla give you both a tug. Making sure you haven't hit your head, you look up at Tek's room.

"how did you know what would work?" you ask.

"...." Scalla doesn't answer.

"Scalla?" Ajax prompts.

"...Hero. You remind me of my nightmares." Scalla says. "When you're sleeping... what are you seeing?"

"What?"

"My nightmares are things trying to control me. There are eyes and a voice that says it needs me." she explains.

"I... I've had similar dreams." you explain your nightmares and Scalla slowly seems to piece something together.

"Hero, you're the reason people are disappearing." she says. "Its hard to explain, but its similar to my situation. I tend to be the reason bad things happen. There is something causing your dreams and if they're anything like mine, they're doing it cause its trying to get to you."

you're not sure how to handle that.

"Well. what do we do?" you ask.

"Lay a trap. Like raven wanted to do." ajax says. "And beat it up like Wolf wanted!"

Day ???

you and the dragon stare into the void. Scalls takes your hand and with the other she takes Ajax's.

"I'll pull you out and Ajax will punch what ever comes out with you." Scalla assures you.

"And once i get it's attention we'll lead it to the library and meet up with Hawk and Valen." Ajax gives you a thumbs up.

taking a deep breath you stick your hand into the void. at first nothing happens, but then a wave of fatigue washes over you. you almost fall asleep-

"Hero!" Scalla shouts. "Hang on!"

You're awoken with a start as Scalla yanks you out of the void. Ajax shouts and there is a sound of something colliding with something. looking up you see Ajax standing defensively between you, scalla, and-

it's name is Sk'aar. It says this is all a dream. And although you're convinced it can't be-

"If we're not real then neither are you!" Scalla growls. "You want to consume something? How about a knuckle sandwich?"

"If this is a dream, and you're threatening to make it a nightmare, i'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's our job to keep you from doing that."

Scalla and Ajax stand steadfast trying to protect you. As they fight off the nightmare your mind feels hazy. Sk'aar is fighting but it can't quit win. If this is a dream...then-

-ajax

"AJAX!" You shout. "I Believe in you!"

Ajax looks at you with a smile and winds up a punch. "Hero. If this is a dream... Thanks for imagining me. It was fun meeting Tomix, Scalla, and you. The best one for last, right?"

Ajax swings and everything goes white. You're not sure what happened...

-scalla

"SCALLA!" you shout. "you're stronger than this nightmare! Fight fire with fire!"

Scalla stares at you blankly and then brings her bandana over her face. "You're going to wake up safe and sound, Hero. I Promise."

the words echo and she turns to Sk'aar and bursts into darkness and monsters. She seems to be fear itself... but you feel safe as everything goes white...

-ajax

When you wake up you hear the sound of water. its soothing. calming.

"Waky waky!" Ajax says. "Your dreams over sleepy head."

Ajax looks down at you as you're laying on a dock. "what..."

"How are you feeling? Get enough sleep?"

"I uhh guess. what... what happened?"

"You've been asleep. You dreamt me up and believe in me enough to beat up a nightmare." Ajax's smile is bright and wide. his eyes shine with tears.

"I may be imaginary, but i'm glad you thought of me." Ajax smiles and closes his eyes, tears falling softly.

The two of you watch the water softly lap at the dock. you open your arms up to your imaginary friend and he looks at you bewildered.

"Bring it in big guy."

"Hero!" Ajax laughs as he hugs you. He is warm and although you know it can't be real... it feels real.

-Scalla

You wake up looking over a ocean. you're in soft grass and the sun is warm. You look around and see Scalla.

"Oh hey you're up." She smiles at you. "like the view? I don't remember the last time i dreamed of it."

"Yeah... its beautiful." you say.

you both stare out at the ocean, watching the sun reflect off it's waves.

"I got the feeling i won't have nightmares anymore." Scalla says.

"Scalla..." you're not sure what to say. You get the feeling this might be the last you see her.

"I'll do my best to keep your dreams safe. Its only fair, right?"

you don't get the chance to answer her as you wake.

[purplerose244]

Thinking journal for season 12 Prime Empire 😎😎😎 (2/2)

Here we go with the next part! I really hope we get some major big plot twist at some point, because it's all really cool but I need something to really change from good to GREAT

For now, let's focus on the next episodes!

It's the 17th of April and here we go!

GENERAL

I feel like there's little time to really pull up something, I don't know. Like, what plot twist could happen now that there just half season left with only Unagami/Dyer's identity and maybe Scott's past as mysteries? There's little space for more plotlines, that's what I think

Overall fighting scenes, character designs and game backgrounds are AWESOME!!

Let's see how it goes, maybe I'll be surprised. Wouldn't be weird for Ninjago to pull a bomb last episode 😅

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

ZANE AND PIXAL FINALLY!!! IT'S DETECTIVE TIME!!! 😎

Okay, so there is a photo, and there is a friend. As I thought, Dyer might not be Unagami at all, I feel like there's a lot of backstory coming along. I wonder if Scott has a part in this... WHERE IS SCOTT 💙

Ah, of course Kai would spend his credits on an avatar, I should've known, my flame babe can be such a dummie sometimes I mean why would you even do such a thing as buying an avat-

NEVER MIND I LOVE IT 😍😍🔥🔥 I thought him being blonde was going to bother me, I actually kinda like the change. Still prefer my baby brunette, but it's really cool as well. The best of this season are definitely the characters designs

Was that "let's fight an ogre mission" a hint for next season? I wouldn't be weird, but it's been a while since I've seen forshadowing for new season in this show

HECK YEAH THE DANCING EPISODE!!! I was waiting for this, Jaya is so cute while they are on the dancefloor 😍 They have chemistry 😘😘😘

