Predictions for book 7

[Metastachydium]

With the weight of Familicide hanging over her, I think V will be willing to risk her soul being unmade to investigate the world in a world

Wouldn't that require an exposed Rift they have access to?

[Lexible]

Oona and Belkar will bond over animal companions during a period of her seeming collaboration with the Order of the Stick, and the nature of their interactions will help advance Belkar's shift to an alignment north of CE. Oona will viciously betray and kill Belkar as he undertakes an action that is unambiguously heroic, and possibly world-saving.

[KorvinStarmast]

With the weight of Familicide hanging over her, I think V will be willing to risk her soul being unmade to investigate the world in a world

The IFCC might object

And? Screw the IFCC. They are the bad guys in a way Xykon wishes he was.

[MilesBeyond]

I've got two serious predictions:

1. Tarquin (presumably with pals) arrives and tries to interfere but is killed by Sabine. At this point Tarquin feels like too much of a loose end to be left dangling but not enough of a loose end to make for good sequel fodder, no matter what Elan says. Sabine's got the motive and ability to kill him and to add insult to injury it would ruin the narrative he's attempting to set up between himself and Elan.

I also suspect that it won't just be Tarquin who shows up - just about every surviving major character, ally or antagonist, will probably wind up converging on this. There'll probably be some sort of throwaway joke where some minor character like Pompey will either arrive by accident, or we'll cut to them somewhere on the other side of the world commenting something like "Why do I feel like there's somewhere I should be right now?"

2. Belkar pulls a Kraagor. We know Belkar's death is going to be final, and death by the Snarl is also final (at least based on the information we currently have). I also feel fairly confident that Belkar's going to make some sort of sacrifice just because that's the direction his character arc is moving in. It'd be a little silly for him to grow and learn to value people (well, animals, at least) above himself and then not have any payoff for that. In the past people have guessed that he'll die and the party won't want to raise him because he's so evil, but at this point they've been through enough together that that would feel like a pretty unsatisfying conclusion to Belkar's story.

In fact, I'm hoping that the Order of the Stick will actually be a foil to the Order of the Scribble here - rather than Soon sacrificing Kraagor and as a result tearing the party apart, Roy will try to sacrifice himself but Belkar will intervene and sacrifice himself instead, as a result binding the party closer together.

[dancrilis]

And? Screw the IFCC. They are the bad guys in a way Xykon wishes he was.

I suspect that they will find out the hard way that they are not.

Also I suspect that Xykon would think becoming a fiend is beneath him.

[Ron Miel]

Also I suspect that Xykon would think becoming a fiend is beneath him.

I doubt it. "Anything to avoid the big fire below." He'd rather be in charge of it than in it.

[dancrilis]

I doubt it. "Anything to avoid the big fire below." He'd rather be in charge of it than in it.

Except that the people who are running it are also in it, and apparently are bound by rules about what they can and cannot do on the material plane - Xykon is rules free (respecting the limits of his power).
I suspect that if Xykon was aware of how the gods hands were so tied he would consider divinity beneath him also.

[Edea]

I wonder if the Snarl will reveal itself to be a fully sapient entity capable of speech, only to present us with a very different version of what happened at the dawn of creation.

Trying to imagine being a cleric of the Snarl at the moment...

[Edreyn]

I wonder if the Snarl will reveal itself to be a fully sapient entity capable of speech, only to present us with a very different version of what happened at the dawn of creation.

Trying to imagine being a cleric of the Snarl at the moment...

Actually I am imagining something like that too. Not thinking much about clerics, but I do expect Snarl, or someone who sympathizes him to present another point of view. Maybe in the end the Order will fight against gods to save the world.

[KorvinStarmast]

I suspect that they will find out the hard way that they are not.

Their plot has some deep strategy to it, in that their avowed aim seems to be to knock the good gods off of their perch and even do away with them. That seems to me a much higher bar to leap over, and a more profound change to All Things, than the "I want to rule the world" objective that Xykon has professed.

