The true nature of the snarl

[WolvesbaneIII]

By default, it should be expressed that the snarl is shown to be a god killing abomination, with no actual goal and was created by the gods. by accident.

With the right set up that doesn't suck, could there be more to this thing than whats shown?

so, sometimes in fiction we are shown a very basic and vague, sometimes misleading set of data from people who are either lying or misinformed. I doubt thor or any god is lying about the snarl, so misinformed could be the case here, or it really is as simple "the god killing abomination".

we see a world inside the gate where blackwing was looking. as to this world, is it the original planet from world 1? or is it a new world made up by the snarl or something?

I think a ridiculous but possible guess as to what this means is: The snarl could have started out angry but later chilled. He didn't simply kill and soul kill his victims, he absorbed them and put them into his world. he erased their class powers, and any gods were made to be as normal as the rest. everyone is immortal and no one is ever hurt. his role is that of a over concerned nanny dungeon master, who wants everyone to be happy. The snarl gets angry again and crushes the new world to add more people to coddle and care for.

Its a boring utopia where nothing happens.

Another guess, the snarl was not made by the gods, it created them. the disagreement that "created" the snarl only summoned it rather. it always was, and existed before the gods who only snagged onto it to make world 1.

As to why, well, the idea needs fleshing out more, but I think we all can agree, the original idea of the snarl stated in comic is more likely the truth, with a few plot twists as well.

[WindStruck]

one quote from the crazy Odin is "yarn spinning yarn"

The planet inside the rift would suggest this, as well as the ocean.

Yet curiously, if you recall, there was absolutely no life in the ocean. Or at least, nothing even as big as a guppy or a minnow.

I really don't know what is happening, but I could tell you with some certainty that it isn't a utopia. If there's not even the barest of intelligence in the oceans, there will not be sentient beings to coddle and protect. The Snarl also wouldn't have been able to create gods, because if this was the case, there would definitely be life in the oceans.

[Morquard]

V thinks they don't know everything regarding the task they're undertaking. Roy also agrees that they don't know whats going on anymore. Thor and Odin both were very confused by the planet within the rifts.

So yes, I think its safe to say there is some misinformation going on. If that is because the Gods just misunderstood the snarl, or if it is because the Snarl started out that way, but evolved, but the gods are too scared of it, to ever investigate and look closely at it? I don't know. Maybe the snarl is still all these things but has become more clever, more cunning, and is now laying traps, with the planet.

Also I think by Word of Rich, the planet inside the rift is neither our world nor is it the first world.

[Lord Raziere]

Yeah, I think if even the Gods don't know, then its probably some third act twist that changes the whole situation. thing is, its been so foreshadowed that whatever it is, it HAS to be important somehow. you don't have that many plot important and powerful characters observe that without SOMETHING being up enough to affect things.

The question is, whether its a good thing or a bad thing, whether it makes the situation worse or better. Either one is possible as while the Order might need a heavily foreshadowed thing to help, one might also use this to ramp up the difficulty to its maximum for the finale.

if its a bad thing it must be enough of a threat to complicate things but enough to actually stop the Order from succeeding.

If its a good thing, it must be enough of a help to make it possible for them to succeed without making it assured.

thing is, if the Snarl is laying traps in the Rift or is clever or whatever......so what? how does this affect the heroes and villains? how is that important to the situation? unless the Snarl can act upon the world, this information is useless and not important. there needs to be a reason why the true nature of the Snarl affects the plot, and so far it creating false worlds inside itself by itself doesn't mean anything- it could be a sign its changed.....or it could be sign that as a being of pure Chaos it got bored and is trying to amuse itself, not understanding what the gods were doing with this creation business. the act of creation by itself is not indicative of its motives.

so somehow the Snarl's nature is important, but its not clear why yet, because there is no clear connection between that and how it affects the main characters goals or how the gods treat the Snarl. Considering how many times the Snarl has destroyed previous worlds, what is so different now? it can't be length of time imprisoned, it has been destroying its prisons over and over again for eons, and sure the amount of time imprisoned grew longer each time, but is that really all it took after so many repetitions? the thousand years in the current prison is nothing but a thimble of time compared to what it has already experienced before it. the information as presented just doesn't add up.