I like the implication that Nya was really bad at dancing before Jay, like Kai covering his eyes because he cannot handle her sister not being perfect at something 😛

And Cole being the dance expert, that little tango moment with Kai I bet made many lavashippers super happy 🖤❤🖤❤

THE TRIPLE TIGER SASHAY ALL THE WAY FROM SEASON 1-2 ABSOLUTELY YES YES YES!!! AND HE DIDN'T ROAR, HE STRAIGHT UP SAID "NO ONE PUTS COLE IN A CORNER" I'M DYING!!! With this and Nya's 'catch me', I expect so many Dirty Dancing AUs from this 😂👌

JAYA BEING AWESOME HECK YEAH ❤💙❤💙

JUST LOOK AT THEM!!! Nya better say I love you back soon, like Kai and Skylor are a little behind, Zane and Pixal already said it, Jay can't stop doing it, come on girl it's your turn! 😎😎

RACER SEVEN

SCOTT IS BACK YES!!! 😍😍😍💙💙💙

Okay, I think my theory won't happen 😅 Feels like there are not enough episodes for a good reveal, and it doesn't seem like Scott is that influenced by Jay. My last idea is that perhaps he has spent so much time in the game like Jay said (POOR BABY 😭) that he doesn't remember. Maybe the moment he will come back, we will find out that it is Jay's brother/twin, I mean he still has those dragon and lightnings drawing on his back... yeah I like this theory a lot, gonna hold on to it!

So Scott is indeed a person trapped in a game, at least that's confirmed 👍

Also he's got some major issues, the poor thing, and I think there is some special reason behind him not wanting to race besides having just one life.

HERE IT COMES

OH MY GARMADON 😂😂😂 Okay, okay, it's actually better than I expected really. The scarf is cool, and so are the golden tattoos, the suit and the golden sleeve. It's just the mohawk that will take time to get used to, it's not even bad, just weird 🤷‍♀️

Racer Seven is so cool! Always nice seeing a new female character in this show that is not a love interest. I do love Nya, Pix and Sky to death, but I love variety too 💪

Really, really nice the piece of all Racer Seven's crashes! Impactful and sad, a never ending loop that she wants to break through from. That's the heavy stuff I like!

Okay, ready for the race! And I'm... scared? Like, a lot of they guys have one life?? KAI HAS ONE LIFE?? 😱😱 I hope for the best I guess 😅

THE SPEEDWAY FIVE-BILLION

Might be my favorite episode yet

Seven is SO COOL, it's another reason why I'm sad these episodes are so short! I really would had liked see her more, truly have her bond with the guys

Soooo... I guess since Scott's been in the game for 30 years it's safe to assume he's not Jay's brother/twin. To be fair it's really hard to tell a LEGO person's age😅 At this point I guess he could be either Dyer's friend, even if it sounds unlikely, or... idk, still think he could have a connection with Jay. Maybe he's like... an older brother? Libber had him a long while ago?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! WHY DID SCOTT HAVE TO DIEEEEEEEE??? 😭😭😭 Just when he was getting more involved, come on! He even said he wanted to try that hero stuff, I love him! WE WILL SAVE YOU MY TECH BABY!!!

Cole getting a ride from Kai, this season has some pretty good lava material ❤🖤❤🖤

I've got some major Ninjaball Run vibes from this, that brings me back 😂 Even the no rules thing is there, come on, there has to be a little bit of inspiration from it!

Still don't know what I think of the rats, kinda seems useless and annoying, gonna be honest. But it's a nice race, exciting with nothing big happenin-

Kai and Cole sacrifice for Jay

I KNOW I THOUGHT ABOUT IT BEFORE BUT I'M NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!! MY FLAME BABE AND MY ROCKY BABY!!! 😭😭😭😭 WHY PEOPLE KEEP DYING IN THIS EPISODE???

I so, so enjoyed how they did it. Like, one look between them to realize that yes, this is it, Jay is the expert and needs to go on. This is the end of our race... AAAHHH!! (Infinite shipping potential too)

Omg Nya screaming her brother's name and Jay his best friend's name, while Lloyd looks so devastated (those masks are actually kinda espressive, I really like them). Wow. This is the angst I needed, finally👌

YES SEVEN WON!!! HECK YEAH GIRL!!! SO HAPPY FOR HER!!! Also Okino in the background being happy, nice touch!

And now they are three... it's gonna end up with only Jay huh. I... I'm not ready actually, my heart 😢 They better all hug when this is all over!!!

STOP, DROP AND SIDE ROLL

I CAN SEE THEY ARE KEEPING THE FEELS FOR LAST APPARENTLY??? 😭

The music of the old school section was actually very nice, reminds me of the past, I kinda hoped The Fold were going to release some game themed songs. Been a while since I have one of those 😍

Lol, explaining the side scroll games was actually pretty cool

YES THEY ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE AIRJITSU!! Maybe they will remember they can used it, right Cole? The ladder scene? YOU CAN FLY???

OMG NYA ACTUALLY SAID CICLON-DO JUST HOW CUTE IS THAT!!! All the way from my favorite season Possession, Jay's definition of airjitzu that I actually still kept in one of my fanfictions 😂

Okay the design of the temple of madness is REALLY cool, you can immediately tell it's from an old videogame. Gives me the double vibe the googles for the first 3D movies used to give me 😂

Also look at this

THIS IS ADORABLE!! 💙💚💦 Really old style videogame 😂

And there we go!! Harumi!! Since I saw her in the set I was wondering what she was going to be, maybe an avatar or an NPC of some sort... THIS HURTS WAY MORE!!! And of course pure heart BABY boy Lloyd doesn't feel good fighting her, he had a crush on her! AND HE FREAKING SAW HER DIE!!! It's really sad that he still hopes for her to be good...