Also I suspect that Xykon would think becoming a fiend is beneath him.

Agree. I suspect he'd like one or two fiends as servants, maybe.

[Metastachydium]

Actually I am imagining something like that too. Not thinking much about clerics, but I do expect Snarl, or someone who sympathizes him to present another point of view. Maybe in the end the Order will fight against gods to save the world.

Their plot has some deep strategy to it, in that their avowed aim seems to be to knock the good gods off of their perch and even do away with them.

The Order and the IFCC teaming up? That would be… Interesting.

[KorvinStarmast]

The Order and the IFCC teaming up? That would be… Interesting.

Interesting idea, to be sure, but the wrench tossed into those gears is Durkon's loyalty to Thor. Beyond that, I am not sure that Roy, having been to Celestia, would be keen on fighting against the good gods. I think he wants to end up there. Going
into battle against the good gods with demons, devils, and daemons on his team might be a bit much for his next review with a Deva.

[Metastachydium]

Interesting idea, to be sure, but the wrench tossed into those gears is Durkon's loyalty to Thor. Beyond that, I am not sure that Roy, having been to Celestia, would be keen on fighting against the good gods. I think he wants to end up there. Going
into battle against the good gods with demons, devils, and daemons on his team might be a bit much for his next review with a Deva.

Eh, once Durkon realizes Thor is Evil, the first one won't be an issue. As for Roy, he'll just tell the deva he was redirecting the fiends's destructive impulses towards a just cause. Worked fine last time.

[KorvinStarmast]

Eh, once Durkon realizes Thor is Evil

Not gonna happen. Thor has empathy. See strip 1140. I remember everyone who's ever worshipped me. (There are other markers and other strips, but that one stands out)

As for Roy, he'll just tell the deva he was redirecting the fiends's destructive impulses towards a just cause. Worked fine last time.

There is a thing called "going to the well once too often" which may apply here.

[Edea]

Oh, yeah, the Snarl's not suddenly going to be buddy-buddy or anything, or even particularly sympathetic.

Just positing that it's not necessarily the mindless engine of destruction the gods have painted it out to be. In fact, if that reveal were even a possibility, it'd probably happen in a conversation with Xykon, of all people.

There's no concrete evidence for this, either. The idea's mostly stemming from a probably-misguided suspicion that the Snarl's trying to 'weave' its own planets (like the one in the latest rift where Thor and Odin are like, "...uhhh?"), to generate some semblance of life that will appreciate it for what it is/worshiping it, and failing...over...and over...and over...and over...and over...

[Precure]

Why? Like, everything in the afterlife is shaped by belief, so Roy and Horace can both have the Greenhilt family sword with no problem, so why would he believe that all of a sudden the arm disappears? And it's not as if Regenerate takes the old arm back, it creates a new arm. It'd also be weird to think that, if Tenrin were holding anything for the last however many years, he'd probably want to hold his wife rather than her disembodied arm (which he probably wouldn't know about, since he died when she lost it), and her arm almost certainly wouldn't form a part of how he sees himself. Even if he did maintain a "i never let go" attitude with the same ferocity as Sigdi, the claim there is "never let go of Sigdi," so it'd be more than just her arm there with him.

What if he's not in valhalla? He could be in one of those evil planes, and it could be his personal hell, designed to make hIm unhappy. Forced to hold his beloved's disembodied and rotting arm sounds perfect for that. That explains the sad "finally."

[Peelee]

What if he's not in valhalla? He could be in one of those evil planes, and it could be his personal hell, designed to make hIm unhappy. Forced to hold his beloved's disembodied and rotting arm sounds perfect for that. That explains the sad "finally."

Well, even in that highly unlikely scenario (as he would have to skip Hel but then still end up in an Evil afterlife), again, Regenerate does not take the old body part back, it just creates an all-new one. So there would still be no reason for the arm he was holding to suddenly disappear. Especially when he wouldn't know when it was regenerated, and double especially if that was explicitly part of his damnation punishment.

