OOTS #945 - The Discussion Thread

[Lordchoculla]

New comic is up.

Garrr! Scary. Thanks Giant!

[Bulldog Psion]

They may not be "fabrications", but we still don't know how much those stories reflect what really happened. All this strip has proven is that there's something awful inside the rifts that can lash out at people around them.

My personal guess would be that it's not just an art upgrade, though. The fact that we're getting the Tentacular Spectacular here instead of some skinny little claws is a sign of something significant.

IMO, it's a sign of "people imagining something that's been described to them" vs. "the real deal."

I mean, just take a look at medieval pictures of elephants.

[The Second]

So, the snarls awake. Wonder if it's hungry.

I also wonder, in how many D&D languages can you say, "You're Screwed."

[Caesar]

Now is the time for a sudden cut-scene:

Dun dun dun!

...and CUT! That's a wrap, folks!

[Keltest]

First, allow me to open up with "Oh, crap."

second, I don't know why he snarl has to be either a "mostly-faceless monstrosity with claws" and "a mass of tentacles". Is there not room for both appendages on an omnicidal force of destruction?

[Ghost Nappa]

There aren't enough ice cream cones to calm me down.

[gerryq]

Bwahahahahaha!!! Snarlie's Back, Suckers!

And annoying that site will not let me use all-caps when I choose to do so for literary purposes!

[Crusher]

Well this doesn't seem good.

[Lordchoculla]

Now is the time for a sudden cut-scene:

Dun dun dun!

...and CUT! That's a wrap, folks!

It does make a strong ending of the book, yeah!

[Ionbound]

I think we're due to see the IFCC's reaction to this. Then, cut.

[jidasfire]

Whew, this was a doozy. Thoughts:

First of all, the fact that there is seemingly no life on Snarlworld (at least the part of it we've seen) goes far toward disproving that the Snarl has remade everyone and everything it kills and that we might meet old Kraagor on the other side. The fact that the Snarl is now seemingly awake also suggests Roy made the right call by not letting the Order go into the rift. I suppose there is still a chance they may yet do so, but it will probably be an absolute last resort if so.

Another thing which occurs to me is that if this rift isn't the only one waking up, there's a chance that things over in Azure City are about to get really bad. Given this, while I was pretty upset about the Resistance getting wiped out, if the Snarl does destroy the city, it would seem that they were the lucky ones, getting out with their souls intact. I suppose we'll just have to see on that front. As for Laurin and Miron, I think their days are numbered, and I frankly hope so. Not because I dislike them, they're perfectly serviceable characters, but because the board needs a bit of clearing, and I think Tarquin's fall won't be completed unless his remaining casters drop.

I can't truly say what this means just yet, but I think it's safe to say it's big, and almost certainly not good. Suddenly, the stakes have been raised.

[Porthos]

And annoying that site will not let me use all-caps when I choose to do so for literary purposes!

: YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU ADD A SMILIEY! DID YOU HEAR ME? I SAID YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU ADD A SMILEY!

[Ridureyu]

You guys give me way too much credit. What I used was a scatter brush.

In Illustrator, you can make custom brushes that let you put down a row of the same image over and over as you draw a line. You can set the preferences for those brushes to have random size, random spacing, and random scatter off the main line. I made a tiny round "star" brush with high spacing and scatter values and just scribbled around a bit until I liked the way it looked. By pure random chance, three of those stars ended up in a relatively coherent line.

So no, it STILL isn't Earth in the Rift. It will never be Earth in the Rift. Earth will never show up.

See, I assumed copy-pasting stars. You put more effort in!

Also, now people are going to decide that it is earth behind the NEXT rift. You can't argue with conspiracy theories.

[Dracon1us]

Ahh Team Tarquie. always B-list villains with their small risky business

[MoonCat]

I think the lack of a smilie on the OP is making this even worse. Nothing is scarier.

[Ivrytwr]

Things just went from bad to worst.
Oh Laurin, what are you going to do now?
Nice framing the scene with Roy, Giant. Thanks.