The fighting scenes are really, REALLY good! So fluid and active! This fight was really pleasant to watch, not gonna lie 💜

NOOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT MY GREEN BABY BOY!!!! I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN BUT STIIIIIIL!!! 😭😭😭

Okay, down to three members. Remaining Zaptrap and water godess... omg Nya will totally die first and at that point Jay will go completely nuts. I'm both scared and DYING TO HAPPEN!!! ANGST FINALLY!!! THIS IS THE STUFF!!

Got some major Skybound feeling, like when it was only Jay and Nya... will Nya finally say I love you back?? I HOPE SO ❤💙❤💙

With the three keytana now, what will happen? I'm actually curious now, this is the exciting stuff I need! And yes I do realize it's a little weird that for getting hype I need my faves to die 😅

NINJAGO CONFIDENTIAL

OMG THEY ACTUALLY DID A DETECTIVE THEMED EPISODE BLACK AND WHITE I'M DYING 😂😂😂

The Weekend Whip with sax, never thought I needed this in my life 😍

Bet Brent had a blast recording this

Okay this is the third Chima reference I see, they better throw some Nexo Knights hits as well next season! Come on, it's about freaking knights!!!

This is not what I expected when they said there was going to be an episode with only Zane and Pixal but I'm sure as HECK not complaining 👌

Oh, seeing Pixal joining in so normally is so beautiful, I really wish we could have her even more often

Dareth's karaoke bar! From Sons of Garmaron! Also him guessing first try because the ninja really do get post in other dimensions very often 😂 Gotta love them indeed

Pff Zane narrating and getting stopped every time because of it, how I missed this naive little nindroid

So the bartender Tony is the friend? That's it? A little easy really, hoped for more... still calling him Milty is cute 💕

Buddy's Pizza from season 2!!! This season is killing me with references and I LOVE IT SO MUCH 💜💜💜

So, the mechanic is free again (the Kryptarium dudes should really learn how to do their job right 😓), Zane is kidnapped, and Pixal has a fedora that makes her possibly even cuter. I have emotions

AH!! KNEW IT!! UNAGAMI IS NOT DYER!! FREAKING CALLED IT!!... kinda expected really, but still called it 😅

So Unagami was the first name of Prime Empire and is also an AI that got crazy and was shut down, but now is back after programming the game itself and wants to get to the real world?... I'm down with it

So I'm guessing we won't get much of a Scott backstory... Eh, let's see how it goes!

THE PRODIGAL FATHER

I was seriously confused by why those dudes wanted to kidnapped Wu, but it made sense later. Still come on sensei, you're a freaking half god or something, pull yourself together 🤦‍♀️

Very nice that Pixal is the one to bring up the argument about feelings and AI. So very nice to have her in this!!!

I THOUGHT ZANE WAS GOING TO TAKE A BREAK FROM LAST SEASON, WHY ARE THEY MAKING HIM SUFFER AGAIN??? 😭

Oh finally the backstory of Unagami I'm really curious about what happened in the past and what exactly brought the shut down of Prime Emp-

I LITERALLY CARE ABOUT NOTHING ELSE BUT THIS BEAUTIFUL GAMER BOY IN REAL LIFE!!! 😍😍😍😍😍

So Scott was the first beta tester, Milton asked Unagami to make the experience as exciting as possible, and that ended very badly so the game was shut down and THEY LEFT HIM INSIDE FULLY KNOWING HE WAS THERE??? I HATE DYER NOW!!!

Although it is really interesting knowing a tech genius like him, until now we got Dr. Julien and Cyrus Borg that were plenty open about the idea of AI with feelings as meaningful as humans'. While he doesn't get that, they are only machines for him and that's the reason why he doesn't understand how much Unagami is mad and filled with need for revenge.

This is why I want more than 11 minutes, the themes of this season are really, REALLY cool. I would have loved more introspection and development.

I guess Scott being Jay's brother is officially debunked 😅 Although I am curious about the life he left behind, since he was stuck in that game for 30 years. He still has those lightnings on the jacket I don't understand...

DON'T YOU DARE LET ZANE BE DESTROYED AGAIN PLEASE I STILL CRY WATCHING "THE TITANIUM NINJA"!!! 😢😢😢😢😢😢

The portal is open, Zane might get destroyed, Unagami wants revenge, Jay and Nya are the only one left and I'm pretty sure Nya will be killed as well leaving only Bluebell so there's THAT. So yeah, this is actually pretty cool!

Two episodes left. Okay Ninjago season 12 Prime Empire, wow me 😎

THE TEMPLE OF MADNESS

This felt a little simple if I'm gonna be honest. I felt like the last mission before facing Unagami was a little basic, with nothing really exciting. Still liked it, but this is probably my least favorite episode 🤷‍♀️

Of course, put Jay is a sushi restaurant-themed level and he will kill you with puns 😂 I love this prankster

Again, the fighting scenes are dope. Definitely one of my favorite things since they changed the animation. You lose something you win something 😙

Wooo, Jay saying that he had trained for years just for kick his butt was actually cool! Bluebell is unleashing!

"And that's how we roll!". You rock we roll, am I right 😂

AH!!! CALLED IT!!! TOTALLY CALLED IT!!! MY POOR BABY BLUEBELL 😭😭

I wish Nya said that she loves Jay back though! Freaking come on girl, he is your yang!!! ❤💙❤💙

Unagami is not Dyer, he wants to get to the real world, I'm actually kinda curious about the confrontation that is about to happen... ALSO THERE BETTER BE LOTS OF HUGS WHEN THIS IS OVER

I... genuinely forgot about the dragon medallion 😅 Eh, I love dragons so I'm fine with it. Well, let's see how it ends!!!