[dancrilis]

Regenerate does not take the old body part back, it just creates an all-new one.

If the afterlife is based on the ideas of mortals and Sigdi believes that he was holding it then he might have been holding it, and if she regenerated it the afterlife equivalent might disappear as she feels that she had her arm back.

Still I find it unlikely that he is carrying around a spare wife arm lying around his afterlife.

[Peelee]

If the afterlife is based on the ideas of mortals and Sigdi believes that he was holding it then he might have been holding it, and if she regenerated it the afterlife equivalent might disappear as she feels that she had her arm back.

Still I find it unlikely that he is carrying around a spare wife arm lying around his afterlife.

Pretty sure belief affecting and shaping the afterlife isn't based on a wholly different person who isn't even in the afterlife.

[dancrilis]

Pretty sure belief affecting and shaping the afterlife isn't based on a wholly different person who isn't even in the afterlife.

I would tend to agree - if it were multiple people maybe, but probably not just one.

[understatement]

I'd like to throw in another unlikely prediction:

V will confess Familicide in front of everyone. I'm ambiguous on the timing, but I'm spitballing on them maybe? trying to persuade Redcloak to stand down.

[Schroeswald]

So I don't know if I think this will happen, I don't know if I want this to happen, I don't even know if I've already shared this in this thread, but I think that its quite possible that Roy isn't the one to destroy Xykon's skeleton, Belkar does right before his final death, redeeming him and sentencing Eugene to be stuck on the clouds forever.

[Brumagris]

Here my set of crazy theories... I hope I am not copying anybody :)

*Oona is actually Serini in disguise

*O-Chul's death will be the catalyst for MITD rampage against Xykon

*MITD will reveal itself when charging and munching Xykon down to shreds

*IFCC will appear with a full army backing them up in the background: Tarquin's ex army and allies. Let's not forget that Sabine works for them and she has enough resources to become a leader after Tarquin is overthrown

*Vaarsuvius will vanquish IFCC as her supreme magic feat (how, though, I have no clue) and a step for atonement

*The world inside the rift was created by the Snarl will be a proof that the Snarl itself can create life. It will bring a new dimension to the conflict and this will not end up in destruction or permanent lockdown, rather on coexistence between the Gods' world and the Snarl's world

[KorvinStarmast]

So I don't know if I think this will happen, I don't know if I want this to happen, I don't even know if I've already shared this in this thread, but I think that its quite possible that Roy isn't the one to destroy Xykon's skeleton, Belkar does right before his final death, redeeming him and sentencing Eugene to be stuck on the clouds forever.

It fits, regardless of how much it will annoy Eugene.

*O-Chul's death will be the catalyst for MITD rampage against Xykon

Fits, but I hope not.

*The world inside the rift was created by the Snarl will be a proof that the Snarl itself can create life. It will bring a new dimension to the conflict and this will not end up in destruction or permanent lockdown, rather on coexistence between the Gods' world and the Snarl's world

In one of Rich's posts, or in one of the books, I am pretty sure that he stated clearly that The Snarl is The MacGuffin, not an antagonist.

[Sir_Norbert]

It fits, regardless of how much it will annoy Eugene. Fits, but I hope not.
In one of Rich's posts, or in one of the books, I am pretty sure that he stated clearly that The Snarl is The MacGuffin, not an antagonist.

Doesn't matter how clearly he stated it -- authors can be wrong about their own work. In #945 we see the Snarl acting. It has agency. It is not a McGuffin.

[hamishspence]

In one of Rich's posts, or in one of the books, I am pretty sure that he stated clearly that The Snarl is The MacGuffin, not an antagonist.

