Prediction Page, (bring your quatloos, gps, and internets, you'll need them.)

[Thaliaoftheveil]

A prediction I haven't seen yet (but perhaps I'm just not looking hard enough) regarding Belkar's death is that he may become undead in some variety.
It would fit all the stated prophecies so far:
Don't fund the IRA: He's effectively immortal, never going to retire.
Savor his next birthday cake: Depending on the type of undead, he may be unable to eat normal food.
Last Breath: I mean that's just self explanatory.
Do I think this is what's going to happen? Not at all honestly the closest I could see would be some variety of ghost but even then it seems a stretch to me, but I figured I'd mention it if it hasn't been discussed before.

[Kish]

A prediction I haven't seen yet (but perhaps I'm just not looking hard enough) regarding Belkar's death is that he may become undead in some variety.
It would fit all the stated prophecies so far:
Don't fund the IRA: He's effectively immortal, never going to retire.
Savor his next birthday cake: Depending on the type of undead, he may be unable to eat normal food.
Last Breath: I mean that's just self explanatory.

You left out "not long for the world." Undead are in the world.

[Peelee]

The issue with that is all the other clues regarding his fate, for which only my Air Gnome Forced Labour Bypass accounts for in any "Belkar lives" possible world I've seen proposed so far.

This seems like it's just deliberately excluding my alternate version of Air Gnome Forced Labour Bypass which is clearly superior in marginal ways that most people won't even notice.

Nah, that was just a bad pun. I do that sometimes.

And yet after the story about a math teacher you refused to go with "sumtimes".

For shame.

A prediction I haven't seen yet (but perhaps I'm just not looking hard enough) regarding Belkar's death is that he may become undead in some variety.

No slight on your investigative skills, since the forums have had decades to discuss, but "Belkar will be undead" is one of, if not the, most common theories that isn't permanent death.

[Metastachydium]

This seems like it's just deliberately excluding my alternate version of Air Gnome Forced Labour Bypass which is clearly superior in marginal ways that most people won't even notice.

It would be just that, if only I remembered you had an alternate version.

And yet after the story about a math teacher you refused to go with "sumtimes".

For shame.

Look, I do not approve of your tongue's pathetic excuse for rules governing the spelling of words, so I'll sometimes refuse to make puns that rely on that on principle. Sue me. Press charges.

No slight on your investigative skills, since the forums have had decades to discuss, but "Belkar will be undead" is one of, if not the, most common theories that isn't permanent death

…the other two being "THE ORACLE LIES" and "apotheosis".

[Peelee]

Look, I do not approve of your tongue's pathetic excuse for rules governing the spelling of words

THERE ARE RULES NOW?!?

Sue me. Press charges.

Not a district attorney.

[Metastachydium]

THERE ARE RULES NOW?!?

Yes, I know, I'm big on the overstatement thing.

Not a district attorney.

[Evil laughter.] What do you think I changed the wording for? (Hm. Is it too soon to bring up the Chewbacca Wookie Dfense, now that we're talking coutroom drama and all that?)

[Lord Torath]

[Evil laughter.] What do you think I changed the wording for? (Hm. Is it too soon to bring up the Chewbacca Wookie Dfense, now that we're talking coutroom drama and all that?)(sic)

But you're not a wookiee. I think you mean the "I am Groot" defense.

[Metastachydium]

But you're not a wookie. I think you mean the "I am Groot" defense.

Right? It makes no sense! Why would I use the defense if I'm not living on Endor?!

[Lord Torath]

Endor? I thought you meant the 'tear your arms off if you lose' defense. My mistake.

[Thaliaoftheveil]

You left out "not long for the world." Undead are in the world.

Fair enough, I did forget that, but there does seem to be ample room for loopholes there as well, with Xykon's astral fortress or the Whatever Is Going On There inside the snarl being top contenders.

[Metastachydium]

Endor? I thought you meant the 'tear your arms off if you lose' defense.

Not exactly, no.

[Lord Torath]

Not exactly, no.

Huh.

I have no response to that.

[Peelee]

Wookie

Wookiee

Right? It makes no sense! Why would I use the defense if I'm not living on Endor?!

Didn't live on Endor.

[Metastachydium]

Huh.

I have no response to that.

Well, that's not so much "normal" as "par for the course".

Wookiee

Didn't live on Endor.

Ugh, it's not even fun to make fun of your obsessions anymore.

[Kish]

Fair enough, I did forget that, but there does seem to be ample room for loopholes there as well, with Xykon's astral fortress or the Whatever Is Going On There inside the snarl being top contenders.

Sure. With the note that spending eternity as an undead creature who never leaves Xykon's astral fortress would be a fate for Belkar that would far eclipse the cruelty of simply dying (even if he doesn't change enough before dying to go somewhere north of the Abyss...which would greatly surprise me at this point).