GAME OVER

Wow, I actually love this ending?? A LOT?? After last episode I didn't have much hope, but after seeing it I gotta say, it was really great 👌👌

Thanks for not dying on us again Zane, much appreciated

Jay taking charge is quite rare and when it happens you know things are about to get crazy 😂 It was really nice seeing how sensible he could be, telling that Unagami wasn't evil after all, that he needed closure and answers

I know I miss the animation peak we reached with SoG and Hunted, but I gotta say the atmosphere of the city with the lightnings and the gray sky was really awesome. Very cool.

Pff, that part with the elevator though, reminds me of the one in season 1 that made me start watch Ninjago ✌ Also it's always Borg's Tower indeed 😂

OKINO KICKING BUTTS HECK YEAH LOOK AT OUR RONIN GO!!!

And wow. WOW. I didn't expect Jay to drop the I'm adopted bomb on us, I think I never heard him talk about it since Skybound (that technically never happened so 😅). It was SO good seeing him sympathize with Unagami because he was also left with no explaination. His desire to know, along with the hope that the past is the past, but they had a good reason for. Also he freaking said he didn't have the chance to ask because Cliff is dead and I 😭😭😭😭

And here I melted, because we finally see the situation for what truly is, the way Jay also sees it: Unagami is a kid, a child that doesn't understand how the world works, that just wants to make his father proud but got rejected instead. The confrontation was actually touching, I really wish we had more time for that. Even a little resistance from Unagami, another fight, and a finally reconcilliation with Dyer.

MY NINJA BABIES ARE BACK I MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! ❤💚💙🖤💦💎

Could you seriously be cuter than this?? ❤💙❤💙 I wished for more hugs but I'll settle for this I guess 😍

Okay, very nice to see Seven and Okino out there and deciding to live their lives in Ninjago, nice to see some others like the rats going back to Prime Empire. As Unagami said, he gave them a choice, it's up to them at this point

But I'm sorry, WHY ARE WE NOT GOING TO TALK WITH SCOTT??? That guy's been trapped inside the game the longest, not even a "Hey bud, you're alive, cool cool"? I know I've been overbearing about how much I love Scott, especially since I had all those theories about him (still don't know why he has lightnings on his jacket and hat, is it just a style thing? Idk), but come on! Well I guess if he's happy I am 🤷‍♀️

Is that his girlfriend or something? After 30 years? Or maybe she got trapped with him a while later? Or maybe that's his... mom? Look, we all know determine the age of LEGO characters is hard, give me a break please 😅😅

Overall, very nice ending, it brought everything together quite nicely. I'm satisfied, yes!! 💜💜

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I said, the episodes' lenght I really think gets in the way of making this an excellent season. There is so much that could be explored more, the choice matter, all the amazing characters, and the AI feelings stuff from the latest episodes. There is room for more, I wished we got that

The characters though were really amazing. Between Scott, Okino, Seven and Unagami himself, there were very different personalities with very different dreams and thoughts, that made this ride much more interesting

Fighting animation was 👌👌👌

Comebacks from past seasons were 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

Maybe it didn't really focused on Jay as much until the end? Yeah it was about him, but we got to see his sensibility and his past only last episode. He loves Nya, he likes videogames, of course but there's more about him than meets the eye! Wished we saw that, but in general it was nice seeing him first line again 💙

I liked this season. It has flaws, but I enjoyed many parts and at the end I was left satisfied 👍

Just... wasn't Jillian supposed to be in this? Or is it next season? She said a mom was going to come back, I took for granted it was going to be Edna. I'm curious about next season now... FINALLY A COLE SEASON EVERYONE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

Thank you for leaving notes to my last rant, this helps me not jump excitedly every time a new episode comes out 😅 Well then, that's all from me!! Have a nice day everyone!! 💜💜💜

[jcmorgenstern]

if Jonathan can summon hellfire I'm going to transcend this plane of existence. I mean I already had a mild heart attack when those wings unfurled. Maybe he'll be able to do it with the Morningstar sword? I remember Clary was wielding a red glowing sword in the 3b trailer so maybe Heosphoros/Phaesphoros is infused with hellfire. That'd be pretty cool for heavenly fire and hellfire to duke it out shfkdsfjjjkk but I'm keeping low expectations.

I mean honestly big mood?? the fun part about fanfiction is I can do whatever the fuck I want., so I went with my dumb shapeshifting bs, and now it’s CONFIRMED so we poppin the BiGGEST bottles so like….hellfire….im lookin at u…..its ur time to shine, girl

like he can open a portal to hell apparently at will, so why the fuck not with fire? his mom is a dragon like. don’t @ me. and tbh I have NO Idea what’s going on with the wings but according to a friend who is up on these things (and he stressed he didn’t get a great look at the trailer and it seems they used a mix or there were two prosthetics involved) BUT it could be that the wings are made of falcon feathers which…………….well. If you need me, I’ll be screaming.