This is what The Giant said about The Snarl as MacGuffin:

The MacGuffin is not the antagonist. The MacGuffin is the object sought by the antagonist. Narratively speaking, it does not matter what it does—only that the antagonist is willing to kill the protagonist to get it. That is the source of the conflict. It does not matter what is in the rift, it matters who is willing to kill whom to get it, even if they are mistaken about its usefulness. What is in the rift is only important insofar as it may, at some point, change who is willing to kill whom and why. And that IS important, because those details will change the shape of what happens, but not as the source of conflict. The Snarl is not the threat; Xykon is the threat. The Snarl's powers have as much relevance to the quest to get the Snarl as the exact properties of the glowing briefcase have on the plot of Pulp Fiction, or the exact dollar value of the statue in The Maltese Falcon.

Likewise, the setting is not the protagonist. What happens to the world is only important because the protagonists are the sort of people who care about what happens to the world. If Team Evil or the Linear Guild kills the entire Order of the Stick and then takes the Gate only to find that it does not do what they thought it did...how does that help the Order of the Stick? They will still be dead, and the story is about them. The Linear Guild is not a threat because they will do something bad with the Gate; they are a threat because they will kill the Order of the Stick to do it. At the end of Star Wars, one does not care that the Death Star is about to blow up Yavin 4; one cares that the Death Star is about to kill the protagonists, some of whom happen to be on Yavin 4.

If one does not care about the protagonists or antagonists and is not emotionally invested in their struggles—whether those struggles are external or internal, relevant to the MacGuffin plot or not—and all one cares about is the resolution of the MacGuffin chase, then you will almost certainly be bored with a lot of the material I'm producing. And more importantly, I won't care. The Snarl plot is part of the armature upon which I hang the characters' conflicts; it is not the whole of the story. The strip is titled The Order of the Stick, not The Chase for the Snarl or even Saving the World. Ultimately, it seems like you want the story to be about things it is not going to be about, so it's unlikely you are ever going to enjoy it.

[KorvinStarmast]

authors can be wrong about their own work.

Nope. I, on the other hand, can misquote or misremember what the author said about his own work. That's on me.

@hamishspence: thanks for finding that quote.

[Schroeswald]

Death of the Author is a perfectly valid way to analyze literature. Death of the Author is an absolutely awful way to predict what will happen in an ongoing story. The author is the person who is writing, so if Rich says that the Snarl is a macguffin, and thus its exact powers don't matter to the plot, you can't use death of the author to dismiss that and say that in fact, what it can do will matter to what happens in book 7. You can say that the Snarl has agency and isn't a macguffin, but you can't say that agency will come into play, because the author said it wouldn't.

[Metastachydium]

(Quick question: how exactly does strip no. 945 prove that the Snarl has some some manner of „agency” we were not previously aware of? All said strip shows is the Snarl bursting out of an open Rift which is one of those things we kind of always knew it could do.)

[Edea]

(Quick question: how exactly does strip no. 945 prove that the Snarl has some some manner of „agency” we were not previously aware of? All said strip shows is the Snarl bursting out of an open Rift which is one of those things we kind of always knew it could do.)

It doesn't.

There's a possibility that somebody else (either from this world or a previous one) beat Xykon to the punch and has control over the Snarl already (having used its divine energy to make that planet, which is possibly said entity's BoO), but at this stage of the comic that would be a Giant Space Flea from Nowhere moment (i.e. not desirable). It would be someone from the main comic who we know already, and that just doesn't fit unless someone's been seriously holding out on us.

It could've been that the Snarl only targets life-forms, but the Crayons of Time segment implies the Snarl rips the planet physically into pieces, and Thor and Odin wouldn't have been mystified about a planet being inside the rift in #1150.

So something other than the gods made that planet; super-curious as to who or what.

EDIT: There's also a vanishingly small possibility that the Snarl did not annihilate all of the Eastern Pantheon, maybe even that in fact a member of the Eastern Pantheon managed to tap into the Snarl and used it to covertly murder the rest of his/her family (so extremely Evil) and then went into hiding with it, constantly absorbing whatever the Snarl soaks up from failed worlds that the other gods don't harvest quickly enough, but...yeah, I don't like that. As mentioned, Xykon's the antagonist.