[No good @ names]

Why would I need a Global Positioning System to participate in this thread? :P

Anyway, said it before but Belkar dies saving both O’Chul and Redcloak from MitD, after Serini and Haley decide to be rogues and turn Team Evil against each other by causing Xylon to think Redcloak has betrayed him.

Redcloak is dumbfounded that the paladin that he personally tortured would stand between him and the MitD, and much like his character growth regarding hobgoblins, is able to be swayed to Thor’s offer of alliance.

Bit of a Batman Gambit I know. And the Giant constantly surprises me (in a good way usually).

[KorvinStarmast]

Belkar dies saving both O’Chul and Redcloak from MitD,

O-Chul is not Irish.

[No good @ names]

O-Chul is not Irish.

Probably for the best, so Thog doesn’t try to associate with him at fancy dress parties.

[brian 333]

Probably for the best, so Thog doesn’t try to associate with him at fancy dress parties.

Not getting the reference.

[No good @ names]

Not getting the reference.

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0386.html

[brian 333]

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0386.html

I see.

[No good @ names]

I see.

Well played sir

[Aquillion]

One theory that I haven't seen yet (but which has probably been bandied about): The Dark One's plan may not be what everyone thinks.

The Good Gods think he intends to redirect the rifts at them, because that's what they would do in his place.

Redcloak seems to think the same thing (although I forget if it's been confirmed), but that would be because, again, it's what Redcloak would do in his place.

But originally, before he became a god, the Dark One was a peaceful negotiator. It's possible he hasn't changed as much as everyone thinks (though really it's likely that the faith of all those angry goblins has shifted him.)

I'm unsure what his plan could be, though. Is there anywhere else he could send the rifts or anything else he could plausibly do with the control the ritual gives him?

The other problem with this is narrative - the gods would probably destroy the world before the ritual completes, so if The Dark One was like "you idiots, have you considered talking to the snarl now that a billion years have passed" or something, we'd never really find out.

[Metastachydium]

One theory that I haven't seen yet (but which has probably been bandied about): The Dark One's plan may not be what everyone thinks.

All manners of variants for that notion are frustratingly common. The issue they all share is that Big Purple's Plan is quite canonically what we think it is, as per the Word of the Giant.

[No good @ names]

All manners of variants for that notion are frustratingly common. The issue they all share is that Big Purple's Plan is quite canonically what we think it is, as per the Word of the Giant.

How did a plant edit the timestamp of that post to say 2019? There’s no way the post is that old…

Oh beep, I’m old?

[Ruck]

How did a plant edit the timestamp of that post to say 2019? There’s no way the post is that old…

Oh beep, I’m old?

I still think of myself as one of the newer posters around here, and I now realized I'm coming up on eight years since I registered on the forums.

[Metastachydium]

How did a plant edit the timestamp of that post to say 2019? There’s no way the post is that old…

Oh beep, I’m old?

I still think of myself as one of the newer posters around here, and I now realized I'm coming up on eight years since I registered on the forums.

[Scrubbing noises.] I've always been here. [Camera pans to reveal the Flower's trying to scrub out the year of the Flower's own Join Date entry. Scrubbing noises INTENSIFY.] I'VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE!

[KorvinStarmast]

I still think of myself as one of the newer posters around here, and I now realized I'm coming up on eight years since I registered on the forums.

Likewise. But I don't think I am old school. Just old.

[Anachronity]

My screwball predictions, for one internet apiece...
-The Snarl is not just a manifestation of unthinking destruction and chaos, as described in Crayons of Time. Instead its actions are calculated, and it slew the eastern pantheon first specifically to deprive the gods of their green quiddity (and perhaps steal it for itself?).
-Similarly, when the gods were entrapping The Snarl, it was not oblivious. Instead it was reassembling the first world (which is now the world in the rift).
-The souls the Snarl claims are not destroyed but rather kidnapped (or else are reassembled afterwards, or similar). It is using them to populate the world in the rift, in order to gain worship and followers to feed itself in a manner similar to the gods.
-The Dark One was sponsored to divinity by The Snarl, explaining his unique purple quiddity. (It may have somehow been stolen or perverted from the green eastern quiddity; see above)
-TDO is in league with The Snarl. The Snarl has no enmity towards TDO because he had no part in creating it. TDO wants to kill the other gods for allowing goblins to be an inferior race.
-Accordingly, TDO isn't worried about the possibility that the gods will destroy the world before the ritual is finished.
-TDO plans to sacrifice goblinkind in some way in order to achieve his plan. Redcloak will finish his character arc by turning against his god in defense of goblinkind, allowing him to reject his old philosophy by proxy.
-TDO, The Snarl, the IFCC, and Tiamat are all in league with each other to some degree. They all share the MO of being against internal conflict and division (TDO united goblinkind, The Snarl was created by divine infighting and hates them for it, the IFCC expressly views infighting as wasteful and counterproductive, and Tiamat represents the unity of evil dragonkind). However it's likely that not all of them may fully know of eachothers' plans. Tiamat may not know that TDO was sponsored by the Snarl, or may plan to betray him in some way.
-Once Xykon is out of the picture, the IFCC will attempt to make Vaarsuvius complete the arcane half of the gate ritual. Anyone's guess on whether they succeed.