HOW FUCKED UP WOULD THAT BE but tbh the props dept is SO sneaky i wouldn’t even be surprised??? like that route 66 poster next ot the 6 ball poster spelling out “666″ behind “sebastian” is FUCKIN INSPIRED these people go goddamn hard so I wouldn’t even be surprised if they actually Did That

Also I’ve been thinking and: I don’t even think the Morningstar sword is Phaesphoros?? Like Phaesphoros can’t summon demons and doesn’t like….flame. so I’m not sure what’s going on there. Jonathan describes it as a Morgenstern relic, but how honest he’s being there, I really don’t know. Either way I have a really hot theory about it and I should make a post sometime because I am CONVINCED I’m right.

anyway yea dude i would be SO into the hellfire thing but I guess it would be expensive to do the effects. So. Big rip. But he can create summoning circles with blood so like who knows!!! def not me!!! i just think it would be funny if every time he got mad or horny things caught on fire

[joeyvintage]

https://www.videoreligion.net/2019/01/violent-shit-2-mother-hold-my-hand-1992.html?m=1

-rev terry

I think if I were a badass, I would need a metal mask or full covering helmet of some kind. Not for the armor aspect, although head protection is always good, I'm just a fan of the look. I would wear one in my daily life now, but they are probably expensive, and people would expect me to do something cool (as I too would expect of a dude with a metal head).  All my favorite villains had one in my youth. Both Magneto and Dr. Doom from the comics commanded respect and fucked shit up while wearing some metal on their heads. They were probably my earliest examples, but honestly, that's enough to have secured my love for the style. Their helmets were both semi utilitarian but mostly just looked really awesome with their cape combo. In cartoons, GI Joe took the effects of mirrored sunglasses to the next level with Cobra Commander, as he sometimes just had a smooth piece of chrome covering his face. I can get down with that--the blank and shiny look. It’s stylish features even distracted from his shrill sounding voice. I would probably go with something a little more personalized myself, but would definitely want something metal. It just completes the whole look for me. Something about a good sturdy helmet just fits with murder and mayhem. Karl the Butcher gets it. That's why, when he died, along with his love for over-the-top murder, he passed his fancy medieval headwear down to his son, so he would be properly dressed for his own adventure in Violent Shit II (1992).

Long after the events of the first film, two makeshift drug distributing gangs meet up in an open field to engage in something nefarious with a briefcase. For whatever reason, the deal sours, and the two groups go at eliminating each other in various gusher inducing ways. The battle whittles the congregation of assorted backyard wrestles down to a one on one duel between the leaders who both happen to practice kung fu and enjoy white button-up t-shirts. After some fancy moves, one of them slays the other in combat and begins to leave the scene (sans all his dead homies, I guess) but is stopped in his tracks by the sight of a large masked man yelling at him on the horizon. Turns out Karl Butcher Jr, son of the legendary mass murderer, was out for a stroll, spotted the dealers killing each other, and, not to be left out, had rushed to join. Very quickly, Karl (Andreas Schnaas) is on top of the would-be lone brawl survivor and promptly fucks him up with a machete just before the screen goes black. Following its intro and sparse opening credits, the film takes the form of a true crime documentary in development by reporter Paul Glas. Paul believes a string of recent murders can be linked back to The Butcher massacre from twenty years before (and also, the whole thing has something to do with real-life serial killer Fritz Honka...I think?). After divulging the history of Karl senior for a bit over panning random footage of Germany, the reporter follows a tip leading to an interview with some dude in a bar who confirms his suspicions. The Deepthroat-esque “DR. X” then tells him a few stories about the original culprit’s son who, mad about a face rash or something (honestly between the bad subs and silly plot I'm still dim on some details, but it doesn't really matter), had also already done some minor rampaging of his own in the last few years . Switching formats once again, we catch up with Karl II and his (adoptive?) mother (Anke Prothmann in a lot of make-up). Turns out, Momma Butcher has been priming her young progeny to follow in her late husband's footsteps, and now that he has grown to be the spitting image of his father (complete with the heirloom medieval helmet), he is ready to do some eccentric butchery of his own. In fact, this time will be extra special, because mom is coming along too. As one could probably guess, Karl's old lady has some very peculiar parenting ideas, specifically cannibalism and incest. Also at some point, a naturally occurring body hole gets closed up with a stapler, and I think someone eats poop, so watch out for that.

The title is about as far from the old-fashioned B-movie bait and switch as you can get. Like the first film, Violent Shit is wall to wall grotesque violence, only now (in true sequel fashion), it's been turned up a few ridiculous levels. There is an increased story to it compared to the first film, that is to say, there is more than nothing tieing the insane moments of torture and dismemberment together. For the first few acts, a disjointed, random, and confusing series of events form some semblance of a point, but the film forgets about the majority of this as it moves on into plasma soaked sadism. Mostly, the additional fluff just makes room for things the series was truly missing-- like a training montage, cliche fauxumentary tropes, and Kung Fu.  Karl Jr's maternal relationship adds fucked up frosting to an already disturbing cake of sinister shit. The weird sexual thing that's going on there, combined with mom's encouraging cheers, was enough to make me glad the subtitles are wonky and that I don't speak German. At around the same runtime, it might be a little lighter on the fake entrails than the first to make room for the added story, but it wouldn't be considered lacking in most circles. The Butcher-minor is more creative than his father but also seemingly obsessed with genitals (of all genders), which is weird and takes a lot of screen time. There are a few classic machete whacks to the face for some victims. However, as the body count grows, most of the slaughter comes with long, drawn out, silly torture and bloodletting. A bare-bones opposite to the Saw-style mouse trap, instead of providing intricate setups for the deaths, the act of execution itself is long, complicated, and involves several steps. It's all sure to offend anyone who watches but is too extreme to take seriously. Even if you are of the squeamish type, by the fifteenth minute of growling testicle torture and six similar acts, the action loses any real shock and becomes either just gross or hilarious (and gross). It goes for broke, eventually just dissolving into increasing levels of carnage, capturing the essence of a drunken night between friends trying to top each other's morbid imagination. Along with its spastic rampage, the film makes several references to classic American horror films and even borrows a few plot points from the Friday the 13th series unambiguously. To its credit, it's moved forward quite a bit from the first writing-wise, although it’s not like it is casting a bigger net for an audience. It's still just random gore because that's fun sometimes, and hopefully, no one who pops in a film titled Violent Shit 2 will be worried about the level of drama involved.