It doesn't make sense the way its currently presented. so.....in what scenario WOULD it make sense? that is the question.

[WolvesbaneIII]

V thinks they don't know everything regarding the task they're undertaking. Roy also agrees that they don't know whats going on anymore. Thor and Odin both were very confused by the planet within the rifts.

So yes, I think its safe to say there is some misinformation going on. If that is because the Gods just misunderstood the snarl, or if it is because the Snarl started out that way, but evolved, but the gods are too scared of it, to ever investigate and look closely at it? I don't know. Maybe the snarl is still all these things but has become more clever, more cunning, and is now laying traps, with the planet.

Also I think by Word of Rich, the planet inside the rift is neither our world nor is it the first world.

maybe not world 1 but world 0 then. A different world the snarl made.

AS to the ocean not having life, maybe all the fish and other such ocean life were remade to be mere men.

Or it isn't a utopia at all, it could be that the snarl absorbs all sentient life and makes it a part of itself. Think like majin buu and every time it absorbed something.

kid buu was a crazy chaotic berserker, fat buu after absorbing 2 kaioshin was jolly while still havign a mean streak. super buu was that mean streak brought to life with some cunning and the other 2 buu incarnations were smarter and had some degree of sophistication.

perhaps this snarl is like that and gets mad when too much disagreement among the populace takes place, and absorbs the lives and it takes longer for it to rev up the hate train because of added feelings and what not.

I look forward to seeing it play out regardless of what it is, even if it is as simple as "blarg! gonna kill em all!" and thats all there is to the snarl.

I like the idea of the snarl creating the gods though. With some work, it could make sense and not feel stupid or contrived.

[ti'esar]

Also I think by Word of Rich, the planet inside the rift is neither our world nor is it the first world.

He's definitely and unambiguously said Earth will never show up, but I don't think he's ever said anything to address the idea of the rift world being the first world, because that's a running theory since forever. If anything, I think the reveal that there's been more than two worlds made me more certain that there's a connection, although I'm certainly not going out on any limbs as to what exactly it is.

[ebarde]

I had this idea that the world within the Snarl is like...a world without conflict? Basically it's just an ocean cause it's the middle ground of all the gods' squabbling.

Like, the gods pushed and shoved so much there's now this world of nothing. Cause they never could settle on anything, so it exists in contrast to their zany and chaotic creations.

[knag]

Since #644 (or maybe after, but influenced by that comic), I've had the theory that the world in the Snarl is the next world. When this D&D campaign is over that will be the next world for the DM (The Giant) to invent. And it will likely have nothing to do with D&D. That's why nothing's living on it yet. It's a blank canvas.

[DavidBV]

I believe the answer will be something like the following.

The worlds created by the Gods, as well as their planes, are shaped and fed by beliefs, as the comic has taught us recently. They are "designed" and "created" by supreme beings, and ruled by arbitrary laws.

In opposition to this, the Snarl has been growing randomly and chaotically transforming itself into a new world: a world without gods and their weird, random arbitrariety. All the tangled threads from the past worlds are not destroyed, but instead become part of it. It might not be "earth" but I believe rather than being created with a design in mind, it just exists according to laws (physics, math). No Gods can overrule and beliefs carry no weight in it. No oracles can predict the future of such a world, because the creatures living there make their own destiny. And if there is an afterlife in it, it's a complete mystery.

I am unsure how the rifts play into all this but I suspect the snarl world keeps growing and unmaking the God's planets, absorbing and eating what it destroys, and making it a part of the new world.

My theory for the end of the comic is that a way will be found to forever separate both universes thus keeping the "God's world(s)" safe forever, butbecause of plot reasons, some of the OoTS members will pass to the new world forever. Probably Roy, which has often expressed frustration over how the OoTS world works, and how Gods have their own agenda. Narratively it will be very much in line with the "good but sad" ending of Lord of the Rings, with a goodbye between Roy and Elan, for instance.