[Aquatosic]

The Gods made the world, and the Snarl has eaten Gods. Who says it lacks the power to make its own world?

Actually, what I gleaned from Lord Shojo's explanation was that the Snarl is a mindless force of destruction. He can only destroy and tear apart, anything else is beyond him. He cannot understand the act of creation at all. I like the idea that the old world is reforming around him.

[Nosferatu]

Okay one thing...

How come Blackwing saw a whole planet, but Laurin and our heroes saw only an ocean?

Do these portals have their other ends in wildly different places? If so, I wonder what we'll see through the next one? A divine palace interior or something?

I think what's happening is as more gates are destroyed, the Snarl/other-world gets closer to the real-world. This is why the Snarl/other-world appears closer now than it was when Blackwing look upon it.

[Rockbender]

Okay one thing...

How come Blackwing saw a whole planet, but Laurin and our heroes saw only an ocean?

Do these portals have their other ends in wildly different places? If so, I wonder what we'll see through the next one? A divine palace interior or something?

It's not just that the gates are in different places, they're probably at wildly different elevations as well...

That means the last gate could be underwater... or (since it's at the planet's north pole) buried under miles of ice...

Beware the giant penguins...

Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

[AKA_Bait]

Nice comic. My one gripe is that I'd been hoping that when we saw the Snarl again, it would still be in crayon (even, perhaps especially, if the rest of the comic was in the normal art style).

[Lexible]

There ain't no horror like antideluvian Eldritch Horrors.

'Cause the antideluvian Eldritch Horrors don't stop!

Say what?!

There ain't no horror like antideluvian Eldritch Horrors.
'Cause the antideluvian Eldritch Horrors don't stop!

[Bulldog Psion]

The Lovecraftian atmosphere of that second to last frame is superb.

One might also say that **** just got real, too.

[Keltest]

The Lovecraftian atmosphere of that second to last frame is superb.

One might also say that **** just got real, too.

Ah! stealth pun! this is in fact anything that may or may not be part of the snarl has been seen outside of crayon land.

[Thrythlind]

Things just went from bad to worst.
Oh Laurin, what are you going to do now?
Nice framing the scene with Roy, Giant. Thanks.

I'm suspecting have her mind hallowed out and replaced by the snarl which then goes on to project it's will into more people until it has an armor of snarl zombies with which to try and force open the remaining gates.


And the lesson here is not to go telepathically poking about in places devoid of life because there just might be an omnicidal eldritch abomination lurking about looking for a new world to denude of life

[McNum]

Well that's not a good sign. Big, purple, made from lots of squiggly lines. Something tells me this might be important.

And if that is The Snarl, it looks a lot more impressive in computer art than crayons. That thing is scary looking.

[Gorfnod]

The Giant is brilliant!! That is all.

[Loreweaver15]

Really enjoying the details of Team BST's friendships, Giant. Miron grabbed her and saved her rather than just running away. Thanks for bringing these characters depth and dimension! It's so rare to show evil characters and people with emotions and normal interactions.

[Knight.Anon]

Finally! - All the Snarl deniers can eat it. Now the question is: what the Snarl is and does it goes better with rye or whole wheat? Looks like its Psionic along with whatever else.

[The Smallest]

I don't know why the Snarl has to be either a "mostly-faceless monstrosity with claws" and "a mass of tentacles". Is there not room for both appendages on an omnicidal force of destruction?

Well, it could be that the claws will form on the end of the "tentacle" later, since in the crayon illustrations, the Snarl's "limb-with-claw-like-appendages" did look rather like tentacles. True, the "limb-with-claw-like-appendages" looked significantly thinner in the crayon drawings, but one must remember that that was an illustration of the Snarl facing the gods, who are usually portrayed as much larger than ordinary character, which would make the Snarl look smaller as a result.

[The Smallest]

Finally! - All the Snarl deniers can eat it. Now the question is: what the Snarl is and does it goes better with rye or whole wheat? Looks like its Psionic along with whatever else.

Or perhaps it is simply so powerful it can be sensed using any medium.