Shot on tape and seemingly dumping the entirety of its finite resources into gore, Violent Shit 2 is, again, what it says on the tin. The whole thing looks like it was shot in different sections of the same public park, which it refers to as a “forest” at one point. The John Woo tribute, in the beginning, is the film’s most developed moment as far as framing and choreography go, displaying some above average movie brawling for its budget. For the film’s meat and potatoes (Karl the second, killing people), it's a lot more of the same backyard style camera work that kind of hangs around watching the action from any accessible angle. Shots seem almost placed at random, and it jumps between them with meaningless cuts. The film’s biggest draw is an overabundance of practical gore, which comes out as a step above the rest of the film quality- wise. For the lack of resources, the film utilizes some pretty gnarly effects when it comes to flesh mangling, and it doesn't skimp or pull away.  I think I counted four different consistencies of blood, and each horrible scenario is trying to top the last. Without spoiling anything, there is a range of squirtastic stabbings and stringy limb removals that, despite their amateur surrounding conditions, would give a lot of larger budget splatter flicks a run for their money.  Some of the more ambitious (for lack of a better word) moments spend a little too much time on screen and give themselves away, but all together it should more than slate any grimy blood-seekers thirst or send anyone else running. When it isn't mumbling at random volumes, the dubbing is just screaming, grunting and giggle-worthy squishing sounds with no attachment to what's on screen. Music-wise, the film is laced with an out of place, unbalanced soundtrack that sounds straight out of an RPG fantasy video game. Besides the Dungeons & Dragons mood tunes, it does have a German death metal/butt rock theme song (Violent Shit by Vice Versa) bookending it that captures the spirit nicely and almost feels critically necessary. Stick around afterward for some bonus scenes and marquee of credits that look like they are trying to sell you knock off sunglasses.

German director Andreas Schnaas has made an international name for himself with a torrent of ultra-low budget, ultra-violent gross-out splatter flicks that continues today. In 1989, he and some homies secured a tiny bit of funding to form the company Reel Gore Productions and produce their first full-length picture titled Violent Shit. Filmed over four weekends and with a rented tape recorder, the project amounted to a series of violent acts committed by a large masked man named Karl the Butcher, crafted with homemade practical effects (and little else). By the grace of the trash-gods, it saw a single midnight theater showing but received mostly negative reviews on its initial video release due to its lack of production values. However, with a little help from a to-the-point naming strategy and its unrefined grimy gusto, it found an audience worldwide over the following years in less discerning gore hounds who don't mind the homemade feel (a bunch of fucking weirdos probably). Succeeding their second feature Zombie '90: Extreme Pestilence in 1991, Andreas & Co would return to the world of Violent Shit and brewing cult following. To date, the character Karl the Butcher has appeared in six flicks, that I know of, including a reboot of sorts (Violent Shit: The Movie 2015) by Italian director Luigi Pastore, without Andreas Schnaas involvement. Schnaas himself would play the role in most outings, taking over for Karl Inger (allegedly) after the first film.

Violent Shit II: Mother Hold My Hand (aka Violent Shit 2) is a composition sketchbook of demented cartoon executions forged during an in-school suspension and realized in full-color low fidelity magnetic tape. For the right crowd, it's an awesomely inelegant, generously proportioned helping of sloppy sleaze, possibly best devoured while intoxicated. It advances from the first movie to some degree in almost every way, but it's still one for the same exclusive and fucked-up crowd. If you want tasteless acts of dismemberment, childish boundary-pushing, and obscene special effects, it's got you covered. Those seeking damn near anything outside of that, better look for their kicks elsewhere. In a way, it has the same MO as a Gallagher show, in that there are small bits of gibberish in between gags, but ultimately everyone watching is just waiting for red shit to spray, and a majority of possible viewers are not going to get the joke. I enjoy the fuck out of the unseemly mess, although I don't know what that says about me. I also really dig Karl the Butcher’s fashion sense. If only I too had been lucky enough to have inherited some cool metal headgear along with the destructive predispositions.

[dachi-chan25]

If Jon is not playing Dany's pasty-white ass, then I'm just going to accept that he's a stupid dude with an unhealthy attraction to crazy, creepy, and psychotic women (Ygritte, Melisandre, and Dany). NO TASTE! LMAO

Anoooony, you are so right.But my hopes that Jon is playing Dorito hasn’t faded at all, It’s all in the subtext of their relationship (or lack of) even in 7x07:

-Dragonpit scene actually made me snort a lot, because isn’t this completely OOC for Jon “there is only one war that matters Snow to refuse to be neutral? He hasn’t bent the knee (“I would bend the knee but–”)not really, you know in the same way that Arya ‘who longed for her family ’ Stark was OOC threatening Sansa and shit when it was a ploy to kill LF. I meaaaan the idea of going to Cersei in the first place was to appease Danita, cuz she cared more about the throne that the WW, if she didn’t then why was this meeting necessary at all? To increase their numbers? Well yes, but Cersei’s army is not that big anymore thanks to someone *side eyeing D Tapioca* and Tyrion most of all knows they can’t trust Cersei (dude he has been outplayed by her this whole season) and so does Jon (or he should) he was warned by Sansa, for me it’s clear he is playing his Northern Fool persona this hard because Cersei? She is not really necessary, sure is nice to have more people but at the end of the day D keeps being the ally he absolutely *needs* to secure and you saw her face when he said the bullshit? She was orgasming right there (cool for her cuz boatfuck seemed boring af)