Spoiler: The ramblings which led me to these predictions

Show

I think The Snarl is not just a manifestation of pure unthinking chaos and destruction as Lord Shojo stated in The Crayons of Time exposition. Instead, it slew the eastern pantheon in order to intentionally deprive the gods of one of their quiddities as a calculated move. Then, when they were entrapping it, it was not ignorant to what they were doing but rather it was busy reassembling the first world which it tore apart (the world in the rift). It has not been destroying souls, but rather kidnapping them (or maybe recycling/reassembling them?) for its own world full of worshippers that it derives power from just like the gods do.

Further prediction(s): the power that the Snarl gains from these worshippers is somehow related to the purple quiddity (the Snarl is purple, after all). Either the Dark One was somehow empowered by the Snarl, is an aspect of it, is in league with it, or somehow unknowingly gained its quiddity. The ultimate purpose of Redcloak's ritual is not just to threaten the gods with the Snarl, but to actively unleash it so it can kill the gods or do other bad stuff.

But originally, before he became a god, the Dark One was a peaceful negotiator. It's possible he hasn't changed as much as everyone thinks (though really it's likely that the faith of all those angry goblins has shifted him.)

I'm unsure what his plan could be, though. Is there anywhere else he could send the rifts or anything else he could plausibly do with the control the ritual gives him?

The other problem with this is narrative - the gods would probably destroy the world before the ritual completes, so if The Dark One was like "you idiots, have you considered talking to the snarl now that a billion years have passed" or something, we'd never really find out.

wait... insight...
so in https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1143.html it's pretty clearly stated that, if nothing else, the Dark One isn't particularly peaceful and doesn't want to negotiate - at least not with Loki.

But! I'm going to guess that the Dark One IS in league with the Snarl - because both of them hate the gods. The Snarl hates the gods who made it (which doesn't include The Dark One), and TDO hates the gods for allowing goblins to be inferior. Considering Redcloak's character arc of learning to care about goblins, brought up in https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1212.html but visible in several other points in the story, my prediction is that Redcloak will find out that the Dark One intends to sacrifice the goblin race and the world along with them as part of a plot to destroy the gods. He'll rebel against TDO for reasons outlined in the previously-mentioned comic, and the climax of his character arc will be to turn against his own god in protection of goblinkind (or perhaps even convince TDO to turn against the Snarl? The former seems more likely). Perhaps the world in the rift is even one where goblinkind currently is the ruling species, and the turnabout will come with Redcloak realizing that the other races are just as oppressed. It's tough to say for sure, but I predict something along these lines. The rebellion will probably come too late; after when he would have needed to provide the spell slot for Thor's plan. He will probably learn the full scope of The Dark One's true plan as he's completing the ritual.

It also makes sense in that, if TDO's agenda is to enable the Snarl to kill the other gods, the threat of the gods preventing the ritual by destroying the world isn't actually a concern for TDO and the Snarl's plan.

Finally, I suspect that the IFCC is in league with the Dark One and/or the Snarl. It would make sense with their plan to kill the goodly gods (they never said they wouldn't also kill the evil ones, and in fact it gels with their attitude towards Xykon): https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0668.html
It also checks out that their main motivation seems to be unity and cooperation towards a common (evil) goal, and that they view infighting and internal conflict as something to induce in their opposition; just like the sort that made the Snarl. My guess is that, if Xykon gets taken out of the picture, they will even use their power over Vaarsuvius to have him complete the arcane half of the ritual.
The only part that doesn't check out is that they seem to intend to honor their agreement with Tiamat. But we know from Thor's exposition that Tiamat is one of the gods who had communication with TDO (and is the only Western god who knows he has a unique quiddity), so she could be a part of this all somehow.

[Precure]

-TDO plans to sacrifice goblinkind in some way in order to achieve his plan. Redcloak will finish his character arc by turning against his god in defense of goblinkind, allowing him to reject his old philosophy by proxy.
-TDO, The Snarl, the IFCC, and Tiamat are all in league with each other to some degree. They all share the MO of being against internal conflict and division (TDO united goblinkind, The Snarl was created by divine infighting and hates them for it, the IFCC expressly views infighting as wasteful and counterproductive, and Tiamat represents the unity of evil dragonkind).

This sounds like a Sentient Instrumentality Project to me.

Yeah, I agree with most of these other than TDO's not caring about goblins. I believe he's manipulated by the snarl and/or evil gods sans Loki.