-That talk about the Dragonpit, and how the Targaryens stopped being speshul snowflakes without Dragons (god the anti-d@enerys people have been saying this all the time and It’s nice to get confirmation from the D herself) and omg how awful is to be like everyone else (yikes) duuuude cry me a fucking river! Her family was a clusterfuck that brought doom and lots of conflict to Westeros, she is delusional and an hypocrite, she also chained and kept her dragons under a fucking pyramid because it was the responsible thing to do after one of them actually killed someone cuz their tamer wasn’t shit. And Jon? He would never admire nor care for someone so entitled, he was raised by Ned Stark ffs! his deadass response was ‘you aren’t like everyone’ talk about being vague af (they’ll come to see you for what you are’) yeah good you say that Jonny boy but if Imma buy a romance you got to tell me/her Why? What is it that sets her apart from everyone in your mind? Cuz otherwise she is just filling the blanks in her self-important mind and oh! Would you look at that? It almost make sense.

-The baby talk reafirmed the one-sided nature of this relationship, D once again opens up and talks about a very sad and traumatic moment in her life and Jon?? He is not sympathetic, he doesn’t say he is sorry about it, he just straight up says a half assed 'maybe the witch was lying?’ and keeps being closed-off about himself.

-The meeting in DS, D is the worst ruler again when she listens the advice of the guy she wants to fuck instead of the man who went through hell and back with her, a man who has shared everything he is/has done with her, and who has proved his loyalty (and kinda creepy love obsession) to her. Rather listen to the dude she just met that Tyrion Lannister who straight up risked his life to get Cersei to agree to stop hostilities with them after the lil’ stunt said random dude pulled. And I am not surprised, lots of people in Meeren told her to re-open the fighting pits (that really is a complicated issue in itself) cuz they were an important tradition people liked but she listened until Daario (her boy toy) told her to, if anything Jon is playing her in the best way. kudos!

-the sex. I wasn’t dreading the scene so much as the wank that was sure to follow, and tbh I kinda wanted it to be hot (hey if I was gonna watch such stupid, fake tension set up for Targbowl it better be super hot) K1t and €milita are very attractive but dude, what a fucking let down! I was straight up laughing, I am mostly a functional adult involved in sex-ed and proud member of the bdsm comunity of Mexico City, I don’t laugh at sex, last time I laughed at sex was when reading the 50sog first sex scene (and if you’ve read it you’ll know why, also I was 15 at the time). Okay so, I am an actress I have done sex scenes in theater mostly, if this was got’s epic romance and J0n was really conflicted about the depth of his feelings vs. Duty to the North he wouldn’t be the one initiating it point blank, there would have been a set up (Missandei and Greyworm anyone?), a conversation, sexy undressing some kind of foreplay! Cunnilinguis! If this fandom agrees in something is in Jon Snow being the God of Oral Sex, yet we get 20 seconds of missionary possition humping? In a season that had not one but two oral sex scenes? Something smells rotten in this (the red herring) and don’t even get me started in the voice over or the wierd ass focus on Tyrion.

Now onto Jon’s past tyrst/love interests? He didn’t have much option with them did he?

I mean I really liked Ygritte (much more in the books that the show because this friggin show never portrayed the soft side that made Jon really fall for her in the books) but Jon was playing her in the beginnig, he literally had to fuck her or die, he was a horny self-repressed boy that ended up catching feelings, and let’s be honest she also warmed him up and made him understand the wildlings which was huge for Jon’s development, but at the end he chose his duty, honor and vows.

Melissandre, she can’t even be considered as a tyrst or love interest, she was feeling him up and undressed for him (de to her creepy ass sex magic) and Jon rejected her, oh yes he was tempted (Carice Van Houten is hot af and he hadn’t had sex in a long time) but he still said no and held his ground, duuuude he didn’t fuck her or show any interest after she brought him back from death)

So we have stablished a very clear pattern of Jon being true to his love for the North, even if he has to decieve, do less that honorable stuff and yes forfeit love for it. Plus all the warnings, literal textual evidence of Jon not making the same mistakes as the honorable man he admired and came before him.

But Then again this is just my opinion. Hope this cheered you up and help you keep faith on Jon.

[greatfay]

(I'm the one who asked about Blackwall): what do you hope to see return in da4 from dai and what do you hope is changed or cut out?

Ok just to make sure I got this right, what I liked in DA:I and would like to see more of and what I didn’t like in DA:I and would prefer they cut or altered? Cuz I have a lot tbh. More under the cut.

More Please:

Crafting system. I really liked it, love how you can change your companions’ armor (unlike in DA2 or ME:A) but it still has their “look.”

Banter. Memorable characters are a staple of the Bioware games, but unlike in Dragon Age II, I rarely triggered dialogue between companions in DA:I. Hopefully that changes in DA4.

Soundtrack. Trevor Morris was amazing… too bad most players don’t know this since the devs thought the game would be “more realistic” if the music barely plays. Even combat wouldn’t trigger music for me, all you’d hear is grunting and swords clashing. Ambience just made me feel empty in this game (which doesn’t help the large empty regions).

Pretty places. This game is really bright and colorful compared to the first two. I hope that if DA4 is indeed taking place in Tevinter, we get to see variety in landscape and regions the way we did with Ferelden and Orlais. Just fill it with some damn cities/villages! I hate empty worlds.

Clear cut story. I’ve heard criticisms that Inquisition’s story is oversimplified and pretty cut and dry compared to DA2 and some hail this as a drop in narrative quality in the franchise (psh, they should aim that criticism at the damn fetch quests). However, the game has a straightforward, classic hero’s journey plot that is overall very grand and enjoyable, and that makes it actually similar to Origins. I like that the story can be summed up in 4/5 big moments, with smaller plot points and subplots in between.

Face creator. Honestly there’s a whole subreddit dedicated to the hot OCs you can make in this game and I’m here for it, I have now saved Thedas with an Angela Bassett look-alike (if she were an elf), a Rami Malek look-alike, and a much more idealized version of myself. 

Could Be Better:

Specializations. First two games let you get two specializations, DA:I only gives you one. And I’m cool with that tbh, just wish they were a little more expansive and interesting. Also, companions used to get their own unique specializations and/or abilities, and in DA:I, this led to some questionable creative choices. Giving the big healing ability to Knight-Enchanter instead of Necromancer for example, then giving the time power to Necromancer instead of Knight-Enchanter (when the rest of the abilities support the other).

Also jumping into DA:I right after finishing DA2, I was disappointed to find that this new special Rift Mage tree just recycled the abilities of the Force Mage + firestorm.

Armor/Weapons. I actually liked most of the gear in this game (except the helmets, which looked ridiculous in design for the most part). Wish there were more! I feel like it should be possible to get every armor part and weapon that you can see in-game; it used to be a staple of the genre that when you defeat a boss, you get their stuff, but not every boss in this game drops their gear; some who do don’t even drop the same thing *cough, Alexius*. I remember searching for the Venatori Mage helmet for hours before finding out it’s not in the game (though you can get the regular infantry helm for some reason, and it’s ugly soooo).

Supporting characters. In DA:O and DA2, you’d see recurring characters pop up in other quests and you could get attached to some of them. In DA:I, most of the people you get quests from are forgettable and one-offs.

Enemy encounters. In DA:O and DA2, enemies come in hordes, making crowd control pivotal to survival. In DA:I, you get small parties of enemies (3 - 6) with high health and defense, making overall DPS more important. I think they did this to be more realistic, but this is Dragon Age. Zombies dig up the corpses of dragons out of the ground to raise their gods and elves are part-spirit and a trickster god stole a piece of the sky and horned gray-skinned humanoids go to sex doctors to pop their corks under an oppressive religious order. There’s no room for heavy realism in Dragon Age, let’s be real.

Narrative-based quests. I miss when quests would start with a character actually talking to me! With actual cutscenes and dialogue! In Inquisition, quests either start with a brief chat with an unremarkable NPC, or by reading a fucking note someone left on a table. This is so lazy and boring. Maybe Bioware didn’t have the funds to do proper quests, but I’d prefer a handful of real ones than the dozens of “Oh look, I found a letter on this door that says this person left treasure somewhere” quest.

Party AI. I’d love to have more control like in past games; I want to set it like the gambit system in FFXII, where you can say “If ally uses this ability, character A will use this ability on targeted by ally.”

No Thank You:

Fetch quests! “Collect x amount of these and return for XP” is so boring. What happened to more narrative-heavy side quests?

Inventory limits. I’m so over this, lemme hoard like the junk rat I am, gdi.

War Table operations. If you don’t follow guides on the wiki, you’ll have no idea what the results of these operations will be. There’s no riddle or clue left in the descriptions that suggest that choosing a particular advisor will result in the mass genocide of your Inquisitor’s clan (yeah, fuck that, do NOT choose Josephine for the Protect Clan Lavellan operation).

Miscommunication. The devs and the writers don’t seem to be on the same page. In cutscenes and dialogue, Cassandra will say “We should give mages a chance to prove they don’t need chaperones” and then you’ll give mages some freedom and she’s like “CASSANDRA GREATLY DISAPPROVES.” Happens with a lot of other characters, too.

Requisitions. They’re a waste of resources and I never do them as they have zero effect on my gameplay experience. Don’t even need them in the beginning, just finish 4 quests to get the power needed in the Hinterlands.

Some Ideas:

Integrate side quests into the main story. They’re already sort of mandatory; getting XP in this game is impossible without doing the side quests and you end up under-leveled for the main quests, so might as well write them to be more story-related and use them as opportunities to introduce recurring minor characters. The DLC for DA:I was great tbh, all tightly made stories that didn’t pussyfoot around. I finished Prey recently and that game did a great job with side missions; all of them felt personal, and having voiced characters in your ear as you finish objectives makes them feel more active.

The character classes you can pick in the multiplayer should actually be in the game. I think some of them are mentioned by name, but you don’t otherwise see them.

Loyalty missions. Mass Effect 2 did this best and there’s something like this in Inquisition, but not all of them are equal tbh, they don’t involve scripted events and cutscenes and plot lines that reveal more about your companions. Pretty much Dorian, Solas, Sera, and Iron Bull are the only ones that get it. ME2 gave us: returning to the facility where Jack was tortured as a child so she can blow it up, Garrus hunting down the former protege who betrayed his squad, Jacob locating his presumedly dead father crash-landed on a planet whose flora fucks with everyone’s mind, Miranda relocating her little sister (and her adopted family) to keep her creepy-ass father away from her, Samara hunting down her wayward serial killer daughter (the whole investigation + seduction scenes were dope), Thane trying to rebuild his relationship with his son who is trying to follow in his father’s bloody footprints—I could go on. Those weren’t just “Pop in here and beat an enemy and then leave” kind of quests, they were involved and offered the player choices and were super emotional.